The Word This Week
Titus 1:1...
The example of Titus is he is a man under authority.
You cannot be a good leader until you have first proven yourself to be a good follower.
The basis for being a disciple of Jesus Christ is to be a follower of Jesus Christ. Jesus only established one institution while He was here of earth – and that institution is His Church.
We saw the birthing fluids of blood and water flowing from the side of Christ as He was pierced with a spear by the Roman executioner. His Church is a hard-earned entity, and its members are to keep their eyes on Jesus, especially as they serve Jesus.
Titus is a wonderful example of this.
Paul entrusts Titus with the vital task of establishing The Church on the island of Crete. Crete was a Mediterranean island 160 miles long and 35 miles wide at its widest point.
This is after Titus has often demonstrated his ability to be Paul’s ‘fixer.’ Titus was a Greek, of Gentile birth, and was free to move about the Roman world. He could be employed as an emissary of Paul to the Gentile churches he had planted throughout the Gentile world. Paul has often sent Titus to visit churches as his advance man, as he did prior to his second visit to the church at Corinth, and here we see him left at Crete to establish the Church on the entire island.
This is a huge undertaking for this man just now stepping out of Paul’s giant shadow. His worthiness and faithfulness have already been proven in some very trying circumstances.
One of Paul’s greatest attributes was to identify and employ able men to carry out his ministry in Jesus’ name. His trust was in the Holy Spirit to guide these brothers who had already demonstrated their willingness to be completely submitted to the Holy Spirit. It would have been the Holy Spirit Who first identified Titus as a worthy disciple, and now it is the Holy Spirit Who commands Paul to leave him with this monumental task.
Notably, Paul provides the same framework for establishing and maintaining the Church at Crete as he had with Timothy, whom Paul had likewise left to build up the Church at Ephesus. This pattern is worthy of repeating, and certainly becomes our model as well.
Pastor Bill
The example of Titus is he is a man under authority.
You cannot be a good leader until you have first proven yourself to be a good follower.
The basis for being a disciple of Jesus Christ is to be a follower of Jesus Christ. Jesus only established one institution while He was here of earth – and that institution is His Church.
We saw the birthing fluids of blood and water flowing from the side of Christ as He was pierced with a spear by the Roman executioner. His Church is a hard-earned entity, and its members are to keep their eyes on Jesus, especially as they serve Jesus.
Titus is a wonderful example of this.
Paul entrusts Titus with the vital task of establishing The Church on the island of Crete. Crete was a Mediterranean island 160 miles long and 35 miles wide at its widest point.
This is after Titus has often demonstrated his ability to be Paul’s ‘fixer.’ Titus was a Greek, of Gentile birth, and was free to move about the Roman world. He could be employed as an emissary of Paul to the Gentile churches he had planted throughout the Gentile world. Paul has often sent Titus to visit churches as his advance man, as he did prior to his second visit to the church at Corinth, and here we see him left at Crete to establish the Church on the entire island.
This is a huge undertaking for this man just now stepping out of Paul’s giant shadow. His worthiness and faithfulness have already been proven in some very trying circumstances.
One of Paul’s greatest attributes was to identify and employ able men to carry out his ministry in Jesus’ name. His trust was in the Holy Spirit to guide these brothers who had already demonstrated their willingness to be completely submitted to the Holy Spirit. It would have been the Holy Spirit Who first identified Titus as a worthy disciple, and now it is the Holy Spirit Who commands Paul to leave him with this monumental task.
Notably, Paul provides the same framework for establishing and maintaining the Church at Crete as he had with Timothy, whom Paul had likewise left to build up the Church at Ephesus. This pattern is worthy of repeating, and certainly becomes our model as well.
Pastor Bill