Advance to the Abundant Life
(Part 4) - All Brand New Again and Again
Titus 3:1-8
Sermon by Rick Crandall
McClendon Baptist Church - August 26, 2007
*Doug Whitt and his bride Sylvia had an unusual and embarrassing experience on their honeymoon. They got to the fancy hotel in the early hours of the morning. In the room they saw a sofa, chairs, and table, but no bed. Then they discovered the sofa was a sleeper, so they spent a terrible night on a lumpy mattress and sagging springs.
*As soon as they got up, Doug rushed down to the front desk to complain big-time, but the clerk simply asked, “Did you open the door in the room?”
*Doug went back upstairs and opened the door they had thought was a closet -- But on the other side was a luxury bedroom, complete with fruit baskets and chocolates. (1)
*Over the last 4 weeks we have been trying to open the door to the abundant life God wants us to have. In John 10:10 Jesus said, “I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” In other words: One of the Lord’s main purposes for coming to earth was so that you could have abundant life. Jesus really wants you to have it -- But how can we get there?
1. First it’s by rebirth.
*You must be born again. As I’ve said all month, you cannot have God’s abundant life until you have His eternal life. Paul told us a lot about this rebirth or regeneration in vs. 3-7, when he said:
3. For we ourselves were also once foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving various lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another.
4. But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared,
5. not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit,
6. whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior,
7. that having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
*Do you know anybody who is a hopeless case? -- Or at least they seem to be right now. Most of us would say, “Yes.” But these verses remind us that we are all hopeless cases without Jesus. As Paul said in vs. 3, “We ourselves were also once foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving various lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another.”
*We are all hopeless cases without Jesus. There is not a person in this room who deserves to go to Heaven. There is not a person in this world who deserves to go to Heaven.
*Every year there is a contest on the coast by Los Angeles. Some of you may know that Catalina Island is about 26 miles off-shore. The contest involves attempting to physically jump from the coast all the way to Catalina. Contestants run down a long ramp, and jump off a cliff in their efforts to reach Catalina. Some jumpers get only a few feet out. Others go as far as 30 feet before hitting the water -- But so far, no one has ever made it from the cliff to the island. (2)
*Of course they never will. And no one will ever make it to Heaven by their own effort. We are all hopeless cases without Jesus. But God loves hopeless cases!
3. For we ourselves were also once foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving various lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another.
4. But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared,
5. not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit,
6. whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior,
7. that having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
*God loves hopeless cases. God wants to give hope to hopeless cases. Dan Anderson explains:
Satan says, "God doesn’t care about you at all." God says something completely different. In these verses, we learn that God loves us more than we can possibly understand. The cross is God crying out: -"I love you! You are special to Me!"
God knew what we were; He knew all about our sins and our excess baggage, yet He still chose to save us by His grace. He saved us from the penalty of our sins. And He washed us from the defilement of our sins. (3)
*There are four life-giving, life-changing words in these wonderful verses. In vs. 4 we see God’s kindness and God’s love. This word for “love” is not “agape;” it’s “philanthropia,” -- God’s love and fondness for mankind. Then in vs. 5, we see God’s mercy: God not giving us what we richly deserve. And in vs. 7, we see God’s grace: God richly giving us what we don’t deserve.
*By His grace, God gives me justification, treating me just as if I had never sinned. By His grace, God makes me part of His family -- A child and heir of God. By His grace, God gives me eternal life -- A brand new life -- A life that begins the day I trust in Jesus, and will last forever in Heaven with Him. All of this grace and much more is poured out on us abundantly through our Savior Jesus Christ.
*Patrick Morley summed it up with these six words:
-"Adam failed, Jesus nailed, Grace prevailed." (4)
*Jerry Bridge wrote: “Our worst days are never so bad that you are beyond the reach of God’s grace. And your best days are never so good that you are beyond the need of God’s grace.” (5)
*Donald Stevens said:
“I think that we still have a hard time understanding what grace really is. I once heard it explained this way: Suppose that someone breaks into your home. In the course of a robbery, that person kills your child.
-If you hunt them down yourself and kill them, that’s vengeance.
-If you allow the police to do their jobs and the person is apprehended and punished, that’s justice.
-If you take them into your home and adopt them as your son or daughter, that’s grace.” (6)
*That is what God wants to do in your life: Take you into His home and make you His child. And God will do all of these wonderful things -- When you believe in Jesus, when you put your trust in Him, when you receive Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord.
2. How can I get to the abundant life? By rebirth, and by renewal.
*Please listen to me church. Being saved is the most important, most wonderful thing that can ever happen to you -- But it will not keep you in the abundant life God wants for you. Christians, vs. 5&6 tell us that we must be renewed by the Holy Spirit, who was abundantly given to us when we trusted in Jesus Christ. We must be renewed.
*David DeWitt called this “reclaiming the wastelands,” and said:
“Just outside of Crooksville Ohio, there was a large plot of land for sale, close to 100 acres, 94 to be exact (if memory serves me right). The price was an unbelievable $500 per acre! You might be able to say that the land was a steal, for the right person.
*There was one slight catch to the land: The whole thing was a barren waste; there was little of value left on the ground. The land had been part of a large strip mine operation and had never been reclaimed. If someone bought the land, it would take them years and hundreds of thousands of dollars to make the land livable -- A massive effort with a massive cost.
*Our lives are a lot like that land outside of Crooksville; barren, desolate, desperate and stripped. We have a lot of the same qualities of that land:
-Your joy and happiness have been stripped away.
-Your marriage is crumbling like the limestone cliffs.
-Your passion has eroded like the banks of the cut out hills.
-Your spiritual life is on a slide like the rock face.
-Your self worth has been mined out of you.
*I don’t know your problem or situation but I do know this: God looks at our lives and understands that we require a massive effort at a massive expense. This is why He sent Jesus to us because He wanted us to understand the value we have in His eyes. This is why we so desperately need renewal.” (7)
*What is renewal? Renew means to make new or to restore, to begin again to resume, to restore vigor, to replenish. Renewal is talking about a renovation, a transformation, a complete change for the better. All believers need renewal.
*David Dewitt explains: “I’ve heard some people say that they are just fine and don’t need any spiritual renewal. Let me ask you a few questions:
-Are there still areas where you can grow? Then you need renewal.
-Are there areas of your life that you still struggle with? Then you need renewal.
-Can you remember a time when you were closer to God than you are right now? Then you need renewal.
-The fact is that all believers have a need for times of renewal and refreshing. (7)
*Notice that this renewing comes from the Holy Spirit. How does He do it? One of the most important ways is by pointing us back to Jesus Christ. In John 15:26, Jesus was talking about the Holy Spirit, and said, “When the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me.” And in John 16:14, Jesus said: “He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you.”
*Over and over, the Holy Spirit points us back to Jesus. He reminds us of who we are in Christ and all we have in Christ. So in Eph 1:17-18 Paul prayed:
17. that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom & revelation in the knowledge of Him,
18. the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling [and] what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints.
*Charles Spurgeon was a great preacher from England in the 1800’s. He told the story of a very poor woman who had received a check from a dying friend. The check was worth $12,000 back then. That amount of money was probably 20 or 30 times more valuable than it is today. But the poor woman did not understand the value of the check. She had no idea what to do with it, so she framed it as a reminder of her friend.
*Spurgeon soon turned it into cash to take care of all of the financial needs she would ever have. Like that, the Holy Spirit will help us understand all that we have in Christ. (8)
*Over and over, the Holy Spirit points us back to Jesus, and the love He showed us on the cross. So in Eph 3:16-19, Paul prayed that our Heavenly Father.
16. .would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man,
17. that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love,
18. may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height
19. to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
*Anthony Fortosis described the love of Jesus Christ with these words:
-“He is the King of kings, the radiance of His glory, the Lord of the spaceless, fabulous, infinite universe, omniscient, omnipotent, omnipresent, unspeakably holy, dwelling in light, unapproachable, changeless.
-And yet He condescended to become enclosed in lowly human flesh, to be born a despised Judean, in a filthy stable, in the womb of a simple Israeli woman and without fanfare or pomp.
-The richest became the poorest that the poor might become rich.
-He starved for 40 days in the wilderness that we might feast on the impeccable Bread of Life.
-He emptied Himself that we might be filled.
-His heart was broken that He might bind up the broken-hearted.
-His body was crushed that we might be made whole.
-He was rejected that we might be accepted.
-He was condemned that we might be justified.
-He was judged that we would not be judged.
-He was deserted for a time by the Father that we might find access to the Father.
-He died as the innocent One that the guilty might be declared innocent.” (9)
*The Holy Spirit renews us by pointing us back to the matchless love of Jesus. And believers, we all need this renewal.
3. How can I get to the abundant life? *By renewal, and by remembering.
*In vs. 1&2, Paul said: “Remind them to be subject to rulers and authorities, to obey, to be ready for every good work, to speak evil of no one, to be peaceable, gentle, showing all humility to all men.”
*Then in vs. 8, he said: “This is a faithful saying, and these things I want you to affirm constantly, that those who have believed in God should be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable to men.”
*Like that old character on Sesame Street, believers, we are “Forgetful Joneses.” Do you remember him? See -- you forgot. So we have to be constantly reminded of the things we should be doing. For example, in vs. 1&2:
-Obey the law
-Be ready for every good work
-Speak evil of no one -- (uh oh)
-Be peaceable
-Be gentle
-Be humble
*And in vs. 8: -Be careful to keep doing good works, [because] these things are good and profitable to men.
*Come back tonight at 5 for “A Taste of McClendon,” and you will see some great ideas for good works you can do. There is no telling how much good can come when we remember to do good works.
*James Hewett told the story of a preacher named Rittenhouse, who went on vacation with his family one summer. While they were headed down the highway, they saw a suitcase fly off the top of a car going the opposite direction.
*They stopped to pick it up, but the driver of the other car never stopped. The only clue to the driver’s identity was a twenty dollar gold piece with this label:
-“Given to Otis Sampson at his retirement by Portland Cement Company.”
*Of course it was worth hundreds of dollars and would have been easy to keep, but the Rittenhouse family wanted to do a good work. This was in the days before you could find almost anyone online, but after a lot of effort, Mr. Sampson was located and contacted.
*Otis wrote back a letter telling them to throw away the suitcase and everything in it. The only thing Mr. Sampson wanted was his $20 gold piece. Several times in the letter Mr. Sampson called it “my most precious possession.”
*Pastor Rittenhouse sent the gold piece to Otis, but he also wrote a cover letter telling Otis about his most prized possession -- Jesus Christ.
*A year later, the preacher received a Christmas package. The $20 gold piece was inside, and Mr. Sampson wrote, “You will be happy to know we have become active members of a church. We want you to have this gold piece. I am 74; my wife is 72. You were the first one to tell us about Jesus -- Now He is our most prized possession.” (10)
*There is no telling how much good can come when we remember to do good works. And it will surely help give us the abundant life Jesus wants us to have.
*Here is a great description of abundant living from Zig Ziglar:
*You are living the Abundant Life.
-When you clearly understand that failure is an event, not a person; that yesterday ended last night, and today is your brand new day.
-When you have made friends with your past, are focused on the present, and optimistic about your future.
-When you know that success doesn’t make you, and failure doesn’t break you.
-When you are filled with faith, hope, and love, and live without anger, greed, guilt, envy, or thoughts of revenge.
-When you are mature enough to delay gratification and shift your focus from your rights to your responsibilities.
-When you are secure in who you are, so you are at peace with God and in fellowship with man.
-When you have made friends of your adversaries, and have gained the love and respect of those who know you best.
-When you understand that others can give you pleasure, but genuine happiness comes from doing things for others.
-When you are pleasant to the grouch, courteous to the rude, and generous to the needy.
-When you love the unlovable, give hope to the hopeless, friendship to the friendless, and encouragement to the discouraged.
-When you can look back in forgiveness, forward in hope, down in compassion, and up with gratitude.
-When you stand in front of the Creator of the universe and He says to you, "Well done, good and faithful servant." (11)
Conclusion:
*May we all receive the eternal, abundant life Jesus Christ wants to give us.
-Let’s pray about that right now.
1. Cynthia Thomas, Glen Ellyn, Illinois. Leadership, Vol. 15, no. 1. (Found on Bible Illustrator for windows - Topic: Discipleship - Index: 1015-1017 - Date: 7/1998.1786 - Title: Opening All of the Doors)
2. CATALINA ISLAND Bill Gothard Ministers’ Gathering 3/96 (Found online at www.churchchrist.net/Sermons/Salvation.htm)
3. Adapted from SermonCentral sermon “What Does God Think of You?” by Dan Anderson - Titus 3:1-8
4. SermonCentral illustration contributed by Patrick Morley
5. SermonCentral illustration contributed by Jerry Bridge
6. SermonCentral illustration contributed by: Donald Stevens
7. Adapted from SermonCentral sermon “Reclaiming the Wastelands” by David DeWitt - 2 Chron 7:14
8. The Sunday Circle. Found in the KERUX ILLUSTRATION COLLECTION - ID Number: 18059 - SOURCE: Fredericksburg Bible Illustrator Supplements
9. Adapted from: Dr. Anthony Fortosis, quoted in Prokope, November/December, 1992, Page 4 (Found in SermonCentral sermon “Jesus Is” by Mike Hays - Col 1:15)
10. James S. Hewett, Illustrations Unlimited (Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc, 1988) p. 262. (Found on Bible Illustrator for windows - Topic: Christ - Subtopic: The Sinner’s Friend - Index: 4104 - Date: 7/1996.821 - Title: Most Precious Possession)
11. Adapted from: p. 313, "Over the Top", by Zig Ziglar, 1997. (Found in SermonCentral sermon “You Can Discover Abundant Life” by John Mayes John 10:10)
