In order to preach this before you my beloved brothers, I am forced to see myself in truth and I lack deeply before my God and before you. That is why I struggle and am crippled even to share the simple things God gives me to share.
"When all is said and done, the life of faith is nothing if not an unending struggle of the spirit with every available weapon against the flesh."
― Dietrich Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship
I. In Titus 1:1-4 We get Purpose Heart and Drive. Why we are here what are we about -we get order.
a. We may not be apostles but we are "servants of God".
b. We have the very same hope as Paul. "The hope of eternal life." From God who cannot lie.
c. We have Gods word through his spirit filled saints. II Timothy 3:16
In verse 4- It shows that when we are on the same page, fighting the battle together. It is natural for there to be a closer relationship with one another as fellow combatants building unity within the body of Christ.
Verses 5-8
If we step back and see the big picture what we see is an antithesis between the passions and appetites that are the difference between two, not just opposite but opposing world views. One is marked by self-control the other is marked by self-indulgence. It is not that we should look at this list, try to do these things and somehow we will qualify for the seat of eldership. NO it is that Jesus Christ is the center of your life and this is how others will know it.
Romans 6:
15-18 What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! 16Don't you know that when you offer yourselves to someone to obey him as slaves, you are slaves to the one whom you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness? 17But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you wholeheartedly obeyed the form of teaching to which you were entrusted. 18You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.
The one command of the evil one is to "do what thou wilt".
"Love the Lord your God with all your heart mind soul and strength and your neighbor as yourself". Deuteronomy 6:5
For us today the primary concern is stated in Acts 6:3, it is the presuppositional thought at the time Paul wrote the letter to Titus. If you are a Christian you have the Spirit of God in you. He is our comforter and teacher. He changes our affections that we become compelled to pursue integrity and righteousness. The fruit of the spirit is not something we try to do. It's what we love. Our desires are taken off the things of death and placed on life. That is the supernatural work of God in our lives. It is then that we can taste and see that the Lord is good.
Why does this matter? What does it mean?
When we think of spirit filled people we think of those who are intangible unaccountable like a drifting mist, heavenly minded---
It seems we are more comfortable with friendly emotions rather than the law of God; when we run into the law of God -believe me there are plenty of emotions.
You can't be full of the Spirit and reject Gods Law!
Exodus 31:1-5
1 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 2See, I have called by name Bezaleel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah: 3And I have filled him with the spirit of God, in wisdom, and in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship, 4To devise cunning works, to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass, 5And in cutting of stones, to set them, and in carving of timber, to work in all manner of workmanship.
Being Spirit filled is more tangible in fact it's practical and takes dominion. Gods Spirit fulfills Gods purposes.
"The Holy Spirit thus has a more general as well as a more specific place in our lives and world than is generally recognized. The doctrine of vocation or calling must be seen as essentially related to the Holy Spirit. We are therefore not alone; whatever our gifts or vocation, however, great or small, we are the instruments of the Holy Spirit. To limit the Spirit's manifestations in our lives to dramatic or ecstatic experiences is to limit severely our relationship to Him. He is very much present in all our daily tasks, and we have the duty to recognize His presence and power".
R.J. Rushdoony "the spirit filled men"
1 cor 4:7b What do we have that we have not receive?
"In the modern view, each man is a little god and creator, whereas our text tells us that the Holy Spirit is the source of our gifts, and neither we nor our gifts are an end in themselves. We are God's creation, for His Kingdom purposes, and there is "a work to be done." R.J. Rushdoony
"Are you zealous for my sake? Oh, that all the Lord's people were prophets and that the Lord would put His Spirit upon them!" Numbers 11:34-35 Moses
I think being filled with the Spirit means basically having great joy in God. And since the Bible teaches that "the joy of the Lord is our strength" (Nehemiah 8:10), it also means there will be power in this joy for overcoming besetting sins and for boldness in witness. But basically it means radiant joy because the Spirit who fills us is the Spirit of joy that flows between God the Father and God the Son because of the delight they have in each other. Therefore, to be filled with the Spirit means to be caught into the joy that flows among the Holy Trinity and to love God the Father and God the Son with the very love with which they love each other. And then, in answer to the second question, the way to be filled with the Spirit is by trusting that the God of hope really reigns -- that not a sparrow falls to the ground apart from His will (Matthew 10:29) -- and that He runs the world for you and for all who trust His word. In believing that, you will be filled with the Holy Spirit and with joy. John Piper
This goes much further than conviction!
- If you understand affections then you will understand what is meant by joy. We hate lying because we love the truth…
For the Kingdom of God is not meat and drink, but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost. Romans 14:17 Paul
In verses 5 Paul lays out what Titus should be doing
- Thou shouldest continue in the things that remain
- Setting the churches in order
- Leadership
- Teaching
- Serving
- Leadership
- Ordain Elders in every city as I appointed you.
- The word for Elder presbýteros – properly, a mature man having seasoned judgment (experience);
*As we go through this you will see that its character
In verse 6-8 we get antithesis, do's and don'ts of the Christian life and therein lies our danger. As soon as we have a list we tend to start justifying ourselves. And young men, this is for you! If you're looking for a list of manly character; here it is. Young men should be attaining it, and men of all ages should be living it. Elders lead in doing the very same things that everyone else is.
Not special assignment it's normal assignment.
Doà
Blameless- ä-ne'n-klā-tos=without fault; innocent; guiltless; not meriting censure. Unreproveable
Husband of one wife= Polygamy was ramped and There is no better place to learn godly character then the home.
1. Pressure
2. Accountability
Faithful-
pē-sto's= 1) trusty, faithful
a) of persons who show themselves faithful in the transaction of business, the execution of commands, or the discharge of official duties
c) that can be relied on
a) believing, confiding, trusting
b) in the NT one who trusts in God's promises
1) one who is convinced that Jesus has been raised from the dead
2) one who has become convinced that Jesus is the Messiah and author of salvation.
Don't à
Self-willed-
au-thä'-dās=
1) self-pleasing, self-willed, arrogant
Soon angry-
or-gē'-los=
1) prone to anger, irascible
Not given to wine-
pä'-roi-nos=1) given to wine, drunken
Striker-plā'k-tās=
1) bruiser, ready for a blow
2) a pugnacious, contentious, quarrelsome person
Given to filthy lucre-
īs-khro-ker-dā's=
1) eager for base gain, greedy for money
Doà
Hospitality-
fē-lo'-kse-nos= hospitable, generous to guests._1Tim 3:2,1 Pet 4:9
A Lover of Good Men-
fē-lä'-gä-thos= loving goodness.
Derived from
fē'-los=
friend, to be friendly to one, wish him well
a) a friend
b) an associate
&
ä-gä-tho's=
1) of good constitution or nature
3) good, pleasant, agreeable, joyful, happy
Sober-
sō'-frōn=
1) of a sound mind, sane, in one's senses
2) curbing one's desires and impulses, self-controlled, temperate._1Tim 3:2,Tts 2:2,2:5
Just-dē'-kī-os=
1) righteous, observing divine laws
a) in a wide sense, upright, righteous, virtuous, keeping the commands of God
Used as- Righteous-41, Just-33,Right-5,Meet-2.
Derived from-
dē'-kā=
1) customs
2) right, just
3) a suit at law
Holy-
ho'-sē-os=
1) undefiled by sin, free from wickedness, religiously observing every moral obligation, pure holy, pious.
Most commonly used as-Holy-4,Holy One-2
Temperate-en-krä-tā's=
1) strong, robust
2) having power over, possessed of (a thing)
3) mastering, controlling, curbing, restraining
a) controlling one's self, temperate, continent. Self-controlled or self-governed.
What a list but if we just read this list and go on I think we can miss something important.
When I was a young man I spent a month in Africa, in C.A.R. Central African Republic. There were many things that left an indelible mark on me.
1. The simplicity of life. No rush or stress
2. Real humble living. Huts/dirt roads
3. Beautiful images in my mind. Grapefruit/Singing ladies/gifts
4. Foreign languages.
a. Asontae asontae-sona – Thank thank you very much - Swahili
b. Bowana zombie now-lo cola – Jesus is in the sky
c. Hello depended on who you were talking to.
1. Seno = Hello at a distance or to children
2. Sena = hello up close to adults, more respectful
3 Sena fer-rony = an endearing hello to adults up close
Just to say hello they are mindful of who they are addressing and propriety. To others around it is clear who you are talking to. This type of thing is not that uncommon in foreign languages, but to Americans it appears a little odd.
As we study the word of God there are a lot of details that can be missed especially if we don't speak Hebrew and Greek. One of which that seems to shed some light on this current issue is that of Inflection. Inflections can indicate 1 of three things
1. Singular or plural. If it has an s on the end of a noun then you are indicating that there is more than one.
2. There state as absolute or construct. When one noun affects the other.
3. Their gender as male or female.
While I don't believe having women in the pulpit is our issue, it is an issue of our day and it affects us. We live in a deeply narcissistic and feminine culture. Any man who has been through the public education juggernaut has had his mind crippled and his manhood deeply repressed. When someone is rescued from this state by the living God what they really need is to be deprogrammed and catechized.
- They need to learn that God
created and real science is biblical. - They need to know that God is in control of History and you don't break Gods law Gods law breaks you.
- They need to know that Reality is defined by God just like all truth beauty and order.
- They need to know that to glorify God alone is there purpose and in that is all joy and fulfillment.
- They need to know that they can't trust what they think or feel but only the word of God.
We call this discipleship. It's not just man's work but everyone's and we all have our places.Matthew28:19
As we read verses 6-8; we see that 17 of these words are in the Masculine inflection. Of which; I believe it is Gods exclamation point on the fact that he has order and we should never quibble about it.
Paul is clearly directing this towards Men…
-The world is shouting to our ladies that they must have fulfillment they must have control, a college degree and a pay check. The modern American woman is more prepared to be a man then our young men. The ravages of which make their way into all of our lives in many ways but the very worst of them is abortion.
For us it looks like a young lady whose joy is not found in what the bible says about womanhood.
-Tts 2:3-5, Or for a young man whose joy is not found in biblical manhood –Titus 1:5-9
The church of God is floundering and neglecting the Spirit of the living God. The culture is being lost and the imperfect foundations that were the surest the world has ever known are crumbling. All the while the in touch crowd are excited by this destruction and lost ground. It's a dispensational dereliction of duty and a total disregard for the suffering and bloodshed that purchased this liberty for you!
While we are claiming a spiritual connectedness we are drinking deep from the polluted fountain of apathy. Our emotional drunkenness is surrendering these treasured foundations to tyranny instead of building cathedrals for Christ out of complete and utter reverence for Him.
"Unless the Lord builds the house the workman labors in vain". Psalm127
How does God do that- 1. Providence
2. Spiritual gifting –Talents/abilities
"Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit says the Lord of Hosts" Zechariah 4:6
In our cultural rejection of all things Christian and manly, we in the church like a gentle and kind touchy feely feminized pulpit, that is to gentle to hate the sin in you and in me.
Please forgive us Almighty God.
When we either deny or don't recognize the power and effect of the Holy Spirit in our lives we rob men of the hand of God on them.
àWe must teach our young men to fight and roar and overcome; taking dominion of all things to the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ!
We are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its savor, wherewith shall it be salted. Matthew 5:13
i) salt is offensive – just try pouring it in a wound. Our society is wounded, will you be salt?
The Gospel is good news but it is also offensive. We need to tell
People… As a result of the best things you have ever done God is revolted and all heaven will rejoice at the justice of Him throwing you into hell.
Do you know who you serve?
The Lion of the tribe Judah! Does that sound safe?
It is an abomination for the soldiers of the cross to slip through life unnoticed.
Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. 2Timothy 3:12 Have you experienced this?
Our brothers in other countries are losing their lives; but in America "the land of religious tolerance" we don't see persecution.
Either God is wrong or we are not living a Godly in Christ Jesus.
"Godliness, as denoting character and conduct determined by the principle of love or fear of God in the heart, is the summing up of genuine religion. There can be no true religion without it: only a dead "form" " James Orr
God our Father living still and we live untouched and unmotivated?
Do you want to see Him?
Do you want to know Him?
Do you know who this is????????
If every fiber of your flesh doesn't cry out for God the living God – Then I fear for you!
Psalm84:2
I am broken because Jesus loves me
àAnd as a result I can say that I am a disciple that Jesus loves
I can do all things Through Christ who strengthens me because Philippians 4:13
à The Spirit of God is in me in real and practical ways that Help me do what He desires.
