Exhortations To The Man Of God - [2 Timothy 1:1-4]

Well, some of you know if you've been in my preaching classes, preaching training classes, I take the men across the street to the cemetery and I have them preach to the tombstones. It's quite an event.

If God doesn't open up the eyes of the people you preach to, it's just like you're preaching to dead people, but it's a very illustrative event. This morning I wish we could walk across the street all together and stand by the grave stones as well.

It reminds me of Elisha Yale, a pastor in days gone by. When it came to ordaining someone to gospel ministry, he said, my dear brother, it was but a few days ago that I was by the grave of a beloved Christian minister who had just finished his work and laid down his commission at the feet of Jesus.

In the view of that grave, I would now address you in the name of Christ at your entrance upon the duties of this sacred office. Of all the undertakings of men, none are more important than the work to which you are this day set apart and consecrated.

It is the appointment not of men, but of God. The investiture of the office is by human hands, but the office itself is by divine authority. So I don't know how long it will take us all to get over to the tombstones, but I wish we could walk over in the rain and I would charge Pradeep in light of those tombstones.

This morning, the installation and ordination of Pradeep. We have done this here at the church in the last 20 years, not very often myself, Pastor Steve, Dave, Lewis, and now Pradeep. The ordination format is simple.

God saves a man. He gifts a man. We affirm his teaching gifts. Goes to seminary, has years of shepherding, then is examined as he was a week ago. By the way, good job. Passed the test. And then there's an installation charge, and that is a charge that I'm going to give this morning from 2 Timothy.

So please open your Bibles to 2 Timothy. As you know, we're in the book of Hebrews, typically on Sunday morning. I think we've gone through 18 messages and about 6 verses. So for those of you that are getting a little antsy, we're going to go through all 83 verses in 2 Timothy today.

So for those of you, no laughing, we're going to attempt it. 83 verses of 2 Timothy, 4 chapters, as Paul on his deathbed gives a charge to Timothy and all those who would, by the grace of God, follow in his steps.

Why do we ordain people at all? Might I say that it's about time that churches limit men in gospel ministry. There are too many people who are self-ordained. They call themselves into the ministry, and they get up in the pulpit and they run their mouths about themselves and about the church and the size of the church, and they act like CEOs, and they have nothing to do with gospel ministry.

So one of the things ordination does is it limits gospel ministers. That is to say, these men must be called of God, and the church simply recognizes that call. And then we give a public installation charge.

Why? Why today in front of all of you? Well, because there's the gravity of the situation. There are witnesses of which you are witnesses. And it's especially important, congregation, that you know what the Bible demands and commands of gospel ministers.

For the same reason, if you're not an elder, would not you read 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, Titus? Of course you would. And so really when it comes to ordination, we have an examination that was over the last 10 years and last Sunday night, and then there's an exhortation.

And today is the exhortation. We critique a man behind the scenes, and then we give him a commendation or charge in the morning. And by the way, Pradeep, I hope this ordination installation sermon will give you assurance in the days to come, because certainly you will feel over your head in gospel ministry, and it will give you accountability remembering the charge today.

The Emotional Weight of Paul’s Last Letter

2 Timothy 1, we're going to see the background, and then we're going to give charges to Pradeep. I think I'll give you seven charges from 2 Timothy, Pradeep. And congregation, if you say, I'm not a pastor and these charges aren't applicable to me, let me give you seven prayer requests for Pradeep and the rest of the leaders.

How does that sound? So we'll turn them into prayer requests. By the way, this book is very emotional. This book are the last words and testament of the apostle Paul written to a man he dearly loved. I believe someone on death row should be listened to.

And contrary to the man in California, true story, when asked, what are your last words before we condemn you to death? His words were, go raiders. On the exact opposite end, Paul is going to now charge Timothy, his protege, I'm going to die.

Tradition says, soon Paul will have his head cut off on the Ostian Way. In light of the cross, in light of the death, that I'll die and you'll die, Timothy, here are the charges for gospel ministry. And the same thing applies to anyone who would dare call themselves an elder or an ordained pastor or an ordained man.

Paul, verse 1, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, according to the promise of life in Christ Jesus, our life that is in Christ Jesus. To Timothy, my beloved son or child, the SV says, grace, mercy, peace from God the Father in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Paul lays down this intro and he's going to try to encourage Timothy. Rough days are going to be ahead and he's going to need the triune God's help, grace from God, mercy from God, peace from God, and not just the Father but from the Lord Jesus Christ.

You're going to kind of viscerally sense in this book as I read it out loud and we work through it, the emotion that goes there, the solemnity that is involved as Paul gives this charge to Timothy. And we notice from the very beginning, the undergirding, God's enablement, His power has to give all these commands that Paul will give to Timothy, strength and enablement because Timothy could never do it on his own.

Paul loved Timothy and he says in verse 3, I thank God whom I serve as did my ancestors with a clear conscience as I remember you constantly in my prayers night and day. As I remember your tears, I long to see you that I may be filled with joy.

I'm mindful, it says in verse 5, of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now I'm sure dwells in you. Kind of bringing back to memory, remember your grandmother, remember your mother, I'm going to give this message in light of that, Paul says to Timothy, verse 6, for this reason I remind you to kindle afresh the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands.

For God has not given us a spirit of timidity but of power and love and discipline. Years ago we had Don Whitney at the church here to speak and Don Whitney writes, almost everyone knows someone who used to be in ministry.

Almost everyone knows someone who shouldn't be in ministry and every minister knows another minister, if not several, he does not want to be like. Despite the fact that no one goes into the ministry to be a casualty, the ruin of almost every minister it seems is inevitable.

For in addition to the high percentage of those who leave the ministry, sometimes it appears that of those who do stay in the ministry, many of them have been ruined in other ways. Money, sex, power, pride, cynicism are even ruined by success.

Paul knew, Timothy knew people were casualties in ministry. He said in 1 Timothy, some turn aside to fruitless discussions. He said in 1 Timothy, some have suffered shipwreck in regard to their faith.

He says to Timothy in his first letter, some ministers were so hypocritical, they were so full of lies, they had a seared conscience as with a branding iron. Paul told Timothy in 1 Timothy, there are ministers who are conceited and understand nothing and they have morbid interest in controversial questions and disputes.

Paul said, you know, in 1 Timothy, there are men who suppose that godliness is a means of gain. And so Paul now gives Timothy his charge. Charge number one for Timothy, for the elders and especially for Pradeep this morning, number one, charge one in light of what Paul has said.

In light of Paul's grave, the gospel is worth every inconvenience and trouble. The gospel, Pradeep, is worth every inconvenience and struggle. Do you notice in verse 8 and 12, the bookends, the brackets, suffering in verse 8 and suffering in verse 12.

It's going to cost. Ministry costs. But the cause is worth it. Do you notice in verse 8, therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord or of me, His prisoner, but join with me in the suffering for the gospel according to the power of God.

The gospel cause is worth suffering. And the good news is, God enables those who suffer for the gospel. Verse 8, therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord or of me, His prisoner, but join with me in suffering for the gospel according to what?

According to the power of God. God is there to strengthen. And by the way, when suffering comes to gospel ministers, you might say to yourself, is the plan of God upset? Did something go wrong? This is not how things are to be.

Is God's eternal plan changing? Verse 9, of course not. Who saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace, which was granted us in Christ Jesus, from when?

From one trial to the next? To the next time there's a big imbroglio? No, from all eternity. Suffering, the pastor, elders, never changes God's plan. And by the way, what's the worst thing that can happen to you as a gospel minister or a Christian?

Verse 10, you die and go to heaven. But now has been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death, a fangless opponent, and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.

And like Paul, and like Timothy, and like every other pastor and elder, the Savior can be trusted. For I know, Paul said, for this reason I also suffer these things. I'm not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and I'm convinced that He is able to guard what I've entrusted to Him until that day.

And of course, it's the same for the congregation. The gospel is worth every inconvenience. It's worth every trouble. Charge number two. Prayer request number two for the congregation. Charge for Pardeep number two.

The gospel is worth defending. Number one, it's worth trouble. Number two, it's worth defending. Verses 13 through 18. You will not hear abandoned ship language in this section. You will not hear, we need to be known for what we're for and not what we're against language here.

You're going to hear military language here. Listen to verse 13. Retain the standard of sound words which you have heard from Me in the faith and love which are in Christ Jesus. Guard through the Holy Spirit who dwells in us the treasure which has been entrusted to you.

What are these sound words? These sound words are gospel words, words of what the Bible are, but specifically the gospel. Guard these words. Hold the line. Follow, retain. It's a present imperative. This is more internal first.

Guard in yourself first and then guard from outside attackers secondly. Hold the line. Guard. There are going to be threats. Maybe you might want to change it yourself and modify the rough edges of the gospel and perdition and hell.

You've got to retain sound words. Don't do that. Don't fall prey yourself. And then when it comes to externally and external threats, you've got to guard, verse 14. You've got to keep watch. Satan hates the gospel.

He's tried to destroy it in every generation and now what does Paul say? Guard. Retain through the Holy Spirit who dwells in us the treasure which has been entrusted to you. I could say it this way. You don't turn the other cheek to sound false doctrine.

You assassinate it. You murder it. With premeditation, false doctrine comes and you obliterate it with truth. That's what Paul says to guard. It's military language. Fortress language. It's the language of Paul contending for the faith like Jude did earnestly.

For Paul, it was not theoretical. He did retain it. And the problem is we almost all know of people who did not. Look at verse 15. There are some who were ashamed. There were some that didn't retain it within themselves and there were some that didn't guard it.

And here are some attacks from the outside. You are aware of the fact that all who are in Asia turned away from Me. See, not everyone retains. Not everyone guards. Among whom are, and He names names, Philegius and Hermogenes.

You can hear from Colossians 1, Him we proclaim. Other people might not proclaim, but we, Paul says in Colossians 1, Timothy, Epaphras, myself, we proclaim Him. The false teachers at Colossae might not, but we do.

We have a baton given to us and we pass that baton. Jesus, the Messiah, the mediator, the advocate, the captain of our salvation. For Paul, you would not see him get into moralism and just be better and to do better.

For Paul, it was preaching Christ and Him crucified. Luther, we always preach Him, the true God and man. This may seem limited and monotonous subject, likely to soon be exhausted, but we are never at the end of it.

Remember Donald Gray Barnhouse? He said, if Satan took over a city, what would happen? You might think there'd be all kinds of inappropriate things going on late at night. Barnhouse said, you'd think the bars would close, no alcohol would be sold, happy marriages, well-behaved children, no crime, and everyone would be in churches on Sunday.

If Satan took over, that's exactly what would happen. But in the churches, there wouldn't be Jesus preached. And so make Him known. Make much of Him. Paul says in 2 Corinthians, for we proclaim, it's not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord.

Some were ashamed, but look at verse 16 and 17. Some were not ashamed. Some did retain. Some did guard. The Lord grant mercy to the house of Onesiphorus, for he often refreshed me, was not ashamed of my chains.

But when he was in Rome, he eagerly searched for me and found me. The Lord grant to him to find mercy from the Lord on that day. And you know very well what services He rendered at Ephesus. Paul would say to Titus, as I read earlier, but as for you, teach what accords with sound doctrine.

Nothing new, nothing novel. Pradeep, I read about ordination language in the past. And when men were getting ordained into gospel ministry, the examiner would say, in the presence of God and these witnesses, do you promise to hold your ordination so that no loss will come through your holding?

That's the language. I've been given the commission and the task to preach Christ crucified, the resurrected Savior, and no loss will come because of my holding. Charge 3. The gospel is worth every inconvenience.

The gospel is worth defending. Charge 3. Prayer request number 3. The gospel strengthens. Pray that your leaders will be strengthened by the gospel and the congregation as well. 2 Timothy 2. By the way, you didn't think I could even get through chapter 1, did you?

Done. See? Jet tour through 2 Timothy. Paul is going to die and he's going to pass the baton to Timothy. What do you tell him? It's all about Jesus and it's all about the gospel. It's worth suffering.

It's worth defending. And now, he says the gospel strengthens. You're going to need strength. Pradeep, I think your IQ is higher than mine, but it's not high enough. You're not smart enough. There's not enough ingenuity that you have to deal with the church that Christ purchases with His own blood.

So he says in chapter 2, verse 1, You then, you therefore, my child, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.

Greek grammarians and English grammarians will understand present passive imperative. Be strong. Not the best translation. ESV does a good job. Be strengthened by the grace. Not strong by yourself. Not in and of yourself.

Not what we call around here the sixth sola of the Reformation. Sola what? Bootstrapsa? That's right. Be strengthened. You can't strengthen yourself. So what are you strengthened by? The grace of God found in the Gospel.

The Gospel strengthens. How can you be loyal and faithful and guard and retain and suffer without the grace of God? You can't. And Paul knows that, so he tells Timothy, reminds me of Romans 16 .25,. Now to him who is able to strengthen you according to my Gospel.

It's the Gospel that strengthens. It's the Gospel in Romans. It's where we get the word steroids. To make firm. To make stable. To say no to temptation more often and yes to righteousness more often. How do you do that?

It's when Paul writes to the church at Ephesus. Now to him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly beyond what we ask or think. I think it's fair to say that most churches think that's what the pastor should be able to do.

Now to him the pastor who is able to do exceedingly abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, but it cannot be done. If you want steadfastness and a mental state that's rooted in the Gospel, it must be through the strength that God gives through His grace.

Strengthened. So strengthened that verse 2, you pass the baton on to the next generation. You put it into someone else's care. Why do you need strength? Because you've got to pass the baton. And now look at the language that comes back here.

These models of ministry and they're going to need strength because it's going to be athletes. It's going to be military men. It's going to be farmers. And you need strength to do all those things. Difficulties come.

Hardships come for the soldier, for the farmer, for the athlete. Verse 4, No soldier in active service entangles himself in the affairs of everyday life so that he may please the one who enlisted him as a soldier.

I know this is an ordination exam charge for Pradeep, but Caleb you want to make note of that verse right there. We'll talk about you later. The soldier is single-minded in purpose. The soldier of the Lord has to be the same thing.

Blinders on. Running straight in the lanes. The lanes of Genesis to Revelation as it were on one side and the other. And if anyone competes as an athlete, boy, you better follow the rules. He does not win the prize unless he competes according to the rules.

And you're going to need strength for that. You're going to need grace for that. Denying self, hardship, persevering to the end. And the farmer. Verse 6, A hard-working farmer ought to be the first to share or receive his share of the crops.

I think it's safe to say that athletes, farmers, and soldiers put all together with all their labor, with all their exhaustion, God's ministry is going to cost more. Verse 7, Consider what I say for the Lord will give you understanding in everything.

Think about it. Ponder it. Consider it. Give clear thinking to it. And isn't this wonderful the way Paul does it? He gives a couple illustrations of people who suffered and worked hard. Verse 8, and at the very top of the list, 2 Timothy 2, verse 8, Remember Jesus Christ?

Don't you think He was a hard worker for the gospel, His own gospel? Worked hard, persevered, sweat, toil, exhausted. Remember Jesus Christ? By the way, this is the only place in 2 Timothy where it says Jesus Christ.

Did you notice earlier it said Christ Jesus very often? Messiah, Jesus. Why does it say Jesus Christ here? Because front-loaded is the word Jesus, His human name. He was God-man, yes, but He was man.

The man Jesus, Jesus Christ Himself, toiled, sweat, labored. Remember this Jesus? Risen from the dead, descendant of David, according to my gospel. The Davidic Messiah suffered, and you're a torch-bearer for the Davidic Messiah.

Shame on these foolish, lying hypocrites who say, you know what, we're all word-faith stuff. We're in this for what we get out of ministry. The suffering servant has servants who suffer. That's just the way it is.

The greatest example for suffering and hardship for a worthy purpose is Jesus. Remember Jesus? He's the model. Paul puts himself second. He said, for which I suffer hardship even to imprisonment, verse 9, as a criminal.

But the Word of God, it's not imprisoned. This reason, for this reason, verse 10 says, therefore, I endure everything for the sake of the elect, those who are chosen so that they may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus, and with it, eternal glory.

What gets you through the night, gospel minister? Timothy needed a good reminder. You can be treated like a criminal, but the Word of God is powerful to change lives forever. So suffer well. Suffer for the elect's sake.

Verse 11, the sane is trustworthy. If we have died with him, we shall also live with him. If we endure, we will also reign with him. If we deny him, he will also deny us. If we are faithless, he remains faithful for he cannot deny himself.

The Gospel Demands Diligent Study and Separation from Empty Talk

Charge 4. Charge 4, the gospel is worth defending. The gospel is worth every trouble. The gospel strengthens. And number 4, the gospel demands study. 2 Timothy 2, 14 -26, the gospel demands study. Verse 14, remind them, who are the them?

Probably the faithful men he's had to train in chapter 2, verse 2. Remind them of these things and solemnly charge them in the presence of God not to wrangle about words which is useless and leads to the ruin of the hearers or as the ESV says, only ruins the hearers.

And look at the study that's needed. Be diligent. This is the positive side, to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed. Accurately handling the word of truth. Don't we get a wanna from that verse?

I think we do. But primarily it's not a children's ministry. Here is the exhortation to the pastor. And what does he say to Timothy? Cut the word of God straightly, rightly handling the truth. And you can see Paul as he would have a background of making tents and cutting leather strips and the hides of the animal skins.

When you cut that thing to make a tent, you've got to cut it straightly. Not a bunch of zigzags and loop-de-do's all around. Don't do that. Because what's at stake? What's the text say? To be put to shame?

Shamed? Shamed by another? Who's the shamer? It's the Lord God Christ. You don't want to be put to shame by Him, do you? So study diligently. Sweat in your study. Calvin lamented preachers who deliver sermons without due care as though it were some game that they were playing.

I know God is kind and merciful and patient because there are so many people that stand in the pulpit without any kind of study. I'm surprised they walk out alive. Paul says to Timothy, don't you do that.

Expository preaching is exacting. That's why it's rare. Study. Verse 16. Your study is going to keep you so busy that this stuff should be avoided. But avoid shun, worldly, empty chatter, irreverent babble, for it will lead to further ungodliness.

So stick to the Gospel. There's that word that you need to put in your vocabulary, Pradeep. I know you already have it in there, but to remind you. And that word is know. I won't do these things, so I will do these.

And when people go off the course and they don't study, they veer off, they swerve off, look what happens. And it's very vivid language. I've been in the OR and seen gangrene and it doesn't look good and it doesn't smell good.

Their talk will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus. Men who've gone astray from the truth. They weren't workmen. They weren't studiers. They weren't retaining. They weren't guarding.

They go astray from the truth, saying the resurrection has already taken place and they upset the faith of some. Nevertheless, the firm foundation of God stands having this seal. No matter how many false teachers are out there, no matter how many blasphemous TBN channels are out there, there's a seal and the foundation of God stands bearing this seal.

The Lord knows those who are His. And let everyone who names the name of the Lord depart from iniquity. There's a stability in God's work. There's a permanence in God's work. Stand in that, Pradeep. Now in a large house there are also not only gold and silver vessels, but also vessels of wood and earthenware, some to honor, some to dishonor.

Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from these things, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified, useful to the Master, prepared for every good work. What's a summary? You're ministering before God, so flee, verse 22, youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.

Run. Watch out for the pitfalls. Watch out for the big holes in the road. Sinkholes. Refuse foolish and ignorant speculations knowing they produce quarrels. That's not what we're after. Charge five. The Gospel is powerful enough to deal with this sinful culture.

The Gospel is worth every trouble. It's worth defending. It strengthens. It demands study. And it's powerful enough to deal with the sinful culture. Don't be shocked about how bad things are, in other words.

Brace yourself. Be level-headed. Look what Paul says in chapter 3. But understand this, in the last days there will come times of difficulty. Troublesome times. Savage times. Ruthless times. Read your newspaper.

It's those times. For people will be lovers of self. By the way, look at all the wrong kind of love that's in this section. Lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God.

Love has gone wrong. Having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power, avoid such people. For among them are those who creep into households and capture weak women, burdened with sins and led astray by various passions, always learning, never able to arrive at the knowledge of the truth.

Just as Janice and Jambres opposed Moses, so these men also opposed the truth. Men corrupted in mind and disqualified regarding the faith, but they will not get very far. Their folly will be plain to all as was that of those two men.

Don't be shocked, pretty. People aren't the enemy. Difficult times. I picked up John MacArthur at the airport in 1999 and John said to me, How's ministry in Massachusetts? And I began to bemoan and complain and how difficult it was here.

And to this day, I remember what John said to me. He looked over in the car and he said, Mike, do you think the gospel is powerful enough to save sinners in New England? What could I say? A lot of traffic on the 90.

Our 90. That's why Paul wasn't ashamed of the gospel in Romans chapter 1 because it's the power of God for salvation to all who believe, Jews and Gentiles and people who live in 2016. I think the gospel can save those who think they're men who are really women.

Can it save transgendered? I think the gospel can even save people who are worse than that and that is self-righteous people. Can God save the self-righteous? The answer is absolutely yes. So don't be shocked.

How can we minister? These are the worst days of the world. What's going to happen to the church? The power is in the gospel and God is not shocked by the sinful culture. I think too many Christians, as a side note, run around, they stare so much at the culture, they're zapped of all their joy because the culture is chaos.

Show me a Christian who studies culture all day and I'll show you a Christian that has a hard time of having joy. Number six. Pardeep, the gospel must be heralded. It's worth every trouble. It's worth defending.

It strengthens. It demands study. It's powerful enough to deal with the sinful culture and it must be heralded. Preach the Word. 2 Timothy 3, 10 -4, verse 4. Author Os Guinness quoted a Japanese businessman who said this, Whenever I meet a Buddhist leader, I meet a holy man.

Whenever I meet a Christian leader, I meet a manager. When you're rescued from your sins and called into gospel ministry, you preach. Verse 10. You, however, have followed my teaching, my conduct, my aim in life, my faith, my patience, my love, my steadfastness, my persecutions and suffering that happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium, and at Lystra, which persecutions I endured, yet from them all the Lord rescued me.

Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. But evil men and imposters will proceed from bad to worse, deceiving, being deceived. You, however, continue in the things you have learned and become convinced of, knowing from whom you have learned them and that from childhood you have known the sacred writings, the Scriptures, the Old Testament, which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.

All Scripture is God-breathed, breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness that the man of God, that is a technical term for a preacher, may be complete, equipped for every good work.

And in light of that, not standing by a grave but with a more solemn charge, I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead and by His appearance and by His kingdom, and you all know the next three words.

Preach the Word. The preacher is a herald. You must be a herald. Here's what Paul says to Timothy and I say to you, Pradeep. You are responsible to believe the Gospel, to guard the Gospel, to retain the Gospel, to protect the Gospel, to defend the Gospel, but now what does Paul say?

Preach the Gospel. I love John Bunyan's resoluteness. Mr. Bunyan, you're in jail. You'd like to come out and see your daughter, your blind daughter who you've never seen up close. Just stop preaching the Gospel.

We'll let you out of prison. Bunyan. If you let me out of prison today, I'll preach again tomorrow by the grace of God. Well, go back to prison, Bunyan. I will go back and stay there if need be till the moss grows on my eyelids, but I will never deny my Master.

That's the kind of resolution Paul wanted Timothy to have. What does herald mean? I'll tell you what herald doesn't mean. It doesn't mean to share. We've talked about this often. If you ever want to really offend a Bible preacher, you say to them at the door, that was a nice talk.

Thanks for sharing with us. Now if you say that to me, I'll just smile. But on the inside, here's what I'll say. I was preaching today. I was heralding today. Preaching by content and by delivery is to say things loudly, to broadcast, to say I've got good news for you.

Even though you're sinful, you get to go to heaven because the work of another gracious, sovereign, incarnate Jesus loves sinners like you and would pay for all your sins and is raised from the dead and I implore you to believe.

This isn't talking. This isn't sharing. This isn't a lecture. This is heralding. And that's the word Paul uses to Timothy. Herald the Word. That's the key to this whole passage here. He does not say entertain people.

He does not say engage the culture. He does not say make Christianity relevant. He does not say figure out whatever you can to get people in. This is Christ's church and he says you preach the Word to them.

Not book reviews. Not current events. Not yourself. You preach the Word. Homo unius libre. A man of one book. He doesn't say preach a word. He says preach the Word. Paul did that by the grace of God. Acts 20, Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all men for I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole purpose of God.

I preach the Word to you. I didn't add. I didn't subtract. I didn't alter. I didn't talk about politics, economics, current topics, science. We used to teach our children when you meet a pastor, you say to that pastor, preach the Word.

It's going to cost me a dollar Haley but that's the way it goes. We were at Grace Church and I said to Haley when she was about three or four, I don't know how old she was, I said, that's Pastor John MacArthur.

And she waddled up to John MacArthur and she goes, preach the Word. Yes. John's like, where's your dad? Settle in your mind, you herald the Scriptures. And by the way, church, side note, it's not a church unless somebody stands in the pulpit and heralds the Word.

You don't invent your own message. You don't come up with what you think is best. You don't come out on the stage or the platform on a tank dressed up in clown outfits. This is urgent. Look at the text chapter 4 verse 2.

Preach the Word. Be ready in season and out of season. Stand by. Never lose your sense of urgency. Stay at your post. Be on your guard. Don't fall asleep when you're the sentinel. How could you? You're announcing what Stott said, the sinner's plight under judgment of God, the saving action of God through the death and resurrection of Jesus.

How can you? You talk about that with cold indifference. Some people will want to hear, some people won't. That's why Paul says, in season and out of season. Convenient or inconvenient. And you have to preach in different ways.

Sometimes you reproof, sometimes you rebuke, and sometimes positively you exhort. And you have to do that with great patience and you do it with doctrine. That's what the word instruction means. Anybody says, I don't believe in doctrine, I just believe in Jesus.