Moments in the life of a Pastor

Walking with God

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35 Teaming Together – Part 3

Titus 3:8-15

8 This is a trustworthy saying. And I want you to stress these things, so that those who have trusted in God may be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good.These things are excellent and profitable for everyone. 9 But avoid foolish controversies and genealogies and arguments and quarrels about the law, because these are unprofitable and useless. 10 Warn a divisive person once, and then warn them a second time. After that, have nothing to do with them. 11 You may be sure that such people are warped and sinful; they are self-condemned. 12 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. 13 Do everything you can to help Zenas the lawyer and Apollos on their way and see that they have everything they need. 14 Our people must learn to devote themselves to doing what is good, in order to provide for urgent needs and not live unproductive lives. 15 Everyone with me sends you greetings. Greet those who love us in the faith. Grace be with you all.

Which leads us to:

  1. Deal with division – 10-11

Paul tells us to be decisive with devise people. While these words are strong they are necessary because we need to protect our fellowship from being fractured. Jesus said that the defining characteristic a watching world should see in every Christian is that we “love one another” (John 13:35). Unfortunately today the church is more defined by its division than its love. What would happen if the church started working together instead of waring with one another? In the first four chapters of 1 Corinthians Paul deals with the importance of unity saying that there should be no divisions in the church. Divisiveness in the church is not just dangerous it is damaging and can be deadly. The word “divisive” means, “to choose for oneself.” This individual is determined to do whatever they want instead of following Gods will. Paul’s remedy for this rebellious heart is the same pill prescribed by Jesus in Matthew 18:15-17. The purpose of these warnings is to be redemptive and restorative, this person is to be warned twice if necessary, with the hope that he will come back. If they don’t respond to restoration Paul says remove them, have nothing to do with them. We should not be timid with troublemakers that have turned from the truth. Confrontation is not comfortable, but we are not called to comfort we are called to obey Christ. Second Paul calls us to:  

  1. Cultivate a Heart of Hard work 
  2. Partner with people – 12  Don’t go it alone, loneranger

The phrase “do your best” is a command with a sense of urgency. He is asking Titus to do his utmost to come. To free him up Paul was planning to send one of two men to take over Titus tasks in Crete. Paul cared about people and Titus was probably warn down from the challenges of leading a church in a corrupt culture. So Paul calls him to come away and get refreshed. Sometimes we forget that pastors are people too. What Paul is doing is following the example set by Jesus who called his disciples to come away and get some rest after they were worn down and weary from ministering to people. Mark 6:31-32 we read that Jesus said “Let’s go off by ourselves to a quiet place and rest awhile. 32 So they left by boat for a quiet place, where they could be alone.” Its not wrong to rest, and this is not the only pastor Paul encouraged to come away, in 2 Timothy 4:21 he called Timothy to come and see him as well. Not only did Paul cared for people he loved to partner with people. Paul was not a lone ranger, in fact he mentions over 100 people by name in his letters. What about you, are you a team player, do you love people? Because according to Paul people are more important than programs. Paul does not tell the church to keep programs going but to keep friendships fresh. Sometimes churches can fall into the trap of loving their programs more than they love people. We need each other and not just important people but all people, Paul was friends with a doctor as well as a runaway slave. God uses notables and nobodies. It’s interesting that of the two men mentioned in Titus 3:12, one of them is well-known, and one is a mystery man. We don’t know anything about Artemas while Tychicus has a very impressive spiritual resume. 

Tychicus was a Courier who helped delivered Paul’s letters to some of the churches, he was Paul’s personal FedEx man. 

He was also a reporter, sharing with churches how Paul was doing as well as sharing with Paul how the church was going. 

He was an Encourager who built up other believers. Are you an encourager or discourager? Do you build others up or break them down? Do your words build trust or build walls? 

He was a Reliever, Scripture tells us that he went and gave Timothy a break in Ephesus (2 Timothy 4:12). Like a relief pitcher, he gave pastor Timothy a break. He wasn’t famous, but he was faithful. We need to team together because none of us have all the gifts on our own. Paul reminds us to not be lazy and not be lone rangers. 


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34 Teaming Together – Part 2

Titus 3:8-15

8 This is a trustworthy saying. And I want you to stress these things, so that those who have trusted in God may be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good.These things are excellent and profitable for everyone. 9 But avoid foolish controversies and genealogies and arguments and quarrels about the law, because these are unprofitable and useless. 10 Warn a divisive person once, and then warn them a second time. After that, have nothing to do with them. 11 You may be sure that such people are warped and sinful; they are self-condemned. 12 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. 13 Do everything you can to help Zenas the lawyer and Apollos on their way and see that they have everything they need. 14 Our people must learn to devote themselves to doing what is good, in order to provide for urgent needs and not live unproductive lives. 15 Everyone with me sends you greetings. Greet those who love us in the faith. Grace be with you all.

  1. Go after Good things – 8b – 

The last part of verse 8 tells us to go after what is good.  Recipients of grace are to be givers of good. Worship should lead to works where our salvation is expresses in acts of service. This idea of going after good things is the “basic message” of Titus. The expression “good works” occurs fourteen times in the letters to Timothy and Titus. One of the greatest ways we can share God is by doing good. The best exercise spiritually for a healthy heart is to bend down several times during the day and serve someone else. Peter pointed to this when he said in 1 Peter 2:12: “Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.” When teaching those with financial means in 1 Timothy 6:18, Paul challenged Christians not just to be rich in dollars but to be rich in deeds: “Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share.” If we want to cultivate a heart of harmony in the church, we need to champion Christ’s cause and make the goal doing good. When we stop sharing salvation story and go after what is good we end up become crabby Christians with critical spirits instead of cheerful ones. When we stop doing good it isn’t long before the griping and the grumbling starts. Third:

  1. Avoid Arguments – 9

Titus is to go after good things and run away from foolish things. The NIV uses the word “avoid” while the New American Standard uses the word, “shun” meaning to turn your back and walk away from controversial conversations. Don’t entertain or engage in pointless arguments. It is important to note that this is in the imperative tense, meaning that it is a command, not a suggestion. Paul is not saying that we shouldn’t discuss or defend the truth. Rather, he is warning against “foolish” controversies. The word “foolish” here is where we get the word “moron” In short Paul is telling us to move away from moronic arguments, steer clear of stupidity. In the early church, there were those who manufactured myths centered on genealogies about angels. We need to be careful about this type of emphasis even today. Bestsellers hit the stores claiming that there are special codes and hidden meanings in the Bible that can predict the future. Other false teachers overemphasized aspects of the Old Testament law, arguing that certain things are “clean” while other are “unclean.” But we are not called to live under the law. Don’t get caught up in these foolish discussions that lead nowhere and have the potential to lead you astray. There are also those who just love to argue. They get off on getting under other people’s skin? Paul calls these people out and says that not only are these people foolish but we don’t have to follow them. If we are not careful we will waste a lot of time and energy arguing over things that in light of eternity are trivial while people around us are heading to hell. Don’t get caught up in petty and pointless arguments that take you away from stressing the salvation story or going after what is good.