WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:09.260 Welcome to the Willow Ridge Sermons Podcast, where you can listen to audio from our most 00:00:09.260 --> 00:00:13.960 recent sermons and more. Thanks for listening, and be sure to add this show to your library 00:00:13.960 --> 00:00:16.860 if you'd like to automatically receive new episodes each week. 00:00:27.160 --> 00:00:35.760 For all these years, good morning. Thank you so much for weathering the storm that we've been 00:00:35.760 --> 00:00:41.880 having out there. And a side note on that, in the event that all our phones go off with a warning, 00:00:42.720 --> 00:00:48.660 our kids have a plan for over there in building two. They'll enter into the inner rooms and hallways 00:00:48.660 --> 00:00:54.380 away from any glass. And if you would just kind of filter off to the side and out into the hallway 00:00:54.380 --> 00:01:00.420 or into the stairwell. And we'll just, in the event of that, we'll wait until something passes. 00:01:00.980 --> 00:01:06.100 But don't try to be a hero and run over and get your child. They will take care of them over there, 00:01:06.600 --> 00:01:13.360 hopefully and prayerfully. I emphasize prayerfully, that won't be the case. But in the event that 00:01:13.360 --> 00:01:19.920 happens, at least we have a plan and you'll know what you'll need to do. As Joel mentioned, 00:01:19.920 --> 00:01:23.740 Pastor Bo and the team are there in India. They'll begin their week this week. I mean, 00:01:23.760 --> 00:01:28.520 they've been already doing some work, but have a full week ahead of them. And then I'll be heading 00:01:28.520 --> 00:01:34.540 with a team back to Salt Lake City to work with our church planning partner, March the 26th. So if 00:01:34.540 --> 00:01:39.680 you'd be praying for us as well. And then we've got our discipleship studies coming up. Hopefully you 00:01:39.680 --> 00:01:45.340 see the card in the seat closest to you. Got another great group going on against the darkness that 00:01:45.340 --> 00:01:51.860 Pastor Bo is going to be teaching about angels and demons experiencing grief. We've all either have 00:01:51.860 --> 00:01:58.840 experienced that or will experience that in our life led by Chad Fry. And then get out of your head. 00:01:58.900 --> 00:02:05.060 It's just a women's study led by Aaron Bradbury. We all battle thoughts in our, in our, in our head. 00:02:05.060 --> 00:02:11.500 And, uh, so it's kind of guide, uh, through that. And then the ruthless elimination of, of hurry. Uh, 00:02:11.500 --> 00:02:17.240 we've brought that one back and, uh, Lisa Van Ham is leading that one. It's a great study for men and for 00:02:17.240 --> 00:02:23.840 women. Uh, and then world religions and cults, uh, that Mike Vaught is going to be leading covers a wide 00:02:23.840 --> 00:02:30.940 variety of the world religions and cults that all of us, uh, either have heard about or have experienced through a 00:02:30.940 --> 00:02:37.140 relationship that we know, uh, of a person. So just a lot of great studies. It'll start next Sunday. So 00:02:37.140 --> 00:02:42.840 please be sure to go register for one of those studies as we begin our fourth session, as we head 00:02:42.840 --> 00:02:49.540 towards the summer. Well, if you will turn to Titus chapter two, I'm picking up where Pastor Bo left off 00:02:49.540 --> 00:02:57.320 in the second chapter verses 11 through 15. Uh, I do want to read this verse of scripture for us as we get 00:02:57.320 --> 00:03:06.440 started Titus one chapter one, verse one, uh, just a reminder of one of the reasons that Paul sent this letter, uh, 00:03:06.440 --> 00:03:13.860 to Titus. Paul is servant of God and apostle of Jesus Christ for the sake of the faith of God's elect and their 00:03:13.860 --> 00:03:23.740 knowledge of the truth, which accords with godliness. So it's for your sake, for my sake, that God builds us up and 00:03:23.740 --> 00:03:31.280 readies us to obtain the knowledge that he desires for you to, you and I to obtain for the sole purpose 00:03:31.280 --> 00:03:38.080 of being godly, for the sole purpose of walking in the image of God that he's created you and I 00:03:38.080 --> 00:03:44.700 to walk in. So if you will, let's join me in prayer as we dive in a little further to this passage. 00:03:45.740 --> 00:03:51.560 Lord, thank you for the opportunity that you have given us to gather together this morning 00:03:51.560 --> 00:03:59.160 to worship you in song and to worship you through the reading and the learning of your word and your 00:03:59.160 --> 00:04:06.360 truth. Father, pray for Pastor Bo and the team as they minister, uh, these days ahead, Lord, that you 00:04:06.360 --> 00:04:11.640 would just continue to protect them and continue just to open doors of opportunity for them to share the 00:04:11.640 --> 00:04:16.860 gospel. Father, I pray for the team that's going to Salt Lake City, Lord, that you would continue to 00:04:16.860 --> 00:04:23.380 the efforts that the team, uh, in assisting our church planner and Lord, what you're doing there. 00:04:24.480 --> 00:04:31.340 Father, we pray for the folks who've been devastated by this storm, uh, that's come through, uh, Lord, 00:04:31.420 --> 00:04:39.860 help them to find the hope that only you can provide where we know that nothing goes and happens in this 00:04:39.860 --> 00:04:46.560 world without your knowledge of it. And so Lord, you're always there to love us and to minister, minister to 00:04:46.560 --> 00:04:55.120 us. And so Lord, we, we thank you. We thank you for who you are and for what you do in our lives. We ask this 00:04:55.120 --> 00:05:01.840 prayer in your name. Amen. Well, let's kind of go back a little bit. Let's kind of recap. Remember, Paul is 00:05:01.840 --> 00:05:07.720 sending this letter to Titus, who is a young pastor. He is on the island of Crete. The island of Crete is 00:05:07.720 --> 00:05:13.380 basically a very sinful place. And so there's a lot of churches there that are being planted and there's 00:05:13.380 --> 00:05:18.760 a lot of new believers there, but there's also some conflict in the fact that there are false teachers 00:05:18.760 --> 00:05:24.520 in these churches. And so the conflict arises with some of these new believers trying to discover what 00:05:24.520 --> 00:05:31.280 is truth and what is false. And so Paul has appointed Titus with the task of bringing order to these 00:05:31.280 --> 00:05:37.340 churches there on the island of Crete. But not only that, when we see in the rest of the part of chapter 00:05:37.340 --> 00:05:46.900 one, he's asked Titus to select elders for these churches to help with the process of weeding out 00:05:46.900 --> 00:05:52.360 these false teachers, to help with the process of confronting the false teaching there. And then 00:05:52.360 --> 00:05:59.200 Pastor Bo shared with us in chapter two last week that Paul was encouraging Titus to teach sound 00:05:59.200 --> 00:06:06.160 doctrine. And then we also discovered the important markers in a mature believer's life, an older man, 00:06:06.240 --> 00:06:11.520 an older woman, as well as a younger man and a younger woman, the importance of having godly 00:06:11.520 --> 00:06:18.040 characteristics in our lives. And so now you and I come to the second and final part of chapter two, 00:06:18.360 --> 00:06:25.380 verses 11 and 11 through 15. So if you would join me as we read these five verses together. 00:06:26.820 --> 00:06:33.200 For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce 00:06:33.200 --> 00:06:38.780 ungodliness and worldly passions and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in the 00:06:38.780 --> 00:06:45.360 present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, 00:06:45.360 --> 00:06:53.700 Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself 00:06:53.700 --> 00:07:01.460 a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works. Declare these things, exhort and 00:07:01.460 --> 00:07:09.060 rebuke with all authority. Let no one disregard you. So let's break this down. Let's go verse by verse 00:07:09.060 --> 00:07:17.700 and see what it is that Paul is asking of Titus here. As he begins there in verse 11, for the grace 00:07:17.700 --> 00:07:23.980 of God has appeared. That word for is so important because as Titus is reading this letter, it should 00:07:23.980 --> 00:07:30.620 call him to go back and look at everything that he has just read in that letter. To be able to talk 00:07:30.620 --> 00:07:36.460 about and to remember about false teachings, to remember about what it, what it, what the characteristics 00:07:36.460 --> 00:07:43.100 need to be in elders, the qualities of godliness that needs to be in them. And so that word for is so 00:07:43.100 --> 00:07:52.680 important. It connects going backward. But to see that phrase, the grace of God has appeared. The word grace 00:07:52.680 --> 00:08:01.360 is that understanding for you and I that God's grace is the fact that we don't get what we deserve as 00:08:01.360 --> 00:08:11.340 sinful people. But because of God's grace, he overlooks that. Because of God's grace, he still loves us and 00:08:11.340 --> 00:08:18.840 forgives us. But what I found fascinating is this word or the phrase that Paul uses here that grace of God 00:08:18.840 --> 00:08:26.340 God has appeared. What does he mean by that? It goes all the way back. You think about the Old Testament when 00:08:26.340 --> 00:08:33.520 the prophecy that Jesus would come, right? And then we see in the Gospels, we see in Matthew that Jesus, 00:08:33.800 --> 00:08:40.960 the Christ, was born. And we understand that in his birth meant that his name would be Emmanuel, that his name 00:08:40.960 --> 00:08:47.940 would literally mean God with us. So that is what Paul is saying just in this simple phrase that the grace of 00:08:47.940 --> 00:08:56.380 God has appeared, that Jesus has appeared. Now Titus would know that. Titus would know that because of the 00:08:56.380 --> 00:09:03.080 teaching that he would have heard from Paul. It is interesting that when you look at that word appear in 00:09:03.080 --> 00:09:10.140 the Greek, it gives this understanding that it's the image of the sun coming up. It's the image of the sun 00:09:10.140 --> 00:09:15.860 breaking forth. Have you ever taken the opportunity that if you were ever at the beach or ever in a location 00:09:15.860 --> 00:09:22.760 where you could see the sun rising up, did you ever take the opportunity to watch it? Whereas the sun comes 00:09:22.760 --> 00:09:30.180 up over the horizon and this, the magnificence of that sun just exploding across the horizon 00:09:30.180 --> 00:09:38.440 to let you and I know that a new morning has come. Now take that image and think about as Christ 00:09:38.440 --> 00:09:45.540 entered the world, who's going to be our savior, who's going to be our Lord, who's going to be the one who 00:09:45.540 --> 00:09:54.760 would take on the burden of our sin. And Paul says, grace of God has appeared. And then he connects with 00:09:54.760 --> 00:10:00.820 that. He says, bringing salvation for all people. So not only would Christ appear, but he would also be 00:10:00.820 --> 00:10:08.220 the one to bring salvation for you and salvation for me. And it's great to see that one little word there 00:10:08.220 --> 00:10:16.720 before people, the word all that it's not just for a select few. It's not just for a group of a couple of 00:10:16.720 --> 00:10:22.400 thousand people or a couple of a hundred thousand people, but the gift and the invitation of salvation 00:10:22.400 --> 00:10:30.500 is for all people. No matter your walk of life, you and I and everybody else is included in that word. 00:10:30.500 --> 00:10:36.880 All it's important for you and I to see that and to understand that it's not for a select group, 00:10:36.880 --> 00:10:46.380 but God sent Christ into the world to bring salvation to you, to me, to everyone. Just as Paul reminds 00:10:46.380 --> 00:10:54.740 Titus here, then in verse 12, he picks up and he says, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly 00:10:54.740 --> 00:11:02.200 passions and to live self-controlled upright and godly lives in the present age. That word training, 00:11:02.200 --> 00:11:08.780 right? They're so important for you and I, you see, we don't come to know God as our Lord and Savior and 00:11:08.780 --> 00:11:16.920 say, I'm done. I'm good. I got everything squared away. No, you and I have to be about training our lives 00:11:16.920 --> 00:11:26.140 into the things of God. You and I have to be about allowing God to mold and shape us. You and I have 00:11:26.140 --> 00:11:32.160 to be about looking at the spiritual practices that we noticed in scripture and adding those and making 00:11:32.160 --> 00:11:37.500 those a part of our life for the sole purpose of drawing us closer to God, for the sole purpose 00:11:37.500 --> 00:11:44.840 of equipping us to be the people that God has called us to be. And then just that simple word of what it 00:11:44.840 --> 00:11:53.640 means for us. It's Paul and Timothy, but it's also you and me. It's that phrase that Paul used earlier 00:11:53.640 --> 00:11:59.300 in chapter one about common faith, that he and Titus were of common faith. You and I are of common 00:11:59.300 --> 00:12:08.460 faith. So training us is so important. You see that word trained or training is used quite often in 00:12:08.460 --> 00:12:16.080 scripture. In Luke chapter six, verse 40, we read these words spoken by Jesus. A disciple is not above 00:12:16.080 --> 00:12:25.320 his teacher, but everyone when he is fully trained will be like his teacher. That person has become 00:12:25.320 --> 00:12:34.000 equipped to be able to teach and train others. First Timothy four, seven, we see these words that Paul is 00:12:34.000 --> 00:12:40.000 writing once again to another young pastor named Timothy says in the chapter four, verse seven, having 00:12:40.000 --> 00:12:47.120 nothing to do with irreverent or silly myths, rather train yourself for godliness. 00:12:49.120 --> 00:12:55.440 Hopefully you and I know what training looks like in our lives, right? Training means that 00:12:55.440 --> 00:13:04.160 that God's word becomes your manual for preparing yourself for now, but also preparing yourself for 00:13:04.160 --> 00:13:11.280 eternity. That's what it means to train. Training yourself means that you connect with a discipleship 00:13:11.280 --> 00:13:18.400 studies so you can learn another aspect of your walk with the Lord and realize other things about God's 00:13:18.400 --> 00:13:24.400 truth. Training means connecting in a small group so that you can learn together what it means to walk 00:13:24.400 --> 00:13:30.400 in relationship with God. Training means that you have somebody that you can go to for guidance that 00:13:30.400 --> 00:13:38.160 you can go to, and they will speak God's truth into your life. Training means anything that you can learn 00:13:38.160 --> 00:13:47.200 and grow because of your relationship with God. Training is one of those things that we just don't do the first few 00:13:47.200 --> 00:13:56.880 years of our walk with God. Training is what you and I do until the day we die. Reading God's word doesn't mean we 00:13:56.880 --> 00:14:03.680 just read it for a few years to kind of get a grasp of it. No, we read God's word and consume God's word over and over 00:14:03.680 --> 00:14:11.200 again to the very last breath that you and I breathe. If you want to get good at something, 00:14:11.200 --> 00:14:21.360 what do you and I do? We train, right? We stay at it. I remember our oldest son when he wanted to pursue 00:14:21.360 --> 00:14:28.560 golf, one of the things that he did was get in our yard and we get in the front yard and chip balls into 00:14:28.560 --> 00:14:34.560 the backyard. Thankfully for the majority of the time he used those wiffle ball golf balls and it didn't 00:14:34.560 --> 00:14:41.520 break glass. But I noticed his short game was phenomenal. Why? Because day in and day out, 00:14:41.520 --> 00:14:47.920 he just kept chipping golf balls, chipping, chipping, chipping. You and I, when we are constantly in God's 00:14:47.920 --> 00:14:53.920 word, training ourselves for the things of God, God just begins to mold and shape us. 00:14:53.920 --> 00:15:03.920 God re-refigures our mind because we're thinking about the things of God. God begins to work on our 00:15:03.920 --> 00:15:10.480 relationships because we see in God's word, how we're to deal with our relationships that we have 00:15:10.480 --> 00:15:17.680 here on earth. In the midst of training ourselves on the things of God, God does what he prepares to do. 00:15:19.360 --> 00:15:23.920 But another thing that happens in your life and in my life is God prepares us for those 00:15:24.480 --> 00:15:30.640 in the moment realities. Maybe it is we face something that is difficult, but because we spent 00:15:30.640 --> 00:15:36.000 time in God's word, we've spent time training, we're ready to face those difficult times because 00:15:36.640 --> 00:15:44.320 God has spoken into our lives because of our time spent in his word. See, God prepares us for the moments 00:15:44.320 --> 00:15:50.480 in life because of the investment that we have made in our relationship with him and the investment we 00:15:50.480 --> 00:15:58.160 have made in his word. In this verse, it also says to renounce, which also means to deny 00:15:59.040 --> 00:16:02.000 ungodliness and worldly passions. 00:16:04.640 --> 00:16:10.640 We had the opportunity this morning at nine o'clock to hear Jason Bush's testimony and in his testimony, 00:16:10.640 --> 00:16:19.200 he used that word world. You see, anytime you and I see in scripture, the word world is usually an 00:16:19.200 --> 00:16:27.200 opposition of what and who God is. So when you see the word world in scripture, it's not a good thing. 00:16:28.240 --> 00:16:34.800 It's not a thing that you and I are to dive into. It's usually something that you and I are to guard 00:16:34.800 --> 00:16:42.240 against or to you and I are to run away from. And just in this part of the verse that that Paul wrote here, 00:16:42.240 --> 00:16:50.800 you and I are to deny ungodliness. So anything in our life that that represents the world, we're to deny that. 00:16:52.480 --> 00:16:56.160 If it's a TV show that we shouldn't be watching, we should be saying no. 00:16:57.040 --> 00:17:02.400 If it's a relationship that we're having, we should be saying no. If it doesn't honor God. 00:17:03.280 --> 00:17:08.640 If it's a financial decision that we're making and it doesn't honor God, then we should be saying no. 00:17:08.640 --> 00:17:15.680 Anything that does not represent God. And we don't want to get sucked into the worldly passions that are 00:17:15.680 --> 00:17:21.360 so prevalent around us. We, we have everything so much in our hands nowadays with our phone. And 00:17:21.360 --> 00:17:27.680 so it doesn't even, we don't even need the TV anymore. And so God doesn't want you and I to pursue 00:17:27.680 --> 00:17:34.400 worldly passions. And like Paul is saying here to Titus, he says, deny those things in your life. 00:17:35.680 --> 00:17:38.480 Hebrews chapter five, verse 14 says this, 00:17:39.600 --> 00:17:46.000 but solid food, solid food, those things that go beyond just the biblical stories that we like to 00:17:46.000 --> 00:17:52.240 tell about like David and Goliath. It goes deeper than that. It goes deeper into what those truths are 00:17:52.240 --> 00:17:59.200 that surround those biblical stories of like David and Goliath. What do we want to see about who God is? 00:18:02.320 --> 00:18:09.120 But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment. Such an important word 00:18:09.120 --> 00:18:15.520 right there, discernment. Because when you and I are training ourselves in God's word, we take on 00:18:15.520 --> 00:18:22.640 spiritual discernment. Therefore we know what is right. Therefore we know what is wrong. Because we've 00:18:22.640 --> 00:18:27.840 become a student of God's word and we know what God's word says about the things of the world. We know what 00:18:27.840 --> 00:18:34.800 God's word says about our relationship with him and what he desires for us. Powers of discernment trained, 00:18:36.000 --> 00:18:44.000 and listen to this word, by constant practice. The thing that I love about God's word is every word is 00:18:44.000 --> 00:18:51.600 is carefully chosen and selected for you and I to get an understanding. Not just to throw a word in there 00:18:51.600 --> 00:18:58.400 to make it sound good. Notice for you and I to get an understanding of what God wants us to understand 00:18:58.400 --> 00:19:06.960 by constant practice. Not doing it on occasion, not doing it when you feel like it, but doing it 00:19:06.960 --> 00:19:13.840 constantly. And as it says there at the end, to distinguish good from evil. 00:19:16.000 --> 00:19:23.120 It's important for you and I to denounce, to renounce and deny ungodliness and worldly passions. And then 00:19:23.120 --> 00:19:30.000 he goes on to say, so when you deny that this is now what you need to do, he says to live self-controlled. 00:19:31.200 --> 00:19:37.280 You see, self-control is in that inner, our inner self. It's the inward reality of you and I 00:19:37.280 --> 00:19:43.200 establishing in ourselves by our understanding of God and his word, what we will not do. 00:19:45.440 --> 00:19:51.120 Going ahead and having the tools necessary to be ready to say, I'm not going to do that. That's 00:19:51.120 --> 00:19:58.080 not the character that God would have me to do. And then Paul says and uses the word there upright. 00:20:00.400 --> 00:20:06.960 The idea there is our outward existence, our outwardness to our family, our outwardness to our 00:20:06.960 --> 00:20:16.160 friends, our outwardness to our co-workers. It's who we display as a believer in Christ. We display Christ to 00:20:16.160 --> 00:20:26.560 them. And then Paul says and godly, meaning we represent our relationship with God. We understand that 00:20:26.560 --> 00:20:32.800 we're to develop our relationship with God. So denying these things that look like the world, denying the 00:20:32.800 --> 00:20:40.160 things that are ungodly, but taking on the idea of self-control, taking on being upright, taking on 00:20:40.160 --> 00:20:47.280 living that godly life. And then he says in there in this present age. So in the very moment that you 00:20:47.280 --> 00:20:52.880 and I are living right now in this moment is the present age, knowing that the age to come, 00:20:54.160 --> 00:20:59.760 knowing that the future that is in front of you and I as a follower of Christ, spending eternity with God 00:21:00.800 --> 00:21:07.120 is not too far off. Because when you look at verse 13, we hear these words of Paul. 00:21:08.880 --> 00:21:15.360 Waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing, there's that word again, the appearing of the glory 00:21:16.240 --> 00:21:27.680 of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ. Now, no show of hands, but how many of y'all got fidgety and 00:21:27.680 --> 00:21:34.160 started squirming a little bit when you heard the word waiting? I'm not a very good waiter. 00:21:36.240 --> 00:21:40.080 I'm that type of person that when I pull into a drive-through, I'm counting the cars. 00:21:40.960 --> 00:21:47.120 I got five in front of me. It says a whole lot about me. If I get in situations, I start counting. 00:21:48.000 --> 00:21:50.080 My wife will tell you, I'm not a good waiter. 00:21:52.560 --> 00:22:00.560 But Paul says right here to Timothy, waiting for our, a Christ follower. If you can say that I 00:22:00.560 --> 00:22:10.160 am a Christ follower, that word are means you. Waiting for our blessed hope. What is our blessed hope? 00:22:10.160 --> 00:22:18.640 And he says it right here. The appearing of the glory of great, our great God and Savior Jesus Christ. 00:22:19.920 --> 00:22:25.680 Let me go back. Cause I didn't want to miss this verse. Psalm 62, verse five, talking about weight. 00:22:26.320 --> 00:22:34.640 The Psalmist writes for God alone. Oh, my soul. Wait in silence for my hope is from him. 00:22:36.800 --> 00:22:44.640 For God alone. Oh, my soul. Wait in silence for my hope is from him. 00:22:46.240 --> 00:22:50.560 You see, there's actually, when you look at the word weight in scripture, when you see some of these 00:22:50.560 --> 00:22:54.240 verses, we're talking about weight. There's a calmness there. 00:22:56.480 --> 00:23:05.920 There's a time of deep breathing and exhaling because you know who you're waiting on. 00:23:05.920 --> 00:23:08.960 You know what you're waiting for. 00:23:10.800 --> 00:23:15.760 And our waiting is to be active. It's not passive waiting. 00:23:17.200 --> 00:23:24.800 It's waiting in anticipation of God. It's waiting in anticipation of God's return. 00:23:24.800 --> 00:23:31.840 It says there, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ. 00:23:34.560 --> 00:23:37.680 When's the last time you had that longing for God's return? 00:23:39.120 --> 00:23:45.440 When's that last time you thought about God's return in a moment of, of joy and excitement? 00:23:46.560 --> 00:23:52.080 I mean, that's the picture that you and I get here as Paul is writing this to time to Titus. 00:23:56.640 --> 00:24:01.200 Hebrews, Hebrews nine verses 27 through 28 say these words. 00:24:02.080 --> 00:24:07.200 And just as it is appointed for man to die once and after that comes judgment. 00:24:08.000 --> 00:24:14.800 So Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time. 00:24:15.840 --> 00:24:21.840 Not to deal with sin, but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him. 00:24:22.880 --> 00:24:24.480 Will appear a second time. 00:24:24.480 --> 00:24:28.880 And then that last part, eagerly waiting for him. 00:24:30.480 --> 00:24:35.120 Are you and I eagerly waiting for the return of Christ? 00:24:37.600 --> 00:24:43.600 Or does Satan get us so busy, so frustrated, so filled with anxiety that 00:24:44.720 --> 00:24:46.720 we're just thinking about how to make it through? 00:24:48.000 --> 00:24:52.080 You see, that's why it's so important with some of the spiritual disciplines we read about in the 00:24:52.080 --> 00:24:59.120 scripture to, to push away, to get away for silence and solitude, because we get to push away the stuff. 00:25:01.280 --> 00:25:04.320 And we just, we just get to be in the presence of God. 00:25:08.640 --> 00:25:16.080 And he goes on to say in verse 14, referring to Christ, our great God and Savior. 00:25:16.080 --> 00:25:25.360 And verse 14, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a 00:25:25.360 --> 00:25:32.960 people for his own possession who are zealous for good works, who gave himself for us. 00:25:34.560 --> 00:25:45.520 You see, what is in God's plan from the beginning of time, from beginning of creation, that he would bring you and I a savior who would save us from our sins. 00:25:46.480 --> 00:25:51.920 And that Jesus willingly gave his life for you and willingly gave his life for me. 00:25:53.360 --> 00:25:55.600 Do you remember when he was in the garden of Gethsemane? 00:25:56.400 --> 00:25:59.040 He was having a conversation with God, the father. 00:26:00.000 --> 00:26:03.920 And he says to him, he says, not my will, but your will be done. 00:26:04.720 --> 00:26:10.800 If there was a way for, for Jesus not to have to go to the cross, he was wanting to do that. 00:26:10.800 --> 00:26:18.000 But yet he knew because of surrender to his father, God, that was the plan and the destination. 00:26:18.000 --> 00:26:20.800 He said, your will be done. 00:26:20.800 --> 00:26:30.880 He willingly gave himself for you and for me to redeem us, to make us clean from all our lawlessness. 00:26:31.360 --> 00:26:34.200 Think about that, all our lawlessness. 00:26:35.080 --> 00:26:44.300 So my sins in my past, my sins in my present, my sins in my future, Christ with the cross to die and become a sacrifice for my sins, 00:26:44.300 --> 00:26:48.120 to redeem and to make me right before God, the father. 00:26:49.500 --> 00:26:55.580 And then it also says, Paul also says there to purify for himself a people. 00:26:57.980 --> 00:27:08.080 First John 3, 16 says to you and I, first John 3, 16, by this, we know love that he laid down his life for us, 00:27:08.120 --> 00:27:11.100 that Jesus laid down his life for us. 00:27:11.720 --> 00:27:14.200 And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. 00:27:15.120 --> 00:27:16.360 That's real love. 00:27:17.780 --> 00:27:19.040 Jesus loved you so much. 00:27:19.100 --> 00:27:26.500 He loved me so much that he willingly laid down his life for us to redeem us. 00:27:28.280 --> 00:27:31.900 That word redeem, it means to buy out. 00:27:33.900 --> 00:27:35.620 Jesus bought us. 00:27:35.620 --> 00:27:41.060 He bought out to cover our sin for you and for me. 00:27:42.000 --> 00:27:52.140 Then to purify us, to make us, to make us right, to purify us, to be that presentation, to be that person before God, the father. 00:27:53.700 --> 00:27:56.900 Now that last phrase there, people for his own possession. 00:27:57.360 --> 00:27:59.560 Don't be scared of that word, possession. 00:28:00.580 --> 00:28:04.720 We think of that sometimes, we think, I don't want somebody to possess me. 00:28:04.800 --> 00:28:06.340 I don't want somebody to own me. 00:28:06.440 --> 00:28:10.500 But in this aspect, that's the best thing for us. 00:28:11.640 --> 00:28:21.240 For you and I to be the children of God, to be heirs of God, to be heirs to his throne, you and I want to be possessed by God. 00:28:21.300 --> 00:28:26.260 And that happens when you and I give our lives to God as Savior and Lord. 00:28:26.260 --> 00:28:39.920 And then the last thing he says there in verse 14, he says, basically people, you and I, who are zealous, who are eager for good works. 00:28:41.180 --> 00:28:54.340 So you and I, when we allow God to, and Jesus Christ to be in us the way he desires, and we live our lives according to God's word, as we read it. 00:28:56.180 --> 00:29:03.680 We can't help but to be zealous, we can't help but to be eager to do good things. 00:29:04.500 --> 00:29:08.300 We can't help but to do something for our neighbor. 00:29:08.460 --> 00:29:10.720 We can't help to do something for our co-worker. 00:29:10.880 --> 00:29:20.100 We can't help but to do something for our family member because God has wired us in that way when we became a believer. 00:29:21.040 --> 00:29:28.820 God, as he continued to mold and shape us, we can't help to do those things because God has prepared us to do that. 00:29:29.620 --> 00:29:35.600 Eager for serving and ministering to others where we live, where we work, and where we play. 00:29:37.260 --> 00:29:42.660 And then Paul finally says to Titus, as he wraps up this part of the letter, 00:29:44.300 --> 00:29:47.540 he says, declare these things. 00:29:49.240 --> 00:29:52.120 Titus, everything that I've just written to you in this letter, 00:29:53.220 --> 00:29:59.180 everything that you've just read and you've just pondered and you've just allowed to mull over in your mind, 00:29:59.260 --> 00:30:01.380 he says, declare these things. 00:30:02.000 --> 00:30:03.480 They need to be said. 00:30:04.520 --> 00:30:06.260 They have to be reminded. 00:30:07.700 --> 00:30:08.660 I know I do. 00:30:09.900 --> 00:30:14.040 I know that's one reason why I continue to read God's word because I forget. 00:30:14.920 --> 00:30:20.460 And there are things in my life that I need God to remind me of and he does that in his word. 00:30:21.220 --> 00:30:22.540 Declare these things. 00:30:23.600 --> 00:30:25.780 Exhort and rebuke with all authority. 00:30:28.300 --> 00:30:30.740 Titus, make sure that you're encouraging people, 00:30:30.960 --> 00:30:34.700 but Titus, make sure that you're helping people see the blind spots. 00:30:36.580 --> 00:30:42.300 Titus, help people see that those believers, when they're not living the way they should be living, 00:30:42.760 --> 00:30:44.380 help them to understand that. 00:30:44.500 --> 00:30:46.720 Help them to realize that. 00:30:48.900 --> 00:30:55.040 I mean, how else are you and I going to know our blind spots if somebody's not speaking into our life, right? 00:30:56.440 --> 00:30:59.000 And that's what Paul is saying to Titus here. 00:31:00.380 --> 00:31:05.500 And then he says, listen, don't let, don't let anyone disregard you. 00:31:07.420 --> 00:31:11.300 Don't let anyone think that what you have to say is not of value. 00:31:13.380 --> 00:31:16.000 It's an encouragement to keep on keeping on. 00:31:17.020 --> 00:31:23.460 It's an encouragement that when somebody says, listen, I don't need to listen to you, chances are they need to listen to you, right? 00:31:25.040 --> 00:31:29.420 There are times in our life we don't want to hear truth, but we know that we need to hear truth. 00:31:30.960 --> 00:31:39.580 And just because someone may kind of shrug you off or say, eh, don't allow that to make you to give up. 00:31:40.140 --> 00:31:41.280 Keep pressing on. 00:31:43.820 --> 00:31:50.500 Allow God to continue to use you to make an impact and a difference in somebody's life. 00:31:53.500 --> 00:32:01.440 So in wrapping up, I want us to kind of see some things that kind of stood out to us in this passage. 00:32:02.740 --> 00:32:04.060 One of those is this. 00:32:07.640 --> 00:32:09.060 We need to receive. 00:32:09.320 --> 00:32:12.340 We need to be on the receiving end of God's salvation. 00:32:14.340 --> 00:32:15.820 Receiving God's salvation. 00:32:15.820 --> 00:32:20.320 It's the most important decision that you will ever make in your life. 00:32:20.760 --> 00:32:32.240 So the question is, have you said yes to God's invitation of salvation, God's invitation of forgiveness, God's invitation to be Lord and Savior of your life? 00:32:32.460 --> 00:32:34.600 Have you ever said yes to God? 00:32:36.040 --> 00:32:38.860 If you haven't, don't let the opportunity slip away. 00:32:38.860 --> 00:32:44.980 In a moment when we close together in singing, we're going to have our prayer encouragers on the side. 00:32:45.100 --> 00:32:47.580 They're always there to pray with folks. 00:32:47.680 --> 00:32:52.000 Whatever burden you have, whatever you're going through, decision to make, they want to pray with you. 00:32:52.060 --> 00:33:01.900 But also, if you're here this morning and you've never made that commitment to follow Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, they're there to guide you. 00:33:01.960 --> 00:33:14.620 So when we start to sing, if that's the decision that you need to make, and you do, to be in relationship with God presently and in the future, then you go and talk to them. 00:33:16.000 --> 00:33:17.860 The second thing there is this. 00:33:19.080 --> 00:33:25.080 We have to continually deny ourselves while living for God in this present age. 00:33:26.940 --> 00:33:29.840 Life is a series at times of battles. 00:33:31.300 --> 00:33:35.020 Battling the worldly thoughts that we have or the worldly desires. 00:33:37.300 --> 00:33:39.660 And God says, you've got to deny those. 00:33:40.300 --> 00:33:48.600 And you and I have to realize that while we're here in this present age, we will go about denying ourselves those things that aren't good for us. 00:33:50.620 --> 00:33:55.280 I mean, one of our mindsets needs to be when we read God's word is this. 00:33:56.620 --> 00:34:00.640 Not only is it about our relationship with the Lord, but it's also about God loves us so much. 00:34:00.640 --> 00:34:12.460 And in that God has direct or is directing us through his word for what is best for us in life. 00:34:12.620 --> 00:34:20.240 So when we deny worldly passions, when we deny ungodliness in our life, it's for our good. 00:34:22.100 --> 00:34:23.120 Another thing is this. 00:34:23.120 --> 00:34:23.340 Another thing is this. 00:34:23.340 --> 00:34:27.220 Longing and preparing for God's eternal presence. 00:34:27.220 --> 00:34:33.980 Man, let us long and prepare ourselves for God's eternal presence. 00:34:34.080 --> 00:34:38.600 Let's live in the moment now, enjoying the presence of God. 00:34:38.600 --> 00:34:45.940 But let's not forget to long for and prepare ourselves for living in eternity in the presence of God. 00:34:47.200 --> 00:34:52.220 And then lastly, declaring and standing up for God's truth. 00:34:54.220 --> 00:35:04.740 Man, if there ever was a time in our life where we as Christ followers need to be about declaring and standing up for his truth, it's now. 00:35:06.100 --> 00:35:14.820 Not walking away from conversations that seem uncomfortable, not walking away from our conversations where we know we need to speak up. 00:35:14.900 --> 00:35:16.960 We need to speak the truth of God. 00:35:18.220 --> 00:35:26.160 It's time for us to stand up for God and for God's word and for what we know of his truth. 00:35:27.940 --> 00:35:39.100 God has continually and will continually reveal his truth to you and to me as we place ourselves in the scripture and as we read and learn from his word. 00:35:40.780 --> 00:35:42.020 Will you join me in prayer? 00:35:46.980 --> 00:35:55.980 Father, we know from your word that when we read it, when we study it, when we understand it, that it does not return void. 00:35:58.160 --> 00:36:00.140 Your truth speaks into our life. 00:36:00.240 --> 00:36:01.960 Your truth digs into our life. 00:36:04.020 --> 00:36:09.120 And Lord, it molds and shapes us into the very person that you desire for us to be. 00:36:10.020 --> 00:36:12.160 So Lord, help us not to forget that. 00:36:15.120 --> 00:36:19.600 Thank you, Lord, for putting together this book that we call the Bible. 00:36:21.900 --> 00:36:26.120 Because it is your truth and it is the only truth for life. 00:36:31.680 --> 00:36:44.560 Lord, I pray that if there's anybody here this morning that doesn't know you as personal Lord and Savior, that Father, you would give your strength and courage for them to make the decision today for their life. 00:36:45.920 --> 00:36:50.040 And to begin that process of growing and to begin that process of growing in relationship to you. 00:36:53.340 --> 00:37:06.240 Father, if there's somebody here that is struggling with denying ungodliness or denying worldly passions, Father, I pray that through your Holy Spirit in their life, that Lord, you would speak the truth. 00:37:08.580 --> 00:37:15.060 That Lord, you would give them through your spirit what they need to say no to those things in their life. 00:37:17.360 --> 00:37:24.900 And Lord, to begin that healing process of washing away that sin, washing away that guilt. 00:37:27.580 --> 00:37:34.560 Lord, thank you so much for loving us so much that you desire what is best. 00:37:36.920 --> 00:37:41.380 We give all the glory, we give all the glory, we give all the honor to you for who you are. 00:37:42.760 --> 00:37:45.620 Our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ. 00:37:47.040 --> 00:37:48.700 We ask this prayer in your name. 00:37:49.300 --> 00:37:49.600 Amen. 00:37:51.260 --> 00:37:52.960 That's it for this week's message. 00:37:53.480 --> 00:37:55.760 Be sure to check back next week for a new episode. 00:37:56.360 --> 00:38:00.540 And in the meantime, you can visit us online at willowridgechurch.org 00:38:00.540 --> 00:38:04.980 or by searching for Willow Ridge Church on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. 00:38:05.460 --> 00:38:06.360 Thanks again for listening. 00:38:06.920 --> 00:38:18.700 We'll see you next week.