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welcome to everyone it's good to be back in the house of God on this lord's day well for our call to worship you can turn in your Bibles to psalm 29 Psalm 29 begin reading in verse want a psalm of David give unto the Lord oh you mighty ones give unto the Lord glory and strength give unto the Lord the glory due to his name worship the lord in the beauty of holiness the voice of the lord is over the waters the god of glory thunders the lord is over many waters the voice of the lord is powerful the voice of the lord is full of majesty the voice of the lord breaks the Cedars yes the Lord splinters the Cedars of Lebanon he makes them also skip like a calf Lebanon and Syrian like a young wild ox the voice of the Lord divides the flames of fire the voice of the Lord shakes the wilderness the Lord shakes the wilderness of K dash the voice of the Lord makes the deer give birth and strips the forest bear and in his temple everyone says glory the Lord SAT enthroned at the flood and the Lord sits as king forever the Lord will give strength to his people the lord will bless his people with peace a man please take your Trinity Salter and turn to Psalm 103 Psalm 103 will sing verses 12 13 with a familiar tune Psalm 103 I I received a text from steel today and I asked how married life was and he said very awesome so that's an encouraging word from our brother so we'll pray this evening for them and for other things as well let us go to the Lord our great god and Holy Father again it is a great joy and a privilege to to remember the Sabbath day and to keep it holy we thank you that you've given us this one day in seven we thank you that you've ordained that your people gather together in your house to sing your praises and to pray unto you and to hear from Holy Scripture we pray that in all of this you would be glorified exalted and honored she would help us father to focus help us by supplying the Holy Spirit for we are told by our Lord that we are to worship you in spirit and in truth we pray that all that we do tonight would be well pleasing in your most glorious sight we acknowledge that you are from everlasting to everlasting you're the god of unrivaled sovereignty unparalleled unparalleled majesty the God who is most high and most excellent and thus such a wondrous name we acknowledge Father Son and Holy Spirit and all of your glory in all of your Excellencies and we would ask tonight that we would know your nearness in your presence we thank you our Father for your sovereign grace we know we're not in Christ because of good decisions that we have made we know that we're not in Christ because we have obeyed your law but we are in Christ because of your sovereign good pleasure we thank you for predestination and for election for the fact that you chose us in him before the foundation of the world we praise you for sending the son of your love into this world sinners to save we know that he is holy harmless and undefiled but he always did what was pleasing to the Father and that he ultimately gave up his life as a sacrifice as a ransom as a substitute for those you had given to him we thank you that he rose again the third he now sits enthroned at your right hand we praise you as well for the Ministry of the Holy Spirit we thank you for the effectual call and the irresistible grace you have constrained us to come to our Lord Jesus and we bless you and we praise you for this powerful work you know in and upon us we thank you as well Lord God most high for the scriptures we know this is the means this is the tool that you have given by the spirit to bring us forth so tonight our father as we consider these things help us to respond with worship and praise and adoration to you are true and living God we would ask that you look with favor upon this church spiritually help each and every one of us to walk in a manner that is worthy of the lord help us to pursue that which paul says to be fully pleasing unto you may we indeed Lord God bear fruit unto good works may we increase in the knowledge of God may we daily be strengthened so that we may bear patiently and have long suffering with joy toward those who wronged us as well help us to be a thankful people a people who acknowledge that our God is full of grace and mercy and truth and kindness and may we live daily in light of those realities and may we be a thankful lot we pray also God for the temporal needs in our midst we know there are many sick and many ill among us and we just commit them to you and to the word of your grace we pray that you would daily sustain them and be their portion and their lot while the outer man does decay may the inner man be renewed day by day may you be glorified in the way that you sustained and care for your people here we thank you for the day of rejoicing yesterday over the wedding of steel and Rebecca we asked you'd watch over them and keep them safe and this season in their life we pray that as they return from their honeymoon they would embrace the the day in and the day out the ordinary and the normal and that they would strive to glorify you as husband and wife they would know many many years of a blessed and happy marriage together that you would just prosper them and Grantham Grace and may this be a means of sanctification in their lives we thank you God that we're not alone we pray for other churches here in chilliwack we thank you were one of several that are seeking to preach the truth and we would pray for those other churches that you would sustain and bless them she would prosper them that you would add to their number such as should be saved bless the ministers of the gospel and cause them to be faithful to persevere and to do those things that are pleasing in the sight of a holy God we pray for your blessing upon the missionary enterprise we thank you that the cause of God and truth is not seen simply in North America the Word of God is going all over the earth and we would pray for the Advancement of your holy Kingdom we pray for the growth of your church and we pray that Christ would continue to build that church and may the church indeed know that the gates of Hades shall never prevail against her we ask that you would look with favor upon those missionaries near and dear to our hearts she would sustain them and encourage them and use them mightily for the glory of God our Father now we pray that you would forgive us for all of our sins and our transgressions and help us to worship you in spirit and truth and we ask through Jesus Christ our Lord amen well please turn with me in your Trinity hymnals to number 269 number 269 will stand as we sing together we may turn in your Bibles to Ezekiel the Prophet chapter 7 for our scripture reading this evening Ezekiel chapter 7 the larger context from chapter 42 chapter 24 what we have is the prophecy concerning the destruction of Jerusalem which was in fact impending and here specifically the prophet addresses the nearness of that judgment so begin reading in chapter 7 at verse 1 moreover the word of the Lord came to me saying and use son of man thus says the Lord of God the Lord God to the Land of Israel an end the end has come upon the four corners of the land now the end has come upon you and I will send my anger against you I will judge you according to your ways and I will repay you for all your abominations my I will not spare you nor will I have pity but I will repay your ways and your abominations will be in your midst then you shall know that I am the lord thus says the Lord God a disaster a singular disaster behold it has come an end has come the end has come it is dawn for you behold it has come doom has come to you you who dwell in the land the time has come a day of trouble is near and not of rejoicing in the mountains now upon you I will soon pour out my fury and spend my anger upon you I will judge you according to your ways and I will repay you for all your abominations my I will not spare nor will I have pity I will repay you according to your ways and your abominations will be in your midst then you shall know that I am the lord who strikes behold the day behold it has come doom has gone out the rod has blossomed pride has butted violence has up into a rod of wickedness none of them shall remain none of their multitude none of them nor shall there be wailing for them the time has come the day draws near let not the buyer rejoice nor the seller mourn for wrath is on their whole multitude for the seller shall not return to what has been sold though he may still be alive for the vision concerns the whole multitude and it shall not turn back no one will strengthen himself who lives in iniquity they have blown the trumpet and made everyone ready but no one goes to battle for my wrath is on all their multitude the sword is outside and the pestilence and famine within whoever is in the field will die by the sword and whoever is in the city famine and pestilence will devour him those who survive will escape and beyond the mountains like doves of the valleys all of them morning each for his iniquity every hand will be feeble and every knee will be as weak as water they will also be girded with sackcloth horror will cover them shame will be on every face baldness on all their heads they will throw their silver into the streets and their gold will be like refuse their silver and their gold will not be able to deliver them in the day of the wrath of the Lord they will not satisfy their souls nor fill their stomachs because it became their stumbling block of iniquity as for the beauty of his ornaments he said it majesty but they made from it the images of their abominations their detestable things therefore I have made it like refuse to them I will give it as plunder into the hands of strangers and to the wicked of the earth as spoil and they shall defile it I will turn my face from them and they will defile my secret place for robbers shall enter it and defile it make a chain for the law of the land is filled with crimes of blood and the city is full of violence therefore I will bring the worst of the Gentiles and will possess their houses I will cause the pump of the strong to cease and their holy places shall be defiled destruction comes they will seek peace but there shall be none disaster will come upon disaster and rumor will be upon rumor then they will seek a vision from a prophet but the law will perish from the priest and counsel from the elders the king will mourn the prince will be clothed with desolation in the hands of the common people will tremble I will do to them according to their way and according to what they deserve I will judge them then they shall know that I am the Lord amen perhaps if persons read the Old Testament more they would see the fury in the wrath and the judgment of God not that it's not present in the New Testament but certainly there are such vivid descriptions of God's anger toward the wicked and in this particular context the Covenant people those who had forsaken gods way God's will God's Word and so they would indeed reap the curses associated with covenant breaking notice in particular verse 19 they will throw their silver into the streets and their gold will be like refuse their silver and their gold will not be able to deliver them in the day of the wrath of the Lord Mammon cannot provide heaven Mammon will never secure Redemption and those who think it will ought to come to the prophet Ezekiel and see see that ultimately silver and gold do not profit in the day of the wrath of the Lord and then notice one other observation that I think does speak to the wickedness of man in verse 26 disaster will come upon disaster and rumour will be upon rumor then they will seek a vision from a prophet but the law will perish from the priests and counsel from the elders it's too late when the judgment and the wrath and the fury of God has come to then ask what does the prophets say what is the priest counsel how are we to serve the Lord take heed now and listen to the Word of God now and respond to that word by the grace of God with faith that is the message we ought to take away at least one of the message we messages we ought to take away here will let us pray our Father we thank you for these vivid descriptions they do demonstrate to us your holiness and your righteousness and you're just justice things that oftentimes we exclude from our thoughts because we don't like the implications help us God to consider these things help us to ponder them and even as a church may we reflect upon the fact that if we continue in penitent the Lord Jesus will take the lampstand from us grant us grace to take heed to your word grant us grace to receive what the prophets say what the Apostles say what our beloved Lord Jesus says and may we by grace respond to these things in obedience and in compliance we ask these things through Christ our Lord amen well for our final him you can turn to number 631 in your Trinity hymnals and will stand and sing together well you may turn in your Bibles to second Timothy chapter 4 second Timothy chapter four last time we considered the solemn charge in verse 1 and then the specific command in verse 2 or the Apostle gives the last official command to the church he will certainly make other commands upon Timothy in this chapter but they are personal in nature and specific to the context here is the last command the apostle gives in terms of a corporate responsibility this is what was concern of concern to the Apostle Paul in the 11th hour prior to his death he wanted Timothy and ministers subsequent to preach the word we'll all read beginning in chapter 4 at verse 1 I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ who will judge the living in the dead at his appearing and his kingdom preach the word be ready in season and out of season convince rebuke exhort with all long-suffering and teaching for the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine but according to their own desires because they have itching ears they will heap up for themselves teachers and they will turn their ears away from the truth and be turned aside to fables but you be watchful in all things endure afflictions do the work of an evangelist fulfill your ministry for I am already being poured out as a drink offering and the time of my departure is at hand I have fought the good fight I have finished the race I have kept the faith finally there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness which the Lord the righteous judge will give to me on that day and not to me only but also to all who have loved his appearing be diligent to come to me quickly for dimas has forsaken me having loved this present world and has departed for thessalonica Christians for Galatia Titus for dalmatia only Luke is with me get mark and bring him with you for he is useful to me for ministry and tickets i have sent to ephesus bring the cloak that I left with Karpis at trow ass when you come and the books especially the parchments Alexander the coppersmith did me much harm may the Lord repay him according to his works you also must beware of him for he has greatly resisted our words at my first defense no one stood with me but all forsook me may it not be charged against them but the Lord stood with me and strengthened me so that the message might be preached fully through me and that all the Gentiles might hear also I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion and the Lord will deliver me from every evil work and preserve me for his heavenly kingdom to him be glory forever and ever amen greet Prisca and Aquila and the household of anessa Pharaoh nessa for asst are asked as straight a state in Corinth but trophy Masai have left in my letus sick do your utmost to come before winter jubileus greets you as well as Putin's Linus Claudia and all the Brethren the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit grace be with you amen let us pray father thank you for this letter to Timothy we thank you for the instruction for the church we pray that we would take these things to heart that we would see the seriousness of these things and that Lord God by your grace and the power of your Holy Spirit we would seek to apply these things as a local body we ask our Father that you would cause us to be faithful cause us to persevere cause us to endure to the very end doing what you have commanded we know you're not looking for creators or innovators but you're looking for obedient worshippers god help us in this pursuit again forgive us for all of our sins now as we come to scripture and fill us with your Holy Spirit we ask these things through Jesus Christ our Lord amen so the command is given preach the word be ready in season and out of season and Paul will now give reasons for the command if we were Timothy and we asked Paul why are you commanding us to preach the word well that is precisely what he does here in verse is 328 we're going to look at verses three to five this evening specifically we'll look at two reasons the reason the rejection of the truth and the Ministry of Timothy so Paul says preach the word be ready in season and out of season convince rebuke exhort with all long-suffering and teaching and the first reason that Timothy is to do that is because the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine so the rejection of the truth argues for the presentation of the truth in other words we do not cater to people we do not let them think that they are the ones that are they're able to see what is best for themselves but rather we do what God commands and the four things that Paul says here concerning this rejection of truth seem to build upon one another one commentator towner says for succeeding statements may envisage apostasy as a sequence of steps so we see four things that sort of go along here the first place Paul says they will not endure sound doctrine notice in verse 3 the time will come that is one of those out of season moments when the church the professing people have got those who name the name of Jesus Christ they will not endure sound doctrine and the particular word here means to bear up it means to endure or to put up with and it may have shades of boredom apathy or annoyance so you can see where this might be the first step it's not full blown apostasy we see that in the fourth step but here specifically there's this boredom with the word of God there is this apathy with the word of God there may even be annoyance with the word of God and not only with the word of God but with ministers of that particular word it's not something ultimately that they're interested in and I think we all would do well to take heed to ourselves and to make sure that these things do not find their way into our hearts we will see they never stay dormant or they never just stay small but it builds upon one another we begin to get bored with scripture we begin to get bored with church worship we begin to get a pathetic to it that means we can take it or leave it missing church no longer becomes that big of a deal missing the people of God really isn't affecting us anymore being absent from the house of God when the Word of God is preached or when the Lord's Supper is observed you know we have this sort of take it or leave it mentality brethren it won't stay there it won't be the case that that's all that affects you ultimately it will grow and it will build and it could end in utter defection or apostasy from the very truth of God most high this whole idea involved this boredom this apathy or again even annoyance were annoyed at some of the application were annoyed with the way that the preacher seeks to apply the passage of Scripture we're even annoyed with the scripture itself that it would dare point to our particular pets in perhaps we're engaged in a secret life of wickedness and we come to the house of God and we hear something that that seeks to deal with that and instead of embracing it thanking the Lord God most high that he's showing us our sin we get annoyed with what is happening and I've always found it intriguing that Paul says preach the word and then he says for the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine I love the connection there I've said it before I'll say it again if I was Timothy and I emailed paul and i said look Paul there is a time in our church when they will not endure sound doctrine what am I supposed to do Paul would email back and say preach the word I'd email back and say Paul didn't you hear me they don't want me to preach the word Paul would email back I want you to preach the word I might do it one more time and say Paul they don't want the preaching of the word and he would one more time email back and say preach the word the church is not the arbiter of what is necessary for that the church is given very clear instruction what is needful the church is given this particular mandate that she make everything out of the Word of God the connection is beautiful the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine so Timothy you are to preach to them sound doctrine note this second step than the rejection of the truth they will heap up false teachers they will heap up false teachers the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine but according to their own desires because they have itching ears they will heap up for themselves teachers now your bottle translation may give it a bit of a different rendering it may have something like tickling years or whatnot but the images is clear one way or another they are yearning for and longing for something they're not getting through faithful gospel preaching their yearning for and longing for something they're not getting through faithful Ministry of the word and because they're not getting that because they have these itching ears they're going to heap up for themselves teachers that will tell them what they want to hear this is absolutely wretched you do not walk into your doctor's office and take his prescription pad and write down what you think you need this is lloyd jones analogy by the way i never let the patient write the prescription lloyd-jones of course was a medical doctor before it before i became a pastor i think it means the same in both contacts I never as a medical doctor let the patient write the prescription well neither does the faithful gospel minister let the patient write the prescription you don't ask your child every day what do you want for supper well I want cakes and I want treats and I want candy and I want sugar and I want all those sorts of things that will rot my teeth and rot my insides will okay junior let's just give you those things absolutely not the image is powerful the strong and the reality is prevalent today because they have itching years because they have these wretched desires they reject the truth of the gospel they will not endure sound doctrine they become bored they become apathetic they have become annoyed so they go after the Bene hints they go after the big haired preachers they go after the guys that are going to make every day like a Friday they're going to go after the guys that make your you know make you your best self now that's the video that's the image that is employed by Paul and certainly we could explore this further in our own culture and see the rampant abuse with reference to first a second Timothy chapter for their particular remedy is to heap up the sort of teachers that are acceptable to them now I'm not saying go sit under preaching that makes you mad makes you want to go bananas and nuts and it's terrible I think the preaching should be engaging I think that preaching should be interesting I think ultimately preaching should be faithful and accurate exposition of the Word of God but if for some reason the preaching you are under just makes you want to stick Forks in your eyes yeah fight another preacher to be sure but the idea here is to heap up teachers that tell you what you want to hear to heap up teachers that make you feel better about yourself now I don't think you should always feel miserable about yourself but if you're always feeling better about yourself after a worship service perhaps the preaching isn't faithful perhaps the preaching is inaccurate preaching should tear down but ultimately build us up in our Lord Jesus as royal says concerning that first beatitude blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven if we would build high we must first start low and I think that's what faithful exposition of the word of God does but in this particular instance these persons and many persons today will heap up teachers according to their own desires that's terrible isn't it is that the way we function in any other context while it's all about me I actually it is but we shouldn't encourage that we should discourage that especially in the Church of Christ because our Christ as prophet knows what's best for his people and if Christ tells Paul to write to Timothy by the spirit preach the word then that is what is important for the church today not the sorts of things that go on on checked the ultimate thing that persons ought to be looking for in churches are what the reformed called the marks of the church now there are two and some schemes three and other schemes the belgic as the belgic confession has the three that I think are generally accepted among the reformed today the preaching of the word the administration of the sacraments and the execution of church discipline maybe we should say administration of disciplined execution and discipline everybody might conjure up images of Old Covenant Israel and we take them outside the camp and we let them have it the the sacraments the proclamation of the truth and the administration of church discipline is that what people are looking for in churches today I think I've shared before people will call and say what do you offer we have a Wednesday night study and we meet on Sunday there's this awkward pause and I know what they want to say that's it you don't have puppets ponies and programs you don't make my little Johnny feel wonderful you don't have things to entertain them and and make him feel complete and whole as your job as a parent our job as a church is to preach sound doctrine to administer baptism and the supper and to engage in faithful church discipline that's it do people if I can use the word shop for churches this way no it's about programs it's about youth it's about fun it's about entertainment it's about what can you do for me it's just a wretched mindset there is a consumerism that has infected the professing people of God and unfortunately has infected the professing Church of God because churches Taylor themselves to be competitive in such a market such that if you call them and you ask what do you offer will for one age group we have this for the old folks we have this for the middle we have this for the singles we have this for the merit we have this for the kids we have you know three three-ring circus going on you preach the word well yeah yeah we have helpful we have helpful messages we have relevant studies you engage in church discipline no we don't want to be judgmental what about sacraments yeah you know we baptize if people want to be baptized that's good see brethren the marks of the church ought to be what we operate according to with this ilk or these persons and their ilk they heap up teachers according to their own desires because their ears are are itching they want them scratched Calvin makes this officers observation he says he pop by which he means that the madness of men will be so great that they will not be satisfied with a few deceivers but will desire to have a vast multitude there is no shortage of these sorts of men out there today sometimes on Saturday afternoon after the sermons are written I'll watch you know clips of bad preaching it really motivates me it really fires me up and YouTube is 0 as a you know a treasure trove for Pat breaching you watch 10 or 15 minute clips of that you think praise god this is what we're supposed to be doing whatever it is they are not brethren this is the day in which we live towner says this group as a curiosity so active and a craving for novelty so insatiable that they are driven to extremes and without any discretion for judging between truth and error it's terrible when persons can't make rational determinations based on scripture on what is right and what is wrong in terms of preaching notice thirdly they go from not whirring sound doctor and a boredom and apathy or annoyance two heaping up false teachers we're bored where apathetic and were annoyed with the true preacher so we got to get guys that tell us what we want to hear and this inevitably leads to a turning away from the truth notice the language is that of apostasy but according to their own desires because they have itching years they will heap up for themselves teachers and they will turn their ears away from the truth so boredom apathy and annoyance become active turning away notice from the truth we are to turn away from heresy we are to turn away from falsehood we are to turn away from those things which ultimately damn us we are to turn toward the truth I love the image that we have in Nehemiah chapter 8 that time when Nehemiah the the priests rather going to read the law of the Lord before the whole assembly of Israel they and their little ones and it says that the assembly gathered together and their ear was turned to the law I love that their ear is turned to the law incidentally that's the passage where they build a pulpit they build a platform and they give the sense of the scripture they give the sense of the law it is a picture of expository preaching but as the assembly is gathered together their ear collectively is turned to the law of the Lord not so here the boredom the apathy and the annoyance give way to heaping up false teachers the consequence now is that they will indeed turn away from the truth this is a bad place to be beware as I said of entertaining the boredom the apathy and the annoyance this is ultimately where it's going to lead you're not bored and apathetic and annoyed and then say wow I'm going to be holier and more responsive to the truth no you're going to seek out men that will teach scratch your itch and then you are going to turn away defect from apostatized from the true and then notice the fourth phase or step they will embrace fables they will embrace fables they turn their ears away from the truth and will be turned aside to fables this is what happens men are going to believe something they're either going to believe the truth or they're going to believe the fables now I ask you is this what you want I trust that you don't you're here tonight is this what you want for your kids you know I've always struggled with this whole approach that we're going to find a church that our kids like you know I'm going to find a meal that my kids like I don't live that way I feed them what I know is good for that what I did I don't have to now Rebecca and I buy a block of cheese and it's there for two three four weeks now we had boys in our house if it was there two three days it would be an amazing thing you see we didn't cater to them and we didn't fawn all over them we didn't say what would you like and yet persons today look for church is based on that very thing what are you teaching your kids they're more important than God they're more important than the marks of the church they're more important than faithful gospel ministry whatever my zhesan and pleases and encourages you now kids are not against you being happy I'm not suggesting that we should punch you when you walk into the room here and you know that all bad thing should come your way I am suggesting however that your parents take their responsibility to heart and realize that they are to bring you up in the training and admonition of the Lord God most high it is ultimately their responsibility the church serves as a help in that particular pursuit for us when we were younger and we had our younger children truth was paramount we put our kids under truth that meant at times going to nurseries that were less than beautiful I think I've shared before in the church that we first started off I was a deacon there we had to go on spider patrol before we had Sunday services we had to go through the nursery and get the spiders these were big spiders we're not talking little spiders this was the Mojave Desert we had to fish the spiders out before we bring the children at I never thought oh man my children are they need the truth so they're going to go deal with spiders if they have to not today if you don't have this that and the other for the church we just we can't be there are you know I don't know what to say I just say you need to make sure the truth is paramount because the reality is that persons will believe something either truth or heresy and the gravity is seen in what you ultimately hang at your soul upon is it going to be faithful exposition and application of the word of truth or is it going to be puppets ponies and programs and those things calculated and structured to make you happy and your five-year-old again I'm not against the happiness of five-year-olds but I think five year olds ought to be taken to church they ought to be taught to sit still they ought to be taught to listen they ought to be taught to be respectful and they ought to realize that this is the house of the Living God if the voice of Yahweh shatters the Cedars of Lebanon as it does according to Psalm 29 our task as parents is to nudge them it's to direct them and it's to say listen pay attention the preaching of the gospel is coming you need to take heed that's our job as parents brethren not to be annoyed not to be apathetic not to be bored if you get to that point in your church experience do you think your children aren't going to observe that do you think they're not going to hear you complain about your pastors do you think they're not going to hear you complain about your boring worship services and then when they get 15 and you say let's go to church and they're born they're apathetic and they're annoyed you're going to be shocked and surprised you've taught them to be bored annoyed and apathetic you have taught them because of your own example and by your own words brethren as an older man now and I'm not older in the terms of you know mr. bolter some of these other brethren but having been at this for 18 or 19 years now I've started to see some trends and some patterns those persons that takes your the responsibility to inculcate in their children respect for your elders I don't just mean old people but Church officers you go to the doctor's office and you teach your child to be respectful to doctors don't you you go get pulled over by the RCMP you hear you they'll hear you say yes sir no sir and yes officer no officer yet in the church I mean encourage your kids to say nice things to the pastor's because that's how we get their hearts and they pay attention and they listen and they know that we love them and that we pray for them and that when we preach the gospel to them we want nothing more than for them to embrace it and to believe and to be saved brethren part of the the task of bringing up your children in the training and admonition of the Lord is the nudge nudge pay attention directing them toward listening to the Word of God notice the reasons for the command Timothy I want you to preach the word why because they will reject the truth secondly because of your own ministry Timothy this is why you exist if you were an electrician Timothy your job is to go out and fix things having to do with electricity if you were a plumber your job your reason for existence is to plumb and to plumb well if you're a manager you're an employee or whatever you are your task is to do it the way the boss command you to do it and to do it most excellently so Timothy here's why as well you need to preach the word because that's why you're alive that's why God saved you that's why God called you out of darkness into marvelous light that's why God placed you in Ephesus it's not so you can be the happiest nicest fellow in Ephesus it's not so you can walk around and just use your love upon everybody it's not bad to be loving to be sure but Timothy this is the reason why you are to do what you are to do notice verse 5 but you be watchful in all things this word means to be vigilant to be wakeful have a considerate frame of mind taking heed of what is happening and pursuing a course with calm and steady aim I think that's great Timothy the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine but according to their own wicked desires they're going to heap up teachers that will scratch their inching ears Timothy they are going to turn from apostatize from defect from the truth they will turn aside the fables what's a Timothy supposed to do freak out panic blog and be nasty to those persons no be watchful in all things maintain steadiness it's not just the idea of keep calm but the idea is Tanner explains is observant alertness be mindful be careful be committed when the church is turning away from the turn of truth and turning aside to fables Timothy is to maintain observant alert phul alertness and continue to do what God has called him to do that's the imperative notice secondly Timothy needs to endure but a you be watchful in all things adore endure afflictions now afflictions will certainly come if Timothy is doing what he's supposed to be doing this has been a repetitive theme in this particular letter notice in 2nd Timothy 18 second Timothy 18 therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord nor of me his prisoner but share with me in the sufferings for the gospel according to the power of God share with me Timothy in suffering notice in 23 you therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ and again in 29 for which I suffer trouble as an evildoer even to the point of chains so Timothy needs to endure afflictions Timothy needs to be persevering Timothy needs to be watchful and he needs to deal with the problems that calm Gordon Clark makes this spectacular observation remember we're dealing with the church aren't Lee timothy's not being told you need to endure afflictions from the pagans you need to endure affliction from the he then you need to endure affliction from the Roman Empire no you need to endure affliction in the context of the church and Ephesus with the people that profess to be Christians but they don't endure sound doctrine the people that heap up false teachers the people that turn us turn away from the truth and those that turn aside to the fayette to fables timothy in that context you need to endure affliction Clarke says one may note that the endurance of evil here mentioned is not particularly connected with pagan persecutions but with doctrinal attacks by the heretics that's the affliction that Timothy needs to endure through notice thirdly Timothy needs to do the work of an evangelist now it's tough to know whether it's the office here the function the office is mentioned in the book of Acts with reference to fill up the Evangelist and it's mentioned in Ephesians 4 11 it is situated between apostles and pastor teachers evangelists is placed right in the middle there so it's hard to know if what Paul is saying is Timothy do the work of an evangelist that sort of ministry or that sort of office that's between the apostles in between the pastor's was Timothy and evangelists there's been lots of ink written about this in terms of the official office of of evangelists or it could just be function Timothy and all of your contending against the false teachers Timothy and all of your seeking to inoculate the people of God Timothy and all of your preaching of the word of being ready in season and out of season convincing rebuking and exhorting Timothy don't forget sinners need the gospel sinners need to hear of Jesus and him crucified sinners need to be evangelized yes the church needs to be fed yes the church needs to be protected yes the false teachers need to be refuted yes the people of God need to be inoculated against those false teachers but Timothy sinners come in they sit under the preaching of the word and you therefore must do the work of an evangelist explain the glories of the cross explain the excellency of Jesus tell them about his doing and is dying and his rising tell them about substitution area tone meant tell them the good news that Christ Jesus Saves to the uttermost all who draw nigh unto God through him dill is very helpful in this place he says and to do the work of such an one this is evangelist is not to read lectures on morality or to preach up justification and salvation by the works of the law or to mix law and gospel together and confound them both but to preach peace pardon and righteousness life and salvation alone by Jesus Christ and through the free grace of God Timothy do the work of an evangelist and finally fulfill your ministry the analogy that I like to think of here is the analogy that paw of the husband-and-wife relationship you know in Ephesians 5 and in Colossians 3 Paul tells husband's they need to love their wives as Christ loved the church and gave himself to her well sometimes husbands will say well she's not very lovely she's got issues she's got problems she doesn't quite pleased me like she used to he's still gotta love her her conduct does not negate your responsibility and by the same token a woman is to submit to her own husband as unto the Lord you exhort and you seek to encourage a woman and she says well he's not really worthy of me submitting to he's not the nicest fellow he smells bad he's not what he used to be all these it doesn't change your present responsibility that's a tough pill to administer to married people it's a tough pill that we all have to swallow I am called to love my wife as Christ loved the church and gave himself for her not based on if she's worth it not based on if she's functioning according to my thoughts and my perceptions I'm just supposed to do it the same token she's supposed to submit to me now the same holds true here Timothy fulfill your ministry if professing Christians are annoyed and they're apathetic and they are bored with you and your ministry Timothy fulfill your ministry if professing Christians think they know what is best for them and they want to take the prescription pad and write down for themselves that which will most satisfy their itching ears Timothy you do what you're supposed to do and Timothy if the professing people of God defect from apostatized from or turn away from the truth that does not negate the responsibility for you to preach the word and if they happen to turn aside to fables don't feed them more don't entertain them don't coddle them don't you know sue them but rather do what you're supposed to do so you see the reasons that Paul gives in 2nd Timothy 4 3 2 52 as are the reasons why Timothy is to preach the word is because there will be defection from the truth and because it's Timothy's responsibility I think thirdly connected to this is the departure of Paul Paul is going to die he knows that in verses 6 to 8 hence the emphasis on preaching the word because there will come a time when men will not endure sound doctrine Timothy you need to be faithful because Paul says I'm going to go to heaven and I want somebody there to do the job they're supposed to do we'll get to six to eight as I said God willing in a couple of weeks so just a few things before we close the responsibility of the church I think we see that here the responsibility of the church it is first or receive the truth receive the truth and I've met with persons or over my time units you know we don't feel like we're really doing anything we want to serve well there's always things you can do to serve and it doesn't have to be official you can actually just serve call someone does it someone be nice to someone you notice that you know mr nufeld isn't here and mrs. mr. Proctor's not here Fran hasn't been here you can call them that service you don't need the official sanction of the church to call them you can serve go ahead what about the active participation of receiving the truth you know what encourages pastors I know this is going to sound like we lower the bar encourages pastors when you read five hours a day and you cite Martin Luther and you know birkoff and you can memorize when you show up and you pay attention I would imagine that please as a woman who cooks a nice meal or a man don't want to be gender offensive men can cook to you cook a nice meal you want somebody eat it right he labor in the kitchen you put this together you want somebody glads good it's an active participation it is the reception of good Gill's down one's throat your task as church men and women is to receive the truth because God knows that when you received our truth when it goes into the head and it permeates into the heart you will do what God's truth says that's what the spirit uses secondly a responsibility of the church is to recognize the mission of the church we don't exist to do everything we exist to do specific things and to seek by the grace of God to do them well when you add to the pallet a whole host of things that the church has never been charged with doing it causes confusion among Christians they think the church should raise their children no you raise your own children that's your job you shouldn't want the state to raise your children you don't want me to raise your children either you want me to preach and you want to learn and you want to teach your children you want to bring them to a place where they can hear the preaching of the word but it's your job when the church jumps into the role of child rearing she has overstepped her boundaries of our Lord Jesus cries and I think as well past reporter reminded of reminded us of this two weeks ago in our confession study and our confession says it but I think we need to be reminded chapter 26 paragraph 3 the purest churches under heaven are subject to mixture in error you're not going to find a perfect Church you're just not the moment you think wow this is the best place you're going to see me do something really stupid go wait a minute it's not the best place it's not there's a mixture of error there is a mixture of these impurities that that beset us all on this side of heaven that's why I say those marks of the church or crucial are the preaching of the word and the did the administration of the sacraments and the administration of discipline are those things happening yes not perfectly we can stop it up there's some areas of course that we need but you know by and large those things are in place why it's objectivity that goes into church selection and then I would suggest the responsibility of the church is to rejoice in the means God is ordained for your well-being it doesn't give us the prescription pad and say I want you to write down what you think will help you God says I know what's going to help you you need to be happy gonna be thankful I saw the surgeon this week and I afterwards shook his hand I said thank you very much it restored some quality of life to me that is a blessing and a good thing I didn't say a blessing and a good thing this guy had like two minutes with me I mean I think he does this a lot all day I said thank you this is good God gives us good things the word the supper baptism prayer each other do we ever stop and say thank you God for giving me what I need we should secondly the warning to professing Christians to all of us we need to beware of boredom apathy or annoyance beware of boredom apathy and annoyance if those things start to be entertained in the heart there's probably going to be a decline there's probably going to be a spiritual slippery slope beware of thinking you know what's best for you as opposed to God you don't God always knows what's best for you God always knows what's best for you you do not know what's best for you as well beware of finding teachers that tell you what to what you want to hear rather than what you're supposed to hear you see the distinction you're supposed to find teachers that teach you what you're supposed to hear the word of God faithfully expounded you shouldn't ever sacrifice that or substitute it for a man or men who are going to tell you what you want to hear and i would suggest as well beware of departures from historic Christian orthodoxy under the guise of innovation and novelty I remember talking to a minister several years ago so we don't we don't call them sermons sermon is bad it's a sermon anymore did their messages bible-based messages sorry brethren their sermons someone else complain once you guys use the word fellowship what else are we supposed to call it it's a good one word description of a bunch of people getting together in Jesus name it's easier to say fellowship we're a day and age where biblical language is just jettison because we don't want to make anybody ever think that they're not part of us well maybe if they think they're not part of us they'll believe the gospel and be saved by God's grace I love what our confession says in the preface it's not contained in all of them the copies that we have here but there's a preface called to the judicial and impartial reader they write we have no itch to Claude religion with new words but do readily acquiesce in that form of sound words which have been in consent with the Holy Scriptures used by others before us beware of innovation beware of creativity beware of departures from the truth under the guise of trying to reach people now I'm all about trying to reach people but we do it through the word and then finally the responsibility of faithful ministers as outlined here preach the word in season and out of season be watchful in all things observe an alertness not just chill out and be calm but be mindful of what's happening do not be taken off the path but rather be steady be persevering be relentless because this is what God has called you to endure afflictions persons might say oh he's boring he's this he's that yells or he doesn't yell or is that just endure it do the work of an evangelist preach the gospel brethren preach the whole counsel of God that's what faithful ministers do and fulfill their ministry not be the most successful or the most popular or the best conference speaker look at what Paul tells Timothy fulfill your ministry I always love that do what you're supposed to do the final analysis brethren isn't that much of what the Christian life is all about just do what you are supposed to do ever have that with your kids I just do what you're supposed to do that hopefully settles them down and they do what they're supposed to do look what Calvin and Gill said concerning this whole sort of context Calvin said the more extra extra ordinary the eagerness of wicked men to despise the doctrine of Christ the more zealous should godly ministers be to defend it in other words the more defection the more zeal ought to be in the hearts of the godly minister and the more strenuous should be their efforts to preserve an entire and not only so but also by their diligence to ward off the attacks of Satan John Gill says now this being the case the idea that they will not endure sound doctrine he says should not discourage rather animate the ministers of the gospel to preach it for should they desist in all likelihood the gospel would soon be gone and the gospel is that blessed message from God most high that is concerned with the Lord Jesus in his life of obedience to the Father his death as a substitute at Calvary his resurrection on the third day his ascension on high and the reality that all those who believe on Him will have everlasting life that is a message we do not want to dees s that is a message we want to persist we want it to grow we want it to run swiftly and be glorified we want it to be propagated through the earth so faithful men of God ought to take their cue from second Timothy 4 and not the most recent Leadership Conference on how to build your church Christ is building his church and christ has ordained the means faithful men of God committed to preaching the whole counsel of God and to do it in a manner that is consistent with what we find here will let us pray our Father we thank you for your word and we thank you for the clear prescription given to us and help us to receive with Thanksgiving the word of truth go with us now and watch over us in this coming week and be glorified in our lives as individuals and be glorified in us as a church of the Lord Jesus Christ and it's in his name that we pray amen we'll close with the brief time of meditation and then be dismissed you