The Call to be Faithful to Small Group Ministry

Well, if you would take your Bible, turn to Ephesians chapter 4. We'll be in verses 11 to 14 here in just a moment and then later on we will turn back to those Titus 2 passages that we read earlier, Titus chapter 2 verses 1 to 8. But here we are about to restart our small groups after our much-needed July break. And now what I'm about to say has been on my mind all week, but to me it is best to say we are about to start back our small group ministry. I emphasize that word ministry. We are about to start back our small group ministry. I am excited that we will be studying 1st and 2nd Peter.

As your pastor, there are certain specific reasons I believe we need to study these two books, but I am equally excited that we are getting back into small groups and that ministry again emphasizing that word ministry. And this morning I want to give us some teaching that will help us in this ministry, but this is much more than just a call to attend. Now those of you who are Grace Life, you know me. I am not the guilt trip pastor. Have y'all ever known a guilt trip pastor? No names, no names. I have known guilt trip pastors. I am not a guilt trip pastor.

But you need to understand that I pray, I study, I preach, and I pastor expecting to be led of God in believing that I am preaching what God intends for us all to hear and to live. And the direction I'm going in our message this morning has been preaching to me for quite some time. God has been preaching to me long before I come preaching to you. That's the way it should be. If it's not, something's wrong with me. But within our message, there are certain truths, certain standards, and expectations. And there are great obligations and responsibilities that I want us to see, believe, accept, and live.

Now it's one thing for us to see these truths and standards. It's one thing for us to believe these expectations and obligations. It's another thing for us to accept these standards, expectations, and responsibilities. But oh, it is a completely different thing when we live them out. When we live them out. Now before we get into our verses, I want to point out something about the books of Ephesians and Titus. This is context, a little background. We know that context is king. It keeps us from getting things out of context. Ephesians is one of the prison epistles.

The prison epistles are a group of letters that were written by Paul while he was in prison. It's rather self-explanatory. Those letters are the book of Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon. And notice how this relates to the book of Ephesians. Paul was writing from prison to the church at Ephesus and he was writing to the church to help the church, to help the church to do what they were to do and to be what they were to be. It's real simple. Titus is one of what is called the pastoral epistles. The pastoral epistles are a group of letters that were written by Paul to his younger associate ministers in training.

Those letters are Titus and 1st and 2nd Timothy. And notice how this relates to the book of Titus. Paul was writing to this young minister in training, of course he was on the field, who was pastoring the churches on the island of Crete. And the purpose of the book was to help Titus pastor and in turn help the church to do what they were supposed to do and to be what they were supposed to be. Now Ephesians is a very important part of the church's instruction manual and in turn it is the same for a pastor. That means that I should preach what is in the book of Ephesians and we should receive and obey what's found in the letter.

Titus is a very important part of a pastor's instruction manual. And in turn it's the same thing for the church. That means I should preach what is found in the book of Titus and we should receive that and obey that which is found in the letter. Now this is my point. This is what I'm aiming at right here. These letters were written to pastors and churches. We could turn that around and say that these letters were written to churches and pastors. It's easy to see. And they are written to us right here at Grace Life Church, you and me. Now, let's turn our attention to Ephesians 4 verses 11 to 14. Ephesians 4 verses 11 to 14.

Paul says to the church, "And He," that's Christ our Lord, "gave the apostles, the prophets and evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry for building up the body of Christ until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in the deceitful schemes." Now this body of scripture that I have just read is what I am calling equipped for the work of ministry.

I'll repeat that because I do know we have some note takers. These verses are all about being equipped for the work of ministry. Now out of this teaching I want to make five observations and my point in this teaching is to mold us and equip us for the ministry of small groups. And I pray that it is the Holy Spirit that molds us. My prayer is that the Spirit of God equips us from this teaching. First, God gave leaders to lead the church. In verse 11 we see that God gave to the church certain offices and men in those offices for the purpose of leading the church.

We have apostles, prophets, evangelists, and we know shepherds or pastors or teachers. We know that office says the office of the elder. But we can't take for granted that we all know what we have in these verses. Let me do a little explaining. God gave the apostles and when they died their offices ceased. But the apostles and their authority do live on in their writings in the scriptures. So we do not have living apostles today, but we have the apostles living in our day in their teaching in the New Testament. And then the New Testament prophet.

In their day the New Testament prophet literally spoke the words of God, the thoughts of God, and the plans of God. Remember now they didn't have the written canon of Scripture completed in that day. And most scholars believe that the office of the prophet died when the apostles died. That is because there is no need for the office. See, the Word of God was completed. So we have no need for the prophet to tell us the words of God, the thoughts of God, and the plans of God. We have it in the scripture. So that leaves us the rest. Now some debate if the office of the evangelist exists today, but I have no reason to believe that it does not.

I have known a couple of biblical evangelists. Simply the evangelist is a man called and equipped by God to preach the good news of the gospel and salvation in Jesus to the law successfully. And many times these evangelists ultimately end up planting churches with those converts. And then we have the shepherds and the teachers. And language scholars tell us that this phrase refers to one person and one office. This speaks to multiple gifts and giftedness in that one office. Simply this is the man who was called and equipped by God to shepherd the church. We would use this modern term called pastor to teach and preach God's Word in the church.

And we know the rest of the New Testament teaching tells us that he governs the church along with other elders. So take note of what we have here. Today we have the evangelist and the pastor teacher and more specific to the local church. We have the pastor teacher or what we would call the pastor. And the pastor of the elder, he is called, he is gifted to pastor and to teach within the local church. And what does he teach? Well God's Word. Not his opinion, not the headlines. God's Word. So church, notice what we have here in our local church. We have the apostles and the prophets in the scriptures.

And we do have the evangelist who can come our way. Our old friend Brother Ed Lacey was a God called gifted evangelist. Many of you remember Ed Lacey. He is passed on. He is with the Lord. But God has given us me, the pastor to teach you God's Word. And I'm thankful that we have other elders who teach God's Word as well. And we have some other men who are not elders who teach God's Word. And I think most of you know that our model that we see in the scripture now is that the pastor is the leader among equals. The equals being the other elders.

We can make a case that Timothy and Ephesus was a leader among equals because he was the pastor and there were other elders there. Second, God gave these leaders to equip the saints. In verse 12 we see that God gives these leaders who truly are gifts to the church to do what? Verse 12 says to equip the church and individual believers. And to equip means to complete. This means to equip and bring the members of the church more and more and more into spiritual completion. Well, how do I do this in the life of our church? Of course, I pastor you one-on-one if I need to.

But primarily by teaching you God's Word and I teach on Sunday mornings and Wednesday evenings. Now question. Have you grown more and more spiritually? Have you been equipped more and more through the preaching ministry? Specifically my preaching ministry as I've been pastoring you. You know occasionally when folks join our church, most of the time they join after they've attended for a while. And sometimes we get a testimony that shows us that we are faithful to this thing called preaching and teaching.

Sometimes folks will come up and say, you know, I have grown immensely through the preaching and the teaching ministry in the life of the church. Sometimes folks will even say, you know, I came out of some sick and unhealthy churches and I've grown more in a year than I have in a whole lifetime. And I want to say something here church. I'm not scolding you. I'm encouraging you now. And if there is some correction in this, you need it. If you are not faithful to the preaching and teaching ministry of our church, you are not growing in your completion and maturity as you should. It's right here in verse 12.

If you are not faithful to the preaching and teaching ministry in our church, you are not growing in your completion and your maturity as you should. We see it right here in verse 12 now. Third, why? The second part of verse 12 says that God does this work in the Saints so that the church would be equipped for the work of ministry. It's right there in the verse. So that the church will be equipped for the work of ministry. Now look, brother and sister, God is equipping you for ministry. You may say, pastor, I'm not called in the ministry.

Everyone who is a born-again Christian and a member of a local body and a member of a church is called a ministry. God is equipping you from ministry through the men and the offices that God has given us. Let me be more specific here. God is equipping you from ministry through the preaching of God's Word on Sunday mornings and Wednesday nights. Any time there is a man in this pulpit preaching and teaching, I was out some recently for some vacation. I'm thankful that Jared preached from Psalm 91. Tommy preached on the new birth. God used those men to do what? To equip you for ministry in the local church. But notice why?

Who is to do this work of ministry in our church? It's you. It's you. This is the why. And look at the work of ministry that is before you and us in small group ministry. Our small group strategy statement is seen in our membership class information, really our membership policies and procedures. That strategy statement reads, "The church organized into small group Bible studies is to minister the Word, meet individual needs, equip the saved, provide fellowship, as well as help evangelize the lost." You see, it is my job to equip you for the work of ministry. And I do that through preaching and teaching God's Word.

The apostles and prophets and evangelists and the pastor-teacher are for the purpose of equipping you for this ministry in the local church. But the ultimate purpose, fourth, fourth for what purpose? Verse 12 says that the purpose of this equipping is to build up the body of Christ. The saints are to work and serve in ministry so as to build up the body. That's the church that is you, one another. So look, folks, you brothers and sisters now are to serve in the ministries of our church so as to build up one another of the body.

And I hate to say this, but some of the brothers and sisters within our church may not be being built up as they should be, because some of you are not working in the ministry of small groups and other ministries as you should. Think on that. Here at Grace Life, we believe in every member of ministry, which means the saints are equipped far in doing the work of the ministry so that the body of Christ, this church, would be built up, would be built up, would be built up. Well, how are we doing? But I also want to turn it around. Most all of you are working and serving in ministry and God is using you to build up the body.

God is using you to build up our church, your church, one another. Fifth, for one end, what's the ultimate goal now? We see this ultimate goal or goals in verses 13 to 14. Here we see several. I'll quickly explain each one of them. First goal until we reach the unity of the faith. This speaks to a unity or a oneness when it comes to the body of revealed truth, which is the gospel and all of God's word. So one goal of this work is so that all in the church would be one in the gospel and all of God's word. The next goal until we reach the unity of the knowledge of the Son of God.

This does not speak of salvation, but of a deep and personal knowledge of Christ personally. So another goal of this work is so that all in the church would be unified or one in their personal knowledge of Christ. The next goal until we reach the stature of the fullness of Christ. This speaks of the fullness or a greater and greater fullness of the qualities and the characteristics of Christ. So another goal of this work is so that all in the church would possess more and more the qualities and the characteristics of Jesus in our personal lives. The next goal until we become mature, reaching the maturity of spiritual manhood.

This speaks of growing to a place of maturity that is grown up like a little boy grows into a man. So another goal of this work is so that all in the church reach a spiritual maturity that is seen as all grown up into Christian maturity. And the last goal here until we leave behind spiritual maturity. Here the one who is tossed to and fro and carried about is this immature believer who is not grounded in Christ in God's word. That means they are prone to be influenced by bad doctrine and bad teachers.

So another goal of this work is so that all in the church leave behind spiritual immaturity which make them prone to bad doctrine and bad teachers. Now this leads me to a series of questions I must ask and we must answer. Now lately we've had some blurred out some answers. I'll go ahead and tell you the answer. The answer is no to all of these questions. Have all of the members of Grace Life Church reached a fullness in the gospel and the word of God. Have we all reached a unity and oneness in our personal knowledge of Jesus. Have we all reached a oneness in our maturity which means all are grown up in our Christian maturity.

Have we all reached a unity in our maturity so that none of us are tossed here and there by bad doctrine and those who teach bad doctrine. Has the entire body of Grace Life Church reached all of these goals. Well church listen as long as one in the body has not reached all of these goals then we all have a whole lot of work to do. But look saints I'm encouraged. I see this work happening. I do. I see this this work happening and I believe the elders would attest to that. They would say Amen Pastor Chris and other men and leaders as well and you ladies. And notice how this takes place.

There is a sense in which this happens organically it's unplanned as God the Holy Spirit works in us and among us and through us and leads us. This work happens spiritually and organically. But notice that we provide an environment especially designed for this equipping work that environment is our small groups are our small group. Remember ministry. Again our small group purpose statement. The church organized into Bible study small groups is to minister the word meet individual needs equip the saved provide fellowship as well as help evangelize the lost. And I say all that to say two things. First I am encouraged.

I see this equipping work going on in our church but we always have a little more to go. And second I want to call us to recommit ourselves to be faithful to the ministry of small groups wire for the equipping of the saints and building up of one another and I'll come back to this at the conclusion. At this point I want to speak to how we have altered our small groups this semester. We've combined our group some. We've got older with the younger and younger with the older. We've made some changes also in some of our teachers and who's teaching. And we did this for two reasons.

First of all for the equipping of the saints and the building up of the saints. We've already looked at that. And second we see that the older have a unique responsibility in this work and the younger. They have a unique responsibility as well. Now that leads us to our tightest two passages in the next part of our message. Let's look at those verses again Titus 2 1 to 8. I'll mention a couple of verses from Chapter 1 Titus 2 1 to 8 Paul says to Titus but as for you teach what accords will sound doctrine.

Older men are to be sober minded dignified self-controlled sound in faith in love and instead fastness older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior. Not slanderers or slave to much wine. They are to teach what is good and to train the young women to love their 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 or as the younger men to be self-controlled 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. Now this body of scripture is what I'm calling older to younger ministry. Again some of you take notes you may want to write that down. These verses in Titus 2 are about older to younger ministry and out of this teaching I want to make five observations as well in this teaching is meant to mold us it's meant to improve us for the ministry of small groups.

And again I want the spirit to do what only the spirit can do. First we see Titus and his responsibilities now Titus was appointed by Paul as the pastor with authority in the churches on the island of Crete in Chapter 1 verse 5 Paul said this is why I left you in Crete so that you might put what remain into order. Now Titus was to put many things into order but this morning I want us to see that Titus address different groups in the church and he called them to live out certain standards in certain responsibilities.

But before we get into the groups I want us to see a particular command Paul gave Titus he was to preach God's word and teach God's word which was his most important responsibility. In Chapter 1 verse 9 Paul called Titus to strongly clean to the word of God in his teaching and he also called Titus to faithfully minister God's word. In the verse we see that Paul was calling Titus to faithfully exhort and encourage and sound doctrine all while refuting or speaking against faults or faulty doctrine.

The word sound here speaks to that which is healthy clean and wholesome it speaks to doctrine and doctrines which promote protect and preserve spiritual life in the church. We also see this in Chapter 2 verse 1 so we see a particular responsibility that the Apostle Paul clearly elevated and gave to Titus for his ministry in the churches. That was his preaching and teaching ministry his responsibilities to preach and teach. Now notice how this relates to us. Our Grace Life Church wheel is the basic structure and function of our church and at the very center of the structure and function of our church is the preaching ministry of our church.

Everything emanates out of the preaching in the teaching ministry of our church so we are like Titus we are like the churches in Crete we are like Paul. Second the older men and their responsibilities. Here we see truth Titus was to teach in the churches this was a part of setting things in order but a question who are these older men. This would have been older men physically but much more than older men physically in the scriptures older age is associated usually with spiritual experience spiritual maturity and wisdom we especially see this in the Old Testament. And take a look at what Titus was to do here.

In verse 2 he was to call the older men in these churches to certain spiritual characteristics which speaks to and foster spiritual maturity. They were to be sober minded the ESV says the New American says temperate and this speaks to the use of alcohol but it also relates to many many areas of conduct in life. The older were to be sober minded in all areas of life they were to possess and exhibit self control never being out of control in life they were to be sober minded sober in their thinking in their living.

They were to be dignified and this speaks of being revered in honorable the opposite would be arrogant haughty and superficial so they were to be dignified also they were to be self controlled the New American says sensible. This speaks of discernment and discretion this means they were to possess a sound judgment about themselves we can say that they were to have control over themselves which brought them to make sound judgments in life.

They were to be sound in the faith and in love this word sound speaks of that which is healthy and good so they were to be sound healthy and good in the faith and more they were to be sound healthy and good and love also which means they were to possess and exhibit Christian or Christ like love in all areas. Of life also they were to be sound in steadfastness as well this means they were not to give up when trial and hardship came their way this means they were to be steadfast and strong no matter what came into their life no matter hard how hard.

So notice what we see here Titus was to call the older man in the churches to this type of spiritual life to this type of we can say it like this spiritual maturity. You may say pastor Chris what does this have to do with small groups it has a lot to do with small groups so just hold on to that we'll come back to it third the older women and their responsibilities. The older women and their responsibilities. Here we see another one of Titus's responsibilities in the church and churches but a question who are these older women what age are we talking about here.

Well just like with the men no age is mentioned but in the scriptures and in their culture the understanding of older women is related to children. Basically women were considered to be older when they were past the child rearing age or when the children were out of the house. Paul mentions this in first Timothy when he speaks of widows who were qualified for support from the church first Timothy five nine and look at what Titus was to do here in verses three to five he was to call the older women in these churches to the spiritual characteristics which pertain to these things. Foster spiritual maturity.

The older women were to be reverent in their behavior this speaks of a holy attitude a holy disposition and a holy spirit that spilled out in the godly or reverent behavior and speech the meaning of this word actually points to one who was holy in their person and behavior. They were not to be slanderers the new American says they were not to be malicious gossips this means they were not to participate in or even to listen to slander speech concerning others. But this is not speaking about idle talk but slanderous talk malicious talk.

They were not to be slaves too much wine of course this is talking about the use of alcohol simply they were not to be slaves to are addicted to the dream but notice there's a shift in the verses. Titus call the older women to pour into the younger women in verse two he tells the older women to teach what is good this speaks of teaching things that are high holy and godly things that are good according to God and God's word and God's ways then starting in verse four Titus call the older women to pour into the younger women things concerning their responsibilities in the home.

The younger were to love their husbands but Paul was not referring to physical sexual love here that's a part of it but this primarily speaks to a willingness to love their husbands because God commands it. And this was a choice not necessarily based on the husband's worth John MacArthur says here even unlovable uncaring unfaithful and ungrateful husbands are to be loved.

And then they were to love their children again Paula speaking of a choice he was calling them to a selfless love not based on any condition for their children and the older were called they were called to be self controlled this speaks of good judgment even common sense and we see the very same thing of elders in chapter one verse eight and then they were to be pure this refers to moral and even sexual purity.

This speaks of marital faithfulness and purity and the older were to teach them to be workers in the home while there is a lot of confusion here and even some debate the language in the original is really simple and it means that they were to be home centered or home focused this means their focus their energy primarily was to be on the home. They were to be subject or submissive to their own husbands the new American says subject this was and he is an acknowledgement that the husband is the head of the home and a submission to his headship in leadership now let me pause here now take notice something.

This for says the older women were to train the English standard reads the legacy standard Bible says they were to instruct the young women to love their husbands and children to be self controlled and pure to be workers in the home and to be subject to the leadership of their husband. So notice what Titus was to do here he was to call the older women to be a lot and to do a lot they were to be women of godly character which comes out of comes out in godly behavior and they were to pour into the younger women literally they were to teach and to train them.

Now churches your pastor I'm very very encouraged I know and I see that this kind of training it goes on in our ladies all the time I see it of course my wife is discreet and she never breaks confidence but she tells me often of how the older are training and teaching and pouring into the younger and how the younger are looking to the older to train and to teach and to pour into them.

She speaks of it all the time we see it the matter of fact some of our men are a little bit convicted because we see that they do a little bit better job there and I have great confidence that this will continue and we'll even get better here you will even get better here with more and more time than the younger men. Now before I continue notice something seems to be missing of course we know nothing's ever missing from the scriptures Paul did not call Titus to teach the younger women. Maybe this is because of great wisdom and discretion maybe Paul knew that the older godly women were better suited to teach the younger women.

Now here we see another one of Titus's responsibilities but a question here who are these younger men could they be young husbands or young fathers could they be even younger than that could they be what we would call college age or the youth age well all of the above. Paul urges Titus to teach the young men this means to strongly exhort or entreat them and he was to strongly exhort them to be sensible in all things this can be translated to have self control one commentator said it like this self control is an appropriate word since youth is the time of brimming zeal restless energy and burning desires.

John MacArthur says and I'm quoting young men who frequently are impulsive passionate and ambitious volatile and sometimes arrogant are to exercise self control and show good sense and judgment in all things. And take note of what Paul says next in the rest of verses seven and eight he called Titus to be an example to these young men even an example to all. He was to be an example of good deeds good doctrine good sound teaching he was to be an example in speeches well he was to be such a good example that he would be beyond any condemnation of any enemy or opponent.

It's like Paul was commanding these young men to be self controlled in all of life and then to look at their pastor as an example that's because that's what he was doing. So take note of what Paul was calling Titus to do here he was to strongly exhort young men to be self controlled in all of life. They were to harness all of that zeal all of that energy all of that impulsiveness all of that ambition that comes along with being young Titus was to exhort them to control all those things.

And he was to be an example to these young men to these young husband to these young husbands even these young fathers he was even to be an example to the women to the young and the old to all in the church. Now at this point I want to move on towards concluding the message and in doing so I will make specific application from this teaching to all of us I will make five specific points of application this will be much shorter than the other material.

I have said this a couple of times but my purpose is that this message would mold us and equip us for the ministry of small groups and of course the Holy Spirit of God is the only one that can mold us and equip us. But before I get into this application remember our ultimate goal. Our goal is that all in the body of Grace Life Church be equipped for ministry in our church so that all in the body are built up into the unity of the faith and the knowledge of Christ that all are brought to maturity in their faith and into the fullness of Christ.

And we provide an environment that is meant far and conducive for that work small group ministry again that purpose statement the church is organized into bible study small groups let me pause here. Last time I taught on small groups was two years ago and I taught that from acts chapter to the church at Jerusalem they broke down from the larger to the smaller small groups in the homes. And one of our men stood right there in front of me and said pastor I've seen that a thousand times through the years but I've never seen it the church at Jerusalem really had smaller groups I'm like yes right there but back to the purpose statement.

The church is organized in the bible study small groups I guess we're like the church at Jerusalem to minister the word me individual needs equip the saved provide fellowship as well as help evangelize the lost and look at all of our responsibilities here. This is the standard now these are the expectations first as your pastor my responsibility is to equip you through preaching and teaching you God's word faithfully and pastoring you wherever I need to whenever I need to.

Second as your pastor just like Titus I am to be an example for you and to you especially the men in the church now look at how all this ties together for me I've got to live all this out. I got to live what I preach so if I'm to be an example I've got to live all this out before you. Third our other elders rather Keith is an elder Jared is an elder Tommy is an elder you mean elders are to be examples to all of the churches well especially the young men of the church and look you elders have to live all this out as well.

And you know elders the church is watching us we kind of live in a fishbowl we have to live all this out now it's one thing for me to preach it it's another thing for us to live it one month six months no years a lifetime. Fourth our older men and women we can clearly see that our older women are to teach instruct and even train our younger women women you are to live these things out and teach them it's right there and Titus to.

But notice something the text does not say this but I do not believe that I'm in error here if God clearly expects the older women to teach instruct and even train younger women then it is obvious that he expects the same with the man. You think I'm wrong so our older men and women you are to live out these things as well every bit of it now because we have the younger who are watching us and fifth younger ladies teenage ladies younger men young teenage men you should be taught instructed and even trained by the older in our church.

This should happen as a distance as you watch them as you watch them through the years this should happen up close as you younger get closer to the older as the closer get younger to the older this should happen up close and oh then you should take it a step further you should be developing relationships one with another the older with the younger why so as to absorb these things younger so as to teach these things older. And then we should see very close relationships develop between older and younger why so as to live these things out.

Now I close with the title of the message and then I'm going to break down the title the call to be faithful to small group ministry. Let me break it down I'm calling you I'm your pastor I love you I'm not twisting your arm now I'm not guilt tripping you I may be twisting your arm a little. I'm calling you to be faithful we're not legalists now you know sometimes folks attacks me and say pastor I won't make it two kids are sick I got a flat tire the air conditioners out and my boss called and I got to go to work and I'm like brother don't come to church we're not legalists.

Faithfulness doesn't mean we're legalists but faithfulness means we're faithful. So your pastor is calling you to be faithful to small groups but look it's not a classroom it's not tables and chairs it's ministry and look what's behind that ministry lately I've been doing this look around the room. Look around the room you are the minister we are the minister so the call to be faithful to small group ministry.