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[0:00] Let's pray. Oh, Heavenly Father, we are grateful for another day today. A day that we can use for you or use for ourselves.

[0:18] Father, as we come under your word, we know that we do this with all attention upon you. And through that, we want to look into the word and see how it applies to us today.

[0:30] That it isn't a distant reality, but it is indeed something that changes and transforms our lives in an unexplainable way.

[0:43] But those who have witnessed it can testify. Father, help us to look at your grace today. Help me to speak your word as you intended to be spoken.

[0:54] We pray this in Jesus' precious name. Amen. Moving through the book of Titus, we are again in chapter 2.

[1:04] We'll be in verse 11. And I kind of want to do something a little bit different. I want to read from the beginning of chapter 1 because I believe context is very important, especially as we arrive today.

[1:22] So look with me. Turn to the left a little bit to chapter 1, verse 1. Let's read together and get the context of this letter. He says, It says,

[5:31] This is the word of the Lord. Now, what I'm going to do today is break verse 11 through 15.

[5:46] I'm going to kind of examine those verses in four different sections. The title of today's sermon is Exposing God's Grace and Glory.

[5:57] And I'm going to be looking through three different sections in this passage. So for any note takers, sometimes I really appreciate when pastors and people who are preaching that display sort of like an outline of what to expect throughout the message.

[6:12] And so we're going to be looking at a couple different aspects of this. We're going to be looking at number one, the revelation of God's grace, the identification of God's grace, the anticipation of God's grace, and the distribution of God's grace.

[6:28] Yeah, I got hung up on the issues in that, but it sounded good and applied. Let's look at part one in the message today. We see in verse 11.

[6:42] It says, For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people. For all people. And so this is something known as the foundation of the gospel in this passage.

[6:56] And we see something important in this verse. And it is that this verse begins with something very important. We see that it begins with a contextual marker.

[7:11] I love context. I love reading the scriptures in context. And we have a contextual marker, a conjunction, essentially, for if you have your own Bible and not a pew Bible.

[7:21] Well, maybe I don't care what you do. You know, circle four in your own personal Bibles. It is a very important word, which ties in the weight of the previous verses between verse 11 and 14, and even the practical instructions of teaching in verse 1 through 10.

[7:39] It sort of displays that the theme of all these previous verses explain that the church exists for the glory of God.

[7:52] The church exists for the glory of God. This is the central message of the previous verses. All who we are is rooted in grace. All that we are becoming is due to grace.

[8:04] This is the story of God's revelation of grace, which we find in Jesus Christ. And we don't see it explicitly in this passage. But in verse 11, we see, for the grace of God has appeared.

[8:16] The grace of God is Jesus Christ. It refers to Jesus Christ. This is an exclusive truth that is distinguished, that divides.

[8:27] It's a hard line which divides. And the greatest thing that it divides is the sin from our lives. And so we understand that if we're examining the grace of God and we see that in Jesus Christ, we know that grace is defined as an exclusive truth that understands that grace is the mercy of God towards the ill-deserving, giving them the complete opposite of what they deserve.

[8:52] It releases the penalty of the guilty. And the grace of God is also applied. It's bestowed to all. Now, I know that kind of like gives you a little bit of a cringe, like, oh, man, what are you, right?

[9:07] What's in that coffee today? What are you talking about all? Well, there's a little bit of an exclusive truth as well, which doesn't promote universalism. But it mostly promotes the savability of people, that it doesn't matter what color of skin you have.

[9:24] It doesn't matter your social status. It doesn't matter your language. It doesn't matter what nation you're from, what people group or who you are excluded from God's saving work.

[9:35] And it is freely given to sinners who believe, who respond to the gospel, the grace of God as revealed through Jesus Christ. We see this in 1 John 2, 2, where it says, should be up on the screen, he is the propitiation for our sins.

[9:54] And not for ours only, but also the whole world. Without grace, salvation is void. There's no way to attain your salvation other than through grace.

[10:11] Grace is what was bestowed to Adam and Eve in the garden. That they even walked out of the garden is a grace of God. It is the same grace that was bestowed to Noah and his family who were saved and rescued from the flood.

[10:26] And don't we see the grace that was constantly bestowed to the nation of Israel through the Exodus, leading through judges, the cycle of mankind just failing miserably, complaining, whining people.

[10:43] That covenant of grace still remains and covers God's people even still today. And the often distant reality of the Old Testament is something that we, from our context and our culture, especially Western Christianity, kind of have it made.

[11:00] We have a whole constitution that lets us do what we want to do here gathered. Some countries don't have that. So we kind of see this distant reality at times kind of detach.

[11:11] Sometimes scoff at some of the narratives that we see in the Old Testament of the nation of Israel after getting out of the, getting through the Red Sea as Moses led. And then right on the other side, complaining about, you know, that they're hungry.

[11:25] Now, are you leading us in this wilderness to just die? They would rather be in slavery. Come on, people. We can't scoff at that because in the reality, we are those Israelites.

[11:38] Truly, we are. A lot of people want to be David. Matt Chandler has a really funny sermon that he kind of called out explicitly about not being David. You aren't David.

[11:49] If we are any character in the Bible, we are the ones crowding, kind of hiding, trying to hide from Goliath. We want to think the best of us. But in reality and scope of human history, through the fallen mankind and sinfulness of man, we are not David.

[12:05] We are no better than the Israelites who complained on the other side of the Red Sea. This is fallen mankind. So when we observe this as a disconnected, distant reality, I want to have you think of what was the last demonstration of God's grace in your own life?

[12:28] Take a moment to think. Go through your mental archives. When is the last instance that you can recall of God's demonstrated grace in your own life? When was that time that God gave you the exact opposite of what you deserve?

[12:44] Think of that time. Think. The last offense you may have made against God. It could have been an hour ago. It could have been a minute ago. It could have been just about a half hour ago when service started late.

[12:59] You were, what's going on here? I'm out of here. I had it with this church starting late. It might be right now because I'm talking to you.

[13:12] When is the last time that you ever made an offense against God? When was the last time you recall under undeserving of being undeserving of God's grace?

[13:24] If you struggle with this question, if you actually can't look in the mirror and identify your own struggles, because this is a daily struggle of repentance in the Christian life.

[13:36] If you struggle with that question, that you have arrived at a certain point of your walk with God, that you don't even have conviction of sin. You know you're saved. You know, man, it's good.

[13:47] You know, you're an Enoch or Elijah. You know, Lord, take me now. I've arrived. We're here and I have arrived in perfection. Maybe then what you believe is less about grace, but more of tolerance.

[14:01] And that God has forgiven you and your daily failures are sort of numb most of the time. First, this is not confidence of grace. This is ignorance of God's holiness, of how perfect and spotless he is in comparison to us sinful people, even on our best day.

[14:18] So I want to challenge and sort of push back on you to grow in your understanding that you don't deserve anything God has given you. We don't deserve the air in our lungs.

[14:30] We don't deserve to wake up in the morning. We don't deserve to make it to our pillows at night. We don't even deserve our pillows. We have sinned inherently against a holy and righteous God.

[14:44] It took blood to forgive us. If you're in Christ. We ought to live this out in daily confession, awareness, and remorse at times over our sin.

[14:56] We shouldn't be numb to this. The truth is, if your understanding of God's grace only produces confidence without conviction, you ought to spend a little more time in the pages that you scoff at of the nation of Israel.

[15:07] To learn a little bit about mankind, about how we're actually wired, how we've fallen short of the glory of God, and also who God is. Because God is a great rescuer of his people.

[15:20] And we're going to get into that in a little bit. So as Christians set apart and saved. In remorse over sin, but also redeemed over sin. We see that God's revelation of grace isn't just a past tense sort of dealing.

[15:36] He didn't just send Jesus and fix everything and poof. He's off and everything's back to normal. Back to, you know, the curse is reversed as some religions states.

[15:48] Well, not so fast. We get into point two today. And that is the identification of God's grace. The identification of God's grace.

[16:01] The section two today. Let me make sure I can get it up there. I can't get it up. So note takers, point two. Identification of God's grace.

[16:11] And we're going to look at verse 12. It says in verse 12. Training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions.

[16:23] And to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives. In the present age. One commentator said on this passage.

[16:33] This verse is the death blow to the unorthodox beliefs that exist across the world. Which puts an end to, quote, any theology that separates salvation from the demands of obedience to the lordship of Christ.

[16:49] Meaning, God's grace calls the church. Who have been saved and ransomed. Bought with a price to a new direction on this earth that we ought to live.

[17:02] New direction in life. It's something that we experience when we experience his grace. The grace of God. And we're identified through that grace. It's something that we train towards in verse 12.

[17:15] This new direction is what can be understood simply as a training process. That we're making progress in our being set apart. Known as sanctification.

[17:26] The time that we're sandwiched right now between the first coming of Jesus and the second coming of Jesus. Or possibly our last breath on earth. Whichever comes first. It is that time in between of making progress.

[17:39] And just as none of us have arrived to some elite Christian status of we will never reach the full potential of God's holiness or a perfection on this earth.

[17:50] But it's the progress towards that. We're to make progress. Even Babe Ruth. I was thinking of Babe Ruth in this passage and kind of thinking about it over the past week.

[18:03] You know, even Babe Ruth. As skillful as he was. As masterful as he was at his sport. Every year he would attend, what? Spring training. He would get back to the basics.

[18:16] Back to the old routines that he needs to remind himself of the fundamentals. Back to the basics. And the means of that progress is literally training.

[18:26] For a Christian, it's not by obviously swinging a bat around. But it's washing ourselves with his word. It's training ourselves, meditating on his word.

[18:37] Storing his heart in our word. And allowing the Holy Spirit to minister to us at various times in life. The means of that progress is training. And for Paul's instruction to Titus, the administration of that training comes through the local church.

[18:53] Which Titus is to put in order what remains. To appoint elders in every town. The local church. We are called as elders to speak.

[19:06] Proclaim. To encourage. And to correct. And the church who has been bought by Christ is to be identified. And trained according to the following characteristics.

[19:17] This is just a little snapshot of what Titus was up against. We see in this verse. Look with me in verse 12. It says a list of things of denial and instruction.

[19:29] To renounce ungodliness. To renounce worldly passions. But to live self-controlled lives.

[19:39] To live upright lives. And yes, that's not meaning the Ellen and Les upright. They might have something to say about that. But not to look to them for upright lives.

[19:51] To live in godly lives. Less than Ellen upright right here in the front row for any visitors. We see that there is a sort of denial and instruction.

[20:02] An encouragement and correction of how we ought to live. Being built on the foundation of God's grace. That we are to be identified with his grace in verse 12.

[20:16] Through denial and encouragement. Jerry Bridges summarizes this well. He says, quote, Self-control expresses the self-restraint we need to practice for the good and legitimate things of life.

[20:33] As well as the outright denial of things. Clearly sinful. Upright or righteous conduct refers to just and right actions toward other people.

[20:46] Doing to them what we would have them do to us. This is called the golden rule found in Matthew 7, 12. And godliness is having a regard for God's glory and God's will in every aspect of our lives.

[21:01] Doing everything out of reverence and love for him. So looking at point two as the identification of God's grace. Because we know the foundation we rest upon in the previous verse in verse 11.

[21:17] The appearing of the grace of God. We live this out in this life. That we're not called to just live how we ought to live. It includes denying and upholding a certain way of living.

[21:31] Of expressing that grace. And that includes the golden rule. Treating others how you ought to be treated. Matthew 7, 12. And church, God's grace through Jesus Christ is transformative.

[21:45] It is transformative. The source of the transformation occurs deep within us as Christians. Known as regeneration. The act of the Holy Spirit where it seals us.

[21:59] It's the new birth that Jesus speaks to Nicodemus about. And through that miracle, church. Through that miracle and saving act of God's grace.

[22:10] We are equipped to live with a changed direction that resembles nothing of this world. When God breaks the chains of sin, church.

[22:21] It's a once and for all transaction. I mean, that is good news. That there's no going back from his promise of forgiveness.

[22:36] There's great assurance in his pardon. As we are often prone to wander. We are the Israelites. Believe it or not. We are prone to wander.

[22:47] We are prone to mess up. We fail constantly. In dying to our flesh. The Christian life is a life of repentance and self-denial.

[22:59] If this is new to you, welcome to the Christian life. It is about repentance and self-denial and living out your faith. And so we see sort of like the main point in the second point in the text.

[23:14] In verse 12. God's grace is identified through you to this world. You are that hope. That light. The city set on a hill. You are the beacon which casts the light upon a dark ocean to this world.

[23:26] Each and every one of you when you leave this building. College students on campus. You are the light of the world. A city on a hill. God's grace is identified through you to this world.

[23:41] And God wants the world to experience his grace through his church. This is a task commissioned to not only the elders. Those guys who are trained for ministry. But no, this is to all.

[23:53] If you are a Christian, this is required of all. What does your social media archive say about the transformative work? And the transformative grace of God.

[24:05] Yeah, I'm going to poke at you a little bit today. Welcome. What does your social media say about the transformative work of God? What does your driving habits say about the transformative grace of God?

[24:21] What does your attitude? Inside the church, outside the church, at work, late at night when the kids are waking up. What does your attitude say about the transformative grace of God?

[24:35] What does your marriage say? What does your singleness say about the transformative grace of God? What do your friends say?

[24:45] And pastors in this room or on the live stream who are called to ministry. What does your family say? Because before you step in a pulpit, you step in the home. And if you don't have your home in order, and that's a mess.

[24:59] You are far from being qualified to preach his words. But we see in this a challenge of how we ought to live.

[25:11] We see that there might be areas in our own lives through how we conduct ourselves in this world that God still needs to transform.

[25:22] And it could be something that God wants to keep re-transforming throughout your life as we fall. Fall out of step often with his word and struggle in this daily life. And so in point three, we see, I believe it will be up on the screen.

[25:39] Point three, anticipation of God's grace in verse 13 through 14. It says, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of our glory, 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 work.

[26:16] We see, as we observe the next couple of verses in this passage, we catch a clear glimpse of the journey we are in here and now. And the forward-focused attitude, the forward-focused attitude, which is the expression of God's grace.

[26:35] And so in verse 13, look with me in your Bibles. It says, it mentions the blessed hope. Waiting for our blessed hope. We see the mention in context of the church's focus being that of anticipation, of waiting.

[26:51] There's a big part of the Christian life is patient and waiting in progress. This is the awaiting of the hope of Christ's second coming in this passage.

[27:04] It's something that takes our eyes off of what's occurring in our nation. It doesn't matter who's coming up for president. It doesn't matter how many presidents come after. What we have is found here is a trajectory which is far above and away from any of our temporal little situations that we deal with on this earth.

[27:26] And we reach a level of trajectory towards the eternal. Things that last. The second coming. The blessed hope of the appearing of our glory.

[27:37] Of the glory of our great Savior, great God and Savior Jesus Christ. So in our waiting, this blessed hope is not just waiting for anyone or anything.

[27:47] This is not waiting for the angel Gabriel. This is not waiting for Michael. This is not waiting for, remember, Enoch and Elijah, those guys who were taken up. It's not waiting for them.

[27:58] It's not waiting for Muhammad. It's not waiting for Allah. It is waiting for God, our Lord and Savior. The appearing of Jesus Christ, our Savior, to come back.

[28:10] Clearly in this verse, how this wording states. Using Savior Jesus Christ and our great God. Paul is actually explicitly using Greek linguistics, which affirms the deity of Jesus Christ.

[28:25] That this is a distinguished waiting. This is something that is secure, laying ahead. Which no matter what craziness is going on in this nation, who's president, what's going on, what's happening on your social media, or what's going on with friends or family.

[28:42] This is something that takes our eyes off of all of that. And points us right to what's laying ahead. And we know what waits ahead if you are in Christ. There's a hope not found in this earth.

[28:55] And at the time this manifests, that this hope manifests, this will be when God's kingdom is finally restored. This includes the resurrection and the reign of the saints with Christ in glory.

[29:11] So in the context of verse 11, we understand that the identification of the church is not simply just a past tense assurance. We know that, yeah, God has saved me.

[29:22] I accepted Jesus when I was a young lad or lassie. And we were saved and we are moving on. And yeah, I got that assurance. I know that God's grace. But what is he doing now?

[29:34] Where is your trajectory headed in this assurance? It's not just past tense. But it's also upon the journey you're in right now. The expectation of what lays ahead grounds us in preparing ourselves for what the Bible describes as a wedding.

[29:50] And you can imagine in a wedding, the preparation of weddings is quite daunting. There was a picture, I think, of a bride planning her wedding, possibly.

[30:02] I don't know if it's up on the screen. You know, the wedding planning, as we can often talk about, which we wait for. We see all these plans taking place all for, let's put the other picture on.

[30:15] Not that one. Don, what are you doing back there? That one. You might have to have a talk after the service putting on Bridezilla. All for that wedding day.

[30:27] The union of the bride and the groom. This is the picture of wedding as an imagery, a biblical imagery of the union of Jesus being the groom and the church being the bride.

[30:42] The glorious that they will be. And I don't know who needs to hear this today. But how often we lose sight in our journey through the temporal, present age.

[30:54] And we associate these temporary, momentary trials in this life. We associate these momentary struggles in this life.

[31:07] Or the trials, the temptations. And it cripples us as Christians to this near self-focused, why is this happening to me?

[31:22] Right? I can't be the only one. That struggles in that area. Come on, church. When trials come, when struggles come, when temptations, we often have a tendency of saying, why is this happening to me?

[31:36] Rather than focusing, well, we focus more on the pain rather than focusing upon the purpose of why God is allowing these things to occur in our lives. Better for us to thank and praise God when these trials come our way.

[31:49] Because we know God does not make mistakes. God is not a liar. We read it today. But often we miss what God is doing in purifying us and maturing us on this journey.

[32:02] Better for us to remember this world is not our home. Come on, church. This world is not our home. Jesus explicitly said multiple times in the Gospels, the world is going to despise Christians.

[32:17] Even though we have a message of hope. It gets translated as a message of hate. How often we miss this in this life.

[32:28] Church, you are called to persevere in this present age and to wait. And yes, I know that's difficult in a culture and society that's accustomed to two-day prime shipping. Which the minute that third day comes on, we just throw in our computer saying, where's my two-day shipping?

[32:44] We get accustomed to this instant gratification in life. But we are called to persevere through unideal circumstances. That are uncomfortable.

[32:54] That are trials. That are temptations at times to die to our flesh. And this does not contradict our purpose as the church to fulfill the great commission of going out from these walls.

[33:10] That's very vital in our going. But specifically, this doesn't have necessarily as much importance on the movement of the church. But rather, the waiting is the steadfast mindset of the church.

[33:23] That in our going, built upon the grace of God through the Gospel and the foundation of the Gospel. In our going, we know where our perspective is. People could stone us outside of the church and we still praise God.

[33:36] Because we know that he is our lasting and only hope in this life. There's no amount of pain that can compare to the glory of God in this life. It is momentary.

[33:48] This grounds us despite the challenging moments in life. No matter how joyous or sorrowful the experience and seasons of this life can bring. This steadfast frame of mind takes the ugliness of this life and helps us to see the glory of God through it all.

[34:07] Isn't this truly, church, waiting for our blessed hope? And we see quite an instance of the Gospel explained.

[34:20] We see in verse 14, look down with me. You see two words here of redeem and purify. Here again, Paul addresses Christ's saving work on our behalf.

[34:32] We get the image of a blood-stained cross on our behalf. His suffering. I love how Ellis Crumb says, he paid a debt he did not owe. I owed a debt he could not pay.

[34:46] And so Jesus is the only Son of God. He came to this earth to cleanse us. And sin makes us guilty. Sin makes us dirty. This is all throughout the Bible.

[34:58] And Ezekiel 36, 25. This is the promise of the new covenant. Where it says in Ezekiel, I will also sprinkle clean water on you and you will be clean.

[35:10] I will cleanse you from all your impurities and all your idols. Church, Jesus Christ takes our guilt, our filth, our dishonor. And cleanses and purifies us through his substitutionary death on the blood-stained cross.

[35:27] He took it all from us. Through the gift of saving faith and responding with faith in Jesus, verse 14 says two things.

[35:38] That he, Jesus Christ, then has redeemed you from lawlessness. Meaning there's a changed direction in your life then. And number two, to purify for himself a people of his own possession.

[35:52] Regardless of how you feel. Church, hear me today. Regardless of how you feel or how you desire to feel. Obviously, we don't want to be down and out our whole lives.

[36:06] But it doesn't take very long to read the Psalms to understand our human condition. How we often have this complex of feeling a disconnect from God at various seasons in life. So he has redeemed you from lawlessness.

[36:20] And he has purified for himself a people for his own possession. You belong to Jesus Christ. You know who you are, church. First Peter says this great in first Peter 2, 9 through 10.

[36:34] It says, but you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession. So that you may proclaim the praise of the one who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

[36:47] Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people. You had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. Church, if Jesus has done this.

[36:59] If you have received the grace of God, redeeming work of Jesus Christ on the cross for your faith. You are free.

[37:13] From all of that. How are we called to have confidence in the grace of God? How can we have confidence in the grace of God, which has been revealed? With point one that has identified us.

[37:24] Which in point two, which has identified us, which has redeemed and purified us. How could we ever doubt God's security in our salvation?

[37:35] It is not circumstantial. It is not emotional. This is a steadfast, sacred anchor, which is the foundation of all who we are and what we do. It's a timeless reality, church.

[37:46] You belong to Jesus. Grace should motivate all believers to express obedience, plain and simple. Grace truly understood does not remain sedentary.

[37:59] And how many of us often live a sedentary faith? For the context of the book of Titus, the Cretans were disqualified and unfit for any good work.

[38:12] They were empty talkers, deceivers, taught with shameful gain. They were liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons, detestable, disobedient. But you, church, just as the local churches established in Crete are called to adjust the trajectory of their lives as well as our lives.

[38:30] To be united in obedience. To appear in redeemed people. To reflect the grace that we have received. Zeal for God becomes our only motive. He is Lord. And there is not an option to live out a sedentary faith.

[38:43] And then we get to point four. It might be up on the screen. I don't know anymore of the technology today. It's been acting a little funky. Point four is the distribution of God's grace.

[38:57] Distribution of God's grace. We see this in verse 15. It says, As this chapter wraps up in Paul's instruction to Titus to appoint elders in every town.

[39:22] It's the aim of exhorting and rebuking. There's quite a balance in the role of an elder. Of encouraging but also correcting. Blessing and his blessing.

[39:34] It is actually a blessing to have pastors to distribute the grace of God. Both to the pastor. But we also see it's a dual blessing to be on the recipient end of that blessing as well.

[39:47] Because the grace of God is something that you receive through the church. Through the elders. This reminded me of a local farmer. I don't know if you have the image up on the screen.

[39:59] But the local farmer. Whose objective is to toil and to struggle. To produce fruit through their lives to give to others.

[40:14] So all the labor. All the sweat. All the strain out in the hot sun. Of planting those seeds in the ground. Waiting for the harvest to come.

[40:26] Waiting for the fruit to be born. From the ground. All for the sake. Of providing nourishment. To another. The farmer's struggle and toil.

[40:39] Is for the sake of another. They're not doing it for their own jollies. They're doing it to post up at a market. To bless others. With their labor. This is often.

[40:52] A dual benefit to the farmer. And a dual benefit. To those who need the nourishment. When the office of elder is functioning well. With the three imperatives in this passage.

[41:04] Of speaking. Of exhorting and rebuking. It is for the elders. Toil and struggle. In order to distribute God's grace.

[41:14] To nourish the church. And to purify and redeem people. Through the word of God. This authority is not something to be disregarded. In this passage. But to trust and to submit. To it as you are submitting.

[41:26] Not to man. But God through the work of the church elders. John MacArthur quotes on this verse. Saying it's the clearest and strongest statements. In scripture. About the spiritual authority.

[41:37] Of men. Whom God calls. To minister his word. And shepherd his people. Church isn't this. The importance of fully understanding.

[41:47] The grace of God. And the future of God's glory. Being sandwiched. Between the first coming of Jesus Christ. And the second coming. Awaiting the second coming. Then along with the temporal struggles.

[42:00] And things that we experience. That sometimes grip us. And captivate our minds. And something that just. Doesn't go away. And becomes something very large in our lives.

[42:12] How great it is. To know that in this process. The Lord has given us elders. He has given me elders. Through a plurality of elders.

[42:23] In this process. To encourage and to correct in this life. And this has a dual benefit. But it also has dual obedience. The authority of bestowed.

[42:34] Of this authority that's bestowed. Only. Is only because of God's authority. This is dual obedience. Of the elder being obedient. To the Lord as he commands. But also. The obedience of those.

[42:46] Under the instruction of the elders. Being obedient to the Lord as well. And not disregarding them. This was the mission of God. That went through Paul.

[42:58] That was given to Titus. This. Was something that Titus was. To diligently see. Through. No matter how much crazy. Which laid ahead.

[43:09] And obviously the descriptions. At the at the second half of verse. Verse one. That we spoke about today. His task that laid ahead. Was nothing to brag about. It was a lot of crazy people.

[43:21] And he had to deal with it. And he had to establish elders. To deal with it. It is similarly true today. So it is a very prescriptive message.

[43:34] As you can see. In the church still today. And how we are. Ought to be living in God's. Grace and glory. The outline that we gave to you. Earlier today. Truly church.

[43:45] The grace of God. Is the foundation in our lives. Regardless of what this life brings. Nothing we have. Or anything that we do. That we deserve. Is all given by God.

[43:56] Is the grace of God. And this book is an inspired prescription. That we cannot neglect. Looking toward.

[44:07] As we come to a close today. In this passage. Looking toward the return of. Of our Lord. Jesus. It kind of brings.

[44:18] Great joy. To our hearts. Maybe not kind of. But greatly. Brings joy to our hearts. I think it should. It is truly. A prescription. That we need.

[44:30] Once upon a time. There. There was a tourist. Who visited. An exquisite garden. On a lovely estate. In Italy. And he spoke.

[44:41] To the caretaker. And he asked the caretaker. How long have you been here? And the caretaker. Of that garden. Said. 25 years. The tourist.

[44:54] Asked again. How often. Has the owner. Been to see. The estate. In the past. 25 years. The caretaker. Says. Four times. In the past.

[45:05] 25 years. And the caretaker. The tourist. Says. When did he come last? The caretaker. Said. 12 years ago. Of the 25 years. So he continues.

[45:16] To ask. Who comes then. To look after things. When you're. When you're gone. And the caretaker. Said. I am left. Pretty much alone. The tourist. Said. Yet. You keep the garden. So spick and span.

[45:27] That one would think. That you're expecting. The owner. Tomorrow. It's in perfect condition. And the caretaker. Said. Today. Sir. Today. The owner.

[45:37] Will come back. That this caretaker. Approach. And his mentality. And his frame of mind. Was always. An anticipation. He lived. In a manner. That didn't allow.

[45:48] The hedges. To grow a little bit. Because. God only knows. When the owner. Is going to come back. He kept that. Garden. Pristine. The whole time. That he took care. Of that garden.

[45:59] So ought we. To live this life. As Christians. Preparing ourselves. To be focused. Upon. Our lives. That aren't. To obtain. Our salvation.

[46:10] But is an expression. Thereof. Our salvation. As we prepare. For the coming. King. Luther. Summarized this passage. Similarly. Saying. I live. As though. Christ.

[46:21] Died. Or. I live. As though. Christ. Died. Yesterday. Rose. Again. Today. And is coming. Again. Tomorrow. Here we are. Today.

[46:32] Sandwiched. Between. Christ's first coming. And his second coming. We don't know. How long. This. This season. Will last. But when we truly. Grasp. And understand. The implications. Of each of those.

[46:42] Two realms. That they reveal. To us. It changes us. It has nothing. To do. In our lives. Than to change us. Change our perspectives. Change our focus. Change that. What we worship. Change our driving habits.

[46:53] Change our attitudes. Change our social media. Usage. It changes us. And people experience. The grace of God. In our lives. We live.

[47:05] As though Christ died yesterday. And rose again today. And is coming. Tomorrow. Church. Let's heed these. These instructions. To challenge us. In this short letter. In Titus. Let's pray.

[47:15] May you свет. May you learn? May I love you. May you promotion? May you leave? May youおjusen? May you warm? May you below? May you. May you award me? May you leave? May you. May you inspire?

[47:27] May you. May. May you fire? May you. May you go home. May you? May you dance with me. May you show up? May you come. May you. May me upon you. May you wait?

[47:38]  May you continue? May you retour. May you, may you return? May you return it up? Then you open your hand. May you survive? May youfi. May you come. May you deliver?