Why would anybody disregard Titus, or look past him as though he wasn't there and own wasn't speaking? Well, there are things we can do which cause people to set us aside. It is easy to see it with Timothy; he was a very young man. ‘Let no man despise thy youth.’ Perhaps it is possible that Timothy in weak moments could have behaved like a youth, or done things that were rather immature, or went to extremes, so that people would say, ‘He’s just a kid. He’s just a youngster. What does he know?’ In the case of Titus, what might he do? What might any preacher do which would cause people to disregard him and his word, and what he says? Well obviously, if he is inconsistent in his life. That would spoil his ministry. Or perhaps he is not working hard enough, so he is boring, and when he preaches he says no more than people can read for themselves in the Scripture, and so even the most sympathetic Christians are inclined to feel in their hearts, ‘Well our preacher: we love him, but he doesn't tell us anything. He doesn’t help us to see what's there, and what the message is: how it applies to us. He just says the obvious.’ Well it would be easy to slip into that, and not plumb the depths, and not be a workman that opens up the Scripture to people. So the preacher has always got to be dissatisfied with himself, and working, because he doesn't want to give cause for the word of God to be set aside and disregarded. Perhaps he offers all he says as just his opinion, and does not assert the authority of Scripture. He must not be afraid to claim the authority of Scripture, as long as he is careful to be faithful to it. It's an important exhortation: ‘Let no man despise thee.’ Self-examination, every effort. ‘Titus,’ – let’s apply it to Titus – ‘keep at it.’ Never close your sermon satisfied, thinking you have accomplished everything. Be ready to examine it.