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[Matt's Messages] "Twenty Years Together"

“Twenty Years Together”
Philippians 1:3-6
June 10, 2018

We’re going to take a short break from our study in the Gospel of Matthew and Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount today to stop and celebrate a significant milestone.

I have to congratulate you this morning.

Because, as of this coming Wednesday, you have now put up with me as your pastor for 20 whole years!

Sunday June 14th, 1998 was my official start date as the Pastor of Lanse Evangelical Free Church, and it was the first Sunday that I preached from this pulpit as your pastor.

I had preached a candidating sermon on Habakkuk 3 back in April of 1998, and we had already worshipped with you the previous Sunday, June 7, 1998, after we moved into our little house in Bigler. But June 14, 1998 was my first official Sunday preaching as your pastor.

Raise your hand if you think you were here on that Sunday. Praise God!

This is the worship bulletin from that Sunday. I kept two copies.

The order of worship says that we had the Welcome and then the “Opportunities for Ministry” (what we now call the “Church Family News”) and then we sang, “Great Is the Lord” “Our God Is An Awesome God” (and the lyrics for that one are typed into the bulletin because we didn’t have this video projector way back then). And we sang, “Majesty.”

Then we had “Worship in Giving” and an offertory by a Choir, which I think was led by Blair Murray.

And then we sang, “Amazing Grazce” (Hymn #202), and we dismissed the kids for children’s church which Nesta Kephart was leading and Donna Weatherly was in the nursery.

And then I got up to preach from Isaiah chapter 40, a message entitled, “Incomparably Awesome God.”

And then we had communion together, and Blair Murray led us in, “Blest Be the Tie that Binds” and closed the service in prayer.

And we were off and running!

Twenty years ago this week, we began our ministry together.

This isn’t just my “work anniversary,” this is our anniversary of partnering in the gospel–church and pastor together.

Congratulations!

And thank you.

Thank you for–not just putting up with me, not just enduring me, but for loving me and caring for me and supporting me and paying me and appreciating me, and listening to me and following me and praying for me and forgiving me and for caring for my family.

It’s been a wonderful score of years together, and I am very grateful to the Lord for our partnership.

I feel like Paul did about the Philippian church.

See what he says here in his letter to them? Philippians chapter 1, verse 3.

This is how I feel about you.

“I thank my God every time I remember you, Lanse Free Church. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day (June 14, 1998) until now (June 10, 2018), being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus” (Philippians 1:4-6, NIV84).

That word “partnership” in verse 5 is the Greek word “koinonia.”

Have you heard that word before?

“Koinonia” was the winning word in the national spelling bee this year.

A young fellow named Karthik Nemmani won the national spelling bee by spelling “koinonia.”

I could have done that one!

I probably couldn’t have done most of the ones leading up to it, but that’s one I know.

Koinonia is the word that we often translate “fellowship” because it means to have something in common. Joining people together by having something in common.

So “partnership” is also a good word for it.

What is it that Paul had in common with the Philippians? What does he say?

“In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now.”

They had the gospel in common.

And so do we.

The gospel of Jesus Christ is what binds us together from the first day until now.

It’s our “main thing,” right?

The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing.

And the main thing is the gospel of Jesus Christ.

That’s our koinonia.

And it brings me great joy.

It’s a joy to be your pastor.

I was trying to think of what specifically to talk about this Sunday to mark our double decade anniversary.

Ten years ago, when we had finished our first decade together, I preached a three week series called, “Ten Things.” Anybody remember that?

The three messages were:

10 Things I Have Learned In the First 10 Years
10 Things I Have Been I’ve Been Teaching in the First 10 Years
10 Things I’m Hoping for in the Next 10 Years

I re-read those this week, and they filled my heart with all kinds of feelings.

Especially that first one because it looks back over the first decade on how the Lord brought us here and how I started to learn to be a pastor and how then He knit our hearts together.

And then the last one was what I was hoping would happen these last 10 years! So it was really interesting to read it again and try to look back and evaluate to see if those things I was desiring then came true. And to some degree, they did. I was encouraged. We definitely made some progress.

A lot sure has changed since then.

We still didn’t have this video projector. I put my notes up on a overhead transparency just a decade ago.

We hadn’t started the Good News Cruise yet.

We hadn’t sent short term teams to Serbia, Oaxaca, Pittsburgh, Louisiana.

We didn’t have MOPS.

The Forceys were still in Mexico.

We had the old pulpit. We had no family bathroom. The upstairs was a big junk drawer in the sky. The library didn’t look like it does.

Amy Jo hadn’t restarted the choir.

Ten years ago, I had not yet taken my first doctoral class much less dreamed of writing a book on resisting gossip!

And there was almost nobody on social media. Just a few college students and a few others were just getting into that new thing called Facebook.

And we didn’t know that Robin had Celiac Disease, that Heather had Fibromyalgia, or that I would have major surgery for diverticulitis and a perforated colon.

And we have lost a lot of people that we love in those last ten years.

When I posted the 10 Things message on my blog, a sweet woman named Linda Lundeen left a comment after she read it, “Thank you Matthew. I have been blessed. Your favorite Mother-in-law.” It’s still up there on my blog.

I’ve done around 50 funerals since then and hers was one of them.

Twenty years together.

What to talk about to sum up 20 years?

I joked in the third 10 Things message that in June of 2018 I would probably preach a 20 point message!

But I think I’ve learned a thing or two since then, and that’s just not a good idea!

Instead I have a 3 point message for you.

And it’s about what this partnership looks like on a day-in-day-out weekly basis.

Have you ever wondered what a pastor does?

Like what is my job description?

I have friends that tell me that I have a great job because I only work one day a week.

I say, “Yeah, and that’s just for the morning! I get the rest of Sundays off!”

Well, I think most people know that’s not true.

But what does a pastor do?

I almost titled this message with a nod to Richard Scarry, “What Do Pastors Do All Day?”

Well, twenty years ago when I was candidating as your pastor I taught a Sunday School class on that very topic. Right back there in the back of the auditorium.

And I had three points. From three different scripture verses that together sum up my basic philosophy of pastoral ministry.

And those three points are like my job description.

They are really the job description of any elder in a local church but especially that of a vocational elder in the local church, what we often call a “pastor.”

And every month, I put those three things, three commands from scripture, across the top of my monthly report that I give to the other elders. I think I’ve turn in about 240 monthly reports with these 3 points right across the top of each one.

And then every year when I do my annual report, I organize it around these 3 points. And I’ve done 20 of those.

So, this is what I perceive to be my job.

I probably do a bunch of other things, too, but these 3 things are the core of all that I do as your pastor.

And for each one of them, there is a corresponding response from the flock, from you.

So this is a description of our partnership over the last twenty years together.

Are you ready?

Here’s number one. I hope they are not a surprise!

#1. PREACH THE WORD.

Turn with me to 2 Timothy chapter 4.

We just looked at this passage back in February when Billy Graham graduated to glory. Paul is writing to Timothy who was serving as a kind of pastor in Ephesus.

Paul was pretty sure he himself was about to die, and so he left Timothy these instructions. 2 Timothy 4, verse 1.

“In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage–with great patience and careful instruction. For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.”

Preach the Word.

That’s the first item on my job description.

Preach the Word.

I’m not supposed to preach anything else.

I’m not supposed to preach my opinions. I’m not supposed to go off on what I think.

I’m supposed to read, explain, and press home this book right here.

The Word of God.

When I feel like it and when I don’t.

When it’s convenient and when it’s not.

“In season and out of season,” I’m supposed to “correct, rebuke and encourage–with great patience and careful instruction.”

I hope I’ve done that.

Have you been corrected by my preaching? I hope so.
Have you been rebuked? I hope so.
Have you been encouraged? I sure hope so.

Because that’s my job.

I’m supposed to preach the Word.

I’ve been trying to preach the gospel because that’s the main thing.

And I’ve been trying to preach the whole counsel of God. Not just the parts I like the best.

That’s why we’ve gone over all kinds places in your Bible.

In twenty years, I’ve preached every single verse of: Genesis, Exodus, Numbers, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1&2 Samuel, 1&2 Kings, Hosea, Jonah, Mark, Luke, John, Acts, Romans, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians (twice–that was my first book I preached all the way through with you, Philippians), Colossians, 1 Timothy, Titus, James, 1 Peter, 1 John. And lots of Psalms and Proverbs along the way!

And if the Lord gives me days, I hope to preach all of the parts I haven’t preached yet.

Starting with finishing the Gospel of Matthew!

It’s my job. My duty. My very high privilege to preach the Word of God.

Because this book is like no other book.

This book is God-breathed. It’s inspired.

That’s what Paul just told Timothy in chapter 3.

“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”

My job is to give you this book.

What’s your job?

RECEIVE THE WORD.

Turn with me, if you will, to James chapter 1, verse 21.

If the pastors of the church are supposed to preach the Word, what does the church do? Verse 21.

“Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you. Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it–he will be blessed in what he does.”

Receive the Word. Accept it and then do it.

That’s what you’ve been doing for the last twenty years.

You’re a fantastic congregation for reading and heeding the Word of God.

I know that you haven’t just endured my preaching for 20 years, you’ve been taking it in and letting it grow. And not just looking in the mirror and then walking away, but making the changes the mirror tells you you need to make!

When we come together on Sunday, and we open the Word, it’s supposed to be a feast.

I’ve worked to prepare the meal, like a chef, and we all sit down and ingest it together and let it go to work on our insides.

Now, of course, it doesn’t have to be me. You all can preach the Word, too. We are all supposed to share it with others in the right contexts. And we all need to learn to feed ourselves, too.

But I have a special calling to preach the Word right here.

Increasingly, the world will not like this.

Paul said that a “time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.”

But I’m not allowed to do that.

You will make sure of that, right? You will be noble Bereans who ask the question, “Where Stands It Written?” And you will hold me accountable to doing my job.

That’s why one of the most beautiful sounds in the world to me is the sound of pages turning on Sunday mornings.

I know there’s less of it now because some of swipe to the passage in your Bibles. Maybe we need to get an app that makes the page turning sound when you’re swiping to the passage I’m preaching!

The point is to receive the Word.

How are you doing at that right now?

I know that I have room to grow as a preacher. When I listed the parts of the Bible that I have preached, I noticed that I have shied away from the prophets. Aside from Hosea and Jonah and from dipping in at times, I have not spent much time preaching the prophets to you. I need to work on that.

One downside of that is that I’ve probably missed opportunities to preach on biblical justice. Justice is one of the major themes of the prophets. Seeing people get what is  due them and going what is right. I need to work on that in my preaching.

What do you need to work on in your receiving?

Are you merely listening and not doing what the Bible says?

Is your heart the hard soil where the seed of the Word just bounces right out?

Or is your heart rich soil producing a crop “thirty, sixty or even a hundred times what was sown?”

Here’s number two. Preach the Word.

#2. EQUIP THE SAINTS.

Turn with me to Ephesians chapter 4.

Paul is talking about how we’re supposed to live out the grace that God has given us. Look at verse 11.

He says, “It was he [Christ] who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, [why?] to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ” (vv.11-13).

Do you get the picture?

Jesus gives these people as gifts to the church: apostles, prophets, evangelists, and pastor/teachers (those are actually probably one thing together). And He gives them for a reason. What’s the reason?

“To prepare God’s people for works of service.”

The New American Standard Bible translates it, “for the equipping of the saints for the work of service...”

To get the saints ready to serve.

That’s one big part of my job.

Now, when it says the “saints,” it’s talking about you. That’s why the NIV translate it’s “God’s people.” It means “holy ones” those whom God has made holy through the blood of Christ.

So, who is supposed to do the work of the ministry?

God’s people.

Us. Together. Not just me.

I’m supposed to be like a coach.

Does James Franklin run out on the field and throw the passes?

Does he receive the passes?

Does Coach Franklin give out the hits on the defensive line?

Does he take the hits on the offensive line?  (That’s the right way to say it, right?)

No, Coach Franklin gets the players ready to play the game. He might call some of the plays. And, I’m sure he does some of the work, but he doesn’t do all of the work. Not even close.

It’s a partnership, right?

What’s your side? To be equipped and to do the work of the ministry! V.12 again.

Pastors are given “...to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.”

That’s when we’re done. When we’ve hit that goal. Then I can stop equipping, and you can stop serving.

What a day that will be. V.14

“Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ [Not me! Jesus!]. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament [that’s each of us], grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.”

DO YOUR PART OF THE WORK.

Now, again, this is an awesome church for that.

We have a wonderful church family for people volunteering and doing their part.

Some churches have an “80/20 rule.”  Eighty percent of the work gets done by twenty percent of the people.

But this church has a much better percentage of people doing their part.

Last year, I preached a whole message on how good this church family is about everyone figuring out what your gifts are and using them in ministry.

We’ve got lots of room for improvement, but we’ve been doing this together for twenty years.

I know that I still take on too much for myself. Sometimes it’s just easier to do it myself.

And sometimes there doesn’t seem to be someone ready yet to take something on.

I need to grow in constantly giving away the ministry. I think I’ve gotten a lot better at it over the years. And love seeing all of the leaders that we’ve developed over the years.

That’s one of the things I said 10 years ago that we needed to work on. We needed younger leaders to be brought along and empowered throughout our church and ministries. And we’re seeing that.

But how about you in particular?

Are you doing your part of the work? Do you need to be equipped?

That’s what I’m here for you. To prepare God’s people for works of service.

Family Bible Week is coming in just over a month, and Misty needs people to serve. She just told us about what is need.

What are you going to do about it?

“Coach Mitchell” is calling you to get into the game.

Last one. And in many ways it sums it all up.

#3. SHEPHERD THE FLOCK.

Turn to 1 Peter chapter 5.

Peter, talking as one of us says, “To the elders among you, I appeal as a fellow elder, a witness of Christ's sufferings and one who also will share in the glory to be revealed: Be shepherds of God's flock that is under your care, serving as overseers–not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not greedy for money, but eager to serve; not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock. And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away.”

Peter tells elders like me to shepherd God’s flock.

He makes it really clear that it is not my flock, but God’s flock.

I’m just an undershepherd. I am a steward, not an owner.

It’s God’s flock under my care. What a responsibility!

And I have to do it with the right motives. Not just out of duty, not in it for the money, not as a boss lording it over people. But out of willingness and eagerness and as an example to the flock.

I need to shepherd you.

Now, I think that includes the idea of leading. You see that word “overseer” in verse 2.

The elders, especially the vocational elders, according to Paul are supposed to “direct the affairs of the church” (1 Timothy 5:17). They do serve as leaders.

But it’s more than just leading. It’s shepherding.

It’s caring for the flock. Feeding the flock. Tending to the flock and, especially, their spiritual needs.

This is the category that I put all of my people-ministry into.

Visiting folks at the hospital, at your home, at the nursing home.

Phone calls. Emails. Text messages. Meeting with someone in my office.

Praying for you. Praying with you.

Counseling. Listening. Discerning. Challenging where needed.

A shepherd is in the lives of his flock and trying gently but firmly to move them towards where they need to go.

This is where our lives intersect.

It’s not my job to just preach at you or put you to work in ministry.

It’s my job to walk alongside you. To know you. And to try to provide care for you.

To comfort you when you are hurting.
To confront you when you are sinning.

And, again, I can’t do all of that. We all need to do that for each other.

And we have a whole team of elders to do it, too.

Peter says this to the elders, not just to one elder.

But I am a vocational elder called and set aside to give my full time to this kind of shepherding.

And I consider it a great privilege.

This week, I sat beside a hospital bed of a hurting sheep.
I sat beside a bed at a nursing home of a lost sheep.
I sat in my office in a counseling appointment with a sheep who was looking for some direction in solving a conflict.
Heather and I did pre-marital coaching with Sheila and her fiancé Ben who are getting married next month.

By the way, I can’t believe Sheila is old enough to get married! She was like 1 year old in 1998 when we came! And here she is getting married.

And it’s my privilege to shepherd that couple to the altar.

I know that I’ve made many mistakes in the shepherding arena over the last twenty years.

I’ve hurt people’s feelings.
I’ve misinterpreted things.
I’ve disappointed folks.
I’ve given bad advice.
I’ve said hurtful words.
I’ve dropped the ball at times.
I’ve forgotten people. They dropped off my radar.

Most of my regrets over the last two decades are missed opportunities to shepherd people well.

Especially when I didn’t confront them with their sin when I should have.

I like people to like me.

But a shepherd should be more concerned for the well-being of the sheep than if they sheep is happy with them.

And I need to grow in that area. I know it.

Thank you for forgiving me and being patient with me.

And for teaching me.

Many of you have shown me how to pastor by shepherding others and shepherding me.

Blair Murray was one of my pastors.

What’s your job?

SUBMIT TO SHEPHERDING.

The book of Hebrews says in chapter 13, “Obey your leaders and submit to their authority. They keep watch over you as men who must give an account. Obey them so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no advantage to you. Pray for us. We are sure that we have a clear conscience and desire to live honorably in every way.”

That’s your side of it.

To submit to shepherding. Not to slavishly do whatever the elders say. That’s ridiculous.

But to listen to them, to consider what they have to say, to pray about it and listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit, and then where appropriate follow them.

It is my job to keep watch over you as someone who must give an account.

You see the Great Shepherd is coming back.

And I’m going to have to tell Him what I did with you. What I did with HIS flock.

That’s a big responsibility.

So pray for me. Not just submit to shepherding but pray for the shepherd!

Because I want to be found faithful.

I don’t know if I’ll still be the pastor here in two more decades.

Perhaps the Lord will return, or He’ll move me on, or He’ll take me to Himself before then.

But if I’m here, I want to be found faithful.

I want to have “a clear conscience and desire to live honorably in every way.”

And (v.4), “when the Chief Shepherd appears,” I want to, “receive the crown of glory that will never fade away.”

And I believe that, regardless of whether I go or remain, you will also will receive a glorious reward (1 Peter 1:7-9).

Because like Paul to the church at Philippi, “I am confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”

Because He is the Good Shepherd of the Sheep!

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[Matt's Messages] "Do the Work of an Evangelist (Billy Graham, 1918-2018)"

“Do the Work of An Evangelist”
Billy Graham (1918-2018)
February 25, 2018 :: 2 Timothy 4:1-8 

It happened again. My plan all week was for us to start in on Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount with a study of the Beatitudes. We read the whole Sermon on the Mount two weeks ago, but then we took a week off to learn about the Holy Spirit after Stay Sharp.

And I studied this week, thinking that we were going to dive into the Sermon on the Mount this morning. That was my plan.

But apparently the Lord has a different plan for us.

Because after Billy Graham died on Wednesday, I just couldn’t get him out of my mind, and when it came time to write this week’s message, I felt like it would be very appropriate to take one more week off of the Sermon on the Mount and do something special to mark Dr. Graham’s passing into glory.

There aren’t very many people I would take a Sunday off my normal plan to talk about, but Billy Graham has had an enormous impact for Jesus Christ on our world. And his death truly marks the end of an era. His body will lie in state in the rotunda of the Capitol building in Washington, D.C!

So Marilynn will have to come up with yet another cover about the beatitudes because this week, we’re going to stop and look at 2 Timothy 4:1-8.

I picked this passage because it is also about the death of another major Christian leader. The Apostle Paul expected that he would soon be executed. He says, “the time has come for my departure.”

This is Paul’s last letter that we have. And he used that last letter (and the last chapter of his last letter!) to give his protégée Timothy a very solemn charge.

And as we read it, I think we’ll hear echoes of and lessons from the life and ministry of Billy Graham.
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William Franklin Graham was born on November 7, 1918, four days before the Armistice was signed to end World War I. He died this last Wednesday, February 21, 2018. Over 99 years old. That’s a long lifetime. And what a life he lived!

I’m not going to give a history lesson this morning. This is a sermon, not a lecture. But I recommend learning about the life of Billy Graham.

When I was in college, I read this book, Billy Graham: The Authorized Biography by John Pollock. It was first published in 1966. By 1966, Billy Graham had already preached the gospel in person to over 50,000,000 people!

By the time he died, it was more than twice that number.

And he preached to many many more than that through broadcasting: radio, television, film, internet.

He is arguably the most influential Christian figure of the last century.

And everybody here knows his name.

A few years from now many less will know his name.

There was a time when he was on one of the top most admired people in America every single year. There are many who don’t know him today.

But he has been a household name for many years.

And most of us have a Billy Graham story to tell. Some way that he has impacted us.

My wife's family has a picture of her grandfather, Billy Wood, standing in a group and talking with Billy Graham at the Hume Lake camp and conference center in California.

When Heather was little, her parents were counselors on the floor near the podium at the Billy Graham Crusade in her hometown of Calgary.

What’s your Billy Graham story?

He came and preached in Altoona in 1949.

I have several of his books my shelf many of which belonged to my grandmother who gave them to me when I started to show an interest in spiritual things. One on the Holy Spirit, one on the End Times called Approaching Hoofbeats.

The first major paper that I wrote at college was about Billy Graham and his influence on people around the world. I put up a poster in the hallways at Moody saying, “Were you converted under the ministry of Billy Graham? I want to talk to you.” And I had several fascinating conversations of people from all walks of life who had been led to the Lord through Billy Graham’s ministry.

Graham was innovative and broke new ground in publishing, broadcasting, even film making. He met with Presidents (11 of them, I think, here's a tribute from George W. Bush) and royalty and celebrities (he was friends with Johnny Cash, for example). But what he was best known for and what he wanted to be known for is for being an evangelist.

A few years ago Pastor Ralph Rott gave me this book, Graham’s autobiography, Just As I Am published in 1997. In the introduction Billy writes, “I want to add a few words about my calling as an evangelist. The word evangelist comes from a Greek word meaning ‘one who announces Good News.’ Its verb form occurs over fifty times in the Greek New Testament. An evangelist, then, is like a newscaster on television or a journalist writing for a newspaper or magazine–except that the evangelist’s mission is to tell the good news of the Gospel. (The word Gospel actually means ‘Good News’).

In the Bible, an evangelist is a person sent by God to announce the Gospel, the Good News; he or she has a spiritual gift that has never been withdrawn from the Church. Methods differ, but the central truth remains; an evangelist is a person who has been called and especially equipped by God to declare the Good News to those who have not yet accepted it, with the goal of challenging them to turn to Christ in repentance and faith and to follow Him in obedience to His will. The evangelist is not called to do everything in the church or in the world that God wants done. On the contrary, the calling of the evangelist is very specific.

Nor is the evangelist free to change the message, any more than a newscaster is free to change the news. The main thrust of our message is centered in Christ and what He has done for us by His death and resurrection, and the need for us to respond by committing our lives to Him. It is the message that Christ came to forgive us and give us new life and hope as we turn to Him” (pgs. xiv-xv).

That’s what Billy Graham was all about.

And that’s why I want to title this message from verse 5, “Do the Work of an Evangelist.”

And I have four points of application that I want to make.

All four come from 2 Timothy chapter 4, but I want to use a catchphrase from or about Billy Graham to describe each one.

Here’s the first one:

1. “THE BIBLE SAYS.”

Can you hear Billy Graham say it, “The Bible Says...”

When Billy Graham preached, he didn’t just spout out his opinions. He didn’t just tell stories. He didn’t just share his feelings.

He preached from the Bible, and this was his catchphrase, “The Bible says...” and then he would explain biblical teaching.

Because that’s where the power is.
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And because he was heeding the words of Paul to Timothy in chapter 4. Listen again to verse 1.

“In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I [Paul] give you [Timothy] this charge: Preach the Word...”

Can you feel how serious Paul is about this charge?

You can’t get any more serious than appealing to the presence of God and Christ who will JUDGE and is coming back again to set up His Kingdom.

That’s the basis of this charge.

“Timothy, don’t preach anything else than God’s word.”

And preach it faithfully. V.2

“...be prepared in season and out of season [when you feel like it and when you don’t, when you feel ready and when don’t]; correct, rebuke and encourage–with great patience and careful instruction.”

That’s faithful preaching. Year in and year out. And not just preaching the easy parts that people want to hear. “Correct, rebuke, and encourage.”

Don’t just encourage!

And do it with great patience and careful instruction. Why? V.3

“For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. [Tell me this. Tell me this!] They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.”

But myths won’t save.

Only the truth will save!

Doesn’t verse 3 sound like today?

It’s been like that for a long time. Paul warned of it, Billy Graham saw it in his day and countered it by preaching the Word.

Where are you at with God’s word?

Do you believe it?
Do you know what it says?
Are you trusting in it?
Are you reading it every day?
Are you basing your life on it?

You know there was a time in Billy Graham’s life when he had some serious doubts about the Bible.

It was 1949 and the Los Angeles evangelistic crusade was coming up. And another preacher had challenged Graham that the Bible was out of date and couldn’t be trusted.

And Billy had a little crisis of faith.

He writes about it on page 139 of Just As I Am.

He went for a walk in the moonlight with his Bible and he placed it on a tree trunk and prayed. He said something like, “O God! There are many things in this Book I do not understand. There are many problems with it which I have no solution. There are many seeming contradictions. There are some areas in it that do not seem to correlate with modern science. I can’t answer some of the philosophical and psychological questions [they] are raising...Father, I am going to accept this as Thy Word—by faith! I’m going to allow faith to go beyond my intellectual questions and doubts, and I will believe this to be Your inspired Word....

When I got up from my knees...my eyes stung with tears. I sensed the presence and power fo God as I had not sensed it in months. Not all my questions were answered, but a major bridge had been crossed. In my heart and mind, I knew a spiritual battle in my soul had been fought and won.”

“The Bible says.”

And that’s the authority.

Is that where you are?

Have you had that same experience?

Made that same commitment?

I remember when I read about that at Moody about 25 years ago that it was a great example to me. I got down on my knees and said something very similar to the Lord.

I still have questions. But I also have faith in God’s Word.

That’s why I’m up here every Sunday teaching this thing!

Do you believe what the Bible says?

Or do you just want teachers to say what your itching ears want to hear?

Don’t turn away from the truth and turn aside to myths.

Because they won’t save.

They can’t save!

The passage just before this is also very familiar. Paul just go done reminding Timothy what the Word of God is. Look up at 3:16.

“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”

What does the Bible say?

And whatever it says, we trust that.

And we preach that.

Here’s Number Two.

#2. “JUST AS I AM.”

That’s the title of the hymn that is most closely associated with Billy Graham and his evangelistic team.

By the way, that’s one of the things I love about Billy Graham is that he surrounded himself with a team. He didn’t try to do everything on his own. He was like Paul in that, too.

And some of his team led the singing like Cliff Barrows and George Beverly Shea.

One of the things that Billy Graham was known for was giving people an invitation right then and there to respond to the gospel message.

At his stadium events, he would invite them to come forward, talk with a counselor and pray to receive Christ.

He was famous for saying that the buses would wait for you. “You just come.”

And the choir would sing “Just As I Am:”

Just as I am, without one plea,
But that Thy blood was shed for me,
And that Thou bid’st me come to Thee,
O Lamb of God, I come! I come!
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Now, of course, you don’t have to walk an aisle to become a Christian.

You don’t even have to pray “the sinner’s prayer.”

It is by grace through faith that we are saved. And not by our works at all.

But we can express that faith by walking an aisle and praying a sinner’s prayer.

And we must all respond in faith to the gospel to be saved.

We all have to repent and believe.

We all have to come to Christ.

Personally.

Individually.

And just as we are.

We don’t get cleaned up first. We come as we are, sinners without one thing going for us...except the grace of God.

And it’s the job of an evangelist to tell us that gospel and call us to respond to it. Look at verse 5.

“But you [instead of turning aside to myths, you...], keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.”

Timothy was supposed to keep a level head. That’s not easy all of the time in ministry.

Billy Graham did well at that on the whole, but he’d be the first to tell you that he also made big mistakes.

I think it’s a mark of his integrity that he publicly declared his regrets and things he’d do over again if he could.

One was that he wished he’d studied more. Another was that he’d traveled less. And was away from his family less. Another was that he had done more to effect racial reconciliation. He led the way in desegregating his evangelistic campaigns and partnering with minority preachers, but he wished that he had done more and sooner. And another big regret was that he allowed himself to get too embroiled in politics and too enamored with politicians.

It’s easy to do if they are making much of you. It’s hard to “keep your head in all situations.”

He says in his book, “...There have been times when I undoubtedly stepped over the line between politics and my calling as an evangelist. An evangelist is called to do one thing, and one thing only; to proclaim the gospel. Becoming involved in strictly political issues or partisan politics inevitably dilutes the evangelist’s impact and compromises his message. It is a lesson I wish I had learned earlier.

About one thing I have absolutely no regrets, however, and is my commitment man years ago to accept God’s calling to serve Him as an evangelist of the Gospel of Christ” (pg 724).

What Billy never regretted was sharing the gospel of grace. He never regretted doing the work of an evangelist. He never regretted calling people to respond to Jesus just as they are.

How about you?

One of the things love about verse 5 is that it doesn’t say, “You are evangelist, Timothy, get busy.” It says, “do the work of an evangelist.”

I think that means that Timothy might not have the gift.

He might not have that special ability that some people have to talk about Jesus and see them come to faith.

Heather and I had a friend at Moody named Jeff who would go for a walk and come back with convert. He just had that gift.

I don’t have that gift.

But I can still do the work.

I can still tell people about Jesus and invite them to respond to Him in faith.

And so can you.

You and I will never be Billy Graham.

We won’t preach to millions about Jesus.

But we can share Jesus with a friend, a neighbor, a family member, a co-worker, a stranger.

Have you filled out one of these yet?

This is doing the work of an evangelist to be a fisher of men.

Write down their name and your name. Who you are praying for and wanting to reach with the gospel of grace.

See, Billy is gone now. It’s up to us pick up the baton.

It’s up to us to discharge the duties of our ministries.

That’s not going to be easy. That’s why Paul told Timothy to endure hardship.

That’s no fun!

This being a Christian thing is not easy. Billy Graham didn’t have it easy. He had Parkinson’s Disease. He had all kinds of threats. So many situations he got into that were difficult. Constant criticism.

But he was faithful to do the work of an evangelist.

And you and I can be, too.

Who do you need to talk to this week about Jesus?

And tell them about what Jesus did for them? And invite them to receive Him as Lord and Savior?

I hope that the death of Billy Graham ushers in a new season of evangelism in the church. Because it’s so easy to not share the gospel.

Paul knew that his life was just about over, and that’s why he’s passing the baton to Timothy. V.6

“For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time has come for my departure.”

“You’re going to have to do it now.

My time is over.”

Billy Graham could be saying the same thing to us today.

I gave you the gospel. I gave you the steps to peace with God.

Now, you need to go tell others.

Here’s number three.

#3. “THE BILLY GRAHAM RULE.”

That’s not what he called it, but it’s named after him.

You might have heard it called, “The Mike Pence Rule” because our current Vice President has adopted it and taken flack for it, as well.

And that is that Billy Graham would not travel with, meet with, or eat alone with a woman who was not his wife.

Now, that’s not in the Bible. The Bible doesn’t give us that rule.

But there is wisdom in it.

What the Bible does say is that men are to be faithful to their wives.

And they are to flee youthful lusts.

And they are to be men of integrity.

Look at verse 7.

“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.”

Paul is saying that he stuck with it.

He is not claiming to be perfect, just persevering.

He has not given up or defaulted on his confession of faith in Jesus Christ.

What we call “The Billy Graham Rule” is just a part of something that Billy Graham and his teamed called, “The Modesto Manifesto.”

Back in 1948, they met in Modesto California and made a list of the things that normally sink evangelists: money problems, sexual scandals, working at cross-purposes with the local church, and exaggerating evangelistic success.

And they decided then and there that they would put practices in place to makes sure they did not fail in any of those areas. And to be true to their principles, no matter. The Modesto Manifesto.

And they did it!

They stayed faithful to the wives. They were careful with the money. They worked closely with local churches. They were accurate in their reporting.

They fought they good fight. They finished the face. They kept the faith.

This is a call to integrity.

Billy Graham was faithful to Ruth Graham.

He lived out his commitment to Christ as he lived out his commitment to Ruth.

Now, I don’t know what your particular practices are to be men and women of integrity, but what matters is that you are.

Because there is a correlation between how we live and the gospel that we preach.

Is there something you need to put in place to guard your integrity?

Maybe it’s internet filter and accountability software for your phone and computer?

I use something called “Covenant Eyes,” and it sends a weekly report of places I go online to my accountability partner.

Billy Graham wouldn’t get into an elevator alone with a woman who was not his wife.

That might be too strict for you. But he didn’t default either!

He stayed the course.

He stayed true to Ruth and to the gospel and to Jesus.

“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.”

#4. “I’D RATHER HAVE JESUS.”

My favorite song from the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association is the one Bev Shea always used to sing, “I’d Rather Have Jesus.”
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“I'd rather have Jesus than silver or gold
I'd rather be His than have riches untold
I'd rather have Jesus than houses or land
I'd rather be led by His nail-pierced hand

Than to be the king of a vast domain or be held in sins dread sway
I'd rather have Jesus than anything
This world affords today”

I’ll bet the Apostle Paul would have loved that song, too.

Because that was how He felt about Jesus. Look at verse 8.

“Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day–and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.”

All who have longed for Jesus to come back.

Paul knows that he will be reward by Jesus Himself.

And he looks forward to it.

But the best part of that reward is the One who is giving it to him!

Paul has been longing to see Him face to face.

He’s lived for Jesus, more than anything.

“I'd rather have Jesus than vain applause
I'd rather be faithful to His dear cause
I'd rather have Jesus than worldwide fame
I'd rather be true to His holy name.”

Billy Graham got lots of applause all around the world.

And he’s being honored this week.

But he often said that his goal was to actually hide behind the Cross so that people would not see him but Jesus.

And now, Billy gets to see Jesus.

On the last page of his autobiography, he wrote, “I know that soon my life will be over. I thank God for it and for all He has given me in this life.

But I look forward to Heaven.

I look forward to the reunion with friends and loved ones who have gone on before.

I look forward to Heaven’s freedom from sorrow and pain.

I also look forward to serving God in ways we can’t begin to imagine, for the Bible makes it clear that Heaven is not a place of idleness.

And most of all, I look forward to seeing Christ and bowing before Him in praise and gratitude for all He has done for us, and for using me on this earth by His grace–just as I am” (pg. 729-730).

Amen!

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[Matt's Messages] "What You Hold In Your Hands"

“What You Hold In Your Hand”
Back 2 School Sunday :: August 25, 2013
2 Timothy 3:14-16

Before we open our Bibles today, I want you to do something for me. I want everyone here to grab a Bible and hold it in your hand.

There are Pew Bibles in the rack in front of you. Most of you hopefully brought your own Bibles. Kids, grab your Bibles or one in the rack in front of you.

Some of you access your Bible on your phone, Kindle, or Ipod or Ipad. Get those out right now and put them in your hand.

Everybody doing it?

You are so privileged!
You are so fortunate.
You are so blessed among people on Earth today and throughout human history.

Because of “What You Hold In Your Hand.”

The Word of God.

And not only do you have it in your hand, but all of you have it in translated into your own heart language, your mother-tongue.

You are blessed to hold in your hand a copy of the holy Scriptures in a language that you can read!

For 1,000 years the Bible was chained up. Literally. Only churches owned copies of the Bible and they were translated into a language that very few people could read, Latin. And the one copy a church owned would be chained to the wall of the church so no one would steal it.

But now, you hold one in your hands.

And that’s what we’re going to learn about today in 2 Timothy 3.

Today is Back 2 School Sunday, when our students return to classrooms, hallways, lockers, desks, teachers, and textbooks.  Books, books, books, books, books.

But there is no other book in the world like what you hold in your hands today.

I remember when I first got to Moody Bible Institute, one of our professors, Dr. Bill Marty took a pile of important books and stood in front of the student body and read the title of each one and then tossed across the stage.

It was startling to see him treat those books like that.

But then he held up his Bible and he said that this book was not like those books.

This book was the word of God. That’s what you hold in your hands.

And that’s what Paul was telling Timothy.

Paul was leaving this life, he was headed to meet the Lord of the universe.  This is his last letter in the Bible.

And Paul, in his last letter, was encouraging Timothy to stay faithful in the gospel ministry.

And this is his instruction for Timothy and it applies to us today. 2 Timothy 3:14.

“But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.  All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” (NIV)

This is one of my favorite passages in the Bible.

It’s one of those passages that everyone should have at least v.16 memorized because it says so much about what the Bible itself is and what it is for.

There is only one command in this passage (v.14), “continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of...”

The command is to continue in the teachings that Timothy has received and built his life upon.  And these teachings are found in God’s Word, the Bible.

Paul is telling Timothy:

Build your life on the Bible.
Build your life on the teachings that you have received from the Bible.
And don’t leave them.
Don’t depart from the teachings of the Bible.
Continue in what you have learned and become convinced of from what you hold in your hands today.

The word of God.

Why do we need to do this?

You’ll notice that verse 14 begins with a “But as for you...”

There is a contrast going on here.  Timothy is supposed to stake his life on the Bible in contrast to the false teachers that he stands in opposition to.

There are all kinds of other things out there to stake your life upon.

Jump up to verse 1 of chapter 3.

Paul says, “But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days [Which have already begun with the ascension of Christ.]  People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God–having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them.”

Notice all of the alternative things that you can get caught up in.

That’s what Paul is contrasting when he says in v.14.

“But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of...”

Don’t stake your life on those things.  They won’t satisfy. They aren’t true.  They aren’t lasting.  They aren’t satisfying.

Build Your Life on the Word of God.

Why?  V.14

“Because (first) you know those from whom you have learned it...”

Who’s that?  Well, in Timothy’s case it was first his mother Lois and grandmother Eunice.  Chapter 1 verse 5 says that those two godly women were full of faith before Timothy was and passed it down to them. [By the way, that’s a great encouragement for those who are unequally yoked and still trying to raise Christian children.  It can be done.]

And then, secondly, it was Paul who taught Timothy the faith.  Look up at verse 10.

“You, however, know all about my teaching, my way of life, my purpose, faith, patience, love, endurance, persecutions, sufferings–what kinds of things happened to me in Antioch, Iconium and Lystra, the persecutions I endured.”

Timothy, you know me. You know that I am the real-deal and you know what I’ve taught you is true.

Build your life on it!

Put down roots in it and never leave.

And not just because you know those who have taught it to you.  You also know the Scriptures themselves.  V.15

“[C]ontinue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.”

Timothy, you know your Bible.  And you know what’s in it.

You were taught it at your mother’s knee.

Build your life on it.

I remember the time at Moody Bible Institute when I decided to do this.  I had been  struggling with the reliability of the Scriptures and whether or not I was going to submit to their authority over my life.  It came to a crisis point.  I had always had a general knowledge and respect for the Bible, but I hadn’t really ever put myself completely under its authority and staked my life on it, come what may.

But I reached a point where I decided that I would believe it and live it and if God would allow me, to teach it.

And I have to regularly come back to that commitment.

“[C]ontinue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.”

What You Now Hold in Your Hand Make the Blueprint of Your Life.

Three reasons why.

Number One: Because what you hold in your hand.

#1.  GIVES THE TRUE PATH TO SALVATION.

Notice that Paul reminds Timothy that the holy Scriptures (v.15) are “able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.”

Now, interestingly, except for this and possibly a few other letters, there weren’t yet any New Testament Scriptures for Paul to be referring to. He was primarily referring to the Old Testament.

That’s what Timothy would have been taught from his childhood and what he would have had to read.

And Paul says that those Scriptures are able to point towards salvation through faith in Jesus Christ.

The Old Testament points towards Jesus.

And it does so faithfully, reliably, dependably.

There’s a new book out this month called “Jesus on Every Page: 10 Simple Ways to Seek and Find Christ in the Old Testament.”

The Holy Scriptures “are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.”
Do you want to be saved?

You need to read what you hold in your hands.

This is where we find out the true path to salvation.

This is where we are made wise to get saved–the Bible.

There are a lot of false teachings out there about how to get saved.

Even about whether or not we need saving.

The Holy Scriptures teach us the true path to salvation.

And the name of the path is Jesus Christ.

And the way of that path is faith in Jesus Christ and His CrossWork.

The Bible says that trusting in Jesus is the only way to salvation.

Do you know that?
Have you done that?
Are you trusting in Jesus Christ as the only way to salvation?

The good news that the perfect Son of God became a sin-bearing man who sacrificially died for sinners like you and me and was raised to new life to save them from their sins and give them eternal life to His glory.

That’s the central message of the Bible. That’s the gospel and that’s what we were trying to share yesterday with our community.

And any other path to salvation is a load of hooey.

Number two: What you hold in your hand:

#2.  IS GOD-BREATHED.  V.16

“All Scripture is God-breathed...”

There is so much in that little propositional statement.

“All Scripture is God-breathed...”

All Scripture is “inspired.”  That means more than just “inspiring.”  It means that the Scriptures are sourced in God.  They come from God.

The Scriptures are God’s Word.

You can build your life on the Bible because it supernaturally comes from a God Who knows everything and has revealed Himself and His plan beautifully through His prophets and apostles and other Scripture writers and can be trusted completely.

The Scriptures are God’s Word.

Now, that doesn’t mean that God didn’t use men to write the Bible.  He did.  At least 40 authors over a 1400 year period.  The Bible was written by Godly humans utilizing their personalities, situations, and thoughts.

But God did it in and through them.  God superintended the whole process so that what was produced is in fact God’s Word and not just the Word of Man.

2 Peter 1:21 says, “[M]en spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.”

The Greek word there for “carried along” is the same word as the wind filling the sail of a boat.  The Holy Spirit filled the sails of the scripture-writers to take them to the destination that He desired.

God-breathed!

That’s what you hold in your hands. A God-breathed book.

Now, that is not what the world says.

The world says that the Bible is merely a human product of fallen men which actually hides the truth.

It’s just a myth.

It’s just another religious book.

It’s just like the Koran or the Bhagavad Gita or the Book of Mormon.

That’s what the world says.  Of course, it’s a lie.

But many people want to believe a lie.  Even people in the church.

Chapter 4 says (v.3), “The time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine.  Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.  They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.”

But as for you (v.14) continue in what you have learned and become convinced up because all Scripture is God-breathed.

And third, what you hold in your hand is:

#3. AS USEFUL FOR ALL OF LIFE.  V.16 again.

“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful [King James: “profitable”] for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”

I love this passage of Scripture because it tells us how very practical the Word of God really is.

It is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness.

What is righteousness?

It is rightness.  It is uprightness.  It is what is good and pleasing to God.

We cannot be righteous on our own.  We need Christ’s righteousness reckoned to our account.

But after we come to Christ and get His righteousness as a gift, He begins to work out His righteousness in our lives.

What is true of us positionally becomes increasingly true of us practically.

And the Bible is one of the God-appointed means of growing in practical righteousness.

In other words, the Bible tells us how to live.

The Bible tells us how live lives that work.
Lives that please God.
Lives that are wise and righteous.

It’s street-level practical.  It tells us the most important things that we need to know.

It’s useful so that (notice this, v.17) “so that the man of God (you and me) may be thoroughly equipped (not just kinda equipped) for every (not just some) good work.”

You know we’re supposed to do good works, right?

Not to earn our salvation but flowing out of it.

How do we get ready to do those works?  Bible. What you hold in your hand.

“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”

This is what we call the doctrine of the sufficiency of Scripture.

It doesn’t say everything that is true about everything.  2+2=4 isn’t in the Bible.

But it tells us the most important things we need to know about everything that we need to know.

The Bible is sufficient and useful for all of life.

Notice the 4 ways here that Paul says it is useful. V.16 again.

“For teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness.”

Teaching is laying out the path.

How a Christian should talk, relate to others, do their work, and so forth.

Rebuking is stopping us when we’ve gotten off of the path

The Bible rebukes us when we need it, praise God!

Correcting is showing us how to get back onto the path.

It doesn’t just say, “Don’t go there.”  It says, “Get back here through this way.”

And Training is showing us how to stay on the path.

How to stay righteous and stay moving in righteous directions.

The Bible is sufficient.  It is useful for all of life.

So many people don’t seem to believe this!

So many Christians don’t!

If you have a problem, do you run to the Bible for answers?

Or do you run somewhere else?
Pop psychology?
Oprah or Dr. Phil?
Doctor anybody?!
The Government.
Your unbelieving friends.
Facebook.

Christians build their lives on so many other things than the Word of God!

We need to repent of that and begin to build our lives on the sufficient Word.

So, here are three points of application.

If what you hold in your hands gives the true path for salvation, is God-breathed, and is useful for all of life, then we need to do at least 3 things:

First, Read the Word.

This book is not magic. It is supernatural, but it is not magic. And it does not work by osmosis.

Just because you hold it in your hands or place it on your head does not mean that it is at work in your life.

You’ve got to get into the Word and have the Word get into you.

Read the Word.

And I don’t mean just a little verse or two a day.

We need to read and re-read and study the Word of God.

Notice that Paul calls Timothy to continue in it.  And he says that Timothy knows it.  He knows that Timothy knows it.  He’s known it since he was an infant!

Do you know it?  Do I?

So often I feel so weak in the Scriptures. Like I’m just starting out.

We need to get the Bible into us.

Read the Word.

Read all of it!  Notice that it says, “All Scripture is God-breathed.”

That means Old and New Testaments.  Not just the easy parts.

Are you involved in regular, systematic reading and studying of the Bible?

If you aren’t, you aren’t growing. Guaranteed.

This is one of the reasons why we are going start 1 Samuel next Sunday.

We will dive back into our Old Testaments to see what God wants to show us today about Himself, about ourselves and about Jesus.As we study 1 Samuel, we’ll be pointed towards “salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.”

And we have the same focus with our new Sunday School classes and Kids for Christ and ABC Kids and Youth Group that is starting up again next week.

And it will be useful for our lives.

Because what you have in your hand is God’s Holy, Inspired, Inerrant, Sufficient, Authoritative Word!

What plan do you need to put in place this week to begin?

Read the Word.

Second,  Heed the Word.

Don’t just look in the mirror and then walk away.

We need to trust the Word and obey the Word and bank on the Word and live out what we read in the Word.

Or it’s no good.

Jesus told a story about that, you know?

It’s a tale of two houses.

One built on rock.
The other house was built on [what?] sand.

Question.  Which house encountered a storm?

Both did, didn’t they?

Both houses encountered a storm.

“The rain came down, and the floods came up.”  On both of them.

But the outcome was drastically different for the two houses, wasn’t it?

The house built on the rock “stood firm.”  It did not fall.

The house built on the sand “fell with a great crash.”

The difference was in the foundations wasn’t it?

Jesus said, “[Anyone] who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.”

“But [anyone] who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand.”  Crash!

Heed the Word of God.

Is there some area of your life right now where you are in disobedience to the Word of God?

The storm will come.  And then ... “Crash!”

I am amazed at the number of Christians who do not make the Bible the standard of their life and choices.

As if the Bible didn’t have anything to say about families, or priorities, or church, or relationships, or work, or education, or whatever.

We need to Heed the Word of God.

We’ve got to do what it says.

And Third, Speed the Word.

Share it. Spread it. Preach it.  Give it away.

In the very next sentence of this passage, Paul says, “I give you this charge: Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage–with great patience and careful instruction” (4:1-2).

Don’t just read it.  Pass it on.  Share what you’ve learned with others.

They need it just as much as you do.

They need to know that God’s Word teaches the true path to salvation.

How are you doing at sharing the Gospel with others?

I read a scary statistic this week. A study has shown that 20% of non-Christians in North America (the United States and Canada) do not even personally know a follower of Christ.

That’s 13.5 million people who don’t even know someone who is a Christian.

The United States is a mission field.

And we need to go into that field and offer to others what you hold in your hand.

People need to know that God’s Word is the true path to salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.

And they need to know that God’s Word is God-breathed.  From God.  Trustworthy, Accurate, True.

And they need to know that God’s Word is useful for all of life.  Sufficient.  Helpful. Practical.  Worthy of building your life on it.

So, yes, let’s go back to school and master the books that our teachers tell us to master.

But let us be MASTERED BY just one book the one you hold in your hand today.

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