[0:00] Titus 2 and we'll read verses 11 through chapter 3 verse 8. And these are Paul's words of instruction to the younger Titus.
[0:17] And they're also written to instruct us today. For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men.
[0:30] It teaches us to say no to ungodliness and worldly passions. And to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in this present age. While we wait for the blessed hope.
[0:42] The glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ. Who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness. And to purify for himself a people that are his very own.
[0:55] Eager to do what is good. These then are the things you should teach. Encourage and rebuke with all authority. Do not let anyone despise you.
[1:07] Remember the people. Remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities. To be obedient. To be ready to do whatever is good. To slander no one.
[1:19] To be peaceable and considerate. And to show true humility toward all men. At one time we too were foolish. Disobedient.
[1:30] Deceived. And enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy. Being hated and hating one another. But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared.
[1:47] He saved us. Not because of righteous things we have done. But because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth.
[1:57] And renewal by the Holy Spirit. Whom he poured out on us generously. Through Jesus Christ our Savior. So that having been justified by his grace.
[2:08] We might become heirs. Having the hope of eternal life. This is a trustworthy saying. And I want you to stress these things.
[2:19] So that those who have trusted in God. May be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good. These things are excellent and profitable for everyone.
[2:30] Let's listen as God's word is preached. We just think of the resurrection of our Lord Jesus.
[2:45] And it was immediately following his resurrection and ascension. And that Psalm 110 came true.
[2:56] The Lord says to my Lord sit at my right hand. So that's where our Lord Jesus is right now. At the right hand of God. And he is not just sitting there doing nothing.
[3:10] The Lord says to my Lord sit at my right hand. Until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet. The Lord will extend your mighty scepter from Zion.
[3:21] You will rule in the midst of your enemies. We're just saying help me. Help us to grasp the heights of his plans for us.
[3:32] Here's the plan for our Lord Jesus. To sit at God's right hand. Until all of his foes and his enemies submit. And here is Psalm 110 tells us of the plans that he has for us.
[3:50] The next verse says your troops will be willing on your day of battle. That's talking about us, brothers and sisters.
[4:00] That's talking about the people of God. The Lord Jesus is on a mission to make his kingdom spread from shore to shore.
[4:10] Until it enters into every culture and nation, people and tongue. And the way that that is going to happen. Is the Lord's troops will be ready.
[4:24] Will be willing in the day of battle. Today is the day of battle. One of the wonderful things about going to the Reformed Baptist Network General Assembly.
[4:36] Is that you get to hear. Not just the preaching. But you get to hear and see the missionary reports. You get to hear about young men and young women.
[4:48] Who are now giving their whole lives. To going to unreached peoples. They're leaving the comforts of the United States. They're leaving everything that they've known.
[5:00] They're laying it all on the line. They are ready and willing in the day of battle. And it's that kind of faith. And that kind of zeal. That it wears off on you.
[5:13] And you say. I want to be. I want to be excited about missions. I want to be excited about evangelism.
[5:23] And church planting. I want a zeal to see God's kingdom spreading. I want to eagerly open up my checkbook. Or take out my card. And for the gospel work.
[5:35] I have a desire to see that happen. I want to keep praying for my loved ones. But what happens? Why don't I more?
[5:50] And I know that you are not all that different from me. Why do we struggle to keep up our zeal? To keep up our passion? To keep up our sacrifice?
[6:01] Our earnest efforts to see people saved? To pray for them? To spend money on them? To go? Why is it climbing a hill?
[6:12] And it is. If you're like me. It's climbing a hill of doubts. It's climbing a hill of fear. It's climbing a hill of self-centeredness. And I'm fine and satisfied.
[6:24] And I love what I have here. So that's enough for me. Love of self. It's all those things. But I want to focus on one reason. One aspect. That zeal for missions.
[6:37] Zeal for evangelism. Zeal to pray to see people saved. Zeal to sacrificially give. Why is that so? Why does that wear away so easily?
[6:51] I think it's all of those things of doubts and fears and unbelief and self-centeredness. But so often we lose our zeal and our hearts afraid for the lost to do something. Because we've lost our hope.
[7:03] We've lost our hope. In our hearts we say what's the point? They'll never change. They're not interested. They don't want the Lord Jesus.
[7:16] They're completely fine the way they are. They don't care. They love this world. And so what's the point? And so we look at them and we see the character of their life and we put them in the category of there's no hope for them.
[7:32] And that is hopelessness talking. And it's a hopelessness born from a subtle legalistic legalism.
[7:43] A subtle legalistic spirit. A subtle legalism. A subtle belief that God saves because of something in man. Something about them. And so we look and we say well they don't.
[7:56] They love this world. They don't care about spiritual things. They aren't the right sort of people to be saved. Now do we all.
[8:07] Don't we all tend to think thoughts like that? We look at someone and we look at their situation and we look at their present attitude and our hope dies.
[8:19] And our zeal dies. And we're left just trying to live a good Christian life for ourselves and you know do something with our family. But we've lost a vision.
[8:30] We've lost hope for those outside. We've lost a passion and an eagerness to see them safe. To do something for them.
[8:40] We've lost our courageous witness. Our sacrificial generosity. Our relentless prayer. And what happens is we've lost our hope.
[8:53] And that's why I've had you turn to the book of Titus. So if you're not there please turn to the book of Titus. We're going to look at Titus chapter 2 through 11 and into chapter 3.
[9:06] We're here because Paul is tearing out that zeal killing root of legalism. That forgets the glorious grace of God.
[9:18] He's really fighting an indifferent or even hostile attitude towards those who are on the outside. Is it possible for Christians to think that they're better than to separate from the world to be indifferent or even hostile from them toward unbelievers?
[9:35] And he is arguing and fighting against that. And he's setting us straight. And we need it. And I need it. I need to be reminded of some of the very basic truths of the gospel.
[9:51] I need to be reminded of where I was. And what kind of God we have. And as we go through this passage, Titus 2.11 through 3.8, Don't tell me that you don't start to feel hope reviving.
[10:14] Don't tell me that you don't start saying to yourself, Well, let's get to it then. Let's do this. Let's do something. Well, how does Paul do this? How does he inspire hope and inspire zeal and inspire an attitude of instead of withdrawing and withholding and holding back, an attitude of let's move forward.
[10:38] How does he do it? Well, a number of ways. First, you see from chapter 2.11, look at who God saves. Look at who God saves.
[10:50] For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. All men. It's men and it's women.
[11:03] It's boys. It's girls. It's Jews. It's Gentiles. It's young. It's old. It's master. It's slave. It's ruled and ruler. It's all men. No matter the category of humanity that we are talking about.
[11:18] It fits into the category of God saves these kinds of people. Salvation is for them.
[11:28] God's grace that brings salvation is reaching out to them. That's true. All those different categories. But again, we need to be honest here. Our problem is not so much as it was for them that, oh, salvation is for the Jews or Gentiles or old or young or whatever.
[11:50] Our problem is not the category, particular category that they belong to. Our problem is, look, they don't care. They don't care.
[12:02] They don't care about anything but themselves and what they want. They love this world and they don't want God. They don't need Jesus. They are quite happy living a godless life.
[12:14] So what is the point? You know, maybe if they were showing some signs of conviction, then I could share the gospel with them. Or maybe if they had more serious thoughts, then maybe that would be a hopeful sign.
[12:30] But what's the point? These people are not like that. Well, that's why we need to go on to the rest of this passage. Because Paul is telling us, what kind of people does God save?
[12:42] Who's this all men that he's talking about? It's all those different categories. But look at the rest of the verses. This grace of God that brings salvation, it teaches us to say no to ungodliness and worldly passions and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in this present age while we wait for the blessed hope, the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ.
[13:10] So, we need to read into this. We need to look at this. And as we do, who's the salvation for? Is it for good men?
[13:22] Is it for serious teenagers? Is it for thoughtful neighbors? Is it for good and upright and interested co-workers?
[13:33] Is it for decent people? Is that who it's for? No. No. Paul says the grace of God teaches people to be those kind of people.
[13:52] The grace of God teaches them to be those kinds of people. The grace of God doesn't find them godly. It doesn't find them interested. It doesn't find them saying no to worldly passions.
[14:03] It's quite the opposite. They're saying yes to the world. They're saying yes to themselves. They're saying yes to worldly passions and desires, to ungodliness.
[14:15] They're living out of control. Not self-controlled. Out of control. Don't we so easily put those out-of-control people in the category of, well, there's no real hope for them.
[14:25] Out of control. Crooked. Not upright. Crooked. Godless lives. God saves. No interest at all in Jesus. No fear of his coming. Well, that's who God saves.
[14:40] All men. All men, regardless of a category, without category, but all men, despite their sinfulness. Despite that they're not interested.
[14:55] Not the righteous. Not the righteous sinners. Jesus Christ came to call. God saves all kinds of men.
[15:05] Not because they are saying no. He saves them that they might say no. That they would say no to ungodliness.
[15:16] He doesn't save them because they don't love this world and care so much about spiritual things. He saves them that they might say no to this world.
[15:29] It isn't works. It isn't righteousness. It's just mercy. It's God's grace on those who are absolutely undeserving.
[15:43] And so we need to look at, you need to look at your co-workers. Look at your careless children. And maybe names are starting to float to the top of your mind. And you're starting to think of that child, that teenager, that co-worker.
[15:58] Your careless neighbor. Look at all the hostile people out there. The Muslim in Iran. The animist in Cambodia.
[16:10] Or Vietnam. The hostile Hindu in India. There's no love for God in their hearts. There's no care for Jesus.
[16:22] They're completely consumed with themselves and their own goings and comings. That's who God saves. Those kinds of people.
[16:34] That's who God is having mercy on. They need the gospel. And those are the people the grace of God in Jesus Christ is appearing to and then changing.
[16:48] Those kinds of people. With no... Nothing good to say for themselves. So it's that subtle legalism that takes our eyes off of what's in God's heart and puts it...
[17:04] Our eyes on what's in man. And we say, well, what's in man is what qualifies them. What's in man is what gives us hope. Legalism always puts its hope in what man can do.
[17:17] Grace is always having two eyes on Jesus. On God. And saying, now what will he do? It's not about them. And their hearts. It's about God's mercy.
[17:29] God's kindness. God's love for sinners. And it's his heart that welled up into kindness and sent Jesus Christ. It's his heart that overflows in compassion to those who aren't looking for him.
[17:45] And so he's... He's more eager to save them than we are to talk to them. Than we are to pray for them. Than we are to open our wallets for them.
[17:57] He is our zealous missionary God. We just... I just read a little bit of Psalm 110. Psalm 110. The Lord has his eyes and his mind and his heart set on the ends of the earth.
[18:15] That's where his heart is. It's not confined to himself. He has his eyes and his heart and his mind set on the ends of the earth. And he... Out of that zeal for the ends of the earth.
[18:27] He comes. And he sends forth his son. And his son is the ultimate cross-cultural missionary. He came from heaven to earth.
[18:40] And he laid down his life to see sinners saved. Not the righteous. The sinners. Zeal for God's house consumed him.
[18:52] That's what it says of Jesus. You open up the hatch in Jesus' heart. And there's this fire. This desire for God's house.
[19:03] For God's kingdom. For God's family. And it's this zeal that's burning him up. And it's still there. You know, if this is a relay race, it's we who are the slowest leg in this race.
[19:16] It's us. And we're slow because we forget how God found us. We forget how God found us.
[19:28] And that's the second point. Look at who God saves. He saves the ungodly and the worldly. And he makes them godly and heavenly minded.
[19:39] But look what is next. Look at how he found us. Look at how he found you. This is chapter 3, verse 3. At one time, we too.
[19:53] We were just like them. At one time, we too were foolish and disobedient. Deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions. And desires and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy.
[20:03] Being hated and hating one another. But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, He saved us not because of righteous things we had done, but because of His mercy.
[20:16] You can't find a much uglier picture of us. Again, it's mercy.
[20:30] It's not because He found us so interested in Him. Are they not interested in Him? We weren't either. He didn't find us eager to know about Jesus.
[20:43] He didn't find us eager to know about spiritual things. We weren't these prime candidates for salvation. And God said, Oh, look. They're just the right sorts of people.
[20:55] I'll show myself to them. I'll save them. Because of the look of what they're doing. I'll bring them in. No, look at our slavery. I just want to categorize this portrait of us under three words.
[21:09] They all start with S. But look at our slavery. We're enslaved to all kinds of passions and pleasures. How much evil is we can fit into those four or five, six words there, enslaved to all kinds of passions and pleasures.
[21:30] How much evil fits into enslaved to our passions? What passion were you enslaved to? What pleasure.
[21:43] Again, enslaved to it. We weren't free agents looking for God. We didn't care anything about Him.
[21:58] We only cared about what our poor, dark hearts could fathom and could desire and could want. So we had no heart for Christ.
[22:10] Our minds were deceived. Deceived. We were convinced of that we didn't need Him.
[22:23] That's what deceived means. A deceived person is someone that's completely convinced of something that's not true. Do you see them? Are they deceived? Are they completely convinced that?
[22:37] That thing is true, even though it's not. Well, that's where we were. We were convinced that we didn't need Him. We had no eyes to see Him. We had no ears to hear His voice. Did not know His love within.
[22:48] Had no taste for heaven's joys. We weren't looking. We couldn't see. We were blind. We were deaf. And our hearts weren't the sort of hearts that even would want Him.
[23:00] And we sing, then He gave us life. Then He did. Not after we developed those things. Not after we grew ears and eyes and we changed all of our heart's desires.
[23:13] It was then that He saved us. Not after we got our act together, but then He gave us life. And He gave us eyes and ears and a new heart.
[23:24] So our slavery. Look at our stubbornness. It says we were disobedient. It's not even so much that from time to time we disobeyed.
[23:35] It's talking about a state and a way of being. We were non-compliant. Maybe you've had to write someone up for being non-compliant.
[23:46] Usually people don't get written up for being non-compliant just over one thing. It's a way of being. And that's the way we were. We were non-compliant. I will not budge an inch on this essential thing.
[24:00] Who will rule my life? I will. I will not. That is the line that which I will not back away from. So I'll agree with you if you agree with me.
[24:15] That's how much so much of our obedience to God was before we were saved. We just happened to agree with Him on that thing at that time. But the question was not whether we would submit. You will not rule over me.
[24:28] We sing it. I was a wandering sheep. I would not be controlled. I wouldn't be controlled. Are they wandering sheep?
[24:42] Are they saying, I'm not going to be controlled. I'm not going to do what God wants me to do. I love to fart a roam. Well, the good shepherd didn't find us near the sheep pen. The good shepherd didn't find us trying to get into the sheep pen.
[24:58] On the hills. That's where he found us. On the hills. Not listening when he called. Stubbornly going our own way. He didn't, again, try to find us getting into the sheep pen.
[25:11] He found us intently going our own way. And that's when the mercy and kindness of God our Savior appeared.
[25:25] That's when he had mercy upon us. And he had mercy on stubborn, stupid, hard-headed us. It was our slavery, our stubbornness, and our selfishness.
[25:39] Paul talks about how we related to others. Living in malice and envy and hating one another and being hated. Living for our pleasures.
[25:50] What is that? That is just being consumed. It's an all-consuming kind of selfishness. We're not devoted to him.
[26:02] Not devoted to others. Devoted to me. I give myself to me. I'm concerned about me. All wrapped up in me.
[26:14] And so are they selfish? And so deceived? And so convinced? And all they care about is themselves. And they won't stop loving themselves and hating others. And you would say it's almost pathological.
[26:27] They destroy everything they touch. They're so self-consumed. They're so bent in on themselves. They destroy everything they touch. And if all we do is look at them, then what hope is there?
[26:42] What hope is there? Why keep praying? Why try to talk to them? Why lay down your life and go across sea?
[26:53] Why open your wallet and spend for them? There's no hope. Well, none of that kept God from pursuing us.
[27:05] None of that kept God from pursuing us. He saved us not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. So where's our eyes looking at when we're thinking about the lost?
[27:19] Are we looking at them and just their condition and their situation? Are we looking to God's mercy and what God is now doing? God didn't say, what's the point with you?
[27:32] He saw our slavery and our stubbornness and our selfishness and his heart rose up in compassion. Now, look at who God saves.
[27:46] Look at how he found us. And we weren't hopeful prospects. But save us. He did. Save us. He did. His heart burned in love.
[27:59] And he said, I will save them. And he sent his son and his son laid down his life. And then he sent his spirit and he raised up men to go to preach.
[28:12] He raised up someone in your life to speak into your ear at just the right time when all hope was lost. From an earthly perspective.
[28:23] God had mercy on you. And he opened up your heart just like he opened up Lydia's heart to receive that word. And that was mercy. And so look at who God saves.
[28:35] Look at how he found us. But save us. He did. And in the third place, look at how he treated us. Look at how he treats us. We talked about where he found us.
[28:49] Look at how he takes us. As far away, as uninterested as possible. As dead to him as can be. And look at where he takes us.
[29:00] Look at the end of verse 7. Where are we now? How far did his mercy take us? We are heirs having the hope of eternal life.
[29:14] We were from completely lost to now. Believer, you are right on the edge of receiving eternal life.
[29:24] The next big thing in your life is God giving you immortality. The return of Christ. And you receiving everlasting life.
[29:38] So without hope to now on the brink of everlasting life with him. We didn't want it. We were quite happy making mud pies in the alley.
[29:54] But he saved us. And like how extensive was this rescue? It was all driven by kindness.
[30:05] His kindness. His love. His philanthropy. Which is that special love of man in need. And he rescued us. He pulled us out of our foolishness.
[30:19] He undeceived our minds. We were just enslaved to our own selves. And our own destructive pleasures.
[30:31] He took us out of that. All those things that we were destroying ourselves with. We were consuming ourselves with. And he washed us from our sin.
[30:43] And he raised us to new life. And he forgave us all of our sins. He justified us. And so he put us in a right standing with him. And so Romans 5 says, Now we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
[30:58] We have peace with God. And so we live under the waterfall of his mercy and his grace and his kindness. He's planted us in the garden of his mercy.
[31:11] And now it's every morning. Mercy's new. Fall is fresh as morning due. We're right with him. And as a father loves his children, he loves us.
[31:24] And even our sins move him to pity. Just as a child's sickness moves a parent to pity. It can be very painful pity.
[31:37] And sometimes the doctors will hurt to heal. And sometimes he'll hurt us to heal us. But even in discipline, there is pity. There's mercy. There's love.
[31:48] There's an attachment to us that says, I will not let you go. I won't let you destroy yourself. And he's adopted us. And he's made us heirs. And he's called us sons and daughters.
[31:59] And he's made us heirs of eternal life. And you know what an heir is. Maybe you have very wealthy parents. And you're waiting to receive your inheritance.
[32:11] Well, we are waiting to receive our inheritance. And so this is where we stand. We were ruined in our sin.
[32:23] We were guilty and undone when your love reached down with sovereign hands and beckoned us to come. You sought out the wanderers.
[32:34] You made the prodigals come home. And with a lavish feast, you welcomed us. For you made us your own. You didn't save us because we were going to church.
[32:50] You didn't save us because we were serious or because we were so thoughtful. There was no encouraging sign. He didn't save you because you were a decent sort of person with your life together.
[33:02] You didn't save you because of your pedigree or your parents. You could have had Mary and Joseph for your parents. And that wouldn't have added one thing.
[33:16] He didn't save you because you were seeking him or praying. Why did he save you? It was his own heart. He found nothing in you.
[33:29] And so he looked within. And there was compassion. And there was mercy. And there was love. Hosea 11.
[33:40] How can I give you up, Ephraim? How can I hand you over, Israel? My heart is changed within me. All my compassion is aroused.
[33:51] I will not carry out my fierce anger. The King James Version talks about a very literal, his bowels of mercy.
[34:02] Just being changed within him. All churned up within him. That's why you're saved. You weren't. And you aren't carried on the wings of your goodness.
[34:15] You're carried on the waves of his mercy. And of his grace. And so he takes you from dead without hope to the very edge of receiving eternal life. And that's how he treated us.
[34:29] And so. So look at who God saves. Look at. What you were when he saved you. Look how he's treated you. And now.
[34:41] What should this do for us? Well, it should warm our hearts to love him. It should warm our hearts to love him.
[34:56] Legalism. Kills. Hope. It kills joy. That's why Paul. Says to the Galatians.
[35:07] What happened to all your joy? It kills zeal. He said you would have torn out your own eyes for me. Now look at. Look at your hearts now. And it inevitably kills hope.
[35:21] Because when I'm looking at me. I soon run out of reasons to be hopeful. That's true of my life. And when I'm looking at someone else.
[35:31] I'm soon running out of reasons. To be hopeful for them. And so it kills hope. It kills love for God. It sticks my soul in the deep freeze. Because it's not God loved us because we loved him.
[35:44] It's always the opposite of we love him. Our hearts burn with love for him. Because we know he first loved us. It's always a response.
[35:56] Zeal is always a response. Hope is always a response. And so are you withering in your own soul? I can't look out in the audience.
[36:08] I can't see into your own heart. But so look into your own heart. Are you withering in your own soul? Is your own heart in the deep freeze? I just want to behold the love of God for you.
[36:24] Behold the love of God for you. Surprise of all surprises. You're a child of God. You're going home to heaven.
[36:38] All your sins are forgiven. You're an heir. And it's all because of something that was in his heart. Mercy. And that's the kind of grace that binds my wandering heart to thee.
[36:53] I can't leave him. Look at how he's loved me. I can't leave him. Look at how he saved me. That's the kind of grace that inflames my soul to love him.
[37:04] And here is where zeal is born. Here is where effort is born. And strength comes from. So what should this do for us?
[37:18] I've kind of talked about what it should do within your own heart. But what should it do? This should give us hope and zeal for the lost.
[37:29] Zeal inspiring. Sacrifice inspiring. Hope. Eager. Earnest. Work. And prayer for the lost. They aren't any worse than we were.
[37:43] They aren't any more lost than we were. Christ came to live and die for the worst. Paul said it himself. Of whom I am the worst.
[37:54] We need to have that understanding. That look. When Jesus saved me. He wasn't saving someone that was better than other people. But just the same or even worse. So this should keep us praying.
[38:06] This should keep us witnessing. So mom and dad. What you need to do. Is be praying for your children. And looking. Not at what's going on in their heart. But look at what God is doing.
[38:18] Look at God's heart. And plead. His mercy. This should keep us praying. This should make us.
[38:29] Make us do something for God's kingdom. He's on the move. He is on the move. He's saving.
[38:39] Christ is still saving. And adding to his church. And he gets all the bricks. Out of Satan's fortress. Out of Satan's house. He finds them all quite comfortable.
[38:50] And happy. And convinced. And deceived as can be. He finds them there in that house. And he snatches them away in mercy. And he takes them over to his house. Christ is on the move.
[39:01] And so here we are. I've already made mention of this. We are at the end of the ages. That's how Paul talks about it. The next big thing.
[39:11] In redemptive history. Is the return of Jesus Christ. The knowledge of the glory of the Lord.
[39:24] Will cover the earth. Like the waters cover the sea. People. The people. People. Everywhere. And every culture. Nation.
[39:34] Language. Tribe. Tongue. Will hear. And some. From all of those places. Will believe. Until a multitude. That cannot be numbered. Will be gathered around the throne.
[39:47] Praising Jesus. That is the plan. That is what God is doing. And the slavery. And the stubbornness. And the selfishness. Of men. Isn't going to stop Jesus.
[39:59] From doing that. And so what should we do? We have to ask ourselves. What. What are we going to be living for? What is worth giving your life for?
[40:13] Well we should be spending. And be spent for him. Well what can you do? If this hope.
[40:26] This hope. That is born in the heart of God. Because he has mercy on sinners. If this hope is burning in you. Then what. What would you do? And maybe the better question is. Is what wouldn't you do?
[40:38] If that hope captures you. What wouldn't you do? Maybe. You know.
[40:50] Like you go to the. GA. And you see who is going. You see who is going. To the ends of the earth. And. They are people. Just like you.
[41:03] Maybe one or two of you. Need to think about. Going. Maybe. Some of you. Men. Need to think about. Young men. Need to think about. Pastoring.
[41:13] And preaching. Participating in this. This work. That Jesus is doing. I want to just say. That is not crazy. That is not. So far out there.
[41:25] And so. Impossible. God calls normal people. God calls people. That are ready to serve. So.
[41:36] Who won't do something. Because of this hope. Maybe you need to open your wallet. And start saying. Here's where God is working. Then let me do my part. Second Corinthians eight.
[41:50] The Macedonians. Pleaded. With Paul. For the opportunity. To give. They pleaded. With Paul. For the opportunity.
[42:01] To share. That's zeal. Born in love. That's zeal. Born in hope. The thought of. This is what God is doing. And I want to be a part of it. This is what.
[42:12] The kingdom of God needs. At this time. So I want to be helping. So open your wallet. Open your mouth. Open your home. Open your heart. I don't know.
[42:24] I don't want to. I. We need to be asking. What should I do? And. Or what wouldn't I do? You know. Zeal. Desire.
[42:35] Finds. A way. That's just true. In every part of life. If you are zealous. For making money. You will find. Some way of doing it.
[42:47] And if one thing you can't do. You'll try something else. You'll be creative. You'll be inventive. If you have a zeal. And a desire. For something. If you're a. A football player. And you want to be a better football player.
[42:59] Then. And this is your zeal. This is your passion. Well you find. Some way of improving. You leave no stone unturned. You find something to do. I love what J.C.
[43:10] Ryle says about zeal. And the zealous man. If he cannot preach. And work. And give money. He will cry.
[43:21] And sigh. And pray. Yes. If he is only a pauper. On a perpetual bed of sickness. So you say. I'm. I don't have a lot of money.
[43:32] I can't give a lot. Okay. If you're a pauper. You say. I'm not well. I can't go. Well. You're on a perpetual bed of sickness. The zealous man. Finds something to do.
[43:43] Even. Then. Yes. If he is only a pauper. On a perpetual bed of sickness. He will make the wheels of sin. Around him. Drive heavily.
[43:53] That he's talking about. The chariot wheels of sin. And now they can't go very fast. And it's like. They're weighed down in concrete. Why? Because this zealous man. Is constantly interceding.
[44:05] Against it. If he cannot fight. In the valley. With Joshua. Then he will do the prayer work. Of Moses. Aaron. And her. On the hill. If he is cut off. From working himself. He will give the Lord.
[44:16] No rest. Until help is raised up. From another quarter. And the work is done. There's no reason at all.
[44:29] For us to be sitting. And doing nothing. Down in the dumps. Saying. Look at the world. There's no hope. Look at them. They'll never be saved. That's who God saves.
[44:43] That's who he saved. When he saved us. When he saved you. Remember. And then. What should this do for us. This should silence the objection.
[45:00] That says. The unbelievers objection. That says. I'm just going to wait around. I don't know if God wants me. I don't know if I'm the elect. So I'm just going to sit here.
[45:10] And do nothing. I'm going to be passive. I don't know what God's. Heart feeling toward me is. So I'll just wait and see. If you aren't saved.
[45:22] God is not. You're not waiting on God. God is waiting on you. Jesus Christ has appeared. The gospel has been preached. God in love has sacrificed him.
[45:34] The Lord Jesus for all. And for any who will run to him. And it doesn't matter what you've done. It doesn't matter how big of a sinner. Or how small of a sinner.
[45:45] It is amazing how people disqualify themselves. From the savior. Of sinners. Some say I've sinned too much. And some say. I don't feel like I've. I feel like I'm a big enough sinner.
[45:55] I don't feel bad enough about my sin. Well. If you want Jesus. You can have him. All you need to do. Is feel your need for him. And it doesn't.
[46:08] The size of your sin. Doesn't matter. He's ready to receive you. And so run to him. And I'll tell you what you find. Jesus himself tells you what you will find.
[46:19] In Luke 15. He says. This is who I am. I am the father. That sees when a returning son. Is returning to me. I hitch up my robes.
[46:29] And I take off down the road to him. And I throw my arms around him. So run to him. And I'll tell you what you'll find. You'll find a father. Are running down the road to you.
[46:40] His robes hitched up. His sandals flopping on his feet. His arms outstretched. Careening down the road. To meet you. And you say. Well I'm a sinner. And he's God.
[46:52] God. Well yes. And he's a God of grace. And he's a God of mercy. And a God who saves sinners. You need to quit being so half-hearted.
[47:08] About your own soul. You need to be zealous for your own soul. So today is the day of salvation. Salvation. Then be saved today. That's what a zealous person would do.
[47:22] Today is the day of salvation. Then be saved today. Come to Jesus today. Let's pray. Our Lord.
[47:33] I do pray that this. The gospel would capture our hearts once again. And make it burn. Make our hearts burn with zeal for you. You have equipped us as a body of believers here.
[47:46] With gifts and graces. With talents. And help us to then be faithful. And earnest. And eager stewards of those talents.
[48:01] If it is financial. Then make us to be generous. If it is speaking. Then let us speak. If it is praying. Then let us pray. If it is encouraging. Let us encourage.
[48:13] Move us Lord. To be passionate. To be excited. To be fervent. About the thing. That you are doing in the world. You are stretching.
[48:34] And extending your kingdom. To the ends of the earth. And you are doing this wonderful act of mercy. Give us strength to get on board.
[48:45] Give us a heart to get on board. Forgive us for being wayward. And wandering in our own minds. And thoughts. And double minded. Please forgive us. Unite our hearts to fear you.
[48:58] Give us one. Consuming. Desire. And that is the glory of God. In the world around us. I pray that you would do that.
[49:09] For your namesake. And even save today. There are people here. Who are on the fence. Who are half-hearted. About their own souls.
[49:20] And they think they. They think they're waiting on you. Show them what it means. To call on the Lord.
[49:31] With all of your heart. Show them what that looks like. And feels. And move them to do it. I pray this in Jesus name. Amen. Amen. Amen.