0:10 I trust you have your bible with you this afternoon. And if you do, meet me in second Timothy chapter four beginning in verse one. Father, we ask again that you would help us with the scriptures. Oh, lord, we do not dare come to this pulpit lightly. We realize that this is your word, and you told us that you look upon those who tremble before it.
0:53 Lord, provoke an inward trembling as we receive the word of the living God. We ask, Lord, that the Holy Spirit would rest on the ministry of the word and that there would be great power. The way that you have ordained preaching to be, let it be performed this afternoon. We ask, oh, God, that in this moment we would not regard it as just a transaction of truth, but as a moment of worship. We worship in the word today together.
1:26 And so Lord, open our eyes that we may see the glories within the scriptures. We ask these things in the name of the living Christ. In Jesus' name, amen. I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom, preach the word. Be ready in season and out of season.
2:00 Reprove, rebuke and exhort with complete patience and teaching. For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears, they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. If the apostle Paul was alive today and had the opportunity to exhort ministers across the globe with one message, what do you think his instructions would be? In light of all the false religions, in light of the moral mayhem, in light of the deceptive distractions in this hour, what would his cry be to pastors who are shepherding flocks of different sizes, who are collectively weathering this cold and frightening world? What would his thrust be with his mandate to those who are called to give guidance as they steer the ships of local churches through the crashing waves of deception and degradation?
3:21 We don't have to think too far. We don't have to use our imaginations because as we come to this final chapter in the book of second Timothy, this preacher is giving a message to a pastor. And we don't have to look too far to realize what this Christ commissioned man would tell the leaders of churches today. The summation of his charge can be summarized in three simple yet eternally impactful words. Preach the word.
3:59 Preach the word. And behold, one of the final declarations that this apostle would write before his graduation into glory. And though there are many other commands that Timothy received in order for him to observe so that he can better face the perilous times that were ahead of him, there is something so solemn about the verses that we just read. There is something that is intensely gripping about the charge that is laid out here before us. And there is a call for us to comprehend for ourselves why what is being shared here is crucial to be applied in our own day.
4:41 Pastors, as the unbelieving world is going from bad to worse, as false teachers are arising and they are vehemently persuading people to believe truths that will damn their souls. Your occupation in the midst of such chaos and havoc, your business is to preach the word of the living God. I can imagine how you may be tempted to think that this has no relation to your life as a layman. But I would advise you to believe for yourself that understanding what preaching is is totally related to you. Because although you may not be a pastor in this place, although you may not be a missionary, an evangelist, one thing is for certain, every single one of us in this place is called to wisely choose what kind of preaching our souls will sit under.
5:40 Fathers, husbands especially, as priests of your home, as the head of the household, you have been given the charge by God, the responsibility to lead your family to the right pasture so that they can receive their spiritual nourishment. And in great part, that will be determined by how the word of God is handled and declared from the pulpit of that local assembly. Church is not just about preaching, but preaching drives the church into a certain direction. And therefore, please believe for yourself today that understanding the significance of the word preached is not just for those who have dedicated their lives to such a practice. It is equally crucial to those who have to make a decision on a continual basis.
6:39 What will I give my ears to listen to for the sake of the health of my own soul? And in these verses, we have wonderful insights about what preaching is. What preaching does. What preaching is supposed to sound like and feel like and the fruit of such a spiritual discipline in the lives of those who are exposed to it. So consider with me the insights that Paul gives in these verses to this pastor who is summoned to preach the word of God, and a people who must make a decision, where will I go to hear the word preached?
7:28 Number one. Consider the gravity of preaching. Consider the seriousness of preaching. Look what Paul says in verse one. I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus who is to judge the living and the dead and by His appearing and His kingdom.
7:50 Preach the word. The weightiness of this task should be felt as we realize the tone that Paul is presenting as he is ready to commission this young pastor to be a herald of divine truth. We're supposed to realize that as he invokes God in this, that this is no joke. You know, Paul could have said in passing, hey, Timothy, before I forget, you're gonna get really busy with a lot of things in ministry, administrative things and and counseling and visitation. But don't forget, we we're called to actually teach.
8:24 That that helps with the morale of the people, so make sure you don't neglect it. But this man would not dare to be so casual when speaking of such important realities. It would be a crime to do so. Why is preaching so significant as a duty? Why does it deserve such a majestic build up?
8:50 First, realize that preaching is an act that is performed in the watchful presence of God and Christ. The preacher, whether he acknowledges that even in this moment or not, does not dismiss the reality that he is performing a task in the presence of the head of the church. This form of communication is a responsibility that God gives special attention to because it is a work that he commissions men to do. No call can be given to a man. No burden can be placed upon someone's shoulders that can be so grave and serious as to faithfully communicate God's word to an audience whether that audience is made up of 12 or 1,200.
9:48 For Paul to invoke the presence of God at this point is to inform us the incalculable value that God himself places on this thing called preaching. It's not just a job that he calls men to set apart their lives to do, it is a job that he continually supervises and watches over with a careful with a careful eye. Why should the preacher tremble? Why should the preacher quake? Why?
10:22 Because he's gonna receive potentially some criticism from his congregation of being unkind or too forceful? Why? Because he might have to endure the threats of blasphemers who hate the truth? Why? Because his livelihood is attached to the engagement value of his preaching?
10:41 Nonsense. The preacher should be fearful because the preacher is being watched by a savior, a master, a lord who will hold him accountable for every single word that he utters in his name. The duty of declaring divine truth is no light matter and if Paul's words are to be taken seriously, if this charge is to be felt with the authority behind it, then it will alter his attitude and the way he prepares his messages and surely in the way that he publicly proclaims it. Not only is there divine accountability attached to preaching, but the reason why there is such a gravity with it is because it deals with eternal matters. Look what he says here.
11:33 Who is to judge the living and the dead? And by his appearing and his kingdom, What is he trying to say here? Preaching deals with eternity. Preaching deals with people who will realize a returning Christ one day. And if this man is to operate as a communicator of God's counsel, he must do so with a knowledge of the accountability that he is attached to, but also with the returning reality of the person that he is representing.
12:15 Preaching prepares people for eternity. Preaching postures people to meet with a coming judge. Preaching points a distracted crowd to a soon coming sky splitting savior. That's what preaching does. Do you realize the seriousness of this moment even now?
12:41 That there may be even some souls who are hanging in the balance. Hanging in the balance of an open hell that is still hot and a glorious heaven that is still open for those who would repent and believe on Christ? Do we realize that across the world today, there is the preached word that will determine based on what people will do with that truth where they will spend the rest of eternity. There is such a gravity with this. And let me ask you a question today.
13:13 What can be more serious than preaching? Are you among those who criticize preachers who are serious? Preachers who are passionate? Then you don't understand what preaching is. Can I tell you why there is such a lack of urgency and passion and many pulpits in America today?
13:40 I can tell you why. Because they don't believe Jesus is watching and they don't really believe Jesus is coming. Oh, they might theoretically, they might theologically, they might intellectually, they might have it on their statement of faith on their website, but it's not in their blood. The revelation of these truths has to be so melted into our souls that when people hear a man, they can feel the fire in his bosom. I want to prove that to you.
14:14 I want to prove to you that the prophets of old and the apostles in the new covenant had a certain weightiness to their delivery. They were men who really really believed what they preached. Turn with me to Revelation chapter 10 and verse eight. This is John. John the apostle is receiving one of the greatest revelations, the apocalyptic events that have yet to happen.
14:58 And in preparation in this portion of Revelation, preparation to write about the remaining prophecies of God's dealing with the world with his final series of judgments, this man was told to approach an angel and take a little scroll from him that would disclose the details of God's crescendo in human history. Verse eight. Then the voice that I had heard from heaven spoke to me again saying, go take the scroll that is open in the hand of the angel who was standing on the sea and on the land. So I went to the angel and told him to give me the little scroll, and he said to me, take and eat it. It will make your stomach bitter, but in your mouth it will be sweet as honey.
15:43 And I took the little scroll from the hand of the angel and ate it. It was sweet as honey in my mouth, but when I had eaten it, my stomach was made bitter. This angel tells him after receiving instruction from heaven, eat the scroll. And when you eat it, two things are gonna happen. Number one, it's gonna it's gonna have an explosion of delight in your mouth.
16:07 It's going to be sweet. You're gonna savour it, but as you digest it, it's going to trouble the innermost parts of who you are. It's going to be sour and bitter. It's gonna turn your insides. What I find so fascinating is that God didn't just tell John to take a scroll and to record on his own papyrus what he was supposed to say concerning the events that are to come.
16:34 He wanted him to eat it. What does this have to do with preaching? Don't you see that God wants his messenger to feel the message before he would ever share it? I want it to get in you. I want you to be able to realize the sweetness of my word and the bitterness of it.
16:59 Why would it be sweet? It would be sweet because concerning the context, what is to come in the last days would fulfill the desires of every true believer, and that is for Christ to return in exaltation and to put an end to wickedness and sin forever and ever and ever. But it would also be bitter because at the same time, this would also determine the doom of those who have been enemies of the gospel who will be eternally expelled from the presence of God only to undergo his wrath continually. And so, yes, it was sweet, but also it was bitter. But here's the main point, God wants us preachers to feel it.
17:43 To digest it, to simmer, to realize the gravity of what is being declared by God. He must take what God has revealed and allow it to settle in his soul and in doing so, there will be a greater meaning and there will be a liveliness to the delivery of the truth that he has been commissioned to speak. There is a big difference between under understanding theology and experiencing it. And this man here shows us what Ezekiel experienced in chapter three. Take the scroll and he says, it was sweet.
18:21 It was sweet as honey in my mouth from old to new. God has a standard for his men who would speak truth. Would you feel what you're about to say? And what great crime it is when men can so casually come up and speak of things like eternity, hell, heaven, and have no urgency in his voice. Surely I tell you he might have got a degree at a seminary, but he had not let this word get in his blood.
18:52 The gravity of preaching. This afternoon, you are in a supernatural event. This is a supernatural thing right now. There can be people in this moment who go from death to life. There can be marriages that are restored.
19:09 There can be the backslidden who are delivered. Why? Through the means that God has ordained. Preach the word. So would you feel the weightiness of it?
19:20 It is despicable to me and I can quote many men that we admire when there is such a lightness in the service. When something as serious as God's word is being declared. Consider the gravity of preaching. But in verse two, consider the the method and message of preaching. Preach preach the word.
19:48 Be ready in season and out of season. Reprove, rebuke and exhort with complete patience and teaching. Once Paul lays out the seriousness of preaching, he goes on to speak about the method and the message of the minister. Preach the word. The word.
20:04 What is the word? Well, you heard a briefcase of what makes up the word in the past two weeks. What is the scripture? What are the sacred writings? What is the bible?
20:14 What makes up these things? But let me tell you today that it is not enough to know the content that makes up the word, it must also be the very focus, the very core of the message that is being preached. No preacher has any liberty to give what he feels like would be most profitable to God's people as he stands before them. He does not have that freedom. He does not have that license.
20:44 And though he may point to current events or relative illustrations, every single time those things are mentioned, they are completely and purely supplementary. And they are always to be given to assist a truth from the word in order for it to be greater in clarity. Nothing else. Nothing more. The scriptures are what people should be savoring as it is served by God's man.
21:11 What should be left in the mouths of those who have eaten on the Lord's day is the glories and the wonders of the word. And as many of you know, many come to a verse like this to uphold the standard of our sermons. It must be the word, the word, the word. But many people don't come to this verse to understand that it's not just the word, it's the word preached. He did not say, Timothy, read the word.
21:46 Timothy, recite the word. Timothy, teach the word. He said preach. He said preach and he meant what he meant. Preach the word.
22:02 In case some might not see a distinction between preaching and teaching, believe that Paul himself believed that there is a difference between preaching and teaching. Go to chapter one of second Timothy verse 11. Second Timothy one eleven, for which I was appointed a preacher and apostle and teacher. Preacher, apostle, teacher. Preaching and teaching overlap in many ways.
22:38 And there have been many clever attempts to try to clarify the distinction between the two. But it's not as complicated as it should be. Why? What is the difference? And more importantly, why does it even matter?
22:52 Why are you telling us the the difference between preaching and teaching? What's what's the big deal? Hang tight. I believe preaching includes teaching. Teaching meaning the presentation and the delivery of information and data.
23:09 Preaching must include teaching, but preaching is more than that. And what we see here in this verse is exactly how that is fleshed out. What does he say in the same verse in second Timothy four two? He says here clearly, preaching includes to reprove, rebuke, and exhort. Reprove, rebuke, and exhort.
23:33 Preaching will argue with reason why something is wrong and why something is right. It pushes certain truths into the minds of people and not because of volume, but because of well crafted thought. You're saying that sounds like teaching. Well, hold on. It doesn't just stop there.
23:54 Preaching points to specific truths. Yes, without apology, but it also demands a righteous response if one is found guilty in either dishonoring or misapplying those truths. Preaching is confrontational. Preaching calls the people to action. Preaching looks at people in the eyes with an urgency in the voice and says, these things are true.
24:21 What are you gonna do about it? But preaching also includes comforting and encouraging people to be strong and faithful. It is not just merely being a confrontational individual for the sake of bringing about conviction. Preaching can include the consoling of the weary and faint hearted with confident speech to gird up your loins and get on your feet again. Move forward and serve this one who's faithful to you.
24:53 In summary, preaching is a heartfelt proclamation that persuades people to action. I say heartfelt because the Greek word for preach, preach the word, the Greek word there is to be a herald. And in biblical times, you would have individuals who represented emperors and rulers of certain regions and lands, and they would come into the town square. They would come into the city streets, and they would, on behalf of the person who sent them, declare whether it's an event to come, whether it's a new law that was passed that demands change. But you can know one thing about a herald in that time, he spoke with authority.
25:34 He spoke with dignity, and he also spoke with urgency. His voice would crack through the noise of the town and call people to pay attention to what is being said. And sometimes it would be good news, other times it would be bad news, but that man had no right to alter the message, but to say it the way the king defined it. Preach the word. And I bring this up because that is how these men that we admire preached and they are to be our example.
26:11 Consider the first Christian sermon. Go with me to Acts chapter two beginning in verse 14. Oh, the mercy of God. Out of all the 12 that Jesus chose to preach the first Christian sermon, he picks the one who who betrayed him three times. Don't tell me Jesus is not merciful.
26:30 I often go to this example to help people who believe that God can't forgive them or will never use them again. Have you denied Christ three times? Have you publicly denounced your relationship with Christ? Then you're not beyond reach. Because here's this man who boasted in his fidelity, who boasted in his allegiance to Christ and fails miserably.
26:53 And instead of Christ saying, you know what? You're still gonna get to heaven. We'll get you in. But I'm gonna put you on the shelf because you embarrassed me. And how can I use you to be a confident proclaimer of what I wanna say to others?
27:03 Thank you, Peter. You messed up. No. It is Peter who was elected as a representative of the apostles to preach the first Christian sermons. But how did he preach it?
27:14 Look at verse 14 of chapter two. But Peter standing with the 11 lifted up his voice. Lifted up his voice and addressed them, men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you and give ear to my words. Oh, can you feel the authority of it? Give ear to my words.
27:40 This is not fleshly arrogance. This is not cringey boldness. There's some people who try to be bold because they just think that that is what's attracting. That's what people want because, you know, that's what that's what faithful people want. They want bold preaching, but because it's not drenched in the power of the spirit, it just it's cringe.
27:58 Nothing of the sort with such a man. He spoke with such clarity and precision, and he addressed men head on because he was just filled with the Holy Spirit. And he got their attention. And even though this sermon was spontaneous, Peter gives a glorious case for why Jesus is the Christ. How the scriptures point to him and how he fulfilled these prophecies.
28:25 But it wasn't just a lecture. It wasn't a PowerPoint presentation. Come down to verse 40. And with many other words, he bore witness and continued to exhort them saying, save yourselves from this crooked generation. You know, often people come to this text to say, look, Peter preached like a two minute message and 3,000 got saved.
28:50 The Holy Spirit gave the abridged version of the sermon. Verse 40 tells us that with many other words. So it was much longer than what we read there. With many other words, what did he do? He exhorted them and look at this.
29:04 Look at this language. Save yourselves from this crooked generation. You heard what the scripture says about Jesus. Now what are you gonna do about it? Flee from the wrath to come.
29:18 Believe on this one that you have now been convinced is the messiah. Save yourself by throwing yourself at the feet of this Christ. This preaching is missing today. This is why understanding the word preach is important because this might shock you today, to have an accurate presentation of the word of God in a local church is not the ultimate goal of the local church. To have exegetical preaching where you go verse by verse or to be robust theologically or to have sound orthodoxy is not the ceiling of preaching.
29:59 If all of that is there, but it is given in a cold, lifeless lesson, it is not handling the word of God the way God called it to be honored. It has to be preached. Preach the word. God's word is designed to be communicated with force and appeal and that provoking power is accomplished through the channel of spirit empowered communication that resembles that of a town herald. I'm afraid as I said earlier that preaching, apostolic preaching, prophetic preaching has been replaced in great part with TED Talks or casual, let's have a conversation on the porch kind of sermons.
30:55 Those have their place. Lectures and PowerPoints, they're fine. But what has happened to the word preached? We are losing this art. It's becoming less and less common and this is why God instructs, don't just speak the word.
31:18 Don't just provide some biblical references and eloquently put them together and see how this answers that preach the word. Because I've designed my word to be preached. May I add a footnote? There are some well intended people who say I don't need to listen to preachers because I have all of God's word for myself. And go back to second Timothy and they'll even point to what we heard last week, that all scripture is breathed out by God and is profitable.
31:47 Right? What is it profitable for? Well, very similar to what preaching does, for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness. Why do I need to be concerned about who I listen to when I have a copy of God's divine truth that has the ability to change me just the same? Good question.
32:07 Many answers to that. Let me give you one. If preaching is charged in the power of the Holy Spirit, if God's word is the center of that preaching, then the public experience of the word preach will enrich your personal engagement with the word of God. Not necessarily because the preacher has more information than a layman, but because his delivery will arouse fresh affections for the truth as the people feel the heat of a man who's been set ablaze for God. This kind of interaction here, what it's supposed to cause as the word is preached is for you to not just see things that you never saw before, but feel things about it that you are supposed to feel.
32:53 And how is that how is that supposed to be known? When you see a man who has tasted the honey of it on his lips and the bitterness of it in his soul. Preaching. The method, herald it. The message, God's word.
33:13 Lastly, not just the gravity of preaching, not just the method or the message of preaching, but the great need the great need for faithful preaching. In verse three, for the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. Paul gives a second prophecy. We spent so many weeks on his first one in the beginning of chapter three. Look at it in verse one quickly.
33:47 But understand this that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. Chapter four verse three, for the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching. So he gives another lens into the days to come before his own departure into glory and he says there is a time coming when people will not be able to endure. Meaning what? That for a time they did.
34:12 For a time they were willing to listen to doctrine and theology and passionate declaration of truth, but then at some point in history, humanity will be marked in the timeline of its history where there is a massive wave of those who will have a growing appetite for preaching that will not confront them or challenge them or stir them or convict them. And that's not going to be just because false teachers are going to emerge like weeds. That's not what he says here. He does not say people will turn from sound teaching because there's gonna be more powerful preachers who adhere to error and declare falsehood. That's not what he says.
34:55 That is true in other parts, but that's not what he says here. We think one dimensional often when we speak about the dangers of false teachers and false teaching, but it's much more complex than that. What do I mean? What does he say here? People will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears, they will accumulate for themselves teachers.
35:19 And so it is the people who will do the recruiting. It's the people who will do searching. It's people who will do the promoting of teachers in order to satisfy some religiosity about themselves, who will tell them exactly at the right temperature with the right contact, what it is that they want to hear in order for them to stay in their sin, but still believe that they are sanctified. They will accumulate for themselves. Can I tell you why there are hundreds and thousands of views on many YouTube sermons of those who are unbiblical?
35:54 Can I tell you why there are mega conferences that draw in thousands of people who are moved by emotionalism, who are moved by charisma? Can I tell you why? It's because the people set it up. Just like the golden calf, the nation of Israel demanded for an idol to worship and it came about. The idol didn't show up and say worship me.
36:19 The people says we wanna worship a golden calf. And they made a demand, it was created and it was worshiped. False teachers today in most parts, they have been created and promoted by people who want to hear what they want to hear. And oftentimes, that is God's judgment upon them for rejecting the truth. You want to reject the truth?
36:50 Then here is a preacher that will tell you exactly what you wanna hear and will damn your soul. Spirit of God makes it so obvious, does he not? False teachers don't necessarily create a crowd. It is the crowd who elevates a man to that position to calm the craving of sin in their hearts. In the final days, what you're being told here today is that there will be a greater abandonment of biblically rich and passionate preaching as people seek for other things.
37:29 True preaching will be less sought after as we approach the second coming of Christ. So who said just because it's popular means that it is impactful or it is blessed by God? When I have a prophecy here that tells me that actually what's going to happen is that preaching is gonna be more ignored, true preaching, and dismissed for silly myths and watered down proclamation. This is why such a message is not just for pastors. Because who you choose to listen to says in great part about your health spiritually.
38:09 The authors that you indulge in, the podcast that you love to a great degree reveals what do you champion? What is the condition of your soul? Because in this case, these people, they're seeking after spirituality, but it's poison. It's detrimental to them. So what are preachers supposed to do?
38:37 What are preachers supposed to do in light of this really gloomy prophecy? That's not very inspirational for young preachers. Hey, as it gets worse, the crowd's gonna thin out. It's not it's not gonna be as romantic and glamorous as you might think it is. And that's why he says earlier, may I touch on this, be ready in season and out of season.
39:01 Be ready in season and out of season. I don't think that's saying preach all the time necessarily Because there are some appropriate times to do it and inappropriate times to do it. You can do more damage if you preach in the wrong way, in the wrong time, in the wrong context. What I think is being said here is that there is a devotion to the word of God being declared whether the word itself is in season or not. Meaning, preach it whether people want to hear it or not.
39:31 Preach it whether it's convenient or not. Preach it whether people want something fresh and new and and and something that spicy. Preach the word. In season and out. And those who want it will come.
39:48 Those who don't will scratch their ears by the hands of someone else who doesn't care about their souls. And I see that in many portions of the scripture. May I show you one as we close and break bread together in a moment. One of the greatest prophets of old, who was recruited at a very young age, if you've been with us Fridays, you know who I'm talking about. Consider the commission of the prophet Samuel, who was living in a day very similar to what is being described here, where Israel was an apostasy, where it says that the word of the Lord was rare.
40:28 People did not hear from God as often and it was greatly because of the spiritual leadership and their compromise, sleeping with women in the house of God. Taking what belongs to the Lord in the offering and indulging it in themselves. And here's this little boy who's been dedicated to God from the womb and God says, I'm gonna raise you up. And he gives him his first sermon. He gives Samuel, this young teenager, even younger perhaps, this preteen, his first message.
40:57 And he wasn't gonna preach to a crowd. He was gonna preach to the pastor. He was gonna preach to the high priest. And it wasn't gonna be something that a high priest would like to hear, but I want you to see one insight about what the Lord tells Samuel in first Samuel chapter three as we close with this verse. In first Samuel chapter three beginning in verse 11, and the Lord said to Samuel, behold, I'm about to do a thing in Israel at which the two ears of everyone who hears it will tingle.
41:41 What does that mean? There are only two other references in the Bible about ears tingling and it's found in second Kings 21 and Jeremiah 19 and both references speak about the reaction of those when they hear the news of coming judgment. Their ears will tingle. In other words, they will be in shock. The dullness of their spirits will be somewhat vibrated and awakened by the seriousness of what is to come in their lifetime.
42:16 And what I love about this is that the essence of Samuel's message to the high priest is the holiness of God. Tell him how holy I am Samuel. And out of all the things that the Lord would say to this young boy to say it to another, he educates him about his purity and his brilliance and his transcendence and morality. Why is why is he sharing this? Because he wants Samuel to proclaim it.
42:44 And if we are going to be true servants of God, listen very carefully, we must be willing to proclaim what will make people's ears tingle while others are willing to scratch itching ones. A true preacher will not try to scratch itching ears, he will preach in a way that it will cause those same ears to tingle with terror if he needs to. People say we need revival. Well, you can't have revival without revived preachers. If there's gonna be a revival anywhere, it has to be in the pulpit.
43:24 And the only way that we can have serious Christians is when you have serious pastors. And the only way people are going to reveal this word is when they come and they see a man who takes this word and declares it as though he was a dying man preaching to dying men. The gravity of it. The method and the message of it and the great need of it. What is a preacher supposed to do when people will seek after false teaching and incomplete preaching?
43:58 Preach it anyway. Be a voice. God has called you to be a prophet. So stand on the highways and the byways and declare what are you supposed to do? Pray for your pastors.
44:12 Pray that God would keep them faithful and true. Pray that God would raise up young Samuels. Pray that the pulpit would be set on fire again. There's great debate about who said this. Some say Wesley, some say others.
44:24 And there are different variations of his quote, but I love every single one of them. Set yourself on fire and let people come from miles to watch you burn. That is the great need of the hour. Isn't it amazing? Would you ever thought with the wars and the rumors of wars and pandemic or whatever that is and polluted politicians, what is the need of the hour?
44:49 Well, Paul is addressing it in light of the end times as well. Unholiness, ungratefulness, corruption. And what is the what is the remedy? What is the pushback? What is the what is the thing that needs to be confronted with?
45:02 Preach the word. Preach the word. Don't get caught up in surveys and and be a a pseudo news anchor. Preach God's truth. Because there's a remnant still in the midst of all those who are seeking after fall, so there is a remnant still that want it, desire it.
45:24 One of the most encouraging things about these membership interviews, not just to get to know people, but when we ask the question, why out of many churches would you want to come here? And there are many other faithful churches and they give obviously unique answers, but one thing and every single answer has resounded. We want God's word. We want God's word. Nothing can bring me more joy.
45:51 May that be true until God calls us home. Let's pray. Lord, we thank you not just for the word, but for the word preached. Lord, you've not only ordained us to have a personal devotion to the scriptures, but you have ordained for your people to be in the presence of public proclamation of truth. And Lord as we heard, your presence is here.
46:42 We pray that you would be the audience of our primary concern and that Lord you would be pleased. Help us uphold preaching, pray for our preachers, and believe that preaching is good for us. Lord, as we prepare to break bread as a family, show us what we need to repent of. Show us what we need to do before we communion with you in this way. Bring revival to preachers.
47:17 Pour out your spirit in seminaries. Awaken those pastors who've been in ministry for gen for for decades but have lost the fire. Speak to their hearts again. Bring them to the place where they feel the prophetic burden of the message of the hour. We wanna see it.
47:35 We wanna hear it. Lord, for your name's sake, do it. Set ablaze the pulpit once again. In your name we pray. Amen.
