August 20, 2017
Scripture:
Ministry:
We have had God’s love before us this morning. In hymn 31, we sang of “matchless love.” Some of us have read the tract, “The Matchless Pearl.” No other pearl could compare to that pearl. And nothing can match the Lord’s love. We also sang of “boundless love.” We were known and loved by God before the foundations of the world. In Jeremiah 31:3, we read of God’s “everlasting love.” He will continue to love us for all of eternity. Read Ephesians 3:19. This morning we have heard of God’s love. But we have only scratched the surface of what God’s love acually is. Hopefully we are amazed at what God’s love is toward us this morning.
Hymn 249 - One there is above all others
Prayer
Last time we looked at Proverbs 23:26: “My son, give me thine heart, and let thine eyes observe my ways.” The Lord wants our hearts, and he wants us to study His word and His ways. Another way to “observe His ways”, though, is to be dependent on Him in our troubles and distresses. Philippians 4:6 tells us to be anxious about nothing, but instead to thank the Lord and pray. We shouldn’t fear anything, but go to the Lord in our times of trouble.
There was a king in the Old Testament who is a good example of this. He had his eyes on the Lord. His name was Jehoshaphat, and he cleansed Judah of idol worship. In II Chronicles 20, large armies were coming against him, and he looked to the Lord for help.
II Chronicles 20:1-4. Jehoshaphat heard that these armies were coming, and what did he do? Instead of making a battle plan, he proclaimed fasting and prayer across the land, and they asked the Lord for help.
Vv.5-12 gives us Jehoshaphat’s prayer. The Lord had given the Children of Israel land and a promise to protect them; and now enemies were coming. Jehoshaphat didn’t know what to do; he couldn’t get a big enough army to fight these invaders. However, his eyes were on the Lord, and he depended on Him for help. The Lord is all-powerful; He can take care of any situation.
Psalm 123:1-2 shows us how confident we can be in the Lord. We can have our eyes on Him and delight in His ways. We can look to Him in any situation, just like Jehoshaphat did. Jehoshaphat was afraid, but we can have peace as we look to the Lord.
Vv.14-15. The Holy Spirit came upon a man named Jahaziel, and gave him a message. “The battle is God’s,” he told the king. That’s what David said when he went to fight Goliath. God also fought for Gideon and his three hundred men against the Midianites. The battle belongs to God. Jesus has overcome our enemy, Satan, through His death and resurrection. We can live in power over sin because of that victory.
Vv.16-17. These words comforted the people; they weren’t even going to have to fight! The Lord would be with them; and the book of Hebrews tell us that the Lord will never leave us nor forsake us.
Vv.18-19. The battle hadn’t even happened yet, but Jahaziel had spoken God’s word, and Jehoshaphat wasn’t afraid. We can see the faith of these people in the way they praised the Lord.
V.20. Because they weren’t afraid, Jehoshaphat and the people left early in the morning. Jehoshaphat encouraged them to believe what the Lord had said; he didn’t want them to be afraid.
Vv.21-25. All the enemy soldiers ended up fighting and killing each other. God’s people trusted Him, and we can see the abundance of His blessing; the blessing of depending on Him. We should give Him our hearts in every situation. Not every situation is going to turn out like this, but the Lord will be with us through everything. May we always delight in His ways, and look to Him in every difficult time.
Titus 1:7-16
How would you like to have Titus’ assignment? Well, everyone has an old nature. The Cretians had been saved, but needed help setting up an assembly. They were still living in the kind of culture where everyone was liars, evil beasts, and slow bellies. That didn’t go away, and they had to deal with it. There seemed to be a fall in activity and behaviour. Order is important. There is such a thing as godly order. We’ve been commanded to do things ” decently and in order”. If things are not done in order there is confusion. That’s not appropriate for something supposed to be done for the glory of God. Sometimes, though, we find ourselves in disorder. May God help us to honour the condition that seems to be to the desire of the Lord. Orderliness is one of God’s characteristics. But it’s not only how things are done; there can be disorder in doctrine. There have been things done far from how things should be conducted. God has given instructions. We have all we need to be orderly. We need to have things in a way that brings glory to God. He is a God of order. We see that right from the beginning in Genesis chapter one.
Titus wasn’t just supposed to randomly say, “You’re going to be a teacher, and you’ll be an elder”. Paul gives him a list or description of the people to put in these positions of responsibility. Elder doesn’t mean the oldest person in the place. It has more to do with the spiritual condition and how they’ve grown in the faith. Bishop is an overseer. It’s the office; not spiritual positioning. So the same person could hold both positions. These aren’t like the positions in churches today. This, though, happens to be the first thing Paul thinks of. Who can be responsible to lead? We don’t have big assemblies, and brothers usually assume these responsibilities. Some brothers even wear “more than one hat”. We don’t have a specific brother looking out for trouble to point out to another brother, but we should all work together to look out for each other.
A steward is someone who takes care of something for someone else. God has given us the truth of gathering. Let’s be good stewards of it. We’re stewards to doctrine. It’s important to understand what He’s said. May we seek to go on in holiness and purity. Are we good stewards? What has God given you to be steward of?
Self-will is definitely a character of the old nature. If you’re now the Lord’s you need to be exercised about His will. We need to be occupied with His Word to understand His mind and thoughts. What is according to holiness and His will?
It’s a hard thing for people born with an angry spirit. They end up not always being logical or reasonable, and it affects their health and emotions. May we be patient, and careful that our character doesn’t get upset. Now, there is a righteous anger, but you need to be careful about it. Anger can be provoked. Don’t provoke it. Anger is real. We all may have some of it, but here Titus is to look for someone without a short temper.
Read v. 7. Timothy was told to take wine for his stomach’s sake. I think this is more about temperance. Many people today are homeless because they’re so addicted to this or stuff like it. May the Lord keep us.
A striker is someone who is violent. Filthy lucre is money earned the wrong way. Some have picked up the ministry for what they can get out of it. They become millionaires doing this. They try to justify it, but it’s just filthy lucre. The gospel is free.
These are all characteristics that should be identified with the people who gather to the Lord’s name.
Hymn 215 - Happy they who trust in Jesus
Prayer