Tonight and we've been studying through the book of Titus since January and just going verse by verse Again, let's let's read our text and then we'll give our outline up to where we're at in Titus chapter 3 and in verse number 12 says when I shall send Artemis unto thee or Tichias be diligent to come unto me to Nicopolis for I have determined there to winter bring Zenos the lawyer and Apollos on their journey diligently, that nothing be wanting unto them. And let ours also learn to maintain good works for necessary uses, that they be not unfruitful. All that are with me, salute thee. Greet them that love us in the faith. Grace be with you all. Amen. Let's pray. Father, I thank you, Lord, for your blessings, and thank you, Lord, for the opportunity to continue the study of this book. I pray that, Lord, you'd just teach us your word now. And, Lord, I pray that you'd instruct us and encourage us. And, Lord, may we glean from the word of God tonight. Lord, this is where we're at, so I know that you have something special for us from this passage. And, Lord, just again, may the Holy Spirit be our teacher, our guide, our comforter, our exhorter, our rebuker, our convictor, whatever it is we need. I pray we'd find it through your word tonight. In Christ's name we pray, amen. Amen. running job and we'll end this book Lord willing tonight I sound a little hoarse that's because I've been teaching algebra for the last three hours I went next door and we had I had to post videos of all the classes because the kids definitely don't want to miss algebra right so we I went and did that and so this is my fourth hour straight talking so I tried to down a bottle of water but So I apologize if I sound a little hoarse, all right? But in Titus chapter number three, we started with the beginning of the book, it says in chapter number one, a notable epistle to the local church. And we did that in chapter one, verses one through four. And then in chapter one, verses five through nine, we saw the naming of elders in the local church, and the responsibility and the qualifications of the pastor. Then in chapter number one, verses 10 to 16, we saw the nature of error in the local church. There are some things that needed to be corrected and false teachers and deceivers. Then in chapters two and three, we've been studying the need for excellence in the local church. In chapter number two, he talks about personal excellence and their personal lives. Talked about the aged men and the aged women, the younger men, younger ladies, and the responsibilities of each. Then we saw also in chapter number two as servants or as employees or as workers and doing our job and doing it correctly. And then we saw in chapter number three, chapter two is personal excellence, chapter three, practical excellence. We saw in verses one and two, our behavior as subjects in the land. And again, the Bible says that even under a wicked man named Nero, that the Holy Spirit said, put them in mind to be subject to principalities and powers and to obey magistrates and be ready to every good work. It's a responsibility as believers to have a great testimony. And if at all possible, we should obey the authority that's over us And we seek to do so. So we saw our behavior as subjects in the land. Then number two, we saw our behavior as saints of the Lord. And it talked about what we were and the conviction that God brought in our life and how corrupt we were. But praise the Lord, we've been justified. It's not works of righteousness, which we have done, but according to his mercy, he saved us. And we're thankful for salvation. And then the opportunity to serve him and that renewing every day, which he shed on us abundantly. So we saw our behavior as subjects of the land and as saints of the Lord. And then in this passage of scripture, in verses 12 to 15, and we conclude with this, we see the behavior as a servant that Paul loved. The behavior as a servant that Paul loved. So Paul ends this book by talking directly to Titus. So we're gonna see a couple things in these last few verses of this epistle. Paul's concluding this letter with some parting words. Titus was a young man that Paul had invested time in. He was a servant of God that Paul trusted, and obviously, he loved him. He gives him some parting words. Again, keep in mind that Titus is on the island of Crete. He's been left there to establish these churches. At some point, Paul had been there with him because he specifically says he left him in Crete, so he had to be there with him. And so Titus is there, he's wrapping things up, he's organizing these churches, naming the elders. And this letter was to say, your work there is about done. And so this is the conclusion of it. So I want you to see a couple things. Number one, or a little A under outline if you're keeping it, you see guidance for Titus. Some guidance for Titus in verses 12 to 14. Number one, he gives guidance as to his movements. In verse number 12 it says, when I shall send Artemis unto thee, or Tychius, be diligent to come unto me to Nicopolis. for I have determined there to win her." Now, I'll give you a quick outline of that verse right there, but he told Titus what he's to do, and he told him where he's to go, and he told him who's coming for him, all right? We see all these things in this passage of Scripture, but I want to talk about it a little bit in verse number 12. Obviously, the story and what is going on is this. Paul is not exactly sure who he's sending yet. He's going to send either Artemis or Tichyus, and we'll say a little bit more about them in a second. But either one of those, but they're coming. And when they come, Titus was to turn things over to them and for Titus to head to Nicopolis and to meet up with Paul and continue to work there. Now, what do we know about just the simple information there? Nicopolis was the area there on western Greece. There in that area just to the north is Dalmatia. Nicopolis was a little bit south there. But basically, Nicopolis would be your last stop before you would travel over to Rome. What most people believe is this, that it was at Nicopolis that the Apostle Paul was arrested and then taken over to Rome. Nicopolis was a Roman settlement. It was actually built in honor of Caesar's victory, a naval victory. It means city of victory. Paul's plan was, I'm going to Nicopolis, you meet me there. As far as we know, that's exactly what happened. The only thing is, is that Paul was arrested and taken to Rome, where we believe he was beheaded there, as we read in 2 Timothy. But that was the plan, was for him to come. Now, those two names mentioned there in verse number 12. It says there, I shall send Artemis unto thee, or Tychius. So what do we know about these men? Well, the answer simply is this, not a whole lot. But the Holy Spirit doesn't make any mistakes in the Word of God. Amen. So we have for a reason these men mentioned. What can we learn from them? Well, we know this, that eventually it would have been Artemis that came to Crete. Now, we have not a whole lot more information. Because at time of the writing, Paul wasn't really sure which one was coming. We know which one came because of 2 Timothy chapter four. If you want to just glance back like two pages, in 2 Timothy chapter four, in verse number 12, when Paul is basically ending this letter, about to go to the chopping block, he says in verse number 12, when he talks about where everyone's gone, Tichyus have I sent to Ephesus, all right? So Ticius he decided to send to Ephesus. And so Artemis would have been the one, because at the time of the writing, Artemis or Ticius was coming. We know that Ticius would have been sent to Ephesus, no doubt to help Timothy, because that's where Timothy was. And so Artemis would have been the one to come. My point maybe first of all is this, that Paul was very orderly in what he did. And I think that's an important thing to stop and recognize. God expects his churches to be done orderly. God wants his churches to be done. Again, you find that phrase we talked about last year in our church polity lessons, but of faith and order. God expects this. Paul was doing this. All right, Paul didn't leave it, you know, somebody would come, and I'm sure somebody would take over the work. No, Paul was very careful about sending just the right person at just the right time. And the point is this, is that this work that we're doing, and I know these are strange times right now, but God's churches, are important. And God's churches should be treated with respect and with honor. God's churches should be done in things that we do. We shouldn't do haphazardly. We should do our best for the Lord. I think that the Lord's Church deserves that. And so Paul here is being very careful. We don't know much about Artemis. His name means this, safe and sound. That's a pretty good person to leave the work with, all right? It would be safe and sound, all right? But Artemis was sent, and he would have taken over for Titus and carried on this work, and helped as the churches were organized and continue to see them grow. Ticius, you say, what do you know about Ticius? Well, we know a little bit more about Ticius, and I want you to just glance at this with me real quick. From Artemis, I think you see someone that is just, he was safe and sound, a sound man that could carry on the work. Listen to me. God's churches need these men. These men who can be trusted, who can do the task, who doesn't need their name in the front page of the Sword of the Lord, right? They just want to serve God. And so that was the kind of men that we're talking about here. Tichius was a very faithful man. Look over in Acts chapter number 20, and we'll come back here, but I think it's important to see this. In Acts chapter number 20, here's what we know about Tichius. in Acts chapter number 20 and in verse number four. Acts chapter 20 and verse number four. It says here, all right, Acts 20 verse four, and there accompanied him, talking about Paul when he left and was doing the mission work, and there accompanied him in Asia, Sopater of Berea and of the Thessalonians, Aristarchus and Secundus and Gaius of Derbe and Timotheus and of Asia, Tychius and Trophimus. So we hear he's one of the seven that traveled with the Apostle Paul. Paul was always investing in other people. He was always training other people. And these other people were always willing to take whatever needed to be done and do it correctly. I read that, and we'll read some more about Tychius here in a second, but God's church is, that hasn't changed, God still needs that. But all the time, you know, praise the Lord for pastors and teachers and praise the Lord for that. But there should be some others who are always there that desire to serve God. that are wanting to do whatever needs to be done, and when requested, will do it right. That they desire to serve the Lord. Tychius was just there, he's gleaning, he's learning, he's wanting to grow. We find him again in Ephesians chapter number six, turn over there, Ephesians chapter number six, and in verse number 21. As Paul's concluding this epistle to the church at Ephesus, in Ephesians six and verse number 21, it says this, but that ye may know my affairs, and how I do, Tychius, a beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord, shall make known to you all things, whom I have sent unto you for the same purpose, that ye might know our affairs, and that he might comfort your hearts." So Tychius is not just someone who's traveling around with Paul. Now we see him, that he is someone that Paul trusts. Paul is being, he sent Tichius to do a job here. He was referred to as a beloved brother. That's a good thing. He's referred to as a faithful minister in the Lord. We need them, all right? He's someone who Paul knew would be able to relate what all's been going on. Now, that may sound like a simple thing. Paul said it this way, he'll make it unto you all things, all right? You can know my affairs. It's nice to have people that you know aren't going to belittle or maybe add a little bit to. We joke around about evangelistically speaking, you know, like, you know, how many do you have in church tonight? I don't know, somewhere 50 or less, right? There's like six of us here, right? You know, but he just, Paul trusted him. And think about this, he's the one that carried this letter. We're going to read in just a second, Ticius is the one that carried the letter to Colossians, to Church of Colossae. He's a faithful, a beloved brother and a faithful minister. You say, he's not a big deal in my life. What if he had to quit carrying these letters? What if halfway to the Church of Ephesus he said, you know what, this is too much. You say, well, he wouldn't have done that. Well, in the Bible, John Mark decided to quit at one point. Demas loved the world and walked away. I don't know about you, but I'm glad Tychius was faithful. We wouldn't have Ephesians, we wouldn't have Colossians, and we wouldn't have Philemon, I'll show you in a minute, too. Praise the Lord for faithful men who just wanted to do the job. He's a faithful brother. He was also someone in this passage who brought comfort to people. That's a gift. He was able to bring, and the churches were under persecution, Paul trusted that he was going to be able to look at these people and bring them comfort All of us the Bible says comfort one another that is something all of us should seek to do look to be a blessing Especially in this time in which we live there are some people that are scared look to bring them comfort That comforts found in the Word of God look over in Colossians chapter number four. We see just a little bit more about him In Colossians chapter number four, as he concludes this epistle, we see Tychius mentioned again. So Tychius is one of those men, obviously Paul trusts this man. This is someone who had earned and was faithful. In Colossians chapter four and verse number seven, it says, whom I have sent, or I'll go back to, sorry, verse number seven. It says, all my state shall Tychius declare unto you, who is a beloved brother and a faithful minister, now here's something else, a fellow servant in the Lord. Wouldn't it be awesome if, can you imagine if the Apostle Paul got up and said, let me introduce you to your name? And Paul would say this, he is a fellow servant in the Lord. This man's faithful. This man is something, we'll keep reading, whom I have sent unto you for the same purpose that he might know your state. So obviously he's not only able to share correctly Paul's happenings, but he's also to evaluate, he was spiritually mature enough to evaluate how they were doing. And to comfort your hearts. Look at verse number nine. With Onesimus, a faithful and beloved brother who is one of you, they shall make known unto you all things which are done here. So who here is Tychius traveling with? Onesimus, who's Onesimus? Onesimus is the slave that had gotten saved, that ran away from Philemon, and Paul had led him to the Lord, and now he's heading back with Tichyus. Tichyus is carrying this letter to the church at Colossae. Onesimus is going with him, and it's most everybody's opinion, and mine included, that Tichyus was with Onesimus when they delivered the book of Philemon. You say, why would you say that? Well, Tichyus is not mentioned, in the Book of Philemon about people that send their greetings. And he probably didn't have to send his greetings because he was there. No need to send the greetings. And you probably weren't going to send a letter like Philemon, which praise the Lord for the Book of Philemon, with a convert that's been saved for a few days. So Tichius was that beloved brother who not only, ready, was a faithful brother, he was a faith fellow servant in the Lord, he was able to comfort, he was able to share appropriately, he was able to evaluate. Obviously he's someone who could be trusted with a disciple. He would help Onesimus in their travels. He would help him grow in the Lord. Say, what's your point in all of this? My point is this, he was a good man. And we need these people. The Lord's work, someday when we get to heaven, praise the Lord, I look forward to meeting the Apostle Paul. I look forward to meeting, you know, Peter and James. But there's gonna be a whole lot of people that did a whole lot of things that we owe a whole lot to that we never whisper their name today. But they were faithful. In your church today, there's a whole lot of people And maybe they never get up in front of people, maybe their name is never applauded, but they're faithful. And if you have someone who God can entrust to work, no matter what it is, well done, you just keep on going full speed ahead. Because God takes notice. Amen? So you have here, guidance for Titus as to his movements. He talks about who's coming and if you wanna go back to Titus, if you're not there yet, but who's coming and what Titus was to do, he was to go to Nicopolis, but as to his movements. And then in verse number 13 and 14, as to his ministry. So he's given Titus some guidance here as to his ministry. First of all, in verse number 13, the practical side of his ministry. It says there, bring Zenos the lawyer and Apollos on their journey diligently that nothing be wanting unto them. So as to his ministry, first of all, verse number 13, the practical side of things. Apollos we know a little bit about. Apollos we know is a great orator. Paulus was someone who was pretty well known amongst the early churches. We know Aquila and Priscilla greatly invested in his life. Zenos, the lawyer, we know nothing else about. We don't know whether lawyer there, the word lawyer in the Bible at that time could refer to He was maybe a Jew that knew the law very well, or he could have been a Gentile who knew Roman law very well. We don't know exactly which position he was, but we know this, he was a faithful servant of the Lord. We know this, that they were being a blessing to people. They had obviously come to Crete to be a blessing. They had come and they were helping out with Titus. And so when Paul said, when it's time for you to come back, bring them with you. And so, Zenos and Apollos had come to be a blessing as well. But there's a couple things we can see from this, all right? We see in this verse again, bring Zenos the lawyer and Apollos on their journey diligently. Bring them along, if you will, on their journey diligently. In other words, Paul is telling, and he ends the verse saying, that nothing be wanting unto them. He's basically telling Titus, take care of these two men. When they get there and they're passing through, make sure you help them and meet their needs. Everybody see that with me? That nothing be wanting unto them. Titus was being taught and told by Paul to help take care of these men, that nothing be wanting. These two servants of God had come to be a blessing and he was to take care of them. You say, preacher, this is just a conclusion of a book. Is there really this much here? Yes, there is. It's a very important lesson here. When God sends people our way and they're here and God is using them to be a blessing to us, we should strive to take care of these people. We should strive and want to help them. You know, while I'm very thankful for how God's blessed, you know, the finances at our church, and thank the Lord that, you know, we're able to meet the needs. But one thing sometimes, one of the negatives on that, is that when a guest comes in, an evangelist, here in a couple weeks we're, to have Brother Sousa will be back with us, Lord willing. And he'll be speaking for us on Thursday night, and challenging us, and Brother Sousa's a tremendous preacher. He's gonna preach for us Thursday. He's gonna do our sports banquet Friday and challenge and there'll be some lost people at that banquet. Pray to get saved. He'll be preaching all day on Sunday for us and challenging us from the word of God. We as a church should want to abundantly take care of that man. That nothing be wanting. If we're not careful what can happen is this, we take up an offering for the evangelist or the preacher or the missionary, whoever it is that's coming through. And we think, well, the church should take care of them. Every one of us should have a heart's desire to make sure we take care of this person. We should want to invest in them. Now, I know that's a blanket statement, but let's get really down to nitty gritty here, March in 2020, all right? There's a lot of evangelists, missionaries that are gonna need some help in the next few weeks. Our own Brother Alexander had his whole next month canceled. Small works, like out in Colorado with Brother Roberts, who's not allowed to meet, they're going to have no offerings. There are right now, I'm standing here in a beautiful auditorium, and we're looking to remodel, and that's a great thing. But there are churches right now that are just getting started within 50 miles of us. that not having services this week and next week and the week after could threaten their existence. Should we as a church watch those churches suffer with some money in the bank? Or maybe we should pray, God, what would you have us to do? I imagine if you were here, you'd be about as quiet as it is right now, right? It's something to think on. God blesses a church, not to be a bank, but to be a conduit. I'm all for remodeling, I'm all for doing whatever we can do, and I wanna do it. But these are unprecedented times. Last Thursday, we were supposed to have a missionary in, and he called and canceled, You know, and said it wasn't, it didn't make sense to come. There'd be no one here. And so they went back home. They've had to cancel their meetings. So what do we do? We sent them a love offering. We sent them a double what we normally would give them. Because they were going to have, they were supposed to stay here. And they didn't have housing and they would be traveling all the way back to Missouri. I'll just read the verse. Bring Zenos the lawyer and Apollos on their journey diligently. That means we really need to focus on this. That nothing be wanting unto them. There may be independent Baptist missionaries that we've never met yet that are stuck somewhere tonight. Because the church they were supposed to go at is not having services. And they've already sold their home. They go from place to place. If God directs those people in front of us, we should at least pray about what can we do and seek direction from the Lord that nothing be wanting. We should look out if we know of churches that are really, this is really gonna hurt them and cause them to struggle, let's help them out. Maybe there's a church plant somewhere that now is wondering how they're gonna pay their rent for that storefront that they have to have rented. Maybe we can help him out. I know it's odd, but we live in odd times. And that's what the Bible says. And as I study and prepare for this message, that's the one thing that God really struck my heart as a pastor and said, look for it. So let's look for it. Let's see what God will lead us to do. I have nothing on my radar. We took care of that missionary that was supposed to be with us on Thursday. But I'm asking that if God wants us to help, to bring that before us. And I'm asking you to pray the same way. And if God would direct something that's something we can do as a church, let's seek to be a blessing in such a time as this, amen? So you see the practical side as to his ministry, and then you see the preaching side of his ministry in verse number 14. Now this is important, don't lose me. And let ours also learn to maintain good works for necessary uses, that they be not unfruitful. So what did Paul say? Paul said, all right, these two men are coming, or they're there. Titus, you take care of these men diligently, that nothing's wanting. Then why do that? Because in doing so, Titus would be teaching those young churches a very important lesson. And let ours also learn to maintain good works for necessary uses. Those people that Titus had been ministering to, what do we know about them from the book of Titus? They're lazy. They don't like following rules. They were very lustful, but God had saved them. And I don't care who you are, praise the Lord, God makes a change in your life, but what you were still has a draw on you if you're not careful. And so these men, no doubt, these men that filled these early churches there on Crete, while God had changed their life, they're young baby Christians. And Paul said, now Titus, you take care of these two men that are coming to be a blessing, but you also make sure that the church watches and sees this so that they can learn to do the same. so that they can learn to maintain these good. They'll watch you treat these men good, which will help them to treat these men good, so that they will bear fruit in the days ahead. I don't know what all Apollos and Zenos went on to do, but as these churches helped them out, they were able to bear fruit in their ministry. This missionary that we canceled, Brother Mallard was his name, we sent him a love offering, Praise the Lord. And I don't know what all we're hoping we work it out so we can come back. But the fact is this, whatever fruit comes, this church had a part. And what I want is this, why are you bringing all this out? Because I want our young people to understand that we have an obligation here. Because we gotta be careful. If it's just something the pastor writes a check for and no one ever invests in, there'll come a day there won't be no money to invest in other people. If we don't teach the younger generation the opportunity to give, they'll grow up and take things for granted until one day it's not there. And so Paul taught Titus to take care of these men, and you know, not to do it for a show, but to do it for a lesson. If you read the verse, he said, now you make sure your church is watching you give to this. Make sure they know that you paid for their stay in the inn. Make sure they know that you're making sure they're fed. Make sure you know that you saw their shoes were messed up and you bought them a pair of shoes. You make sure the church knows that this is going on because they need to learn that that's their job to do. Everybody follow that? That's their job to do. So you see here guidance for Titus as to, again, his movements and then as to his ministry, the practical side and the preaching side. And then you see, not just guidance for Titus, but in verse number 15, greetings for Titus. It says, there are all that are with me salute thee. You see, first of all, personal greetings. Paul says, these believers that are with me here, they greet you. These churches in Asia that Paul had been ministering to. You see, okay, it's just a simple verse. I want you to stop. Titus had been on this island doing a hard work. And it was encouraging to know that there were people that said, Titus, we know who you are. We haven't forgot you. We love you. We send our greetings. Carry on. Now it's in the word of God for a reason. Because it is an important ministry to reach out to some. If for no other reason just to let them know, we love you. We're praying for you. I don't think they sent Titus a gift. I don't think they bought him a new car, said you did a great job. But I really believe that when Titus opened this letter, his face filled with a smile. They said hi. What a blessing. You see personal greetings and then you see pastoral greeting. Verse number 15, all that are with me salute thee. Then it says, greet them that love us in the faith. So Paul says, all these that are with me here, they said to tell you hi, Titus. And then Titus, make sure those people there on that island that love us in the faith, tell them I said hi. Paul's doing the other way now. Paul had been on that island, he had no doubt led some of these people to the Lord. He had no doubt discipled some of them before he had to leave and leave Titus there. And these people knew who Paul was. He said, Titus, make sure you tell them that I said hi. Make sure they know that I love them. I like, and I try not to make too much of it, but greet them that love us in the faith. Praise the Lord, it's faith that unifies, amen? And by the way, we that are of the faith, we ought to love each other, amen? Greet them that love us in the faith. Now, I just want to mention this. There was probably those who didn't like Paul on that island. How do you know that? Because everywhere Paul went, there were people that didn't like him. There were probably those who talked bad about Paul and Titus. I guarantee it because you read this book. It even tells you what to do about it. There were probably those who hated the ministry of Paul. Paul didn't say, greet them that love us in the faith and make sure you tell them rotten scoundrels what jerks they are. He didn't do it, did he? He focused on those who needed to be focused on. As a simple lesson, he ignored those and didn't attack those that probably were worthy of it. But you see the heart of Paul. He didn't want to slam a door so that never be able to reach him in the future. If he would have ordered in this epistle for Titus to go tell so and so that Paul didn't forget how bad he treated him and that someday he's going to get what he deserves, it would have slammed the door forever for anyone reaching that guy. But Paul focused on those. In this world that we live in today with social media and all the stuff that we have and everything at our access and everyone can give their opinion, child of God, don't seek to offend people. Don't seek to go fight just for the sake of fighting. You say, well, they stand against me. Well, let them. You just focus on what's right. Me and Brother Alexander talked this last week about all the stuff going on with church. He said, our only responsibility is to paddle our own canoe. Amen? It is ours. This morning I was talking to somebody, and our job is just, my job is to focus on my flock. What other people do, it's not my business. But my job is to do what God tells me to do. So he focused on those he loved, unified in the faith. So you see guidance for Titus, then you see greetings for Titus, and we'll close on this in verse number 15, the end of the verse, you see grace for Titus. Grace be with you all. Aren't you thankful for the grace of God? What a blessing the grace of God is. We today were saved by grace. Bible says, for by grace are you saved through faith and not of yourselves. It is a gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast. Aren't you thankful for the saving grace of God? We get to serve God because of his grace. God gives us the grace to serve him. We're sanctified by his grace. That grace of God teaches us to live a holy life. We're saved by grace, we serve by grace, we're sanctified by grace. We're a student of the word of God because of God's grace. We may even suffer because of God's grace. And even if, God forbid, we slip away and backslide, we can be restored because of the grace of God. I'm thankful for God's grace. Mr. Lee, would you care to come play Amazing Grace as we close this service?