Grace Baptist Santa Clarita: Service Podcast

In Part 2, we finish our look at financial generosity as a means of magnifying the glory of our generous God by looking at the last three reasons for using our financial resources to further the mission of Christ through the church to the world. Taken together, these six reasons remind us that the benefit in giving really belongs to the giver. God does not need our money; His work is not dependent upon the gifts of men for He is sovereign and no one can thwart His plans. We give because we desperately want to obey Him, to worship Him, to grow in dependence upon Him, to imitate Him in His mercy, to tell others about Him, and to discipline our hearts not to run away from Him.

The Bible is very clear that God has a standard for the disciplined and honorable management of every area of our lives. Certainly, this includes the area of our finances. The righteous use and management of our money speaks volumes about our self-control, our faith, and our commitment to the Kingdom of God. Over the next two weeks we look at honoring God and the mission of the church with our money, our time, and our abilities.

Our understanding of God’s great redeeming love for us must raise in us a sincere love for him in return. And it is out of this love that we shape our lives to “magnify” his glory. But where do we start? Peter tells us in no uncertain terms that the family of God – you and me! – are to be most conspicuous in this broken, sin-intoxicated world, by being “for” God in every area of our lives. The obvious consequence will be a growing distaste for the selfishness of sin. Being “for” God is what Peter calls holiness, and it is this holy preference for what God loves that forms the foundation for all the other things we will do to “magnify the glory of God.”

Every other means by which we can “magnify the glory of God” flows out of our heart of love for God. In response to his great love for us, our hearts leap at the opportunity to love God with all that we are … with heart, soul, mind and strength. In other words, the fountain from which every stream of obedience flows is a sincere and knowledgeable love for all God truly is, flowing from every part of who we are.

True love for God is the primary way we “magnify his glory.” But Scripture is clear: our love for God is our response to a proper understanding and experience of his great love for us. We love because he first loved us (1 John 4:19)! As we explore how we are to magnify the glory of God, we begin with an examination of God’s great love for us, demonstrated in the amazing plan of redemption.

Over the next three months, we will be exploring what it means and looks like to “magnify the glory of God.” But first we must come to grips with what the “glory” of God really is. Moses actually asked to see God’s glory, and in God’s response we learn precisely what we need to know: God’s glory is the sum of his nature, character, and person. And when we live in light of who he is, reflecting as best we can his character through our obedience, it is then we can say we are “magnifying the glory of God.”

As each year ends, it is helpful to consider what really matters in our lives as Christ-followers. Over time, it is easy to become distracted with good things and become so busy in working for Christ that we fail to delight in him. Through the simple story of Martha and Mary, we call ourselves back to our identity in Christ and the priority this puts on our lives.

During this wonderful Christmas season we have sung many beautiful carols and heard the promise of “peace on earth.” But as we look around us, peace is hard to find. This morning we take time to reorient ourselves regarding the person, place, and privilege of being at peace with our God through the Savior whose birth we joyfully celebrate together.

So much of our Christmas celebration revolves around the exchange of Christmas gifts. Why is this? Is our gifting modeled after God’s great gift to us or the gifts of the Magi? Today we look at exchanging Christmas presents through the lens of God’s great generosity, seen in the gift of Jesus the Savior of the World.

Jesus called his followers to be “salt and light” in this world. But what does that look like during the Christmas season? Is it possible, given the secularism and commercialism of the holiday, to use it to shine the light of truth? Or should the church stay as far as possible from this “pagan-based” holiday? Today we consider whether or not it is right and possible to “redeem” Christmas as a means of shining the light of Jesus in a dark world.

Have you ever wondered why Christmas has so many special songs and carols associated with it? This weekend we look to the Bible’s songbook – Psalms – and find the reasons God intends his people to sing together, and in so doing, unite their hearts around the joy, praise, awe, and commitment true worship brings out in those who truly love God

Have you ever wondered why lights are such a huge part of Christmas? We put lights on our Christmas trees and houses. Some even put them on their cars and boats, while others wear sweaters with flashing lights of all colors. Why all the lights? This weekend we celebrate the “light of the world” … Jesus, whose birth has always been seen as the fulfillment of God’s promise to bring the light of life into our broken, sin-darkened world.

Paul’s short letter to Pastor Titus comes to an abrupt close, but not before the Apostle emphasizes the epistle’s theme one last time. We can boil it all down to one simple phrase: To follow Christ is to be a gospel-grounded person engaged in good deeds.

As Paul has been instructing Titus on living out the Gospel ethic, he offers another reminder in chapter 3: “Be ready for every good work.” However, Paul will not give this instruction without also exposing that which empowers us to do it – the Gospel.

Paul’s letter to Titus is wonderfully redundant. He consistently hammers away at one central theme: Christians … your lives matter as evidence that the gospel of Jesus is true and transformational! Nothing has changed! Today it remains our privilege to live conspicuously holy, joyful, and self-controlled lives that adorn rather than tarnish the reputation of the Master whose message we carry.

Paul was clear in his instructions to Titus. The Christ-followers on the island of Crete were to use their very lives as shining advertisements for the transforming power of the Gospel. Every level of society could adorn the message of Jesus, even those whose lives were not their own. As bondservants, some of the believers may have considered that their position left them little opportunity to show off the new life they had been given in Christ. But Paul counters that notion. All who are under authority can demonstrate the transforming beauty of the gospel through the way they respond and go about their duties with joy. After all, they are actually serving their Master in heaven and shining his glory through their work.

Paul reminds Titus that God holds those who lead the church to a higher standard. His own life and teaching are to be exemplary even as he attempts to lead and teach others. In every respect, leadership is “leading with your life.”

Last week we examined Paul’s call for the seasoned believer in Crete to be something; to be exemplary models of Christlikeness. This week we are going to examine his call for those same believers to do something; to invest their lives in the next generation specifically for the purpose of Gospel maturation. Through these verses, we gain a beautiful picture of how believers within the local church can become God’s vehicle for creating growing disciples of Jesus Christ.

In many churches, there is an uneasy relationship between generations. They look at each other with skepticism. At a church our size, the temptation is just to segregate ourselves into our own age group. And for any one of us – young or old – we can easily slip into surrounding ourselves with those who are just like us. But in God’s paradigm, he has given older saints to the church to bring their wisdom and experience to benefit those who are younger. For this to happen, though, older saints are called to BE something – to stand as models of worship and faithfulness.

As Paul finishes addressing what qualifies an overseer to serve the body of Christ, he now turns to address how the overseer must protect the body of Christ from false teachers. Titus was to raise up elders who would stand with him to protect the church against the wayward teachings of the circumcision party. False teaching has always been a danger for the people of God.