WEBVTT 00:00:00.800 --> 00:00:02.959 It's a delight for us to worship together. 00:00:03.120 --> 00:00:06.799 I'd invite you to take your Bible and go to the book of Titus with me. 00:00:07.040 --> 00:00:12.320 This is our last look at Titus through our series that started in March. 00:00:12.400 --> 00:00:16.399 It's been a short journey, but it's been a very enriching one. 00:00:23.679 --> 00:00:34.079 Last week, um, our friend and gospel partner, Johnny Gravino, was in London, and I took the opportunity to point him to a few places he might want to visit. 00:00:34.159 --> 00:00:44.000 Uh he was in a certain part of London, and I directed him to a church and a house on City Road in London, Wesley's Chapel. 00:00:44.079 --> 00:00:48.560 It's the place where Wesley is also buried, but it's also where he lived. 00:00:48.799 --> 00:00:56.320 And in March 2nd, 1791, uh it was also at the age of 87 the place where Wesley died. 00:00:56.799 --> 00:01:07.359 Wesley had been in a room there for four days, and people had gathered around him, waiting with him until he passed from earth to heaven. 00:01:07.680 --> 00:01:21.599 And as he's lying there in bed, uh he just sort of gathered some strength and rallied a little bit, and he opened his eyes and he said, Best of all, God is with us. 00:01:22.560 --> 00:01:23.760 Beautiful words. 00:01:27.200 --> 00:01:28.959 I love those words. 00:01:29.439 --> 00:01:43.200 You think about all that he did, uh, traveling 100,000 miles on horseback, and some people saying he preached some 40,000 sermons and started a movement that's still encompassing the globe. 00:01:43.359 --> 00:01:50.480 And he could have talked about all sorts of things, all those experiences and relationships and movement. 00:01:50.959 --> 00:01:53.200 And he only had one thing to center on. 00:01:53.439 --> 00:01:56.480 Best of all, God is with us. 00:01:57.920 --> 00:02:01.120 The last words of a person are often very, very meaningful. 00:02:01.280 --> 00:02:05.599 Not always, but sometimes they can be really, really helpful. 00:02:05.920 --> 00:02:24.000 I remember my mother telling me, even when I was a boy, about my great-grandmother, you know, when she passed away, and she was lying in bed, much like Wesley was, and turned a certain direction and said, My, it is so beautiful, and then passed away. 00:02:24.639 --> 00:02:26.879 I found out later that she was a believer. 00:02:26.960 --> 00:02:34.560 I'd none of none of my family were believers at the time, but my mom brought a book to me after I was converted, and she said, This was your great-grandmother's. 00:02:34.719 --> 00:02:35.680 Is it any good? 00:02:36.240 --> 00:02:36.960 And it was a D. 00:02:37.120 --> 00:02:37.199 L. 00:02:37.280 --> 00:02:38.240 Moody book. 00:02:38.479 --> 00:02:40.240 I was amazing to see. 00:02:42.479 --> 00:02:43.919 Last words. 00:02:44.719 --> 00:02:47.439 Here we are at the very end of Titus. 00:02:48.080 --> 00:02:49.520 The last words. 00:02:50.000 --> 00:02:59.919 And you know, as we've gone through Titus, it might be easy just to pass by these and to close things down quickly and just move on to the book of Acts, like we will next week. 00:03:00.159 --> 00:03:18.319 As we've gone through Titus, three short chapters that have been very, very enlightening, as Paul has directed us about what kind of leadership should be put into a church and how the gospel fuels older men and older women and younger men and younger women, and about how we relate uh in society and with one another. 00:03:18.560 --> 00:03:21.599 It'd be easy to say, look, we're ready to go to the book of Acts. 00:03:21.680 --> 00:03:24.879 We've we've got our bags packed, they're in the car, we're at the door. 00:03:25.120 --> 00:03:26.319 Goodbye, Titus. 00:03:27.039 --> 00:03:28.479 We're on our way. 00:03:29.599 --> 00:03:31.360 But we shouldn't do that. 00:03:32.000 --> 00:03:35.039 Because what we have here are some things to see. 00:03:35.759 --> 00:03:40.879 But it would be easy to read these things and think, well, you know, is there much here? 00:03:41.280 --> 00:03:44.719 Um, we'll talk about a city that we've probably never even thought about. 00:03:44.800 --> 00:03:52.080 And we're going to mention some names in a couple seconds of people whose names are a little difficult to pronounce, actually. 00:03:52.400 --> 00:03:59.919 And there's a lawyer in here who shows up one time in Scripture, and then we don't hear anything about him in any other place. 00:04:00.479 --> 00:04:05.840 It'd be easy to go, well, I'll just skim this last little bit of Titus and move on. 00:04:06.159 --> 00:04:07.919 Well, please don't. 00:04:08.240 --> 00:04:16.319 Because here we see something in which Paul's last words describe to us what he really thought about the church. 00:04:16.639 --> 00:04:19.839 So let's read these verses together and then we'll look at them. 00:04:21.040 --> 00:04:22.240 Verse 12. 00:04:22.560 --> 00:04:31.600 When I sent Artemis or Tychicus to you, make every effort to come to me in Nicopolis, because I've decided to spend the winter there. 00:04:31.839 --> 00:04:37.600 Diligently help Zenus the lawyer and Apollos on their journey, so that they will lack nothing. 00:04:37.839 --> 00:04:44.319 Let our people learn to devote themselves to good works for pressing needs, so that they will not be unfruitful. 00:04:44.560 --> 00:04:46.959 All those who are with me send you greetings. 00:04:47.199 --> 00:04:49.279 Greet those who love us in the faith. 00:04:49.519 --> 00:04:52.800 Grace be with you all, or with all of you. 00:04:53.199 --> 00:05:03.680 Now, in these closing words, Paul shows us that the church is not just a place to attend, it's actually a gospel life in which we all are a part of. 00:05:04.000 --> 00:05:14.800 And he mentions here, and three things that we'll look at, that we're a people who are sent, and that we're a people who supply, and that we're a people who strengthen. 00:05:14.959 --> 00:05:18.800 And those three words are going to wrap around our focal points here. 00:05:18.959 --> 00:05:24.800 The first thing I want us to see is that the church is a sending culture, a sending people. 00:05:24.959 --> 00:05:26.800 Take a look at verse 12. 00:05:28.160 --> 00:05:37.519 When I send Artemis or Tychicus to you, do your best to come to me at Nicopolis, for I've decided to spend the winter there. 00:05:38.240 --> 00:05:40.720 Now, Paul is not stationary. 00:05:41.199 --> 00:05:46.319 He's sending this letter from Nicopolis, this city of victory. 00:05:46.560 --> 00:05:48.800 But it's important to know what Nicopolis is. 00:05:48.959 --> 00:06:03.519 It's a relatively new city in the northwestern part of Greece, and it's close to the Adriatic Sea, and it is one of those places where roads from the north and the south and the east converge as they move out to sea. 00:06:04.399 --> 00:06:14.480 This kind of place could be literally a crossroads, an intersection of different places, a convergence of movement of people, and a place from which you can launch. 00:06:14.720 --> 00:06:16.959 And notice what Paul says about this. 00:06:17.279 --> 00:06:20.720 I have decided to winter here. 00:06:21.360 --> 00:06:32.319 I think he decided to winter here purposely because of those travel routes and because of the ability to network in different places with different people. 00:06:33.439 --> 00:06:38.399 He wants to be ready and he wants to be active in engagement and movement. 00:06:38.800 --> 00:06:42.319 And the movement is already arranged. 00:06:43.120 --> 00:06:50.000 When I send either Artemis or Tychicus to you, come to me, Titus. 00:06:50.639 --> 00:07:03.680 So Artemis and Tychicus, both trained men, both tested kingdom workers, are now at the ready to go to Crete and to relieve Paul or Cyprus, rather. 00:07:03.839 --> 00:07:05.920 Not Crete, I'm sorry, Crete. 00:07:06.399 --> 00:07:09.040 I'm gonna have to apologize to Konstantinos. 00:07:09.120 --> 00:07:12.399 I'm getting I'm getting places in Greece mixed up in my head. 00:07:12.879 --> 00:07:14.000 To relieve Titus. 00:07:14.160 --> 00:07:23.600 And Titus is released, released to come back to Paul, released to be gathered back and perhaps even sent out to some new place. 00:07:24.079 --> 00:07:28.720 Now you might read this and think, well, this is just a bunch of administrative detail. 00:07:29.519 --> 00:07:31.360 But think about it differently. 00:07:31.600 --> 00:07:38.399 Think about this as organized gospel mission, not just administrative details. 00:07:38.720 --> 00:07:48.800 Paul is showing us what he believes that the church is, that it is a group of sending people, that there's a culture of movement here. 00:07:50.319 --> 00:08:00.639 He's lifting our eyes beyond our regular gatherings and the things that we do together here in order to see our connectivity in the broader gospel work. 00:08:01.279 --> 00:08:04.240 And that's a pattern that we see all through Scripture. 00:08:04.480 --> 00:08:10.240 We're going to spend some time in the book of Acts together over the next several months, and we will see a lot of that. 00:08:10.480 --> 00:08:13.920 And I just want to mention a couple of places for us this morning. 00:08:14.240 --> 00:08:16.480 Acts chapter 13, for instance. 00:08:16.720 --> 00:08:25.759 The church is there and Antioch, and it's growing and it's developing, and the ministry of the word is flourishing, and there are several leaders there. 00:08:26.079 --> 00:08:34.399 And God says to the church, set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work for which I've called them. 00:08:34.879 --> 00:08:36.960 And so what does the church do? 00:08:37.200 --> 00:08:43.919 Well, they don't form a committee and they don't call a vote, they fast and they pray. 00:08:44.559 --> 00:08:48.080 And then they recognize, and God is active. 00:08:48.320 --> 00:08:56.159 And in verse 4, it says, so being sent out by the Holy Spirit, Barnabas and Saul went down to Seleucia. 00:08:57.039 --> 00:09:00.320 So the church ascending, the spirit is sending. 00:09:00.559 --> 00:09:02.720 There isn't some contradiction there. 00:09:02.879 --> 00:09:11.200 There's this pattern of spirit involved and spirit-initiated and spirit-energized movement of people. 00:09:12.960 --> 00:09:18.639 In Acts chapter 14, after finishing that first journey, they come back. 00:09:18.799 --> 00:09:24.399 And from there they sailed back to Antioch, where they had been commended to the grace of God for the work they had completed. 00:09:24.559 --> 00:09:32.879 And after they arrived, they gathered the church together and reported everything God had done with them and how he'd opened the door of faith to the Gentiles. 00:09:33.120 --> 00:09:36.399 And they spent a considerable time with the disciples. 00:09:36.639 --> 00:09:39.519 Acts 14, 26-28. 00:09:39.919 --> 00:09:54.639 So here's this idea of sending, reaching, returning, reporting, gathering again, and then Paul goes again for a second time into another missionary journey. 00:09:54.879 --> 00:09:59.200 And in Acts chapter 18, he comes back again. 00:09:59.919 --> 00:10:02.159 And he's received back by the church. 00:10:08.879 --> 00:10:14.879 The church is there to receive, to strengthen, and to send. 00:10:15.519 --> 00:10:22.080 And so what Paul is showing us in these words here at the end of Titus is that is part of who we are. 00:10:22.320 --> 00:10:28.720 We are a people who through the gospel are moving the gospel in various places. 00:10:30.080 --> 00:10:34.879 Listen to Philippians 2 and how this movement idea comes up. 00:10:35.679 --> 00:10:40.720 I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon, he says. 00:10:40.879 --> 00:10:48.960 And then he says, I hope to send him as soon as I see how things go with me, and I'm confident in the Lord that I myself will come. 00:10:49.759 --> 00:11:03.600 And then he says, It's necessary to send to you Epaphroditus, my brother, co-worker, and fellow soldier, as well as your minister and messenger who has served my need. 00:11:04.480 --> 00:11:05.679 So what's happening here? 00:11:05.840 --> 00:11:11.840 There's gospel movement of people as they as they serve the gospel in different ways. 00:11:12.080 --> 00:11:20.159 And all of this is based upon that great commission in Romans 10, where it says, How will they hear without a preacher? 00:11:20.399 --> 00:11:23.679 And how can they preach except they be sent? 00:11:25.120 --> 00:11:27.600 And so the church is to take that up. 00:11:28.159 --> 00:11:31.519 Sending for us as a people is not an option. 00:11:31.759 --> 00:11:32.960 It's not optional. 00:11:33.120 --> 00:11:35.840 It's essential to the gospel proclamation. 00:11:36.720 --> 00:11:44.960 God gathers his people, God grows his people, and then God moves some of those people to go different places. 00:11:45.200 --> 00:11:49.519 And so we're not just a community, we're actually a missional organization. 00:11:49.759 --> 00:11:54.480 We're a missional organism that gathers together for this purpose. 00:11:54.720 --> 00:11:56.399 And why do we do it? 00:11:57.679 --> 00:11:59.440 Because God is a sender. 00:11:59.919 --> 00:12:01.919 We send because he's a sender. 00:12:02.080 --> 00:12:03.679 Listen to these verses. 00:12:04.000 --> 00:12:06.960 God sent his son, John 3, 17. 00:12:07.519 --> 00:12:14.000 For God did not send his son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved. 00:12:14.320 --> 00:12:15.840 God sent his spirit. 00:12:16.000 --> 00:12:21.200 Jesus said in John 14, the Father will send him in my name. 00:12:21.519 --> 00:12:24.399 He sends the apostles in John 20. 00:12:24.639 --> 00:12:28.000 As the Father has sent me, so send I you. 00:12:28.799 --> 00:12:34.720 And then that great commission in Matthew 28: go into all the world and preach the gospel. 00:12:36.000 --> 00:12:38.399 Make disciples of every nation. 00:12:39.200 --> 00:12:46.799 A sending church is aligned with the heart of God, who is a God who moves with the good news to people. 00:12:47.519 --> 00:12:49.440 Now think about a harbor. 00:12:50.000 --> 00:12:57.120 Think of with a bunch of boats there, fishing vessels, all roped, tied, docked in port. 00:12:58.639 --> 00:13:00.480 You think it's a beautiful sight. 00:13:00.559 --> 00:13:01.759 And yes, they have to be there. 00:13:01.840 --> 00:13:05.360 And some of them might even have to go to Dry Dock for a little while, and some of them are there. 00:13:05.519 --> 00:13:07.759 It's all quiet and serene looking. 00:13:08.000 --> 00:13:13.679 But you know those fishing vessels aren't made simply to look pretty in the harbor. 00:13:14.080 --> 00:13:17.440 Those fishing vessels are meant to be out on the waters. 00:13:17.600 --> 00:13:20.799 They have a mission to accomplish. 00:13:21.279 --> 00:13:30.720 And a church that simply gathers and doesn't send is like a fishing vessel that's anchored and never moving. 00:13:31.360 --> 00:13:37.840 We're supposed to be on a mission, moving the gospel and sending it forth. 00:13:39.600 --> 00:13:45.120 Listen to what Paul said to the Romans, and I think this is a very enlightening statement. 00:13:45.440 --> 00:13:55.120 He's talking about his gospel work as an apostle and talking about reaching the unreached areas, which at that time would be Spain. 00:13:55.279 --> 00:14:00.720 And he says, I've strongly desired for many years to come to you whenever I travel to Spain. 00:14:00.879 --> 00:14:02.799 Now listen to how he says this. 00:14:03.120 --> 00:14:10.399 For I hope to see you when I pass through and be assisted by you on my journey there. 00:14:11.279 --> 00:14:13.600 Now listen to what Paul assumes there. 00:14:13.759 --> 00:14:18.000 First of all, he assumes that the gospel needs to advance. 00:14:18.240 --> 00:14:24.639 And he assumes as an apostle that he is going to be on the front edge of that advance. 00:14:24.960 --> 00:14:37.360 And he assumes that the church in Rome is going to be prepared and able and activated and eager to participate in that gospel advance. 00:14:38.559 --> 00:14:42.399 And so this text that we're looking at, yes, it's descriptive. 00:14:42.480 --> 00:14:44.879 And yes, it would be easy to pass by. 00:14:45.200 --> 00:14:52.480 Yeah, you know, these guys whose names don't flow easily from my tongue, they're going and coming. 00:14:52.639 --> 00:14:54.000 Yeah, okay. 00:14:54.799 --> 00:15:01.840 Paul is describing a culture here that needs to be and is, I believe, very much a part of our culture here. 00:15:02.559 --> 00:15:05.600 And what are the implications of this for us particularly? 00:15:05.840 --> 00:15:07.600 Well, I want to mention a few. 00:15:07.840 --> 00:15:11.679 First is we need to learn to see ourselves as deployable. 00:15:11.759 --> 00:15:15.279 And I'm going to pull from my military background there. 00:15:16.080 --> 00:15:23.519 Being in a place where you're ready to be sent, where you're ready to be launching out somewhere on a mission. 00:15:24.559 --> 00:15:33.120 And so we need to be asking the question: do I see myself as someone God might send and use? 00:15:34.559 --> 00:15:43.440 Now, before you think I'm going to send all of us out to Indonesia, I want us to think missionally, not just geographically here. 00:15:45.440 --> 00:15:57.840 To be ready to be sent, to be in a place where, like Paul assumed of the Romans, that they were going to be engaged and that they were going to be energized to participate in gospel work. 00:15:59.759 --> 00:16:10.879 And before the Antioch Church was called to send Barnabas and Saul, Barnabas and Saul were in a position of being ready to serve and were serving. 00:16:11.600 --> 00:16:28.320 And so being one of those people who can be deployed, it begins with small steps of obedience and daily, weekly, monthly, yearly habits of faithfulness and service. 00:16:29.519 --> 00:16:37.200 The second question we need to address in this is are we ready to release people to go? 00:16:39.120 --> 00:16:44.399 Now that's a hard question because sending always costs something. 00:16:46.320 --> 00:16:55.519 Antioch wasn't sending strangers, they were sending two of their best, men who were serving the church faithfully. 00:16:56.559 --> 00:17:00.639 They were sending people whose absence they would fill. 00:17:09.440 --> 00:17:13.200 Barnabas and Saul were contributors, but they went. 00:17:13.839 --> 00:17:27.519 And so ascending church has to love the kingdom and the gospel so much that it's willing to sacrifice, that it loves the gospel advance more than our own comfort. 00:17:28.079 --> 00:17:31.839 And I think we we can say yes to that question here. 00:17:32.079 --> 00:17:43.759 That we do love the mission of God, that we are willing to send our best, that no matter how much we want those beloved people to stay, God wants them to go. 00:17:43.920 --> 00:17:46.240 And we must be willing to let them go. 00:17:47.200 --> 00:17:52.960 And so a few weeks ago in May, I was able to spend some time with Ray Moore. 00:17:53.119 --> 00:17:58.960 How wonderful it would be to have Ray and Dana and the children here serving alongside of us. 00:17:59.759 --> 00:18:02.079 Last night I was talking to Kevin Cooney. 00:18:02.319 --> 00:18:07.039 How wonderful it would be to have Kevin and Sarah and the family here serving among us. 00:18:07.200 --> 00:18:09.920 On Friday, I spent a few hours with David Parker. 00:18:10.079 --> 00:18:14.079 How delightful it would be to have David and Val here and serving among us. 00:18:14.720 --> 00:18:19.599 And I had a little signal chat and about to talk on Wednesday with Chad and Emily. 00:18:19.759 --> 00:18:22.880 How wonderful it would be to have Chad and Emily here serving among us. 00:18:27.200 --> 00:18:30.160 That would just be wonderful to have mingling here. 00:18:32.240 --> 00:18:33.920 Sending is costly. 00:18:34.720 --> 00:18:39.200 And it's in that sacrifice we discover something about worship. 00:18:41.440 --> 00:18:48.319 Another thing we need to think about when we think about being ascending culture is that we actively support those who go. 00:18:49.359 --> 00:18:55.519 Being ascending culture means that we're a partnership culture, not just a goodbye culture. 00:18:55.920 --> 00:19:10.799 We're people who actually are engaged in that partnership, where we recognize that our prayer is not just simply a nice thing that we say to folks as they go, but it is a participation in the work that they are doing. 00:19:11.200 --> 00:19:21.200 And that our resources are not merely moments of charity and gifts, but rather an investment in gospel expanse. 00:19:22.079 --> 00:19:37.599 And we recognize that our encouragement is not just a personal statement, but it can be the very fuel that keeps someone moving when they're three years into learning a language that's hard to still get their mouth around. 00:19:39.440 --> 00:19:43.839 Or communication being a lifeline for them. 00:19:44.960 --> 00:19:55.119 And so we need to think of these folks that we send as extensions of our ministry and not just memories of wasn't it fun when they were here? 00:19:57.119 --> 00:20:02.880 Another thing that this calls us to is discernment about who God might be sending next. 00:20:04.319 --> 00:20:22.880 That's a question that the elders think about and pray about when we think about people serving in different places here, about how God is moving particular folks into their development of their spiritual gifts and their maturity as believers and where they might be moving toward and serving. 00:20:23.039 --> 00:20:29.519 But we also need to think about perhaps not serving well here, but serving somewhere else. 00:20:29.839 --> 00:20:33.680 And it's not just for the elders to consider, it's for all of us to consider. 00:20:34.400 --> 00:20:38.559 Is there someone among us God is moving? 00:20:38.799 --> 00:20:50.240 And can we as a church recognize that this is someone God is preparing for a different place for a different people so that the gospel might be brought to all nations? 00:20:52.480 --> 00:20:58.240 And then we have to ask ourselves what about my personal availability? 00:20:59.200 --> 00:21:03.519 Am I one of those ones who're ready to be sent? 00:21:04.400 --> 00:21:08.960 Now, yes, that could mean going to different countries. 00:21:09.200 --> 00:21:15.599 It could mean going to different churches, it could mean going across the street. 00:21:16.400 --> 00:21:22.079 Because I'm not thinking so much geographically here, but on mission. 00:21:22.559 --> 00:21:33.680 And you can go and be sent on mission to a conversation, to a workplace, to your home where your your family doesn't know the Lord. 00:21:33.920 --> 00:21:37.039 You can be sent to your neighborhood. 00:21:37.519 --> 00:21:40.480 Am I available to move? 00:21:41.039 --> 00:21:50.960 Now let's move into the second point because the church here that Paul sees is not just one that has a sending culture, but it also has a provisioning culture. 00:21:51.119 --> 00:21:54.160 They're not just people who send, they're people who supply. 00:21:55.039 --> 00:21:56.799 Look at verse 13. 00:21:57.839 --> 00:22:02.880 Do your best to speed Zenus the Lawyer and Apollos on their way. 00:22:03.200 --> 00:22:05.359 See that they lack nothing. 00:22:06.160 --> 00:22:08.160 Now, here's something to consider. 00:22:08.319 --> 00:22:14.799 Paul's writing this letter in Nicopolis, and he's got Zenus and Apollos with him. 00:22:15.119 --> 00:22:19.279 And uh they're kind of like, what are you writing there, Paul? 00:22:20.319 --> 00:22:22.160 Well, you know, just writing to the church. 00:22:22.240 --> 00:22:25.680 You know, it's Titus has got some things that need to be done there. 00:22:26.559 --> 00:22:26.880 Okay. 00:22:27.839 --> 00:22:29.279 How's it going to get there? 00:22:29.519 --> 00:22:32.000 Well, you're going to take it to them. 00:22:32.079 --> 00:22:33.599 That's how it's going to get there. 00:22:34.559 --> 00:22:36.480 Okay, well, that's going to cost some money. 00:22:36.559 --> 00:22:39.119 The lawyer's always thinking about money there, right? 00:22:41.039 --> 00:22:42.720 And he says, Yeah, yeah, I know. 00:22:42.880 --> 00:22:44.799 He said, I'll I'll put in a note there. 00:22:45.759 --> 00:22:49.359 Make sure Xenus and Apollos are taken care of. 00:22:51.119 --> 00:22:52.799 Zenus is like, okay, good. 00:22:52.960 --> 00:22:54.400 That's that's great. 00:22:55.599 --> 00:23:04.480 Zenus and Apollos get to the church, Titus opens it up, and he's he's reading this, and he's like, Did you read this letter, Zenus? 00:23:05.119 --> 00:23:05.920 Apollos? 00:23:06.640 --> 00:23:06.960 Okay. 00:23:07.599 --> 00:23:12.960 So it it puts it puts the pressure on them to like, we need, we need to measure up here, right? 00:23:13.119 --> 00:23:14.720 We need to we need to help out here. 00:23:14.799 --> 00:23:25.440 They've these guys have made the journey, they've delivered the letter, the congregation's now hearing it, and all the guys who brought it to them are standing in the room and they're reading these words right here. 00:23:25.599 --> 00:23:29.440 Do your best to speed Zenus the lawyer and Apollos on their way. 00:23:30.160 --> 00:23:31.279 Okay, all right. 00:23:31.359 --> 00:23:33.039 You know what that means for us, church. 00:23:33.119 --> 00:23:37.920 It means we need to be providing, providing for their need. 00:23:39.759 --> 00:23:41.920 See that they lack nothing. 00:23:42.799 --> 00:23:46.000 So Paul is saying, look, don't just thank them for the travel that they made. 00:23:46.160 --> 00:23:47.680 Don't just wish them well. 00:23:48.160 --> 00:23:52.559 Don't just pray for them as they go back or wherever they might be headed off to. 00:23:52.880 --> 00:24:01.039 He says, be active and participatory in providing for them in the labor they've already exacted on your behalf. 00:24:01.119 --> 00:24:04.160 And make sure that they can be sent on their way. 00:24:04.799 --> 00:24:08.960 Now, tie that in with verse 14 because I think that's the key. 00:24:09.200 --> 00:24:20.240 Verse 14 says, Let our people learn to devote themselves to good works so as to help cases of urgent need and not be unfruitful. 00:24:21.519 --> 00:24:30.960 Paul is doing more in these two verses than simply talking about the reimbursement of travel expenses. 00:24:31.359 --> 00:24:38.240 He's doing more than saying, make sure you cover all the receipts that get handed to you. 00:24:38.960 --> 00:24:49.839 What he's saying here is that the Lord's people need to develop a heart of generosity and care and develop it in greater ways. 00:24:50.000 --> 00:24:52.640 Because notice the word that he uses there. 00:24:52.960 --> 00:24:56.640 Let our people learn. 00:24:57.440 --> 00:24:58.319 Learn. 00:25:00.960 --> 00:25:22.319 That same word, practiced, intentional, repeated, learning, is the same kind of learning when a student sits under a tutor, practiced, repeated, intentional learning. 00:25:22.720 --> 00:25:33.279 And what Paul is saying here is that we as God's people should devote ourselves to practiced, intentional, purposed generosity. 00:25:34.880 --> 00:25:38.319 He's saying that generosity is something we can learn. 00:25:38.640 --> 00:25:46.640 It may not be initially a default of who we are, because guess who's at the center of every single one of our lives? 00:25:47.039 --> 00:25:48.000 We are. 00:25:48.319 --> 00:25:49.599 Every one of us. 00:25:49.920 --> 00:25:54.319 Every one of us have our eyeballs ingrown and turned inward. 00:25:54.720 --> 00:25:56.559 Every single one of us. 00:25:56.960 --> 00:26:10.079 But when the Spirit operates within us and we see God's world and ourselves and him as he sees it, we learn to take on the character of God who is gracious and generous. 00:26:10.880 --> 00:26:13.440 And he says, learn to be generous. 00:26:13.920 --> 00:26:16.880 Learn to take care of others. 00:26:17.359 --> 00:26:19.599 Move toward that more and more. 00:26:19.839 --> 00:26:21.519 Just like you learn a language. 00:26:21.759 --> 00:26:24.000 Chad and Emily are learning a language right now. 00:26:24.079 --> 00:26:25.279 And what does it take for them? 00:26:25.519 --> 00:26:28.480 Well, they've got to drill the vocabulary in their head. 00:26:28.720 --> 00:26:31.759 They've got to repeat the grammar over and over again. 00:26:31.920 --> 00:26:40.000 They have to force themselves to say these words over and over until they start to become normal in their mouth as they speak them. 00:26:40.240 --> 00:26:45.680 They need to practice and practice and practice over time until there's fluency. 00:26:45.920 --> 00:26:48.160 They're not going to be fluent in a moment. 00:26:48.799 --> 00:26:51.759 And you're not going to be generous in a moment either. 00:26:52.240 --> 00:26:56.720 Scriptures tell us here that we can move into the fluency of grace. 00:26:57.119 --> 00:27:01.039 We can move into this generosity and fullness of heart. 00:27:01.440 --> 00:27:09.920 And so he wants us to see this very, very administrative detail under the rubric of gospel grace. 00:27:10.079 --> 00:27:15.839 That we're not just sending people because of the gospel, but we're providing for gospel workers. 00:27:17.279 --> 00:27:19.680 And so he tells us this that we should do so. 00:27:19.839 --> 00:27:22.559 Now notice the other side of that. 00:27:23.519 --> 00:27:25.519 Look at what he says in verse 14. 00:27:26.240 --> 00:27:29.920 So that they will not be unfruitful. 00:27:32.079 --> 00:27:33.759 That's a heavy word. 00:27:34.079 --> 00:27:35.359 Unfruitful. 00:27:37.119 --> 00:27:39.200 It doesn't mean a destroyed tree. 00:27:39.359 --> 00:27:40.480 The tree's still there. 00:27:40.640 --> 00:27:42.079 The roots are still there. 00:27:42.400 --> 00:27:45.200 It still grows in the summer. 00:27:45.279 --> 00:27:47.279 It still has green leaves all over it. 00:27:47.440 --> 00:27:51.200 But when the time comes to pick the fruit, there's nothing to pick. 00:27:52.000 --> 00:27:53.359 Unfruitful. 00:27:54.079 --> 00:27:57.680 And that means a church can have excellent doctrine. 00:27:57.920 --> 00:28:01.759 A church can be full of its calendar events. 00:28:02.079 --> 00:28:09.759 A church that has a pastor who preaches the word faithfully and still be unfruitful. 00:28:10.720 --> 00:28:16.880 It has the look of growth and life and existence, but not the fruit there. 00:28:17.680 --> 00:28:23.920 And it's not because the truth isn't there, it's because the truth isn't active there. 00:28:26.240 --> 00:28:31.440 Now notice some churches that show that gospel kind of provisioning fruit. 00:28:31.759 --> 00:28:35.680 I want to take you, just listen to 2 Corinthians 8. 00:28:36.160 --> 00:28:39.039 Poor people, severely tested people. 00:28:39.440 --> 00:28:41.680 But notice what Paul says about them. 00:28:42.079 --> 00:28:58.319 He said, During a severe trial brought about by affliction, their abundant joy and their extreme poverty overflowed into a wealth of generosity on their part. 00:28:59.039 --> 00:29:03.440 Now the gift might have been small, but the heart wasn't. 00:29:04.640 --> 00:29:15.759 He said, Of their own accord, they begged us earnestly for the privilege of sharing in the ministry to the saints. 00:29:17.440 --> 00:29:21.839 Paul is probably standing there saying, guys, you've you've had it hard. 00:29:22.000 --> 00:29:23.519 You've had it rough. 00:29:24.240 --> 00:29:26.160 You have needs of your own to take care of. 00:29:26.240 --> 00:29:30.079 And they're like, No, Paul, we want to give. 00:29:30.480 --> 00:29:32.400 We want to give to them. 00:29:33.680 --> 00:29:44.880 And he says they did this not just as they as we had hoped, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and to us by God's will. 00:29:45.839 --> 00:29:49.200 That is a generosity that goes beyond spontaneity. 00:29:49.599 --> 00:29:55.359 That's a generosity that's been driven and learned in their heart. 00:29:55.519 --> 00:29:59.119 They didn't just get there in an instant, in a flourish, in a rush. 00:29:59.279 --> 00:30:02.720 They were purposed and eager to give. 00:30:04.400 --> 00:30:07.039 Paul talks about the Roman church doing the same thing. 00:30:07.200 --> 00:30:23.920 Who wanted to give to, as Gentiles, to the Jewish saints in Jerusalem because of the need, because they had been recipients of the gospel from there and now wanted to return through the generosity and gratitude of their heart that they had been the receivers of the gospel message. 00:30:24.240 --> 00:30:25.680 Philippians 4. 00:30:25.920 --> 00:30:31.920 Paul talks about a church there who is giving and caring for him as he goes. 00:30:33.039 --> 00:30:34.319 Why do we provide? 00:30:34.559 --> 00:30:36.799 Well, the same reason why we send. 00:30:37.440 --> 00:30:47.359 God sends his son, God sent the Spirit, God sends the apostles, God sends the church, God provides. 00:30:47.920 --> 00:30:51.279 God has provided for us at infinite cost. 00:30:52.000 --> 00:30:53.680 He is given to us. 00:30:54.880 --> 00:31:01.519 He who is rich became poor that we through his poverty might be made rich. 00:31:02.000 --> 00:31:03.519 God provides. 00:31:04.400 --> 00:31:18.640 We are on the road of sin, destitute, broken, without any bread or any nourishment at all, nothing but beggars on the road to destruction. 00:31:18.880 --> 00:31:23.119 And God comes and says, I'm giving you my son. 00:31:24.240 --> 00:31:27.759 Live, eat the bread of life freely. 00:31:29.759 --> 00:31:40.960 Paul in Romans 8 said, He who did not spare his own son but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? 00:31:42.960 --> 00:31:46.160 There's no reserve in God's provision. 00:31:48.079 --> 00:32:00.880 And so when we move to pressing needs, whether it's inside the church, or maybe it's in a missionary effort, or maybe it's just caring for somebody whose need has come across our understanding. 00:32:01.279 --> 00:32:10.960 We're not just providing a resource, we're engaging in the very generous, giving, grace-filled heart of God. 00:32:13.599 --> 00:32:16.640 Now let's move to the last point here. 00:32:18.079 --> 00:32:26.079 Not only is the church a people who send and a people who supply, but they're also a people who strengthen their web of grace. 00:32:26.559 --> 00:32:35.279 So the church is a sending culture, the church is a providing culture, but it's also a relational web of grace. 00:32:35.519 --> 00:32:38.640 And these last words, verse 15. 00:32:39.920 --> 00:32:43.279 All who are with me send greetings to you. 00:32:43.599 --> 00:32:46.160 Greet those who love us in the faith. 00:32:46.720 --> 00:32:50.559 Grace be with all of you. 00:32:52.880 --> 00:33:07.039 Those words might sound like formalities, you know, like the last tagline you might put on your email as you say goodbye to someone, that one that you just habitually put down and maybe not give a lot of thought to. 00:33:07.359 --> 00:33:09.359 Don't think of this that way. 00:33:11.359 --> 00:33:13.920 All who are with me send greetings. 00:33:14.160 --> 00:33:21.279 A group of people around Paul, invested in what's happening with Titus on Crete. 00:33:22.480 --> 00:33:33.200 Greedy, greet those who love us in the faith, a relational connection there with the people in the church and Titus himself. 00:33:33.839 --> 00:33:35.599 Faith being the bond. 00:33:36.000 --> 00:33:38.720 Grace be with all of you. 00:33:39.519 --> 00:33:43.200 These are not closing words of formality. 00:33:44.240 --> 00:33:46.799 This is a picture of what the church actually is. 00:33:48.000 --> 00:34:08.719 Right in the middle of all of this are people who love one another because of the faith, who have this bond of shared trust in God, who have a shared life in the Savior, who have a shared understanding of the movement of the Spirit as it gracefully fills them with its fruit. 00:34:08.960 --> 00:34:11.679 These are people who share all of that together. 00:34:11.920 --> 00:34:16.239 And it's not an obligation, it's those who love one another. 00:34:16.400 --> 00:34:20.480 Notice that marker there, that they love each other. 00:34:21.679 --> 00:34:34.400 A church is not defined outwardly in our society by its address or its denominational tag, or even necessarily by its doctrine, though doctrine is absolutely vital. 00:34:34.719 --> 00:34:40.320 But doctrine without this next part goes nowhere. 00:34:41.599 --> 00:34:42.239 Love. 00:34:43.199 --> 00:34:43.840 Love. 00:34:45.599 --> 00:34:48.079 It's not enough to just be correct. 00:34:48.559 --> 00:34:55.599 It's enough, it has to be devotion and doctrine united together as one. 00:34:56.480 --> 00:35:02.800 And they're fueled together by love in the faith to one another. 00:35:03.039 --> 00:35:10.960 So there's relational love, there's love for the truth, there's this web in which these people strengthen that together. 00:35:11.119 --> 00:35:15.519 And they do so in these few words of greeting and connection. 00:35:16.400 --> 00:35:18.480 Now notice the last words. 00:35:18.880 --> 00:35:21.360 Grace be with all of you. 00:35:22.880 --> 00:35:24.880 Listen to the first words. 00:35:26.079 --> 00:35:28.800 Verse four of chapter one. 00:35:29.679 --> 00:35:36.000 Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus, our Savior. 00:35:36.800 --> 00:35:41.039 Paul opens the letter to Titus with words of grace. 00:35:41.280 --> 00:35:47.199 Paul closes the letter to Titus with words of grace. 00:35:47.920 --> 00:36:13.199 That means everything in between, every statement about answering the devious teachings of false teachers, to setting up and establishing men of integrity and truth, to calling the church to have a relational connection across generations, to the church showing how it portrays itself in society. 00:36:13.360 --> 00:36:18.719 All of it is bound within the brackets of grace, every bit of it. 00:36:20.079 --> 00:36:21.440 Listen to Ephesians. 00:36:21.519 --> 00:36:22.960 He does this a lot of times. 00:36:23.199 --> 00:36:25.519 Ephesians 1, 2, the beginning. 00:36:25.840 --> 00:36:30.320 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 00:36:30.480 --> 00:36:31.679 How does he end it? 00:36:31.920 --> 00:36:33.119 Ephesians 6. 00:36:33.360 --> 00:36:39.920 Grace be with all of you who love our Lord Jesus Christ with love incorruptible. 00:36:40.800 --> 00:36:47.519 Galatians, now the book of Galatians, if you know it, is one of the most confrontational books in all of the New Testament. 00:36:47.760 --> 00:36:52.800 Paul is trying to pull them away from legalism back to the gospel of grace. 00:36:52.960 --> 00:36:59.440 And he skips all of his usual Thanksgiving statements about the church and he dives right into the problem. 00:37:00.400 --> 00:37:11.920 But not until he says this grace to you and peace from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. 00:37:12.480 --> 00:37:31.679 And after all those hard words that he gave the Galatians as he tried to bring them back to the awareness that they had drifted and left the truth, he says this, Galatians 6.18, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brothers and sisters. 00:37:33.519 --> 00:37:35.280 It ends with grace. 00:37:36.000 --> 00:37:39.360 Paul writes to the Corinthians in 2 Corinthians. 00:37:39.760 --> 00:37:42.000 This church, he had started. 00:37:42.480 --> 00:37:48.639 This church that had watched him minister among them with the proclamation of the gospel, and they were converted. 00:37:48.800 --> 00:37:51.519 And they're gathered because he was there. 00:37:52.239 --> 00:37:57.519 And some people come in and say, you know, you know, Paul's really not that impressive of a guy. 00:37:57.760 --> 00:37:59.519 You know, he doesn't speak well. 00:37:59.760 --> 00:38:02.400 He's kind of kind of, well, he's kind of plain. 00:38:02.559 --> 00:38:04.639 You know, he's not impressive. 00:38:05.280 --> 00:38:08.000 And he doesn't come with the connections that we have. 00:38:09.039 --> 00:38:13.679 Paul has to validate his apostolic ministry to a church he started. 00:38:15.119 --> 00:38:17.679 How frustrating that must have been. 00:38:19.119 --> 00:38:20.880 To that church. 00:38:22.079 --> 00:38:32.480 He ends his letter with this may the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. 00:38:33.440 --> 00:38:34.079 Wow. 00:38:35.039 --> 00:38:39.679 Grace, grace, grace, grace. 00:38:40.079 --> 00:38:42.400 Starts Titus, finishes Titus. 00:38:42.719 --> 00:38:45.360 Starts Ephesians, finishes Ephesians. 00:38:45.599 --> 00:38:49.360 Starts Galatians, finishes in Galatians. 00:38:50.239 --> 00:38:54.800