WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.419 Well, I want you to slip on a pair of first century 00:00:03.419 --> 00:00:07.559 sandals this morning. We talk about putting on 00:00:07.559 --> 00:00:09.759 the sandals of biblical characters to try to 00:00:09.759 --> 00:00:13.039 put us in the historical context of scripture. 00:00:13.279 --> 00:00:15.359 So put those sandals on, go back in your mind 00:00:15.359 --> 00:00:19.399 to a time when Rome dominated the Mediterranean 00:00:19.399 --> 00:00:23.120 world. In fact, so much so that back in that 00:00:23.120 --> 00:00:26.199 day, Romans would call the Mediterranean Sea 00:00:26.199 --> 00:00:29.760 the Roman Lake. That's how much they owned that 00:00:29.760 --> 00:00:31.859 territory. Go back in your mind to the time when 00:00:31.859 --> 00:00:34.719 Greek philosophy and the gods of Olympus ruled 00:00:34.719 --> 00:00:38.619 over the intellectual and spiritual world. Back 00:00:38.619 --> 00:00:41.640 to a time when Christianity was a new religion, 00:00:41.759 --> 00:00:47.460 a relatively minor offshoot of Judaism. But its 00:00:47.460 --> 00:00:51.240 followers had this audacious claim, right, that 00:00:51.240 --> 00:00:54.679 their rabbi and teacher, an obscure Galilean 00:00:54.679 --> 00:00:57.960 Jew named Jesus of Nazareth, was the Messiah 00:00:57.960 --> 00:01:00.259 that had been promised in the ancient Hebrew 00:01:00.259 --> 00:01:04.060 scriptures. And the claim was that he had been 00:01:04.060 --> 00:01:06.459 crucified by the Romans as an enemy of the state, 00:01:06.519 --> 00:01:09.200 but three days later had bodily come back to 00:01:09.200 --> 00:01:12.359 life, literally walked out of a tomb. That's 00:01:12.359 --> 00:01:15.420 quite a claim. And then several years later, 00:01:15.500 --> 00:01:17.879 another obscure Jewish man known by his Greek 00:01:17.879 --> 00:01:20.939 name, Paul, a man who was raised in the city 00:01:20.939 --> 00:01:24.150 of Tarsus on the southern... coast of Asia Minor, 00:01:24.250 --> 00:01:27.569 this Paul had had a personal encounter with the 00:01:27.569 --> 00:01:30.730 risen Jesus, and he was subsequently commissioned 00:01:30.730 --> 00:01:35.609 to take Jesus' message to every place in the 00:01:35.609 --> 00:01:39.549 Gentile Greek world around the Mediterranean 00:01:39.549 --> 00:01:42.989 Sea. Now, I don't know if you've ever thought 00:01:42.989 --> 00:01:45.370 about this, but step back for a second and think 00:01:45.370 --> 00:01:48.310 about that calling and mission for a moment. 00:01:48.370 --> 00:01:50.489 Now, we don't know what Paul looked like. I like 00:01:50.489 --> 00:01:55.319 that picture. It just helps. Sometimes we see 00:01:55.319 --> 00:01:57.560 names on the flat page and it's hard for us to 00:01:57.560 --> 00:02:00.359 picture that this was a real man. And so I like 00:02:00.359 --> 00:02:02.340 that picture. But I want you to step back and 00:02:02.340 --> 00:02:04.280 think about that calling and that mission that 00:02:04.280 --> 00:02:07.340 Jesus gave to Paul. How do you develop that strategy? 00:02:08.939 --> 00:02:11.419 How do you develop a strategy to take a theological 00:02:11.419 --> 00:02:14.919 message and spread it across thousands of miles 00:02:14.919 --> 00:02:19.550 of territory in the first century? We take it 00:02:19.550 --> 00:02:21.370 for granted in the church world today because 00:02:21.370 --> 00:02:24.270 we have so many tools that we can use to spread 00:02:24.270 --> 00:02:27.530 the gospel. How did he do it? Remember, you have 00:02:27.530 --> 00:02:30.710 no rapid transportation. You have no highways, 00:02:30.909 --> 00:02:35.990 no cars, no jets, not even a bicycle. You have 00:02:35.990 --> 00:02:39.469 no mass media, no printing press, no newspaper, 00:02:39.810 --> 00:02:42.750 obviously no internet, no phones to communicate 00:02:42.750 --> 00:02:46.680 with team members. You'd have to walk everywhere 00:02:46.680 --> 00:02:50.000 or ride an animal. Sometimes you'd have to get 00:02:50.000 --> 00:02:53.479 on a rickety boat and hope you survived. You'd 00:02:53.479 --> 00:02:57.099 have to write letters by hand. Anybody, old guys, 00:02:57.180 --> 00:03:00.199 remember that? You'd have to write letters by 00:03:00.199 --> 00:03:04.120 hand and then have them hand delivered, which 00:03:04.120 --> 00:03:07.479 would usually take months if your messenger could 00:03:07.479 --> 00:03:10.199 actually find the person the letter was addressed 00:03:10.199 --> 00:03:13.680 to. We take that for granted too, like how do 00:03:13.680 --> 00:03:16.060 we bump into people in the ancient world without 00:03:16.060 --> 00:03:19.599 phones? And with that backdrop and all those 00:03:19.599 --> 00:03:22.800 limitations, consider again what Paul was tasked 00:03:22.800 --> 00:03:26.180 to accomplish on behalf of the gospel. Start 00:03:26.180 --> 00:03:28.360 by building a team of like -minded men who are 00:03:28.360 --> 00:03:30.319 mature enough in the faith to be able to go with 00:03:30.319 --> 00:03:33.659 him to teach and disciple others, but also courageous 00:03:33.659 --> 00:03:36.520 enough to turn their back on their old way of 00:03:36.520 --> 00:03:40.189 life and risk everything, their very lives. for 00:03:40.189 --> 00:03:43.430 the sake of this mission. To start in Syria and 00:03:43.430 --> 00:03:45.949 Antioch and to go out with your team, travel 00:03:45.949 --> 00:03:49.409 west across Asia Minor, Greece, Macedonia and 00:03:49.409 --> 00:03:51.509 beyond, perhaps all the way to Rome and even 00:03:51.509 --> 00:03:55.129 Spain, plant churches in every region that you 00:03:55.129 --> 00:03:57.810 visit, then leave team members behind to sort 00:03:57.810 --> 00:04:00.610 of get things started, instructing them to raise 00:04:00.610 --> 00:04:03.530 up others to stabilize and build the fellowships 00:04:03.530 --> 00:04:06.909 and the teaching in those churches. Then keep 00:04:06.909 --> 00:04:08.949 checking on all those churches. Keep checking 00:04:08.949 --> 00:04:12.710 on your friends and your ministry partners as 00:04:12.710 --> 00:04:15.629 you push forward into new territory. And on top 00:04:15.629 --> 00:04:18.470 of all that, constantly address a whole litany 00:04:18.470 --> 00:04:21.430 of problems that were sure to pop up. The threat 00:04:21.430 --> 00:04:24.449 of persecution. The worry of false teachers coming 00:04:24.449 --> 00:04:27.329 into these brand new churches and creating confusion. 00:04:27.610 --> 00:04:30.430 The pull of the pagan world to draw people back 00:04:30.430 --> 00:04:33.850 away from the faith. And of course, disunity 00:04:33.850 --> 00:04:38.949 even within. the body of believers. Can you fathom 00:04:38.949 --> 00:04:42.790 the enormity of the mission that Paul was given? 00:04:44.110 --> 00:04:46.490 Huge. And again, without any of the modern day 00:04:46.490 --> 00:04:49.589 conveniences that we rely upon to plant churches 00:04:49.589 --> 00:04:53.870 and to do missions, even just to oversee a local 00:04:53.870 --> 00:04:57.529 church like this one. Absolutely amazing. Well, 00:04:57.569 --> 00:04:59.769 this morning we're wrapping up our study in Titus 00:04:59.769 --> 00:05:02.089 and we're gonna look at just a few verses at 00:05:02.089 --> 00:05:05.060 the very end of the letter. And these are verses, 00:05:05.100 --> 00:05:07.040 if we're honest, most Christians just kind of 00:05:07.040 --> 00:05:10.339 ignore or read right past because they want to 00:05:10.339 --> 00:05:12.879 get on to the next book of the Bible. And at 00:05:12.879 --> 00:05:14.779 first glance, they do just look like some personal 00:05:14.779 --> 00:05:17.939 notes from Paul about his team members. But in 00:05:17.939 --> 00:05:20.199 truth, they hold some really important principles 00:05:20.199 --> 00:05:23.199 for us to learn from because they give us a window 00:05:23.199 --> 00:05:27.939 into how Paul was actually able to reach so much 00:05:27.939 --> 00:05:30.339 of the ancient world with the gospel, even in 00:05:30.339 --> 00:05:33.439 the first century. So grab your Bibles. If you 00:05:33.439 --> 00:05:35.040 haven't opened to Titus, let's go there. In fact, 00:05:35.040 --> 00:05:37.360 I want you to go back to the very top. Go back 00:05:37.360 --> 00:05:42.379 to chapter one. I was thinking last night about 00:05:42.379 --> 00:05:44.019 the very beginning of this preaching series. 00:05:44.240 --> 00:05:47.579 We started this series back on January the 12th 00:05:47.579 --> 00:05:50.259 of this year. And it's funny, when the elder 00:05:50.259 --> 00:05:53.339 team, we were planning out 2025, and when they 00:05:53.339 --> 00:05:54.620 asked me, they said, well, Jeff, how long do 00:05:54.620 --> 00:05:57.959 you think? will be in Titus. And I remember it 00:05:57.959 --> 00:06:00.019 took like a day to sort of look over the book, 00:06:00.079 --> 00:06:03.439 sort of quickly. And I said, came back, I guesstimated 00:06:03.439 --> 00:06:06.160 three months, maybe four months. Well, guess 00:06:06.160 --> 00:06:09.480 what? It's taken me twice that long. And that's 00:06:09.480 --> 00:06:11.120 okay, right? That's one of the beauties of Oak 00:06:11.120 --> 00:06:13.860 Hill. We're not in a rush. Jesus can come back. 00:06:13.879 --> 00:06:15.420 We're just going to keep preaching through books 00:06:15.420 --> 00:06:17.660 of the Bible at the pace that we need to keep 00:06:17.660 --> 00:06:20.290 preaching. It is what it is, right? Isn't that 00:06:20.290 --> 00:06:22.069 one of the beauties? We're not so structured 00:06:22.069 --> 00:06:24.709 and formatted that we just have to stay on task. 00:06:25.410 --> 00:06:27.689 God's good to us in that sense. So yeah, it's 00:06:27.689 --> 00:06:29.629 not a long book, but it's taken us six months. 00:06:30.089 --> 00:06:32.029 And now, having come to the end of the series 00:06:32.029 --> 00:06:34.649 and looking back, I can see why I underestimated 00:06:34.649 --> 00:06:37.170 it. Because when you really dive deep into this 00:06:37.170 --> 00:06:39.490 and you study it and you do the research, you 00:06:39.490 --> 00:06:42.810 see so many things you didn't see at first. And 00:06:42.810 --> 00:06:44.779 there were so many... parts of the series where 00:06:44.779 --> 00:06:46.220 I looked at it and thought, I can get through 00:06:46.220 --> 00:06:48.600 that section in one Sunday, and then it turned 00:06:48.600 --> 00:06:51.019 out to be three, which is okay again, right? 00:06:51.199 --> 00:06:53.459 I read this great quote from a scholar that described 00:06:53.459 --> 00:06:56.660 this perfectly. Here's what he wrote about Titus. 00:06:56.699 --> 00:07:00.459 Quote, it's a condensed epistle that when you 00:07:00.459 --> 00:07:03.360 mix it with the water of exegesis, it begins 00:07:03.360 --> 00:07:07.399 to expand and expand and expand. And that's what 00:07:07.399 --> 00:07:10.060 I think we have found together in this study 00:07:10.060 --> 00:07:12.579 of Titus. There's so much packed into this short 00:07:12.579 --> 00:07:15.120 letter. Now, when we finish a preaching series, 00:07:15.319 --> 00:07:17.480 it's always interesting to go back to that first 00:07:17.480 --> 00:07:20.339 week and look at how we introduce the book. And 00:07:20.339 --> 00:07:22.379 you might recall in the first Sunday, the second 00:07:22.379 --> 00:07:24.920 Sunday, we walked through a whole history of 00:07:24.920 --> 00:07:27.920 Crete, which is where Titus was sent. And we 00:07:27.920 --> 00:07:30.500 looked at the timeline of Paul's travels during 00:07:30.500 --> 00:07:33.680 the last few years of his life. And we should 00:07:33.680 --> 00:07:36.920 remember what a difficult assignment it was that 00:07:36.920 --> 00:07:40.399 Paul gave to Titus, sending him to Crete, right? 00:07:40.720 --> 00:07:43.550 Very difficult assignment. Why? First of all, 00:07:43.569 --> 00:07:45.850 he had to straighten out churches all over this 00:07:45.850 --> 00:07:48.790 island, not a small island, right, about 160 00:07:48.790 --> 00:07:53.029 miles across, not a small place, go straighten 00:07:53.029 --> 00:07:56.029 out all the churches in this place that has this 00:07:56.029 --> 00:07:59.430 sort of creepy, dark, pagan past, going back 00:07:59.430 --> 00:08:02.769 to ancient peoples, the Minoans and the Mycenaeans, 00:08:02.790 --> 00:08:05.290 and a place where people, the people who lived 00:08:05.290 --> 00:08:09.139 there in Titus' day had built this. awful reputation 00:08:09.139 --> 00:08:12.699 in the Greek world as being lazy, gluttonous, 00:08:12.740 --> 00:08:16.100 irritable, and full of deceit. Other than that, 00:08:16.120 --> 00:08:20.319 wonderful people, right? So just again, let me 00:08:20.319 --> 00:08:22.600 just show you, this was the map we started with 00:08:22.600 --> 00:08:25.060 and to get our, you knew I was gonna do some 00:08:25.060 --> 00:08:27.160 maps today, right? It had to happen. I got some 00:08:27.160 --> 00:08:30.339 pictures too. So we start with, where's Jerusalem, 00:08:30.620 --> 00:08:33.779 right? The blue dot. And then where's Rome? The 00:08:33.779 --> 00:08:35.679 red dot, just so that we get our boundaries here. 00:08:35.840 --> 00:08:38.399 The orange dot there is Syria and Antioch. That's 00:08:38.399 --> 00:08:40.720 where Paul launched his missionary journeys from. 00:08:40.980 --> 00:08:43.580 That's important to know as well. And then circled 00:08:43.580 --> 00:08:45.960 there is the island of Crete. This is where Titus 00:08:45.960 --> 00:08:48.799 was sent to minister. So that's important to 00:08:48.799 --> 00:08:51.200 see. Now, what does Crete look like? We talked 00:08:51.200 --> 00:08:54.059 about this in the first week. It's really a beautiful 00:08:54.059 --> 00:08:56.820 island, very mountainous. It's not tropical. 00:08:56.960 --> 00:08:58.720 It's very mountainous, as you can see there. 00:08:59.000 --> 00:09:04.600 That's a monastery. Beautiful coastline. I'm 00:09:04.600 --> 00:09:07.320 not a travel agent, by the way. But I understand 00:09:07.320 --> 00:09:09.240 that Josh Smith can help you if you want to go 00:09:09.240 --> 00:09:12.399 to Crete. Josh, there he is. Our resident travel 00:09:12.399 --> 00:09:14.019 agent can help you if you want to visit Crete. 00:09:14.120 --> 00:09:18.559 I hear it's beautiful. Beautiful ruins there. 00:09:18.639 --> 00:09:21.039 The ancient Minoan palace at Knossos is there. 00:09:21.940 --> 00:09:25.059 Some of the dark pagan background you see in 00:09:25.059 --> 00:09:28.139 the frescoes that are found in that palace. And 00:09:28.139 --> 00:09:32.849 there is, of course, a church of St. Titus. on 00:09:32.849 --> 00:09:34.870 the island of Crete that's still standing from 00:09:34.870 --> 00:09:37.970 the first century. So anyway, that's just as 00:09:37.970 --> 00:09:40.629 a refresher so that you can remember exactly 00:09:40.629 --> 00:09:44.029 what we looked at. Now, remember the timeline 00:09:44.029 --> 00:09:46.889 of Paul's life here. He was first taken to Rome. 00:09:46.929 --> 00:09:49.309 Remember, Paul was arrested and taken to Rome 00:09:49.309 --> 00:09:51.629 twice. The first time he was taken to Rome, he 00:09:51.629 --> 00:09:53.549 was placed under house arrest. I'll go back to 00:09:53.549 --> 00:09:57.049 the picture. under house arrest in the year 61 00:09:57.049 --> 00:09:59.929 to 63. That is the period of his life where he 00:09:59.929 --> 00:10:02.730 wrote what we call the prison epistles. He wrote 00:10:02.730 --> 00:10:06.049 letters to the Ephesians and to the Colossians 00:10:06.049 --> 00:10:09.289 and to the Philippians and a letter to Philemon 00:10:09.289 --> 00:10:11.549 while he was in prison. Then he was released 00:10:11.549 --> 00:10:14.149 from custody, and we know that between the years 00:10:14.149 --> 00:10:17.389 63 and 65, he traveled extensively around the 00:10:17.389 --> 00:10:19.649 Mediterranean, spent quite a bit of time on the 00:10:19.649 --> 00:10:22.210 western coast of Asia Minor, went to places like 00:10:22.210 --> 00:10:26.610 Miletus and Corinth and Ephesus. And then, while 00:10:26.610 --> 00:10:30.009 somewhere in Macedonia, he wrote pastoral letters 00:10:30.009 --> 00:10:34.230 to Timothy and to Titus before getting rearrested, 00:10:34.230 --> 00:10:37.610 taken to Rome a second time. And that time, he 00:10:37.610 --> 00:10:39.850 didn't survive it. He was executed somewhere 00:10:39.850 --> 00:10:43.259 around the year. Now, when Paul was writing to 00:10:43.259 --> 00:10:46.059 Timothy and Titus, it seems likely that he knew 00:10:46.059 --> 00:10:48.700 that his time on earth was growing short. So 00:10:48.700 --> 00:10:51.419 the purpose of those two pastoral letters, 1 00:10:51.419 --> 00:10:55.360 Timothy and Titus, was to prepare the next generation 00:10:55.360 --> 00:10:58.200 of church leadership, these younger guys, these 00:10:58.200 --> 00:11:00.960 protégés that he had been discipling in the ministry, 00:11:01.120 --> 00:11:04.039 to get them as equipped as possible to carry 00:11:04.039 --> 00:11:06.720 out the mission once he had passed from the earth. 00:11:07.360 --> 00:11:09.179 And that makes the letters to Timothy and Titus 00:11:09.179 --> 00:11:11.740 both extremely practical in their instructions 00:11:11.740 --> 00:11:14.779 about how to plant and oversee churches, but 00:11:14.779 --> 00:11:17.580 throughout what you also see is incredibly important 00:11:17.580 --> 00:11:20.600 theological truths that are conveyed to us even 00:11:20.600 --> 00:11:24.480 today. So as we wrap up our study this morning 00:11:24.480 --> 00:11:26.700 in this book, here's my assignment for you. Here's 00:11:26.700 --> 00:11:29.779 what I want you to do as we spend some time together. 00:11:30.000 --> 00:11:32.399 I don't want you just to listen this morning. 00:11:32.919 --> 00:11:36.480 for what Paul had to say to Titus in the first 00:11:36.480 --> 00:11:39.059 century. That's important, right? We always want 00:11:39.059 --> 00:11:41.080 to find the historical meaning in the context 00:11:41.080 --> 00:11:43.279 it was written, but I want you to think about 00:11:43.279 --> 00:11:46.740 how this letter might impact us here at Oak Hill 00:11:46.740 --> 00:11:49.919 in the modern time. And I want you to think about 00:11:49.919 --> 00:11:52.399 what we're going to see in the text commands 00:11:52.399 --> 00:11:56.679 you and I to be and to do as members of Christ's 00:11:56.679 --> 00:11:59.250 body. here in santa clarita there's a lot for 00:11:59.250 --> 00:12:01.429 us to learn so let me go to the outline this 00:12:01.429 --> 00:12:03.870 is a very simple outline that i laid out i think 00:12:03.870 --> 00:12:07.289 in in week two of our study up three chapters 00:12:07.289 --> 00:12:11.009 is all titus is three chapters with three distinct 00:12:11.009 --> 00:12:13.870 applications you see there in chapter one the 00:12:13.870 --> 00:12:16.909 focus was godly leadership in the church remember 00:12:16.909 --> 00:12:20.129 paul started by telling titus exactly what he 00:12:20.129 --> 00:12:22.690 needed to look for when he got to crete to go 00:12:22.690 --> 00:12:26.269 from church to church and appoint elders in every 00:12:26.269 --> 00:12:30.659 city he said right out of the gate titus get 00:12:30.659 --> 00:12:32.600 there, I need you to straighten things out, and 00:12:32.600 --> 00:12:35.399 the fastest way to do that is to appoint elders 00:12:35.399 --> 00:12:38.820 in every single church. And he lists this group 00:12:38.820 --> 00:12:41.720 of character qualifications that Titus would 00:12:41.720 --> 00:12:44.240 have to locate within those local churches so 00:12:44.240 --> 00:12:46.779 he could establish qualified leaders. He needed 00:12:46.779 --> 00:12:49.700 men who were above reproach, which, you think 00:12:49.700 --> 00:12:51.639 about it, was probably not that easy back in 00:12:51.639 --> 00:12:54.659 the first century in Crete. Men who are above 00:12:54.659 --> 00:12:57.320 reproach in the manner of life, able to hold 00:12:57.320 --> 00:13:00.259 fast to the faithful apostolic teaching that 00:13:00.259 --> 00:13:02.500 had been passed down. And there was a reason 00:13:02.500 --> 00:13:05.059 for this. Not only were these Cretans and they 00:13:05.059 --> 00:13:07.559 had this terrible reputation, but he goes on 00:13:07.559 --> 00:13:10.320 to talk about how the Cretan churches had been 00:13:10.320 --> 00:13:13.820 infiltrated by false teachers. And Titus needed 00:13:13.820 --> 00:13:16.320 to appoint elders who could do two things, stand 00:13:16.320 --> 00:13:19.399 up. and exhort the believers in sound doctrine, 00:13:19.500 --> 00:13:22.379 but also refute these men who were coming in 00:13:22.379 --> 00:13:25.700 who were contradicting the truth. So establishing 00:13:25.700 --> 00:13:28.899 strong spiritual leadership was job number one. 00:13:28.899 --> 00:13:31.799 It was crucial that these false teachers would 00:13:31.799 --> 00:13:35.519 be confronted and dealt with, not just by Titus, 00:13:35.519 --> 00:13:37.940 but by the elders that he established, and that 00:13:37.940 --> 00:13:40.700 the churches be protected from these men coming 00:13:40.700 --> 00:13:42.879 in and spreading their poison. By the way, is 00:13:42.879 --> 00:13:45.809 that still important today? You better believe 00:13:45.809 --> 00:13:47.490 it. This is one of the things elders have to 00:13:47.490 --> 00:13:50.509 be able to do. Not just teach the word, but refute 00:13:50.509 --> 00:13:53.289 those who contradict. Then if you turn over, 00:13:53.370 --> 00:13:54.929 if you want to follow along in your Bible, turn 00:13:54.929 --> 00:13:58.549 over to chapter 2. We see godly saints in the 00:13:58.549 --> 00:14:02.269 home. Remember how Paul laid out instructions 00:14:02.269 --> 00:14:06.090 for Titus. Titus, I want you to teach these five 00:14:06.090 --> 00:14:09.750 unique categories of people in the churches in 00:14:09.750 --> 00:14:13.159 Crete. Remember, he started with older men. Tell 00:14:13.159 --> 00:14:16.440 them to do this. Then older women, then young 00:14:16.440 --> 00:14:19.240 women, then young men, and then bond slaves. 00:14:19.600 --> 00:14:22.639 And each group was given very specific areas 00:14:22.639 --> 00:14:25.299 of character development that they should seek 00:14:25.299 --> 00:14:28.240 to grow in. And then Paul gave Titus the reason 00:14:28.240 --> 00:14:30.600 why that development was so important, because 00:14:30.600 --> 00:14:33.639 Christ had laid down his life in order to what? 00:14:34.179 --> 00:14:37.700 Redeem and purify a people for his own possession. 00:14:39.470 --> 00:14:42.049 What does that mean for us? Listen, we are a 00:14:42.049 --> 00:14:45.389 part of his body, are we not? He laid down his 00:14:45.389 --> 00:14:49.190 life for you and I to redeem us and to purify 00:14:49.190 --> 00:14:53.210 us as a people that belong to him. And so all 00:14:53.210 --> 00:14:55.870 of us fit into one of those five categories that's 00:14:55.870 --> 00:14:58.970 in chapter two here. And so the instruction was, 00:14:59.110 --> 00:15:01.929 these are the character development areas that 00:15:01.929 --> 00:15:04.110 we all need to be growing in. This is still true 00:15:04.110 --> 00:15:07.629 today. And therefore, We should deny ungodliness. 00:15:07.750 --> 00:15:10.389 We should deny unworldly desires, Paul writes, 00:15:10.570 --> 00:15:15.250 so that we adorn the gospel with our lives. What 00:15:15.250 --> 00:15:18.289 a high calling that is. Consider your life. Consider 00:15:18.289 --> 00:15:22.710 your testimony in this valley. Are you adorning 00:15:22.710 --> 00:15:26.190 the gospel in every way as a testimony to unsaved 00:15:26.190 --> 00:15:29.289 people all around you? That was true in Crete 00:15:29.289 --> 00:15:31.370 in the first century. It's true in Santa Clarita 00:15:31.370 --> 00:15:34.379 in the 21st century. It's the responsibility 00:15:34.379 --> 00:15:37.200 of every believer in every age. Here in this 00:15:37.200 --> 00:15:38.879 part of the world that we live in, we need to 00:15:38.879 --> 00:15:42.179 show our neighbors what a redeemed and purified 00:15:42.179 --> 00:15:45.220 life in Christ looks like. So when you look at 00:15:45.220 --> 00:15:48.159 Titus, instantly you think this is a pastoral 00:15:48.159 --> 00:15:51.299 letter, and that is true. But it's also evangelistic. 00:15:52.080 --> 00:15:55.159 It tells us how we can use the unity of the church 00:15:55.159 --> 00:15:57.840 and the purity of the church and our love for 00:15:57.840 --> 00:16:01.100 one another as a means of pointing people to 00:16:01.100 --> 00:16:04.129 the saving power of Christ. Isn't that beautiful? 00:16:04.529 --> 00:16:07.309 The unity of the church, the purity of the church, 00:16:07.409 --> 00:16:10.370 our love for one another as a means of saying 00:16:10.370 --> 00:16:14.509 this is what it looks like to know Christ. What 00:16:14.509 --> 00:16:17.470 a high calling we have. And flip over to chapter 00:16:17.470 --> 00:16:22.570 three, we have godly citizens in society. Once 00:16:22.570 --> 00:16:24.570 again, Paul is concerned about the witness of 00:16:24.570 --> 00:16:27.129 believers in the Cretan churches, and he wants 00:16:27.129 --> 00:16:28.830 to tell them this is the way you should operate 00:16:28.830 --> 00:16:31.549 in this society you live in, which I know is 00:16:31.549 --> 00:16:34.179 wicked. But this is how you should function. 00:16:34.340 --> 00:16:37.059 And Paul's counsel was this. First of all, submit 00:16:37.059 --> 00:16:41.220 yourself to those who are in authority. Christians 00:16:41.220 --> 00:16:43.799 have a hard time with this, don't we? Submit 00:16:43.799 --> 00:16:46.080 yourself to those in authority. Be good citizens. 00:16:47.080 --> 00:16:51.620 Second, don't be combative with sinners. Be peaceful. 00:16:51.740 --> 00:16:54.720 Be gentle in the way you share your faith. And 00:16:54.720 --> 00:16:57.600 third, always be ready to engage in good deeds 00:16:57.600 --> 00:16:59.899 that's going to benefit the communities that 00:16:59.899 --> 00:17:04.180 you live in. What an amazing mission -minded 00:17:04.180 --> 00:17:07.480 set of principles that is, right? Things that 00:17:07.480 --> 00:17:09.980 we can take for ourselves today. And then Paul 00:17:09.980 --> 00:17:11.980 lays out this beautifully condensed version of 00:17:11.980 --> 00:17:14.319 the gospel in verses four through seven, and 00:17:14.319 --> 00:17:16.980 we took several weeks to work through this. He 00:17:16.980 --> 00:17:19.779 starts with our past, right? This is who we once 00:17:19.779 --> 00:17:23.019 were, every one of us, before we came to know 00:17:23.019 --> 00:17:25.779 the redeeming power of Christ. We were all foolish, 00:17:26.000 --> 00:17:29.849 he said, just like every Cretan out there. Every 00:17:29.849 --> 00:17:32.789 one of us was all foolish at one point. We were 00:17:32.789 --> 00:17:36.109 disobedient, and we were deceived, and we were 00:17:36.109 --> 00:17:38.730 driven by lust, and we were filled with hatred. 00:17:39.470 --> 00:17:45.210 But, he writes, then God saved us. And what a 00:17:45.210 --> 00:17:47.789 but that is, right? We talked about it. But then 00:17:47.789 --> 00:17:49.789 God saved us. We were foolish. We were all those 00:17:49.789 --> 00:17:52.150 things. So before you go out and judge all the 00:17:52.150 --> 00:17:54.950 Cretans around you, you were once one of them, 00:17:54.970 --> 00:17:57.789 but then God saved you. Now, how did he save 00:17:57.789 --> 00:18:02.250 you? according to the goodness in you. Not according 00:18:02.250 --> 00:18:05.549 to your works, but what? According to his mercy. 00:18:06.430 --> 00:18:09.150 What an important principle, right? He brought 00:18:09.150 --> 00:18:13.589 our spiritually dead souls to life. He cleansed 00:18:13.589 --> 00:18:16.869 us from all sin and then he justified us in his 00:18:16.869 --> 00:18:20.750 sight, seeing us as pure and holy in his eyes. 00:18:21.509 --> 00:18:24.390 And then Paul says in verse eight, Titus, these 00:18:24.390 --> 00:18:27.849 are trustworthy things. And I want you to go 00:18:27.849 --> 00:18:30.259 out and I want you to, to teach and preach these 00:18:30.259 --> 00:18:32.839 things in the churches in Crete. Teach them over 00:18:32.839 --> 00:18:35.740 and over and over again. Make sure the elders 00:18:35.740 --> 00:18:38.700 in those churches are teaching this gospel truth 00:18:38.700 --> 00:18:41.400 because this is what the people of God need to 00:18:41.400 --> 00:18:44.799 know and understand. Now, last Sunday, we started 00:18:44.799 --> 00:18:46.700 looking at the beginning of the end of the letter, 00:18:46.819 --> 00:18:49.420 the beginning of Paul's final thoughts. First, 00:18:49.460 --> 00:18:52.180 he told Titus what to do when he comes up against 00:18:52.180 --> 00:18:54.000 people. We find people like this in the church 00:18:54.000 --> 00:18:56.440 today, people who just want to stir up controversy. 00:18:57.640 --> 00:19:00.980 They just love the drama of conflict. And he 00:19:00.980 --> 00:19:03.980 says in verse 9, but avoid foolish controversies 00:19:03.980 --> 00:19:06.859 and genealogies and strife and disputes about 00:19:06.859 --> 00:19:10.240 the law. Why? Because they're unprofitable and 00:19:10.240 --> 00:19:13.160 worthless. I feel like that's just a description 00:19:13.160 --> 00:19:18.619 of social media. Moronic debates, moronic arguments. 00:19:19.299 --> 00:19:22.380 So what does he say? Avoid these people. And 00:19:22.380 --> 00:19:24.579 the word there just means turn around and walk 00:19:24.579 --> 00:19:26.980 away from it. It's not worth your time and energy. 00:19:27.759 --> 00:19:29.819 Just turn around and walk away. Don't engage 00:19:29.819 --> 00:19:33.579 in foolish or moronic debates and arguments. 00:19:34.900 --> 00:19:36.920 Next, Paul instructs Titus on what to do when 00:19:36.920 --> 00:19:40.460 divisive people come into the church. Folks that 00:19:40.460 --> 00:19:42.559 are coming in with bad intent, seeking to do 00:19:42.559 --> 00:19:46.019 damage to the unity of believers. Verse 10, reject 00:19:46.019 --> 00:19:49.339 a factious man, he writes, after a first and 00:19:49.339 --> 00:19:51.960 second warning, knowing that such a man is perverted. 00:19:52.319 --> 00:19:56.519 He's twisted. He's turned inside out, and he's 00:19:56.519 --> 00:19:58.980 sinning, being self -condemned. So warn them 00:19:58.980 --> 00:20:02.980 to stop and repent of that type of divisive talk. 00:20:04.000 --> 00:20:07.440 If they refuse, warn them again, right? Make 00:20:07.440 --> 00:20:10.259 it your goal to try to turn them towards repentance 00:20:10.259 --> 00:20:13.420 and unity before you have to take this last step, 00:20:13.500 --> 00:20:16.099 which is what? Ultimately, if they refuse, reject 00:20:16.099 --> 00:20:19.740 them. Put them out of the fellowship as an act 00:20:19.740 --> 00:20:23.430 of love. protecting the rest of the believers. 00:20:24.390 --> 00:20:26.650 We can't allow divisive people to stay in the 00:20:26.650 --> 00:20:28.549 body if they won't turn and repent. We should 00:20:28.549 --> 00:20:31.750 be patient with that, warn and warn, but ultimately 00:20:31.750 --> 00:20:34.490 we have to put folks like that out of the body. 00:20:35.769 --> 00:20:40.069 Okay, finally we come to some encouraging final 00:20:40.069 --> 00:20:43.049 thoughts. Those were rough, right? Controversial 00:20:43.049 --> 00:20:46.849 people, factious people. Let's look at our passage 00:20:46.849 --> 00:20:49.730 for this morning. This is some more encouraging 00:20:49.730 --> 00:20:53.480 stuff. Look at verse two. 12 and chapter 3. When 00:20:53.480 --> 00:20:57.299 I send Artemis or Tychicus to you, make every 00:20:57.299 --> 00:21:00.799 effort to come to me at Nicopolis, for I have 00:21:00.799 --> 00:21:03.920 decided to spend the winter there. Diligently 00:21:03.920 --> 00:21:07.000 help Zenos the lawyer and Apollos on their way 00:21:07.000 --> 00:21:10.180 so that nothing is lacking for them. Our people 00:21:10.180 --> 00:21:13.240 must also learn to engage in good deeds to meet 00:21:13.240 --> 00:21:16.619 pressing needs so that they will not be unfruitful. 00:21:17.019 --> 00:21:20.950 All who are with me greet you. Greet those who 00:21:20.950 --> 00:21:24.109 love us in the faith. Grace be with you all. 00:21:25.150 --> 00:21:27.609 Okay, again, you can look at those and go, that 00:21:27.609 --> 00:21:30.710 seems kind of meaningless, just sort of practical. 00:21:30.910 --> 00:21:33.190 But there's some great stuff here. Notice we 00:21:33.190 --> 00:21:36.109 have four names here that come down to us in 00:21:36.109 --> 00:21:40.930 Scripture. By the way, imagine having your name 00:21:40.930 --> 00:21:43.829 on the tip of the tongue of the Holy Spirit as 00:21:43.829 --> 00:21:47.190 he inspires the writers of Scripture. Your name 00:21:47.190 --> 00:21:50.599 etched for all eternity. in God's word. Amazing, 00:21:50.759 --> 00:21:55.019 right? These are four precious members of Paul's 00:21:55.019 --> 00:21:57.559 ministry team. Again, we sometimes forget these 00:21:57.559 --> 00:22:00.359 are real people with real lives who are going 00:22:00.359 --> 00:22:03.619 through the real ups and downs of life in the 00:22:03.619 --> 00:22:05.779 ancient world, the ups and downs of ministry, 00:22:06.000 --> 00:22:08.559 both the heartaches and the victories, all of 00:22:08.559 --> 00:22:11.240 it. These are very real people. Each of these 00:22:11.240 --> 00:22:14.140 men committed to changing the world. By giving 00:22:14.140 --> 00:22:16.440 of themselves to serve alongside the great apostle. 00:22:16.720 --> 00:22:19.380 Each man sort of a key player on the chessboard 00:22:19.380 --> 00:22:21.940 in the spiritual battle for the souls of men. 00:22:22.099 --> 00:22:24.759 Each of them being moved around the world by 00:22:24.759 --> 00:22:27.619 Paul who's acting like sort of a general under 00:22:27.619 --> 00:22:31.059 the direction of Christ himself. Developing this 00:22:31.059 --> 00:22:33.779 strategy, executing this strategy to get the 00:22:33.779 --> 00:22:36.000 gospel message all over the Mediterranean world. 00:22:36.619 --> 00:22:39.559 So let's first of all, let's look at these first 00:22:39.559 --> 00:22:42.039 two names there. When I send Artemis or Tychicus 00:22:42.039 --> 00:22:45.309 to you, Titus, make every effort to come to me 00:22:45.309 --> 00:22:48.809 at Nicopolis, for I have decided to winter there. 00:22:49.170 --> 00:22:52.329 Okay, how do we, we're my Greek students. How 00:22:52.329 --> 00:22:54.130 do we actually pronounce these names? I always 00:22:54.130 --> 00:22:58.450 struggle with this. We have an English -American 00:22:58.450 --> 00:23:01.230 way of pronouncing these names, and then there's 00:23:01.230 --> 00:23:03.890 the actual Greek way. And I always debate about 00:23:03.890 --> 00:23:06.410 which way we should do it. How do we pronounce 00:23:06.410 --> 00:23:11.640 these names? Artemis, right? Not Artemis, but 00:23:11.640 --> 00:23:15.220 Artemis. And then Tychikos would be the right 00:23:15.220 --> 00:23:18.380 way to pronounce his name. We say Tychikos, we 00:23:18.380 --> 00:23:21.759 say Tychikos. There's like 14 ways to, anyway. 00:23:23.839 --> 00:23:26.359 But these are amazing men, right? Paul's telling 00:23:26.359 --> 00:23:29.240 Titus, look, I'm going to send you one of these 00:23:29.240 --> 00:23:32.779 two guys. At some point in the future, I'm going 00:23:32.779 --> 00:23:34.720 to send at least one of them, and they're going 00:23:34.720 --> 00:23:36.559 to come to Crete, and they're going to find you. 00:23:37.199 --> 00:23:39.259 Now, again, let's be reminded, where is Paul 00:23:39.259 --> 00:23:43.400 writing from when he says this? Green dot. Okay? 00:23:43.980 --> 00:23:46.200 Macedonia. Somewhere up in Macedonia, possibly 00:23:46.200 --> 00:23:49.000 in Philippi. So you see where Crete is circled 00:23:49.000 --> 00:23:51.400 there. He's up in the green dot up in northern 00:23:51.400 --> 00:23:54.079 Greece, what we call Macedonia. And he's saying, 00:23:54.140 --> 00:23:56.099 look, Titus, I'm going to send a relief pastor 00:23:56.099 --> 00:23:59.880 to you. It'll be either Artemis or Tychicus. 00:24:00.160 --> 00:24:03.200 Not sure which one just yet. He's developing 00:24:03.200 --> 00:24:05.200 that strategy, but one of them is going to come 00:24:05.200 --> 00:24:08.180 and he's going to take your place there in Crete. 00:24:08.880 --> 00:24:11.440 And when he arrives, I want you to brief him 00:24:11.440 --> 00:24:13.720 on your progress. I want you to get him acclimated, 00:24:13.740 --> 00:24:17.019 introduce him to the key leaders. And then Titus, 00:24:17.059 --> 00:24:20.720 I want you to start traveling north and meet 00:24:20.720 --> 00:24:23.079 me in Nicopolis because that's where I'm going 00:24:23.079 --> 00:24:25.779 to sort of hunker down for the winter and we 00:24:25.779 --> 00:24:29.759 need to talk. Now, where's Nicopolis? Well, it 00:24:29.759 --> 00:24:31.420 depends on which one you mean. It's one of the 00:24:31.420 --> 00:24:34.339 most common names for a city in the ancient world, 00:24:34.480 --> 00:24:36.519 and you probably know why if you know anything 00:24:36.519 --> 00:24:40.920 about the Greek. It means victory city. Nike 00:24:40.920 --> 00:24:44.720 or Nike. Nike means victory in Greek, and polis 00:24:44.720 --> 00:24:48.160 was a city. So any time a king won a great battle 00:24:48.160 --> 00:24:50.500 in the ancient world, he'd be likely to establish 00:24:50.500 --> 00:24:52.779 and build a city in that spot and call it... 00:24:53.569 --> 00:24:56.049 Nicopolis, victory city, so that he could commemorate 00:24:56.049 --> 00:24:58.670 that moment. But the Nicopolis that Paul's talking 00:24:58.670 --> 00:25:01.609 about here, we're pretty sure, is a city located 00:25:01.609 --> 00:25:04.650 on the coast of a province of Greece called Epirus. 00:25:04.849 --> 00:25:07.950 It was a Roman colony and a commercial seaport 00:25:07.950 --> 00:25:11.049 that was founded back in 31 B .C. by, of all 00:25:11.049 --> 00:25:14.500 people, Caesar Augustus. He had fought a great 00:25:14.500 --> 00:25:17.079 battle there, the Battle of Actium against Mark 00:25:17.079 --> 00:25:19.819 Antony and Cleopatra. It won this great victory, 00:25:19.980 --> 00:25:23.519 this naval battle in 31 BC, and so this city 00:25:23.519 --> 00:25:26.220 became known as Nicopolis. It's the yellow dot 00:25:26.220 --> 00:25:30.519 there. So now you have sort of the direction 00:25:30.519 --> 00:25:33.259 here. Paul's riding from the green dot down to 00:25:33.259 --> 00:25:35.440 Crete and saying, meet me there at the yellow 00:25:35.440 --> 00:25:38.400 dot in Nicopolis. Does that make sense? Good. 00:25:38.990 --> 00:25:41.289 So Paul's going to stay there for the winter. 00:25:41.329 --> 00:25:44.410 He wants somebody to replace Titus so that Titus 00:25:44.410 --> 00:25:46.829 can come and spend some time with him. Why? Why 00:25:46.829 --> 00:25:49.150 do they need to meet? Well, we're not given reasons, 00:25:49.289 --> 00:25:51.769 but we can speculate. First of all, Paul loves 00:25:51.769 --> 00:25:55.130 Titus with a great heart. And I'm sure he wanted 00:25:55.130 --> 00:25:57.210 to fellowship with him and spend time with his 00:25:57.210 --> 00:26:00.109 protege. I'm sure he was dying to hear about 00:26:00.109 --> 00:26:02.970 all the progress that was being made in the churches 00:26:02.970 --> 00:26:05.849 in Crete. Remember, Titus couldn't wake up some 00:26:05.849 --> 00:26:08.089 morning and text Paul. Things are going really 00:26:08.089 --> 00:26:12.650 well here, right? Or call him. Getting news in 00:26:12.650 --> 00:26:14.329 the ancient world would have been so difficult. 00:26:14.430 --> 00:26:16.809 So you can imagine when you have a heart for 00:26:16.809 --> 00:26:18.589 somebody and you know they're out there doing 00:26:18.589 --> 00:26:21.630 ministry work, you want to get good news. And 00:26:21.630 --> 00:26:23.769 so I'm sure he wanted, meet me in Nicopolis. 00:26:23.769 --> 00:26:25.549 We're going to talk through everything that happened. 00:26:26.130 --> 00:26:28.009 And then the other logical reason for meeting 00:26:28.009 --> 00:26:30.910 with Titus would be that they wanted to do some 00:26:30.910 --> 00:26:34.160 future planning. Okay, so I'm done with my assignment 00:26:34.160 --> 00:26:37.140 in Crete. Somebody's replaced me. Now where am 00:26:37.140 --> 00:26:39.680 I going? Paul, what's the next mission you have 00:26:39.680 --> 00:26:42.660 for me? And what's cool about this, it's so fun 00:26:42.660 --> 00:26:44.339 to go through the books of the New Testament 00:26:44.339 --> 00:26:47.079 and piece together the relationships and all 00:26:47.079 --> 00:26:49.539 the movements of these people. We know exactly 00:26:49.539 --> 00:26:53.279 where Titus went next. In Paul's last letter 00:26:53.279 --> 00:26:57.480 to Timothy, 2 Timothy, he says that he sent Titus 00:26:57.480 --> 00:27:02.000 to a place called Dalmatia. Dalmatia is modern 00:27:02.000 --> 00:27:04.859 -day Albania. And you can guess I have a dot 00:27:04.859 --> 00:27:08.980 for it. The purple dot. Modern -day Albania. 00:27:09.000 --> 00:27:12.940 This is where eventually Titus is sent. And guess 00:27:12.940 --> 00:27:15.319 what? His name disappears from the record after 00:27:15.319 --> 00:27:17.259 that. Now, we don't know what happened. I'm not 00:27:17.259 --> 00:27:20.140 saying he died. We don't know. He just continued 00:27:20.140 --> 00:27:22.500 to minister, perhaps in that region. But the 00:27:22.500 --> 00:27:24.680 last thing we hear of Titus, he's up there in 00:27:24.680 --> 00:27:33.019 Dalmatia. Are you getting the chessboard? It's 00:27:33.019 --> 00:27:36.700 okay to talk to the preacher. It's okay. All 00:27:36.700 --> 00:27:38.400 right, what do we know about these two men? Well, 00:27:38.400 --> 00:27:40.799 this is the only time that Artemis is found anywhere 00:27:40.799 --> 00:27:43.339 in Scripture. Definitely has a Greek name, so 00:27:43.339 --> 00:27:46.180 he was probably a Gentile convert to Christianity, 00:27:46.220 --> 00:27:49.579 probably under the preaching or teaching of Paul 00:27:49.579 --> 00:27:52.940 at some point, possibly part of a place where 00:27:52.940 --> 00:27:55.500 Paul planted a church. And this would have been 00:27:55.500 --> 00:27:58.339 a man that Paul would have seen great promise 00:27:58.339 --> 00:28:01.160 in. The fact that he was willing to send Artemis 00:28:01.609 --> 00:28:04.170 to replace Titus in such a difficult location 00:28:04.170 --> 00:28:06.809 as Crete tells us that he must have been a very 00:28:06.809 --> 00:28:09.630 competent, faithful leader. And based on future 00:28:09.630 --> 00:28:12.329 events, it seems that Paul did end up sending 00:28:12.329 --> 00:28:15.910 Artemis to Crete. And we know that because Paul 00:28:15.910 --> 00:28:19.329 ended up, we have actual scripture that tells 00:28:19.329 --> 00:28:22.309 us that Paul decided to send Tychicus to Ephesus. 00:28:22.910 --> 00:28:26.869 So that appears to be what Paul did from Macedonia. 00:28:28.220 --> 00:28:31.180 I want Tychicus to go to Ephesus, and Artemis, 00:28:31.180 --> 00:28:33.839 I want you to go to Crete. But that's all we 00:28:33.839 --> 00:28:35.920 really know about this one guy. Now, Tychicus 00:28:35.920 --> 00:28:38.220 is well -known to us. Let's put these names up 00:28:38.220 --> 00:28:41.299 again. Tychicus is well -known to us. He's mentioned 00:28:41.299 --> 00:28:45.220 in five different New Testament books. Acts, 00:28:45.380 --> 00:28:48.700 Ephesians, Colossians, 2 Timothy, and here in 00:28:48.700 --> 00:28:52.039 Titus. Also a Gentile believer, by the way. And 00:28:52.039 --> 00:28:53.859 we know he was from the western coast of Asia 00:28:53.859 --> 00:28:57.759 Minor. He and Timothy... had traveled with Paul 00:28:57.759 --> 00:29:00.500 on his third missionary journey. You'll find 00:29:00.500 --> 00:29:03.339 his name in Acts chapter 20 during Paul's missionary 00:29:03.339 --> 00:29:06.480 journey. Later, he was with Paul while he was 00:29:06.480 --> 00:29:09.559 under house arrest in Rome. So when Paul was 00:29:09.559 --> 00:29:11.640 under house arrest, he was able to take visitors, 00:29:11.819 --> 00:29:14.579 and Tychicus was one of those men that came to 00:29:14.579 --> 00:29:18.240 minister to Paul while he was in chains. What's 00:29:18.240 --> 00:29:21.039 cool about this man is he is the guy who then 00:29:21.039 --> 00:29:25.200 leaves Rome with the original letters. written 00:29:25.200 --> 00:29:27.420 to the Ephesians and the Colossians. He is the 00:29:27.420 --> 00:29:31.380 messenger. Now, again, how cool would it be to 00:29:31.380 --> 00:29:36.019 have the original letters written by Paul in 00:29:36.019 --> 00:29:40.539 your backpack? Divinely inspired word of God 00:29:40.539 --> 00:29:45.440 written out in your backpack for delivery to 00:29:45.440 --> 00:29:48.359 some other place in the ancient world. I wonder 00:29:48.359 --> 00:29:51.220 how much he understood that mission, exactly 00:29:51.220 --> 00:29:54.789 what he was doing at that time. I still want 00:29:54.789 --> 00:29:57.390 to meet all these people in heaven, right? I 00:29:57.390 --> 00:29:59.769 want to hear all the stories. We have all eternity 00:29:59.769 --> 00:30:02.390 to hear the stories, right? But wow, this guy 00:30:02.390 --> 00:30:04.569 was carrying those letters. And so here's how 00:30:04.569 --> 00:30:07.470 Paul commends him in the letter to the Colossians. 00:30:07.650 --> 00:30:10.509 He says, as to all my affairs, Tychicus, our 00:30:10.509 --> 00:30:14.730 beloved brother and faithful servant and fellow 00:30:14.730 --> 00:30:17.910 bondservant in the Lord, he will bring you information. 00:30:18.589 --> 00:30:20.869 So it wasn't just bringing the letter, but when 00:30:20.869 --> 00:30:23.559 you get there, Tychicus, Tell the church about 00:30:23.559 --> 00:30:25.960 all that's happening. This is the way they communicated 00:30:25.960 --> 00:30:28.380 back then. Tell the church how I'm doing while 00:30:28.380 --> 00:30:30.720 I'm under house arrest in Rome. Let them know 00:30:30.720 --> 00:30:34.480 I'm okay, that the ministry's continuing, that 00:30:34.480 --> 00:30:38.019 the gospel is spreading. And also, Tychicus is 00:30:38.019 --> 00:30:39.799 mentioned at the end of the Ephesians letter. 00:30:40.220 --> 00:30:42.619 He says to the Ephesians, but that you also may 00:30:42.619 --> 00:30:46.039 know about my circumstances, how I'm doing, Paul 00:30:46.039 --> 00:30:50.019 writes. Tychicus, the beloved brother and faithful 00:30:50.019 --> 00:30:52.200 minister in the Lord, will make everything known 00:30:52.200 --> 00:30:54.880 to you. I have sent him to you for this very 00:30:54.880 --> 00:30:58.460 purpose so that you may know about us and that 00:30:58.460 --> 00:31:02.559 he may comfort your hearts. This is an important 00:31:02.559 --> 00:31:06.079 guy on Paul's ministry team. As I said a moment 00:31:06.079 --> 00:31:08.500 ago, Paul later sent him to Ephesus on a more 00:31:08.500 --> 00:31:11.279 permanent basis. Tychicus becomes the guy who 00:31:11.279 --> 00:31:14.819 relieves Timothy as pastor in that city so that 00:31:14.819 --> 00:31:18.140 Timothy could possibly get back to Rome to visit 00:31:18.140 --> 00:31:21.420 with Paul before he was executed. Now, let me 00:31:21.420 --> 00:31:24.099 share with you one last passage that Paul wrote 00:31:24.099 --> 00:31:27.319 to Timothy in 2 Timothy 4. This is the very end 00:31:27.319 --> 00:31:29.200 of his life. I want you to listen for Paul's 00:31:29.200 --> 00:31:32.400 state of mind as he's facing death. He knows. 00:31:32.970 --> 00:31:35.410 At this point, he is not going to escape Rome 00:31:35.410 --> 00:31:38.089 again, that his execution is coming. And what 00:31:38.089 --> 00:31:40.809 is he concerned about? He's concerned about his 00:31:40.809 --> 00:31:45.049 ministry partners, his guys, his team, and what's 00:31:45.049 --> 00:31:47.170 happening, where they've gone, right? And you 00:31:47.170 --> 00:31:49.609 get a sense that in these last days, he's feeling 00:31:49.609 --> 00:31:52.609 sort of lonely because he loves these men. with 00:31:52.609 --> 00:31:55.930 such a loving heart. And he wants to see Timothy. 00:31:55.950 --> 00:31:58.529 He wants to talk to Timothy before the inevitable 00:31:58.529 --> 00:32:00.289 happens. So this is what he writes. He says, 00:32:00.410 --> 00:32:03.309 make every effort to come to me, Timothy, soon. 00:32:04.250 --> 00:32:05.890 Now look at this. Look how heartbreaking this 00:32:05.890 --> 00:32:09.789 is. For Deimos, having loved this present world, 00:32:09.910 --> 00:32:16.089 has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica. Heartbreaking. 00:32:16.750 --> 00:32:19.930 One member of the team walked away from the Lord 00:32:19.930 --> 00:32:24.079 and abandoned Paul. But then Crescens has gone 00:32:24.079 --> 00:32:28.039 to Galatia. That's good news. Titus to Dalmatia. 00:32:28.579 --> 00:32:32.200 Only Luke is with me. He's the last one with 00:32:32.200 --> 00:32:34.839 Paul at his execution. Only Luke is with me. 00:32:35.140 --> 00:32:37.519 By the way, Timothy, pick up Mark along the way 00:32:37.519 --> 00:32:40.779 and bring him with you for he's useful to me 00:32:40.779 --> 00:32:44.609 for service. But Tychicus I have sent. to Ephesus. 00:32:44.670 --> 00:32:46.589 So man, we get all these incredible liner notes 00:32:46.589 --> 00:32:49.329 here about all of this team members and where 00:32:49.329 --> 00:32:51.670 they're headed and what's going on. But you can 00:32:51.670 --> 00:32:55.670 sense in Paul this sort of foreboding feeling 00:32:55.670 --> 00:32:59.509 that this is the end and I miss my guys. I miss 00:32:59.509 --> 00:33:02.490 my guys. All right, let's look at the other half 00:33:02.490 --> 00:33:04.650 of the team mentioned here in Titus 3. Look at 00:33:04.650 --> 00:33:07.509 verse 13. Diligently help Zenos, the lawyer, 00:33:07.609 --> 00:33:10.609 and Apollos on their way so that nothing is lacking 00:33:10.609 --> 00:33:13.650 for them. Now, these two men were the guys who 00:33:13.650 --> 00:33:16.609 brought Paul's letter to Titus and Crete. They 00:33:16.609 --> 00:33:19.150 were the messengers who came with this letter 00:33:19.150 --> 00:33:20.950 that we've been studying now for the last six 00:33:20.950 --> 00:33:24.670 months. These two guys. Zenos is like Artemis. 00:33:24.670 --> 00:33:27.009 This is the only time his name is mentioned in 00:33:27.009 --> 00:33:28.769 Scripture, but as far as I know, he's the only 00:33:28.769 --> 00:33:32.119 lawyer. I was gonna make a lawyer joke there, 00:33:32.240 --> 00:33:36.099 but I'm learning to show restraint. He's the 00:33:36.099 --> 00:33:38.259 only lawyer we find in the church in the first 00:33:38.259 --> 00:33:47.119 century. But like Tychicus, don't throw things 00:33:47.119 --> 00:33:49.700 at me. Like Tychicus, we actually know a lot 00:33:49.700 --> 00:33:52.420 about Apollos. He's found in three different 00:33:52.420 --> 00:33:54.400 books in the Bible. We're introduced to him in 00:33:54.400 --> 00:33:57.700 Acts chapter 18 in a relatively remarkable way. 00:33:57.819 --> 00:34:00.319 Let me share some of this so you can get a feeling 00:34:00.319 --> 00:34:03.940 for who Apollos was. It says, Acts 18, now a 00:34:03.940 --> 00:34:08.039 Jew named Apollos, an Alexandrian by birth. So 00:34:08.039 --> 00:34:10.320 think about that. He's Jewish, but he's born 00:34:10.320 --> 00:34:13.880 down in Egypt in Alexandria. An eloquent man. 00:34:14.659 --> 00:34:18.980 He came to Ephesus and he was mighty in the scriptures. 00:34:19.059 --> 00:34:21.739 So this is a, Apollo says, you read about him, 00:34:21.760 --> 00:34:25.159 extremely gifted man. He combines the two things 00:34:25.159 --> 00:34:27.659 you need to be an effective preacher. He is skilled 00:34:27.659 --> 00:34:30.940 in rhetoric and he has a strong grasp of the 00:34:30.940 --> 00:34:32.900 scriptures, which by the way, would have been 00:34:32.900 --> 00:34:34.440 a reference to the Old Testament scriptures, 00:34:34.760 --> 00:34:37.780 right? The Hebrew scriptures mostly. And then 00:34:37.780 --> 00:34:39.699 we find out in the next verse that he also has 00:34:39.699 --> 00:34:43.099 the necessary passion for ministry. It says, 00:34:43.119 --> 00:34:45.260 this man had been instructed in the way of the 00:34:45.260 --> 00:34:49.179 Lord and being fervent in spirit. He was speaking 00:34:49.179 --> 00:34:52.320 and teaching accurately the things concerning 00:34:52.320 --> 00:34:55.400 Jesus. And that is all very high praise, isn't 00:34:55.400 --> 00:34:58.280 it? This is a gifted man. But then we see a limitation, 00:34:58.539 --> 00:35:02.320 being acquainted only with the baptism of John. 00:35:02.440 --> 00:35:05.059 What does that mean? Well, it means that he was 00:35:05.059 --> 00:35:07.880 only familiar with that original baptism of repentance 00:35:07.880 --> 00:35:10.840 that John the Baptist was preaching about prior 00:35:10.840 --> 00:35:14.699 to the public ministry of the Messiah. Apollos 00:35:14.699 --> 00:35:16.960 hadn't yet heard about the baptism of the Holy 00:35:16.960 --> 00:35:19.760 Spirit that comes with salvation in the name 00:35:19.760 --> 00:35:22.539 of Christ. And that gets fleshed out in the next 00:35:22.539 --> 00:35:25.719 chapter in Acts chapter 19. So he was limited 00:35:25.719 --> 00:35:29.340 in that. So it says, he began to speak out boldly 00:35:29.340 --> 00:35:32.340 in the synagogue. Notice there he seems to have 00:35:32.340 --> 00:35:35.239 a specific ministry to the Jews in the synagogue. 00:35:35.820 --> 00:35:39.099 But when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they 00:35:39.099 --> 00:35:42.250 took him aside. and explain to him the way of 00:35:42.250 --> 00:35:45.909 God more accurately. So this is a mature husband 00:35:45.909 --> 00:35:49.090 and wife team in the church of Ephesus. They 00:35:49.090 --> 00:35:51.989 recognize in Apollos that he is incredibly gifted, 00:35:52.230 --> 00:35:55.469 but there's a gap in his knowledge. So they pull 00:35:55.469 --> 00:35:58.670 him aside and they teach him privately and disciple 00:35:58.670 --> 00:36:02.329 him to fill in that knowledge gap. Verse 27, 00:36:02.590 --> 00:36:06.329 and when he wanted to go across to Achaia, that 00:36:06.329 --> 00:36:10.480 is Apollos, the brethren encouraged him. And 00:36:10.480 --> 00:36:13.619 they wrote to the disciples to welcome him. And 00:36:13.619 --> 00:36:15.639 when he had arrived, he greatly helped those 00:36:15.639 --> 00:36:19.179 who had believed through grace, for he powerfully 00:36:19.179 --> 00:36:22.360 refuted the Jews in public, demonstrating by 00:36:22.360 --> 00:36:26.039 the scriptures that Jesus was the Christ. So 00:36:26.039 --> 00:36:28.679 again, we see him challenging his fellow countrymen, 00:36:28.699 --> 00:36:31.000 the Jews, letting them know, this is your Messiah. 00:36:31.219 --> 00:36:36.880 He's come. Receive him. Interestingly, all of 00:36:36.880 --> 00:36:38.940 this information about Apollos, he's one of those 00:36:38.940 --> 00:36:40.920 guys, books and books have been written about 00:36:40.920 --> 00:36:44.099 him. And if you combine what we learn about here, 00:36:44.179 --> 00:36:47.280 first of all, his eloquence and the way he speaks, 00:36:47.480 --> 00:36:51.360 his grasp of Old Testament scripture, and his 00:36:51.360 --> 00:36:54.420 heart for his fellow Jews, this is what leads 00:36:54.420 --> 00:36:58.380 some people, some people, to believe that he 00:36:58.380 --> 00:37:00.480 is ultimately the author of the book of Hebrews. 00:37:02.659 --> 00:37:05.440 Now, I'm not making a declaration. I'm not saying 00:37:05.440 --> 00:37:07.780 I know that for sure, but I'm just telling you 00:37:07.780 --> 00:37:09.780 it's a very interesting theory out there. Many 00:37:09.780 --> 00:37:12.420 believe that Paul wrote it, but in my opinion, 00:37:12.420 --> 00:37:14.800 based on the historical considerations, based 00:37:14.800 --> 00:37:17.320 on the internal content of the letter itself 00:37:17.320 --> 00:37:21.320 and the writing style, it's possible that this 00:37:21.320 --> 00:37:24.380 was the man who wrote the book of Hebrews. We'll 00:37:24.380 --> 00:37:28.139 find out in heaven, won't we? Elder team, we'll 00:37:28.139 --> 00:37:32.170 discuss next week. Okay. Before we move on, note 00:37:32.170 --> 00:37:34.570 once again Paul's instructions to Titus about 00:37:34.570 --> 00:37:36.909 these two team members. Back to verse 13. He 00:37:36.909 --> 00:37:40.030 says, listen, Titus, Zanus and Apollos are bringing 00:37:40.030 --> 00:37:43.710 you this letter. Just know that this has been 00:37:43.710 --> 00:37:45.429 a long journey for them. They're going to be 00:37:45.429 --> 00:37:48.849 exhausted. So what? Make sure that nothing is 00:37:48.849 --> 00:37:52.659 lacking for them, he writes. You see it? In other 00:37:52.659 --> 00:37:54.820 words, receive them and show them hospitality. 00:37:55.500 --> 00:37:58.360 Supply them with whatever they need before they 00:37:58.360 --> 00:38:00.659 have to move on to the next assignment I give 00:38:00.659 --> 00:38:03.320 them. Whatever it is they need, it might be spiritual 00:38:03.320 --> 00:38:07.139 encouragement, it might be physical needs, food, 00:38:07.260 --> 00:38:10.139 housing, whatever it is, Titus, you take care 00:38:10.139 --> 00:38:13.079 of them. This is what the body of Christ does 00:38:13.079 --> 00:38:16.739 for each other, right? This is what we do. This 00:38:16.739 --> 00:38:18.780 is the kingdom mindset that every single one 00:38:18.780 --> 00:38:21.690 of us ought to have for our brothers and sisters. 00:38:22.550 --> 00:38:25.530 Now, look at verse 14. Paul says, our people 00:38:25.530 --> 00:38:28.150 must also learn to engage in good deeds, to meet 00:38:28.150 --> 00:38:30.090 pressing needs, so that they will not be what? 00:38:31.030 --> 00:38:34.510 Unfruitful. Now, let's read that verse in relation 00:38:34.510 --> 00:38:36.969 to the previous one. When Paul says our people, 00:38:37.250 --> 00:38:40.710 he's talking about believers. By extension, he's 00:38:40.710 --> 00:38:43.070 talking to every believer in this room today. 00:38:44.070 --> 00:38:46.289 He's talking about church members like you and 00:38:46.289 --> 00:38:48.630 me. And he's talking about the responsibility 00:38:48.630 --> 00:38:52.869 that we have towards one another. Just as Titus 00:38:52.869 --> 00:38:55.269 was to make sure that Zanus and Apollos had everything 00:38:55.269 --> 00:38:58.449 they needed, every single church member, even 00:38:58.449 --> 00:39:01.230 today, is to respond to every other believer 00:39:01.230 --> 00:39:04.750 in this same way, to meet practical needs. What 00:39:04.750 --> 00:39:07.550 do our fellow brothers and sisters need? Do they 00:39:07.550 --> 00:39:10.250 need spiritual encouragement? Do they need material 00:39:10.250 --> 00:39:13.690 stuff, right? Do they need a meal, a ride somewhere, 00:39:13.789 --> 00:39:16.860 a place to sleep? Whatever it is. Are we open 00:39:16.860 --> 00:39:19.659 to meeting those needs? And this is something 00:39:19.659 --> 00:39:21.880 that I think we do really well here at Oak Hill. 00:39:22.860 --> 00:39:26.199 We really do. I think you guys get this. And 00:39:26.199 --> 00:39:28.920 where this shows up often is on Church Center. 00:39:29.440 --> 00:39:32.679 If you don't have the app, get on the app. Because 00:39:32.679 --> 00:39:35.320 this is where pressing needs pop up. People are 00:39:35.320 --> 00:39:37.900 like, hey, I need this. I could use a meal. I 00:39:37.900 --> 00:39:40.039 need a ride to the airport, right? And folks 00:39:40.039 --> 00:39:42.750 just jump in. It's a beautiful thing to watch. 00:39:42.869 --> 00:39:44.889 As a pastor, I just sit back there and smile. 00:39:44.949 --> 00:39:47.170 I look at it and go, oh, this is so sweet. This 00:39:47.170 --> 00:39:49.730 is so great. That need got met in five minutes. 00:39:50.650 --> 00:39:53.489 And it was like, I need to ride to the airport 00:39:53.489 --> 00:39:56.010 at 2 a .m. Five minutes later, somebody's like, 00:39:56.150 --> 00:40:00.130 I got you. Now, is everybody at Oak Hill doing 00:40:00.130 --> 00:40:06.409 that? No. It seems that the same. continue to 00:40:06.409 --> 00:40:08.289 pop up, the people that are meeting needs. So 00:40:08.289 --> 00:40:10.690 I want to encourage all of you guys. This is 00:40:10.690 --> 00:40:14.349 the spirit of service that every single member 00:40:14.349 --> 00:40:16.550 of this church ought to have. It ought to be 00:40:16.550 --> 00:40:19.530 a race. Hey, I want to jump on that need first. 00:40:19.650 --> 00:40:23.929 I want to beat others to it. Not just a handful 00:40:23.929 --> 00:40:26.929 of people, but all of us should be meeting needs 00:40:26.929 --> 00:40:29.969 that pop up. By the way, this is the fifth time 00:40:29.969 --> 00:40:32.050 in this very short letter that Paul talks about 00:40:32.050 --> 00:40:35.630 doing good works. Look at this impressive list 00:40:35.630 --> 00:40:39.369 of this. In chapter 2, verse 7, in all things, 00:40:39.369 --> 00:40:41.510 show yourself to be an example of good deeds. 00:40:41.949 --> 00:40:45.309 2 .14, Christ Jesus, who gave himself for us 00:40:45.309 --> 00:40:48.769 to redeem us from every lawless deed and to purify 00:40:48.769 --> 00:40:51.269 for himself a people for his own possession, 00:40:51.429 --> 00:40:56.869 zealous to do good deeds. 3 .1, remind them, 00:40:56.889 --> 00:40:59.010 Titus, to be subject to rulers, to authorities, 00:40:59.170 --> 00:41:03.389 to be obedient, and to be ready, ready. for every 00:41:03.389 --> 00:41:06.429 good deed. 3 .8, concerning these things, I want 00:41:06.429 --> 00:41:08.849 you to speak confidently so that those who believe 00:41:08.849 --> 00:41:11.949 God will be careful to engage in good deeds. 00:41:12.010 --> 00:41:14.389 Be an example of good deeds, be zealous for good 00:41:14.389 --> 00:41:17.730 deeds, be ready for good deeds, and engage in 00:41:17.730 --> 00:41:20.429 good deeds. That is an impressive list of things. 00:41:20.550 --> 00:41:24.869 So lest any of us make the mistake that has been 00:41:24.869 --> 00:41:28.309 so common in the evangelical world over the last 00:41:28.309 --> 00:41:30.849 30 years that one day we can just pray a prayer 00:41:31.599 --> 00:41:33.800 and then we can go on living a lukewarm, self 00:41:33.800 --> 00:41:37.019 -centered life, serving no one, and expect to 00:41:37.019 --> 00:41:41.480 be saved in the end? Think again. Think again. 00:41:42.639 --> 00:41:44.719 I said it last Sunday, and I'll say it again 00:41:44.719 --> 00:41:47.920 today. We're not saved by good deeds, but we 00:41:47.920 --> 00:41:51.840 are saved for good deeds. It's those good deeds. 00:41:51.900 --> 00:41:54.920 It's those things that give evidence that we're 00:41:54.920 --> 00:41:58.119 actually saved, that we engage, that we're zealous 00:41:58.119 --> 00:42:00.500 for, that we're prepared, that we're ready. to 00:42:00.500 --> 00:42:03.519 engage in good deeds on behalf of our church 00:42:03.519 --> 00:42:08.159 family. We're to be a fruitful people, Paul says 00:42:08.159 --> 00:42:11.119 at the end of verse 14, right? Fruitful. As believers 00:42:11.119 --> 00:42:13.420 and members of a church family, listen now, we 00:42:13.420 --> 00:42:15.780 should be constantly examining our priorities 00:42:15.780 --> 00:42:19.539 to make sure that we're being fruitful, that 00:42:19.539 --> 00:42:23.099 we're not isolated from body life. We're to stay 00:42:23.099 --> 00:42:27.550 connected. We're to stay ready. We're to be prepared 00:42:27.550 --> 00:42:30.889 to jump in and volunteer when pressing needs 00:42:30.889 --> 00:42:35.510 arise. Every single one of us. Connected, ready, 00:42:35.710 --> 00:42:38.849 and prepared. And that spirit of sacrifice has 00:42:38.849 --> 00:42:41.289 a two -fold purpose to it. This is important. 00:42:41.409 --> 00:42:43.750 Not only does it bless those within the church 00:42:43.750 --> 00:42:46.809 family, but it's also a powerful witness to those 00:42:46.809 --> 00:42:49.570 outside the church when they see how we love 00:42:49.570 --> 00:42:52.320 each other. How we meet those needs. Remember 00:42:52.320 --> 00:42:54.199 what Jesus said? They will know that you are 00:42:54.199 --> 00:42:57.000 my disciples by your love for one another. And 00:42:57.000 --> 00:42:58.860 you're like, really? By responding on church 00:42:58.860 --> 00:43:03.500 center? Yes. Yeah, it can be that simple. Let 00:43:03.500 --> 00:43:06.059 the world see our love for one another, the deeds 00:43:06.059 --> 00:43:09.199 that we do for each other. So Paul's exhortation 00:43:09.199 --> 00:43:11.420 here is simple. Pour your lives into service 00:43:11.420 --> 00:43:14.599 to one another so that you yourself will be fruitful, 00:43:14.739 --> 00:43:17.920 but also so that you can point people to Christ 00:43:17.920 --> 00:43:23.579 by your life. To full purpose. Make sense? Last 00:43:23.579 --> 00:43:26.019 verse. Here's the glue that holds it all together. 00:43:26.619 --> 00:43:29.960 Verse 15, all who are with me greet you. Greet 00:43:29.960 --> 00:43:32.639 those who love us in the faith. Grace be with 00:43:32.639 --> 00:43:35.559 you all. So all the believers who are with me 00:43:35.559 --> 00:43:39.199 up here in Macedonia, greet everybody down there 00:43:39.199 --> 00:43:44.500 in Crete. Across the Mediterranean Sea, hundreds 00:43:44.500 --> 00:43:47.420 of miles between them. The connection that the 00:43:47.420 --> 00:43:49.099 believers have. I've got a group of folks over 00:43:49.099 --> 00:43:51.659 here who love you and now you've got a group 00:43:51.659 --> 00:43:57.820 of folks over there who love us. Do you sense 00:43:57.820 --> 00:44:00.599 that connection, that love for believers all 00:44:00.599 --> 00:44:02.119 over the world? It's an interesting question. 00:44:02.719 --> 00:44:06.659 Who should you be more connected to? A brother 00:44:06.659 --> 00:44:09.119 or sister on the other side of the world or an 00:44:09.119 --> 00:44:11.900 unbeliever here in Santa Clarita? Who should 00:44:11.900 --> 00:44:14.659 you feel more love for, more camaraderie with? 00:44:15.659 --> 00:44:18.059 It's an interesting thing to consider because 00:44:18.059 --> 00:44:20.380 we've got a bunch of believers up here in Macedonia 00:44:20.380 --> 00:44:22.760 and we love you guys down in Crete. And I know 00:44:22.760 --> 00:44:25.079 you've got people down there in Crete that love 00:44:25.079 --> 00:44:28.679 us. So let's pray for each other. Let's lift 00:44:28.679 --> 00:44:30.760 each other up. Let's look to serve each other 00:44:30.760 --> 00:44:34.320 in whatever way we possibly can. So Paul's final 00:44:34.320 --> 00:44:38.760 thought is love. It's love. Love for fellow believers 00:44:38.760 --> 00:44:42.059 that is felt, that is expressed, and that is 00:44:42.059 --> 00:44:44.940 practically lived out in good deeds. that meet 00:44:44.940 --> 00:44:48.960 pressing needs it's really simple isn't it and 00:44:48.960 --> 00:44:52.820 then he closes with his favorite word grace grace 00:44:52.820 --> 00:44:54.820 be with you all because apart from god's grace 00:44:54.820 --> 00:44:58.420 nothing in this letter can happen let that be 00:44:58.420 --> 00:45:00.440 the bow that you tie on the end of the book of 00:45:00.440 --> 00:45:05.380 titus without grace none of it happens amen so 00:45:05.380 --> 00:45:07.239 let me wrap up with this is there is there a 00:45:07.239 --> 00:45:11.429 practical takeaway for us in these Again, what 00:45:11.429 --> 00:45:13.570 looked to be very simple verses at the end of 00:45:13.570 --> 00:45:16.329 the letter, and I think there is. And it's rooted 00:45:16.329 --> 00:45:18.510 in the good news of the gospel that we read about 00:45:18.510 --> 00:45:21.030 in chapter three, right? Verses four through 00:45:21.030 --> 00:45:24.010 seven. I mean, if you really want a passage to 00:45:24.010 --> 00:45:27.090 highlight, put on your bathroom mirror, whatever, 00:45:27.309 --> 00:45:29.929 chapter three, verses four through seven is it. 00:45:30.449 --> 00:45:32.750 Based on the truth in those verses about the 00:45:32.750 --> 00:45:35.929 beauty of the gospel, we're to live a life that 00:45:35.929 --> 00:45:38.989 actively responds to what Christ has done for 00:45:38.989 --> 00:45:43.489 us. Not passive, not taking it for granted, not 00:45:43.489 --> 00:45:45.730 feeling entitled, not like, well, it's really 00:45:45.730 --> 00:45:47.489 great that I get to go to heaven someday. No, 00:45:47.510 --> 00:45:51.570 actively responds to that good news because unfruitfulness 00:45:51.570 --> 00:45:55.969 is not an option for God's people. Our lives 00:45:55.969 --> 00:45:58.530 are to be marked by consistent, sacrificial love 00:45:58.530 --> 00:46:01.829 and service. Lives that bless our others in the 00:46:01.829 --> 00:46:04.349 church family, lives that are a witness to unbelievers. 00:46:05.219 --> 00:46:07.679 We engage in good deeds in the Lord's name. We 00:46:07.679 --> 00:46:10.760 seize every opportunity that comes our way. And 00:46:10.760 --> 00:46:12.659 sometimes, you know, look, I understand this. 00:46:12.719 --> 00:46:14.320 People ask the question, well, what am I supposed 00:46:14.320 --> 00:46:17.679 to do, Jeff? Well, start with this. Be prepared 00:46:17.679 --> 00:46:20.480 for anything that comes across your table, your 00:46:20.480 --> 00:46:23.579 desk, your vision. Anything that comes your way, 00:46:23.699 --> 00:46:26.860 be ready. Because that's God saying, here you 00:46:26.860 --> 00:46:31.570 go. Here's an opportunity. Start there. Become 00:46:31.570 --> 00:46:34.150 a willing and fruitful team member. Become a 00:46:34.150 --> 00:46:38.630 Tychicus or an Artemis or a Zanus or an Apollos 00:46:38.630 --> 00:46:41.110 or a Luke or a Mark or any of these folks. Become 00:46:41.110 --> 00:46:45.710 this team member. Play your role. All those names 00:46:45.710 --> 00:46:47.230 we mentioned today, they were different human 00:46:47.230 --> 00:46:50.130 beings with different gifts. Play your role. 00:46:50.849 --> 00:46:53.090 Strive to be a faithful minister in the things 00:46:53.090 --> 00:46:56.429 that God is calling you to. Friends, do you want 00:46:56.429 --> 00:46:58.949 the secret ingredient for how Paul was able to 00:46:58.949 --> 00:47:02.019 live out this mission? It was God the Spirit 00:47:02.019 --> 00:47:04.960 working through men like that who were willing 00:47:04.960 --> 00:47:09.019 and faithful. God works through people like us. 00:47:09.199 --> 00:47:13.519 Is that not a miracle? And he worked through 00:47:13.519 --> 00:47:16.340 those guys. And they weren't super saints. They 00:47:16.340 --> 00:47:19.500 were just guys that said, here I am, Lord, send 00:47:19.500 --> 00:47:22.599 me. Put their hands out and said, I'll work. 00:47:22.800 --> 00:47:25.860 I can do that. I can get on a boat and travel 00:47:25.860 --> 00:47:30.559 somewhere and share the gospel. That's the secret 00:47:30.559 --> 00:47:32.980 ingredient, God the Spirit working through willing 00:47:32.980 --> 00:47:37.079 and faithful men and women. I thought about this 00:47:37.079 --> 00:47:39.420 yesterday, about this question. I'm not sure 00:47:39.420 --> 00:47:41.480 I have an answer to it yet, but I'm gonna ask 00:47:41.480 --> 00:47:43.900 you the question for you to consider. We're gonna 00:47:43.900 --> 00:47:45.480 have some prayer time at the end of this as well 00:47:45.480 --> 00:47:47.619 that you can ask the Lord about it. Here's the 00:47:47.619 --> 00:47:52.440 question. Just take Tychicus as an example. What 00:47:52.440 --> 00:47:57.360 makes a man like him? To go from being just a 00:47:57.360 --> 00:48:01.739 new believer, an average church member in a local 00:48:01.739 --> 00:48:05.099 church, to being this laser -focused servant 00:48:05.099 --> 00:48:07.539 who's willing to give up every part of his life 00:48:07.539 --> 00:48:12.320 to build the kingdom of God. Why is Tychicus 00:48:12.320 --> 00:48:16.800 like he is? What happened in his life? How did 00:48:16.800 --> 00:48:21.320 he get there? What makes a man like that? Think 00:48:21.320 --> 00:48:22.980 about that for a second. Why are there so few 00:48:22.980 --> 00:48:25.159 men and women like him? in the church today? 00:48:27.039 --> 00:48:29.679 Why do we have so many passive church members 00:48:29.679 --> 00:48:32.679 in churches all over this valley who just come 00:48:32.679 --> 00:48:35.820 on Sunday for a good cup of coffee to sit in 00:48:35.820 --> 00:48:38.659 the back of the room and then leave and say that's 00:48:38.659 --> 00:48:44.159 Christianity? Where are the Tychicus's? That's 00:48:44.159 --> 00:48:48.840 a hard word. When the average church runs on 00:48:48.840 --> 00:48:51.300 the 90 -10 rule where 10 % of the believers do 00:48:51.300 --> 00:48:54.099 90 % of the serving while everyone else sits 00:48:54.099 --> 00:48:56.599 around and watches. Not talking about Oak Hill, 00:48:56.699 --> 00:48:59.340 but I'm talking about churches in general, where 00:48:59.340 --> 00:49:02.099 churches have to keep hiring more staff because 00:49:02.099 --> 00:49:06.739 they can't motivate enough volunteers to do the 00:49:06.739 --> 00:49:10.960 work of ministry, so they just keep hiring. Why 00:49:10.960 --> 00:49:13.940 isn't every Christian in every church as committed 00:49:13.940 --> 00:49:18.219 as Tychicus? This is the question that God put 00:49:18.219 --> 00:49:19.679 in my heart. I don't know if I have the answer 00:49:19.679 --> 00:49:23.590 to the question. Surely the gospel is great enough 00:49:23.590 --> 00:49:25.969 to motivate every one of us to give everything 00:49:25.969 --> 00:49:32.449 we have, right? Am I right? I think so. And by 00:49:32.449 --> 00:49:33.969 the way, I'm grateful for God's grace because 00:49:33.969 --> 00:49:36.769 I know I don't meet that high standard. I'm not 00:49:36.769 --> 00:49:41.309 what I should be. But still, that's the desire 00:49:41.309 --> 00:49:43.349 of my heart, and I hope it's the desire of every 00:49:43.349 --> 00:49:47.409 heart here, to truly die to ourselves. To pick 00:49:47.409 --> 00:49:50.489 up a cross, to follow after Jesus, to strive 00:49:50.489 --> 00:49:52.929 to love the Lord your God with all of your heart 00:49:52.929 --> 00:49:55.469 and all of your soul and all of your strength. 00:49:55.590 --> 00:49:58.889 To see him use you mightily as he used Titus 00:49:58.889 --> 00:50:03.909 and Artemis and Tychicus and Zanus and Apollos. 00:50:05.030 --> 00:50:07.289 To see people come to the saving knowledge of 00:50:07.289 --> 00:50:09.010 Christ and to see your fellow church members 00:50:09.010 --> 00:50:13.409 built up in the faith. So here's my final challenge 00:50:13.409 --> 00:50:15.210 for you this morning as we wrap up this study. 00:50:15.769 --> 00:50:18.429 What are the things that prevent you from giving 00:50:18.429 --> 00:50:21.789 everything you are and everything you have for 00:50:21.789 --> 00:50:26.110 the sake of the kingdom? When you get to heaven 00:50:26.110 --> 00:50:28.670 someday and you see Christ face to face, what 00:50:28.670 --> 00:50:31.809 are you going to look back on and say, what was 00:50:31.809 --> 00:50:34.949 I doing? What were my priorities down on earth? 00:50:36.250 --> 00:50:38.190 How I would have loved to have given more of 00:50:38.190 --> 00:50:42.210 myself to the work of the kingdom, to become 00:50:42.210 --> 00:50:45.739 more like the faithful men that we studied. here 00:50:45.739 --> 00:50:48.760 this morning? Are you willing to take even a 00:50:48.760 --> 00:50:52.159 small step toward laying aside whatever obstacles 00:50:52.159 --> 00:50:55.940 are in the way today to glorify the one who gave 00:50:55.940 --> 00:50:59.679 up everything for you? What are those things 00:50:59.679 --> 00:51:02.760 that get in the way? And are you willing to take 00:51:02.760 --> 00:51:06.599 a step towards saying, Lord, strengthen me to 00:51:06.599 --> 00:51:09.039 get beyond these things, to see the greatness 00:51:09.039 --> 00:51:12.039 of the gospel in a new light and to recommit 00:51:12.039 --> 00:51:16.380 myself 100 %? That's my goal, Lord, to serve 00:51:16.380 --> 00:51:23.000 you and to serve the kingdom. Father, we are 00:51:23.000 --> 00:51:26.780 encouraged and challenged by the example of Paul 00:51:26.780 --> 00:51:30.079 and the example of Titus and the example of the 00:51:30.079 --> 00:51:34.460 men that we read about today, Lord. And God, 00:51:34.480 --> 00:51:38.380 I'll pray for myself. I know that it's a standard 00:51:38.380 --> 00:51:41.599 that I want so badly for myself, but God, I let 00:51:41.599 --> 00:51:44.769 things... Get in the way of being the man that 00:51:44.769 --> 00:51:47.369 you want me to be. And so I pray, Lord, that 00:51:47.369 --> 00:51:51.070 you will work in my life, work in the lives of 00:51:51.070 --> 00:51:53.190 my brothers and sisters here, that we might become 00:51:53.190 --> 00:51:57.630 even more committed to the things of your kingdom. 00:51:58.989 --> 00:52:01.309 That whatever drags us down, whatever entangles 00:52:01.309 --> 00:52:04.429 us in this life that causes us to become passive, 00:52:04.550 --> 00:52:09.329 to become apathetic, to stop praying, to stop 00:52:09.329 --> 00:52:12.969 studying your word, becoming inconsistent in 00:52:12.969 --> 00:52:17.389 church attendance, to stop serving others, to 00:52:17.389 --> 00:52:20.150 ignore needs, all these things that can so easily 00:52:20.150 --> 00:52:22.829 drift into our lives, Lord, that we would have 00:52:22.829 --> 00:52:26.170 the courage to ask you, God, to strengthen us, 00:52:26.230 --> 00:52:28.710 to lay those things aside, and to put out our 00:52:28.710 --> 00:52:31.949 hands and say, use me more and more, God. Change 00:52:31.949 --> 00:52:36.570 me from within so that I might impact the lives 00:52:36.570 --> 00:52:39.250 of fellow believers and impact this community. 00:52:40.110 --> 00:52:43.050 and see people come to know Christ. Lord, like 00:52:43.050 --> 00:52:46.190 Paul's mission, this is too big for us individually. 00:52:46.449 --> 00:52:49.090 We know we can't do it. We can do nothing apart 00:52:49.090 --> 00:52:51.190 from you. So God, I pray that you would light 00:52:51.190 --> 00:52:54.230 fires in our hearts today based on the gospel, 00:52:54.349 --> 00:52:56.989 based on what we read in this letter. Light fires 00:52:56.989 --> 00:53:00.510 in our hearts, God, to change, to grow, to mature 00:53:00.510 --> 00:53:03.550 in the faith, and to love others better. And 00:53:03.550 --> 00:53:05.909 Lord, may the motivation for all that be your 00:53:05.909 --> 00:53:08.400 glory. and the good of your people. We thank 00:53:08.400 --> 00:53:10.360 you for our time together this morning. In Jesus' 00:53:10.440 --> 00:53:11.300 name, amen.