Amen. Well, good morning. Oh, I pray you have your Bibles with you. Our love and thanks to Brady and Cam and Diana for preparing our hearts for our time together. God is worthy to be praised and worship is all about him. But yet in his mercy, when we come, When we worship in spirit and in truth, He fills us as well. That's the divine economy of worship. Even as scripture exhorts us to put on a garment of praise for a spirit of heaviness. Worship is all about Him. But yet in that divine economy of praise, He tends to His children through it as well. What a glorious promise and provision. Well, what an exciting new season we embark upon today. As you can see from our new banner up here, I am overjoyed. I pray you are as well to begin this journey as a church body through the incredible book of Titus. As we finished our glorious time in the gospel of Mark, three and a half years, 136 sermons. We are ready to put legs to what we have learned together. And we began the Gospel of Mark. Some of you were here. We were a very small church, a precious small flock of believers that longed to walk with their Savior to know him afresh and willing to spend a few years walking in the sandals of the disciples and of our Savior. And so we did, knowing that if we should be asked, indeed, if we should be commanded to take up our cross and follow Christ, We must know who he is. We must behold him in all of his attributes. We want to watch in high definition both his love and his wrath. We must behold both his goodness and his purity on magnificent display. Ours is an incredible savior worth following for a lifetime. And we have been given that sure foundation. So I pray that we can now be tried and challenged, that we can be stretched as a church body with the aim of spiritual growth. With the truths of the Gospel of Mark having been seeded in our hearts, having been given fuel in our tank for such a task, it is time for the book of Titus. Now our time in this beloved epistle, our overall series of this book is, as you can see, titled Faith and Practice, because that is the heartbeat of this letter from Paul, a spiritual father to his son in Christ Titus. Faith and practice. Now at this time, I would like to ask the congregation to please rise and stand as we read Paul's letter to Titus. May we hear it just as the early churches would have, being read aloud from the front. Titus has received a letter from the Apostle Paul. Let us gather around. What does it say? Paul. a slave of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ for the faith of God's elect and the full knowledge of the truth, which is according to godliness, in the hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, promised from all eternity, but at the proper time manifested his word in preaching, with which I was entrusted according to the commandment of God our Savior to Titus, my genuine child, according to our common faith, grace and peace from God, the father and Christ Jesus, our savior. For this reason, I left you in Crete that you would set in order what remains and appoint elders in every city as I directed you. Namely, if any man is above reproach, the husband of one wife, having faithful children who are not accused of dissipation or rebellious for the overseer must be beyond reproach as God's steward, not self-willed, not quick tempered, not addicted to wine, not pugnacious, not fond of dishonest gain, but hospitable. Loving what is good, sensible, righteous, holy, self-control, holding fast the faithful word which is in accordance with the teaching so that we will be able to both exhort in sound doctrine and to reprove those who contradict. For there are many rebellious men, empty talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision, who must be silenced because they are upsetting whole families. teaching things which they should not teach for the sake of dishonest gain. One of themselves, a prophet of their own, said, Cretans are always liars, evil beasts and lazy gluttons. This testimony is true. For this reason, reprove them severely so that they may be sound in the faith, not paying attention to Jewish myths and commandments of men who turn away from the truth. But to the pure all things are pure, but to those who are defiled and unbelieving nothing is pure, but both their mind and their conscience are defiled. They profess to know God, but by their works they deny Him, being detestable and disobedient and unfit for any good work. But as for you, Speak the things which are proper for sound doctrine. Older men are to be temperate, dignified, sensible, sound in faith and love and perseverance. Older women, likewise, are to be reverent in their behavior, not malicious gossips, nor enslaved to much wine, teaching what is good. so that they may instruct the young women in sensibility to love their husbands, to love their children, to be sensible, pure, workers at home, kind, being subject to their own husbands, so that the word of God will not be slandered. Likewise, urge the younger men to be sensible, In all things, show yourself to be a model of good works with purity and doctrine, dignified, sound in word, which is irreproachable, so that the opponent will be put to shame, having nothing bad to say about us. Urge slaves to be subject to their own masters in everything, to be pleasing, not contradicting, not pilfering, but demonstrating all good faith, so that they will adorn the doctrine of our God and Savior in everything. For the grace of God has appeared. bringing salvation to all men, instructing us that denying ungodliness and worldly desires, we should live sensibly, righteously, and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all lawlessness and purify for himself a people for his own possession, zealous For good works, these things speak and exhort and reprove with all authority. Let no one disregard you. Remind them to be subject to rulers, to authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work, to slander no one, to be peaceable, considerate, demonstrating all gentleness to all men, for we ourselves Also, we're foolish, disobedient, deceived, enslaved to various lusts and pleasures, spending our life in malice and envy, despicable, hating one another. But when the kindness and affection of God our Savior appeared, he saved us. not by works, which we did in righteousness, but according to His mercy, through the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out richly through Christ Jesus, our Savior, so that having been justified by His grace, we would become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. This is a trustworthy saying, and concerning these things, I want you to speak confidently. so that those who have believed God will be intent to lead in good works. These things are good and profitable for men, but avoid foolish controversies and genealogies and strife and conflicts about the law, for they are unprofitable and worthless. Reject a factious man after a first and second warning, knowing that such a man is perverted and is sinning, being self-condemned. When I send Artemis or Tychicus to you, be diligent to come to me at Nicopolis, for I decided to spend the winter there. Diligently send Zenos the lawyer and Apollos on their way, so that nothing is lacking for them. And our people must also learn to lead in good works, to meet pressing needs, so that they will not be unfruitful. All who are with me greet you. Greet those who love us in the faith. Grace be with you all. Amen. Please be seated. Let us pray. Heavenly Father, we have heard your word. Lord, we thank you for the Apostle Paul. We thank you for his faithful worker in the faith, Titus. Heavenly Father, you have set before Harrison Hills great things. Lord, that Titus is to be the continuation of, and Lord, the genesis of many things. Lord, each heart, each need that has walked through these doors today, you know each one of them. And Lord, we have many arrows that will fly that must find their mark, and we pray that they do. Lord, be with us and tend to your word, in Jesus' mighty name, amen. Well, Titus. Three chapters, 46 verses, 901 words. Divinely kept and preserved for our instruction. Before we dive into our introduction to this challenging epistle, some words of encouragement and exhortation to the flock. Understand, beloved, that no one, including your pastor, is going to get through Titus unscathed. It is an intensely practical letter. It is one that demands action. It's not a letter that's full of theory or abstract theology or lofty language. Through Titus, the boots of Harrison Hills are being laced up and put on the ground. Well, guess what happens when boots are on the ground? Toes get run over. Well, forget toes, whole feet get run over when boots are put on the ground. If one makes it all the way through Titus and feels no unease, either with themself or with the preacher, at least once, we're missing the message. Paul declares many truths in this short letter that many will not want to hear. Straight from the outset, you may see that we can't get through verse one without stepping all over some toes and bleeding out some sacred cows. We run headlong into very difficult doctrinal truths. And thus, beloved, we must resolve from the outset, will we sit in judgment over scripture or will we allow scripture to sit in judgment over us? Will we submit our hearts to the plain truths of scripture or will we kick against the goads? It is hard to kick against the goads. Still, this exhortation and even caution label concerning the Pauline letters about the things that Paul wrote, that didn't originate with this pulpit. That's not a unique exhortation for Harrison Hills. In fact, it's so vital that Peter closes out his second and final epistle with this very exhortation. Therefore, let Peter's exhortation to his audience about Paul's writing be our exhortation as well as we approach the book of Titus. Peter writes, And consider the patience of our Lord as salvation, just as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, wrote to you, and also in all his letters, speaking in them of these things, in which are some hard things to understand. which the untaught and unstable distort, as they do also the rest of scriptures, to their own destruction. You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, be on your guard, lest you, having been carried away by the error of unprincipled men, fall from your own steadfastness. But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory, both now and to the day of eternity. Amen. That is how Peter chose to fulfill his final epistle. Let that be our exhortation as well. Now we know Paul, we know Paul, the undisputed author of this letter. We know that Paul was a prolific apostle, wasn't he? Having been trained in the highest rabbinical school taught by Rabbi Gamaliel. Remember, he was the grandson of the famous Hillel. Paul was a Jew's Jew. He was a Pharisee's Pharisee. He was zealous. But we know that knowledge and that zeal had been harnessed and deployed against the Christian faith until God saved Paul on that road to Damascus. Therefore, Paul was an equally zealous evangelist, wasn't he? He was a missionary, he was a church planner, he was a maker of disciples, and oh, he was a fisher of men. And one of those men that Paul fished out was a Gentile named Titus. It's thought that Titus was from a place called Antioch. That's a name that should sound very familiar to those who have swam in the wonderful waters of the Book of Acts. Antioch is where we were first called Christians, right? Which, by the way, was not a compliment, right? That was a term of ridicule and derision. Not a compliment to call us a Christian. But still we know that Titus was converted under the teaching and preaching of Paul. We see this reflected in his very personal greeting at the outset in chapter 1, verse 4, calling Titus, my genuine child, according to our common faith. Now, exactly when Titus was converted isn't known, but we can piece together the timeline of Paul and Titus' relationship laid out in Scripture. Now, Titus is mentioned in four places in Scripture. It's critical to note these locations, and we're gonna look at them briefly to help us really plot the course of who Titus is, why he and Paul were so close, and why all these experiences. made Titus the best suited to set in order the churches on the island of Crete. Of course, we see Titus first here in the epistle that bears his name. However, we also see Titus mentioned in Galatians 2. We see him all over 2 Corinthians, eight different times, and also once in 2 Timothy 4. So looking then first to Galatians 2, verse 1 and 3, this gives us some incredible insight into Titus, into his role and the timing of his conversion. Listen as Paul writes to the church at Galatia, Then after 14 years, I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, taking Titus along also. Now this is a wonderful timestamp, and it's loaded with implication. So let's just pause for a moment to remember what has happened to even get Paul and Barnabas and Titus off to Jerusalem together to begin with. Now, recall after Paul's conversion, shortly after, in Acts 9, 26, Paul goes to Jerusalem, right? Because he wants to try and meet with Peter and the guys. He wants to know if what he's speaking is correct. He wants to know about this Jesus that he's encountered on the road to Damascus, but they're afraid of Paul. But Barnabas is there, and he says, no, actually, I've seen this guy in action. He's the real deal. And they say, great, you're one of us then, right? And Paul goes and he preaches boldly to the Hellenists there in Jerusalem, so much so that they want to kill him. Isn't that the problem with preachers nowadays? No one wants to kill them anymore. All jellyfish preachers. So they send Paul away to save his life, back to Tarsus, where Paul's from. But meanwhile, the persecution in Jerusalem is flaring up, and so Christians are fleeing to Phoenicia and to Cyprus and to Antioch, and they're bringing the gospel with them. And all these Gentiles are being converted, and the church is exploding. And so the mothership there in Jerusalem says, hey, Barnabas, go down there to Antioch and tell us what is going on. And so Barnabas goes, and yep, sure enough, it's big. Wow, Gentiles getting saved all over the place. Oh, but there's sheep without a shepherd, and we need some help. So Barnabas says, I'm heading over to Tarsus. I'm gonna get Paul, and I'm gonna bring him back here to Antioch. So that's what he did. And back those two came. Spending about a year there, they set in order the church at Antioch. And it's there and likely sometime into that first missionary journey, that time in Antioch, that not only was Titus converted, but Timothy as well. Some other names you might know, like Priscilla and Aquila. But the word has come back to Jerusalem concerning this incredible Gentile fruit of Paul's first missionary journey, and well, the Jewish legalists, the Judaizers, they are hopping mad. Remember, these were Jews who wanted to put Christians back under the Mosaic law, saying you need to be circumcised if you want to be a Christian. You need to follow this Jewish law and that one and that one. You must practice this festival and that festival. Oh, there's nothing new under the sun. We still have Judaizers all over the place. In fact, we have entire movements that have actually, that actually a return to Jewish legalism is a point of pride. Judaizers have never left. Beloved, as long as people foolishly desire to earn their salvation through works, as long as people desire to somehow add to the finished work of Christ, to drag us back to the law, which only has the power to condemn, the law cannot save. Judaizers will always exist. But still, with word coming back to Jerusalem about this explosion of Gentile believers, the church at Antioch purposes to send not only Paul and Barnabas to Jerusalem to testify before the council there, right? But as Luke mentions, quote, certain others went along well, went along as well. Well, one of those, of course, being Titus. So not only do we know from Galatians 2.1 that Titus went with Paul and Barnabas to this council, but Galatians 2.3 tells us that Titus was actually exhibit A, your honor, at the council. Galatians reads, but not even Titus, who was with me, though he was a Greek, was compelled to be circumcised. In other words, here we are gathered in Jerusalem to debate whether or not God is even saving Gentiles at all, or at a minimum, whether or not those Gentiles that are being saved must submit to this Jewish mosaic law. And Paul says, hey, Check out Titus. Here he stands before you. He's a Gentile's Gentile. No circumcision, no nothing. And I'm here to tell you that God has saved this man mightily. And that he is and that he will be a great leader in the church. Who would have guessed that in the greatest council to be gathered to that time, Titus was center stage. Titus was exhibit A in front of Peter and everyone else declaring what God was doing among the Gentiles. Now still the most prolific mentioning of Titus is in Paul's second letter to the church at Corinth, and there's very good reason for that. Shortly after that, Jerusalem council, Titus went to the church at Corinth and serving there, he kept Paul up to date and all the goings on while Paul was off in Ephesus. Sadly, most of the goings on there in the church of Corinth was not good, bad stuff. So Paul visits Corinth a few times in that span, writing first a response to them from Ephesus in a little book you might know as 1 Corinthians. And he put that in the hands of Timothy. Some say Titus. And he sent it off. Now while that first letter seemed to help some things, new problems crept up. False teachers attacking Paul. So off Paul goes back to Corinth again. But that was a very bad visit. 2 Corinthians 2.1 tells us this. 2 Corinthians 2.1. Did not go well, Paul's visit to Corinth here. And it had seemed like when Paul left that the Corinthian church had done nothing to rectify these wretches that were destroying the church. A short time later, Paul returns to Ephesus and Titus is with him again. And Paul writes what is known as the severe letter, 2 Corinthians 2.4. And putting that letter in, guess whose hands? Titus, go, bring this severe rebuking letter, which by the way is not preserved, it's not canonical, we don't know what it said, but off Titus goes with this severe letter. Now recall, all this is happening during Paul's third missionary journey, and Paul is so vexed about this letter, he loves the church at Corinth so dearly, Will they repent? Will they pull through? And he's so vexed that scripture says he could barely even minister where he's at. That's how much he loves this church. And so anxiously Paul arrives in Troas and he's expecting to meet Titus there, but there's no Titus. And he waited until he couldn't wait anymore. And so Paul then goes off to Macedonia. And there, finally, there is the face of Titus. And guess what? He's smiling. He's smiling. Guess what, Brother Paul? The letter worked. It worked. They've repented and relented. Now there are battles still to wage, but the church of Corinth is in the fight. And Paul is elated, he's relieved, he's overjoyed, but of course he's still concerned. And Paul sits down and writes another little letter you might have heard of, 2 Corinthians. And he puts it in the hands of, you guessed it, Titus. Paul knew Titus would be delivering this, thus his name is all over it. Now I give you all this back and forth of those journeys for a few reasons, beloved. not only to show you the incredible bond of trust and love between Paul and Titus, the unquestioning trust that Paul had in Titus, the shared hardships of their journeys that forged the deepest of connections, but we must see the character of these men. How far would you walk to deliver a letter? Walk, and again, and then again, And then again, understand the medal that these men were made of. It's estimated that Paul walked somewhere over 10,000 miles during his three missionary journeys, 10,000. And Titus was with him for many of those miles. I don't think we can grasp that. That's New York to Los Angeles four times. Was it easy going? Those 10,000 miles, those four laps between New York and L.A., out for a stroll, tell us about some of those miles, Paul, which Titus was by your side for. Hey, look where we read about that, right here in 2 Corinthians. Paul tells us, thrice I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I bet in the deep, in journeyings often, in perils of waters, perils of robbers, in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren, in weariness. and painfulness in watchings often in hunger and thirst, in fastings often in cold and nakedness. There were roads that they traveled that were positively loaded with destruction and robbers. Listen to Acts 13, 14. But going from Perga, they arrived at Pisidian Antioch. They being Paul, Barnabas, and John Mark on this one. Now that sounds like a simple trip, right? But the Perga to Pisidian Antioch route, it wound through the Taurus Mountains. This was the most dangerous area, bar none, anywhere. It was almost considered suicide to take this route through the Taurus Mountains. In fact, many speculate that it was Paul's decision to take this road that made John Mark later desert them, saying, you're crazy, I'm not going there again. But these men knew the Christ that they served and they would march down any road and they would face down any robber to be faithful. Beloved, today some won't even come to church because it's raining. Won't come to Sunday school because they'd like some extra sleep on Sunday morning. They won't come to learn about Christ and grow at men and women's ministries because they're tired or busy or they prefer Netflix. It is high time we met Paul and Titus. I've been hearing, oh pastor, I can't wait to hear about Titus. Really, are you sure? That's a hard mirror to look into. And we may not like what we see. And finally, that Titus would be mentioned in Paul's letter to Timothy is most appropriate. These three share a very special bond. They were both saved under Paul's ministry. They were both stalwart defenders and ministers of the faith. They both did the hard yards with Paul through many challenge and trials. Both were trusted implicitly by Paul as evidenced by the incredible tasks that were entrusted to them as pastors. And thus it is 1st and 2nd Timothy, along with the book of Titus, these three that are known as the pastoral epistles. Three letters that are simply drenched in Paul's fatherly love for these young men. giving them practical instruction on how to watch out for themselves, watch out for their ministry, how to conduct the affairs of the church, how to deal with those who cause dissension and division. Several years later, Paul and Titus, they would travel to the isle of Crete. Now, Crete, as an island, is quite large. It's around 3,200 square miles. It's mountainous on the interior, with most of the city scattered along almost 650 miles of coastline. Now, there wasn't even really a major city per se during that time. It was all mostly smaller towns and villages. And that's going to become very important later on when we look to what Titus had to accomplish in Crete, that it would take a master administrator. And Titus was. It was going to take wise and learned men who were steeped in character and correct doctrine to step in to a place like Crete. Even today, right, we know the term Cretan, right? That person is a Cretan. That's not a compliment. They were not known for being upright. Paul tells us of their reputations of being liars, evil beasts, and lazy gluttons. Paul already knew of the struggles as well, of the fledgling church there in Crete. Writing in the first chapter, for there are many rebellious men, empty talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision. That's what you're walking into, Titus. Uh-oh. What do you want Titus to do about that there, Paul? Paul says, silence them. Ooh. That doesn't sound very pastoral, does it? Silence them. They are upsetting whole families, teaching things they should not teach for the sake of dishonest gain. Titus knows he's gonna have to get his hands dirty. And Paul knows how messy ministry can be. It can be rough and tumble. And people's lives are messy. And false teachers are everywhere. So we're going to need to set this in order. And God has a structure for his church. And God has requirements for those who will lead and administer and tend to the flock of God. And Paul is gonna lay that out, because guess what? Guess what, beloved? When the chips are down, when ministry gets messy, and it will, Titus, you had better have the right structure in place, with the right men in place, or you will wallow in dysfunction. Later, when Artemis and Tychicus would arrive in Crete and they'd take that baton from Titus, Paul asked in his letter that Titus would come join him in Nicopolis. The last we hear of Titus, where do you think he would be? Right by Paul's side in his last imprisonment in Rome. Being then dispatched to Dalmatia, that's Serbia, Yugoslavia today area. Paul called for Titus because he knew that his time was short Now when we all look to books like 2 Timothy, right? 2 Timothy is Paul's last letter to be written. We give it that reverence and honor that's due there, right? It's through that lens of Paul's imminent death that we read 2 Timothy, that we read that letter. But realize, Titus was the second to last letter written and should be treated with the same lens. Paul didn't know if Titus would be able to make it back to him. This letter should be read just as 2 Timothy is, as last words to a dear son. That certainly changes the tone, doesn't it? Now, beloved, we spend time, so much time, on the background of Titus because we need to grasp the story that brings us here. Realize that when we jump into Titus as we have, we don't jump in cold, right? There are years of relationships, of trials, of teaching, of mentorship that are behind these three chapters, 46 verses, 901 words. And part of reading our Bibles well, part of reading them with correct interpretation is to understand these contexts and backgrounds. It must mean to us today what it meant to Titus then and what it meant to the churches in Crete. To do that, we have to understand the background. So with that foundation laid, let us look, beloved, to the actual structure of Paul's letter to Titus. It is short. But beloved, it is dense. Anyone in here ever cooked with Campbell's soup concentrate in a can? Yeah. Well, this letter is pure concentrate. It's pure concentrate. But you are going to be amazed when we start adding water how much soup it makes just from one can. Now, we're going to split this letter into three, well, very easy to understand parts, divided perfectly by chapter. Chapter one very simply deals with the character and the conduct of church leaders. The character and conduct of church leaders. Chapter two looks at the character and the conduct of church members. And finally, chapter three deals with the character and conduct of the church before the world. How do we conduct ourselves as Christians toward a lost world that our witness might not be tainted, lest our evangelism be in vain? Of course, indeed, Paul writes with his eye toward evangelism, right, as a thread throughout this entire letter, showing the body how we are to live toward the outside world. How do we keep our witness intact, that the purity of the church must be contended for, and that the outside world is watching? They're watching. And how can we call you out of a life of sin when the church itself is full of sin? How can the church stand upright and healthy with steely eyes and a square jaw if not led by godly men who have been found faithful in all these things? They must, or you'll fall. Paul desired to encourage and further equip his sons in the faith. Even as Paul told Timothy, Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. So as you Timothy in Ephesus and as you Titus in Crete, as you seek to flock, tend to the flock of God, as you seek to evangelize the area that you've been placed in, understand that every hound of hell is coming after you. And while you will face opposition from an unbelieving world, it is from within the ranks of the church that the most damaging attacks will come. Beloved, Satan does not attack a church, he joins it. And thereafter seeks to destroy her from the inside. Even if the ultimate achievement is simply to soften her message, to dilute the gospel message and the preached word with acts of charity and social events, to defang and to neuter the gospel, that which is the power of God unto salvation must be contended for. Famed missionary to India, Amy Carmichael, she observed, quote, Satan is so much more in earnest than we are. He buys up the opportunity while we're wondering how much it will cost, close quote. We need wisdom to punch through the fog of battle, Titus. It is going to take godly men in place to shepherd the flock of God, therefore, Let me reiterate for you God's model for his church, God's structure for his church. It's there for a reason, so set it in order, Titus. We need watchmen on the tower looking out, and we need watchmen on the tower looking in. We need under shepherds to tend the flock, but not just any men. We need men who meet very specific requirements. We do not put the flock of God into the hands of hirelings and roamers. Here's what you are to look for in these men. And then, with those men in place, Now, flock of God, believers, here are the qualities of a sound church. Here's how discipleship happens. Here's the model. Here's how you are to live, not only for the sake of church unity and harmony, but for your witness to an outside world. One renowned pastor, he called Titus a pocket guide to life in the church. Well said. Dr. John MacArthur, he called Titus, quote, a bargain epistle. This is a sale item because you get a lot for a little, close quote. Finally, while we know that Paul spoke with apostolic authority in this letter, Paul does not merely stand upon his position as an apostle for the things he writes, right? Though he certainly could have, and in some epistles he does. But here, Paul, he doesn't need to flex his bona fides to Titus, right? Titus knows who Paul is. And he knows it probably better than perhaps any other person alive at this point. So Paul need waste no time in establishing authority. He need only remind and encourage Titus upon what authority he writes. And display for Harrison Hills by what authority we must listen and take heed. By what authority we will set Harrison Hills in order for the work ahead. Paul shows us in beautiful fashion. To what does Paul appeal in his letter? What are the bones in the framework? Now, yes, we know the structures of chapter one through three, right? Character and conduct of the church, character and conduct of the membership, and finally, character and conduct toward a non-believing world, right? Evaluating our conduct before the lost, that our witness in evangelism won't be wasted. So we know the structure, but upon what basis does Paul command these things? Why should I listen to you? Why should you listen to me? To what does he appeal? Well, before answering that, we understand that every epistle, well, in truth, nearly every book in scripture that are not individual in nature, right, like a Proverbs or Psalms in another way, ones that are written, books that are written as a cohesive letter or narrative, every one of them has a heartbeat, don't they? They all have an epicenter, they have a nexus, a center of gravity upon which the whole message turns. A single fountainhead that explains the book in one verse. For Romans, what's the heartbeat? For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. There's your anchor, right? 1 Corinthians, and now these three abide, faith, hope, and love, these three, but the greatest of these is love. 2 Corinthians, but we have this treasure in earthen vessels that the excellencies of the power may be of God and not of us. There's your anchor. How about Galatians? What's the heartbeat of Galatians? For I, through the law, died to the law, that I might live to God. I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life which I now live in the faith, I live... that I live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. Ephesians, what is the fountainhead of Ephesians? For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourself, it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. We are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works. How about Philippians? Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ. Colossians, high Christology, right? Give us our center of gravity, Paul. And he is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things he may have preeminence. Even Paul's short letter to Philemon. But if he has wronged you or owes you anything, put that on my account. There it is. Give us the heartbeat of Hebrews. Give us the heartbeat of Hebrews. Seeing then that we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. All the arteries flow out of it, on and on. So what of Titus? What drives Titus? What is the heartbeat? What is the appeal to authority for all Paul is commanding Titus, that he's commanding the churches in Crete, that he's commanding Harrison Hills to do this morning? Well, Titus is very special in this regard. Because not only do we have a nexus, a clear heartbeat, but Paul goes as far as to even structure his letter around it. But let's first look to the heartbeat. To what does Paul appeal? Now by no accident, the heartbeat is almost in the direct middle of Titus. So look down with me in your Bibles to Titus 2. Titus 2, looking at verses 11 through 14. Not only are we gonna get the heartbeat of the letter, not only are we gonna get the heartbeat, but watch and see if you can pick out the source of authority. I'll give you some hints. Beginning here at verse 11, Titus 2, beginning at verse 11. For the grace of God has appeared. bringing salvation to all men, instructing us that denying godliness and worldly desires, we should live sensibly, righteously, and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all lawlessness and purify for himself a people for his own possession, zealous for good works. Do we hear, so salvation has come to all men. Right, that we're to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and we're to live sensibly and righteously and godly, that we're redeemed from lawlessness, that we're possessed by him, we're owned by him, we're zealous for good works, why? Right there at the beginning of verse 11. Because he has appeared. The entire basis of Titus is the very incarnation of Christ. Paul is saying, I can command this because the Word became flesh. and dwelt among us. Because Christ was found in human form, because he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross, because the virgin has conceived and bore a son, and because his name is Emmanuel, because God has come down to us, how then shall we live? Because Christ has appeared. Because Christ has come in the flesh, because he died and rose, and because all authority has been given to him in heaven and on earth, how shall we steward his church? Christ has appeared. That is my authority. But Paul does us one better than that. He not only places the heartbeat right in the middle of his letter, but he bookends the letters with the same. Right at the beginning, look at chapter 1, turn one page back, look in your Bibles, listen here again, see if you can pick it out. Verse 1, Paul, a slave of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the faith of God's elect, and the full knowledge of the truth, which is according to godliness, in the hope of eternal life, which the God who cannot lie promised from all eternity, but at the proper time manifested his word in preaching, with which I was entrusted according to the commandment of God our Savior. He has appeared, he has manifested his word, and he is the word made flesh. Manifestation, incarnation. Flip a few pages over to the end of the letter. Chapter three, look at the other bookend. Chapter three, beginning with verse four. But when the kindness and affection of God our Savior appeared. What happened, Paul? What happened because Christ appeared? Because the word appeared? Because the grace of God appeared? He saved us. He saved us, not by works, which we did in righteousness, but according to His mercy, through the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that having been justified by His grace, we would become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. Heartbeat? Bookend. Christ has appeared. And if he has appeared, then he is Lord. That means he is everything. That he has the authority, that he has the right to tell us how we are to live and how we are to govern his church. There is no more oxygen to suck out of a room. There is no higher authority with which to appeal. Because Christ has appeared, beloved of Harrison Hills, how then shall we live? What shall be our faith and practice? How shall we order the church according to the manifested word? How then shall we live as members of that church? How then shall we live toward an outside world? Now we're both called to reach and yet is hostile to that word. How then shall we live? What shall be our faith and practice? That is the question we are going to labor in during our time in this incredible letter. Let us pray. Heavenly Father, we joyfully, humbly, earnestly submit ourselves this morning to your word. Lord, you have shown it to us, you've expounded it for us. Now, Heavenly Father, I ask that you would strike us with it. Lord, that you would cause us to know it in a way we've not known before. Lord, if it need uphold us, let it uphold us. If it need cut us, let it cut us. Lord, we desire to be a church that is found faithful. We desire to be a church that you look upon and are pleased. Lord, that is our heart through Titus. We ask that you would help us, Lord, that you would show us every nook and cranny, every fiber, every stitch of this glorious letter. We pray all of this in Jesus' mighty name. Amen.