I now turn to Brother McCaskill, who is going to come and offer some peculiar exhortations to our candidate for this office. Well, I invite you to turn to 2 Timothy chapter 4, verses 1 through 5. This is maybe what is considered the locus classicus for ordination. Many pastors have preached from this text. In fact, you've heard it already this morning in bits and parts. I will choose this text also. And let me, as you're turning, just say what a privilege it is to be here. Indeed, I bring greetings from Emanuel Baptist Church in Verona, Luke Peterson, our pastor, full-time pastor, Greg McGonigal as well, and of course myself. My family came with me this morning. They were a bit jealous that I would get to come alone, because they love this community and congregation. So they came with me as well. Well, indeed, this is a celebration, a solemn occasion, Ben, for you and for this church. This is a wonderful day. God is adding another shepherd, an elder to this church. God then is fulfilling his promise. We read that promise in Jeremiah chapter three, verse 15. And I will give you pastors according to my heart, which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding. My friends, praise God for this answered prayer this morning. God is generous. He is loving, and He is compassionate. Well, this passage here in 2 Timothy chapter 4, I will read again verses 1 through 5. I hope that you can feel the passion here. This is Paul, of course, speaking to his son in the faith, Timothy. He is now aged, and in a certain way, this is kind of like his last will and testimony for Timothy. Again, as I read here in 2 Timothy verses 1 through 5, he says, I charge thee therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom. Preach the word. Be instant in season, out of season. Reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. For 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. And they shall turn away their ears from the truth and shall be turned unto fables But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry. Well, I will, as briefly as possible this morning, outline this text. And Ben, particularly for you, I will be looking in your direction quite frequently. I will make those charges as we consider this text. So first, we see the scope of the task, then the task themselves. and then some particular challenges. With the scope of the task, we see clearly, I charge thee therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ. Ben, your primary audience are not the people in this church, the members. Your primary audience is God himself. You must do all things before God. You must live in the very presence of God. You must fear God as you prepare your sermons, as you labor in prayer, as you minister in the homes of the people. You must do so before God. The Lord is watching. Ben, this will keep you from preaching yourself. This will keep you from the sin of man pleasing. This will keep you from being lazy because God is always watching. You must be faithful before God. But we also see here that God will judge your work. He will judge the work of all who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing in his kingdom. Then must I remind you that pastors shall receive a greater condemnation. A heavy weight is indeed placed upon you. Ben, it matters little if the people commend you. And I hope they do commend your pastors. But in the end, it matters little if they commend you. But it matters greatly if God commends you. So you should be seeking, first and foremost, that one commendation, well done, good, and faithful servant. Thou hast been faithful over a few things. And I want you to note that. Thou hast been faithful over a few things. Be faithful in those things which the Lord has given you. Those are the things that will be judged. Do not then seek for fame, but seek everything for His name. We also see in this passage the delineation of the task. This has been spoken of briefly this morning. We see first the material and then the moment and then the methods. What are you to do, Ben? You are to preach the word. Preach in the Greek is karuso. You are to herald the word of God. You are further to be a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. You are to lay no foundation but Christ himself. The pulpit, and I think it's needless to say this here, but the pulpit is not the place for clever stories, the daily news, reciting poems, or for dialogues in Socratic seminars. This pulpit is the place to herald the gospel. Then you must preach the gospel. We see also here the moment you must preach, but you must do that continually. Be instant in season and out of season when you feel like it and when you don't feel like it. Be ready all the time. 1 Timothy 4.16, Take heed unto thyself and unto the doctrine, continue in them, that is, persevere in them. For in doing this thou shalt both save thyself and them that hear you. Be ready, then, for whenever the Lord might see fit to use you. This will then require a lifetime of preparation, a lifetime of study, This will require endurance. You must pray through seasonal droughts and distractions and those you will have. You will have moments in your life where you just don't feel like preaching. You must pray through those and trust God. Ben, you must preach the word consistently. Now, I must draw emphasis here. I'm speaking particularly of the pulpit, but this is in the home as well. As you visit individuals, your members, you must be ready to share the word of God, to teach and to admonish them in the home. Further here, we see the methods. You are to reprove, to rebuke, to exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. I will group together These two, the reproving and the rebuking, they are, of course, separate verbs. But here we see what you are primarily to do, Ben. You must convince of sin. You must convince the people of their sin. Correct those who are disobedient. Awaken your people from slumber. Ben, you must use your prophetic voice. They must understand their guilt and their misery before Christ. Sometimes, Ben, you must preach things that you do not desire to preach. Sometimes you must preach things that you know your people don't want to hear. Hard things, difficult things, you must confront error. Ben, do not shrink back from these things. This is your task. How must you do this? Preach the law. Preach the law. But Ben, Don't stop there. Don't stop there. You must exhort them. Once you preach the law, then you must admonish them. You must give them hope. Do not stop short of the gospel. Admonish and spur them, comfort them, and encourage them. If you forget this portion, exhortation, you will too easily scold the people. You will be harsh, be direct, but do it with a healing ball. Ben, you must be long suffering. Bear with your people. Sometimes you will think. Why don't they understand? Why don't they why don't they get it? Remember you yourself and the graciousness of the Lord in your own salvation. Be long-suffering with your people. Persevere. 2 Timothy 2.24 And a servant of the Lord must not strive, but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient, in meekness instructing those that oppose themselves. If God pared venture with, will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth. In short, perhaps I'll say be like the Puritans. preach the word, preach the law, be experiential. Last for this portion, be doctrinal. And we see it in the text. Reverend John Witherspoon says it this way, and he's speaking to other pastors when he says this. If therefore there be any among us who does not preach the doctrine of original sin, of Christ-imputed righteousness, justification by free grace, the necessity of regeneration in the operations of the Spirit, he is guilty of perjury of the worst kind, for which I know no excuse. Many in our day have committed this perjury. Ben, do not be one of those, and I trust you will not. We also see from the text the challenges that are before any and every pastor Watch thou in all things. The Greek there points us to the fact that the pastor needs to be sober and self-controlled and alert. Ben, you must see the dangers coming, protect the flock and prepare them for those dangers and those temptations. You are a shepherd. You are a watchman. Pray the Lord will give you discernment. You must also endure afflictions. There are sufferings, sometimes intense sufferings in the pastorate. Second Corinthians 11 28. Besides those things that are without, Paul says that which cometh upon me daily, the care of all the churches. You will be busy. You will have family concerns. There might even be persecutions. And then on top of that, There is the care of the church that will burden you. But that is your call. You must love your people. You must care for them. Then at times you will not be able to sleep at night because there is a burden. You are concerned. You are worried about a member in your flock. You must also do the work of the evangelist. Be concerned, Ben, about the souls of men. You must exhort them, beseech them, persuade them, compel them to come to Christ. Ben, preach the gospel. It's their only hope. Lastly, you are to make full proof of thy ministry. In other words, Ben, fulfill your calling. Fulfill your ministry. Be a hard worker. Do what must be done. Here we see in the Greek the word ministry. The root is that which we get the word deacon. You must at times do those difficult things, those hard things, even things that are beyond your immediate calling. You must do those. Ben, you must be a model. Your people see you as the standard. You must feed on Christ. or your people will starve. Make your growth evident to all people. Be a good steward of your time, of your health, and your family life. Ben, do not forsake your family. This will weaken your impact and your witness. Love your family. Minister to them. Ben, be yourself. Notice here, make full proof of thy ministry. God has gifted you uniquely. Use your gifts. Do not try to model anyone else. James Stewart is very helpful here. He says, be yourself then, but also forget yourself. You are to use for the delivery of the word every faculty God has given you, and simultaneously you are to renounce yourself utterly, so that in the end the messenger shall be nothing, the message everything. It is not you who are to dazzle men with your grasp of the truth or your powers as a defender of the faith. It is not you who are going to convert souls and unlock the shining gates to which only Jesus has the key. Bring everything you have and are to your ministry. Your best craftsmanship, your best concentrated study, your truest technique, your uttermost of self-consecration, your toil and sweat of brain and heart, bring it all without reserve. But when you have brought it, something else remains. Stand back and see the salvation of God. Trust God. Ben, this is a high task to fulfill. Are you overwhelmed? Who is sufficient for these things? But Ben, rejoice. God has called you to this task and strengthened you for it. He has called you to this church, Christ-reformed Baptist Church, because He designed you for them and they for you. Let nothing move you except God Himself. One more comfort. When you stand in this pulpit, you may think this is a small church. It is. faithful church it is. And sometimes you might be tempted to say, well, I am so weak. This is a small church. Once more, James Stewart reminds us of this, and he's speaking of any and every pastor. Behind him stands Spurgeon and Leiden. and Newman, and Chalmers, and Baxter, and Taylor, and Latimer, and Luther, and Francis, and Augustine, and Chrysostom, and Paul, and all the multitude who in every generation have preached the identical Christ whom you preach today, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one cross, one victory, one mercy seat, one building not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. Ben. There is a great cloud of witness behind you. Remember that. There are also, as Pastor Riddle spoke, blessings beyond compare. You will feel glory that others do not feel. You will have the highest highs and the lowest lows. You will experience things that others cannot and will not experience. I speak now specifically. Last Lord's Day at our church, I baptized two of my own children. Now I have baptized three. The fourth we're praying earnestly for. That is a joy beyond measure. You will experience these things. That is the gift from the Lord. Sarah, I'm not sure where you are now. Yes. Sarah, it is also a great privilege to be a minister's wife. The success of your husband is your success as well. By and large, all pastors have great wives behind them. Ben, pray for your wife. Pray for your family. Sarah, pray for your husband. Love each other through the hard times. You are in this together. God has called you to that task. I will now officially close with just a few words from Robert Murray McShane. He was preaching an ordination sermon in 1840. And in conclusion, he gave these five exhortations. I can close with no better. Ben, thank God for putting you into the ministry. It was his doing. This will keep you going. Ben, seek the anointing of the Holy Spirit that you may be a worthy vessel unto the Lord. Ben, do not rest without success in your ministry. The Lord gives wonderful gifts. Ben, lead a holy life. Your whole usefulness depends on this. And lastly, Ben, Be a man of prayer. Everything else you do revolves upon this thing. Ben, I charge you before God and the Lord Jesus Christ to take up this task, fulfill your ministry. Thank you, brother. Let me ask all of us, if we will, let's stand together. Let me first ask this congregation, and of course, most especially those who are members of this church, Do you acknowledge the gifts and calling of Ben to the office of elder in this church? And will you pledge to pray for him and his family, to listen to his teaching and preaching, to receive from him the holy ordinances, and to heed his pastoral counsel as it conforms to the word of God? If so, would you say amen? Amen. And now let me ask Ben. Then do you accept the calling from this church to serve in the office of elder, to be found faithful in preaching and teaching, in administration of the ordinances, and in Christ-like rule within this flock of Christ's sheep? Will you speak the truth in love, avoiding striving, being gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient in meekness, instructing those who oppose themselves, that God might bring them to acknowledge the truth. If so, would you say amen? Amen. I noted on Friday we had the Pastors Fraternal. And as part of that, we were talking about Dr. Jim Renahan's exposition of our confession. And in one place in the confession, it says, churches are not desert islands. They are part of an archipelago planted by the providence of God to aid and assist each other. In another place in that exposition, Renahan illustrated how the early particular Baptists in England, our forefathers, instructed in their 1690 General Assembly that this assembly do desire the elders and brethren in London to send down one elder or two to assist our brother Henry Austin in the ordination of our brother Henry Brett of Pullum. In our case, we have Brother Tracy Sneed of Warrington and Brother Andrew McCaskill of Verona here to help us in this service. We're going to join in singing our next hymn. And at the end of that hymn, we're going to ask Ben to come forward and be seated. And we will lay hands upon him and pray for him and commit him to this office. Last calm, also there be to come, last these men to come. We're going to join in prayer last. Brother Andrew will lead us, then Brother Tracy, then I'll close us in prayer. Yes. Praise God. Oh God, you have fitted this man for this ministry. You have called him. You have gifted the church with leadership, with a man who can proclaim and herald your gospel. Lord, to You we give thanks. But we do, Lord, ask You to bless him, strengthen him, protect him. We know that the devil does not appreciate another individual proclaiming Your Word. Lord, protect me. Let him be Your mouthpiece. As he ministers to the flock and cares for them, Lord, let him be your comforting hand. But we are thankful for what we are witnessing today, because above all, this is ordained by your very command. Once more, Lord, you have fulfilled your promise to bring pastors, to provide pastors for local churches. We thank you, Lord, to you be the glory. Amen. Amen. A Father in heaven, we want to ask Lord that you would be with Brother Ben and his family. I pray Lord for you to bless them and keep them. Have your face to shine upon them as he goes on in the ministry of being an elder and a gospel minister in your church. So Father, fill him with your spirit that he would have the strength to carry on, protect him from the malice of Satan. And Lord, I just pray that he would continue in the faith and preach and teach the faith that was once and for all delivered to the saints. I pray this in Christ's name. Amen. Amen. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and with the affirmation of the Church, We do set this man apart for special service. We know that when we see someone profess the faith and baptism, we know that you're at work and you're saving people. And when we see men come forward to take up office, we know also that you're at work, you're providing for your church. And so we thank thee as a church for bringing Ben and for him having the willingness and the giftedness to have the desire to exercise his ministry within this body. We've already profited from Ben. And we look forward to profiting even more in the years to come. We pray that she would keep him steadfast, as Andrew is admonished, keep him holy before he is set apart. Help us to, who are his friends and who are his family members, perhaps, who are here today, to understand Ben's calling, to not have unrealistic expectations for him, but to love him, help us to be able to minister to him, and help us to be able to listen to him. And we pray for his dear family. We ask that you would bless each one of them. Be with Sarah, as she is alongside of him in the ministry. Be with Magnolia, and Killian, and Atticus, and the one that is yet to be born. And bless their family. Make them a ministry family. and watch over them. Oh, Father, we do now commend this man to this task. We look to you. We trust you. You are the giver of every good and perfect gift. We thank thee for giving men as a gift to this church and to the church writ large, the whole body of Christ. We ask this in Christ's name and for his sake, amen. Amen.