Thank you. Before we begin, we're going to have
a little bit of an object lesson today. So it's
an activity to just kind of see something, I
think, point at something about the scripture.
So I need three volunteers. All right, Tom, come
on. Autumn, come on. Did you put your hand up?
Because I'm volunteering. All right, come on.
I thought you should put your hand up. I'm not
sure. Okay. I'm in. All right. So one person
is going to be the target, and the other two
people are going to be the chaser. Any volunteers?
Anybody want to be the target? You're the odd
man out. You can be the guard. Stand on the back
row back there, and I'll come tell you what to
do in a second. Okay? The two of you are going
to stand side by side right here. Okay. Now,
the rest of you are all participating, too, so
I need a list of five things that people really
like. Tacos and chocolate. Tacos and chocolate
are two. Roller coaster. Ice cream. Roller coaster.
Tacos, chocolate, ice cream, roller coaster is
one more. Okay, superhero movies. Movies, we'll
narrow down to superhero movies. All right, so
we've got tacos, chocolate, ice cream, roller
coasters, and superhero movies. Oh, my goodness.
You're giving me a sound a little like a picture
of heaven here. Okay, so this is pretty good
stuff, right? Just add in Jesus. How about we
add in Jesus? Okay, wait, Jesus number six. All
right? All right, so tacos, chocolate. I've got
superhero movies, roller coasters, and on this
one? Ice cream. Ice cream. Oh, can't forget the
ice cream. We all scream for ice cream. I won't
forget it again. Okay, so we're going to play
this little game. I'm going to give you two ladies,
you're going to stand side by side facing this
way. I'm going to give each of you one of these
things. Then I'm going to call off the list.
When I call off your thing, whatever that thing
is, then you're going to go this way down the
aisle and over to Tommy, and Tommy's going to
hold out two hands, right hand, left hand. So
your Tommy's his left, which is your right, and
your Tommy's right, which is your left. Got it?
So when I say your thing, whatever your thing
is, you're going to go down this row and over
there. However, if I say the other person's thing,
then you're going to try to stop them from going
down there and touching Tommy's hand. So whoever
is first gets to go, but the other person has
to stop them. That's correct. And then we'll
go back, we'll continue, and when the other person's
thing comes up, then they'll go and try to touch
Tommy's hand, and the other person will try to
stop them. Understand? So the goal is just to
try to use... Tackle him. No bruising. No scratching.
No putting eyes out. Nothing like that. No physical
damage. Don't grab each other's hair. We can
really get into this now. None of that. But when
your thing is called, you're going to go straight
there and touch his hand. If your thing is not
the thing that was called, you're going to try
to stop the other person. I'll be the force.
If you start to come off the force this way,
I'll shove you that way. So what if she's over
here trying to block me to where I'm not? That's
not my problem. That's your problem. Okay? So
lead a step back here for one second, and I'm
going to give you your word. Got it? Okay. Are
you ready? Okay. When I call off the list, and
when I call off your word, you both... If it's
your word, you go. And you try to stop her if
that's her word. And if it's your word, you go.
And you try to stop her if it's her word. You
got it? You understand? I'll play the game. Very
simple. All you got to do is if I say your word,
like if it's chocolate, roller coasters, Jesus.
Go. What are you waiting for? We'll explain it
later. Have a seat. Thank you very much. Okay.
Wait a minute. Wait a minute. This can't be right.
See, Autumn was really into the tackling. She
really wanted to do the tackling part. That was
the problem. Okay. So, if you would grab your
Bibles, I hope you bring your Bibles with you.
It helps if you read along as I read, especially
if you're reading a translation maybe you're
a little more familiar with than the one I am.
We support all. All translations, and if you're
just studying, a paraphrase isn't a bad thing
either, but a translation is definitely the way
to go. That means the original language was brought
into the English as close as possible, and that
helps, okay? And so the verses for today, and
maybe you'll give me a hoot, a holler, or a screech.
This is your opportunity to screech if you really
want to. Only now, though, not later. No, whenever,
I don't care. As we go to Titus 2 .11. Okay,
pretty good. Some people are still sleeping.
Titus 2 .11. I'm going to flip there now myself.
Thank you. If you're in your Bibles and you're
flipping and you're trying to find Titus, don't
be ashamed because he's a tiny little guy. Titus
was. He could be lost in the crowd real easy.
But he's in the back. If you follow the New Testament
back past the Gospels, past the book of Acts
and everything else that has any real size to
it, you'll run into the T's, the Thessalonians
and Timothys and Titus is tucked away behind
the T's before the Philemon, which is also quite
small. And then Hebrews and there's a couple
of bigger ones there. So we're looking at Titus.
And we're beginning in 2 .11. Now as I read this,
I'm going to break down some of the words because
it rattles off a whole bunch of kind of holy
words, if you will, in this passage of Scripture
that we're going to read. And we're going to
read from 2 .11 through 3 .11. And it's not really
as long as it might initially seem. And the whole
book, if you flip there, you can see the whole
book fits on a page and a half of the Bible.
So it's not terribly long. But it is awesome.
It's packed with power. And it is all of God's
Word. So here we go. We'll do the best we can.
For the grace of God that brings salvation has
appeared to all men. And we could stop right
there and have a whole sermon in this little
verse, and lots of guys would do that, but I
think the Lord has led us to one thing in particular.
The grace of God is God's willingness to save
us by grace. God's saving us by grace, meaning
it's a gift that we do not deserve. You don't
earn it. There are no instructions or rules that
you follow or steps. It's not like baking a cake.
You go to God and you say, God, may I have your
grace? And God, because He is a gracious God,
willingly gives His grace to all those. And that
has appeared to everybody. Anybody can see that.
would just be willing to look earnestly at the
teachings of God. The grace of God that brings
salvation has appeared to all men. There is a
way to get saved. It is by receiving a free gift
from God, and that has become evident. And this
teaches us that denying ungodliness and worldly
lusts So to deny something means to refrain from
it or to have nothing to do with it. We're supposed
to deny ungodliness and worldly lust. Well, ungodliness
would be not to behave the way God wants you
to behave or not to pursue the things that God
wants you to pursue and so on. Worldly lust would
be to follow after things that you want that
are of the world rather than of the kingdom of
God or godly things. So it's teaching us that
denying ungodliness and worldly lust, we should
live soberly. That doesn't mean you shouldn't.
get drunk, although that would be included there.
It means you should watch your way. You should
be careful about what you do. There are important
things afoot, if you will. That would mean that
you shouldn't get drunk, but it means I have
a lot of other things than that, okay? So we
should live soberly, righteously, which means
you do what's right. And sometimes what's right
is what you think is right, and sometimes you
think things that are wrong. are right. There
is a way that we think is right, but it actually
isn't right. And so sometimes you have to be
taught, you have to learn. We're supposed to
live soberly and righteously and godly in this
present age. And I think maybe the last one is
the hardest one. The first two are impossible,
but the last one is even more impossible, if
that makes any sense. It's almost a contradiction,
but to be godly, to be like God, okay? To live
the way God would live if he were you in the
present age. And that's the qualifier. So it's
right now while we live. Facing all the things
that we face, dealing with everything that we
deal with. Looking for the blessed hope and glorious
appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus
Christ. So this is how we live. We live soberly,
righteously, and godly, all the while looking
for that blessed hope. That God is doing something.
He is sending Jesus again. Jesus will come again.
And God in the flesh. Our Savior Jesus Christ
will come again. So you could be in the worst
place you could ever be in and still live soberly
and righteously and godly in this present age
looking for the coming of Jesus. It doesn't matter
how bad the current age is, you could do that.
14. Who gave himself for us that he might redeem
us from every lawless deed and purify for himself
his own special people zealous for good works.
Okay. So this is what Jesus did. He gave himself
for us. He died so that we could be bought back,
to purchase us back. Before we were born, you
or I were born, but mankind was kind of sold
over into slavery to Satan or to the world system
or both. And Jesus bought us back when he died
on the cross and paid for sin. He redeemed us.
And he wants to redeem us from every lawless
deed, from doing the things that we shouldn't
do or shouldn't have done. And to purify us for
himself. And then it says, his own special people,
zealous for good works. I'm going to stop here
for a second and dwell just a moment. I want
you to realize this is the way God has always
worked. From the very beginning of time, God
has always chosen for himself his own special
people. He's always marked out a people that
will listen to him and follow him, be right by
him the best they know how. He wasn't even looking
for perfection. So Dave was called a man after
God's own heart. He was one of God's special
people. But he drifted into lust. He lied. He
had a man murdered. He had terrible things that
he did. And after that was called a man after
God's own heart. Not because of the terrible
things that he did, but because after he did
that, he realized how terrible they were and
pulled back from them, repented of them, and
turned to God again. So it's about people who
will turn back to God no matter what happens.
They will continue to focus on God and desire
God. And God has always tried to mark out for
himself a people like that. First with pre -Israel,
if you will, and then Jacob, who's called Israel,
became the father of that nation. And then with
Israel, and then with people like David, and
even people like Solomon. And yes, they went
into sin. And one of the big differences I think
I see between David and Solomon is David, you
see him coming back and repenting. Solomon, not
so much. But God has always marked out a special
people for himself. And this would be the quality
of that people. That they would be zealous for
good work. So let's think just for a moment about
zealousness. Zeal is energy. It's being pumped.
It's wanting to push for a goal. It's hearing,
hey, that's what I'm after. And wanting to go
for it with all your might. Not being concerned
or not being held back by someone else who might
want to stop you from getting there. It's, hey,
I'm playing left field and the ball's coming
down in left field. That's my ball. And you give
it all you've got. And you wind up falling after
the catch because you put all you had into it
or dive into the ball. That's my son or my daughter
that's about to walk out in front of that Mack
truck and I'm stopping that from happening no
matter what. If I have to throw myself in the
way to throw them out of the way. It's that zeal
or passion. So God has always worked this way.
He has marked out for Himself a special people
who have this as their primary characteristic.
They will be zealous for good works. Now, they
also would be described as people who are soberly
living, righteously living, godly living, and
looking for that blessed hope of Jesus reappearing.
But their primary characteristic is they are
zealous for good work. They have energy, overbounding
energy. They are seeking, pushing toward good
works. But we see the problem, don't we? Because
if God claims for himself a special people who
are with this energy pushing for good works.
There is also another people who are with their
energy, whatever energy they have, not pushing
for good works. Because God always claims for
himself a special people. That word special means
separate, different. And so there is another
kind of people that lives in the same. And we
do this in this present age alongside of the
same people who are not doing it. Right? And
so this would be like if you were playing softball
and you're in left field, the ball comes in left
field, and there was a rule that said that people
from the other team could try to stop you from
catching the ball. And you start running in there
with all your might, you're going to catch the
ball, and all of a sudden the third base coach
runs out there and kicks you in the groin. Or
he runs out there and trips you while you're
running, and whatever. And you still have the
same responsibilities, which is to catch the
ball. In that case, in that analogy, or to pursue
Jesus, to wait for His second coming, to live
soberly, righteously, and godly in this present
age. It does not matter what other people do.
This doesn't say, hey, unless somebody bothers
you. Unless somebody says something about you.
Unless somebody shortcuts you. Unless somebody
steals your money or your car or invades your
house. Unless you get sick. None of that is there.
In fact, I get this. I get that you can do it
no matter what your circumstances are. In this
present age, you can do it. Do the best you can
to live soberly, godly, and righteously. waiting
on the second coming. In fact, I think sometimes
when it's really, really bad, that's when we
remember to look toward the second coming. And
the rest of the time, yeah, we'll think a little
bit about living soberly, righteously, and godly,
but there's a lot of other things going on too,
and kind of like... Solomon did, for example.
We might sort of take a little bit of that in,
and then the little bit becomes a little too
much. It's an inroad to the devil. We're not
supposed to give him a foothold. We get wrapped
up in bitterness. We allow evil spirits, and
you see how that goes. All right? Then these
are the commands, then, that he gives for people
who are doing that. If that's you, if you qualify,
then do these things. Speak these things. Exhort
and rebuke with all authority. Let no one despise
you. In other words, if this is true and you
understand that it's plainly obvious that salvation
has appeared to all men, the grace of God is
available, and that teaches us that we should
deny ungodliness and worldly lust, living soberly,
righteously, and godly in this present age, and
looking for the blessed coming of Jesus again,
and I paraphrase that there, then we ought to
tell everyone about it. We ought to be saying,
listen, this is the truth. This is the obvious
truth, right? If no one knew in the world that
if you stepped off a cliff, you would fall and
die, wouldn't you be telling everybody? If no
one knew that if you walk off a cliff or a second
story building or a five story building, that
you would fall from the edge and smash on the
pavement, your brains would roll out into the
gutter. If nobody knew that truth, wouldn't you
be going telling everybody that truth? You'd
be standing at the edge of the building, at least
keeping your family members away. Look, don't
jump off the edge of this building. I know that
there's a lot of freaky people all over the world
who are doing it. And nobody sees what's happening.
Nobody understands. Eyes are blinded. But don't
jump off the edge of this building. I'm telling
you, you will die. Wouldn't you be telling them
that? Of course you would. And that's what has
happened. God has claimed for Himself a special
people who understand this truth. They have seen
what is plain and evident and obvious in the
world. And we are to speak these things. And
to exhort, which means to encourage, to call
people to understand. And then to rebuke, which
means to say, hey, don't do that. Look at what
you're doing to yourself. Don't despise Jesus.
Don't look down on God. Don't use the Lord's
name in vain. Be serious about this God of ours.
And it says, Rebuke them with all authority.
There's an interesting episode that takes place
while the disciples are preaching after Jesus
is gone and he's not with them. It's during that
little passage of Scripture we studied a few
weeks back. It happened at the beautiful gate.
He healed the man. And then they said they looked
at those men. And because they were unlearned
men, they didn't have seminary degrees or whatever.
Because they hadn't studied under a great teacher
as far as they knew. They said, these people,
these men must have been with Jesus. If you're
a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ, you're supposed
to be able to speak with authority. You don't
say to people, I hear what you're saying, I hear
how you're living, but the Bible says, blah,
blah, blah, blah, blah. And I think maybe that's
a better way to go. Don't you think so? No, that's
not how it's done. You say, I hear what you're
saying, but let me tell you, where that road
leads. Let me tell you what I know to be true.
Let me tell you what I have seen for a fact.
If you do that, this will be the end result.
Here's the scripture to prove it. Sure, if you
want to do that, but don't stop there. You say,
and I know that's absolutely true. When are we
going to step up and say, we know the Bible is
absolutely true. When the Bible says there is
a way that leads to death, but the guy thinks
it's right. There's a bunch of people out there
living ways that they think. Our right would
lead to death. What are we going to do about
that? Just going to keep letting them do it,
right? Because they want to, obviously. What
if they don't want to? What if they could be
awakened to realize that that road that leads
to death is not the actual road that they want
to be on? Well, then I think we should tell them.
I think we should provoke them to thought. I
think we should live lives that would encourage
them to examine the road that they are on and
the destination they are headed for. And I wouldn't
feel bad about it, not one lick. I wouldn't be
inhibited if I knew that were true, if I really
believed it were true, I wouldn't be inhibited.
I wouldn't hold back. I wouldn't want to not
tell them whatever it is that they need to hear.
I wouldn't lie. I wouldn't slip into unrighteousness.
I wouldn't be stupid about it. But wouldn't you
want to tell them whatever it is that they need
to hear so that they can understand, even if
it made you look a little goofy? Wouldn't you
want to preach the gospel? In season and out
of season, if you realize that there could be
people who would turn to the Lord and they would
be awake and realize that the grace of God that
brings salvation has appeared to all men, well,
duh, of course we would. And therefore, there
is no reason that anyone should despise us. And
if anyone does despise us, if they do look down
on us, it's really just evidence of their problem.
It isn't evidence of our problem because we're
doing what it is that we're called to do. So
let no one despise you. Don't worry about it.
Let them think what they want to think. Let them
feel what they want to feel. When you walk up
to them and try to talk to them about Jesus,
then they get angry or they get down on the dumps
or they talk about how bad they are as a person
or whatever. You don't have to worry about that.
Just keep talking about Jesus. Don't let them
despise you. Remind them to be subject to rulers
and authorities. And so we ought to listen to
the law. And I know the law isn't always right.
but we listen to the law even when we think it's
wrong unless the law is contrary to God. So you
follow the law and the rules even when you think
they're wrong unless those laws and rules are
contrary to God, in which case then you break
them. I'm here to tell you, standing before you
today, could be at any moment in time, if God
so said so, one of the worst rebels you've ever
met. I will commit a felony in a minute if I
knew it was what God wanted me to do. I've been
nearly arrested for sharing the gospel. The police
were on their way. You do what it is you know
you're supposed to do. And then if it's contrary
to what the law says, then break it. But in any
other case, you follow the rules and the authorities,
even when it seems the stupidest thing. I can
list three or four laws that are in the United
States right now, that are in Toledo right now,
that I totally disagree with. Totally disagree
with them. But I'm not here to totally disagree
with the law. I'm here to encourage people to
recognize the grace of God has been made obvious
and salvation is available. That's what I'm about.
If you're busy preaching against some law you
don't like, you're wasting your breath doing
what you shouldn't be doing. Because you should
be talking about Jesus and the availability of
salvation by His grace. Remind them to be subject
to rulers and authorities, sure. To obey, to
be ready for every good work. Notice that being
subject to rulers and authorities could be lumped
in as a good work. To be ready for every good
work. You've got to go. When the opportunity
arises, you've got to be ready to speak evil
of no one. I want to be clear about this. You
speak evil of no one. I want to be super clear
about this. You speak evil of no one, even those
who are evil. Be careful. You know, it's really
easy to judge people like Adolf Hitler, Mussolini,
people from history who did horrible, horrible
things, soldiers who claimed they were just following
orders. It's really easy to do that. But I submit
to you, that if you were born in their bodies
and lived their lives to the day that you did
it, to the day that they did that, you would
have done the exact same thing. Parented the
same way, raised under the same laws, under threat
of violence, that you would be killed if you
didn't follow orders, you would have done the
exact same thing. You say, no, no, I wouldn't.
Well, if you were a follower of the Lord Jesus
Christ and you were born into that body as a
follower of the Lord Jesus Christ and had the
Holy Spirit to help you, if you knew what was
happening was wrong, if you weren't... brainwashed,
if you weren't threatened with violence that
you were afraid you would be killed, maybe, maybe,
just maybe, you wouldn't have. And that's a pretty
big set of parameters to excuse yourself for
judging their behavior. Now is their behavior
wrong? Absolutely. But we don't speak evil of
anyone. So your pastor lied and stole money from
the church and had an affair with his secretary
and he ran into ruin. And then became a homosexual
and killed his neighbor and went to jail. You
don't speak evil of him. You hear me? It says
speak evil of no one. You speak evil of the devil,
that's not a human being. That's a little different.
But even then, when you speak evil, be careful
how you do it. You say things like, he's in complete
rebellion against God. Not he's using cuss words
or he's a jerk. Right? Not that kind of evil.
We don't just despise. But rather, he's in opposition
to the Lord. And when you see a human being that's
in opposition to the Lord, you don't speak evil
of them. You say, those activities are not appropriate.
Lying is wrong. Telling the truth is right. Well,
he's a liar, so I'm not going to call him a liar.
That's not my job. If that person is saved and
lying, they're not a liar. You call him a liar,
you're a liar. What just happened there? If that
person is saved to follow the Lord Jesus Christ,
even though they tell a lie, that doesn't make
them a liar. It puts them in sin. It makes them
wrong, but it doesn't change their identity.
Right? So then you call them a liar, which nails
down their identity, and you say they have an
identity as a liar, but Christ knows they actually
belong to Him, and they will later repent and
be cleansed of it, and now you have lied saying
they're a liar. You don't speak evil of anybody.
Get your mouth under control for crying out loud.
That's not a good work. We're supposed to be
ready for every good work. While you're speaking
evil of somebody else, how can you be ready for
a good work? We speak evil of no one. To be peaceable.
Our job is to be peaceable. Now, I said I am
ready to be a felon if it comes to that. And
I'm not kidding when I say that. But at the same
time, I'm doing everything in my power to ensure
that that never happens. That's why you vote.
That's why you show up and become politically
active. Not because politics is something. Don't
get wrapped up in that. Don't let that be a big
thing. But you do that because we have an opportunity
to govern in a way we're governed by the people.
And if you don't govern, then when the laws are
made that require you to do things that are against
God, you're going to have to do those things
against God or you're going to have to stick
with God and be against the law. So we participate
in government in an effort in our country that
gives us the opportunity to have no law made
without representation. And we're to be peaceable,
gentle. Come on. You don't have to be mean. You
don't have to be rough. You don't have to be
bitter. You don't have to be tongue -biting people,
lashing somebody down with your tongue. You don't
have to do any of that kind of stuff. Just tell
them that the grace of God has become apparent
and salvation is available and we should do these
things. And when they don't like it, you just
gently tell them again. And when they still don't
like it, you just gently tell them again. And
you remain gentle. Never striking out. Never
striking back. Never exacting revenge. Be gentle.
Show all humility to all men. That's what we're
supposed to do. You were not saved by you. You
were saved by Jesus. For we ourselves were also
once foolish. And we heard about that. I felt
that coming from the Holy Spirit during the inspirational
reading today. We were once all foolish. We were
once all disobedient. We were once all deceived.
We were once all serving various lusts and pleasures,
living in malice, which means you hated people
and the things that they do, and envy. You wanted
things that they had and you don't. You were
hateful, hating one another. And you can say,
well, no, I never hated anybody, but there's
two opposites. There's love and hate. People
talk about, I don't like that. If you don't like
it and you would do something against it, that's
probably actually hate. If you don't like it,
but you would still do something for it, even
though you don't like it, that's actually probably
love. Right? So there's very little middle ground.
We like to think that there's a lot, but there's
very little middle ground between hate and love.
Letting somebody go to hell is hate. Loving them,
trying to get them to go to heaven, even though
they don't want to hear it, that's love. People
say that being against certain life choices and
behaviors that are out there in the world right
now, that that's hateful. It's not. It's actually
loving if you're trying to teach what's right.
When my child wouldn't potty train, she just
wouldn't, just would not potty train, almost
four years old, clearly new, sit around the toilet,
she wouldn't go to the bathroom, whatever, and
I eventually spanked her butt for peeing on the
floor in the hallway and she never went anywhere
but in the potty again after that. Somebody could
say, you spanked her butt because she wouldn't
go to the bathroom and the toilet? I'd say, yes,
I did. You're hateful. What a hateful thing to
do to your child. But guess what? She's pretty
glad that she learned to go potty in the potty
and not on the floor in the hallway. You teach
people what's right. You do it gently with humility.
I'm not perfect. You can even say, look, I can
even be wrong about this or the way I'm approaching
you about this today, but listen to me, this
is what is the truth. This is what it says. We
were just like that doing all of those kinds
of things. Hateful to people. living in malice.
We were all of that. But when the kindness and
love of God our Savior toward men appeared, so
in other words, when we began to realize that
God really does love us and He's kind toward
us and He really is good toward us, not by works
of righteousness, which we have done. We didn't
suddenly start doing everything right so that
God would love us. We didn't start doing everything
right so that we'd come into the kingdom. It
wasn't accomplished by that. But according to
His mercy, because God wanted to, He took away
the punishment. He saved us. Through the washing
of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit.
So God washed us, regenerated us. I mean, He
brought us back to life. He renewed us by His
Holy Spirit. Whom, because the Holy Spirit is
a person, not a thing. He is the third person
of the Trinity. He is God. He poured out, God
the Father poured out on us abundantly, plenty
of Him, through Jesus Christ our Savior. that
having been justified, in other words, declared
not guilty for our sins, justified just as if
you'd never sinned, by his grace, because it
was a free gift, we didn't deserve it, but he
gave it to us, that we should become, wait for
it, heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
Heirs to what? Heirs to everything. Ultimately,
there's the new heaven and the new earth, and
we with Jesus are heirs to all of it. We will
own it all. This is a faithful saying. And these
things I want you to affirm, that means speak
up for them constantly, that those who have believed
in God should be careful to maintain, big word,
important word in everything we're talking about
right there, should be careful to maintain good
works. These things, the good works, are good
and profitable to men. But, avoid foolish disputes,
in other words, you shouldn't be arguing over
dumb things that don't matter. You say, well,
we don't do that, but we do. We argue over things
that don't matter. Genealogies, like who you
belong to, who your parents were and so on, they
had that problem because it had to do with how
far back you could trace your lineage, whether
you were a faithful Jew or not. You could go
all the way back to Abraham if you were a faithful
Jew. Contentions. You say this, but I say this,
and we just can't seem to agree. Strivings about
the law. But should it be that way? Are we not
allowed to have tattoos? Can we not have two
types of clothing in our garments? But if we
can have two types of clothing in our garments
and we can have tattoos, then why do we have
to tithe? What are you doing? Just do what God
told you to do for crying out loud. It's pretty
simple. The grace of God has appeared to all
men before we got saved. And when we noticed
that, we gave our lives over to Christ and God
in His mercy cleansed us. And now, here is a
faithful saying, maintain good works, for these
things are good and profitable to us. But avoid
these things, foolishness, disputes, genealogies,
contentions, and strivings about the law, for
they are unprofitable and useless. Reject, that
means have nothing to do with. Reject a divisive
man, that means someone that divides, after the
first and second admonition. So in other words,
someone's trying to divide, God's people, someone's
trying to cause strife in the body, strife in
your family, strife in your marriage, whatever.
You say, I just can't have anything to do with
you. So your best friend comes over to your house
and he's got a problem with your wife. You say,
goodbye. So I'm going to warn you once. Okay,
now out of grace, I'm going to warn you twice.
I'm really being kind here. I'm going to give
you a second warning. God warned you. You can't
bad mouth my wife. Go away. Don't come back again.
Simple. You reject the device of man after a
second admonition, knowing that such a person
is warped and sinning, being self -condemned.
Oh, wait a minute, what were they doing? Speaking
evil about someone else? Being wrapped up in
contentious behavior, disputes, etc.? Well, they
were doing the exact things that we were supposed
to be avoiding, and therefore they have shown
by their own choices, their own words, their
own actions, they have self -condemned. We don't
do that. They did it themselves. Okay, that's
the whole passage of Scripture from Titus 2 .11
to 3 .11. And I want to dial it down to just
a couple of things. I do want you to see clearly
that he says, the grace of God appears to all
men. That means if you're here today and you're
not a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ, that
is by your choice. It is not that it is not evident.
You're making the same foolish choice that a
man makes when he decides to jump off a cliff
thinking he can fly. You say, well, nobody ever
did that. There are lots of crazy people that
did that. They shouldn't have, but they did.
And that's what people are doing when they will
not accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior because
the grace of God has appeared to all men. He
died on a cross. He rose again on the third day.
He walked with His disciples for 40 days and
hundreds or thousands of people heard Him preach
and teach after that. He did miracles while He
was alive. There's never been anybody like Him.
And He said clearly this is what you need to
do. Accept this free gift from God that sins
will be washed away. It's been obvious since
then. I submit to you it's been obvious since
before then, because all creation testifies,
but it's been really obvious then, put in human
words, put in events that no one can deny. And
so now, if you've not accepted him, then you're
making the same kind of decision that a foolish
man makes when he sees it plainly before his
face and still sticks his hand in a meat grinder.
Don't do it. Denying ungodliness and worldly
lusts, then we should live soberly, righteously,
and godly in this present age, looking for the
blessed hope, the glorious appearing of our great
God and Savior, Jesus Christ. That's what we
are to be. And that's put in a negative and a
positive. Some people got to have the negative.
I got to chase out some things. And then some
people got to have the positive. I got to have
some things to chase them out with. And both
are there. And He redeemed us that He might purify
us from every lawless deed. That means that you
can be moved away from what you used to do. It
may be a process, take you a little while to
get there, but that you can be moved away. And
He can make us zealous for good works. The fact
is you can't shut up a true believer. We're supposed
to affirm constantly. A true believer has always
something to say. But their words, which are
biblical, and their lives, which are godly. Be
heard. A believer is like an uncorkable bottle.
A believer is like a gaping wound in the fabric
of a veil that covers the universe with sin.
We have been set free. The sin barrier has been
pierced. There is a way to God. Now come with
me through the way to God. Come with me to receive
God into your life. Come with me. Stand under
the opening and receive the rain, R -A -N -I,
of Jesus' love. As it falls down on you. And
for those of you who have not accepted Jesus
Christ as Lord and Savior, I get it. You've never
felt it. I'm here to tell you I have. If I said
to you that chocolate cake tasted good, and you
had never tasted chocolate cake, after you smelled
it, you'd go, smells pretty good. Looks like
food. Probably a dessert. I think I'll try it.
I'm asking the same of you about Jesus. Nothing
less. Nothing more. Give him a try. Billy Graham
had the opportunity to go on the Late Late Show
one night, and I forget which host they had at
that time, but he was talking about how he had
tried every drug under the sun. The host was.
He was telling Billy Graham, he's tried every
drug under the sun. And he said, well, have you
tried Jesus? He said, I'll tell you right now,
Jesus is a bigger high than any of those drugs
you've ever tried. See, you can put it in any
context you want. But the bottom line is the
grace of God has appeared to all men and people
need to experience it and we better open our
mouths. A believer is like a mighty wind that
blows the temptation from his own life and the
lives of others. Step up. Do something. Don't
just stand there and wait while people say, hey,
come do this with me. Hey, come do that with
me. And there are things you shouldn't do. Block
the websites on your computer. Get rid of your
computer if you're struggling with that. Make
choices. Don't be alone with a man or a woman
to be tempted to do things that you shouldn't
do. Right? Plan out in advance where your money's
going to go. Include the godly choices of what
you have to do with your money before you do
anything else. Take it out first. It's supposed
to come out first anyway. Do that so that you
won't be tempted to do the wrong things. When
somebody walks up and they speak to you and they're
talking evil about somebody else, you say, look,
you can say, I'm going to stop you right there.
I'm not trying to be rude. But I don't talk about
people that way. And I don't hear talk about
people that way. And so if you need my help with
something, if you want to ask me for something,
that's fine. But this conversation can't go any
further this way. Now, pointing out a mistake
that someone made, it's not the same as talking
evil about them. Let's be clear about that. Being
concerned, talking to God, praying about it,
or bringing it up as a prayer request with the
right heart would not be talking evil about them.
But when you start to talk about that person,
your tone changes, your thought process changes,
and you're thinking negatively of them. You think,
well, but they'll never hear me. That's why I'm
telling so -and -so instead of them, which the
Bible calls slander, by the way. Even if you're
right, if you're telling the truth, it's still
slander. So when it becomes that, it's evil.
And we're not allowed to do that. And so you
shut off people that do that to you, with you.
Even if it's your spouse. If it's your spouse,
by the way, that's when it's the hardest. Because
they're inside your armor. They talk evil about
somebody, and basically you just did it. And
then you say, look, honey, we can't talk about
people that way. We just can't do that. But he
actually did it. I saw him do it. It doesn't
matter. That doesn't make him bad. It means he
did a bad thing. And so now our job is, how do
we help that person move from, Where they are,
where they would be willing and able to do that
to somewhere where they would not. Twist it,
change it, morph it into something that's godly.
Make it about moving in the right direction.
Don't shut your mouth. A true believer will overcome
with their mouths. Now a true believer also overcomes
with their life. The truth is, you can say more
with your actions than you can ever say with
your words. And your actions will speak. A long
time after you're dead, and people like to say
that your words won't, but that really isn't
true. Because sometimes you say the right thing
at the right moment, and people will remember
it for their whole lives. I had teachers who
spoke a word of encouragement to me. Mr. Martin
in the fifth grade, he said, you know, I see
how you're not really trying hard academically,
you're not really doing that much, but you're
doing pretty well, you're still getting good
grades. He said, I want you to understand, when
you get in high school, that may not be enough.
Then when you get in college, it surely won't
be enough. So you'll be blowing up your life
because you really need to apply what you're
learning now. You really need to put it to work.
And he pulled me aside in a corner in the hallway
and shared that with me. And that was 35 years
ago. And I can see him today. He passed away
about 15 years ago. And I can see him in my mind's
eye doing that and saying that. Words and deeds,
they last. A true believer will speak up, be
heard, and a true believer will overcome with
their life. You think you cannot? God disagrees.
But if they are right, when you're talking with
someone, if the other person's right, and you
don't listen to them, you'll pay a dear price
for ignoring them. So when believers speak, believers
listen. It doesn't even matter if they do it
wrong. My wife corrected me in front of other
people. I'm so mad at her. She's a bad wife.
What? So, clearly, She doesn't need to correct
you while you speak evil about her. I wish she
was here now so she could correct you so I don't
have to do it. You see? So she corrected you
publicly in front of other people and you didn't
like it. You go privately and talk with her and
say in the future, I appreciate you pulling me
out of the room. Talk about how it can be done.
Talk about how it can change. Exhort, encourage,
push in the right direction. That's what people
do. Why are some who claim the name of Jesus
cowed like domesticated dogs? We sit quietly,
doing nothing against the world's evil, not stepping
out, not getting out of our comfort zone, not
making a difference. Why are some of us like
shut down and tied up? We're like a dog and our
last master used to beat us. And so now our new
master, well, we don't want to do anything wrong
or anything too right for fear we'll get beaten
again. Well, yeah, sure, Satan beats his people.
That's how he keeps them motivated. That's how
he keeps them. trying to scramble for the top
of the heap and so on. But Jesus doesn't do that.
Jesus is a constant encourager and comforter.
He will lift you up. He will encourage you to
do what's right. God doesn't even use guilt as
a motivator. He uses conviction. He says, don't
feel guilty. Fix it. Let me show you how. And
that's the kind of people that we're supposed
to be. We have misused resources all over the
place. Our malls are misused. Their power folks
are great. And we're often using them to destroy.
And a lot of times we're using them to do little
but open the door for evil spirits. Our muscles,
they're mighty, but often misused. We're supposed
to be serving others. The greatest amongst you
shall be your servant. Jesus got up at the last
supper he would ever eat on the face of the earth
and donned a towel, stripped off his outer garments
and put on a towel and got down and washed their
feet. And he got up from that and said, have
you known what I've done to you? If I've washed
your feet, how much more should you wash each
other's feet? Our muscles, our bodies, our strength,
we're to use that to serve others. That's what
it's for. And it's being misused. And so our
actions are not showing up on the radar of God
as good works because we're busy using our bodies
for things that don't glorify God. It's not that
they're evil even necessarily, but they're sure
missing the mark. Our minds are capable but unused.
We're supposed to be tearing down everything
that sets itself up as a stronghold against God.
And instead, We're enjoying lots of things produced
by the world that are not necessarily sinful,
but they're also not tearing down the strongholds
that are set up against God. Our money. Money
makes things convenient. It makes it easy. But
it's misused. Money can be used as a motivator.
But be careful it doesn't become your master.
Because a man can't have two masters. Jesus said,
go ahead, be motivated by money, but don't let
it rule you. Paul said all things... are permissible,
but not all things are profitable. There you
go. Can you believe that there are even people
in the world who actually think at this moment
in time that they don't have anything to use
correctly? They think they're bereft. They think
they're absolutely wiped out. God gave them nothing.
They've got their mind, their muscles, but because
they don't have any money, they think they have
nothing. Mind, muscles, and time, but they think
they have nothing? That's ridiculous. So why
don't people just get unleashed? Why not be excited?
Why not be full of energy? Why not run hard and
do amazingly for God? I submit to you that maybe
people are afraid. Well, it's been a battle for
forever amongst the people that God claimed for
Himself. Paul wrote to Timothy, For the Spirit
of God gave us does not make us timid. You feel
timid? Better get rid of that. But it gives us
power, love, and self -discipline. Moses recorded
in one of his final speeches, Be strong and courageous.
Do not be afraid or terrified because of them.
For the Lord your God goes with you. He will
never leave you nor forsake you. He was talking
about the nine foot tall men that were occupying
the land that God said they could have. Physical
guys with swords and shields that no one warrior
would ever want to face. You or I wouldn't want
to face. Anybody here feel capable enough to
take on a sword and a shield and face a nine
foot guy that's fought his entire life? I'm out.
Maybe with a gun. Otherwise, no way. I want no
part of it. If that's true, what about the things
you deal with on a daily basis? They're no bigger.
What are you afraid of? David wrote, even though
I walk through the... darkest valley, I will
fear no evil, for you are with me. Your rod and
your staff, they comfort me. How many evils did
David fear? Or would he fear? None. What if they
despise me? What if they laugh at me? What if
they mock me? What if they don't pay me? What
if they take my job away? What if they attack
me or attack my family? What if they try to burn
my house down? What if they do any of those things?
Are you afraid? You can walk through the darkest
valley. Some of us have already been through
what probably seems like the darkest valley.
We've been near to death, the bottom of an addiction.
lost our house, lost everything we had. I know
the stories of the people in this room enough
to know that we can collect all of those things.
And some of us have had all of those things in
one. And yet in the midst of that, you can fear
no evil. David was very familiar with dangerous
things. Being a boy when he fought his first
bear and his first lion. A boy required to protect
the sheep. Who of you by worrying can add a single
hour to your life? What are you going to fear
the future for? What might happen? What's holding
you back? Jesus was speaking that one by the
way. Paul wrote, I am convinced that neither
death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither
the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither
height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation
will be able to separate us from the love of
God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. What are
you afraid of? If there are situations that can
separate you from the love of God, if you think
that's true, no wonder you're not speaking out
and acting out for the Lord. From the Psalms
27, the Lord is my light and my salvation. Whom
shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my
life and whom shall I be afraid? Those aren't
just words. Those are rhetorical questions that
you're supposed to answer with nothing, nobody.
I have nothing to fear. And then, Paul writes
in one of the darkest moments of his life, that's
why I am suffering as I am. Yet this is no cause
for shame, because I know whom I have believed,
and I am convinced that he is able to guard what
I have entrusted to him unto that day. And again,
and the peace of God which surpasses all understanding
will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ
Jesus. What kind of people was it again? It's
the people who have recognized that the grace
of God is plainly and obviously presented to
all men, that salvation is available, that when
we recognize that we received mercy from God
and be claimed as His special people, and very
simply put, since then, we have done our best
to maintain good works. Is it fear that stops
true believers from being heard or showing up?
Or have you invented some other larger beast?
Some other more dangerous possibility? That you
really could die for your faith? Or you really
could run out of money? Or you really could suffer
something that you just can't stand? Well, this
is what I see. New Heights Fellowship will be
a church of true believers. We will not be silent.
We will get the gospel out by word and by deed.
And we will not be stopped. The fact is that
even death cannot keep us from our destination.
And we will live like we know where we are going.
The question is, will you join us?