Overcoming As a True Believer Titus 2:11

Thank you. Before we begin, we're going to have

a little bit of an object lesson today. So it's

an activity to just kind of see something, I

think, point at something about the scripture.

So I need three volunteers. All right, Tom, come

on. Autumn, come on. Did you put your hand up?

Because I'm volunteering. All right, come on.

I thought you should put your hand up. I'm not

sure. Okay. I'm in. All right. So one person

is going to be the target, and the other two

people are going to be the chaser. Any volunteers?

Anybody want to be the target? You're the odd

man out. You can be the guard. Stand on the back

row back there, and I'll come tell you what to

do in a second. Okay? The two of you are going

to stand side by side right here. Okay. Now,

the rest of you are all participating, too, so

I need a list of five things that people really

like. Tacos and chocolate. Tacos and chocolate

are two. Roller coaster. Ice cream. Roller coaster.

Tacos, chocolate, ice cream, roller coaster is

one more. Okay, superhero movies. Movies, we'll

narrow down to superhero movies. All right, so

we've got tacos, chocolate, ice cream, roller

coasters, and superhero movies. Oh, my goodness.

You're giving me a sound a little like a picture

of heaven here. Okay, so this is pretty good

stuff, right? Just add in Jesus. How about we

add in Jesus? Okay, wait, Jesus number six. All

right? All right, so tacos, chocolate. I've got

superhero movies, roller coasters, and on this

one? Ice cream. Ice cream. Oh, can't forget the

ice cream. We all scream for ice cream. I won't

forget it again. Okay, so we're going to play

this little game. I'm going to give you two ladies,

you're going to stand side by side facing this

way. I'm going to give each of you one of these

things. Then I'm going to call off the list.

When I call off your thing, whatever that thing

is, then you're going to go this way down the

aisle and over to Tommy, and Tommy's going to

hold out two hands, right hand, left hand. So

your Tommy's his left, which is your right, and

your Tommy's right, which is your left. Got it?

So when I say your thing, whatever your thing

is, you're going to go down this row and over

there. However, if I say the other person's thing,

then you're going to try to stop them from going

down there and touching Tommy's hand. So whoever

is first gets to go, but the other person has

to stop them. That's correct. And then we'll

go back, we'll continue, and when the other person's

thing comes up, then they'll go and try to touch

Tommy's hand, and the other person will try to

stop them. Understand? So the goal is just to

try to use... Tackle him. No bruising. No scratching.

No putting eyes out. Nothing like that. No physical

damage. Don't grab each other's hair. We can

really get into this now. None of that. But when

your thing is called, you're going to go straight

there and touch his hand. If your thing is not

the thing that was called, you're going to try

to stop the other person. I'll be the force.

If you start to come off the force this way,

I'll shove you that way. So what if she's over

here trying to block me to where I'm not? That's

not my problem. That's your problem. Okay? So

lead a step back here for one second, and I'm

going to give you your word. Got it? Okay. Are

you ready? Okay. When I call off the list, and

when I call off your word, you both... If it's

your word, you go. And you try to stop her if

that's her word. And if it's your word, you go.

And you try to stop her if it's her word. You

got it? You understand? I'll play the game. Very

simple. All you got to do is if I say your word,

like if it's chocolate, roller coasters, Jesus.

Go. What are you waiting for? We'll explain it

later. Have a seat. Thank you very much. Okay.

Wait a minute. Wait a minute. This can't be right.

See, Autumn was really into the tackling. She

really wanted to do the tackling part. That was

the problem. Okay. So, if you would grab your

Bibles, I hope you bring your Bibles with you.

It helps if you read along as I read, especially

if you're reading a translation maybe you're

a little more familiar with than the one I am.

We support all. All translations, and if you're

just studying, a paraphrase isn't a bad thing

either, but a translation is definitely the way

to go. That means the original language was brought

into the English as close as possible, and that

helps, okay? And so the verses for today, and

maybe you'll give me a hoot, a holler, or a screech.

This is your opportunity to screech if you really

want to. Only now, though, not later. No, whenever,

I don't care. As we go to Titus 2 .11. Okay,

pretty good. Some people are still sleeping.

Titus 2 .11. I'm going to flip there now myself.

Thank you. If you're in your Bibles and you're

flipping and you're trying to find Titus, don't

be ashamed because he's a tiny little guy. Titus

was. He could be lost in the crowd real easy.

But he's in the back. If you follow the New Testament

back past the Gospels, past the book of Acts

and everything else that has any real size to

it, you'll run into the T's, the Thessalonians

and Timothys and Titus is tucked away behind

the T's before the Philemon, which is also quite

small. And then Hebrews and there's a couple

of bigger ones there. So we're looking at Titus.

And we're beginning in 2 .11. Now as I read this,

I'm going to break down some of the words because

it rattles off a whole bunch of kind of holy

words, if you will, in this passage of Scripture

that we're going to read. And we're going to

read from 2 .11 through 3 .11. And it's not really

as long as it might initially seem. And the whole

book, if you flip there, you can see the whole

book fits on a page and a half of the Bible.

So it's not terribly long. But it is awesome.

It's packed with power. And it is all of God's

Word. So here we go. We'll do the best we can.

For the grace of God that brings salvation has

appeared to all men. And we could stop right

there and have a whole sermon in this little

verse, and lots of guys would do that, but I

think the Lord has led us to one thing in particular.

The grace of God is God's willingness to save

us by grace. God's saving us by grace, meaning

it's a gift that we do not deserve. You don't

earn it. There are no instructions or rules that

you follow or steps. It's not like baking a cake.

You go to God and you say, God, may I have your

grace? And God, because He is a gracious God,

willingly gives His grace to all those. And that

has appeared to everybody. Anybody can see that.

would just be willing to look earnestly at the

teachings of God. The grace of God that brings

salvation has appeared to all men. There is a

way to get saved. It is by receiving a free gift

from God, and that has become evident. And this

teaches us that denying ungodliness and worldly

lusts So to deny something means to refrain from

it or to have nothing to do with it. We're supposed

to deny ungodliness and worldly lust. Well, ungodliness

would be not to behave the way God wants you

to behave or not to pursue the things that God

wants you to pursue and so on. Worldly lust would

be to follow after things that you want that

are of the world rather than of the kingdom of

God or godly things. So it's teaching us that

denying ungodliness and worldly lust, we should

live soberly. That doesn't mean you shouldn't.

get drunk, although that would be included there.

It means you should watch your way. You should

be careful about what you do. There are important

things afoot, if you will. That would mean that

you shouldn't get drunk, but it means I have

a lot of other things than that, okay? So we

should live soberly, righteously, which means

you do what's right. And sometimes what's right

is what you think is right, and sometimes you

think things that are wrong. are right. There

is a way that we think is right, but it actually

isn't right. And so sometimes you have to be

taught, you have to learn. We're supposed to

live soberly and righteously and godly in this

present age. And I think maybe the last one is

the hardest one. The first two are impossible,

but the last one is even more impossible, if

that makes any sense. It's almost a contradiction,

but to be godly, to be like God, okay? To live

the way God would live if he were you in the

present age. And that's the qualifier. So it's

right now while we live. Facing all the things

that we face, dealing with everything that we

deal with. Looking for the blessed hope and glorious

appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus

Christ. So this is how we live. We live soberly,

righteously, and godly, all the while looking

for that blessed hope. That God is doing something.

He is sending Jesus again. Jesus will come again.

And God in the flesh. Our Savior Jesus Christ

will come again. So you could be in the worst

place you could ever be in and still live soberly

and righteously and godly in this present age

looking for the coming of Jesus. It doesn't matter

how bad the current age is, you could do that.

14. Who gave himself for us that he might redeem

us from every lawless deed and purify for himself

his own special people zealous for good works.

Okay. So this is what Jesus did. He gave himself

for us. He died so that we could be bought back,

to purchase us back. Before we were born, you

or I were born, but mankind was kind of sold

over into slavery to Satan or to the world system

or both. And Jesus bought us back when he died

on the cross and paid for sin. He redeemed us.

And he wants to redeem us from every lawless

deed, from doing the things that we shouldn't

do or shouldn't have done. And to purify us for

himself. And then it says, his own special people,

zealous for good works. I'm going to stop here

for a second and dwell just a moment. I want

you to realize this is the way God has always

worked. From the very beginning of time, God

has always chosen for himself his own special

people. He's always marked out a people that

will listen to him and follow him, be right by

him the best they know how. He wasn't even looking

for perfection. So Dave was called a man after

God's own heart. He was one of God's special

people. But he drifted into lust. He lied. He

had a man murdered. He had terrible things that

he did. And after that was called a man after

God's own heart. Not because of the terrible

things that he did, but because after he did

that, he realized how terrible they were and

pulled back from them, repented of them, and

turned to God again. So it's about people who

will turn back to God no matter what happens.

They will continue to focus on God and desire

God. And God has always tried to mark out for

himself a people like that. First with pre -Israel,

if you will, and then Jacob, who's called Israel,

became the father of that nation. And then with

Israel, and then with people like David, and

even people like Solomon. And yes, they went

into sin. And one of the big differences I think

I see between David and Solomon is David, you

see him coming back and repenting. Solomon, not

so much. But God has always marked out a special

people for himself. And this would be the quality

of that people. That they would be zealous for

good work. So let's think just for a moment about

zealousness. Zeal is energy. It's being pumped.

It's wanting to push for a goal. It's hearing,

hey, that's what I'm after. And wanting to go

for it with all your might. Not being concerned

or not being held back by someone else who might

want to stop you from getting there. It's, hey,

I'm playing left field and the ball's coming

down in left field. That's my ball. And you give

it all you've got. And you wind up falling after

the catch because you put all you had into it

or dive into the ball. That's my son or my daughter

that's about to walk out in front of that Mack

truck and I'm stopping that from happening no

matter what. If I have to throw myself in the

way to throw them out of the way. It's that zeal

or passion. So God has always worked this way.

He has marked out for Himself a special people

who have this as their primary characteristic.

They will be zealous for good works. Now, they

also would be described as people who are soberly

living, righteously living, godly living, and

looking for that blessed hope of Jesus reappearing.

But their primary characteristic is they are

zealous for good work. They have energy, overbounding

energy. They are seeking, pushing toward good

works. But we see the problem, don't we? Because

if God claims for himself a special people who

are with this energy pushing for good works.

There is also another people who are with their

energy, whatever energy they have, not pushing

for good works. Because God always claims for

himself a special people. That word special means

separate, different. And so there is another

kind of people that lives in the same. And we

do this in this present age alongside of the

same people who are not doing it. Right? And

so this would be like if you were playing softball

and you're in left field, the ball comes in left

field, and there was a rule that said that people

from the other team could try to stop you from

catching the ball. And you start running in there

with all your might, you're going to catch the

ball, and all of a sudden the third base coach

runs out there and kicks you in the groin. Or

he runs out there and trips you while you're

running, and whatever. And you still have the

same responsibilities, which is to catch the

ball. In that case, in that analogy, or to pursue

Jesus, to wait for His second coming, to live

soberly, righteously, and godly in this present

age. It does not matter what other people do.

This doesn't say, hey, unless somebody bothers

you. Unless somebody says something about you.

Unless somebody shortcuts you. Unless somebody

steals your money or your car or invades your

house. Unless you get sick. None of that is there.

In fact, I get this. I get that you can do it

no matter what your circumstances are. In this

present age, you can do it. Do the best you can

to live soberly, godly, and righteously. waiting

on the second coming. In fact, I think sometimes

when it's really, really bad, that's when we

remember to look toward the second coming. And

the rest of the time, yeah, we'll think a little

bit about living soberly, righteously, and godly,

but there's a lot of other things going on too,

and kind of like... Solomon did, for example.

We might sort of take a little bit of that in,

and then the little bit becomes a little too

much. It's an inroad to the devil. We're not

supposed to give him a foothold. We get wrapped

up in bitterness. We allow evil spirits, and

you see how that goes. All right? Then these

are the commands, then, that he gives for people

who are doing that. If that's you, if you qualify,

then do these things. Speak these things. Exhort

and rebuke with all authority. Let no one despise

you. In other words, if this is true and you

understand that it's plainly obvious that salvation

has appeared to all men, the grace of God is

available, and that teaches us that we should

deny ungodliness and worldly lust, living soberly,

righteously, and godly in this present age, and

looking for the blessed coming of Jesus again,

and I paraphrase that there, then we ought to

tell everyone about it. We ought to be saying,

listen, this is the truth. This is the obvious

truth, right? If no one knew in the world that

if you stepped off a cliff, you would fall and

die, wouldn't you be telling everybody? If no

one knew that if you walk off a cliff or a second

story building or a five story building, that

you would fall from the edge and smash on the

pavement, your brains would roll out into the

gutter. If nobody knew that truth, wouldn't you

be going telling everybody that truth? You'd

be standing at the edge of the building, at least

keeping your family members away. Look, don't

jump off the edge of this building. I know that

there's a lot of freaky people all over the world

who are doing it. And nobody sees what's happening.

Nobody understands. Eyes are blinded. But don't

jump off the edge of this building. I'm telling

you, you will die. Wouldn't you be telling them

that? Of course you would. And that's what has

happened. God has claimed for Himself a special

people who understand this truth. They have seen

what is plain and evident and obvious in the

world. And we are to speak these things. And

to exhort, which means to encourage, to call

people to understand. And then to rebuke, which

means to say, hey, don't do that. Look at what

you're doing to yourself. Don't despise Jesus.

Don't look down on God. Don't use the Lord's

name in vain. Be serious about this God of ours.

And it says, Rebuke them with all authority.

There's an interesting episode that takes place

while the disciples are preaching after Jesus

is gone and he's not with them. It's during that

little passage of Scripture we studied a few

weeks back. It happened at the beautiful gate.

He healed the man. And then they said they looked

at those men. And because they were unlearned

men, they didn't have seminary degrees or whatever.

Because they hadn't studied under a great teacher

as far as they knew. They said, these people,

these men must have been with Jesus. If you're

a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ, you're supposed

to be able to speak with authority. You don't

say to people, I hear what you're saying, I hear

how you're living, but the Bible says, blah,

blah, blah, blah, blah. And I think maybe that's

a better way to go. Don't you think so? No, that's

not how it's done. You say, I hear what you're

saying, but let me tell you, where that road

leads. Let me tell you what I know to be true.

Let me tell you what I have seen for a fact.

If you do that, this will be the end result.

Here's the scripture to prove it. Sure, if you

want to do that, but don't stop there. You say,

and I know that's absolutely true. When are we

going to step up and say, we know the Bible is

absolutely true. When the Bible says there is

a way that leads to death, but the guy thinks

it's right. There's a bunch of people out there

living ways that they think. Our right would

lead to death. What are we going to do about

that? Just going to keep letting them do it,

right? Because they want to, obviously. What

if they don't want to? What if they could be

awakened to realize that that road that leads

to death is not the actual road that they want

to be on? Well, then I think we should tell them.

I think we should provoke them to thought. I

think we should live lives that would encourage

them to examine the road that they are on and

the destination they are headed for. And I wouldn't

feel bad about it, not one lick. I wouldn't be

inhibited if I knew that were true, if I really

believed it were true, I wouldn't be inhibited.

I wouldn't hold back. I wouldn't want to not

tell them whatever it is that they need to hear.

I wouldn't lie. I wouldn't slip into unrighteousness.

I wouldn't be stupid about it. But wouldn't you

want to tell them whatever it is that they need

to hear so that they can understand, even if

it made you look a little goofy? Wouldn't you

want to preach the gospel? In season and out

of season, if you realize that there could be

people who would turn to the Lord and they would

be awake and realize that the grace of God that

brings salvation has appeared to all men, well,

duh, of course we would. And therefore, there

is no reason that anyone should despise us. And

if anyone does despise us, if they do look down

on us, it's really just evidence of their problem.

It isn't evidence of our problem because we're

doing what it is that we're called to do. So

let no one despise you. Don't worry about it.

Let them think what they want to think. Let them

feel what they want to feel. When you walk up

to them and try to talk to them about Jesus,

then they get angry or they get down on the dumps

or they talk about how bad they are as a person

or whatever. You don't have to worry about that.

Just keep talking about Jesus. Don't let them

despise you. Remind them to be subject to rulers

and authorities. And so we ought to listen to

the law. And I know the law isn't always right.

but we listen to the law even when we think it's

wrong unless the law is contrary to God. So you

follow the law and the rules even when you think

they're wrong unless those laws and rules are

contrary to God, in which case then you break

them. I'm here to tell you, standing before you

today, could be at any moment in time, if God

so said so, one of the worst rebels you've ever

met. I will commit a felony in a minute if I

knew it was what God wanted me to do. I've been

nearly arrested for sharing the gospel. The police

were on their way. You do what it is you know

you're supposed to do. And then if it's contrary

to what the law says, then break it. But in any

other case, you follow the rules and the authorities,

even when it seems the stupidest thing. I can

list three or four laws that are in the United

States right now, that are in Toledo right now,

that I totally disagree with. Totally disagree

with them. But I'm not here to totally disagree

with the law. I'm here to encourage people to

recognize the grace of God has been made obvious

and salvation is available. That's what I'm about.

If you're busy preaching against some law you

don't like, you're wasting your breath doing

what you shouldn't be doing. Because you should

be talking about Jesus and the availability of

salvation by His grace. Remind them to be subject

to rulers and authorities, sure. To obey, to

be ready for every good work. Notice that being

subject to rulers and authorities could be lumped

in as a good work. To be ready for every good

work. You've got to go. When the opportunity

arises, you've got to be ready to speak evil

of no one. I want to be clear about this. You

speak evil of no one. I want to be super clear

about this. You speak evil of no one, even those

who are evil. Be careful. You know, it's really

easy to judge people like Adolf Hitler, Mussolini,

people from history who did horrible, horrible

things, soldiers who claimed they were just following

orders. It's really easy to do that. But I submit

to you, that if you were born in their bodies

and lived their lives to the day that you did

it, to the day that they did that, you would

have done the exact same thing. Parented the

same way, raised under the same laws, under threat

of violence, that you would be killed if you

didn't follow orders, you would have done the

exact same thing. You say, no, no, I wouldn't.

Well, if you were a follower of the Lord Jesus

Christ and you were born into that body as a

follower of the Lord Jesus Christ and had the

Holy Spirit to help you, if you knew what was

happening was wrong, if you weren't... brainwashed,

if you weren't threatened with violence that

you were afraid you would be killed, maybe, maybe,

just maybe, you wouldn't have. And that's a pretty

big set of parameters to excuse yourself for

judging their behavior. Now is their behavior

wrong? Absolutely. But we don't speak evil of

anyone. So your pastor lied and stole money from

the church and had an affair with his secretary

and he ran into ruin. And then became a homosexual

and killed his neighbor and went to jail. You

don't speak evil of him. You hear me? It says

speak evil of no one. You speak evil of the devil,

that's not a human being. That's a little different.

But even then, when you speak evil, be careful

how you do it. You say things like, he's in complete

rebellion against God. Not he's using cuss words

or he's a jerk. Right? Not that kind of evil.

We don't just despise. But rather, he's in opposition

to the Lord. And when you see a human being that's

in opposition to the Lord, you don't speak evil

of them. You say, those activities are not appropriate.

Lying is wrong. Telling the truth is right. Well,

he's a liar, so I'm not going to call him a liar.

That's not my job. If that person is saved and

lying, they're not a liar. You call him a liar,

you're a liar. What just happened there? If that

person is saved to follow the Lord Jesus Christ,

even though they tell a lie, that doesn't make

them a liar. It puts them in sin. It makes them

wrong, but it doesn't change their identity.

Right? So then you call them a liar, which nails

down their identity, and you say they have an

identity as a liar, but Christ knows they actually

belong to Him, and they will later repent and

be cleansed of it, and now you have lied saying

they're a liar. You don't speak evil of anybody.

Get your mouth under control for crying out loud.

That's not a good work. We're supposed to be

ready for every good work. While you're speaking

evil of somebody else, how can you be ready for

a good work? We speak evil of no one. To be peaceable.

Our job is to be peaceable. Now, I said I am

ready to be a felon if it comes to that. And

I'm not kidding when I say that. But at the same

time, I'm doing everything in my power to ensure

that that never happens. That's why you vote.

That's why you show up and become politically

active. Not because politics is something. Don't

get wrapped up in that. Don't let that be a big

thing. But you do that because we have an opportunity

to govern in a way we're governed by the people.

And if you don't govern, then when the laws are

made that require you to do things that are against

God, you're going to have to do those things

against God or you're going to have to stick

with God and be against the law. So we participate

in government in an effort in our country that

gives us the opportunity to have no law made

without representation. And we're to be peaceable,

gentle. Come on. You don't have to be mean. You

don't have to be rough. You don't have to be

bitter. You don't have to be tongue -biting people,

lashing somebody down with your tongue. You don't

have to do any of that kind of stuff. Just tell

them that the grace of God has become apparent

and salvation is available and we should do these

things. And when they don't like it, you just

gently tell them again. And when they still don't

like it, you just gently tell them again. And

you remain gentle. Never striking out. Never

striking back. Never exacting revenge. Be gentle.

Show all humility to all men. That's what we're

supposed to do. You were not saved by you. You

were saved by Jesus. For we ourselves were also

once foolish. And we heard about that. I felt

that coming from the Holy Spirit during the inspirational

reading today. We were once all foolish. We were

once all disobedient. We were once all deceived.

We were once all serving various lusts and pleasures,

living in malice, which means you hated people

and the things that they do, and envy. You wanted

things that they had and you don't. You were

hateful, hating one another. And you can say,

well, no, I never hated anybody, but there's

two opposites. There's love and hate. People

talk about, I don't like that. If you don't like

it and you would do something against it, that's

probably actually hate. If you don't like it,

but you would still do something for it, even

though you don't like it, that's actually probably

love. Right? So there's very little middle ground.

We like to think that there's a lot, but there's

very little middle ground between hate and love.

Letting somebody go to hell is hate. Loving them,

trying to get them to go to heaven, even though

they don't want to hear it, that's love. People

say that being against certain life choices and

behaviors that are out there in the world right

now, that that's hateful. It's not. It's actually

loving if you're trying to teach what's right.

When my child wouldn't potty train, she just

wouldn't, just would not potty train, almost

four years old, clearly new, sit around the toilet,

she wouldn't go to the bathroom, whatever, and

I eventually spanked her butt for peeing on the

floor in the hallway and she never went anywhere

but in the potty again after that. Somebody could

say, you spanked her butt because she wouldn't

go to the bathroom and the toilet? I'd say, yes,

I did. You're hateful. What a hateful thing to

do to your child. But guess what? She's pretty

glad that she learned to go potty in the potty

and not on the floor in the hallway. You teach

people what's right. You do it gently with humility.

I'm not perfect. You can even say, look, I can

even be wrong about this or the way I'm approaching

you about this today, but listen to me, this

is what is the truth. This is what it says. We

were just like that doing all of those kinds

of things. Hateful to people. living in malice.

We were all of that. But when the kindness and

love of God our Savior toward men appeared, so

in other words, when we began to realize that

God really does love us and He's kind toward

us and He really is good toward us, not by works

of righteousness, which we have done. We didn't

suddenly start doing everything right so that

God would love us. We didn't start doing everything

right so that we'd come into the kingdom. It

wasn't accomplished by that. But according to

His mercy, because God wanted to, He took away

the punishment. He saved us. Through the washing

of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit.

So God washed us, regenerated us. I mean, He

brought us back to life. He renewed us by His

Holy Spirit. Whom, because the Holy Spirit is

a person, not a thing. He is the third person

of the Trinity. He is God. He poured out, God

the Father poured out on us abundantly, plenty

of Him, through Jesus Christ our Savior. that

having been justified, in other words, declared

not guilty for our sins, justified just as if

you'd never sinned, by his grace, because it

was a free gift, we didn't deserve it, but he

gave it to us, that we should become, wait for

it, heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

Heirs to what? Heirs to everything. Ultimately,

there's the new heaven and the new earth, and

we with Jesus are heirs to all of it. We will

own it all. This is a faithful saying. And these

things I want you to affirm, that means speak

up for them constantly, that those who have believed

in God should be careful to maintain, big word,

important word in everything we're talking about

right there, should be careful to maintain good

works. These things, the good works, are good

and profitable to men. But, avoid foolish disputes,

in other words, you shouldn't be arguing over

dumb things that don't matter. You say, well,

we don't do that, but we do. We argue over things

that don't matter. Genealogies, like who you

belong to, who your parents were and so on, they

had that problem because it had to do with how

far back you could trace your lineage, whether

you were a faithful Jew or not. You could go

all the way back to Abraham if you were a faithful

Jew. Contentions. You say this, but I say this,

and we just can't seem to agree. Strivings about

the law. But should it be that way? Are we not

allowed to have tattoos? Can we not have two

types of clothing in our garments? But if we

can have two types of clothing in our garments

and we can have tattoos, then why do we have

to tithe? What are you doing? Just do what God

told you to do for crying out loud. It's pretty

simple. The grace of God has appeared to all

men before we got saved. And when we noticed

that, we gave our lives over to Christ and God

in His mercy cleansed us. And now, here is a

faithful saying, maintain good works, for these

things are good and profitable to us. But avoid

these things, foolishness, disputes, genealogies,

contentions, and strivings about the law, for

they are unprofitable and useless. Reject, that

means have nothing to do with. Reject a divisive

man, that means someone that divides, after the

first and second admonition. So in other words,

someone's trying to divide, God's people, someone's

trying to cause strife in the body, strife in

your family, strife in your marriage, whatever.

You say, I just can't have anything to do with

you. So your best friend comes over to your house

and he's got a problem with your wife. You say,

goodbye. So I'm going to warn you once. Okay,

now out of grace, I'm going to warn you twice.

I'm really being kind here. I'm going to give

you a second warning. God warned you. You can't

bad mouth my wife. Go away. Don't come back again.

Simple. You reject the device of man after a

second admonition, knowing that such a person

is warped and sinning, being self -condemned.

Oh, wait a minute, what were they doing? Speaking

evil about someone else? Being wrapped up in

contentious behavior, disputes, etc.? Well, they

were doing the exact things that we were supposed

to be avoiding, and therefore they have shown

by their own choices, their own words, their

own actions, they have self -condemned. We don't

do that. They did it themselves. Okay, that's

the whole passage of Scripture from Titus 2 .11

to 3 .11. And I want to dial it down to just

a couple of things. I do want you to see clearly

that he says, the grace of God appears to all

men. That means if you're here today and you're

not a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ, that

is by your choice. It is not that it is not evident.

You're making the same foolish choice that a

man makes when he decides to jump off a cliff

thinking he can fly. You say, well, nobody ever

did that. There are lots of crazy people that

did that. They shouldn't have, but they did.

And that's what people are doing when they will

not accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior because

the grace of God has appeared to all men. He

died on a cross. He rose again on the third day.

He walked with His disciples for 40 days and

hundreds or thousands of people heard Him preach

and teach after that. He did miracles while He

was alive. There's never been anybody like Him.

And He said clearly this is what you need to

do. Accept this free gift from God that sins

will be washed away. It's been obvious since

then. I submit to you it's been obvious since

before then, because all creation testifies,

but it's been really obvious then, put in human

words, put in events that no one can deny. And

so now, if you've not accepted him, then you're

making the same kind of decision that a foolish

man makes when he sees it plainly before his

face and still sticks his hand in a meat grinder.

Don't do it. Denying ungodliness and worldly

lusts, then we should live soberly, righteously,

and godly in this present age, looking for the

blessed hope, the glorious appearing of our great

God and Savior, Jesus Christ. That's what we

are to be. And that's put in a negative and a

positive. Some people got to have the negative.

I got to chase out some things. And then some

people got to have the positive. I got to have

some things to chase them out with. And both

are there. And He redeemed us that He might purify

us from every lawless deed. That means that you

can be moved away from what you used to do. It

may be a process, take you a little while to

get there, but that you can be moved away. And

He can make us zealous for good works. The fact

is you can't shut up a true believer. We're supposed

to affirm constantly. A true believer has always

something to say. But their words, which are

biblical, and their lives, which are godly. Be

heard. A believer is like an uncorkable bottle.

A believer is like a gaping wound in the fabric

of a veil that covers the universe with sin.

We have been set free. The sin barrier has been

pierced. There is a way to God. Now come with

me through the way to God. Come with me to receive

God into your life. Come with me. Stand under

the opening and receive the rain, R -A -N -I,

of Jesus' love. As it falls down on you. And

for those of you who have not accepted Jesus

Christ as Lord and Savior, I get it. You've never

felt it. I'm here to tell you I have. If I said

to you that chocolate cake tasted good, and you

had never tasted chocolate cake, after you smelled

it, you'd go, smells pretty good. Looks like

food. Probably a dessert. I think I'll try it.

I'm asking the same of you about Jesus. Nothing

less. Nothing more. Give him a try. Billy Graham

had the opportunity to go on the Late Late Show

one night, and I forget which host they had at

that time, but he was talking about how he had

tried every drug under the sun. The host was.

He was telling Billy Graham, he's tried every

drug under the sun. And he said, well, have you

tried Jesus? He said, I'll tell you right now,

Jesus is a bigger high than any of those drugs

you've ever tried. See, you can put it in any

context you want. But the bottom line is the

grace of God has appeared to all men and people

need to experience it and we better open our

mouths. A believer is like a mighty wind that

blows the temptation from his own life and the

lives of others. Step up. Do something. Don't

just stand there and wait while people say, hey,

come do this with me. Hey, come do that with

me. And there are things you shouldn't do. Block

the websites on your computer. Get rid of your

computer if you're struggling with that. Make

choices. Don't be alone with a man or a woman

to be tempted to do things that you shouldn't

do. Right? Plan out in advance where your money's

going to go. Include the godly choices of what

you have to do with your money before you do

anything else. Take it out first. It's supposed

to come out first anyway. Do that so that you

won't be tempted to do the wrong things. When

somebody walks up and they speak to you and they're

talking evil about somebody else, you say, look,

you can say, I'm going to stop you right there.

I'm not trying to be rude. But I don't talk about

people that way. And I don't hear talk about

people that way. And so if you need my help with

something, if you want to ask me for something,

that's fine. But this conversation can't go any

further this way. Now, pointing out a mistake

that someone made, it's not the same as talking

evil about them. Let's be clear about that. Being

concerned, talking to God, praying about it,

or bringing it up as a prayer request with the

right heart would not be talking evil about them.

But when you start to talk about that person,

your tone changes, your thought process changes,

and you're thinking negatively of them. You think,

well, but they'll never hear me. That's why I'm

telling so -and -so instead of them, which the

Bible calls slander, by the way. Even if you're

right, if you're telling the truth, it's still

slander. So when it becomes that, it's evil.

And we're not allowed to do that. And so you

shut off people that do that to you, with you.

Even if it's your spouse. If it's your spouse,

by the way, that's when it's the hardest. Because

they're inside your armor. They talk evil about

somebody, and basically you just did it. And

then you say, look, honey, we can't talk about

people that way. We just can't do that. But he

actually did it. I saw him do it. It doesn't

matter. That doesn't make him bad. It means he

did a bad thing. And so now our job is, how do

we help that person move from, Where they are,

where they would be willing and able to do that

to somewhere where they would not. Twist it,

change it, morph it into something that's godly.

Make it about moving in the right direction.

Don't shut your mouth. A true believer will overcome

with their mouths. Now a true believer also overcomes

with their life. The truth is, you can say more

with your actions than you can ever say with

your words. And your actions will speak. A long

time after you're dead, and people like to say

that your words won't, but that really isn't

true. Because sometimes you say the right thing

at the right moment, and people will remember

it for their whole lives. I had teachers who

spoke a word of encouragement to me. Mr. Martin

in the fifth grade, he said, you know, I see

how you're not really trying hard academically,

you're not really doing that much, but you're

doing pretty well, you're still getting good

grades. He said, I want you to understand, when

you get in high school, that may not be enough.

Then when you get in college, it surely won't

be enough. So you'll be blowing up your life

because you really need to apply what you're

learning now. You really need to put it to work.

And he pulled me aside in a corner in the hallway

and shared that with me. And that was 35 years

ago. And I can see him today. He passed away

about 15 years ago. And I can see him in my mind's

eye doing that and saying that. Words and deeds,

they last. A true believer will speak up, be

heard, and a true believer will overcome with

their life. You think you cannot? God disagrees.

But if they are right, when you're talking with

someone, if the other person's right, and you

don't listen to them, you'll pay a dear price

for ignoring them. So when believers speak, believers

listen. It doesn't even matter if they do it

wrong. My wife corrected me in front of other

people. I'm so mad at her. She's a bad wife.

What? So, clearly, She doesn't need to correct

you while you speak evil about her. I wish she

was here now so she could correct you so I don't

have to do it. You see? So she corrected you

publicly in front of other people and you didn't

like it. You go privately and talk with her and

say in the future, I appreciate you pulling me

out of the room. Talk about how it can be done.

Talk about how it can change. Exhort, encourage,

push in the right direction. That's what people

do. Why are some who claim the name of Jesus

cowed like domesticated dogs? We sit quietly,

doing nothing against the world's evil, not stepping

out, not getting out of our comfort zone, not

making a difference. Why are some of us like

shut down and tied up? We're like a dog and our

last master used to beat us. And so now our new

master, well, we don't want to do anything wrong

or anything too right for fear we'll get beaten

again. Well, yeah, sure, Satan beats his people.

That's how he keeps them motivated. That's how

he keeps them. trying to scramble for the top

of the heap and so on. But Jesus doesn't do that.

Jesus is a constant encourager and comforter.

He will lift you up. He will encourage you to

do what's right. God doesn't even use guilt as

a motivator. He uses conviction. He says, don't

feel guilty. Fix it. Let me show you how. And

that's the kind of people that we're supposed

to be. We have misused resources all over the

place. Our malls are misused. Their power folks

are great. And we're often using them to destroy.

And a lot of times we're using them to do little

but open the door for evil spirits. Our muscles,

they're mighty, but often misused. We're supposed

to be serving others. The greatest amongst you

shall be your servant. Jesus got up at the last

supper he would ever eat on the face of the earth

and donned a towel, stripped off his outer garments

and put on a towel and got down and washed their

feet. And he got up from that and said, have

you known what I've done to you? If I've washed

your feet, how much more should you wash each

other's feet? Our muscles, our bodies, our strength,

we're to use that to serve others. That's what

it's for. And it's being misused. And so our

actions are not showing up on the radar of God

as good works because we're busy using our bodies

for things that don't glorify God. It's not that

they're evil even necessarily, but they're sure

missing the mark. Our minds are capable but unused.

We're supposed to be tearing down everything

that sets itself up as a stronghold against God.

And instead, We're enjoying lots of things produced

by the world that are not necessarily sinful,

but they're also not tearing down the strongholds

that are set up against God. Our money. Money

makes things convenient. It makes it easy. But

it's misused. Money can be used as a motivator.

But be careful it doesn't become your master.

Because a man can't have two masters. Jesus said,

go ahead, be motivated by money, but don't let

it rule you. Paul said all things... are permissible,

but not all things are profitable. There you

go. Can you believe that there are even people

in the world who actually think at this moment

in time that they don't have anything to use

correctly? They think they're bereft. They think

they're absolutely wiped out. God gave them nothing.

They've got their mind, their muscles, but because

they don't have any money, they think they have

nothing. Mind, muscles, and time, but they think

they have nothing? That's ridiculous. So why

don't people just get unleashed? Why not be excited?

Why not be full of energy? Why not run hard and

do amazingly for God? I submit to you that maybe

people are afraid. Well, it's been a battle for

forever amongst the people that God claimed for

Himself. Paul wrote to Timothy, For the Spirit

of God gave us does not make us timid. You feel

timid? Better get rid of that. But it gives us

power, love, and self -discipline. Moses recorded

in one of his final speeches, Be strong and courageous.

Do not be afraid or terrified because of them.

For the Lord your God goes with you. He will

never leave you nor forsake you. He was talking

about the nine foot tall men that were occupying

the land that God said they could have. Physical

guys with swords and shields that no one warrior

would ever want to face. You or I wouldn't want

to face. Anybody here feel capable enough to

take on a sword and a shield and face a nine

foot guy that's fought his entire life? I'm out.

Maybe with a gun. Otherwise, no way. I want no

part of it. If that's true, what about the things

you deal with on a daily basis? They're no bigger.

What are you afraid of? David wrote, even though

I walk through the... darkest valley, I will

fear no evil, for you are with me. Your rod and

your staff, they comfort me. How many evils did

David fear? Or would he fear? None. What if they

despise me? What if they laugh at me? What if

they mock me? What if they don't pay me? What

if they take my job away? What if they attack

me or attack my family? What if they try to burn

my house down? What if they do any of those things?

Are you afraid? You can walk through the darkest

valley. Some of us have already been through

what probably seems like the darkest valley.

We've been near to death, the bottom of an addiction.

lost our house, lost everything we had. I know

the stories of the people in this room enough

to know that we can collect all of those things.

And some of us have had all of those things in

one. And yet in the midst of that, you can fear

no evil. David was very familiar with dangerous

things. Being a boy when he fought his first

bear and his first lion. A boy required to protect

the sheep. Who of you by worrying can add a single

hour to your life? What are you going to fear

the future for? What might happen? What's holding

you back? Jesus was speaking that one by the

way. Paul wrote, I am convinced that neither

death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither

the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither

height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation

will be able to separate us from the love of

God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. What are

you afraid of? If there are situations that can

separate you from the love of God, if you think

that's true, no wonder you're not speaking out

and acting out for the Lord. From the Psalms

27, the Lord is my light and my salvation. Whom

shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my

life and whom shall I be afraid? Those aren't

just words. Those are rhetorical questions that

you're supposed to answer with nothing, nobody.

I have nothing to fear. And then, Paul writes

in one of the darkest moments of his life, that's

why I am suffering as I am. Yet this is no cause

for shame, because I know whom I have believed,

and I am convinced that he is able to guard what

I have entrusted to him unto that day. And again,

and the peace of God which surpasses all understanding

will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ

Jesus. What kind of people was it again? It's

the people who have recognized that the grace

of God is plainly and obviously presented to

all men, that salvation is available, that when

we recognize that we received mercy from God

and be claimed as His special people, and very

simply put, since then, we have done our best

to maintain good works. Is it fear that stops

true believers from being heard or showing up?

Or have you invented some other larger beast?

Some other more dangerous possibility? That you

really could die for your faith? Or you really

could run out of money? Or you really could suffer

something that you just can't stand? Well, this

is what I see. New Heights Fellowship will be

a church of true believers. We will not be silent.

We will get the gospel out by word and by deed.

And we will not be stopped. The fact is that

even death cannot keep us from our destination.

And we will live like we know where we are going.

The question is, will you join us?