Family Commitments: Preach the Word
Download MP3Invite you to open your bibles and turn to 2nd Timothy, chapter 4. 2nd Timothy, chapter 4. While you're turning there, I want to, to thank, Jeff Thomas and Colin for filling in for me these past 4 weeks. I've been able to, catch up on the sermons and y'all had the audacity to grow while I wasn't in behind the pulpit. And so, I'm feeling a little insecure about my job.
Jeffrey Heine:And I also want to thank you for your prayers while I was in Peru with Not Forgotten, 8 of us went from the church. It was a fantastic trip. I hope I have the time to share that with you at some point in the weeks ahead. 2nd Timothy chapter 4. 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.
Jeffrey Heine:Be ready in season and out of season. Reprove, rebuke and exhort with complete patience in teaching. For time is coming when people will not endure sound doctrine 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. As for you, always be sober minded. Endure suffering.
Jeffrey Heine:Do the work of an evangelist. Fulfill your ministry. For I am already being poured out as a drink offering and the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight. I have finished the race.
Jeffrey Heine:I have kept the faith. Henceforth, there is laid up 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 to all who have loved his appearing. Pray with me. Our father, we give you thanks for this time in which we have the privilege to open up your word and hear from you.
Jeffrey Heine:So we pray that your spirit that he would come and he would open up this text and he would allow us to see Jesus more clearly. Lord, we need to hear from you and not hear from me. And so I pray that my words would fall to the ground and blow away and not be remembered anymore. But, Lord, may your words remain and may they change us. We pray this in the strong name of Jesus.
Jeffrey Heine:Amen. Next week we're gonna begin a series, a new series on 2nd Corinthians, which is gonna take us a good while to go through, but it's worth it. I was rereading through 2nd Corinthians this week and there are some chapters in there that are just so glorious in the way that they portray the glory of Christ. I'd actually thought about beginning that tonight, but instead, I thought I would continue our current series of family commitments and just some distinctives of here of redeemer, what we're about, and talk about preaching. So I'm gonna preach about preaching tonight.
Jeffrey Heine:A lot of you are somewhat new to Redeemer and, have likely been exposed to all different types of preaching, and so we probably all have different things in mind, different expectations for what is supposed to happen behind this pulpit or lectern, whatever, whatever you want to call this. And I wanna make sure we're all on the same page. To do this, I could think of no better place than going through 2nd Timothy, particularly chapter 4. Here Paul is writing towards the end of his life. And so after spending his whole life preaching in the public squares, preaching in synagogues, going from house to house, after a life full of suffering, countless beatings, and imprisonment, Paul, finally, at the end of his life here, he finds himself in prison awaiting execution, and he decides through to write one last letter.
Jeffrey Heine:This is his last letter he will ever write and he decides to write a young pastor to a young pastor, Timothy, who has pastored the church in Ephesus. And we just read these words but I wanna read again verse 12. Said 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. If you wanted to sum up all of 2nd Timothy into one simple sentence, it would be this. Timothy, guard the gospel.
Jeffrey Heine:Timothy, guard the gospel. That's that's what all of 2nd Timothy is about. Paul says so himself in the very first chapter. Chapter 1 verse 14, he says, by the holy spirit who dwells within us, guard the good deposit entrusted to you. And he had just explained what this good deposit is, and it is the gospel.
Jeffrey Heine:Timothy Timothy, you're to guard this. So how does one guard the gospel? When we when we think of guarding something, we typically think of maybe holding it close and shielding it and not letting others get close to it to in order to protect it, to in order to keep it from harm. And so the the key of guarding something is to not let others touch it. The best way to protect something is to hide it, not let others know you even have it.
Jeffrey Heine:Lauren is really good at this. By the way, husbands, dads are terrible at, at guarding things. If Lauren asked me to watch anything, watch the Children, I'll say fine and I'll have every power tool plugged in and she'll just come back and be, I told you to watch the Children and like it's only 6 inch blades. I mean how much damage can they do? I'm not good at it.
Jeffrey Heine:Lauren watches the kids like a hawk. And Lauren hides things now in order to protect them. And you can't blame her. One time she walked into her house and there was a robber there. And and ever since then, we've just been a little little scared at times when we would leave that we'll be robbed again.
Jeffrey Heine:And so Lauren will hide all of our valuables. She'll hide the computer, she will hide the jewelry, different things like that. The problem is she does such a good job. When we return, we we can't find it. And so when we return, we actually don't know if we've been robbed or if we have just forgotten where we have hidden things.
Jeffrey Heine:What kind of guarding here is Paul talking about? Is he talking about that we need to hide the gospel? We need to make sure people can't find the gospel? Not at all. It's the opposite.
Jeffrey Heine:The way to guard the gospel is to share the gospel. The way to guard the gospel is to proclaim the gospel. The more you proclaim the gospel, the more safe and secure it becomes. The more you keep it within you, the more corrupt it becomes. Let me put it simply.
Jeffrey Heine:Christians who don't proclaim the gospel likely don't really understand the gospel. Because an unshared gospel is really not a gospel, because it's good news. So in order for the gospel to be preserved, it's got to be declared. And that's what Paul's final letter to Timothy is about. Guarding the gospel by declaring the gospel.
Jeffrey Heine:And we see this when Paul gets to chapter 4. He has this laser like focus on what it means to preach this gospel. My grandmother, she died a few years ago at the ripe old age of 98. Towards the end of her life, she she was losing her memory, just a little bit of her mental capacities. Her vocabulary was becoming very limited.
Jeffrey Heine:And, especially towards her final days she would just kind of say the same thing over and over. And what she would say, she would look you in the eye and she would say, I love you. And God loves you. And that's really all she would say in her final days was I love you and God loves you. And and her hearing was gone and she couldn't really be part of any other conversation.
Jeffrey Heine:But really all the peripheral clutter that had occupied all of her life in those those fat last few days were just leaving. And this was really the core of who she was. I love you. God loves you. And here we're finding kind of the core of Paul.
Jeffrey Heine:He's coming to the end of his life and all that peripheral mental clutter that's in there is is going away. And now with laser like focus, he is saying, this is it. This is what it's all about. I want to communicate to you one last thing that is so urgent, so vital for you to understand. And so it gives one final charge.
Jeffrey Heine:I'll read you again verse 1. I charge you in the presence of god and of Jesus Christ, who is the judge to judge the living and the dead and by his appearing and by his kingdom. Just stop right there. Do do you get the feeling that Paul really kinda wants you to listen to this? That that what he's about to say is is pretty important.
Jeffrey Heine:I I mean, look how he's setting up this charge. I charge you in the presence of God. This would be God the father and of Christ Jesus. And so Paul is now calling on as witnesses, God the father and God the son as witnesses to this charge he is making. And then he reminds Timothy of who Christ Jesus is.
Jeffrey Heine:He is the one who will judge the living and the dead. So, Timothy, this this this charge that I'm giving you, the one who's listening to this is gonna hold you accountable to this while you're alive and when you're dead. He will judge as to whether or not you have kept this charge, Timothy. And then he says, and by his appearing in his kingdom. Timothy, the one that I am now charging you in front of is gonna come again and establish his rule and power.
Jeffrey Heine:There's going to be no other rulers. There's going to be no other kings. There's only going to be king Jesus standing alone in his kingdom and you will have to give an account of your life before him. You're gonna have to say whether or not you kept this charge. Whether you preached his word.
Jeffrey Heine:Now let me tell you, Paul has never made a charge like this before. You can read all of scripture and you're never going to find a charge like this. You You don't waste a charge like this. You don't say, I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus who is the judge of living and the dead. And by his appearing and by his kingdom, I think you should sing more hymns and less modern praise songs.
Jeffrey Heine:You don't say something like that. Or I think you should go to a community group structure instead of Sunday schools. Or I think you should meet at this time for a church and not that time. That's all peripheral clutter. I'm not saying it's not important, but it's in the periphery.
Jeffrey Heine:Here is the most important thing, and he says, I charge you this. Preach the word. Don't preach self help. Don't preach moral lessons. Don't preach about yourself.
Jeffrey Heine:Preach the word, and if people don't like it, if people criticize you for doing that, that's okay because there's only one judge who will judge you as to whether or not you've been faithful. You preach before him. And so I have to realize as a preacher that my topic is narrow. It's the word. My primary goal is not to get you more involved in church life.
Jeffrey Heine:It's not to make sure all of you are involved in a home group. It's not to try to to motivate you to do good works. That's not my job. My job is to preach the Word. Preach God's word.
Jeffrey Heine:Paul then expounds on this in verses 34. 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. I believe these verses have often been misunderstood by the church. We've we've talked about these verses in the past, so I won't go at great length about this, but let me just remind us. Most people assume that what Paul means here is that as a preacher, you're not supposed to preach some, you know, feel good theology that makes everybody just feel happy about themselves.
Jeffrey Heine:He's saying you shouldn't become like, you know, some of the megachurch pastors out there who water down sin, water down repentance. Or that he's saying, you know, you better not become one of those health, wealth, You know, you all seen that? It's fantastic. You know, you know, the oxygen channel is doing the reality show in LA preachers. You know, you all seen that?
Jeffrey Heine:It's fantastic. You know, 6 or 7 health, wealth, prosperity pastors and it's just following their lives as they drive their ferraris, live with their girlfriends and and everything. And certainly we're supposed to stay away from that. If ever I see any of you believing or going after the health, wealth, prosperity gospel, There are 2 there were 2 main ways to scratch ears in Paul's time. One was to become like the 1st century Sophists.
Jeffrey Heine:We'll look at that some in the weeks ahead as we go through 2nd Corinthians. These were the speakers, the orators who would go around telling stories. They would have superb rhetoric. They could talk on any type of subject, and they were the rock stars of preaching. They were all around in Paul's day.
Jeffrey Heine:They were the ones with the books, the fame, the followers. The Corinthians would call them their super apostles. And Paul's gonna have some harsh words for them. Preachers certainly are not to be like that. We're not to be entertainers or storytellers.
Jeffrey Heine:I need to resist the urge to try to wow people with with words. And we certainly don't need another personality driven church. You know, thankfully I think if I got hit by a bus tomorrow, I think the church would be all right. Hopefully there there would be a few tears, you know, just there would be a little sadness there. But I think what God has built here is far more than my personality.
Jeffrey Heine:He's building something far greater. No no church should be centered on a preacher's personality. The second way people want their ears tickled, we can see what it is by looking at what Paul fought with most of his life. Paul fought against the circumcisers and he fought against the Judaizers. He fought against all the people who wanted this lethal mixture expound on the gospel to people who really wanted expound on the gospel to people who really wanted just to be told what to do and how to earn salvation.
Jeffrey Heine:And it's crucial to understand this when listening to Paul's warning about giving people what they want to hear, because while it's true some people want to hear kind of a self help preaching, most people want law. Most people want to be told exactly what to do, how they can earn their salvation. This is certainly what I have found over the years, that that I want. It's the natural default of my heart. I I love it when I hear some pastor saying something extreme that I need to be doing in order to be a follower of Christ, Because then if I do that extreme thing, I could kinda pat myself on the back and kinda look down at all the other Christians and think, you know what?
Jeffrey Heine:I've arrived. I could sit down in judgment of others. But it's not the gospel and it doesn't change our hearts. It's a huge temptation, not just for a preacher, but for all of us to go down this road. I I hear it from churchgoers all of the time, you know, who who might brag about their pastor.
Jeffrey Heine:You know, Joel, I'm going to this church, and gosh, I tell you, that preacher is not scared to preach about sin. Not scared at all. He's not scared to step on some toes. Matter of fact, he told people the other day if they're not sharing their faith, they're going to hell. They're not Christians.
Jeffrey Heine:If they're not helping the poor, if they're not tithing, if they're not reading their Bibles, if they're not taking care of orphans and Darfur, then then they are not at all obeying God, that they're not in a right standing with him. He's not not scared to step on some toes. And you're drawn to this. We have 1 little checklist so we could check things and say, as long as I check all these things, God and me are alright. It's easy to preach that way.
Jeffrey Heine:I I feel the temptation to preach that way because it gets results. Gosh. It's it's so easy to get results doing that. But it's a result that is based on guilt, not on a gospel that sets your heart free. Only 2 things happen when you preach this way.
Jeffrey Heine:One, you're either going to feel really good about yourself or you're going to feel really, really bad about yourself, but your heart won't be changed. Preaching has to have at its very foundation the gospel as expounded in the word. That's what Paul's talking about here. One must never preach works and a whole sermon full of works and then kind of give a little tag online to the gospel at the end. No.
Jeffrey Heine:All of the Bible is the gospel, And so we expound the gospel through his word. That's how we guard the good deposit that God has given us. And for Paul, preaching was always preaching the gospel. There was never just preaching in a vacuum. Let me let me give you all the references in which you have preached in the New Testament when it's of Paul.
Jeffrey Heine:Okay? Acts 14 says that Paul continued to preach the gospel. Acts 16, he concluded that god had called him to preach the gospel to them. Romans 1, so I'm eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome. Romans 10, how beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news.
Jeffrey Heine:Romans 15. Thus I make it my ambition to preach the gospel. 1st Corinthians 1. For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel. First Corinthians 9.
Jeffrey Heine:For if I preach the gospel, that gives me no ground for boasting, for necessity is laid upon me. Woe is me if I do not preach the gospel. 2nd Corinthians 2. When I came to Troas to preach the gospel of Christ, even though a door was opened for me in another place. 2nd Corinthians 10, so that we may preach the gospel and lands beyond you.
Jeffrey Heine:Galatians 1:8, but even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preach to you, let him be accursed. It's never preaching in a vacuum. It's never preaching yourself. It's always preaching the gospel. And here's the three references that don't say preach the gospel.
Jeffrey Heine:Ephesians 3 says we preach the unsearchable riches of Christ. That's the gospel. First Corinthians 1 says we preach Christ crucified. That's the gospel. Galatians 1 says we preach Jesus, the gospel.
Jeffrey Heine:If I preach on anything other than the gospel, I'm not preaching. I'm just giving you words. Preaching is to expound on the gospel through his word. That's why Paul sets up this charge like he does. The guarded gospel is the proclaimed word.
Jeffrey Heine:The only way I can make sure I preach a a sure and a true gospel is by preaching the word. You could tell just how important the word is to Paul in this last letter. Look at your bibles. This isn't in your worship guide. Go down to verse 9.
Jeffrey Heine:Paul says this, do your best. Come to me soon. For Demas in love with his present world has deserted me and gone to Thesalonica. Crescens has gone to Galatia. Titus to Dalmatia.
Jeffrey Heine:Luke alone is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you for he is very useful to me for ministry. Tychicus, I have sent to Ephesus. When you come, bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at Troas, also the books, and above all, the parchments. You can tell a lot about Paul's life by the the three things that he requested at the end of it.
Jeffrey Heine:He asked Timothy for three things as he is awaiting death. He says could you bring me a coat? Could you bring me a friend? And could you bring me the parchments? Some scrolls.
Jeffrey Heine:2 of these things are pretty easy for me to understand. I mean he requests a cloak which is like a winter's coat. I mean, he's in a cold, dark, damp prison. He's old. It makes sense.
Jeffrey Heine:You you need a winter's coat. He then asked for Timothy to bring Mark. I understand that. Being there alone in prison, you want some companionship. You you want friends with you at the end.
Jeffrey Heine:It's this third thing that he requests that that puzzled me a little, And I think it's the secret to Paul's life. Look at verse 13 again. When he come, bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at Troas, also the books and, above all, the parchments. In the Greek text, there's no conjunction, so there's no word and between books and parchments. He's he's saying bring the books, that is the parchments.
Jeffrey Heine:They're the same thing. Throughout scripture, this refers to the Old Testament scrolls. He's saying bring me bring me the old testament scrolls and possibly his notes that he has with them. And and the reason this is somewhat puzzling to me is why would Paul want to continue his scriptural studies when he's just about to die? He's in prison.
Jeffrey Heine:He's just, he's awaiting execution, and he's asking for Old Testament scrolls. I mean, he's he's not going to write any more letters. He's not going to preach any more. Paul's already hammered out all of his theology. He's already written about justification, sanctification, glorification, election, spiritual gifts, adoption, resurrection.
Jeffrey Heine:He has expounded on all those things. Let me tell you, if it's the end of my life, I'm in prison, I'm not saying, hey, could you please bring me my Greek new testament? I just want to parse, some participles. Okay? It's not gonna happen.
Jeffrey Heine:I don't think I would take time to memorize scripture at the end. And so when I read this, you know, I kind of scratch my head and I think what's the point here? You know, why study when you're not going to teach or you're not going to preach? Why memorize scripture when you're about to see the word of God face to face? So when I when I read this, there's a part of me that wants to say, take it take it easy, Paul.
Jeffrey Heine:I mean, get your coat, bring a friend, listen, enjoy some final laughs together, some good conversation. Maybe we could pray. And let that be that. Why do you think Paul thought it so urgent to spend his final days in a constant study of scripture. The apostle Paul thought it necessary to do this.
Jeffrey Heine:It's simple. It's because this is how we come to know God. It's how we come to know him. And Paul wants the joy of knowing his savior, and that comes through a constant diligent rigorous study of his word. In the final moments of his life, Paul needs the gospel preached to him.
Jeffrey Heine:How do you do that? You go to the word. That's what he needs. God has not called any of us in this room to be a a casual reader of the word. He's called us to dig into his word and find him, and let his gospel transform us through it.
Jeffrey Heine:He didn't call me to get up here and just use scripture as something I can use to fill in between illustrations, or between telling stories. Preaching is to expound the gospel through his word. If I ever do anything other than that, hold me accountable. That's why we have this pulpit. God wants us to pursue him through his word at home and pursue him through his word here.
Connor Coskery:Pray with me.
Jeffrey Heine:Lord Jesus, we believe that through your spirit, we come to know you through your word. That your word is not dead and is not inactive, but it is living. You speak to us, you pierce our hearts. We ask that you would do that even now in this moment. Make us a people of your word.
Jeffrey Heine:Jesus, we want to know you and the joy that comes from knowing you. We pray this in the name of Jesus. Amen.
