The Gravity of the Word: Preaching with Integrity and Authority

• Kingdom Culture [00:40:00 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor defines the church as an embassy of God's kingdom where Christ's lordship is expressed through a specific culture of habits and dispositions.
• Definition of Culture [00:40:40 ▶️ 📄]
  > Using Chuck Colson's definition, culture is described as the habits and dispositions of a group, which impacts people more than slogans or procedures.
• The Gospel as the Entry Point [00:45:34 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor argues that the church's culture is unique because it is entered through divine grace and the gospel, distinguishing it from secular institutions.
• Countercultural Witness [00:47:00 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor contrasts the church with the world, citing statistics on relativism to argue that Christians must think differently and be a 'light on a hill' rather than conforming to worldly thinking.
• Counterculture and Kingdom Identity [00:46:56 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor argues that the church must not adopt the relative truth of postmodernism but must serve as a 'counterculture' and 'light on a hill,' impacting all institutions through the gospel.
• Four Artifacts of Kingdom Culture [00:48:35 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor outlines four components of the kingdom culture found in Titus 2: Christ-like leadership, Christ-like people, Christ-like training, and the 'jet fuel' of God's grace.
• Word-Based Leadership [00:52:14 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor defines true leadership as being based on Scripture ('truth herald') and living out that Scripture, citing Titus 1-2 and 1 Timothy 4 to show that leaders must teach sound doctrine and model it in their lives.
• Distinction Between Teaching and Preaching [01:03:36 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor distinguishes teaching (giving truth) from preaching (exhorting obedience), arguing that sound doctrine must inevitably lead to sound living and that preaching involves the Holy Spirit convicting the hearer.
• The Distinction Between Teaching and Preaching [01:03:36 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor defines teaching as giving truth and preaching as exhorting people to obey it, arguing that all good preaching involves teaching and all good teaching leads to preaching.
• The Role of the Holy Spirit in Preaching [01:05:12 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor explains that sanctification happens when the Holy Spirit uses the Word like a sword to convict and cut into the soul, prompting repentance.
• The Primacy of Preaching in Church History [01:07:36 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor cites historical figures (Stalker, Dever, Broadus, Begg/Prime) to demonstrate that expositional preaching is the central mark of a healthy church and Christianity itself.
• The Pastor as a Model (Typos) [01:12:01 ▶️ 📄]
  > Using the Greek word 'typos' and illustrations of puzzles and Steve Nash, the pastor argues that a pastor's life must be a visible model of good works for the congregation to 'catch' Christianity.
• The Nature of Pastoral Speech [01:15:29 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor outlines that pastoral speech must possess integrity, dignity, and soundness, rejecting crassness, shock value, and frivolity in favor of gravity and fervency.
• Authoritative Preaching [01:19:16 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor emphasizes that preaching must be done with 'all authority' because it is the Word of Christ, involving exhortation and rebuke rather than casual conversation or self-help motivation.
• Authority of Preaching [01:19:43 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor explains that preaching has 'all authority' because it is the word of Christ, not mere human opinion or self-help motivation.
• Gravitas and Seriousness [01:21:55 ▶️ 📄]
  > Citing Martin Lloyd-Jones, the pastor argues that preaching must be serious and not superficial, contrasting it with a culture that seeks entertainment.
• Practical Application of the Word [01:23:47 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor lists three applications: bringing Bibles to church, submitting to leaders/Word, and being doers of the Word rather than just hearers.
• The Power of the Word [01:26:32 ▶️ 📄]
  > Using a quote from Martin Luther, the pastor emphasizes that the Word does the work, weakening spiritual opposition and transforming lives, while the preacher does nothing but teach it.

• Sermon Illustration [00:42:00 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor shares a personal anecdote about attending Texas A&M University, describing the 'Fish' freshman tradition where students had to respond with specific phrases like 'Sir, yes sir' to learn humility and obedience before leadership, illustrating how institutional culture shapes behavior.
• Sermon Illustration [00:46:56 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor cites Chuck Colson's final interview, noting that 61% of the general culture believes truth is relative, compared to 53% in the evangelical church, highlighting the church's failure to be a counterculture.
• Sermon Illustration [01:01:38 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor uses the analogy of barbecue requiring coleslaw and sweet tea, and playing in Texas requiring a fiddle, to illustrate that sound doctrine must be accompanied by sound living.
• Sermon Illustration [00:56:54 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor tells the story of Scottish reformer John Knox, quoting Mary, Queen of Scots, who feared his prayers more than European armies because his life matched his teaching.
• Sermon Illustration [01:04:03 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor references R.C. Sproul as an example of a great teacher who transitions into preaching by exhorting the audience to obey the truth they have learned.
• Sermon Illustration [01:12:35 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor uses the analogy of doing a jigsaw puzzle, where one holds up the box to see the final picture, to explain how a pastor's life should serve as a 'type' or model for the congregation to follow.
• Sermon Illustration [01:12:55 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor recounts watching a YouTube video of NBA player Steve Nash teaching another player to shoot, noting that Nash's form was perfect every time, illustrating the concept of modeling what one teaches.
• Sermon Illustration [01:14:30 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor references Stouffer model homes as an example for ladies, where the model home serves as the standard for what people want to build their own homes like.
• Sermon Illustration [01:22:24 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor recounts a conversation with Welsh preacher Derrick Thomas, who described being 'transfixed in the pew' under Martin Lloyd-Jones' preaching, unable to move due to the gravity of the message, which built to a crescendo of God's glory.
• Sermon Illustration [01:24:05 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor shares a personal anecdote about the 'sweetest sound' during a sermon being the congregation flipping the pages of their Bibles, indicating engagement with the expository message.

• Pastoral Charge [00:53:06 ▶️ 📄]
  > Write down the scripture reference 2 Timothy 2:2
• Pastoral Charge [00:59:16 ▶️ 📄]
  > Mark the word 'but' in their Bible
• Pastoral Charge [01:06:19 ▶️ 📄]
  > To preach, herald, and apply the Word of God consistently.
• Pastoral Charge [01:05:35 ▶️ 📄]
  > To walk in repentance.
• Pastoral Charge [01:13:58 ▶️ 📄]
  > To model Christ's likeness in their lives.
• Pastoral Charge [01:23:33 ▶️ 📄]
  > Pray for the Holy Spirit to do a work in their hearts and to preach through the pastors.
• Pastoral Charge [01:24:05 ▶️ 📄]
  > Bring Bibles to church.

[00:05:41] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]
[00:05:41] Let's sing and as we hear the preached word, allow this hymn to be able to prepare you for our Lord's Day worship. And all the time, amen.
[00:09:13] Welcome and good morning again to the King's Chapel. We are so glad you're here on this Lord's Day to come and to worship with us on this beautiful Sunday that we've had.
[00:09:22] As we prepare, as we have been preparing our time for worship, and as you just heard just a moment ago, the great hymn, Worthy of Worship.
[00:09:29] Listen to God's word as we prepare, continue to prepare our hearts for worship.
[00:09:35] Psalm 68 verse 32 reads, O kingdoms of the earth, sing to God, sing praises to the Lord.
[00:09:43] To him who rides in the heavens, the ancient heavens, behold, he sends out his voice, his mighty voice.
[00:09:50] Ascribe power to God, whose majesty is over Israel, and whose power is in the skies.
[00:09:57] Awesome is God from his sanctuary.
[00:10:00] The God of Israel, he is the one who gives power and strength to his people.
[00:10:06] Blessed be God.
[00:10:08] And this is to whom we serve and to whom we have our salvation.
[00:10:12] If you will, let's go to the Lord in prayer and ask him to continue to move in our hearts for this Lord's Day worship.
[00:10:18] Bow your heads with me.
[00:10:19] Father, you are gracious.
[00:10:22] You are slow to anger.
[00:10:23] You are abounding in steadfast love.
[00:10:25] and oh lord blessed be the lord who daily bears us up god is our salvation our god is a god of salvation and to god the lord belong deliverance from death father thank you for your redemption
[00:10:38] through christ and lord as we sing as we fellowship as we pray together as a body of christ and as we hear lord your word preached and exposited through titus lord sanctify us through your truth, for your word is truth. Father, we love you, and we pray these things in the sweet
[00:10:57] and the gracious name of Jesus Christ. Amen. Well, if you will, let's stand together and let's sing

[00:11:03] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]
[00:11:03] the great hymn, Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee. If you will take a few seconds and greet your

[00:14:23] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_04]
[00:14:23] neighbor beside you in the love of Christ. This morning, we will consider questions number 57 and 58 of the Heidelberg Catechism. I will read the question and ask you to read the response.

[00:16:01] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[00:16:01] How does the resurrection of the body comfort you? How does the article concerning life everlasting comfort you? Thank you. One more time. Isn't the Lord good? Amen, He is.

[00:17:18] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]
[00:17:18] Welcome to the King's Chapel, and we are so glad you're here with us on this Lord's Day.
[00:17:22] And if you're a visitor with us, I just want to say on the behalf of the pastoral staff and the elders, we're so glad you're here worshiping with us on this day.
[00:17:30] And as you're walking here this morning, you should have received a worship bulletin, as it's a great way to connect with us here at the King's Chapel.
[00:17:39] But also, if you are a visitor, in the pew before you, you should see a blue and white connect card, a blue and white connect card.
[00:17:47] And I would encourage you to take a few moments now and to fill it out and then drop it in the offering plates which will be passed around here in just a few moments. It's a great way if
[00:17:56] you're our visitor to be able to connect with us here at the staff and answer any questions that you have or anything like that. But also you will see on that card prayer requests. And if you
[00:18:06] have a prayer request that you'd like to submit, all these are submitted confidentially. We would count it an honor as the pastoral team to pray for you and the prayer team to be able to pray
[00:18:15] for you because we take these requests seriously and we count it a true honor to be able to go to Lord and His throne of grace and submit these requests. Well, as you can see in our bulletin,
[00:18:26] we've got a packed couple of weeks here in our summertime schedule. And so I'd like just to bring a couple of things to your attention. First of all, so this Sunday, hopefully you got the
[00:18:36] announcements that we did not have life group, but starting next Sunday, June 7th. So June 7th, we are going to be having our summer series start back. And that is going to be every week in June.
[00:18:50] So every Sunday in June, we're going to be at nine o'clock and we're going to be meeting in the fellowship hall gathering as one body and to be able to have different speakers throughout the month of June.
[00:19:01] And I would encourage you, you can see the handout there with more information, but that'll be at nine o'clock every Sunday in June.
[00:19:08] And we'll also have cafe as well for those who need just one more dose of caffeine before the worship service.
[00:19:16] and so that was a joke and I'm so glad it landed I just thought it would and so anyway but in all seriousness it's a great way to connect with us here in that summer series
[00:19:27] and to be able to also meet other people in the church to be able to participate with us so also next Sunday night we're also having our family meeting that's going to be next Sunday at 6 o'clock p.m.
[00:19:40] right here in the worship center and that'll be an important meeting for you to attend as a member of the King's Chapel.
[00:19:47] We'll hear ministry updates, vote on the budget, hear a financial update as well.
[00:19:51] And so I would encourage you to please join us next Sunday night on June 7th.
[00:19:56] And then also we have a couple of other events taking place.
[00:19:59] You can see we have VBS at the end of the month.
[00:20:02] Young adults, we are gathering next Saturday, June 6th for a grilling game night that starts at 4.30.
[00:20:08] And so you can see a lot more taking place here in the Life for Church.
[00:20:12] And so I would encourage you to check out our website, stay in touch with us in the bulletin to be able to pray and as well as participate with us in those ministries well now i'm going to ask if our ushers will come forward to receive our
[00:20:24] tithes and offerings and if you will as we continue to worship together bow your heads with me and let's go to lord in prayer father we are so grateful of your grace lord grateful of lord
[00:20:38] the opportunity to come here and to worship your great name lord i ask that as we continue to worship. Lord, work in our hearts. Stir within us, Lord, deep affections for Christ. Block out distractions, Lord, so that we can behold your glory and your majesty and to see, Lord, the
[00:20:55] gracious work that you are doing, Lord, in our life and life of our church. Father, we love you, and we pray these things in the good name of Christ. Amen. Let's continue to worship as we
[00:24:05] sing the great hymn, Christ Assure and Steady Anchor. If you will, let's stand together and let's sing. And steady anchor as we face the wave of death. When these trials give way to glory as we draw our final breath. Listen, we will cross that great horizon, clouds behind and life secure.
[00:28:13] And the calm will be the better for the storms that we endure. Isn't that a wonderful reminder?
[00:28:21] Amen. If you will please continue to remain standing for the reading of God's word.

[00:28:25] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]
[00:28:25] I invite you to grab a copy of God's Word. There's Bibles in the pew in front of you and open to Titus 2. I'm going to read the entire chapter of Titus 2. But as for you, teach what accords with
[00:28:50] sound doctrine. Older men are to be sober-minded, dignified, self-controlled, sound in faith and love and in steadfastness. Older women, likewise, are to be reverent in behavior, not slanders or slaves to much wine, they are to teach what is good. And so train the young women to love their
[00:29:09] husbands and children, to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled. Likewise, urge the younger men to be self-controlled. Show yourself in all respects to be a model of good works, and in your teaching
[00:29:31] show integrity, dignity, and sound speech that cannot be condemned, so that an opponent may be put to shame, having nothing evil to say about us. Bondservants are to be submissive to their own masters in everything. They are to be well-pleasing, not argumentative, not pilfering,
[00:29:51] but showing all good faith, so that in everything they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior.
[00:29:57] for the grace of God has appeared bringing salvation for all people training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions and to live self-controlled upright and godly lives in the present age waiting for our blessed hope the appearing of the glory of our great God and
[00:30:21] Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works. Declare these things.
[00:30:38] Exhort and rebuke with all authority. Let no one disregard you. This is God's wholly inspired and inerrant word. You may be seated, and let's go to the throne of grace in prayer. Heavenly Father, we thank you for your word. Your word is truth. Your word sanctifies us. It is by your word that
[00:31:05] we are saved. Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ. Lord, we thank you for the light that has been given to us, which enlightens our path, which enlightens our minds, which gives
[00:31:17] us wisdom so that we may live righteous lives in this present evil age. Lord, we pray that our lives would be more and more conformed to the Word of God and to the Lordship of Jesus Christ,
[00:31:32] that as members of the church that we would be part of your kingdom culture and less a part of the culture of this world in terms of its influence. Lord, we pray for those who are in our midst this
[00:31:49] morning who do not know the Lord Jesus Christ as prophet, priest, and king, who have yet to submit their lives to Christ and to trust him as their Savior. We pray, Lord, that you would
[00:32:01] open their minds to the truth of the gospel, that Jesus Christ came, lived, and died, and was raised so that all those who call upon the name of the Lord may be saved from their sins in the day of
[00:32:15] terrible judgment in which everyone who has sinned against the holy God will be cast into hell for all eternity. Lord, we trust in the only provision, which is by grace and grace alone, which is Jesus
[00:32:29] Christ and him crucified. We pray, Lord, this morning for the downcast and the discouraged.
[00:32:37] We pray, Lord, that you would shine into their hearts the light of hope that is found only in Jesus Christ. We pray, Lord, for those who are sick. We pray, Lord, that they would be healed
[00:32:50] if that is your will. We pray, Lord, that their ailments, their sickness would be healed for your glory. We pray, Lord, for those who are facing challenges in the workplace, difficulties in which there seems no way forward. We pray, Lord, that you would open a door even this week. We pray,
[00:33:12] Lord, for families in the church that might be struggling with disobedient children. We pray, Lord, for the conversion of the children and also for obedience, that children would obey their parents in the Lord, for this is right, and that fathers and mothers would teach their children
[00:33:32] to know the Lord, to fear the Lord, and to honor the Lord with their lives. We pray, Lord in everything this morning that our praise would give honor praise and glory to you Lord we
[00:33:44] desire to see your glory in your word because you are glorious your character stands forth and we are in all of who you are your mercy your grace your power your omniscience Lord we see
[00:34:05] what you have created and we are in all of who you are and Lord we see your grace that has transformed so many of our lives, and we give you the praise and the honor. We pray, Lord,
[00:34:21] this morning that we would be more renewed through the transformation of our minds as we study your truth. Sanctify us in the truth. Your word is truth, and we pray this in Christ's name and for your glory. Amen. Well, let's sing together this great hymn

[00:34:50] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]
[00:34:50] in Christ alone. So if you will, let's stand together and let's sing.

[00:34:55] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]
[00:34:55] Pray with me. Lord, would you speak through me now in the power of your Holy Spirit?

[00:39:26] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]
[00:39:26] Lord, would you use the Word of God to change our lives and help us to be more like Christ?
[00:39:32] We pray this in Christ's name. Amen. Well, I invite you to open your Bibles to the chapter we just read to Titus chapter 2. We started a series last week called A Culture of the Kingdom, that the church is supposed to be a microcosm of the kingdom of God here on earth,
[00:40:00] that the church is an embassy, so to speak, that reflects the lordship of Jesus Christ. So if there's anywhere on earth that you are to go to experience the kingdom of God, it is to be to
[00:40:14] a healthy, local church. And that church is to express Christ's lordship as a kingdom culture.
[00:40:25] What do we mean by the word culture? Is that word found anywhere in Titus chapter 2? I don't see it Titus chapter 2. Why are we saying that it's a culture? Chuck Colson defined culture as the
[00:40:40] habits and dispositions of the people reflected by the cult, the people. In other words, you hear that word cult and the word culture. It's the habits and dispositions of the people of any organization or group or institution. And what business leaders are discovering, you know,
[00:41:02] this is something that Paul is talking about 2,000 years ago, but what entrepreneurs and leaders, business leaders are discovering is that culture trumps everything else.
[00:41:11] That you can have slogans, you can have processes, you can have procedures, you can have all sorts of sayings, but what really makes a difference in any family, in any institution, in any school of higher education or business, is the culture that is established. And what you
[00:41:36] find is that culture impacts people more than everything else. When I was a college student, I went to this place on the Brazos River called Texas A&M University where they have the famous cadet corps at Texas A&M. General Patton said, give me an army of West Point graduates and I'll
[00:42:00] win a battle. Give me a handful of Texas Aggies and I'll win a war. That's the type of spirit that you find at Texas A&M. If you want to know what the people of Texas A&M are like,
[00:42:13] Just imagine the entire university being populated with people like Jim Branch.
[00:42:19] You're talking about big personalities.
[00:42:24] And I remember this date stands out in my mind, August 24, 2003.
[00:42:33] That's the date that my parents dropped me off at Texas A&M.
[00:42:38] I was wearing my Birkenstock sandals and a cowboy hat.
[00:42:42] and by the end of the day, I no longer was Grant Castleberry, I was Fish Castleberry.
[00:42:52] All the freshmen do not have first names, they're simply called Fish and then your last name. And I learned that day that I could only respond to any question, any question whatsoever with four answers.
[00:43:06] sir yes sir sir no sir sir no excuse sir sir not being informed to the highest degree of accuracy I hesitate to articulate for fear that I might deviate from the true course of rectitude
[00:43:19] in short sir I'm a very dumb fish and do not know sir those were the four answers that we were permitted to give to any question and you say you know this sounds very silly but what they
[00:43:36] were teaching us is that before you could lead, you had to learn to follow, that you needed to humble yourself, take off your cowboy hat and your Birkenstocks and dress in the right attire and all
[00:43:55] these things. And they taught us these virtues of humility and integrity and honor. Every first Tuesday night of the month they have a tradition called silver taps where if any student died present student died the previous month there would be taps played at 10 30 p.m at the statue
[00:44:21] of Lawrence Sullivan Ross who had been the first president of Texas A&M and taps would be played and then all the students would gather there and we'd all walk back to our dorm in complete
[00:44:32] silence. So it's this culture. It was an amazing culture that we were put into, and that culture is what shaped the people at Texas A&M. Now, as great as that culture is, and you find various
[00:44:50] cultures like that, they're only as great, really, as they're shaped by the gospel. You know, the things that we talked about—integrity and honor and courage and humility, things like that—the rules of Christ that you see emanate from the gospel have permeated so many American colleges
[00:45:12] and institutions and even our government, but yet no culture, no culture compares to what you should find in the church, which is permeated by grace, the gospel of grace. And by the way, I must say
[00:45:34] this morning, the only way into this culture, you can't just show up at church and enter into this culture. This culture must be entered into by divine grace through the gospel. Notice what Paul says, this is an amazing statement in verse 11, for the grace of God, the charis of God has appeared
[00:45:58] bringing salvation for all people. Look at this, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age. So the grace of God, which comes to each of us through the gospel. What's the gospel? It's the good news,
[00:46:21] Paul said, that Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, came in this world to live and to die in our place for our sins. And because He was perfect, He rose again from the dead.
[00:46:32] And all who believe in the name of Jesus Christ will be saved. And it is through that faith in Jesus Christ that you enter into the narrow door of the gospel, into the culture of the kingdom of
[00:46:47] God. Now, as part of this culture, are we to be like the evil world around us? No, we're not.
[00:46:56] In Chuck Colson's last interview before he died, he said the problem with the church is that we're worldly, not just in our actions, but in our thinking. He said 61% of the culture believes that truth is relative. That's a claim of postmodernism. He said in the evangelical church
[00:47:17] it's 53 percent. See, the problem with the evangelical church is that we think like the world, but rather we are to be the counterculture. Remember what Jesus said, you are to be the salt of the earth, a light on a hill that cannot be hidden. We are the counterculture. We are the
[00:47:40] true culture of the king. And we're not to keep our light hidden. We're not to be a holy huddle.
[00:47:47] But this culture of the kingdom of God is to impact everything in the world. We're to go out from here and every other institution and the halls of government and our businesses and in the state, and we're to make a difference for Christ as part of this kingdom culture. So it
[00:48:07] begins with the gospel of grace, and then it changes everything. Notice Paul says, look at verse 12 of Titus 1. He says, this was the culture of Crete. He says, Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons. That's the Cretan culture. We're to be different.
[00:48:35] we're to be the counter culture well there's four artifacts and we did a summary of of these last week but there's four artifacts of the kingdom culture that Paul highlights for us in Titus chapter 2 one is leadership Christ-like leadership two are Christ-like people people
[00:48:58] displaying Christlikeness, and he goes through older men, older women, younger women, younger men, bondservants, those who work for others. There is to be Christlike training. The older women are to teach and train the younger women, the older men to teach and train the younger
[00:49:21] men, Titus to be training all of them according to the Word of God. There should be a culture of training within the church, and then the jet fuel of all of the culture, and we have to
[00:49:32] understand this, is the grace of God. We are nothing without the grace of God. Jesus Christ builds the church. Yes, we labor, we pray, we preach, we spread the gospel, we serve in the community, but without the grace and the power of God and the person of the Holy Spirit, we are
[00:49:51] nothing. I am the vine, you are the branches. Apart from me, you can do nothing. So the grace of God has appeared, training us to renounce ungodliness, worldliness, and to live godly lives in this present evil age. So this morning, we're going to look at the first artifact, which
[00:50:16] is Christlike leadership. What does Christlike leadership in the church look like? So important because leadership sets the culture. The definition of a leader in Webster's Dictionary is one who leads. A leader is one who leads. So the leaders have to set the stage, the thermostat,
[00:50:44] if you will, of what the culture is in the church. I want you to notice the primacy that Paul places on leadership in Titus chapter 2. Look at verse 1, but as for you, Titus, teach what accords with sound doctrine. Look at verse 7, he again goes
[00:51:06] to Titus in the middle, show yourself in all respects to be a model of good works and in your teaching show integrity, dignity, and sound speech that cannot be condemned, so that an opponent may be put to shame, having nothing evil to say about us. And then verse 15, declare these
[00:51:25] things, exhort and rebuke with all authority, let no one disregard you. It's literally a leadership Big Mac sandwich. So you have leadership in the beginning, leadership in the middle, and leadership at the end. That's the importance that Paul is placing on leadership. And if you
[00:51:48] look at those three verses, or excuse me, four verses where Paul's referencing leadership, there's two observations that we can quickly make. First, very important, Titus's leadership is a word-based leadership. It is based on the Word of God. It is to lead according to the Word
[00:52:14] of God and moreover with the Word of God. He is, as we say with our staff, a truth herald. Notice these phrases. Verse 1, teach what accords with sound doctrine. Verse 7, in your teaching show
[00:52:37] integrity, dignity, and sound speech. Verse 15, declare these things, exhort and rebuke with all authority. His leadership is to be based in the Word. Is that His Word? No, it is the Word that is handed down from Christ and the apostles. Jot down 2 Timothy 2.2, Paul told Timothy,
[00:53:06] what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. So it's apostolic doctrine, no more, no less. So that's the first
[00:53:21] observation. Second observation is that Titus' life is to be a model of the Word of God. Verse 7. Look at verse 7. Show yourself in all respects to be a model of good works. Let no one disregard
[00:53:41] you. What Paul is saying is that Titus is to be a living embodiment of the message that he speaks.
[00:53:53] Paul told Timothy, 1 Timothy 4.12, let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, and in purity. So leadership in the church is a two-prong approach, two-prong approach. It is to teach sound doctrine and then
[00:54:25] to be an example of living sound doctrine. It is a teaching and a life that models the teaching.
[00:54:34] It is sound doctrine and sound devotion, godly preaching and godly living. The cross-reference to this verse is 1 Timothy 4.16. Paul told Timothy, keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching. So watch your life, watch your doctrine.
[00:55:00] Persist in this, for by so doing, you will save both yourself and your hearers.
[00:55:07] So godly leadership is to be a leadership of the Word of God. It's not platitudes. It's not being a life coach. It's not trying to entertain people. It's not even necessarily to be people's friends,
[00:55:19] though, of course, we want to have the friendship that we share in Christ, but it is to be a Word-based leadership. That is the authority of any pastor, any evangelist. We have no authority outside the Word of God. If any pastor tells you to do something that's contrary to the Word,
[00:55:38] he stands on faulty authority. But no one tells you something that does not have chapter and verse.
[00:55:47] But moreover, the man of God is to be an embodiment of the Word of God so that there's no incongruency with his message and his life.
[00:56:01] If there's incongruency, what do people think?
[00:56:03] And by the way, have we all seen incongruency in religious leaders?
[00:56:09] It's a terrible thing when you see someone commit heinous sin that we've looked up to.
[00:56:15] because now, especially in immature Christians, a seed of doubt is planted in the mind.
[00:56:22] Is the truth that that person was saying, is it valid and legitimate? That's how Satan works.
[00:56:29] That's how Satan begins to undermine the doctrine. But on the flip side, when there is someone who embodies the truth, it creates a very powerful ministry. Have you ever heard of the name John Knox. John Knox was the great Scottish reformer. He studied in Geneva with Calvin, and he came back
[00:56:54] to Scotland, and he was a roaring preacher. He was a great scholar of the original languages.
[00:57:02] But most importantly, he was a man of Christ who embodied Christ's likeness.
[00:57:09] and Mary, Queen of Scots, said this about John Knox. She said, I fear the prayers of that holy man more than all the armies of Europe because his life matched his teaching. So that's the idea.
[00:57:33] That's the general flavor of what Paul is saying. So here's the thesis that I'm going to give to you regarding the task that Paul is giving Timothy, Titus, about Christian leadership. Here's the thesis. The thesis is that the primary way of leading is by preaching the Word of God.
[00:57:57] The primary way of leading is by preaching the Word of God. I know that's a mouthful, but what I want to do is I want to argue that thesis from verse 1, and then I want to give you
[00:58:11] three applications quickly from verses 7, 8, and 15. So, here's the argument for the thesis, that the primary way of leading is by preaching the Word of God. So, verse 1, let's look at this.
[00:58:29] It's very simple, but Paul singles out Titus in the letter. What's interesting about that is that Titus would be reading this letter to all the various churches on the island of Crete.
[00:58:48] So in reading this to the churches, now all the people are hearing from Paul what he wants Titus to do. So now the people have insight into Titus' objectives. And you notice the contrast, circle or underline that word but. Whenever you see a word but, it's the little conjunction
[00:59:16] De, it's signaling regarding a contrast with something before it. What's the contrast with something before it? Well, if you look back at Titus 1, how did he close Titus 1? He was talking about false teachers. They profess to know God, but they deny Him by their works. They are detestable,
[00:59:39] disobedient, unfit for any good work. So now he's making a contrast with Titus. He's saying you are not like to be like those false teachers. Rather, you are to teach sound doctrine. You are to be the
[00:59:54] embodiment of sound doctrine. You are to exhort people to obey sound doctrine. We've looked at this word, or excuse me, this phrase, sound doctrine, fairly extensively in the past few weeks. It's an interesting phrase, hugino didaskalia, and I give you the Greek words because
[01:00:15] didactic, our English word for teaching, comes directly from didaskalia, and hugino is where we get our English word hygiene, which means healthy. So you have healthy teaching. Sound doctrine inevitably leads to sound living. So important to understand this. We can't go around this.
[01:00:43] Sound doctrine leads to a flourishing, godly, Christian life. Now, notice what the imperative is that Paul gives to Titus. Teach. It's an imperative. It's a command.
[01:00:59] As for you, Titus, teach what accords with sound doctrine. So this is an important phrase to notice. Is Paul just telling Titus to teach sound doctrine? Is he just saying, teach the sound doctrine and that's it? No, he says, teach what accords with sound doctrine.
[01:01:25] What is fitting that goes with sound doctrine?
[01:01:30] That's the emphasis of the word.
[01:01:33] Teach what should accompany sound doctrine.
[01:01:38] If you eat barbecue, what should accompany barbecue?
[01:01:43] Some coleslaw and sweet tea.
[01:01:48] My kids are listening to Alabama.
[01:01:52] You know the old band, the country group Alabama?
[01:01:54] They have a song. If you're going to play in Texas, you've got to have a fiddle in the band.
[01:02:03] The fiddle should accompany the music when you're in Texas. I don't know what the North Carolina equivalent is. When you're in the mountains, you should be listening to James Taylor or something, right? So there should be things that are fitting with other things. And what Paul is saying to
[01:02:23] Titus is that there should be, if you're teaching sound doctrine, there should be sound living that accompanies it. That's what he's saying. And you are to demand to the people that they conform their lives to that type of living. And if you look at the rest of the chapter, that's really
[01:02:47] what he's saying. So if you look at verse 2, look, he says, older men are to be sober-minded, dignified, self-controlled, so on and so forth. Older women, likewise, are to be reverent in behavior, not slanders or slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good, train the young
[01:03:03] women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled. Verse 6, likewise, urge the younger men to be self-controlled. Verse 9, bond servants are to be submissive to their
[01:03:19] own masters and everything. They are to be well-pleasing, not argumentative, so on and so forth. The point being is that that type of living should accompany that type of doctrine.
[01:03:36] So Titus is given this imperative, teach what is in accord with the sound doctrine. And that's a fancy way of saying, preach the word. The difference between preaching and teaching is that teaching, you are giving the truth, and you begin to preach when you exhort people to
[01:04:03] obey it. That's the difference. And really, all great teachers, like if you looked at R.C. Sproul, he'd be teaching, and then what would he start doing? He'd start preaching. We should start obeying this. And then all preaching should involve teaching, because you can't exhort
[01:04:18] people to obey something that they don't know. So all good preaching should involve teaching.
[01:04:26] All good teaching necessarily should lead to preaching, but preaching is the exhortation of the people of God to obey the Word of God for the glory of God. Somebody said, I know when the preacher begins to preach because he begins to no longer teach and he begins to
[01:04:48] meddle. He begins to meddle with my life. And oftentimes what the Holy Spirit is doing, because all sanctification that really happens in the moment of preaching happens as the Holy Spirit is taking the Word of God, and like a sword, He's convicting and He's cutting in your soul.
[01:05:12] He's encouraging you where you need to be encouraged, but He's also convicting you of sin.
[01:05:17] and he's prompting you to repent do we all need to repent of various things yes if we say we are without sin we make ourselves a liar and the truth is not in us so we all sin in many ways we all have
[01:05:35] to walk in repentance and God brings the word of God to us in order to convict us so that we would repent and be more like Christ I want to show you the urgency of this I want you to flip over to the
[01:05:48] left to 2 Timothy 4. This is Paul's final charge to Timothy. Notice how galvanizing this is, how serious this is, this imperative to preach. It's really remarkable. I charge you, Timothy, in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead
[01:06:19] and by his appearing in his kingdom. Talking about when Jesus returns, he's going to judge the living and the dead. He says, by that Christ, I charge you, verse 2, preach the word, herald the word, apply the word, be ready in season and out of season. What does it mean to
[01:06:38] preach, notice he says, reprove, rebuke, and exhort with complete patience and teaching.
[01:06:49] For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, same word, hugano, didaskalia, but having itching ears, they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.
[01:07:10] So, if you turn back to Titus, I wanted you to see the primacy and the importance of preaching the word that godly leaders are to practice. I looked through various preachers through church history this week, and I just wanted to give you a few quotes from the past. This is
[01:07:36] James Stalker. Preaching is the central thing in our work. I believe in it because Christ himself set his stamp on it. Read his sayings, and you will see that this was what he sent forth the
[01:07:53] servants of his kingdom to do. Christ, says Paul, sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel.
[01:08:01] Not, I think, thereby ignoring baptism, but putting it and all other ceremonies in their proper place of subordination to the preaching of the Word. Mark Dever says this, the first mark of a healthy church is expositional preaching. It is not only the first mark,
[01:08:24] it is far and away the most important of them all, because if you get this one right, all of the others should follow. My main role and the main role of any pastor is expositional
[01:08:38] preaching. John Broadus, who was one of the founders of the Southern Baptist Convention and one of the four founders of Southern Seminary where I went to school, said this over 100 years ago 150 years ago preaching is characteristic of christianity no false religion
[01:09:01] has ever provided for the regular and frequent assembling of the masses of men to hear religious instruction and exhortation the great appointed means of spreading the good tidings of salvation through christ is preaching words spoken whether to the individual or to the assembly
[01:09:19] and this listen he says nothing can supersede printing can never take the place of the living word when a man who is apt in teaching whose soul is on fire with the truth which he trusts
[01:09:36] has saved him and hopes will save others speaks to his fellow men face to face eye to eye and electric sympathies flash to and fro between him and his hearers till they lift each other up higher
[01:09:49] and higher into the intensest thought and the most impassioned emotion, higher and yet higher till they are born as on chariots of fire above the world. There is a power to move men to influence
[01:10:03] character, life, destiny, such as no printed page can possess. One more. Alistair Begg and Derek Prime, who's now with the Lord, said, a shepherd's priority is to lead his flock into green pastures, and that is his principal task in handling the Scriptures. He is to enlarge the
[01:10:29] flock's understanding of the faith so that they may render better obedience to Christ. As they are properly fed, they will be strong in the Lord and the grace that is in Christ Jesus.
[01:10:45] I give you all those quotes so that you can understand that what Paul is saying here has been universally taught in the healthy Orthodox Christian church for the past 2,000 years.
[01:11:00] When preaching begins to be diminished in the life of the church, then the life of the church will be diminished. The church rises and falls with the preaching of the Word of God. Now, of
[01:11:16] course, the health of the church, as we're going to be studying, is much more than preaching, but it's not less. It must begin with humble, Christ-like leaders proclaiming the Word of God.
[01:11:36] So, Paul is going to give three applications to Titus in how to do this. Let's look at these briefly. To effectively preach the Word of God, he tells Titus that the pastor's life must mirror the Word. Look down at verse 7. We looked at this earlier, but notice this again.
[01:12:01] He says, show yourself in all respects to be a model of good works. That word model is the Greek word typos, where we get our word type. He is to be essentially a type that you
[01:12:21] look at and see. If you've ever, when we go to the lake, we normally do puzzles. When you get out the puzzle, what do you do? You put the box there. You hold up the box so that you can see
[01:12:35] what the picture looks like. You can see what you're going for. And Paul is telling Titus, your life should be a type, a model of the good works that are to be displayed in the body of the church. The boys and I were watching a video on YouTube a couple weeks ago
[01:12:55] trying to teach them how to shoot properly, and we found a video of Steve Nash. Anybody remember Steve Nash? Played for the Phoenix Suns, two-time MVP. And he was working with another NBA player, and he was just showing them various moves and talking to him about
[01:13:13] shooting and form. And the amazing thing is as he was shooting, he would shoot the ball and the ball never hit the rim. Every time it was just right through the net, right through the net,
[01:13:26] right through the net. So as he's teaching, he's modeling, he's showing it. As we said last week, Christianity is not just taught, it's caught. That's why this is so important for all of us as a congregation. Because if we are to build this kingdom culture by Christ's grace,
[01:13:51] it has to be modeled not only by myself and the elders and the pastors, but by all of us.
[01:13:58] You have to model Christ's likeness. And parents, I must say, you can tell your children, obey this, do that, don't do this, but what do you think is the primary way of teaching them?
[01:14:11] answer your life they're watching us and what we do they will do it's our example and so Paul is telling Titus you have to have this example by the way ladies I was trying to think
[01:14:30] of an example for for ladies Stouffer you know Stouffer she does a model home and people go and see the model home, and it's like this is the model of what we want to build our home like.
[01:14:46] There's an example for you ladies, okay? So Titus is to be this model, and by the way, that's why James says, James 3.1, he says, let not many of you become teachers, my brothers, knowing that as
[01:15:03] such we will incur a stricter judgment, because there is a high responsibility for those in leadership. So that's the first application. The pastor's life must mirror the Word. Second, the pastor's speech must be sound. Look back at verse 7. In your teaching, show integrity,
[01:15:29] dignity, and sound speech that cannot be condemned so that an opponent may be put to shame, having nothing evil to say about us. So notice he says there must be integrity. That means that what you speak matches what is found in the Word of God. There must be dignity, that it should be
[01:15:53] an elegantly wonderful language and sound speech. It must be that healthy speech that is in accordance with the Word of God. I looked at J.B. Phillips. J.B. Phillips paraphrased verses 7 and 8 like this. He says, in all your teaching, show the strictest regard for truth and show that you
[01:16:18] appreciate the seriousness of the matters you are dealing with. Your speech should be unaffected and logical so that your opponent may feel ashamed at finding nothing in which to pick holes. I thought that was pretty good. So negatively, what he's saying is that
[01:16:39] in the Christlike leader, there should be no crassness, should be no cussing. Have you seen preachers do this? They curse and say things for shock value? No, no, no, no, no. Paul's saying, don't do that. No crude humor. No shock jock language. And by the way, what is even more
[01:17:03] pervasive? No frivolity. So much of what passes for preaching today is just frivolousness, just silly. And we're talking about the eternal kingdom of God and the glory of the gospel.
[01:17:20] there should be a gravity that accompanies these things is what Paul is saying there should be a sweetness and a decorum and a joy in the heralding of the word of God I looked at the the Westminster
[01:17:37] larger confession this week and there's a question question 159 how is the word of God to be preached by those that are called there unto answer they are called to labor in the ministry of the word
[01:17:51] They are to preach sound doctrine diligently in season and out of season plainly, not in enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, faithfully making known the whole counsel of God, wisely applying themselves to the necessities and capacities
[01:18:11] of the hearers, zealously in fervent love to God and the souls of his people, sincerely aiming at his glory and their conversion, edification, and salvation. Did you hear that word zealous?
[01:18:27] There should be a fervency in preaching the Word of God. I think with the influence of TED Talks and things like that, so much of preaching is just a more casual conversation, and it's even
[01:18:43] presented as such. We've got rid of pulpits, and people now have tables, and maybe we're even sitting down at the table. But the idea is we're simply having a conversation together. It's not in any way pervasive to your life. It's not in any way authoritative. It's simply a conversation.
[01:19:05] Is that what's supposed to be taking place in preaching? No. Look at the third exhortation, the third piece of advice Paul gives to Timothy, Titus. Excuse me, why do I keep saying Timothy?
[01:19:16] He says, the pastor's speech must be authoritative. Look at verse 15. Declare these things, exhort and rebuke with all authority. Is that some authority? No, with all authority. How dare you, Titus? How do you speak with all authority? Answer, because it's the word of Christ.
[01:19:43] if it was merely titus's opinions he would not have any grounds to stand on but what is he to preach with all authority the word given by christ and the apostles which is the inspired word of god
[01:19:57] so he says declare these things exhort and rebuke with all authority in other words there should be a sense of gravitas and seriousness to this task. Isn't that what Paul's saying? That it's not just
[01:20:17] coming out and telling jokes and trying to give some sort of self-help motivation. Look at these verbs. Exhort. Pericalio. Come along. I'm calling you to this. I'm calling you to obedience. Come on let's go rebuke he's saying sometimes there needs to be the conviction of sin hey we need to
[01:20:48] do better in this we're falling short of the expectation that Christ has and we need to repent and we need to come back to this standard is that popular is that popular with Americans who vote with their... No, this is not popular. That's why Paul told Timothy,
[01:21:13] preach the word in season and out of season. But this is what God has ordained in order to set the culture, to establish the church, is this preaching. It's a serious task that none of us
[01:21:37] should take lightly. I should not take it lightly. You should not take it lightly. We come to the church to hear a word from God. Martin Lloyd-Jones said this. Let me give you a quote.
[01:21:55] This is from Preaching and Preachers. He said, the preacher must be a serious man.
[01:22:01] He must never give the impression that preaching is something light or superficial or trivial, end quote i was talking to derrick thomas the the welsh preacher by the way he's coming here on july 5th to preach derrick thomas july july 5th mark that down but derrick thomas was at
[01:22:24] westminster chapel under the preaching of lloyd jones and i asked him i said what was that like to be under the doctor's preaching and i'm not going to try and imitate his welsh accent you'll
[01:22:35] hear it, but he said, I was transfixed in the pew. It was like I could not move. Such was the gravity of what Lloyd-Jones was talking about because he spoke of the realities of the gospel
[01:22:50] as they are true, as they really are, and the message moved along and it built and it built and it built, and in the end there was this crescendo of the glory of God, and then he would
[01:23:00] pray and walk off and everybody just sat there as if they were waiting for Jesus to return that's preaching and it involves a gravity to it and in a culture that wants to be entertained
[01:23:20] I think we can help build this culture by coming to the church expecting to hear a word from the Lord and for the Holy Spirit to do a work are you praying in the morning God the Holy Spirit do a
[01:23:33] work in my heart? Are you praying for whoever is going to preach the Word, either myself or one of the other pastors, that the Holy Spirit would preach through them to the people? Let me give
[01:23:47] you some applications in how we can build a culture of the Word of God. First, bring your Bibles to church. I know that's very simple, but it's a good first step. Bring your Bibles to church
[01:24:05] and expect to hear an expository message one of the sweetest sounds during the sermon you know what it is is hearing you flip the pages in your bible that lets me know that you're with me when
[01:24:19] earlier when i said turn over the page oh man it was sweet everybody turn the page go over to second timothy four so bring your bible expect to hear an expository message two very important
[01:24:35] be willing to follow your leaders as much as you can under the lordship of jesus christ and and that shorthand for submitting to the word of god what does it matter if you come and hear a
[01:24:50] message and you walk away and say that was a nice message what does that matter seriously what does it matter if we're not growing in the grace and the love of the lord jesus christ it's all for
[01:25:01] nothing so that's why james says do not be merely hearers of the word but be doers of the word so you should be leaving every Sunday what am I going to put into practice from this
[01:25:12] what have I learned that I need to apply how do I need to be encouraged third the culture of the word is a culture of obedience we must be humble people that obey the word of God do you believe
[01:25:36] in the power and efficacy of the word of God that that is the starting point of this kingdom culture, is that we believe in the Word. If we do not believe in the power of the Holy Spirit
[01:25:49] inspired Word, forget it. Seriously, forget it. We're just playing church. This is powerful, and it's been vindicated by Christ. It's been vindicated by the Holy Spirit in history.
[01:26:08] This has started reformations and revivals. This is powerful, and it's all we need.
[01:26:15] that's why we have a pulpit right here and we put the bible on it it's the center of our life in the center of our worship i'm going to close with a quote from luther luther said this
[01:26:32] what is martin luther the teaching is not mine nor was i luther crucified for anyone how did i a poor stinking bag of maggots that i am come to the point where people all over Christendom know my evil name. He says, I simply taught, preached, wrote God's word.
[01:27:02] Otherwise, I did nothing. And while I slept or drank Wittenberg beer with my friends Philip of Amstorf, the word so greatly weakened the papacy that no prince or emperor ever inflicted such losses upon it. I did nothing. The Word did everything. That's it. The Word does the work.
[01:27:36] Christian leaders of the Word, people of the Word. Amen. Lord, may we be those types of leaders, that type of church where the Word of God does the work of God. Lord, may I be the type of preacher
[01:27:59] that heralds the Word of God come hell or high water. May all of our pastors be those types of preachers. May all of our teachers be those types of teachers that not only teach, but they begin
[01:28:12] to meddle. They begin to herald your word so that people are inclined to obey it. Lord, may the work of the word have its work in our hearts and in our minds. May we be transformed by the
[01:28:27] renewing of our minds through the word. May our lives be in accord with the word of God. May we display the virtues that you command us to in Titus chapter 2. And Lord, we pray for the work
[01:28:41] of the King's Chapel. This is a work in progress. It's a work of the Word, and it's a work that takes place in our hearts and in our minds. So, Lord, do this work. We know that we are powerless
[01:28:53] in and of ourselves to do it. We pray that the Word would bear fruit in our lives, that the Word would go out forth from here in evangelism as people make disciples, that the Word of God
[01:29:06] would do the work. We pray this in Christ's name. Amen. And we're going to do a closing hymn.
[01:29:16] Kenny's up here. I invite you to stand, and we're going to sing, All I Have is Christ.

[01:29:24] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]
[01:29:24] I once was lost in darkness. We'll lift our hands, and let's give God praise.
[01:33:27] Praise God. For from him, and through him, and to him, to Christ, are all things. To him be the

[01:34:19] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]
[01:34:19] glory forever and ever, worlds without end. Amen.