Enduring to the End:The Key to FinishingWell in Life and Ministry - H.B. Charles Jr.
00:00:00.000 | Good afternoon, brothers. Good afternoon, brothers. If I can have your attention here
00:00:28.760 | in the worship center, we're going to share this time talking about enduring to the end.
00:00:40.560 | There are wonderful breakouts all over the campus. If you need to head to another one,
00:00:49.220 | this is the time to get going. Get while the getting is good. And we'll say a word of prayer
00:01:03.540 | and meditate on God's Word together.
00:01:13.120 | Heavenly Father, we bless you for the gift of this day and for the privilege of walking
00:01:19.220 | today in the assurance of our salvation, our faith in the finished work of the Lord Jesus
00:01:25.420 | Christ, who is our all-sufficient prophet, priest, and king. We thank you for this band
00:01:35.500 | of brothers who have pressed their way here to fellowship around your Word, to have our
00:01:47.040 | vision enlarged of the gospel mission you have entrusted to us, and to worship you in
00:01:57.180 | spirit and in truth. We've already been richly blessed over the course of this day already,
00:02:05.140 | and we look forward to all that you have in store for us. We pray for your sustaining
00:02:13.920 | grace and strengthening help for Dr. MacArthur. We pray your blessings on the entire leadership
00:02:22.100 | and membership of this church, and thank you for all of the staff and volunteers who serve
00:02:27.220 | us. And now as we turn our attention to your Word during this breakout, we pray that you
00:02:36.500 | would focus our minds, ready our hearts to receive with gentleness the implanted Word
00:02:46.020 | that is able to save our souls. Help me to speak your Word faithfully and clearly. Help
00:02:55.100 | each of us to receive your Word today as it truly is, your Word to us, not mere human
00:03:02.740 | opinion. And may Christ be exalted as the Word is explained, we pray. Amen.
00:03:11.940 | The title of this breakout is "Enduring to the End, the Key to Finishing Well in Life
00:03:21.500 | and Ministry." In the preface to his book, "The Roots of Endurance," John Piper writes
00:03:34.020 | about challenging his members to be coronary Christians, not adrenaline Christians. Of
00:03:47.740 | course, adrenaline is not a bad thing. It gets a lot of us preachers through many long
00:03:56.740 | Sundays. But then that high on Sunday often leads to a crash on Monday. The heart works
00:04:09.460 | differently without attention or fanfare or reward. The heart just keeps beating, doing
00:04:22.020 | its work to sustain life through ups and downs, joys and sorrows, good days and bad days.
00:04:36.400 | The coronary Christian endures to the end and that is all the more so for, if you will,
00:04:46.480 | coronary ministers. If a minister is not careful, brothers, he can become an adrenaline junkie,
00:04:59.020 | seeking the next high from some idea or book or method or program or influencer to help
00:05:08.780 | him get a little further or a little closer to his ministerial goals. And in the process,
00:05:19.240 | that minister can forget that the heart of the matter is always the matter of the heart.
00:05:29.320 | Proverbs 4:23 instructs us to, "Keep your heart with all vigilance. Guard your heart
00:05:39.340 | above everything else, for from it flow the springs of life." You can do a lot of work
00:05:47.200 | to keep the water clean downstream only to find a never-ending flow of trash and debris
00:05:57.440 | flowing in to remove. You must go upstream to ensure the water is pure at its source.
00:06:10.120 | And I just want to remind us during this hour together that the bottom line of pastoral
00:06:15.700 | ministry is heartwork. Sure, we instruct the mind and exhort the will and correct the emotions
00:06:25.640 | of those that we minister to, but the true heartwork of pastoral ministry starts with
00:06:32.640 | us, not with them. Second Timothy chapter 4 verse 5 ends with the instruction to fulfill
00:06:45.760 | your ministry. Anyone can start fast. Can you finish well? To finish well is to have
00:07:02.820 | a strong and healthy heart that endures to the end. And I believe, if you'll open your
00:07:11.060 | Bibles, first Timothy chapter 4 verses 11-16 shows us what it means to be a faithful and
00:07:18.580 | fruitful minister. Paul says, "Command and teach these things. Let no one despise you
00:07:31.380 | for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith,
00:07:41.460 | in purity. Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation,
00:07:50.020 | to teaching. Do not neglect the gift you have which was given you by prophecy when the council
00:07:57.220 | of elders laid their hands on you. Practice these things. Immerse yourself in them so
00:08:06.220 | that all may see your progress. Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching. Persist
00:08:15.860 | in this, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers." Charles Bridges
00:08:26.780 | wrote, "This paragraph condenses in the smallest compass the most important body of appropriate
00:08:33.220 | instruction and encouragement for ministerial devotedness." There are 10 exhortations, 10
00:08:43.540 | imperatives, 10 commands in verses 11-16. But verse 16 records two exhortations that
00:08:56.340 | summarize them all. "Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching. Persist in this,
00:09:08.420 | for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers." Of course, Paul is saying
00:09:17.380 | nothing new to Timothy in this verse. The instructions that he gives in this verse are
00:09:25.020 | littered throughout the pastoral epistles. Yet these simple and succinct instructions
00:09:33.860 | encompasses the practice, the process, and the purpose of Christian ministry. John MacArthur
00:09:44.500 | has said, "Now is the time for the strongest men to preach the strongest message in the
00:09:51.780 | context of the strongest ministries." What does that mean? What does it mean to be a
00:10:00.260 | strong man? What does it mean to preach a strong message? What does it mean to have
00:10:07.500 | a strong ministry? I believe this 16th verse of 1 Timothy chapter 4 is a good answer to
00:10:17.860 | those questions. "Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching. Persist in this, for
00:10:26.860 | by so doing you will save both yourselves and your hearers." There are two statements
00:10:36.380 | in the verse. One is a call to watchfulness. One is a call to perseverance. And with the
00:10:48.140 | time remaining, I want us to just meditate together on these high and holy duties. First,
00:10:59.860 | there is a call to watchfulness. Verse 16 begins with a double command, "Keep a close
00:11:07.660 | watch on yourself and on the teaching." The command is to keep a close watch. The verb
00:11:18.380 | means to hold fast or to hold firmly. The New International Version reads, "Watch."
00:11:32.780 | The King James Version reads, "Take heed." The New American Standard Bible reads, "Pay
00:11:41.820 | close attention." In Acts chapter 3, Peter and John went up to the temple at the hour
00:11:51.100 | of prayer. And there they met a man who was lame from birth, who was sat by the beautiful
00:11:57.740 | gate of the temple to ask of the arms of the worshipers. He asked Peter and John if they
00:12:07.100 | could spare any change. And in response to his request for money, Peter said, "Look
00:12:12.580 | at us." Acts chapter 3 verse 5 reads, "And he fixed his attention on them, expecting
00:12:22.160 | to receive something from them." Fixed his attention translates the verb of verse 16.
00:12:33.660 | To keep a close watch is to fix your attention. And the text is in a grammatical emphasis
00:12:42.780 | that indicates continual action or repeated activity. Keep keeping a close watch on yourself
00:12:57.460 | and on the teaching. This is the Christian minister's perpetual duty. There is no season
00:13:04.980 | of life or ministry in which you can afford to neglect this call to watchfulness. The
00:13:17.340 | rookie minister in this room finds the right course by keeping a close watch on himself
00:13:25.060 | and on his teaching. The seasoned ministers in this room stay on the right course by keeping
00:13:34.060 | a close watch on himself and on his teaching. The call to watchfulness addresses two intricately
00:13:44.020 | connected spheres of ministerial responsibility on yourself and on the teaching. It is both
00:13:59.100 | and, brothers, not either or. We are inclined to emphasize one duty over the other based
00:14:08.420 | upon how we are wired. Some read the verse to say mentally as they picture it, "Keep
00:14:17.740 | a close watch on yourself and on the teaching." And others read the verse to say, "Keep a
00:14:26.180 | close watch on yourself and the teaching." The two-fold object of ongoing vigilance is
00:14:38.780 | mutually important. A godly life does not excuse false teaching, and sound doctrine
00:14:49.380 | does not excuse ungodly behavior. Your life should testify to the message you proclaim.
00:14:59.220 | The minister who endures to the end is characterized by personal holiness and expositional ministry.
00:15:13.260 | First, personal holiness. I was called to pastor my first church here in Los Angeles
00:15:22.380 | at the age of 17. I was a senior in high school, as I often qualify. I don't recommend that.
00:15:28.580 | It's just my testimony. And the night I was installed as the pastor of the church, when
00:15:37.260 | the service was over, a group of older pastors pulled me to the side and said, "We need to
00:15:46.940 | talk to you." I can't begin to tell you how nervous I was. I didn't know what was about
00:15:53.940 | to happen. They pulled me aside, and they were circling around me, and they said, "Before
00:16:00.340 | we leave this service tonight, we need to say something to you personally and privately."
00:16:04.540 | They said, "You're a young man, and at some point your mind will turn toward dating. Make
00:16:16.780 | sure you don't date anyone in the church." That was their sage advice. I was thinking
00:16:31.520 | to myself, "What, you want me to come to your church and find somebody to date?"
00:16:42.980 | If I could rewind that moment and re-script that moment, where those older men had my
00:16:52.420 | attention and I would have taken heed to anything they said to me that night, I wish they would
00:16:57.340 | have simply said to me, "Be holy." In 1 Timothy chapter 4, verse 16, Paul does not tell Timothy
00:17:11.300 | to be careful or be discreet or anything like that. Paul tells Timothy to be holy, to be
00:17:19.860 | godly, to be Christ-like, to keep a close watch on himself. We have already noted that
00:17:28.820 | the call to God, your character, and convictions go together, character and convictions. But
00:17:35.700 | it should also be noted that how one lives is mentioned here before what one teaches.
00:17:44.260 | John Calvin said, "Doctrine will be of little avail if there be not a corresponding goodness
00:17:52.100 | and holiness of life." What does it mean to watch your life? The answer to this question
00:18:01.900 | deserves a book-length answer, but permit me to challenge you to watch your life in
00:18:06.640 | three areas, your time, your money, and your relationships. I mention these because these
00:18:14.460 | are objective, independent, external indicators of your true spiritual devotion. My favorite
00:18:22.400 | little prayer course that my mother taught me as a boy, I still sing to this day, "Lord,
00:18:27.300 | I want to be a Christian in my heart." But when I sing that, I also can't forget about
00:18:33.980 | Jeremiah 17, verse 9, that says, "The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately
00:18:43.420 | sick." Who can understand it? Your time, your money, your relationships have a way
00:18:51.540 | of telling the truth about what's in your heart.
00:18:56.860 | So brothers, how are you spending your time? I get a chance to be around pastors in various
00:19:05.540 | parts of the country over the course of the year, and I believe from my perch that more
00:19:09.420 | pastors are guilty of workaholism than slothfulness. So I don't want to waste this time challenging
00:19:19.820 | you to get busy, but I want to ask, has your busyness crowded out your personal devotion
00:19:26.420 | to the Lord? Are you making time in the private chambers of your own praying ground for believing
00:19:37.700 | prayer, Bible intake, and self-examination?
00:19:46.300 | My first preaching professor challenged us regularly to be preachers who are like roots,
00:19:53.180 | not pipes. Water passes through a pipe without any positive effect on the pipe. In fact,
00:20:03.940 | over time, the passing of the water will rust the pipe. But as water passes through the
00:20:11.780 | roots to the tree, the roots get stronger. How are you spending your time, and how are
00:20:23.820 | you managing your money?
00:20:26.900 | I just feel like I grew up in church hearing preachers always admonish the saints that
00:20:34.620 | the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. And then when I read that text in
00:20:39.460 | 1 Timothy chapter 6 for the first time for myself, I was shocked to discover that this
00:20:46.260 | biblical warning is really to the minister, not just the members. It is a warning to those
00:20:58.180 | who would think or preach that godliness is a means to financial gain. And it is to those
00:21:11.420 | who are seduced by that error, seduced by money, that the warning of 1 Timothy 6 comes.
00:21:29.500 | I was a young man, and I went to a minister's fellowship, and one of the other young ministers
00:21:36.580 | there asked to talk to me. He worked on staff at a church, and he got in trouble because
00:21:43.660 | the pastor had been away that Sunday, and he led the service, and the money was down.
00:21:51.100 | And I was shocked. I couldn't believe this. And I said, "This is a godly pastor. There's
00:21:57.060 | no way that happened." He says, "You're right, H.B., he is a good man." I'll never forget
00:22:03.380 | this phrase. But his values change when it comes to money. That's a contradiction that
00:22:15.380 | dishonors God. 1 Timothy chapter 6 verses 9 and 10 says, "But those who desire to be
00:22:21.900 | rich fall into temptation, into snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge
00:22:28.820 | people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is the root of all kinds of
00:22:34.060 | evils, and it is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and
00:22:38.140 | pierced themselves through with many sorrows." How are you spending your time? How are you
00:22:47.420 | managing your money, and how are you treating your relationships? Timothy was a young man
00:22:54.180 | serving a large congregation in a big city. How was he to leave that church? Paul does
00:23:01.220 | not give Timothy any management principles from the business world. He instructs Timothy
00:23:08.020 | to leave the church as he would care for his family. 1 Timothy chapter 5 verses 1 and 2,
00:23:16.500 | "Do not rebuke an older man, but encourage him as you would a father, younger men as
00:23:24.340 | brothers, older women as mothers, younger women as sisters, in all purity." It's called
00:23:36.380 | to personal and pastoral and pure relationships.
00:23:46.420 | Not only does this first statement in verse 16 address the matter of personal holiness,
00:23:53.640 | it also emphasizes the importance of expositional ministry. A slave owner's son broke the rules
00:24:05.660 | by sneaking into the slave quarters to read the Bible to the slaves. Hearing God's Word,
00:24:15.500 | they got saved. One of those slaves became low sick, and when the master checked on the
00:24:21.820 | dying slave, he asked if there was anything he could do for that slave before he died,
00:24:27.940 | and to the master's surprise, the slave asked him to go sin for his son who knew how to
00:24:37.820 | make the book talk. Brothers, it is appointed to every man to die and then stand before
00:24:47.600 | God in judgment. What eternal souls need more than anything else, they need faithful men
00:24:55.260 | who know how to make the book talk. And this is what Paul is saying in verse 16, "Keep
00:25:01.860 | a close watch on yourself and on the teaching." Note the definite article. Timothy was not
00:25:10.000 | just to watch his teaching, but the teaching. It's what Acts 2.42 calls the apostles' teaching.
00:25:22.700 | The teaching reminds us that it's not about the act of teaching. It's about the truth
00:25:31.220 | that you teach. Dotted all over this country are churches that still formally have an orthodox
00:25:44.020 | statement of faith, but the pulpit is filled by a preacher who has abandoned Biblical teaching
00:25:51.260 | for another gospel. Paul rebukes such false teaching. For instance, 1 Timothy chapter
00:26:03.300 | 1 verse 10 rebukes whatever is contrary to sound doctrine. 1 Timothy chapter 6 verse
00:26:12.300 | 3 rebukes anyone who teaches a different doctrine and does not agree with the sound words of
00:26:18.180 | our Lord Jesus Christ. And when you read those passage, brothers, you'll also see that in
00:26:23.660 | his rebuke of false teaching, life and doctrine go together. What a man teaches and how a
00:26:37.660 | man lives are connected. Here positively 1 Timothy 4 verse 6 tells Timothy to keep a
00:26:47.500 | close watch on himself and the teaching. Those who do not keep a close watch on themselves
00:26:54.540 | are prone to tamper with the teachings to either accommodate or cover up their sinful
00:27:00.900 | ways and desires. A man's character at the same time is revealed by what he teaches.
00:27:10.100 | The two go together. 2 Timothy chapter 2 verse 15 is a life verse for me. Do your best to
00:27:26.980 | present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly
00:27:34.540 | handling the word of truth. There are three questions I regularly ask myself from 2 Timothy
00:27:42.620 | 2 verse 15. Number one, "Is God well pleased with me?" Do your best to present yourself
00:27:53.920 | to God as one approved. Question two, "Is my work well done?" A worker who has no need
00:28:05.180 | to be ashamed. And thirdly, "Is the word of God rightly handled?" Rightly handling the
00:28:17.460 | word of truth. Charles Spurgeon said, "This every Christian minister must do if he would
00:28:25.100 | make full proof of his ministry and if he would be clear of the blood of his hearers
00:28:32.200 | at that last great day." 2 Timothy chapter 4 verses 1 and 2 says, "I charge you in the
00:28:45.280 | presence of God and of Christ Jesus who is to judge the living and the dead. By his appearing
00:28:53.540 | in his kingdom, preach the word. Be ready in season and out of season. Reprove, rebuke,
00:29:01.600 | and exhort with complete patience and teaching." Our central, primary, and definitive function
00:29:08.800 | as ministers is to preach the word. The imperative is all important. Preach. But so is the object.
00:29:30.960 | Preach the word. You have been placed under assignment to present a message and you do
00:29:39.080 | not have editorial authority over the message. The power of preaching does not rest in the
00:29:49.040 | function of preaching. The power of preaching rests in the content of preaching. Or if I
00:29:58.680 | could say it another way, it is not our preaching that makes the gospel work, it's the gospel
00:30:04.880 | that makes our lousy preaching work, right? So we must preach the word. Preach the word,
00:30:14.880 | brothers, not personal opinion. Preach the word, not motivational speeches. Preach the
00:30:27.320 | word, not self-help advice. Preach the word, not popular psychology. Preach the word, not
00:30:40.480 | health and wealth. Preach the word, not political viewpoints. Preach the word, not worldly theories.
00:30:58.360 | The verse 16 begins with a call to watchfulness and it ends by giving us a call to perseverance.
00:31:10.480 | This verse asserts what one has called the extraordinary seriousness of pastoral ministry.
00:31:18.320 | The verse begins by telling the minister what to do. Keep a close watch on your life and
00:31:26.760 | on the teaching. And then verse 16 ends by telling us how to do it and why to do it.
00:31:36.040 | Persist in this, for by so doing you will save both yourselves and your hearers. This
00:31:46.560 | statement teaches the practice and purpose of ministerial perseverance. Let me lean into
00:31:52.880 | both and then we'll pray together. The practice of ministerial perseverance. I wrote a little
00:32:04.400 | book on pastoral ministry, and there are times that I am asked to sign it by someone and
00:32:11.440 | I often put above my signature 1 Timothy 4, verse 16. I really do believe this verse succinctly
00:32:25.320 | states the whole matter of Christian ministry. Brothers, this is the whole ballgame. Guard
00:32:34.820 | your life and your doctrine. Watch your character and your convictions. Pay close attention
00:32:48.520 | to yourself and to the teaching. That's the work of the minister. That's the whole ballgame.
00:33:03.600 | Nothing more, nothing less, nothing else. How you say it should be there? There has
00:33:11.200 | to be something else. You're right. One more thing. Persist in this. After you keep keeping
00:33:32.660 | a close watch on your life and teaching, Paul says, "Then just hit repeat." And keep persisting
00:33:44.320 | in this. The term means to remain under. It is the picture of one who is under a heavy
00:33:51.780 | load and yet he doesn't give up or give in or give out. He keeps pressing on even though
00:33:56.220 | the load is heavy. Brothers, faithful ministers, persevere. Persevere in what? The most obvious
00:34:15.420 | answer is that Timothy is to persist in keeping a close watch on himself and his teaching.
00:34:25.260 | I've given you the assignment. Be steadfast, enduring it, persevering it.
00:34:44.820 | I am talking to men in this room. You are serving the Lord at a hard place during a
00:34:53.460 | hard time. And permit me to just take the liberty this moment to say from one brother
00:35:02.660 | to another, "Hang in there. Hang in there, brother. It may be hard, but is there a witness
00:35:19.760 | in the house? It's worth it." 1 Corinthians chapter 15, verse 58 says, "Therefore, my
00:35:29.620 | beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord,
00:35:37.740 | knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain." 2 Corinthians chapter 4, verses
00:35:46.980 | 16 through 18 says, "So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our
00:35:56.940 | inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light, momentary affliction is preparing
00:36:06.640 | for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison. As we look not to the things that
00:36:15.900 | are seen, but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient,
00:36:21.300 | but the things that are unseen are eternal." One more, Galatians 6 and 9, "Let us not grow
00:36:35.700 | weary of doing good. For in due season we will reap if we do not give up." And so we
00:36:49.620 | see the practice of ministerial perseverance, but also the purpose of ministerial perseverance.
00:36:59.260 | Paul gives a command, "Persist in this." Then he states the reason, "For by so doing you
00:37:04.900 | will save both yourself and your hearers." This incentive is profound. It's remarkable.
00:37:14.300 | And as you read the commentators, you'll see it's somewhat controversial.
00:37:18.580 | However, before we meditate on what Paul says, would you think a moment about what he does
00:37:23.900 | not say? The Christian minister is offered many diverse goals to pursue by the world
00:37:36.660 | that we live in. When I was a boy in school, we used to play a game called "Get Like Me."
00:37:53.620 | It was gambling. I didn't know. I just thought about it last night. It was gambling. The
00:38:04.980 | first person would take a quarter and flip the quarter, and it would fall on heads and
00:38:09.540 | tails, and he'd say, "Get like me." And then you, the second person would flip their quarter,
00:38:14.700 | and if it landed on whatever the first quarter was, he got it. It just dawned on me that
00:38:20.540 | I was gambling. I was thinking about that because it's strange. All these years later,
00:38:35.580 | it sometimes feels like that boyhood game is being played by so many books and podcasts
00:38:47.180 | and conferences are glorified games of "Get Like Me." Paul would not have Timothy to
00:38:56.900 | gamble away his calling for such fleshly and foolish games. And so, just exegete the white
00:39:05.980 | spaces with me for a moment and consider what Paul does not say. He does not say, "Persist
00:39:13.940 | in this with the promise of a larger church." He does not guarantee a big platform. He does
00:39:21.540 | not mention worldly success. He does not assure a well-known name. He does not predict book
00:39:29.740 | deals and book sales. He does not discuss financial prosperity, and he does not vow
00:39:35.060 | ministerial prominence. Paul gives Timothy a Christ-exalting, Gospel-saturated, eternity-driven
00:39:46.440 | reason to persist in keeping a close watch on himself and his teaching. "For by so doing,
00:39:57.220 | you will save both yourself and your hearers." This verse is no proof text for salvation
00:40:05.340 | by works. Ephesians chapter 2, verses 8 and 9 make it plain, "For by grace you have been
00:40:11.020 | saved through faith, and this is not your own doing. It is the gift of God, not the
00:40:16.020 | results of works, so that no one may boast." Sinners are saved by grace through faith in
00:40:22.500 | Christ plus or minus nothing. Yet Paul was convinced that the minister's perseverance
00:40:31.020 | in keeping a close watch on his life and teaching had eternal implications for both himself
00:40:36.640 | and his hearers. John Stott wrote, "Perseverance is not a meritorious cause, but rather the
00:40:47.140 | ultimate evidence of our salvation." The preacher's own assurance and sanctification
00:40:57.100 | and eternal reward are tied to his perseverance in watching his life and doctrine. In 1 Corinthians
00:41:02.380 | chapter 9, verses 24 through 27, Paul says, "Do you not know that in every race all the
00:41:08.780 | runners run, but only one receives the prize?" It's a run that you may obtain it. Every athlete
00:41:18.900 | exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but
00:41:24.380 | we an imperishable. So I do not run aimlessly. I do not box as one beating the air, but I
00:41:33.460 | discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should
00:41:50.540 | be disqualified. The Greek scholar A.T. Robinson commented here, "It is a humbling thought
00:42:03.020 | for all of us to see this wholesome fear instead of a smug complacency in the greatest of all
00:42:12.580 | heralds of Christ." "Persist in this, for by so doing you will save both yourself and
00:42:21.900 | your hearers. With due concern for his own soul, the minister must also have a holy concern
00:42:29.260 | for the salvation of his hearers." Note the word here, "hearers." It's a subtle condemnation
00:42:37.820 | of those who would put on a show to reach people. Remember, what you use to reach them
00:42:43.340 | is what you'll have to use to keep them. Our people need to hear the truth, not see a show.
00:42:56.580 | Romans chapter 10 verse 13 is a glorious promise, is it not? "For everyone who calls on the
00:43:06.060 | name of the Lord shall be saved." As I say it, my King James upbringing is rising up
00:43:12.560 | on me. It said, "Whosoever calls on the name of the Lord." What a glorious promise.
00:43:25.020 | But then verses 14 and 15 of Romans 10 goes on to present a series of dilemmas that prevent
00:43:30.000 | lost people from calling on the Lord for salvation. How then will they call on Him in whom they
00:43:39.740 | have not believed? And how are they to believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how
00:43:49.540 | are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are
00:43:55.420 | sent? The MacArthur Study Bible footnotes this verse by saying, "By careful attention
00:44:08.000 | to his own godly life and faithful preaching of the Word, Timothy would continue to be
00:44:16.020 | the human instrument God used to bring the gospel and save some who heard him."
00:44:30.580 | I grew up in one church in one city basically. In 2008, I was called to serve a church on
00:44:45.860 | the other side of the country. I had been pastoring for a while, but I pastored a church
00:44:55.180 | where I knew everyone. I was going to a church where not only did I not know anyone in the
00:45:01.040 | church, I didn't know anyone really in the city. And I called a friend of mine who had
00:45:07.320 | recently relocated. He had had a couple of pastoral transitions over the years, and I
00:45:10.900 | asked his advice. "When I get boots on the ground, Keelan, in this new place, what should
00:45:21.640 | I focus on? What should I prioritize? What should I give my attention to?" And Keelan
00:45:32.540 | got all parabolic on me and told me a story. He said that there was a town with a bank,
00:45:50.420 | and the bandits came to town to rob the bank. But when they arrived, they saw that the bank
00:46:03.580 | was well guarded and there was no way to burst in. But determined, the bandits went to the
00:46:15.020 | outskirts of town and started setting barns on fire. And the people in the town all went
00:46:28.100 | out to put out the fires in the barns, and while they were out putting out the fires
00:46:33.540 | in the barns, the bandits robbed the bank. Do you get it? He said, "H.B., when you get
00:46:47.380 | to that new work, there will be a lot of fires to put out, but by all means, guard the bank."
00:47:01.780 | Whatever season of ministry you find yourself in, brother, by all means, guard the bank.
00:47:16.420 | How do you guard the bank? Glad you asked. Keep a close watch on yourself and on the
00:47:32.140 | teaching. Persist in this, for by so doing, you will save both yourself and your hearers.
00:47:47.260 | Let's pray. Wait. In fact, would you indulge me? I think after these reminders, it would
00:48:04.420 | be appropriate for us to pray for one another. If you don't know the name of the brother
00:48:12.380 | who is sitting next to you, can you just get their name, and let's just take a moment all
00:48:18.540 | over this room to pray for each other. And I'll close us in just a moment. Brothers,
00:48:27.780 | let's get a name, and let's go to God in prayer. Let's use this time wisely.
00:48:50.180 | [Prayer]
00:49:10.180 | [Prayer]
00:49:30.180 | [Prayer]
00:49:50.180 | [Prayer]
00:50:10.180 | [Prayer]
00:50:30.180 | Heavenly Father, we thank You for Your Word. We thank You for these reminders of what it
00:50:50.780 | means to be gospel ministers, what it means to be ambassadors of Christ, what it means
00:50:59.980 | to be faithful servants. Our hearts are burdened, Lord, as we think about these things that
00:51:16.580 | this verse raises for our attention and consider those that we know who started fast but did
00:51:27.620 | not finish strong. And we're burdened, Father, for those who may not feel that weight, who
00:51:47.380 | hear these reminders and respond to them callously with a spirit of carelessness and presumption.
00:51:58.540 | Lord, would You help us to take heed, those of us who think we are standing firm, help
00:52:10.460 | us to take heed lest we fall, and to remember that no temptation has overtaken us except
00:52:20.460 | that which is common to man. You are faithful. You will not allow us to be tempted above
00:52:28.580 | what we are able, and along with the temptation will provide a way of escape so that we may
00:52:33.580 | bear up under it. Lord, I thank You that You are the great Master of the house that has
00:52:47.020 | many vessels, some of gold and silver and some of wood and clay. And I ask that You
00:52:53.340 | would help us, Lord, to cleanse ourselves of whatever is dishonorable so that we might
00:53:03.140 | be clean vessels fit for the Master's use, ready for every good work. Help us, Lord,
00:53:15.540 | to guard our lives and to guard our doctrine, and to persevere in so doing to ensure our
00:53:21.980 | salvation and the salvation of those who hear us, Lord. Give us hearts that would endure
00:53:30.300 | to the end. I do, Lord, pray for my brothers under the sound of my voice who find themselves
00:53:40.980 | at a quitting point. They feel alone. The burden is heavy. They live with criticism,
00:53:53.300 | facing outright persecution. Thank You that, Lord, You call servants like that blessed.
00:54:11.540 | May we rejoice and be glad, knowing that our reward is in heaven, for so they persecuted
00:54:22.660 | the prophets who were before us. And would You give us, Lord, a burden to pray, to continue
00:54:32.360 | in prayer for one another, as prayer advertises our dependence upon You. We are nothing without
00:54:38.980 | You, but we rejoice that Your grace is sufficient for us, and Your strength is perfected in
00:54:45.300 | our weakness. We rejoice in this in Jesus' name, amen. God bless you, brothers.
00:54:50.340 | [applause]
00:54:57.340 | (audience applauding)