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welcome to everyone it's good to be back in the house of our god for our call to worship you can turn with me in your bibles to psalm 19. psalm 19. i'll begin reading in verse 1 to the chief musician the psalm of david the heavens declare the glory of god and the firmament shows his handiwork day unto day utter speech and night unto night reveals knowledge there is no speech nor language where their line or their voice is not heard their line has gone out through all the earth and their words to the end of the world in them he has set a tabernacle for the sun which is like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber and rejoices like a strong man to run its race its rising is from one end of heaven and its circuit to the other end and there is nothing hidden from its e the law of the lord is perfect converting the soul the testimony of the lord is sure making wise the simple the statutes of the lord are right rejoicing the heart the commandment of the lord is pure enlightening the eyes the fear of the lord is clean enduring forever the judgments of the lord are true and righteous altogether more to be desired are they than gold yea than much fine gold sweeter also than honey in the honeycomb moreover by them your servant is warned and in keeping them there is great reward who can understand his errors cleanse me from secret faults keep back your servant also from presumptuous sins let them not have dominion over me then i shall be blameless and i shall be innocent of great transgression let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight o lord my strength and my redeemer amen will please turn with me in your hymn books to hymn number 164 hymn number one six four will stand as we sing together [Music] oh [Music] is [Music] oh [Music] is [Music] oh [Music] here [Music] well let us pray our father it is a joy and a privilege to gather again in your house we love you we love your church we love the blessed privilege that is ours to come to the father through the son and the power of the holy spirit we thank you for corporate worship we thank you for the house of god most high and we thank you for the emphasis that we find from genesis to revelation on your dwelling with your people and as we gather here tonight may our hearts be encouraged and may we be strengthened with might in the inner man may we know the nearness of jesus christ in the midst of this lampstand and may we find great refreshment for our hearts as well god may you receive glory as the psalmist prayed as the psalmist stated you are enthroned upon the praises of your people and we ask that that would be the case tonight that we would glorify you that we would worship you in spirit and in truth that we would approach you with confidence that you are a god who receives through christ our savior as well we ask that your holy spirit would be at work in our hearts that he would guide us and direct us and bless and encourage us and that we would know the nearness of god as our good we confess our sins to you even now asking for forgiveness in and through the blood of the lord jesus christ thankful to you not so that we can continue in sin that grace may abound but when we do sin we have an advocate with the father even jesus christ the righteous so god cleanse us now in that precious blood for those who are still dead in their trespasses and sins we pray that you would awaken them by the power of your holy spirit we pray that you would show them the altogether loveliness of our lord jesus and his ability and sufficiency to save to the uttermost and god we ask that you would do this for your glory and for the good of sinners in this place we ask as well for the proclamation of the truth in this city and throughout this nation as we survey this land lord god we know that what is desperately needed is the gospel of our lord jesus christ we know there are a great multitude that are hell bound we know that there are a great multitude that have no thought of god no concern whatsoever for an afterlife and lord we pray that as this is the case that preachers would be faithful that christians would be faithful in evangelism that we would have boldness to hold forth your word of truth and call sinners to repentance into faith we ask for your blessing upon the churches that we know and love we ask god that you would be with ryan tonight as he preaches in surrey we ask that you would bless pastor mike just give him comfort and strength and grace and a good time of refreshment while he's on holiday we thank you for what you've done in that church we thank you for the additions we thank you for the for the joy and the the great blessing that they see now as the church of the living and true god we also pray for the work in vernon we ask god in heaven that you would establish and and maintain a faithful church a witness in that community that you would grant grace to the brothers and the sisters there we know that they have an eagerness and we know that they have a joyfulness associated with public worship so god continue to bless in this we in this respect and as well god for the work in dryden we just commit them to you into the word of your grace and pray that you would look with favor upon these young men she would grant them wisdom grant them the fear of god and grant them a desire to do all things according to holy scripture as well our father we ask your blessing upon the missionary enterprise it is a great joy and a blessing to be reminded each sunday and each wednesday and throughout the week of the work of god going on throughout this world it is most glorious to understand that the kingdom of christ is increasing that the promise of isaiah 9 7 is fulfill being fulfilled that we will one day see what the psalter promises what the prophets say that the knowledge of god most high will cover the earth as the waters cover the sea it is a great encouragement that your church has taken seriously the great commission and we pray that there would be those who continue to go those who continue to make disciples and then to baptize them in the name of the father and of the son and of the holy spirit and then to teach those disciples all things that the lord has commanded that they would do them and may we do this consciously of the reality that you are with us even to the end of the age so god bless your gospel as it goes forth we pray that it would indeed run swiftly and be glorified that it would move forth conquering and to conquer and that christ would continue to build his church here on earth we ask for your blessing upon those persecuted our hearts go out to those in need and yet father we find great encouragement that they are persevering in the midst of great trial god especially we think of these little girls in pakistan that are being married off and forced into conversion to islam this is a barbaric in a very wretched and monstrous practice and we pray that you would just vindicate your your children your christians in that land and that you would bring judgment to bear upon those who would engage in such wickedness and wretchedness we also pray for myanmar we pray for peter that you would sustain this dear brother that you would uphold him god he is facing things that that most of us will never see even a bit of and yet each and every day he faces the death and the hardship and the agonies associated with war and we pray that you would just embolden him to just increase his commitment to the living and true god and give him what he stands in need of in terms of perseverance and lord god bless the hamiltons in their counsel given and give them grace most high god to continue to be a blessing to the work there in myanmar as well we pray for the santiagos we thank you for this dear family we thank you for their many years of faithfulness in christian christian missions and god we pray that you would give them great great wisdom now and just give them great guidance and direction according to your glory and honor and father finally we pray for john and margarita we thank you for these dear brethren we thank you for the work of god in the honduras we pray for this building project that all would go well even more so we pray for the worship of god in that local church that it would be done in a manner consistent with your word and that there would be that would be a place where sinners are saved and where saints are sanctified by your grace and for your glory and we ask this in the name of the lord jesus christ amen we can turn with me again in your hymn books to psalm 122 a psalm 122 a as in alpha we'll stand as we sing together [Music] oh [Music] is [Music] foreign [Music] is [Music] is [Music] foreign [Music] oh [Music] we can go back our turn to exodus chapter 35 while you're turning there i'm going to go back to exodus chapter 25 just to remind us of the larger section there is that diversion when israel sins in chapter 32 and then moses interaction and dealing with god in chapters 33 and 34 but we're back on track in chapter 35 and following and essentially the emphasis from chapter 25 to the end of the book is god's dwelling with his people so he first delivers them from egypt and then he demands from them obedience to the law and then he promises to dwell with them this week in my reading i found a good quote by ralph davis concerning these themes in the book of exodus and he said the god of three five which is the burning bush passage in exodus and the god of 1921 which is god at mount zion sinai is also the god of 25 8 25 8 says and let them make me a sanctuary that i may dwell among them he goes on to say that is the god of the bush who will rescue his people from slavery and the god of the hill who declares to his people his law is also the god of the tent who dwells in the midst of his people with his tent among their tents indeed the climax of the book of exodus is not at the sea chapter 14 nor on the mountain chapter 19 but in the tent chapters 25 and following so you have the instructions given for the construction and now the actual construction in terms of the house of god amongst israel so beginning in chapter 35 at verse 1 then moses gathered all the congregation of the children of israel together and said to them these are the words which the lord has commanded you to do work shall be done for six days but the seventh day shall be a holy day for you a sabbath rest to the lord whoever does any work on it shall be put to death you shall kindle no fire throughout your dwellings on the sabbath day and moses spoke to all the congregation of the children of israel saying this is the thing which the lord commanded saying take from among you an offering to the lord whoever is of a willing heart let him bring it as an offering to the lord gold silver and bronze blue purple and scarlet thread fine linen and goat's hair ram skins dyed red badger skins and acacia wood oil for the light and spices for the anointing oil and for the sweet incense onyx stones and stones to be set in the ephod and in the breastplate all who are gifted artisans among you shall come and make all that the lord has commanded the tabernacle its tent its covering it's clasps it's boards it's bars it's pillars and it's sockets the ark and its poles with the mercy seat and the veil of the covering the table and its poles all its utensils and the showbread also the lampstand for the light its utensils its lamps and the oil for the light the incense altar its poles the anointing oil the sweet incense and the screen for the door at the entrance of the tabernacle the altar a burnt offering with its bronze grating its poles all its utensils and the labor and its base the hangings of the court its pillars their sockets and the screen for the gate of the court the pegs of the tabernacle the pegs of the court and their cords the garments of ministry for ministering in the holy place the holy garments for aaron the priest and the garments of his sons to minister as priests and all the congregation of the children of israel departed from the presence of moses then everyone came whose heart was stirred and everyone whose spirit was willing and they brought the lord's offering for the work of the tabernacle of meeting for all its service and for the holy garments they came both men and women as many as had a willing heart and brought earrings and nose rings rings and necklaces all jewelry of gold that is every man who made an offering of gold to the lord and every man with whom was found blue purple and scarlet thread fine linen goat's hair red skins of rams and badger skins brought them everyone who offered an offering of silver or bronze brought the lord's offering and everyone with whom was found acacia wood for any work of the service brought it all the women who were gifted artisans spun yarn with their hands and brought what they had spun a blue purple and scarlet and fine linen and all the women whose heart stirred with wisdom spun yarns of goat's hair the rulers brought onyx stones and the stones to be set in the ephod and in the breastplate and spices and oil for the light for the anointing oil and for the sweet incense the children of israel brought a freewill offering to the lord all the men and women whose hearts were willing to bring material for all kinds of work which the lord by the hand of moses had commanded to be done and moses said to the children of israel the lord has called by name batsalel the son of uri the son of her of the tribe of judah and he has filled him with the spirit of god in wisdom and understanding in knowledge and all manner of workmanship to design artistic works to work in gold and silver and bronze in cutting jewels for setting and carving wood and to work in all manner of artistic workmanship and he has put in his heart the ability to teach in him and a holier the son of ahisamach of the tribe of dan he has filled them with skill to do all manner of work of the engraver and the designer of the tapestry make and the tapestry maker in blue purple and scarlet thread and fine linen and of the weaver those who do every work and those who design artistic works amen well let us pray our god and father we thank you for the enthusiasm of your people in building this house for god thank you for the enthusiasm of the people of god throughout the ages represented well by david in psalm 122. i was glad when they said unto me let us go to the house of the lord god we thank you for this privilege and benefit we thank you for this great and wonderful blessing of new covenant religion the church of the living and true god and we pray that all that we do here would redound to your honor and to your glory and we ask in the name of the lord jesus christ amen well you can turn with me again in your hymn books to 470 him number 470 will stand as we sing [Music] is [Music] oh [Music] oh [Music] i [Music] oh [Music] is [Music] is [Music] is well you could turn in your bibles to second timothy chapter four second timothy chapter four i'll read verses one to eight i charge you therefore before god and the lord jesus christ who will judge the living and the dead at his appearing in 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 amen let us pray our father we thank you for the written word of the living and true god we thank you for paul's emphasis to the churches in terms of the gospel ministry and we ask father again that you bless our brothers that are laboring in the word and doctrine i pray that you'd raise up more men to labor in the word and doctrine both here and abroad that we might see a recovery of the christian pulpit in our day that emphasis upon the proclamation of the truth as that means one of the primary means by which god is pleased to save sinners forgive us now for our sin guide us and direct us by your spirit and we ask in the name and for the glory of our lord jesus christ amen well i don't think it would be an underestimation to say that falling preaching has fallen on difficult times not in every single place but in a lot of places in other words the emphasis upon the christian pulpit is not always as strong as it ought to be we've just come out of a lockdown scenario where i think we saw that in terms of a relinquishment on the part of men of god charged by god to preach the word and they were not doing it as well recently the new president of the southern baptist convention has been found out to be a plagiarizer not just a line from a sermon here or a sermon there but lots of lines from lots of sermons in a lot of his own public ministry that man has not been fired that man has not resigned that man continues to hold his office which is an affront to everybody not just preachers but also students and anybody that trafficks in truthful intellectual property as we look at the history of the church the roman catholics moved the pulpit to the side and put the altar in the center thankfully at the time of the protestant reformation they removed the altar and put the pulpit in the center that was not just because that was the best place for the pulpit but that communicates something the worship of god is focused upon the word of god we are a people of the book and god has been pleased to bless preaching for the salvation of great multitudes and we have reason to believe that he will continue to do so in the future so this message is a word for preachers and for those who hear them i want to first look at the necessity of the word of god in a general sense and then secondly the primacy of the preaching of the word of god my argument is not that you can't be saved just by reading your bible you can't be saved just by attending family devotions you most certainly can romans 10 17 says faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of god so if you're reading your bible your parents are reading your bible or a friend is reading the bible that is the means by which the spirit enables persons to come to a saving knowledge of the lord jesus but the emphasis on preaching is pretty obvious as we move our way from the book of genesis to the book of revelation god used prophets in deuteronomy chapter 18. he cautioned the nation of israel from going after the things that the pagans around them used they used witchcraft they used soothsayers they used necromancers they used those kinds of things and israel was forbidden from that they were given prophets that would communicate to them the word of the living and true god jesus as i pointed out this morning the primary emphasis of his ministry was to give himself as an atonement for our sins in other words it was redemptive in nature but a secondary emphasis of his ministry was that of preacher remember when he embarks on his public ministry he says repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand when the apostles are converted they're called into service yes they are given in uh uh authority by christ to heal people and to cast out demons but their emphasis as well was to preach when we go to the pastoral epistles of first timothy second timothy and titus the emphasis does not fall upon the supernatural sign gifts the emphasis is not on tongue speaking the emphasis is not on prophesying as a means by which god reveals himself to the churches but the emphasis is on sound doctrine and the preaching of it in fact here in second timothy 4 verse 2 this is the last official command that the apostle paul gives to the church as church there are other things in the latter half of chapter 4 that are specific with reference to him and timothy but in terms of a corporate command the last epistle written by the apostle paul signs off this way preach the word be ready in season and out of season convince rebuke exhort with all longsuffering and teaching so there is a great emphasis in scripture on the proclamation of truth now in terms of the necessity of the word of god god reveals himself in two ways in the first place there is what's called general revelation and in the second place there is what's called special revelation we see both aspects there in psalm 19 the heavens declare the glory of god the heavens declare the majesty of god the heavens declare the righteousness of god in other words when we look at the created order according to paul as well in romans chapter 1 it tells us something about god most high it tells us something about his perfections it tells us something about his deity it tells us as well that it's righteous with god to judge those who aren't rebellious against him so general revelation is the book of nature but then special revelation is the book of redemption we have that in genesis to revelation and you see a constant emphasis on special revelation as the means by which sinners are saved our confession in chapter one paragraph one says the holy scripture is the only sufficient certain and infallible rule of all saving knowledge faith and obedience although the light of nature and the works of creation and providence do so far manifest the goodness wisdom and power of god as to leave men inexcusable yet they are not sufficient to give that knowledge of god and his will which is necessary unto salvation so general revelation does what god intended for it to do special revelation is necessary because of man's condition in adam all die when we look at the created order we don't learn a blood atonement when we look at the created order we don't learn of hypostatic union when we look at the created order we don't learn of the necessity of christ and him crucified and resurrected for our sin so special revelation is absolutely crucial with reference to the salvation of sinners we simply cannot expect the heathen to come to a saving knowledge unless we send preachers to go and testify concerning salvation by grace through faith in christ jesus our lord so again this emphasis in the new testament specifically in terms of the absolute necessity for the word of god for salvation you see it romans 1 16 the apostle says i'm not ashamed of the gospel for it is the power of god unto salvation for everyone who believes he says for in it the righteousness of god is revealed from faith to faith in other words it's in the gospel that you learn about not only the perfection of god in terms of righteousness but with reference to that righteousness that god demands and that he supplies to us in and through the person of his son you see that emphasis in chapter 10 as i've already mentioned and we'll look at in more detail first corinthians chapter 15 verses 1 to 4 the apostle rehearses the gospel and he says by which you are saved having believed on it you see that emphasis in ephesians 1 13 and 14 second timothy 3 15 and 16 james 1 18 of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth so it is the vehicle by which the spirit comes and blesses sinners to the saving of their soul and then first peter chapter 1 and verse 23. so we have this necessity of the word of god that is all throughout scripture now in terms secondly of the primacy of the preaching of the word turn first to romans chapter 10. we'll just walk our way through three passages just to get this emphasis on preaching romans 10 1st corinthians 1 and then we'll end up at second timothy 4. but notice in romans chapter 10 verses 9 to 17. i'll just read the section that if you confess with your mouth the lord jesus and believe in your heart that god has raised him from the dead you will be saved for with the heart one believes unto righteousness and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation for the scripture says whoever believes on him will not be put to shame for there is no distinction between jew and greek for the same lord overall is rich to all who call upon him for whoever calls on the name of the lord shall be saved how then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard and how shall they hear without a preacher and how shall they preach unless they are sent as it is written how beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace who bring glad tidings of good things but they have not all obeyed the gospel for isaiah says lord who has believed our report so then faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of god so i said let's as i said let's just walk our way through this passage in the first place the emphasis is upon salvation for those who believe in the gospel of our lord jesus christ notice verse 9 if you confess with your mouth the lord jesus and believe in your heart that god has raised him from the dead you will be saved what is the grand assumption of the apostle paul well we don't need to ask we already know because he stated it in chapters one to three man is desperately wicked his heart is deceitful above all things he stands liable to god's just condemnation paul from romans 1 18 to romans 3 20 establishes the universal depravity of all mankind he says that they are lost he says that they are dead he says that they will ultimately be condemned to hell and so here in romans chapter 10 at verse 9 this idea of being saved is not just saved unto a more fulfilling life it's not just being saved unto a happier existence in this world it's not just being saved unto a better sort of social standing among your peers it is salvation from hell itself because the bottom line is is that we have defied god we have rebelled against god in the language of the prophet isaiah all we like sheep have gone astray and as a result god is angry with the wicked every day such that if we die impenitent such that if we die unbelieving we will hear those words from jesus depart from me into hell which was prepared for the devil and for his angels it is salvation all uh uh all of the blessing that god gives to his people is found in that word salvation we're saved from damnation we're saved ultimately from god's wrath we're saved unto him to serve him and to love him and to honor him notice then that the sinner does not call on christ notice in verse 13 for whoever calls on the name of the lord shall be saved and then verse 14 how then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed so the sinner does not call on christ without having believed in other words calling on christ verse 13 is further identified in verse 14. it means to believe the gospel it means to look and live it means to relinquish any trust or any hope or any confidence in yourself and look heavenward unto our blessed savior who lived for us who died for us and who was raised again for us and then notice the sinner does not believe christ if they have not literally heard christ look again at the translation at the end of verse 14. it says and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard a better translation is and how shall they believe him whom they have not heard see the new king james translates and interprets in a correct way assuming the agency of the preacher but the text literally specifies that the needy sinner hears jesus how shall they believe him whom they have not heard now you might ask the question is jesus present when the gospel is preached you better believe he is he is the prophet at the right hand of god of god most high but he speaks by his word and his spirit to the churches if you turn for a moment to ephesians chapter 2 you see this emphasis in another place where paul highlights the importance of preaching ephesians 2 at verse 14 for he himself is our peace who has made both one and has broken down the middle wall of separation having abolished in his flesh the enmity that is the law of commandments contained in ordinances so as to create it himself one new man from the two thus making peace so christ is the peace maker according to the apostle in verse 4 of 15. and then notice and that he might reconcile them both to god in one body through the cross thereby putting to death the enmity now notice in verse 17 not only is christ the maker of peace but christ is the preacher of peace verse 17 and he came and preached peace to you who were afar off and to those who were near for through him we both have access by one spirit to the father now brethren when you read the book of acts and you see the ministry in ephesus and you see what is happening it's not jesus physically present but when the apostles preach the gospel accurately when the apostles preach the word of god in truth paul is able to say that christ came and preached peace to you it is a most blessed emphasis that we find in the new testament documents christ is not some distant spectator christ is not some absentee prophet or priest or king but christ is present with his people when they are gathered together and when a man is called to preach that word when he's recognized by the church we'll see that in just a moment and when he does so accurately we can successfully say that christ came and preached peace to you another passage is in first thessalonians 2 13. for this reason we also thank god without ceasing because when you receive the word of god which you heard from us you welcomed it not as the word of men but as it is in truth the word of god which also effectively works in you who believe so going back to romans chapter 10 verse 14 the latter part says and how shall they hear without a preacher in other words how will men hear christ if persons don't preach christ how will sinners learn the way of salvation how will they understand who it is they're supposed to call upon who it is they're supposed to believe upon unless there are preachers not preachers preaching woke-ism not preachers preaching leftism not preachers seeking to be inspirational to persons but preachers preaching christ it is in that vein by which we can confidently expect that christ comes and preaches peace to very needy sinners so back to romans 10 notice that a preacher must be sent chapter 10 15 a and how shall they preach unless they are sent now this isn't magic this isn't some esoteric thing we know it's by the agency of the church the spirit comes to the church in acts chapter 13 and the spirit tells the leaders of the church to separate paul and barnabas for the work that he has purposed for that it was the first missionary journey so the church in which these men labored recognized their giftedness first timothy 3 titus 1 tells the church we need to examine and test men to make sure they're fit and ready for office so it is the church that sends men to this task of preaching the spirit of course governed by and aided by the church the same emphasis is found in acts 20 28 therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock among which the holy spirit has made you overseers so the spirit works in through and with the church in order to identify qualified men to set those men apart to ordain them into gospel ministry and then to set them on a path of usefulness in the kingdom of christ notice that paul in romans 10 then gives a description of the faithful preacher i've often said that my brother-in-law has beautiful feet i don't know that physically i don't think i've ever looked at his feet though at some point i'm sure i've seen them but with reference to this text it was my brother-in-law who brought the message of christ and him crucified to me that man will always have a special esteem in my heart because he was the one with beautiful feet that god sent to me to hear the gospel notice in 15b as it is written how beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace who bring glad tidings of good things that's a conflation both isaiah 52 7 and nahum 11 uh i'm sorry name 115 and then the final observation one more or two more observations notice the rejection of faithful preachers just because a man preaches accurately just because a man preaches faithfully just because a man has been identified and sent properly by a church doesn't mean everybody who hears him is going to be saved isaiah laments that in isaiah 53 1 lord who has believed our report so isaiah the prophet understood something about the frustration of christian ministry that that went unrewarded in terms of souls in fact that was announced to him in his call to the prophetic ministry in isaiah 6 god says i'm going to send you to these people and they're not going to hear you they're not going to listen to you they're not going to believe they're not going to repent in other words god said to isaiah your ministry is ultimately going to be one of condemnation now jonah is just the opposite god says to jonah i'm going to send you to the ninevites and they're actually going to repent but jonah gets angry with god over that very fact you can't figure people out sometimes god blesses and nevertheless he's angry with the lord so just because there are god sent preachers doesn't necessarily mean every single person will be saved who hears them and then he caps this off in verse 17 with this maxim so then faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of god to summarize john murray writes the main point is that the saving relation to christ involved in calling upon his name is not something that can occur in a vacuum it occurs only in a context created by proclamation of the gospel on the part of those commissioned to proclaim it so in other words how shall they hear him whom they have not believed or rather how shall they believe in him whom they have not heard now notice secondly turn to first corinthians 1. first corinthians chapter 1. i hope you're saying oh these are familiar passages they ought to be familiar there's a reason why familiar passages should be familiar because they carry so much weight not that all of scripture doesn't but there are certain passages very instructive for church life notice the context it is reaching god it is being accepted by god notice in verse 21 for since in the wisdom of god the world through wisdom did not know god so man relying on socrates and plato and aristotle may have figured out a lot of good things about a happy life in this lower world the men relying on socrates plato and aristotle would ultimately end in hell for since in the wisdom of god the world through wisdom did not know god now in this is not a condemnation of wisdom it's not a condemnation of philosophy it is rather a commendation of the foolishness of the message preached notice paul goes on to say for since in the wisdom of god the world through wisdom did not know god it pleased god through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe for jews request a sign and greek seek after wisdom but we preach christ crucified to the jews of stumbling block and to the great's foolishness but to those who are called both jews and greeks christ the power of god and the wisdom of god so just a few observations in this particular section in the first place it is the foolishness of the message preached i think concretely objectively it is the content of the message in other words it's the content of the message the life the death and the resurrection of our lord jesus christ but nevertheless the content of that message is delivered through preaching it is delivered through proclamation it is delivered through the sorts of men that are identified according to 1st timothy 3 titus chapter 1 sent by the church on the task to proclaim the gospel notice secondly that preaching pleases god verse 21 be it pleased god through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe for those churches who want to move the pulpit for those churches who want to substitute something for the pulpit for those churches who want to engage in a whole host of strategies to try to reach lost men remember this preaching pleases god notice thirdly that preaching does not please the natural man preaching does not please the natural man look at verse 22 for jews request a sign and greek seek after wisdom in other words god is pleased through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe preaching pleases god but when it comes to the jews they want signs when it comes to the greeks they want wisdom what is that saying they're not pleased by preaching the carnal man doesn't thrive on the proclamation of the truth of god's word i had a conversation recently about the planting of a church and someone said with reference to the planting of said church will there be opposition to this i said of course there will do you think people want to go into a church and hear that they're miserable god-hating hell-deserving sinners and their only hope rests on the son of man who lived who died and who was raised again do you think sinners want that we have that parable of the soils in luke 8 where the birds come down and pick up the seed and they take it away jesus uses that analogously to the devil the devil is like the bird he comes and he takes the seed last person's here and they believe and they are saved of course there's going to be opposition the devil hates churches that actually take seriously the mandate to preach the gospel the world hates churches that take seriously the mandate to preach the gospel but oftentimes even the church hates churches that take seriously the mandate to preach the gospel oh that's just old-fashioned oh that's not the way we reach people oh don't you know this is the 21st century oh don't you know that you can catch more flies with honey than by preaching hell fire and damnation we always want to redo what god has ordained we always want to substitute in the place of god rot means those things that are appealing to the flesh so yes there will be opposition to any church worth its salt in terms of proclamation of truth so preaching pleases god preaching does not please the natural man but notice fourthly preachers nevertheless preach okay so jews request signs and the greeks want wisdom so what do paul and his companions do do they relinquish the pulpit do they say we've got to conjure signs do they say we've got to study socrates and plato and aristotle do they say we've got to meet them at their own place and try to reason with them in their own cultural milieu no nevertheless we preach even though the carnal man does not want it the man of god still preaches notice the connection verse 22 for jews request a sign and greek seek after wisdom but we preach christ crucified paul they don't want that but we preach christ crucified paul they want signs but we preach christ crucified paul they want wisdom but we preach christ crucified what is paul saying it's not the hearers that determine the media it's not the hearers that determine the agency of delivery it's not the hearers that determine how gospel ministry is to be conducted it's god the lord and god the lord is well pleased through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe so we side with god for whom preaching is a blessing and then finally notice the preaching or the fact that preaching is the means to declare christ who is the power of god and wisdom of god so verse 23 again we preach christ crucified to the jews a stumbling block and to the greeks foolishness i think i've told you before they have found early sort of uh writings on the wall it's not just in you know nasty bathrooms and in rest stops where people write on bathroom walls but that was happening in the roman empire as well and they had found i think it was in a roman jail where there was a picture of a man with a donkey's head and he was on a cross and that's how they depicted the lord jesus christ as far as the romans were concerned this was just abject foolishness as far as the jew was concerned this was a scandal this was a stumbling block a crucified messiah for the first century christ rejecting jew that was a scandal to them and that's why paul underscores this nevertheless we preach christ crucified to the jews of stumbling block and to the greeks foolishness but to those who are called both jews and greeks christ the power of god and the wisdom of god and then turn to second timothy chapter four for one more passage dealing with the primacy of preaching again i always feel i need to qualify that primacy of preaching does not mean you can't read your bible or hear the bible read and be saved faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of god so whatever the way the spirit gets that word of god into your heart that is crucial but when you see this emphasis in the new testament on church life and proclamation of truth in church life we see the primacy of preaching so notice in 2nd timothy 4. the command is very clear very easy in verse 2. preach the word as i said the last corporate command that the apostle gives not be the most handsome guy timothy be the most gregarious guy timothy be the guy that is always available to have coffee with everybody timothy no preach the word not that pastors don't do more than preach the word but they're never to do less not that they don't do more but they're never to do less this is the job the proclamation of the truth preach the word and not only does paul give the command but he gives the manner in which the command is to be realized so he says preach the word and then he speaks to timing be ready in season and out of season there's one of two ways we can accept that or understand that rather in the first place it's timothy season when he's ready when he's studied when he's prayed when he's you know done his work and his sermons in his folder and he steps behind the pulpit and he's ready to throw down or in those times where a crowd of people happen to gather it together and they say hey timothy what must we do to be saved he didn't have that same time type of preparation he didn't have the same sort of a backdrop and yet nevertheless he's supposed to preach the word or it has to do with the season with the church be ready in season and out of season i think that verse 3 indicates that this is probably the better understanding for the time will come when they will not endorse sound doctrine there will be those kinds of seasons in the context of the church of the lord jesus christ when they won't endure sound doctrine they'll want locism they'll want leftism they'll want social justice warriorism they'll want all those other things they'll want inspiration not instruction they'll want encounters and experience not doctorate they'll want uh ecstasy versus exegesis so it's probably a reference to the church's time whatever season the church happens to find herself in whether she's doing well preach the word whether she's not doing well preach the word but then notice he specifies the manner convince rebuke exhort in other words this isn't to be a fireside chat this isn't supposed to be some sort of a a a buddy session this isn't supposed to be some sort of of encounter group the k roots the preacher the herald would come into the town and would declare whatever the king had told him that's the function of the k roots in terms of the new testament he is a herald he is the man of god to cry aloud to spare not and to lift up his voice like a trumpet he has to rebuke this word presupposes the existence of sin we have to rebuke why because we need that in order to find remedy timothy is to rebuke censure or prevent an action and bring it to an end but it's not i'm sorry convince first to prove with demonstrative evidence to convict to reprove i i shouldn't skip that brethren you need to be taught not all teaching is preaching but all preaching is teaching too in other words it needs to be exegesis it needs to be exposition it needs to be instruction from the text the best encouragement that a pastor or preacher can ever hear is somebody say oh i understand that text now or oh i see where you got your outline or oh i see it it's right there in scripture that's the job that's the emphasis so back to this word convince the actual word means with reference to the manner to prove with demonstrative evidence to convict to reprove in other words state the case remember that scene in acts chapter 6 where stephen meets up with those hellenists and stephen bested them they could not prevail so they then have to turn to false accusation they then have to turn to oh he spoke ill against moses in the temple they then had to turn him over to the sanhedrin who which ultimately executed him brethren if you have to kill your opponent they've bested you intellectually that is simply the bottom line so he is to convince he is to rebuke again to censure or prevent an action and bring it to an end but as well notice to exhort to urge to encourage to admonish you don't leave sinners laying broken and battered and bruised in the ground you convince them what the text says you rebuke them for their departure from it but you exhort them you tell them what god would have from that for them you point them back to the cross of our lord jesus christ and you pro seek to apply that bomb of gilead but then notice as well there needs to be patience he says preach the word be ready in season and out of season convince rebuke exhort with all long-suffering long-suffering means simply that it means to suffer long it means to have patience rome was not built in a day any faithful church is not built in a day there has to be patience on the part of gospel ministry every time that persons try to short-circuit this they end up in misery we need to do what god says in the way that god says to do it we don't say well you know it would be so much better to market research it'd be so much better to walk through the neighborhood and ask people what they want in a church and then take that data and put it together and then tailor a church from that brethren if that's what happens that's not going to be a church it's going to be a social club it's going to be a gathering of people that want nothing to do ultimately with a sovereign holy god and with a crucified and risen savior we cannot do it in that manner so patience needs to be in place paul speaks to this on a couple of occasions why do you think that is why do you think he repeats in several places to greet one another with a holy kiss because we don't do those things and we need to be told over and over again not to do those things now as asheville blaze said there'll be no holy kissing here but in terms of the patience emphasis look back at second timothy 2 verse 24 servant of the lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all able to teach patient inhumility correcting those who are in opposition really god you mean we can't just give them a good shake we can't just scream at them and yell at them we can't slap them i'm not speaking physically i'm speaking spiritually metaphorically we can't just give them a good shake so that no the servant of christ must be christ-like in his service to christ if he's not he is betraying the calling that has been placed upon him so again verse 24 servant of the lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all able to teach patient inhumility correcting those who are in opposition if god perhaps will grant them repentance so that they may know the truth and that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil having been taken captive by him to do his will and then notice in 3 10. but you have carefully followed my doctrine manner of life purpose faith long suffering love perseverance persecutions afflictions which happened to me at antioch iconium and lystra what persecutions i endured so the man of god is to preach the word is to be ready in season and out of season he has to convince rebuke and exhort with all longsuffering and there it is again teaching it's not just a rah-rah session it's not just a we've got to get everybody ginned up and we've got to get everybody ready to go out and and do battle for the kingdom of god we got to do that but it has to come because of the truth because of the proper exegesis of scripture we don't bypass the head going to the heart we affect both with the word of truth such that when the people of god are fired up to do what god calls them to do it's because the bible says so so as i said not all teaching is preaching but all preaching better include teaching and then well before and then i want to read martin lloyd jones here he says what is preaching logic on fire eloquent reason are these contradictions of course they are not reason concerning this truth ought to be mightily eloquent as you see it in the case of the apostle paul and others it is theology on fire and a theology which does not take fire i maintain is defective theology or at least the man's understanding of it is defective so paul gives the command verse two he gives the manner by which the command is to be carried out verse two and then he gives two reasons for the command the first is found in verses three to five and the second is found in verses six to eight the second will take up first notice it is the departure of paul why does paul want timothy to preach the word why does paul want timothy to be ready in season and out of season why does paul want timothy to convince rebuke exhort with all long suffering and teaching verse six for the time uh fry i'm already being poured out as a drink offering and the time of my departure is at hand the older pastor that's about to die the older apostle that knows he's going to die at the hands of nero is telling his young protege to preach the word in fact timothy the last thing i have to say to you with reference to a corporate application in the life and context of the church is to preach the word paul is going to die so paul therefore passes the baton on to timothy so that timothy and others like him can preach the word why because god is pleased through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe so it's the departure of paul as the second reason but the first is the departure of the church notice in verses 3 to 5. he says the command preached the word gives the manner convince rebuke exhort and then verse three notice it starts with four just like verse six starts with four that means reason that means explanation that means rationale so in verse three 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 so it's a very simple argument the time will come timothy when they won't want what you're going to give them but that doesn't matter timothy they're not the ones that get to call the shot none of us say to our children you can have candy all day long you can have all the candy you want if it's candy you want and you keep expressing that we're gonna keep shoving it down your gullet we're gonna shove so much sugar down your throat that you're going to bounce off the ceiling you're going to bounce from wall to wall we would never do that you need protein you need fat you need roughage you need good macro nutrients in your life you are not the determiner of a good sound diet when you're five years old you're not a good determiner of a good sound diet when you're a sinner you are not the one who is able to to rightly uh uh understand and rightly speak to and provide remedy to the church of jesus christ no we're supposed to simply listen we're supposed to obey we're supposed to do what god has called us to do so the time will come when they will not endorse our doctrine and the antidote to that is to preach sound doctrine spurgeon on matthew 4 9 says may thy church never yield to the world with the idea of setting up the kingdom of christ in a more easy and rapid manner than by the simple preaching of the gospel now in terms of confessional statements listen to these the dedicated it's an early christian manual dated around 8 100. my child remember night and day the one who preaches god's word to you for wherever the lord's nature is preached there the lord is our confession in chapter 14 says the grace of faith whereby the elect are unable to believe to the saving of their souls is the work of the spirit of christ in their hearts and is ordinarily wrought by the ministry of the word by which also and by the administration of baptism in the lord's supper prayer and other means appointed of god it is increased and strengthened again brethren there's no simple path to holiness there's no simple path to a life of obedience there's no simple path to sanctification it is the intake of god's word accompanied by the spirit working upon our hearts and conforming us daily unto the image of jesus christ beware of the man who comes with the simple antidote to your holiness beware of the second work of blessing or the second work of grace beware of those trends in the context of the history of the church where persons have wanted to short circuit the means and methods that god has demanded in terms of church life westminster larger number uh don't have the number oh 155. how is the word made effectual to salvation the spirit of god makes the reading but especially the preaching of the word an effectual means of enlightening convincing and humbling sinners of driving them out of themselves and drawing them unto christ or conforming them to his image and subduing them to his will of strengthening them against temptations and corruptions of building them up in grace and establishing their hearts and holiness and comfort through faith unto salvation brethren it's never a big surprise when persons say i'm really struggling and then in the next breath say well i'm not really reading my bible and i'm not really going to church and i'm not really praying oh really and you're struggling wow i can't imagine that again it's similar to what you find in the realm of nutrition if you ingest nothing but sugar and you ingest nothing but simple carbs and you never exercise you're not going to be well uh uh physically fit it's a very simple parallel and i think one that holds good now in terms of some final observations first a longer quote from lloyd jones yes i'm going to quote lloyd jones again this is the biography of lloyd jones the first 50 years listen to what he says with reference to preach well the primacy of preaching and what the the church relationship to the world now think about this he lived a lot long a long time ago he didn't live at the time of facebook he didn't live during twitter he didn't live during all the sorts of things that we have seen in the context of the church where you know we've got this new remedy we've got this new way to reach people we'll we'll make videos and we'll send them out we'll make movies we'll do dvds we'll do all this stuff and we'll send it all out lloyd jones made the observation the world expects the christian to be different the world expects the christian to be different i remember when mark driscoll was on his you know meteoric rise and there was this this buzz about how great he was and reaching the grunge rockers and you know in seattle and all that sort of thing brethren when people come to church that aren't familiar with church i actually think they expect something like this i don't think they expect everybody sitting with a latte and you know holes in their jeans and just chilling i think that even the world has a concept of what the church is but we've seen this this sort of emphasis on making the church look as much like the world as we can so that we can be culturally relevant and so that we can meet them in their needs brethren if we do that we have become absolutely contrary to that we have become completely irrelevant what this world needs is what god says it needs so back to lloyd jones the world expects the christian to be different and looks to him for something different and therein it often shows an insight into life that regular church goers often lack the churches organize whis drives that's a sort of holiday i think in england a whis drive fates which is like a little fair dramas bazaars and things of that sort so as to attract people he says we are becoming almost as wily as the devil himself but we are really very bad at it all our attempts are as hopeless failures in the world laughs at us now when the world persecutes the church she is performing her real mission but when the world laughs at her she has lost her soul and the world today is laughing at the church laughing at her attempts to be nice and to make people feel at home my friends if you feel at home in any church without believing in christ as your personal savior then that church is no church at all but a place of entertainment or a social club for the truth of christianity and the preaching of the gospel should make a church intolerable and uncomfortable to all except those who believe and even they should go away feeling chastened and humble i think there's some wisdom in that particular quote so in terms of preaching we do ourselves no favor when we sacrifice or relinquish what god has commanded and adopted the weapons that he never has remember david and saul's armor he puts that armor on it just didn't feel right he took it off he found five smooth stones he took his sling and he dropped goliath with the first stone secondly there is a need for good preachers not all who preach are necessarily good at it we want good preachers we want qualified men according to first timothy 3 titus 1 first peter 5 men that will conduct themselves not as celebrities not as managers but as men called by god to preach the word of god for proper conduct in the house of god that is the imperative that is the emphasis and certainly we don't want again inspiration versus instruction that language is is warfields he says if the whole function of the minister is inspirational rather than instructional then no doubt we may dispense with all serious study of the scripture and i would add to this and i think it's an observation that comes out of the covid situation we need not only men who are fit and qualified but men will stand up men will preach men will do what they're supposed to do men who will not capitulate men who will not relinquish their responsibility when it comes to pass that the government says that they're supposed to in other words courageous men and again it's really not a lot of courage just show up and do what you're supposed to do if you work in any other situation you're always having to show up and do what you're supposed to do why do these delicate little preachers not have to imbibe the same effort why are they so sensitive that they don't have to do what every single other man and woman in the face of the earth has to do show up and do your job listen to calvin with reference to preachers he says at the present day there are many who are well nice sickened by the very name of preaching because there are so many stupid ignorant men who blurt out their worthless brain waves from the pulpit now brethren that may hit you hard you may not like it you may have to say oh butler don't say stupid in the pulpit the new king james uses that language in the proverbs i feel at liberty to utilize it if it's in the bible i think it's a legit translation i think that some of the prophets would make us blush even more than we ever do and i certainly think paul would as well but with reference to this reality there are men out there that shouldn't be in bullpens i'm sorry i hate to drop that bomb on people i hate to say that perhaps your aunt betsy was wrong and you should pursue another way to make a living because you can't preach this is the job preach the word be ready in season and out of season convince rebuke exhort with all longsuffering and teaching and finally there is a need for good hearers if there is a need for and god is gracious to provide good preachers then we need good hearers ryle said preaching is an ordinance of which the value can never be overrated in the church of christ but it should never be forgotten that there must not only be good preaching but good hearing so you might have a first timothy 3 slash titus 1 slash first peter 5 man you might have that man who's got courage and steel in his in his veins and he shows up to preach and if you don't show up to listen or when he is preaching you're not showing up to listen but your mind is a million miles away i mean spurgeon himself could fall out of heaven occupy a pulpit and preach the the the golden words that he spoke in his earthly ministry but if you're not listening and paying attention it's to no avail a.w tozier made this observation he says many a preacher has been warned about preaching over the people's heads i ask what are people's heads for god almighty gave them those heads and i think they ought to use them as a preacher i deny that any of the truths of god are over the heads of the people i deny it exactly why did god give them those heads if it wasn't for the reception of biblical truth one final statement from c.h spurgeon this is his notes on mark 4 24 the parable of the soil he's got four points here h-e-a-r not here here but h-e-a-r here it is your wisdom to know what god says second hear well god's teaching deserves the deepest attention it will repay the best consideration three hear often waste no sabbath nor any one of its services use weekday lectures and prayer meetings and then four hear better you will grow the holier thereby you will find heavenly joy by hearing with faith and brethren as you survey this data as you look at this material as you consider the fact that god has given qualifications for elders to function in the capacity of ministers of the word in the church when you see all of that evidence all of that weight you understand that god's heart again anthropomorphically is toward the saving of sinners he not only sent his son into the world to live to die and rise again he not only secured redemption he not only applies it by the power and aid and ministry of the holy spirit but he's raised up a class of men to preach that gospel such that sinners will be saved i think it's one of the prevailing myths in this town under some bad influence that there's only going to be like a handful of people that make it into heaven hyper calvinism is a departure from the biblical gospel men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation feel the weight not only of the redemptive work of jesus christ but the creation of a class of men that are purposed to preach that gospel of jesus christ for the salvation of sinners it is another argument for which you must come to our lord jesus christ in faith let us pray our father we thank you for your word and we thank you for this means that you've ordained for good things in the life and context of the church we thank you for those men those women that brought us the truth that had beautiful feet we thank you for faithful preachers in this world i thank you for the brothers that we have forged alliance with over this last several months and pray that you would prosper these men bless them richly and grant them grace and look with favor upon their churches we thank you for the faithfulness of those men in alberta we thank you for the faithfulness of those men in ontario and in places between as well we know lord god that there may not be a great multitude that those men that are faithful those men that are preaching those men that have served you well we pray for their prospering and for your blessing upon them and god we pray for all of the churches and we pray for your prospering and your blessing to be upon those men who perhaps just opened their churches we pray that you would look with favor upon them grant them grace grant them strength grant them a commitment to the truth of scripture and as well god throughout the entirety of this earth we see the blessed reports of pastor agalla we see the long-standing ministry of the hamiltons and of the santiagos we get encouraging reports from all over the earth concerning god's being pleased through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe so god caused that to flourish and cause that to prosper and cause there to be more men that are fit more men that are qualified more men that are recognized by the churches more men to plant faithful churches more men to go into the mission field to proclaim the excellencies of jesus christ our lord and god in this may you be glorified may you be honored may you be praised and may the blessed church of our lord jesus christ continue to grow and continue to increase and we ask through jesus christ our lord amen we'll close with a brief time of meditation