Titus #3

WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:04.160 Mercy that you have shown us in the light of the Gospel that has come 2 00:00:04.200 --> 00:00:09.160 into our lives, that we might know you and love you and shine with 3 00:00:09.279 --> 00:00:16.239 your grace. There is no God other than you, no God who brings 4 00:00:16.359 --> 00:00:24.559 us true joy and true peace, true happiness, and true Godliness except for 5 00:00:24.640 --> 00:00:29.320 you and you alone. We thank you for coming into this world at the 6 00:00:29.359 --> 00:00:34.240 proper time and revealing this word of salvation to us, that we might be 7 00:00:34.439 --> 00:00:38.880 changed and then we might believe. We thank you also, Lord, that 8 00:00:39.000 --> 00:00:44.119 you now use us as individuals and together as your church, along with many 9 00:00:44.159 --> 00:00:49.359 others, to shine brightly with this good news, that the world, even 10 00:00:49.399 --> 00:00:55.719 to its remotest end, might hear you and fear you and love you as 11 00:00:55.920 --> 00:01:00.840 you have made us and are making us to do. We asked that you 12 00:01:00.840 --> 00:01:04.079 would help us to hear your word, be with the preaching of your word 13 00:01:04.799 --> 00:01:11.599 as we as we come again to your word in Titus through your apostle Paul, 14 00:01:12.640 --> 00:01:21.439 we pray this in Jesus name. Amen. Let's turn to Titus chapter 15 00:01:21.560 --> 00:01:29.120 one, Versus one through four, and here God's word I read this morning 16 00:01:29.159 --> 00:01:48.519 Titus one versus one through four. So last week, when we looked at 17 00:01:48.519 --> 00:01:53.640 this passage, we considered Paul, Paul's self understanding, how he understands his 18 00:01:53.680 --> 00:01:57.680 own mission as he writes this letter to tite us to give him instructions about 19 00:01:57.680 --> 00:02:01.799 how he ought to understand his mission, his assignment, and ultimately that comes 20 00:02:01.799 --> 00:02:06.159 to all of us right. What is Christ as the head of the church 21 00:02:06.640 --> 00:02:12.800 a desire for us? Last week we focused on the source of um, 22 00:02:12.840 --> 00:02:16.840 the source of that strength, the source of that message, which is God 23 00:02:16.879 --> 00:02:22.439 and the Word of Christ, the revelation of the Gospel. Today we focus 24 00:02:22.560 --> 00:02:29.240 on the ends God has desired, ends for his work goals, and we're 25 00:02:29.240 --> 00:02:30.439 gonna. Look, We're gonna. I'd like you to pay attention to that 26 00:02:30.560 --> 00:02:36.560 this morning as we read now tied Us one one through four. What's God's 27 00:02:36.599 --> 00:02:44.479 goal in sending out his word Paul, a servant of God and an apostle 28 00:02:44.520 --> 00:02:50.680 of Jesus Christ, for the sake of the faith of God's elect and their 29 00:02:50.719 --> 00:02:55.080 knowledge of the truth which accords with Godliness in the hope of eternal life, 30 00:02:55.319 --> 00:03:01.439 which God who never lies, promised be for the ages began and at the 31 00:03:01.479 --> 00:03:07.599 proper time manifested in his word through the preaching with which I have been entrusted 32 00:03:07.560 --> 00:03:13.680 by the command of God our Savior to Titus, my true child in a 33 00:03:13.759 --> 00:03:17.840 common faith. Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior. 34 00:03:20.479 --> 00:03:24.240 May God bless his word to us, Please be seated. Mm hmmm 35 00:03:35.280 --> 00:03:53.840 m m. Having a good goal is pretty essential for almost anything in life, 36 00:03:53.800 --> 00:03:57.719 whether you're waking up in the morning and trying to figure out what to 37 00:03:57.800 --> 00:04:02.120 get dressed, or um, you're thinking about your job, or thinking about 38 00:04:02.159 --> 00:04:05.479 something as big as what the church is supposed to be, like what am 39 00:04:05.520 --> 00:04:15.480 I supposed to be doing as a Christian? These are important questions. It 40 00:04:15.600 --> 00:04:24.000 makes me think of those cartoons where um, somebody uh has the map upside 41 00:04:24.000 --> 00:04:29.040 down right and you're everyone's going the wrong direction, and then you know, 42 00:04:29.079 --> 00:04:31.959 then that sort of comical moment, you can turn it right side up. 43 00:04:32.680 --> 00:04:35.920 In that case, the problem maybe not isn't the goal, but it's the 44 00:04:38.120 --> 00:04:43.480 route to get there, the direction, the means to that end also also 45 00:04:43.560 --> 00:04:50.560 important. In this passage, Paul addresses all of these things. He starts 46 00:04:50.600 --> 00:04:55.240 with the source of our mission, the source of his mission, the source 47 00:04:55.279 --> 00:04:59.319 of the work of Christian ministry, and even the work of God in the 48 00:04:59.360 --> 00:05:02.319 Word of Cry. That's of course, God himself. And Jesus Christ, 49 00:05:02.399 --> 00:05:08.120 our savior, the eternal son of God. But he also addresses the means 50 00:05:08.199 --> 00:05:12.920 right, the means towards an end that he is it is his desire to 51 00:05:12.920 --> 00:05:16.360 achieve. Well, what is what's his end? Well, he says, 52 00:05:17.079 --> 00:05:21.759 Paul goes out for a reason. His work is suffering all of that for 53 00:05:21.800 --> 00:05:26.319 a reason. And he says, it's for the sake of the faith of 54 00:05:26.360 --> 00:05:32.160 God's elect God's children, God's chosen, God's beloved ones. It's for their 55 00:05:32.319 --> 00:05:38.079 the sake of their faith. And then he gives some details their knowledge of 56 00:05:38.160 --> 00:05:46.000 their the knowledge of the truth. And he describes that knowledge as saying, 57 00:05:46.040 --> 00:05:51.959 as that which accords with Godliness and is in hope of eternal life. So 58 00:05:53.040 --> 00:06:00.199 this faith he sort of unfolds in this way, knowledge, godliness, and 59 00:06:00.319 --> 00:06:10.680 hope. I think these three things correspond with the classic um faith, hope, 60 00:06:10.720 --> 00:06:15.720 and love, those virtues or what we do, how we feel, 61 00:06:16.000 --> 00:06:20.920 and what we think. We might say that one of God's ends, and 62 00:06:20.959 --> 00:06:25.879 when we have summarizing this is to save us, and to save all of 63 00:06:26.000 --> 00:06:30.560 us, every part of us, our minds our hearts, our actions. 64 00:06:30.399 --> 00:06:34.240 When God comes into the world and he reveals himself in Jesus Christ. He 65 00:06:34.360 --> 00:06:42.480 comes to save you and all of you. He wants us to have a 66 00:06:42.560 --> 00:06:47.240 knowledge of the truth, to no longer believe, not believe lies. When 67 00:06:47.279 --> 00:06:51.040 we put our faith in Him, we put our faith in real things, 68 00:06:51.079 --> 00:06:56.000 in a real salvation, not a false one, not a lying one. 69 00:06:57.399 --> 00:07:02.560 And it's a truth that actually does good things. It produces uh and in 70 00:07:02.639 --> 00:07:08.800 his and as an accord with Godliness, and it exists in the hope of 71 00:07:08.879 --> 00:07:15.399 eternal life. Lies don't do that. Lies don't produce Godliness, Lies about 72 00:07:15.439 --> 00:07:18.240 God, lies about ourselves, lies about our world, they don't produce. 73 00:07:18.759 --> 00:07:24.600 They don't accord with Godliness, and they certainly don't give us hope. I 74 00:07:24.639 --> 00:07:28.759 want to talk with about talk about that with you a little bit more in 75 00:07:28.759 --> 00:07:34.360 a moment. The point here is just to notice that Paul goes intentionally. 76 00:07:35.279 --> 00:07:40.560 He goes out intentionally, and he does so at the command of God, 77 00:07:40.600 --> 00:07:45.680 which means that God goes intentionally. When Paul says, when God sends out 78 00:07:45.720 --> 00:07:49.199 Paul, he sends out his servant, he sends out his apostle. We 79 00:07:49.279 --> 00:07:54.319 read in verse three, Paul goes as one who is entrusted with something. 80 00:07:55.360 --> 00:07:59.399 Paul doesn't He's not just doing whatever he wants to do. He's doing what 81 00:07:59.480 --> 00:08:05.319 God has intended. And so, as I emphasized last time, we see 82 00:08:05.439 --> 00:08:11.079 not only Paul's heart or a command for us and our mission as a church, 83 00:08:13.160 --> 00:08:16.079 but we also see God's heart and his desire for us. And that's 84 00:08:16.120 --> 00:08:22.480 the thing that we want to keep chief in our minds. This is all 85 00:08:22.600 --> 00:08:28.560 very important for a lot of reasons. One of them is that the world 86 00:08:28.000 --> 00:08:33.840 that we live in is a very very dark place. It's a dark place. 87 00:08:35.480 --> 00:08:39.919 Now, that's not something we want to hear all the time. It's 88 00:08:39.960 --> 00:08:45.320 something we try to distract ourselves from sometimes. Uh, some of you perhaps 89 00:08:45.360 --> 00:08:50.440 come here this morning and you know it. Maybe you feel better than anybody 90 00:08:50.480 --> 00:08:54.559 else. No one is going to have to convince you this morning that the 91 00:08:54.600 --> 00:09:03.679 world is a dark place. Maybe you are suffering in your relationships. Maybe 92 00:09:03.879 --> 00:09:09.480 you're feeling like you don't know how it's gonna work out this week or even 93 00:09:09.480 --> 00:09:16.120 this afternoon with your friend or your spouse or someone at work. Maybe you're 94 00:09:16.159 --> 00:09:20.039 seeing addiction pop up over and over again in your life or in life of 95 00:09:20.080 --> 00:09:24.559 someone you love, and you're overwhelmed by it and you're frustrated by it. 96 00:09:26.600 --> 00:09:33.279 Maybe it's money, problems. Maybe it's all kinds of trials. Trials not 97 00:09:33.320 --> 00:09:35.080 in the sense of suffering, but trials in the sense of you keep trying, 98 00:09:35.559 --> 00:09:46.799 and whatever it is, it keeps not working. The world often likes 99 00:09:46.879 --> 00:09:52.120 to encourage us via optimism and tell us that if you try harder and you 100 00:09:52.440 --> 00:09:58.799 pluck up and you do a little better, or distract yourself with some entertainment 101 00:09:58.000 --> 00:10:01.720 or something like that, that maybe things aren't so bad. And it's true, 102 00:10:01.759 --> 00:10:05.279 there is a lot of good. There is a lot of good. 103 00:10:05.320 --> 00:10:13.159 We have so much to be thankful for, clothes, shelter, food, 104 00:10:13.320 --> 00:10:18.120 good food, friends, family. If we decide we want to start listing 105 00:10:18.159 --> 00:10:20.440 things to be thankful for, which we often do this time of year, 106 00:10:22.000 --> 00:10:26.840 we can come up with very long lists. But if we think about things 107 00:10:28.039 --> 00:10:33.360 as it aligns with this world and his life is under the sun, we 108 00:10:33.440 --> 00:10:37.240 only come to one conclusion. Even when you account for all of the good, 109 00:10:37.399 --> 00:10:41.799 all the very real good, we come to the conclusion that the author 110 00:10:41.799 --> 00:10:48.679 of Ecclesiastes comes to about life under the sun vanity of vanities. All is 111 00:10:48.840 --> 00:10:56.200 vanity. Good things pop up, but they go away, And the book 112 00:10:56.200 --> 00:11:03.360 of Ecclesiastes gives all kinds of examples for this right, flourishing and strength in 113 00:11:03.440 --> 00:11:09.440 your youth and then suffering as you get older. You amass a great fortune, 114 00:11:11.120 --> 00:11:16.440 and then your bum son gambles it all the way, and his inheritance 115 00:11:16.559 --> 00:11:20.919 like the prodigal son right in the story Jesus Um. Then the on parable 116 00:11:20.000 --> 00:11:26.240 Jesus tells all kinds of examples throughout that book of people gaining all kinds of 117 00:11:26.279 --> 00:11:33.159 great knowledge, learning, studying, perfecting, really, establishing, good systems 118 00:11:33.200 --> 00:11:41.919 of thought, good systems of action, and then nothing failure. Ah, 119 00:11:43.279 --> 00:11:48.639 The world's a dark place. The world is a very vain place, taken 120 00:11:48.679 --> 00:11:52.600 on its own terms, in an accordance with its own way in life and 121 00:11:52.759 --> 00:11:56.200 the sun. And that's, of course because of sin. When Sam came 122 00:11:56.240 --> 00:12:01.759 into the world, God cursed the world hostily. He brought into the world 123 00:12:01.799 --> 00:12:07.039 all kinds of measures of frustration that man would see the consequences of his sin, 124 00:12:09.480 --> 00:12:13.559 would be warned from it in part, and would learn not to exalt 125 00:12:13.639 --> 00:12:22.279 himself but exalt God and God alone. When we look around and we see 126 00:12:22.360 --> 00:12:28.879 the darkness of our world, where do we turn? Where do we go? 127 00:12:31.720 --> 00:12:37.720 Well, you can go to a bookstore in town and find huge sections 128 00:12:37.799 --> 00:12:41.879 of literature that will tell you how to do all kinds of things, things 129 00:12:41.960 --> 00:12:46.039 that will help you, ways you can help yourself. We call this self 130 00:12:46.080 --> 00:12:50.519 help. Right. What do you want to learn? Right? Astronomy, 131 00:12:50.720 --> 00:12:54.240 computer coding, how to write a better resume? Um? Do you want 132 00:12:54.240 --> 00:12:58.519 to learn how to communicate better with people? How to be a better listener, 133 00:12:58.039 --> 00:13:01.240 how to be a better has been, a better spouse? Um? 134 00:13:01.240 --> 00:13:05.440 Do you want to how to know how to organize your community or be more 135 00:13:05.480 --> 00:13:09.600 effective in the things that you do? Um? Set better goals, create 136 00:13:09.639 --> 00:13:16.000 better strategies. It's all there. Go by the books. They're there and 137 00:13:16.120 --> 00:13:20.679 they will help, but only to a degree. They only get so far. 138 00:13:22.080 --> 00:13:26.759 If that weren't the case, we have utopia by now. Right. 139 00:13:26.840 --> 00:13:31.960 Humans have been working on perfecting their their towers, and their languages, and 140 00:13:31.000 --> 00:13:37.679 their relationships and their families and our wealth and everything else for thousands and thousands 141 00:13:37.679 --> 00:13:43.720 of years. And we keep doing the same thing over and over and over 142 00:13:43.799 --> 00:13:50.279 again, keep repeating the same mistakes, keep hurting each other in the same 143 00:13:50.279 --> 00:13:54.600 ways, over and over and over again. Vanity of vanities. It's all 144 00:13:54.759 --> 00:13:58.440 vanity. So you can go to the library, you can go to the 145 00:13:58.440 --> 00:14:03.519 bookstory, you can find a measure of help, but it will not get 146 00:14:03.600 --> 00:14:07.879 you the thing that you really need, the thing that the world really needs, 147 00:14:09.480 --> 00:14:15.799 which is God and the life. Not in ourselves, which is ultimately 148 00:14:15.919 --> 00:14:26.039 damning, but life in Him, life in Him. Notice what the apostle 149 00:14:26.080 --> 00:14:30.679 Paul, when he goes out for the sake of the faith of God's elect 150 00:14:31.120 --> 00:14:35.080 and their knowledge of the truth. What is the hope that comes with that 151 00:14:35.240 --> 00:14:41.240 knowledge? A knowledge about Jesus, and knowledge about the Cross, and knowledge 152 00:14:41.240 --> 00:14:46.559 about what God is doing in this world. A knowledge that isn't human generated 153 00:14:46.279 --> 00:14:52.480 but comes straight out of Heaven itself. A knowledge that cannot be found by 154 00:14:52.519 --> 00:14:56.320 going on beautiful walks in the mountains or reading the best poetry or listening to 155 00:14:56.360 --> 00:15:01.759 the best music. A knowledge that cannot be found by studying the greatest of 156 00:15:01.799 --> 00:15:13.440 our science. A knowledge that comes special, special delivery from Heaven itself. 157 00:15:13.519 --> 00:15:18.399 A knowledge that is revealed to us that could not be discovered by us, 158 00:15:18.440 --> 00:15:24.720 but is revealed to us by God's grace. What does that knowledge do well? 159 00:15:24.759 --> 00:15:33.000 That knowledge comes in hope? Hope of what? Eternal life? Not 160 00:15:33.240 --> 00:15:37.799 vanity, not darkness, not a little bit better and two steps forward in 161 00:15:37.799 --> 00:15:46.519 one step back, not penultimate change, ultimate change, eternal life, rock 162 00:15:46.759 --> 00:15:54.720 solid hope, and he gives some He gives some explanation and exposition of that 163 00:15:54.759 --> 00:16:03.240 when he says, which God who never lies, promised before the ages began 164 00:16:03.480 --> 00:16:11.919 and at the proper time manifested in his word. Right, when we put 165 00:16:11.919 --> 00:16:18.000 ourselves, are hoping ourselves our towers of Babel, right, they come to 166 00:16:18.120 --> 00:16:25.840 nothing. But when God who never lies decides to save us, you can 167 00:16:25.960 --> 00:16:33.840 have one hundred percent assurance that that will not fail. It's rock solid. 168 00:16:36.120 --> 00:16:40.399 And he gives reasons here. One, God never lies. That's totally different 169 00:16:40.519 --> 00:16:45.440 than everything else we experience in this world. Number two, he says, 170 00:16:45.480 --> 00:16:48.080 he promised it. This promise that he made, he promised it before the 171 00:16:48.120 --> 00:16:53.639 ages began, which is to say, it doesn't depend on anything that we 172 00:16:53.720 --> 00:17:00.799 do, because the promise was made before we did anything. Talks about this 173 00:17:00.840 --> 00:17:04.880 in Romans, addressing Jacob and Esa. He says, before they were even 174 00:17:06.000 --> 00:17:11.880 born, I chose Jacob, before one or the other had done anything good 175 00:17:11.000 --> 00:17:15.440 or evil. He had made a promise. He had made a decision, 176 00:17:15.799 --> 00:17:23.279 and he would and is doing it. Not only did God, God right, 177 00:17:23.680 --> 00:17:29.559 God who never lies, God are amazing, perfect, wonderful, God 178 00:17:29.920 --> 00:17:36.079 make this promise before the ages began. But he says, at the proper 179 00:17:36.160 --> 00:17:42.119 time he manifested it in his word. It wasn't fate, It wasn't an 180 00:17:42.160 --> 00:17:48.640 accident. It wasn't us finally kind of working things out so that at the 181 00:17:48.680 --> 00:17:53.640 perfect moment we then generated or discovered or you know, climbed that last route, 182 00:17:55.160 --> 00:18:00.119 last rung up into heaven. No, at the proper time God manifested 183 00:18:00.279 --> 00:18:08.440 his word first in Jesus Christ, who comes into this world, dies on 184 00:18:08.519 --> 00:18:15.440 a cross, and then resurrects from the dead, and then through the preaching 185 00:18:15.559 --> 00:18:25.079 of that word in his apostles and in the church following from them, Paul 186 00:18:25.400 --> 00:18:29.559 says, to the Glaciers Church, Glacian Church, you've seen Christ and him 187 00:18:29.599 --> 00:18:36.359 crucified. Who was crucified before you? He says to them, in how 188 00:18:36.400 --> 00:18:40.519 do they see him? How do they see Christ? In Paul's preaching, 189 00:18:41.759 --> 00:18:45.480 He proclaimed it to them. He told them so that they might see with 190 00:18:45.559 --> 00:18:52.720 the eyes of faith what was true and what's true when we look at the 191 00:18:52.839 --> 00:18:59.240 cross and we understand what Jesus does on the cross, what's true about that 192 00:19:00.359 --> 00:19:07.960 is that he had to die for us in order to save us. Not 193 00:19:08.039 --> 00:19:15.200 only is man not capable of saving himself. In order to be saved, 194 00:19:15.279 --> 00:19:19.319 God had to become man and had to die in order to save us. 195 00:19:22.720 --> 00:19:26.319 He didn't. God didn't come into this world and say, forget the bookstore, 196 00:19:26.400 --> 00:19:30.480 forget the library, let me really tell you how to live. He 197 00:19:30.559 --> 00:19:37.759 already did that. That's what almost the whole Testament is about, telling us 198 00:19:37.960 --> 00:19:44.759 what we're supposed to do. He gave the Israelites ten very clear laws what 199 00:19:44.839 --> 00:19:48.680 they're supposed to do. He filled that out with a whole system and a 200 00:19:48.920 --> 00:19:53.839 land and a priesthood and all kinds of things, giving them support of support, 201 00:19:55.000 --> 00:19:59.799 structure and life and everything. He cleared the way right. He sent 202 00:20:00.000 --> 00:20:02.799 out their enemies, he placed him in the land, you know, just 203 00:20:03.000 --> 00:20:08.839 turn the key and run with it. And they still failed. What Paul 204 00:20:08.880 --> 00:20:15.480 says about this ultimately is that the law is incapable of producing the godliness that 205 00:20:15.519 --> 00:20:19.759 we need. The law is incapable as good it is, as it is, 206 00:20:21.039 --> 00:20:26.000 of reconciling us to Christ. And that's what the Cross shows us. 207 00:20:27.039 --> 00:20:32.839 The Cross shows us when the Lord says, I will be the substitute for 208 00:20:32.960 --> 00:20:37.839 these people, what does he have to do in order to be our substitute. 209 00:20:38.720 --> 00:20:45.400 He has to die, beloved, He dies for us. He doesn't 210 00:20:45.440 --> 00:20:48.720 just give us some teaching. He doesn't just tell us how we can do 211 00:20:48.799 --> 00:20:55.599 things a little bit better. He dies for us. That's where are our 212 00:20:55.640 --> 00:21:00.880 works get us. They get us to death. And we can either have 213 00:21:02.119 --> 00:21:07.079 that in Christ, who dies for us. Or you can do it yourself, 214 00:21:08.799 --> 00:21:15.920 and we call that damnation and hell. You can take on the eternal 215 00:21:15.920 --> 00:21:19.160 wrath of God all on your own, and instead of eternal life, have 216 00:21:19.319 --> 00:21:26.079 the eternal death. Or you can look at Christ and see that all he 217 00:21:26.160 --> 00:21:30.359 has done. You can hear the word of the gospel that has preached. 218 00:21:30.920 --> 00:21:34.440 You can know that not only did he die, but he rose again from 219 00:21:34.440 --> 00:21:38.799 the dead to forgive us our sins, to cleanse us and make us as 220 00:21:38.799 --> 00:21:45.920 white as the snow. We can put our faith in him. We can 221 00:21:45.960 --> 00:21:51.559 put our faith in that truth, in that promise from a God who never 222 00:21:51.720 --> 00:22:02.799 lies, and be saved, and be saved. The world is a dark 223 00:22:02.839 --> 00:22:07.920 place, and we desperately need help. Our neighbors need our help, our 224 00:22:08.039 --> 00:22:12.000 family, our friends. They need our help. They are suffering, they 225 00:22:12.039 --> 00:22:18.759 are dying, and they are not going to be saved by helping themselves. 226 00:22:26.119 --> 00:22:30.480 You know what the problem is in your own particular life. I only know 227 00:22:30.599 --> 00:22:37.799 it in a general way. I know that according to UM, I forget 228 00:22:37.880 --> 00:22:45.680 whether it's Barna or Pew. Before the coronavirus, Tucson was listed as the 229 00:22:45.720 --> 00:22:53.160 sixteenth most post Christian city in the United States, twelve most unchurched. On 230 00:22:53.200 --> 00:22:59.279 any given Sunday, more than half half the people here are not hearing the 231 00:22:59.400 --> 00:23:07.759 gospel. It's a lot of people. And those are pre coronavirus statistics. 232 00:23:07.799 --> 00:23:11.720 From the estimates that I've heard or read studies that have been done, and 233 00:23:11.880 --> 00:23:18.400 just anecdotally from pastors and talking to people in town. Well, thankfully it 234 00:23:18.519 --> 00:23:22.640 is not true here. In most other churches, attendance is down thirty to 235 00:23:22.799 --> 00:23:30.680 fifty post um. You know, lockdowns and coronavirus and all that kind of 236 00:23:30.680 --> 00:23:37.640 stuff. So whatever the statistics were pre COVID, it's safe to assume that 237 00:23:37.680 --> 00:23:47.519 it's even worse. There's five thousand, eight hundred and sixty households within a 238 00:23:47.559 --> 00:23:53.880 half mile of this building. That's according to the Postal Service. You can 239 00:23:53.920 --> 00:24:00.079 do lookups on there. That's a lot of people. And othern Arizona rural 240 00:24:00.119 --> 00:24:07.279 southern Arizona, there's something like two thousand people, and most of them have 241 00:24:07.720 --> 00:24:12.640 no church. That are is even close much less assured, And that when 242 00:24:12.680 --> 00:24:19.400 there are churches, a lot of them preach not the Gospel. They preach 243 00:24:19.759 --> 00:24:25.720 the law, they preach moralism, they preach all kinds of not the Gospel 244 00:24:25.839 --> 00:24:33.599 things. I'm just saying that our world needs help, and not just the 245 00:24:33.720 --> 00:24:38.079 world in some sort of abstract way, but like the people living right around 246 00:24:38.200 --> 00:24:44.079 us, they need the Gospel, even as you and I need the Gospel. 247 00:24:45.799 --> 00:24:48.920 We need to hear it, we need to believe it. And the 248 00:24:49.039 --> 00:24:55.319 good news for us is that God has promised this to us, and He 249 00:24:55.400 --> 00:25:00.559 has come into the world at the proper time. And for those of you 250 00:25:00.599 --> 00:25:03.160 who have put your faith in Him, those of you who have experienced exactly 251 00:25:03.200 --> 00:25:10.799 what Paul is talking about here, you know how amazing this is, especially 252 00:25:10.839 --> 00:25:14.359 those of you who didn't grow up with these truths but came to know them 253 00:25:14.440 --> 00:25:18.960 later in life through the preaching of the Gospel. Those of you who know 254 00:25:19.160 --> 00:25:25.880 what it's like to live live lives where you are constantly and only walking in 255 00:25:26.000 --> 00:25:33.759 lies. Even those of you who generally were nice people and helpful and loving, 256 00:25:33.960 --> 00:25:41.319 you knew and know that godless, that that immorality is not just doing 257 00:25:41.400 --> 00:25:49.160 bad things, but it's godlessness. It's even doing good things without Him, 258 00:25:49.200 --> 00:25:55.079 doing good things in our own strength, doing good things for ourselves and our 259 00:25:55.079 --> 00:26:02.920 own glory. God Lessness is what immer reality really is in every form, 260 00:26:03.000 --> 00:26:07.839 whether it outwardly looks good or bad, or whether it benefits our neighbors in 261 00:26:07.880 --> 00:26:14.279 a penultimate way or not. But God doesn't promise just doing nice things. 262 00:26:14.319 --> 00:26:19.960 He promises godliness, which is not just morality, but it is a morality 263 00:26:21.039 --> 00:26:26.799 that is centered in Him, sourced from Him, enabled by Him. We 264 00:26:26.920 --> 00:26:33.000 as Christians have God in us, living in us, breathing in us, 265 00:26:33.119 --> 00:26:37.079 shining in us. And this is why we can be a good witness. 266 00:26:37.960 --> 00:26:44.400 It's why we will be a good witness because God is working in us. 267 00:26:45.640 --> 00:26:48.960 And God is working in us in such a way that he is not going 268 00:26:48.039 --> 00:26:56.680 to fail. He won't, he can't. God comes into the world to 269 00:26:56.839 --> 00:27:07.599 achieve these ends, and He has achieved them many of your lives. He 270 00:27:07.680 --> 00:27:11.319 has given you a knowledge of the truth. He has helped you to see 271 00:27:11.359 --> 00:27:15.119 the Cross of Christ. He has given you a hope that you didn't have 272 00:27:15.279 --> 00:27:19.799 when you didn't have Christ. He has given you a godliness that is grounded 273 00:27:21.640 --> 00:27:29.160 in him. And so if we want to be saved from the darkness ourselves, 274 00:27:30.160 --> 00:27:33.759 and if we want to be a blessing to our families and our friends, 275 00:27:33.039 --> 00:27:40.279 our neighbors and even our enemies, if we want out of the darkness, 276 00:27:40.279 --> 00:27:42.119 and if we want our world to be out of the darkness, there 277 00:27:42.200 --> 00:27:48.440 is only one thing to do, which is to put our faith in him 278 00:27:48.519 --> 00:27:55.880 who shines in the darkness, as John says about Jesus, and the darkness 279 00:27:56.039 --> 00:28:03.359 has not overcome him. He he entered into a dark world. He died 280 00:28:03.559 --> 00:28:07.920 on a cross for the forgiveness of our sins, and he rose from the 281 00:28:07.079 --> 00:28:15.359 dead, and he ascended into heaven. Glorious, powerful, almighty King. 282 00:28:17.640 --> 00:28:23.839 God doesn't just promise, He fulfills and he applies his gospel in our lives. 283 00:28:23.960 --> 00:28:29.200 That's what happens when we put our faith in Him, and when our 284 00:28:29.279 --> 00:28:33.599 faith is in Him, it is from that place that we can then be 285 00:28:33.759 --> 00:28:41.279 a real hope for others, instead of neglecting them or giving them false hope. 286 00:28:41.440 --> 00:28:47.920 We shine with Jesus. We shine, and we tell them about him. 287 00:28:48.039 --> 00:28:49.720 We tell them what He's done for us, We tell them what He's 288 00:28:49.799 --> 00:28:57.359 doing, and we simply watch God at work. So my encouragement to you, 289 00:28:57.480 --> 00:29:03.400 as Paul's encouragement is too tight us and to me, as God ultimately 290 00:29:03.519 --> 00:29:10.359 is commanding all of us, we must trust Him above all. And as 291 00:29:10.359 --> 00:29:15.400 we trust Him above all, we proclaim Him above all. And that is 292 00:29:15.440 --> 00:29:25.160 a true hope for a dark world. Let's pray, Lord Jesus, we 293 00:29:25.240 --> 00:29:27.960 know that when you come into the world, you are not like a candle 294 00:29:29.079 --> 00:29:33.200 shining in the middle of the day, simply a nice thing to have, 295 00:29:33.400 --> 00:29:36.799 a pretty thing to look at, if if we don't, if we want, 296 00:29:37.359 --> 00:29:41.079 But you are like a light in the darkest depths of the earth, 297 00:29:42.640 --> 00:29:52.599 a light that shines and beats back, overcomes, destroys, annihilates the darkness. 298 00:29:56.279 --> 00:30:03.759 This includes o Lord, our sin and the consequences of sin. We 299 00:30:03.880 --> 00:30:07.799 praise you, and we thank you for being our savior and our King. 300 00:30:07.640 --> 00:30:12.920 Thank you for coming into this world at the proper time. Thank you for 301 00:30:14.000 --> 00:30:18.839 giving to us the preaching of your word through your Apostle. Thank you for 302 00:30:18.519 --> 00:30:25.720 continuing that word word out into the world through both the ordained ministers of the 303 00:30:25.799 --> 00:30:30.039 Church and through every member of the Body of Christ, through whom you are 304 00:30:30.119 --> 00:30:37.200 working, through whom you are proclaiming the word of Christ, the word of 305 00:30:37.240 --> 00:30:44.920 the Cross, to a dead and dying world. It's hard sometimes, o 306 00:30:45.079 --> 00:30:48.079 Lord, to be left in this world, to suffer in it, to 307 00:30:48.200 --> 00:30:56.519 endure trials of various kind. I'm too to be persecuted even for these things 308 00:30:56.559 --> 00:31:00.680 that we hold true. But Lord, we know that we can count all 309 00:31:00.759 --> 00:31:07.640 suffering as joy when we do it in your name. We know that uncomfortableness 310 00:31:07.720 --> 00:31:15.200 and conflict and difficulties of various kinds, you are only working these to strengthen 311 00:31:15.319 --> 00:31:18.880 us and to purify us, and to make us more and more like you. 312 00:31:21.319 --> 00:31:23.640 Lord, is our faith is less and less in ourselves, and more 313 00:31:23.880 --> 00:31:29.079 and more in you. We see the goodness that you are doing, the 314 00:31:29.160 --> 00:31:33.559 fruit that you are producing, the knowledge that you give, the godliness that 315 00:31:33.599 --> 00:31:38.279 you bring forth, and the hope, O Lord, that we can just 316 00:31:38.480 --> 00:31:45.599 relax into a hope that we can rest in and know that the world, 317 00:31:45.640 --> 00:31:53.200 that even though the world is spinning and noisy and distracting and and sinful even 318 00:31:53.400 --> 00:32:00.920 around us, that we are going to be okay. Help us to bring 319 00:32:01.039 --> 00:32:08.559 this message to others, that they two might join us in the praise of 320 00:32:08.599 --> 00:32:15.359 your name and the proclamation of your word. Help us to be faithful in 321 00:32:15.400 --> 00:32:22.079 these things, and we look forward to the return of our Savior. We 322 00:32:22.160 --> 00:32:24.480 pray these things in his name. Amen.