Be seated. The foundation for this sermon is Ephesians chapter 4, but I'm going to assume that you know a lot about Ephesians 4, and I'm going to just remind you in 30 seconds or so what we're talking about when we come to the passage here in 2 Timothy 4 because of what Ephesians 4 tells us. Ephesians 4 tells us that our Lord Jesus Christ, having completed his earthly work, ascended up into heaven. And when he ascended, he gave something to his church. He gave what the apostle there calls the teaching office of the church, not in those words, but he gives those five offices that teach in the church. Apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, teachers. And he says that these are the gifts of Christ to the church. that they are part of what some theologians have called his ascension gifts. As Christ went up, he left behind something for his people to guide them and to lead them, to strengthen them after his departure by his spirit. We always want to add those words, by his spirit. We don't believe in the efficacy of the preaching of the word of God all by itself. We look for the the spirit of God to open our hearts and to implant that word in our hearts and to give us faith to receive it, to lay it up in our hearts and practice it in our lives. Well, if the Lord Jesus Christ thought enough of the pastoral office to provide it as one of his ascension gifts, then it behooves us as the people of God to make use of it, to receive it as that loving gift from our Savior that it truly is. The pastor has fallen on hard times today. Many ministers have not helped that cause much, but furthered it along by behaving themselves in ways that brings shame and opprobrium and not honor upon the sacred office. But it is an office that has been provided by Christ, and it has been provided in all of its efficacy for us. So we must receive it. As we install a pastor today then, I'd like to speak with you from 2 Timothy chapter 4 with that foundation that our Lord Jesus Christ has given us the ministry because we need it. He's given us the preaching of his word because we need it. He's given us these offices in the church because we need them. And any Christian that would deny that and would would make himself an island to himself as has done so to the peril of his own soul. So, let's dive into the passage then in 2 Timothy. There's a solemn charge. I charge thee before God and before Christ. It is a solemn charge because it is a solemn office and a most important, a necessary component to our Christian faith. We need preachers. Preachers need to preach And it cannot be any other way because it has been ordained thus by the head of the church and he has the right To say this is what you need and minister. This is what you must do He has that right. He is the king and the head of the church and he is a kind and benevolent ruler and he's given us these things because we need them and So it is solemn, it is a solemn charge. We don't often hear Paul do that, but when he does, we recognize it. It causes our ears to perk up because we're talking about something that is of particular weight and moment. And that's why he uses such a charge as that. Whenever you're reading along in scripture, for instance, Paul will say, I say the truth, I lie not, my conscience bearing with me in the Holy Ghost. You know what he's about to say is really important. Jesus himself used such assurances when he would say I mean I mean like going mean right verily verily I say unto you. These are. These are markers in scripture of things while all of scripture is inspired and it is all important. These are things that call our attention most specifically to what we're about to read. And so the apostle Paul then begins this passage with a solemn charge to Timothy and what is a charge. It's a command that must be kept. If you can leave all other things go, don't leave these things go. These are the things you must do. Don't let them go. Hold them tightly. Don't be moved off of these particular duties. All right, so it is before God because God is the governor of all things and he has decreed the means of salvation of sinners. And what is that? It is primarily the preaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ. This is the means that God has chosen to save sinners. In 1 Corinthians chapter 2, the Lord says, you know, there's these people in the world that they're looking for all kinds of things through the wisdom of the world and so on. But God has chosen the foolish things to confound the wise of this world. And he's chosen preaching to save sinners. And so this is why we have such a solemn charge to Timothy from the apostle because This is such an important thing. I charge thee before God. It is before God because it is also before Christ who is God himself, who submitted himself to his father in the erecting of a kingdom and by whom he shall judge all men. And of course, along with that charge, there is a reminder of the judgment. In other words, what Paul is telling Timothy is exactly this. I charge you because you will be judged. You will be judged, Reverend Welch. I will be judged, Reverend Riddell, for the way we have conducted ourselves in the pulpit, for the way we have prosecuted the ministry that the Lord has given to us. There is a charge and it is coupled to the judgment of Jesus Christ. It is a charge before Christ because, as Christ told us in John chapter 5, all judgment is committed to me by my Father. That great white throne that we see in Revelation chapter 20, who is seated upon that? Our Lord Jesus Christ is seated upon it. And so it is a charge before Him. It pertains to the judgment of the world of men. the living and the dead, it pertains to the kingdom of Christ, who as king judges in his kingdom. Judgment begins at the house of God, and if it begins at the house of God, certainly then it must in some way figure that it begins with ministers. So it is a solemn, solemn charge. So this solemnity then reminds us of the weightiness of the ministerial office, the office of pastor. And in the plan and purpose of God, it reminds us also of its great efficacy. It is an office before God because it is an office by His appointment. And if He has appointed it, then it is done according to His direction, right? If He makes the office, He fills the job description. We must not let the world dictate what a minister ought to do. If God makes the office, God fulfills it. God brings it to its fullness and giving it all the direction that it needs. It is before Christ because it is a ministry of the gift of Christ to his church. And therefore, we are required again to labor according to the purpose of Christ. If Christ gave the gift, how many of you, you give your children or grandchildren a gift, right? And they take the gift, oh, that's really nice, and they set it aside, and they play with the box, and you go, what? Right? Jesus Christ has given the ministry to the church, and so we must deal with that, not the box, the ministry. It's his gift, and so because it's his gift, he has a purpose for giving it. And again, we believe that the Bible being our quote unquote ecclesiastical manual, we can find those purposes in his word. We're not left to cast about, to seek the doctrine and commandments of man, the wisdom of the world, to fill up what ministerial duty is. We find that in the Bible. It is a solemn charge because it pertains to the judgment and the opening of Christ's kingdom. In other words, it is by the preaching of the word that the kingdom of heaven is opened, the gospel is proclaimed, the way of life is set forth. This is the ordinance of God and Jesus Christ for the populating of His kingdom. It is also the standard by which humanity will be judged. We'll not take the time to turn to all the passages that I have listed here, but just one, how about Romans 2, verse 16. Verse 15, talking about the Gentiles which show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the meanwhile accusing or else excusing one another in the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel. Paul says. What is to be in the mouth of the minister? The gospel. What is the means by which Christ will judge? That same gospel. So then, in the first portion, speaking about the charge, we make this use for the minister. He is to understand the weightiness of the office and his duty in it, for it strikes to the very opening of the kingdom of Jesus Christ and to the deliverance from the wrath of God in the day of judgment. And likewise, in converse fashion, there is a use regarding those who hear the word preached, that they too would understand the weightiness of the hearing of the ministry of the word. and the purpose of the Lord in giving the ministry. If the minister is charged under the rubric of the kingdom of Christ and his judgments, so also those that despise the ministry of the word ought to understand themselves under that same condemnation. All men will give answer regarding this ministry. The minister will answer for his preparation, for his delivery, for his topics, and for his application, and for the truth of God that he preaches. All will be judged for their response to that preaching, whether they received the minister as an angel from God, beautiful afoot for that gospel which he brings. They will be judged whether or not they received the word of God as it is in truth, like the apostle says to the Thessalonians, the very word of God. Or whether they have said, well, that is a nice and pious opinion. There's that passage in Ezekiel chapter 8, where Ezekiel is having his conversation with the Lord. And the Lord tells Ezekiel, well, you know, they're going to come to you, my people. They're going to say, oh, let us go and hear the word that comes from the prophet of the Lord. And they'll gather, as my people should gather, around the prophet of the Lord. And they will hear all the words that you speak. But you will sound to them like a very lovely song. It'll be a nice bit of entertainment to them because they will hear, but they will not process and they will not do what you say. It must never be like that for us. All right, so thus for the solemn charge, let's move on to the command. The command itself to Timothy, it is in several particulars. The main command and then several adjuncts that support it. The first and the main command is obviously to preach the Word. This first thing here we note is its exclusivity. It is the Word that is to be preached and not the doctrines and commandments of men. The vain philosophies of this world are never to find their way into the pulpits of the Church. The apostle goes on even in this passage to make that clear. He says that the people of God will be tempted from time to time to turn their ears from the truth and be turned instead to fables. He says to Timothy, this must never be. Instead, you must preach the word. The warning of scripture is that when we make the doctrines and commandments of men, the important thing, these always press out the word of God. You remember in Matthew chapter 15, verses one through nine, where the Pharisees come to Jesus and his disciples and they say, y'all don't wash your hands according to the tradition of the elders. Sorry, y'all, that's Texas talk. You don't wash your hands according to the tradition of the elders, which was to hold your hand like this and to begin at the top and to rub the water down until it dripped off of your fingers so that your hands were clean so that you could then eat. That's how the elders taught us to wash our hands before we ate, and you don't do that, so you don't honor your elders. In other words, you're breaking the fifth commandment. That's the implication that's drawn out. Jesus says, well, if you want to talk about the fifth commandment, I suppose we can. You have this thing that you call Korban. What is Korban? Korban is, well, I have this stuff, mom and dad, and truly, in your old age, it should profit you. But I'm sorry, I've given it to the church instead. And so because I've given it to the church, I can't help you with it. Now what happens with Corban is it was some commodity that was dedicated, but never turned over. And so it was a dedicated substance, but then the owner retained all of the use of it. And so Jesus says, and here's what you've done. You have taken the doctrines and commandments of men and you've replaced my law with it. You've replaced my word with it. That's what happens. It happens over and over again. It will happen until the Lord comes again because we are not a pure church and so we must always be on guard. The doctrines and commandments of men push out the word of God. It happens all the time. You hear people say these maxims in churches. I think it would be a great study for a minister to set aside several weeks in a teaching class or even in a sermon series just to say something like this. Okay, here's what we're going to do. We're going to take a look at the popular phraseology of the church, the popular maxims in the church, and we're going to show how those are the doctrines and commandments of men opposite to the Word of God and how they push the Word of God out. I'll bet you we would find more than we would expect in such a study. We hear all kinds of things. One person told me, you know, Pastor Riddell, the oldest thing in the Bible is God helps those who help themselves. I never read that verse. It was never there. And you'll hear all kinds of things like that. Oh, well, you know, you can't really help someone unless you've walked in their shoes. Really? That means then I can never help you, because I have never walked in your shoes. And these are things that would just roll off of our tongues. And people say them, and everyone goes, Mm-hmm. That's true, isn't it? No, it's not true. The Bible is true. Preach the Word, not the maxims of the world. Because if we don't do that, those maxims will come and they will displace the Word of God. Isn't that what Paul says? So preach the Word. There are several other passages here that we could turn to in support of that, but we'll just content ourselves with Matthew 15, one through nine. Further, it is incumbent upon the minister to preach the word because it should be the desire of the people to hear the word alone, right? If he's commanded to preach the word, then we're all commanded to desire the word, and that alone. Well, pastor, you know, I didn't hear God helps them who help themselves in that sermon. That's right, you didn't. It doesn't belong there. We preach Christ and Him crucified. We preach His word. We must desire as the people of God, whether I'm preaching or whether I'm sitting, to hear the voice of our shepherd speaking out of His word. That's what's good for our souls. That's what will nourish us, and anything short of that will not. Further, if it is incumbent upon the preacher to preach the word, it is also to be our desire then. Because number one, in Romans 1, 21 and 22, we learn that we become vain in our imaginations. In Colossians 2, 8, we see that the vain philosophy of the world deceives. In 1 Corinthians 1, 19 through 23, we see that the vain wisdom of this world is to be avoided and that we are to preach and we are to hear Christ and his word. And finally in this, The totality of our thought life is to be brought to obedience to Christ. 2 Corinthians 10, verse 5, casting down imaginations. You know what the word for imaginations is there in the original? It's the word we get reasonings from. reasonings, casting those down and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ. Every thought except a few, no. Every thought to the obedience of Christ. Christ demands your mind. And it is only in the preaching of his word that he gets it. In anything else, your mind will be given to something else. Preach the word, Paul says to Timothy. The second thing here is the totality or thesis of it. And this struck me a few years back as I was meditating on this passage. He doesn't say preach the words. He says preach the word. You know why? Because heretics throughout the history of the written word of God have used the words. Right? They've always used the words. Paul says, preach the word. And the word there, logos, that's that famous Greek word, logos, where we understand it means thing, matter, paradigm, thesis, and so on. In other words, in preaching the word of God, preach all of it. Preach its message from front to back, from top to bottom, everywhere in between. It is such an important thing that the apostle Paul, when he was speaking to the Ephesian elders in Acts chapter 20, said this, I am free from the blood of all men because I have not drawn back from declaring unto you the whole counsel of God, all the counsel of God. Every bit of it. Now, Paul spent two years in Ephesus, so he had quite a little while to do that. What's important about that is that, notice what he says, I'm free from the blood of all men. What does he mean by that? What is he talking about? Well, he's talking about Ezekiel 3 and chapter 33. In Ezekiel 3 and 33, the Lord tells the prophet Ezekiel, I have set you as a watchman on the wall. When you see the enemy coming, if you cry out, or sorry, if you see the wicked in his wickedness, if you cry out and the wicked doesn't hear you, He will die in his sins and you'll be free from his blood. But if you see the wicked in his wickedness and you refuse to cry out to him, if you refuse to tell him the error of his way, if you refuse that office of a watchman on the wall, then he will die in his wickedness and his blood I will require at your hands. The Apostle Paul, wonderful student of scripture that he was, says to the Ephesian elders, I am free from the blood of all men. hesitated to declare unto you all the counsel of God." You're responsible now, in other words. Isn't that an amazing passage? What is required in preaching the word then? It's not just quoting some platitudes and setting out a few scripture verses or starting with a scripture, I'll read the scripture and then we'll take the sermon far afield from the word of God. No. It's preaching all of the word of God. Connections. It's a book written over 1,500 years by dozens of authors, and yet it's a book that has a unified theme from Genesis to Revelation. It's preaching those connections. It's preaching those paradigms. It's preaching that understanding. It's preaching what it teaches on every page and on any page. It's all of it. It's all of it together. Preach the word, not just the words. He is to preach the word. He has in his day the entire Old Testament to work with, Timothy does. And he also has the books that are being added to that inspired collection by the apostles. Here's an amazing passage for you. Turn with me to 2 Peter 3. The Apostle Peter, believe it or not, was aware that he and others like him were setting down Scripture truth, inspired words. Listen to what Peter says here in 2 Peter 3, verse 1. This second epistle, beloved, I now write unto you, in both which I stir up your pure minds by way of remembrance, that ye may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets. Okay, we know what that is. That's the Old Testament. That's the Bible that they had in their hands in that day. By the holy prophets, now wait, and of the commandments of us, the apostles of the Lord and Savior. You hear that? You hear what Peter is saying? Peter is saying, what you hear from us apostles, you count that on the same footing as you would the prophets of the Old Testament. We are telling you words from God. And so when Paul tells Timothy, preach the word, do you remember what, do you remember how Paul ended the last chapter in chapter three? All scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable. You remember that? Yeah, that's where he ended the last chapter, and you know, kind of a, maybe a regrettable chapter break because then he goes right in to preach the word. We know what he's talking about. We're not left to guess what the word is. And Peter adds that New Testament color, that New Testament understanding that we need so that we know what Paul means when he tells to Timothy and then to ministers that continue on after centuries what the word is. So the preacher is to preach the word, not just the text of scripture, but its meaning, its connections, the scope of the whole, the consent of the parts, its doctrines, its practices, and he is to knit them together into a coherent and understandable whole, not pitting scripture against scripture, but showing how the one divine mind has inspired the whole over the course of 1,500 years and dozens of authors as a revelation of his mind to his creation, mankind. All of that is true and more. The preacher is to make known the riches of the glory of Christ and his gospel to mankind from the greatness of Christ, who is altogether lovely. He is from the word to preach sin, righteousness, judgment, grace, mercy, and peace. And he is himself a peacemaker standing in Christ's stead, offering peace with the God of heaven. He is to preach peace between God and men as a minister of reconciliation. This passage is often misunderstood, so turn with me to 2 Corinthians 5, and we'll try to throw a little bit of Bible light on it. 2 Corinthians 5, we'll begin our reading in verse 18. And all things are of God who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation. Verse 18 there, the word us. Given to us the ministry of reconciliation. You know what us is, right? It's a pronoun. What does a pronoun do? A pronoun cries out for tell me who the us is. Right? Whenever we see a pronoun, we want to know who's that pointing to? Who's the us there? Talk to folks in churches today, they'll tell you, well, he's committed to the church, all of us, every one of us members. He's committed to us, the ministry of reconciliation. Let's listen to what Paul says, see if he agrees with that. To wit that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them, and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. Now it's not just the ministry, it's the word of reconciliation. He's honing it down a little bit. Now read verse 20. Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ as though God did beseech you by us. We pray you, Corinthian church in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled unto God. What is the ministry of reconciliation? It is the ministry of gospel preaching to God's people so that they should be reconciled to God. It's that ministry that we need to hear every week Not only does the Word give life, it sustains life, doesn't it? So then, he is to feed the flock of God, he is to take care to preach all that Christ has commanded, he is to proclaim the whole counsel of God. This means then that the people of God, if this is what he is to do, that the people of God then are to seek the Word of God at his hand, listening for the voice of their shepherd Christ in the preached Word. In Malachi 2, 7, the prophet there writes, the priest's lips should keep knowledge, for they should seek the law of the Lord at his mouth. In Nehemiah chapter 2, verses 2 through 8, Ezra stood upon a pulpit of wood and opened the Bible, and everybody stood, and they stood there basically all day while Ezra and the Levites preached the word of God and gave the sense of it. And they all went home that day rejoicing, not because they heard the word. It doesn't say that. It says because they heard the word and they understood the sense of it. This is the job of the minister, to open the sense of scripture, to open the meaning of it. In John 13, 20, my sheep hear my voice. In John 20, 21, you go feed my sheep. In Acts 13, 1 and following, they lay hands on the apostles. I'm sorry, Paul and Barnabas, and they set them apart to that work that the Holy Ghost has sent them to. And they go preaching the word of God, and they gather churches in all of Asia Minor. In fact, they make two tours on that first missionary journey through Asia Minor in two different times. The first time they went through, they preached the gospel. They gathered people to that preaching of the gospel. People believed, and they became the church. And the second tour, they went through and established elders in every one of those situations. so that they might have leadership. And then they came back in Acts chapter 15 and reported to the church in Antioch what they had done. Notice this great promise of the Lord in Jeremiah chapter 3. Verse 14, turn, O backsliding children, saith the Lord, for I am married unto you, and I will take you one of a city and two of a family, and I will bring you to Zion, and I will give you pastors according to mine heart, which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding. Where does that come from? That's right, you know where it comes from. It comes from the word of God. And so, It is the position of the minister to preach the Word. It is the position of the people to hear it, to love it, and to seek it at His hand. Why is it that it is the Word that is to be preached? Well, we've already seen that it's the infallible, inspired Word of God. That's why it's God-breathed. That's correct. But I have six particulars, and we'll run through these very quickly for the sake of time. But let's remember that the Bible says a lot about itself. The Bible says a bunch about itself, doesn't it? The Bible talks about the Bible, and it's not ashamed to do so. It is the self-authenticating word of God, right? And so in Psalm 107, 17 through 22, it says, he sent his word and healed them. There's a time in the history of the Scottish church before John Knox when George Wishart was one of the popular Protestant and gospel preachers in Scotland. And Dundee was wracked by the plague, the Black Plague. And so George Wishart said, I will go and minister to them. You know what his sermon text was? That's right, Psalm 107, 17 through 22. He sent his word and healed them. Because the healing that we need is from an infection much worse than the black plague. We need to be healed, but we need to be healed of our sins, of our trespasses, of our weaknesses, of our guilt. We need to be healed out from under the judgment of God, and it is only by the preaching of the Word that we are healed in that sense. Every healing that has taken place in gospel history, that is bodily healing, you know where Jesus laid hands on someone or the apostles laid hands on someone and they recovered, that's only to point to the gospel healing that everyone must have. He said his word and healed them. Secondly, because it is the word of God that gives light Psalm 119, 105, 130, Isaiah 8, verse 20. Let's quote Isaiah 8, 20, starting at verse 19. Why do you go to the wizards that peep and mutter? Should not a people seek to their God, to the law and to the testimony? If they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them. It is the word of God that gives light. Psalm 119. over and again says, the word of God gives light. 2 Peter 1, verse 19 says, you know what? We were with Jesus on the holy mountain and we saw his robe shine. We saw Moses and Elijah. We heard a voice booming out of heaven. But we have a more sure word of prophecy than that. surer and more sure than a shining robed Christ, than the appearance of Moses and Elijah, and a voice booming out of heaven. Because frankly, my dear brothers and sisters, all of those things can simply be the product of a bad bit of potato. But that word of prophecy, Peter goes on to say, lives and abides forever. It is the word that gives life, not just light, but it is the word of God that gives life. In John chapter 6 verses 60 through 63, Jesus spoke a word to the people and it caused many of them to turn from him and not follow him anymore. It was a hard word. He said, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in yourselves. They had no idea what he meant. And so they turned from him and stopped following and Jesus said to his disciples, will you also go away? And they said, well, that was Peter who spoke up and said, where to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. And then Jesus also said to them at that occasion, the words that I have spoken unto you, they are spirit and they are life. There is nothing that can give life except the spirit of God. when we're talking about that eternal life that we all must have. Only the Word of God can do that. Yes, it is ministered by the Spirit of God. The Spirit of God, however, blows where He listeth, where He wants, John chapter 3. Do you know where He generally wants to blow? Where the Word is being preached. It's the Word that gives life. Third, that was third, I guess, fourth, because the word of God is not subject to the changes of human culture and fallen human desire. Its commands and counsels are therefore divine. They are eternal. They are eternally true. They are enduring forever. Oh, Lord, thy word is settled in heaven. Some of you maybe have watched this old movie, had a guy that was in cryosleep for, oh, I don't know, 60 or 70 years. They brought him up out of cryo-sleep. The first thing the doctor does, put a cigarette in his mouth, says, here, this is good for you. Here, have some coffee. We've discovered that caffeine is great. The word of God doesn't change like that. What the Lord said on the day that he inspired it to his apostles and prophets, and they wrote it down, is just as true today. And it will never change. It will always be true. That's why we must preach the word. I mean, I don't know about Reverend Welch, but I know that I don't want to stand here and say something that five years down the road, well, that's not true anymore, Pastor. I don't want to lead people in that kind of error. Preaching the word means we're always preaching eternal truth. Fifth, because Christ himself is called the word, And so there is a kind of identity in preaching his word, we are preaching him. In 1 Corinthians chapter 2, in the whole of that chapter, in all of that chapter, the apostle begins by talking about the wisdom of this world and how God has brought it to nothing. And then we preach Christ and him crucified. And then at the end of that chapter, you remember how he ends, but we have the mind of Christ. When we preach his word, what are we receiving? We are receiving the mind of Christ. And so we must not turn away from him to something else. If we turn away from his word, we turn away from him. And then sixth, because this word of God preached does not return void unto the Lord, but it accomplishes that for which he sent it out, and we should always seek his blessing then in hearing it. Isaiah 55, right? You remember Isaiah 55? That's the passage where the Lord says, my word which goes forth out of my mouth shall not return unto me void, but will accomplish that for which I sent it. more stark way of saying that in the Bible. In 2 Corinthians 2, please turn with me there. Verse 14, now thanks be unto God which always causeth us to triumph in Christ. and make of manifest the savor of his knowledge by us in every place. The us there is the same us as it was later on in 2 Corinthians. That's the apostolic band and their preaching. Listen to what he says here in verse 15. For we are unto God a sweet savor of Christ in them that are saved and in them that perish. To the one we are the savor of death unto death and to the other the savor of life unto life and who is sufficient for these things. It's a fascinating passage, isn't it? What does the Apostle Paul say here? He says, God has commanded us, Christ has commanded us to preach his word and we go a-preaching. We go. And when we go and we preach Christ faithfully, we are always a saver unto God, regardless the outcome. Because that word of God goes forth and it accomplishes that for which the Lord sent it. It is a saver of life unto life and to others who reject the word and do not seek blessing in it, then to them it is a saver of death. But notice it is always a sweet saver. And whenever we hear that term sweet saver, I'm going to turn your thinking back, not your Bibles, but just your thinking for a moment back to Genesis chapter 8. Yeah, that's way back. So the Lord brings Noah out of the ark. Right? Now this is a fascinating passage if you think about it, meditate upon it. He brings Noah out of the ark and what does Noah do? He takes of those clean animals and he offers an offering. And it says in the passage, and the Lord smelled the sweet savor. Now we understand that to be condescending language. The Lord doesn't have nostrils. He doesn't really like the smell of grilled meat. We do, but he doesn't. It doesn't mean anything to him like that, but it's condescending language. The Lord smelled the sweet savor, and then it says, and he said in his heart, not even out loud to Noah, in his heart the Lord said, I will no longer curse the ground for man's sake. Why? What's the sweet savor that's there? What is the Lord really telling us? He's telling us that he's pleased with Jesus Christ to whom those sacrifices point. That's the sweet savor that pleases God and nothing short of that does. What do you think the Apostle Paul means here then in 2 Corinthians chapter 2 when he says we are a sweet savor unto God. In the preaching of the gospel there is indeed that savor of Christ that wafts out over a congregation and they, smelling that smell, are pleased with their Savior and with God who is pleased with that Savior. It's a great passage. It requires much meditation. So then, those six things, because it is the Word that heals, it's the Word that gives light, it's the Word that gives life, it's the Word of God that doesn't change, It's Christ himself in that word and so there is a kind of identity and then the word preached does not return to the Lord void but accomplishes that for which he sent it out. The next point then is the instance. The instance, the readiness of the preacher to preach, be instant, in season and out of season. This speaks to the professional, the one who spends his time in the word of God and who is then ready at all times. Someone will ask you something, hey, what does the Bible mean here? Well, I don't know. I haven't studied that. The preacher doesn't really have that luxury. He used to be instant, in season, and out of season. He used to have, you know, if you have someone over to your house, you say, I've got a light switch that doesn't work. The light doesn't come on, so you call an electrician out. And you say, what's wrong with that light switch? He says, oh, I don't know. Well, what kind of electrician are you? I say that because I'm an electrician. What kind of electrician are you? You can't turn the light on. What do you mean you don't know? You get paid to know. You're a professional. You should be ready to fix my light. Right? We get wound up about that. So what does Paul say to the preacher, to the professional? Be instant. Be ready at all times to have an answer from the word of God for the struggling people of God. Be ready at all times to have the balm of Gilead ready for their souls. Be ready at all times, when it's convenient and when it's inconvenient. In season, out of season, that's what that means. When it's convenient and when it's inconvenient, always be ready to have something for the people of God. It's like, you know, whenever grandma came over, she always reached into her pocket and she was ready, always had a piece of candy for the kiddos, right? Always be ready, minister of God, for the questions and the needs of the people of God to apply that balm of Gilead. Be instant, in season and out of season. In Matthew chapter 13, 52, the minister is to have stock in store from which he is always able to draw out things old and new. This is why we train a man. It's why we examine him. It's why we ordain him. He's got to have some biblical chops, if I can use a modern term. He's got to have those. He's a professional, and so he's supposed to be ready. And so, minister of God, I call upon you to be ready at all times. But not only that, he's to be instant in his desire as well. Not only able, but willing at all times. with a word in season to him that is weary. Isaiah chapter 50 and verse four. Notice that this readiness is at all times when it is convenient and inconvenient. And for the people of God then, this means that they ought to come to their minister in difficult times and odd hours with their spiritual and practical difficulties to have the word of God applied to them. Don't be afraid to call your pastor and say, pastor, I'm struggling. Tell him that. He can pray for you. He can pray with you. He can apply the Word of God to your wounds. It is indeed a sad state of affairs that we often see folks going everywhere but their minister with their spiritual difficulties. What does Oprah say? What does Dr. Phil say? I know I'm dating myself. I get that. I don't listen to the popular folks, okay? I'm old-fashioned that way. What does the Bible say, minister of God? That's the first question that should come to our minds. What does the Bible say? Okay, well then there are three components to this command to preach. Reprove, rebuke, and exhort. Reprove, rebuke, and exhort. This aspect of the preaching, this first to reprove, means to move into areas of correction, whether doctrine, or practice, and is to set forth the difference between that which is good and evil, acceptable and unacceptable, so that the people of God are brought into an awareness of their own misbelief, misbehavior, and the attitudes and thought forms that form the foundation for those errors. They are to be corrected by exposure to the truth. And while we think of correction as, ooh, I don't like that, this doesn't need to be like that. Not at all. It's simply providing the truth. preaching the truth, getting that truth out there at all times so that there is correction of error, there is correction of misbehavior, misbelief. You know that it's just as much a sin to believe the wrong things as it is to do the wrong things, right? We're commanded not only to do the right things, but to believe the right things as well. Well, then we move to rebuke. Rebuke, well, while the former assumed perhaps an ignorant, or traditional wrongdoing, well I've just always done it that way pastor, what's this about, right? Rebuking means that there is some digging in. This speaks then to the fortitude of the minister as he must come and in some cases move beyond mere correction as above into a stronger action called rebuke. And a rebuke is a correction, a strong correction that carries an authoritative warning to cease from a particular course or behavior accompanied with that warning of difficult consequences to follow both spiritually and ecclesiastically if that course or practice is continued and persistent. Rebuke often involves censure, suspension from the Lord's Supper for a time, calling for works meet for repentance. This the Lord commands to the preacher. He's got to be ready to reprove, that is, do that mild form of correction by applying the truth, but he's also got to be ready when that truth is resisted, he has to be courageous, he has to stand, and he has to rebuke. I'm sure Reverend Welch will agree that we only need these things when times are difficult and these are hard things to do and yet they are necessary because we are commanded to do them by Christ. And then there's that word exhort. Exhort, well exhortation is a very wide word in scripture. It carries with it the term pleading, urging, all of those kinds of things. And so the minister is called upon to exhort. That is to encourage to well-doing, to seek to move you in a spiritual direction through the exhortation from the Word of God to drive you to Christ, to drive you in the right direction, that kind of thing. He's to be persuasive in that sense. That's what exhortation means. And if we can say that that's what the minister is to do, then what is the congregation to do? Oh, pastor, that gets a little more difficult because I may be the one that's being corrected. I may be the one that's being rebuked. Remember this. Let me, let me give it to you this way. Remember that when your minister comes to you, number one, these are never easy things. And I'm sure that Reverend Welch will agree. This is one of the last things that we want to do. So if we come, keep in mind that we've probably exhausted all other options. Secondly, remember that if we have to come to you with a correction or a rebuke, that we only do so because we have to stand before the judge of all the earth, just like you do, and acquit ourselves of our duty as well. Give us leave to do that, in other words. Give us the opportunity to stand before Christ and say, I did rebuke when I thought it was necessary, or I didn't because I thought I wouldn't be received. Right? So let's remember that. There's a double use. There's a use for the minister, and then there's a use for us all. And when I say congregation, really what I mean is anyone under authority, because the beauty about Presbyterian church government is that everybody's under authority somewhere. When my presbytery comes to me and says, Reverend Riddell, we need to talk, I've got to give them ear. That's my job, right? OK, so error and bad practice cannot be tolerated. It must be rooted out. and the nature, urgency, and severity of offense might justify action that is more swift or more severe. But patience coupled with pastoral humility and gentleness must always be the method of the minister of Christ's flock." And then notice what he says, he undergirds, reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering, patience, that is not just patience but perseverance. Right? Everybody wants our patience, but maybe they don't want our perseverance. Right? Give me your patience on this. Let me go along doing what I'm doing for a while. Give me patience. Well, no, you're going to get my perseverance instead. That means I'm going to continue to remind you and continue to correct. And even if I have to continue to rebuke. That's what patience is. It's patience with perseverance. And then he says, and with all doctrine. with all doctrine. Yeah, we've all heard the sermons about, you know, doctrine's a bad word today. We know, we don't think that. We don't think doctrine is a bad word, but notice what he says here. He undergirds the preaching. He undergirds the reproving, the rebuking, and the exhorting with all doctrine. That is, that if I bring or he brings to you a reproof, If he brings to you a rebuke, if he brings to you an exhortation, he's going to come bringing the Bible with that. That's where that's founded. It's not, I don't like the cut of your jib. It comes from the scripture. It comes from the Bible. This is our standard. He's preaching the word in all of these things. So then, when your minister corrects you from the word of God, he is doing that which his Lord and King has commanded him to do for which he will be called to account. You are to give him all due consideration then. In 1 Thessalonians chapter 5 verses 11 through 13, you are to consider him to be a quote unquote considerable one, a weighty one. That's how the apostle Paul puts it in 2 Thessalonians, 1 Thessalonians 5 verse 12 especially. All right, as we wrap up then, It is not to say that elders do not or cannot err. We do. In fact, there have been many sleepless nights that elders and ministers have spent because of their errors. I can tell you that. But in our Presbyterian form of government, let's remember also that no one person is in charge of anything. And if you believe then that your minister has in some sense offered you some kind of maladministration, you have means of redress. But remember also that he comes to you with his heart. He comes to you with the command of Christ behind him. He comes to you with that same kind of recognition that he will give account as you also recognize that in your callings and stations. And so give him that deference. Give him that due. Finally then, the apostle warns in this passage which is pertinent to us all. He speaks of a time which comes upon a people in which they turn their ears from the truth and they will turn themselves to fables. This is facilitated by the seeking of a people of God to have their ears scratched. And the word that is used here is a word that is, well, let me put it this way. So if you go to the doctor and you say, I have this thing in my ear and it itches all the time, And he says to you, OK, what would you rather that I do? Would you rather that I put a lotion on your ear so it won't itch anymore, or would you rather that I take the infection out that will kill you? That's why it's itching. Which one do you want? I can tell you that I can put that balm on there, and it'll get rid of the itching. Every time you have an itch, you put the balm on, and it'll stop itching. and then in six months you'll come back to me because your body's falling apart because of that infection. Or we can do surgery today, it'll hurt, it'll smart, but you'll be done with that infection. That's the word that the Apostle Paul uses. They are seeking to have a palliative effect upon their ear rather than the soul searching and deep digging that needs to be done for their souls. My dear brothers and sisters, when we hear this in this passage, We recognize that temptation in us all, do we not? So then let us hear that good word of God which, indeed, like we hear in Hebrews 4, if I can colloquialize it a little bit, cuts us to the quick. Cuts us to the quick and causes us to take stock and to remember that we too will stand before the judge of all the earth. Do not seek palliation. Do not seek symptomatic remedy. Seek instead to have new hearts. Let that word that comes from the mouth of your preacher do its life-giving work among you. And receive his words, listening for the voice of your shepherd, Jesus Christ, when he opens the word of life to you. Obey Him as He follows Christ. Listen to His every word. If you believed that your eternal soul hung in the balance and that hearing the Word of God is what tipped the scale in your favor, would you hear it? Let me tell you it does. It is the Word that gives life and it is the Word that sustains life. Let's stand and call upon the Lord in prayer.