PREACHING (Titus 1:1-3)

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Ambrose Joseph
5 years ago
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1 PREACHING (Titus 1:1-3) Something in many places today that continues to take an awful knocking is the subject of preaching. It is considered to be out-dated and in need of an urgent replacement. And, of course, in some places the preaching of the Word of God is no longer the priority. Some of the things preachers do be told Don t preach so long. Don t preach so heavy. Put in a few stories and a few jokes to lighten the mood. It s hard to please everybody all the time and it s hard also to preach a sermon that speaks into your personal situation week after week. (Some weeks you might feel, Oh, that s for me today. Other weeks, it mightn t be particularly relevant.) But what about preaching? Is it time to listen to those in the modern church or is it time to reanalyse why God chose this particular medium to make known His truth? Titus was on the island of Crete, - Paul had been there with him and had left him to correct the things that were wrong in that church. Titus was a Greek believer who had served Paul well at Corinth (II Cor. 7:13-14; 8:6, 23; 12:18), and there is every likelihood it was Paul who had led him to the Saviour (Titus 1:4). Acts 2:11 tells us there were people from Crete listening to Peter on the Day of Pentecost; it is every bit likely that they brought the Gospel home and, of course, all the stories of those miraculous days in Jerusalem. However, these people on the island of Crete weren t the easiest to work with, and Titus became so discouraged. After being back in Crete for a good few years following that tremendous Pentecost, the memories of Jerusalem had become forgotten and the church there lost its enthusiasm, because there was nothing exciting happening. But these people from Crete were a people well-known! One of their own folk wrote about them, 1:12 The Cretians are alway liars, evil beasts, slow bellies. And Paul didn t mince his words either, v.13 This witness is true.

2 D.G. 2 And not a bit of wonder Titus was discouraged, and this body of believers was sitting idly in the beautiful heat of the Mediterranean and you know what happens with idle hands, - the devil finds work for idle hands! And Titus had his fair share of problems in this church, He didn t have the support of the leaders the way he should have had because they couldn t be bothered putting themselves out, And whenever you have people who have plenty of time to lie back they often use that time to search out mischief and trouble and Titus had more than his fair share. So how did Paul instruct Titus? I believe what Paul said to Titus is as important for us today as it was in the 1 st cent. AD. Paul told Titus what he ought to be doing and he told him to get on with it. Imagine starting off a personal letter with the words Paul began this letter 1:1-3. As I read these words Paul wrote to Titus, here are some of the thoughts that go through my mind THE CONFIDENCE IN PREACHING v.2 God, that cannot lie Titus had become so disheartened and depressed. He wasn t seeing much fruit, - if any, - for his labour. Instead he was seeing a widespread apathy and idleness among God s people, They had no desire to tell others about Christ, They had no desire to put themselves out for Christ. And Titus was suffering from loneliness in the work of God and it would have been so easy to up sticks and move on. But Paul told him to stay where he was and continue to do what God had called him there to do. Paul reminded him again of the Subject of his preaching, God, that cannot lie; Paul reminded him to preach the Word and what it said about God. He wasn t there to preach what the people wanted to hear, he was there to preach what the people needed to hear! You see, Titus was told to use the Bible, which in those days consisted only of the Old Testament, and he was told to bring the attention of the people to no other place other than the Word of God.

3 D.G. 3 And Paul told him to preach it and not to stop preaching it! That s what Paul did To the Corinthians he wrote, we preach Christ crucified, When he went to Macedonia he told them he believed (Acts 16:10) the Lord had called us for to preach the gospel. In Thessalonika (17:2,3) And Paul, as his manner was, went in unto them, and three sabbath days reasoned with them out of the scriptures, Opening and alleging, that Christ must needs have suffered, and risen again from the dead; and that this Jesus, whom I preach unto you, is Christ. To the church in Rome he wrote, 15:20 Yea, so have I strived to preach the gospel Again, to the church in Corinth, I Cor. 9:16 For though I preach the gospel, I have nothing to glory of: for necessity is laid upon me; yea, woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel! Titus, says Paul, God has called you to the Island of Crete to make His Name known so preach it! God, that cannot lie, - doesn t that underline the infallibility of His Word and the inerrancy of His Word! for you know that all of God s Word is true, - every word of it, every sentence of it, every chapter, every book, - it s God s Word God, that cannot lie! And, you see, I m not standing here telling you what some great theologian has written, - no matter how much respect I may have for him, - we re looking into God s Book this evening and Paul encouraged Titus to be confident in his preaching because he is preaching nothing else other than the Word of God. THE COMMITMENT TO PREACHING v.3 in due times manifested His word through preaching This is the prince of preachers writing here, - Paul remember some of the things that happened to him, Imprisoned for preaching, whipped for preaching, mocked while preaching, confronted while preaching And what did he keep on doing? He kept on preaching, And why did he keep on doing it? Because he believed in its power!

4 D.G. 4 Did he have a special formula? No, he didn t for here is what he wrote, I Cor. 2:1 brethren, when I came to you, [I] came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God. 2 For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified. 3 And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling. 4 And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power: By his own admission he wasn t the most articulate, he could have given up any amount of times what with all the opposition he faced, - both from unbelievers and also those who opposed him within the churches. There wasn t a church he wrote an epistle to in which there wasn t someone who stood up and opposed him! But he was committed to preaching because he was confident that in due times [God] manifested His word through preaching. He trusted the old verse, Is. 55: 11 So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it. He sought the leading of the Holy Spirit for his next opportunity, - he was committed to preaching the Word and nothing would hinder him because he was confident that God blesses the preaching of His Word. THE CONSEQUENCE OF PREACHING v.1 the acknowledging of the truth which is after godliness On one occasion Paul began to preach in the early morning and he didn t quit until midnight and the Bible puts it rather cutely, Acts 20:9 Paul was long preaching (!) And what did he preach? this man who came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, who came in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling and whose preaching was not with enticing words of man s wisdom. He preached Christ nothing else When he spoke to the backward people in the towns and villages of Asia Minor he preached unto them Jesus, When he met all the intellectuals on Mars Hill in Athens he preached unto them Jesus, It was the only message he had because it was what the Holy Spirit of God had laid upon his heart to preach and people s lives were changed to God s glory he preached unto them Jesus.

5 D.G. 5 When the Holy Spirit opened their hearts as He did with Lydia at the side of the river at Philippi that dear woman came to an acknowledgement of the truth which is after godliness as Paul preached unto her Jesus. You see, Titus, when the Holy Spirit takes the Word of God and He implants it in the soul, He waters it, He tends it, He cares after it and it brings forth fruit on to the glory of the Lord. That s the consequence of preaching and that is why it is important to preach the Word and to keep on preaching the Word and to not stop preaching the Word. You tell me how the New Testament grew, - it was through the preaching of the Word! Did they try open-air concerts? No, they preached the Word. Did they try to make the Gospel sinner-friendly by using the trends of the day? No, they didn t, they preached the Word and said Paul (I Cor. 1:21) it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. and says the first part of our verse 1, Titus 1:1 Paul, a servant of God, and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God's elect You see! the consequence of preaching is the acknowledging of the truth which is after godliness. CONCLUSION. Robert Murray McCheyne said, A man cannot be a faithful Minister until he preaches Christ for Christ s sake. That s what Paul reminded Titus. He was telling him to go all out to be confident in preaching the Word. Titus, stand up and preach Christ! You might be standing alone but preach Christ! He reminded him again to be committed to preaching the Word, even when it seems as if all ears are closed to its message and there don t seem to be any substantive results. Keep your grip on the Word, Titus, and it will grip you and your people even those lazy Cretans! D.L. Moody said, The best way to revive a church is to build a fire in the pulpit! And the consequence of preaching is so that the hearers of the Word acknowledge the truth which is after godliness.

6 D.G. 6 I urge you to pray for the preaching of the Word, For the time spent in the study so many hours every week. For its proclamation, that it will come with all the accompanying power of the Holy Spirit. Pray that as the Word is preached it will search out the listener and it will be as a seed planted in the soul, to the glory of God. Pray in these days when sound preaching is under attack for every Pastor and Preacher who opens that Word that through the preaching of the Word God would visit His people again in a mighty revival. I m standing in front of you but it is all our responsibility to proclaim the unsearchable riches of Christ. Pray and keep on praying to that end for the practice of preaching is the primary means by which God has instituted His Word to be spread.

THE THREE THREE S I Thess. 1:1-4

THE THREE THREE S I Thess. 1:1-4 We re going to begin a study into the First Epistle of Paul to the Church meeting at Thessalonika, in the north-western coasts of the Aegean Sea. It was the largest city