Scripture referenced 12 passages
The passage this message was preached from, in full, with every other passage it reached for.
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1 Peter 5:6 quoted as comfort for a new pastor: 'Humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God and he will lift you up in due time'
6 Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time;
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Keep this verse
Isaiah 43:2
a child wrote it in a note of comfort to a mother, and it was also the VBS theme verse: 'when you pass through the waters, I will be with you'
2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they will not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned, and flame will not scorch you.
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Acts 1:8
Jesus told the disciples they would be his witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the uttermost parts
8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you. You will be witnesses to me in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the uttermost parts of the earth.”
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1 Timothy 1:5
cited as the theme of first Timothy: the aim of the charge is love from a pure heart, good conscience, and sincere faith
5 but the goal of this command is love, out of a pure heart and a good conscience and sincere faith;
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1 Timothy 6:10
referenced as the previous week's text: flee the love of money as the root of all kinds of evils
10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some have been led astray from the faith in their greed, and have pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
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1 Timothy 6:20-21
closing verses of first Timothy: guard the deposit, avoid irreverent babble and contradictions of false knowledge, grace be with you
20 Timothy, guard that which is committed to you, turning away from the empty chatter and oppositions of what is falsely called knowledge;
21 which some profess, and thus have wandered from the faith. Grace be with you. Amen.
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Ephesians 2:8-10
cited to show salvation is by grace through faith, not works, but that Christians are God's workmanship created for good works
8 for by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,
9 not of works, that no one would boast.
10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared before that we would walk in them.
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1 Corinthians 1:18
referenced as the message of the cross being foolishness to those perishing but the power of God to those being saved
18 For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are dying, but to us who are saved it is the power of God.
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Titus 1:1-4
the opening verses of Titus read and expounded as the sermon's main new text
1 Paul, a servant of God, and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God’s chosen ones, and the knowledge of the truth which is according to godliness,
2 in hope of eternal life, which God, who can’t lie, promised before time began;
3 but in his own time revealed his word in the message with which I was entrusted according to the commandment of God our Savior;
4 to Titus, my true child according to a common faith: Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ our Savior.
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1 John 1:9
cited as assurance that if we confess our sins God is faithful and just to forgive and cleanse us
9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us the sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
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Romans 10:13
paraphrased: all who call on the name of the Lord will be saved
13 For, “Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
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John 17:3
quoted in the closing prayer: 'this is eternal life that they may know you, the only true God and Jesus Christ whom you have sent'
3 This is eternal life, that they should know you, the only true God, and him whom you sent, Jesus Christ.
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Recap
The message in order, in a few minutes of reading.
This message served as both a close to the study of 1 Timothy and an introduction to Titus. The pastor walked the congregation through the timeline of the New Testament to show where these letters fit in real history, then read the final verses of 1 Timothy before opening the first few verses of Titus.
What was said
Before touching the text, the pastor laid out the approximate dates of New Testament events from the life of Jesus through Paul's imprisonments, tracing the order in which First B has worked through the New Testament together over the past six years. The point was not a history lecture for its own sake but a reminder that these letters were written by real people to real churches in real places at datable moments in time. The gospel is not an idea that floats free of history.
Walking that timeline showed why Timothy and Titus each received the letters they did. Timothy was left in Ephesus to deal with false teachers who had done exactly what Paul warned the Ephesian elders about on the beach at Miletus. Titus was left on Crete to finish organizing the young churches there and appoint qualified elders in every town, which is stated plainly right at the opening of his letter.
The final two verses of 1 Timothy brought the book to a close on the same note it opened with. Paul's parting word to Timothy was to guard the deposit entrusted to him, avoid the endless irreverent babble that had caused some to swerve from the faith, and receive grace. The pastor noted that Paul addressed the letter to Timothy but closed it with a plural "you," meaning it was always meant for the whole congregation to hear.
Opening Titus, the pastor pointed to the unusually long introduction Paul wrote for this letter. Paul identifies himself as a servant and an apostle sent out, describes his purpose as being for the genuine faith of God's elect and knowledge of truth that leads to godliness, and grounds everything in a God who cannot lie and who promised salvation before the ages began. The length of that opening, the pastor suggested, signals what the whole letter will be about: the connection between real belief and real good works flowing out of it.
The pastor drew a contrast between Timothy and Titus as people. Paul handled them differently, gave them different assignments, and wrote to them in different registers, because God calls and gifts different people for different roles. That difference, though, does not change the message they both carry. Whatever background, personality, or calling a person has, the charge is the same: carry the gospel out of thankful obedience, for the good of those who will hear it and for God's glory.
Doing a Bible study?
Here is a guide we have prepared for you: the passages in order, questions for the group, and room to write.
- Pastor Nathan walked through the chronological order in which the early church spread, noting that the stoning of Stephen scattered believers out of Jerusalem and pushed the gospel forward. How does it change the way you think about difficult or painful seasons when you consider that God used persecution to accomplish His missionary purposes?
- Pastor Nathan described the aim of the whole book of First Timothy as love flowing from a pure heart, a good conscience, and a sincere faith. Which of those three do you find hardest to maintain in your own life, and why?
and 3 more questions in the guide
Read the full transcript 7,850 words
0:00
Speaker 1Good morning, everybody. How are you? Is this thing on? Yeah. There we go.
0:04
Welcome. I'm glad you're here. Would you stand up and we'll start with song? And we are it's we are gonna sing a couple patriotic songs this week. It's July 4 week, obviously.
0:17
The parade goes right by here on Glenwood. The parade will start at the fairgrounds and it'll go downtown, but it'll come right by here on this side. If you want to, on Wednesday, you're welcome to come and watch the parade with us right here. We're going to sing a couple of American patriotic ballads and classics. Scott, would you come up and join me?
0:38
In your red, white, blue shirt. There you go. Thank you, sir. Hymn number seven ninety nine if you don't know Nice job, Judy. Amen.
3:32
Great is the Lord. Hip number one forty. Great is the Lord. We have a few announcements. Y'all can have a seat.
5:05
Just a few. I already made one of em. If you would like to, you're welcome to join us for the parade. Usually, we all kind of stand right out here on this side. The sidewalk outside has been poured now.
5:17
It's finally poured. We've been under construction for the last month or so and next week, we'll actually open the parking lot again. The barrier there, they poured concrete day before yesterday and he said, please give it five, six days. So, about Wednesday, we will pull the barriers off. You'll be able to walk come across that again.
5:35
The Roland River Rampage Vacation Bible School happened this week. It was Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. It was a huge, huge thing. It was good. There are a few pictures up here.
5:46
We don't yet have a slideshow but that's what it looked like. A lot of kids in purple shirts and adults and high schoolers, middle schoolers too, in those orange guide vests. And it was fantastic. It was a fun time. I don't think that that was oh, we see the clock right there.
6:04
It was not noon on Wednesday. That was during the middle of the week. She was so excited to be here still. That was wonderful and we also, that's the assembled group. So, we had about a little over 100 kids that came and there were a lot of different churches that did either camp or a vacation Bible school.
6:22
It is good to see that God is continuing his good gospel in the hearts and minds of kids in this and a lot of that is because of y'all that are volunteering to do this. So, thank you very very much. If you had anything to do with Vacation Bible School, it was good. We're already seeing, I read this morning. Somebody came up and said, I want you to see this note and it was a note of comfort from a daughter to a mother over a difficult situation and she said, Isaiah forty three two, when you pass through the waters, I will be with you and the person who was showing it to me didn't know that that was the theme of the week, Vacation Bible School and she thought, this kid picked from the whole Bible that for this It's getting in there.
7:02
It's getting in there. Scripture in the hearts and minds of the kids is the way that the next generation will know Jesus. So, amen. Youth group is happening this week. Is Mike in the room?
7:12
Mike Demetrius? Not in the room. Youth group is happening from six to eight on Thursday this week. It's not Tuesday. It's Thursday, six to eight at first b.
7:22
They are gonna be sending the main big trip for the summer is a lagoon. Lagoon is an amusement park down in Salt Lake City. And so August the tenth and eleventh, he's asking that if you want to send your child, that you would sign permission slip and let him know by July 15. I'm sure it'll be open after that, but he needs to know numbers for accommodations. So if you can let him know by July 15, that would be great.
7:47
August tenth and eleventh is the time. The Turning Point Annual Gala is happening July 19 at 05:30. This is gonna be on the Gill Ranch this year. So see both. It's not at Spring Creek like it usually is.
8:00
If you haven't paid attention, you're gonna be in the wrong place if you show up at 05:30 at Spring Creek Ranch. It's gonna be on the Gill Ranch. But the annual gala for Turning Point Pregnancy Resource Center is happening July 19. Still a couple weeks off. Monday nights at first B are that's happening tomorrow night at Monday night.
8:20
Meal, music, and a message in the fellowship hall. Carl be speaking from Luke nineteen. Anything else you want to say about it, Carl? Come on in. Meal, music, and message every Monday night.
8:31
If there are others, there is another. Perfect. Thank you. Nick is doing semaphore. Do you wanna explain that or do you want me to?
8:48
Speaker 3If there's somebody if it's something you'd like us to know, we have all the directory information, so we just try to get these updated every year. So we'll start them at the front, pass them out to the back, and hopefully we'll get these updated. If you don't find your information in there, just find a blank spot, write it in, and we'll get that all fixed up for you. And if you do find a correction, just go ahead and cross out what's wrong and put in the new information for us. So thanks very much.
9:08
Speaker 1We we would we would like to spell everything right and have the right numbers in there. We'd like to. If there are any other announcements or prayer requests that I haven't mentioned or Nick hasn't mentioned up here, they are in your bulletin. There's a paper bulletin. If you didn't get one on the way in, you can grab one on the way out and you'll know what we as a church are going through or looking forward to and what we're praying about.
9:31
So, next though, if you would stand up and greet one another. I know it bothers the introverts but you'll get over it. Alright. Amen. Where are you?
10:20
Speaker 2His hand the wonders wrought this is my father's world the birds their carols raise
11:44
Speaker 1Are we singing him to father God? Invite the frontline team to come forward. The rest of all you can have a a seat. We're going to would you pray with me as we pray for the offering that we're about to receive? God almighty, maker of heaven and earth.
13:28
You you are amazing. Father God, Jesus. Your obedience, your submission to the will of the father, walking in the spirit. Completely and totally the whole time here on earth, lord. We find in you not just an example but our our sacrifice, our savior, and lord, having accepted that good news, that gospel, we want for it to continue.
13:55
So, God, would you by your spirit accompany each of these gifts and go and take it as you would to any place in the earth that you see fit, lord. I pray that as a church, we're sensitive to the missionary call. I pray that as a church, we're sensitive to the call to be helpful here in town. God, would you use us in your infinite wisdom however you choose. I pray right now specifically for the offering lord that that you would do your will and your way with these gifts that you've given us that we've given back to say, Lord, go and do and allow us to go and do.
14:40
In Jesus name, Lord, would you bless this offering? Amen. Amen. Thank you, Jude. So, this morning, the title here is we're going to finish the book of Timothy and we're going to start the book of Titus.
18:07
That's the plan for today. So, Timothy, Titus, Titus, Timothy, it's an introduction to Titus. Okay? That made sense at 03:00 in the morning when I wasn't sleeping. Just seemed like a thing.
18:18
Timothy, Titus, Titus, Timothy. Before we get into the text though, I've just got two verses in first Timothy and I've got five verses from Titus but before we get to that, I want to go back and review a little bit. Last week, I said, usually I teach but this week, I'm preaching. I said that last week and then we had pretty good sermon text about I wouldn't say pretty good sermon. We had a pretty good text about fleeing, fleeing certain things, flee the desire to be rich, and flee the love of money as it is the root of all kinds of evils.
18:52
We also added a couple other of those from other places but this week, I want to go back and do a little bit of review. I have been here now as pastor of this church for six years and two weeks. Six years and two weeks and since I got here, the we have studied this and I usually just say this really quickly at the beginning but the first book that we covered was first Peter. The primary reason is because I was scared to death and I feel that first Peter is the most comforting for people in my position. Humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God and he will lift you up in due time.
19:27
So, we studied first Peter first. My first sermon here was a banana sermon from first Peter four. First Peter was what we studied first and then, we went to the book of John. Well, I went to the book of John because first Peter is the whole time pointing to Jesus. He has several doxologies throughout and he's pointing back towards Jesus and I thought, well, if I'm going to preach here, we need to know and keep it central to the cross and John is the gospel of belief.
19:56
It's about Jesus's life that starts in eternity past in the beginning and then, it moves us through Jesus's life, shows us his ministry but it keeps on pointing us to the gospel that in chapter 20 becomes the story, right? The message of the cross, chapter nineteen twenty, 21. So, we study the book of John together, the life of Jesus in the book of John and then, we went forward to the book of Acts. Now, I know that both John and Acts were written later. They weren't the earliest books.
20:30
First Peter was not one of the earliest books but when we got to Acts, we were studying the life of the early church in the book of Acts. We walked forward. It's got times and places and seasons and we know a lot about the history of the early church because it was registered in Acts. So, we know that. So, we did that and then after that, we decided that we would go forward chronologically.
20:55
Well, I decided we would go forward chronologically because I'm on one up on the stage, right? It made sense to me and y'all have been gracious in going along with me. The way thus far, we went forward from John and the framework that the book of Acts provides in order. I want to look at it this way. The approximate dates of New Testament events and I say approximate, they're really close.
21:18
We're not sure exactly. Some of them are bracketed '61 to '63 or whatever. But my goal for the first half of this sermon is so that you would connect this to real life. This really happened on this planet in time and space at just the right time. God sent forth his son.
21:36
Zero to thirty three AD, the life and ministry of Jesus Christ and we study that together first. Thirty three AD, Jesus was crucified. Buried, and resurrected and the day of Pentecost all happened the year '33. There are some people say '30. I'm not going to argue with them.
21:58
I'm not going to arm wrestle. I say it's bracketed but thirty three AD, the early thirties, Stephen was murdered. Now, think about this, that Jesus said to his disciples before he ascended that he was going to build his church. He's going to build his church. He's going to do it by his spirit.
22:17
He explained that in the upper room discourse. I'm going to build my church and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the uttermost parts. Yet, they clumped up. The disciples were all clumped up in Jerusalem. They were not spreading it far and wide.
22:37
They were right there around Jerusalem. He told them to stay until the spirit had come but even after the spirit had come and the church was growing inside of Jerusalem, there was not a whole lot of missionary mandate there but at the stoning of Stephen, God spreads them out. He said, you're going be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in Judea and in Samaria and in the uttermost parts. When Stephen was murdered, it scattered the church and what had taken place in the hearts and minds of the people, the disciples there in Jerusalem began to spread throughout that area. In the early thirties, one of the major things that happened is Saul, a Pharisaic a Pharisee, very, very staunch opponent to those followers of the way, had a writ in his hand to go and bring back people who were resisting the Old Testament by practicing this new nation, little sect.
23:42
They called themselves followers of the way. Saul was converted on that road to Damascus somewhere in the early thirties. Not long after the cross, not long after the resurrection. One untimely born, he said, he gets the message. And Jesus says, and you will be my witness to the Gentiles.
24:06
You'll spread the gospel. You know the Old Testament. You got that one covered up. He changed what he thought of that, changed his life dramatically. Paul surrendered to that call and the 30s and 40s, we see in Peter and Philip are ministering throughout that area.
24:23
Now, it's called Palestine by a lot of people now. It was around Jerusalem, Judea, Israel, and the surrounding areas. Peter and Philip ministered in the 30s and in the 40s. We saw that Saul was converted in Acts. And then in '44 to '49, somewhere right about there, Barnabas recognized that this little church at Antioch that had all these different folks from all over, they were coming together and they were first called Christians at Antioch.
24:56
All these people from different cultural backgrounds, some Jewish, some Gentile, different flavors were coming together and Barnabas recognized that what they needed was good, grounded, solid teaching and he knew the guy to do it. He felt led to go grab Paul is what he's known by now. Old Saul converted goes by Paul and he brings Paul in and Paul and Barnabas together minister there at Antioch and they take off from there to go to the uttermost parts to carry this message forward and when they did carry it forward, they were on their first, Paul's first missionary journey. The late 40s, early 50s, James, the book of James was written to Jewish Christians. Now, I will say, Galatians probably was written around '49, probably could have been.
25:45
I didn't do Galatians right at this time because for one thing, there's an argument about when Galatians takes place. Some people have a northern Galatian view, some have a southern Galatian view. It could have been one, could have been either. I'm not, like I said, going to arm wrestle over it. I had somewhere else to put Galatians.
26:02
So, we started with James. Also, because James is a transitional book, it's written primarily to Jewish Christians, the ones who knew the way of the Old Testament, the Jewish law. So, the late 40s, early 50s, probably about '49, James writes to Jewish Christians and that's the first epistle that we studied here together. We had studied John and Acts and then we got to James. So, there we are.
26:27
John, Acts, first Peter thrown in. James, Paul's second missionary journey happens from '50 to '52. Now, on that first missionary journey, I could go through all the cities he went through. I didn't put the maps up there. Sorry, Dave.
26:39
I love the maps. I just can't I couldn't I couldn't get them all in there this this time. Paul and Barnabas ministering on that first journey came across Lystra. That's where Timothy's from. We think that's probably the place where Timothy accepted Christ.
26:56
But on Paul's second missionary journey, he picked up Timothy to go with it. So, Timothy, who we've been studying first Timothy for some time now, he was accompanying Paul on the second missionary journey from Lystra onward. In the early fifties somewhere right there, Paul writes first and second Thessalonians. Now, he wrote those and we study those first and second Thessalonians. He wrote em from Corinth and first and second Thessalonians was great for me as a pastor.
27:24
There's not a whole lot of confrontation of sin in first Thessalonians. It's a great encouraging letter letting peep the people of God know that they are following the missionary mandate, that they are doing what it is that God would have them to do and he's encouraging them to continue. So, we went through first and second Thessalonians. I was happy as a lark quite honestly. Enjoying that.
27:46
James can be harsh, right? Mastery of the tongue. It but first and second Thessalonians like, man, this is wonderful. So, we covered first and second Thessalonians and then, the third missionary journey, fifty three to fifty seven. We've got pretty good brackets for those dates.
28:02
We know that that's when it was. Paul writes first Corinthians about the middle of that journey probably from Ephesus. He spent three years in Ephesus ministering and so from Ephesus, he writes to first Corinthians. Now, he'd been around the the Thessalonians for a while. If y'all want a copy of this chronology after it's over, I've got a couple of sheets up here.
28:23
I had several people approach me and said, you speak too fast. We're reviewing. I'm a teacher. We're just kind of going over. Repetition is the key to learning.
28:31
Paul writes first Corinthians from Ephesus and he's writing to Corinth which is obsessed with money, obsessed with sports. It is a sinful, sinful place. So, we went through first Corinthians and then, we covered Galatians and I put Galatians in there because it just wasn't Corinthians. From first Corinthians to second Corinthians, it goes from sin to even worse, okay? And thank God, we didn't have the severe letter included.
29:02
So, in between first Corinthians and second Corinthians, Paul wrote what he called the severe letter. He sent that severe letter with a guy to Corinth with Titus. So, Titus is one of his running buddies too. Timothy's with him. Titus is with him on these journeys and he said, Titus, you're the man for this job.
29:20
Would you take this letter to Corinth? It's severe. And something about that severe letter got a tent got their attention and they changed and in second Corinthians, he was going, woah, woah, woah, woah, yeah. Yeah. You're good.
29:33
Okay? There's still some sins, still some stuff that needs to be dealt with but welcome that brother back in, okay? Are you with me? I I see some confused look. Alright.
29:44
First Corinthians, I put Galatians in the middle between the two. Galatians could've been earlier than that or later but we just put it between the two to break em up. Paul writes second Corinthians from Macedonia which is up near Thessalonica, right? Berea, Thessalonica, Philippi, are all in Macedonia. About '56, he writes second Corinthians.
30:06
So, there we are, fifty six AD, second Corinthians. Paul writes Romans in winter of fifty seven and we have a good time frame. Almost nobody disagrees about this and that's great because theologians disagree about everything. Paul writes Romans from Greece and that is his Magnus Opus. Oh, the first eight chapters of Romans are so good.
30:30
The theology and the underpinning is so good. He answers the question about the Jews in between chapters nine, ten, and 11 and then in 12, he gives us four straight chapters of application on the theology that he expounds in the first eight chapters of Romans. Are you with me? It's a great, great thing. If you haven't read Romans, let me tell you this, every major move of the church, every single major move of the church happens when somebody takes Romans seriously.
30:59
It's great. It gives the groundwork that we need and he had not been to Rome at that point and so he was writing just this is Christianity. This is how it is. Not having been around them or known them very well or known a whole lot about their sin because a lot of times when he was writing books, he was writing to handle a particular issue. It's kind of like a topical sermon to handle a particular issue.
31:23
We're going through chronologically, hopefully, with no agenda but looking at Romans gives a base for how it is that this thing functions. So, we did Romans. 57, he goes from Macedonia to Troas to Miletus. Miletus is a beach town not far from Ephesus and the Ephesian elders come out to greet him and they have a tearful moment of saying goodbye to one another. It was a, you know, a great time to be together but a short time and Paul told the Ephesians elders that some of you are going to walk away.
32:00
Some of you are going to pick up other things that are not gospel, add em to the gospel. Some of you are going to slough off others and you're going to cause trouble in the church. Now, Timothy, who we've been studying, Timothy was left in charge at Ephesus because exactly what Paul had forecast would happen, did happen and he said, please, please, there are certain persons, false teachers who have taken these things and they're going on and on about other stuff that's not gospel. Timothy, I'm leaving you here to to handle that heresy. Anyway, he had told them that on the beach at Miletus, the Ephesians elders, he goes from there to Tyre to Caesarea while he's on this journey, Agabus in Acts says, if you go, you will be bound and you will be tied.
32:49
You will be caught and you'll be arrest and he did. He went and he did. He was arrested. He was arrested in the temple. He had a hearing, the Jewish Sanhedrin but because he was a Roman citizen, he was taken to Caesarea fifty seven to fifty nine.
33:10
He had trial before Felix, before Festus, and before Agrippa and he's carrying the word forward all of that time expounding how Jesus saved him. Retells his own story several times and one of those guys looks at him and says, would you try to convert me? Guy in charge, well, you'll stand before governors and kings and he's like, yeah. Yeah. This is the truth.
33:36
I want you to know this is a real thing. These were real government officials. We know when they were in charge. There are a lot of records that verify this. It's a this is a real, real thing.
33:46
Caesarea, travel for Felix, Festus, Agrippa and then he appeals to Caesar. When he appeals to Caesar, he's a Roman citizen. He has the right to go to Rome. So, the journey to Rome begins. 5960, he journeys Jerome from Caesarea to Crete.
34:01
Crete is the island where Titus is being left in charge to handle things on Crete. Paul's been there before on this journey to Rome. He stops in Crete. He has a shipwreck off of Malta. That's a great big feast day.
34:17
If you go to Malta these days on Saint Paul's feast day, it's a pretty pretty big deal. He has a shipwreck off of Malta and then he goes on to Rome. For his first Roman imprisonment. Sixty one to sixty three, he has some some freedom there. Some people call it house arrest but he was, it's his first Roman imprisonment.
34:40
He was not able to go where he wanted to go when he wanted to go there. So, he was in prison and he awaited trial before Nero from '61 to '63. At which time, he wrote the prison epistles. He wrote one letter to Philemon. Philemon was a man who owned a slave known named Onesimus and Onesimus was his slave runaway and he sent the letter back to Philemon.
35:08
He sent the letter of Colossians and Philemon at the same time. He wrote them at the same time and he sent them with the same people to go back and tell Philemon what he should do in this case. Now, it was subtle but he was pleading for freedom. Colossians, great book. Oh, he upholds everything by the word of his power.
35:31
Ephesians, if Paul hadn't been stuck in prison at Rome, we wouldn't have Ephesians. Can you imagine that? He he administered with him for three years. He goes back and says goodbye to him. He knows that some people are going to exit.
35:46
So, Ephesians like a mini Romans for people he knew. And we have Ephesians because he was stuck in prison. So, we've studied that. We studied by Lehman and Colossians and Ephesians. Around '62 or '63, he also wrote Philippians, one of the prison epistles.
36:03
It was after the others. We studied Philippians. I love Philippians. Joy. It's all about joy.
36:12
Chuck Swindoll's commentary on Philippians is laugh again. Like, alright. That's a joyous, joyous epistle. It's at the same time about 6263 during Paul's first Roman imprisonment that Luke writes the book of Acts. So, we studied that already earlier.
36:30
I have not gone back to Acts and go through it again but if you want to know where that fits into our timeline, there it is, Acts. In '63 to '65, Paul was released from prison. He did have the freedom to move about at that point and he started to and he traveled. We've studied that. Sorry.
36:53
We studied Philippians and we've already studied Acts. He was released from prison. He travels probably to Macedonia. We can't say that for certain because Acts has already ended. We don't have that accurate record that Luke set out to share with his friend, Theophilus, right?
37:09
We don't have an accurate exact record but we can tell from inferences and from what what he has said in these books, these pastoral epistles. He was going to Nicopolis. He had tons of churches and friends in Macedonia. So, we believe he was in Macedonia where he wrote first Timothy. First Timothy was written to the guy who had traveled it with him and he left him in charge in Ephesus.
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So, by way of Crete, by way of Ephesus, he gets to Macedonia. He writes back first Timothy. So, there are only two verses that remain in our study. First Timothy, here we go. That was all prolegomena right there.
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Now we're here. Are you with me still? Is this incredibly boring to you or you're still with me? I got a mixed reaction. Okay.
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Put that all out of your mind. I have the chronology. If you want it, you can get it afterwards. Don't try to remember at all. Okay?
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Any anything that can be written down, you can go back to. And somebody said, oh yeah, and we do this on the Facebook like we have a Facebook page and you can go back and listen to the sermons if you want to, if you want to hear something again. It can be heard again. And you can pause. To write things down.
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Oh, Timothy. Oh, Timothy. It's such a dear thing for him to say, oh, Timothy. I love you, brother. I'm so thankful for you.
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Oh, Timothy. Guard the deposit that's been entrusted to you. Hold on to it tight. It's a deposit. Looks like you make a deposit in a bank.
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It's an investment that's been made into your account, Timothy. All that you've seen, all that you've done, all that you have been with me and you've seen the way people try to go off into this ditch and you've seen the way people try to go off in that ditch. He said, you've got false teachers and you know the truth. Don't ever be swayed by them. Guard the deposit that's been entrusted to you.
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Oh, Timothy. He calls him my true son and the faith at the beginning. He says, avoid the irreverent babble. How many times has he told him this? How many times has Paul told him, avoid endless genealogies and these controversies that just go on and on.
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Avoid the irreverent babble and the contradictions of what is falsely called knowledge. Do you all know of anything falsely called knowledge these days? Oh my goodness. Don't get hung up in that. There's a place in Proverbs where it says, if you are arguing with a fool, he is doing the same.
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Avoid the irreverent babble and the contradictions of what is falsely called knowledge For by professing this false knowledge, for by professing this, some have swerved from their faith. They've swerved out of the lane, the good old gospel way right in the center of the cross, right? Some have swerved from the way. He says earlier, I love this part. This is kind of our been our theme for the whole book of first Timothy.
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The aim of our charge, Timothy, and the aim of our charge, first B, is love. Agape love that issues forth from a pure heart as God purifies your heart. A good conscience because you can go forward with a clean conscience if you will be confessing your sin to God and a sincere faith recognizing that this is the truth. It is real and it does matter. I'm trying to connect reality because there is a certain sense in our society that well, whatever you believe is fine.
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It's alright if it helps you. It's not real. It's not true. But whatever. As long as whatever.
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If you need it, it's a crutch but okay. It's so condescending and he's saying, no, this is a sincere faith and it is the truth. I want for you to connect it with reality. Certain persons by swerving from these, pure heart, good conscience, sincere faith have wandered away into vain discussion, irreverent babbling, desiring to be teachers of law without even understanding either what they're saying or the things about which they make confident assertions. I have heard some confident assertions that were just crazy.
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I mentioned this morning to the Discovery Channel and the History Channel. They find the most liberal crazy people, theologically speaking. I'm not talking politically speaking. They find the most theologically crazy people and they'll give them time to just spout whatever contradicts the truth and then they go to some show about aliens very next and say that like it's true. Avoid that.
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The irreverent babble and contradictions of what is falsely called knowledge for by professing it, some have swerved from the faith and grace be with you. Do you see the asterisk there? That's mine. I put the asterisk there because it really says, y'all. All of y'all.
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It is a letter to Timothy but it's a letter to Timothy to share with his charge, with the people of his church, and for me to share with all of y'all. So, grace always, always, always start with grace and always, always, always end with grace. I know that as you deal with people, they will not deserve for you to be great and kind and lovely and wonderful to them. I know that because they're people. Grace is unmerited favor.
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That's what God has offered us. None of us deserve to be saved. But God has offered his son so that we might be saved and it's by his grace, God's riches at Christ's expense. Christ paid the penalty for sin if we're willing to accept that. So, grace be with all of y'all is the way we end first Timothy.
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He started that way. He ends that way and here we go forward. So where are we going next? Titus. Titus is a different person than Timothy.
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Now, I have heard people try to say, well, Titus and Timothy, Titus is just one of these diminutive names. It's a nickname. It's a nickname for Timothy. No, no, no, no, no, no. There are plenty of places that show they're in different places at the same time.
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That says, they're not the same person. Paul did circumcise Timothy. He didn't circumcise Titus. That says it's not the same person. Okay?
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It's not the same person but there's no biblical confusion that has not been promoted at some point, okay? We are trying to do what Paul said to Timothy and what Paul's going to say to Titus and just stick to the central message of the gospel and what scripture says, not to add to it, not to take away from it. Titus is where we're going next. So, Timothy, Titus, Titus, Timothy, this is the introduction to Titus. So, who's writing?
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Well, that's pretty obvious. I've been talking about him for a lot of this time because Paul wrote most of the New Testament that we have outside of the gospels. He wrote two thirds of what we have. So, who is writing? He says it right off the bat.
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Paul and a servant, Dulas, could be servant, slave, context, tells you which it is but he saw himself to be a slave or a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ. Now, I just mentioned Saul's conversion on that road to Damascus. In the first conversation, he actually has with Jesus that we have recorded. The first conversation Jesus says, you are going to be my witness to the Gentiles. You're going to be my man.
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You're the one that's going. I'm sending you out to do that. Carry this message. He is an apostle. Apostolized means one who is sent out.
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A servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ. Now, why is he writing? He'll tell Titus particularly exactly why he left him on Crete but what drives him to write? This is the longest introduction for for any of the Pauline epistles about his little portion up here at the top, the sender portion. He says, Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ for the sake of the faith of God's elect.
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The actual faith, the actual faith, the content of the gospel for the sake of the faith of God's elect. Those who will believe in Jesus and for their knowledge of the actual truth which accords with godliness. Now, when he says godliness, that points to what the book of Titus is going to be about. It is going to be about good works. Not about good works as a means of trying to win God's favor or save you because good works cannot do that.
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He's already written to the Ephesians church that it is by grace that we're saved through faith. It's not of works so that no one can boast. But it is the gift of God and we, Christians, who have believed in Jesus, we are his workmanship, his masterpiece, his poiemma. We're his workmanship. We were created in Christ Jesus for good works which he's prepared in advance.
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He's saying that the knowledge of the truth accords with godliness. Good works will flow out of a genuine knowledge of the truth and then, he says, in hope of eternal life, it is about salvation too. Titus is about salvation too. In hope of eternal life which God who never lies, God has promised before the ages began that there would be salvation and he has at the proper time manifested in his word. He's manifested.
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He is fleshed out his word. We could say that. It's through Jesus. Paul is particularly saying, it's through the gospel witness of what Jesus did while he was here. It's what he is doing in his session right now at the proper time he manifested in his word through the preaching.
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Proclamation of that message. I often go back to the message of the cross. It's foolishness to those who are perishing but it is the power of God to those who are being saved. At the proper time, he manifested his word through the preaching with which I have been entrusted. He just told Timothy and these were written probably maybe the same day but they're written in the same time period, the same few weeks.
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He's written to Timothy. He's written to Titus and at the proper time, manifested in his word through the preaching. This proclamation with which I've been entrusted. He wrote to Timothy, guard what's been entrusted to you. Later on, he'll tell Timothy, find faithful men and deposit with them so that they can spread it to others.
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This is the way the church will grow. Through the preaching with which I have been entrusted by the command of God, our savior. Now, to whom is he writing? I've already mentioned his name 12 times but it's Titus and we know because he says it to Titus. My true child in a common faith.
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He knows that Titus is saved. He knows that Titus is faithful. He has some warnings for him. He has some encouragements for him but he does not doubt whether he knows what he's talking about. He knows what he's talking about because Titus has experienced it.
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My true child in a common faith and he starts. As he starts, grace and peace. You can start up a conversation with grace. You can give unmerited favor. Has God given you unmerited favor?
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Amen. Then, you can give it to others. Can you start with peace? Can you put down the two before? And start with peace.
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Grace and peace, Paul says to Titus, from God the father and Christ our savior, Christ Jesus, our savior. Amen. Because that's the only place it comes from. Why is Paul writing to Titus? He says, particularly and it's funny because in Timothy, he starts off with Timothy, the aim of our charge, Timothy.
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Pure conscience. You know, he starts off with Timothy and he's like, oh, Timothy and for two chapters, he's building and then, in the third chapter, he says, it's about appointing good leadership. If you want to steer a boat, you need a good captain. If you want for that boat to where the go where the captain wants it to go, especially at those times, you got to have a good crew. And so in order to pick a leader to pick good leaders, he gives them both a framework.
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It takes him three chapters to get there for Timothy because Timothy's got a different comportment than Titus. He sent the severe letter with Titus. He told Timothy not to get too close to those younger elders because his compassion was so great. He might be drawn in to something that he couldn't deal with. Why is Paul writing to Titus?
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He says it flatly. This is why I left you in Crete so that you might put in put what remained into order. Now, they had been about Crete together and planting churches and there were conversions. God's spirit was moving and people were accepting the gospel and Crete was a rough place. We'll talk about that more in the next couple weeks.
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Crete, lazy, gluttons, obsessed with carnal things. This is why I left you in Crete, Titus, so that you might put what remain into order and appoint elders in every town as I directed you. That already started the job but he left him there to finish it. Timothy, he left in Ephesus where he dealt a whole lot longer with the people, knew the people a whole lot better but he left him there for that. Now, I I have this and then I have this thought.
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We've got communion. We're going to go into next but before we go into that, Timothy and Titus were very different. You can tell by the way that Paul writes about them and the things that the Bible says about. I I want you to think about this. In his infinite wisdom, God, within the context of time and space in the real world, this really happened.
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We can point to how long ago it happened. In the context of time and space, he is called and gifted different people to do different duties. Do you agree with that? He does. He has given spiritual gifts as he saw fit.
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We see in Ephesus that he gave the church these different people called to do different duties. However, different we may be though, whether you be left, right, center, whether you be Jewish background, Greek, Scythian, slave, free, American, Mexican, whatever. Gypsy. Amen. However, different we may be.
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We are all to be carrying the same message out of thankful obedience. For the good of those who will hear it and for God's greater glory. So, it's this time that we go to and if y'all from out of town, you're not, you're just visiting here. We practice an open table. So, it's open to anyone who's put their faith in Christ.
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I don't care if it was eighty years ago or if it was fifteen minutes ago during the service, okay? It's wide open for all who call on the name of the Lord will be saved. I say that and I'll give you the warning that Paul gave to that let not anyone take of this unworthily. It's a time where you get a chance. During the time where we're waiting on all of us, you'll get a chance to say, lord, forgive me.
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My life does not stack up. Even saved, even under your influence. Lord, I have sinned. Would you forgive me? First John one nine says, he does.
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If you're confessing your sins, he is faithful and just to be forgiven your sins and he will cleanse you from all unrighteousness. I'll give you a chance to do that. But can I get the frontline team to come forward up here and we'll distribute? Judy, thank you for playing something pretty. Would you pray with me?
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Lord, we thank you for giving us your word I thank you lord that you've given us. Propositional truth. You just laid it out there for us to be able to study and understand. I think to be born into this age and we look back to the cross and the message of the cross. I'm amazed that with all the study tools that are available to us, with all the sermons, with all of the gospel witness that has gone forth and shown you to be true to your word.
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I'm thankful for your word. More than that, I'm thankful for the divine word. Jesus, God incarnate here, who lived, yielded to the spirit, and was tempted in every way just as we're tempted but was without sin. So, Jesus, I thank you for living out a perfect record. God, I thank you for accepting that on the behalf of all who would believe.
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So, lord, as we go into this time where we are considering your life and your body that was broken, bruised for us. Thank you. I thank you for drawing us together into your ecclesia, the ones who are called out from every tribe, tongue, and nation. A people of God. Lord, would you bless everyone who partakes and if there is anyone in this room who does not believe in Jesus, would you use someone else in this room?
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That does to change them, lord, to change their opinion, change their belief, that will allow them to put their faith, gift from God, in Jesus, the one you have sent. In Jesus name, lord, would you bless as we distribute this little cracker as representative of Jesus body. Amen. On the same night that Jesus was betrayed, he took bread after supper and after he'd given thanks, he said to his disciples, that this is my body which is given for you. Take this and eat and do it as often as you will in remembrance of me.
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Lord Jesus, we thank you for the life that you lived in perfection and submission to the Holy Spirit throughout even in the garden praying. Lord, if there be any other way and there was no other way and you still walked in that way. Lord, I thank you for living that perfect life. I thank you for giving sacrificially. For your blood to be shed on the cross.
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Lord, would you bless this cup as we distribute it and every heart who would partake. Lord, I thank you that your gospel is a worldwide gospel and that all these folks who have come together here today are coming together on equal level ground at the foot of the cross. Nothing in our hands we bring or simply to the cross and your blood, your clinic. In Jesus name, Same way that he had taken the bread, he took the cup and he told his disciples that this is the new covenant in my blood. Take this and drink and do it as often as you will.
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Remembrance of it. Amen. Would you stand with me? I think we're going to close with the doxology, Jude and we'll just do it acapella. How about that?
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Praise
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Speaker 2God from whom all blessings flow praise him all creatures here below praise him above you heavenly host praise father, son, and holy ghost
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Speaker 1Amen. And this is eternal life that you may know, that they may know you, the only true God and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. In Jesus name, lord, would you use us this week to reflect your glory and to share your word. Amen.
Topics
Book Of TitusCommunionFalse TeachersGrace And FaithNew Testament ChronologyPaul Missionary Timeline
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