Pure Church: Pure Fellowship

Let's read God's Word.

Reminds the people to be subject to rulers and authorities,

to be obedient, to be ready to do whatever is good,

to slander no one, to be peaceable and considerate,

and to show true humility towards all people.

At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved

by all kinds of passions and pleasures.

We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another.

But when the kindness and love of God our Saviour appeared,

He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done,

but because of His mercy.

He saved us through the washing of rebirth

and renewal by the Holy Spirit,

whom He poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Saviour,

so that, having been justified by His grace,

we might become heirs, having the hope of eternal life.

This is a trustworthy saying.

And I want to stress these things,

so that those who have trusted in God

may be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good.

These things are excellent and profitable for everyone.

But avoid foolish controversies and genealogies and arguments

and quarrels about the law,

because these are unprofitable and useless.

Warn a divisive person once,

and then warn him a second time.

After that, have nothing to do with him.

You may be sure that such a man is warped and sinful.

He is self-condemned.

As soon as I send Artemis and Tychicus to you,

do your best to come to me at Nicolopolis,

because I have decided to winter there.

Do everything you can to help Zenes, the lawyer,

and Apollos on their way,

and see that they have everything they need.

Our people must learn to devote themselves to doing what is good,

in order that they may provide for the daily necessities

and not live unproductive lives.

Everyone with me sends you greetings.

Greet those who love us in the faith.

Grace be with you all.

Peter,

to come up and

I'll pray for you.

Thanks, Johnny.

And I'll pray for us.

Just so everybody knows that

Peter and Maeve have been

back from the US

for a couple of weeks

and returning

tomorrow week.

Tomorrow week.

Yeah.

Yeah.

So, yeah,

so we've enjoyed Peter preaching last weekend.

We're going to pray for him again as he speaks today.

So let's just pray for them.

Father, we thank you for your gifts to us

and we thank you for the way in which

your gifts come to us through people.

And we thank you for Peter and for Maeve.

And we ask that you would continue to give them strength

physically and mentally

for all that they are doing in their studies

and preparation for Maeve

and with her research.

Give to her all that she needs day by day.

We pray as well that you would give to them both the rest that they need

and that they would be refreshed

so that when they return back to the US

they would be ready

for a new term.

Father, we pray for them

and we pray that they would also have good times

with family while they are here

enjoyable times

an opportunity to catch with

catch up with all of their friends.

We pray for Peter now

that he may know the power of your spirit

working in him and through him

that we also may know your spirit

helping us to

not only understand your word

intellectually

but also that it would make its way

deep into our hearts

to change us and transform us

into the people that you call us to be

so that we make the teaching

about the Lord Jesus Christ

our Saviour attractive

to all around us.

So bless Peter now

and encourage us

through what we listen to

and we pray this in Jesus' name.

Amen.

Amen.

Thanks, Pastor Sammy.

Well, I'd like to just reiterate

how blessed we have been

through your hospitality

and through your prayers

and through your support

at this time

and so when we go back to the States

we'll have

we'll have very fond memories

of these few weeks

that we've had

back home

so thanks so much

for being that for us.

So we have been looking at Titus

for the last few weeks

it's only a short letter

when you look at it

in the red covered Bibles

it's very clear

it's only less than two pages long

so I'd encourage us

to be reading that

maybe especially

before Wednesday night

if you're going to come

to our Gospel communities

so we're going to review it

on Wednesday night

the whole letter

today we're going to look

in particular

verses 9 to 15

of chapter 3

for the sake of time

I guess we can't look

at the whole thing

and it's good

that we've read

the whole of chapter 3

because

it's important for us

not to forget

what we were saying

last week

it's important for us

not to forget

what God has saved us from

and what God has saved us to

and that being

at the very core

of our faith

at the very core

even of what we're going

to be looking at today

as well

as has been mentioned

and as has been

drawn out very nicely

in our singing

we're looking at

pure fellowship

that's the theme

for this morning

one of the things

that myself

may have been aware of

in the states

is just the importance

of a good diet

and just being able

to eat well

I don't know

whether I've achieved that

but I've certainly

been aware of it

in the states

they're facing

what is an epidemic

anywhere between

100,000 and 400,000

people a year

die from obesity

related illnesses

which is actually horrendous

when you think of it

that people

are struggling

to eat healthily

and to live healthy lives

that's physically speaking

spiritually speaking

for us

we want to live healthy lives

we want to have

pure fellowship

healthy fellowship

with each other

and from this passage

this morning

we're going to

tease out

just three things

three key

ingredients

or three key things

that we can feed

pure fellowship

with

so that our fellowship

can be healthy

and pure

the first thing

we want to look at

is that pure fellowship

is fed by pure divisions

which is quite an alarming

thing to say

but we'll consider that

a little bit more carefully

the second thing

is that pure fellowship

is fed by pure decisions

and the third thing

pure fellowship

is fed by pure devotions

I hope that alliteration

is not distracting

I think that's

very clear

from the passage

as we work through it

so firstly

pure fellowship

is fed by pure divisions

so Paul

in verses 9 and 10

he's calling us

not only to

avoid foolish controversies

in other words

discussions

or arguments

about various things

but he's also

calling us

to avoid

foolish people

in verse 9

he says

avoid foolish controversies

and genealogies

and arguments

and quarrels

about the law

now

these things

might be

a little bit tricky

for us to relate to

I can't remember

the last time

I had an argument

about a genealogy

or a quarrel

about the law

but it's important

for us to try

and understand

clearly what Paul

is saying here

he's writing

to Titus

in particular

in Titus' role

as a leader

in the church

and what he has

in mind

are controversies

about the Old Testament

so Jewish

controversies

that were going on

at the time

if we look back

at chapter 1

in verse 10

just for a moment

where Paul writes

there are many

rebellious people

mere talkers

and deceivers

especially those

of the circumcision group

they must be silenced

because they are

ruining whole households

by teaching things

they ought not to teach

those two verses

give us some idea

of the types of things

that were going on

at that time

that Paul

wants Titus

to avoid

even if we understand

that though

it still takes

a little bit of work

for us to understand

what relevance

has this

for us today

2000 years later

so we may know

that it's

Jewish

Old Testament

controversies

about circumcision

or genealogies

but what relevance

is that for us

today

if we remember

last week

in verse 3

we saw that we

too were foolish

and that is something

that God has saved us

from

and so when we

consider here

that Paul is saying

avoid foolish

controversies

there's a very clear

connection between

what we were

that we were foolish

and again

how we should live

and that we should

avoid foolish

controversies

and so

as we mentioned

at the start

all that God

has done

is motivating

what Paul

is saying here

and should

motivate us

accordingly

so Paul's

principle

basically

is that

rather than

being involved

in foolish

controversies

that we want

to avoid

foolish controversies

he chooses

his words

carefully

though

because

when you think

about Paul's

life

he was no stranger

to controversy

himself

when you think

about Jesus

I would say

the most controversial

figure in all of history

he divides history

he divides people

either

you accept Jesus

as Lord and Savior

and live accordingly

or you

refuse to accept that

and so Jesus

is very controversial

so it's not

controversy

in general

that Paul

is wanting

Titus to avoid

but it's foolish

controversies

it's the kind of

controversies

as he says

in verse

the end of verse

nine

controversies

that are unprofitable

controversies

that are useless

arguments

that create

more heat

than light

arguments

that

when we

look back

on them

when we reflect

on them

and we realise

that was really

not worthwhile

that was really

unfruitful

I really should have

avoided that

so those are the

kind of things

that Paul wants

Titus

and us

to avoid

and as we consider

what that would

look like practically

if we were to avoid

foolish controversies

we realise

that most of our

controversies

are with other people

so although

you may be like me

where you have

these controversies

going on in your

own mind

or arguments

going on in your

own mind

the reality

is most of our

controversies

are with other

people

and Paul picks

up on that

so if you look

at verse 10

warn a divisive

person

Paul says

once

and then warn

him a second

time

as we read

verse 10

and verse 11

it's important

to remember

that Paul

is speaking

particularly

to Titus

so there will

be a temptation

for us

to immediately

jump into

Titus' role

and say

oh well

if Paul

tells Titus

to do this

then maybe

I should

go around

warning people

warning divisive

people

once or twice

but our

position in

relation to

this letter

that we are

hearing

is more

as the

congregation

more similar

to the

congregation

that Titus

cares for

and so Paul

is saying

that Titus

has a

God-given

authority

Paul has

left him

there

to appoint

elders

as we saw

back at

the start

of the

letter

he has

left him

there

to put

in order

what Paul

has left

to be

done

and so

Titus

is an

authority

he has

to exercise

discipline

and the

minute I

say that

word

I know

some of

us

are

thinking

that

sounds

very

harsh

I mean

discipline

is that

that's a

fierce thing

to be doing

all together

in this

day and age

but I

think that's

unfair

it's unfair

to think

that discipline

equates

with harshness

it's unfair

to think

that discipline

equates

with some

kind of

necessary

evil

if you

look at

the way

this

discipline

is to

be exercised

look at

the patience

that's involved

in this

discipline

warn a

divisive

person

once

so something

has been

going on

this person

has been

causing

division

so there's

one warning

a clear

warning

in order

for the

person to

turn away

from their

divisive

ways

the person

continues

and Paul

says warn

them a

second time

so this

has been

going on

for some

time now

and the

person

is unwilling

to turn

away from

their divisive

ways

and it's

only then

it's only

after these

things

Paul says

at the

end of

verse 10

that you're

to have

nothing more

to do

with them

we've seen

this kind

of attitude

already

we saw it

back in

chapter 1

where the

reason Paul

tells Titus

to rebuke

people is

so that

they will

be sound

in the

faith

that is

Paul's

concern

it's

Titus'

concern

and it

should be

our

concern

as we

consider

what

church

discipline

and what

authority

should look

like

in the

church

so there's

great

patience

involved

in this

but there's

also a

realisation

that this

is serious

stuff

as we

read in

chapter 1

the people

of the

circumcision

group

are upsetting

households

these divisive

people

by their

very nature

divide

people

so it's

not just

some abstract

thing that's

going on

over here

it's actually

causing

upset in

the church

in the

body of

Christ

and so

when we

are tempted

to think

that discipline

is somehow

bad or

somehow

very mean

or nasty

of Titus

to be

doing

we must

realise

that this

is serious

stuff

and if

it goes

unchecked

the division

will only

spread

now there's

no doubt

for Titus

it would be

an unpleasant

thing to do

to go to

these people

and to warn

them

but Paul

reassures him

with these

words in

verse 11

you may be

sure Titus

he said

that such

a man

is warped

and sinful

that such

a man

is self

condemned

which is

serious

serious

language

from Paul

but that's

how he

affirms

Titus

in his

role

there's a

sense

in which

as Titus

exercises

this

authority

there's

something

greater

going on

here

because

the person

who continues

in their

divisive

ways

is identifying

themselves

they're

identifying

themselves

as a

verse 3

and verse 4

person

someone who

is still

disobedient

someone who

is still

foolish

and so

when we

think about

this discipline

that's being

exercised

we realise

there's great

patience here

and there's

serious

stuff going

on in the

church for

this to be

happening

and we realise

that it's out

of care

it's out

of love

it's out

of a desire

for the

church

not to be

more divided

and in

some sense

it's the

person who

is dividing

things

bringing it

on themselves

as they

continue

in this

way

maybe a

way to

illustrate

this

would be

to consider

these nice

room dividers

beside us

here which

serve a

very helpful

purpose

for us

in this

hall as

we meet

on a

Sunday

morning

they

create

an area

for which

we can

meet

so it

doesn't

feel too

big

or too

un-intimate

or whatever

the proper

word is

there

so these

room dividers

are good

I want to

say that

clearly

what Paul

is saying

is that

division in

the church

is bad

and so

if we

consider

these room

dividers

if they

will fold

away as

they do

then we

can remove

the division

by folding

them

to put

in the

parallel

from this

passage

that we

are looking

at

if this

person

if this

divider

of the

church

will be

warned

if they

will heed

a warning

then we

can get

rid of

the division

but if

for some

reason

these

room

dividers

rust up

if they

just simply

will not

fold

if they

simply

will not

be warned

the only

way

to get

rid of

the division

is to

get rid

of the

divider

and so

that is

what Paul

instructs

Titus

to do

if this

person

continues

if they

will not

fold

if they

will not

be warned

then have

nothing

more to

do with

them

in other

words

if you

want to

get rid

of the

division

if you

want pure

fellowship

you have

to get rid

of the

divider

now here's

the thing

if you

listen very

closely

I'm going

to let

you in

on a

secret

we all

love

a good

argument

isn't

that true

you're

down in

Barry

Collins

you're

browsing

through the

potatoes

the next

thing you

hear

are voices

raised

down at

the other

end of

the potato

section

and you

suddenly start

taking a great

interest in

what you're

looking at

and you linger

around this

particular area

for some

reason

and as the

argument goes

on you're

thinking this

is getting

really juicy

and you're

really enjoying

it

it happens

on Facebook

as well

I think the

reality is

even if we

might not love

being in an

argument we

certainly love

hearing good

arguments

and not

only that

but we

live in

an age

when there's

plenty of

opportunities

to argue

I'm sure

you've seen

yourselves

if you're

on Facebook

or any of

those internet

thingies

I'm sure

you've seen

yourself

that the

most innocent

comment can

lead to a

most heated

debate

a most vehement

argument where

people are getting

worked up for

apparently no

reason

and so we

like a good

argument

wrongly I think

of us

and we live

in a time

when there's

plenty of

arguments

to be had

which is a

potent combination

and so as we

consider Paul's

instructions to

Titus it's

quite relevant

for us

to be

listening to

what he is

saying because

of the times

we live in

and then the

flip side

as we've

noticed is

that divisive

arguments

are not

very far

removed from

divisive

people

now as we've

alluded to the

question for us

here is not so

much who can I

go around

warning about

their divisive

ways the

question for

us is am I

willing to be

warned about

my divisive

ways and

that's an

important thing

to realize

because often

when we read

passages like

this we put

ourselves in the

position where we

are the authority

where we are

the law where

we create the

norm by which

other people

should live

but no Titus

is the one who

has been given

this authority

and the vast

majority of us

are the ones

who should be

submitting to

this authority

who should have

humble hearts

who should be

willing to heed

a warning

so rather than

taking the law

into our own

hands we should

be willing to

heed to hear

older Christians

wiser Christians

as they come

alongside us

as they seek

out our good

patiently and

lovingly and

caringly

so that's the

first thing and

we've spent a

little bit longer

on that the

pure fellowship

is fed by pure

division

now I hope you

remember the

content of that

because the

idea that pure

division in the

church is a

good thing is

maybe hard to

get our heads

around but let's

remember that we

need sometimes to

avoid controversial

arguments and

controversial people

the second thing

we want to see

is that pure

fellowship is

nourished or

fed by pure

decisions

and we see this

in verses 12

and 13 where he

says as soon as

I send Artemis

or Tychicus to

you do your best

to come to me

at Nicopolis

because I have

decided to winter

there

do everything you

can to help

Zenos the lawyer

and Apollos on

their way and

see that they have

everything they

need our people

must learn to

devote themselves

to doing what

is good Paul

says in order

that they may

provide for daily

necessities and

not live unproductive

lives so what we

see worked out by

Paul is an

example of how

to make good

pure decisions

and how these

decisions affect

our fellowship

in verses 12

and 13 he's

showing us an

example of good

planning and how

planning affects

our decision

making process

and we see

that so much

of his plans

are people

based so we

have Paul

himself he

has made his

decision we

have Artemis

we have

Tychicus we

have Zenos

the lawyer we

have Apollos

all of this

planning that

Paul is doing

is based around

people and

where they're

going to be

what they're

going to be

doing and

that's only the

people he has

named there's

plenty of people

in the congregations

that are going

to be affected

by this

planning as

well and so

good planning is

part of the

pure decision

making process

that in turn

leads to pure

fellowship so

we're on about

three levels

here but good

planning is

essential planning

that works

around other

people works

around the

people in the

body of Christ

here in

Carigoline

another thing

another element

of our pure

decision making

is to do our

best to make

our very best

efforts so

if you're like

me you may be

the kind of

person who is

very good at

planning things

but as long as

the plans stay

in your desk

if you don't

fulfill them

if you don't

follow through

in them

they're pretty

worthless

there's no use

to them

and so Paul

says to Titus

do your best

in verse 12

do everything

you can

to help

Zenos and

Apollos on

their way

and that

these people

must learn

to do

what is good

in other words

to put in

effort

to put in

their best

efforts

in order for

good decisions

pure decisions

to be made

so Paul

recognizes good

planning

best efforts

these are two

things that are

part of the

decision making

process

but there's also

a third thing

which is vitally

important

and that is a

recognition by

Paul that there

are human

limitations

so we can't

be everywhere

at once

we don't know

all things

we can't do

all things

and so even

though Paul

has good plans

even though Paul

expects best

efforts from

people

he also recognizes

that people are

limited

individually

and corporately

and so when

he says

I will send

Artemis

or Tychicus

it's one or

the other

there's a reason

that he's not

sending both

perhaps Tychicus

might have to

stay wherever

he is

for another

reason

and so when

Paul tells

Titus to come

to him in

Nicopolis

he realizes

that if Titus

comes to him

in Nicopolis

that leaves

a gap

a space

where Titus

would have

been

and so he

wants to

send Artemis

to fill

that gap

and so he

recognizes

that people

are limited

we are

limited

in who we

are and

what we're

able to

do

and what

we're able

to understand

and so it's

this kind of

decision making

that has good

planning

that puts

in a good

effort

and realizes

limitations

that feeds

pure fellowship

maybe the

most obvious

illustration

of this

is where

we are

right now

on a Sunday

morning

at 11

o'clock

or shortly

thereafter

when you

consider

a Sunday

morning

it needs

to be

planned

there needs

to be

decisions

made

people need

to know

what's going

to happen

on a Sunday

morning

and if that

doesn't happen

some people

might arrive

at 10

some people

might arrive

at 12

the plans

need to be

made well

not only that

but we need

to put in

the effort

so I'm

sure most

of us

set our

alarm clocks

last night

we put in

that intentional

effort to be

up on time

to get here

but there's

also a

recognition

on a Sunday

morning

that we're

limited

that we can

only do so

much

and so as we

consider the

various things

that are going

on the various

ministries that

are happening

in our church

there's a

realisation

that there's

so much

we could be

doing

and yet

there's only

so much

we can

do

if we

recognise

that it

will help

us to

not be

small in

our plans

or small

in our

efforts

but it'll

help us

to guard

against

the frustration

where we

see all that

could be

happening

in Cargilline

for example

and we

feel inadequate

or we feel

unable to

achieve it

but if we

recognise

that these

human limitations

are part and

parcel of who

we are

then it will

guard us

against frustration

and it will

feed pure

fellowship

so for us

the question

is whether

other Christians

factor into

our planning

there are

plenty of

motives

involved in

good planning

but this

passage in

particular

is highlighting

the need

to recognise

other people

in our

planning

it's also

asking us

whether we're

putting in

our best

efforts

in order

to create

pure

fellowship

in order

to make

good decisions

and follow

through in

them

and it's

also

asking us

to recognise

our limitations

and the

limitations

of other

people

so that we

do not

put undue

pressure

or stress

on people

in a way

that they

are unable

to fulfil

and so that's

the second

thing we want

to see

pure fellowship

is fed

by pure

decisions

and the

last thing

from this

passage this

morning is

that pure

fellowship

is fed

by pure

devotion

which is

a much

more

exciting

word

than

decision

so when

we consider

the language

that Paul

uses here

in verse 14

for example

he says

our people

must learn

to devote

themselves

to doing

what is

good

you may

remember

that phrase

from such

verses

as last

week

in verse

8

that those

who have

trusted in

God

may be

careful

to devote

themselves

to doing

what is

good

within the

space of

six verses

Paul repeats

it and he

wants us to

remember it

and he wants

it to be

scorched into

our memories

that we are

to be

devoted to

doing what

is good

and this

in turn

will lead

and feed

pure

fellowship

I guess

depending on

the background

you're from

you may

respond to

this phrase

devoted to

doing what

is good

differently

so perhaps

you may

think

well

I have to

be devoted

to doing

what is

good

because if

I do

enough

what is

good

then

I will

get into

heaven

hooray

or

you may

be of

the opinion

that

well no

I don't

need to

be devoted

to doing

what is

good

because

Christ

has done

it all

for me

and it's

certainly

true that

Christ has

done

everything

for us

we saw

that back

in the

start of

chapter 3

where it's

not by

our own

righteousness

that we

are saved

but the

tendency

the temptation

can be

to say

if Christ

has done

it all

I don't

need to

be quite

so devoted

to doing

what is

good

but no

Paul says

God says

to us

this morning

that we

should be

motivated

we should

be devoted

to doing

what is

good

because of

all that

we have

seen in

chapter 3

so far

because of

all that

God has

done

so far

that's

certainly

the

primary

motivation

but we

should also

be motivated

by secondary

things

there are

urgent

needs

there are

daily

necessities

as we

see in

verse 14

we should

be motivated

because there

are things

that people

need

there are

things that

we might

have

they might

be gifts

they might

be financial

resources

they might

be time

to pray

and there

are things

that we

have

that can

provide

for daily

necessities

of others

a second

motivation

to not

live

unproductive

lives

which is

a tempting

thing

to do

to be

unproductive

in our

lives

it's tempting

to say

well

I've been

working hard

I just

want to

chill out

and do

nothing

but Paul

calls us

here to

be

motivated

by the

desire

to live

a productive

life

to make

the most

of what

God

has given

us

he says

in verse 13

do everything

you can

to help

Zenos and

Apollos on

their way

that they

have everything

that they

need

and so

Paul's

attention

to detail

attention

to need

in the

lives

of those

around him

is a

good example

for us

I think

in order

to illustrate

this idea

that we

are to be

devoted

to doing

what is

good

maybe

an experience

that I've

never had

which is

being

at the

start

of a

race

Shane

will have

it tomorrow

in the

marathon

and others

as well

is the

sprinter

at the

start

of a

race

they