6 to 16 would be our text this morning. The Apostle Paul says to Timothy, if you instruct the brethren in these things, you will be a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished in the words of faith and of good doctrine, which you have carefully followed. but reject profane and old-wise fables and exercise yourself toward godliness. For bodily exercise profits a little, but godliness is profitable for all things, having promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come. This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance. For to this end we both labor and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially those who believe. These things command and teach. Let no one despise your youth, but be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity. Till I come, give attention to reading. to exhortation, to doctrine. Do not neglect the gift that is in you, which was given to you by prophecy with the laying on of hands of the eldership. Meditate on these things. Give yourself entirely to them, that your progress may be evident to all. Take heed to yourself and to the doctrine, continue in them, for in doing this you will save both yourself and those who hear you. You know, in verse 6, the Apostle Paul tells Timothy how he could be a good minister of Jesus Christ. So I want you to think about the question, how would you define what is a good minister of Christ, a good pastor? You know, if I were to ask that question of three Baptists, I would probably get three different answers as to what is a good minister. Perhaps someone would say, well, a good minister preaches no more than 25 minutes. Well, I would perform it that way. Someone else may say a pastor is someone who is friendly and outgoing. Well, I stood by myself over there during greeting time, but I had a reason. I've got a little bit of a cold. I don't want to give it to you, okay? Someone else may say when a good pastor does a lot of visiting in hospitals and nursing homes and the homebound and so forth. And indeed, a good pastor does some of those things that I've just mentioned. But I believe that we should define our view of a good pastor not based on tradition, not based on our personal preference, but first and foremost based on the Word of God. And I believe this text of Scripture defines to a large degree what really is a good minister of Jesus Christ. This text is not all-inclusive. There are some things that a pastor should do that are not mentioned here, but we are going to focus on four aspects of what is a good pastor. I believe you should think about this for several reasons. One is that you may pray for your pastors according to the will of God. Again, you may have unbiblical expectations. Maybe the priorities that you have are not the priorities that the Bible gives for a pastor, and you're not praying like you ought to. And then if you are inclined to criticize a pastor's ministry, or even to commend a pastor's ministry, is your criticism or commendation truly in line with the Word of God? And then finally, at some point you will be asked to vote on a pastor, a long-term pastor, and you need to know biblically what kind of expectations you should have so that you can properly evaluate that pastoral candidate. So what are these four characteristics of a good minister of Jesus Christ? The first is this, that a good pastor teaches the Word of God. This is one of the priorities of the pastor according to Acts chapter 6 and verse 4. According to 1 Timothy chapter 3 and verse 2. And right here in verse 6 of our text, It says, if you instruct the brethren in these things, you will be a good minister of Jesus Christ. Now, Paul won one of the false teachings in verses one to three, and now he encourages Timothy to instruct or literally place before the congregation the good doctrine. as we see in this context. And then verse 13, we have three elements in the ministry of the Word. There's the public reading of the Word of God. There is exhortation or preaching based on that reading of the Word of God, as well as teaching, it indicates there in verse three, or doctrine, which is the same thing. And notice in the last of verse 13, that a pastor is to give attention to these things, the reading of the word of God, the exhortation to God's people and the teaching of God's word. And so if a pastor is going to be a good minister, he is going to teach the word of God. So in order to do that, That means that a pastor must study and learn the Word of God. Verse 13 says, give attention to reading, and I mentioned that's mainly the public reading of the Word of God. Most people didn't have their own Bible. They depended on hearing the Word of God in the gathered congregation. But I do believe that Timothy would have access to copies of the Word of God, being a pastor, and so he would do his own private reading of the Word of God. He would read some of the apostolic letters that were circulating at that particular time. In verse 6, notice that Paul wrote that Timothy should be nourished in the words of faith and of good doctrine. In the next book, 2 Timothy, chapter 4, verse 13, Paul told Timothy to bring the cloak that I left with Carthus at Troas when you come, and the books, especially the parchments. Paul said, when we get together, be sure to bring those books, because I want to read and study those books and those parchments. Indeed, a pastor should always be learning the Word of God. You can't give out what you haven't first learned yourself. And so a pastor must learn and read the Word of God. Not only that, but verse 15, he says, meditate on these things. When we read, we should also spend time meditating over what we have just read. You know, one thing I enjoy in preparing for a sermon is that I know what I'm going to be preaching on Sunday, and I start reading that text on Monday morning. I go over several times during the week, drawing out lessons from that text of Scripture. So I believe that a good minister is going to spend at least 15 hours a week studying and preparing to teach and preach the Word of God. I know I spend at least that much, and I always want to honestly spend more time in study on the Word of God. Tom Rader's book, Surprising Insights from the Unchurched, says that there was a comparison study made between effective pastors and ineffective pastors. And that study revealed that effective pastors average at least 22 hours a week in the study and preparation from the Word of God. And the ineffective pastors only average about four hours a week preparing to preach and teach the Word of God. There was a minister that was called away due to a sickness in the family, but his wife stayed home. And he asked his assistant pastor, of course, to fill in for him and preach on Sunday. And so the assistant pastor did that. And when he got back from visiting his sick family, he asked his wife, how did the preacher do? And she said, oh, you know, it was so disorganized. I didn't hardly understand what he was saying. I was really very disappointed in what he preached. And so he was concerned and he got together with his associate pastor later that afternoon and asked how the service went, how the sermon went. And he said, oh, it went great. You know, you asked me on short notice to preach for you, and I didn't have time to prepare a message, so I went into your office and pulled up one of your old sermons and preached that. Well, you know, it is important, if possible, to spend time in preparing to preach the Word of God. But not only must you study and prepare, but a good minister must indeed teach the Word of God. The Bible can be a difficult book to understand. It comes, it was written thousands of years ago in a different culture, a different time. It needs teaching, it needs explanation, and a pastor should do that. And there are four references in this text alone to the fact that a pastor is to teach the Word of God. In addition to verse 6, verse 11 says, these things command and teach. Verse 13, till I come, give attention to doctrine. And doctrine is teaching with a focus on the content that is taught. And then in verse 16, he says, likewise, take heed to yourself and to the doctrine. Be sure that what you're teaching isn't true It's true to the Word of God. And so, what is it that a pastor should teach? Of course, he must teach the Word of God. Christians do not gather to hear the opinions of a preacher. They gather to hear the Word of God. And furthermore, he must not teach worldly doctrines. Instead, he should utterly reject and refute them. Verse 7 says, but reject profane and old wives' fables. That word profane means that which is common, what is not sacred. but is worldly in character. And so Peter likewise said in 2 Peter 1 and verse 16 that they rejected cunningly devised fables. You know, the Jewish teachers that he talked about in chapter 1, verse 7, they would talk about genealogies and fables based on those genealogies. The Gnostic teachers, which were influenced by Greek philosophy, would frame their teaching in mythological stories. You know, people love stories. And so, one technique that religious leaders would use is to frame religious beliefs in the form of story. Of course, the Greeks and Romans had their mythology, their religious teaching framed in stories. And you know, there are some preachers that don't use stories to illustrate the Word of God, but their content is basically just story after story after story. That is not what we're about. We ought to be preaching and teaching the Word of God. And we are to reject religion and teaching that's basically just stories that people make up. There are modern examples of that. The Book of Mormon has a lot of what I would view as mythological stories. You remember the Da Vinci Code that came out? That was supposed to have been based on fact, but I believe it was all made up. It wasn't true to the Word of God. I believe one of the greatest myths that's going to be proven wrong is the myth of evolution, that God didn't create this complex world, but it just evolved, you know, with time and chance. Oh yes, don't listen to mythologies, stories that are not rooted in the Word of God. Furthermore, a pastor must not only teach the Word of God, but preach the Word of God. Now the difference between teaching and preaching should be more than just volume, right? Preaching includes exhortation. where based on the teaching of the Word of God, I exhort you, I warn you to do what the Word of God says. I encourage you. Good preaching also includes other elements, as we see from verse 13. And then in 2 Timothy 4, verses 1 to 2, Paul says to Timothy, preach the word, convince, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering in teaching. And so there's that element of argumentation, convincing you of the truth of the word of God. There's that element of exhortation. There's that element of comfort. Oh, there's so many wonderful truths and promises in the Word of God, and may you, who may be going through a difficult time, be comforted by the preaching of the Word of God. And so a good pastor is going to teach and preach the Word of God. But secondly, a good minister of Christ is going to live the Word of God. You can be a great preacher, but if your life is inconsistent with your message, you're going to undercut your message, aren't you? And so notice what Paul says in verse 16. He says, take heed to yourself and to the doctrine. Take heed to yourself. Keep a close eye not only on making sure your doctrine is correct, but making sure you're alive. is in line with the Word of God. He says something similar in Acts chapter 20, verse 28, to the Ephesian elders of the same church. Take heed to yourselves and to all the flock among whom the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. And so a pastor must make sure that he's not only preaching the Word of God, but he is living it, he is doing it. And so, we have right here in the context some examples of focusing on the kind of life that you live before the congregation. And in the last of verse 7, we see that a pastor should make godliness a priority. He says, exercise yourself toward godliness. That word translated to exercise is the word for which we get our word gymnasium. Just as an athlete trains and exercises to become an accomplished athlete, even so, we should work hard at being the kind of Christian that lives a godly life. Folks, we live in a world full of temptation. We've got the old devil after us. We've got the world after us, trying to lead us astray. We have our own sin nature. Listen, you've got to work at it if you're going to live a godly life. You've got to be disciplined. You've got to be a disciple of Jesus Christ. You need to spend time in prayer. You need to spend time in the Word of God. You need to do what the Word of God says and how you live your life. Likewise, in verse 10, he says, to this end we both labor and suffer reproach. The word labor means to labor to the point of exhaustion. You've got to work hard at it. And the word sufferer approach in the original language is there's an alternate reading that's more likely that refers to an athletic term where you're engaged in an athletic contest with someone. Both words indicate strenuous effort. And so a pastor must do what's necessary to ensure that not only is he preaching sound doctrine, but he's living according to sound doctrine. He must watch out for temptation in his life and set boundaries to ensure that he doesn't fall into sin. Oh, there have been so many pastors who have ended up out of the ministry because they failed to do exactly what Paul is saying here. But you know, a pastor should be an example of God living according to verse 12. He says, let no one despise your youth, that be an example to believers in word, and conduct, and love, and spirit, and faith, and in purity. He is to be a living embodiment, an example that the congregation can follow. Now, in verse 12, by the way, he mentions another aspect of Timothy's ministry that may apply to a pastor that you may call. And that means that Timothy was a young man. He was probably in his thirties, and he was Paul's apostolic representative. He had a high position in the church, even though he was young. And Paul says here, let no one despise your youth. And actually, that's a third-person imperative, which means that Paul is telling the congregation, don't look down on Timothy just because he's young. Don't despise him because he's young. There was a time when I was young. There was a time when I was a pastor as a young man, and I know exactly what Timothy must have felt like. Because I would have older members of our congregation look at me and think I was just a kid. What am I doing pastoring a church? In fact, I became pastor before my 21st birthday. But I tell you, listen, what's important is not so much age, but character. And I tell you, by the time I was 30 years old, I had both experience and I trust the character to be a pastor of a congregation without being looked down upon and being some kind of a novice. And when you, if you call a young master, you need to remember what the Word of God says. You're not to look down upon him just because he's young. He may be more of a strong believer than you are. I remember when I served on the resolutions committee for our state convention. I had a young pastor on that committee that worked with me, and he was young enough to be my son. And I knew him as he was growing up. And there was a moment we were discussing this resolution, and this young whippersnapper instructs me on how that resolution should be worded. I probably had my doctorate by then, and who are you to instruct me? I'll be honest, that's the kind of temptation we can have for someone who is younger than we are, especially young enough to be our child or grandchild. But listen, Paul says, don't look down on someone. Don't judge them just based on their age. By the way, that can work both ways, too. I don't think we ought to set elderly people out to pasture just because they're older, you know. They get older in life. God can use young and God can use older people as well. And so, don't let them despise your youth, but be an example, he says, to the believer. In other words, Timothy, I just told the congregation not to look down on you because you're young, but you have a responsibility to earn their respect by being a proper example for them to follow. And notice in verse 12 some areas of life where we all, especially leaders, need to live an exemplary life. First of all, in speech. Jesus said, according to Matthew 12, 34, that what's in your heart will come out your mouth. What comes out your mouth is an indication of what's the condition of your heart? and so if you're a pastor and Yet like one pastor I heard of actually cussed in the pulpit folks. Yeah, that's not a good example That's not a good example or or or you know, if you're not a good example in your speech then there's a problem and If you look at Ephesians chapter 4, 25 to 29, he tells us the kind of speech we ought to have. It ought to be truthful. We ought to be gracious in our speech. We ought to be pure in our speech. Let no corrupt communication proceed out of our mouth. So, how's your speech? Are you exemplary in your speech? In conduct, he says, be exemplary in conduct. Peter said, but as he who has called you is holy, you also be holy in your conduct. Certainly a pastor ought to be exemplary in how he lives and conducts himself. As people observe his life, as they scrutinize his life, they ought to be living a godly life. And then in love, exemplary in love, Jesus said, by this shall all men know that you're my disciples if you have love for one another. And certainly that ought to be true of a pastor. What is love? What is biblical love? It's being willing to sacrifice, if need be, for the needs and the benefit of others. Biblical love is unconditional. It is faithful. A pastor and other believers are to be exemplary in showing love. We ought to be exemplary in faith. We have a strong faith in God. We ought to be exemplary in purity. We should live a pure life, and this certainly includes sexual purity. In fact, in the next letter, Paul told Timothy that he is to relate to older women as mothers and younger as sisters with all purity. And then finally, when it comes to our manner of life, we should live an example of spiritual growth, growth in God and living. Verse 15 says, meditate on these things and give yourself entirely to them that your progress may be evident to all. I remember when I first became a growing Christian. Man, the change in my life, the growth of my life became very obvious to everyone who knew me. But you know, when you've been a Christian a long time, the growth is not quite so obvious, is it? But it doesn't matter. Listen, until you're perfect, you've got room to grow, amen? And a pastor should always be growing. A deacon should always be growing. Every one of us should always be growing in our spiritual lives. But there's a third thing that a pastor, a good pastor does, and that is cultivate his spiritual gifts. Paul says in verse 14, do not neglect the gift that is in you. Don't neglect the gift that was in you. We don't know what spiritual gift Timothy had, but he had some endowment by the Holy Spirit that gave him ability that he did not have. Maybe it was ability to teach. Maybe it was ability to preach. Maybe it was some other ability. But he indicates that, perhaps based on the original language, that he wasn't exercising this gift like he ought to. And so he says in 2 Timothy chapter 1 and verse 6, to stir up the gift of God which is in you. You know, when a fire is going out in the fireplace, you take that stoker and just stoke it and stir it up and it kind of burns more brightly. That's the imagery that he has there. And so, a pastor understands that God has given him the spiritual gift, and that's where his effectiveness is going to lie. And he needs to especially use those spiritual gifts. Now, a pastor probably has other spiritual gifts. He may have the gift, for example, He may have the gift of administration. He may have the gift of being especially merciful toward the hurting. He may have the gift of evangelism. He may have the gift of discernment of false doctrine. But whatever his gifts are, the congregation should encourage the exercise of those gifts and allowing him to focus especially on the areas of ministry where he's most gifted. But when you get your next pastor, you may say, well, he's sure not very good at such and such. He's not very good at such and such. Well, folks, that's probably not his gift. And so deacons and others in the congregation ought to step up and fill where the pastor's not so strong in. That's what we ought to do. And so a pastor must cultivate and exercise the spiritual gift that God has given him. And then finally, a good pastor perseveres. Verse 16, take heed to yourself and to the doctrine, continue in them. The word continue means to persevere, remain, continue in. Of course, he is to be faithful, to continue in sound doctrine of the word of God and never depart from it. But there's also that perseverance and continuance that is required in ministry, to keep being faithful to the Lord. And I've been in ministry a long time, and I'm telling you, every pastor is going to face difficulties in his ministry. And there are going to be times when a pastor just wants to quit and throw in the towel. And I tell you, a pastor needs some supporters in his church that will always encourage him. Well, you can tell that he's down and he's hurting. Because the pastor is called to persevere and not be a quitter. That's what it takes to be a good minister of Jesus Christ. And by the way, Paul said in verse 16, you can do these things, you will not only save yourself, but those that listen to you. Verse 10 calls God our savior. And a pastor is to point people to the Savior. Jesus is our Savior. We are to preach the gospel to point people how they can be saved by believing in Jesus as your Savior. Have you done that? You know, what a pastor does not only benefits himself, but he benefits the people that he ministers to. Have you been saved? We're going to sing a song of invitation in just a moment, hymn number 458. And if you're not saved, we want you to be saved. If you're saved, then remember God saved you in order that three of you may save others. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we thank you for your word, and I pray that this congregation will be provided with the the kind of pastor that Paul talks about in this passage of scripture. And I pray, Lord, that you will lead the search committee, that you will lead this congregation as they engage in their search. And may your word guide them. And we pray and ask this in Jesus' name. Amen.