Here, our call to worship from Psalm 113. Praise the Lord. Praise, O servants of the Lord. Praise the name of the Lord. Blessed be the name of the Lord from this time forth and forevermore. From the rising of the sun to its setting, the name of the Lord is to be praised. The Lord is high above all nations and is glory above the heavens. Who is like the Lord our God, who is seated on high, who looks far down on the heavens and the earth, He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ashy to make them sit with princes, with the princes of his people. He gives the barren woman a home, making her the joyous mother of children. Praise the Lord. Let's now go to the Lord in prayer. We're grateful, Lord, for your word and its power to work in us and change us. And we pray that you would be with us today, Lord, as you call us to worship you, and we are So thankful that You have given us so many reasons to come and praise Jesus Christ for what He has done and that Your Holy Spirit is amongst us working in and through each of us as we are gathered together as we call upon Your name, O Father. And we pray that You give us everything we need to worship You in spirit and in truth and in power, Lord. We're grateful for all You've done for us. This supper is a real meal, as the Confession says. It's a feast. It's no less real than the actual bread and the wine which are served, which it says nourishes us as we eat it. Our physical bodies are nourished and so, therefore, spiritually we feast on Christ as well in the supper. It is more than symbolism. as Anabaptists teach, yet also the elements, the bread and the wine, they don't become the actual physical body of Christ as the papists claim. Just think about it. Christ is at the right hand of the Father physically. That being the truth, we know physically He is in heaven, but spiritually He is with us. and we truly feast on his spiritual presence through the elements in true faith. We are spiritually nourished and renewed in this feast. We partake both in his death and his resurrection as we even look forward to that great feast, the wedding feast of the Lamb. Now, let us turn to our first scripture reading Zechariah 14, that's on page 799. Zechariah is almost as crazy as Ezekiel, so bear with this text. And this is the reading of God's holy, perfect, never changing and always preserved word for His people. A day is coming for the Lord when the spoil taken from you will be divided in your midst. For I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem to battle, and the cities shall be taken, and the houses plundered, and the women raped. Half of the city shall go out into exile, but the rest of the people shall not be cut off from the city. Then the Lord will go out and fight against those nations as when he fights on a day of battle. On that day his feet shall stand on the Mount of Olives, that lie before Jerusalem. On the east of the Mount of Olives shall be split in two from east to west by a very wide valley. So that one half of the mount shall move northward, and the other half south. You shall flee to the valley of my mountains, for the valley of the mountains shall reach to Azael. And you shall flee as you fled from the earthquake in the days of Uzziah, king of Judah. and the Lord my God will come and all the holy ones with him. On that day there shall be no light, cold or frost, and there shall be a unique day which is known to the Lord. Neither day nor night, but at evening time there shall be light. On that day living waters shall flow out from Jerusalem, half of them to the eastern sea and half of them to the western sea. It shall continue in summer as in winter. We're going to skip ahead to verse 20. And on that day there shall be inscribed on the bells of the horses, Holy to the Lord, and the pots of the house of the Lord shall be as the bowls before the altar. And every pot in Jerusalem and Judah shall be holy to the Lord of hosts, so that all who sacrifice may come and take of them and boil the meat of the sacrifice in them. And there shall no longer be a traitor in the house of the Lord of hosts that day. That is the reading of God's Holy Word when Christ comes back for His people and brings truth and judgment with Him. Now, brothers and sisters, let us say those words which our brothers and sisters have said for 2,000 years almost. Brothers and sisters, what is it you believe? Let us now knit our hearts together as we pray the congregational prayer. Let's go to the Lord. We're grateful, Lord, that You give us all things, that You've given us Christ, and Christ has poured out His grace upon us all, are partakers of the grace of Christ that we have trusted in Him for salvation. Because apart from Him, all we deserve is death and wrath because we are sinners at birth and our lives are spent doing what we will for our own glory until your Holy Spirit turns us from death to life grants us faith by which we are able to consume, as the Confession says, all the graces and benefits of Christ for our salvation. Oh, we praise you that Christ died for our sins on the cross and gave himself for us, that we can come here every week and gather together as brothers and sisters and cry, Saints of God, and proclaim Your greatness, Your holiness, and our awe at all that You have done. O Lord, we praise You for everything. And we pray that our worship is acceptable before You. And we pray that You would be with all those here at St. John's who need Your help. Whether it's an illness, whether it's in growing in the faith that there's some sin that needs to be dealt with, please bless all of us. And we pray especially that you would help Marilyn's brother who she does not believe has trusted in you, Lord. He has just entered hospice. We pray, Lord, that You would even heal him physically. Yet even more important than that, Lord, that he would realize his need for You and that he would break down and cry out to You for salvation. That Your Spirit would work in him Your grace would turn him from spiritual death to spiritual life, that he could be renewed, that we would see him in Your glory. Oh, we pray that You would be with anyone here who's got family or friends or anybody who's in hospice, that You would bless them and save them. We pray, Lord, that You would be with all of us here at St. John's who need your healing touch. We know, Lord, that what this does for us when we are ill, whether it just be a seasonal sickness like some of us may have or something more serious, that these illnesses remind us that this is not our home. that one day some sickness or illness or tragedy will take us and we will either be in glory with You or in perdition. But we are of those, Lord, here that have trusted in You for salvation. And if anybody has not, we pray that they would do that now, that they would call upon Your Spirit to change them, that they would realize their sin, their desperate need for Christ, that they would then repent and trust in You, Lord, and You alone for salvation. For that is our true healing, Lord. One day we will all be taken away I pray that even though you love to heal your people, Lord, you are the Great Physician, that we need to remember that one day we will be with you. This is not our home here on earth. Our home is with you for all eternity. We pray that you use these things to cause us to remember this, even as You often do heal us. And we pray, Lord, that You would be with Your church all over the world, wherever it is at. Your church started as the tiniest of seeds of the garden, of mustard seed, and now it has sprung forth into a tree where all the birds of the air put their nest and live. All the nations have heard your gospel, or the vast majority of them, Lord. And truly your kingdom has spread from a tiny little country in the Middle East to the furthest ends of the earth. And we pray that your church would continue to flourish and grow as you send forth missionaries who are faithful to you and your calling. Even such as are in Omaha for our church plant there or in Montana. And even such as the pastors that are being trained in the Philippines and in Africa by Heidelberg Seminary. Bless that work that your kingdom would continue to progress and grow and flourish as faithful men of God. Teach your word. so that pastors would be able to grow your church and bless your faithful saints. We pray that you bless our nation. Once again, bless it with repentance and faith, for we are a wayward people that do not know our left hand from our right hand. We do things our own way so much of the time, and yet, Lord, we know it is. Our life is only settled when it's based upon Your Word, the rock from which we can withstand every storm. Turn this nation's heart to You, that we would be granted repentance and faith, that Your kingdom would flourish here, that righteousness would spread throughout the land. We pray, Lord, for your presence as we sing to you, as your Word is proclaimed, and as we pray, be with us in all that we do. In your Son's name, Amen. Today we have a Dr. Mosley special. This is part of my work in my Acts and Pauline's Epistle class. So you'll get to see what I'm doing here a little bit. And so we are in Titus chapter 2, verses 11 to 15. That is page 998 in your pew Bible. And of course, this is a letter of Paul to Titus, his young protege, as they've been ministering in the island of Crete. And so here we are, chapter 2, verse 11. The flower fades, the grass withers, but the Word of God endures forever. For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, 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. Declare these things, exhort and rebuke with all authority. Let no one disregard you. So, brothers and sisters, as Christians, we speak often, or at least we should, about God's grace. After all, grace is a distinguishing aspect of the faith. It is what marks us from every works-based religion in the world. And they are all works-based, except for Christianity. What we learn in this passage of Titus, however, is that not only is God's grace unique to Christianity, but God also uses his grace to teach and to train us in righteousness. That is what we will see Paul telling Titus. First, we will see that God's grace, not our own works, bring us salvation. Then we learn that this same grace trains us in living righteously for Christ. And also, in the blessed expectation and hope of His glorious return, Paul insists that this is what Titus, or I should say, this is what Titus' people need to hear. Brothers and sisters, it is what we need to hear. We always need to be reminded of the power of God's grace as we live in this world. So, I don't like doing a lot of background, but we need to do a little bit here since we're kind of jumping into the middle of it. We'll take a quick minute to situate ourselves as we are dropping into it. This is a personal letter basically from Paul to his disciple Titus. And of course, This epistle, even though it seems like it's a personal letter to Titus, is also written to this church or these churches in Crete around 60 AD and also to the saints of the last 2,000 years and it's written to us today. Paul has been faithfully discipling Titus and he considered Titus his partner and fellow worker and also a true son. in our common faith as he mentioned earlier in the letter. Titus has ministered with Paul and Corinth and now Paul needs to move on and he's leaving Titus and Crete to help organize the congregations in Crete and set in place qualified elders. He's also giving Titus directions on how to teach and preach to the members in Crete which is not an easy task as cretins were described by one of their own as they're always liars and evil beasts and lazy gluttons. This testimony is true, Paul added. So Titus has a difficult task ahead. He must have faithful elders and also faithful parishioners. Paul tells Titus earlier how the older men and women are to are to behave and conduct themselves as well as the young men and the servants. If Titus is going to be successful in Paul's mission for him in Crete, there will have to be order and civility. And this is what the gospel of God's grace has always done in history. It's brought order out of chaos. even among people as depraved as the Cretans, and maybe even us. So this text begins with Paul proclaiming that God's grace has arrived. The grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people. It has brought us salvation. It is observable by everybody. And grace is a central truth in our faith. It is more than a table prayer or a platitude describing someone's kindness. Oh, these are both still wonderful things. Grace is far more than that. It is God's unmerited favor towards humanity, and especially His people, realized through the covenant and fulfilled through Jesus Christ is how one faithful dictionary defines it. God's grace through Jesus Christ to his people is our only way of dealing with God apart from his righteous wrath. It is our only hope and is wholly dependent upon Christ who sheds his grace on whom he pleases. It is unmerited completely on our part The Apostle Paul explains this best. And if by grace that it is no longer of works, otherwise grace is no longer grace. But if it is of works, it is no longer grace. Otherwise, work is no longer work. This, brothers and sisters, is the grace which God has shed upon us here at St. John's Reformed Church, upon everyone everywhere. who Christ died for and saved through His great work on our behalf. His work on our behalf by fulfilling every jot and tittle of the law in His Incarnation when He came in the flesh through His life and through His death on the cross for our sins. These are the only works we may trust in for our salvation. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and not out of yourselves. It is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast. As Paul says in Ephesians 2, always remember as we learn of God's grace, it is an attribute of God, one which He shares with His creation, most specifically His people. Yes, there's a general common grace The rain falls on the just and the unjust. But there is a special, salvific, redeeming grace. And this is what Paul is speaking of today. It is not a force that we use at our discretion. It is God's love being poured into our hearts to turn us from sin and grow us deeper in Christ. God's mercy saves us from our just and deserved punishment. But God's grace lavishes us with all of Christ's benefits from now until eternity. Hope, love, faith, salvation, assurance, goodness, faith, righteousness. And let's not forget as well that faith is the hands and mouth of our soul. As we read earlier in our good confession, so by faith, also a gift of God, we drink, we consume His grace unto righteousness and eternal life, which is humbling, leaving no room for pride or boasting on our behalf. But what Paul is doing here is not proclaiming a definition of the grace of God, but it's always helpful to hear about it and understand its power and its greatness. Paul states here that this grace for our salvation is observable by everyone. Now, notice Paul doesn't say that everyone trusts in this grace. No, we know that Scripture teaches there is a wide gate that leads to destruction and a narrow gate through which we enter into salvation. Paul simply implies and is saying that everyone has all that they need to understand God's grace of salvation. As he says in Romans 1 and 2, In Romans 2, he says everyone has God's law engraved on their hearts. And in Romans 1, he says that even God's triune nature can be observed by His creation. And when it comes to God's work in man and creation, we are without excuse. Paul exclaims, the grace of God exerts such power that though not all men everywhere are saved, but there are people saved by God's grace from every tribe, tongue, and nation. I mean brothers and sisters, saints of God, here we are! A denomination of German Reformed believers, largely. in Lincoln, Nebraska, where it's mostly Germans from Russia, and we're sitting here and worshiping in the middle of Lincoln, thousands of miles from our ancestral home. Yet not all of us are Germans. We have people whose ancestry is from places all over the world, even Iowa and Tennessee. Yet even more, if God's revelation to the people of the world leaves them without excuse concerning salvation, how much more are Christians without excuse who have been redeemed by Christ's blood, saved by His grace, to live holy lives unto Him? This is our second point. God's powerful grace trains us. It disciplines us. It teaches us. to live righteously for Christ. While God's grace is powerful to save, as we've just discussed, it's our only hope in our salvation. We must not presume upon God's gracious demeanor. While our salvation was free to us, it didn't come cheap, as has been said. The sinless Son of God had to die to save us from our sin. He had to endure the Father's righteous and perfect wrath against sin and sinners. He who knew no sin became sin for us that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. Our redemption came at a great cost. Paul tells us that Christ didn't redeem us so that we could still remain in in our sinful lives and sinful filth. We aren't to roll around in the pigsty of our own lives, of our old lives. Christ calls us, impels us, empowers us to holiness, to be zealous for good works, as He will say in verse 14, but let's not get too far ahead of ourselves. First, we are being disciplined by God's mighty grace to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions. We've got to take care of the negative before we get to the positive. Paul had elsewhere said that we are to put off the old man. It's corrupt according to the deceitful lust in Ephesians 4. And this dying of the old man, as the catechism puts it, is heartfelt sorrow for sin. causing us to hate and turn from it always more and more. God's redeeming grace not only saves us from death and hell, but continues to work its work in us as we die to self. Grace not only saves us, but sanctifies us, causing us to turn from our old life of sin and evil to a life of sober living, controlled by the Holy Spirit. God's amazing grace is the gift that keeps on giving and it will finish its work in us. God's grace is poured into us by Jesus Christ until we will see Him face to face. And then we will see here that we are to put off the old man, but Paul also exhorts that we are to die to the old man. He calls the Cretans to upright and godly living. Remember who he was speaking to in Crete. This was a decadent culture through and through. These were pagans. who are liars, evil, lazy, gluttonous. And we may say that we live in such a culture today. How can Paul expect us to live godly lives? And we may say, well, yeah, we know that it was bad for the Cretans, but they didn't have all the evils we have at the tip of our fingers. We have all the evils that the Cretans had, but at the click of a mouse. Let's not be too hasty, brothers and sisters. Let's not confuse speed with depravity. In many Greek towns in that day, they had access to sin, and that sin was accepted. This was of such a sin that would make Britney Spears and P. Diddy blush. This is a church, so we'll spare the details of what this looked like, but just suffice it to say, we ain't so special in our wickedness. We haven't invented anything new. We've just figured out how to do it and send it out faster. The piety and wholesomeness which Paul was calling the Cretans to observe was just as difficult for them as it is for us today. Just as we say that sin is just a click away, yet we also know that any translation of the Bible we could pass, possibly one, is also a click away, along with all kinds of other wonderful, godly and virtuous resources that we can click on instead of any sin and depravity we may have the desire to. And brothers and sisters, the Cretans did not have this convenience. They didn't even have the Word of God, let alone a copy of every translation known to man, like many of us may have. So we must not just put off the old man, but we've got to put on the new man. which was created according to God in true righteousness and holiness, as Ephesians says as well. Yes, God's precious grace has placed us in Christ and in true righteousness and holiness. We have heartfelt sorrow for sin. And now, as the Catechism says, we have heartfelt joy in God through Christ causing us to take delight in living according to the will of God in all good works. So brothers and sisters, we sorrow for our sin and we delight in righteousness as those who are being disciplined and brought up in God's awesome grace. Our lives are now empowered by God's grace and we no longer love our sin. Oh, sure, Until we are perfected in eternity, we will struggle with sin. But now that God's powerful grace is working in us, we hate our sin. We confess it daily, hourly, minute by minute for some of us if necessary. And the Holy Spirit, He's grieved by our sin, yet works in us. pours His mighty grace through our hearts and souls so that we are able to walk in the Spirit and not fulfill the desires of the flesh. We become a fruitful tree which produces love, is filled with joy, promotes peace, bears long in all things, blesses others, promotes holiness, is faithful. not harming anyone and self-control. This kind of fruit of the Spirit, this kind of piety can only come to those who are being transformed by God's persevering grace. We will hunger for the Word of God. It will be our true food. We will seek God at all times, trying to keep in the love of God. as He keeps us speaking to Him in prayer and listening to Him through Scripture and faithful brothers and sisters in Christ. We will be driven to minister to others, showing them and speaking to them about Christ and what He's done for us, showing them all the beauties of our Lord. And we will hunger and thirst for righteousness and to see God's kingdom continue grow as we assail the very gates of hell with his gospel. We will faithfully gather with the people of God and praise Christ and hear his word to us in worship and grow in him as we seek his grace to guide and empower us from day to day. Even more, brothers and sisters, let us drink in God's grace as He pours it out for us day by day, even in His blessed supper as we just spoke of by the bread and the wine. We are spiritually nourished by Christ as we receive Him by our mouth of faith and in true faith. So we work out our salvation like this, as Paul says, with all thanks and all hope, as our third point illustrates. We work in hopeful anticipation of that day, the day of the Lord, when Christ returns in all His glory as Zechariah 14 was speaking of. Those were some stark verses that showed the depravity of what the wicked do to the people of God. And Christ will return in all His glory at the day of the Lord, the day of judgment when all things are settled. God's preeminent grace provides us with the joyful expectation, hope, and confidence that Christ is coming back for His people. Our labors for Christ's kingdom will not be for naught this means. They are going to be purposeful. They are used by Christ today to attract unbelievers to Him as our good works even further beautify and adorn God's Word as Paul stated earlier in verse 10, but showing all good faith so that in everything they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior. Our grace fueled faithfulness to Christ is another way in which unbelievers are without excuse in their rejection of God's grace in Christ and will further accuse them in their unrighteousness. This wonderful letter from Paul to Titus is also a wonderful defense of the truth that Jesus Christ is very God of very gods. The appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Don't ever let someone tell you that the Bible does not teach the divinity of Christ. Christ's divinity shouts forth from every portion of Scripture. But Paul explicitly states it here, leaving others once again with no excuse whatsoever for such a monstrous and stupid claim. This proclamation of Christ's deity starkly reveals the awesome truth of Christ's redemptive work on the cross for our salvation. Just think about this. Right after Paul speaks of Christ's divinity, he explains that the same God, hear this, is truly our Savior who gave Himself for our salvation. Recently, someone was reading an account of Christ's crucifixion and they started to stammer and stutter and cry. It was very striking. How many times have we, or especially I, just read the words of Christ's Passion and continued on as if it was no big deal? How callous can we be, even believers in Christ, and confronted with the truth that the King of the universe coming in the flesh, fulfilling all the righteous works of the law which we cannot even begin to accomplish. And then He on our behalf dies a horrific death for our sin. And then you're like me. I just go and read the next chapter. But this is a staggering reality of who Christ is. And this is why we are here today. Because of Christ. Vicarious life, death, burial, and resurrection. It is because of this that God pours out His amazing grace on His elect to purify for Himself a people for His own possession who are zealous for good works. By his electing grace, we are his. We are no longer our own. We've been bought at the price. Just as we purchase a house to live in and to furnish, we make sure it's well taken care of and kept clean. We want a place where we happily claim is our own, and we regularly slap new paint on it, plant new flowers, and give it our tender care. How much more is the temple of the Holy Spirit should we seek to beautify, purify, and adorn our lives for the sake of Christ under the mighty work of his sanctifying grace all done with a thankful heart and the power of the Spirit? It is truly wonderful that what seems to be a personal letter from the Apostle Paul to his young protege Titus can still be useful for training all of God's people in righteousness. Yet we end this section learning that the grace of God needs unleashing through the proclamation of God's Word to His people. Declare these things. Exhort and rebuke with all authority. Let no one despise you. These verses serve as a part of a preaching manual given by Paul to Titus Titus must declare, exhort, and rebuke the believers in Crete according to the powerful, irresistible grace of God as it pertains to our salvation, sanctification, and Christ's Second Coming. This is the sum and total of Titus' call to preach the Gospel in and out of season, and it's no different today for ministers of the Gospel. The preaching of Christ and Him crucified are the words of life, which all believers need to hear every week. God's grace is powerfully demonstrated by and through the preaching of the Gospel, no matter if the preacher is eloquent or plain spoken. When Luther was asked, why do you preach the Gospel every week? He replied, because we need to hear the Gospel. every week. What was true for Titus was true for Luther and it remains true for us today. This is why you ever go to a classist meeting in the springtime, every RCUS minister is asked, are the doctrines of the gospel preached in your charge in their purity? agreeably to the word of God? God's grace only works through a minister who can answer yes to this question. They are powerless if they don't, through the power of the Spirit, preach the pure gospel. Where the gospel is not proclaimed, you can be sure that God's grace is absent. Finally, Paul encourages his young disciples to preach and teach with authority. If we are to be sure about anything, we must be sure of the Gospel. And Paul impresses upon Titus and the Cretans that he has the Apostle's blessing, his affirmation. And all that comes with that. The Cretans were difficult people. And it probably was even more trying for a young man to preach with authority in such a situation. Only by the grace of God can a young man preach in power to such an unruly people. Only the disciplining work of grace in the life of a congregation can turn any unruly group of people into a holy collection of saints. God's awesome grace works His power in Christian individuals and in churches, building up piece by piece stone upon stone into a holy temple worthy of his great name. God's grace builds his people upon the foundation laid by the apostles whose chief cornerstone is Christ, Ephesians 2. We are part of that temple. Remember, that's the temple Christ said, I will tear it down and build it in three days. Indestructible. eternal and holy. Paul's command to Titus in the last sentence of the last verse here is for Titus to protect his reputation, his name. And if Titus is faithfully walking in the power of the grace of God, following Paul's instructions, and then still the Cretans despise him, then he must stand against such blatant disobedience. Scripture is clear from the days of Moses until now. That is a serious business to attack God's appointed ministers. Christ is jealous for His people and His name. Paul knows this well. Remember when Christ first appeared to Paul in Acts 9 and said to him, I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. Paul had been persecuting Christ's people. His church. But it's all the same to Jesus. He was persecuting Christ himself as we are all one body. An attack upon a faithful minister of Christ as Titus was is an attack on Christ himself and thus Titus must not allow such attacks to stand. It is no different today. Christ-ordained faithful ministers must defend their ministry in spirit and in truth from baseless attacks. And so defend Christ's name as well. When Christ's shepherds are slandered, Christ himself is slandered. We must hallow his name. This is a hill Christians should be ready to die on. We must not sit in silence when God's name is taken in vain. And in conclusion, God's grace is powerful beyond anything we can accomplish on our own. God's grace is awesome, unmerited, irresistible, persevering, justifying, humbling, sanctifying, reconciling. Simply put, God's grace is amazing. Let's remember that this grace brings about our salvation no matter how wicked and evil we may be. Amazing grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me. I once was lost, but now am found. I was blind, but now I see. God's grace teaches us day by day how we are to take up our cross, denying our passions and desires, and live holy and holy unto Christ. The greatness of God's grace disciplines our lives and our fervent trust and hope that Christ will fulfill his promise and come again in the clouds consummating and finishing his great work for all eternity. This, Saints of God, is the complete gospel which we need to hear Every week we truly seek to hear those great comforting words of Christ. Well done, good and faithful servant. You were faithful over a few things. I will make you ruler over many things. Enter in the joy of your Lord. That, my friends, is our chief comfort in life and death, both in body and in soul. Amen. Let's pray. Gracious Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who freely sends Your Spirit and pours out His grace into us, please cause us to live as You would as people who have been saved from death and hell. Oh, help us to remember all the comforts we have in Christ all the comforts from our sin and misery. Bless us this day as we go forth that we would take your words, that they would live in our hearts and grow and just work in us more and more each day that your kingdom would prosper and your will would be done. Bless us as we go forth. Be with us in all things. Help Christ to be glorified, and use us for your kingdom. In your Son's name, Amen.