Are You Waiting Expectantly? Series

“ARE YOU WAITING EXPECTANTLY?” Titus 2:13

FBCF – 1/17/21

Jon Daniels

INTRO – I love books. Probably have too many of them, but I keep buying them anyway. Anybody else got that same kind of problem?

Just bought set of books. Series called The Things Our Fathers Saw. Firsthand accounts of experiences that US soldiers had in WWII. First book I’m reading by this author is an account of the liberation of one of the Nazi concentration camps where millions of Jews were exterminated in one of the most atrocious acts of evil the world has ever known, the Holocaust. Tough reading, but I think it’s important for us to know & remember history, no matter how ugly it is.

- Theodore Roosevelt: “The more you know about the past, the better prepared you are for the future.”

Bible is a book of history. It tells of real-life events that happened thousands of years ago as God, in His sovereignty, implemented His perfect plan for our salvation.

But is it also a book of prophecy that tells us of the events that are going to come. It gives us warnings, encouragements, challenges, & instructions on how to live our lives as we prepare for the events that are still yet to come. For those of us who know Jesus, those coming events bring a sense of excitement & anticipation. For those who don’t know Jesus, those future events will be filled w/ pain, terror, misery, & regret – all the more reason to give your life to Christ TODAY while there’s still time.

“TIME FOR A CHECKUP” series – 5 questions:

- “Are You Saved?”

- “Are You Living Right?”

- “Are You Waiting Expectantly?”

EXPLANATION – Titus 2:13

Quick review of book of Titus & why we ought to study it:

- One of the Pastoral Epistles – Letters written to Titus & Timothy (1 & 2 Timothy). Both pastors who were dealing w/ issues within their churches.

- Paul wrote to Titus to warn him against false teachers who were infiltrating the church & causing divisiveness; to help him get the church organized & functioning properly; to exhort him to help the people understand how they were supposed to be living & acting as believers; & to encourage him to proclaim the message of sound doctrine (doctrine – teaching that comes from a source of authority. Our source of authority is the Bible).

- Personal letter – Paul loved Titus as a young son in the ministry. Sense the warmth & affection & deep concern for him to faithfully live for & walk w/ the Lord.

- Practical letter – Specific instructions & guidelines for the work of the church: Qualifications for elders who lead the church; dealing w/ problem people in the church; proper, God-honoring conduct for Christ-followers in the church.

- Positional letter – Take a strong stand on the foundation of the Gospel! Understand it – Teach it – Proclaim it – Live it!

Right here in the middle of this letter, Paul gives this great teaching on the GRACE of God & all that it means to us as His children.

- We are saved by GRACE – v. 11

- We live by GRACE – v. 12

Then v. 13 tells us something else about the amazing grace of God. Grace tells us that:

- We’ve got something coming to look forward to

o That’s what the word “waiting” means

- We’ve got something coming that’s going to make us REALLY happy

o That’s what the word “blessed” means – Same word Jesus used in the Beatitudes

- We’ve got something coming that fills us with hope

o “hope” means “confident expectation.” We are filled w/ that confident expectation b/c that something that we are looking forward to, that makes us really happy, & that fills us with hope - that “something” is the coming of JESUS!

What an amazing TRUTH for us to cling to in our tense, turbulent, troubled world!

- The world is filled w/ hopelessness, but we live in HOPE!

- The world is filled w/ violence, but we live in VICTORY!

- The world is filled w/ trouble, but we live TRIUMPHANTLY!

- The world is filled w/ immorality, but we live in IMMORTALITY!

It’s all b/c of JESUS! He has come – He has purchased our salvation through His blood that He shed for us on the cross – He defeated the devil, death, hell, & the grave through His resurrection – He went back to heaven where He is at the right hand of the throne of God interceding for us right now – & soon He is coming back to get His Church, those of us who have received Him as our Savior. It’s GRACE!