[0:00] Before we get to Titus, the song that was sung speaks about Jesus ascending up into heaven. And he's speaking to his disciples and that we will meet again with him. And all believers, we should be waiting for that day.
[0:12] An emphasis in Titus is that we wait for the hope that he will return. And we look forward to that day. But Jesus ascends into heaven in the book of Acts. The gospel goes forth. And God is saving people, Jewish people and Gentile.
[0:26] And wonderful works are happening. And God is for, and the church is growing and going forth. And opposition comes. And then people step up and they're selfless servants. But one of the stories in Acts chapter number 2, Peter, who had denied Christ and went to the tomb and saw that it was empty.
[0:43] And saw that he would get another chance to see his Savior. He gets to preach on that day. And one of the people, groups of people that were at Pentecost that heard the message were people from an island called Crete.
[0:56] And that's in Acts chapter 2, verse 10. Cretes and Arabians. And they heard, and many different groups of people heard. So they go and they return home. And if you remember in world history, there's a country that looks like a boot.
[1:09] All right? And that country is what? Greece, right? Is that what you said? All right? I don't think it is. One of us is wrong, but let's move forward. All right? And there's a country shaped like a boot.
[1:20] And then just below it, what is it? Italy? No, it's Greece. All right. I've been here before. And when I was last time, you were right and I was wrong. All right? I will yield world geography to you.
[1:32] All right? There's a boot that looks like Italy, as I was saying. And no, there's Italy that looks like a boot. All right? That's the right way. And underneath it is an island, a pretty large-sized island, and it's Crete.
[1:45] And that's where people went back to that had come to Christ at Pentecost. But Paul and Titus also go there. And Paul, which is his M.O., he preaches. People get saved and things are happening.
[1:56] But he leaves. And for this purpose, Titus, I'm going to leave you. For this cause, verse 5, he is going to leave Titus there to establish the work. So we move from the Gospels through the book of Acts.
[2:07] And then we get into the epistles where what we're doing today comes and it's formed. We're seeing churches established. As a church, we should spend a lot of time in the epistles learning. Certainly as a pastor, I should spend a lot of time knowing the book of Titus and seeing what's going on and praying, Father, what was happening in the epistles we want to be happening today inside of our church.
[2:29] And I mentioned to you, if I guess today, we're going through the book of Titus. And so the topic today is going to speak about ordaining elders and pastors inside of church. And I'm going to give the four different labels that are used for a pastor.
[2:39] I'm going to talk about the qualifications. But I'm also going to say that this ought to be true of all of us as believers. But as we go through the book, different topics come. But I will say that I love this topic.
[2:50] And I'm very glad that it comes up. I absolutely love the opportunity to be the pastor of this church. I absolutely love the opportunity to be your pastor.
[3:01] I mean that to all of you, all right? I'm not looking in any direction, okay? Especially Ms. Gita, though, all right? And I love being a pastor. When I was 16 years old, I was at a camp. Speaker was sharing God's Word.
[3:14] And I called up my basketball coach. And I said, Coach, I want to be involved somehow in serving and ministry. And I named all these different ministries, evangelism, sports, and all that. And I remember I was at a pay phone.
[3:27] Most of you know. You've seen it in movies, all right, if you don't know. I was at a pay phone. And I told him that. And he paused and he said, Trent, I think that's great. I'm excited. But I am confident that one day you will pastor.
[3:41] And that's what God's been shaping you for as long as I've known you. And I remember that day. And I think about it today. And I love it. I absolutely love getting to be pastor here at the church.
[3:52] And so before I get into all of this, I just want to say what I would want to say. And so it doesn't distract me as I just want to say thank you. Thank you for the opportunity to be your pastor and the pastor here.
[4:04] I believe it's what God has made me to do. And with every breath I have, I want to do it to his honor and to his glory. All right. Let's jump from here to the country of Guam.
[4:14] It's a different island. So in the country of Guam in January 1972, which was 28 years after U.S. forces had regained control of the island, which happened in 1944, there was a man who had not yet surrendered.
[4:31] He had not heard that the war was over. And for 28 years, him and some of his friends had been living in a cave. And he was one of the last ones left. And in 28 years, he did not realize that the war was over him.
[4:44] And he was living in a cave, a Japanese man living in a cave there in Guam. I didn't have a chance to ask James of Yashita. But I'm told that there's an expression in Japan that comes from what this man said, which is this.
[4:56] It was with much embarrassment that I return. As he said as he returned back to Japan. And that became a quickly a popular saying, which is it is with much embarrassment that I return.
[5:08] Because even though the war was over, he lived for 28 years as if the war wasn't over, living there in a cave. Well, Titus is not going to return with any embarrassment. He has a large task set in front of him.
[5:21] It's a spiritual battle. We've looked at twice, two sermons now, verses 1 through 4. The encouragement that would have been brought to Titus from Paul, his mentor, one who led him, the Christ we would believe, who told him, hey, I know you're in a place that rewards lying, but you serve a God who does not lie.
[5:39] I know that there's a lot of things going on. But in these four verses, it's just so filled with truth about it being absolute. One size fits all. That it can be accessible to us from God.
[5:50] And it also can be communicated to other people through the preaching of it. And it's just a celebration that we live our lives, not on sinking sand, but upon a rock. And he was in a culture that was drifting, and Paul, in just four verses through the Holy Spirit, brings great encouragement to him.
[6:06] And then in verse 5, he's going to give him this big assignment to go and establish leadership in all these churches that are being started. And then you would think he'd be like, okay, that's going to take you a lifetime there with these Cretans, which they believe to be the birthplace of many false gods.
[6:22] They believe that it was the birthplace of Zeus. And Zeus was somebody that was known for being trickery and lying. There's a great book called Peace Child, Missionaries of New Guinea. And they tell the gospel story, and everybody claps for Judas instead of Jesus, because there was a culture that celebrated lying and deception more than it did truth.
[6:43] That would be the country of Crete. That was the people. So there he is, surrounded by all this that's going on. And Paul ends this letter with saying this to Titus. In chapter 3, verse 12 and 13, Titus 3, 12 and 13, it says, When I shall send Artemis unto thee, or Tychicus, be diligent to come unto me to Nicopolis.
[7:05] He is telling him, hey, when you get done doing this assignment, establishing leadership in all these churches, and setting things in order, I already have your next assignment. I want you to come to Nicopolis with me and bring Zenos with you and bring Apollos on your journey, which is the people that it appears have brought this letter to Titus here.
[7:26] And so it's amazing to me. So Titus will do the job, and then we will find that he will go on, and he'll return the poem. And then when the New Testament ends, Titus is headed to an area called Dalmatia.
[7:38] And how many of you are picturing an island with a bunch of cute little dogs? Completely wrong. All right? I looked it up. But Dalmatia, that is now the place of modern-day Croatia. And so he will move on, helping churches establish godly leadership that will fight the godless culture that they are in.
[7:57] If you're just getting on board with this in Titus, so the third sermon, I'll give you some reminders about Titus. Titus was caught up in the book of Galatians. He was Greek, and his father was Greek.
[8:07] And so when he was brought in, Paul showed Titus as an example that God was saving the Gentile people. And Titus wasn't circumcised, but Timothy was, because Paul there was saying, he does not have to become Jewish.
[8:22] He does not have to receive the Jewish culture to put his faith in Jesus Christ. That this culture and salvation are separate. And so Titus is at the center of that. We saw that Peter and Paul, they get into a discussion face-to-face that is quite heated.
[8:36] Titus would have been there for it. Then he get on to some big responsibilities. Paul's going to write a letter into the Corinthians, and he says that it's strong letters. It's strong words that he is going to use.
[8:48] And who does he send it with? He sends it to Titus, and he takes it to them, and he hands it over to them, and then runs away. No, he doesn't, all right? He's there for them, and they respond. And he comes back, and he says, Holy Spirit worked among these people.
[9:01] They're responding in an appropriate way, and they rejoice. Titus gets to be there for them. Another time, the Corinthian church had made some commitments that they were going to help out with some poverty, but they weren't giving what they committed.
[9:12] So Titus has to go to them again and says, Hey, remember those promises you made? Well, we need that to make a difference. And so there he was. And that's 2 Corinthians 12, verse 18.
[9:22] It says, I desire Titus with him. I sent a brother. Did Titus make gain of you? Walked we not in the same spirit? Walked we not in the same steps? So when Titus was sent back to them, Paul is saying here, You know that you can trust Titus.
[9:38] You can send the offering with him. He is not doing this for personal gain. He is not a man of filthy lucrum. And Titus said he was not a novice. He had experienced a lot of things in his life.
[9:49] He had been in tough situations. God had been using him mightily. His ministry was growing. He was faithful with little. Every town, every place that he went.
[10:00] And now there's Bible preaching in these churches that he is going to. He's going to set and order. He's going to ordain pastors in every city. He's going to give his life to this work.
[10:12] This is said about Timothy, but I expect that it would be said of Titus as well. In Philippians chapter 2, verse 19 through 20. This is said of Timothy, but he says, But I trust the Lord Jesus to send Timotheus shortly unto you, that I also may be of good comfort when I know your state.
[10:30] For I have no man like-minded who will naturally care for your state. That's expression there. Who will naturally care for your state.
[10:41] What a great accommodation or thing said about Titus is that he is a person. Paul says, If I can't be there among you, I'm going to send somebody that cares about you on the same level in which I would care for you.
[10:57] It's said about Timothy, and we believe that would be said about Titus as well. So here's Titus, and he is addressing a leadership vacuum in the churches here in Crete. That's verse 5.
[11:07] For this cause left I thee in Crete, Paul speaking, that thou should have said in order the things that are wanting, and ordained elders in every city as I appointed thee. And so here, as I said, he's fighting a godless culture by establishing godly leadership among the churches.
[11:23] And there's this vacuum of leadership. Because of a godless culture, there have been a breakdown in the homes, as you would expect. We've experienced it in our nation. You see it throughout history.
[11:34] When God, when there's no fear of the Lord, there's going to be evil. And so there's no wisdom. And so this is a place that's rejecting the wisdom of the Lord. They're accepting the wisdom of the world and the spirit of this world.
[11:46] And because of that, there would be a breakdown in the home. And every young man in every culture asks this question, what does it mean to be a man around here? Every young man wants to know that.
[11:58] What does it take to be considered a man around here? And in Crete, the answer that we're given were not godly answers. And here is Titus saying that if we're going to fight a godless culture, it's going to start in the house of God.
[12:13] And there must be godly leadership among us here. This is where I ask you to not check out. As I asked Greg to be in here today, as this makes application to him, as he would know and memorize these lists of things, this is for every one of us in here.
[12:28] In Acts chapter number 6 and verse number 3, you may remember that story. The apostles there, the work that they're doing, the church has grown, and the care of the widows and the care of the tables had grown so much that they had need of other people that would do the administration of caring for the widows and the tables, and more than just serving the tables, but giving oversight to that area of ministry.
[12:53] And what did they say? You know, we need volunteers in the church. If you have two thumbs, you're accepted for the job, right? Or they said, if you make eye contact with me when I make announcements, you have the job, all right?
[13:05] That's not what happened. You would think that's what would happen. They were like, we just need somebody. We're just getting food from point A to point B. Why won't anybody just work? And this is what was said in Acts 6.3.
[13:15] It said, wherefore, brethren, look out among you seven men of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business.
[13:26] Look out among you. That is the statement, that we should be able to look out among us and find people that are living full of the Holy Ghost.
[13:37] The church would not know these things about these men if the men had not been actively serving among them. Find seven men. And they said, oh, we can find seven men. I expect they were able to find more than seven men because the Word of God that was being taught and read and studied was producing these things inside of them.
[13:54] And the qualification for the men who were going to serve tables show us that the work of the Lord should be done by godly people. When a kid in that day or in this day looks up at a table to see who was taking care of the widows or he looks up at a pulpit to hear a sermon, he should see a godly example.
[14:15] And that was Titus' job to establish that in the churches because there would be no fighting the drift of a culture if there was no godly leadership inside of the church.
[14:26] So you'll notice the first line of defense against a godless culture is that we need godly men and women leading in our homes and among our churches. And so there's a great need in our nation for godly leadership as well.
[14:40] We're not on the Isle of Crete, but you know in America that nearly, even though there's 3,000 churches a year that they say Bible preaching gospel churches, there are 4,500 churches that close.
[14:53] That's a difference of 1,500. I don't know geography, but I know simple math, all right? That's a difference of 1,500 churches that close. The church that as a young boy at the age of nine heard the gospel preached and fell under conviction and got saved on a Sunday night in 1992, I can't go back to that church.
[15:11] It no longer exists. And that breaks my heart on a personal level because that city, that town, that community, they need a church and they needed that church, but it's no longer there.
[15:23] There's a great need for church revitalization. Almost every month I receive a call from some church asking for help. And I pray that we never become a church. If you've ever heard the expression of the TV show, hoarders, you know, where people just collect.
[15:39] Do we have any hoarders in here? Nobody will admit it. All right? Does anybody live with a hoarder? Keep your hand down. All right, I want to recommend it. Hoarders is this idea that you just collect and collect and you never make use of the things that you have.
[15:50] May we never be an addition of church addition of hoarders where there's just a closet full of people. If the pastor can't preach, we have 10 deep that can. And there's so much work that needs to be done.
[16:02] And in the application today, I'm going to give one of those areas. And so it's discouraging to know that this many churches close, but it's also discouraging to know that more will close around the world.
[16:14] And that's here in America where you're more likely to find a church than about any other country and all of the world. Many places in the world do not have that option. Most of the world does not have option where Graham and Olivia will move to after their short furlough.
[16:29] They'll go to a place where very few people would have a church with accessible to them. We like to say in America, if a church is alive, it's worth the drive. Well, most of the world doesn't drive.
[16:41] And so that's not an option. If a church alive would make it so that a people would be able to have a church in their community. Churches should be accessible. They should be actively reaching the lost and they should hold us accountable.
[16:54] We help one another in the process of sanctification and the work of the ministry. I've shared with you dozens of times how at 18 years of age in the Republic of Georgia, my very first trip out of the country, I was heartbroken over a man who didn't have a Bible.
[17:10] And I went back to the car to give him a Bible. I got separated from him. I get back to the church we were at. And I said, I have to get this man a Bible. We have to do something. And that national pastor there explained to me that in his community, they were starting a church.
[17:24] And when a church was started, the man would be able to get a Bible and he would get Bible lessons. And all the things that I was concerned about that man were going to be met because a church was going to be started there and that God would meet his needs through it.
[17:38] And it was in that day that I thought, that is wonderful. That if the gospel is going to go spread around the world, it's going to be done by him building his stations to go forward in the church. So verse 5, here's Titus.
[17:49] He's told there to stay on Crete. Paul's leaving. He's leaving him on Crete. And he's going to set things in order, things that need to be addressed. The organization, the Christian church was unfinished due to the short stay that Paul would have.
[18:01] People have been saved from Pentecost. And then Paul and Titus being there, now he's going to leave. And so he has a job. This week I read a prayer letter from a friend of mine that I grew up with in Kentucky who's now in Malawi.
[18:13] And he said this in his prayer letter, Helping churches to resist false gospels and grow towards health is a long, slow work that requires patience. It's not a work accomplished through grand or easy solutions.
[18:26] Yet despite what often feels like a lack of banner headlines, I think it's the most important work in the world today. Not only are unhealthy churches damaging to the believers gathered in them, they also hinder the spread of the true gospel to the unreached peoples in the world.
[18:41] But the lives we're investing in, the young men who are growing to their understanding of sound doctrine, are the tools in the hands of the Lord to accomplish his work for his glory. It was hard work, but it's necessary work.
[18:54] And that's what Titus was involved in. So he's told to ordain elders. And then later on in verse number seven, it says, for a bishop must be blameless. So we have four different labels that are going to be used here.
[19:06] If you think about a jar, as an example I was seeing, it could be labeled and you want to know what the jar is labeled. You also want to know what's inside of it. So we're going to look at what are the labels here given to these elders and also what are the qualifications inside of that jar of who they are.
[19:21] So first of all, it says an elder. And then later on it says a bishop. He didn't change subjects, but two different labels are being used for the same office and for the same purpose, but it's emphasizing different aspects.
[19:34] An elder, a mature believer that could provide counseling and help and could walk with people. An overseer is a bishop, somebody that oversees the ministries inside of the church.
[19:47] Ephesians 4, 11 and 12 talks about God giving gifted people to the church. It says some pastors and teachers. This word pastors is used alongside the word elders and it's the word for a shepherd.
[20:00] Occasionally you'll find all three of these labels given in one passage. I'll show one of them to you. First Peter chapter 5 verses 1 and 2. It's going to start off speaking about elders.
[20:11] And it says the elders which are among you I exhort who are also an elder and witness of the sufferings of Christ and as a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed. So speaking the elders, then he says feed the flock of God which is what is pastoring.
[20:26] That is shepherding, shepherding the work that is given. Which is among you taking oversight thereof. And that's the word in which we use for bishop. Not by constraint but willingly.
[20:39] Not for filthy lucre but of ready mind. Those descriptions there. The same we'd find in 1 Timothy 3. The same we'd find in Titus chapter number 1. Right there in that description. Elder, bishop, pastor.
[20:51] And then a fourth one here which would be found in our expression here in verse number 7. Which is for a bishop must be blameless as the steward of God.
[21:03] The steward. Ownership belongs to God and stewardship belongs to us. This is his church. This isn't my church. This isn't your church. I say it the same way that I would encourage you to if something is going on.
[21:16] At my church they are going to see people baptized tonight. I would say that and you would say that. But we all know this is his church and it belongs to him. And so we have a stewardship that is given to us.
[21:29] And there's many times that I serve and it may go unnoticed. But that's okay because it's unto the Lord. This belongs to him. He is the rightful owner. But there's also times that you're not cared for in the way that you need.
[21:43] And I'll answer to the Lord for that as well. And he will be gracious because my work is unto the Lord. I have a stewardship and I don't have ownership. Elder, bishop, pastor, and steward.
[21:57] I prefer pastor especially in public. Please don't call me a bishop. I wouldn't be received very well. All right. But these are words here that are used synonymously here for people in the leadership that Titus is going to establish in these churches.
[22:10] There are saved people, remember, and among those saved people there's already people that are meeting these qualifications that are there. Because no leadership track does this.
[22:22] The Word of God does that. When people are sitting and they're waiting. I don't know what it looked like in Crete. But when he showed up and they're at a house. They were under a tree. Wherever they were at. And he's going to establish leadership.
[22:33] And he says, we're looking for people with these qualifications. Look out among you. They find that there are people among them that meet it. Because the Word of God does that in our lives.
[22:46] And so the role that those people would have, those elders would have in the area of discipleship and appointing. They should be involved in it. The local church is designed for a place of discipleship. Titus is the first thing that you need to do.
[22:57] You need to promote godliness in the churches. You want people to grow in grace. You want to see people mature. You want to see people discipled. Set things in order. Set up godly example. This coming week we will order more foundations books.
[23:11] That's a great resource that we use in discipleship. It doesn't encapsulate all that we do in discipleship. But God has blessed it. This should be a place that people can find someone that will disciple them.
[23:23] There's many people looking and wanting to know God. And they should be able to go to a church and find people that will say, Any one of us in here ought to be able to say, I don't have to take you to somebody. You ought to be able to say, let me show you what the word of God says about the doctrines of God.
[23:40] An example. Be ye blameless. That speaks about the example that they would set. And then we get to what kind of example. And one that would, an example for his children. Husband and wife having faithful children are not accused of riot or unruly.
[23:53] It says it even more strong in 1 Timothy 3, 4 and 5. It says, One that ruleth his house well in his own house, having his children in subjection with all gravity. For if a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God?
[24:07] What a strong statement. He rules well his own house. An example given in the way that we raise our children. An example in our marriages.
[24:18] Having children, the husband of one wife. He should be a one woman man. There should be no doubt that I am fully committed to my wife.
[24:32] And this has not just about status, but this has to do about affection. It's not enough that I'm only married to one woman. I don't have multiple wives. Praise the Lord for that.
[24:44] All right. Now this is Stephanie. More than I need. All that I need. I need to get out of this one, Steph. All right. She is a wonderful wife. But it's more than just that I'm married to her.
[24:56] And not, it's that I am only given to her. That's what it speaks of. It speaks of the affections. That should be clear. Men here and here. Not just me. Every one of us. It ought to be clear that we are one woman men.
[25:08] All right. We are only given. That's the example. And it's needed. So bad in the world in which we live in. People are not committed to one another. They are not faithful to one another. And they ought to know that there is a place where those people up on the hill, they do things differently.
[25:23] The people up on the hill, a 355 Windy Hill, they do things differently. There's more that we could look at, especially in the area of not being blameless, not being above reproach.
[25:35] Questions. And then we move on to appetites. Given five vices that we are to avoid. If you're looking for a fuller treatment of this, we only spend a couple sermons in this passage of scripture.
[25:48] I'd recommend to you John MacArthur. He preaches on each one of these verses on his website. And you can listen to it. It would be very helpful. But I'm going to give them to you quickly here. This being above reproach or not being blameless.
[26:01] It doesn't mean being sinless. If that was the case, there'd be no pastors. But it means to not be open to a justified attack or criticism in terms of the Christian life and particularly in the areas in which Paul is mentioning.
[26:15] That none of those accusations should stick. You should be above reproach. And you should be blameless. In what areas? All of us in here. Not self-willed. Because that is the opposing position of a servant.
[26:28] That's what we've been called to be. Paul started this out. A servant of God. Then he said he was an apostle. Before anything else, we're servants. You can't be a servant if you're self-willed. If you're just living for yourself. One of the biggest ways our self-will shows itself.
[26:41] The biggest way it shows it in my life is soon given to anger. Anger demonstrates a matter of your heart. We often use kindness as a leverage. And it's our anger and frustrations that shows what's most important to us.
[26:55] When I don't get my way, how quickly do I move the anger? I move the anger quickly when I'm somebody who is used to having my way, being self-willed. Not given to wine.
[27:06] Because of my upbringing, I could spend many series talking to you about the dangers of alcohol and avoiding drunkenness. But I would like to just emphasize how it is not giving yourself to other people.
[27:18] When I, if I was to become drunk, I would become unavailable to serve my family and to serve you. Which would be putting myself in a position that would be selfish.
[27:30] Not a striker. This doesn't just mean being in fights. It also means being a person that's contentious and always looking for some kind of battle. Whether it be on a keyboard or physically or just constantly fighting with people with not a concern for them, but just the win.
[27:46] And not given the filthy lucre. This includes money, but it's not left to that. It's personal game. It's all about benefit. It's a real tendency we have in America to chase the American dream.
[27:57] No matter what you get, you're going to want something else. I told my neighbor this week, they were fixing something on their house. And I said, hey, you're the Joneses for me. And he said, what are you talking about? I'm like, well, now you've painted your porch.
[28:09] I want to paint my porch. He didn't understand what I was saying. So I just went back into my house. All right. I'll try again another day. All right. And so it's an expression. Yeah, he never heard it before.
[28:20] But there's a lot of Joneses in America. And if you don't find yourself contending God, you're never going to buy it. You're never going to buy it. I really like having a truck until I pull up to a red light. There's always a bigger truck.
[28:31] All right. Always something out there. Don't be guilty of that. And then affections. Lover of hospitality. You know, that's more than Christian fellowship. Everybody loves a church potluck, Christian fellowship.
[28:42] Hospitality means that you give yourself for strangers. That you give yourself for the sake of the gospel. That you would open up yourself for the cause of Christ. Not just enjoying Christian fellowship, but for the cause of Christ being given the hospitality.
[28:56] Lover of good men. This includes being a lover of all things that are good. We should have a sincere excitement for the work of the Lord that is done by other churches and other ministries.
[29:08] We should love it. Wherever it's happening, we should rejoice. So on Thursday night, we call you to pray and to rejoice in another gospel preaching church. Because we are to love what God is doing.
[29:20] Sober. That's not just alcohol. This means our view of decisions and people. When we approach a situation, we should be appropriate. We should bring an appropriate gravity to it.
[29:31] You will never see me coming up here dressed like a Ken doll for a new sermon series that we're going to do. That would not be sober minded. Some of you don't understand. But it's speaking about a new movie series.
[29:42] That we should not take the things of God and fashion them to the things of this world. There should be an appropriate gravity about the work of which we are doing. An appropriate seriousness for all of you as well.
[29:54] You should be able to laugh with people in a time of laughing. But you should be able to sit with people when they're mourning. And you should have the spiritual discernment to know the difference between the two.
[30:05] That's what we're called to do. It's how we minister to people. And then just. This only happens when you only want to please God. You cannot be just if you're a man pleaser. If you're always trying to figure out how you can make people happy, then you're always trying to balance the scale.
[30:21] The only way that you can treat people justly is if you say, I live for an audience of one. I live before God. Holy. That means separated.
[30:32] That means distinct. We are to be in the world, actively involved, sharing the gospel, being salt and light. But we are told to not be of the world. Our lives ought to be distinctive as Christians.
[30:44] And then temperate. Showing moderation or of self-restraint. Meditation and self-restraint. We look out among here and we find this to be the case among people.
[30:58] We have prayed and we talk and Greg will lay his life down besides these list of things. And meeting this list doesn't mean that somebody, that's what they should do next. But it means not doing those things would be a restraint in your life.
[31:12] This is an expectation. This is the godly example that should be given. I appreciate the encouragement I got at 16. But when I told people that I really love Jesus and I wanted people to know about him, they should have said, yes, we all do.
[31:27] That's what it's called to be a Christian. Every one of us ought to want to do these things. Preaching truth and confronting. The last role here. So I told you the role of the pastor, elder, bishop, steward here is to give an example and discipleship.
[31:44] He is to be involved in discipleship with you. He is to provide examples as you provide examples. And then lastly, it is to preach truth and confront Aaron. Titus 1.9.
[31:54] Holding fast the faithful word as it has been taught that you may be able by sound doctrine both to exhort and to convince the gainsayers. It's the nature of preaching.
[32:06] The difference between preaching and a TED talk is not the volume of my voice. My kids ask me why I don't yell more like some other people that preach as well.
[32:16] And I enjoy when people get loud and occasionally I get loud. I don't hear very well so I may be loud right now. I don't even know. All right. But the difference of being loud and not loud, the authority doesn't come in my volume.
[32:27] The authority comes from the word of God. Preaching is authoritative. It is thus saith the Lord. And it's also turning it around and saying you decide if it's thus saith the Lord as well.
[32:39] And that is the role in which a pastor is given. We are to fight and protect doctrine at all costs. And we do so by teaching people to rejoice in the things and not just debating what is wrong, but teaching our kids and the next generation to rejoice in what is right.
[32:54] And we're told to do this with great zeal. Titus 1.13. This witness is true, wherefore rebuke them sharply that they may be sound in the faith. You see that in Titus 1.13?
[33:05] That's a strong statement. Rebuke them sharply because doctrine matters. But you see it says that they may be sound in the faith. That when you rebuke somebody and you tell them that's not what the word of God says, your heart and your concern is for them.
[33:21] It's not for other people that are watching you have a debate. If you have the heart that God would have us to have, it would be that you're sharing the truth for their sake because you know that false teaching will hurt them.
[33:33] That false teaching is damning to them. And so we have all aspects of our calling and our vocations that are challenging and necessary. And this is one for pastors that is challenging.
[33:44] And before we would ordain a man in the church, we should not only expect that they would not only know the gospel, but they'd also know what it is not, and that they'd be willing to protect the flock and a congregation from false teaching and people who have words that need to be stopped.
[33:59] So conclusion of this passage, Paul says, Timothy, by placing godly shepherds and leaders like this in the congregation, it's my desire to see the whole congregation cultivated in Christian growth and a love for one another, an expression of Christian morality, Christ likeness, and a love for the truth of God's word.
[34:17] And that's what pastors are for. And I want to join you in this work of being an example and being a discipler as well. The Bible says, look out among you.
[34:28] How did it happen? How did Titus go out and establish this leadership? It's because the word of God ought to produce this in all of our lives, men and women. We can complain all day about the culture we're going to be in, but they don't ask us to vote on the decisions that they're making, all right?
[34:44] We get the vote as citizens occasionally throughout the year, but most of the decisions that they're making, we have no say in. But here at this church, we will decide, will I be part of that godly example?
[34:55] Set in order. How? How? Provide godly examples. The contrast to godless culture for what cause? That's found in Titus 2.10. After going through this and then talking about at the end of chapter 1, what are the false teachers saying?
[35:09] Titus 1.1-10 is going to talk about the role of every man and woman, young and old in this process. For this cause, not purloining, but showing all good fidelity, not stealing, but being generous, that you might adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in all things.
[35:25] If you're concerned with the direction of the culture of our world, then be worried and concerned about the culture and example of your church. Well, being God's word, we ought to get involved in His work and set a good example for the congregation.
[35:37] The reason that these things are required of pastors is because it's what Paul wants to see in the entire congregation that he's looking at. This ought to be true of every church on the Isle of Crete.
[35:48] And it's not going to be true if it's not true of the leadership. It needs to be true of all of us. And you and I should get alone with God and this list, and you should ask God to show you what areas need growth and what areas need strengthening.
[36:02] Every man and woman ought to look at this and say that today. And then I would ask you, a ready application is pray for our pastors. Don't just pray for me at 1140 that I am on time, all right?
[36:15] 1145 is the new 1135 if you haven't noticed around here, all right? But pray for us. It's humbling. It is humbling to read this passage of Scripture among people that I live my life among.
[36:28] I don't just come up here on Sunday for 30 minutes. You're in the car with me, with my children. We're on the football field together. We live life together. And there are times that I do not meet this, and I need to repent, and I need to say, God, I need you to bring me back into submission to your Word.
[36:46] Thank you for not expecting perfection, but also thank you for having a biblical expectation for our lives. Because when we lower the standard where it doesn't belong, this church will disappear, and we'll become part of that 1500.
[36:58] Have a good knowledge of what you should expect in the leadership of your church. Through life decisions, many of you will not finish your race here. You may move on to another church. Lamar and Latusha, Greg's parents, they moved up to near North Carolina, and they went to a new church, and the new pastor, his name is Trent, and he has a beard.
[37:17] That's not a biblical qualification, but it's one that I'd recommend. It's worked out really good for them, all right? And those aren't biblical qualifications that they have. Those are bonus qualifications. But you're not going to find that, nor should you look for that.
[37:31] But you ought to say, when I go and God moves me for whatever reason, I'm going to look at this passage, and I'm going to expect that in the church that I am a part of, because it's God's idea.
[37:42] Be involved in the development of godly leaders in our church for the next generation, for other churches. Chase was up here today. Olivia was up here today. Greg was up here today. There's 15 or so young people that say that they aspire to be involved in this type of work, and this tightest type of work, and seeing churches established, and leadership established.
[38:01] And you can be part of that right now, and helping them. You can invest in them. And though I'm not eager to say this, because this is not something that would be helpful for our church growth here, but you should prayerfully consider if God might have you and your family serve in a church that will die without your influence in it.
[38:21] And I really mean that. I wish every, I want everybody in this county to come to this church. That would be a lot of fun, wouldn't it? I want everybody to be saved. But I know this church will never be for everybody. We can't set everybody.
[38:31] That's one thing, all right? But there may be that God would provide an opportunity. Joe and Ron aren't here today, but that's what their son has been involved in. He was part of a church, and that church launched out to revitalize another one.
[38:42] So he went from a church that had a lot of programs, a lot of things going on, to went to a church that had very few things going on because they wanted to fight and say, we don't want to lose another church because America needs more churches.
[38:54] And if that opportunity comes, I pray that you will prayerfully consider if God might use you in that revitalization effort. So as we move forward in the time of response here, and we'll be brief, the time of response for believers.
[39:08] This is where I would like to ask you and hear the day. Believer, you should respond in the ways that I just gave you or how the Holy Spirit would lead you. But this is my favorite part of any sermon. If you're in here today and you're not a believer, I want you to know what it means to adorn the doctrine of God, our Savior in all things.
[39:24] Adorn means, it literally means to take a precious jewel and to arrange it so as to show the true beauty. In one sense, the gospel does not need adornment.
[39:35] We add nothing to it. At the same time, we can show the beauty of the gospel by the way that we live. And the gospel is beautiful and it's true.
[39:45] And it has huge implications upon your life and upon your death. Jesus Christ has changed our lives. He has changed my family's life. And He continues to do so as I know His Word.
[39:58] And we were not left without a guide. We want the Word of God to prevail in our lives. And this all started when we recognized that we were sinners and that we had no say against the culture in which we lived.
[40:10] We were completely without hope. But then we learned that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, He came, He lived the perfect life in the place of our imperfect life.
[40:20] He died a perfect death in the place of our imperfect death. And He rose again for you and for me. And we're not perfect people. But every day, we wake up and we say, by the grace of God, I want to make much of Jesus today.
[40:35] By the grace of God, I want people to know that we have found what they are looking for. And there's nothing more we would love than to share that with you today. Would you pray with me? With every head bowed and every eye closed, we'll just take a moment here and we'll pray together.
[40:49] And as Kristen will begin to play on the piano, believers, would you just go ahead, pray there in your seat, look at this Bible passage, ask God to reveal into your heart the areas in which you're not being the example that this church needs you to be.
[41:02] And look at it. Be personal here. Take it to heart and consider this. And as believers do that, I speak to you and hear the day who've not yet believed. And I want to tell you that the gospel is glorious.
[41:14] That the gospel has taken us from death unto life and from darkness unto light. And I want to encourage you today with everything in me to call out to Jesus today and to put your faith and trust in Him.
[41:27] To repent of your sin, to recognize that you could never save yourself from your good works and put your faith and trust in what Jesus Christ has done for you. You need nothing else more than to come to Him today in repentance and with a believing heart.
[41:42] And you could pray there right now in your seat to the Heavenly Father asking for forgiveness of sin. And if that's what you would do today, here or online, I would encourage you to let us know.
[41:53] Come to the next steps table. Email me, Trent at visionbaptist.com. Let us get some resources to you. Let us get a discipler with you to help you grow in your understanding of God's Word.
[42:06] Heavenly Father, I thank you so much today to be in a church that is filled with families who want to take your Word seriously. For this is not a game to us. We want to follow the example that is given here to us in Titus.
[42:20] We want to fight the drift in our culture by being godly examples to the next generation and to the generation in which we live in. I want to thank you, Lord, as I look out here among us.
[42:32] I find men and also ladies, Lord, that have hearts to do what you've commanded us to do in Scripture. Father, we would be completely inadequate to live out any of these things if it wasn't for the work of the Holy Spirit in and through our lives.
[42:47] So, Lord, today I pray that every believer in here will yield themselves, be sensitive to the Holy Spirit, and that the Word of God will make application. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.