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Look at Titus chapter 2 verse 13 and this is where we get the name of our church. It says here, looking for that blessed hope. The title for the sermon tonight is, looking for that blessed hope. You know, we are instructed as a church, as believers, to look for that blessed hope. You say, what is that blessed hope? We continue saying there, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ. What is the blessed hope according to this verse? It is the glorious appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ. It is the second coming of Jesus Christ that is the blessed hope. Brethren, so when you know the name of your church, Blessed Hope Baptist Church, what are we saying about this church? That this church is looking forward to the coming of Christ. That this church is looking forward to the resurrection, to the rapture, to the new resurrected bodies that God will give us, that Christ will give us. That we're looking forward to the day when we don't have to struggle with this sinful flesh anymore. That we can have those resurrected bodies that are holy without sin. And that's what we're looking for brethren, to rule and reign with God for Christ. A thousand years to come on this earth and the new heavens and the new earth. That's the blessed hope that we're looking for. And so when you know the name of our church brethren, when people ask you why is it called blessed hope? It's because we're looking forward to Christ. Okay, and I think this is a great topic to think about, to stop and consider as we come into this new year 2020. All right, now the other thing you notice in that verse, what does it say there? And the glorious appearing of the great God. Who is Jesus Christ? He is God. Right? He is God Almighty. We have God the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost and these three are one the Bible tells us. Okay, and so this is a great verse just for the deity of Christ. Who's appearing? Jesus Christ. Who is Christ? Our great God. That is a great God that we worship. This is a church of Jesus Christ built upon the foundation of his name, the foundation of his word, the foundation of his gospel. This church is built upon the foundation of the great commission that Christ has left us to do. To go out into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. Now you don't have to turn there, you can keep your finger there, but I'm going to read to you from Philippians 3 20. Okay, Philippians 3 20. It says, for our conversation is in heaven. What does it mean our conversation? It means our lifestyle, our behavior, our behavior ought to reflect heaven. And then it says here, from whence also we look for the Savior and the Lord or so look for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. Who are we looking forward to? The Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. And then in verse 21 it says, who shall change our vile body that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself. What is the Blessed Hope? What is the appearance of Christ? Again, the new resurrected body which according to this verse says that it will be fashioned like unto his glorious body. The glorious body of Jesus Christ, his resurrected body that rose from the dead, that will live forevermore. Brethren, the Blessed Hope is a promise that you will have a body like unto his. What a great truth. What an amazing thing to think we will have bodies like our great God, like Jesus Christ. And this is the amazing truth of the resurrection. This is why we're called Blessed Hope Baptist Church. And so I'm not going to focus so much about the rapture today, the coming of Christ. That's not my focus so much. But knowing that that's what we're looking for, the question then is how should we live our lives in accordance to that truth? If we're looking forward, something that we're looking to in the future, the coming of Christ, how then ought we behave in light of that truth? That's what this sermon is about today. And it's not going to be some groundbreaking sermon. These are topics, these are points that you already know that you need to live by. How you need to live by in accordance to God's Word. You already know these things but I hope this new year will give you a reminder of what we need to do to live godly for the Lord. Now you guys are still in Titus aren't you? It's Titus chapter 2. And notice at the end, the last verse, verse number 15, Titus chapter 2 verse 15, and before we read it, the book of Titus, Titus was a pastor, okay? And Titus, the book of Titus or the epistle of Titus is known as one of the pastoral epistles. The other pastoral epistles in the Bible is 1 Timothy and 2 Timothy. These are epistles, these are letters not written to a church but written to a pastor, to pastor Timothy, to pastor Titus, from the Apostle Paul, okay? Understanding that when you read verse number 15, sorry verse number 15, this is what the Apostle Paul is saying to Titus. This is what he says to the pastors, right? That read this epistle, that learn from this epistle. Verse number 15, it says these things speak and exalt and rebuke with all authority. Let no man despise thee. That's the instruction to pastors. Hey, that's the instruction to any preacher that gets behind the pulpit, or this kitchen bench, but behind the pulpit preaching God's Word. This is the instruction that you need to take on board, brethren. It said, what did it say once again? It says to speak, to exhort, to rebuke with all authority. Let no man despise thee. What does it mean to exhort? You know, my job as a preacher, as your pastor, is to exhort you, okay? To exhort means to encourage or to stimulate, right? You know you need to live godly, right? But if we weren't coming to church, if we weren't, you know, having fellowship, if we weren't reading our Bibles, if we weren't doing these things, it would be difficult for us to live godly. In fact, if you were just gathered with the world, with your unsaved friends, your unsaved colleagues, if you spend your time in this world, you're not going to be exhorted to live godly for him, okay? And so the job of the preacher, if you get here to preach one day, your job is to exhort, to encourage, to stimulate, to motivate people to live for the Lord. And brethren, this is a great task that preachers are given, right? When I get behind here and preach God's Word to you, I'm telling you the truth. I have great fear, right? Great fear. The fear of God. Because I'm preaching to God's people. I'm preaching to God's sons and daughters right here. You are the most important people in the world as far as God is concerned. You are here to do the job of God, to do the work of God, and it gives me great fear to know that I have to preach to you guys. But it's a great honor as well, isn't it? It's a great honor, but we're commanded to exhort. What else it said there? To rebuke, right? To rebuke. To rebuke is to chastise or to afflict, right? What this means is, you know, we're all sinners. We all have weaknesses. We all have difficulties. We all have things we're struggling with. We're all trying to live godly, but we make mistakes. And when we make mistakes, when we sin, when we do wrong, we're commanded as preachers or as pastors to rebuke. To rebuke what is sinful. To rebuke what is wrong. And sometimes when you come to church, you're gonna feel like your toes are stepped on. You're gonna feel like, you know, if it's coming from God's Word, why is the preacher saying these things? Doesn't he? He knows that I'm struggling with that sin. Oh, he's preaching because of me. No, brethren. We're preaching the Word of God. And of course, the Word of God is gonna have an effect on whoever you are. Man, woman or child. You know, the Bible is like a mirror that reflects back upon your life and will show you your sins, will show you your weaknesses. And so the pastor is commanded to rebuke. You know, please don't get offended when you're rebuked. When your sins are called out. Not privately, okay? But we're preaching God's Word and you feel like, hey, that's affecting me. Don't get offended because we're commanded as pastors and preachers to rebuke. What else was the command there? To rebuke with all authority. You say, who are you to tell me? Who are you to preach the Bible? Well, the Bible says here we're to do it with all authority. Hey, who has all authority? Jesus Christ. The Lord God has given the pastor of a church the authority to exhort and to rebuke. You know what was said of Jesus Christ when he walked this earth and and he came preaching his doctrines? Yeah, I'll just read to you in Matthew 7 28. It says here and it came to pass when Jesus had ended these sayings the people were astonished at his doctrine for he taught them as one having authority and not as the scribes. You see these people in these days they were used to the preaching of the scribes. What was the preaching of the scribes? No authority. You know, watered-down preaching, soft-soaked things. It doesn't hurt anybody. It doesn't afflict anybody. It doesn't rebuke anybody. That's the kind of preaching the people in Jesus they were used to. So when Jesus came preaching with authority they were like astonished. What is this? What is this truth that we're hearing? And of course Jesus came. Jesus Christ came exhorting and rebuking. So the authority comes from the Word of God. And of course understand this, you know, it is my duty, it is my responsibility to preach to you God's Word even if it means it's gonna offend you. Even if I know I'm rebuking you. It's my authority. It's my duty. If I were to stop that, I would rather just not be a pastor to be honest. Right? I would fear the chastisement of the Lord if I were not to come here and preach to the full counsel of God, all the counsel of God, and for you to know the truth. Okay? What else did it say there in Titus 2 15? Let no man despise thee. You know what I'm saying brethren? As you're being rebuked, as you're being exhorted, and you're hearing the preaching of God's Word, don't despise the preacher. Okay? Don't despise the pastor. Like I said, he's just doing the duty that God has left him to do. Right? It's my responsibility to do this. Appreciate the fact when you can find a pastor, you can find a preacher that will preach you God's Word. Because there are many people, there are many churches, there are a lot of preachers out there brethren. If you just want a feel-good sermon, there's a lot of churches to go to and they're gonna be afraid to tell you the truth. That's not what we want. If we're going to be looking for that Blessed Hope, if we want to live in accordance to that truth, we need to know what the Word of God says. Okay? So we're going to spend most of our time here in Titus chapter 2 as we focus on the verses that surround the concept here, the idea, the teaching of the Blessed Hope, the coming of Christ. And let's look at verse number 11 now. Titus chapter 2 verse 11. So these are verses that lead up to, you know, the looking for the Blessed Hope. And so once again, just a reminder, what am I preaching about? We're preaching how we ought to live in accordance to that Blessed Hope. What should we be doing as we look forward to that Blessed Hope to come? And look at verse number 11. It says here, for the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men. Listen brethren, do you think God wants all men saved? Absolutely. It just told us that the grace of God, what is the grace of God? For by grace are ye saved through faith, and that not of yourselves. Right? It is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast. It is the grace of God that opens up salvation. And, you know, there is a false doctrine out there in a lot of churches, and unfortunately it's starting to creep into the independent Baptist as well, the teaching of Calvinism. Right? Calvinism, limited atonement, the idea that Christ only died for some and did not die for others. That before the creation of the whole world, God already decided who He was going to save and who He was not going to save. It's not your choice according to this doctrine. Right? This is a doctrine of Calvinism, limited atonement, but one of the things they also teach is a concept called irresistible grace. Irresistible grace. And what does it say here about God's grace? For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men. Now this verse alone destroys the teaching of irresistible grace. You say, what is this irresistible grace? The idea there, obviously they want to honor the grace of God, but then they attach this title, irresistible. Now listen, if something is irresistible to you, what's going to happen? You're going to give in. Right? I mean, if someone offers you some ice cream, right, and you might be on a diet, but that ice cream just might be irresistible. You know, you're just going to cave in and, you know, just destroy that diet. You're just going to go in and eat that ice cream. Right? It'll be irresistible to you. And so the idea, the teaching out there, that God's grace is so irresistible, He's already chosen who's going to be saved, that those that are going to be saved, once they receive the grace of God, they're going to have no choice but to receive it. That's the idea. Okay? It's irresistible. And so, but here's the problem with that, is because they believe in limited atonement, they can only believe that irresistible grace has appeared to some men. In fact, very few men, because it's very few that are saved. Okay? And so this verse immediately, when you see, no, it's God's grace that brings salvation, it's appeared to all men. And brethren, this was written in the, you know, the first century. You know, Titus, this is written in the first century. In the first century, the gospel had gone out to all men. Okay? We can read about that. The disciples went out the day of Pentecost. They came with the gift of tongues. They were able to speak in other languages, preach the gospel in other languages, so people of the other nations could hear the Word of God. But if that's true for the first century, then as we continue to look forward to the Blessed Hope, this needs to be true to us today, in 2020, that we will take the grace of God and we will take it to all men. Okay? Soul winning. Door-to-door preaching the gospel. Making an effort to get out there and win a soul. And praise God for the souls that have been won by this Church. You know, if Blessed Hope Baptist Church does not exist, all those salvations, those people may never have heard, you know, the Gospel of Christ. And God used you as a vehicle to get out there, preach the gospel and see souls saved. Praise God that God was able to use you. Okay? But we need to keep going, 2020, to get out there to this community and see souls saved. And I know it's tough. I know you can go weeks when you're not seeing people saved. You can even go months. And you might even hear the good news of others getting people saved. And you might say, what about me? But it will happen, right? You get out there, I'm telling you, you knock a hundred doors, you'll get one salvation. But it might take a hundred doors to get there. You know, don't give up on door 99 because it could very well be the next door. And so what we take out of this brethren, as we look forward to the Blessed Hope, the Bible says that all believers will be gathered together with Christ. And brethren, those souls that received Christ with your preaching, they're also going to experience the Blessed Hope. They're also going to be there at the rapture. You're also going to, they're also going to be caught up in the clouds with you. You know, when we spend eternity with them in heaven, they're going to be thankful for this church. They're going to be thankful for you, that you show them the grace of God, that brings salvation unto all men. And so, you know, God's grace can be resisted brethren. I'll just quickly read to you from Acts 7 51, this is Stephen preaching and he says, ye stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost. As your fathers did, so do ye. Can people resist the Holy Ghost? Yes, it's not irresistible grace, okay. Now here's the thing brethren, your job is to just preach the gospel, okay, and the person at the door, they can either receive it or they can resist it, right, they can reject it. Brethren, don't beat yourself up about it. Compel them to come in, as Jesus Christ said, you know, pressure them a little, not pressure them, well, you know, compel them, convince them, encourage them, right, to believe on Christ, but if they say to you, I'm not interested, this is not for me, you know, just move on to the next door brethren, next door, okay. They are resisting God's grace at that point, they're bringing salvation, but it could very well just be a seed planted. It may be a seed watered and in due time that seed might come into fruition. So, you know, don't give up on the work you're doing. Verse 11 starts off with what we should be doing, focused on, is bringing salvation, the gospel of Christ to the entire world, and brethren look, I know that not all of you get out there door to the soul winning, okay, I know there are different reasons for that, but what I want you to think about, you've got, this is, this is the second day of the New Year, 2020, you still have three hundred and sixty, three, four, three, three days left, all right, three hundred and sixty three days to see out this year, and if you, you know, you don't need to tell me, but maybe you've not seen a soul saved last year, maybe, you know, you've not gone out, maybe you've not spent the time, now here's the thing, you don't have to go out door to door, I'm sure you have unsaved family members, I'm sure you have unsaved friends, unsaved colleague, you know, colleagues that you work with, or just people in your community that you come across with, you know, why don't you make 2020 the year that you say, Lord, this is the year that I'm going to get one person saved, just one person, that's where you start, Reverend, you start with one, right, and let me tell you something, when you see one person call upon the name of the Lord for salvation, you're going to get hooked, all right, and you'll be like, well maybe two this year, Lord, all right, but ask the Lord to open the doors for you, so, you know, give you the opportunity where you can be with your friends in peace, you know, without distractions, that you can give them the gospel of the Lord, so point number one, brethren, as we look forward to the blessed hope of Christ, is that we ought to share the grace of God to all men, keep your finger there in Titus, and please go to 2 Peter for me, 2 Peter chapter 3, 2 Peter chapter 3 and verse number 4, and this is speaking of the latter times when people are denying the Word of God, when they're denying the promises of God, it says here in verse number 4, 2 Peter chapter 3 verse 4, and saying, this is what the ungodly, the lost are saying, where is the promise of his coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation, and brethren, here's the other thing that the world is saying, they're saying, where is the promise of his coming? And when they find out that blessed hope Baptist Church is here, you know what you're saying to the world, he's still coming, the promise is still true, and they're gonna ask you the question, where is he? They're gonna ask you, right? Drop down to verse number 9, let's just keep the context, dropping down to verse number 9, it says here, the Lord is not slack concerning his promise, listen, the Lord is coming back as some men count slackness, but is long-suffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. The Lord is not willing that any should perish. So those that are saying, hey where's the Lord's coming? They mock the Word of God. You know what the Lord is doing? He's given them time. He doesn't want anyone to perish. He's given blessed hope Baptist Church more opportunities to get out there and give the gospel to the lost. He's given your unsaved family members and your unsaved friends more opportunities, giving you more time for you to give them the gospel so they can call upon Jesus Christ and be saved by grace through faith. So brethren, as you're looking forward to the Lord's return, don't forget why you're still here, okay? To preach the gospel. It is not just the pastor's job. It is not just a preacher's job. It is not just a missionary or evangelist's job. It is the job of each one of us, okay? And again, I'm not saying, I'm not having to go, well, am I rebuking you? Well maybe, right? Maybe I'm rebuking you, but here's, I understand, you know, you can't all get out there, but you do have the opportunities with your friends and your family. Take those opportunities. Ask God to open the doors that you can give him the gospel. You may very well be surprised that how many will actually listen to what you have to say and believe what you have to say. Can you please go to 2 Timothy chapter 1 now. 2 Timothy chapter 1. 2 Timothy chapter 1. Just stay in Titus though, because we will come back to Titus. 2 Timothy chapter 1 verse 8. Again, this is another pastoral epistle. 2 Timothy chapter 1 verse 8, and it reads here, Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord. So brethren, what is one reason we don't preach the gospel? It's because we become ashamed. It's embarrassing, right? It can be embarrassing. I remember as a teenager, I just wanted to tell my friends about Jesus Christ. I wanted to tell people about his sacrifice, and when I would have the opportunity, I just, I couldn't open my mouth, right? Why ashamed, embarrassed? What would people think of me? Okay, and this is something that's realistic, but it says here in verse number 8, Be not therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord. Then it says this, Nor of me his prisoner, but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God. Brethren, here's a truth, an inconvenient truth, if you will. If you get out there and you preach the Word of God, it says here that you're going to be a partaker of the afflictions, okay, of Christ, and the afflictions that Paul has also experienced himself. Brethren, you're going to be unpopular when you preach the gospel. You might even lose your friends, okay? People will probably mock you. People will laugh at you at the door, right? They'll laugh at you, and you could be easily offended, but remember, when people mock you, when they persecute you, when they laugh at you, when they scorn at you, you are being a participator. You're participating in the sufferings of Jesus Christ. It's something you are called to do. Let's keep going there. Verse number 9, Who have saved us and called us with unholy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began. Verse 10, But is now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who have abolished death and have brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. The gospel is what gives us light. The gospel is that we need to preach to be light bearers in this dark world, brethren, okay? Be a preacher of the gospel. Be someone that says, Lord, I want to see one soul saved in 2020, and maybe more. Praise God if he gives you many more, but let me tell you, brethren, you get one soul saved, you will want to see another person saved, guaranteed, okay? When you see that person receive Christ, believe on Christ, call upon his name. Now you know that soul is no longer destined to hell, but to heaven, and will be caught up together with you in the clouds at the rapture, the blessed hope to come. Back to Titus, please. Titus chapter 2. Titus chapter 2 verse 12. Let's keep reading. What else are we called to do? Not just get saved, not just get people saved, okay? The way you live your life matters to the Lord. Verse number 12, teaching us that. What's he teaching us? Denying ungodliness and worldly lusts. We should live soberly, righteously and godly in this present world. Point number two, brethren, point number two is to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts. Ungodliness and worldly lusts. Keep your finger there. Go to Psalm 1, please. Psalm 1 speaks a lot about the ungodly, okay? We're to deny this. You know what it's saying? It's saying if you live your life in accordance to your will, you're going to turn out ungodly. This is something you need to deny in your life. The worldly lusts. This tells me that each one of us have the capacity to be full of lust and to be worldly, to be ungodly, okay? No, that's not the life that we ought to live. Now that you're saved, now that you have the Holy Ghost indwelling the believer, you know, he's given you the power of his resurrection, of his might, he's given you the Word of God, he's given you Blessed Hope Baptist Church, right? He's given you the Holy Spirit to guide and direct your life. Well now that you have those things, now that you have Christ, now it's time to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts. Psalm 1, 1, it's a great, we'll read the whole Psalm. It says here, blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. What's it saying here, brethren? If you're going to deny ungodliness, you know what that means? It means you can't spend time with your ungodly friends, right? The counsel of the ungodly, the people that you have around you that are haters of God, that don't want anything to do with the Bible, who don't want to live righteously, that's the ungodly. And brethren, look, I've got ungodly friends, I've got people that I know that are ungodly, you've got people that you know that are ungodly, you may even be yoked up with people that are ungodly, but God has called you away from ungodliness. I say, what do you want me to do? Are you telling me to stay away from my friends? If you have to, if you have to, brethren, because here's the thing, the more you hang around people, the more you spend time with people that are ungodly, you're going to be tempted to live as they do. It's just going to happen. We're made of the same flesh and blood, we have the same weaknesses, the things they seek, the lust that they seek after, they're also in your hearts. And if you're taking in the counsel of the ungodly, it's going to affect the way you live. This is why church is so important, because it's about coming to a place where you're not having to deal with the ungodly lust of this world. And that's what the problem with a lot of churches these days, they're making it look like the world, right? The churches, they're bringing in the ungodliness, they're bringing in the worldliness. No, you know, Blessed Hope Baptist Church is a place of refuge away from this ungodly world, okay? Away from the lust of this world. And brethren, be careful about the friends that you make, but here's the truth of the matter, the more righteous who you live, the more godly you live, the more you live after the ways of God, those ungodly friends, they're going to leave you, okay? They're not going to like the way you live and they're going to want to distance themselves from you, okay? Now here's the thing, I don't go out of my way to, you know, break friendships, you know, of people that I know, colleagues, I don't go out of my way of doing this, you know, I treat them, you know, the way that Christ would expect me to treat them, you know? The truth is, the more you live righteously, the more they're just going to want, man, this guy's weird, right? This guy's like Christ, this guy's a peculiar person, but we're called to deny ungodliness and worldliness. Let's keep reading there in Psalm 1 verse 2. If you want to be someone that prospers in 2020, you want to be like this tree that is given the water so it can grow and that it can be fruitful, then brethren, you need to deny ungodliness and worldly life. So let's keep reading. Verse number 4. What's a chaff? Do you know what that is? If you've seen wheat, you know, when it grows, you can get the wheat and you can sort of rub it and the shell around the kernel will blow away. It's very flimsy and it'll just blow away with the wind. That's the chaff. The Bible says the ungodly is like that chaff that just blows away. They're unstable. They're unstable. They're not grounded. And when you live ungodly, you're going to be unstable in your life. You're not going to be grounded in the Word of God. Let's keep going. Verse number 5. See, they cannot stand strong. Your way of the ungodly shall perish. Brethren, you've got to be careful with the way you live your life. Is it ungodly? Now, when it says here perish, of course, once you're saved, you're always saved. Praise God. Jesus, who died on the cross, paid for your past sins, your present sins, your future sins, all your sins have been paid for. You can have the full assurance that you will go to heaven, not because of your works, but because of Jesus Christ. Praise God. But if you were to live ungodly, you can perish in this earth. You can struggle in this earth. You can destroy your life in this earth. I'm not talking about hell. I'm just talking about in this earth, right? The consequences of sin can fall upon you and hurt your life, hurt the ones you love, have an effect on your children. So we need to make sure we live, sorry, we deny ungodliness. Now, what about worldly lust? What a worldly lust. Please go to 1 John chapter 2. 1 John chapter 2 verse 15. 1 John chapter 2 verse 15. 1 John chapter 2 verse 15. Now, when I started to get serious for the Lord in my life, you know, I had a lot of Hollywood movies that I liked. You know, some ungodly musicians that I would listen to. You know, I had books and comic books, right? And things that were just, did not bring any glory to the Lord, right? And I would read this passage of scripture in 1 John 2.15 and it was very hard to read these words, right? But this is, you know, we're commanded to deny the worldly lust in 1 John chapter 2 verse 15. It says, Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. Brethren, do you love the things of this world? You know, are you entertained by Hollywood and, you know, are you taking those magazines, the ladies, you know, sometimes take those magazines off the shelf and read about celebrities and the, you know, all the gossip and, you know. What are those magazines? I forget what they're called now. Come on, who's the sinner that reads those magazines? What are those magazines called? I can't remember right now. Huh? New idea? Yeah? Cosmo, I don't know. You know, there's a lot of stuff that's in this world to distract you, right? To make you think about fantasy, untruths, you know, to shove the LGBT, you know, things into your mind. You know, there's so many things that are worldly. I mean, the lyrics of the songs are so unrighteous. You know, they're not about having a marriage. It's not about having, you know, marrying one woman and loving her till death do us part. You know, those songs are constantly about dating, constantly about breaking up and finding a new, you know, a new boyfriend, a new girlfriend. You know, you listen to these things, you read the ungodly books, the ungodly magazines, you watch those ungodly movies. They're going to have an effect on you. And brethren, you're going to love the things of this world when you, you know, when you set those as your priority in life, you know. And I would strongly encourage you, brethren, in 2020, make a decision. Go home, look at your DVD cabinet, look at your music collection. What do you have? Are they the things of the world or are they things that give glory to God? The Bible says here, don't love the things of this world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. What is that saying? The love that you give to these worldly things, that is not the love of the Father. The Father's love does not love the things of this world. The Father's love loves the things of Christ, loves the things of God, you know, loves you as a sinner that was saved by grace. Verse number 16. For all that is in the world, look at this, the lust, from the worldly lust, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof, but he that doeth the will of God abideth forever. Listen, brethren, it's very tempting in the world, very tempting to live worldly, to have the lust of this world, to be entertained by this world. It's very tempting. But what does it say there at verse number 17? And the world passeth away. Hey, these things are temporary. They're going to be, they're here right now, they'll be gone tomorrow, brethren. And when we're, you know, in eternity with Christ, when we're in the new heavens and new earth, those things that entertained us in this world was the chaff that was blown away by the wind. It wasn't worth it, brethren. All the attention, the money that we throw at the things of this ungodly world, the lust of this world is just going to go away. Brethren, we're not here to live for temporary things. We're here to live for eternity. We're here to have the mind of eternity. One of the greatest things, one of the things that, you know, changed my life as a Christian is when I realized the temporary things don't matter. You know, the things of this earth, it doesn't matter. It's what matters is eternity. What matters is the things that I take to heaven. What can I take to heaven? I can take my soul. What else can I take to heaven? I can take the souls of my children, right? My family, my friends, that's all I can take to heaven with me, brethren. You know, once you take my body, you put it in the casket, it's buried six feet under, not even the casket's going to be in heaven, right? No matter how beautiful the casket is, no matter what people throw into the casket, you know, if you throw some money in there, I don't know. It's not going to make it to heaven. You know, those things aren't going to matter. What's going to matter is eternity and the things we do for the Lord. You know, the Lord has great rewards for us in heaven. He wants us to live godly so He can lay up those treasures for us. That's where I need to lay up my treasures. Why do I care for worldly things? Well, I need a job to provide for my family. I need a job to contribute to the church, right? We do these things in order for us to then be able to do things for the Lord, right? You know, it's important for us to have work. It's important for us to get busy in this world, but do it with the mind of Christ. Do it to serve Christ, your employer. Make your employer Jesus Christ. Wives, submit yourselves to your husbands the way you would submit to Jesus Christ. Husbands, love your wives the way that Christ loved the church. Everything you do ought to be for the glory of God, and we're going to look at that later on. But what else did we see in Titus chapter 2? If you can go back to Titus chapter 2, it said, teaching us that, in verse number 12, teaching us that denying ungodliness and worldly lust, what should we do then if we're denying these things, we're trying to live more righteously, what are we meant to do? Deny those things and then we should live soberly, righteously and godly in this present world. You know what He's saying? He says you don't have to wait for heaven. You don't have to wait for eternity. In this present world, this ungodly world, this is the time to live righteously, to live soberly. This is the time to live for God. 2020 is the year for you to live righteously and godly for the Lord. And the first thought there was that we should live soberly. What does it mean to be sober? To be sober-minded. To be sober is to be temperate. We use the term these days to be cool, calm and collected. You're not flying off the handle. When you think of sober, people think of drunkenness as well. They think of alcohol and of course these are things, these are the vices that we should put away. Alcohol, drugs, these things will cause you to not be sober-minded. And we're called to be sober in control of our emotions. But there are a lot of things in this world that can cause us to not be sober. It's usually things that are addictive to people. And you know what's very addictive in this day and age? Facebook, YouTube, your mobile phones. I mean you only have to make laws now, right? If anyone is caught holding a phone as they drive, what is it? Do they lose like triple the points now or something? I don't know what it is, right? There's some new laws that have been brought forward, right? Because what are the police finding? Instead of someone just driving their car, they can't help but check Facebook as they're driving. This is not sober-minded, right? You're driving a vehicle, you can kill yourself, you can kill someone else. And I've got to check, that is not being sober-minded. Sober-minded is being serious about the situation that you're in. Being in control of your emotions, control of your situation. And listen brethren, is there ever a time to get angry and to get upset, to get frustrated? Yes, but do it soberly, okay? Don't fly off the handle and lose control. When you lose control of your emotions, you're not being sober. What else are we caught to do? To live righteously, to live righteously. If you guys can keep your finger there, go to Psalm 12 for me. Psalm 12, Psalm 12. And while you're turning to Psalm 12, I'm going to read to you from Galatians 5. Galatians 5, 16. We're talking about living righteously. Galatians 5, 16 says, Brethren, how is it that you live righteously? You have to walk in the Spirit. You have to fill your mind with the Lord. You need to go to the Lord in prayer. You need to open the Word of God, the Bible. Read God's Word. You need to come to church. You need to pray to the Lord. You need to confess your sins to the Lord. You need to do that which the Lord has asked you to do. Fill your mind with the things of God. Take your hymn book. Sing the hymns at home if you have to, brethren. Fill your mind with godly things. Walk in the Spirit. And it says, Verse 17. Do the things that you would. You know, brethren, you know what this is saying to me? There are things that you want to do for the Lord right now. I'm sure right now you just say, Lord, I do want to win a soul this year. But you know what's going to hold you back? The flesh. Okay? Lord, I do want to read my Bible cover to cover for the first time if you haven't already. You know what's going to stop you? The flesh. You say, Lord, I want to come to every service of church. I know you want to do that, right? But what's going to stop you? The flesh. These things are contrary one to another. And understand, you know, until the blessed hope, until you have this body, this mortal body replaced by the immortal body, you know, when this corrupt body is replaced by the incorruptible body, this is a battery you're going to have until the blessed hope. This is a battery you're going to have until the resurrection. But understand, the way you overcome the flesh is by walking in the Spirit. Okay? By walking in the Spirit. We're called to live righteously. Now, you're in Psalm 12. We're also called to live godly. Now, think about that. What does it mean to be godly? You know, godly comes from the word God. We ought to be God-like. Right? I'm not saying we are God. Of course not. That would be blasphemy. But we're also called to be Christ-like. You know, Jesus came to this earth and He gave us an example we're commanded to walk after His steps, to live like Christ. We ought to reflect Christ in our life as we mature in the Lord. Look at Psalm 12, verse 1. We're talking about being godly. It says here, Help, Lord! What's the call for help? For the godly man ceaseth. You know what that means? The Psalmist is saying, Lord, help! There's less and less godly men in this earth. He's saying, help us, Lord. We need more godly men. And brethren, men in this church, you ought to be a godly man. This is a prayer to God. Help us. Give us godly men. And what I want for Blessed Hope Baptist Church is that this church be full of godly men. This church be full of godly women, full of godly children. That's the goal, brethren, as we seek the blessed hope. Let's keep going. The godly man ceaseth for the faithful fail from among the children of men. You know what they're saying? The faithful, those that were godly, they're failing, Lord. Even those that, you know, I used to look up to. Even those that set a good example. Even those that, you know, are the pastors of the churches. Even they're failing you, God. Help! And brethren, in 2020, this is what's happening, right? The pastors I once looked up to, they're failing. The pastors that once stood on the King James Bible, they're going to other versions. The pastors that once preached the importance of knocking doors and preaching the gospel. They're saying, well, we don't need to do that anymore. You know, the godly man ceaseth, brethren. Are you going to stand up and be the godly man then? Are you going to be the answer to prayer? That's what you're commanded to be. This prayer came long before you came on this earth. But it applies to you. It applies to you and me. Verse number two. Psalm 12, verse two. They speak vanity, every one with his neighbour. With flattering lips and with a double heart do they speak. And so we see, we live in a society now where people are waxing worse. Not just this world, but Christians. Churches that once stood strongly for the Lord, they're becoming double tongued. Okay? I don't want to be a pastor of a church of double tongued people. I don't want to be a pastor that lives a double life. I'm pretending to be righteous at church and then I live a world. That's not what I want. That's not what I want. And I don't want that in your life, brethren. As we look to the blessed hope to come, we are commanded to live righteously. To live godly in this present world. Let me just check the time. I might just fast forward here. Well, if you can go to John chapter 17. Let's go there. John chapter 17, verse 14. John 17, verse 14. This is another prayer that came from Jesus Christ. You know, this is a prayer the Son of God is praying to the Father here. And He says here in verse 14, John 17, 14. Speaking about you and I, brethren. Praying about you and I. Yes, praying for the disciples in His day. But today, that's us, right? Verse number 14. He says, I have given them Thy word. What has Jesus given us, brethren? Our Bibles. Our word. Listen, you've got your Bibles in your hands. You've got them maybe on your bedside table. You've got them at home. If you haven't got a Bible, buy one please. Go and buy one. Or you can get a free app on your phone if you want. Get a Bible. It says here, Jesus has given us His word. The Bible you hold in your hands. The words of God. Guess who put that in your hands? Jesus. Jesus has given it to you. Why? It says here, and the world has hated them. Why? Because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. Verse 15. I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world. So Jesus says, look, I don't want you to take them out of this world. Even though they're not of this world. And brethren, if you're saved, you're a child of God, you know what that makes you? Not of this world. But does Jesus warn you out of this world now? No. I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world. But that thou shouldest keep them from the evil. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. You know, one realization you need to come to, brethren, if you haven't come to already, you're not of this world. You're of the kingdom to come. You're of the kingdom of God. You're a fellow citizen of the saints, of the Israel of God. You know, you're of heavenly Jerusalem. That's the world. You're part of the kingdom of God. The kingdom of God that will come in a physical, invisible way at the blessed hope, the coming of Christ. You're not of this world. You know, you're not of this world. And if you can go back to Titus chapter 2, please. Titus chapter 2. And that can be hard to accept that you're not part of this world. When you were of this world, for many years before you were saved, and then when you were saved, you became a child of Christ, a child of God, you know. And now you're no longer of this world. Okay? Verse number 13. As we read, looking for that blessed hope. Titus 2.13. Looking for that blessed hope and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior, Jesus Christ. So, brethren, it's very simple. The Christian life is not complicated. What are the three key things we saw there? Get salvation out to this world. Preach the gospel, number one. Number two. Deny ungodliness. Deny worldliness. Overcome the sins in your life, the wickedness in your life. And number three. Live righteously. Live soberly. Live godly. Right? Live for the Lord. And realize you are not of this world. But the final thing that I want to bring to your attention. Point number four. Because what I don't want you to do is think that you can do this, all these things, even though it's simple, it's very difficult. It's challenging to live righteously. It's challenging to overcome this flesh. And you're not going to be able to do it in your own strength. If you try to do this in your own strength, you're going to fail. If you try to do it in your own strength, you're going to give up. And this is why we have verse 14, to round it up here. Verse 14. And point number four. And I kind of brought this up earlier in the sermon. Do all things to the glory of God. All things to the glory of God. Verse 14. Who gave himself for us that he might redeem us from all iniquity. Let's stop there for a minute. Who redeems us from all iniquity? Jesus Christ, our Lord God. The strength has to come from Christ and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works. What are you called to be? A peculiar people. Different to this world. Zealous of good works. God has called us to do good works. Not good works for salvation. We know that works that plays no part in salvation. But now that you're saved, a child of God, living righteously, overcoming worldliness, you are called to do the good works that God has left us to do. But notice, it comes from the power of God. Remember verse 14. Who gave himself for us that he might redeem us from all iniquity. So we need to overcome that. Of course, he's forgiven us our sins. All our iniquity was crucified on the cross with Christ. But we still have our walk to do. We still are struggling in this sinful flesh. And we need the power of God. We need the strength of God. This is why you need to be walking in the Spirit. By the Spirit of God. The power of God that gives you the ability to walk in a new man. So you can crucify that old man in your daily life. It is God who gives us the ability to live for him. Now if you guys can go to Colossians chapter 3. We're almost done now. We're almost done with the sermon. Go to Colossians 3 verse 17. You don't need to stay in Titus now. Go to Colossians chapter 3 verse 17. And as you turn there, I'm going to read to you from Philippians 4, 13. Now brethren, I don't know if you have sins that you... I'm sure you do. I'm sure you have sins that you struggle with every day of your life. There are certain things that are just constantly there. Certain sins that you just are struggling to have victory over. And I know you're struggling with it because I struggle with certain sins as well. We all struggle with certain sins. But it says here in Philippians 4, 13. Where do you need to get your strength from brethren? From Christ. You can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. You guys are in Colossians 3. Colossians 3 verse 17. The Bible says, What does it say in here brethren? Anything you say, right? Whatever you do in word, whatever you say or in deed, whatever it is that you do with your hands, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus. You know how you're going to overcome this world, the worldliness and the lust of this world. Whatever you do, you say, I'm doing it for Jesus, right? You go, should I watch that? Should I go watch that horror movie at the Hollywood? You know, you go there, maybe you bought the tickets already, and then you say, well, I'm going to do this for the glory of Jesus. Oh, hold on. How does this glorify Jesus? This doesn't glorify Jesus. Then what you do, you rip up those movie tickets, you chuck it in the bin, and you go and live for Christ. Okay? You set Christ. Everything you say, you do ought to be honoring to Christ. Anything you do, anything you're entertained by, ask yourself the question, does this give glory to Jesus? Does it give glory to God? And you'll find there are a lot of things you still do today that just do not line up with what God wants in your life. And brethren, you know what? You're never going to be perfect. You're not going to be perfect till the blessed hope, till the resurrection. But we ought to strive to live that way. We're already called to live like that for the Lord Jesus Christ. And just one last verse here in 1 Corinthians 10, 31. Whether therefore ye eat or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God. See, it's not just the big things, guys. It says, whatever, therefore ye eat or drink. You know, just drinking a cup of water, just eating a meal, do it for the glory of God. This is why before you participate of food, you know, give thanks to God for His provisions. Give thanks to God for what He's giving you in life. You know, the things that you have in life that make your life easy, give glory to God. Give thanks to God for the washing machine, right? For the dish washing machine. All the convenience, whatever it is that you have that makes your life more convenient, that makes your life more comfortable, give glory to God for those things, even the small things, brethren. That's where you start. You start with the small things. Give glory to God in your drink, in your meat, in the things you eat, and build from there. And you find yourself eventually just always constantly thinking, does this please God? Does this not please God? And that will help you to walk righteously for Him. So, brethren, looking for that blessed hope. Christ will come back. He's promised us He will do that. But until He does, let's live righteously, let's live godly for Him in the strength that God has given us, okay? Let's pray. .