Latest / Teachings On This Day On FerventWord / On Aug 10, 2008: Titus 3:8-15
Transcript
- You are listening to FerventWord, an online Bible study ministry with teachings and tools to help you grow deeper in your relationship with God. The following message was taught by Jerry Simmons in 2008. This morning we're finishing up the book of Titus, and man, it seems like we've gone through it pretty quickly. We didn't rush, but it's not very long. It's a small book, and yet it's very powerful and full of practical encouragement and counsel for you and I as listeners. Well, we're pretty much just like Titus. And just as Titus was given the task of being involved in the ministry and sharing with others the good news of Jesus Christ, just as Titus was given the task of making disciples, You and I have been given the same task. You and I have been called into the ministry. You are a Titus and you are called. God has placed people in your lives for you to raise up in the faith, for you to help along in their walk, for you to share with them the good news of what Jesus Christ has done for us. You and I are called, like Titus, to be involved in full-time ministry. Wherever we're at and wherever we go and to whomever we happen to be around, God has called us to be a light to the world around us and to be an example of what a believer in Jesus Christ is called to be. This morning as we wrap up, Paul is really faithful to the end to be giving great encouragement and counsel to this man Titus. And he gives him five things that we'll look at. Five things that you and I can take to heart that we would be faithful ministers like Paul is calling Titus to be. The first thing The thing that we see here is in verse 8, and that is that you and I as disciple makers, as being called into the ministry, we are to affirm constantly. Verse 8 says this, This is a faithful saying, and these things I want you to affirm constantly, that those who have believed in God should be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable to men. Paul starts out saying, this is a faithful saying, and these things I want you to affirm constantly. Now, what is he talking about when he starts out in verse 8 saying, this is a faithful saying? What are these things that Paul is talking about? Well, it's the things that we had studied at the end of last Sunday. It's the saying that he provided there in verses 4 through 7. And there in verses 4 through 7, we have one of the things that Paul is exceptionally good at, a synopsis of the gospel there in just a few verses. The whole thing summed down to just a few fine points. Going back to verse 4, Paul says, When the kindness of the love of God our Savior toward man appeared. What is a faithful saying? The kindness of our God, the love of our God has appeared. How did it appear? Well, we saw His love is demonstrated in that Christ died for us. A faithful saying, something that we should be affirming constantly, is the kindness and love of God that has appeared. He goes on to tell us in verse 5 that it's not by works of righteousness which we have done. So God's kindness and His love, His appearance, Jesus' death upon the cross, the salvation that is offered to us, He says, it's not by our good works and our good deeds and we can never be good enough to earn these things. He goes on to say there in verse 5 that it's by His mercy He saved us. Not only did He save us, but He washed us, He regenerated us, and He renewed us by the Holy Spirit, He goes on to say. Not only that, but verse 7 goes on to tell us that He justified us by His grace. Justified, making it just as if I'd never sinned. Making it and treating me and relating to me in a way that it would be if I had never broken God's law, that I had never rebelled against Him. Not only that, He tells us there in verse 7 at the end that we have the hope of eternal life. And so all of these things, the kindness and love of God, our Savior, appeared to us. And it wasn't by our works of righteousness, but by His mercy. He's done this incredible work in us and justified us and given to us the promise of eternal life. All by His grace and His kindness and none by what we have done and what we can do. And Paul says this is a faithful saying. This is a saying that you can count on. This message, the message of the gospel, this is what you can be more sure about than anything else. This is the truth. This is what we know. These things are the things that we need to be affirming constantly. They are absolutely true. You want to know what absolute truth is? There you go. Read verses 4 through 7 again. It's the absolute truth. that God's kindness, His love towards us was revealed to us in Jesus Christ as He died upon the cross for us. And through that death, you and I, every human being without exception, have the opportunity to receive the fullness of God's plan, eternity with Him, to be born again, to be renewed, to be washed and refreshed by what Jesus Christ has done for us. And he says, and these things I want you to affirm constantly. It's interesting, we studied a similar portion in chapter 2. The end of chapter 2, Paul gives another synopsis of the gospel. talking about the grace of God and what He's done for us and what His grace works in us. Paul was very good at talking about Jesus and bringing up the gospel of grace and talking about what it means and how it impacts our lives. In the same way, he asked Titus and he asked you and I to constantly affirm these same things. To constantly be reminding ourselves and others around us about what the gospel message is all about. We're to be affirming constantly. Now, affirm means to firmly assure ourselves We need to be assuring people, but with authority, with affirmness. This is the truth. This is not maybe a possibility of something that might help you, hopefully. But this is the truth. This is what God has said. And we can affirm this. We can assure people. We can give this message with absolute confidence because it is the truth. And some people around us might say, well, that's just what you believe. And we can firmly assure, no, it's not just what I believe. It's not just my opinion. It's not just what I think or what I've been taught. This is the truth. This is absolutely what is accurate. This is the way that God has designed for you and I to spend eternity with Him. There is no other way. We can speak the truth with great confidence because it is the truth. Now, we still need to speak the truth in love, and it doesn't mean that we beat people up with it. Yet at the same time, we can have great authority, confidence, and firmness in our message because it is the truth. Do you ever forget that this message is the truth? Do you ever forget that what we have in relationship with God is the truth? I think we do sometimes. I know I've experienced that in my life, that you're relating with someone and you kind of hold back. We let opportunities slip by and we wonder, well, what are they going to think? Because we forget sometimes. That it's the truth. We forget that it's the absolute truth and that it's the only way of salvation. We can share the message as confidently and even as urgently as if, well, the building were on fire and you were sitting here and someone would come up to you and say, you need to get out. This building is coming down. The fire is coming. You need to get out of here. That is a message that you would bring with firmness. that you would bring with confidence and with authority. In the same way, with the same authority, with the same confidence, with the same urgency, we need to let people know around us, there's a fire. This place is coming down. Here's the way of escape. This is the way that God has provided for us to receive salvation. It's through Jesus Christ and what he did for us upon the cross. Now, not that we should be in a panic, as a person might be in the midst of a fire. Not that we're panicked and freaked out and but that we have authority, that we're firm in what we share. He says, affirm constantly or affirm continually. Sometimes after a while, we kind of give up sharing the gospel message. Paul says, no, affirm it constantly or continually. Don't give up. There is a balance, Jesus says, to not cast your pearls before swine. And there are those who continue to reject it and you don't want to continue to push them further. But at the same time, don't stop sharing the gospel. Don't get tired of it. Don't get worn out of it. Don't let other people dissuade you from sharing it. Affirm constantly the good news of what Christ has done for us. He goes on to say that those who have believed in God should be careful to maintain good works. Here's the result. When we affirm constantly this message, when people are reminded of what God has done for us, the appropriate response is good works. The result is that those who have believed in Jesus Christ already, Paul says, they will maintain good works. They'll be careful to maintain good works. The reason why we ought to continue to affirm these things is not just for those who have not received it, but for the rest of us who have believed in God. It helps us to remember what God has done for us, that we would respond to Him appropriately, and that we would live our lives to serve Him. Now again, we need to be clear, good works do not save you. But good works are the result of, are produced by a genuine faith in God, a genuine relationship with God. Paul says those who have believed, those who have received Jesus Christ will be maintaining good works. Their lives will demonstrate that they have been born again. Now when we talk about good works, we're not just talking about church activity. I shared this last week, but let me share it again because it's good for us to be reminded of these things. And I'd like to read to you a portion from Warren Wiersbe and what he has to say about this. He says, But it is also good to serve our unsaved neighbors, to be helpful in the community, and to have a reputation for assisting those in need. Babysitting to relieve a harassed young mother is just as much a spiritual work as passing out a gospel tract. The best way a local church has to witness to the lost is through the sacrificial service of its members. The way, the best way for you and I to minister to the world around us is by serving, is by our actions and not so much by our words. Both are important. I will stress that. But we need to be maintaining good works. Jesus said, let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven. Amen. You and I are called as Christians, as we hear the gospel message, we should be reminded to respond in meeting people's needs, in serving the people around us, to maintain good works, to seek to live a life that's characterized by the service of others. Paul says these things are good and profitable to men. That kind of life is a life that's beneficial to the world around us. There's a Christian mentality that where we only relate to ourselves, we only talk to each other, we only minister to each other. We can set ourselves up inside this Christian bubble. But that is not the impact that God desires for us to have upon the world. He says these things are good and profitable to men or to all humanity. This is the life that's beneficial to the world around us. The life that we live in service of others. The life where we maintain good works in such a way that people see it and glorify God in heaven. As we are reminded of the message, the proper response is profitable to everyone. And that we're reminded to serve one another even as Christ humbled himself, died upon the cross in service to us. And so he starts out saying, this is what you are to affirm. You and I are to affirm these things, to encourage each other, to help each other remember what it's all about, Jesus Christ there upon the cross. But also affirming constantly that the world around us that does not know that they might hear the good news and might receive God's offer of salvation. Paul says, these things are good and profitable to men, but not everything is profitable. Going on in verse 9, he says, but avoid foolish disputes, genealogies, contentions, and strivings about the law, for they are unprofitable and useless. First he says to affirm, now he says avoid. There are some things that you and I are to avoid. To avoid means to face the other way, literally. It's to turn your back, to turn around and essentially ignore what is going on. There are some things that you are to turn away from, to turn your back on. And the reason why you're to turn away from them is that they are unprofitable and useless. And so we see the contrast. You're to affirm constantly that Which produces good works, which produces things that are helpful to the community, to the world around us, because those things are profitable to men. But you're to avoid, you're to turn your back on the things that are not profitable, on the things that do not help and benefit the world around us. affirm constantly and encourage that which promotes Jesus Christ and serving Him, but avoid the things that do not promote Jesus Christ, that do not help people in a relationship with God. And Paul lists several things here. Foolish disputes, genealogies, contentions, And strivings about the law. These are the things, he says, you're to avoid. These were situations that were very common in the early church as Paul was writing these things. There was a lot of these issues going on, not just in the island of Crete where Titus was, but all over. We see this mentioned. In fact, these same encouragements are given to Timothy in 1 and 2 Timothy. as he was ministering to the church in Ephesus. There was foolish disputes and genealogies and contentions and strivings about the law. Now, foolish disputes, the idea behind this phrase or these words is idle questions. They're questions that don't have answers or they're questions that the person asking is not intending to have an answer, but they're just looking for a debate. They're looking to stir up questions and issues and try to bring doubt into people's minds. They're questioning whether they feel those kind of questions being asked of you, those kind of baiting questions that this person is trying to just draw you into this endless debate and terrible cycle. Paul says, avoid that. Turn around. Face the other way. Don't try to deal with it. Don't try to answer it. Don't try to have the sage advice to answer the question that hasn't been answered for the past 2,000 years. Chances are you're not going to be able to answer it. So just turn around. Turn your back. Avoid it. Don't even get sucked into those types of foolish disputes and questions. Genealogies, well this was an issue. We don't really see it as much today, although we can maybe relate it to other things that we face. But genealogies... were important to the Jews. And the Jewish rabbis would build up imaginary genealogies and have all this background that's not really biblical and deferred from all kinds of different sources. And so their Old Testament characters that are famous, that are known, even some of the more obscure ones, they would have all these fanciful details that were either made up or... jumped to big conclusions when there was lack of evidence. And they would make big deals out of these genealogies and they would be really complicated and it would just be an endless thing. In fact, in Paul's letter to Timothy, he calls them endless genealogies. Those endless things that are just full of details. And I used to enjoy getting involved in a good debate and I wouldn't do it face-to-face, but back when I was younger, there was bulletin boards and stuff, and we'd get involved in discussions. And I gave up after I realized, after quite a while of doing it, you kind of realize you get back to the point that you started with. It's just this big circle, and you get back to there. You haven't answered anything. You haven't accomplished anything. And if you don't stop it, you're just going to start again down the whole cycle, down the whole circle. That's what these genealogies were like. They would just waste time and never accomplish anything. He also says we're to avoid contention. So that means you don't talk bad about the Raiders when Charles is around because you're going to have some contention. Don't call fishing not a sport when Larry's around because you'll have some contention. The things that bring up strife and fights and arguments amongst believers. Those arguments that can be brought up, he says, avoid those things. You know those situations, those things that should not be brought up, that will just bring contention there in the midst of the group. And so avoid those things and strivings about the law. There is always strivings about the law. There is always, even to this day, arguing over the details of the law, over the details of the scripture. And studying the scripture is good and there is incredible value. God has given it to us as the authority for our life. But God did not give us his word so that we would argue about it constantly. He gave us his word that we would live by it continually. And so we're not to be striving about the law. We're to avoid those arguments, those circumstances. When you get in the midst of a discussion, I would encourage you to stop and ask yourself, is this profitable? That's really the test. Is this profitable? What is this accomplishing? Is it helpful to the person I'm speaking with and the people that are overhearing? Is this profitable? what is taking place in this conversation that I'm involved in right now. The message of God in reality is very simple. And it's purposefully so. So that it doesn't take a great mind, an incredible intellect, in order to understand the message of God. Someone with no education can learn to read by looking at the scriptures. And they can learn the gospel message and the truth about God and have full relationship with God with no outside education. It's simple. God does not make it complicated. Now, in saying that, I should also add, there is great depth that God offers in a relationship with Him. And He does draw us deeper. It doesn't matter if we are good readers or bad readers. As we spend time in His Word, He does a work spiritually and draws us deeper. So there's great depth for us personally, but there's no value in trying to strive and fight about all of the details of this book that he's given to us. There's no value in trying to convince everyone else of our own opinions or what we've been convinced of. God can do a great work and the idea and the purpose of this book in the depth is for you personally. The message is simple. It's not worth arguing over many of the details that are not essential. The point of the Christian life is to get to work, not to sit around and debate interpretations or opinions or understandings. Here Paul is saying, maintain good works. This is profitable. Stay away from these arguments and these things that will just bog you down and keep you tied up. No. The life is meant to be that you would live it, not that you would just discuss it and talk about it. In Hebrews 10, verse 24, the author of Hebrews tells us to consider one another in order to stir up love and good works. The motivation for our conversations, for our time together should be, how do I stir up love in them and how do I stir up good works in their hearts and in their lives? How do I encourage them and help them to live this life? God doesn't call us to just sit around and debate and discuss all of the details of doctrine and all the details of the law. He calls us to get out and live it. I like what William Barclay had to say. He says, Essentially saying that some Christians, some people, they engage in these debates, these theological questions, In order to distract from the fact that they're not living the life that God has called us to live. Look, we can all talk Christianese. And we can all come to church. And we can all say the right things and hallelujah and praise the Lord. But do you live the life that God has called you to live? Do you live the life and follow the example of Jesus Christ? Have you taken up your cross and followed Him? Are you maintaining good works? Are you serving the world around you, the people around you that God has placed in your life sacrificially? As we look at what God desires and requires of us, it can be demanding. And so, some, well, they retreat to contentions, to strivings, to foolish disputes. And they get caught up and consumed with those things rather than just going out and living the life that God has called us to live. Don't get caught up in those things. He said, avoid those things. We're to affirm the truth of God's Word. It produces good works and the life that's lived appropriately with God. But we're to avoid these other things because they're not profitable. They don't help. They lead to more ungodliness. We learned in the book of Timothy by Paul, as he was writing to Timothy, that these things lead farther away from God, not closer to God. So avoid them. Then number 3, verses 10 and 11, were to reject. Verse 10 says, To reject means to decline. To beg to be excused. It's not a harsh and unloving word. but simply saying, I don't want anything to do with this. He says, reject. Beg to be excused from a divisive man after the first and second admonition. There are some people within the body of Christ, not only to avoid certain types of conversations and discussions and arguments and debates, but there's certain types of people that we're told to reject, to decline from. to beg to be excused from. And the kind of person that we're to reject is a divisive person. This word divisive means to make a choice or to choose. It's the idea of a person who tries to get other people to choose between sides. Are you on my side or are you on Pastor Jerry's side? Are you on Cisco's side or are you on Mario's side? Are you on the side of this doctrine or this belief? Are you on that side? Which side are you on? It's someone who comes and tries to make divisions. Here, there's a division right down the middle. Hopefully, that doesn't mean you guys are upset with each other across the aisle there. But there's this division. Are you on the right side or the left side? Same thing spiritually within the body of Christ. There comes those people who come in and... How come you're talking to that person? I thought you were on my side. Or how come you're ministering to them or involved in that situation? I thought you were involved in this ministry. How come you're serving in that ministry? And there are those who come to cause division, to make people to bring a choice. And sometimes it's simple in the sense that it doesn't mean a lot. It's not hurtful and harmful in what is going on. But sometimes... There can be great division that causes great hurt and pain and it can be vicious and against people's personalities and their character and their integrity that a person is asking you to divide over. Sometimes there's a little bit of pressure to divide. Sometimes there's great pressure to divide and it feels like the whole world is on this decision that you have to make. Paul says, reject, don't even entertain it. You don't have to try to make a decision or choose sides. Beg to be excused. I refuse to take sides. I refuse to make a decision in that case. I refuse to divide the body of Christ. God desires within His church, here at Living Water locally, but also the church universally, He desires unity. In Jesus' prayer in John 17, as He's preparing to be crucified and return to the Father, He says, "...the glory which You gave Me, I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one." And a couple of other times, He mentions that in the Scripture, or in John chapter 17 in His prayer. It was a theme of His closing prayer, as it were. That we, his followers, would be one. That we would be united even as God is united. In Ephesians chapter 4, Paul tells us that we're to be endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. This is to be the characteristics of us as a church, as we walk worthy of the calling which we have received, we're to endeavor to keep the unity, to work hard to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. He goes on to say there's one body, one Spirit, just as you were called in, in one hope of your calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in you all. There's one, he goes on to say, and he lists all of these different things. There's lots of things to unite around. There's very little to divide over. These things, I would suggest to you, are the essentials that he mentions there in Ephesians chapter 4. One body, one spirit, one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God. These are the things that we hold fast to. These are the things that we are united around. Whatever we happen to believe about this or that, or whatever personality conflicts that may arise in our ranks, and whatever contentions that might happen between us, and however you might wreck that person's car, whatever, it's all in the body. We unite around these things. And only when there's a difference of these essentials, we divide with the Jehovah's Witnesses because they do not believe, they do not teach that Jesus Christ is God. We have one Lord, Paul says. No, that's an essential. That's something we need to be united around. That's something we need to stick to our guns in. But within the church, we need to understand that we're to be united, not divided. There's not to be divisions and we're angry with this person and we have grudges against that person and we can't go to that study because she's going to be there or he's going to be at that event so I'm going to stay away. I would challenge you to consider the parable of the servant who would not forgive. He was forgiven much, but then he goes out and holds his co-laborer accountable for the $5 that he was owed. Jesus said he was, well, he basically taught, I'm going to misquote it, but you can check it out in Matthew chapter 6, I believe it is, when Jesus gives the Lord's Prayer that he says, I better turn there, I'm sorry. It's right on the tip of my head and it's not there, so it must be that God wants me to read it to you. Matthew 6, 14, for if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. Here's the point. If we're all bound up and caught up in divisions because you've hurt me and you've wronged me and you've did this or that, Jesus says, your Father, the Father in heaven, will not forgive your trespasses. If you can't forgive one another and be united, he says, God won't forgive you. A forgiven person, it said, will be a forgiving person. Again, there's a lot to unite around. There's very little to divide over. So he says reject a divisive person. Get out of that situation. Don't be involved. He says after the first or second admonition. So give him a couple chances. Hey, listen. You're trying to bring division within the body of Christ. You're trying to bring gaps and chasms between people. Between brothers and sisters in the Lord. You need to knock it off. He does it again. Listen. You continue to bring division within the body of Christ. Scripture says, reject a divisive person after a first and second admonition. We need to completely turn away when there are those who would bring division within the body of Christ. I like what Warren Worsby has to say about this. He says, I've learned that professing Christians who like to argue about the Bible... are usually covering up some sin in their lives, are very insecure, and are usually unhappy at work or at home. He says, look, the people that come in and try to bring divisions and try to bring these arguments and they're bringing these disputes and divisions within the body, usually, he says, there's something going on in the heart. There's some sin in their life that they're covering up. They're unhappy and miserable at home or at work. It's just the evidence of a heart that is not right with God. He says, reject them after the first and second admonition, knowing that such a person is warped and sinning. They're twisted. Their mind has been bent. They don't understand the truth. They don't understand what is going on. They're sinning. They're continuing in rebellion against God. And he says, being self-condemned. They're being self-condemned. They're condemning themselves. Now, if you ever have to sit down with someone for the first or second admonition, if you ever have to sit down with someone to rebuke them or admonish them, you'll often hear something along the lines of, why are you judging me? Why are you condemning me? Here's what Paul says. They're self-condemned. I'm not condemning you. You're condemning yourself by the way that you act, by the choices that you're making. By the divisions that you're creating in the body of Christ. This is not a personal thing. And that I'm coming against you or judging you. No, I leave that in the hands of God. But here's what the scripture says. You're condemning yourself. If you divide the body of Christ, His precious bride that He purchased. If you bring division and hurt and tear apart the body of Christ, you're condemning yourself. You're bringing it upon yourself. And you're proclaiming with your own mouth, with your own words, and by your own actions, your rebellion against God. So, we're to affirm, we're to avoid, we're to reject. Number four, we're to send, verses 12 and 13. He says, when I send Artemis to you, or Tychicus, be diligent to come to me at Nicopolis, for I have decided to spend the winter there. Verse 13, send Zenos the lawyer and Apollos on their journey with haste, that they may lack nothing. So here we see that Paul is going to be sending Artemis or Tychicus there to the island of Crete. We also see in verse 13 that Titus is to be sending out Zenos the lawyer and Apollos as well on their journey. We are to be sending people onto the mission field. We're to be sending others that they would be about the work of the gospel. Without going into too much detail, the idea here is that we're to be meeting people's practical needs so that they can go. He says, send Zenos the lawyer. Now, by the way, lawyer, we think of the occupation of a lawyer today, but it means he was an expert in the Word of God, much like Apollos. So send Zenos the lawyer and Apollos on their journey with haste that they may lack nothing. This idea of with haste does not only mean quickly or speedily, but this word haste also could be translated diligence. Diligence. With diligence, send them on their way. Be diligent in your sending to the effect that they may lack nothing. The whole point here is to be diligent to send them, be faithful in sending them in such a way that they don't lack what they need, that the resources that they need, they will have. And here may I remind you to be supporting the work of God through the men of God and women of God that He has sent out, both from this place and from anywhere else that God has chosen to send them, those that God has put upon your heart and those that God has brought you in contact with. We need to be sending. We need to be supporting and providing and meeting the needs of others so that they can afford to, that they can be able to That they can have the resources that they need to be able to do the work of God where He has sent them to be and to do that work. I know that we are in an economy that it wasn't like what we were experiencing maybe four or five years ago. Great prosperity and now things are tough and things are tight. And as a church, we've noticed the difference. We've noticed a difference. Primarily, the biggest difference is for the missionaries that we support. On Wednesdays, we take a missionary offering. It is significantly less than what it used to be. There is... Often, offerings that are given, designated to specific missionaries, they're significantly less than what they used to be. Now, I understand, and this is not to bring condemnation upon anyone. You are only required and called to do what God puts upon your heart, that you would be joyful and excited about giving. This is not a plea, we're not going to take another offering. This is an encouragement to you, an encouragement to me, by Paul, that we would send with diligence. That we would be considerate of those that God has sent out and that we would make sure that they don't lack anything that they need as they're about doing the work of God. For those of you who keep up with Pastor Tom's blog, You know and maybe didn't catch all the details, but they got a new building now. And it's pretty cool because they're going to be able to combine. They got a three-story building and they're going to combine the coffee shop and the church and the school all now in one building where they were dispersed between buildings before. And so it's pretty exciting. But here's the thing in Japan, when you rent a new building, you think it's bad when renters here or renters require that you come up with first month's rent as a deposit and then also the last month's rent as a deposit. I'm sorry, last month's rent as a deposit, first month, and then you can get into the place. Well, in order to get into this building, it's required for them to have about $13,000. The rent's not that high, but they have to... There's all kinds of... It's part of the culture of Japan. There's all kinds of expenses. There's all kinds... Part of it is a gift, and instead of a deposit, you don't get it back, that kind of thing. It's what's required there in Japan in order to get a building. Now, there's a significant need there. I'm sure you don't expect that Tom would have $13,000 in his back pocket as he walks around. Just presenting it, just sharing it, because perhaps God wants to speak to your heart. There's a young girl, a young lady in our body that desires to go to Okinawa to be a student, to study the Bible. Perhaps God has put it upon your heart because the resources are not there. There's not the funds to be able to go, and so the plans are on hold. But maybe God would have you send with haste or send diligently that they would lack nothing. I was visited not too long ago by a pastor who does work in India. And he has a school there for pastors and he raises up pastors and then they go out and start a work. And it's incredible, for $50 a month... You can support a pastor to start a new church, to start a new work. Who's just recently graduated from the school. They send them out. They go start a work. And for $50 a month, you can meet all of their needs there in India. Incredible. There's great opportunity for us. Again, I would just challenge you to seek the Lord on that. To send with diligence that they may lack nothing. And finally, number five, we need to learn. Verse 14 says, And let our people also learn to maintain good works, to meet urgent needs that they may not be unfruitful. In addition to sending out missionaries, we need to learn to meet people's needs right here too. Not just the needs of people who are out there on the mission field, but the needs of the people around us. We need to learn to meet those needs. The fact that he says we need to learn it tells us that it's more than what comes naturally to us. We all, I think, have a sense of compassion. It's something that's fairly normal for an individual, for a society, to see someone in need and have compassion and desire to help. But what God desires for us to do is to learn, even more than what comes naturally to us, to maintain good works and to meet urgent needs, to meet practical needs and physical needs. He says that we may not be unfruitful. In John chapter 15 says, Jesus said, I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should remain. He tells us also in John 15 that we're to have abundant fruit. Here Paul tells us we're to maintain good works and meet urgent needs that we would not be unfruitful. God desires to produce fruit in our lives. And often we think of fruit and we read John chapter 15 and we only think about fruit how many tracts we've handed out, or how many times we've prayed with someone the sinner's prayer. And those are awesome and those are important. But just as important, God says, I want you to learn how to serve the people around you, to meet their needs, to minister to them in a way that no one else does, or perhaps only family does. Or only certain kinds of people do, but you a stranger, you just barely a neighbor, or just, you know, fairly acquainted as a co-worker. You serve them in a way that demonstrates the love of God, that you may not be unfruitful. Paul says we need to learn to maintain good works and to meet urgent needs. Verse 15, he finishes off saying, All who are with me greet you, greet those who love us in the faith. Grace be with you all. Amen. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, I pray, Lord, that you would challenge our hearts in these things. Lord, that we would affirm your message confidently and firmly. Lord, that there would be clarity in what we say and where we stand when it comes to you. And God, I pray that the world around us would know, Lord, that we love you. And that the world around us would know your message by the things that we say, by the way that we share. what you have done for us. God, I pray that you would help us to avoid the things that are not profitable, the things that would just bog us down. Lord, help us to reject those who would bring division, those who would tear apart your body. Lord, keep us united. Keep us unified. Lord, I pray that you would help us to send Lord, that you would enable us, that you would place upon our hearts direction and clarity and how you would choose to use the resources that you've given to us and entrusted to us. And Lord, we pray that you would meet those needs of those who are on the mission field. Lord, meet the needs of those that you want to send out. And God, I pray that you would help us to learn. Lord, there's a world around us that needs help, that needs to know the truth. And the way that you've chosen for us to be a light, that they might glorify you, is for us to meet those needs and minister to them and serve them and love them with practical help, with physical aid. God, I pray that you would help us to learn to be active in our faith, to be living out the Christian life, ministering to the people around us. God, I pray for any, Lord, who need to be ministered to spiritually, Lord, those that are hurting, those who are in need, those who have been wounded or are searching. God, those who do not know you. Lord, I pray that you would meet their needs this morning. Lord, that you would pour out your spirit upon them and minister to them. Lord, I pray that you would bring others around them here in this body to minister to them, to encourage them, to pray with them and lift them up. We thank you, God, that you're so good to us. We ask that you would help us to live this life that you've called us to live. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.