Let's open our Bibles this morning
to the book of First Timothy. First Timothy. I'm not going to be preaching
what I had prepared for today, sitting here thinking about the
service, trying to get some direction I want to simply read some scripture
and make brief comments on it. The title of the message, if
you want to take notes, is God's message to preachers. God's message
to preachers. We are privileged in this place,
honored, honored of God, and that he's allowed us over the
years to be instrumental in establishing several gospel churches in various
parts of this country. and hopefully some will be yet
established in other places. And he has called for my midst,
men to preach the gospel of his grace, set them as pastors, Brother
Darwin down in Taylor, Arkansas, Brother Larry down in Sylacauga,
and now Brother Frank going to Cornelius. What a great, great,
great privilege it is for a community, a body of people, for God to
establish in their midst a gospel church and an established gospel
ministry. Faith comes by hearing and hearing
by the word of God. Brother Frank's going to be pastoring
or is pastoring at the Sovereign Grace Assembly in Cornelius,
North Carolina. As you know, that's my old stomping
grounds. I was raised not far from there. I have two nephews and their
families. who live in Charlotte. A lot of folks I know live in
that area. I pray God will be pleased to make you an instrument by
which he calls them to life and faith in our Redeemer. I'm excited for you. I'm excited
for you. I say this frequently with the
folks in San Diego, California. Folks up in Princeton, New Jersey,
where Brother Clay Curtis is, his new work here in Cornelius.
I'm excited. People are sometimes hesitant
about things. If I didn't know this is where God had for me,
and I've known it since the day I first came here, I would jump
at the opportunity to go to those places and start all over again. I'd jump at it, and I'll be 65
years old in June, but I wouldn't bat an eye at it. I'm just confident
of God's blessings upon His Word and upon those who preach His
Word, those who give themselves to the work of the gospel. I'm
excited for what God will do in the days ahead. This work
in Cornelius While it is now, in many ways, just beginning
anew, I've been associated with them, known of them, since I
was in college. There was a fellow down there
who had a radio program called the Sheep Food Broadcast, and
it was one of just two that I knew of in the entire world where
the gospel of God's grace was preached, and I listened to it
regularly. Became acquainted with the folks
down there a long, long time ago. Been down there preaching
many, many times. Their most recent pastor, who'd
been there longer than any others, became a primitive Baptist a
couple of years ago. He asked me if I'd help the congregation
if he decided to go that way, and I said, of course I will.
And it didn't surprise me. Tough about that. It didn't surprise me, but anyway,
he made that choice, and soon they had a parting of the ways.
They're meeting in a motel room, just a small band of believers,
but committed to the gospel of God's grace, and I'm delighted
for that. And I'm excited for you, and
I want to talk to you personally today, all you folks listening
in, because I'm talking to you too. But this is God's message
to preachers. 1 Timothy chapter 3. Let's just read the scriptures.
I'll say very little. This is a true saying. If a man
desire the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work. It is
proper and fitting that any man who is born of God and taught
of God desire the office of a bishop. I can't imagine God saving a
man and that man not having some desire to preach. I just, I can't
imagine that. I just can't imagine that. But
desiring the office and being gifted for its two different
things. If any man desired the office of a bishop, he desireth
a good work. I wouldn't trade places with
anybody in the world doing anything in the world. I was at a shop. Kids worked on my truck just
the other day and a couple of fellows talking to me. And after how
long I'd been here, I told them, and they could tell by looking
at me that I've got a little age on me. And they asked about
retirement. I said, I have no intention. It's never crossed
my mind. It's never crossed my mind. If
I had to go to the factory and work, or go to the shop and work,
or go to the office, what do you fellas go to work and do
the stuff you do? I'd have got tired of it a long
time ago, and we'd be looking forward to retiring. I have no
desire. I thoroughly enjoy, I thoroughly
enjoy every aspect of this blessed work. And it is work. It is work. Brother Larry just sent out the
works of Alexander McLaren, who pastored for many years in Manchester,
England. And McLaren was a disciplined
man, a disciplined man. When he would go to his office
in the mornings, he'd go to his desk, usually get to his office
at nine o'clock in the morning, And he pulled his street shoes
off and put on an old pair of work boots. And he worked in
them at his desk all day long to remind himself that this is
work. Those who labor in the word and
the doctrine worthy of double honor, of double pay, of double
reward because they labor in the word and in the doctrine.
But what a good work. What a good work. I get to study
God's Word all my life. You can't do that. You gotta
make a living doing something else. You can't spend all your
time reading the scriptures, nor should you, nor should you.
You have other responsibilities. I have one responsibility, to
feed your souls. Oh, what a word. I enjoy the
study, I enjoy preparing to preach. I enjoy preaching when God enables
me to preach. I sure don't like it when I'm
left up here by myself. Brother Mahan used to say, this
is the most lonely place in the world when you're by yourself.
But when God's with you, oh, what a blessed place. I enjoy
the work. I even enjoy bearing your burdens,
weeping with you when you weep, helping you through trouble,
painful as that is, there's great satisfaction to it. And oh, how
I enjoy rejoicing with you in your joys. He that desireth the
office of a bishop desireth a good work. It is a work that has consequences
superior to any other. This is the work by which God
saves his people. This is the work by which God
comforts, guides, edifies, and strengthens his saints. Read
on. A bishop, the same word refers to pastors, elders, bishops. A bishop must be blameless. What's that talking about? What's
that talking about? Certainly blameless before God.
Read it that way, it means he must be one who's born again.
Must be one who knows God's grace by experience. Must be blameless
before God in Christ Jesus. But in the passage here, it's
obvious he's talking about his conduct. And he's not saying
blameless in his conduct before God. That's not going to happen.
That's not going to happen. But blameless before men. See
to it, my brother, that you live blamelessly. Blamelessly. In your home, on the streets,
in business, in the church of God. Blamelessly. So that no
man can stick his finger at you and have a reason to speak ill
of you. Bishop must be. Well, that's
a heavy burden. It is. It is. A good one, but
heavy. A good one, blameless. He must
be blameless. The husband of one wife, this
doesn't mean that he can't be a married man, or a single man,
or can't be a man whose wife is dead and gone, or even a divorced
man, a man whose wife has abandoned him. It doesn't mean that. Paul
is addressing this in this day and age in which he wrote to
the Gentile world where it was common for men, as they do today
in New Guinea or Nigeria, many places in the world to have multiple
wives. It was just common, it was just
ordinary practice in the Gentile world in Paul's day as it is
in many places these days. And sadly, sadly when folks go
to the mission fields, this really happens. This really happens.
You've been, some missionaries, Mark, will tell fellows who've
been converted, now you've got to make a choice, get rid of
one wife, get rid of all wives but one. Is that accurate? I
just tell them, got to get rid of all of them but one. What
barbarity is that? That's absurd. Paul simply saying
you can't be pastor if you've got more than one wife. You can't
be pastor if you've got more than one wife. He must be the
husband of one wife. Vigilant. Vigilant. Watchful
in everything. Sober. And he's not referring
to not being drunk. He's referring to being sober
minded. He deals with drunkenness later. Of good behavior. Of good behavior. given to hospitality. Live soberly. I say this to,
I said it to Frank, I said it to other young men particularly,
men think about preaching. You gotta be sober. You're, what
are you, 31 years old? 32. Well, you're almost old enough
not to call you a young man anymore. But you can't act like a boy.
You can't act like a boy. You can't be joking about everything,
laughing about everything. Just can't do it. Not if you
expect men with gray hair and furs on their brow to pay any
attention to you. Can't do it. Gotta behave like a man. Dress
like a man. I had a young friend, a preacher
friend years ago, just a young boy, I've known him all his life,
and I knew he was interested in preaching and I called him
aside one day in front of his dad who was a preacher and had
a talk with him. I said, if you're going to have any aspirations
of pastoring, you've got to quit combing your hair like a teenager,
and you've got to quit dressing like a teenager, and you've got
to quit acting like a teenager. You're going to have to act like
a man. I had the blessed privilege when God put me in the ministry.
I wasn't but 21 years old, but everybody thought I was pushing
50. I was born looking old and had a back set. That helps if
you're going to be a preacher, but you've sure got to act like
one. Be sober of good behavior. given to hospitality. Open your
house to folks. Open your heart to folks. Open
your arms to folks. Act to teach. If a man isn't
capable by the gift of God of teaching the Word of God, if
you can't stand up here, open the scriptures, and make you
see what he sees in the book, he's not called to preach. That's
just fact. I have a very good friend who
lives in Richmond, Virginia now. He tried pastoring a couple of
times, and he's sharp. Man, he's sharp. He's sharp as
a tack. He can sit at my desk, and he
and I can drink coffee or call and telephone and talk and discuss
the most profound theological issues, past and present. And
he's articulate. And when he gets up here, he
can't put two and two together and come out with four to save
his life. He just can't do it. He doesn't have any gift to teach. None at all. And if you're not
apt to teach, God didn't call you to preach. You're apt to
teach. God's given you a gift to teach
others his word. Bishop must be apt to teach,
not given to wine. Here he deals with sobriety with
regard to wine. not given to wine. Doesn't mean
that you can't have a glass of wine or beer or whatever you
want to drink. That's not the issue. No drunkenness. No drunkenness. John Berridge,
things have changed in our day a great deal. Everybody, our
teetotalers are the way they used to be and the preachers
are expected to be. John Berridge gave advice to
preachers in his day in the 1700s, every pastor ought to always
keep a stock of good liquor in the house. For his guests. For his guests. And that's perfectly
all right. Perfectly all right. You who
know me, I sometimes have a glass of wine at the house. I don't
particularly care for it. I'll sometimes have a beer or something
else to drink. That's all right. I don't care if the whole world
knows it. That's perfectly all right. I don't ever Even take
a sip of wine if I'm driving down to your house to visit with
you. Don't ever do it. If we're at a restaurant, I'm
driving. Not even a sip. Not even a sip. Because there
are people waiting everywhere to get that on Don Fortner. He
got arrested for drunk driving. Now, it's not going to happen.
Not going to happen. There are things more important than our
pleasure. Not given to much wine. We don't. No striker. Not a man who strikes
back. You're not talking about hitting
with a fist, though that's included. There are times when fellows
say and do things, you just, I want to jack his jaw. You just
want to. Don't do it. Don't do it. And
not with your mouth either. Don't strike back. Don't strike
back. Let others do it. I've said to Frank and other
preachers many times, other men, if you're going to pastor, You
better have a backbone of steel as wide as a freeway, the hide
of a rhinoceros, and the heart of a baby. You're going to pasture. You've got to be able to take
stuff. Take it on the chin and leave it alone and say nothing
about it. Nothing. Read on. Not a striker. Not greedy of filthy lucre. Not greedy of money and what
money can give you. Not greedy, not greedy. Don't
ever, Frank Hall, don't ever seek after things. Don't do it. You other men, it's
right and proper that you labor and provide for your families
and take care of best you can for your children and their education
and their welfare and leave them whatever you want to leave them.
Not a preacher. Not a preacher. A rich preacher
is an embarrassment to the God he claims to serve. Not a preacher. Not greedy filthy lucre. If God
has called me to this work, if God's called you to this work,
he'll keep bread and butter on your table. He'll do it. And that's just fact. That's just fact. I've had plenty
of bread and butter. I get along just fine. Get along
just fine. Not greedy and filthy lucre, but patient. Patient. Patient. Patient with men. Patient with
God's people. Patient. Patient with God's providence. Just patient. Patient. Waiting on God. Waiting on God. You know, not a brawler. not a brawler. Now, I've not
seen many preachers in my lifetime who were brawlers physically. Most of the preachers I've known
in the last 45 years, 47 years, most of them have been brawlers.
Most of them. What are you talking about? They
love a fight. They just love a fight. Controversy comes up,
they jump in, both feet, head over heels. You get involved
in every controversy that comes around. We've got to defend the
truth. You defend the truth by preaching
it. Don't get involved in controversies. Don't do it. Don't get involved.
Folks will attack. You write something, somebody's
going to say something about it. I promise you they will. You preach something,
somebody hears it, they're going to say something about it. Oh,
they'll jump all over you. Don't get involved. Leave it
alone. Leave it alone. Brother Mahan
used to say to me, and he said it often, because when I was
a young man, I was a brawler. I mean, I liked to get it on. Somebody say something wrong,
I'd jump on it, jump on it, or defend something, just any controversy. He said to me many times, and
you can apply it as you will and translate it properly. He
said if you get into a spitting contest with a skunk, you may
win the contest but you're going to come out smelling like a skunk.
You get the picture. Not a brawler. Not a brawler.
Not covetous of money, of possessions, of power, of influence, of name,
of fame. Not covetous. Don't seek anything
for yourself. Nothing. Read on. One that ruleth
well his own house. What's that mean? Boy, he says
things as they go. Well, yeah, it means that. It
means that. You can't rule your house without
having a word of authority. I'm married to a lady who's smarter
than I am, who's got more wisdom than I do about most things.
She went through school and made better grades than I did. She's
sharp, sharp. And I generally consult her about
every major decision involving our household. I rarely consult
her about anything with regard to pastoring, with regard to
congregation. I rarely even discuss things with her. If I don't discuss
it with you, I probably haven't discussed it with her. I just
don't do that. That's not her realm of responsibility. But
in the house over there, I discuss things with her. Before I buy
anything major or make any decision, I discuss it with her. I always
do. But the responsibility is mine. The responsibility is mine. I said to you men, when you started
talking to me about coming here, it's posture. This is the way
we'll do it. We'll pray about things together.
We'll discuss things together. But we won't have any business
meetings. We won't have any. If you want
to have business meetings, call somebody else. When you call
me, that's the last one. That's the last one. How come?
Because there can't be but one captain in the ship. When all's
said and done, there can't be but one captain in the ship.
One person who's responsible. One person who takes the charge
of things. And that's what a pastor must
do. He must rule his own house. Otherwise, read what it says.
He's the one that rules well his own house, having his children
in subjection with all gravity. Rules the house with gravity.
For if a man know not how to rule his own house. What's the
next word? How shall he take care of the
church of God? That's what it is to rule your
house. Take care of them. You take care of them. You provide
for them. You defend them. You protect
them. You nurture them. You train them. You teach them.
You clothe them. You feed them. You take care
of your house. And a pastor must take care of
God's people. He must take care of God's people. He must take care of God's people. Read on. Not a novice. That doesn't just mean not a
boy. It means not a man without experience. Not a novice. We have a tendency these days,
take a young man, he seems to be sharp, and you send him off
to Bible college or seminary, And he never knows what it is
to work for a living, never knows what other men have to go through.
He just moves right out of Sunday school and into Bible college
and into seminary and into the pulpit. He's never earned his
living by the sweat of his brow. We have politicians like that
these days, fellows who've never known what it is to work. They
don't have a clue what you go through, not a clue. Pastor must
not be a novice, must not be a young man who's had no experience,
but a man of proven faithfulness to the word of God, the gospel
of God, and the cause of God. A man proven in the local church
where he is. Lest being lifted up with pride,
he fall into the condemnation of the devil. Moreover, he must
have a good report of them which are without. lest he fall into
reproach and snare of the devil. I had a homiletics pastoral theology
professor. Sadly, he didn't know anything
about the gospel of God's grace, but he had a lot of good practical
counsel. He used to say to us, he said,
boys, pay your bills. If you have to wear slick breeches
and let the choir go down before you get up to preach, pay your
bills. Good counsel. A man who preaches the gospel
must have good report of them that are without. A man who lives
before others with character, whose conduct is not conduct
that brings reproach upon the gospel. Verse 14. These things
write I unto thee, hoping to come unto thee shortly. But if
I tarry long, He says, Frank Hall and Don Fortner, I've written
these things to you. That you may know how you ought
to behave yourself in the house of God. That you, preacher, may know
how you ought to behave yourself in the house of God. Every mother's
son is an authority on preaching and pastoring every mother's
son. I guarantee you, I guarantee
you, you get in a, I'll tell you what you do, sit in a motel
next time you're in one and let somebody find out you're a preacher.
Five minutes, you'll have at least three or four fellas tell
you what you ought to be doing, what preachers ought to be doing.
Every mother's son is an authority. They know exactly how it ought
to be done. And the fact is, they don't. They just don't. You, however, following the Word
of God, learn how you ought to behave yourself in the house
of God. And watch what it is. I'm talking
about the church of the living God, the people of God's choice,
redeemed by the precious blood of God's dear Son, called by
the grace and power of God the Holy Spirit, which is the church
of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth, the
structural support holding forth the truth of God. That's our
responsibility as Grace Baptist Church of Danville in this day. We are by God's grace made of
God to stand here as a pillar and ground, the structural support
of the truth in this generation. holding forth the light of the
gospel to all the world as God gives us opportunity. Read on.
And without controversy, here's the truth we're talking about.
Great is the mystery of godliness. God was manifest in the flesh. God himself stepped into humanity. And when God stepped into humanity,
he took on himself our sins, bearing our sins in his own body
on the tree, and being made sin, died under the wrath of God for
sin, justified in the Spirit, raised again because justification
was accomplished, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed
on in the world, received up into glory. And now, the Spirit
speaketh expressly that in the latter times some shall depart
from the faith, what he just talked about, this great mystery
of godliness, the redemptive accomplishments of Christ Jesus.
And that's where the whole thing is. That's where the whole thing
is. People, the churches all over this state, all over this
country, all over the world will fight with you over the inspiration
of the Bible. We recognize that. You don't
have any question about that, do you? This is God's book. That's
not a problem. That's not really the controversy.
They'll fight with you over the virgin birth, the doctrine of
the virgin birth. Papists believe that. That's not where the controversy
is. That's not where it is. The controversy
is over the redemptive accomplishments of Jesus Christ, God's incarnate
Son. That's where the issue is. That's
where it is. And fellas, everywhere, who once professed it are running
as rapidly as they can to get away from it. Preach up Christ
crucified all the time, everywhere, as fully as possible. Got that? That's our business. They give heed to seducing spirits
and doctrines of devils, speaking lies in hypocrisy. How come? How come? Why do men
talk like this? Why does that fellow down there
say, why does that fellow over there, why does that fellow back
there deny the gospel of God's grace? Because his conscience
is seared with a hot iron. Is that what the book says? You
got one in front of you, is that what it says? Oh, he's such a
good man, his conscience is seared with a hot iron. Well, he has
such good intentions. His conscience is seared with
a hot iron. Let's get down to chapter 4,
verse 13. Till I come. Let's take a little
bit of liberty. Till Christ comes. O Spirit of God, calls me to
hear your word. Give attendance to reading, to
studying the word of God. Brother Frank, pastoral work
is not done visiting door to door. Pastoral work is not done
socializing. Pastoral work is not done counseling. Pastoral work is done in the
study, on your knees before God. That's where it's done. Well,
that's not what people expect. How can I say contemptuously
enough? What people expect has got nothing
to do with what we do. Give attendance to reading, to
exhortation, telling folks how to live for God. That's what
it means. To exhortation. Telling folks how to live for
God. We are responsible to do so. Read Titus chapter 2, you'll
find out. To doctrine. Give attendance,
preacher. Give attendance to these three
things. Study, reading, study with prayer. To exhortation and to doctrine. Teaching faithfully the doctrine
of Holy Scripture. Neglect not the gift that is
in thee. which was given thee by prophecy,
which lay on the hands of the presbytery." Now, in those days,
the apostles set men aside, and they laid their hands upon men,
and by their gift, conferred upon them the Holy Ghost. We
don't do that. I don't. I just don't participate
when I have an ordination and want preachers to come lay their
hands on fellows. I have the opinion of Mr. Spurgeon. He never
submitted to it. He said, laying your empty hands
on my empty head is not going to do a thing. But God's given
you a gift. Don't neglect it. Don't neglect
it. Whatever gift it is, whether it's God's writing, whatever
it is, for the furtherance of the gospel, don't neglect it. Meditate upon these things. Now,
what's the next word? Give thyself wholly to them. Devote your life to this work.
Devote your life to this work. There are some preachers, I know.
I know where to find them. I know where to find them. I
know where to find them almost from the time they get up to
the time they go to bed. All I've got to do is go by the office
or call them. That's where you'll find them. That's what he's talking
about. Give thyself wholly to them that
thy profiting, thy usefulness may appear to all. And what's
his next word? Take heed thyself. Don Fortner,
watch out for yourself. I'm not saying watch out what
you can do for yourself. Watch out for what you are. Watch
out for the evil that's in you. Watch out for your responsibility.
And under the doctrine, constantly, constantly setting yourself in
the knowing of the doctrine of the gospel. continue in them. And here's the reason. For in
so doing this, in doing this, thou shalt both save thyself and them that hear thee. You brought your brother. I just
caught his eye. First time you were back here
from military service. He brought you over here to hear
the gospel. What did God do? What did God do? This is the
means by which God saves his people. Oh, what a worthwhile
labor. All right? Turn over to chapter
2 Timothy, chapter 2. Thou therefore, my son, be strong
in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. And the things that thou
hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit to faithful men
who shall be able to teach others also. Thou therefore endure hardness
as a good soldier of Christ. What's that mean? That means
you take a beating and just keep on plodding. Endure hardness. That means you take abuse and
just keep on going. That means, uh, somebody comes
out and cusses David and you just keep on going your direction.
What do you do? You endure the hardness. You
endure it. Endure it. And there's hardness
coming. I promise you. I promise you. You'll have heartache. You'll
have pain. you'll have difficulties. Keep
your mouth shut about them and go right on. Endure hardness
as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No man that woreth entangleth
himself with the affairs of this life. Stay out of politics. Stay out of business. Stay out
of all the stuff that men get involved in. Just stay out of
it. Don't entangle yourself with the nonsense that he may please
him who hath chosen him to be a soldier. And if a man strive
for masteries, yet is he not crowned, except he strive lawfully. The husbandman that laboreth
must be first partaker of the fruits. Consider what I say,
and the Lord give thee understanding in all things. Look at verse 15. Verse 14, how these things also put them
in remembrance, charging them before the Lord. These other
men to whom you commit the word, that they strive not about words
of no profit, but to subvert the subverting
of hearers. What is it put folks in remembrance
of? The word of God is not bound. The word of God is not bound.
And that which we do, we do for the elect's sake. We do this
for the elect's sake, for the good of God's people. Study to show thyself approved
unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing
the word of truth. Now, where I was in Bible college,
our theology professor was a dispensationalist, as were most everybody in the
school. And he used to lead the class in prayer. These were his
exact words. I generally didn't pay much attention
to his prayers. I watched what was going on. And he'd say, Lord,
help us to rightly cut up your word, which is dispensational
theology. Just cut it up so we don't have
to pay attention to most of it. That's not what he's talking about.
rightly understanding the Word of God. Understanding the whole
Word of God. It's all about Christ and being
crucified. It's all about the redemptive
accomplishments of our Redeemer. But shun profane and vain babblings. What do you think about this?
I don't have much thought about it. What do you think about that? I have less thought about that.
All the Thoughts that men raise I'm often asked about modern
theories about things and I'm usually aware of them But I I
generally just act like I don't know what you're talking about
Well, why would you do that? Because they don't matter They
just don't matter they have absolutely no consequence absolutely no
significance shun profane and vain babblings For they will
increase more ungodliness. That's the only useful. That's
the only useful. Probably most of you men particularly,
some of you ladies sadly, are probably familiar with various
theological websites. What an impressive term. And
folks get on the internet and they offer an opinion about something.
Did you ever notice how popular radio programs used to be, religious
radio programs still are whenever they have a letter or And they'd
get a contribution from Don and Denise Ranieri. And then they'd
read the letter on the air. Man, folks love to hear their
letters read on the air. They'd send you $10 just to read
their letter on the air. Now you can do it for free on the
internet. Now you can do it for free on the internet. And people
get on the internet and yak who don't have a clue what they're
talking about. Don't have a clue what they're
talking about. I don't normally answer them. A fellow wrote to
me a couple of times recently. I wrote him back the other day,
and I said, I would sure like to know where you pastor. I knew
he didn't. I knew he didn't from the first
letter. And I said, if you don't pastor, where do you attend church? I knew he didn't. I knew it from
the first letter. I just knew he didn't. And what
ministry do you support with your money and your prayers and
your attendance? I knew he didn't. I knew he didn't.
Because fellows who have no responsibility and no commitment to nothing
are real good at tearing things up. You got that? Folks who are committed
to a cause, build it. Folks who have no responsibility
for anything are real good at trying to tear things up. Ignore
them. Just ignore them. All right.
Chapter 3, 2 Timothy. Chapter 3, 2 Timothy. Verse 16, all scripture is given
by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction,
for instruction in righteousness. What's that mean? Everything
there is to know rightly. Everything there is to know rightly
about doctrine, about how you are to live in this world for
the glory of God, about how to reprove error in doctrine or
error in life is right here in this book. Right here in this
book. You don't need to study the latest
methods of counseling or psychology or reason. right here in this
book, that the man of God may be perfect, perfect, complete,
entire, whole, wanting nothing, throughly furnished, I like that
word, throughly furnished, furnished throughout his mind, throughout
his soul, throughout his heart, unto all good works. I charge
thee therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ who shall
judge the quick and the dead and his appearing in kingdom. Preach the word. Preach this book, Frank. Preach
this book. Learn it, ask God to teach it,
ask God to apply it to you, and preach the word. Be instant in
season and out of season. What's that mean? Be ready to
preach the drop of a hat? Maybe. It means more than that. Preach
this word, exactly what God reveals in this word, for doctrine, for
reproof, for instruction in righteousness. Preach this word when folks like
it and when they don't. Preach this word when folks say
amen, when folks sit like they're just ready to hit you in the
head. Preach this word faithfully, in season and out of season.
Reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long-suffering and doctrine. With all long-suffering and doctrine. Don't strive with folks about
it. Get a word from God, preach it, and leave it alone. Leave
it alone. I don't seek a lesson to come
to you with and present you with something that I want you to
consider. Lindsay Campbell, I've never
done that since I've been your pastor. Not once. I seek a message
from God for you to hear, believe, and obey. There's a big difference. There's
a big difference. That's our responsibility. Read
on. For the time will come when they
will not endure sound doctrine, but after their own lust shall
heap to themselves teachers having itching ears. This is a good
day for that. This is a good day for that.
Folks, well, I believe I listened to Brother Todd today. I didn't
like what he said last week. I believe I'll listen to Brother
Don next Sunday. I believe I'll listen to Brother Greg next Sunday.
I believe I'll listen to Brother Clay next Sunday. And now I believe
I'll listen to Brother Frank, see what he's got to say. And
we'll just take what we like out of everything and pay no
attention to anything. And that's what happens. It's
what happens all over the world. Well, you just go right on preaching
the word and just ignore it. Just ignore it. And they shall turn away their
ears from the truth and shall be turned into fables. But watch
thou in all things. Endure afflictions. Do the work
of an evangelist. Seek opportunities by the direction
of God all the time to preach the word. Help other churches. Help establishing churches calling
out God's elect. Make full proof of your ministry. Make full proof of your ministry. And I pray for you and for me
that when our work is done, we will be able to say with Paul,
I'm now ready to be offered. The time of my departure is at
hand. I fought a good fight. I finished my course. I've kept
the faith. Henceforth, there's laid up for
me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous
judge, shall give me at that day, not to me only, but unto
all them also that love his appearing. Amen. All right, Lindsey. Lead us in the hymn, please.