Introduction:
How We Can Make a Difference:
(Titus 3:1-8)
- By taking our Christian Duties Seriously . (Titus 3:1-2)
Luke 6:35 - "But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for He is kind to the ungrateful and the evil. Be merciful, even as your heavenly Father is merciful."
- By choosing to remember What Christ Has Done for Us . (Titus 3:3-7)
- By Devoting Ourselves to Putting Others First . (Titus 3:8)
Ephesians 2:10 - For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
Sermon Notes (PDF): BLANK
Hint: Highlight blanks above for answers!
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00:47-00:50
I think we all know that it's peak raking season right now.
00:50-00:56
I'm sure that many of you have spent a lot of time in the past few weeks raking, bagging, composting.
00:56-00:57
Who enjoys this kind of work?
00:58-01:00
Far less than I expected.
01:00-01:01
Who's not a big fan?
01:03-01:09
So some of you hate yard work in all of its various forms, while others of you actually really enjoy it.
01:10-01:13
You get a sense of accomplishment for finishing a task outside.
01:14-01:17
As a lame dad in his 30s, I actually enjoy yard work.
01:18-01:22
I actually try my best to make my yard look presentable.
01:23-01:26
I didn't feel the same way about my parents' yard growing up.
01:27-01:38
Because my dad would save all the cushy jobs for himself, like mowing the grass on his riding mower, while I had to lay the mulch, pull the weeds, pick up all the tree trimmings that he cut down.
01:38-01:40
And just to be clear, I'm not bad-mouthing my dad.
01:40-01:43
I'm gonna do the same exact thing to my son someday.
01:44-01:50
Because what's the point of having a teenage son if you can't make him do all the things you don't want to do anymore out in the yard?
01:51-02:02
And every Saturday as a teenager, I was used to hearing my dad's voice, "Taylor!" And I knew that call would be followed by a task outside that he wanted me to complete.
02:03-02:15
And I'll never forget this one particular Saturday when I was 13 years old, I look out my window and I see my dad is trimming trees and I think, oh, I know he's gonna come in, he's gonna make me pick up the tree trim, It's gonna take about two or three hours.
02:15-02:16
This is gonna be terrible.
02:17-02:18
I just wasn't in the mood for it that day.
02:19-02:25
And yes, of course, my dad comes in the house, "Taylor!" And I did something I'm not very proud of.
02:26-02:34
I literally climbed onto the desk in his office and hid from him for about 20 minutes while he was calling my name.
02:35-02:39
Now, let me give you guys a helpful visual, a helpful audio experience.
02:39-02:45
Pretend like this pulpit is the desk, and my dad, who's here this morning, You actually need to call my name and look for me, okay?
02:45-02:48
So try to transport yourself back to when I was 13 years old, all right?
02:51-02:51
Taylor!
02:53-02:54
I can't believe it!
02:54-02:56
All right, all right, fine, fine, fine.
02:56-02:57
I'll go out and do it, I'll go out and do it.
02:57-02:59
Everybody give my dad a round of applause.
03:00-03:01
(audience applauds)
03:02-03:05
I don't know if you can tell, but if you're ever meeting this hunk and you can't find him, you know where he'll be.
03:06-03:07
(audience laughs)
03:07-03:10
Yeah, if you can't find me, just look under the desk in my office, right?
03:11-03:15
Well, unsurprisingly, my dad was not very pleased this game of hide and go seek.
03:15-03:24
He was very annoyed that I hid from him and ignored his call to pick up the tree trimmings, which despite my best efforts not to, I still had to do.
03:25-03:30
Now you may be thinking, Taylor, this story is embarrassingly funny and all, but what does this have to do with anything?
03:32-03:36
Well, I think we can all be like 13-year-old me more than we care to admit.
03:37-03:47
The Lord has entrusted us with an important task of modeling his love and making disciples, but we often choose to ignore his call and hide.
03:48-03:53
God's calling us to step out, and instead we stay put.
03:54-04:01
We make excuses like, I'm just too tired, I'm not qualified, and on and on the list of excuses go.
04:01-04:07
But there is no good enough excuse to justify disobedience to the Lord.
04:07-04:14
There is no good enough excuse as we're sacrificing what the Lord wants to do in you and what he wants to do through you.
04:15-04:21
We're toward the end of our sermon series on Paul's letter to Titus, which lays out what the church is all about.
04:22-04:32
And this morning we're gonna study Titus chapter three, verses one through eight, in which the apostle Paul explains why and how the church should impact the community.
04:33-04:40
Because whether we feel qualified or not, The Lord has blessed us so that we can be a blessing.
04:40-04:46
He has called us to make a difference in people's lives for his glory and for his kingdom.
04:46-04:54
At Harvest Bible Chapel, the Lord has entrusted us with the important mission of impacting the Pittsburgh area and beyond.
04:55-04:58
So let's dig into how we can make a difference.
04:58-05:03
How we can make a difference, number one, by taking our Christian duties seriously.
05:05-05:09
by taking our Christian duties seriously.
05:11-05:19
So Paul begins chapter three by listing off seven Christian duties that we are expected to carry out and model on a daily basis.
05:20-05:30
And all seven of these responsibilities are tied together by one essential Christian characteristic and that is selflessness, selflessness.
05:31-05:38
Apart from carrying out these selfless Christian duties, we cannot make a difference and we will not impact this community.
05:40-05:44
So let's read what Paul has to say about how we should live in verses one through two of chapter three.
05:45-06:03
Paul writes this to Timothy, remind them, I'm sorry, to Titus, remind them to be submissive to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work, to speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle and to show perfect courtesy to all.
06:04-06:08
So first and foremost, we're to be submissive to governing authorities.
06:08-06:10
A really popular topic, right?
06:10-06:15
And Jeff preached on this popular topic about two months ago with his sermon on the government.
06:15-06:29
So I won't spend too much time on this, but in this passage and all throughout the New Testament, we are called to submit to those in authority above us, whether it's a pastor, an elder, a parent, a boss, an elected official.
06:30-06:33
And submission is often viewed in a negative light, isn't it?
06:33-06:36
People often view it as a dirty word.
06:36-06:38
People view submission as weakness.
06:39-06:43
But that can't be the case, because do you know who the perfect example of submission is?
06:45-06:50
Jesus Christ, who perfectly submits to his Father's will.
06:51-06:56
He perfectly submitted to his Father's will to the point of a brutal death upon a cross.
06:56-07:04
Growing up, he submitted to the will of his imperfect parents, even though he himself was perfect and he knew better than they did.
07:05-07:10
We're told in the Gospel of Matthew that the King of Kings who owns everything paid the temple tax.
07:10-07:15
So if Jesus Christ is happy to submit, who are you to say that you will not?
07:16-07:17
Are you more important than he is?
07:18-07:20
Easiest question you're gonna be asked all week.
07:20-07:22
The answer is a resounding no.
07:24-07:29
All Christians must submit to those in authority because these leaders were put in place by God himself.
07:30-07:34
So when we submit to them, we're actually submitting to him.
07:36-07:39
And the second Christian duty is very similar to the first.
07:40-07:47
We're to be people of obedience, not just to earthly authorities, but to our heavenly authorities.
07:47-07:48
We don't make the rules.
07:48-07:52
We simply follow the commands of our heavenly master.
07:53-07:58
He knows much better than we do, so we follow his lead no matter what.
07:59-08:03
Thirdly, we're to be ready for every good work.
08:03-08:04
What does this mean?
08:05-08:17
Instead of leaning back in the lounge chair of life, you were on the edge of your seat, ready and willing to bless people, looking for opportunities to serve instead of be served.
08:17-08:20
We'll get into that a little bit more later on with our third point.
08:21-08:26
Fourthly, and here's a really tough one, We're to speak evil of no one.
08:29-08:30
How'd that go for you this past week?
08:31-08:33
We're to speak evil of no one.
08:35-08:38
Sadly, it's much easier to tear someone down than build them up.
08:39-08:42
It's a lot easier to criticize than encourage.
08:43-08:46
It's easy to bad mouth someone behind their back.
08:46-08:48
It's hard to talk to them face to face.
08:50-08:59
And James is very clear in his epistle that the most dangerous weapon that you possess isn't in your nightstand, it's not in your gun safe, it's in your mouth.
09:00-09:04
Your tongue is more dangerous than you can possibly imagine.
09:04-09:09
You can say something in a second that sticks with someone for the rest of their lives.
09:10-09:16
I'm sure you can think of many things right now that someone said off the cuff that you still think about today.
09:17-09:24
Your tongue has the power to change how someone views themselves or how others view them.
09:25-09:28
And God doesn't care how you dress up your evil words.
09:28-09:30
Oh, I'm not gossiping, I'm just concerned.
09:31-09:36
How much gossip is spread in Christian circles under the guise of prayer requests, right?
09:37-09:40
I'm not slandering that person, I'm just venting.
09:40-09:43
I'm not bad-mouthing them, I'm just speaking my truth.
09:44-09:51
Well, God's truth trumps your truth every single day of the week, and his word says to be slow to speak and to watch what you say.
09:53-09:59
Gossip, slandering, name-calling, evil speech have no place in our heart and should never leave our mouths.
10:00-10:02
This will ruin our Christian witness.
10:03-10:08
If we talk like everybody else does, why should they listen to anything that we have to say?
10:10-10:12
Fifthly, we're to avoid quarreling.
10:14-10:17
Now, this doesn't mean you just plaster on a fake smile and act fake to everybody.
10:17-10:19
That's not what Paul was saying.
10:20-10:22
Sometimes you need to confront people.
10:22-10:26
If there is to be change, if there is to be progress, you have to confront people sometimes.
10:27-10:29
But you shouldn't be looking to pick a fight.
10:29-10:37
You shouldn't be known as a combative and abrasive person who blows their top at the dumbest things and gets easily offended.
10:38-10:42
Again, you may be thinking, "Well, Taylor, I'm just, I wear my emotions on my sleeve.
10:42-10:43
"I just tell it like it is.
10:43-10:47
"I just tell people how I'm feeling." That's one way to look at it.
10:48-10:51
Another way to look at it is that you are a slave to your emotions.
10:52-10:54
You are mastered by how you feel.
10:55-10:57
Some of you need to hear this this morning.
10:57-11:01
Not every thought in your head has to be spoken out loud.
11:02-11:05
Every offense doesn't have to be called out.
11:06-11:11
Solomon tells us in Proverbs 19 11 that it's a person's glory to overlook an offense.
11:12-11:16
Some of us need to plaster that verse in our car, above our bathroom mirror.
11:16-11:18
We need to be thinking about that a lot.
11:18-11:21
It is a person's glory to overlook an offense.
11:23-11:30
Sometimes when someone hurts your feelings or offends you, the best thing you can do is forgive them and move on.
11:30-11:31
Repeat that with me.
11:31-11:33
Forgive them and move on.
11:33-11:34
One more time.
11:34-11:36
Forgive them and move on.
11:36-11:39
Show them grace and forget about it.
11:40-11:49
As a follower of Christ, you're called to be a person of calm, a person of peace, a person of kindness and compassion.
11:50-11:58
And when you can't overlook something and you have to confront someone, your goal should be restoration, not retaliation.
11:59-12:05
Your aim, your goal in every situation is to bring healing and not hurting.
12:07-12:09
The sixth Christian duty is very similar to the one we just talked about.
12:10-12:13
And it's one that guys in particular bristle at.
12:13-12:15
We are to be gentle.
12:16-12:18
We are to be gentle.
12:19-12:23
Now there's some words, there's some phrases we don't want to be described with, right?
12:23-12:28
I remember growing up, my mom would always describe me to people as, Taylor's such a sweet and sensitive boy.
12:29-12:30
Who thinks I like that?
12:31-12:33
You'd all be correct, 'cause I hated that.
12:33-12:37
'Cause I wanted people to think I was tough and I was macho, and I didn't understand what my mom was trying to say.
12:38-12:41
She wasn't telling people I was a lame mama's boy who was scared to leave the house.
12:42-12:46
She was trying to communicate that I didn't give I had a hard time, except when the trees needed trimming.
12:46-12:47
That was the only time.
12:48-12:51
For the most part, I tried my best to obey the rules.
12:53-12:59
In the same way, I don't think a lot of people like being described as gentle because they don't actually understand what it means.
13:00-13:04
When we hear the word gentle, we think that means a person is weak.
13:05-13:08
We think it means that they're a doormat who let people just walk all over them.
13:09-13:14
But again, that can't be the case Because Jesus is described as gentle.
13:15-13:17
And Jesus definitely isn't weak and fragile.
13:18-13:21
He is the epitome of strength and power.
13:22-13:25
The greatest definition of gentleness I've ever come across is this.
13:26-13:29
Gentleness is strength under control.
13:30-13:33
It's strength under control.
13:34-13:39
When you're gentle, you're not trying to assert your dominance and your strength at another person's expense.
13:39-13:45
You don't lose your temper when things don't go You don't run people over to get what you want.
13:45-13:48
You're not trying to prove anything to anyone.
13:49-13:58
Instead, you use your God-given energy and resources to pour yourself out for others and for your family.
13:59-14:02
Men in the room, that is true strength.
14:02-14:04
That is true masculinity.
14:05-14:11
The weakest men I know always shout about how strong they are, But the strongest men I know admit that they're weak.
14:12-14:15
They admit that they're in need of God's grace.
14:16-14:21
Gentleness is an essential characteristic if you wanna make an impact for God's kingdom.
14:23-14:29
And the final Christian duty that Paul talks about in these first two verses is the summary of the rest.
14:29-14:39
He says this, "Show perfect courtesy to all people." Notice he doesn't say show perfect courtesy to the people that you like or the people that you care about, But to who?
14:41-14:43
All people, no exception.
14:44-14:50
You are to treat everyone in your life with kindness, with respect, and with humility.
14:51-14:53
Even those people who get under your skin and annoy you.
14:53-14:56
All those people are bubbling up to the surface in your mind.
14:56-15:00
Yes, even that person that you're thinking of right now.
15:00-15:02
Even that neighbor who's awkward and hard to talk to.
15:04-15:09
Even that family member who constantly complains and every time you're around them, It feels like a piano's been strapped to your back, right?
15:10-15:15
Even that guy at work who constantly talks your ear off and you try to avoid them.
15:16-15:17
Trust me, I know many of you do that.
15:18-15:22
It's easy to love and care for those who love and care for us.
15:23-15:25
It's hard to love those who seem unlovable.
15:26-15:28
It's hard to care for those who mistreat us.
15:30-15:32
And Jesus speaks this in Luke 6, 35.
15:33-15:38
But love your enemies and do good and lend expecting nothing in return.
15:38-15:46
And your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil.
15:47-15:51
Be merciful even as your heavenly Father is merciful.
15:53-15:58
If you want to make an eternal impact on people's lives, you have to take these Christian duties seriously.
15:58-16:01
You have to show everyone Christlike love.
16:02-16:08
How we live needs to line up with what we say, or non-Christians won't give a rip about the message that we preach.
16:10-16:12
Secondly, how can we make a difference?
16:13-16:16
By choosing to remember what Christ has done for us.
16:17-16:20
By choosing to remember what Christ has done for us.
16:26-16:34
Before continuing to point us forward to who we need to be, Paul takes some time to remind us of who we used to be.
16:35-16:40
Because to truly appreciate where you're going, you have to remember where you're coming from.
16:41-16:44
So let's see what Paul has to say about who we used to be before Jesus in verse three.
16:45-17:03
He says, "For we ourselves were foolish, disobedient, "led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, "passing our days in malice and envy, "hated by others and hating one another." Never forget who you used to be.
17:04-17:08
Before Christ, you foolishly bought into the lies of this world.
17:08-17:13
You were a slave to your sinful flesh and the sinful desires that you had.
17:14-17:16
You were unable to resist these things.
17:17-17:23
You were jealous of what other people had, and Paul says that made it really easy for you to hate other people.
17:24-17:25
That's who you used to be.
17:26-17:30
And never forget how far from God you once were.
17:31-17:39
So many Christians forget who they were before Christ Because of this spiritual amnesia, they become extremely prideful.
17:39-17:47
They feel better, they feel more superior to non-Christians or to other Christians they label as less godly and mature than they are.
17:48-17:51
But is there anything less godly and mature than pride?
17:51-17:54
And putting others down to exalt yourself.
17:55-17:58
Listen, you weren't saved because you're awesome.
17:59-18:01
You're saved because God is awesome.
18:02-18:10
God didn't choose you because you're the best behaved and the most talented, he chose you as a pure act of grace and mercy.
18:11-18:14
We constantly need that reminder every single day.
18:16-18:19
And Paul speaks this reality in verses four through seven.
18:19-18:23
And if you listen to anything I have to say this morning, please listen to these verses.
18:24-18:57
Paul says this, but, I love when verses in the Bible start with a but, But when the goodness and loving kindness of God, our Savior, appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ, our Savior, so that being justified by his grace, we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
18:58-19:07
Paul packs so much theology about salvation in these verses, I could do a whole sermon series about this, but let me do the cliff notes or we'll be here all day.
19:08-19:11
Paul says that none of us are saved by our religious resume.
19:12-19:14
None of us are saved by our good works.
19:14-19:25
Instead, we're saved by the flawless and perfect resume of Jesus Christ, who lived the perfect life that we could never live, and then died the death that we deserve to die.
19:25-19:34
Because of him, our sinful stains are washed clean, by the blood of Christ, and we are new people with new hearts and with new desires.
19:34-19:38
Paul says that we were filled with the Holy Spirit.
19:39-19:43
He says we didn't just get a little drip drop of the Holy Spirit and maybe we'll get some later.
19:44-19:49
He has been richly poured out into us and he is the guarantee of our salvation.
19:49-19:52
He is the guarantee that we are made new.
19:53-19:58
Paul says that we are justified or made right before God.
19:58-20:05
Our sins are no longer held against us because Jesus paid the massive penalty that we owed.
20:06-20:14
Because of this, when the Father looks at you, he doesn't focus on your sin, your shame, your mess ups, your mistakes.
20:15-20:20
Instead, he focuses on the perfect obedience and righteousness of Jesus Christ.
20:21-20:32
And an awesome truth that we see in John 17 is that because of this, the Father now loves you the same intense and never-ending love he has for his only son.
20:32-20:33
Isn't that awesome?
20:34-20:36
Let me say that again, isn't that awesome?
20:38-20:46
You've been adopted into his family as his child and because of this, you have an inheritance of eternal life waiting for you in heaven.
20:46-20:50
It's being kept safe and it can never be stolen away.
20:52-20:55
Does anybody else feel like they just drank from a theological fire hose besides me?
20:56-21:01
Well, if you feel that way, that's good Paul wants you to feel after reading these verses.
21:01-21:06
He wants you to feel bowled over and overwhelmed by the goodness and graciousness of God.
21:06-21:10
You should never be able to hear the gospel message and be like, ugh, yeah, I've heard that before.
21:11-21:12
They ever gonna talk about anything new around here?
21:14-21:22
Every single time you hear it, should be like it's the first time you heard it because this news is the best news imaginable.
21:22-21:31
If we want to be Christians of impact, We must preach the gospel to ourselves every single day and never take our salvation for granted.
21:32-21:34
We love because God loved us.
21:35-21:40
We serve because our heavenly master left heaven to serve us.
21:40-21:48
We pour ourselves out for the good of others because Jesus Christ poured out his own precious blood for our eternal good.
21:49-21:53
A passionless and thankless Christian is a fruitless and ineffective Christian.
21:54-21:59
A passionless and thankless Christian is a fruitless and effective Christian.
22:01-22:04
Or thirdly and finally, how can we make a difference?
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By devoting ourselves to putting others first.
22:09-22:12
By devoting ourselves to putting others first.
22:15-22:20
So Paul wraps up this section of his letter with a very obvious yet challenging command that we all need to hear.
22:21-22:23
Let's read what he says in verse eight.
22:24-22:31
The saying is trustworthy and I want you to insist on these things that those who have believed in God may be careful to devote themselves to good works.
22:31-22:35
These things are excellent and profitable for people.
22:36-22:44
Paul is saying if you've truly been born again, if you've truly been changed from the inside out by Jesus Christ, you will devote yourself to love.
22:45-22:47
You will devote yourself to being selfless.
22:48-22:51
You will devote yourself to good works.
22:52-22:57
To truly make a difference in people's lives, we must choose to be people of sacrifice.
22:58-23:00
We must choose to be givers and not takers.
23:01-23:05
It's so easy to focus on what others can do for me.
23:05-23:09
It's so much harder to focus on what I can do for others.
23:10-23:16
On your list of priorities, God needs to be way at the top, others come second, and you finish dead last.
23:16-23:18
It shouldn't even be a contest.
23:19-23:23
But if we're honest with ourselves, If I'm honest with myself, often we flip this, don't we?
23:24-23:29
And God and other people are below us in the totem pole of importance.
23:30-23:32
And listen, I understand, life is busy.
23:32-23:33
Life is hectic.
23:33-23:34
Life is overwhelming.
23:34-23:52
It can feel like you're drowning in your responsibilities at work, at home, and I really don't want to add an extra burden, an extra weight to your already tired shoulders, but I do want you to consider what you're filling your time and your schedule with.
23:54-24:05
If you don't have any room in your schedule to serve the church, to reach out to your neighbors, to bless other people with your time, to be there for those who are hurt, and you have to ask yourself, man, what am I living for?
24:06-24:08
Who am I living for?
24:09-24:14
What do I need to cut out of my life in order to better step into who God's calling me to be?
24:15-24:25
And more often than not, it's not bad and sinful things that we have to cut out of our lives, but it's good things that need to be sacrificed that you can do greater things.
24:26-24:29
I think very often we can be like horses with the blinders on, right?
24:29-24:38
We're so just focused on our routine, our schedule, what needs to get done, that we're just blind to the needs and pain of other people around us.
24:38-24:44
And God is calling many of us to remove these blinders and get our priorities back in order.
24:45-24:49
Devoting yourself to selflessness and good works is hard.
24:49-24:51
If it was easy, everyone would do it.
24:52-24:54
It requires discipline and training.
24:56-25:03
Yeah, I can never understand how any parent could possibly think that we are born into this world as perfect, innocent, and sinless, right?
25:03-25:08
As a parent, you have a front row seat to seeing selfishness grow up like a weed in your child.
25:09-25:11
Parents in the room, do you have to teach your child to be selfish?
25:12-25:12
No.
25:13-25:17
You have to teach them to say mine, or to push another kid who plays with their toy.
25:18-25:19
That's never been my experience.
25:19-25:21
My kids seem to know that on their own.
25:21-25:29
Right now, my wife Kate and I are in the midst of combating our son, who's three years old, his selfishness right now.
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I think I have a picture of both my kids up there.
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I know you look at that picture and think, "How could he possibly be selfish?" But I promise you, he can be.
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You know, my daughter, Abby, will play with a toy that Sam hasn't thought about and touched in months, And as soon as she touches it, he needs that toy like he's a drowning man who needs oxygen.
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And he'll yell, "Sammy's turn!" and grab it out of her hands, and then just push it over.
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And then we have to grab the toy away from him and sit him down and explain to him that what he did was wrong and apologize to his sister.
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What a fun experience for everyone, right?
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What a pain-free process.
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We're trying to teach him that he needs to protect his little sister, that her needs are more important than his own.
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That's a tough thing for a three-year-old mind grasp, right?
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I don't want you to think my daughter is innocent and all this.
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She is a beggar.
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I have to hide my food from her.
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I have to eat like this.
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But she still finds it.
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I call this food sacrifice the Emmy tax.
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I basically have to pay her like 10% of all my food portions.
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Or she gets really, really mad at me.
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And she loves to rip the glasses off of Kate's face.
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And whenever Kate says no, she screams really scary gibberish that really freaks me out.
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Again, kids don't need to be taught how to be selfish, but they do need to be taught how to be selfless.
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They do need to be taught the world doesn't revolve around them.
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And guess what?
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We need to be taught that all the time as well as adults.
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We need to constantly be reminded of this important reality.
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Our heavenly Father is constantly smoothing out our rough and selfish edges so that he can mold us into more generous and selfless children. Through his word and through his spirit, he points out how we're being self-centered so that we can repent and change.
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He is training us to be others focused instead of self focused.
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At the end of verse eight, Paul says that leading a Christ centered and gospel empowered life is excellent and profitable. It's good for you and others around you, especially unbelievers who can see the gospel in action in your life.
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This is life to the fullest.
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Because the more you make life all about you and what you want, the more miserable you'll be.
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But the more you make life all about God and what he wants, the happier you'll become.
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This is a great paradox of life that most people will never understand or accept.
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But I want you to understand this morning that the Lord wants to use you for great things.
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He wants to use your time, your gifts, as your witness to change lives and eternal destinies.
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God didn't save you to just punch your ticket to heaven, but to make you an agent of heaven on earth.
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Like a dad on bring your kid to work day, the Lord loves to bring his children into the fold of his kingdom work.
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The Lord doesn't need you, he doesn't need me, but he lovingly chooses to include us in his mission of saving sinners in building his kingdom.
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And Paul offers us an amazing promise in Ephesians 2.10.
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He writes this, "For we are God's workmanship, "created in Christ Jesus for good works, "which God prepared beforehand "that we should walk in them." Again, we're not saved by our good works, but we're saved to do good works.
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Like a master builder, God has a blueprint for your life, and he has laid before you good works to carry out.
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He has laid before you specific people to bless.
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Before you were born, before you were even a thought in your parents' mind, God knew you, he had a plan for your life, and he had specific things he called you to do.
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That is so encouraging to me.
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That is so empowering to me, to know that God has a purpose and a plan for my life.
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He has people for me to bless and things for me to do.
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Now you may be thinking, well Taylor, that sounds great and all, but how do I figure out who these people in good works are?
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That's really simple.
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Grab a hold of every single opportunity that the Lord gives to you.
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There are open doors all over the place for love and service, but again, you have to be on the lookout for them.
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You have to be on the edge of your seat, ready to walk through them.
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When someone in your life is hurting, offer to be a listening ear.
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As Jeff said last week, instead of just saying to someone, I'll pray for you, actually pray for them right then and there.
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Instead of hiding from your neighbors, get to know your neighbors.
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Invite them over for dinner.
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Have fun with them, get to talk to them.
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Share your story with them.
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Invite them to church.
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Maybe you'll get an opportunity to share with them about Jesus.
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Use your gifts, your talents, and your passions to carry out these good works at church and out in the world.
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If you have a passion for the unborn, you can sign up to serve at places like Choices Pregnancy Center, Women's Choice Network.
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If you have a heart for the homeless, you can help Light of Life and serve down there.
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Maybe you have a passion for working with children.
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You can sign up to be a mentor or a tutor at Urban Impact.
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We have a massive need for more teachers and nursery workers in our children's program here.
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If you haven't signed up to be a part of that and you love working with kids, talk to Mandy Moll, our children's director, and she would love to get you plugged in.
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I could go through a list of all the different ministries, you know, worship, AV, hospitality, I could go through all those things, I could go through all the different ways you can serve our community and serve our city, but I think you get the point.
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Those who are devoted to good works embrace every single day as an opportunity to love.
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Embrace every single day as an opportunity to serve.
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When you wake up in the morning, say to the Lord, "Here I am, Lord, send me." How am I to be your hands and feet today?
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Who can I love?
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Who can I bless?
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If you do that, there's no telling how much the Lord can do in and through you.
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So as we wrap up, I wanna ask one important question.
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How can Harvest Bible Chapel impact this community and this world?
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By each and every one of us choosing to take our Christian duties seriously, by each and every one of us choosing to love others as Christ has loved us, by each and every one of us choosing to be selfless and put the needs of others before our own.
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The band can come forward.
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I just wanted to remind all of you that we're a family.
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We're a team.
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We're on the same side.
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We should encourage one another.
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We should spur one another on to love and good works.
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More than anything, Pastor Jeff, the staff, the elders here, we want this church to be known as a place that doesn't just talk the talk, but actually walks the walk.
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We want people to see Harvest Bible Chap in our community and say, that is a church that serves.
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That is a church that loves.
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Maybe I don't agree with what they're saying, but man, they sure do.
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And they live it out every single day.
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And for that to happen, we have to come together and choose to be selfless.
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To live in light of what Christ has done for us.
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Let's pray.
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Father, when we think about all that you've done for us, it's overwhelming, it's amazing.
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And Lord, I admit, we all admit that so often we can squander this gift that you've given us, Lord.
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Life is so difficult, life is so challenging, it's so overwhelming, we can lose sight of why we're here.
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We're here to make disciples, we're here to tell people about your son and what he can do in their lives.
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Lord, while we're at work, while we're at home, while we're going about our week, help us to always be at the forefront of our minds that everything I do is to honor and glorify God and to make much of Christ.
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Lord, help us to go into this week being others-focused instead of self-focused.
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In Jesus' name, amen.
Small Group Discussion
Read Titus 3:1-8
What was your big take-away from this passage / message?
What are the seven Christian duties that Paul lists in Titus 3:1-2? Which of these characteristics do you need to work on/grow into the most?
Why does Paul take the time to preach the gospel message in between his teachings about good works (Titus 3:3-7)? Why is it so important to preach the gospel message to yourself on a daily basis and remember where you came from?
What does it look like to devote yourself to good works (Titus 3:8)? Who and how is the Lord calling you to serve right now?
Why is it so encouraging and empowering to know that the Lord has prepared good works for us to carry out and specific people to bless (Eph. 2:10)?
Breakout
Pray for one another.