006 The Ministry – part 5

Titus 1:1-4 (3c-4)

February 9, 2025

Back to our discussion regarding the ministry.

We are looking at Paul’s ministry

As a model for what our ministry should look like.

#1 HIS CREDENTIALS

Titus 1:1a

He was “a bond-servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ”

This was his authority and the letter he wrote now becomes our authority.

#2 HIS CALLING

Titus 1:1b-2a

“for the faith of those chosen of God and knowledge of the truth which is according to godliness, in the hope of eternal life”

His calling was:

· Evangelism

· Edification

· Encouragement

So is ours.

#3 HIS CONFIDENCE

Titus 1:2b-3a

“which God, who cannot lie, promised long ages ago, but at the proper time manifested, even His word”

He knew the sovereign God of the universe made a promise to His Son

And God keeps His promises.

Paul therefore was confident that his ministry would be successful.

And we are confident too.

#4 HIS COMMISSION

Titus 1:3b

“in the proclamation with which I was entrusted”

God commissioned Paul by entrusting him with the gospel

And commissioning him to proclaim it.

We understand that commission as well.

As part of the church we are “the pillar and support of the truth”

· We are stewards of the gospel

· We have been entrusted with true doctrine

· And we also have been commissioned to proclaim it.

His commission is our commission.

TONIGHT let’s move forward and see the 5th reality of Paul’s ministry.

#5 HIS COMMANDER

Titus 1:3c

“according to the commandment of God our Savior”

Sort of like we did this morning, there are a couple of words (or phrases)

I want us to specifically focus on here as well.

1) “COMMANDMENT OF GOD”

We recognize very quickly that this is not a suggestion.

· This IS NOT a recommendation.

· This IS a commandment.

This is a commandment directly from God.

Matthew 28:18-20 “And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

Acts 1:8 “but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.”

We have God who has issued us a command.

That really is just as simple and important as it sounds.

We have marveled during our Sunday night Scripture reading through Leviticus as we repeatedly see the phrase, “just as the LORD had commanded Moses”

· We have recognized all those intricate commands about anointing the priests, selecting the offering, and sacrificing the offering.

We know that these commands were so serious

That one’s life depended on it.

Leviticus 8:35 “At the doorway of the tent of meeting, moreover, you shall remain day and night for seven days and keep the charge of the Lord, so that you will not die, for so I have been commanded.”

And certainly that rang true in tonight’s Scripture reading

As we looked Nadab and Abihu who

“offered strange fire before the LORD”

And God incinerated them from the inside out.

And no sooner did God kill them

Then did a warning get issued to Aaron their father.

Leviticus 10:6 “Then Moses said to Aaron and to his sons Eleazar and Ithamar, “Do not uncover your heads nor tear your clothes, so that you will not die and that He will not become wrathful against all the congregation. But your kinsmen, the whole house of Israel, shall bewail the burning which the Lord has brought about.”

Leviticus 10:9-10 “Do not drink wine or strong drink, neither you nor your sons with you, when you come into the tent of meeting, so that you will not die—it is a perpetual statute throughout your generations— and so as to make a distinction between the holy and the profane, and between the unclean and the clean,”

Do you suppose that being careful to obey the LORD was a little more urgent after that?

You know it was.

I don’t know when this modern-day mindset of “optional obedience” became so popular, but it is extremely dangerous.

When God gives a command He expects obedience.

So look at that statement again:

“according to the commandment of God”

What if your boss gave you a piece of information and entrusted you to carry it to a client across town and told you to take it? Would you?

· Yes, because he’s my boss and I could get fired for not doing my job.

What if your spouse entrusted you with a check and told you to deliver to a certain person? Would you?

· Well yes, because that is my spouse and I certainly desire to please them.

What if your parent gave you an important document and asked you to deliver it? Would you?

· Well yes, because they are my parents and I am called to do what they say or honor them.

What if the government gave you a license and required you to present it publicly before you travel? Would you?

· Well yes, because they have the power to alter my plans if I don’t do what they say.

You are catching my point aren’t you.

AND YET

· This is not the commandment of your boss

· This is not the commandment of your spouse

· This is not the commandment of your parent

· This is not the commandment of the government

This is “the commandment of God”

· The One who sits enthroned above the circle of the earth.

· The One who calls the earth His footstool.

· The One in whom you live and move and exist.

· The One who ordains your days.

· The One who is responsible to meet your needs.

· The One who will judge the living and the dead.

We are talking about a commandment from God here.

As we consider this even further, I want to call your mind back

To one of the words we looked at this morning.

We finished off this morning sort of examining the issue

Of being “entrusted” with the gospel.

I want you to understand that being “entrusted” is no small thing to God.

Matthew 24:45-51 “Who then is the faithful and sensible slave whom his master put in charge of his household to give them their food at the proper time? “Blessed is that slave whom his master finds so doing when he comes. “Truly I say to you that he will put him in charge of all his possessions. “But if that evil slave says in his heart, ‘My master is not coming for a long time,’ and begins to beat his fellow slaves and eat and drink with drunkards; the master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour which he does not know, and will cut him in pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

You see a reference to a man being commissioned to feed the household.

· If he does what he has been commanded then he will be rewarded.

· If he fails to do what he has been commanded he will be judged.

You ask what that has to do

With preaching or being entrusted with the gospel?

But that is precisely what Jesus is talking about.

Do you remember Matthew 13 and all the parables of the kingdom?

· The soils

· The wheat and the tares

· The leaven

· The mustard seed

· The treasure in the field

· The pearl of great value

· The dragnet

Jesus did all sorts of teaching to the disciples about the kingdom.

He enlightened to the truths of the kingdom.

And then He said:

Matthew 13:51-52 “Have you understood all these things?” They said to Him, “Yes.” And Jesus said to them, “Therefore every scribe who has become a disciple of the kingdom of heaven is like a head of a household, who brings out of his treasure things new and old.”

Do you understand the reference?

· You have been entrusted with the truth.

· He has given you the gospel.

· And you are commanded to be faithful by proclaiming it.

In Matthew 25 Jesus gave the parable of the talents.

Do you remember the outcome for those who obeyed versus those who disobeyed?

Matthew 25:21 “His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’”

But the one who disobeyed:

Matthew 25:26-30 “But his master answered and said to him, ‘You wicked, lazy slave, you knew that I reap where I did not sow and gather where I scattered no seed. ‘Then you ought to have put my money in the bank, and on my arrival I would have received my money back with interest. ‘Therefore take away the talent from him, and give it to the one who has the ten talents.’ “For to everyone who has, more shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but from the one who does not have, even what he does have shall be taken away. “Throw out the worthless slave into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

IT IS NOT A SMALL THING TO DISOBEY GOD.

We have here an expectation that we will be faithful to go and make disciples by proclaiming the truth He has entrusted to us.

Paul certainly understood that requirement.

We love his perspective in 2 Corinthians 5

2 Corinthians 5:18-21 “Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”

That is tremendous perspective isn’t it?

Because God has entrusted us with the ministry of reconciliation.

Because God has commanded us to proclaim His gospel to the world.

WE DO IT.

This command for Paul was primary.

This was not some secondary or auxiliary ministry.

Paul knew why he was here.

· He was on a mission

· He was on a journey

· He was in a race

· He had a task

AND SO DO WE.

It is just imperative that we view our ministries in the same way.

Don’t treat your ministry from God

As some sort of optional, auxiliary, secondary ministry.

This is your ministry in your family.

This is your ministry at your work.

This is your ministry in the community.

This is your ministry in our church.

It is “the commandment of God”

The second phrase we want to pay attention to tonight here is:

2) “OUR SAVIOR”

And you have to love this from Paul.

When he mentions that God has given us a command

He doesn’t come at this with a threatening tone,

Though he most certainly could have

as the Scriptures we have read already have made clear.

Paul comes at this with an eye to obligation or perhaps even gratitude.

We are not being commissioned to serve a heartless tyrant.

We are not being commissioned to serve a ruthless dictator.

The One we are being commissioned to serve is “God our Savior”

· He is the One who took on human flesh and dwelt among us.

· He is the One who fulfilled the Law on our behalf.

· He is the One who laid down His life on a cross.

· He is the One who daily intercedes on our behalf.

· He is the One who is returning to rescue us from the present evil age.

That is who has entrusted us with the message of His gospel

That we might proclaim it to the world.

Do you sense an obligation there?

Romans 1:14-15 “I am under obligation both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish. So, for my part, I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome.”

Paul saw his ministry

Not only as one of submission to the God of the universe,

But also as a debt that he owed to the Savior of his soul.

Remember when Paul was warned not to go to Jerusalem?

Acts 21:8-14 “On the next day we left and came to Caesarea, and entering the house of Philip the evangelist, who was one of the seven, we stayed with him. Now this man had four virgin daughters who were prophetesses. As we were staying there for some days, a prophet named Agabus came down from Judea. And coming to us, he took Paul’s belt and bound his own feet and hands, and said, “This is what the Holy Spirit says: ‘In this way the Jews at Jerusalem will bind the man who owns this belt and deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles.’ ” When we had heard this, we as well as the local residents began begging him not to go up to Jerusalem. Then Paul answered, “What are you doing, weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be bound, but even to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.” And since he would not be persuaded, we fell silent, remarking, “The will of the Lord be done!”

That was a man who felt an obligation to the One who saved him.

· Paul saw himself as enslaved to Christ.

· Paul saw his life as intertwined with Christ.

· Paul saw himself as a man owned by Christ and indebted to Christ.

Have you heard him reference being bought with a price?

He believed that.

Galatians 2:20 “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.”

And in the book of Titus

This will be an appeal he will make to Titus and to us.

Titus 3:3-7 “For we also once were foolish ourselves, disobedient, deceived, enslaved to various lusts and pleasures, spending our life in malice and envy, hateful, hating one another. But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared, He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by His grace we would be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.”

And that brings up an entirely new set of motivations for us.

Certainly we are commanded, but we are also indebted.

We have been called to make known the One who saved us.

Jesus said it like this:

John 20:21 “So Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you; as the Father has sent Me, I also send you.”

Perhaps we would have a different feel

If our Lord had not first been a missionary in order to save us.

· Perhaps we would feel less obligated had He not left His home to come to ours.

· Perhaps we would feel less obligated had He not suffered among evil men to find us in their midst.

· Perhaps we would feel less obligated had He not died upon His mission field to save His own.

But Christ did come.

Christ did suffer.

Christ did die.

And Christ said that just like the Father sent Him, so He has sent us.

THIS IS THE MINISTRY.

And it is the ministry we all signed up for

When we agreed to deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow Him.

Don’t make that secondary in your life.

THAT IS PRIMARY.

· Don’t abandon it.

· Don’t neglect it.

· Don’t retire from it.

You have a ministry, fulfill it.

You have “the commandment of God our Savior”

Paul’s Credentials, Paul’s Calling, Paul’s Confidence, Paul’s Commission, Paul’s Commander

#6 HIS COLLEAGUE

Titus 1:4

Here we address who the letter is written to.

· It helps us understand who Paul’s example is for.

· And we begin to understand why Paul wrote.

Paul was in the ministry.

· He was already traveling calling sinners to repentance.

· He was already teaching the saved to be like Christ.

· He was already encouraging the hearts of the weary.

· He was obeying the command

· He was valuing the treasure

· He was proclaiming the truth out of gratitude to Christ.

SO WHY THE LETTER?

Because Paul’s mission was not a one-man effort.

Paul was recruiting others to join him.

He writes “To Titus, my true child in a common faith;”

· He will go on to say, “For this reason I left you in Crete…”

Paul had an expectation for Titus.

He had a plan for him.

· It is a missionary strategy.

· It is a missionary cooperation.

Just like Paul had told Timothy:

2 Timothy 2:1-2 “You therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. The things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.”

That is the goal isn’t it?

That is why we read this letter.

· Paul is calling out support.

· He is calling out those who will join the work.

· If Titus would go to Crete then Paul could go somewhere else.

· If Timothy would work in Ephesus then Paul could go somewhere else.

If you and I will work in Spur, others can work where they are.

So Paul recruits laborers to join.

SO WHY TITUS?

1) HE IS A “TRUE CHILD”

Titus was selected because

He is a genuine, fruit-bearing, believer.

Paul wasn’t interested in recruiting people who were not genuinely redeemed.

· He needed Spirit-filled men, not empty religious people.

IT IS ONE THING TO

· Attend church

· Sing songs

· Know how to be moral people in west Texas.

IT IS ANOTHER THING TO

· Ask people to get up out of the pew,

· Go out the doors,

· And proclaim Christ to the world.

You can do the first without a relationship with Christ,

But it’s hard to do the second without Him.

Titus was selected because he was “a true child”

I certainly can’t speak for anyone else, but I know this about myself.

· I grew up in church.

· I was raised in a believing family.

· I attended all the functions.

· I was baptized at 8 years old.

But it wasn’t until I was truly saved at 19 years old

That the Spirit of God moved in

And I had any inclination of sharing Christ with anyone.

And I know this.

True gospel ministry is not something that the flesh desires.

· The flesh doesn’t like evangelism

· The flesh doesn’t like exhorting a brother.

· The flesh doesn’t like dealing with others in their burdens.

IT TAKES A TRUE BELIEVER TO BE A TRUE MINISTER.

And if you are a true believer…the church needs you!

It matters.

Titus was also selected

2) HE HAD A “COMMON FAITH”

That is to say his doctrine was accurate.

Titus knew the gospel.

Titus understood the truth.

It did no good to commission a man

Who does not know the Lord to do mission work

And it does no good to commission a man

Who doesn’t know the truth.

We showed that Paul Washer video this morning as an example.

I am probably not quite as rigid as the point he makes in that video.

· I am eager for new believers to participate in missions.

· I know those recently converted can immediately go and share what they

learned.

However, I do whole-heartedly agree with the necessity of training as well.

· You must know the gospel if you are going to go.

· You must have an understanding of the truth.

If any of you ever end up going with me some day to Africa

To visit these churches in Tanzania or Kenya

You will immediately become aware of how hungry they are for the truth.

They will ask you question after question after question about the Scriptures and about true doctrine.

You must know it. You must understand it.

Titus was recruited by Paul because of his genuine conversion

And because of his understanding of the faith.

Now, don’t try to breathe a sigh of relief here.

DON’T SAY, “Well I guess I’m off the hook. Since I don’t really feel qualified with a knowledge of the truth, it’s probably best I don’t go.”

If you are unqualified because you don’t’ know the truth

THEN GET TO STUDYING.

Let me read it again:

Hebrews 5:12-13 “For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you have need again for someone to teach you the elementary principles of the oracles of God, and you have come to need milk and not solid food. For everyone who partakes only of milk is not accustomed to the word of righteousness, for he is an infant.”

It is time to grow up and learn the truth.

· Have your senses trained to discern good and evil.

· Learn the gospel and the faith handed down.

When you stand before God on that final day

And He asks why you did not participate in His mandate to take the gospel to the world, “I didn’t know enough” will not be a valid excuse.

START LEARNING!

I’ve told you of several men in our church going through leadership training.

· We have it for men.

· We have it for women.

· We have it for those who want to be elders.

Those who have participated in it can tell you what it is.

IT IS SIMPLY LEARNING DOCTRINE.

· There are overviews of books of the bible.

· There are doctrinal truths to consider.

· There are qualifications to examine.

BECAUSE EVERY BELIEVER

NEEDS TO BE TRAINED TO BE A MISSIONARY.

You may not be an elder.

You may not be a deacon.

But God commissions us all to take the gospel to the lost.

We are accountable to learn it.

Titus was selected because he was truly redeemed

And because he knew the gospel accurately.

MAKE THAT YOUR AMBITION.

And then this opening section closes with a statement of grace to Titus.

“Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior.”

Paul uses that phrase all the time.

He loves to offer both “grace and peace”.

We need and desire both.

Both of those are found in abundance

When you walk in obedience to Christ.

It is when we walk in disobedience

That “grace and peace” seem the farthest from us.

But when we obey the Lord,

Even to undertake the task of missions

HIS grace is sufficient & His peace passes all understanding.

Paul enjoyed it in his ministry.

· Paul offered it to Titus.

· And it is available to you as well.

So tonight, we just sort of wrap up this opening segment in Titus.

And we recognize what ministry is.

· Evangelism

· Edification

· Encouragement.

We know how to fulfill it.

· We proclaim the truth that has been entrusted to us.

We know who it is for.

· True believers who have an accurate understanding of the gospel.

We know why we do it.

· We are commanded by God and we obligated by our Savior.

We know why this letter has been preserved for us.

· Because it is expected that we will join in the mission.

I just encourage you to embrace your ministry.

Matthew 28:18-20 “And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”