Are You Ready

Hey, man, you can turn your bowels, please. To the book of Titus, the book of Titus Chapter 3 going to be in there again this morning.

That last week we talked about how the the gifts of Grace got you. If you would just kind of grab that little of Slaughter. Just pull it down just a little bit. Turn the volume down. Thank you. We talked last week about the gifts of the gifts of Grace and about how great it was that God came down and he gave us his grace and all the benefits that we have to do that. It was a great thing that we learned about God's salvation in hot rock salvation, their life and how it brought hope and how it brought Redemption it, how it box here. T. But now, as we come into chapter 3, Paul is wanting us to take that Grace and he's wanting us to do something with it. Once we have it in our hearts. And once we have it in our lives than God is going to ask us to do something. And so this morning, what I want to ask you this morning, is that are you ready? And I when we think about our hearts and last we asked a question about. Are you ready? And when you come up by the church, and there's a big big, a big PowerPoint there on the back. It says all you read, everybody's going to sit back in their take an old man. We're about to have a two-hour Hellfire and brimstone about talk about how you need to get ready to go to heaven. But that's not we're going to talk about this morning. When we want to talk about is being ready and a lot of us like to talk about being ready for having a lot of us here. I know everybody here, we ready to go to heaven, we ready to see Jesus but we are still here and trite as it for us and our lives to still be here because of Christ didn't want us to still be here. We would not be here but he still has us here and he still has us here for a purpose, in the purpose is to do his work. And so what Paul wants to ask us this morning. Are you ready to take that Grace? That God has given you and put it to work in this world flustrated. Titus Chapter 3. We're going to begin with first ever one. It says remind them to be submissive to their rulers and authorities in to be obedient and to be ready for every good work to speak evil to no one to avoid. Quarreling, to be gentle and to show perfect courtesy towards all people for. We ourselves were once foolish disobedient. Let us draw a slaves to various passions and Pleasures passing our days in my list and envy and hatred by others and hatred of one another. But when goodness and loving-kindness of God, our savior appeared and he saved us, not because of Works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own Mercy by the washing of regeneration. Andre Duel of the Holy Spirit who he poured out on us richly through. Jesus Christ, Our Savior and so that being justified by his grace. We might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. This saying is trustworthy, and I want you to insist on these things. So that those who have believed in God, may be careful to devote themselves to good works. These things are at and profitable for people. It starts out chapter one of us starts out chapter 3 and he's reminding the people to be obedient to the rulers and authorities to watch what they say around people to be courteous and kind and it draws on the atom. Message that he has had for them and VS1 and in the first couple of verses of chapter 2. When he talks about us being examples and it chapter 2, he talked about as we talked last week about how he was commanded them to be examples to one another that the old man should live their lives in a way that they would set the example for younger men and that the women would live there. The older women would live their lives in such a way that they would be an example for the younger women, there in the church and how the young man should begin about their lives in such a way that they would begin to set an example for those who around us around them than their peers and the young ladies as well. She began to live their life in such a way that they would set an example for their peers around them. And so now, what Paul wants to do is he wants to take this call for us to be An example, out of the church out on how we influence one another here in the body of Christ, but he wants us to take our example and show it to the world. We need to be an example of Jesus Christ wherever we go, but some of us need to realize that the example that we said four other people about, Jesus Christ. Can sometimes be more of a hindrance to the gospel. Then it is a promotion of the Gospel. We can spend so much time, so much time and rebelling and complaining. That it says, man, these people are no different than Dustin. They're actually worse than us with all their complaining and all of their griping. We can be a hindrance to the gospel. By the way that we talk to each other. We can be a hindrance to the gospel in the way that we run our mouths. We can be a hindrance in the gospel. The way that we talk on our social media in the way that we talk at work and the way that we talk of the restaurants, in the way that we do things. We can be a hindrance to the gospel. What what he wants us to do is he wants us to be an example of Jesus Christ. I want you to be an example because I want you to understand why you are still here upon this Earth. You are here. To do good works. Don't ask you this morning. Just as Paul asked you, are you prepared for every good work in your life. Are you a prepare to be an example? Are you prepared to show people how to come to Jesus Christ? Or do you spend your days, griping and complaining and hate, and being rude and big bang? And being course? Drawing people away? Or are you living your life in such a way that says, man. This person is different. This person is different. I want to be like him. I want what you have, you know, there's a difference between people coming up and saying that, I want you, what you have, and people coming up to you and say, hey man, what are you smoking?

What? What Jesus wants us to do? He wants us to be ready for the good works. He wants to live our lives. In a way that draws lost people to Christ, but too many times that we have. When we think about those who are lost around them, we want to condemn them. We want to judge him. We want to talk bad about him. You know, we want to gossip about him. And we really get to a point sometimes as Christians when you've been at church long enough. And when you get to a point where you think that you're good enough, man, you forget what it was like. You forget about what your life was like, and you show, not empathy. Not sympathy, not compassion for the lost like Jesus did, but you show. Can you show judgmentalism to them? And Paul says, I want you to ask your way to be an example to them. Even when they're rude to you, even when they're mean to you, and even when they talk bad about you, you should still be courteous. You should still be kind. You should still be showing the Heart of Jesus to them. Why what he tells us. Why he says I want you to remember is that I want you to remember. Look at verse number 3, it says for we ourselves were once foolish disobedient. Let us draw a slave to various passions and Pleasures passing our days in Malice and envy hated by others and hating one another. I hope for us. As Believers that describes how he used to be. But for too many, in our lives that still describes how we are now. But he wants us as Believers to remember how we used to be how we used to be lost how we used to just chase after passions. How we lived. Worthless life. Man. We thought we had everything made. We thought we had everything taken care of, but we were lost. The way that we used to talk the places that we used to go the way that we used to treat other people. He said, I want you to remember that you used to be just like that but then. But then something changed. He says this in person before it says, but when the goodness of loving, kindness of God, our savior appeared, he saved us. Not because of work done by us and righteousness. But according to his own Mercy by the wash by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit. He's saying, you know, what, you remember, how you used to act? Remember how you used to treat people. Remember how you used to follow out the passion of of your heart's desire? Remember those things that you used to do? You know, what changed you? You know, what? You brought brought you around. Was it? God sending down. Lightning bolts? Was it? God rebuking you? Was it Christ in case you don't get your act, right? You going to go to hell. But no, it was none of that. It wasn't the rebuke. It wasn't the Judgments are life changed when God for no reason at all. Showed us love. He showed us his love when we were unlovable. He showed love. He had mercy on us. He says, man. I saw, I see you, Larry. I see you little way. You're living, man. You just going down a dark alley, you know, you just going down a dead-end road. I want to show you love.

And so it was God's love that turned our life around and Sao Paulo wants to carry us that further if it wasn't judgment, if it wasn't Hellfire and brimstone if it wasn't the threat of punishment, if it wasn't the threat of hell, that changed, just what was it? That changed us. It was God loves us. So why should we think that our judgments and are talking about about? And our condemnation is going to change other people and bring them to Christ. What's going to bring them to Christ is if we for no reason whatsoever. Other than the fact that God loved us first, that we would love them. Inside, when we are about doing our work on this Earth. We seek to show. We seek the show unconditional, unmerited. Love to those people around us that way that we treat others. Is that the way that we treat people that we encounter in our daily lives that we showed her to see? Do we show love to we show kindness? At least. I know you know what they said to me, but you know what they said to Jesus. Are you still allowed to you know, how we treated Jesus but he still loved us. We should stake in our life to remember that. It was God's love. That turned us around. And so we see what it took to turn a life slam. First of all, it was God's love and then there was other parts of the work after he showed his love and loving kind of cheese. Goes on the verse five. It says he's saved us not because the work done by us and righteousness. But according to his own Mercy, he saved us. He changed it and he And by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, you know, it wasn't, we got to a point where so you know what? I'm going to change. I'm going to do things differently. Oh, no, it took an Act of God to change the way that you live. He saved us and he sent the Holy Spirit to washes and regenerate us. That means it took a whole work of God. To change your life. He had to wash you, he had to cleanse you and he had to regenerate you. He had to take all of that old stuff out and turn you in to something new. So those people just like you just like, it took a regenerating work to change the way that you live. It's going to take a regenerating work to change other people's life. And so, regardless of how I met for yell Adam and regardless of how much we condemn them, and regardless of how much we judge them. Not going to make them changed. The only thing that's going to make them change is if God does the same work inside of you inside of them that he did inside of you? So we bring them to Jesus. We introduce them to Jesus and we let them know that there is somebody who loves them and somebody that can change their life. We can't reform ourselves. We can't just say, you know what? I'm going to do better. But it takes a renewing of our hearts and our lives of work. That only God can do. Any said, I want you to remember, when you see, all these other people around you who are lost. And you said, man, what's wrong with these people? He said, Paul says, I want you to remember all the work that it took. To change you and your life. It took a lot. It took a lot to change. It took a work of God to turn us into people that God wants us to be. So, when we see the Lost, we treat them kindly, and we show them love. Because we know the only way. That they will change the only way.

That they can have newness of life. If they experienced God's love the way that we experienced it in our hearts and so that we should work to set an example to in some way. The people that we encounter to show them, God's love. he goes on to say, It says who report out on us. So richly through Jesus Christ, Our Savior, so being justified by his grace. We might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. God's blessings. Poured out upon our life. Remember everything that we have has come from Jesus Christ. He has made us new people. And so with that, thought in mind, now that we have resolved to set an example for the world around us, not judging them, not condemning them, but remembering who we are and what it took to bring us in and what Christ has done for us. He makes this conclusion in verse number seven. It says. So that being justified by Grace, we might become Heroes of Hope and inverse the right. It says and this thing is trustworthy and I want you to insist on these things. So that those who have believed in God, may be careful to devote themself themselves to good works. These things are excellent. And these things are profitable for people. He says, I want you to devote yourself to Good Works, since God did all that for you and since. The only ways a world is going to change. I want you to devote yourself to good works. And I noticed you don't tell us what those good works are. What are these good works that Jesus wants us to do. What are these good works? That we need to devote Our Lives to? He doesn't list them. He doesn't say where these are the good works, that you need to be doing. And the reason why he doesn't tell us. Is because we already know because we don't have to go out looking for good works because those opportunities for good works. Will find us there found in our family members who don't know. Jesus, you need to do a good work. You need to show them Jesus. That good work is to be found at your place of employment where there's all the negative talk, where there's all the backbiting. Where there's all the hopelessness where there's all the load off. Listening. You are there to do the good work. You are there to show Jesus to them. You'll find a good works when you go to the store. When you encounter the people there at the checkout line, when you count the people there in the Isles, when you count those people who run you over with those, you know, shop from home cards, they got now. There is an opportunity to do the good work, because the atmosphere there, the tone there is vile and it's hopeless, you were there to do good work. The good works find us. And so he said, I want you to devote yourself to do in the good work, in the good work. It's showing God's grace the grace that God showed you to other people. When you see, those people who are lost it. When you see, those people who are living in Lifestyles that are are harmful, you know, that the only way that they can change is through Jesus. And so you point them to Jesus. And that is the good work and it says that if you devote your life, To those things, those things are profitable for people. And so that's what we should be about. But too many times, we as Christians, we as the body of Christ, waste our lives and Westar Energy and waste our time. With other people with other things call talks about that inverse number 9, it says but avoid fluid controversies, genealogies dissensions and quarrelling about the law for they are unprofitable and are worthless. We spend our time and we waste our time talking and arguing about things that don't really matter. Instead of doing the one thing that is of most importance and that is out doing the good work of bringing other people to Christ and making his name known throughout the whole world. What are we busy with? What are we busy with in our lives? Are we busy living like the world? Are we busy arguing and fighting amongst one another? Are we busy just living the way the same way the world does are? Are we busy devoting ourselves to the work of God? Do we look at the world and said, man? These people are lost. These people are confused. They're like, it's Jesus, all them. They look like sheep without a shepherd.

And I know the only thing that could help these people out, won't be a long sermon for me. It won't be out words of condemnation. It won't be the words of judgment, but it'll come from us remembering of what Jesus Christ did for us. We used to live just like that. The price decide to show us love into not only show us love, but to save us and to regenerate us and to make us heirs with him into the kingdom of God. Jesus is what? Help me. Jesus is what saved me, Jesus is, what changed my life. Jesus is, what gave me hope. Jesus is what gave me peace. So, the only way that they're going to experience any of that. Is if I bring him to Jesus and let him do for them, the same thing that he did for me in the same thing that he did for you. Are you ready? Are you ready to go out and do the good works that God has called you to do, is pray and his followers. Thank you so much for the stay that you've given us. Lori, thank you for your son. Jesus Christ who came and showed us, unmerited love. Lord that you had mercy on us as Sinners. Lord, that you saw that we were lost and then able to help ourselves.

And so you came and you showed us love. Love on Meredith and Love undeserved and You Cypress. And you changed our hearts and you changed our minds and you made us into New Creation. But you've also you've also called us to do your work and soul. I pray this morning that will commit our hearts and commit Our Lives to being examples in a bad service for you and Jesus name. I pray. Amen.