2016.11.06 Titus
2: 1,2,7 11-15
The Grace of God has Taught us
So Devote yourselves to doing
Good!
Good morning everyone!... I am glad that you are here… I
have good news for you…. His name is Jesus… We are studying the Gospel of John
on Sunday mornings… But
I want to take a temporary detour and talk this morning
about a very important subject…… The grace of God….. Turn with me to Titus 2…..
We can't escape it…… The Bible is a book that tells us
how to live… It is hypocrisy to say that we believe it is true… and then ignore
it when it tells us how to live our lives… We don't always want to hear it… but
we need to hear how God expects us to live our lives… It affects the world
around us when we love and serve the
Lord with our whole hearts… Our lives become Living a testimony of Jesus… With Skin on story… That testimony is not only
with our mouths….. It includes the way we live…. It includes serving in whatever area of Ministry that we can… That includes
the invisible and hidden things that nobody even knows about… It includes being
a joyful giver… Everything that we have… we have received from the Lord… We
should joyfully Tithe into the church for furtherance of the Ministry… The Lord
is looking for thankful FAT Disciples…
Faithful… Available and Teachable…
Knowing the Lord…… Hiding his word in our
hearts affects the way we live…. And when we live out what we know to be true……
When we obey the LORD…. When we follow Him from our hearts….. We will lead others to Jesus… People will see
that the Lord has transformed our lives… They will want what we have… They will
see the Grace of God made visible in our
lives… Look with me at Titus… chapter 2…v1….
Titus
2: 1,2 7 NLT
1 As for you, Titus, promote the kind of living
that reflects wholesome teaching. 2 Teach the older men to exercise
self-control, to be worthy of respect, and to live wisely. They must have sound
faith and be filled with love and patience.
7
And you yourself must be an example to them by doing good works of every kind.
Let everything you do reflect the integrity and seriousness of your teaching.
Titus 2: 1,2 7 Neues Leben
1 Was immer du sagst, soll der gesunden Lehre
entsprechen.
2 Lehre die älteren Männer, selbstbeherrscht, vorbildlich
und besonnen zu leben. Sie sollen einen starken Glauben haben und liebevoll und
geduldig sein.
7 Und du selbst sei ihnen in allem ein gutes Vorbild und
ein Beispiel für die Glaubwürdigkeit und Würde deiner Lehre.
look at verse 1…. This is the mission of every child of
God…. promote the kind of living that
reflects wholesome teaching. What we teach and what we believe needs to
affect the way we live…
That is why Children’s ministry and Home Fellowships are
so important… Sunday mornings is not enough…
Then beginning in verse 2….. Paul talks about the things
that need to be taught to the church…. What a list….
Self control…. Wisdom…
sound faith… filled with love and patience…. filled with love and patience…. The list goes on…. But notice that
this is not a list of things to do….. It´s more a list of things to be…. It's all a definition of Godly character…
Genuine believers are people who know the truth… People
who live the truth because Jesus has transformed their lives… When what we say matches what we do… Our lives
will naturally lead others to Jesus…
Look at verse 7…
Titus
2:7
NLT Neues Leben
7
And you yourself must be an example to them by doing good works of every kind.
Let everything you do reflect the integrity and seriousness of your teaching.
7 Und du selbst sei ihnen in allem ein gutes Vorbild und
ein Beispiel für die Glaubwürdigkeit und Würde deiner Lehre.
Be an example by doing good works and properly reflecting
the Lord our God… Let everything you do… I repeat… everything… When we live a life that exalts the Word of God… We will lead others to Christ… We want this lost and
dying world to see Jesus in us don´t we…
When we are godly examples… We will make disciples… We will help each other
grow in Grace…
How do we help
each other grow in grace…?
We need more than just
Sunday and Tuesday night services… Those things are great but not enough
for us to grow strong in the Grace of God…
The Pastor and Elders cannot give you all that you need…
In fact that is not even our job as leaders… Look with me at Ephesians 4:
11-16…
Ephesians
4: 11- 16 NLT Neues
Leben
11
Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets,
the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. 12 Their responsibility is to
equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ.
13 This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and
knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the
full and complete standard of Christ.
14
Then we will no longer be immature like children. We won’t be tossed and blown
about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try
to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth. 15 Instead, we will
speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is
the head of his body, the church. 16 He makes the whole body fit together
perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts
grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love.
Ephesians 4: 11-16
NLT Neues Leben
11 Er hat die einen als Apostel, die anderen als
Propheten, wieder andere als Prediger und schließlich einige als Hirten und
Lehrer eingesetzt.
12 Ihre Aufgabe ist es, die Gläubigen für ihren Dienst
vorzubereiten und die Gemeinde - den Leib Christi - zu stärken.
13 Auf diese Weise sollen wir alle im Glauben eins werden
und den Sohn Gottes immer besser kennen lernen, sodass unser Glaube zur vollen
Reife gelangt und wir ganz von Christus erfüllt sind.
14 Dann werden wir nicht länger wie Kinder sein und uns
ständig von jeder fremden Meinung beeinflussen oder verunsichern lassen, nur
weil geschickte Betrüger uns eine Lüge als Wahrheit hinstellen.
15 Stattdessen lasst uns in Liebe an der Wahrheit
festhalten und in jeder Hinsicht Christus ähnlicher werden, der das Haupt
seines Leibes - der Gemeinde - ist.
16 Durch ihn wird der ganze Leib zu einer Einheit. Und
jeder Teil erfüllt seine besondere Aufgabe und trägt zum Wachstum der anderen
bei, sodass der ganze Leib gesund ist und wächst und von Liebe erfüllt ist.
v11… Now
these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the
evangelists, and the pastors and teachers… The Lord Jesus put us here… look at v12…
v12…
12 Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up
the church, the body of Christ… Our job is to equip you to do the work of the
ministry… If you think about it, this makes perfect sense… There are so many of
us… It is impossible for me to really have a deep and meaningful relationship
with so many people… That is what I would need if I was to be able to properly disciple you… The Word of God is important… But Fellowship
and interaction with each other is also important… Discipleship and growth is
exactly the purpose of all ministry activities like Childrens ministry, Small
Groups and Home fellowships…
What
are the goals of discipleship… look at The List beginning at v13… scroll
down…
v13… unity
in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord,
measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ…. Here
are the goals… Look at this list… 1 Unity…v13
2 Maturity…v13 3 Jesus likeness…v13 we will also be better able to Speak the
truth in love…v15 Growing in every way…v15
and
the final Glorious result is that the whole body will fit perfectly
together…v16 we will serve each other
with the gifts that god has given us…v16 And finally… the whole body will be
healthy and full of love…v16
This Equipping comes
from teaching the Word of God and
from serving and doing life together…
Here
are some of the strong points of Home Fellowships
1
Small Groups help us to grow…
The impulse to avoid painful growth by disappearing
safely into the crowd on Sunday morning is very strong…. I can quickly
disappear after the Blessing…. I may not even have to talk to anyone… That
brings us to the second point…
2 Listeners
in a big group can more easily shake off the feeling of conviction… Some
Sundays… I see lots of tears from up here… But we all tend to shake off feelings
of conviction… But, If tears well up in your eyes in a small group… wise and Godly
friends will gently find out why… We can help, encourage and pray for each
other better in Small groups and Home Fellowships…
3 we
tend to neglect personal application… We need to take the time
to apply what we have heard to our own lives… This is much easier in a small
group setting…
4
Opportunity for questions… Opportunity for questions leading to
growth is missing on a Sunday Morning… Asking questions is an important part of
understanding and growth... Small groups are perfect for this...
5 Accountability
is easier in Small groups… Accountability
helps us to follow-through on the
changes and improvements that we commit to make…
And this one is
very important…
6
Prayer… We can pray for each other in these small group settings…
As we get to know each other better in Small group
settings… We make a wonderful discovery… We are surrounded by a band of friends
who love us and pray for us…
As these things become integrated into our church
fellowship… And Into our lives… As we grow… We become more and more a
reflection of Jesus to our friends and family and this lost and dying world… I love the way we gather on Sunday
mornings… But Sunday is not enough… We need more time with each other… Quality
time… Small groups and Home Fellowships are what we need to get more face time… more real life
interaction with each other… As genuine believers… We become the evidence that Jesus saves… Then because he has saved
us… Our transformed our lives… Affects everything about us… how we live our
Christian life… It affects how we spend our free time… It affects how we spend
our money…
Let´s continue now in verse 11….
Titus
2: 11- 15 NLT
Neues Leben
11
For the grace of God has been revealed, bringing salvation to all people. 12
And we are instructed to turn from godless living and sinful pleasures. We
should live in this evil world with wisdom, righteousness, and devotion to God,
13 while we look forward with hope to that wonderful day when the glory of our
great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, will be revealed. 14 He gave his life to
free us from every kind of sin, to cleanse us, and to make us his very own
people, totally committed to doing good deeds.
15
You must teach these things and encourage the believers to do them. You have
the authority to correct them when necessary, so don’t let anyone disregard
what you say.
Titus 2: 11- 15
Neues Leben
11 Denn die Gnade Gottes, die allen Menschen Rettung
bringt, ist sichtbar geworden.
12 Sie bringt uns dazu, dem Leben ohne Gott und allen
sündigen Leidenschaften den Rücken zu kehren. Jetzt, in dieser Welt sollen wir
besonnen, gerecht und voller Hingabe an Gott leben.
13 Denn wir warten auf das wunderbare Ereignis, wenn die
Herrlichkeit des großen Gottes und unseres Erlösers, Jesus Christus, erscheinen
wird.
14 Er gab sein Leben, um uns von aller Schuld1 zu
befreien und zu reinigen und uns zu seinem eigenen Volk zu machen, das bemüht
ist, Gutes zu tun.
15 Dies alles sollst du lehren. Ermutige die Menschen und
weise sie zurecht, wenn es nötig ist! Niemand soll dich oder dein Wort
verachten.
Look at the end of verse
14...
v14… totally committed to doing good deeds… Paul
reminds us that the Lord Jesus Christ our
Savior appeared… That He gave Himself that He might redeem us from every
lawless deed… that He might purify for Himself a people for His own
possession... So that we would be committed to doing good works… It is so
important to Life in the Body of Christ that Paul repeats the same idea in Titus
Ch 3…8… There he says…
Titus
3: 8 NLT
8
This is a trustworthy saying, and I want you to insist on these teachings so
that all who trust in God will devote themselves to doing good. These teachings
are good and beneficial for everyone.
8 Alles, was ich dir gesagt habe, ist wahr. Ich möchte,
dass du es mit Nachdruck lehrst, damit alle, die auf Gott vertrauen, immer
darauf bedacht sind, Gutes zu tun. Das
ist gut und sinnvoll für alle.
v8… all
who trust in God will devote themselves to doing good… Passionate
and thankful people are eager to do good things for others… Why? Because it
reflects God´s Grace in our lives… And God´s
grace becomes the foundation of our desire to bless and serve and help… It
perfectly demonstrates the Grace of God
in our lives… That shows the world that we have been transformed…
The Lord saved us
with a goal of giving us a passion about doing what is right… Our Christian Generosity will prove to this
sinful and rebellious world that there is hope… The Grace of God has been
revealed…
Do you remember Titus 2…v….7….. I´ll reread it to close
today…. My prayer is that it will ring in our ears….
Titus
2:7 NLT
Neues Leben
7
And you yourself must be an example to them by doing good works of every kind.
Let everything you do reflect the integrity and seriousness of your teaching.
7 Und du selbst sei ihnen in allem ein gutes Vorbild und
ein Beispiel für die Glaubwürdigkeit und Würde deiner Lehre.
Let´s pray…
