Paying Attention to People
First B Jackson
2018-08-12

Automatically transcribed. Where this and the recording disagree, the recording is the record.

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Good morning, church family. Will you please stand up and let's worship God this morning. Amen? Amen. My prayer is for us that we have a great time in his name, but also when we leave to to go with something special from the Holy Spirit.

Amen? Amen. Every time we have this opportunity to worship God, for me, honestly, it's a joy deep in my heart. It's hard to express in, in, in words, but God knows how thankful I am to be here to sing and to worship God with my church family. Amen?

Amen. Amen. Thank you. Y'all can have a seat. I have a few announcements this morning and few corrections too.

First of all, Monday nights at First B is happening. Monday nights at First B. Normally, Carl will be standing right there. I'd say, Carl, what's the scripture on this week? Carl ran a triathlon yesterday.

Yeah. Y'all, if y'all ever hear that I ran a triathlon yesterday, y'all start a search for me, alright? Coeur D'Alene, he ran a triathlon yesterday. So Nick will be standing in tomorrow night, Monday night's meal music and a message. And you have a message on?

Ask, seek, and not. Thank you, Nick, for filling in on that. And meal music and a message, Monday night, 06:00 down in the fellowship hall. Yay, there's four weeks until the Awana kickoff. So this is just four more weeks from tomorrow.

Awana will be starting off. That happens. Y'all know what Awana is, right? Kids club, kids matter to God. We're pouring scripture into the hearts and the minds of kids and we are also looking for Bible study leaders.

This is for you can talk to Nick about that too. So Nick is right there. He is our office assistant, and he will help to let us know what is going on. There are lots of little Bible studies that are happening already and lots of small groups of people. We'd like to know about those and we'd like to kind of stir one another up into love and good works and get others going.

So, if you are thinking, you know what? I may be at least part of a team that is going to run a small group. Let Nick know and we'll try to give you all the resources and help out where we can. You can see your bulletin for any of the latest information about Bible studies that are starting. The lagoon trip, instead of announcing that it's coming, I'm announcing that it happened yesterday.

That's who went. For some reason, this thing keeps on getting ahead of me. It's running, running ahead away from me. That's gonna be bad during the sermon if that happens. Okay.

So, the lagoon trip. These are the folks who went on the lagoon trip. Was that fun? Whoo. Yeah, it sounded like a lot of fun.

There is a camp out coming up and it's coming up soon. Sixteenth through the nineteenth. Brian McCooey is in charge. There's his phone number if you'd like to go. What we're trying to do too is try to figure out who's going to be there when, kinda.

We know it's Jackson. We know you're not going to commit. Okay? We're trying to figure out maybe who might be there at such and such a time so we can kind of plan things around that. So if you would want to go on that, let us know and there is space for you.

I know that there is space for you, so if this whole crowd wanted to go, we'd find a place to put you, okay? So first Bee Campout is happening and that is coming up this week. Right now, media, I'm gonna skip today. And for all other announcements, if there's anything else that I've forgotten and there almost certainly is, There will be in the in the paper bulletins that you're handed on the way in. There are also prayer requests and I would ask if you'd pay attention to those.

It's a nice, it's nice to have a list of the things that we're praying for because we can keep up with what it is that God is doing. It's pretty amazing to see how he is working. So, would you stand up and greet one another? We've got folks from all over here this morning. Find somebody you don't know.

We'll bring you back together with a song.

Let's worship again. Everyone needs compassion, a love that's never failing. Let mercy fall on me. Amen to that. I love what it says, he rose and conquered the grave.

Jesus conquered the grave. Amen to that. Because what he has done for us, we have hope in him. Amen? For God so loved the world that he gave his only son that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

For God did not send his son into the world to condemn the world, but the world to be saved through him. Amen? Hallelujah. Praise God. Oh, heavenly father, thank you very much for giving us another privilege, another good time to worship you.

Would you, God, please bless us and help us to understand who you are? Speak to us to the Holy Spirit. Speak to us to the songs, to the sermon, to everything we do here in this place, God, to be for you and for honor, for your glory. But, also, God, would you please strengthen our life so we can have that beautiful relationship that comes from Jesus Christ. In your name, in your holy name I pray, amen.

Amen. I love this song very much. I wanna say thank you mister Jerry for being here and playing with us. We're having fun, isn't it? Yes.

Yeah. I feel the Holy Spirit in this place. Amen. Praise God. You guys sing beautiful.

I love to feel the the church in in one spirit, worshiping God. Amen? Every every time before, we start to worship, I always either go to the library or to Carl's office, bow down on my knees and I pray for you and pray for myself. And the reason that I do that because I want for all of us to to get in the Holy Spirit and to to feel his presence in this place. Amen?

It's easier that we can see each other and shake hands. Hey. How are you? How you've been? And all that stuff.

And then we might miss that beautiful point meeting meeting with God in this place. Amen? Of course, he's everywhere. Of course, he's at work. He's with you everywhere.

But isn't isn't this beautiful when we gather in his name? Amen? And I always pray for pastor A that God will speak through him. Amen. I love my pastors very much.

I text him last night around midnight. Something comes in my mind while while I'm working at Smith, and something says, oh, Frank, it's too late. Don't do it. No. He needs to hear.

So This song, it's a beautiful song. Change my heart to God. Amen? Make it ever through change my heart. May I be like you.

Oh, hallelujah to them.

Change my heart God may like you change my heart oh God may I be changed my heart oh God may I be like you

are

oh God,

make it ever change

my heart oh God, may I be like you one more time. Change my heart, oh God.

Make it ever do.

Change my heart, oh God. Amen.

I get the y'all can have a seat. Can I get the frontline team to come forward, please? Would y'all pray with me? God, do thank you for your spirit, for your omnipresence that you are with us wherever we go, whether it be walking around or lying down sleeping. Lord, you're with us everywhere but we do gather collectively here.

Lord, there's something to be said about coming together and we do. We draw together with boldness, with a confession of our faith, without wavering. Lord, we're strengthening one another here and I pray lord that you would advance your gospel through this fellowship, through these people that are here today assembled in your name. I pray lord that all that would go into these plates, all the resources here would go to bless others.

Amen.

Amen. I pray that you would spread the word of your son, of his perfect sacrifice, of redemption from sin. I pray for the advance of your good gospel. Lord, would you do your will and your way? May it be done here, literally, Lord, on earth as it is in heaven.

In Jesus name, would you, take over? Amen. Amen.

This is a new song we never played here at church. You probably know it, but we never played it here at the church. So please enjoy, the song, and please sing along.

I am chosen not forsaken I am who you say I am. You are for me, not against me. I am who you say I am. I am chosen,

What a beautiful song. I'm not gonna say too much, but right here where it says in my father's house, there is a place for me. I'm a child of God. That's how when I end up in the in the in the First Baptist Church, I think it

was somewhere

at the beginning of 2006, I would, always come and play piano around 11:00. And I was just standing over there, and I was so thankful to be in his house and standing over there and playing some music and I would always say, I'm your child. No matter what happens, I am your child and I'm in your hands. When I when I found that song, immediately in the second, he sent me to to to to thousand six. And this song is very special to my heart.

I hope it was a blessing for you.

May God bless you. Amen. Thank you, Florian. So Titus three, we're up to Titus three in our study. We're going forward.

Most of you here know we've just been chronologically involved for the last five years. A forward moving study in the New Testament. We're up to about 64 A. D. We're in Titus three.

This is a letter that Paul wrote to Titus on the island of Crete, and I I titled this one this time. I usually I don't always title them, but paying attention to people because that's what I want to do today. This is the last little blurb in this book, and we cover the last little bit of theology one would think but we've got people to deal with today. So, I'm going forward. We're paying attention to people, I hope.

When I send Artemis or Tichicus to you, when I send Artemis or Tichicus to you, he starts off right there. So, two names, two people already. Tichicus, we know. Tichicus, we've heard of before. We've seen him.

Tichicus will tell you about my activities. He's a beloved brother, a faithful minister, fellow servant in the Lord. This from Colossians four. We covered it not long back. I've sent him to you for this very purpose that you may know how we are.

He's a messenger for Paul, okay? Tichicus and we don't just see him in Colossians. We also see him in Acts. In Acts, this is a little bit longer. I'm not going to go over it.

All of it but after the uproar had ceased, Paul sent for the disciples and after encouraging them, he said farewell and he departed from Macedonia and then he sent these other guys in different directions and here they all were. Supper to the Berean, son of Paris and they're real people, okay? This is real people. I could examine the names and everything else but they're real people. I want you to say to see that Tichik is is a guy that has been with the faith for some time.

Timothy is listed right there and Tichicus is listed right there. So, also in Ephesians, very last part of Ephesians, Tichicus probably carried the book of Ephesians, the letter to Ephesus. So that you also may know how I am and what I am doing. Tychicus, the beloved brother of faithful ministry said that a couple different times about him now. In the Lord will tell you everything.

I've sent him to you for this very purpose that you may know how we are and that he may encourage your hearts. He's an encourager, faithful brother, faithful minister, beloved brother, Tychicus. We know Tychicus. So Artemis, do you know Artemis? Well, if you're a revolutionary war person, you might know Artemis Ward or if you are somebody that appreciates humor.

Before Mark Twain, there was Artemis Ward. It's probably one of Mark Twain's favorite. He even took on some of his affect. Artemis Ward, pretty funny guy. For me, I think of Artemis Pyle, the drummer for Leonard Skinner.

That's what that's the first thing I thought of, and it's kind of hard to get away from him. And he does look like a biblical character. We don't have I couldn't even find an icon for Artemis. That's how minor he shows up. He only shows up this one time.

We don't know anything else about him. Even history has not really promoted any ideas about him and that's odd because if there's a name mentioned in the Bible, somebody will use that name later on and try to get in but Artemis, that's as good as any other photo. So, there's Artemis, alright? Titchicus and Artemis, when I send to you Artemis or Tychicus. Now, he had not decided at that point who he would send.

Didn't know but at the writing of this letter, I got an idea. I'm going to send one of these guys to you. Do your best to come to me at Nicopolis. Now, this is Paul, the apostle writing to Titus, and he's saying, when I do send Artemis or Tychicus, then do your best to come to me at Nicopolis, for I've decided to spend the winter there. So, that's a couple of decisions Paul's making, right?

He's making one decision about who to send. He's making another decision about where to stay. He doesn't over spiritualize things here. I hadn't decided yet. He didn't say, I haven't received direction from the Holy Spirit.

He just says, when when I send? I'm going send one of these guys. Do your best to come to me at Nicopolis for I've decided to spend the winter there. Nicopolis is right here. I'm nervous this morning.

I think it's bouncing pretty good. Crete is where Titus is. Nicopolis is right there. So Nicopolis means city of victory. If you know anything about Roman history, and there are several who know a lot more about it than I do sitting in here right now, Nicopolis, the city of victory, was dedicated by Octavian to a battle that he had won at Actium, which was the real turning point of Roman history, really.

It went from being Rome, this great republic, to being, whew, a tyrannical government at this place, and Octavian beat the forces Mark Antony and Cleopatra at Actium. And so he sets up Nicopolis as a city of victory monument to himself. This is the guy, Octavian, who we all know, good Bible people as Caesar Augustus Yeah, Caesar Augustus. He starts his reign in twenty seven AD and he was in that position until after Jesus's birth but in the decree in Luke where all the world was to be taxed, this is the guy. City of victory, Nekopolis.

Right there and so for him to make that journey would have been on a boat at some point. I don't think he could swim that far but he would have to go either that way or he could have gone the other way. From Crete, he could have gone the other way, gone up past Corinth, gone on ground for a little while. That probably would be even more likely route. But he's saying when I do send Artemis or Tychicus to you, do your best to come to me at Nicopolis Titus, for I've decided to spend the winter there.

Do your best to speed Zenas. Zenas, not Zena. Zenas spelled with an x. She's a warrior princess. This Zenas is a lawyer.

Okay? Do your best to send this is speed Zenas the lawyer and Apollos. Now Zenas the lawyer, do you know anything else about him? Nothing else about him. He doesn't show up anywhere else.

One verse, one mention. He's in there, but he's just mentioned for what his name is and what he does. And true tradition does tell us that he was an expert in the Jewish law and the Torah. So do your best to speed Zenith the lawyer and Apollos. So do we know anything about Apollos?

I'm paying attention to people. Okay. I hope I have a point. I know you hope I have a point too. So do your best to speed Zenith the lawyer and Apollos, and do we know anything about Apollos?

We do. Apollos is mentioned at least 10 times in some other and the rest of us, that sort of thing, maybe more but we meet him in Acts 18. Now, a Jew named Apollos which is an unusual thing since it's the name of a god, right? A Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria came to Ephesus. He was an eloquent man.

He was competent in the scriptures. He had been instructed in the way of the Lord and being fervent in spirit, he spoke and taught accurately the things concerning Jesus though he knew only the baptism of John. So, Apollos was this great orator. He had deep understanding. He had a spirit.

He seemed to read the room very well and he spoke very well. Now, it'd be a pretty good pair to have Zenas, the lawyer, the expert in the Jewish law and a really good orator as a team going in like Paul. Usually, you start in the synagogue with the people who know Torah and know the law. We do know about Apollos and it happened that while Apollos was at Corinth is Acts 19. First Corinthians one, I appeal to you brothers by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ that all of you agree.

This is that great impassioned plea for unity in the church that there'd be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and of the same judgment for it has been reported to me by Chloe's people that there is quarreling among you my brothers. What I mean is that each one of you says, I follow Paul or I follow Apollos. I follow Cephas or I follow Christ. Is Christ divided? He's pleading for unity and he's saying, I know some of you are following Apollos.

He is a great, great speaker. I get that. He's eloquent, but we're all preaching the same message. Does that make sense? Was Paul crucified for you?

No. Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? No. I think that's the same. No.

First Corinthians three five. What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants. Servants.

He calls Apollos a servant. Just like he calls himself one. Through whom you believe? Yes, as the Lord assigned it to each. That was one of the good works that God had for me if you you came to know the Lord through my ministry or if you came to know it through Apollos.

It's just what had been given to Apollos by God to do. So, as the Lord assigned to each, I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. He who plants and he who waters are one and each will receive his wages according to his labor. For we're God's fellow workers.

He keeps saying it. He's pointing out that he is no more important. Paul, even the authority that he carries in this letter, he's no more important than these other guys. He recognizes that it is a team. You're God's field.

You're God's building. Christ said, he would build the church and he's doing that by adding souls. He does that through obedient servants. Do your best to speed Zenith the lawyer and Apollos on their way. He has given them an assignment.

He doesn't go into what the assignment is. You really don't need to know. But from Crete, he could have been sending them anywhere. If he was up near Nicopolis somewhere which he said he decided to spend the winter. He didn't say he was already there but that he's sending them out and they go to Crete.

They could have been going to Jerusalem. They could have been going elsewhere. It could have been going to Cyprus, could have been going anywhere. We don't know. Don't matter.

It's not included. But he did say, speed them on their way. They'll tell you more about the journey when they get there. Would you let them stand up front and ask for money for five minutes? No.

He said, speed them on their way. Help them out. Do you understand? Alright. We don't know where they were going.

See that they lack nothing. He's saying in Christian hospitality, Titus, would you make sure that these brothers in Christ, you know em but the rest of the folks on Crete don't know them. Would you see that they lack nothing? Help them as much as you can on their way. We actually at this church, we do try to help missionaries.

We try always to help em and we have folks that are coming from all over the place and honestly, we know what it is that they're doing because we know who they're doing it for but we don't always know everything about them but we do our best to speed them on their way and help them and see that they are not lacking. And then 14 says, and I like this, and let our people, our people, those who have trusted in the name of Christ, and let our people, the church folk there on Crete, let our people learn to devote themselves to good works. Does this say, good works are going get you into heaven? Nope. I actually went in to buy something the other day and the guy looked up and he saw that I was me, a minister and he goes, oh, wait a second.

I want to go to heaven. So, I'm going give you a discount. I I won't argue with the discount, but you know that's not how that works, right? He goes, well, what should I have said? I said, I accept Christ as my savior and mean it.

He said, Well, I ain't gonna do that. And every time you present the opportunity, you'll either be accepted or rejected, or they'll hear more from you later. Let our people learn to devote themselves to good work, and it was a good work that God did to me, and I appreciate it. It was nice. But let our people, the church folk, let them learn to devote themselves to good works so as to help cases of urgent need.

My favorite, one of my favorite things about being here, I got a lot of favorites, Is being able to say yes when people come in in urgent need. Amen. That's great. To just be able to say yes, we can help with that. And the reason that I can say yes is because y'all have given.

So let our people learn to devote themselves to good works and so as to help out in cases of urgent need and not to be unfruitful. All who are with me send greetings to you. Now, it's funny. Artemis and Tichicus at this point, he's deciding which one's going. They're still with him.

So, Artemis and Tichicus and Paul are sending greetings. It's the last part of a letter. It's like, oh, it's signing off. Here it goes. Greet those who love us in the faith.

He knows Zenith and Apollos are on their way there. Greet them. Speed them on their way with funding and resources, food, hospitality, friendship, love and embrace. Greet those who love us in the faith and then grace be with you all. Grace be with you all is the way he ends this.

Grace be with y'all. It is all of y'all. Really, it's everyone of you. Starts off the letters to Titus but it's grace be with all of y'all. I love that.

Always end with grace. That's every time we get to the end of a book and it hits grace, I say, always end with grace and I like the beginnings of books because I always start with grace. Paul, a servant of God and an apostle for Jesus Christ. That's who he is. For the sake of telling them why.

The faith of God's elect and their knowledge of the truth which accords with godliness and hope of eternal life which God who never lies promised before the ages began and at the proper time manifested. He showed it in his word through the preaching with which I've been entrusted by the command of God our savior to Titus, my true child, and the common faith, grace. Grace, my brother loves this little acrostic. He says it all the time. Grace is God's riches at Christ's expense.

God's riches, unmerited favor. God's riches at Christ's expense. Christ paid the penalty for sin and he paid the penalty so that we can have a right relationship with him. He starts off with grace in this book. He ends with grace in this book and it's all about the grace of God throughout.

Are you with me? Is it hot in here this morning? Y'all are a little bit sluggish. Okay. It might it might just be me.

Pop quiz. Okay. Compare and contrast. If you had to take out a sheet of paper right now. We've just been through the book of first Timothy before this one.

In Titus, we've only been in a few weeks because it's a short, short book. If you had to compare and contrast Timothy and Titus based on the New Testament, there'd be similarities but there'd be some differences too and I I like these differences. I like it because we're paying attention to people, right? So if you compare these men, Timothy and Titus, there are some similarities. How many times are they mentioned?

So Timothy is mentioned 24 times. A lot of those are in Acts. Titus is mentioned 14 times. Some people say that Titus may have been, although we don't know this and it's pure speculation, Titus may have been really closely related to Luke, and in humility and modesty, Luke never mentions himself nor did he ever mention Titus. Some people say they're brothers.

It's a possibility. So Timothy and Titus are both mentioned multiple times. Faithful, fellow servants, beloved brothers, close close relationship with Paul. Both of them are listed as a true child which could mean that Paul led them to Jesus. It could mean that.

Probably means that. They're he's they're not his biological children but true child in the faith for Timothy and a true child and a common faith for Titus. So, there's an endearment, a term of endearment right there. Timothy had a Greek father and a Jewish mother while whereas Titus had Gentile heritage, complete, full on Greek or Gentile. I'm going to skip that for a second.

He was a trusted co laborer, both of em. They he was sent as a personal representative to Ephesus which is a city and Titus was sent as a personal representative to Crete which is an island So, he was responsible for the churches in the city for Timothy and he's responsible for that whole island for Titus. He said, go into all the churches and set up. Make sure that the elder, the elders are orderly and fit these qualifications and and the similarities there, the list of qualifications for elder or attributes of an elder are similar in both, but they're not the same, not exactly the same. There were problems that were happening in Ephesus that were not happening on Crete, or at least that Paul didn't know about.

They were both directed to combat false teaching, and what's the best way is to know good, pure teaching. That's the best way to go against that. So if you're contrasting these two guys, Timothy and Titus. Timothy plays a major role in the historical narrative of Acts. He is there a lot.

You hear him a lot. But Titus is not mentioned. I mentioned the reason why, possibly because of some sort of close connection. I don't know. We don't all have to be mentioned every time.

That could be a point in a sermon at some point, right? I I think there's something there too though that if one of us is mentioned a lot more often. I being in this job, I get mentioned a whole lot more often than I'm comfortable with and I know that. Just because you're not mentioned does not mean you're not appreciated and cannot be used. One of the great historians of the church said that Christ has spread his kingdom through the anonymous and unchronicled witness and I love that.

I call it the vast unchronicled witness. So, that's the way that it spread. Life on life, person to person. Greek father, Jewish mother for Timothy and the full Gentile heritage for Titus led to an interesting situation and a lot of people draw this out and think about this. Timothy was actually circumcised by Paul.

So, when they met, probably while Timothy was in his late teens, he had not been circumcised. Well, he has a Greek father. He has a Jewish mother and Jews count your line by your mother and so, his Jewish mother Paul came into that situation, and when he took him, Acts 16 says this, Paul came also to Derbe and to Lystra. A disciple was there named Timothy, son of a Jewish woman, he who was a believer, but his father was a Greek. He was well spoken of by the brothers at Lystra and Iconium.

So Paul wanted Timothy to accompany him and he took him and he circumcised him because of the Jews who were in those places for they all knew that his father was a Greek. So he would already, since his heritage was not completely pure, the Jews already would have one strike against Timothy. And so Paul, in order to minister to Jews who were not believers, not Christians, these are Jews. He knew that the thing to do for him to take Timothy, for him to be effective would be to circumcise him and he did. Because of the Jews where he was in those places, for they all knew his father was a Greek.

As they went on their way through the cities, they delivered to them for observance, the decisions that have been reached by the apostles and elders in Jerusalem. So, the churches were strengthened in the faith. They increased in numbers daily. This is where Paul picks up Timothy to go on the journey with him and he did that first thing. Now, Titus was not circumcised.

He had full Gentile heritage and was not and Paul absolutely, absolutely said no on this one. Galatians two says this, then after fourteen years, I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas taking Titus along with me. I went up because of a revelation and set before them, though privately before the those who seemed influential, the gospel that I proclaim among the Gentiles in order to make sure that I was not running or had not run-in vain. But even Titus who was with me was not forced to be circumcised though he was a Greek yet because of false brothers, false brothers is people who are claiming to be Christians. People who are claiming to be Christians that were insisting that he'd be circumcised and Paul was like, no.

That is not happening and he'd he'd circumcised Timothy but the reason being different. He did that in order to reach people. He did this or didn't do this in order to refute those so that they might who slipped in to spy out our freedom that we have in Christ Jesus so that they might bring us into slavery to them. We did not yield in submission even for a moment because they were wrong. It is not by works.

It's not by works of the flesh that we're saved. It's by only by Christ and his provision. Grace through faith. So that the truth of the gospel might be preserved for you. He didn't want to interrupt truth of the gospel by adding a step or adding a work in there.

But that's a different. Timothy, was he timid and sickly and mousy? He seems to be. Timothy, come on. Don't you we God hadn't given you a spirit of fear.

Don't be afraid of him. When he sends letters to the people who receive him, receive him. Don't let him be upset about it. Somewhat sickly, have a little wine for your stomach, and seem to be generally more impressionable and actually reticent and empathetic, which may have left him subject to manipulation. I'm a mercy guy and I'm subject to manipulation.

Shame of it in some ways, but it's who I am. If somebody tells me a sad story, I go for it. That's on them. If they're lying, that's on them. It's not on me.

So, when I got to the part where Paul was talking about the Timothy have nothing to do with young widows. I couldn't even preach that sermon. I really couldn't. It's the only place I've skipped since we've been doing this and I'm convinced now after looking on this and looking back at it, what he's saying is, Timothy, you're going to get drawn into something that is not what you need to get drawn into, have nothing to do with the younger widows. Let other people deal with that, okay?

Are you with me? Thank you. Generally, Titus was bold with no indication of any tendency to be overly sympathetic to people. Does that make sense? There were two letters that were written to Timothy.

The second was incredibly personal. It's not the next letter we're to hit. We're going to study first Peter next but there are two letters that were written to Timothy. One of em is encouraging and encouraging him to combat false teaching and to insist on the gospel and the purity of it, and the same was mentioned in Titus, this combat the false teaching and insist on the purity of the actual gospel, one short letter. He didn't have to encourage Titus so much.

Titus seemed to just be good to go. Whatever. This last part I want to hit really sort of quickly. Let our people learn to devote themselves to good work so as to help cases of urgent need and not be unfruitful. So I've got one quick study here.

This is a famous study from 1973. I think it ought to be published again because it speaks to it speaks to something we find ourselves involved in all the time nowadays. I'm skipping the names of the two cities, but Darla J. M. And Batson C.

D. Were at Princeton Seminary. They were doing a study, Princeton Seminary in 1973, and they were trying to determine helping behavior, when people will help, when people won't help. Okay, when do people help other people, and when do they not? So it's done by these two guys.

And what they did was they had people that were in one building on a college campus, and they were told that they were gonna have to deliver a talk, and in delivering this talk, it was gonna be in another building. So you gotta talk to deliver. I'm stealing this from the Global Leadership Summit, by the way. She reminded me of it. I read the study before.

But this building, they tell you the assignment is you need to be able to speak on this subject. You've got a twenty minute presentation, and it's happening. Right now you're gonna be late, was one of them. The other one is they're already over there. They're waiting on you.

No big deal. Go whenever you want to. And then the other one is you're probably gonna be early if you leave right now, but go ahead on over. This is the building. So it's three different scenarios, right?

There's one where he's in a hurry, there's one where he's not really in a hurry, and there's one where he's not hurried at all. And then on the way over they had a person, disheveled looking person, who sat there and was coughing and obviously in distress or need. Maybe drunk, maybe hurt, didn't know what it was, but there was an alley and you had to go right by the guy. And so as they were going right by the guy, how many of them do you think stopped to help? Now the study was to see if time had an effect on it, but there were a couple of other variables that they entered into.

So the ones who felt like they had time, more of them stopped. But how many of them that were in a hurry? This man was in obvious distress, good actor, obvious distress. Only ten percent stopped. Ten percent.

The blanks up there from Jericho to Jerusalem or from Jerusalem to Jericho. What they told the the people that they had to talk on was the good Samaritan. And then they sent them out and on the way, they had to stop, go right past the guy in distress and only 10% of seminary students stopped. If they were in a hurry, if they were in a hurry. Now, there were more if they were not in as much of a hurry, and there were way more if they just felt like they had all the time in the world.

How often this week have you felt like you had all the time in the world? I think that our hurry sometimes gets us into trouble. Even if our intentions are good, what this verse is saying, let our people learn to devote themselves, leave time to be able to do good works. Does that make sense? Okay.

One more quick story. Early January two thousand and seven, that's not quite a DART map, but it's it's of The United States. We, Tonya and I, at the time lived right there, just south of the southernmost part of Texas, 50 miles or so into Mexico, Rio Bravo. For Christmas two thousand and six, we had been to Georgia right there. And on our way home, we had a great time with family.

We were headed back home, needed to pay the employees of the school where we were, the school for the deaf in Mexico. So we headed off, and right there in Houston we got a phone call. And this phone call was from Jackson Hole, Wyoming. And in Jackson, Pascal's first cousin Palmer had been born here, but he'd been born with underdeveloped lungs at 6,300 feet above sea level. We don't know anything about that.

We love them, but we heard it just outside of Houston. We had a choice to turn left or to turn right. Well, I am the boss in Mexico. Tanya does did the books and I signed the checks, and so we decided we'd go home. But the goal of Jackson Hole did not leave us.

We were praying for them the whole time. We could do that from where we were, And so we took off. We paid our employees. We didn't even spend the night. We just turned around when we got home.

So this is a nineteen hour drive from there to there. And when we got there, we signed all the checks, paid all the people, didn't know that we were had a plan, you know, had an unplanned trip to Jackson coming up. So we headed up straight away and we made it as far as Wichita, Wichita, Kansas. We had been, no offense to Ryan Block or Doyle Vaughn, but we had been through West Texas before, decided not to do that again. So we came to Wichita and we got off of the Turnpike there and went in to use the restroom, and while we were there in Wichita, there was a guy standing there, had a long coat, fur collar.

It was January. It was cold. It was really cold here. It was 34 degrees below zero at the time here, and this guy was standing out there, and as I passed, just Carrie and a nine month old little girl walking in to go use the restroom, Tanya was getting out of the car and everything. When I walked by, goes, I was like, I said, do you have tools?

And I said, And I said, why did you speak to me in Spanish? We're in Wichita, look at me. And I love this, he goes, because I don't speak English. So anyway, that's pretty good. I like that.

So he said I said, well, what's going on with you? He said, I need tools because we were traveling and we've broken down. We're right here broken down. So I always travel with tools, always. I've grown up in a sawmill.

I worked on junk my whole life. And so I was traveling from here, Rio Bravo, Mexico North, and he was traveling from Central California, he said, and he had been across and been through, and he was right there. So our paths intersected at Wichita at this little gas station. I just stopped to use the bathroom, and he and his son actually, two people in there, three in ours, and he said, I said, oh, what's going on? What do you need the tools for?

He said, well, and we're on our way somewhere. You know, we were on our way somewhere. He was on his way somewhere when he broke down. And he said, well, got this truck, and then all of a sudden all the lights came on, temperature started going up. All kinds of what kind of truck is Chevrolet 1,500.

Oh, 5.7. Yeah, I know what happened to that. He goes, really? I said, yeah. I said, that it right there?

He said, yeah, with the water underneath? Yep. I said, yeah, it's probably a broken idler pulley. Popped the hood. He pops the hood.

I said, I'll be right back. We ran the O'Reilly Auto Parts, came back, it's a $9 part, you know, and I'm taking this thing apart. And as I'm taking it apart, he says, Tanya is there, Pascal's there, and the guy says, where did you learn Spanish? And this is your wife that she begged? You know, we're talking.

Yeah, we've, well, we're working in the school for the death. Really? Your accent sounds really familiar. That guy who was going across the country that way and I'm going this way with all of us. Like these intersecting paths right there and that guy, as we talked about it, was from that town right there.

That town right there is Rio Bravo, Tamaulipas, Mexico. This is where we live. City of about 150, 155,000 people. That was our house and that was his house. While we're talking, he goes, your accent sounds familiar.

I said, well, we live in this little town between Reynosa and Matamoros. Which one? And we finally come to Rio Bravo. And he goes, do you know a lady down there? You say you're in construction and you do this.

You know a lady down there that runs a business called Maderas Mexico? I said, yeah, do. And then he clicks the next telephone and goes, he goes, Norma. And she answered back and said, Ramon? That fast.

I knew his wife. I knew his daughters. They knew me. All of this. If I had not and and I was on the way somewhere.

We were all on the way somewhere. But Tanya never thought, oh, we shouldn't do this. We got somewhere to be because I'm not a doctor. And Tanya's not a doctor. She loves her sister.

I love her sister. We both can pray wherever we are. But we couldn't do anything about his lungs. But we could do something about what we could do something about. And I've grown up around those things.

I've had three of them that had the same failure. Great everlasting engine, but that little pulley has to be replaced. Started to ask you about it, Grant. I started to say, what was it? That has been a blessing to me.

I don't know how many times I've thought of that story. And that's the way it is if you devote yourself. And I'm not tooting my own horn. I passed Judy Basie yesterday. She was broken down.

I wasn't even in a hurry. I thought she was looking at the trumpeter swans over after Jay. That's the guy. Yep. And that's the repair.

And that's Bascule. Yeah. God help us. Help us see the people who are hurting. God help us see the people in need.

God help us see what it is we're see what it is we're good at. See what it is that we know how to do. Would you allow us lord to live in the peace of doing what it is that you've called us to do? I think of these. This verse right here.

We we hit two, eight, nine all the time. It comes up almost every Sunday for by by grace you have been saved through faith. It's God's riches at Christ's expense but it has to be accessed through personal faith, trusting that that is true for you. By grace, you've been saved through faith and this is not of your own doing, it's the gift of God. It's not a result of works so that no one may boast.

For we are his workmanship. Poyama, we are his workmanship, masterpiece, poem, song, artwork. We are his workmanship and we were created in Christ Jesus for good works. Good works which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in. Lord Jesus, would you show us those works?

Would you give us the strength? Would you give us the vision to recognize it and the strength and the resolve to do it. In Jesus name, would you be a blessing through us? Amen. Can we just stand and sing the doxology?

How about that? I went a little long. Praise God from whom all blessings flow praise him all creatures here below praise him above you heavenly praise father, son, and holy I have a benediction for you. It's from Titus. For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people.

It's it is a real offer. It has appeared and we can offer it. It offers salvation to all people. It teaches us to say no to ungodliness and worldly passions and to live self controlled, upright, and godly lives in this present age. In Jesus name, may you pay attention to people this week.

Amen.