Titus 2:11-14 For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus; who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds.
	As we continue in Titus, we come to a wonderful declaration of the fact that we are God’s People, His possession on this earth. This is through the tremendous and complete work of Our Lord Jesus Christ. As we read in scripture, this has ever been the heart of God, to have a people unto Himself, in Whom He can open His full heart of Love and Grace and Mercy and Glory. In this reality, let us spend a few moments, this morning, considering the fact of what it means to be called by His name, His chosen people on this earth. 
	This is not new teaching. It is, however, very valuable to consider and to contemplate and to deliberate upon the work of God, no matter how familiar we may believe it to be. Nothing that the hand of God accomplishes is too trivial or too basic in which to give Him glory. His work is awesome and we should always be filled with wonder leading to the praise and adoration of His majesty. 
	As well, there is purpose in the heart of God that we need to regard and to value as we look at what He has done. Nothing is consummated without the very nature and being of God manifest in His work. As His people, we are to be attuned to that which is at the heart of His pleasure in us, His creation. As we read in 1 Peter 2:9+10, But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God's own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; for you once were not a people, but now you are the people of God; you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. 
	First of all, we are considered to be God’s Treasured Possession. We belong to Him by virtue of the redemptive work of His Son, Jesus Christ. This was in type in the Old Testament, through the Children of Israel, and now in fullness in Jesus Christ. Ex 19:5+6a 'Now then, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be My own possession among all the peoples, for all the earth is Mine; and you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation… Notice that He calls us His own possession among all the peoples. This is important because there is nothing that is created that does not belong to God. All the earth and all that it contains is God’s to do with as He so deems best and proper, according to His Heart’s desire. And, in the very desire of His heart, He chose from among all the people of the earth, us who are saved by the death and resurrection of His Beloved Son. You and me.
	We are chosen by God, by no merit in ourselves than that which He sees in us in Christ. Chosen by God, as we read in Deut 14:2, For you are a holy people to the Lord your God; and the Lord has chosen you to be a people for His own possession out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth. He personally chose us unto Himself because that was His good pleasure. By His Grace we are saved through no worthiness of our own. Apart from His Grace and Mercy, we would be as the rest of the nations, lost and hopeless in our sin and trespass. God, Alone, knows the reason that we should be the recipient of His oh so great love, simply because He chose to so Love us unto Himself. 
	In that undeserved and freely given love of God, He has made us exalted above all nations. Deut 26:18+19 And the Lord has today declared you to be His people, a treasured possession, as He promised you, and that you should keep all His commandments; and that He shall set you high above all nations which He has made, for praise, fame, and honor; and that you shall be a consecrated people to the Lord your God, as He has spoken." We are a consecrated people in the eyes of God, consecrated through the cross of Christ and raised up with Him into glory. That reality of exaltation is not set in us, by any measure, but by virtue of our now being the very Body of Jesus Christ, His redeemed church.
	In this truth, we have a very great portion given to us by the Lord, Himself. As we are promised in 1 Sam 12:22 For the Lord will not abandon His people on account of His great name, because the Lord has been pleased to make you a people for Himself. He will keep us unto Himself since He is the One Who has made us for His very purposes. There is security and rest and peace and joy in the loving hands of the Lord God Almighty. Ps 29:11 The Lord will give strength to His people; The Lord will bless His people with peace. There is blessing and strength and endurance and comfort in the knowledge that we are His possession, His own people Whom He has chosen unto Himself.
	Not only are we His, chosen by His Omniscience, covered by His Omnipotence, and living in His Omnipresence, but we are guided and directed by His Hand. He works and He manifests Himself unto and into us daily, moment by moment. We are not just chosen by Him, but He chooses to live in us, bringing us into a living relationship in which we are manifestly blessed by His eternal presence. He is always with us, guiding us as His beloved flock. Ps 78:52+53 But He led forth His own people like sheep, And guided them in the wilderness like a flock; And He led them safely, so that they did not fear; But the sea engulfed their enemies. And in Ps 100:3, Know that the Lord Himself is God; It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; We are His people and the sheep of His pasture. He cares for us and watches over us and works mightily on our behalf and in us for His purposes. There is a plan that is being carried out, as I alluded to earlier. There is a reason behind all that God is doing that fully includes our bringing glory to His name as His people.
	We are being prepared for a unique service of honor, a preparation as recounted in Luke 1:17 "And it is he who will go as a forerunner before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers back to the children, and the disobedient to the attitude of the righteous; so as to make ready a people prepared for the Lord." His handiwork includes all that is necessary in order for His divine intent to be manifested throughout creation. As we read in Acts 15:14-18, this was foretold from of old. "Simeon has related how God first concerned Himself about taking from among the Gentiles a people for His name. "And with this the words of the Prophets agree, just as it is written, 'After these things I will return, And I will rebuild the tabernacle of David which has fallen, And I will rebuild its ruins, And I will restore it,  In order that the rest of mankind may seek the Lord, And all the Gentiles who are called by My name,' Says the Lord, who makes these things known from of old. 
	This then brings us back to this morning’s text Titus 2:14 who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds. As His purified people, we are to be characterized by a holy zeal unto Him. This is the zeal after the Lord which was glimpsed in certain of the character traits of those men of both the Old and the New Testaments. It is zeal after the Holiness of God. 
We see it in Jehu, as recorded in 2 Kings 10:15-17. Now when he had departed from there, he met Jehonadab the son of Rechab coming to meet him; and he greeted him and said to him, "Is your heart right, as my heart is with your heart?" And Jehonadab answered, "It is." Jehu said, "If it is, give me your hand." And he gave him his hand, and he took him up to him into the chariot. And he said, "Come with me and see my zeal for the Lord." So he made him ride in his chariot. And when he came to Samaria, he killed all who remained to Ahab in Samaria, until he had destroyed him, according to the word of the Lord, which He spoke to Elijah. There was a holy zeal to accomplish all that the Lord had commanded, down to the last man.
	Nehemiah characterized this zeal, and instilled it in the Children of Israel as they worked to repair the walls of the City of David. Neh 4:21-23 So we carried on the work with half of them holding spears from dawn until the stars appeared. At that time I also said to the people, "Let each man with his servant spend the night within Jerusalem so that they may be a guard for us by night and a laborer by day." So neither I, my brothers, my servants, nor the men of the guard who followed me, none of us removed our clothes, each took his weapon even to the water. They were constantly prepared to fight for the sake of the Lord’s inheritance in the city of Jerusalem. They were continuously on guard in their hearts in preparation to do battle at an instant’s notice.
	In a different vein, but with a similar heart after the testimony of the Lord, we read of the zeal of the Psalmist in Ps 119:138-140. Thou hast commanded Thy testimonies in righteousness And exceeding faithfulness.  My zeal has consumed me, Because my adversaries have forgotten Thy words. Thy word is very pure, Therefore Thy servant loves it. This is the zeal that we should have after the Word of God. It matters not whether others approve of it or ridicules it; we zealously hold it reverently in our hearts and minds and dwell on it in such fervor that it consumes us. We value the Word of God as our single source of sustenance on this earth and relish our time of dwelling upon it and savor its goodness and its truth. 
	As well, we have a heart of zeal after the testimony of the people of God as characterized the Prophet Isaiah. Isa 62:1 For Zion's sake I will not keep silent, And for Jerusalem's sake I will not keep quiet, Until her righteousness goes forth like brightness, And her salvation like a torch that is burning. There is no way that we can be silent when the testimony of the Lord is at stake. We will do all that the Lord requires of us in order to shout from the roof tops the gloriousness of our God and Lord. When there is a threat, when there is a conflict, when there is a belittling and a besmirching, we stand at the fore-front of the conflict with our hearts open before God to do all that He requires for the sake of His Name and His Honor and His Glory. The church proclaims, with trumpet blasts and shouts of triumph the Name of God, the Glory of Jesus Christ, the majesty of Our King and Savior. We are His heralds announcing to all the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. We must value that service in honor to God Almighty. We do not proclaim our position, we proclaim Him, Alone, in all His Holiness and His Glory.
	Listen to the obedience as demonstrated in the zeal of the man whom Jesus had delivered from the demons. Luke 8:38+39 But the man from whom the demons had gone out was begging Him that he might accompany Him; but He sent him away, saying, "Return to your house and describe what great things God has done for you." And he went away, proclaiming throughout the whole city what great things Jesus had done for him. While he wanted to remain with Jesus, he was rather sent home to describe the glory of God that was revealed in the power of the work of Jesus Christ. While desiring to remain, the man did as he was instructed, and not, at all, in a sullen and moping fashion as some might show when not allowed to do what we want. He went proclaiming through the entire city, not just his home, the glory of Jesus Christ. His zeal was such that he did what Jesus told him to do and he did it with all his heart.
	As well, we have the report of the zeal of Apollos, as recounted in Acts 18:24-28. Now a certain Jew named Apollos, an Alexandrian by birth, an eloquent man, came to Ephesus; and he was mighty in the Scriptures. This man had been instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in spirit, he was speaking and teaching accurately the things concerning Jesus, being acquainted only with the baptism of John; and he began to speak out boldly in the synagogue. But when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately. And when he wanted to go across to Achaia, the brethren encouraged him and wrote to the disciples to welcome him; and when he had arrived, he helped greatly those who had believed through grace; for he powerfully refuted the Jews in public, demonstrating by the Scriptures that Jesus was the Christ. 
Please notice something very wonderful about Apollos’ zeal for Christ. We are told that he was very mighty in the scriptures and that he accurately taught concerning the Lord Jesus Christ. But, when Priscilla and Aquila took him under their tutelage to more accurately explain the way of God, he was willing to learn. He didn’t think that he knew it all,5 but rather accepted their instruction with the same zeal and taught accordingly. He was not too proud to be taught an even greater measure of the truth of God. His zeal was after the increasing depths of Jesus Christ, as should be the zeal of all the people of God.
	In closing, we are given the picture of the church, the Body of Christ that fulfills the heart of God’s plan and purpose in His Love. It is the accurate description of what will be true as He writes His Law upon our hearts. For that to have its full effect, we must be absolutely cognizant of His call upon us, choosing us out from among the nations for His own purpose and pleasure. Our zeal unto Him must be of such tremendous value in our hearts, that we will not accept anything less than the perfection of Jesus Christ being worked livingly as the very fabric of our beings. 
Rev 21:1-7 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, "Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He shall dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself shall be among them, and He shall wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there shall no longer be any death; there shall no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away." And He who sits on the throne said, "Behold, I am making all things new." And He said, "Write, for these words are faithful and true." And He said to me, "It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give to the one who thirsts from the spring of the water of life without cost. "He who overcomes shall inherit these things, and I will be his God and he will be My son. So be it!
For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus; who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds. Amen.

This morning’s benediction is Ps 89:14-18 Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Thy throne; Lovingkindness and truth go before Thee. How blessed are the people who know the joyful sound! O Lord, they walk in the light of Thy countenance. In Thy name they rejoice all the day, And by Thy righteousness they are exalted. For Thou art the glory of their strength, And by Thy favor our horn is exalted. For our shield belongs to the Lord, And our king to the Holy One of Israel. Amen.