Battle Ready: Peace, Love & Grace Ephesians 6:21-24 Pastor Daniel Reese

children are not dismissed yet.

For those of you that don't know, this is a big week coming up for us, right?

We've got VBS this week.

It's our biggest, at least our biggest outreach here in Eldridge every single year.

250 to 300 kids are going to fill this place Monday through Friday.

We're going to do the gospel and we're going to have fun and we're going to do some crafts and all those other things.

We send people out on mission.

We're sending the youth, people in Kenya, we're going to Panama later, Mexico later.

And when you go on a mission trip, there's this mindset you have, right?

Of I'm on mission and I'm going to share the gospel.

I'm going to be intentional with all of that as I'm going.

But reality is this week is our mission for those of you that are serving.

So we want to commission you as well.

And so even as you're making stuff in the kitchen or helping park cars, you are on mission this week for the gospel.

And so we want you to prepare your minds mentally for that as we do that.

So if you were serving in VBS this week, if you would stand.

Awesome.

Awesome.

So I want to pray over you as we commission you to be missionaries here in Eldridge this week.

Will you join me?

Father, we thank you for this day.

And we lay this next week before you.

And we ask you to do amazing things.

You always do amazing things this week.

And we ask you to do the same this week.

We pray for salvation to come to children and adults alike this week to hear the gospel.

We pray, Father, that you will empower each and every volunteer to love like you love and to serve like you serve.

And Father, I pray that you will give us all a heart for the children that come.

I pray, Father, that you will just use each and every volunteer in whatever space they are serving as they go on mission this week.

And God, I can't wait to see what you do this week.

We ask all these things in your name.

Amen.

Amen.

All right, if you're a child, now you can go.

Deal?

Deal.

If you're staying here and you have your Bibles, let's open up to Ephesians chapter 6.

Ephesians 6 · chapter mention

When you think about a football team, there's probably a few things that might come to mind.

Whatever your favorite football team is, maybe it's the quarterback.

And you know their stats.

You know a position they were drafted in.

You know whether they're the right person or not.

You know all those things.

You might even know a little bit about their family.

Or maybe you know about the head coach and you either like him or you don't.

Maybe you are one of those that thinks that if you were coaching the team, you would do a better job at calling plays.

We probably know a couple of the coordinators and a few key players on the team.

But few of us, if any of us, know that can name the strength coach or the trainers or the players that only play on special teams.

But if you were to ask the players and the coaches on the team, they will tell you that those people, the trainers, the strength coaches and those people are essential to the success of the team.

We don't know their names.

They get no publicity.

They usually get no credit for a win or blame for a loss.

But they are essential to the success of a team.

In a sense, a church is a lot like a football team.

There are those who have a more public role in the church like the pastors and teachers and worship team.

And then there are those who work behind the scenes who nobody really notices.

But those people are just as important to the success of the church as those who are in more public roles.

As Paul comes to the end of his letter, he's going to write about someone who was one of those behind the scenes people.

Someone who most of us have probably never paid attention to before.

And yet Tickock has played a crucial role in the spread of the gospel and the tremendous growth of the early church.

So I'm going to have Hattie.

Hattie's going to come up here and she's going to read our passage this morning and then we're going to dive right into it.

Come on up here, Hattie.

I encourage you to stand as we honor the Lord's word together.

Ephesians 6, 21 through 24, so that you also may know how I am and what I am doing.

Titicus the beloved brother and faithful minister and the Lord will tell you everything.

I have sent him to you for this very purpose and that you may know how we are and that he may encourage your hearts.

Peace be to the brothers in love with faith from God, the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Grace be with all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with love incorruptible.

Amen. Let's pray.

Father, thank you for your word.

We thank you for men like Titicus.

We pray, Father, that you will challenge us this morning with your word.

I thank you for Hattie and just how you're growing her and her ability to just read your word in this place.

I pray you honor her for that.

We ask all these things in your name.

Amen.

I was talking to Hattie right before service and I was like, how do you say his name?

And then I think it was Pastor Drew said just say it with confidence, nobody will know.

It's one of those things.

As you go, that's a trick to you.

If you don't know how to say it, just say it confidently, nobody's going to know any different.

All right?

So we don't know a whole lot about Titicus.

His name means something like chance.

That's what his name means.

And we find him, his name mentioned five different times in the New Testament.

In Acts chapter 20, Paul was near the end of his third missionary journey.

Acts 20 · chapter mention

He had just left Ephesus.

He planned to return to Jerusalem via Macedonia.

He intended to take an offering there, which he would combine with the ones previously taken in Galatia

and Achaia and present them to the needy believers in Jerusalem.

In addition to meeting the physical needs of the predominantly Jewish believers there,

the offerings were also a means of uniting the predominantly Gentile churches

with the Jewish believers in Jerusalem.

Paul was accompanying on this portion of his journey by several representatives of those Gentile churches,

including Titicus.

Titicus' willingness to travel with Paul to Jerusalem tells us a lot about his heart.

It might just be a sentence or two, but it tells us a lot about his heart.

This wasn't a fun road trip.

This was not, hey, let's get in the car, grab some snacks and go have a good time.

Travel in the ancient world was far more difficult and dangerous than it is today.

This would be a long, hard trip that would take Titicus away from his family, friends, and his church for quite some time.

In spite of the frequent warnings that Paul received along the way about the trouble that awaited him in Jerusalem,

Titicus remained faithful to Paul.

In Colossians chapter 4, Paul sent Titicus to Colossae to deliver his letter to the Colossian church.

Colossians 4 · chapter mention

He was accompanied by Onissimus, who was the runaway slave of Philemon,

who had become a believer in Rome under the ministry of Paul.

So Titicus is likely carrying the letter to Philemon, who was in Colossae as well.

Paul also sends Titicus to Ephesus with his letter to the church there.

Because of the time frames involved, it seems likely that Titicus and Onissimus left Rome with all three letters.

And the journey they embarked on was dangerous, and it was taxing.

They would have had to cross Italy on foot.

They would have had to sail across the Adriatic Sea to Greece,

traverse Greece on foot, and then sail across the Aegean Sea to the coast of Asia Minor.

Now, although Ephesus was a coastal city, it was still another hundred miles or so inland to Colossae on foot.

Now, we don't really know, have for sure whether they went to Ephesus or Colossae first,

but in any case, this was certainly no vacation. This was not a fun trip.

We also hear about him when Paul writes to Titus, where Titicus is on the shortlist of people to become interim pastor there in Crete.

Now, when you go through Hebrews chapter 11, we call it the Hall of Faith, the Faith Chapter,

Hebrews 11 · chapter mention

Titicus is not mentioned as a hero of our faith.

When we look around, Titicus, we find that his contributions to the gospel and to the kingdom of God are invaluable.

Even though he might not have known it at the time, Titicus was carrying the inspired word of God to churches in Ephesus and Colossae.

He was carrying these words. Just think, without his faithful service, I wouldn't have been able to preach through Ephesians for nearly the last two years

because we wouldn't have that letter today. And we, along with generations of Christ followers, would have missed out on the riches of that letter.

I want us to consider, just for a few minutes this morning, who this guy was, because I doubt that you would ever,

that you've ever thought that he would be a good person to model your Christian life after.

He isn't Moses, he isn't David, he's not John the Baptist or any of the other apostles,

but you and I should be able to relate to him more than any of those other people.

Without people like Titicus, the gospel would not have spread like it did.

I want us to consider some of the attributes that Titicus has, that we should, as believers in Jesus, that we should try to emulate.

The first thing is he is faithful. Titicus is faithful. That's how Paul describes him in his letters to Colossians and Ephesians.

Titicus remained faithful to Paul for at least 13 years, maybe even more.

He stayed by Paul's side even when that was the last thing that was easy to do.

He didn't leave Paul when he was warned about trouble to come in Jerusalem.

He didn't leave Paul when he was imprisoned and he didn't desert him when many others did towards the end of Paul's life.

Paul also describes Titicus as a dear brother.

Certainly he's referring to the fact that Titicus was a follower of Jesus and we're all brothers and sisters under that name.

But the phrase indicates an even deeper relationship, one that was based more than just the common faith in Jesus.

We have a lot of people in our church that are like Titicus because of their faithfulness.

They're the kind of people who stick with this body through thick and thin.

They're here when our finances are in really good shape and they're here when we've had to tighten our belts.

They're here every Sunday even when the weather would be really nice to go out and play around a golf or go on a picnic.

They come and worship with their heart every single week even if we don't sing the types of songs they sing.

They want us to sing.

Or if we sing too many hymns they're still here faithfully.

They're the kind of people who put everything they have into preparing a lesson for our elementary students in kids church or Sunday school.

And are prepared to teach that lesson even if nobody shows up to the class.

They're the people who will tell you that they will pray for you and then they will do it every single time.

They're the single moms who pour out their heart and soul into raising their children even when they're totally exhausted.

They're the people who shout for work every day and put in a full day's work for a day's pay even if nobody ever recognizes their effort.

They're the people who call church hoppers who bail when things happen that they don't agree with.

They are, Tick-a-Kiss is faithful. We need to be faithful.

Tick-a-Kiss was also trustworthy because Tick-a-Kiss had proven himself to be trustworthy.

Paul was able to give him more and more responsibility.

Tick-a-Kiss lived out the concept of trustworthiness that Jesus himself had communicated in the parable of the talents.

What was really interesting to me in that parable is the master had the exact same commendation for the man who had turned five talents into ten,

as he did for the man who was given only two talents and turned them into four.

To Tick-a-Kiss, accompanying Paul to Jerusalem may not have seemed like that big of a deal.

He's just helping out, but Paul was able to discern his trustworthiness in that matter and felt comfortable giving him increasing responsibility over the years.

But what is most noteworthy is that Tick-a-Kiss proved he was trustworthy no matter how big or how small the task that he had been given.

He proved to be trustworthy right where he was, no matter what circumstances that God had placed him in.

We have a lot of people in this congregation who are heroes because they are trustworthy.

A lot of them do things behind the scenes that you will never see, that you will never know about.

They make coffee, they prepare meals, they work in the nursery, they work in the children's church, they run sound or the computer,

things that you don't ever pay attention to, they move tables and chairs, they set up, they clean up.

And because they are trustworthy in those things, they free others up who are trustworthy in teaching and preaching God's word.

I'm so grateful for those people, for those of you that serve in so many different ways.

Because of their trustworthiness, many of them will be given more responsibility here in this body.

But even if they never get that opportunity, one day they will be given an even bigger trust in God's eternal kingdom

because they have been trustworthy with what God has given them to do right where they are right now.

We need to be trustworthy.

Tick-a-Kiss got involved.

We live in a culture where we tend to retreat into our own little bubbles, where we don't want to be bothered,

and we don't want to bother anybody else.

That's why the drive-through is so popular, right?

You can just drive through, you can interact with one or two people, and then you can go eat your meal in the car or somewhere else by yourself.

You don't have to bother with anybody, it's more convenient that way.

That's why movie theaters are dying.

Because why go sit in a movie theater with a bunch of people when I can create a home entertainment system at my house and stream whatever I want?

But that kind of lifestyle was totally foreign to someone like Tick-a-Kiss.

Even from the few pictures we get in the Bible, it's obvious that he was willing to get involved in the lives of other people.

Paul certainly recognized that quality in Tick-a-Kiss' life.

That's why he sends his companion to the churches in Ephesus and Colossae, not just to deliver his letters,

but to interact with the people in those churches, to learn their stories.

He is confident that Tick-a-Kiss has the ability to inform the people personally about how Paul is doing,

and to reassure them of what is going on in Paul's ministry.

We have people in this church who are heroes because they're willing to get involved in the lives of others.

They pray earnestly for the needs of others.

But then they also do what they can to meet those needs.

They drive friends to doctor's appointments.

They prepare meals for those who are sick or hurting or mourning.

They go repair the fence on the house of a single mom.

They buy groceries for a family in need.

They sit with a friend in a hospital while a family member is in surgery.

They listen when someone just needs somebody to talk to.

Because of our culture, there is a temptation.

I've seen it throughout every church I've ever been a part of.

To come to church and leave as soon as we say amen.

Come to church and leave as soon as we say amen.

I hear lots of things. I hear lots of stories.

I don't want to get close to someone in the church because I have some church hurt.

I don't want to invest a lot of time in people because they will move away or they're going to betray me.

Believe me, I understand all of that.

I understand all of those concerns.

In my opinion, there was no one who has more church hurt than a pastor's family.

And I'm still telling you it's worth it.

The good far outweighs the bad.

When my boys started playing baseball years ago, they were afraid of getting hit by a pitch.

So they would duck every time I threw the ball at them.

Now, granted, I hit them occasionally.

But they would duck every time.

They would stand as far away from the plate as they possibly could and still be in the batter's box.

But you can't hit dingers if you're afraid of the ball.

You can't experience the beauty of the church if you're afraid to make yourself known and get involved.

We have to be involved, be like Tick-a-Kiss.

Finally, we see that Tick-a-Kiss is an encourager.

In both Ephesians and Colossians, Paul writes that he is sending Tick-a-Kiss so that he can encourage their hearts.

Now, there's no doubt the people of these churches knew of Paul's imprisonment.

And they were probably worried and concerned about him personally.

But they also had to recognize that his imprisonment also meant that they could face the same kinds of persecution that he's facing.

Because of their faith, they were running the risk of being imprisoned as well.

Because of their faith, they were running the risk of being murdered or martyred as well.

And so Paul is trusting Tick-a-Kiss enough to go tell them of his ministry, but also more importantly, to encourage them in their faith.

He's so confident in Tick-a-Kiss to diminish their concerns about him and encourage them to continue to be bold in their faith as well.

Now, we probably all know people who have the spiritual gift of encouragement.

I know that I'm thankful for so many of you in this body that have the gift and use it to build up others.

But even if we don't have the spiritual gift of encouragement, all of us have the ability to encourage others within this body.

That's why there's so many commands throughout the New Testament that instruct all believers to encourage one another.

It's the responsibility of all of us whether we have the spiritual gift or not to encourage one another.

We have people in this body who are invaluable to this church because they are encouragers.

They notice the people who are doing some things behind the scenes, and they take time to give thanks and give those people a word of encouragement.

They're the people who don't just believe it when someone tells them that they are fine, but they can see because they know them so well,

because they're gifted with that way that the other person is really hurting.

And then they do what they can to encourage the other person, even if it merely means listening to what the other person has to say.

They're the ones who come alongside people who are really struggling in their lives and say,

I'm not sure what I can do for you, but I'm here for you.

And when that happens, we can believe them.

They're the ones who ask, how can I pray for you?

And they sit down in that moment and pray for that person.

It's not just an empty promise.

They're the ones who make a telephone call or drop someone a note just to let them know that they are thinking of them.

In our journey through Ephesians over the last almost two years, one of the most significant overall themes of Paul's letters to us as followers of Jesus is that we need each other.

We need each other.

God never intended for any of his children to try and make it on their own outside of the body of Christ.

That's why this Sunday morning gathering our small groups, our fellowship times, our get-togethers are so important.

And in order for us to do that, we all need to be like Ticacus.

Not the kind we'll read about on the front page of the newspaper or against all the publicity or maybe on the evening news,

but we need to be like Ticacus.

Ordinary people who are committed to being faithful, who are committed to being trustworthy, who are committing to being involved and are committed to being in encouragement.

When I threw out the idea a couple years ago, when I first got here, about going line by line through Ephesians,

there was a little bit of apprehension from some because we'd never done that in the church before.

Are they going to get bored with it?

Is it going to be too long?

Well, with the exception of one verse, which we're going to cover next week, we made it through.

And I hope that going through this book has been encouraging and challenging and convicting for you just as it has been for me.

For Paul, this letter to the church at Ephesus did not represent the end, but rather it represents the beginning.

His intent was that everything that he had written in this letter would serve as a catalyst for his readers to go on to deeper spiritual maturity

as they came to know God much more intimately and to serve him with even more devotion.

So Paul closed this with a benediction where he prays for God to bestow three things on his readers.

There is a sense in which these three attributes taken together really summarize everything that Paul has written in this letter.

And as we close this book, let us consider those three things that we should pray for.

First, he prays that God might give them peace.

Earlier in his letter, Paul had written that Jesus is our peace.

And we've seen throughout our journey the sacrificial death of Jesus on the cross and his resurrection is the source of true peace,

both peace with God and peace with others.

Jesus broke down every single wall that separates us from others.

He tore it down, whether it be religion or race or social class or gender or political party or geography.

And it's Paul's prayer as well as mine that we would not do anything in this body,

that we would not do anything as a body of believers to put those walls back up again.

If you feel animosity towards someone in this church, will you pray for the peace of God to fill you?

I've said it many times over the last few weeks that our enemies are not in this church,

our enemy is Satan, who fills our minds with lies and deceit.

We need the peace of God.

Next, Paul prays that they might experience God's love.

But you'll notice that there's a qualifier there.

He desires that they have love with faith.

Now, there's a sense in which God loves every man, but the only ones who can experience that love and all of its fullness

are those who have faith to trust in Jesus as their Lord and Savior.

It's the kind of love that Paul describes in chapter 1, where he describes what God has done for his children

completely apart from their own man.

That's what chapter 1 was about.

We must constantly keep that sacrificial love in mind as the basis for everything we do to serve a God

who has loved us completely and at such a great cost.

It's been my experience that when I feel bitterness towards someone,

the best thing that I can do for my own heart is to figure out a way to show them love.

Sometimes that's sending them a gift card so they can go out to dinner.

Sometimes it's writing them a note of encouragement.

It has to cost me something, whether that be resources or time.

It has to cost me something to show love because that's the best example of Jesus towards us.

We need to pray for God's love.

Finally, Paul prays that they might experience God's grace.

The book of Ephesians is certainly all about that grace.

Without it, none of us could experience a relationship with God.

Without it, none of us could even begin to live a life that would please him.

We must also keep that grace in mind as we relate to others in our body.

We need to treat others with the same kind of grace that God has bestowed upon us.

But you'll notice that Paul doesn't pray this prayer for everyone.

The peace, the love, and the grace of God

are reserved only for those who love Jesus when they're undying love.

So the obvious question we must ask ourselves this morning is,

do I love Jesus with an undying love?

Do I love Jesus with an undying love?

Do I desire to get into his word every single day so that I can know him better?

Do I think about him often throughout the day?

Do I use my time and talents and resources that he has given me

in a way that brings honor to him?

Do I obey him?

Do I live with an undying love for him?

Or is my love for him dependent on how I'm feeling that day?

Is it dependent on where I am?

What environment I'm in? Do I only love him when I'm here?

Do I love him with an undying love?

We have to ask ourselves that question.

Because that's who the peace and love and grace that Paul prays for.

For some of you, you're undying love for Jesus, maybe very young.

You've just started to figure out what it means to love him.

You're doing your best.

But you really do love him with all your heart.

And day by day, you get to know him and love him better.

I love my wife. I hope y'all know that.

But the love I have for her today is far different than the love I have for her when we first got married.

If you've been married for any amount of time, you know what that means, right?

And so as throughout the years, I've learned what it means to love her unconditionally.

I've learned what it means to love her in an undying way.

And so if you're young in your faith, just keep at it more and more every single day.

And you're going to look back 20 years from now and realize that the love you have for him today

that burns in you is not even close to what you have.

More and more we need to do.

For others, you've loved Jesus for a long time.

You've blown it along the way. That's for sure. Many of us have.

Maybe many times, but you really do love him.

And your love for him doesn't look the same today as it did when you first loved him.

For all of us who have been here for this spiritual basic training,

for this getting ready for this battle,

I pray that all of us can honestly say that our love for Jesus is more mature

than it was when we started this thing.

If not, then perhaps we need to ask ourselves,

do we really love Jesus with an undying love?

If you are not maturing in your faith,

if you're not understanding his goodness and grace more and more and more each and every day,

we need to really ask ourselves, do I love him with an undying love?

Or have I learned some sort of religion?

Have I learned some sort of behavior?

I also know that it's very possible that there are some of you here who would honestly say

that you've never really ever loved Jesus.

Maybe even considered that you've never even considered before that you need to love him,

that you need to have a relationship with him.

Or maybe you've known about Jesus for a long time,

but you've never made that commitment to love him with an undying love.

That's why we're here this morning, each and every Sunday.

We want to communicate to you as often and as frequently as we can

that that is the best decision that you can ever make.

I would love nothing more to do, nothing more today than to have that conversation with you.

It's more important than who you're going to marry,

it's more important than what job you get.

This is life and death for eternity here.

And I want to help you understand that this undying love that I have for Jesus

is the best thing that I can ever offer you.

And so Paul ends this thing with that prayer.

May they have the peace of God.

May they have the love of God and may they have the grace of God

so that they can persevere as the battle rages on.

This is the 59th week that we've been in Ephesians.

And it's been challenging.

And it's always amazing to me when we go line by line,

when we pick a verse and we're going line by line,

how the Lord's sovereignty, as I outline a passage,

and when we get to a passage, how we're dealing with that particular issue in the church.

At that particular time.

It shouldn't, but it always blows my mind that God is so good and faithful in that way.

So if you're here today, and we're wrapping it up,

we'll do one more verse next week, bonus points if you tell me what verse that is next week.

Because I skipped one.

But you're here today, not by chance, but by the sovereignty of God to hear

that you and I need to be like Ticacus.

We need to be faithful.

We need to be trustworthy.

We need to get involved in the lives of others.

We need to get involved in the church.

We need to be an encouragement to the church.

So this challenge is for all of us that are here this morning.

And so I don't know where you fall in that realm of the list that we gave,

of the characteristics of Ticacus.

But if there's an area of weakness, or there's an area where you're not that plugged in,

or you're not that faithful, or not that trustworthy,

then I want you to take this as an encouragement.

That this is the Lord asking you what's it going to take?

What's it going to take to become more faithful?

What's it going to take to get involved?

What's it going to take for you to be trustworthy?

How is God going to use you in this place to be an encouragement to our fellow believers?

And so I'm going to close this out with a prayer.

I'm going to invite the worship team to come back up.

And as we sing one more song together,

may this go beyond just looking at a screen and singing the words on it.

Will we pray those prayers over us that God will give us His peace,

that He will show us His love,

that He will give us His grace as we do the same to others?

And how the Lord convicts and how the Lord moves is up to Him.

That's my prayer. Let's pray.

Father God, I pray right now that you will send your Holy Spirit to empower us.

You will send your Holy Spirit to speak to us.

God, we thank you for the peace that you give us.

We thank you for Jesus that brings that peace.

We are able to have peace with you.

We're able to have peace with others.

I pray, Father, that you pour out your peace on each and every one of us this morning.

God, we thank you for your love towards us,

the sacrificial love that gave up everything for us,

help us as a church, love in the same way,

sacrificially, where it costs us something.

And God, we thank you for your grace.

None of us in this room are good enough for it.

None of us in this room can earn it, but you give it to us anyway.

And so, Father, I pray that you will help us be a church that gives grace,

even when people don't deserve it.

So, Father, help us be a church filled with people like Ticacus.

That's faithful in the small things, and then faithful in the bigger things.

We're so grateful for this letter.

I pray, Father, that it will not be an end, but it will be a beginning

as all of us mature in our faith each and every day.

Give us an undying love for you.

It's your name, we pray.