Sermon in Outlook 01.01.2012

In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost, let us quieten in thanksgiving and prayer.

We thank the Heavenly Father that you have given us this new day of grace to worship and to believe in you. And to once again in this new year to renew our promises that we want to be your children for as long as we have life upon this earth. And we believe, dear Father, and have this living hope that to your Son and his merit work, we have the hope of the everlasting glory of heaven when this life is done.

We thank you for all the blessings, how carefully you had cared for us throughout the last year, through your grace and mercy and your kingdom upon this earth. We pray that you would continue and that we could continue in this blessedness as this new year unfolds before us. Give us strength and wisdom through your Spirit to continue as your grace children upon this earth.

Lord, we thank you and pray for the continuance of the freedoms that we enjoy in our land. May this continue for us, for our children, our grandchildren. For as long as you have measured this time for your children, your kingdom upon this earth, until that time where it will be raised into glory with the coming, second coming of your Son, our Lord and Savior Jesus.

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. Amen.

As I finally got around to the, is it the last few days to go through the assigned text for the, for this Christmas season that has just passed. This one place in, in Titus, caught my interest. And, in spite of the doubts that I am, I am, I dare to say all the servants of God's kingdom entertained when they need to come and endeavor in the service of God's holy and everlasting word. I thought I would read this place and that we could discuss this. And, if God gives words and understanding to the poor servant, that these are communion services.

Titus is a short letter of the Apostle Paul, a little longer than the, than the following letter that Paul said to Philemon. If Titus has three chapters where Philemon, I believe, only has, only has one chapter. But there was so much, as I read it over this morning, there was so much precious instruction in love to us, the children of this day, as it was accepted, I'm sure, and treasured by the believers of that day and throughout all time up till now.

I really didn't know where I should begin and where to end, mainly thinking of this in the second chapter from verse 11 to verse 15. But I will read from verse 6 of the second chapter. And, to the fourth verse of the third chapter, and the words are in Jesus' name.

Young men, likewise exhort to be sober-minded. Here the Apostle Paul is giving instructions. In all things, showing thyself a pattern of good works. In doctrine, showing uncorruptness, gravity, sincerity. Sound speech that cannot be condemned, that he that is of the contrary part may be ashamed, having no evil thing to say of you.

Exhort servants to be obedient unto their own masters, and to please them well in all things. Not answering again, not purloining, but showing all good fidelity, that they may adorn the doctrine of God, our Savior, in all things.

For the grace of God, that bringeth forth salvation, hath appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present world.

Looking at the blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God, and our Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.

These things speak and exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no man despise thee.

Put them in mind to be subject to principalities and powers, to obey magistrates, to be ready to every good work, to speak evil of no man, to be no brawlers, but gentle, showing all meekness unto all men.

For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving diverse lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another.

But after that, the kindness and love of God our Savior towards all men appeared, not by works of righteousness, which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration and the renewing of the Holy Ghost, which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ, our Savior.

And that being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life. Amen.

I'm sure you, brothers and sisters, old and young alike, when you read, as I hear these words, as I read them this morning, our head bows down that. How fruitful and how diligent have we been in any of these things. We find ourselves falling far short of the obedient even to these instructions of God's Spirit to his servants of that time and his servants. We preach these same things now as all throughout all time.

But there was a time when those around Jesus asked Jesus that what shall we do to do what can we do to do the works of God? And Jesus told them that you do the works of God when you believe upon him whom he has sent.

Again, we are reminded that we can and as we heard even here that not to works of righteousness which we have done. We cannot fulfill the smallest part of righteousness. But it all every bit of it must be the righteousness of the heavenly Father through his Son whose innocent blood was shed on Calvary's cross for our sins and the sins of the whole world.

And when we have to believe upon him whom God has sent whose birthday we have just celebrated in the last week or two then we are acceptable unto the heavenly Father through his grace and his mercy.

Sound speech talks about showing ourselves in good works in doctrine showing uncorruptness gravity sincerity sound speech that cannot be condemned we all recognize and understand that these are good and desirable traits and it is not wrong to try to pacify our own sin corrupt nature that it would be amenable to these instructions of God but like the apostle Paul has lamented the very writer of this episode that the good that I would not do I do that the good that I would do I do not but the evil that I would not that I do and then he laments further that who will deliver me from this body of sin and God answered unto the apostle Paul God's spirit answered this to him in his dark feelings of incapability that be you be you satisfied in my grace for my grace is sufficient for all these and what else can we cling to today brothers and sisters but that grace that God has shown on to us by and through his son our lord and savior jesus christ.

Exhort servants to be obedient unto their masters I'm not sure if this certainly we all we are all servants in one form or another I have I am a servant endeavoring in that this service that God's congregation has set me in which seems so many years ago already and but that we are servants that we would be obedient in all things.

How often do I complain like this morning and we heard so preciously to our but better at last evening services the stubbornness that we feel as humans even in this service of the word many times I have had these same feelings that maybe the weather is bad or difficult or maybe the occasion is such that when the services have been planned here that we feel that well as a servant we wonder is there anybody going to even be at services this evening.

It is always comforting to know that there are the hungry ones that because they have this desire and are able to attend many times like at this time of the year there is so much family gatherings and that's not wrong this is precious and good fellowship and at the same time we have sicknesses like in our families in Saskatoon it seems like those the flu that makes its appearance through the winter and can go from one child to another in a bigger family it can hold a person housebound for weeks on end but this isn't our desire is this not our desire that if we can we come into the fellowship of God's word.

Have you ever been disappointed with coming into the fellowship and the gatherings of God's children? I certainly must say that I haven't even I felt so lazy sometimes my body my my selfishness has felt lazy about coming here but like that dear brother Melvin Pernas would say used to say that there is only one good thing about this sinful flesh and that is that we through the spirit can force it to bring us into the worship and the fellowship of God's children how true is this brothers and sisters.

But this when it talks about service this book of Philemon this following episode is a kind of a personal letter to a slave keeper which is totally foreign to us this slave of Philemon or Philemon's master whoever it was had escaped but had received the grace of repentance and he was returning to his master this was the socially accepted norm for those days even it seems so strange to us it hasn't been slavery has not been in our lands for what is it 200 250 years it's so far in the distant past but it was in these times and especially through the Rome this letter of Titus the apostle Paul had sent this to Titus shortly before he was arrested and had to go to Rome where he was executed for the false accusations that were against Paul he became a martyr to his faith.

And as I have read of old histories and Romans the little that I remember from it it was certainly a difficult cruel time where slavery was rampant throughout the world and followed through for many many years but still God's word even in this treats handles it according to God's spirit.

When we have read and I'm sure you have read about the horrible cruelty that the slaves of those days were treated with God's word does not allow this even in this Philemon it doesn't specifically speak against slavery but about the love and grace of God that is even open to those that are in this bondage of slavery but it says that exhort servants to be obedient unto their own masters and to please them well in all things not answering again or not back talking or back lashing at masters.

How many times do we hear that on a job I certainly have in my working days about complaining and backbiting of our masters or our bosses our superintendents but God would just allow that for us we just take our take in obedience and humility do our work that is set before us.

And now we have we're into this designated text of the past week or so where the apostle says for the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men.

There are those people that feel that this grace of God has not appeared to all men the so-called they might make these kind of false accusations against us that how come we're not preaching this gospel throughout the entire world but we know that God's word is true and this grace has appeared unto all men at some time in history.

And I remember a dear friend of mine in Minneapolis certainly wasn't of Finnish nationality at all I think he was Scottish and he went to work or traveled to work with a believer in the same ride for years and years and years and that believer confessed his faith to this unbelieving co-worker of his and he could I remember him telling us he used to travel here quite often he was an older man he was a single man he never married he was retired and he said how he just could not understand that such a small group of people could be right and everybody else is wrong in the world he just did not fit he was thinking about these things with his carnal mind.

And until one day after many years of traveling and working together with that believing man that he told him he said how can you believe like this when you think of all these people in the darkest continents of this world that have never even heard of what you are preaching and this brother told him that why would you be worried about all those people and you are not concerned about the salvation of personal salvation of your undying soul and he said that shook him right down to his boot heels and as he started pondering it on this basis God opened his grace to him and he was able to receive his gospel of the forgiveness of sins personally and he left to follow us and the Lord Jesus Christ like the apostle Paul has written until God's time came to take him away from this earth.

So we believe my God's word here tells us that the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men but all men sad to say have not been able to accept it from the Pharisees of the time of Jesus to the Pharisees and the self-righteous or the ungodly publicly ungodly today they are not able to accept this simple doctrine of the forgiveness of sins in Jesus' name and precious atonement blood.

So here the apostle then goes on to talk about this grace is teaching us that grace has appeared to us and to our parents or personally whatever the case may be we have had the good fortune to be born if not all of us at least many of us into believing homes and it has taught us and what does this grace of God teach us it says this grace and remember that this is not the law of the Ten Commandments it is the grace of God that teaches us that denying ungodliness and worldly lusts we should live soberly righteously and godly in this present world.

It doesn't mention anything about the righteous law of God the apostle Paul talks about the law of God it says it is a school master driving one on to Christ this was that school master that drove that brother that I just spoke of in Minneapolis drove him on to Christ where he found himself as a total and lost sinner and then he was able to accept the gospel of the forgiveness of sins in Jesus name and precious God when he had shared all his own righteousness and been able to put that away.

And this is also the mercy and the love of God that that gives opens these things to us teaching us that denying ungodliness and worldly lust we should live soberly righteously and godly in this present world looking for that blessed hope and the glorious appearance of our great God and our Savior Jesus Christ.

This is the living hope that we have received as a gift of the one of the many many gifts of faith that God has given us his children looking for that blessed hope and the glorious appearance of our great God and our Savior Jesus Christ one day he will return just like in the beginning pages of the act of the apostle where that angel tells those after Jesus his resurrection there is that angel is standing all of a sudden there is this angel this other person standing there and he says that that and when he had spoken these things this is concerning Jesus in his resurrection or his ascension into heaven and when he had spoken these things while they beheld he was taken up and the cloud received them out of their sight and while they looked steadfastly towards heaven as he went up behold two men stood by them in white apparel there was two men there which also said ye men of Galilee why stand ye gazing up into heaven this same Jesus which is taken up from you into heaven shall sow in like manner as you have seen go into heaven Jesus which take up from you shall sow come in like manner as you have seen him go into heaven.

This is what we read about here in the apostles reminding and supporting and comforting us that for the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ he will surely come again.

God's word is sure not in anything not the slightest little thing has God's word ever been in error and it is certainly what we can trust and bank our entire life on Savior Jesus Christ who gave himself for us that he might redeem us from all iniquity and purify unto himself a peculiar people zealous of good works.

This peculiar word peculiar people which we are is an antiquated word when we think of peculiar at least I do and I think many of you others we talk about some person is that maybe they're a little strange or or that the kids would say stunned or Turks or whatever that they're kind of peculiar but this is not what God's word of this writing means a peculiar in the philish it says or we are a nation of people that are set apart and I think I don't know if we always remember that when we are in our everyday life and used to working and having to do with those on the outside that know us and we know them and have gotten used to us and have in the largest part accepted us as we are but I know that this was with me can I say a sensitive area when I went to school and I wonder if you young boys and girls haven't experienced the very same thing today the world is no better now than it was when I was a little boy if anything it's worse the enemy of soul has devised even more insidious difficult ways for us to avoid his temptations and falling into his snare.

When I was a boy in that little village of Dunblane where was an active school at that time and there were many children in school at that time but I was my sister and I were the only believers in that whole school you have the good fortune and the blessedness of having many young brothers and sisters in faith for your friends in school not that you are you are you we don't it is not the instruction of God that you would avoid those that are on the outside of his kingdom but we are as it talks about Abraham and God's word teaches us that as much as is in you live in peace with all men but every now and again when the picture shows of that time would come to the town or the dancers would come to the town things that those my classmates and my friends in that town just looked forward to but when I didn't participate in those being that I was from a believing home and I was a believing child then the ridicule would often come and it was difficult it was difficult for me to take I wanted to be like the others but how can we be like those others when it comes to matters of faith there comes a time when we are known and identified as this peculiar people or this people set apart here and it is and it always has been this is written 2000 years ago or close to 2000 years ago and it hasn't changed it's still that we are a people set apart who gave himself for us that he might redeem us from all iniquity and purify unto himself a peculiar people zealous of good works endeavoring in good works it is continuing exhortation of God's word that we would continue not as those in darkness that continue but that we do travel in the light as he is in the light as we hear in the communion service today that if we walk in the light as he is in the light we have fellowship with one another and the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin.

Isn't this a wonderful communion and a communion of saints a fellowship of saints that we can be part of today entirely to God's grace and mercy where would we be from you dear children and boys and girls and to the oldest grandmother and grandfather here that where would we be if we didn't have this indescribable grace that God has given to all who believe upon his son according to scriptures and so on.

And then he has to say that these things speak and exhort and rebuke with all authority we don't need to back away from from this stand that we are given to in God's kingdom with all authority let no man despise thee we don't need to be ashamed of it we would if they despise us and they shame us I guess what can we say that's their problem not ours we have we are free children of God upon this earth and we are protected at this time by the laws of this land so we can have total freedom in this even put the mind to be subject to principalities and powers to obey magistrates to be ready to every good work there's a good instruction again for us that those that are in our authority all powers we are subject to them as they fit a child of God to speak evil of no man to be no brawlers but gentle showing all meekness unto all men.

How quick our tongue can belittle not only those that are in our authority but does it sometimes happen I know it has to me that we criticize our dear brothers and sisters in faith who have been washed and cleansed of their sins just like I have what room is there for criticism because we are that same precious family of God how weak and sinful we find ourselves under this precious instruction and loving word of God.

For we and for we ourselves were sometimes foolish disobedient deceived serving diverse lusts and pleasures living in malice and envy and hateful hateful and hating one another this is what the world is like on the outside of God's kingdom and those that have been in different places of work they have told I haven't ever witnessed that so closely myself but when you get into authority in the school systems the hospital systems or the government systems they are shocked at the amount of backbiting there can be.

So I guess when we really think of these things even we find ourselves so sinful but this grace of God has still endeavors to carry us and keep us on the right path to salvation.

But after that kindness and love of God our Savior towards men appeared not by works of righteousness which we have done but according to his mercy he saved us by the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Is this not the last word of our life our hope our salvation that Jesus Christ shed his blood shed it to the last drop on Calvary's cross for you and I dear brother and sister be comforted under this gospel of the forgiveness of sins and believe your last sins and doubt forgiven in Jesus name and precious atonement.

And will you bless me with this gospel as well brothers and sisters we can continue in childlike simplicity and faith God will care for us as he has promised to and as we come to the Lord's communion the Lord's holy supper it has been prepared for you and it has been prepared for me so that in that body and the blood in the wine and in the bread we remember the great sacrifice that he has done on our behalf that we can be partakers of this supper and give us assurance confidence that as we continue in faith someday eternity the blissfulness of heaven will be ours in Jesus name amen.

The Lord bless us and keep us the Lord make his face shine upon us and be gracious unto us the Lord lift up his countenance upon us and give us peace in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost Lord...