Amen. It is so good to see you. My body is trained to at least once a year sit in the amen corner on this side, hear some beautiful singing and worship with you and then follow Louis and pull this microphone way down because he's so much taller than I am. And I'm glad we get to do it again. I missed last year so, so much. So it really, really is good to see every one of your faces. And if I try to hug you and you're not a hugger right now, that's I'll, I'll step back. Don't worry, but it's good to see you. Second Timothy chapter two. So we just heard a very important, very true message. The question that kept revolving around in my mind was who would sign up for that? Who would sign up for a life in which you will contentedly chase after something that you will never fully realize on this side of eternity? Who would do that? And why would we do that? And yet that is the call of God, the call to get into the trenches of following Jesus Christ and, in particular for Titus, following Jesus Christ through serving Jesus Christ's people. And Lewis describes some of the difficulties that are there. Who would do that and why would we do that? Jesus. encourages us in Luke 14 to count the cost of following Jesus Christ. What Titus is doing today is just a subset of what we all as believers have been called to do. That is to follow Jesus Christ. The way that Titus is following Jesus Christ is through serving you here as an elder. Jesus would tell all followers, this multitude has turned toward Christ. And he turns around and he says, before you follow me, count the cost. He says, what man, he gives these two illustrations, one of a tower. Now I'm not sure why someone would want to build a tower, but maybe a couple of teenagers had a great idea. Let's build a tower today. And so they funneled their money together and they poured the foundation and then they stopped and they realized we have no more money. And everybody would drive by and they would laugh and go, well, there's the fools who built the tower that never went past three inches off the ground. Jesus says, or what would it be like for an army to go out to battle enraged and righteously indignant over their cause? And they go out to battle and then they realize without having done any previous intelligence that the enemy is twice their size. And so their first volley of battle is to not send a bomb from the sea, but instead it is to ask for terms of peace. And they're fools because they didn't count the cost. In similar language, Jesus in Matthew 13 would describe some of that cost. He would describe the assault of the wicked one who would seek to steal the word from your soul. Tribulation. Persecution. The cares of the world. The deceitfulness of riches. And so Paul would come to Timothy and second Timothy chapter and second Timothy. With a purpose of. Encouraging. Coaxing back. Stirring up. one who has already undertaken the calling to contentedly chase after that which he will never fully realize on this side of glory. And Timothy is bearing the weight of such a burden. And he is tempted to As with those who the seed fell on the wrong sort of ground, he's tempted to walk away because of the greatness of the cost and the difficulty that is there. Now, lest you think that these words that Christ has given in telling us to count the cost or the intensity of the assault of Satan are overblown, let's just think about what Paul himself had endured as he is a partaker of the gospel. 2 Corinthians 11, Paul would describe this. Just try to imagine what Paul's body looked like. Five times, he says, I received 40 stripes. Three times, beaten with rods. Three times, shipwrecked. These are life stories here, right? This is the story of the century. I was in a shipwreck three times and that was after or didn't include the five times, 40 stripes, three times beaten with rods, spent a night and a day in the deep perils of waters, perils of robbers, perils from my own countrymen, perils from the heathen. Perils in the city. So I escaped to the wilderness and there's perils in the wilderness. So I escaped to the sea. There's perils in the sea. I've probably come among the brethren. Well, there's false brethren, weariness, painfulness, watchings, often hunger and thirst, fastings, cold, nakedness. And on top of all that, the care of the churches. Paul is not seeking to be a hero here. He merely isn't hiding the reality of the calling of God to follow after Jesus Christ and the inherent difficulties that are always there. Paul would call himself Timothy chapter one, a prisoner of God, saying that to be a follower of Christ means that there will be suffering. But Paul's call to Timothy is not one to warn him away from the task. Paul's call to Timothy is to tell him, don't be ashamed of this great calling. Instead, be a partaker. That's a willing partaker of the afflictions of the gospel. Paul would go on in the second chapter just to give a little bit more illustration of what this looks like. He would describe this as being a task in which we must endure hardness as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. And so he's bringing in the imagery of opposition, your life and following Christ, your life and ministry will be filled at times with great opposition. And so he says, endure it. He brings in the imagery of not the glory of the gains, but the striving towards That day, when the glory is finally seen, he describes the long, desolate, hot days on the road, pounding the pavement to be prepared for the race. He would describe the labor of the farmer. farming by its nature is long periods of uncertainty, long periods when the production of the fruit is well outside of your control. That is not comfortable, is it? It's not comfortable to live a life, to have a responsibility in which the end result is largely outside of our control. And Paul says, this is the calling. So the question is, why would Timothy get back up? Why would Timothy stop quaking in fear and stir himself up? And Titus, I just want to give you and all the congregation what I believe is a summation of the power, a summation of why every man and woman who sees Christ follows Christ and the power that will Turn your ministry in one direction or the other. And it's found in 2 Timothy 2, verse 8, really a summation of all of Paul's argument, where he says just very simply, remember that Jesus Christ, of the seed of David, was raised from the dead according to my gospel. The translator is, I think, to help us understand the language at times, add words. Sometimes it's helpful, sometimes it's not. In this case, I think it's not helpful. They add the word that. I think there's something more intimate, something more personal. Remember Jesus Christ. Remember Jesus Christ, the seed of David, raised from the dead. According to my gospel, this is the gospel, Jesus Christ, seed of David, raised from the dead. Paul says, Timothy, remember this. That word remember is a strong word. It's a word to exercise. to exercise the mind, to be mindful, something that's to be, that is so impactful, that is to stay sort of in the background of everything, and it informs everything that we see. Let me give you an example. In the book of Matthew, Christ, and this account is also in Mark, Christ feeds the 4,000 with the seven loaves and four fish. And then right after that, Christ, with his disciples, would say to them, Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees. And the disciples say, he must have said that because we forgot to bring bread. And Christ says, don't you remember? Don't you remember how I fed the 5,000 with five and two? And don't you remember how I just fed the 4,000 with seven and four? In other words, Christ is saying these events should have been so powerful in your minds that of all things you might worry about, you would never again worry about bread in the presence of Jesus Christ. That's what he's saying here to Timothy. Timothy, remember Jesus Christ. Of the seed of David. Raised from the dead. According to my gospel. I was at a. Conference recently and. The man speaking made this comment. He said my soteriology is Calvinistic. By conviction. He said my church polity is Baptistic. By conviction. So my view of. Family and gender is complementarian. By conviction. He says, but I can have all of those and not have Christ and have nothing. All of those, when informed by Christ, are well balanced, powerful, meaningful, and really the bread and butter of our ministry. Christ must be central to everything. Now I know we're all sitting here and it's just a good thing to do to say, yeah, it's a good thing to remember Jesus Christ. We should remember Jesus. We should never forget Jesus. Jesus should be central to our thoughts. And I can try to preach a quick sermon about Jesus and who he is as a Messiah and Jesus as the king who follows David with his everlasting throne and Jesus as the one who's raised from the dead to empower us. But I thought I'd do something a little bit different this morning. I just want to let God speak to you for a minute about Jesus. Okay. So listen to God's word. But we preach Christ crucified. unto the Jews a stumbling block, unto the Greeks foolishness, but unto them which are called both Jews and Greeks, Christ, the power of God and the wisdom of God. Isaiah says, for unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given. And the government shall be upon His shoulder. And His name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government and peace there shall be no end. Upon the throne of David. and upon his kingdom to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even forever. Jesus, the seed of David. Isaiah 11 would say, and there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots, and the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the Spirit of the Lord without measure. and the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord, and shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the Lord. He shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears, but with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity the meek of the earth. He shall smite the earth with a rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked, and righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins. Remember Jesus. Isaiah again, behold my servant, whom I uphold, mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth. I have put my spirit upon him. He shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles, He shall not cry, nor lift up, nor cause his voice to be heard in the street. A bruised reed shall he not break, and the smoking flax shall he not quench. He shall bring forth judgment unto truth. He shall not fail nor be discouraged till he have set judgment in the earth, and the owls shall wait for his law. Later in the same chapter, he would say, I, the Lord, have called him, will hold thine hand, will keep thee, and will give thee for a light of the Gentiles, to open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house. John would speak, in the beginning was the word, And the Word was with God. And the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by Him. And without Him was not anything made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us. And we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. And Marcus recorded that Christ arose and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, peace be still. And the wind ceased and there was a great calm. And he said to them, why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith? They in his presence of this man feared exceedingly and said one to another, what manner of man is this? Even the winds and the sea obeyed him. Paul in Colossians, who hath delivered us from the power of darkness and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear son, in whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins, who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature, For by him were all things created that are in heaven, that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones or dominions or principalities or powers, all things were created by him and for him. And he is before all things, and by him all things consist. And he is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things he might have the preeminence. For it pleased the Father that in Him should all fullness dwell." And having made peace through the blood of the cross, his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself, by him I say whether they be things in earth or things in heaven, and you that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled in the body of his flesh through death to present you holy and unblameable and unapprovable in his sight. God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past to the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by his son, whom he hath appointed the heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds, who being the brightness of his glory and the express image of his person and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the majesty on high. who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth, who when he was reviled, reviled not again. When he suffered, he threatened not, but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously, who his own self bear our sins in his own body on the tree that we being dead to sins should live under righteousness by whose stripes ye were healed. And I saw on the right hand of him that sat on the throne of book written within on the backside sealed with seven seals. And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice who is worthy to open the book and to loose the seals thereof. And no man in heaven. Nor on Earth. Neither under the Earth. Was able to open the book, neither to look there on. And I wept much. Because no man was found worthy to open to read the book, neither to look thereon. And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not. Behold, the lion of the tribe of Judah, the root of David, hath prevailed to open the book and to loose the seven seals thereof. And I beheld in low in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts in the midst of the elders to the lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent forth into all the earth. And he came and took the book out of the right hand of him that sat upon the throne. And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four and 20 elders fell down before the lamb. having every one of them harps and golden vials full of odors, which are the prayers of saints. And they sung a new song saying, thou art worthy to take the book and to open the seals thereof. For thou was slain and has redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred and tongue and people and nation and has made us into our God, kings and priests. And we shall reign on the earth And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne, and the beasts, and the elders, and the number of them was 10,000 times 10,000, and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice, worthy is the lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and glory, and blessing. Worthy is the lamb for those things. And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, blessing, and honor, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb forever and ever. And she, that's the queen of Sheba, said to the king, it was a true report that I heard in mine own land of thy acts and thy wisdom. Howbeit, I believed not the words until I came, and mine eyes had seen it. And behold, the half was not told me. Thy wisdom and prosperity exceedeth the fame which I heard. Happy are thy men. Happy are these thy servants, which stand continually before thee, and that hear thy wisdom. Blessed be the Lord thy God, which delighted in thee, to set thee on the throne of Israel. Because the Lord loved Israel forever, therefore made he thee king, to do judgment and justice. And Jesus would say, behold, a greater than Solomon is here. So Titus, to all of you, my message, very simple. Remember Jesus. Remember Jesus when your sins would swallow you up. Your shortcomings will swallow you up. Remember Jesus, as John would write, when we sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. Remember the finished work of Jesus Christ. When you are tempted, and you will be, to trust in your own righteousness. remember Jesus. The New Testament would spend a lot of time dealing with those who were tempted to find something within that would suffice. As pastors and as God's people, we are tempted that way as well. I would encourage you to remember Jesus, the Son of God, who is the only offering is a sufficient offering, a perfect offering for all those who need salvation and righteousness. As Bill Lewis said, remember Jesus when the sheep are obstinate and unruly. Remember Jesus when you are tempted to improve things, and by improve things I mean when you are tempted mostly by frustration probably even by holy desire, but you're tempted to add one chapter to the Bible of your own good standards for life and righteousness. Remember Jesus. Remember that Jesus, Paul would say in Colossians, that we are complete in Him, that the efforts to make ourselves in some way do something extra, make ourselves more holy, just means that we are not considering the head, which is Christ. Remember Jesus. Remember Jesus when you are tempted to believe that preaching is not working. Paul would say, we preach the cross, and we preach the cross, and we preach the cross. And remember Jesus when you are tempted to think that your preaching will work out every time. Paul would say, I determined to know nothing among you save Jesus Christ. I'm crucified. I will not come with enticing words of men's wisdom because Christ is the message and Christ is the power of God. Remember his intercession for you. He is not interceding for you from a position of begging, but Christ stands at the right hand of God, claiming what he has won. Remember His finished work. Remember His glory. Remember His promised return. Remember His sufficient grace. May Christ be the center of your preaching. May Christ be your hope. May Christ be your strength. There is nothing, there's no piece of advice I could give you more important than that. Remember Jesus. Now some of you today may be thinking, remember Jesus, I don't even know Jesus. I'm going to tell you one more thing about Jesus. What we just read hurriedly, well, it's glorious, isn't it? Is there really one who can make things right and bring justice? Is there really one who has healing in his wings? Is there really one who is in charge? Is there really somebody who's giving sense to this universe and holding it together? Is there really a Redeemer? Is there really forgiveness of sins? I want to tell you this. There is, and it's found alone in Jesus Christ. I want to tell you one more thing about Jesus. And that is this, the Bible says, in fact he says himself, that he is meek, gentle, and lowly at heart. He says those that come to him will find a rest for their souls. He even says this, he that cometh to me, and he doesn't make any qualifications, It doesn't say he that cometh to me with his act together. He that cometh to me who's figured out life. He that cometh to me with their family in shape, the children's hair brushed and on time for church today. He just says he that cometh to me, I will in no wise cast out. May you, may I run to Jesus once Initially, but every moment, every day, may we understand that Jesus Christ is everything. May God bless you.