Sermon Tone Analysis

Welcome: Good morning to you - the Bride of Christ.

Pastoral Prayer: As we prepare to hear from God through His word this morning, let us first call out to Him in prayer.

With every head bowed and every eye closed, meditate on these words of the shepherd David as we seek the Lord’s favor.

Let us pray.

Psalm 23 (NASB95)

A Psalm of David.

1 The Lord is my shepherd,

I shall not want.

2 He makes me lie down in green pastures;

He leads me beside quiet waters.

3 He restores my soul;

He guides me in the paths of righteousness

For His name’s sake.

4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,

I fear no evil, for You are with me;

Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.

5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;

You have anointed my head with oil;

My cup overflows.

6 Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life,

And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Announce Text: Please take your bibles this morning and turn to Titus chapter one.

Titus chapter one.

We will pick up where we left off last week with verse five.

If you are using a pew bible, you can find our text on page 1193.

Series Intro: For those of you who were not here last week, you should know that we just began a new series in Paul’s Epistle to Titus.

In our study of the Pastoral Epistles, we recently finished 1 Timothy and moved on to Titus since that is the order in which Paul penned these letters.

2 Timothy is actually the very last letter Paul that would write before his martyrdom in Rome.

Titus was written soon after 1 Timothy - and so that will be the focus of our study for the next couple months.

Read Text: Now, with that said, let us read today’s text.

Titus, chapter one, beginning now in verse five.

Titus 1:5–9 (NASB95)

5 For this reason I left you in Crete, that you would set in order what remains and appoint elders in every city as I directed you,

6 namely, if any man is above reproach, the husband of one wife, having children who believe, not accused of dissipation or rebellion.

7 For the overseer must be above reproach as God’s steward, not self-willed, not quick-tempered, not addicted to wine, not pugnacious, not fond of sordid gain,

8 but hospitable, loving what is good, sensible, just, devout, self-controlled,

9 holding fast the faithful word which is in accordance with the teaching, so that he will be able both to exhort in sound doctrine and to refute those who contradict.

Sermon Intro: Pastor Bruce Larson, in his book Wind and Fire, points out some interesting facts about sandhill cranes: “These large birds, who fly great distances across continents, have three remarkable qualities.

First, they rotate leadership.

No one bird stays out in front all the time.

Second, they choose leaders who can handle turbulence.

And then, all during the time one bird is leading, the rest are honking their affirmation.

That’s not a bad model for the church.

Certainly we need leaders who can handle turbulence and who are aware that leadership ought to be shared.

But most of all, we need a church where our leaders are provided encouragement.”

In our passage today, Paul is going to outline for Timothy God’s plan for church leadership.

Now, I want to begin with two disclaimers.

First, I am going to say some things today that some of you may not like.

Please understand that if I say or teach anything this morning that is not straight from this Book, you come see me after the service and rebuke me for it and I will be sure to make amends and correct myself.

But if what I say comes expositorily and exegetically from this Book, then please know that it is not me with whom you are angry or in disagreement with - its God.

Second, don’t think that just because our passage today is about church leadership that there is nothing here for you to apply.

Every single requirement for eldership that we will examine this morning is required of every Christian who would seek to reach spiritual maturity.

As I go through these qualifications today.

I am going to show you that Scripture asks the same things of all Christians that it asks of elders.

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Now, with that said, notice if you would the central truth of our text this morning:

Central Truth: God’s plan for church leadership involves a plurality of men called elders who meet certain qualifications and share in the responsibility of overseeing, shepherding, and serving the local church.

Transition to Sermon: Our text today can be divided into two main points.

First, in verse five, we see the command to appoint elders, and in verses 6-9, we see the qualifications for those elders.

So, first, I want you to notice the command to appoint elders.

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I.

The Command to Appoint Elders (1:5).

Paul, under divine inspiration of the Holy Spirit, sets forth two undeniable realities in his command to Titus to appoint elders in the churches of Crete.

First, he highlights the fact that...

1. Christ uses elders to bring order to His church (1:5a).

Titus 1:5 (NASB95)

5 For this reason I left you in Crete, that you would set in order what remains and appoint elders in every city as I directed you,

For this reason: The Greek literally says, “On account of this....”

I left you in Crete: The Book of Acts ends with Paul imprisoned in Rome on a sort of house arrest.

However, if you study a timeline of his life, he was evidently released from his first imprisonment - mostly likely because no one could come up with any credible charges against him.

From there, it is believed that he travels to Crete, leaving Titus behind, and then to Ephesus, where he leaves Timothy behind.

He then heads to the Province of Macedonia, probably either the city of Corinth or Nicopolis, where he writes both 1 Timothy and Titus.

So, he leaves Titus at Crete for two reasons.

The first is to set in order what remains.

that you would set in order what remains:

set in order: epidiorthoo (epi-dior-tho) means “to set something right after it appears broken.”

We get our English term orthodontist (one straightens crooked teeth) or orthopedist (one who sets broken bones) from this word.

The use of the middle voice is "reflexive" and implies that Titus himself is personally involved in the process, and not merely giving orders to others.

Titus, like an "spiritual" orthodontist or orthopedist is to set right again what was still in a defective state - the churches on the island of Crete.

What remains: leipo (lay-poe) would be better translated as “what is lacking.”

The word refers to “that which is found wanting or unfinished”

The beginning of verse five literally is saying, “I left you in Crete on the account of brokenness of the churches there.

They have no clear or qualified leadership to lead them out of this mess.

So I want you Titus to find some qualified men to help you get these churches to a place of healing and maturity.

In a real sense, Christ is saying to Titus, “Find Me some men I can use to bring order to My church!” Christ uses elders to bring order to His church!

That is why Peter tells the elders of the churches scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia this is 1 Peter 5:1-2.

1 Peter 5:1-2 (NASB95)

1 Therefore, I exhort the elders among you, as your fellow elder and witness of the sufferings of Christ, and a partaker also of the glory that is to be revealed, 2 shepherd the flock of God among you, exercising oversight ...

The verb “oversight” used here in 1 Peter 2 comes from the Greek term episkopeo, meaning “to accept responsibility to care for someone.”

And the verb “shepherd” literally means “to lead and care for someone or something!”

Here, that “someone” is the flock of God - the Bride of Christ also called the church.

Now, not only does Paul highlight that Christ uses elders to bring order to His church, he also points out that...

2. Elders are to lead the church within a plurality (1:5b).

Titus 1:5 (NASB95)

5 For this reason I left you in Crete, that you would set in order what remains and appoint elders in every city as I directed you,

Paul tells Titus that a major part of his mission on Crete will be to go to these churches and help them select men capable and qualified to serve in the office of an elder.

He says that these elders are to be appointed.

Appoint: kathistemi (kha-thi-stay-me) is a military term that means “to put someone in charge of something.”

In fact, that is exactly how Christ uses this same Greek term in His famous sermon known as the Olivet Discourse found in Matthew 24:46-47.

When speaking of His future Second Coming, Jesus says this of those who are faithful and alert at His return.

Matthew 24:46–47 (NASB95)