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7.7.21 MOC Session #4 Jon Nelson · HBCWestminster

• 0:00
  Tonight we're going to talk about Zenos from Titus 3. And we're going to look at who he was. We're going to look at how he served the early church. And then we're going to talk about how that applies to us. And that is the part that you see on the notes in front of you. Alright? That's when we get to the application. The title tonight is Kathy, Chicken, and the Man Who Went to Crete. And hopefully, by the end of the title, by the end, sorry,
• 0:31
  The title will make sense, hopefully. All right. I should also mention, I am not sure what I have done to offend Nathan. But as I dug into this, there is very, very little said about Zenus. So thank you, Nathan. Thank you for giving me that topic. Are we good, Tim? All right.
• 1:01
  Okay, so I'm going to start out by just reading Titus 3. Remind them to be submissive to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work, to speak evil to no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all people. For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy.
• 1:32
  hated by others and hating one another. 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.
• 2:02
  The saying is trustworthy, and I want you to insist on these things so that those who have believed in God may be careful to devote themselves to good works. These things are excellent and profitable for people. But avoid foolish controversies, genealogies, dissensions, and quarrels about the law, for they are unprofitable and worthless. As for a person who stirs up division after warning him once and then twice,
• 2:32
  have nothing more to do with him. Knowing that such a person is warped and sinful, he is self-condemned. When I send Artemis or Tychicus to you, do your best to come to me in Nicopolis, for I have decided to spend the winter there. Do your best to speed Zenos, the lawyer, and Apollos on their way. See that they lack nothing. And let our people learn to devote themselves to good works, so as to
• 3:01
  Help cases of urgent need and not be unfruitful. All who are with me send greetings to you. Greet those who love us in the faith. Grace be with you. Let's pray. Father, you are so good to us. You are worthy of all of our praise, Lord. As we sing tonight, God, I pray that you just bless the going forth of your word tonight. We know that your word does not return void.
• 3:38
  Thank you for the men in this room. God, I pray that we all would be encouraged. You would encourage our hearts that we would get something tonight from this that we could take with us as we go. We pray these things in Jesus' name. Amen. All right, so in chapter 3, Paul is writing to Titus, who is in Crete. Paul had left Titus in Crete to appoint elders and to bring order to the church there.
• 4:11
  Now in chapter 1 of Titus, in verse 12, it implies that the Cretans were lazy and gluttonous. And in chapter 9, we see that they were tied up in foolish controversies, genealogies, and dissensions, and quarrels about the law. And Paul is reminding them that such things are unprofitable and worthless. And then we see in verse 13 the mention of Zenos. Do your best to speed Zenos, the lawyer, and Apollos on their way.
• 4:44
  See that they lack nothing. So who is Zenos? And why is he so urgently needed? Well, here's what we know. One, we know he's only mentioned once in the Bible, right there. That's all we get. Two, we know he's a lawyer, right? Now in the present day, we have a certain stereotype that comes with some lawyers. I think of the strong arm, Frank Azar. One hears jokes like...
• 5:17
  Do we have any lawyers in the room? What? We're good? One hears jokes, like what's the difference between a good lawyer and a great lawyer? A good lawyer knows the law, a great lawyer knows the judge. You know, stuff like that, right? Well, back at the time when this letter was written, lawyers were not the Azar type, okay? Not to beg Azar, I don't really know him, but anyway.
• 5:48
  They were experts in the law. Okay, so just the fact that Paul is calling Zenos a lawyer, we know that he knew the law well. Another thing we know is that he was traveling with Apollos. Nathan talked about Apollos last week. I think he even read Acts 18, 24 and 25, where it says that Apollos was a Jew. He was a native of Alexandria. He came to Ephesus. He was an eloquent man.
• 6:16
  He was competent in the scriptures. He had been instructed in the way of the Lord. And being fervent in spirit, he spoke and taught accurately the things concerning Jesus. So that's what we know. We know he's a lawyer. We know he's mentioned once. We know he was needed urgently. And we know that he's traveling with Apollos. Now what can we infer about Zenos, right? I think we can learn something about Zenos by looking at who he's associated with.
• 6:51
  That's probably true of all of us. But in this case, I think we can learn something about him by looking at who he's associated with. He's hanging out with Apollos, who we just read is a highly effective teacher. We also see something interesting in 1 Corinthians 1.12, where it says, what I mean is that each of you, or each one of you says, I follow Paul, or I follow Apollos, or I follow Cephas, I follow Christ.
• 7:21
  Now this verse is talking about division in the Corinth church, which we're not talking about tonight. But just the fact that Apollos is mentioned in this company, Paul, Peter, Christ, just the fact that he's mentioned in that company speaks to the effectiveness in the reputation of Apollos. I think the fact that Zenos is traveling with Apollos brings further merit to Zenos' ministry. Another thing we can infer is
• 7:52
  Looking at his name, his name is Greek. His name means gift of Zeus. With a name like that, we don't know, but he was most likely a Gentile. Some commentaries say he was even probably a Roman. Another thing, it's impossible to know whether his profession was Greek civil law or Jewish law. Commentators speculate about this as well. I think there's a good case for it being Jewish law because...
• 8:22
  of the context in which he was helping the early church. But again, these are just things that we can kind of glean from what we know and what we see in Scripture. So, how did Zenos use his gifts and talents for the kingdom? He used them to build up the body and guard against division. Division like what we see in Titus 3. It is not hard to determine that Zenos' role was to bring unity.
• 8:55
  By helping to decipher the law and clear up the confusion that had been stirred up. Titus 3.9 specifically talks about the church in Crete arguing over the law. Zenos' expertise in the law was an asset in preventing division in the church. And in Paul's final instruction in verse 14, right after Zenos is mentioned, we see the goal. It says to encourage the believers to devote themselves to good works.
• 9:26
  so as to help cases of urgent need and not be unfruitful. Division is unfruitful, amen? Along those same lines in Hebrews 10, 24 through 25, it says, and let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works and not neglect to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another in all the more as you see the day drawing near. What we see in Zenos is that he was a layman,
• 10:04
  working alongside the church and his brothers in Christ, using his God-given gifts to teach, to unify. He was using them for good works, and ultimately, he was using them to bear fruit for the kingdom. Men, the church is a jumping-off point for ministry. In the church, we are encouraged, we are edified, and we are equipped. And then we're called to go, right, and minister.
• 10:46
  Well, we've talked about Zenos. We've talked about his gifts and how we see him using them in the kingdom. But one thing I want to focus on is application and some things that I think are important about that. How can we use our gifts and our talents for the kingdom? This is where your notes pick up, by the way. And note that this is not an exhaustive list. It's just a few points that I think, I hope, I pray will encourage you guys.
• 11:24
  First, we all have a role to play. We are all gifted in different ways. 1 Corinthians 12, 4-20 says, For the body does not consist of one member, but of many. If the foot should say, because I'm not a hand, I do not belong to the body, that would not make it any less a part of the body. If the ear should say, because I'm not an eye, I don't belong to the body, that would not make it any less part of the body.
• 11:49
  If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. If all were a single member, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, yet one body. We all have a role to play. Second, we should humbly recognize
• 12:20
  That everything we have comes from God. Our gifts, our talents, our education, everything we have. 1 Corinthians 4, 7 says, What do you have that you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it? Romans 12, 3-5 says, For by the grace given to me, I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think.
• 12:50
  but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. So our gifts are from God. We need to use them humbly. Third, we should use our gifts with zeal. Zeal means you're willing.
• 13:19
  It means you're energized. It means you're motivated. We need to do our work, whatever our work may be, as unto the Lord. Colossians 3, 23 and 4, whatever you do, work heartily as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ. Also, 1 Corinthians 15, 58.
• 13:49
  Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain. And lastly, and I want to dwell on this one a little bit, serve God where you're at. 1 Corinthians 7.24 says, So brothers, in whatever condition each was called, let him remain with God. Now personally, I've struggled with this one a little bit. I've been in...
• 14:24
  in sales for most of my adult life. And I always kind of wonder if what I do really matters for the kingdom. You know, I'm thinking I'm a Christian man. Should I be doing something more? Should I be in ministry? Should I be more engaged or doing something more? And maybe, maybe that's the Lord starting a work in my heart, preparing me for a ministry he's going to call me to someday. But I think it is important today.
• 14:55
  to serve God where we are at. One pastor said, be careful that you don't assume that a change in location or vocation will mean that you are more devoted to Christ or more effective in winning lost people or more fruitful in glorifying the king. The point being, there is kingdom work that happens everywhere. Jesus and his disciples were not always in the temple.
• 15:26
  Actually, the majority of the time they were out in the public because that's where the people were. There's sometimes a sense in the church that if your salary is paid, is not paid for by a Christian organization, you're just a crowd Christian. That is just simply not true. No matter where the Lord has placed us, we are in a battle. I want to read you two things in closing.
• 16:02
  Things that really encouraged me, and I hope they encourage you. The first is an excerpt from John Piper's book, Don't Waste Your Life. And he says this, and I love this. The war is not being fought along geographical lines. It's being fought first along the line between good and evil in the human heart. Especially the hearts of Christians where Christ has staked his claim and where he means to be totally triumphant. The war...
• 16:33
  is being fought along the line between sin and righteousness in every family. It's being fought along the line between truth and falsehood in every school, between justice and injustice in every legislature, between integrity and corruption in every office, between love and hate in every ethnic group, between pride and humility in every sport, between beauty and ugly in every art.
• 17:06
  between right doctrine and wrong doctrine in every church, and between sloth and diligence between coffee breaks. It is not a waste to fight the battle for truth and faith and love on any of these fronts. The war is not primarily spatial or physical, though its successes and failures have physical effects. Therefore, the secular vocations, meaning if anyone has a job, right,
• 17:37
  not on the payroll of a church or a mission organization. Secular vocations of Christians are a war zone. There are spiritual adversaries to be defeated, and there is beautiful moral high ground to be gained for the glory of God. You don't waste your life by where you work, but how and why. What would it look like if we carried this kind of mindset into our work?
• 18:12
  Every day. An example of a man who lives this out is the CEO of one of my favorite restaurants. And hopefully, after this, the title will make sense. In meeting with the operators of his Chick-fil-A restaurants, CEO Dan Cathy asks these business leaders, what are your aspirations? And inevitably, at least one of them will respond to be in full-time ministry. And what they mean,
• 18:48
  is that working in a local church or in a more traditional nonprofit ministry role would be a more legitimate form of Christian ministry than leading a for-profit business. Dan Cathy takes these opportunities to explain that being a business leader is an opportunity. It's an important ministry role in the church. He tells them that the front counter
• 19:18
  of their Chick-fil-A store or restaurant is their pulpit. He reminds them that the thousands of people that come into that store every week are their congregations. We don't know a lot about Zenos, but we do know that he was faithful in using his God-given gifts, pouring into the church to promote unity and furthering the kingdom of God. The coolest thing is when we all
• 19:54
  Work together in unity as men of the church. Ultimately, God gets the glory for the beautiful mosaic that is each one of us using our God-given gifts for the kingdom. Let's pray. Father, we give you all the glory, all the honor, all the praise. You are so worthy. God, I pray that you would work in every one of our hearts, that we would
• 20:34
  devote ourselves to use the things that you have given us wisely to further the kingdom, that we would come together, that we would unify, that we would guard against division, Lord. I thank you for men like Zenos who use his talents to further your kingdom. God, may we be men like that. I thank you for the opportunity tonight here for each and every one of us, Lord, just to...
• 21:12
  Look at our own hearts. God, I pray you would bless discussion time next. Pray these things in the name of Jesus. Amen.