Unfinished Business Part 4 – Titus 3
Thesis: The church needs to complete the unfinished business of doing what is good. Many of us have been given a task that is unfinished by the Lord and He wants us to complete it for Him. He wants us to do what is good. The result - if we accept these missions is that many will come to understand the truth, many will embrace the truth and many will live by the truth.
Opening Illustration: I received this DVD a few weeks ago about the movie “The Passion of the Christ” and it spoke to me that Mel Gibson had the Lord speak to him about the need to complete an unfinished task for him and that was this movie. So lets see what the Lord laid on Mel’s heart when he challenged him to make this movie about Jesus.
Text:
Titus 3:3-15
3At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. 4But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, 5he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, 6whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life. 8This is a trustworthy saying. And I want you to stress these things, so that those who have trusted in God may be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good. These things are excellent and profitable for everyone. 9But avoid foolish controversies and genealogies and arguments and quarrels about the law, because these are unprofitable and useless. 10Warn a divisive person once, and then warn him a second time. After that, have nothing to do with him. 11You may be sure that such a man is warped and sinful; he is self-condemned. 12As soon as I send Artemas or Tychicus to you, do your best to come to me at Nicopolis, because I have decided to winter there. 13Do everything you can to help Zenas the lawyer and Apollos on their way and see that they have everything they need. 14Our people must learn to devote themselves to doing what is good, in order that they may provide for daily necessities and not live unproductive lives. 15Everyone with me sends you greetings. Greet those who love us in the faith. Grace be with you all.
Introduction:
Titus was given the task by Paul and the Lord to minister to the Cretan people and to make sure that he completed the unfinished business of the Gospel on this island. Titus was given a few major responsibilities by the Apostle Paul so that the Crete people could come into a personal relationship with Jesus and live the life. He had to appoint spiritual leaders, teach sound doctrine, and equip the people to do the good of the Gospel.
Titus was given the responsibility to reach this island. This task seemed almost an impossible mission but he knew “We can do all things with God” and all I need to remember is my own life testimony as to the transforming power of God.
Today is the biggest day for the NFL football with Super Bowl 38. Many of the players today know that their jobs, their business is not done until they are the Super Bowl Champions. The hype all week has been focusing on completing the unfinished job and that is to win the Super Bowl. Many of players have been focusing on the unfinished task all week. Reviewing the film of their opponents and learning what to do and how to do it good enough to win. According to KTIS there are many Christians on both teams. The one kicker for the Patriots is a Christian he said his goal or unfinished task is to a witness for Jesus Christ in the lime light of Super Bowl 38.
T.S. -- We come back to our illustration last week about keeping our eternal perspective, are you focused on the little black dot or the big white paper?
1. Remember were you have come from and in light of that complete the unfinished business of sharing the Gospel with the lost.
a. It’s always good to remember our own past because it will keep us humble and it should keep, us focused on the ultimate goal.
i. If we are the body of Christ and have experience the transforming power of the Gospel we need to complete the task of reaching the lost with the Gospel through doing the good of the Gospel.
ii. Our transformed lives should drive us to want to do what is good in our lives. Christianity Today / Sports Spectrum an Article by Rick Weber notes:
1. Bob McNair the man responsible for Super Bowl 38 being hosted in Houston has this to say about his faith in Jesus Christ and unfinished business.
2. Reliant Stadium could accurately be called "The Stadium That Bob McNair Built."He was the man whose vision, can-do spirit, and determination earned Houston another NFL franchise in a battle that the NFL had skewed dramatically in favor of Los Angeles. He was the man who galvanized community support in a depressed economic climate for a palace that ultimately would cost $449 million. The Texans and Reliant Stadium wouldn’t exist without him, nor would the NFL be bringing its world-renowned, cash-cow extravaganza to Houston without him. And yet if those things are mentioned to him, he switches directions faster than J.J. Moses, his team’s electrifying 5-foot-6 scatback kick returner. Because to him, it’s not about Bob McNair. It’s about the city he and his wife, Janice, refused to leave, even after he had sold Cogen Technologies to Enron for $1.4 billion in 1998 and could have settled into any number of more glamorous locales… McNair states, "My philosophy is that we’re all just stewards. We really don’t own anything in this world. Everything is God’s possession. We’re just stewards of some of these possessions for a period of time. We should recognize that. We will be judged on the basis of whether we were good stewards or not. Why should I get carried away with a sense of self-importance? I’ve just been blessed because God has allowed me to be a steward." While he is giving of himself, he is openly professing his faith in Jesus Christ, frequently in situations where the unsaved have a chance to hear a message they might not have heard before…What the Rev. David A. Peterson really remembers is the speech McNair gave in 1995 in Houston when he received the Torch of Liberty Award from the Anti-Defamation League, which fights bigotry and intolerance. In the moments before McNair assumed the podium, Peterson—the McNairs’ pastor at Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church—wondered what McNair would say to the crowd of diverse religious and cultural backgrounds.” He told the simple and compelling story of his heritage in the Christian faith," Peterson says. "He spoke openly about Jesus Christ, and did so in an extraordinarily winsome way. As a preacher, I was deeply impressed by his authentic and direct reflections to such a diverse community. I became deeply convinced that his faith in Jesus Christ is vivid, real, and compelling."
3. McNair accepted Christ not as a result of a spiritual revelation, but of the example his parents set. He knew he wanted what they had.
4. In his public appearances, he occasionally recites a poem called "Anyway" which has been attributed to Mother Teresa. Parts of it go like this:
If you are honest and frank, people may cheat you.
Be honest anyway.
The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow.
Do good anyway.
You see, in the final analysis, it is between you and God.
It was never between you and them anyway.
5. "Basically, if you are a follower of Jesus, you have values," McNair says. "You have accepted the values he has taught. So when you have done that, you have established standards for yourself, and they are a guidepost. I just think it makes it a lot easier for you to live your life, because you have determined that which you think is the right course. And if you want to know how you’re doing, just compare where you are with the course."Rick Weber is a freelance writer who lives in Houston. Copyright © 2004 Sports Spectrum.
iii. The way we where and the way we are should propel us into doing the good for the Lord.
1. This is why McNair does the job he was assigned to complete.
iv. When we received the grace of God it should have changed us.
1. Grace is unmerited favor it’s a free gift from God its a gift that we do not deserve nor one we could have ever earned.
a. We were once like the ones we are trying to witness too and we need to remind ourselves of this often because if we do it should give us compassion for the people trapped in the world’s clutches.
2. Remembering the love of Jesus should be the compelling force in our life. It should thrust us into wanting to do the good.
a. Communion: Stop here and focus on Communion!
i. Read 1 Cor. 11:23-34 “Let me go over with you again exactly what goes on in the Lord’s Supper and why it is so centrally important. I received my instructions from the Master himself and passed them on to you. The Master, Jesus, on the night of his betrayal, took bread. Having given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, broken for you. Do this to remember me.” After supper, he did the same thing with the cup: “This cup is my blood, my new covenant with you. Each time you drink this cup, remember me.” What you must solemnly realize is that every time you eat this bread and every time you drink this cup, you reenact in your words and actions the death of the Master. You will be drawn back to this meal again and again until the Master returns. You must never let familiarity breed contempt. Anyone who eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Master irreverently is like part of the crowd that jeered and spit on him at his death. Is that the kind of “remembrance” you want to be part of? Examine your motives, test your heart, come to this meal in holy awe. If you give no thought (or worse, don’t care) about the broken body of the Master when you eat and drink, you’re running the risk of serious consequences. That’s why so many of you even now are listless and sick, and others have gone to an early grave. If we get this straight now, we won’t have to be straightened out later on. Better to be confronted by the Master now than to face a fiery confrontation later. So, my friends, when you come together to the Lord’s Table, be reverent and courteous with one another. If you’re so hungry that you can’t wait to be served, go home and get a sandwich. But by no means risk turning this Meal into an eating and drinking binge or a family squabble. It is a spiritual meal—a love feast.
ii. Some us here today have unfinished business with the Lord in regards to our relationship with him.
1. Some us need to repent of the sins that keep us away from God and get our hearts right with him.
2. Others need to remember his sacrifice and remember our conversion so we get busy and finish those tasks you know God wants you to complete.
iii. We are now going to partake individually focusing on His love and His sacrifice.
1. But before you come forward deal with the unfinished business between you and the Lord today then come.
2. Play music in background focuses on Communion theme.
b. This remembering should show’s us how excellent His way is and if we choose to live our light in view of our conversion then it will be profitable for everyone we come in contact with..
i. It is the most profitable way to live you life.
1. Romans 12:1-8 the Message states: So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you. I’m speaking to you out of deep gratitude for all that God has given me, and especially as I have responsibilities in relation to you. Living then, as every one of you does, in pure grace, it’s important that you not misinterpret yourselves as people who are bringing this goodness to God. No, God brings it all to you. The only accurate way to understand ourselves is by what God is and by what he does for us, not by what we are and what we do for him. In this way we are like the various parts of a human body. Each part gets its meaning from the body as a whole, not the other way around. The body we’re talking about is Christ’s body of chosen people. Each of us finds our meaning and function as a part of his body. But as a chopped-off finger or cut-off toe we wouldn’t amount to much, would we? So since we find ourselves fashioned into all these excellently formed and marvelously functioning parts in Christ’s body, let’s just go ahead and be what we were made to be, without enviously or pridefully comparing ourselves with each other, or trying to be something we aren’t.If you preach, just preach God’s Message, nothing else; if you help, just help, don’t take over; if you teach, stick to your teaching; if you give encouraging guidance, be careful that you don’t get bossy; if you’re put in charge, don’t manipulate; if you’re called to give aid to people in distress, keep your eyes open and be quick to respond; if you work with the disadvantaged, don’t let yourself get irritated with them or depressed by them. Keep a smile on your face.
T.S. – Once we have reminded ourselves were we have come from we then need to remember how to deal with people who are quarrelsome. In other words we do the good by handling tough situations with the direction of the Word of God.
2. Doing good means we avoid worthless controversies and quarrels over the law which stresses salvation by works.
a. We are to avoid these mindless meaningless battles.
i. I remember when I was in Bible College I would get caught up in these long debates that never went any where.
ii. The truth is this is what the Jehovah Witnesses try to get you to do at your door with them.
b. Why should we not do this because these debates are unprofitable to you and the one you are fighting with.
i. Do something profitable with your time. Serve Jesus!
c. So how do we deal with divisive and quarrelsome people?
i. You warn them once then twice and then on the third event walk away from them.
ii. The Bible says have nothing to do with them
iii. In other words stay away from them and stay out of their meaningless arguments.
d. These type of people are said to be warped in their hearts
i. They are sinful
ii. They are self-condemned
iii. They are in a sad state and they have yielded their life to the way of the lost and not to the way of freedom from sin.
Summary/ Conclusion:
Over the last few weeks we have learned to make sure that we complete the unfinished business for the Lord in our lives.
e. We need to complete the tasks that the Lord lays on our hearts even if they seem a mission impossible.
i. We need to raise up spiritual leaders in our church and community.
ii. We are to make sure we teach sound healthy doctrine that aligns with the Bible.
iii. We are to make sure we do what is good in our lives and through our lives.
iv. We are to keep in mind our lives before Jesus and that should propel us to be living witnesses for him today because it is the most profitable way to live our lives.
v. We are to make sure we handle quarrels over legalistic doctrine God’s way.
f. We are instructed and challenged by Titus to go out from this church this morning and be devoted to doing what is good, in order that we don’t live unproductive lives.
g. Some of you today may be asking what does the Lord Jesus Christ want me to complete for him that is unfinished?
i. Good question! Today we have two individual who will share with you how they heard from God and said yes to their mission impossible.
1. The first one is Rick and Louise are going to share briefly about their recent trip to Panama.
a. Maybe you unfinished task is to go on a short term Missions trip?
i. We have one to Mexico this summer!
2. Then Kris is going to share his call to Youth Ministry and share areas of his ministry that are unfinished and need others to come along side of him and say “yes”.
a. Maybe your unfinished business for the Lord is to work with Youth?
3. There are many unfinished tasks here at New Life pray about what the Lord wants you to do and then do it. You will never regret it!
