Chapter 2. I believe these are some of the most informing words about the gospel, about the grace of God, starting at verse 11. And I figured I'd just, I didn't have much, I'll be honest, I didn't have much time. I was working on my truck, and Danny was here, and we was trying to get the snow plow working and everything else on. And finally, I guess because it had been set and everything else, it started working a little bit. So I think if I need to plow, I think I can if I have to. But that's where I was most of this evening. But I trust the Lord, what literally give me, I believe it'll really, I hope it'll make you search out these truths. Titus, I believe that is anointed. Paul was anointed right into Titus. And what it's saying here is speaking about the effects of the grace of God. The grace of God is the divine influence upon the heart. Now, that's the way you understand it in the Strong's. It's the divine influence upon the heart. And what that really is is the Holy Ghost of God convicting. And so you've got here something that introduces salvation in the right fashion. Like, you don't heal this part. You hear me complain a lot about the absence of the Holy Spirit of God involved, and people speaking of salvation, they don't recognize him. Well, there's no salvation without him. No, there's no salvation without the Holy Ghost of God. You just don't do it. You can't bust into heaven yourself. You can't reach heaven yourself. You're going to have to have help. You're going to have to have somebody that'll carry you to God, take you to God, and teach you about God and help you to walk with God. And so the Holy Ghost of God, that's what he does. He guides us into all truth. That's what Jesus said he'd do. And here you've got a divine influence. You got a diet divine influence called grace. It's, it's the presence of God moving in your life. It's God working on you. Nobody gets saved without it. You don't get saved without God, the Holy Ghost, convicting you of sin and righteousness and judgment to come. And so you have the Holy Spirit of God, this divine influence that comes in grace, represented as grace, coming to a sinner. Now, there's words in here, as I say a lot of times, You need to dig good on some of these words. And that word, notice here it says, for the grace of God that bringeth. Now, there's an unusual word. You only find it once in that way. It's an unusual word, and you just think it would break something. But the fact is, this word is a defender or a defense. It protects from danger. It's where it ensures the true salvation. It's a protection. And if you want, I'll give you the number, 4992. You'll find it no other place, that particular statement. I thought what it said, Brigham, like it was some way it was carried through, but it really deals with this divine influence that is defending and making clear and making sure that it's the true salvation. It's not something that man has devised. This grace that bringeth in salvation hath appeared. It's this deliverance, guaranteed, that there is the influence of the Holy Ghost of God. He's the one that's dealing with the people. He's the one that's showing them what they are. He's the one that's the divine influence upon their heart. People don't get saved without it. You hear me quoted so much that which is born in the flesh is flesh. That which is born in the spirit is spirit. Marvel not saying that you must be. And so on and on, on the Holy spirit of God come into this world, uh, to bring conviction to the hearts of people. Something that almost every preacher preached 30, 40 years ago. Holy Ghost conviction. They said, and it's just what I'm saying here. They would say, old preachers say, if you don't got a Holy Ghost conviction, you're not going to get saved. That's God working in your life. That's God calling you. That's God causing you to recognize your sinful state, how you've sinned against God. So it's the presence of God moving into your life, convicting, reproving, awakening you to your state, your condition, your need in your life. And so it's brought into you through this Word we see here, it bringeth in. It's a defender. It's a protector from danger. It takes the side of, uh, and ensures true salvation. There's a Holy Ghost God of moving into your life, His presence, making that influence. Without Him, we can do nothing, Jesus said. Without Him and without the Holy Ghost of God, we can do nothing. And so He's the one that causes us to see our need, to see why we need to be saved, to see how we can be saved. Salvation has been so messed up lately, especially the last 40 years. It's unreal how much has changed in the meaning of the words of salvation, repentance, whatever be the conviction of sin, all these things have changed. People are told now, all you got to do is just believe. You believe in the Bible, you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, you're saved. And so there's, I don't know if you listen to that message I handed out, I think yesterday or this morning or the other day. There has to be, There has to be an action by the person that wants to be saved. There has to be a proper response. There has to be an agreement with the Holy Ghost of God. There has to be. A person don't just get saved because they say, you know, I'm sorry, and I want to be saved. No. There has to be this agreement that he's right and you're wrong, and you need to deal with him in a way that shows that you're willing. You're willing to break from sin. You're willing to repent of every sin. You're willing to stop. That's what you're telling the Lord. I'm done with it. I'm done with that lifestyle. I'm done with my sin. I'm not going to live that way anymore. I want to serve you. I want to live for you. I want to die for you. I want to be your vessel and your instrument. No holes barred. I give everything to you. I give my life to you. I give my heart to you. I give my mind to you. I give my desires to you. You owe it all. I belong to you." And it's a way that people miss salvation now because they haven't made any committal. They haven't committed themselves. I think you've heard me say years past, there was a book, The Uncommitted Generation. And that's where we're at nowadays. People are not saying, I will do this. I promise you, I'm going to stop this. I will serve it. We say it. We sing it. We have no problem with that. People don't get offended of singing it. I will serve thee. Well, that's quite a vow. I will serve thee. And this divine influence, grace, God's presence in the Holy Spirit of God speaking to the soul, awakening it, and causing it to live a life that is almost strange in our day, teaching us to deny ungodliness, teaching us this grace as it goes into our life, It moves in our the divine influence. That's what grace is, the divine influence. And so it isn't like all of a sudden you got to figure it out and know just what he's talking about or what God wants to do. This grace, the presence of God in a person's life, teaches them to deny ungodliness and worldly lust, and live soberly and righteously and godly in this present world. That's all part of that grace influence, that grace moving in your life, the presence of God inside. That's what I tried to deal with here for the last few months. in an extensive way. I'm trying to make it see that there's more to what people are doing today. You know, they don't think about this effect of the grace of God, the divine presence in your life, which is the Holy Spirit of God, and he's teaching you constantly, he's reminding you, he's instructing you, he's taking you through the Bible, guiding you into all truth. And so you have that presence of God working in your life to live for him in a way that he desires you to live. You don't choose your life. You don't choose what kind of a holy life. God tells you what he wants you to do. He wants you to deny ungodliness. And he wants you to live soberly. And he wants you to live free of worldly lust and live righteously. That's the divine presence of God. That's why God wants us to live. I mean, it's not, you know, this is not a Baptist creed. This is not just some church's way of being a Christian. No, this is divine presence. It's grace. We're saved by grace, through faith, believing him. And so we receive this salvation as the Holy Ghost of God moves in our life. There's not a lot of ways to be saved. There's not many different ways to be saved. There's not other ways to be saved. You know, it's not something that we choose. It's something we're led to by the presence of the Holy Ghost of God. He moves in, convicts. If we respond, He saves us, that divine presence. Cause he's moving, keeps on moving in your life and she teaching you, instructing you, informing you, giving you an understanding of the Bible, what it means to live godly and holy in this present world, how to live in such a life. And, and then it also teaches you looking for that, uh, glorious appearing, looking for that blessed hope and that glorious appearance of the great God and savior, Jesus Christ. It gives you an upward look. You're not looking at this world and wanting to gain in this world or be of somebody in this world. You're wanting to be ready when Jesus comes. You have that upward look about you. You're looking for the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, looking for that blessed hope and glorious spirit. Who's doing this? That divine presence in you. That's why you see all down through history, all the Christians were looking for him. All the way from Paul's time till now. Every Christian has an upward look. Even though Jesus hasn't come and he said he's going to come, yet the Holy Ghost of God keeps you in that looking forward and looking up, looking to the coming, waiting for the promise. And it's an exciting thing. It's a driving thing. It's something that keeps you clean. When people don't have an incentive to be concerned about the possibility of Jesus coming, they're going to be like the Laodicean church. They're going to be like Sodom and Gomorrah and be where they just have abundance of idleness. Could care less how they live how wicked a person That's looking upward It's gonna be cleaning their life up. They're gonna be checking their life. They're gonna be changing. They're gonna be keeping a close watch You see it back in it in the books of 1st and 2nd Thessalonians, you see this looking up, waiting for the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. They didn't all of a sudden figure they ought to do that. No, they were taught this. By the Holy Ghost, this divine presence teaches you to deny ungodliness, worldly lusts, live soberly, righteousness, and godliness in this present world. Looking for that blessed hope and glorious appearing of the great God and Savior, Jesus Christ. Gives you that upward look, a clean look, a holy look, an unspotted look. Denying ungodliness and worldly lust to where you're a clean person. You want to stay clean. You want to stay holy. You want to stay ready. You want to stay pure. You want to be found ready. Have oil in your lamp, I should say. Who gave himself for us. that he might redeem us from all iniquity. That he might redeem us, deliver us. That's what he's doing. That's his work in our lives is to redeem us Pull us out of it, save us from it, deliver us from that power of this world until we're redeemed us from all iniquity. Is that way salvation is today? See, I keep trying to say these things because I'm wanting you to develop in your mind things that they're teaching that is contrary to this book. When they're teaching things that you're just a sinner and everybody's a sinner, that will not fit in here in the divine working of grace in your life. You can't put that in there. You can't put that in there. I don't care what you just, it's impossible to put that in there for you to live a sinful life. Uh, and still be a person that's looking for God, that's denying ungodliness and worldly lust, lives soberly and righteously and godly in this present world. That's the presence of God working in your life, making you clean, making you ready, making you to wear your useful, The Bible tells us in Romans 6, you're an instrument in his hands. The Bible tells you in Timothy that you can be a vessel unto honor, meat for the masters that's usable for the master's use. God wants to use us. He wants to mold us and fashion us to where we're not spotted by the world and where we live a clean life. We're looking upward. We're looking forward to seeing him and we're wanting to please him when he does see us. We want to be acceptable unto the Lord. Looking for that blessed hope, glorious appearing of the Lord, the glorious spirit of the great God and our Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity and purify unto himself, purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works. That's his aim. That's the divine influence. That's what grace does. Grace don't stop. How many do we hear preaching about grace working their lives all the time? Most of the time it's just, you can stay by grace, stay by grace. Well, grace is supposed to work. That's the divine influence supposed to be working all the time in your life. All the way through you don't drop you and say, let's see if you can make it. It's teaching you and. do making you the kind of person that he has ordained who gave himself for us that he might redeem us from all iniquity and purify unto himself purify unto himself a peculiar people zealous of good works that's his aim that's his goal that's what he's working in your life that you and i'll be clean holy righteous and be usable A vessel that he can use, that he has made, that his divine influence has made. His divine influence has caused us to be a vessel that is purified and a person that'll work. Look at your Bible. Christians will work. It says people zealous of good works. They want to do something for the Lord. They're zealous. They're excited about it. They're charged with it by the divine presidents. They want to get out there. They want to do something for God. They want to try to reach the lost, bring them in. They're concerned about lost people. And so they're zealous about it. They'll work at it. They'll pray. They'll call. They'll invite. Why? Because they're made that way. It's not something that's uncommon with Christians. That's these peculiar people that He has made. He's made them by His divine presence on the inside. His divine presence inside the person. move in their lives, teach them the word of God. And I guess it's working in you to do his good pleasure. That's his will, that's his desire to work in you, you and me, to where he can use you as a vessel, an instrument, and somebody to get out there and knock on doors, somebody to go tell his neighbor, You know, one of the things that we really fail to do, and you'll be honest with me, I'm not standing here saying I'm better than you, but how many of us spend much time praying for the salvation of others, even our own children, grandchildren, members of our family? How many spends time? I was telling you, you take that song right there, it talks about praying until you get through. There's a song in there about praying until you get through, a couple of them. And that ain't been printed that long ago, but that's the song they used to sing. They used to believe that, that you stayed at it, you stayed on the floor, you wept and cried and prayed. I remember Don Green, when he heard his son, Tim Green, heard him on the phone, happened to pick the phone up, and his son was talking about a beer party. Don Green, I've heard him tell this 100 times. He said, I fell on the floor. He said, I don't know how long I was on there. I don't know if it was days or what. He said, I wallered on the floor and cried, and I said, devil, you're not getting my son. And Timothy, his son is an evangelist, has been an evangelist. His other son has took over the ministry, I'm saying to you. I remember a preacher picked him up in Michigan. It was early in the morning. And they was heading down to Kentucky, heading on down lower than Kentucky. going to Georgia, that's where he was going. The guy that was driving said, he said, Brother Green got in the car, and he said, I pray you'll excuse me. He said, I haven't got my praying in. And the guy that was driving says he kind of looked almost like he just humped over down a little, I don't know, position like he would never want to get into. And he said, from Michigan? to Georgia, he prayed. Is that a different story? I remember him telling that story. I said, oh, my soul. His sons all preach. His daughter went to the mission field. I think she was the one that her husband was killed and she went back. I think she was the one, I believe it's his daughter, went back to the field. How many carry a burden nowadays? I mean, really carry a burden. I mean, there's members of their own family, neighbors, people that you and I know, and nobody cares for their soul. I remember Sammy Allen preaching on it. Refuge failed me, he said, no man cared for my soul. Nobody cared. I see it in the church. I see families and children, people just going astray. And I don't see it. Brother Underwood, he worked on me on prayer. He really did. He was really a help to me. And I didn't have him. I didn't get up. I was sitting under him for just a few years. And we would pray. He'd call me to pray, Brother Owen. He'd say, come pray. Let's pray. Let's pray. Let's pray. Let's pray. Changed my life. Taught me the necessity of prayer and what prayer will do for you too. How it'll change you. How it'll work on your heart. It'll soften you. Give you compassion, concern for others. Give you a blessing when they answered prayer. You say, oh my, he ain't turned away my prayer. Blessed be God. He's answered it. Amen, hallelujah. These things speak and exhort and rebuke with all authority that no man despise thee. This was needs to be preached. I need to go over and over again. The necessity of submission. Submitting to the Holy Spirit of God. Lead me, teach me, guide me, use me, correct me, give me understanding. direct my life, make me useful in the kingdom of God. I don't want to be somebody that just tries to just get through the door. I want to be somebody that, that he can say that he's proud of me. He's, he's, he's thankful that I was a servant now. Good, good. Such a thing as a Christian, thou good and faithful, wow, good and faithful servant. That should be our aim, our goal, our desire to want to be that kind of a vessel and instrument in his head that he can use. Can you imagine, you and me imagine One of your family members. Can you imagine this? That one Barbara's mother. We worked on her, and I guess we kind of offended her. We got working on her. We was young, and we was zealous for the Lord. We just. So I told Barbara, I said, don't ask her anymore. We'll just pray for her. And we didn't ask her. We didn't invite her. We just pray and pray. One Sunday night, about six o'clock, she called and she says, are you going to church tonight? I said, oh yes, mama, we going to church. Can I go with you? Can you imagine one of your children, one of your family members coming in and you ain't even invited them. Prayer got to them and they come in The service didn't mean nothing to them. They was hungry. They was needful. I mean, they was down. They knew they needed to God and they, because of prayer, here they come. That's our job. That's our works. They lie when you say Christians don't work. Christians work. Faith without works is dead. No faith whatsoever. You don't believe God wants to save. A divine presence working in you, working in you, constantly dealing with your life. I want to use you. I want to help you. I want to make you better. I want to give you joy in your soul. Let's stand. I do. I really do. I thank you for coming. I really didn't, I didn't expect, but I appreciate you coming. And I pray the Lord blesses you for it. Meets your need. Father, Jesus name. Thank you for your word. May it not be just words that we speak. May it be a life we live that please you. Carry a burden for the lost. Clean up our house. Clean up our minds, our lives. Present ourself a living sacrifice, wholly acceptable unto the Lord. which is our reasonable service. Help us do that. Would you help us do that? Take away our excuses. Deliver us from doubt and a doubting spirits. Help us to stand strong in this evil day. Be useful in your hand to bring in a harvest. In Jesus name. Amen and amen. Thank you. You folks out there for listening. Amen.