Titus II Lesson -- January 11th

A Biblical Response to 2008
“Spiritual”

Introduction
When I first began working on this presentation, my frame of reference was “backward.” That is, I was looking back at the challenges introduced by the large number of births in this class, a new church schedule, the election of a new Congress and President, and a softening economy. I wanted to share what biblical principles were applicable and/or relevant in 2008.

That all changed as the months of September and October gave birth to the months of November and December. No matter how much I tried, I could not “ignore” what was happening in front of my eyes. For the week of September 15th, according to the Boston Consulting Group, “marked the end of America’s Depression-era financial system.” The very financial services landscape changed irrevocably and virtually overnight. Even though the financial system was at the center of this turmoil, the ramifications have been inevitably traveling throughout the broader economy. Thus, I could not ignore modifying my frame of reference. It had to also include a “forward” look.

One might ask: “Why would you resist looking to the future as part of this discussion?” The answer is simple – I don’t want to look like an idiot. I don’t want to hold myself out as a prophet. I don’t want the stock brokers and financial advisors in the class to think that they have another “dude” with which to compete!

To assist you in this period of unprecedented change, I want to look “backward” and “forward.” I want to comment on what biblical truths were most applicable and precious in 2008. I also want to comment on what biblical truths will be applicable and precious in 2009. While the final list of truths may be debated, I have chosen only twelve. I will organize these twelve elements of a biblical response to 2008 under the headings of “spiritual” and “financial.” We will consider the “spiritual” elements this week and consider the “financial” elements next week.

The Environment That Necessitates A Biblical Response
Before we consider the “spiritual elements”, let me briefly review what happened in 2008 – and what a year 2008 was! It was filled with unpredictable twists and turns in the lives of members of this class and in the structure of this church. For example:

• 9 families had their first child.
• 9 families added children to the number they began 2008 with.
• Several families lost parents and/or siblings.
• Several of you lost jobs or were forced to seek alternative employment.
• Several of you became very ill and/or faced health crises (e.g., cancer).
• The church reduced the number of worship services from three to two making it necessary to juggle class attendance with worship and service.
• The church changed the schedule in such a manner that the only available services now cross both lunch and morning nap times (ensuring unhappy children).
• The community groups “aged.” That is, community groups failed to adapt to changes in leadership, attendance, and/or childcare needs.

The Elements of a Biblical Response -- Spiritual
At times it seemed as though everything was spinning out of control. Yet, here we are this morning – alive, largely healthy, and better off than probably 90% of all the people in the world. As such, we need to re-commit to seeking out and living out God’s purpose for our lives in 2009. Paul writes: “For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” (Ephesians 2:10).

All of us have limited time and limited financial resources. By gaining a clear view of our God-ordained life purpose, we can begin to use both time and money more effectively. Because life doesn’t have a rewind button, we must use our fleeting days to focus on things that really matter. We must use to each day in this coming year to know the Lord more fully, pray more deeply, and devote our energy and resources to a cause greater than ourselves.[1]

To assist us in living out God’s purpose for our lives in 2009, we need to understand what biblical truths were most applicable or helpful in 2008. What did we learn in 2008 that can be utilized in 2009? In other words, what are the elements of a biblical response to 2008? Let me reflect on six (6) “spiritual” elements of a biblical response to 2008.

1. Sovereignty
In Daniel we read that: “All the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, But He does according to His will in the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of earth; And no one can ward off His hand or say to Him, ‘What have you done?’” (Dan. 4:35). In Psalm 115 we read: “But our God is in the heavens; He does whatever He pleases” (Ps. 115:3). The first element of a biblical response to 2008 is to understand and embrace that “God is sovereign.” When we say that God is sovereign, we affirm His right to govern the universe, which He created for His own glory, just as He pleases.

In 2008, we were clearly reminded that we were not in charge. Whether it was the election of the most liberal President in U.S. history, a financial meltdown unparalleled in our lifetime, the death of parents and siblings, the advent of cancer, the loss of a job, or a miscarriage – God reminded each of us that He (not us) was in control. Those who embraced this biblical truth, found comfort in knowing that He had a plan, a purpose for these events. Those who didn’t embrace this biblical truth, found the year to be frustrating, depressing, or bitter.

Personally I was reminded that I was not in charge in several different ways. A new CEO arrived that resulted in a change in my role, my influence, and my career path. A new Board required me to lay off (and meet in person upon their exit) 20% of my staff. The level of commitment by members of this class dropped dramatically. None of these facts were enjoyable or satisfying. Yet in the midst of these “disappointments”, there were many reminders that He can give gifts that we had no right to ask of Him. Two examples came in the form of a godly daughter-in-law (Emily) and in the form of a precious, new daughter (Oksana). Almost daily, we stand in awe of how fortunate we are to have these two beautiful, happy, loving girls – and we had nothing to do with who they are and where they came from.

In 2009 we must understand and embrace God’s sovereignty. We must bow in obedience to the life He has called us to. This includes any burdens we must carry or limitations we must face. We must recognize that “all things work together for good” (Romans 8:28). That is, “all things work together” to grow us in Christlikeness (Romans 8:30). If we understand and embrace this biblical truth, we will better be able to navigate the troubled waters ahead. Understanding and embracing God’s sovereignty is the first element of a biblical response to 2008.

2. Stewardship
The second element of a biblical response to 2008 is understanding and embracing the concept of stewardship. Job writes: “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I shall return there. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.” (Job 1:21)

Everything is owned by God. Stewardship teaches us that we are not owners of what we possess – we are managers. We are but stewards of all that He has entrusted to us. Everything we have – time, gifts, jobs, talents, children etc. -- is but a loan from Him.

In the parable of the talents (Matt. 25:14-30), we see two “different” ways to use the talents given to us: “The man who had received the five talents went at once and put his money to work and gained five more. So also, the one with the two talents gained two more. But the man who had received the one talent went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.”

In 2008, some of us were like the “diligent.” We obeyed our master knowing that one day we would have to give an account. We chose to put those talents to work. Unfortunately, others were like the “un-diligent.” They chose to not put those talents to work in advancing the kingdom but acted with unjustified suspicion and laziness.

How, you might ask, was this biblical truth so applicable in 2008? I will answer this rhetorical question with a set of rhetorical questions.
· How many of you have more money in your retirement account at the end of the year than you did at the beginning of the year?
· How many of you are more secure in your job?
· How many of you have a house that increased in value or would sell more readily today?

What is my point? Those who diligently used their talents to advance Christ’s kingdom lost nothing. Rather, they continued to accumulate rewards set aside for the diligent in the next life (Matt. 25:19-24). Those who were un-diligent gained nothing in the next world (in fact, they lose whatever they have – Matt. 25:28-30) and they lost much in this world.

In 2009, we must understand and embrace stewardship. We must recognize that every financial decision is in reality a spiritual decision. Waste is not a squandering of our resources. It is a poor use of His resources. We must diligently use the talents given to us to advance Christ’s kingdom. Understanding and embracing biblical stewardship is the second element of a biblical response to 2008.

3. Generosity[2]
The third element of a biblical response to 2008 is honoring God with our generosity. The Lord has blessed you with what you have for a reason: so that you can be generous on every occasion, and your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God (2 Cor. 9:11). The Bible teaches us that we need to be storing up treasures in heaven, rather than on earth. It teaches us that we need to give sacrificially, giving up some of our desires so that we can meet the needs of others.

In 2008, many of you in this class honored God with your generosity. You reached out and:
· Provided vitamins for 100 Indian orphans for a year and a half
· Provided 75% of the Stonebriar’s annual support of the Hutchersons
· Provided enough clothing (with Moms2Moms and the Women’s Bible Study) to fill two (2) SUV’s and a truck for poor Dallas children
· Provided $4,000 in critically needed funds for a group of Indian believers who lost loved ones in a tragic bus accident. This included providing three months of medical care for over 50 individuals.

Those that gave, gave cheerfully (2 Cor. 8:1-5; 9:7), willingly (2 Cor. 8:1-5; 9:7), quietly (Matthew 6:1-4; 1 Cor. 13:3), immediately (Acts 11:27-29; 2 Cor. 8:1-5), and generously (2 Cor. 8:1-5). Those who did not give – gained no joy in honoring God. Those who did not give must answer the following question: “Do you have anything to show for with your lack of generosity?”

In 2009, we must continue to honor God with our generosity. Giving is an affair of the heart. Ask the Lord to expand the capacity of your heart toward Him so you can give with cheerfulness and to prosper you so that you can raise your giving to even higher levels. Why? Because the needs in 2009 will be even greater than in 2008. The lengthy recession will decrease the number of donors and the amount of donations at the same time that individuals, families, and ministries will be asking for assistance. Honoring god with our generosity is the third element of a biblical response to 2008.

4. Contentment
The fourth element of a biblical response to 2008 is contentment. We read in Hebrews 13:5: “Make sure that your character is free from the love of money, being content with what you have; for He Himself has said, ‘ I WILL NEVER DESERT YOU, NOR WILL I EVER FORSAKE YOU.’" Paul writes in Philippians: “Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am.”
(See also 1 Timothy 6:6-10.)

In 2008, many in this class were or became discontent. You did not like your job. You did not like the change in the church schedule. You did not like the demands of being first-time parents. You did not like the hassle of dealing with childcare. You did not like seeing your financial situation deteriorate. You did not like facing health issues. You did not like people telling you what you need to be doing. Etc.

Those who chose to be discontent will likely find 2009 to be an even more fertile opportunity for discontentment. In 2009, we need to be content with our jobs, our income, our houses, our cars, our freedom to worship, the food we eat, etc. Simply put, we need to be content in all circumstances. For being content is the fourth element of a biblical response to 2008.

5. Community
The fifth element of a biblical response to 2008 is to embrace “community.” A Spirit-filled community is a loving, caring, sharing community. A Spirit-filled community is a worshipping community. A Spirit-filled community is an evangelistically-minded community.[3]

In 2008, the concept of this type of community began to wane in Titus II. As many of you had your first child, as others had their 2nd (or 3rd) child, and as the church schedule changed – your commitment to community changed. Many no longer made it a commitment to attend Titus II each week. Many found it unimportant to attend community groups regularly. Others found it difficult to even make it to church for one hour! Those who remained committed to “community” ministered and were ministered to. They taught others and were taught. They have a group that is dependant upon them and a group that they can depend upon when they have needs. Those who chose to not be a part of this type of community received none of these benefits.

In 2009, each of us must embrace the importance of community. We must notice three characteristics of community in Acts 2:41-47 and apply them to Titus II. We must:

· Have an identity.
The church in Jerusalem, though it was newly born, had a distinct identity. Those who were in and of the church knew it, and those who were without recognized the difference between the Christians and the rest of the population of the city. Robert Deffinbaugh states: “Today, it is very difficult to tell the saints from the heathen. There are some saints (or so they claim) who refuse to identify themselves with the church. And there are all too many unsaved who have entered the formal ranks of the church. The church has become almost indistinguishable from the world, and the world has greatly infiltrated and infected the church. There is not the clear identity of a Christian today as there was then.”[4] We must desire to identify with a church, and even better, with a specific group within the church.

· Demonstrate commitment and consistency.
One of the most striking characteristics of the newly-born church in Jerusalem was their commitment. They were committed to Jesus. They were committed to one another. They were committed to meeting the needs of others. They were committed to gathering together. One key expression in Acts 2 is “continually devoting themselves” (2:42). The other key term or expression is “daily” or “day by day.” Day after day these saints pressed on, committed to the apostles’ doctrine, fellowship, breaking of bread, and prayer. Day after day they went to the temple and ate from house to house. How different the church is today. People show up at church – when it is convenient. And when it is not convenient, they stay at home. When the weather is poor, they don’t venture out. When the weather is good, they go out to the lake. I am not opposed to good times, but I am saying that we are not marked by the consistency and diligence of the early church. We need little or no excuse for “forsaking the assembling of ourselves together” (Hebrews 10:25). We need little prompting to do things which are more immediately gratifying.[5] As such, we need to demonstrate commitment and consistency to the “community” to which we belong.

· Practice hospitality.
This first Christian community practiced hospitality. Today, most Christians are reluctant to act as hosts. Having guests frightens some prospective hosts. Others feel their home furnishings are too modest or inadequate. Most say that they are too busy, the expense of showing hospitality is too great, and the tension from getting the house cleaned and the food prepared too much for them. Alexander Strauch writes: “I realize that some people can easily invite guests over on the spur of the moment, but most people need to plan ahead and invite people to their table. Set a regular time each week or month to invite people to your home. Unless you plan this into your schedule, you may never get past the good-intention level to the implementation level. You’ll say, ‘This is important. The Bible instructs us to do this, and it will help our church; it will make our congregation a closer, more loving place.’ But unless you plan ahead, you’ll be busy next week, and the next week, and the week after that. You may rarely get around to opening your home to people in your church or your non-Christian friends and neighbors. As you experience the joy and blessing of opening your home, however, you will want to do it more often."[6]
Embracing the importance of community and striving to apply these three characteristics of the early church to Titus II is the fifth element of a biblical response to 2008.

6. Service
The sixth (and final) element of a biblical response to 2008 is service. Service is both inward (discipleship) and outward (mission). Service is both joyful and burdensome. Service is both personal (intimate) and impersonal (group-oriented).

In 2008, many in Titus II identified and exercised their spiritual gifts. Many saw that the emphasis in Ephesians 4 was not on knowing their gift but on finding their place of service. Many saw that the focus was not on the individual but on the contribution the individual makes. Many came to church to minister rather than to be ministered to. Many left not asking whether they were blessed but was Christ exalted and others edified. Many built up the body of Christ. Unfortunately, others chose the opposite. They chose to be participants, to sit on the sidelines. Those who did stunted both their and the body’s growth.

In 2009, we need to see that our current structure of “doing” church is deficient.[7] We have three regular forms of togetherness here at Stonebriar -- Sunday morning worship, Sunday morning Adult Fellowship, and Wednesday night bible studies. In all of these settings you “minister” to each other. But I am convinced that the New Testament calls for a kind of personal ministry among the saints that cannot be fulfilled in these larger forms of togetherness. Therefore, we need to issue a call for each of you to be regularly involved in a smaller form of togetherness. Only in such a smaller group will you be free to do the work of the ministry. What do I mean? Let me give you but two examples:

· Exhorting One Another Every Day
First, consider the exhortation to “exhort one another every day” in Hebrews 3:12-14. It does not say: "Take care, pastors, to exhort your people daily." It says: "Take care, brothers… exhort one another every day." Christ gives pastors to the church, pastors equip the saints for ministry, and you, the saints, minister to each other. That is, you exhort one another every day and thus become God's instruments for the preservation of each other's faith. You are responsible (and this is a weighty statement) for the perseverance of your brothers and sisters. Now how is that ministry going to happen for you in Titus II? The kind of pointed exhortation, encouragement, and warning can't be given or received on the run. It can’t be given or received if you attend only the worship service. It can’t be given or received if you attend Titus II only once a month. We need people who know us and feel our particular need, so that their word of exhortation is intimate and shaped to our special crisis of faith. And you can't know people significantly if you only see them in church a couple of hours a month. Therefore, I believe it is essential that all of us seek the kind of regular smaller togetherness where the ministry of the saints is free to happen. We need to seek the kind of regular smaller togetherness where you can serve. That is, we need to actively and faithfully participate in Titus II and small groups such as our Titus II community groups.

· Bearing One Another's Burdens
Second, when the saints do the work of the ministry, the goal is not only to encourage strong, persevering faith, but also to stir each other up to love and good works. But there are innumerable obstacles to love and threats to faith. We sink down, or fall down, or get knocked down again and again, and it is not God's revealed pattern for us to have to pull ourselves up by our own bootstraps in isolation. On the contrary, God's command, and gracious provision, is: "Bear one another's burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ" (Galatians 6:2). It is an expectation that no one, married or single, male or female, young or old, in the church carry a crushing burden alone. Yet it is happening because we are a big church without sufficient forms of small togetherness. In order to obey the law of Christ, we have to build close, trusting relationships. Otherwise, you don't even know what the burdens are, let alone have occasion to share their weight. And we believe that to build those relationships we must gather in small, regular gatherings of believers.

Actively serving the body of Christ is the sixth and final element of a biblical response to 2008.

Closing
In closing, I want to share part of an email that was sent to me this week by my daughter Marin. I believe that the author, Dr. Hal Brunson (the Headmaster at Providence Christian Academy in Dallas, TX) and his wife Judy, understand and embrace many of these biblical truths that we have just discussed – sovereignty, stewardship, contentment, and community. These biblical truths were precious to them in 2008 and will be clearly applicable to them in 2009.

Dear Church and Friends:

I will try to be as thorough and as brief as possible, but this update requires some detail.Basically, Judy is facing respiratory failure due primarily to ovarian cancer metastasized to the lungs, probably complicated by pneumonia and possibly a hospital-acquired bacteria. To combat those two bacterial infections, she is receiving massive doses of the strongest antibiotics, which thus far show little or no promise of improvement for her. Even if some measurable improvement occurred during the next twenty-four hours, that improvement would most probably be both minimal and temporary because (1) her immune system is so compromised and (2) the cancer in her lungs is advancing. She also requires large amounts of oxygen with no medical expectation of improved lung capacity. Without some unexpected benefit from the antibiotics, without significant improvement of her lung function, and, truly, without a miracle, Judy’s condition will worsen, though no one can predict how swiftly.The doctors, Judy, our sons, and I have frankly discussed all these matters. The choice that lies before our family now is best how to care for her, medically speaking. The answer to that question is palliative care. Judy remains in the hospital, but I hope to bring her home soon. We will definitely need home health-care and, either eventually or immediately, hospice care, especially in light of the consistent oxygen, breathing treatments, and palliative medications she will require.I remember one of the first, if not the very first e-mail I sent out about Judy’s ovarian cancer over nine years ago, in which I said, "Judy belongs to God." Nothing gives me more comfort than that glorious fact. Thirty-one years ago, Judy and I had the privilege of telling my sweet Granny Brunson, almost Judy’s identical in stature and demeanor, that Judy was pregnant with our first child. Both of us vividly remember her words, "Remember, they’re not yours; God just loans them to you for a little while." Her statement now poignantly applies to my precious wife: no earthly bank could have funded the heavenly loan by which I have been enriched for over thirty-four years. Of course, if I could, I would without hesitation give my life in exchange for hers this very moment, as I am sure both my sons would; but what greater comfort in knowing that Someone other than, Someone greater than ourselves, has already made that glorious exchange. What solace there is in the Gospel of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.Judy is at peace, and in grace, and grace and peace are in her. She is not in pain. She is not distraught. She is not worried. She is not complaining. All her needs are met at every level: physically, emotionally, and spiritually.Please pray for our family, and the friends who surround us, that we will be God’s arms around the most kind, the most composed, the most gracious, the most pleasant, the most gentle, the most trusting, the most peaceful, and the most gracious soul I have ever known.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, it is time to understand and embrace these six biblical truths and apply them in 2009 as our response to 2008.

[1] Mark Biller and Joseph Slife, Sound Mind Investing (December 2008)
[2] Mark Biller and Joseph Slife, Sound Mind Investing (December 2008)
[3] John Stott, 87.
[4] Robert Deffinbaugh, Acts 2:41-47
[5] Robert Deffinbaugh, Acts 2:41-47
[6] Robert Deffinbaugh, Acts 2:41-47
[7] John Piper, Alone in a Big Church -- A Call to Small Togetherness