Teamwork - Titus 3:12-15 - November 13, 2011
** Start with Johnny & Chachi “Teamwork” movie
I hope this morning that you love “teamwork” more than “all getout”, just like Chachi. We want to talk about teamwork today, and to do that, I’d like you to turn to the book of Titus, chapter 3. It’s in the middle of the NT, right after 1 & 2 Timothy, and right before Philemon and Hebrews. This letter is written by the Apostle Paul to one of his young protegés, a young Greek man named Titus. Paul had left Titus on the Greek island of Crete -- a 160 mile long island in the Mediterranean Sea, just south of Greece -- with a job to do: to appoint elders in every town. Why did the church need elders? Because elders are to set an example for all of us to follow. We are to follow the pattern of their lives and live our lives the same way.
Paul talks about our pattern for living in chapter 1 & 2, and Paul reminds us in 2:10 that when we live as we should, we make the teaching about God our Savior attractive. We have the greatest message of all: God has given us a grace that redeems us, a grace that reforms us, a grace that rewards us - but often because of the way we live our lives, the unsaved do not find our gospel, our good news, attractive. They don’t want to be like us.
Once we are saved, what should happen in our lives? The book of Titus goes on to teach us that we should be eager to do good works. It should not be what we do, but who we are. Then in chapter 3 we saw last week that we need to shun controversy - people who want to argue about foolish topics and people who are divisive and want to divide the body of Christ.
Today, we finish up the book of Titus, and look at Paul’s closing remarks to Titus. I’m in chapter 3, starting in verse 12. Read 3:12-15 Pray.
A newspaper photographer wanted to get pictures of a local forest fire so his newspaper agreed to charter a plane for him. When he arrived at the airport, he was running a few minutes late, but fortunately the plane was already on the tarmac with the engine running, waiting for him. So he jumped into the plane and yelled, “Take off!” Once in the air, the photographer directed the pilot towards the smoke of the fire and then yelled to the pilot to make two or three low passes over the fire. The pilot asked, “Why do you want me to do that?” The photographer replied in an irritated voice: “Because I’m a photojournalist and I need to take pictures of the fire. Get me as close as you can!” To which the pilot answered in a very shaky voice, “You mean you’re NOT the flight instructor?”
Sometimes we are in such a rush to get to where we want to go that we often fail to ask some important questions. And sometimes we want to look at the “meat” of bible books, and we read right over closing remarks as though they were insignificant. But there are several thoughts for us to consider in these verses than can really impact our lives. The verses we read today are Paul’s closing remarks in his letter to Titus. And they speak to us a lot about teamwork. The first thing we learn is this:
1. We Are Part of a Team - We run the race together. And in the church we realize that people will constantly be moving in and out of our lives. We rejoice with those God sends to us, and we rejoice together with those who move on to other areas. Sometimes it is easy to resent the fact that people move away or make changes. But when we do that, we show that we are more focused on ourselves than we are focused on them.
In the church, we want to make sure that we don’t come together with a “consumer” mentality - “I want everything to be the way I like it!” Instead we focus on working together for the sake of the whole body. In fact, that is the analogy that Paul uses several times in scripture. We are a body.
That is true - we ARE a body, the body of Christ. But just like a physical body, each of us plays a different part in the body of Christ. 1 Corinthians 12 - we find an extended picture of this metaphor:
The human body has many parts, but the many parts make up only one body. So it is with the body of Christ . . . If the foot says, “I am not a part of the body because I am not a hand,” that does not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear says, “I am not part of the body because I am only an ear and not an eye,” would that make it any less a part of the body? Suppose the whole body were an eye--then how would you hear? Or if your whole body were just one big ear, how could you smell anything?
But God made our bodies with many parts, and he has put each part just where he wants it. What a strange thing a body would be if it had only one part! Yes, there are many parts, but only one body. The eye can never say to the hand, “I don’t need you.” The head can’t say to the feet, “I don’t need you.” In fact, some of the parts that seem weakest and least important are really the most necessary. And the parts we regard as less honorable are those we clothe with the greatest care. So we carefully protect from the eyes of others those parts that should not be seen, while other parts do not require this special care.
So God has put the body together in such a way that extra honor and care are given to those parts that have less dignity. This makes for harmony among the members, so that all the members care for each other equally. If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it, and if one part is honored, all the parts are glad. Now all of you together are Christ’s body, and each one of you is a separate and necessary part of it.
What does that mean on a practical level? Some of you are great with kids - but you can’t sing worth a hoot. Use your gifting in the children’s program - don’t trying singing special music. Some of you have great mechanical skills, but you can’t balance your checkbook. Don’t look to be a teller counting the money - instead join the trustees and care for the property. Each of us should look to do what we can.
Even those who feel they have nothing to contribute - have MUCH they can offer. In the story of Anna in the Christmas story, we see a 100+ year old woman who lives in probably a little side room off the temple. She can’t do much. But she does what she can. She worships, she prays, she gives thanks, she encourages. Even those who feel their time for ministry is over should realize that some of their greatest days of ministry may lie just ahead.
The Apostle Paul was a very gifted individual. He was the cream of the crop. He was a leader, a scholar, an influential man. But in his letters he mentions over 100 people by name. He viewed his ministry as teamwork. He viewed their help as a “partnership” (Philippians 1:5). He associated with all social classes: he traveled with a trained physician, he ministered to those in Caesar’s household, but he also shared ministry with a slave who most likely had run away.
Sometimes we look at others who are not like us, and we write them off. Prejudice spoils some of the greatest friendships we could ever have. So does Timidity. Sometimes we see others we don’t know very well, but our shyness and cowardice keeps us from introducing ourselves and getting to know them. But God has called us to live in community. And each of us can benefit from everyone else.
In your bulletins today, there is an insert that reminds us the importance of every one of us. Every one of us is a key person, and we are needed very much! George Barna writes this: “Had the church relied upon a single, incredibly gifted, magnetic individual...the church would surely have collapsed. What the disciples discovered was that none of them had the complete package of gifts, abilities, and insights necessary to facilitate the growth of the Christian church, but each had a very significant and defined role to play in that revolutionary undertaking.”
The first thing we are reminded of is that we are part of a team. Secondly,
2. We Support Our Teammates - and we help where we can. Titus had faced a difficult ministry at Crete. He had to minister to people who really weren’t that nice to begin with. And he had to appoint leaders in all the churches across this island. Paul knows that Titus was ready to have a break. He needed some time away to refresh and regroup himself. So Paul is calling Titus away for a little R&R.
But Paul is making sure that the work continues. He is going to send either Artemas or Tychicus to take over the ministry. Ministry can be weary at times. People manage to say such encouraging things to you. You prepare diligently for the sermon, and on the way out people say things like, “Pastor, you always manage to find something to say to fill up the time, don’t you.” Or, I don’t care what everyone else says, I like your sermons. Or Pastor, did you realize that there are 243 panes of glass in the sanctuary windows. Or Pastor, if I had know you were going to be this good today, I would have invited a neighbor to come. Or my favorite, as the young pastor was moving on to another church, an old lady from the congregation stopped to say her farewells. The pastor tried to cheer her up, and said, Mrs. Johnson, I’m sure that the next pastor will be so much better, and smarter, and caring than me. Mrs. Johnson frowned and said, That’s what they say every time,-- and it’s never true!
Well, Titus is taking a break, but the ministry continues. Sometimes the best way to support our teammates is to get them to take a break. It is easy to get burned out in ministry. What was once a joy to do can become a burden. That’s when you need to step away and get refreshed. That’s one of the reasons that we have term limits to offices - after serving two 3-year terms as an elder or deacon, you need to take a year off before you can serve in that capacity again.
Another way we serve is seen in verse 13 - Do everything you can to help Zenas the lawyer and Apollos on their way and see that they have everything they need. Here are two Christian brothers who are moving on to their next location of ministry, and Paul is calling Titus to come alongside them and help supply their needs. We partner together in ministry by helping those who have needs.
Yesterday our missions team got back from their trip to CEF Headquarters in Missouri, but many of you who stayed behind had a very real part in their ministry by helping to contribute to their expenses. A missionary who came to our church when I was a young boy used to recite this poem:
Three things the Master hath to do, And we who serve Him here below,
And long to see His kingdom come, Can pray, and give, and go.
He needs them all- the open hand, The willing feet, the asking heart-
To work together and to weave The threefold cord that shall not part.
Nor shall the giver count his gift As greater than the worker's deed,
Nor he in turn his service boast Above the prayers that voice the need.
Not all can go; not all can give To arm the others for the fray;
But young or old, or rich or poor Or strong or weak- we all can pray.
Today, what part will you play in supporting your teammates in ministry?
A third lesson we find here in this passage.
3. We Do Our Part For the Sake of the Team - Look in verse 14 - Our people must learn to devote themselves to doing what is good, in order that they may provide for daily necessities and not live unproductive lives. It is easy to read this and say, “I need to work so I have food and shelter.” And that is true - Paul writes to the church at Thessalonica, For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: “If a man will not work, he shall not eat.” But that is not the idea of the passage. Instead it is listed in the context of providing for the daily needs of OTHERS. I like the way the NLT translates this: For our people should not have unproductive lives. They must learn to do good by helping others who have urgent needs.
The Bible in the Old Testament is pretty clear about providing for the poor and focusing on those in need. Deuteronomy 10:17-18 says, “For the LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality and accepts no bribes. He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the alien, giving him food and clothing.” And from Psalm 146:7-9 “He upholds the cause of the oppressed and gives food to the hungry. The LORD sets prisoners free, the LORD gives sight to the blind, the LORD lifts up those who are bowed down, the LORD loves the righteous. The LORD watches over the alien and sustains the fatherless and the widow, but he frustrates the ways of the wicked.” As we read these and other passages, we realize that we should care about those who need help because God cares about them.
That’s one of the reasons why we have a food distribution ministry here at Bethel. Each month we pass out a box of food to anyone who has a need. Does it provide for all their needs? No, but it provides a little boost and encouragement for them.
Sometimes, it is easy to take our eyes off helping and focus on ourselves. We think of all that we still want and need, and so we pull back from helping others. But that was never God’s plan for us. Instead, we need to think about how we can do our part.
When I worked for a company repairing railroad track, one of the jobs we had to do was haul track. We would get six guys and pair up - 2 & 2 & 2 - to pick up and carry these long pieces of iron. I don’t know what they weighed, but they were heavy. However, we had one man on the crew - Slim - and I could tell you stories about Slim - let’s just say he could spot the break truck a mile away - but the last thing you wanted was to be paired up with Slim. He never carried his share of the weight. If you dropped your arm, Slim would go even lower.
God’s desire for us is to carry our share of the weight! Ephesians 4:28 tells us, He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with his own hands, that he may have something to share with those in need. God says one of the reasons we work is not so WE will have our needs met, but so we can give so OTHERS will have their needs met.
We are part of a team - we support our teammates - we do our part - and fourthly
4. We Cheer on Our Teammates. Look what Paul says in verse 15 - Everyone with me sends you greetings. Greet those who love us in the faith. Grace be with you all. This is not just a meaningless closing remark. Instead this reflects the heartfelt love and commitment of the Christians at Paul sending words of blessing and encouragement to all the Christians on the Island of Crete. Two ideas of what we are to do: greet everyone, and give grace to everyone.
Let me first ask you to consider this: are you a very good greeter? Not “do you like people” or “are you friendly” - but are you a very good greeter? There is a big difference. There are many of you sitting here today who have wonderful, kind, loving hearts -- and the few people you talk to know it! But you don’t go out of your way to greet others. Or if you do, it’s to greet your friends.
Some churches have a 3 minute rule - after the service, everyone is to spend 3 minutes greeting others around them - welcoming visitors, building new friendships, getting to know others better that they don’t have a good friendship with -- and then after those 3 minutes, they can go on to greeting their friends and catching up about their week.
Now some people are great huggers - some are not. But whether you are a hugger or not, you can still give a warm, sincere greeting. Some of you have been sitting across the sanctuary from someone else for the last three years and you still don’t know their name. Take some time to warmly greet others.
And when you greet others, what do you say? We need to get beyond, It’s sure a nice day out - or - I think it might rain. We need to move on into the second area, passing on a blessing of grace.
We live in a world of curses, insults, ridicule, put-downs. We hear it wherever we go. But in the church - we need to be lifting each other up! Affirm the positives you see in their lives. Encourage them in ministry. Spur them on to godly living. Charles Spurgeon wrote, “The strong are not always vigorous; the wise not always ready; the brave not always courageous; the joyous not always happy.” Sometimes we think - Oh, they’re a stronger Christian than I am - they wouldn’t gain any blessing from me.” But that’s not true. That’s a lie from the pit of hell. God has chosen for each one of us to make the other better! Proverbs 27:17 tells us, As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another. Take some time to cheer on your teammates. Before you leave, give someone some encouragement - ask about their life, their family, their triumphs and their struggles.
The key to this blessing, though, is sincerity. Some people say, How are you? “Well, I lost my job and I found out I have cancer.” Oh, that’s good! Let’s make sure we give sincere attention. That is the only way we can truly bring God’s grace and blessing into the lives of one another.
So, what does Paul reminds us through Titus?
We are part of a team - we support our teammates - we do our part - and we cheer on the team.
Let’s pray.
