Role of the Overseer
Notes
Transcript
This morning we dive into our series through Titus
It is a rather short book but like any piece of scripture it is so good for us
Titus was written by Paul
We know Paul right
Paul was Saul before he encountered the living God
And that changed him so much that he changed his name to Paul
Paul would go on to be a missionary to the gentiles and planting many churches
He didn’t just leave them he would constantly write to them and encourage them and often times correct them
Because he had a vested interest in them growing
So he has spent time with Titus and is writing a letter to Titus
1 Paul, a bond-servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the faith of those chosen of God and the knowledge of the truth which is according to godliness, 2 in the hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, promised long ages ago, 3 but at the proper time manifested, even His word, in the proclamation with which I was entrusted according to the commandment of God our Savior, 4 To Titus, my true child in a common faith: Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior.
Titus was most likely greek
He most likely met Paul when Paul went to Antioch and got to know him
Then Paul brings him to Jerusalem for a met and greek and then Paul is sent out
Paul most likely brought Titus along with him
Paul had planted a church and like other churches he planted he would go and visit
This particular church He planted we will see that Paul sends Titus to that place
What an incredial task
Talk about interium or intentional interium
Titus was the outsider who was set to Crete to set things in order
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,
It would appear that Paul had a plan when he would plant churches
Sort of a formula but not if that makes any sense
because anytime you bring 2 or more sinners together you are bound to have problems
and also because people have different callings and gifts to be used of God
just like there are different gifts there are different jobs in the church
not everyone can clean the church
not everyone can lead worship on Sunday
and not everyone can be a spiritual overseer
But as they are planting the church in Crete Paul has to leave and probably before things are finished
So Paul leaves Titus there to complete the process
The process of appoint elders in the church
Because church there is an order to church life
remember the different jobs, different gifts
although it may appear that we are just a bunch of people thrown together we are not we try and keep ourselves organized
Because there needs to be and there is organization to the church
Titus is tasked with appointing elders
We have elders and deacons in our church
HAVE DEACONS AND ELDERS STAND
These are them
As Paul tasked this with Titus we get an insight into church organization and the church planting process
there should be elders to help be spiritual overseers of the church
To look after the spiritual side of things at the church
Paul give Titus some qualifications of the men
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,
these are the qualifications of the elders within the church
first we come to above reproach
meaning no one can honestly bring a charge of wrong doing before you
Not to say they won’t but it doesn’t stick
This is to be an example to the rest of the body to live your life in such a way that people don’t have anything to say about it or can’t
Not that you are perfect by no means
Husband of one wife
historically we have interpreted this to mean not divorced and not divorced after you have accepted Christ
another meaning is about multiple wives
either way you are to have elders with just one wife
having children who believe
not that they force their kids to believe or have perfect kids but they are leading their families and kids to run after Jesus
we all know kids will do their own way but we need men who are spiritual overseers of the church who practice what we preach
who lead their families to run after Jesus
not accused of dissipation or rebellion
meaning someone who can and does work on the team, they are loyal to Christ which is to work together with other sinners
does not stir the pot when it does not need stirring
not self willed
More focus on the will of God than their own
not quick tempered
Not quick tempered means just that
It takes a wise person to go off the handle bars when things don’t go there way
not addicted to wine
to not have a strong craving for wine
sort of goes in line with the not self willed
This is another one of those things that gets a lot of attention
It doesn’t that you can’t drink
But just because you can doesn’t always mean that you should
Not pugnacious
Someone who does not react with violence when things do not go their way
Meaning after a business meeting you should not meet up out in the parking to settle your differences
not fond of sordid gain
greedy, not always running after the dollar
Again this falls in line with the not self willed
it also means that the man who is an elder should probably be a good steward of their own money so as not to get greedy
Hospitable
willing to open their homes up to others, welcoming and caring for the body
loving what is good
nothing good except God alone
Sensible
Someone who has good judgement and uses reason
just
someone who is right and fair
devote
someone who is loyal and someone who gives a large part of their resources
Someone who is invested
self control
finally someone who has self control and who exercise it
These all have to deal with self control
And church it is just the right balance
sounds like the fruits of the spirit and if you remember that Jess said fruit produce fruit
Christ will produce the fruit, if you are connected
these describe the men who are called and gifted to be spiritual overseers of the church
you may ask what it is to spiritually oversee a church
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.
The job of the elders is to be the overseers of the church
To look after the church not just the physical side but the spiritual side of things as well
That have a tall task in front of them
Scripture in Titus gives them specifics in how to go about doing that
Exhort and refute
exhort
To exhort is to encourage someone
To lift them up
To strongly urge them to do things or something
Church the elders are to be exhorting the body to run after Jesus
As we have just seen they should be themselves and they are
So now part of their spiritual oversite is to encourage you the church to do the same thing
That is probably the easy side of the job
Encourage others to grow in Christ
Then refute
this means to prove that someone is wrong
This is the tougher task at hand
To refute someone is to show them they are wrong in their thinking and theology
This is tough because it requires them to know for certain the other person is wrong
Which means they need to know Jesus and to know the scriptures to be students of the word of God
Do you start to understand how vitally important this role is within the church
The reason
10 For there are many rebellious men, empty talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision, 11 who must be silenced because they are upsetting whole families, teaching things they should not teach for the sake of sordid gain. 12 One of themselves, a prophet of their own, said, “Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.”
We need elder within the church within the organization because there are people out there who are not teaching correctly
They are teaching false things and bad things out of greed
When they do that they are tearing churches apart
That happened then and church to this day it still happens
And church we need men in the church who are running after Christ and KNOW Jesus and KNOW Scripture
So that when those people start to cause issues they can address it by refuting them
by proving they are wrong
13 This testimony is true. For this reason reprove them severely so that they may be sound in the faith, 14 not paying attention to Jewish myths and commandments of men who turn away from the truth.
The elders are called and commanded to call those people out and to refute them
To prove to them they are wrong
This is why the church has organization and this is why we need to role of the elder in the church
We need those spiritual overseers to help keep us running after Christ
15 To the pure, all things are pure; but to those who are defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure, but both their mind and their conscience are defiled. 16 They profess to know God, but by their deeds they deny Him, being detestable and disobedient and worthless for any good deed.
False teachers are all talk
Those who are defiled are just that defiled
They are all talk but no walk
As we have seen in scripture these people come in and teaching things only for the greedy of fame and money
And the purpose of the elder is to refute them
Prove to them they are wrong
Because they are the spiritual overseers of the church
It is designed that way
Aside from refuting remember their role is to exhort the body
To encourage and spur on the body of believers at the local level called the church to run after Jesus
Paul is writing to Titus to encourage him as he helps putting the church in order
The purpose of the church is to help people grow in their walk with Christ
That is why Paul gives these instructions to Titus as he finishes planting the church in crete
There is organization to the church
So this morning as we move to our time of invitation
If you are here this morning and do not know Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior you are lost
This morning you need to know that Jesus loved you enough to pay for your debt of sin
You can begin a personal relationship with this morning because of what Jesus did on the Cross
If that you this morning you don’t know Jesus and want to know Jesus there will be people up front to speak with you about that
Or maybe you are here and have a personal relationship with Jesus and you just want to pray at the altar
the altar is open church