Godly Leadership

TITUS: Essential Building Blocks of an Effective Church

“Godly Relationships” -

INTRODUCTION

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According to a survey conducted from LifeWay Research (2014) developing relationships in a church matters. The results of the survey reveal that the majority of people in a church long to develop relationships with one another

· 74% surveyed said they had developed significant relationships with people at my church

· 53% of people try to get to know new people at church

· 42% spend time with other believers to grow in my faith

What an interesting study! The survey reveals that developing significant relationships in a church is valued by the majority of the people, but just over half try to get to know new people (how will these people develop significant relationships if now one cares to meet them), and less than half of the people spend time together to grow in their faith (Why?). God has called us into a relationship with Himself and to one another – the church is designed to be highly relational – remember we are a family! (JOKE)

Need

Our relationships with one another matters! We are called to be in fellowship with God and with one another. God’s Word says the world will know that we are followers of Jesus by our love for one another but hopefully we like each other as well. I hope you will not simply “attend” MBC but “belong” to MBC by developing significant relationships and getting involved in our disciple-making mission. If you are a visitor, I hope this will be a place you are warmly welcomed and find a church family where you belong. Sadly, the church can be known for its “superficial” relationships. Much of the superficiality can result from being too inclusive (holy huddle), too judgmental (critical spirits/attitudes), and too self-focused on what “I” get out of a church instead of what “I” can give to a church (consumer driven mentality). We desperately need to become a church where authentic relationships are developed and deepened for we are called to live as a family. How does God want us to live in relationship with one another as a church family? Take your Bible and turn to the book of Titus.

Preview

Today we conclude (wrap up) our series in the NT book of Titus. Over the last seven week’s we’ve been uncovering “the Essential building blocks of an Effective Church” from the book of Titus. Let’s take a moment to review each building block. Up to this point we’ve considered seven challenging and convicting essentials.

Gospel Ministry (1:1-4)

Godly Leadership (1:5-9)

Sound Doctrine (1:10-16)

Godly Living (2:1-10)

Grace (2:11-14)

Godly Citizenship (3:1-7)

Good Works (3:8-11)

Today we uncover the eighth and final essential building block in . . Follow along as we read .

I) GODLY RELATIONSHIPS

We come to the end of Paul’s letter to Titus. Many of Paul’s letters conclude on a very relation nal tone. We can feel the warmth of this first century letter. In the final section of this letter we find personal exhortations and the inclusion of individual names of people which is a distinctive mark of several NT letters (; ; ). . These personal conclusions to the NT letters are some of my favorite passages of Scripture. One of the things that I love about these passages is that they introduce us to new people and new places. I love that these sections of the NT reveal the humanness of the first century believers comes to life, these are people just like us, they have with real desires, struggles, and interests. I love that these sections remind us of the deeply personal and relational nature of the Christian life.

At first glance we might quickly dismiss the importance of these passages or we might wonder how they apply to our lives in the 21st century but these passages are “God-breathed” and profitable in our lives. highlights our eighth essential building block of an effective church—“GODLY RELATIONSHIPS.” Godly Relationships is our final essential building block of an effective church from the book of Titus.

I’m excited for God to speak to us about our relationship with one another as believers in Jesus Christ. Our world is consumed by the desire for relationships. Relationships are at the heart of our families, vocation, teams, and friendship. Most of the places we go are focused on developing and fostering relationships. We can see the pursuit of relationship at the heart of a coffee shop or a local bar. Starbucks has made millions of dollars selling over-priced coffee, it’s good coffee but what was so unique about Starbucks was the atmosphere were people could meet and develop a sense of community. The same is true for a local bar. Like a coffee shop it’s a place where people go to have a drink but again the deeper need being met is connecting with people. We see this played out in every stereotypical bar scene in a t.v. show or movie – someone walks in, orders a drink, and needs to talk with the bartender. We see this best depicted in the classic t.v. show Cheers. The theme song of Cheers highlights the relational need being met at a local bar in Boston. (LYRICS) I’m not here supporting or defending the need for coffee shops or bars. I simply want us to see the deep need in the human heart for relationships. If you still aren’t convinced take a look at the magazine rack as you check out at the grocery store – headlines like “Ten ways to enhance your love life” or “Five hotspots to hang out with your friends” address the innate need for humans to be in relationship with one another. Why do you think we have something known as “social media” – Facebook (987 friends), Twitter, Snapchat, are all ways for people to connect relationally and find some sense of community, even if it’s superficial it’s better than nothing. Dana has been watching program on the History Channel called “Alone” – the show tracks individuals dropped off in a remote forest with only ten survival items and a small camera to document their struggle to survive – the last person to survive wins $500,000 – but the greatest struggle they share on camera as the days go on is the mental strain is not the threat of being attacked by a bear, not starvation, not fatigue but the lack of human contact. The mental strain of not being able to see anyone or talk to anyone for 30, 40, or 50 days is almost too much to handle.

God has wired us for relationships – it’s part of the “imago dei” – being made in the image of God.. The Christian life is all about relationships! When we come to faith in Christ we begin a new relationship with God and we also begin new relationships with other believers. The NT gives us several metaphors that highlight the “relational” aspect of the Christian life—we are called a fellowship and a family—for we are called to live together in community. Therefore as we conclude this series in Titus we come to the priority of “Godly Relationships.” If there is one thing that will keep us from being an effective church it’s isolating ourselves from community and neglecting our responsibility to deepen our relationships with one another as a church. As we walk through this final section in Titus together we’ll be challenged to deepen our relationship with one another in this local body and with other believers in other local churches as well. In we find four characteristics that should mark our relationship with one another as fellow-believers. Let’s dig in!

A) Team Ministry (3:12)

The first distinctive characteristic that should mark our relationship is “Teamwork.” Teamwork. We see “teamwork” as an vital characteristic of a marriage relationship, the relationship between and employer and employees, and of course in the relationship between teammates. This is true all the more for our relationship as a church family. We see the importance of “Teamwork” outlined in —As soon as I send Artemas or Tychicus to you, do your best to come to me at Nicopolis, because I have decided to winter there—for here we see “Teamwork” on full display in Paul’s exhortation. Paul’s desire is clear, he wanted Titus to come and visit him in Nicopolis where he was going to be staying for the winter but this will require sending a replacement to take over the ministry among the churches on the island of Crete.

1) Paul’s Plan (3:12a) – Please take note of Paul’s Plan. Paul planned to send Artemas or Tychicus to Crete. Paul had not decided at the time he wrote the letter if he would send Artemas or Tychicus but one of them would likely take over Titus’ leadership role among the churches. What do we know about these two guys?

· Artemas - This is the only time a man named Artemas is mentioned in the NT. Therefore we don’t know a lot about this man, he must have been a faithful man in order to be considered for such a ministry position alongside Titus and Tychicus.

· Tychicus - We get a better portrait of Tychicus in the NT. Tychicus was one of Paul’s close ministry partners. In we discover that he was from the province of Asia, he and Trophimus went with Paul to deliver the collection gathered for the poor Christians in Jerusalem. Tychicus is described as “the beloved brother and faithful minister and fellow servant of the Lord” ( & ) – he was the one who delivered those letters to the Christians in Colossae and Ephesus.

We don’t know if either of them had been dispatched (thus enroute) to the area by the time of Paul’s letter or if this simply reveals the over-all leadership plan for the future. In we learn that Paul eventually sent Tychicus to Ephesus and Titus went to Dalmatia (just up the coast from Nicopolis) so it’s assumed that Artemas was the one sent to Crete. The oversight and leadership among the churches in Crete would be passed on from Titus to Artemas, thus we get a glimpse into the leadership succession plan as Artemas would take over ministry in Crete.

2) Paul’s Plea (3:12b)

We move from Paul’s plan to send Artemas or Tychicus to Crete to Paul’s Plea. Paul requested that once one of them arrived in Crete that Titus should come and visit him in Nicopolis. Now Paul’s request to visit him in Nicopolis was not a mere wish or suggestion that Titus could have taken lightly. First and foremost there is an imperative tone to this request – “come to me” has the weight of a command. Secondly, there is nothing casual or carefree about this request—the call to “do your best” is “make every effort” (NASB) comes from the Greek word spoudozo— I know it’s a word many of you have heard Pastor Jake highlight through the years. “Do your best” (spoudazo) literally means “to do something hurriedly and with the implication of associated energy; exert your energy to come quickly” (Louw & Nida). Paul wanted Titus to give 110% to make his way to Nicopolis! Once Artemas or Tychicus arrived in Crete Titus should invest his energy and effort to visiting Paul in Nicopolis. Nicopolis was located on the west coast of Greece about two hundred miles NW of Athens. Titus would make the 300 mile journey north to the city of Nicopolis (“city of Victory” – commemorating some conquest). (MAP). At the time Paul was penning the letter he had already determined to spend the winter in Nicoplis. Since it was almost impossible to travel by sea during the winter Paul has already decided he would travel there before winter and was calling Titus to come join him there. Once Artemas or Tychicus arrived to take over ministry and leadership of the churches in Crete he was supposed to exert his energy to reunite with him in Nicopolis as soon as possible!

APPLICATION

Will our relationships be marked by “Teamwork?” I love this picture of teamwork in our lives as a church family. Titus reveals a vital principle that has life-changing implications for our lives as a church family: We must minister as a team. We’re reminded of the first building block in Titus – gospel-centered ministry - which requires us being in relationship as a team! The ministry of the gospel is not a one man show – it’s not just Paul, just Titus, just Artemas, or just Tychicus, it’s all of them sharing the load and doing ministry together. Just like the early church our relationship must be marked by “Teamwork.” One of my primary responsibilities as your pastor is to “equip you for the work of ministry” (). We must live out our disciple-making mission together. Christians must never become isolated or live as “lone rangers.” We are called to be in relationship with God and with one another, ministering together as a team! Remember Jesus sent out the disciples two by two! ( & ). If we’re going to be effective as a church it can never be just Jeff, just Jake, just Virginia, just Billy, just Joe (soundbooth), just Jerry, just Belinda, or just Nikki. It’s all of us sharing the ministry – shoulder to shoulder, hand in hand as each one exercises their gifts—united together as we strive to fulfill our disciple-making mission. We need every believer engaged and sharing in the work that God has called us to do. We must be engaged in team ministry—doing ministry together—sharing the load as we each fulfill specific roles & responsibilities!

NurseryAWANA – meals & leaders Worship GreetingMinistry Teams – ministry team leaders for the coming year! (Pics)

Many of you are already there! You’re excited about and are engaged in this team effort of gospel. We are beginning a new chapter of gospel ministry at MBC. We have some exciting days ahead. God is going to work in and through us – lives are going to be transformed in the days to come – I believe we’re going to see people put their faith in Jesus for the first time, people get baptized as professing believers, people growing deeper in the word and their walk with God, people loving each other and our community, and people sharing their gifts and the gospel – all for the glory of God! We’re called to minister as a team – we must do this together- may our relationships be marked by “Teamwork.”

B) Acts of Charity (3:13-14)

Let’s consider a second characteristic of “Godly Relationships.” In reveals that Our relationship with one another as believers must be marked by “Personal Charity.” “Personal Charity.” We see the emphasis on “Personal Charity” among fellow believers in the second personal exhortation in —Do everything you can to help Zenas the layer and Apollos on their way and see that they have everything they need. Our people must learn to devote themselves to doing what is good, in order that they may provide for daily necessities and not live unproductive lives.

There is one primary command in this exhortation—“do everything you can to help Zenas the lawyer and Apollos on their way and see that they have everything they need.” The plea to “do everything you can” is another form of the Greek word “spoudazo.” This is the second call for Titus to invest his own energy and effort to help Zenas and Apollos so they have everything that they need. We’re introduced to two more first century Christians—Zenas the lawyer and Apollos. Who are these guys and why do they need help?

Zenas ~ This is the only place in the NT that mentions the lawyer named Zenas. If he was a Jewish lawyer as mentioned in the Gospels he would have been an expert in the Jewish law but his name is Greek so it’s more likely he was an expert in the Roman law and used his knowledge and abilities to advance the gospel. Zenas is the only Christian lawyer mentioned in the Bible.

Apollos ~ The name Apollos is mentioned eleven (11) times in the NT. The name Apollos is an abbreviation of his full name Apollonius. He was an Alexandrian Jew who possessed a profound knowledge of the OT (). When he came to Ephesus Pricilla and Aquila taught him more about the out-pouring and indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit in the lives of believers upon conversion (). Apollos eventually traveled to Corinth where he became a leader in the churches, he was an effective apologist of the Christian faith for the Jews (), and eventually became one of Paul’s trusted ministry associates. Since the time of Martin Luther many believe that Apollos is the penman of the book of Hebrews.

Zenas and Apollos were minsters of the gospel. We can think of them as missionaries who had specific financial and physical needs as they traveled from place to place. Paul had discharged Zenas and Apollos on a mission journey that would take them through Crete. It’s probably that they delivered the letter to Titus. In that case Zenas and Apollos were on the island preparing to depart on their next ministry journey. Paul challenged Titus to do all that he could to ensure that these two men had all of their needs met before leaving the island. The call for Christians to assist Christian workers on their journey’s is encouraged in the NT (, , , , , , ). Paul exhorted Titus to give his effort to help Zenas and Apollos with their urgent needs, providing money, food, shelter, and any other provisions so they had what they needed for their next journey.

Titus’ personal efforts to help Zenas and Apollos would be instructive for the rest of the believers in Crete. Titus would set an example of “Personal Charity” that would teach the Christians in Crete the importance of doing good. We see the instructive nature of Titus’ example—“our people must learn to devote themselves to doing what is good, in order that they provide for daily necessities and not live unproductive lives”—Titus’ efforts would teach the Christians that good works are a priority in the Christian life (the focus of last week’s message). The Christians in Crete in the first century, and the Christian in Scottsbluff in the 21st Century must “keep on learning” to be devoted to doing what is good—learning to be devoted to “fine actions and righteous deeds” (Stott) takes a life time. The devotion to doing what is good would be reflected in their “Personal charity” toward Zenas and Apollos. We see the two-fold result the good work of supporting Zenas & Apollos. First, they would have a part in meeting the urgent needs of their journey. The financial and material support of the Christians in Crete would help provide for their daily necessities—their indispensable and urgent needs of each day would be met as they traveled place to place sharing the gospel and encouraging other believers. Secondly, their “good work” of helping Zenas and Apollos with their daily needs would keep them from living “unproductive lives”—the acts of personal charity would keep the believers in Crete from living unfruitful or useless lives. We see this devotion to good works in this way impacts both the “physical” welfare of those in need (their needs will be met) as well as the spiritual welfare of those who help (they will not be unfruitful).

· Brown - “Christianity which does not involve generosity and self-denial in the most ordinary ways is apt to become a barren profession.”

Titus highlights the importance of “charity” in the life of the church. Titus and the Christians in Crete were called to help provide for the needs of their fellow believers. The same is true for us as a church family.

APPLICATION

Will our relationships be marked by charity? May our relationship with one another be marked by “Charity.” Titus reveals a life-changing principle for our relationships with one another as a family of believers: We must provide for one another’s needs. We must come alongside one another to help one another—providing assistance and aid as God gives us opportunity—for this is one of the ways we are devoted to doing what is good.

Certainly this can be directed applied to our generous support of our missionaries who have so many urgent needs as they minister around the world. We can help supply those needs in tangible ways. I look forward to being a church that is committed to being partners in ministry with the missionaries we support. I look forward to developing deeper relationships with the missionaries we’re going to support in the days ahead. We will be putting some time and effort into evaluating our approach to supporting missionaries and how we can be more effective in the future.

We can also apply this truth beyond helping our missionaries. Our lives relationship with one another must be marked by “Personal Charity.” We must generously care for one another’s (fellow believers) needs. We must be a church that continues to learn how to be devoted to doing good by helping one another with our financial, physical, emotional, and spiritual needs of the body.

· Meeting an individual need: help with clothes, $, advice, encouragement, meal, or diapers.

· Giving to the Deacon’s Offering – One of the easiest ways to be devote to “Personal Charity” is through our Deacon’s offering each month. Today we’ll be taking an extra Deacons Offering at the end of the service that is used to meet needs in the body. Please plan to give “above and beyond” your regular giving to the general budget each month so that the needs in the body can be fully met. Your acts of “personal charity” through the Deacon’s fund is a good work that will help care for the needs of others in the body.

We cannot neglect the needs in our family. 1 John makes it clear that our acts of “Personal Charity” are a demonstration of our love for one another (). We’re going to have our hearts confronted with these practical expressions of care in our “one another” summer series which begins next week! Let’s be a church committed to acts of “Personal Charity” in our relationship with one another.

C) Expressions of Love (3:15)

Let’s consider the third and final characteristic of godly relationships from the closing section of this letter. In we find an expression of “Genuine Love” among the first century believers. The letter concludes with this final statement—"Everyone with me sends you greetings. Greet those who love us in the faith. Grace be with you all.

The letter ends on a deeply relational note. The Christians with Paul wanted to pass on their greetings to Titus. The Christians with Paul cared so much about Titus that they wanted to send him their own warm greetings. I envision that once these believer heard that Paul was going to send Titus a letter, they had to make sure that Paul sent Titus their personal greetings. If you have genuine love for someone, but you can’t see them face to face and hear someone else is going to see them, you can’t help but ask them to pass on your “hi” and “I love you” in your absence. I don’t know how many times I’ve said in a text or call, “Please tell your family hi and give them a hug from us.” (Text) That’s what’s happening in the first century church! Titus first receives warm greetings for Paul and his companions, and is then exhorted to pass on those greetings to the believers in Crete. Paul wanted to make sure that these loving greetings were passed on—“Greet those who love us in the faith.” Just as the Christians with Paul wanted to pass on their warm greeting to Titus, they also wanted to have him “greet” all the believers in Crete who loved them because of their unity in the faith—greet those who possess a brotherly (phileo) love for us who share a common faith—thus it’s a call for Titus to communicate warm greetings to all of their fellow-Christians on the island.

· “Phileo love makes us dear friends. In phileo love we share thoughts and feelings and attitudes and plans and dreams.”

We see the first century believers bound together by their affection for one another which prompted them to send their greetings. The passing of warm greetings between these Christians separated by hundreds of miles reveals their genuine love for one another. We see a reciprocal expression of love—Paul and his companions love for Titus and the Christians in Crete—and Titus and the Christians in Crete brotherly love for Paul and his companions. Paul highlighted that the believers in Crete possessed a deep and abiding brotherly love for the believers who were with him (vice verses).

APPLICATION

Are we going to be a church family that expresses our genuine love in our relationship with one another? Titus highlights a third life-changing principle—We should express our love for one another. Our relationship with one another must be marked by the expression of “Genuine Love.” Will our relationships be saturated by the expression of genuine love? We must take the time to communicate our love for one another. We need to have this expression of genuine love happen from front door greeter, to the ushers, to the pews, in the greeting time, after the worship service, and into the each day of the week.

· Meet n Greet one another! We might have to learn each other’s names. (Scary!) Let’s put this to a test from a few brave souls this morning. I need a volunteer to stand and identify someone in the room that they have never met – do I have a volunteer? (Meet n Greet #1) Let’s go make this happen since you didn’t get a chance to meet them up to this point. How about a second volunteer? All the introverts in the room are ready to run out of the sanctuary – hang with me, please! (Meet n Greet #2) Now that wasn’t too painful, painful but not too painful.

· Card or call – Another way you can express you genuine love for one another this week is through a phone call or card. You can take a moment to ring someone up on the phone to express your love just by checking in on them and perhaps praying with them. You could send them a note expressing your genuine love for them and a word of encouragement.

There are countless ways for us to express our genuine love for one another. Some of you excel in this already—press on! Some of you are super creative and the Lord will give you new ways to live this out in our family. Some of you struggle in this area—perhaps your new and you don’t know where to begin, perhaps you feel disconnected so the idea of expressing genuine love for someone feels awkward—ask the HS to guide you and take one simple step forward by meeting someone new today, inviting someone out to lunch today to get to know them. Let’s be a church committed to developing genuine love for one another and expressing our genuine love for one another by the power of the HS.

D) Prayers of Grace (3:15)

Let’s consider the fourth and final characteristic of our relationships. We come to the final sentence of this letter—“Grace be with you all.” This letter concludes with a “Benediction” or closing prayer. The final sentence of the letter is a customary (traditional) first century Benediction that we see in several of the NT letters. The letter begins with grace and ends with grace, how fitting!

Paul prayed a blessing of “grace” for all the believers in Crete. Paul asked for the unmerited favor of God to be with each and every Christian on the island of Crete. Paul prays that God’s grace—His unmerited favor in Jesus Christ—would be ever present and continue its transforming work in their lives. What a wonderful way to close out this letter—a simple “prayer of grace”—knowing that the God of all grace can flood their lives with His saving and sanctifying grace.

APPLICATION

Will our relationship with one another be marked by “Prayers of Grace?” Titus leaves us with one last principle that guides our relationship as brothers and sisters: We should uphold one another in prayer. We’ll talk more about praying for one another later this summer but didn’t want to brush over this benediction of grace in Titus. Paul’s love for Titus and the Christians in Crete prompted him to pray for God’s grace to flood their lives. How would our lives be transformed if we commit to praying the same for one another? Let’s be a church family that prays for God’s unmerited favor to be manifested in each other’s lives. One simple “benediction” of grace will make a huge impact in our lives - for all us need God’s saving and sustaining grace to flood our lives each day.

· Bulletin Prayer List – pray a benediction of God’s grace over each one

· Directory (New copies coming soon) – If you have one, please take a page each week to prayer a benediction of grace over each person!

May our relationships be transformed by these “Prayers of Grace” we can pray for each other!

CONCLUSION

Refresh – Joke about friendships/relationships

Renew

God cares deeply about our relationship with one another as members of His family. We desperately need to develop and deepen our relationship with one another as we strive to live out our disciple-making mission as a church. We want MBC to be a church where “GODLY RELATIONSHIPS” are fostered and flourish.

Restate

May the relationships in this church family be marked by these four characteristics…

· Team Ministry

· Acts of Charity

· The Expression of Love

· Prayers of Grace

COMMUNION

Today we have the special opportunity to celebrate God’s saving work in Jesus which made it possible for us to have a relationship with God and one another. The first Sunday of each month we celebrate “Communion” or “The Lord’s Supper.” Communion by the very nature of it’s name highlights the “relational” aspect of God’s saving work – we come to this table to “commune” together with the living God who has reconciled us to Himself and to one another through Jesus’ finished work on the cross. Therefore “Communion” or the Lord’s supper is time of remembrance – remembering Jesus’ sacrifice on the Cross – His body was pierced and His blood was shed to pay for our sins in full once and for all. We come to remember the present life we have in Jesus and the future return and restoration of all things and the promise of life in the Kingdom. We come to the table gratefully and reverently – examining ourselves - for our relationship with one another is so important that God’s Word says that if we are not right with our brother we should wait to participate in communion until there has been forgiveness and reconciliation. Take time this morning to have God search your heart as you prepare your heart from this significant celebration of God’s saving work – If you have put your faith in Jesus Christ as your Savior you are welcome to join us in this celebration of God’s saving work in Jesus and the life that is in Him. Let’s pray!

PRAYER

SCRIPTURE READINGS (Mike)

·

· “Do this in remembrance of me”

HYMN

BENEDICTION/BLESSING