“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!
- We are saved by GRACE
- We are kept by GRACE
- And we will make it to heaven by GRACE
o “Tis grace has brought me safe thus far, And grace will lead me home.”
“Christians live in ‘this present age’ but they do not live LIKE it or FOR it.” (Wiersbe) One of the reasons that we don’t live like this present age or for this present age is b/c we know that this is not our final destination. 1 Peter 2:11 tells us that we are “strangers & aliens [temporary residents” in this world.” Hebrews 11:13 tells us that the OT saints like Noah, Abraham, Isaac, & Jacob all knew that they were “strangers & exiles on the earth.” That’s us, too!
- We are IN the world, but not OF the world, & one day, we will be OUT of the world.
- That’s the Day we as Christ-followers are looking forward to – the Day when Jesus comes to get us to take us home – the Day that Paul is talking about in v. 13 – “waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God & Savior Jesus Christ.”
APPLICATION – The return of Jesus is a strong motivation to live right for the glory of God.
Here are 4 powerful truths to hang on to about the return of Jesus:
IT IS INCLUDED IN GOD’S GRACE – Back to v. 11. This is all grounded in God’s glorious grace.
- GRACE – God giving to us what we do not deserve.
- “…since we merited nothing from God & God being God owes us nothing, we see His favor both in salvation & the blessings that follow all as a token of His undeserved grace to the praise of His glory.” (Randy Smith)
- We don’t deserve to be saved. We don’t deserve the power to live right for His glory right now. And we don’t deserve the hope we have that He’s coming back for us.
- As we look back, we see grace – v. 14 – “He gave Himself for us.” We look around us & we see grace – every blessing that we have from Him is by grace. And we look forward & see grace – the “glorious appearing” that is coming soon.
Salvation is God saying to us as His children, “I have saved you; I am saving you right now; & one day, I will completely save you - & it’s all by my GRACE!”
IT IS IMMINENT – “imminent” – likely to happen at any time; impending.” The return of Jesus could happen at any time. There aren’t any more prophecies that have to be fulfilled for this to happen. It’s the next thing on God’s calendar.
- Philippians 4:5 – “…The Lord is at hand.”
o “The Lord is coming soon” (GNT)
- Revelation 1:3; 22:10 – “…the time is near.”
We need to be watching for His return, just like Jesus taught His disciples. Luke 12:40 – “You also must be ready, b/c the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect Him.” The Apostle Paul told the Philippians to be ready (Philippians 3:20). He told the Thessalonians to be ready (1 Thessalonians 5:6). He told Titus here to be ready. If the disciples & the early church were to expect the coming of the Lord at any time, how much more should we be waiting w/ eager expectation?
Let me be clear: What we are talking about here is the Rapture of the Church. This is when Jesus comes back FOR His Church – all of those who have trusted in Him alone for their salvation. It’s what Paul was talking about in 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17:
- “For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.”
The actual 2nd Coming of Jesus is when He returns to the earth WITH His Church to finally & completely defeat Satan & all the enemies of the Gospel & set up His K’dom. This happens after the Church is raptured & after the Tribulation happens. The 2nd Coming won’t happen until other events have transpired – the Rapture can happen NOW!
IT WILL BE INSTANTANEOUS – Paul said it this way in 1 Corinthians 15:51-52 – “Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet.” True Christ-followers will be here one moment & gone the next. We will be instantaneously snatched away (that’s what the word “rapture” means). This is the only place in the NT that the phrase “in the twinkling of an eye” is used. It’s an extremely fast event – the jerk of your eye; the single beat of a gnat’s wing. That’s how quickly this event will happen. Those who are left on the earth will be bewildered & astonished. Some will be sad & terrified b/c they will remember the day that they sat in church, heard the Gospel, had the opportunity to be saved, & turned their back on Jesus.
IT’S GOING TO BE INCREDIBLE!
“We ought to be living as if Jesus died yesterday, rose this morning, and is coming back this afternoon.” (Adrian Rogers)
CONCLUSION – 1 Thessalonians 4:18 – “Therefore, encourage one another w/ these words.”
