So Paul's final word to Timothy reflects the very first mark that we saw of the early church in
Jerusalem, an unwavering commitment to the word of God. So then last week, I noted that God's people
are a gathering people. What I want to emphasize to you today is that God's people have the teaching
of the Bible at the very core of everything that they do, and it structures and informs everything
that they believe. If Acts 2 says they're a gathering people, 2 Timothy 4 says we are a
bookish people. We are a biblical people. And of course, we understand the scriptures are the
only path to a healthy church and to fruitful discipleship, and forsaking them for any other
focus or cause will inevitably lead to the judgment of God. And why is that? Why is it that we should
consider the Bible and the scriptures to be so important to us? Why is it that they must be at
the core of all that we do and believe? Well, the scriptures carry God's power. God's word carries
with it God's power. Psalm 33, 6, by the word of the Lord, the heavens were made. By the breath of his
mouth, all of their hosts, even from the very beginning before man is ever created, we see that the word of
God has a unique power of God that forms and creates all that we see and all that we enjoy today. And then
he takes that power, and in his gracious love to us, he gives to us the written word that contains that
very power. 2 Peter 1, no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were
carried along by the Holy Spirit. So then what we see in the power of God's word in creation, God then so
graciously using human instruments gives us his word here, a same word that carries the same power,
infused and carried along by the power of the Holy Spirit. Why wouldn't that be at the core of
everything that we do and believe? We see that God's word is the means through which God's spirit
does his work in and through us. In that passage of Ephesians 6 on the armor of God, remember when
Paul gets to the very end, he says, and take the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God.
It's the only offensive weapon listed in the armor of God. It's the weapon of the spirit,
the Bible, the scriptures, that God does his work in us, that God does his work through us.
God's word is true. Proverbs 30, 5 and 6, every word of God proves true. He is a shield to those who
take refuge in him. Do not add to his words, lest he rebuke you and you be found a liar.
It's authoritative. Psalm 119, 9 through 11, how can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it
according to your word. With my whole heart, I seek you. Let me not wonder from your commandments.
I have stored up your word in my heart that I might not sin against you. God's word carries his power.
He graciously gives it in the written word. It is the sword of the spirit that God does his work in us
and then God does his word through us. And then we can have confidence that what we have is true.
It's the very words of God. And by nature of being God's word, it is authoritative for us.
It is be the guide of all of our lives. We are not to come to it to discern what is good for us and
what isn't good for us. No, we come to it and we take everything by faith that it says. It is our
authority. And it's an eternal authority. Isaiah 40 and verse 8, the grass withers and the flower fades,
but the word of our God will stand forever. It's God's plan for our salvation and for our sanctification.
Romans chapter 10, verse 17, faith comes by hearing. Hearing comes through the word of Christ.
Jesus prayed in John 17, 17, sanctify them with thy truth. Your word is truth. It's only through the
Bible that we can know the gospel, which is the power of God unto salvation for all who will believe.
David wrote in Psalm 19 that the scriptures are more to be desired than gold, even much fine gold,
sweeter than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb. So essential is the Bible to our spiritual health
that Jesus himself says in Matthew 4, man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes
from the mouth of God. So what is to be at the very core of who we are? What is to be at the very core
of all that we do? It must be the scriptures alone. It is only through the scriptures that we can know God.
And it is only through the scriptures that we can know his son. And it is only through the scriptures
that we can know the gospel. And it is through the scriptures that God accomplishes his purposes
in and through our lives. And Jesus's own statement is bread will only get you physical life,
but you'll find spiritual life in no other place than in the very words of God.
Too many Christians are enslaved to their own thoughts and feelings when they should be feasting
daily on the truth of God's word. Too many of us coming to the word saying, no, I don't like that very
much. Or no, that doesn't make a lot of sense to me when we should be coming to the word humbly
in submission to the fact that it is what God has given to us. Too many churches pressing forward
in their own passions and causes, completely ignorant of the scriptures that make one wise
unto salvation. There's a reason that Paul's final words to Timothy was a charge to preach the word of God.
Because Bible teaching is essential to a healthy church, but it's also the church's greatest temptation
to abandon it. So let's examine this challenge to Timothy and consider the role that Bible teaching
is to play in our church. The first thing I want you to see here is the solemn charge.
The solemn charge. Look again at 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 in his kingdom.
The solemnity of this charge is in the fact that it is divinely issued and will be divinely judged.
It would be one thing if Paul was passing along his personal challenge to his young protege,
but Paul does not invoke his own authority in Timothy's life here. He invokes the very presence
of God in issuing this charge. Before ever even describing the task itself, Paul calls to Timothy's mind
the reality of Christ's lordship over his life and over his ministry in Ephesus.
This wasn't just Paul's wish for his colleague. It was the divine commission of the almighty God
and the Lord Jesus Christ. It is a charge that came directly from Christ, and it is to Jesus
that Timothy and every other pastor since will give an account when he returns.
That's Paul's point here in verse one. Timothy, before I even tell you what to do,
you should know that this is coming from Christ himself, and Christ himself will judge you in the
end at his appearing as to whether or not you fulfilled this calling that is not coming from me,
Timothy. This is coming from the throne of God. Calvin said, he makes special mention of the judgment of
Christ because he will require of us, who are his representatives, a stricter account of our
failures in his ministry. It echoes James' words in James chapter three.
Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with
greater strictness. The writer of Hebrews says something similar in Hebrews 13. He speaks of
spiritual leaders in the church that they are keeping watch over your souls as those who will have to give
an account to God for that. And how is it that God has charged spiritual leaders to keep watch over your soul?
Not through their eloquence, not through their style, not through their money, not through their giftedness,
but through the word of God.
Pastors will be judged for how they lead and whether or not God's word is the foundation of how they shepherd God's people.
But I think it's also true that congregations will be judged for how they follow and whether or not God's word
is the foundation of how they live and function as a people.
In this series, everything that we're going through right now is so important.
I think it's actually more important to me today than it was even three weeks ago when we began.
And I'm beginning to see the significance of why we need to be studying some of these things that we are right now.
Because we will stand before God one day as his church.
This is not a game.
This is not that any of you treat it that way.
This is not a thing that we do lightly.
Our responsibility together as a people is a God-given responsibility.
There is a divine charge given to us to acknowledge who we are in Christ
and to endeavor to please and honor him in the way that he has called us to do so.
This charge doesn't only belong to pastors.
In one sense, it's issued to the entire church,
which is to take responsibility for itself and its leadership.
Jesus, our Lord, Paul says here in verse 1,
he sees us now and he will judge us then.
At his appearing in his kingdom,
we will give an account for how we obeyed his command.
Therefore, let us together as a people for just a moment
feel the weight of this charge.
First, as it settles on me as your pastor.
And then the weight of responsibility,
that that then settles on your shoulders and on your hearts
as the people of this church.
Look again at verse 2.
Here's the charge itself.
Preach the word.
Be ready in season and out of season.
The divine charge is straightforward.
Timothy, Paul says,
just preach the Bible.
Do it when it's easy and do it when it's hard.
Do it when it's convenient.
Do it when it's not convenient.
Preach the Bible when people love you for it.
Preach the Bible when people hate you for it.
Preach the word, Timothy.
In every season, in every circumstance,
this is your charge.
Preach the Bible.
And I want you to understand the nature of this task
that Paul is charging Timothy to fulfill.
To preach.
The Greek word underlying this is keruso.
It means to proclaim aloud or to herald.
This is not preaching about the Bible.
It is passionately proclaiming the very words of God
as they are given in the Bible.
Preach the word, Timothy.
Keruso, proclaim it aloud.
Be a herald for your king.
Timothy, herald the message.
Not your message, Timothy.
Your king's message.
Go to the people that need to hear from the king.
Sound the trumpet and cry with a loud voice.
Preach the word, Timothy.
The simple command brings into focus two potential errors.
One is a form of preaching
that is ultimately disconnected from the Bible.
It may be passionate and it may be motivating
and it may even contain the occasional reference
to a verse from the Bible.
But when you really begin to discern its contents,
it's clear that the individual is preaching their own message
and using the Bible when it's convenient
to hopefully give a little support
to what they really want to say.
It's preaching in a sense.
It's proclaiming something,
but it's not actually proclaiming the Bible.
It's at this point that David and Goliath
becomes a story about how you can persevere
against that arrogant boss
and slay the giant of overeating
that taunts you from the kitchen
or whatever it may be.
But when we preach motivational and passionate sermons
that are disconnected from the true meaning of the Scripture,
that's not actual preaching.
That's an error.
It's preaching in a sense,
but it's ultimately,
it's kind of disconnected from the Bible.
That's one potential error.
But then there's another error here
that's a little more subtle.
The second is a lesson on the Bible
that doesn't really involve preaching.
It may be a thoroughly stimulating discussion of the Scripture,
but it's absent of any passionate plea
for the hearer to respond to the message of God.
And in this case,
the hearer learns everything there is to know about the Bible,
but they never know or love the God of the Bible.
They can argue effectively their theological positions,
but the truths of the Bible
have never moved from their head to their heart.
Or Paul says,
Timothy, just preach the word.
Take the message.
Because the preacher's task
is not to engage with the text
for intellectual stimulation
or emotional motivation.
Although both of these things
may be true about preaching.
That is not the aim or the goal.
He is to be a messenger
that declares the message of his king
to the people to which he has been sent.
And this should affect the way you hear it
as a church.
And the way you seek it as a church
and the way you crave it as a church.
What is it that you desire Sunday by Sunday
when you come?
Is it just that you want somebody to pump me up?
Do you want somebody to just dig in
and really get me questioned
everything that I've ever believed
because somehow that's stimulating?
Or do you want somebody to just tell you,
just bring out the book
and tell me what God has to say to me?
Jared, I don't want to hear what you have to say.
I want to hear what God has to say.
My job's not to be the chef
in the kitchen in that sense.
I'm the servant commissioned
to take the message that God has prepared
to a people that need to eat.
And of course, preaching
isn't always convenient.
It's not always joyfully received.
But the charge is to be fulfilled
in all seasons,
in all circumstances.
And if I'm ashamed of God's message
or if I attempt to alter it
before it ever gets to your ears,
my preaching will be powerless
and our church will fail.
It may grow,
but it will ultimately fail
because there's no power
in what I have to say.
The power is not carried
through my words,
but through God's words.
Preach the word.
Look at the second part of verse two.
Reprove, rebuke, exhort
with complete patience
and teaching.
This is not a command
for the pastor
to drive his people
with a heavy hand.
It's not the idea
of a spirit of lordship
over people.
That's not what Paul
is commending here.
In fact,
the Bible tells us
that that's not actually
the way pastors are to lead.
First Peter chapter five,
elders are to exercise oversight
not by domineering
over those in your charge,
but by being examples
to the flock.
And how is it
that a pastor
is foremost an example
to the flock?
By delivering the message
that God has given
in his word.
Kent Hughes said,
if you enjoy
reproving and rebuking,
you're probably not fit
for the ministry.
It requires
that you have
no interior joy
in setting others straight.
But if you don't do it,
you are a shirker
of the responsibility
to which you've been given.
Reproof,
rebuke,
and exhortation
is what the word
of God does
as it's preached.
Hebrews chapter four,
the word of God
is living.
It's active.
It's sharper
than any two-edged sword.
It pierces
to the division
of soul and spirit,
the joints and marrow.
And it discerns
the thoughts
and intentions
of the heart.
And as we understand
the scriptures,
our hearts
and our intentions
by nature
are for ourselves.
And then when
the word of God
comes in,
it's living and active
because it is the sword
of the Holy Spirit.
It's the way
that God's Spirit
does his work in us
and does his work
through us.
This reproof
and rebuke
and exhortation,
this is the action
of the Spirit
through the word.
And the pastor's job
is to take the word
and proclaim it
to the people
so that the word
does the rebuking
and the word
does the exhortation
and the word
does the reproof.
Second Timothy three,
you can see it
just a few verses ahead
in verse 16.
Paul says,
all scripture
is breathed out
by God
and it's profitable
for teaching,
reproof,
correction,
and for training
that the man of God
may be complete
and equipped
for every good work.
This is the work
of the word
and when the message
of God is delivered,
it may come through
as if it is rebuke
from a man
but the purpose
of preaching
is not for me
to run your life.
It is to deliver
the message
and let the word
do its work.
it's not my job
to control your life.
It's my job
to preach the word
and I'm more than
willing to counsel you
and to help you
in any way
that I can possibly
be of help to you
but it is the scriptures
not my preferences
that must dictate
your decisions in life.
that's why Paul
wrote to Timothy
that his manner
must be
one of patience
because as we all know
people don't always listen
and if you have
no patience
you won't make it
very long
but then he also said
that his method
must be teaching
teaching.
teaching
it's a reflection
back to the charge.
Preach the word
Timothy
be patient with people
as you do this
that should be
your manner
but then your method
is just help them
understand the word
and then let the word
do its work.
My call is to
faithfully preach
the Bible
so that your life
will be governed
by the authority
of Christ
and if I do that
the right way
it will come
with plenty of
reproofs
and rebuke
and exhortation
from God's spirit.
Now
Dick Lucas
I just want to show you
this before we move on.
Dick Lucas
was a pastor
for many years
and he was the rector
of St. Helens
Bishopgate
in London
for many years
and he used to teach
these lessons
on preaching
and he would draw
this diagram
on the board
for his students
I think we have it up here
you can see it.
He would just draw
a straight line
across the board
and he'd say
the straight line
represents the scriptures.
And then he'd draw
an arrow pointing up
above the line
and then he'd draw
an arrow pointing down
below the line.
The arrow going up
represented legalism.
It was when preachers
would take the scriptures
and then they would
add something to it
in order to burden
the people
with their own preferences
or their own style
or their own message
or their own opinions.
It would take the scriptures
and add to it
and that would produce
legalism in the church.
And he said
and then there's the opposite
in where people
will fall far short
of the scriptures.
They'll abandon
the scriptures
to only preach
their opinions
and that will ultimately
descend into liberalism.
And then he would
look at the preachers
and he would say
men our job
is to hold the line.
To hold the line.
That's my job
in this church.
It's to hold the line.
That's your job
as a people.
To hold the line.
It's not just a charge
for me.
The weight of this
settles on each of us
as we minister
to one another
and as we hold
Jared accountable
to holding the line.
Preach the word.
It's a solemn charge.
Number two
we see a prophetic warning.
Prophetic warning.
Look at verse three.
For the time is coming
Timothy
when people will not
endure
sound teaching.
Now why do you think
Paul used endure
instead of
enjoy?
Because he could have
very easily said
Timothy
there's coming a time
when people are no longer
going to enjoy
sound teaching.
But that's not the word
that he uses.
He says no
there is coming a time
they're not going to
endure this anymore.
Why?
Because when the message
of God is delivered
by the man of God
inevitably what proceeds
out of the mouth
of the preacher
will regularly be
characterized by
reproof and rebuke
and exhortation.
And that's not the kind
of thing that we
naturally enjoy.
That's the kind of thing
that we must humbly
endure.
Remember Paul isn't
talking about people
outside the church
right now.
He's talking about the
people in the church.
And he told Timothy
that there would
inevitably be people
in the church
at Ephesus
who would no longer
put up with the
teaching that had
a corrective element.
Now it would be
one thing if they
were tired of
Timothy's corrective
personality.
If all he could do
was find something
wrong with them
and he was always
harping on all
these little things.
That would be one
thing for them to be
frustrated by.
But the idea here
is that professing
Christians will
sometimes reject
the very word of
God as it's
preached.
This is not
Timothy presenting
himself in an
inappropriate way.
This is people
getting tired of
hearing the message
that God has
determined for them
to hear.
And they will no
longer endure that.
Paul's warnings
meant to encourage
Timothy.
Remain faithful to
the task even when
church members are
tired of the Bible's
message.
Timothy, people
won't always like
it.
But whatever you
do, preach the
word.
Just preach the
word.
Look again at
verse 3.
But having itching
ears, they will
accumulate for
themselves teachers
to suit their own
passions.
So Paul went on
to say that when
churches get tired of
Bible preaching,
they'll start looking
for leaders who will
tell them what they'd
rather hear.
And we may at first
think, well, we
would never do
that.
Of course we would
never do that.
We may do that more
often than what we
think we do.
Think about when
you're about to make a
big decision for your
life.
If you're like me,
you typically first go
to the people that you
know or at least
think are going to be
on your side, don't
you?
Don't you?
Think about it in the
lives of our children
when we watch them.
It doesn't take them
very long to figure
out which parent is
better to ask in which
situation.
If one's more lenient
than the other
typically or if they
know that that dad
gets really distracted
during the baseball
game, if I ask him
during the baseball
game, I'm probably
going to get whatever
I want or whatever
and they know they
know where to go.
We have those people
in our lives or they
know the parent that
they can tell when
they get in trouble
with school.
Because that's the
parent that usually
always finds an issue
with the teacher before
they find the issue
with the student.
You know what I mean?
We know how to work
the system.
And we do it all the
time in our lives.
And if we aren't
careful, we'll start
to only listen to
pastors who will
scratch our particular
political, moral, and
theological itches.
Instead of seeking
for someone to be
faithful to the word,
we'll prioritize our
passions.
We'll prioritize our
opinions, secondary or
tertiary issues.
And when a Christian or
a church abandons a
commitment to the Bible
in this way, they will
inevitably find someone
who makes the Bible say
what they're most
comfortable with it
saying.
wasn't this the big
issue in the real heat
of the COVID season
and the elections and
all the things back a
couple years ago, not to
give you any trauma all
of a sudden if you
haven't thought about
that in a while.
Wasn't this a part of the
issue in many churches
who were dividing and
fighting?
I know people
personally who left
churches because they
were so convinced
during that time that
all of this was
pointing to an
in-time type of
situation.
They believed the
vaccination was in
some way equivalent to
the mark of the beast.
And because their
pastor wouldn't push
Donald Trump or
wouldn't push
anti-vaccination or
whatever it was, they
left the church and they
found them a pastor who
every Sunday stands up and
talks about all of his
political things on his
soapboxes.
Under the guise of
Christianity and
scriptural things, we
actually end up
abandoning the word to
find someone who will
suit our passions.
Even if our passions
are in line with the
word, we've left the
word to actually pursue
our own agenda.
Itching ears.
Verse 4, in doing
this they will turn away
from listening to the
truth and will wander
off into myths.
So the result of
itching ears is that
people abandon the
truth.
It won't be that they
always abandon truthful
things or truthful
ideas, but they will
turn away from the
authority of the Bible
in search for those
truthful ideas and in
support of those
truthful things unless
it happens to be
convenient for their
particular position.
people turn away from
their focus.
Their focus will turn
from the word of God
to sources with no
divine authority.
The equivalent of
myths.
Three ways I think
these myths show up
all the time.
One, I think people
get caught up in
sensational presentation.
Sensational
presentation.
This is when people
turn away from the
supremacy of the
scripture to ecstatic
experiences.
They don't really care
what the preacher says
so long as he says it
in a way that is,
quote, powerful.
That's the word we hear
all the time.
Man, that service was
so powerful.
Nobody preached the
Bible, but man, was it
powerful.
Well, that's not the
power of the spirit.
That's the power of
ecstatic experience,
sensational presentation.
And let me tell you,
we pastors with
particular personalities
know how to do this.
We know we're,
part of our gifting
is to communicate.
And we know how to
work a crowd.
And we know how to
build people up to a
specific thing.
Musicians are just as
good at it.
We know how to work a
crowd and give you an
experience that you will
enjoy.
And if we're not
careful, we'll abandon
the truth for the
experience.
And we can't do that.
That's a myth.
Some are blinded by
moral degradation.
More and more, people
are turning away from
the Bible because they
don't appreciate God's
position on marriage or
on sex or on gender or
on abortion or on
whatever the issue is that
you want to talk about.
Rather than to submit to
God's truth, they turn
away from it.
Because there's always
going to be churches that
will accommodate immoral
practice and immoral
belief.
They are fraught with
churches like that in our
area.
It wouldn't be hard to
find.
But then there's some that
are distracted by useless
speculation.
These are the people that
just want to fiddle around
with stuff that doesn't
matter.
A good preaching service to
them would be when the
pastor stands up and poses
some kind of question.
Like, if God is our
powerful, can he create a
rock that is too heavy for
him to lift?
And let's think about that
for a few minutes.
It doesn't matter.
It's senseless stuff.
It's over-obsessing about
end times thing and how you
think it's all going to come
out.
I'm not saying that we don't
need to study those things.
I'm just saying some people
get so distracted by it that
they end up actually leaving
the word in the process.
Wanting to suit their own
passions, professing
Christians will turn away
from the Bible to find
someone who will scratch
their itch.
Let's not be a people that
are just looking for someone
to scratch our itch.
Give me somebody that
preaches the word.
Finally, we'll be finished.
A faithful minister.
Verse 5.
As for you, Timothy,
always be sober-minded,
endure suffering,
do the work of an evangelist,
fulfill your ministry.
So rounding out his final
instruction, Paul lists four
things that should be true of
Timothy's pastoral leadership
in the church.
And all four of these things
fall underneath the charge
of preaching the Bible,
and they confront the
temptation to give in to
those with itching ears.
That's what these four things
are really about.
It's a summarization.
First thing he says,
always be sober-minded.
Now don't be confused.
Typically when we hear
sober or sober-minded,
in our day we immediately
think to something having
to do with substance abuse
or alcohol.
That's not what Paul's
getting at here.
I actually like the NIV's
rendering in this.
It says keep your head.
Keep your head in all
situations.
Be focused, Timothy.
We might say in our day,
whatever happens,
don't lose your mind.
Don't give in to the anxieties.
Don't give in to the fears.
Even in the face of criticism
and persecution,
Timothy,
the pastor's task is to stay
focused on preaching the Bible.
Just preach the word.
Stay focused.
Keep your head,
Timothy.
Then he says,
endure suffering,
which was a familiar instruction
to the New Testament church
because early Christians
endured so much suffering
and martyrdom for their faith.
Even in the context
of this letter,
Paul is writing
from a prison cell
where he knows
he's about to be killed.
Certainly,
Timothy would have faced
the anxieties
that come along with that.
But let's not
too quickly leave
the context of the text.
Surely,
part of this suffering
that Paul is warning about
includes the criticism
of those in the church
with itching ears,
refusing to endure
the sound teaching
of the Bible.
Even when his own people
turned on him,
it was Timothy's task
to remain faithful.
Endure the suffering,
Timothy.
Do the work
of an evangelist,
Paul says.
He didn't intend
for Timothy
to begin an itinerant ministry
or to set up
a tent
for a camp meeting
in the middle of town.
That's not what he meant
by this.
He just meant
preach the gospel.
To preach the Bible
in such a way
that sinners
are rebuked
for their sins
and called
to believe
and follow Jesus Christ.
In fact,
the gospel of Jesus
is to infuse
the entire meal
of God's word.
That's the reason
we preach.
It's the reason
we gather.
It is the gospel
that has made us
who we are.
It is the gospel
that calls us
to be what God
wants us to be.
Preach the gospel,
Timothy.
Finally,
he summarizes it.
Fulfill your ministry.
In other words,
Timothy,
just do what you've
been called to do.
And what was
he called to do?
Preach the word.
Preach it in the pulpit.
Preach it as you visit
with people
in their homes.
Preach it as you sit
over coffee
with someone.
Preach it
in your counseling sessions.
Preach it
on the golf course.
Preach it at lunch.
Preach it
whenever you can.
Timothy,
your job
is to teach the word.
Stay focused
on the Bible
wherever you are.
That's how you'll
shepherd your people.
He wasn't called
to fulfill
superfluous expectations
that are so often
levied onto church staffs.
That's not what
he was called to do.
He was called
to preach the word
in all circumstances.
Now,
a healthy church
will pray for
and seek leaders
who will be committed
to the task
of preaching the word.
and then it will
encourage
those leaders
in their task
and hold them
accountable
to that task.
I know you may be thinking,
you know,
this is supposed
to be a series
on what we're supposed
to be doing
as a church
and this seems
like a message
that probably
should be directed
toward pastors.
But I already told you
this charge
is more than
just to Timothy.
This would have been
read to the whole church.
If the pastor
is to be a preacher
of the word,
doesn't that mean
that the church
is to be a people
of the word?
If Lakeside Bible Church
is going to mature
in God's grace
and grow
in spiritual health,
mustn't we remain
unwaveringly
committed
to the word of God?
And when I say growth,
I hope you understand
what I mean.
I mean growth
in the spirit,
growth in our call,
growth in spiritual health.
And if God sees fit
to build that
in some other way,
that's God's business.
But if we're going to be
what God has called us
to be,
whether we're 20 people
or whether we're 200 people,
it's going to have to come
through an unwavering
commitment
to the word of God.
It needs to be
at the very core
of all that we do.
It needs to be
the very foundation
of everything
that we teach
and say we believe.
And we need to ensure
that those who lead us
remain faithful
to their call.
We don't need to be
a people with itching ears
who turn away
from God's truth
even to truthful things,
but find their authority
in the Bible.
And then we must
stand fast.
Stand fast on these things.
Study them faithfully.
Talk of them.
Teach our children.
And then let them
be our guide.
Thank you.