All right. Good to see everyone tonight. Pray for rain. I'm going to say that again. Pray for rain. Wow. I'm inspiring the troops here. Listen, we got a chance for rain tomorrow. I think we ought to pray for rain. I want you to turn to number 378. And you can't sing this song sitting down, so you might as well stand up. So 378. From victory unto victory His army shall he lead Till every foe is vanquished and Christ is born again. In this His glorious day, He led our men, now serve Him, Against unhonored foes. Let courage rise with angel, And strength to strengthen, Amen, I gotta confess a sin this morning. I intended to have Brother Brandon to lead us in prayer for one of the services, but I could not remember your name. So brother, uh, brother Brandon, if you could open us in prayer, please. Yes, Lord. Amen please do be seated It's an it's an unfortunate thing, but it really is an issue I was I think I told some of you all I went to a preacher's meeting here recently that That all the people in the room were good and old friends of mine. I literally tried to run ten names through my mind it couldn't get him there, but Anyhow, I want to sing number 470 next number 470 Is my strength Think about these wonderful words. ♪ Jesus is all the world to me ♪ ♪ My friend and triumph soul ♪ ♪ I go to him for blessings and ♪ ♪ He gives them more and more ♪ ♪ He sends the sun shining ♪ ♪ I sense the harvest golden grain ♪ ♪ Sunshine and rain, harvest of grain ♪ ♪ He's my friend ♪ ♪ Jesus is all the world to me ♪ His friend in I, when He's so true to me. Following Him, I know for well, He works His only day and night. Following Him, my day and night, He's mine. I stand when I speak Great song. Amen. And we all glad that we can be friends with the God of all creation Amen, you know, it's been studying here a little bit The difference between the gods of this world and and the true God Jesus Christ Amen a personal relationship with the God of creation. Amen. He reveals himself by his word He manifests his understanding to us through his Holy Spirit his presence. Come on now. Amen. That's something to be excited about We're gonna receive our evening offerings at this time for men will come to receive those gonna hit you short here But you know one two one more There we go There you go. You did good. All right. You up to praying for us? Why don't you lead us in prayer? Amen. I don't know about you, but I look for blessings in just about everything that the Lord has for us. I gotta tell you, I love looking out here, and many of you sing without hymnals, and anybody who can sing the third verse is not a true Baptist. No, I'm just joking. I don't want to pick on anybody, but I was looking out on the third verse and some of y'all weren't using your hymnals and just singing that beautiful song. That was an encouragement to me. Listen, I'm not joking when I tell you things leave me, but Mindy will tell you that you can ask some obscure thing and I'll tell you more detail than you want to know. It's just where your brain works sometimes. I've never been able to memorize hymns. And I don't know why it is. So I love looking at Jimmy, you know, singing and you weren't the one I was looking at because, you know, I wouldn't go into all this. No, I'm joking. But he's my friend. Amen. She prayed that this morning, that's I was just thinking about that. I just wanted to sing that. What a blessing. Let's turn to number 422, please. 422. If he's your friend, you can go with him anywhere, right? Anywhere with Jesus I am not afraid. Anywhere, anywhere, fear I cannot know. Anywhere with Jesus I get saved. Anywhere with Jesus is a house of praise. Anywhere, anywhere, fear I cannot know. Anywhere with Jesus, I can safely go. Anywhere with Jesus, over land and sea, telling souls in darkness as of day. Anywhere, anywhere, fear I cannot know Anywhere with Jesus I can safely go Anywhere with Jesus I can go to sleep When the darkening shadows round us fall All right, Jimmy, you inspired me. He had that third verse going. I'm sitting here going, what verse are we on? It's an issue. Amen. Been good to be able to worship the Lord in song, hasn't it? Amen. Well, we got one more yet. And so I think we've got some young folks coming. And they're going to come and sing for us. Amen. you I think that might have had a little something to do with this morning's message. Amen. That was good. Praise the Lord for that. Well, I'm glad that y'all are here tonight. I really enjoyed this morning, and I'm glad to have Brother Paul Morrison with us, one more service. And so, Brother, you come preach the message the Lord's laid on your heart. Thank you again, Brother. Thank you. Amen. Hope you had a good afternoon. Hopefully you had some rest. Maybe you didn't. We didn't. We were talking all afternoon. But it was an enjoyable fellowship and good time and we appreciate that. Go over to 1 Corinthians 3 this evening. 1 Corinthians 3. I've had a topic of thought in my mind for a long time. The Lord led me to put it together to use while I'm traveling to churches. And I finally put everything on paper last week. I preached this once last week at a missions conference. And I believe that even this morning, I didn't know what I was gonna preach tonight. That may sound surprising to you. But I felt like the Lord impressed me with a thought. He'll let me know in the morning, and he did. And it's a message, it's for everybody. But I'll tell you what I'm excited about. This crew right here. Really excited about that. It's a blessing in any church to have a solid core of young people for the next generation. Although if you're not qualified to sit up there, it seems like you have to be younger to sit up here, right? If you're not qualified, don't worry, this message is for you as well, especially if you're retired. Where are you going with this? You're getting concerned, right? Good. Tonight I want to preach a message about unsung heroes of missions. Your pastor wanted a missions emphasis today and having been an assistant pastor, a pastor, a missionary, it's kind of given me a broad spectrum of looking at things and sometimes I'm guilty of trying to look at things from a different angle. You know, thinking outside the box, so to speak. And there is a topic that is so clearly in the scripture and yet it doesn't seem like we're practicing this as independent Baptists like we ought to be. You'll see as we go there. So I'm not going anything outside the Bible. I'm just challenging our practices. to a new level, if that makes sense, in a way in which I really think we could be doing missions in a better, more efficient, and more effective way than what we've been doing. And so that's where we want to go tonight, because in missions, there are many unsung heroes. You think about Paul, right? If I say, name a missionary, 99% of the people in the room will say, Paul, right? Because he's our go-to guy. And God, God used him as an example in the Bible. I mean, obviously in the book of Acts, we see Paul's life and got a very specific plan for Paul's life. Paul penned many of the epistles. And so no surprise that he's number one. But if Paul was standing on the stage next to me tonight, I think he would tell you about everyone else that labored with him before he'd give himself any kind of credit for what God used him, and I will say this, his team. to utilize, and the team was always changing, depending on where they were. Some people labored with Paul while Paul was in their city and stayed, and he went on to the next place. Some went on to travel with him. Some would be sent out on assignment to another location, so on and so forth. But that's where we're going tonight as we look at this topic. Let's pray and let's ask the Lord to not only instruct us and teach us, but your individual specific assignment is to do this. I want you to ask God, just like Paul did, as soon as he got saved, Lord, what will thou have me to do? And if you're truly open to what God would want you to do, then you're gonna have to employ what we just heard sung, it's time to trust and obey. Because God may call you to do something beyond you. In fact, that's usually how it is. God wants to use you in a way that's beyond you because then you have to trust Him. You have to obey Him. If it's something you're comfortable with and something that it's no problem for you to do, then there's no challenge to your obedience and faith. And yet God will start you out with a smaller thing and work your way up to where He may even have you going to a foreign land with the gospel. Is that possible, young men? Oh, that's very possible. And what an exciting opportunity that would be if God was to call a man from among you to go forward. But even if God never uses you in that specific way, may God open your heart and mind to other ways. I'm gonna give some examples tonight, some things that you can chew on and maybe God will give you an idea that has nothing to do with what I even mentioned. I'm just gonna throw some things out along the way, things that are practical, things that I feel would help missions go forward more effectively and more efficiently. Let's pray. Father, we ask that you would meet with us tonight. Thank you for the opportunity to open the Word of God again, and I pray that you would bless not only our understanding of truth and the biblical parameters given about missions, but may your spirit also impress directly and specifically in what you would have each one of your children to do. Father, we know this life is too short to waste upon just survival and just trying to get by and focus on the wrong things. May we invest our hearts and lives truly in the things that are most dear to your heart. We pray this in Jesus' name, amen. You know, in war history, there have always been the unsung heroes. I mean, you think of, like, some famous generals, but there are plenty of other good men and women that fought alongside or for the general that really were the greater heroes. and a lot of times you never hear about them. You hear the stories about the most famous ones, true so in missions. You think of Hudson Taylor, Adoniram Judson, you think of David Livingstone, and you think of William Carey and people like that, and yet there are thousands more that have ministered in the past and are currently ministering, and we don't even know who they are. And that's fine, because most people never will be known, but it doesn't minimize or take away from the fact that people have given their lives to serving God, not only abroad, but even here at home. You can be just as effectively used of God without even leaving your own county, so long as you're doing what God has called you to do. So don't think that to really serve God, you have to go to a foreign land. Not so. Simply being surrendered and obedient and trusting God to do what He's called you to do, that's the key. And however that is, in whatever way that is, are you willing? What does God have for you? Again, you think of missionaries in the Bible, and you think of Paul, and I think of, secondly, who? Barnabas, his partner. Then in time, Barnabas takes John Mark, and Paul takes Silas, and then there's Timothy, and then there's Titus, but there are other people as well. Have you ever heard of Artemis? Tychicus, Zenus, Apollos, Phoebe, Tertius, Timotheus we know, right? Gaius, Lucius, Jason, remember him? He's also mentioned in the book of Acts. Socipiter, Fortunus, Achaeus, Aquila, Priscilla, oh, we know them. Lucas, Titus, Epaphroditus, Epiphras, Luke, Demas, Archippus, and others that are named in the Bible, and probably hundreds more that are not named in the Bible, people who were involved with mission. You say, where'd you get that list of names from? If you look at the end of the epistles sometimes, Paul in his closing of the epistle says, greet so and so, my fellow lay, and we're gonna look at some of these in just a minute. But what I see when I look at the scriptures is that Paul was not alone in what he did. Yeah, he's the front man, he's the face of it, he may be the leader of it, but I'll guarantee you this, what was accomplished through the life of Paul would not have happened without those other people. So what does that have to do with us? Well, my desire tonight is to challenge you with, what can God use you to do in missions, home and abroad, in a greater way than you are now? Now, I'm pretty certain I know this. Liberty Baptist gives money, maybe you do faith promise, but you're giving money, you're supporting missionaries, and we thank you because we are direct recipients of that. Thank you. We could not be in Swaziland without you. I'm not allowed to work a job there. Their government will not allow a foreigner to come take a job away from their own people. That's an interesting thought. Sorry, don't wanna get political, but just an interesting thought, right? And so without you doing that, we couldn't be there. Without you, there wouldn't be a church, by the grace of God, organized in the near future. And so we look forward not just to organizing, but what they're gonna go do beyond my time there, because ultimately the job is on them to reach their own nation. But what could God use you to do beyond supporting a missionary financially? Oh, we pray. Good. That's important. That is great. Those are the two most common things that supporting churches do for a missionary, but I want to challenge you beyond that tonight. Not to minimize or take that away, but what could you... You say, who am I referring to? You. What could you, every one of you, be doing for missions? And we're gonna look at some of those things tonight. So before Paul began his missionary journeys, perhaps when he started out, it was just him and Barnabas. But it wouldn't be long before there are people laboring with them when they realize what God has called them to do, and they're gonna be laboring alongside. 1 Corinthians 3, look at this now in verse number four. 1 Corinthians 3 verse 4 says, For while one saith, I am of Paul, and another, I am of Apollos, are ye not carnal? Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers by whom ye believed, even as the Lord gave to every man? By the way, what do these men do when they're out there? They're ministering. They're not going out to build a reputation, they're just simply ministering. Verse 6, I have planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. So real quick, watch what's going on here. Paul came to Corinth initially to plant. Apollos comes later to water, but watch what it says in verse 7. So then neither is he that planteth anything, neither he that watereth, but God that giveth the increase. So one thing we've got to walk home with tonight and take away from this place is this. God is the one that does missions. We are simply instruments in his hand, like we looked at this morning in Romans chapter six, we are instruments in his hand. We may be used of God to plant, we may be used of God to water, we may be even part of the reaping process, but nonetheless, God is the one that gives the increase. And so whether I'm planting, water, no matter what I'm doing, it's God. If Paul was here, he'd say, well, it was God. I didn't do anything, God did this. And so we've gotta do that. In fact, if you study in Acts 14, we won't go there tonight, but in Acts 14, when Paul and Barnabas came back from that first missionary journey, they rehearsed for the church all that God had done with them. And they made it very clear, God did it, but it was by God's grace, God did the work, they were just along for the ride. They were an instrument in his hand, and that's what took place. And this is true about being laborers together with God. It says in verse 8, it says, Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one, and every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labor. For we are laborers together with God. Ye are God's husbandry, ye are God's building. According to the grace of God, which was given unto me as a wise master builder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon. For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid. which is Jesus Christ. And so we are laborers. Verse 9 says we are laborers together with God. Locally on a church level, you do outreach together. You are trying to reach your city, your county with the gospel of Jesus Christ. And beyond that, It's true as churches cooperate. We still are laboring together with God. Of course, without violating church autonomy, we support missionaries one of another, we pray one of another, and sometimes there's even the actual helping one of another, whether in sowing down a particular area at home or in going to help someone's missionary abroad. And so, even if a church does not have a home-sent missionary, There's no reason why you cannot help a missionary that is already out there in existence. Kind of what I'm getting at is this. God may never call you to be a Paul, a Barnabas, but you can still help. And you can have a key part in helping get the word of God around the world, and we're gonna look at some ways. Look at Acts chapter 19 with me. Hope you're, everybody do this, get your fingers loosened up, we're gonna be looking at some scripture tonight. Here we go, Acts chapter 19, let's look at some things. Again, Paul was the face of missions, but he was surrounded by many helpers, a good team that helped him along the way. Acts 19, in verse number 29, it says this, And the whole city was filled with confusion, and having caught Gaius and Aristarchus, men of Macedonia, Paul's companions in travel, they rushed with one accord into the theater. And we won't give the backstory here, but it says that Paul had companions in travel, chapter 20, verse number 4. It says, "...and there accompanied him into Asia, Sopater of Berea, and of the Thessalonians, Aristarchus, and Secundus, and Gaius of Derbe, and Timotheus, and of Asia, Tychicus, and Trophimus." These also were people that traveled with Paul from different cities, therefore from different churches, and yet they worked together without violating church autonomy. They worked together to take the gospel to the world, and so I believe we can do that. Now, obviously, you want to make sure they're churches of like faith and practice, and I think that was a little more simple back then, right? Because there was only so many, and they all had their roots in Jerusalem, and so things perhaps were a little bit easier in that way, but nonetheless, the principle is there that Paul had companions in travel. And so here's a practical way. What if at some point in your life you have some free time? You say, who has that? I understand. But if God was to give you free time in life, like you retire, maybe you're between high school and college, maybe you're between jobs, and you've got a few weeks, a few months free, have you ever thought about going and joining a missionary and traveling with them? and what they're doing. And you may not even be a God-called preacher. That's okay. You know how much encouragement and what a blessing you would be to a missionary just to be there and be a companion with a travel. How many like to travel alone? I mean, even on a road trip to Kansas or something, right? You don't wanna be alone. You want someone to go with you. And the same is gonna be true in missions. I believe there are many times that missionaries are going out there by themselves. Their wife and their children are back home, and he's literally going out there solo by himself. And I guarantee you this, there's plenty of times where missionaries, oh, if I just had a brother. in Christ with me from home to travel with me. There's safety. I mean, I preach this message on the backdrop of what's coming in the future. And the necessity, and I think the practicality of utilizing more of these biblical methods of going out together, two by two, so on and so forth. Look at Colossians chapter four. Colossians chapter number four, we see Paul not only had companions in travel, but he also calls them fellow laborers. And I don't think you have to even be called to preach to labor alongside someone that is, so that together, God can do great things through them. In Colossians chapter 4, verse number 10, it says, Aristarchus, my fellow prisoner, saluteth you, and Marcus, sister's son to Barnabas, touching whom he received commandments, if he come, again, he received him. And verse 11 says, and Jesus, which is called Justice, whoever of the circumcision, these only are my fellow workers unto the kingdom of God, which have been a comfort unto me. And so here are men, Aristarchus, Marcus, Jesus, obviously Jesus was not just Jesus Christ, there are other people with that name, but there's only one Jesus Christ. But there's another man, Jesus, which is called Justice, probably to make it clear who they're referring to, just call them Justice. And then we also see these others that are traveling, they're called fellow workers. One, even Aristarchus, was a fellow prisoner, because who wants to go to jail by themselves, amen? And so Paul, how many times was he in jail? Many times, and it was a blessing to him to have a companion in jail with him. Someone to sing songs with at midnight, amen? And someone to maybe recite scripture with and encourage one another, and as it says there in verse 11, to comfort one another. How many of you will be honest, there have been times when you have a friend in life that gives you some comfort. Let's say you're going through a trial, you're going through a test, you're going through a difficult time in life. You say, well, we have the Lord. Yes, we do have the Lord, and he ought to be our first source of comfort, but let's just face how human we are. And there are times that we need a companion. How many missionaries do you know are going through deep trials, and they wish they had a man to stand with them. Paul, you know, the great missionary Paul, wrestled with times of being in a trial, in a test, where he needed someone to give comfort to him. We think of Paul as this, you know, Superman, and nothing can faze him. No, he was phased. No, there were times when he was discouraged and down, times when he was concerned. Of course, you know, there were times when he said in 2 Timothy, jump over there with me, chapter four, 2 Timothy chapter four, verse 16, at my first answer, no man stood with me, but all men forsook me. I pray, God, that it may not be laid to their charge, notwithstanding the Lord stood with me and strengthened me. Amen. The Lord will never abandon you, even if man does. but that doesn't diminish the fact that there are times when we need someone to comfort us and stand with us in the fight, in the battle. Look at verse 10. It says, for Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world, and has departed unto Thessalonica, Crescens to Galatia, Titus into Dalmatia. Only Luke is with me. Take Mark and bring him with thee. He is profitable to me for the ministry. And Tychicus have I sent to Ephesus. Here's some of those names I mentioned before. And so here are people that have a real part of Paul's ministry that we never even stop to think about. And so what about you? What if you could become one of these people that labors alongside an existing missionary? You say, well, nobody will ever know who I am. That's the point. to become an unsung hero, to be someone that will never get any credit, except in the eyes of the Lord, as He simply uses us to do His will. Look at Philemon. Philemon, chapter one, of course, amen? Someone got it. Paul says this in writing to Philemon, a prison epistle. He says in verse number one, Paul, a prisoner of Jesus Christ, and Timothy, our brother, unto Philemon, our dearly beloved and fellow laborer. Philemon was a fellow laborer. In verse two, it says, unto our beloved Apphia, I don't even know how to pronounce the guy's name, Archippus, I'm just guessing as well, our fellow soldier, and to the church in thy house. And so here are more co-laborers, people that worked alongside Paul, with Paul, helping him. They were all together working for the Lord. Verse 24 says, Marcus, Aristarchus, Demas, Lucas, my fellow laborers. In a look at the Philippians chapter number two, Philippians chapter number two, verse number 25 says, yet I suppose it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus, my brother and companion in labor and fellow soldier, but your messenger and he that ministered to my wants. Wow, there's a mission. I mean, go home and memorize Philippians 2.25 and see if God can't use you, even from Monette, Missouri, or wherever you live nearby, if God couldn't use you to minister to the wants of a missionary you support by communicating with them, hey, what do you need? How can I personally be a blessing? And by the way, in all of these things, I highly recommend to you that you take them all to your pastor and work with him on these things. I'm not looking for you to fly solo outside of the church, outside of the leadership of the church. But with him, as a former pastor, I'll admit, I don't have all the ideas. And I will confess there will be times where God's spirit impresses a church member and they bounce it off me. Hey, that's a great idea, let's go get that. Let's do that. And I think he would agree with me that he would love for you to present ideas and how you can further help your missionaries. But that takes communication as well. And there's never been an easier time to communicate. Never been an easier time, and never been such a tough time to communicate, right? Isn't that so strange? Who remembers the days of running to the landline to see who it is before there was caller ID, right? Caller ID killed it for me. I mean, life was great before caller ID, because I would have to fight my siblings to get to the phone, to answer it, to see who it is. And usually it was exciting, not always. But you see, we ought to communicate. We can communicate, find out, maybe God lays a mission on your heart, find out their preferred method of communication, little tip, and see how you can communicate with them. I've been blessed in my five years in the kingdom, there are some, not a lot, but there are some, church members outside of the preachers and pastors that communicate with me regularly to see what I need. In fact, I got a reminder on Facebook Messenger, not my preferred method of communication, but I got a message this afternoon that I was supposed to give someone some answers to things like this. I'm like, OK, yeah, I'll take care of this tomorrow, message them back. So my preferred method of communication is WhatsApp. Any WhatsApp people in here? Not too many. America's the last country to figure out that the best app in the world is WhatsApp. The rest of the world runs on it. Almost all the world. We're just like the last people. We're still texting, which is so old school. Every generation's got their method of communication. You'll understand that in time. Now watch this. In Philippians 2, 25, Epaphroditus was a companion in labor. He was a fellow soldier, and he was a messenger. He was someone that ministered to the wants, I think we could say the needs of Paul. How can you be involved with that? Look at Philippians chapter four, in verse number three, it says, and I entreat thee also, true yoke fellow, help those women who labored with me in the gospel. with Clement also and with my other fellow laborers whose names are in the book of life. Ladies were involved, men were involved. Everyone can get involved with getting the gospel around the world in ways beyond what we are currently doing. I'll give you some more ideas in just a moment. In 3 John, verse eight, it talks about being fellow helpers to the truth. Look at 1 Corinthians chapter 16. First Corinthians chapter 16, again, we see this playing out in the scriptures. Chapter 16, verse 10 says this. It says, Paul was looking for Timotheus, for Timothy, to come help because he was a great help to Paul. Look at 1 Thessalonians 3. Maybe God hasn't called you to preach, but what if He calls you to be a Timothy? Well, Timothy was a preacher. Yeah, it seems like he was. He was involved with pastoring, and so he was called to preach. But what about in the years before that? He was simply ministering to Paul, and eventually he's sent out on some missions, on some assignments. In 1 Thessalonians 3, look at verse 2. It says, and sent Timotheus, our brother and minister of God and our fellow laborer in the gospel of Christ to establish you and comfort you concerning your faith. And so here we see Timothy being sent out. We see Titus in the book of Titus, and we're gonna see him more in just a moment because we're gonna do a little character sketch on Titus, but we see that Titus is sent out, Timothy is sent out, and maybe one day that's how God will use you. Now, maybe you won't be the Paul, but you'll be laboring alongside of a Paul. God may call you to preach and send you out on these assignments and eventually on your own thing, perhaps. And so how can we better help and serve existing missionaries? Well, to do that, let's consider the life of Titus. Now, if it wasn't for a book with his name on it in the Bible, you really wouldn't even know who he is. He's an unsung hero. He is one of those guys that labored with Paul, and yet he's not the first one you think about when it comes to missions, but he was a vital part of Paul's ministry. He's little mentioned. He's mentioned, obviously, in the book of Titus, but besides that, we see him written in 2 Corinthians, Galatians, and 2 Timothy, and even in those books, there's not much written about him. We don't even see his name mentioned in the book of Acts. Now potentially, look at Titus chapter 1, potentially he was a convert of Paul. In the book of Titus, I personally think that he was. The language is such that makes me think this, and the connection they have with each other makes me think that they are in the faith, that Paul led Titus. Maybe Paul was preaching somewhere, and Titus heard the gospel preached by Paul. He got saved. At the very least, he was a man that Paul heavily invested himself in, so much so that he would consider him his son. In Titus 1, look at verse 4, it says, Titus, my own son, after the common faith, grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ our Savior. Titus, my own son, after the common faith, and very potentially Paul's convert, and this is a wonderful thing. Look at Galatians 2. At the very least, practically, he was a servant to Paul. In Galatians 2, look at verse 1. Hopefully some ideas will stem as we study Titus' life about what you could be doing to help a missionary. Galatians 2. Verse number one, it says, then 14 years after I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas and took Titus with me also. Oh, hey, here's this guy named Titus. Who is he? He's someone that at the very least began to travel with Paul, quite possibly after Titus got saved, or at least after Paul invested himself. And while they're traveling, Paul was investing himself in Titus, a disciple of his. And a lot of times, It's true even through osmosis, amen? Just by being, just by Titus being in Paul's presence is going to learn so much through observation, just like you do with other people. We learn a lot. I mean, you send a young man to learn to be an electrician. Yes, he can go to school for it, but the real education will come when he's laboring alongside a master electrician. and you apply that in any other area of life. And so Titus would really learn ministry by traveling and laboring with Paul. Verse 3 says, But neither Titus, who was with me, being a Greek, was compelled to be circumcised. And so Titus, at the very least, was traveling with him. He was a servant to Paul and a servant with him. Look at 2 Corinthians chapter number 8. 2 Corinthians chapter number 8. In verse number 23, it says, whether any do inquire of Titus, he is my partner and fellow helper concerning you. Because we're going to see this more in just a moment, Paul had sent Titus to labor and minister in the church at Corinth as Paul was on elsewhere in his journey. He says, he's my partner, fellow helper concerning you, or our brethren be inquired of. They are the messengers of the churches and the glory of Christ. And so Titus was at the very least a messenger for the churches. Paul would say, remember Paul said, and daily the care of all the churches. I mean, Paul would start a church, he'd stay there for a certain amount of time, God would lead him on, and sometimes he'd have to leave by someone from the team. to take care of that, help them grow and be discipled in all things, you know, the three parts of the Great Commission. And then there were times where Paul sent them over here, maybe there's another place, and he's on the next place, and it's constantly a lot going on. I cannot imagine all that would go through Paul's mind in the course of a day. In addition to preaching where he was and trying to get around some persecution, so on and so forth. And then when he had nothing to do, make some tents. I mean, imagine, I mean, he was never bored, always busy about something, writing some letters. Perhaps one of the reasons why God allowed him to be in jail for so long at the end of his ministry is so he could pen down some of these truths in epistles for you and me to be reading in 2022 and learn how to go about doing some of these things and learn how to live the Christian life. And so he was a servant of Paul and a servant with Paul but definitely he was the servant of the Lord. Titus was a man who served God. He loved God. He was not caught up in the things of this world. He was not caught up in living for himself, but he would serve the Lord with his life. Now, there are three places in which the Bible records Titus ministering, and let's just take a quick look in each one of these places and see what God used Titus to do in these places. The first is Corinth. Go back to verse chapter 8. You're there in 2 Corinthians. Look at chapter 8. In fact, back up to chapter 2. Look at this verse. 2 Corinthians chapter 2. Titus was not only a son in the faith to Paul, but a partner, a fellow labor, and I believe a personal friend and a personal brother to Paul. In 2 Corinthians 2, verse number 13, it says, I had no rest in my spirit because I found not Titus, my brother, but taking my leave of them, I went from them fence into Macedonia." When Paul had come, he was troubled in his heart because Titus should be there, but he's not there showing the bond. Have you ever arrived at a place and maybe it's just a coworker and they didn't show up and you're like, oh, okay, I'll see him tomorrow. But then there are times when you're supposed to meet up with somebody and it's someone really special to you and they're not here. What's going on? And imagine perhaps days or however long this was and Titus hasn't showed up. Paul's concerned. That's his friend. That's his co-labor, his partner. That's his son in the faith. They had a great relationship. And friendships are important today, even in ministry. The Bible says in Proverbs 17, 17, a friend loveth at all times. And you know what missionaries and pastors need? They need friends, people who will be committed to them no matter what. Have you ever thought about being that to a missionary? So, well, that just takes a lot of time to build that kind of connection. It does. It doesn't come overnight. It doesn't even necessarily come by overall calculation. Sometimes it happens, but sometimes we've gotta make steps to communicate and build a relationship. And like I said, there's never been an easier time to communicate. I mean, even from Swaziland, we can video call. That wasn't possible five years ago when we first got there. You couldn't afford a data package to do a video call for the most part. But today, it's gotten affordable. Here in America, it's easy to communicate. It's affordable. A lot of times, it's free for us. How many remember pay phones? I remember paying 10 cents a minute, and you thought that was a good deal for a long-distance call to the other side of the state. And then forget about international calling. You wouldn't dream of that because it's way too expensive. Maybe three minutes a year to a missionary, the pastor would do because you just couldn't afford it. And today it's free. And so can we take advantage of free communication for the most part and get involved and may God lay a mission on your heart where you get to know them. Now sometimes a missionary is busy. Well, hopefully all the time, right? And maybe he won't be able to communicate back as much as you would prefer, but you can still be a friend to that man. And I'll guarantee you, you will make an impact on their ministry, knowing there's brother or sister so-and-so in Monette, Missouri, that is committed to being involved with what we're doing here in such and such country. What can God use you to do in communicating so that when they show up here on a furlough, you're the first person they wanna visit? And if you weren't here, where's my friend? Where are they? We can get involved. We can be involved in ways. Look at Proverbs 27. Now, first of all, I think about over in 1 Samuel 18, how David and Jonathan, they said their souls were knit together. And it takes a while for such a relationship to exist, but it's gotta start somewhere. I mean, I think about the closest friends I've had in life, and a lot of times it wasn't even set out to make that person my best friend, but it happens. And this person, they may not be my best friend, but they're really close, and they're a good friend. Can we have those kinds of friends? Because here, look at Proverbs 27, 9. There are times that we need the counsel of a friend. It says in verse 9 of Proverbs 27, ointment and perfume rejoice the heart, so doth the sweetness of a man's friend by hearty counsel. Oh, we need that. We need to not only have those kinds of friends, but be that kind of a friend. And maybe you'll be that to a missionary. Maybe you'll be the one to help them. Maybe you'll journey alongside with them for a while. Look at back in 2 Corinthians 7. And so this is at the beginning of 2 Corinthians. And then we jump to chapter 7. of 2 Corinthians, and we see more about this very idea. 2 Corinthians 7, look at verse 6. 2 Corinthians 7 verse 6 says, nevertheless God, that comforteth those that are cast down, comforted us by the coming of Titus. Titus was a direct comfort to Paul, and he says in verse 7, and not by his coming only, but by the consolation wherewith he was comforted in you when he told us your earnest desire, your mourning, your fervent mind toward me, so I rejoice to more. Now this is on the heels of Paul writing 1 Corinthians. You remember when 1 Corinthians, Paul had to write that tough letter, a tough love, exposing their sin, calling them out on their sin. And 2 Corinthians reveals when he writes back after Titus came back with the report saying, hey, they responded to your first letter, they received it, they repented, they got it right, they received me with love and we just had a great time. And Paul, let me tell you, I had a great time in Corinth. And their heart is right, they love the Lord. Your letter to them was what they needed. And Paul was just so thrilled. to hear that. And Titus was the one to go and bring that word back. Titus would be involved in writing 2 Corinthians back to them and actually penning the words that Paul would speak. And so Titus was a comfort to Paul, simply by his presence, as it says there in verse six. Hey, we were comforted when Titus showed up. And then he was even more comforted when he heard the response of the church in Corinth, a difficult letter that he wrote. And Titus was a man that he trusted. His son and the faith, they had a great connection, and they trusted one another and could be used to help one another. Titus returns the good news. Look at verse 13 of 2 Corinthians 7. It says, Therefore we were comforted in your comfort. Yea, and exceedingly the more joyed we for the joy of Titus, because his spirit was refreshed by you all. What? You mean the same church in 1 Corinthians? Yeah, that church, they got their hearts right. Titus was filled with joy having spent time with them. He says in verse 14, for if I have boasted anything to him of you, I am not ashamed. But as we speak all things to you in truth, even so our boasting which I made before Titus is found a truth and his inward affection is more abundant towards you whilst he remembereth the obedience of you all, how with fear and trembling you received him. I gotta stop and say this. The work that God sent us to do in Eswatini, I went as a Titus. Brother Kuzel was Paul. He was the one to lay a foundation. It's through his preaching that souls got saved while they were in South Africa going to school. We're now back in Swaziland. And then he would go into Swaziland. He would reach more souls there. He would build up the existing brethren. And then the need existed for a Titus to come in and do more. Say more about that in just a moment. But God, the same heart that Brother Kuzel had, that Paul had, for the people there in Corinth or Eswatini, God gave to me as well. It didn't take long. I mean, very clear. In 2015, when my wife and I went over to visit, I went with the expressed desire of trying to remove from my heart this tugging, this pulling, that God would have me to go there. I had been counseling with my pastor up in North Dakota, and he said, hey, you should take a trip over there, see what God does in your heart. And I'm like, I don't want to. He said, well, maybe when you're there, God will just dismiss the whole thing. I'm like, hey, that's a good idea. So I went there with the express purpose that God would shut down the entire thing in my thinking and in my heart, and the exact opposite happened. And it wasn't even when I crossed the border. You know, there was no lightning bolt when I got into Swaziland. But I'll tell you what, about three hours later when I met with those people, and Brother Kuzol asked me to preach to them, it's like God gave me a heart for those people that I cannot explain. And I just knew then, I knew then, that's where God would have me to labor. And I can't even imagine having not gone. I have loved my time there. I have enjoyed it. I would do it again in a heartbeat. In fact, maybe I'd go sooner. But I am so thrilled. But just like in Corinth, Timothy, or Titus, had a heart for the people of Corinth. And yet the same heart that Paul had and they were just thrilled in all that God had done there in Corinth. Paul trusted Titus back in chapter 8, verse 6. He says, insomuch that we desired Titus, that as he had begun, so he would also finish and knew the same grace also. So when Titus went there, he was to fulfill this ministry of of giving, the grace of giving. You know the churches of Macedonia, you know this passage, we typically use this passage, verses one through five, to teach faith, promise, and to establish the idea about going beyond yourself. Verse three says, how for their power, I bear record, yea, and beyond their power, they were willing of themselves. Verse five, in this they did, not as we hope, but first gave their own selves to the Lord, and unto us by the will of God. Back in verse two, how they, in their deep poverty, it abounded their richness of liberality, because they were used of God, even though in a deep trial of poverty, they gave for the gospel to go forward. But first they had to be willing of themselves, then they had to give themselves to the Lord, and then unto the missionaries, and then he says, we desire Titus, that while he was in Corinth, to establish that same grace of giving as well. And so Titus would become very instrumental to get the Corinthian church involved with giving so that Paul could continue on his journeys. And Titus becomes that key man that we don't even think about. How did Paul have that money to go forward? Well, sometimes he made tents. but sometimes there were churches that gave as well. And Titus, Titus was that partner and fellow helper for Paul. Remember verse 23 again in chapter eight, it says, whether any do inquire of Titus, he is my partner and fellow helper concerning you. He was sent to Corinth for the express reason to minister and help them in Paul's stead. Look at chapter 12. Chapter 12, verse number 18. It says here, I desired Titus, and with him I sent a brother. Did Titus make a gain of you? Of course the answer's no. Walked we not in the same spirit? Walked we not in the same steps? Absolutely. Titus was there in Paul's stead. And at the end of this, we see that Titus was used to pen. The postscript says the second epistle to the Corinthians was written from Philippi, a city of Macedonia, by Titus and Lucas. And so there we see God using Titus to minister to and in Corinth on the behalf of Paul. What about you, young men, young ladies that may marry a young man that's called? You may never be a Paul, but you could be a Titus. Maybe you will be a Paul. Maybe some of you will be used. Even if you're not young, even if you're retired, God may wanna use you And by the way, there are plenty of countries in this world where you could live off of your retirement, even social security, because the exchange rate is that good. So don't limit what God can do with the excuse like, well, where'd I get money from? There are ways. There are ways. God can do things. Can God use you to minister alongside a missionary? Now watch this, go to the book of Titus. In Titus, we see the second place as recorded in the scriptures, maybe there are other places, but in the book of Titus, we see Titus ministering on the island of Crete. So first he was in Corinth, now he's in Crete. At some point, Paul and Titus came to the island of Crete. It says in verse number five, for this cause left I thee in Crete. So he leaves him there to set things in order. It says there that thou should have set in order the things that are wanting and ordain elders in every city as I had appointed thee. And the rest of chapter one gives the qualifications of a pastor, of an elder, someone that they would leave in charge in overseeing each church that had been planted in several cities on the island of Crete there in the Mediterranean Sea. The island of Crete is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands. And so rightfully so that they would have many churches established there. But he says in verse five, I've left you in Crete, Titus, that you would set in order the things that are wanting. You know, the Great Commission is not just giving the gospel, it's also baptizing and what? Discipling. And yet, for Paul to be the only one to disciple in each location, he wouldn't get very many places. And God had specifically equipped Paul to be the one to travel and to preach. I mean, go back to Acts chapter 9 and chapter 22-26 of Acts, you see Paul even rehearsing his testimony. how God had called him to go preach and he would suffer many things because that's what he was. He was one that persecuted the church. And so as he would go to these very cities, he couldn't stay and actually get everyone all the way up in discipleship. There would need to be others that would disciple even in his absence. And then eventually there would be local pastors who would take over the whole process as they go out and do the same thing. And here we are in 2022, still practicing what began there in the book of Acts. Actually, what began in the gospels with Jesus. But we see exemplified in the book of Acts. And so one of the things that Titus would do is set in order the things that are wanting. He would be involved with discipling. He would be there to edify and to increase. Titus would be involved with dealing with even cultural issues. Look at verse number 11 of chapter one, verse 12 rather, it says, one of themselves, even a prophet of their own said, the Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, slow bellies. This witness is true, wherefore rebuke them sharply that they may be sound in the faith. Paul knew something from ministering to the Cretans that this is what they're like, and so Titus, make sure you deal with them this way, it's for their good. And that's one thing I found out as a missionary, that there are certain cultural things going on, that if a missionary was to go help me over there, or if I was to send someone to minister in my absence, I would say, know this about the Swazi people. And I'm not saying this as if we're better, because we're not. Because I would say the same thing, if someone from there was coming here, I would say this about the American people, okay? So understand, I'm not slamming the Swazi people. But there are some, because of our cultural sin nature in each place, there are some things that need to be pointed out. for their good, for their help, to be a blessing to them. And so Titus was a key man to set some things in order and get them established, and then to ordain elders in every city, to observe who's qualified and to prepare those qualified men for ministry, to invest in these churches. In chapter two of Titus, how to instruct and lead the aged men, the aged women, the young men, and the servants in chapter two, to speak and exhort and rebuke. And then he goes on in chapter 3 to give more instruction. But Titus became a key man in the island of Crete. You don't think about that. Like I said, if it wasn't for a book named after him, we wouldn't even think about Titus. We'd be thinking about Paul only. Maybe God would use you in that way. Maybe God could use you alongside a missionary, and maybe you're one that you're not called to preach, but you could disciple somebody. You know the ABCs. You could be used of God. Maybe there's a missionary out there where a number of people have been saved, and that man doesn't have enough time to truly disciple every one of them, because the town's over, and next city's over, that he's gotta go preach in. You say, well, I don't have all that time. What about going for a month, two months? A lot of countries, as Americans, we get three months, 90 days as a tourist on a tourist visa, no questions asked. That's true in South Africa. Any one of you, if you have an American passport, you get on an airplane tomorrow and go to South Africa, 90 days, no one's gonna ask a question. Swaziland, you get 30 days, so make it count, amen? Beyond 30 days, you've gotta have a visa to stay. But there are a lot of countries where you could go minister, simply. You could do it next week if God so led you. I mean, there are things that could be done. You could be discipling, you could be a companion in labor, you could be a friend. I mean, there's so many things beyond, and again, I'm not minimizing financial support, prayer support, but what about some more practical things? Exciting ways to get involved with missions. And how about even starting with this simple idea of just taking a week, you got a vacation week? Take a week, fly somewhere. Air travel is a little more expensive than it was a couple years ago, but it's still affordable. It's still reasonable. People usually blow more money than that on vacation. You can be ministering and your life will be changed. Your prayers will never be the same for those people having spent time with them and communicate with them face to face. And here's the third place. Look at 2 Timothy 4. 2 Timothy 4. We see Titus being in another location. I'm assuming he was sent there, judging by the context. We read this verse earlier. Look at verse 10. It says, For Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world, and is departed unto Thessalonica. Then he mentions Crescens to Galatia, Titus unto Dalmatia. Only Luke is with me. Take Mark and bring him with thee. For he is profitable to me for the ministry, and Titicus I have sent to Ephesus. And so it seems like even here, as Paul's in, this is a prison epistle, even as he's there in Rome, he has some team members around, and he's sending them out, sending them out. Go over here. I can't go there. I need you to go. You need to go over here. Go over there. How about this thought? When a missionary is on a furlough because his family and he need to get connected to churches and back to American life for a little while, what if you were to go, let's say he has a three or six month furlough, and you were to be there to take his place? Just an idea. Say, what if I'm not called to preach? You could be there to be a blessing. You don't know, there are so many potential things that could be done. But here's what Titus is doing, in this place, Dalmatia. You know where Dalmatia is? Dalmatia is part of the former Yugoslavia. It is one of the four historical regions of modern-day Croatia, there on the Adriatic Sea. And I was super thrilled to do a little study on Dalmatia because it completed my alliterated outline of Corinth, Crete, Croatia. Amen. It's gotta be there, right? Just wouldn't make sense to be C, C, and D. Croatia. I wonder what God used Titus to do in Croatia. Probably some of the same things he did in Crete and back in Corinth. And if we're willing to be used of God, I think there are so many things that could be done. We may be that unsung hero in Corinth, in Crete, in Croatia, but I believe completely that the success of Paul's ministry is largely, I mean, first of all, the Lord, but it's also largely due to all those people that helped. And if Paul was here, he'd talk about them. You can just read, you can go home and read it. You read these epistles sometimes at the beginning and sometimes at the end. You can just sense the love and appreciation he has for this person and that person and this person. You know, when I was younger, in the Lord, I'd be like, oh, why is this stuff in here? It's like filler material. Oh, it's a letter, okay. I'm like, wait a minute, God's teaching me something, even in that. Look at Paul's heart for his fellow laborers and what they've done. I have been thrilled to be part of what Bible Baptist Church is doing in Africa. I've been thrilled. Brother Kuzel is my father in the faith. He led me to Christ in 1995. And because of that, he was the man that invested heavily in my life to help disciple me and bring me up in the faith. And I never ever imagined in my life that one day we'd be in Africa serving together. Never would have imagined that. And we would talk about it over there. Be like, can you believe we're here? We're here in Africa serving the Lord together. When we met back in 1994 in North Dakota, And here we are on the other side of the world, serving the Lord together. And me as a Titus, where he was the Paul, the foundation, and we came and built on that. We set in order the things that we're wanting, and now we're ready to ordain a man, just like Titus was doing in Crete. What can God use you to do? What can God use you to do? What does God want to do with your life? Like Paul said at the beginning, Lord, What wilt thou have me to do? And if you can, with a complete surrender of the heart, pray that with me. May God, whether it be today, tomorrow, whenever in the future, may God so use you in missions. Father, thank you for the time, and I thank you for the example of Titus, a man that you used.