Hold The Ball Series

What Paul is saying here is this:

Jesus gave Paul the words he was preaching.

Paul was divinely inspired.

Paul did not give us his personal opinions.

When he preached/ wrote, he was communicated the explicit instructions of his Savior.

Now I believe that - when I prepare my sermons - I am guided by the Holy Spirit. I spend a great deal of time in prayer and in the Word and I am convinced God helps me to put together sermons like the one you’re hearing today.

But MAKE NO MISTAKE - I am nowhere near to being divinely inspired like Paul was.

When I speak from this pulpit, I can make mistakes.

Have any of you ever heard me make mistakes from this pulpit? (my wife raised her hand)

Of course you have.

In the past I’ve sited the wrong scripture passages.

I’ve mispronounced Biblical names (although I find comfort in the fact that probably no one else would have gotten them right anyway).

I’ve even misstated a historical fact or two.

I make mistakes.

That’s the reason God wants you to examine the SCriptures daily in order to make sure what I’m telling you is true (Acts 17:11)

I make mistakes.

Paul didn’t.

When Paul wrote and taught what he wrote and taught about God, he made no mistakes.

Writing about Paul, the Apostle Peter warns us “…our dear brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him…. His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction.” 2 Peter 3:15-16

In other words… Paul’s words were God’s words.

No preacher or teacher or church leader has the authority to say:

“I know that’s what Paul said… but I don’t agree with that!”

I’m sorry – only ignorant and unstable people are foolish enough to say that.

They distort and twist Paul’s writings to their own destruction.

And you do not want to listen to someone who is that foolish.

You don’t even want to be in the same room with those folks – lighting might strike!

Principle #2 – a successful church will base itself solely on God’s Word.

Whether it’s Peter, Paul or Jeremiah. If it’s in the pages of Scripture a successful church will put its faith in those words as having no errors and no mistakes.

The 3rd principle for a successful church is having it’s own house in order.

Titus’ job was to set the church in order.

Look at Titus 1:5

“The reason I left you in Crete was that you might straighten out what was left unfinished and appoint elders in every town, as I directed you.”

As we’ll discover in the coming weeks, there were several things Titus was to “straighten out”. But one of the very 1st things he was to do, was to appoint Elders/ Overseers in every town.

As we examine this part of Scripture, I want you to notice that these Elders don’t have to be great Bible scholars. They don’t have to be Bible College graduates. But they do have to have some very specific characteristics.

Look again at Titus 1:6-9

“An elder must be blameless, the husband of but one wife, a man whose children believe and are not open to the charge of being wild and disobedient. Since an overseer is entrusted with God’s work, he must be blameless— not overbearing, not quick-tempered, not given to drunkenness, not violent, not pursuing dishonest gain. Rather he must be hospitable, one who loves what is good, who is self-controlled, upright, holy and disciplined.