If you have your Bibles, will you turn to 2 Timothy, chapter 4? Tonight I am preaching what may be called the apostolic charge. It is not my charge. I have no such authority. But the Apostle is here giving one that will stand to the end of time. Paul has been in prison, suffering. He awaits martyrdom, and he knows all this. And he is deliberately passing the torch to Timothy, one of his young converts in the faith, who is now a person of considerable influence. In any other generation, Timothy would have been one of the great stellar leaders. He is eclipsed by the power of the apostolic company. But that does not detract from the fact that he was a tremendous worker, a powerful witness for the Lord, and Paul is here giving him this charge to continue a ministry that Paul has exercised so fully. He begins in verse one of chapter four, I charge thee therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick, that is, the living, and the dead at his appearing and at his kingdom." Now let's pause here, for this is the setting for the charge. The Apostle Paul is here speaking most earnestly and with warmest love toward this young man who is going to take over a staggering task. The thought of replacing an apostle would be absolutely intimidating for anyone, but now Paul was giving that honor and that privilege to this young man, Timothy. And we know from church history that he fulfilled that charge extremely well. Now, this charge is given before God and the Lord Jesus Christ. And that is always the case in every charge to the ministry. What we do here is not done by some kind of mystical powers of our church that does not exist. The power all belongs in the hands of the Lord Jesus Christ, and he is the one who must invest your life, my brother, and the lives of all his servants with the power and the wisdom and the grace that is needed to accomplish his will and perform his service. The charge is not delivered before an assembled congregation merely. It is instead delivered before the courts of heaven in the sight of God and the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the one who can authorize the service. He is the one who can empower the service. And no church can do that for you. You must get your power and your authorization directly from the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the judge of the living and the dead. He has all authority in heaven and earth. He is the one who has the authority to communicate to you, the power to preach the gospel, the power to establish his churches. He is the one alone who can make your ministry a success. Success is not in the world's eyes, but in the eyes of the Lord who gives the grace and the power to accomplish his purpose, not ours. Now, the charge is delivered here by his appearing and his kingdom. And that is a remarkable thought, because our ministry in this life does not end merely with our death and passing on to another realm. It will end ultimately in the glorious appearing of the Lord and Savior himself, and all service that is rendered to him is rendered in view of his coming kingdom, when he shall return to rule over this world with power and glory and fulfill his will here perfectly. We cannot do that. All we can do is sow the seed and make the preparation but it is that seed and that preparation that produces the harvest of souls by His grace, through His mercy, that will establish that kingdom and will ultimately bring a multitude of people into that final, eternal, celestial kingdom that the Lord alone deserves. Now, concerning the subject matter of the charge in verse 2, Paul says, preach the word. We are living in a time when, unfortunately, that is rare. There are numerous churches in this country and all over the world where what is preached is not the word of God. It's the opinions of men. It's the social plans of social reformers. It's the philosophic ideas of some preachers who feel that their mental gyrations are of more interest than God's eternal word. The commission is, preach the word. There is no way that your eloquence could ever win a soul. There is no way that your powers in preaching could transform lives. It's all done by the power of this book. You are to preach the word. It's the word that converts people. It's the word that builds up saints and strengthens them in life. It's the word that equips them for an eternal service before God. And it is your privilege to preach that word. You must give yourself to it wholeheartedly. You're not to preach private interpretations or your opinions. You're to preach, thus saith the Lord. The Word says everything, and when you preach it straight as it is and apply it to the hearts and consciences of the people who hear, it has transforming power. That Word makes alive, that Word imparts the new birth, that Word builds up saints in the faith and prepares them for a life of ministry before God. Preach the Word. The word preach means to proclaim, preach in the sense of declaring publicly. You've got to present this word before others, sometimes before a hostile audience of the world. The world doesn't always appreciate God's word. The world takes offense at this many times. That shouldn't make any difference at all. You are not in this in order to tickle ears and please worldly people. You are here to declare the word of the living God, to present before men the truth of salvation found only in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. If you are faithful to that, the word will produce a harvest of blessing in your life, in the churches you minister to, in the hearts of the people that you serve. Preach the word. Every preacher must be very careful not to preach his private interpretations, his doubts, his opinions. That doesn't belong in the pulpit. What belongs in the pulpit is the holy word of God, the truth that sets men free, the truth that prepares them for a life of eternal service in the presence of God. Nothing we could say or imagine by ourselves could do that, but the Word has it all in it. Now, it's interesting that in that same verse, he says, be instant, in season, out of season. That be instant means be faithful, be right on the job, be prepared for the opportunities. In season, yes, when it's convenient. And out of season, when it's not convenient. as part of the peculiarities of the ministry, that a great deal of what is done for Christ is done apparently accidentally and by the wayside. There are no accidents with God. And what is done by the wayside oftentimes has eternal benefits. And so we must be consistently, all the time, ready for the opportunities that he may set before us. We can't foresee them. We can't plan them. That's for God to plan. And he does. And he will bring people across your pathway and he'll bring them to your church. And you may not know anything about the situation, but God knows everything about it. And what you preach, that blessed word of God, can meet the needs of the people and transform them and accomplish his powerful, eternal will through their lives. This text that I'm preaching on tonight was one that I heard preached on over the radio many years ago. Charles E. Fuller preached on the old-fashioned Revival Hour, and he preached on this text one time, and that was the text that called me to the ministry. So this text has a very important place in my heart and life. It is the power of God. It is something that has held me into the ministry in times of discouragement and trial. It is something that is always an inspiration to me because it came from the hand of God. The subject matter in the text is something that is a powerful force in my life and I trust will be in your life as well. Now he urges, reprove, rebuke exhort with all long-suffering and doctrine. This is one of the difficulties of the pastoral ministry, to reprove what is wrong. No one likes to do that. We'd all like to take the easier way of being kind and courteous and just not saying anything about it. But we have a responsibility before God to speak out when we know scripture is being violated. When we see people are going in the wrong direction, it is our place to stop them and say, this is what the Bible says. They may not want to hear it. They'll reproach us for doing so. That doesn't make a bit of difference. According to God's word, we should reprove and rebuke what is wrong. That won't make you popular in the world. It won't win friends for you, but it will satisfy the command of God. And that is the most important thing in the life of the preacher. We are not here to tickle the ears of the audience and to make everyone feel good. There are some preachers who think that is their calling. But this is the calling of the faithful preacher, to reprove what is wrong, to rebuke what violates God's holy word, and to summon men back to allegiance and obedience to this holy book, which is the power of God unto salvation. That is not a popular ministry. It is an absolutely essential ministry. Nothing else will change the hearts of sinners. Nothing else will build up a church. It is the power of God's word that does it, and that's what you must stick to all your days. You're preaching the word, not opinions, not some theologian's ideas. You're preaching what the text of Scripture says. Thus saith the Lord. That's where the authority is. That's where the power in preaching is. It is the revelation of the will of God. Exhort, he says, with all longsuffering and doctrine. Yes, one of the discouragements of the ministry is you preach to the best of your ability and some people look like they can't hear you. They're going in the wrong direction and it has no effect on them. Well, it can make a preacher irritable to see that. And you must get rid of that irritation. That's something you have to commit to the hands of God. There are times when you will be definitely tempted to take some people by the throat and give them a good shaking. It won't work. It doesn't do any good. So you've got to abandon those ideas. Instead, you go right back to what you're doing. Preach the word. It's God's Spirit who has to convict them. It's God's Spirit who has to get a hold of their heart and conscience and change them. You can't do that. Only He can do that. But He does it through the word that you're preaching. And so this is your task, from the heart, to reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering. Yes, longsuffering indeed. But God sees your efforts, God will honor your prayers, and the Word has the power to accomplish everything that you hope and much more. It's always a challenge to me to see over the years how individuals that at one time were a real problem And I prayed for and preached sometimes messages that should help them and it looked like it never did. But in the process of time, God did use the word to accomplish his will. And oftentimes I found 20, 25 years down the pathway that these same people that I had given up on long ago had finally submitted to the will of God. They've come back to this very church and apologized for the way they lived years ago. and admitted you were right. And God finally got his word into my heart and changed things. That's a wonderful thing to see happen. It's the word that does that. It's not the power of your preaching. It's not your personality. That has nothing to do with it. It's the word that convicts, that gets in the heart and keeps working away inside until they just can't stand it anymore. They've got to submit to it and get right. and that is a powerful weapon in the hands of God, the sword of the Spirit. Now in verse three, Paul warns, the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers having itching ears. He's talking about the world situation, and we see again and again this very thing happen, where churches that have been strong gospel-preaching churches will call to the pulpit a man who isn't a strong gospel preacher. He's instead into social reform or some particular hobby that he has. And yes, he's a sprightly speaker. Yes, he's a nice, pleasant personality. But these things don't change lives and hearts. The time comes when that church hauls down the flag. The gospel is no longer preached and it becomes just one more monument to the devil's work in the world. A sad situation. The time will come, he warns, and we can look about us in our own city and see massive churches that a century ago used to be powerhouses for God, and now today they are hollow shelves. where the gospel is never mentioned, where social concerns are the whole thing, and the most exciting thing that ever happens is when the elderly people get together and have a nice time. And I'm not commending the idea that that's unworthy. It can be a worthy thing in a good church, but sometimes that's all that's left in the hollow shell, which is sad indeed. They will turn away their ears from the truth and shall be turned to fables." What a catastrophe! What a terrible thing to happen when the truth, the power of God's holy word, is lost in a church. When it is no longer the power that regenerates and saves, it is no longer the power that transforms and moves people onward in the service and worship of God, all that is lost. And they turn to fables of social reform, fables of human psychological tricks, fables of the goodness of man's nature. And all over there are churches that have done just that right here in Greenville. all over the world as well. It is sad to think of it. And Paul here warns. Verse 5, he says, But watch thou in all things. Yes, you are a watchman. You are manning the walls. You are looking for the attackers. And you must buttress your people with the truth. You must warn them against the error You must see to it that they know the word that would protect them from stumbling and falling over the snares of the enemy. Watch in all things. Be on your guard. Oftentimes the most pleasant, affable individuals in the church will be someone who has a hidden agenda, who is there in order to change the church into something that is socially proper. not religiously faithful. You must always be on your guard. And friendship and pleasant personalities can never be allowed to step in and change the solemn responsibility that you have of keeping the church right according to God's word, of preaching the word no matter what people say or think, no matter how they will attack you behind your back. That doesn't change anything. The Word is the standard. The Word is what you must preach. There is nothing else we have to preach. Watch thou in all things. Endure afflictions. Ah yes, you must indeed be a watchman on the walls. You are looking for false doctrine. You are looking for people who are deceivers, so that you may warn your people, assure them that the scriptures are right in every regard, and that these new innovative ideas are not God's word, they are the opinions of men. And you must be the watchman on the wall to call attention to that and to cry out that the enemy approaches. That's not a popular task, but it's one most necessary for every true church. If the preacher does not sound the warning, if he does not tell people of the danger, then they will stumble into it. And that is something that you must not allow. He says, Endure afflictions, in verse five. Yes, many are the afflictions of the righteous, but you may not find them what you normally would, because the great physician is your shepherd. and the afflictions that come with faithful service are nothing before him. He can provide the balm of Gilead. And oftentimes when the preacher's heart is the most sad because of opposition and harsh sometimes words by people who should know better, the balm is there in God's holy word to give you encouragement and strength and the ability to stand up no matter who says what at any time and preach the word, for it's the word that causes the offense. And that's what you must continue preaching. Never tone down the message. Do the work of an evangelist. An evangelist is one who preaches the gospel one who tells people how to get saved. And that must be an important part of your ministry, always. You're here not merely to expound everything in Scripture, which is there, but especially to tell people how to get right with God. They don't know how. They think that good works will do it. They think that being pious in appearance will do it. They don't understand what the new birth is. That is your task, to tell them, you must be born again. There is nothing else that will work. God must change the heart. If he does not, the individual is lost forever. It doesn't matter how pleasant they may be, what a nice personality they are, that doesn't count. The only thing that counts is submission to the death of the Lord Jesus Christ. and receiving him as Savior, nothing else in the universe will work. You have that privilege and that responsibility of making clear to them the absolute necessity of coming to Jesus Christ to be saved. And we must give account for all. Make full proof of thy ministry. Yes, demonstrate that God has indeed called you to the ministry. Demonstrate that his word is the most important thing in your life. Demonstrate that you're going through scripture preaching the truth of God because to you it's the most important thing that you could do. Now, full proof of the ministry. That means you are never on vacation. You are always on call. And some of the oddest things that will happen in your life will be acts of God. where when you are on vacation or when you're home in your own backyard minding your own business, the opportunities will come to talk to a neighbor or a stranger or whatever. That's also part of your responsibility. You are always God's evangelist, always God's preacher. And be ready, because the opportunities will come when you don't look for them, when you don't expect them. but they are real opportunities from the hand of God. And sometimes it is a glorious opportunity to reach out and get someone that you don't expect. I can think back to early days in which I visited in jails. I preached at the Greenville City Jail many times, and I've talked to people there who were in the depths of sin. I'd give them the gospel and explain, this is how you get saved. Sometimes they wouldn't like that message at all. But on the other hand, there were people there who did indeed need that message and know that they need it and come to a real faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. I've had them write letters to me afterwards thanking me for coming to that place and giving them the gospel. So you never know the opportunities that may arise, but you must always be ready, ready to give the gospel, ready to tell someone how to get right with God, ready to solve their problems on the basis of what scripture says rather than the opinions of men. They cannot help the lost. In verse six, he says, I am now ready to be offered. and the time of my departure is at hand." Paul was under no delusions about what was happening to him. He knew that this was the end of his ministry, and the time would come when he would be martyred very shortly. And he writes this letter very deliberately, passing on the torch to Timothy. Now, we must recognize that what Paul says here, he says not in despair or despondency. He says in faith, because he preached the gospel and he saw the power that it had to convert and transform. His own life was a testimony to that. And here he is assuring Timothy that the power of the gospel has not waned at all. It is still all there, and Timothy may expect to see lives transformed and people changed by the power of the gospel, just as you must expect to see that powerful gospel work in your ministry. You don't preach in the mere hope that something may happen. You preach with the faith that God's holy word is the sword of the Spirit And it still pierces hearts. It still brings people to faith in the Lord Jesus. It still transforms the saint into that kind of worker for Christ that he ought to be. And it's the power of the word that does it, nothing else. This is now put in your hands. This is your opportunity for the rest of your days. Your responsibility is not to be in this world and have fun. There are some people who are here for no less a reason than that. But you are here to serve the living God. You are here to proclaim his word, to share it with others, to show how the power of this word can transform the life, save the soul, and make the individual ready for heaven. Nothing else can do that. You look forward by faith to a wonderful ministry. Whatever the Lord Jesus Christ chooses to do with you, he does by his sovereign power. And the churches you minister to and the people that you serve are going to be blessed by him. Not by you. You have no magical powers. The Lord Jesus has all the power, and he is the one that you must commit all your work into his hands. Every sermon, every attempt to witness, every attempt to serve, you've got to put into his hands. And let him do it, because it's his power that works. It's his word that transforms, and he is the one you're serving. You are not serving any human beings. You are serving the Lord Jesus Christ himself. The apostolic charge came from no less a person than the Apostle Paul. Through a long and significant ministry, he served doing all of this. He was not exhorting someone to do something that he hadn't done. He had done all of this. He knew it worked. He saw the power of the Lord Jesus in the lives of those that were his converts, in the churches that he had planted. He knew that it was the Lord Jesus Christ that did it all. There was no illusions in him at all. And this is what we must trust, that we serve the Savior. The churches we minister in, the people we serve, are all his churches and his people. and he must do it all if it's going to be according to his will. And this is your task, to serve the Lord of heaven and earth, the Lord of the universe, by giving out the gospel, watching as a shepherd over his flock, and letting him transform lives, impart the new birth to those who need it, and be a blessing to your own heart as he serves and ministers through you. This is a supernatural task. It is not an ordinary one. Only the Lord Jesus Christ can do it. But He can do it. He can take your life, the lives of your family, and transform them into opportunities for the eternal salvation and blessing of multitudes of people. Now you must believe that he will do it. And step forth in faith, preaching the word with the assurance that it will not return void. Your sermons are not there merely as examples of literary endeavor. They are the message of the gospel. They are the power of God unto salvation. Preach the word boldly. The word will accomplish all that God intends. And when the ministry is all over, you will be astonished to find out how much he did with the Word, because a great deal of it is done quietly, and you won't know about it in this life. But the Word is the power of God unto salvation, and it shall encompass all the people that you minister to. and it shall transform those people by his grace into eternal servants of the Lord Jesus Christ. What a privilege to have a ministry to make others servants of Christ, that they in turn may reach others. And the gospel goes on. This apostolic charge is a supernatural task. You have no human abilities to do it. God's Holy Spirit must do it through you, and when you understand that, the ministry is powerful. It's a ministry of the Spirit of God who can empower your labors and transform your ministry into a supernatural work that only the Spirit of God could accomplish. He does it all. We are merely instruments in the hands of God. Let us pray. O Lord, how we thank Thee for the blessed privilege of serving Thee. How we thank Thee for the privilege of putting upon Pastor Manuel Mendoza this mantle of service in Thy Word. And we ask now special blessing upon him, that his life may be a blessing to all who know him. that his doctrine and preaching may be the means of salvation for many people. and that the saints who hear him may be built up in the faith and strengthened by the word that he preaches. And we commit him to thee. Use him. Make him a blessing to his family, his church, to all who know him. That the Lord Jesus Christ may shine out through him and warm the hearts of all who know him. Hear us, for Jesus' sake, Amen.