1 00:00:03,240 --> 00:00:07,840 It's good to see you guys if you can just put that quote up from 2 00:00:08,720 --> 00:00:11,680 that I underlined Ricky, I sent you a photograph just of the yes 3 00:00:11,680 --> 00:00:14,120 life. So that Lady who wrote that 4 00:00:14,120 --> 00:00:17,880 book, Tessa, who's coming out to do her book launch. 5 00:00:17,920 --> 00:00:19,560 This is in the beginning of her book. 6 00:00:19,640 --> 00:00:23,800 I first encountered the idea of a God, of a big yes and a small 7 00:00:23,800 --> 00:00:26,720 no when our friend and pastor Rory Dyer said his thoughts 8 00:00:26,720 --> 00:00:29,960 about the essence of the Genesis story and 2011. 9 00:00:29,960 --> 00:00:32,000 It changed my life. People throw the term life 10 00:00:32,000 --> 00:00:35,480 changed around flippantly, but this is a defining moment for 11 00:00:35,480 --> 00:00:36,840 me. I won't forget because it 12 00:00:36,840 --> 00:00:40,400 shifted the trajectory of what I believe and I know of God. 13 00:00:40,400 --> 00:00:43,640 It is the foundation and inspiration from which this book 14 00:00:43,640 --> 00:00:45,920 flows. So it's called the yes life. 15 00:00:46,760 --> 00:00:50,120 And I'm really, really excited. And as I I got the book, she 16 00:00:50,120 --> 00:00:52,440 sent me a copy because I inspired her book. 17 00:00:52,800 --> 00:00:56,120 I felt God say this to me. I also say no. 18 00:00:58,080 --> 00:01:01,440 And so when we get visiting speakers that come to church, 19 00:01:02,600 --> 00:01:05,800 they always speak about the yes of God. 20 00:01:05,800 --> 00:01:08,000 Most of them do. I travel around the world and 21 00:01:08,000 --> 00:01:11,400 they're two parts of God. There's the grace of God and and 22 00:01:11,400 --> 00:01:13,960 then there's the responsibility of being a Christian. 23 00:01:14,640 --> 00:01:17,560 And when you travel, most of the guys, you see them, it's you 24 00:01:17,560 --> 00:01:21,000 feel really good when you leave their presence because they've 25 00:01:21,000 --> 00:01:23,760 spoken about the grace of God, which is what we should be 26 00:01:23,760 --> 00:01:26,880 speaking about. But I preach the grace of God in 27 00:01:26,880 --> 00:01:29,920 such because this church was birthed in a lounge and Durban, 28 00:01:29,920 --> 00:01:32,080 of which I happened to be there 30 years ago. 29 00:01:32,800 --> 00:01:35,880 And, and our leader got up and said we need to plant churches 30 00:01:35,880 --> 00:01:37,800 around the world. And a guy called Ashley Bell 31 00:01:37,800 --> 00:01:41,640 said, my wife and I will leave and go to Pretoria to establish 32 00:01:41,640 --> 00:01:45,600 a New Testament church in Pretoria that will train and 33 00:01:45,600 --> 00:01:48,120 raise people to serve God radically. 34 00:01:49,360 --> 00:01:52,800 And we will multiply ourselves and use our resources to change 35 00:01:52,800 --> 00:01:56,800 and impact the world. But the emphasis was on radical. 36 00:01:57,880 --> 00:02:00,960 I looked around at the worship. It's become conservative. 37 00:02:01,800 --> 00:02:03,480 That's the reality. Now. 38 00:02:03,480 --> 00:02:07,440 We're not going to let 2000 new people come to our church decide 39 00:02:07,440 --> 00:02:10,360 whether we're going to serve God radically or conservatively. 40 00:02:10,680 --> 00:02:12,560 God called us to serve him radically. 41 00:02:12,920 --> 00:02:15,320 Now that's a journey. And I don't want to chase you 42 00:02:15,320 --> 00:02:18,600 away, but that's a journey. But it's not just already about 43 00:02:18,600 --> 00:02:21,120 you, you God. The Bible says God adds you to 44 00:02:21,120 --> 00:02:23,400 the church. And if God has added you to this 45 00:02:23,400 --> 00:02:26,640 church, this church has got a history and it's got a sense of 46 00:02:26,640 --> 00:02:30,680 values and we and we highlight servanthood and we we trust God 47 00:02:30,680 --> 00:02:33,800 for manners and honor and generosity and all of those 48 00:02:33,800 --> 00:02:35,840 things that. And, and so you need to be here 49 00:02:35,840 --> 00:02:39,440 for three to six or eight months before you actually decide what 50 00:02:39,440 --> 00:02:41,240 we're going to pray for or not pray for, Amen. 51 00:02:41,240 --> 00:02:46,400 I mean, that's surely that's got to be just good manners and and 52 00:02:46,400 --> 00:02:50,160 and so we have to this this is I preach grace. 53 00:02:50,160 --> 00:02:52,680 I think grace alone. I believe in grace alone. 54 00:02:53,000 --> 00:02:55,480 And this is the feedback I started getting from the home 55 00:02:55,480 --> 00:02:57,600 bridge. Rory, people believe that they 56 00:02:57,600 --> 00:03:01,480 can continue to sin and Rory, who preaches on Sundays from the 57 00:03:01,480 --> 00:03:04,520 front, says when you sin, you just lean into the grace of God 58 00:03:04,520 --> 00:03:06,920 and the credited righteousness of God sets you free. 59 00:03:07,120 --> 00:03:11,520 I firmly believe that. I completely and utterly believe 60 00:03:11,520 --> 00:03:14,840 that that when you sin, you sin under the sheet that God puts 61 00:03:14,840 --> 00:03:16,960 upon you. And if you watch porno on a 62 00:03:16,960 --> 00:03:19,680 Saturday night, you run to church, you come in here, you 63 00:03:19,680 --> 00:03:22,360 look full into the face of Christ and you trust the 64 00:03:22,360 --> 00:03:26,120 credited righteousness of Jesus. I firmly and utterly believe 65 00:03:26,120 --> 00:03:28,080 that. And I have not changed. 66 00:03:28,280 --> 00:03:29,480 But then people started saying to him. 67 00:03:29,480 --> 00:03:33,000 But Rory, they are saying in our home groups that you actually 68 00:03:33,000 --> 00:03:35,560 preaching in such a way that we have the license to sin. 69 00:03:35,720 --> 00:03:38,400 I'm not saying that. I'm not saying that. 70 00:03:39,320 --> 00:03:42,680 And So what I want to show you today from the book of, of, of 71 00:03:42,680 --> 00:03:47,120 Titus is that Titus says that the grace of God teaches us to 72 00:03:47,120 --> 00:03:52,040 say no, say no. So, so God in in Genesis 73 00:03:52,040 --> 00:03:56,160 chapter, chapter 2, chapter 3, the man and his wife are naked 74 00:03:56,160 --> 00:03:59,640 and they're unashamed. And then the devil comes and he 75 00:03:59,640 --> 00:04:02,640 starts knocking in the door. He said, so God says you can eat 76 00:04:02,640 --> 00:04:08,440 up any tree in the garden. Big yes, Say big yes, put your 77 00:04:08,440 --> 00:04:11,960 hands out. Big yes, big yes, that's the God 78 00:04:11,960 --> 00:04:14,160 we preach here. Big yes, have a go. 79 00:04:14,240 --> 00:04:19,959 Are you welcome? Big yes, big yes and small no. 80 00:04:19,959 --> 00:04:22,880 But you can't eat of this tree that is in the middle of garden, 81 00:04:22,880 --> 00:04:24,800 because if you eat of it you will surely die. 82 00:04:24,800 --> 00:04:28,800 Small no. You can drink milk, you can 83 00:04:28,800 --> 00:04:31,040 drink water. You can drink whiskey. 84 00:04:31,040 --> 00:04:33,520 You can drink tequila. You can drink tea. 85 00:04:33,520 --> 00:04:36,880 You can drink coffee. Go, go, go, go, go, go, go. 86 00:04:37,200 --> 00:04:39,880 But don't get drunk. Oh God. 87 00:04:41,360 --> 00:04:44,320 Why? So that if you get drunk, you 88 00:04:44,320 --> 00:04:46,760 might have an affair at your office and lose your marriage 89 00:04:46,760 --> 00:04:49,480 and then completely break up your family. 90 00:04:49,680 --> 00:04:52,520 So I'm putting in this in place so that you can save your 91 00:04:52,520 --> 00:04:57,120 family, not because I'm trying to stop your party and because 92 00:04:57,120 --> 00:04:59,760 when you drive and you drunk, you could wrap your tree, your 93 00:04:59,760 --> 00:05:03,280 car around a tree and then your family loses their provider or 94 00:05:03,280 --> 00:05:06,640 their father or their mother. And so when I say no, it's 95 00:05:06,640 --> 00:05:08,520 because I'm good, not because I'm bad. 96 00:05:10,120 --> 00:05:12,640 Amen. And so the book of Titus is a 97 00:05:12,640 --> 00:05:16,240 book of no, but it's not a book of killjoy. 98 00:05:16,240 --> 00:05:20,320 It's not a book of some kind of biblical or, or some kind of 99 00:05:20,320 --> 00:05:22,400 holy restriction. I can't do it. 100 00:05:22,400 --> 00:05:24,440 God is. When God says no, it's because 101 00:05:24,440 --> 00:05:28,240 he's good, not because he's bad, Amen. 102 00:05:30,000 --> 00:05:32,080 It's very important to understand that. 103 00:05:33,200 --> 00:05:36,640 And so let's have a look at, at. And so for those of you who 104 00:05:36,640 --> 00:05:41,640 continue to sin under my preaching, I say, you've 105 00:05:41,640 --> 00:05:46,200 misunderstood me. You should not feel guilty. 106 00:05:46,880 --> 00:05:49,360 You should trust the power of God. 107 00:05:49,360 --> 00:05:52,600 You should draw on the credited righteousness of Jesus. 108 00:05:53,520 --> 00:05:56,360 But if your habits are exactly the same as when you walked in 109 00:05:56,360 --> 00:05:59,480 here three years ago and have listened to, I believe the very 110 00:05:59,480 --> 00:06:03,680 depths have plumbed of the grace of God, and you are still formed 111 00:06:03,680 --> 00:06:06,080 in those habits, then you have not understood the gospel. 112 00:06:07,360 --> 00:06:10,560 And so this is going to be a little series on no. 113 00:06:11,400 --> 00:06:19,920 God says no, Amen. And it says this Paul, a servant 114 00:06:19,920 --> 00:06:26,120 of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ for the faith of God's 115 00:06:26,120 --> 00:06:31,080 elect and the knowledge of the truth that leads to godliness, 116 00:06:31,640 --> 00:06:35,800 say, leads to godliness. So we are on a journey. 117 00:06:36,160 --> 00:06:39,120 It's a long journey that remember, the book of Acts is 118 00:06:39,120 --> 00:06:42,960 written over 40 years. So, so I'm not saying to you 119 00:06:42,960 --> 00:06:44,720 stop this and stop. I'm just saying we're on a 120 00:06:44,720 --> 00:06:47,760 journey. But the journey is godliness. 121 00:06:47,800 --> 00:06:52,040 We are going for something. We, we are, we are going after 122 00:06:52,040 --> 00:06:54,640 something. Not by legalistic righteousness, 123 00:06:54,640 --> 00:06:57,960 not by rules, but we are going to go for something. 124 00:06:58,680 --> 00:07:01,280 It's godliness. We, we, we want to create a 125 00:07:01,280 --> 00:07:05,080 community in Pretoria that looks different from every other 126 00:07:05,080 --> 00:07:08,160 community. There's servant heartedness, 127 00:07:08,160 --> 00:07:11,040 there's humility, there's generosity, there's kindness, 128 00:07:11,240 --> 00:07:16,200 there's hospitality, there's selflessness. 129 00:07:17,520 --> 00:07:25,600 We're on a journey, a faith and knowledge resting on the hope of 130 00:07:25,600 --> 00:07:32,200 eternal life, which God who does not lie, promised before the 131 00:07:32,200 --> 00:07:35,320 beginning of time, and that is appointed season. 132 00:07:35,320 --> 00:07:38,720 He brought His word to light through the preaching entrusted 133 00:07:38,720 --> 00:07:42,080 to me by the command of God our Savior to Titus. 134 00:07:42,360 --> 00:07:45,680 So this is a little church that's taking place on an island 135 00:07:45,680 --> 00:07:50,440 called Crete and and the church is not behaving properly. 136 00:07:50,840 --> 00:07:54,280 They've got two major problems in them, like every church has. 137 00:07:54,480 --> 00:07:57,200 We've got some guys who want to obey the law and some guys that 138 00:07:57,200 --> 00:07:59,280 are using the license of God to sin. 139 00:07:59,600 --> 00:08:02,600 That's happening here. And Paul sends Titus. 140 00:08:03,080 --> 00:08:05,720 Let's read for times sake, verse 12. 141 00:08:07,920 --> 00:08:10,960 Even one of their own prophets has said this. 142 00:08:10,960 --> 00:08:13,760 Cretans. Cretans comes from the Bible. 143 00:08:13,760 --> 00:08:17,240 Ah yeah, Cretan. It's actually writing to the 144 00:08:17,240 --> 00:08:21,640 church. You Cretans are always liars, 145 00:08:21,960 --> 00:08:31,600 evil brutes, lazy gluttons. It's writing to the church in 146 00:08:31,600 --> 00:08:36,880 Afrikaans that says this Allah lich, Allah's loss and Allah's 147 00:08:36,880 --> 00:08:42,919 lay, evil brutes. It's like you've got animal 148 00:08:42,919 --> 00:08:45,600 instincts in your sexuality. That's what it says. 149 00:08:46,440 --> 00:08:49,760 Allah. Allah's lost and Allah's lay. 150 00:08:49,960 --> 00:08:54,320 So yeah, be it that I'll upstart my mind in Priya, you better get 151 00:08:54,320 --> 00:08:57,280 up there and preach. Because I want to take them into 152 00:08:57,280 --> 00:09:00,000 godliness. I want to take them into 153 00:09:00,000 --> 00:09:01,760 holiness. I want to take them into 154 00:09:01,760 --> 00:09:05,240 something that is different. And if you're getting worried 155 00:09:05,240 --> 00:09:08,200 and think Rory's preaching the law, go back and listen to the 156 00:09:08,200 --> 00:09:09,840 last three years of my preaching. 157 00:09:10,000 --> 00:09:12,920 You'll be free. Amen. 158 00:09:14,120 --> 00:09:21,560 And just for all the lawyers and advocates who I love so dearly 159 00:09:21,560 --> 00:09:28,560 and deeply, for those who have stayed, it says this in chapter 160 00:09:28,560 --> 00:09:34,160 3 and verse 13. Do everything that you can to 161 00:09:34,160 --> 00:09:41,520 help Zenus, the lawyer and Apollos on their way and see 162 00:09:41,520 --> 00:09:44,200 that they have everything that they need. 163 00:09:44,720 --> 00:09:48,640 So all lawyers and advocates, please send me your requests and 164 00:09:48,640 --> 00:09:51,320 I will make sure that you have everything that you need 165 00:09:51,600 --> 00:09:54,680 according to the Bible. And so we're going to deal with 166 00:09:54,680 --> 00:09:56,760 some stuff. There's bad leadership taking 167 00:09:56,760 --> 00:10:01,000 place in the in the in Crete. And so God does a number of 168 00:10:01,000 --> 00:10:05,760 things in the book of Titus. He appoints good leadership and 169 00:10:05,760 --> 00:10:08,280 I want to tell you that this church is run by non eldership 170 00:10:08,280 --> 00:10:10,320 couples. If you're new to the life of the 171 00:10:10,320 --> 00:10:12,200 church, I would like to introduce them to you. 172 00:10:12,440 --> 00:10:15,920 The problem with the church and including this church is that we 173 00:10:15,920 --> 00:10:18,680 highlighted eldership and it became the pinnacle of what 174 00:10:18,680 --> 00:10:21,800 Christianity looked like. And so people sacrificed 175 00:10:21,880 --> 00:10:25,600 exceptionally to become elders in the church, including this 176 00:10:25,600 --> 00:10:29,800 church. And so it became an idol to be 177 00:10:29,800 --> 00:10:32,840 an elder in this church. I think after the 12 years I've 178 00:10:32,840 --> 00:10:36,200 been here, I don't think we've even spoken about it once, but 179 00:10:36,200 --> 00:10:39,520 the Bible speaks about it. And so there are 9 couples in 180 00:10:39,520 --> 00:10:43,440 this church that look after you. And I want to show you why God 181 00:10:43,440 --> 00:10:45,440 appoints elders and what their job is. 182 00:10:45,600 --> 00:10:49,040 Because part of the elder's job is to take, it says in Peter, 183 00:10:49,360 --> 00:10:53,640 look after the people that are under your, under your care. 184 00:10:54,120 --> 00:10:57,480 And so when you come to church, you should be cared for, you 185 00:10:57,480 --> 00:10:59,760 should be looked after. And so I'm going to introduce 186 00:10:59,760 --> 00:11:02,680 you next week to the non eldership couples that care for 187 00:11:02,680 --> 00:11:05,160 you. We pray for you every single 188 00:11:05,160 --> 00:11:07,200 week. We get together, we pray for 189 00:11:07,200 --> 00:11:15,920 you, we love you, we counsel, we marry doing a wedding next week, 190 00:11:15,920 --> 00:11:17,480 I'm doing a week wedding the week after. 191 00:11:17,480 --> 00:11:18,720 I'm doing a wedding the week after. 192 00:11:18,720 --> 00:11:21,600 I have two weeks off and doing another one in January, another 193 00:11:21,600 --> 00:11:23,560 one the end of January. Because they're young people in 194 00:11:23,560 --> 00:11:26,520 the church and we serve them and care for them and look after 195 00:11:26,520 --> 00:11:28,120 them and prepare them and love them. 196 00:11:28,520 --> 00:11:31,640 It's our job. And then he starts talking to 197 00:11:31,640 --> 00:11:33,400 the different generations of people. 198 00:11:33,400 --> 00:11:36,640 In the book of Titus, it says, you old guys, you've got to show 199 00:11:36,640 --> 00:11:40,400 endurance stop fizzling out. You've got to actually dig deep 200 00:11:40,400 --> 00:11:43,520 and show some endurance. Say no to retirement and yes to 201 00:11:43,520 --> 00:11:47,960 God. Give up Nazda and start serving 202 00:11:48,000 --> 00:11:51,400 Jesus properly. Amen. 203 00:11:52,400 --> 00:11:55,160 And then it says you old ladies must teach you young ladies. 204 00:11:55,160 --> 00:11:57,440 I mean, now we've got the now it's all the young people 205 00:11:57,440 --> 00:11:59,640 teaching the old people. But when you look at Titus, it 206 00:11:59,640 --> 00:12:01,400 says your old people must teach you young people. 207 00:12:02,840 --> 00:12:04,520 Hey, dad, TikTok. You have TikTok. 208 00:12:04,520 --> 00:12:05,360 TikTok? Yeah. 209 00:12:05,360 --> 00:12:06,240 TikTok. TikTok. 210 00:12:06,240 --> 00:12:07,840 No, no, Dad. Dad, TikTok is different. 211 00:12:08,640 --> 00:12:11,320 What's TikTok? The TikTok is an online platform 212 00:12:11,480 --> 00:12:13,840 which deals in memes. I beg your pardon, but you've 213 00:12:13,840 --> 00:12:15,520 got a link to the Internet. What? 214 00:12:17,000 --> 00:12:19,040 And so we have young people teaching old people. 215 00:12:19,040 --> 00:12:21,200 But the Bible is old people teach young people. 216 00:12:23,280 --> 00:12:25,160 There's some guys who have been here for 30 years. 217 00:12:25,360 --> 00:12:27,920 Sit with them, take them out for coffee, say, hey, what? 218 00:12:27,920 --> 00:12:29,640 What? Why do we pray together in this 219 00:12:29,640 --> 00:12:32,440 church? Why do we pray together? 220 00:12:32,440 --> 00:12:35,120 Why do we meet together? Why do we worship together? 221 00:12:35,240 --> 00:12:38,480 Why do we do baptisms publicly? Why do we do that? 222 00:12:40,800 --> 00:12:45,600 Beautiful, Amen. And then six times in the book 223 00:12:45,600 --> 00:12:49,840 of Titus it says so that you might do good. 224 00:12:51,800 --> 00:12:55,720 You think, yo, as a grace guy, you think yo, I don't want the 225 00:12:55,720 --> 00:12:58,640 law on top of me too much. Don't tell me what I must do, 226 00:12:59,840 --> 00:13:03,720 but let me put 2 trees up for you, put 2 trees on the board 227 00:13:03,720 --> 00:13:11,240 for you. And I want to tell you this 228 00:13:11,240 --> 00:13:16,200 friends, the best way to describe the Bible in the New 229 00:13:16,200 --> 00:13:23,520 Testament, Ephesians, Romans, Colossians, their roots, ROOTS 230 00:13:24,200 --> 00:13:27,720 and those roots determine roots ROUTES. 231 00:13:29,760 --> 00:13:31,960 The belief system that we have keep the picture up. 232 00:13:31,960 --> 00:13:35,080 The belief system we have determines the behavioral 233 00:13:35,080 --> 00:13:39,280 patterns that we participate in. That's the that's the simplest 234 00:13:39,280 --> 00:13:43,640 way to explain the Bible. When visiting preachers come 235 00:13:43,640 --> 00:13:48,360 here, most of them preach on the root system underground. 236 00:13:48,600 --> 00:13:52,680 What God has done for us, who He is, our standing in Christ, all 237 00:13:52,680 --> 00:13:55,920 of those things, the problem with us is we have to be here 238 00:13:55,920 --> 00:13:59,000 for the rest of the time, and we've got to deal with the 239 00:13:59,000 --> 00:14:02,240 decisions that the branches make, where they go, and when 240 00:14:02,240 --> 00:14:04,320 they get out of line, we've got to prune the branches. 241 00:14:04,320 --> 00:14:06,360 And that's not the nice part of Christianity. 242 00:14:06,600 --> 00:14:09,160 And Titus is dealing with the branches. 243 00:14:13,720 --> 00:14:16,040 Amen. And so I want you to read it as 244 00:14:16,040 --> 00:14:18,560 such. Now what we do, you can 245 00:14:18,560 --> 00:14:20,680 sometimes look at the world and you look at the church and you 246 00:14:20,680 --> 00:14:23,160 think I asked them to do different fruits, but the AI 247 00:14:23,160 --> 00:14:29,040 didn't work this morning. But you can't with the tree on 248 00:14:29,040 --> 00:14:31,280 the left. You can't with the tree on the 249 00:14:31,280 --> 00:14:34,880 left with the root system, point towards the tree on the right 250 00:14:34,880 --> 00:14:38,000 with the fruit system and say, but you guys are not producing 251 00:14:38,000 --> 00:14:40,680 fruit. Remember, our job in Pretoria is 252 00:14:40,680 --> 00:14:42,520 not to deal with the people on the right. 253 00:14:42,520 --> 00:14:44,920 Our job in Pretoria is to deal with the people on the left. 254 00:14:47,880 --> 00:14:51,160 I only behave as I do because I believe what I believe. 255 00:14:52,800 --> 00:14:55,640 So that's my root system. And because of that root system, 256 00:14:56,280 --> 00:15:01,040 Titus says, then you must start to do good and produce fruit in 257 00:15:01,040 --> 00:15:06,920 keeping with repentance. So if you believe this, then 258 00:15:06,920 --> 00:15:08,760 actually it's got to outwork itself in fruit. 259 00:15:08,760 --> 00:15:12,320 And Paul is saying, hey, Titus, there's some stuff going on 260 00:15:12,320 --> 00:15:14,840 there where it looks like we're producing fruit from the other 261 00:15:14,840 --> 00:15:17,160 tree. So you've got to come and tell 262 00:15:17,160 --> 00:15:28,000 them, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, no, no, yes, husband. 263 00:15:28,000 --> 00:15:29,600 Yes, husband. Yes, husband. 264 00:15:29,600 --> 00:15:31,760 Yes, husband. No, husband. 265 00:15:33,160 --> 00:15:35,600 No. Yes, young man. 266 00:15:35,600 --> 00:15:37,480 Yes, young man. Yes, young man. 267 00:15:38,280 --> 00:15:43,360 No, young man, it's the book of Titus. 268 00:15:46,760 --> 00:15:48,320 It's not the last part of the gospel. 269 00:15:48,360 --> 00:15:51,480 I don't like this part of it, but I realized to take this 270 00:15:51,480 --> 00:15:54,240 massive group of people on the journey that God originally 271 00:15:54,240 --> 00:15:58,000 called us to, we have to line up with the expectation that God 272 00:15:58,480 --> 00:16:02,840 wants us to produce leadership. Friends is not That's why you've 273 00:16:03,000 --> 00:16:05,400 I've heard this many times. I do not preach on the stage. 274 00:16:05,680 --> 00:16:08,080 I even asked our guest speakers not to preach on the stage 275 00:16:08,320 --> 00:16:10,440 because we're not trying to highlight somebody up at the 276 00:16:10,440 --> 00:16:12,280 top. They're drawing attention to 277 00:16:12,280 --> 00:16:14,640 themselves. We are on a journey that God has 278 00:16:14,640 --> 00:16:17,520 called us to. Leadership is not from the top 279 00:16:17,520 --> 00:16:19,560 down. It's not some guys at the top 280 00:16:19,800 --> 00:16:22,960 dictating down. That is a worldly mindset of 281 00:16:22,960 --> 00:16:24,920 leadership. And every time people talk 282 00:16:24,920 --> 00:16:27,120 leadership in the church, they start to get nervous. 283 00:16:27,360 --> 00:16:30,840 That is my nature. I love control. 284 00:16:30,840 --> 00:16:33,560 I love to be in charge. But when I read the Scriptures, 285 00:16:33,720 --> 00:16:37,240 that's not the biblical nature. The problem with that is there's 286 00:16:37,240 --> 00:16:40,760 a complete reversal of that where some poor pastor sits down 287 00:16:40,760 --> 00:16:43,240 at the bottom and he's got a demon possessed board. 288 00:16:43,520 --> 00:16:45,200 So I mean, Deacon possessed board. 289 00:16:47,880 --> 00:16:51,640 They tell him where he must live, what he earns, what he 290 00:16:51,640 --> 00:16:53,920 must preach, and if they don't like and they fire him. 291 00:16:54,080 --> 00:16:57,040 And so we go from this control system to that manipulation 292 00:16:57,040 --> 00:17:02,160 system, and that's not biblical. And then and then and then we 293 00:17:02,160 --> 00:17:04,960 just leave the church. And so we just kick out of the 294 00:17:04,960 --> 00:17:07,200 church and we think, are we tired of all that stuff, the 295 00:17:07,200 --> 00:17:08,839 power play and the life of the church? 296 00:17:09,119 --> 00:17:12,520 The Bible says that the Holy Spirit makes us overseers. 297 00:17:13,119 --> 00:17:16,680 I'm here because God called me from Durban to be here. 298 00:17:19,880 --> 00:17:23,520 God told me to come here. I didn't appoint myself. 299 00:17:27,880 --> 00:17:30,640 And so we kind of leave and we go into home church scenarios 300 00:17:30,640 --> 00:17:33,440 where everybody just goofs around and you think, but God, 301 00:17:33,440 --> 00:17:36,000 the whole, the whole Bible is full of leadership being 302 00:17:36,000 --> 00:17:39,360 appointed so that God's people will be safe and we'll go on a 303 00:17:39,360 --> 00:17:42,080 mission. But it's example based 304 00:17:42,080 --> 00:17:43,840 leadership. God says, OK, I want you leaders 305 00:17:43,840 --> 00:17:48,120 to set an example, not like this where you control and dominate 306 00:17:48,120 --> 00:17:51,160 people, not like this where they control you, not where we just 307 00:17:51,160 --> 00:17:54,080 kind of goof around, but give them some kind of idea where 308 00:17:54,080 --> 00:17:57,160 we're going. Lead the way, set the example, 309 00:17:57,240 --> 00:17:59,520 let them follow, and we'll change the world. 310 00:18:01,720 --> 00:18:06,200 Are you with me friends? And So what kind of guy, what 311 00:18:06,200 --> 00:18:08,720 kind of guy would you like to listen to to make this? 312 00:18:08,880 --> 00:18:11,720 So let me tell you about Titus. Just five things about Titus. 313 00:18:11,720 --> 00:18:14,880 And then we finished along with me in 20 minutes. 314 00:18:14,880 --> 00:18:20,680 Sorry, let's go to Two Corinthians chapter 2. 315 00:18:23,000 --> 00:18:25,640 And so if I highlighted this series, it would be called Titus 316 00:18:25,640 --> 00:18:31,200 the Guard who says no, Two Corinthians chapter 2 and verse 317 00:18:31,200 --> 00:18:33,480 12. Now when I went to Troas to 318 00:18:33,480 --> 00:18:37,560 preach the gospel of Christ and found that the Lord had opened 319 00:18:37,560 --> 00:18:39,800 the door for me, said the Lord opened the door. 320 00:18:40,720 --> 00:18:43,720 The Lord has opened the door. He's opened the door for us at 321 00:18:44,160 --> 00:18:46,000 in Pretoria. The Lord has opened this 322 00:18:46,000 --> 00:18:50,720 unbelievable door. I still had no Peace of Mind 323 00:18:51,680 --> 00:18:55,600 because I did not find my brother, say brother relational. 324 00:18:56,480 --> 00:18:59,480 I did not find my brother there, Titus. 325 00:19:00,560 --> 00:19:03,240 So I said goodbye to them and I went to Macedonia. 326 00:19:04,120 --> 00:19:07,480 So God has opened the door. Titus is not there to help us 327 00:19:07,480 --> 00:19:09,400 walk through the door, so he said goodbye. 328 00:19:09,560 --> 00:19:11,360 What kind of guy writes this letter? 329 00:19:11,520 --> 00:19:14,280 The guy who writes this letter is the guy who actually helps us 330 00:19:14,280 --> 00:19:18,440 walk through open doors. I was recently, this week, you 331 00:19:18,440 --> 00:19:20,360 heard Eugene say this. I was in Cape Town. 332 00:19:20,680 --> 00:19:23,280 Some friend of mine opened the door for me to go and speak to 333 00:19:23,280 --> 00:19:26,800 Christian investors. I went in and I spoke and then I 334 00:19:26,800 --> 00:19:28,200 heard two guys getting interviewed. 335 00:19:28,200 --> 00:19:32,720 They managed 250 billion Rand. Between the two of them they 336 00:19:32,720 --> 00:19:35,920 managed 250 billion Rand. And I'm there speaking on 337 00:19:35,920 --> 00:19:43,160 finances, I think, and I spoke on kind capitalism. 338 00:19:44,280 --> 00:19:48,320 I said the problem with you rich people, the Bible says that God 339 00:19:48,320 --> 00:19:50,520 gives us wealth as a sign of the covenant. 340 00:19:50,760 --> 00:19:53,240 So you've got all this money as a sign of the covenant. 341 00:19:53,400 --> 00:19:55,960 Then you take that money and you enter into contractual 342 00:19:55,960 --> 00:19:58,400 situations with very high interest rates. 343 00:20:00,800 --> 00:20:04,560 I said that's wrong. God gives you that wealth so 344 00:20:04,560 --> 00:20:07,320 that you can actually implement some kind of new system from the 345 00:20:07,320 --> 00:20:10,800 Kingdom which God will show you about so that you can actually 346 00:20:10,800 --> 00:20:13,920 start redeeming people and. And that's what those two men 347 00:20:13,920 --> 00:20:16,160 do. They use their capital to redeem 348 00:20:16,160 --> 00:20:19,480 people, to set up businesses that put people on their feet. 349 00:20:20,600 --> 00:20:22,440 Open door, you got to walk through it. 350 00:20:22,440 --> 00:20:24,560 A friend of mine at Durban suggests that I preach. 351 00:20:24,760 --> 00:20:27,480 He came down with me, he booked my accommodation. 352 00:20:27,480 --> 00:20:29,520 He sat with me, he introduced me to his friends. 353 00:20:29,680 --> 00:20:32,080 He opened the door. I used the door, I went through 354 00:20:32,080 --> 00:20:34,960 the door and I had an incredible time. 355 00:20:37,040 --> 00:20:41,960 God has given us this opportunity, Titus, you and me 356 00:20:41,960 --> 00:20:46,760 have to help God and this church walk through this open door of 357 00:20:46,760 --> 00:20:50,280 creating a radical New Testament church in the heart of Pretoria 358 00:20:50,440 --> 00:20:54,720 without allowing our preference or upbringing or pain to stop us 359 00:20:54,720 --> 00:20:56,040 from walking through this open door. 360 00:20:58,360 --> 00:21:03,280 Amen. Secondly to Corinthians 7, verse 361 00:21:03,280 --> 00:21:05,880 6. But God who comforts the 362 00:21:05,880 --> 00:21:13,680 downcast comforted us by the coming of Titus and not only by 363 00:21:13,680 --> 00:21:16,280 his coming, but also by the comfort you had given him. 364 00:21:16,920 --> 00:21:20,080 This should be a comfortable church, not comfortable like in 365 00:21:20,480 --> 00:21:23,600 we don't do anything but the the best way to describe, and you've 366 00:21:23,600 --> 00:21:26,280 heard me say this many times, the best way to describe the 367 00:21:26,280 --> 00:21:30,560 word comfort is the Fort has come come Fort. 368 00:21:31,360 --> 00:21:33,280 So we're going to deal with the know of God. 369 00:21:33,280 --> 00:21:35,280 What kind of person should be bringing that? 370 00:21:35,560 --> 00:21:38,480 A comfort person, a person who is safe. 371 00:21:39,160 --> 00:21:42,040 So when you come here into this church, it doesn't matter what 372 00:21:42,040 --> 00:21:44,040 you hear. You should feel safe. 373 00:21:44,680 --> 00:21:48,640 You should feel Rory speaking today, Stephen speaking today, 374 00:21:48,760 --> 00:21:53,760 Eugene speaking today. I feel safe Even while we deal 375 00:21:53,760 --> 00:21:56,960 with difficult subjects, You should feel safe. 376 00:22:00,680 --> 00:22:04,880 Verse 13. By all this, we are encouraged. 377 00:22:05,880 --> 00:22:09,040 In addition to our encouragement, we were 378 00:22:09,040 --> 00:22:13,760 especially delighted to see how happy Titus was. 379 00:22:13,760 --> 00:22:19,160 Say happy, Not joyful, not peaceful, not dudding happy. 380 00:22:19,160 --> 00:22:29,360 Say happy, I'm HAPPY, I'm HAPPY, I'm HAPPY, I'm HAPPY, I'm HAPPY. 381 00:22:29,520 --> 00:22:32,360 The church is a happy place. Even only dealing with difficult 382 00:22:32,360 --> 00:22:34,280 things, it should be a happy place. 383 00:22:34,480 --> 00:22:37,520 And Paul knew that he could speak to Titus to go and talk to 384 00:22:37,520 --> 00:22:40,440 the Cretans who were lazy liars and evil brutes, and their 385 00:22:40,440 --> 00:22:42,960 sexuality was out of control because he knew us. 386 00:22:43,040 --> 00:22:44,760 He would help them walk through an open door. 387 00:22:44,760 --> 00:22:47,480 He would bring unbelievable comfort into their brokenness. 388 00:22:47,600 --> 00:22:53,560 And he was actually a happy guy. So it's not going to be a sad 389 00:22:54,080 --> 00:22:56,040 series. It's going to be a happy series 390 00:22:56,560 --> 00:22:59,440 even when God says no. And for the first time in our 391 00:22:59,440 --> 00:23:01,720 lives, we're going to start to say no to some of the stuff. 392 00:23:02,320 --> 00:23:04,560 A lady came for counselling with me this week. 393 00:23:04,560 --> 00:23:07,440 Her and her future husband came to me, said, you know, Rory, 394 00:23:11,640 --> 00:23:14,480 when I was a little girl, I was part of Glassy, Glassy. 395 00:23:14,480 --> 00:23:18,120 And I watched this Ouija board. And I watched the enemy's power 396 00:23:18,440 --> 00:23:22,760 and said, since that day, I have been attacked by the devil late 397 00:23:22,760 --> 00:23:26,680 at night with visitations in my bedroom, my door being broken. 398 00:23:26,880 --> 00:23:32,320 And as I was preparing this series, I felt no, no, not 399 00:23:32,320 --> 00:23:36,480 allowed, not allowed. So no is not just no stop 400 00:23:36,480 --> 00:23:39,120 watching pornography. No is that the enemy is not 401 00:23:39,120 --> 00:23:43,240 allowed to have access, you know, And so this series is 402 00:23:43,240 --> 00:23:47,600 about no, all the things that have haunted, you know, the 403 00:23:47,600 --> 00:23:58,750 history that you come. No, no, chapter 8, verse 16. 404 00:23:59,470 --> 00:24:03,880 I thank God who put into the heart of Titus the same concern 405 00:24:03,880 --> 00:24:07,920 I have for you, for Titus not only welcomed our appeal, but 406 00:24:07,920 --> 00:24:12,520 he's coming to you with much enthusiasm and on his own 407 00:24:12,520 --> 00:24:13,920 initiative. Say enthusiasm. 408 00:24:15,200 --> 00:24:19,760 That word in Greek is in theos. You can understand in theos. 409 00:24:20,080 --> 00:24:25,840 Theos is God theology. Theology is the study of God in 410 00:24:25,840 --> 00:24:29,560 Theos is the power that we get when we are in the presence of 411 00:24:29,560 --> 00:24:31,960 God. And so I trust as I preach the 412 00:24:31,960 --> 00:24:34,880 series over the next three or four weeks, I will be 413 00:24:34,880 --> 00:24:39,800 enthusiastic, not I will be enthusiastic. 414 00:24:39,800 --> 00:24:44,520 I will be in God. And and the reason that Paul 415 00:24:44,520 --> 00:24:47,880 could trust Titus with his message was because he knew how 416 00:24:47,880 --> 00:24:51,160 to walk through open doors. He bought comfort when he came. 417 00:24:51,160 --> 00:24:55,480 He was a really happy guy, but he was in Theos, he was in God. 418 00:24:57,080 --> 00:25:03,880 He was in God when I read it, and I read Titus and I read 419 00:25:03,880 --> 00:25:06,920 Timothy and I read about marriage. 420 00:25:08,000 --> 00:25:14,800 I just think, husbands, stop being selfish and lay down your 421 00:25:14,800 --> 00:25:18,360 life for your wife. That's what the Bible says. 422 00:25:19,280 --> 00:25:22,040 Are we under the grace of God? I can lose my temper. 423 00:25:22,040 --> 00:25:24,280 I can do it. No, you can't lose your temper 424 00:25:24,280 --> 00:25:33,240 with your wife. No, no, no, no, no. 425 00:25:33,240 --> 00:25:36,800 You can't violate her conscience in bed. 426 00:25:36,800 --> 00:25:39,120 No, you can't. She doesn't have to submit to 427 00:25:39,120 --> 00:25:45,080 that. No, no, in God, no. 428 00:25:51,330 --> 00:25:53,330 Galatians chapter 2 and we close. 429 00:25:55,370 --> 00:25:58,610 We only read the first verse of Titus, but Galatians chapter 2. 430 00:25:58,610 --> 00:26:04,040 Did you have it? Let me read it to you. 431 00:26:11,490 --> 00:26:15,530 Galatians chapter 214 years later I went up again to 432 00:26:15,530 --> 00:26:17,450 Jerusalem, this time with Barnabas. 433 00:26:17,570 --> 00:26:21,450 I took Titus, say Titus. I took Titus along also. 434 00:26:21,450 --> 00:26:25,050 I went in response to a revelation and set before them 435 00:26:25,050 --> 00:26:27,570 the gospel that I preached amongst the Gentiles. 436 00:26:28,250 --> 00:26:31,760 But I did this privately to those who seem to be leaders for 437 00:26:31,760 --> 00:26:34,320 fear that I was running or had run my race in vain. 438 00:26:35,120 --> 00:26:41,360 Yet not even Titus, say Titus, yet not even Titus, who was with 439 00:26:41,360 --> 00:26:46,240 me, was compelled to be circumcised, even though he was 440 00:26:46,240 --> 00:26:50,520 a Greek. He was completely and utterly 441 00:26:50,720 --> 00:26:55,360 free from the law. He was free. 442 00:26:56,640 --> 00:27:00,840 So you Cretans, you Galatians are not going to get me 443 00:27:00,840 --> 00:27:03,320 circumcised because I'm free in Christ. 444 00:27:03,560 --> 00:27:05,760 So this is not an application of the law. 445 00:27:05,960 --> 00:27:09,240 Who should be teaching the no message to the church? 446 00:27:10,240 --> 00:27:13,840 People who can open doors, people who will comfort you, 447 00:27:14,680 --> 00:27:17,720 people who are happy, really happy. 448 00:27:17,720 --> 00:27:21,520 I'm not trying to breed some kind of holiness church where we 449 00:27:21,520 --> 00:27:24,600 grumpy and holy and we don't watch porno. 450 00:27:29,640 --> 00:27:34,720 People are enthusiastic, full of God, people are completely and 451 00:27:34,720 --> 00:27:39,640 utterly free that the pressures of man will not dictate to me 452 00:27:40,960 --> 00:27:43,920 what I should do and shouldn't do to make me more culturally 453 00:27:43,920 --> 00:27:46,480 acceptable. I'm acceptable in Christ. 454 00:27:48,400 --> 00:27:50,840 When we preach this gospel, it will do one thing. 455 00:27:51,040 --> 00:27:55,400 It will lead us towards godliness. 456 00:27:56,760 --> 00:27:57,360 God bless you.