Sunday’s Sermon

Sermon Text:  Titus 2:11-14: “For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, (12) training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, (13) waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, (14) who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.”

Sermon Summary: The pastor showed us from these verses proof that all of the promises God made were true and had been kept, and all those promises that had not yet been fulfilled would be fulfilled (Such as Jesus final coming). The pastor directed our attention to the fact the Jesus gave Himself for us so that we might be redeemed and saved from the wrath of God. Jesus died for undeserving, sinful, enemies of God. And because He did that, it makes no sense for Him to keep only a few of the promises He made.

So basically, the pastor used the gospel to show us that all of the promises of God would come true.

Closing Notes:

I hope that you also heard the gospel today, and were also encouraged.

All Things New.

Revelation 21:1-8: “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. (2) And I saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. (3) And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. (4) He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” (5) And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” (6) And he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment. (7) The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son. (8) But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.”

Today, we will be looking at the many things that Believers will receive once the old is replaced by the new. Please read the verses above so that you might an understanding of wonderful the new Heaven and Earth will be.

We see in verses 1-5 the new Heaven and Earth; the old has been destroyed, and the new has come. After judgment, the old; sin-fill universe, was destroyed, along with Heaven. God then made a new Heaven and Earth for all Believers in dwell in.

Then in verse 6-8, we see the things which we will spend most of our time on today. In verse 6, God declares Himself to be the beginning and the end. Which He is, He made and later destroyed all things. And after saying that, He tells us that: To all who are thirsty (spiritually speaking) He will freely give the water of life. All people are born spiritually thirsty, that is why we go to sin, we are trying to quench that thirst. Look at the woman at the well: She has been drinking from the “broken cistern” of relationships. She had five different husbands, and at the time she met Jesus, she was living with a man who was not her husband. But once Jesus came and told her of the living water that He had, she wanted it, and Jesus gave it to her (free of charge). After that, that woman was never the same; why? Because, she had drunk from the living waters and was never spiritually thirsty again. All those who come to Jesus, are giving the living water which quenches all spiritual thirst.

Now we come to verse 7, we see that all those who conquer will be given the New Heaven and New Earth as an heritage, and not only that, but they will be given the highest honor: They will become children of God. We see in Romans 8:37  (“No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.”) and John 3:16  (“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”) as well as passages like: 1st Thessalonians 1:4, 2nd Thessalonians 2:16, and 1st John 4:10 which tell us that; we are loved by Jesus, who showed His love for us by dying on the cross so that we might live. And so, all believers, those who trust in Jesus for their power and so overcome, and made children of God through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Now that we have covered the believers, what about those who do not believe?

We see them in verse 8; we see that their sins have not been forgiven and forgotten by God. Why? Because they did not run to Jesus in order to have their sin removed. Once our sin is removed by trusting in Jesus, our sins are forgiven and forgotten. We see this in Hebrews 10:12-17: “But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, (13) waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet. (14) For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified. (15) And the Holy Spirit also bears witness to us; for after saying, (16) “This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my laws on their hearts, and write them on their minds,” (17) then he adds, “I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more.”

All those who trust in Jesus for forgiveness, are forgiven. They receive forgiveness, and because their sins are forgiveness in Christ, they are also forgotten by God. But if you have not received forgiveness in Christ, then your sins are still visible to God. And because you are not perfect in the eyes of God, you will be eternally separated from Him. However, if you will call out to Jesus, and ask Him for the living waters that He promises, you will receive them, free of charge. Call out to Jesus, receive forgiveness of sins, freedom from sin’s power over you, and receive living water from Him.

And if you are a Believer in the Lord reading this post, I encourage you to never forget the gospel, and to hold fast to the promises of God told to us in this passage.

Heavenly Father, I thank You, for making us Your Children, through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, Your first Son. And Jesus, I thank You, for taking all of my sin and shame on Yourself on the cross, making me holy and pure in Your blood, which was shed for me on that cross. Holy Spirit, I ask You, to please remind us of the gospel every day, and please help us to preach the gospel boldly, and unashamed, as we should. In Jesus’ name, amen.

The Gospel

Well, we have finished 2^nd Timothy. And we now move on to Titus, but before we get started; I would like to open in prayer: “Holy Spirit, please show us the gospel in every passage that we read, and please give us understanding, to understand the Word of God clearly. In Jesus’ name, amen.” Alright, let’s begin:

Titus 1:1-3: “Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the sake of the faith of God’s elect and their knowledge of the truth, which accords with godliness, in hope of eternal life, which God, who never lies, promised before the ages began and at the proper time manifested in his word through the preaching with which I have been entrusted by the command of God our Savior;”

Paul opens his letter to Titus normally: My name is Paul, I serve Jesus Christ, and my message is the gospel of Jesus’ death and resurrection. But let’s take a closer look at Paul’s opening: “for the sake of the faith of God’s elect and their knowledge of the truth, which accords with godliness, in hope of eternal life,” Faith, knowledge of the truth, which accords (or agrees) with godliness, in hope of eternal life. Sounds like the gospel to me. Through Jesus’ death and resurrection, we have received both, godliness and hope of eternal life. Remember:

Romans 6:23: “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Through Jesus’ death and resurrection, we have received eternal life.)

Let’s continue: “which God, who never lies, promised before the ages began and at the proper time manifested in his word through the preaching with which I have been entrusted by the command of God our Savior;” Paul gives us a promise, that we can cling too: God never lies, so since He promised us eternal life, through the death and resurrection of His Son, before the world was even made. We will receive it; and we did, through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, our Lord, and Savior. Who, “at the proper time manifest in His word through the preaching with which I have been entrusted by the command of God our Savior;” Paul has been given the gospel to preach, and so, it comes out in each of his letters, and in many places in them.

The gospel is important, if not for Jesus’ death; there would be no true sacrifice, and so, no forgiveness, and no freedom. We would still be under the law, and under God’s wrath. And if not for Jesus’ resurrection; that would tell us that God did not accept Jesus’ sacrifice, and so God’s wrath would still be on us, our sin would still be with us, and we would be dead in our sin. And there are many more things that I have not mentioned. The gospel is very important, and we should thank God for it, every day. So let’s do that now:

Heavenly Father, I thank You for the gospel, and all the things that come with it. I thank You for giving us eternal life, in the death and resurrection of Your Son, Jesus. Jesus, I thank You for giving Your life, in order to give us life, and I thank You for rising again, to give us hope. Holy Spirit, I ask You, to show us the gospel in every passage we read, and please never let us lose the wonder of the cross. In Jesus’ name, amen.