Titus 3:1-8

1. Outline 3 4 12
2. Outline 3 4 1 Esv
3. Outline 3 4 13

WHAT DOES GOD THINK OF ME?

We have a home in Heaven, John 14:1-3. We have a perfect place reserved for us in His presence, 1 Pet. We have the hope that we are headed to a city where there will be no more death, parting or sorrow, Rev. We are a privileged people! We have the best here and hereafter! What a God we serve! 1 Peter 3:4 Biblia Paralela 1 Peter 3:4 Chinese Bible 1 Peter 3:4 French Bible 1 Peter 3:4 German Bible Alphabetical: a and be beauty but gentle God God's great heart hidden imperishable in inner Instead is it let of person precious quality quiet self should sight spirit that the unfading which with worth your NT Letters: 1 Peter 3:4 But in the.

Intro:Let me ask you aquestion: Do you ever wonder what people think about you?Do you even care?To some extent, most of us do care what othersthink of us.Now, let me ask you anotherquestion: Has anyone ever told you what they think about you?When they do, you are often sorry theydid.There have been times, when aperson told me just what they thought of me, and I was glad they did.There have been other times when folks haveshared their thoughts about me and I was not pleased at all.That is one reason I do not ask people whatthey think of me.I am afraid they willtell me!

Today,I want to look at this matter from a spiritual perspective.If you were to ask Satan what he thinksabout you, he would probably say, “You are a failure!”If you asked society what they thinkof you, they might say, “You are a fool!”If you asked self, that is, your ownheart, self might say, “You are a fake!”Have you ever heard these things?Many have and on a daily basis!

But,does it really matter what Satan, society and self think about you and me?No!All that really matters, in the end, is what God thinks about us.Have you ever wondered just what God thinksabout you?Is it possible to know whatGod thinks about us?Do we really wantto know what He thinks about us?Well,this passage clearly reveals exactly what God thinks about us.

Paulis writing to Titus, a young Pastor on the island of Crete.In chapter two he wrote about how believersshould behave in the church.In thischapter, he talks about how believers should behave in society.Paul calls on Titus to “put them in mind” aboutcertain things.He wants the saints toremember who they are in Jesus; what they have in Jesus; what God has done in themthrough Jesus; and what God expects of them as believers in Jesus.

Inthese verses, Paul answers the question I posed a few moments ago: WhatDoes God Think Of Me? In this passage designed for instruction, we canfind a word of encouragement.Some ofyou may be discouraged as you wonder how God sees you.Well, if you are saved, you are about to findout.If you are not, then you are goingto learn how God would see you if you came to Jesus.Let’s look in to these verses together as weaddress the question: What Does God Think Of Me?

I.v. 3-6GOD THINKS YOU ARE PRECIOUS

(Ill. Satan says, “God doesn’t care about you at all.”God says something completely different.These verses teach us that God loves us morethan we can possibly understand.)

A.v. 3 The Extent Of His Love– Verse 3 paints a vivid picture ofwhat the believer was before he or she met Jesus.

·Foolish– Ignorant of everything to do with God.

·Disobedient – Rebellious toward any authority instituted by God.

·Deceived– Continually led deeper and deeper into sin by Satan.

·Serving divers lusts and pleasures – A slave to our fleshly appetites andpassions.

·Living in malice – Given over to a lifestyle of evil.

·Envy –Never satisfied with what we have, but always grasping for more.

·Hateful –This is the natural fruit of all the above.This kind of life makes us mean-spirited and hard to get alongwith.

·Hating one another – Walking without love for our fellow man.

This is what we were, and what some inthis room still are.It is a terriblecondition to be in, yet that is what the Bible says time and time again, Eph. 2:1-3; 1 Cor. 6:9-10. Even in thatcondition, God still loved us: Jer. 31:3.He could have written us off and justallowed us go to Hell, but He loved us and did something about it!

B.v. 4, 6b The Evidence Of HisLove – This verses says “after that”.In other words, “in spite of what we were and are,God chose to display His love for us.”How did He do that?The answer isin verse 6.It says “through Jesus Christ”.God gave evidence of His love for fallen manby sending His Son into the world to die for our sins, Ill. Rom. 5:6-8; John 3:16; 1 John 4:9-10.

Ifyou need evidence that you are precious to the Lord, then look no farther than Calvary!You don’tneed a feeling, just look to the cross!Lookaway to Jesus as He dies on the cross for your sins, 2 Cor. 5:21, and know that you are special to the Lord.He loved you and that is the reason for theawful death of Jesus Christ.The crosssays, “I love you!You are special toMe!”

C.v. 5-6aThe Energy Of His Love – What did this wonderful love of Goddo for us? Part of the answer is found in the word “but” in verse 4.God knew what we were.He saw us with all our sins and our baggage,yet He still chose to “butt” into our lives and save us byHis grace.Ill. The “but” in Eph. 2:4 and the “but” in Luke 15:22, the prodigal deservedjudgment, but received mercy!

Lookat all His love and grace did for us in verse5.

·Heextended His grace and mercy to us when we deserved nothing but Hell.

·Hesaved us from the penalty of our sins (saved).

·Hecleansed us from the defilements of our sins (washing).He made a new creature out of us (regeneration).

·And,He placed His Spirit within us to lead us deeper in Him day by day (renewing).

God did all of this with no help fromus!Our works, our religion, our effortscannot save us, they only compound the problem!

God’slove for us was not the love of a secret admirer.No!Heloved us so much that He went to work to see us saved.Satan will tell you that God doesn’t love youall; the evidence says something quiet different!The evidence says that you are precious inHis eyes!

(Ill. God sees us exactly as we really are,but He loves us anyway!)

I.God Thinks You Are Precious

II.v. 7aGOD THINKS YOU ARE PERFECT

(Ill. Again, the enemies of the believer,Satan and the flesh will tell you that you are dirty, wicked and that you haveno hope at all.Folks, the devil is aliar, John 8:44; and you can’tbelieve a word your own heart tells you, Jer.17:9!Verse 7 tells you what God thinks about your standing.He says that He has “justified” you by Hisgrace.)

A.A Definition – Whatdoes it mean to be “justified”?Justifiedcomes from a word that means, “to render righteous or such as he ought tobe.” It is a word that speaks of God declaring the saved person to bein a perfect and right standing before God. That is saying a lot!

B.A Description – Beingjustified is far different from being forgiven.Some people think that justification is just the forgiveness of oursins.Justification is far more powerfulthan that!When there is forgivenessthere is also the remembrance of the wrong committed.A man might be convicted of murder and beforgiven by the victim’s family; but everyone still knows what that murdererdid.

Onthe other hand, a person who had been justified has been totally acquitted andexonerated of all charges.There isabsolutely no record of any wrongdoing.When we are justified by God, all record of our sin is forever banishedfrom the memory of the Lord.It is as ifwe had never or will never sin! (Ill.Jer. 31:34; Heb. 8:12; Heb. 10:16-17)The bottom line is this: the law has noclaims against a justified person.Thelaw of God is satisfied, there is no case against the redeemed ones! There areno charges against the child of God.

C.A Defense – Some mighthear this and say, “Well, that is an excuse to sin.If the Lord doesn’t remember and He has already declared me righteous,then I can do as I please with no consequences.”If you think that then you are dead wrong andway off base!You can be saved and stillsin.When you do, your sin will notaffect your relationship with God.Onceyou are saved by grace and justified by God, that condition can never bealtered.However, when you as a believersin, you can expect two things to happen.

·First,you can be sure that you will reap what you sow, Gal. 6:7-8.

·Second,you can be sure that God will bring His chastisement into your life, Heb. 12:6-12.

Youmight be saved and forgiven as far as Heaven and eternity is concerned; butthere will are earthly consequences for our sinful actions. Low living carriesa very high price.Just ask Samson!

(Ill. Not only does the Lord see us as wereally are; He also sees us as He has made us by His grace.)

I.God Thinks You Are Precious

II.God Thinks You Are Perfect

III.v. 7bGOD THINKS YOU ARE PRIVILEGED

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(Ill. Satan comes by and tells the believerthat serving God is waste of time.Thatit just doesn’t pay off to live right, go to church, pray and read theBible.Well, as you might imagine, Godsees things just a little differently.He tells us in verse 7 thatwe are a privileged people.)

A.Privileged Because Of OurEarthly Hope – I realize that as Christians, we are all living for whatis coming after this life.That is whenwe expect to receive our inheritance.Why?Well, an inheritance isusually given after the death of the one who owns the inheritance.The One Who promised us an inheritance hasalready died and risen from the dead.Iam looking forward to Heaven, but I am a partaker of the inheritance of theLord today, Rom. 8:15-17.

Heavenwill be wonderful, but I’ve got it good today!

·TheLord is always with me, Heb. 13:5; Matt.28:20.

·TheLord has promised to meet all my needs, Phil.4:19; Matt. 6:25-34.

·Hecares about all that I face in life, Heb.4:15.He listens to me when I pray, Heb. 4:16.

·Itseems that the Lord is doing His best to spoil me, Luke 12:32!

·Youcan take it anyway you please, but if you are saved, you are a privilegedperson right now!

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B.Privileged Because Of OurEternal Hope – Not only are we privileged because of all we have here;we are also privileged because of all that we have waiting on us when we leavehere.We have a home in Heaven, John 14:1-3. We have a perfect placereserved for us in His presence, 1 Pet.1:3-5.We have the hope that we areheaded to a city where there will be no more death, parting or sorrow, Rev. 21:4.We are a privileged people!We have the best here and hereafter!What a God we serve!

(Ill. He sees us like we are, yet He lovesus.He sees us as He has made us.And, He sees us as we will be someday. Ill. “madeheirs” – All that we have; all that we are, and all that we will become,is because of His amazing grace!“Knowye that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves;we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture,” Psalm 100:3.

Weare a precious people.Hesaved us by His grace, apart from any works at all; He has made us a perfectpeople.He blesses us in marvelous waysand promises us a home in Heaven some day; we are a privileged people.)

I.God Thinks You Are Precious

II.God Thinks You Are Perfect

III.God Thinks You Are Privileged

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IV.v. 1-2, 8 GOD THINKS YOU ARE PROFITABLE

(Ill. Satan, or the flesh, often says, “Godcan’t use you!You will amount tonothing as a Christian.Look at thethings you do.Look at how you live.You are a failure.”You ever hear that?Well, the truth is a different matteraltogether.These verses remind us thatGod saved us for a purpose and part of that purpose is so that He can use usfor His glory!)

A.v. 1He Can Use Your Walk – Paul is telling these folks to walkin a disciplined manner.They are toobey the laws of the land and submit to the people who are in authority overthem.He is telling them that theirsimple walk of faith is proof that they are different from the world aroundthem.

Justthe way you carry yourself day by day is a powerful witness to the world aroundyou.As you live for the Lord anddemonstrate His love and grace, you are allowing Him to live through you andGod uses that to touch hearts.Adisciplined, holy life is a power tool in the hand of the Lord, Matt. 5:16.

Youmight not think that bowing your head over your lunch is a lot, but God can useit.You might not think that readingyour Bible at break time is much, but God can use that too.You might not think about it but just showingup on time and doing a days work for a days pay is a powerful testimony toGod’s saving grace in your life.

B.v. 2He Can Use Your Witness – Paul tells these people that theway they treat others is a testimony in the hands of God.They are told to avoid fighting and gossipingand just treat people with gentleness and meekness.He is merely telling them to have thetestimony that they are different.

Theway in which we conduct ourselves around others, and the way we treat others,is as powerful a witness as any we give with our lips.Someone has said, “What you do speaks so loud that Icannot hear what you are saying.”That is true!When we live rightand treat others as Jesus would treat them, Luke 6:31, it is a powerful witness and God can use it for Hisglory.Of course, when we don’t treatothers right, it is a powerful witness too!

C.v. 8 He Can Use Your Works – When you set your heart to go afterGod the result will be good works.Youwill soon discover that God did not save just to keep you out of Hell; He savedyou to put you to work for Him, Eph.2:10; 2 Cor. 9:8; Col.1:10; James 2:18.You might notthink that He can use you, but He can.

IfHe can use a murderer named Moses; a blasphemer named Saul of Tarsus; an adulterer named David;a rebelnamed Jonah; or a loudmouth like Simon Peter, then Hecan use you.If you will do whatHe tells, your life will be a life of immense profit for the Kingdom of God!

Satanmight tell you it isn’t true; your flesh might try to stand in your way; butGod saved you knowing what you were and what you were capable of becoming byHis power. He saved you to use you and He will use you because He sees what Hecan do through you for His glory.

Conc:So, what does God think ofyou?He thinks you are Precious;Perfect;Privilegedand Profitable.That’s how He sees you.What do you need to do in your life to line upwith His vision of you?Has He shown youthat there is room for improvement in your walk with Him and your work forHim?If so, get to Him and deal withthat today.

Thethings I have mentioned today are only true if you are saved.What does God think of you if you are notsaved?He thinks you are introuble.He thinks you are living adangerous life.He looks at you withlove and knows that there is a way out.There is hope for you if you will come to Jesus and be saved.If you will, He will think all the wonderfulthings I have shared today, and more.Isn’t that what you want too?