What the Good Book Still Needs | 2 Timothy 4:1-5 | Jonathan Huang | May 17, 2026

Preaching Passage: 2 Timothy 4:1-5

Ethnos Church of Houston, Texas

Welcome to Ethnos Church: A Church for the Nations

Transcript

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Our scripture this morning comes from the book of 2 Timothy in the fourth chapter. So if you would turn in your Bibles or click through on your devices. We also have some black Bibles over here for you to use. If you are, if you have one of those, it's on page 936. And if you don't have a Bible at home, we'd love for you to get one and take one with you today. So 2 Timothy 4, we're reading verses 1 through 5. So please stand for the reading of God's holy and inerrant word. I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom, preach the word. Be ready in season and out of season. Reprove, rebuke, and exhort with complete patience and teaching. For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but have itching ears that 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, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry. This is the word of the Lord.

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Am I on? Okay, okay. Let me pray for us as we get started in the book of 2 Timothy. Father, we thank you, Lord. What a privilege it is to be able to be here at this school week in and week out and hear your word preached, Lord. We ask, Lord, that you would come and by your spirit turn the word of God into something that matters for our day-to-day lives, that is relevant to our struggles, that's helpful to our challenges. Lord, we need you, God. And we pray that indeed your word would go out and not come back to you empty, but accomplish all that you purpose for it. In the name of Jesus. Amen. One of 20th century's most important and influential preachers was a man by the name of Dr. Martin Lloyd-Jones, a British doctor-turned pastor, and in 1969 he was in the United States, and he was giving a series of lectures at Westminster Theological Seminary on the topic of preaching. And he asked this question. He starts out by saying, Is there still a place for preaching in the modern church? Is there still a place for preaching in the modern world? Or has preaching become old-fashioned, outmoded, outdated, unnecessary? You see, even back in his heyday, uh, mid-20th century, there were people questioning the need and role for preaching in the church. And Lloyd Jones gives some reasons why he thinks this was so. First, he says that people have increasingly lost trust in people who stand up and give eloquent speeches, polished words. They prefer people who are more straightforward, more relatable, more down-to-earth. And I think about the anchors, news anchors we see these days. You've seen those news shorts, those short videos where they're like in their kitchen or in an office at home, and they're dressed like in a hoodie, or just casually instead of behind a desk with you know suits or dresses. They're just kind of casually there, presenting like they would a friend. Second, it's become normal for people to get their information from all sorts of other other sources like books, television, instead of just speakers who stand up and great give great speeches. Think of all the books and resources available online. Think of the endless supply of podcasts and YouTube videos, AI chatbots available at your fingertips. With all these resources available to you, who needs preachers? Third, Lloyd Jones points out how there's been a general reaction against the way that preachers these days have somehow become professional showmen. That's S-H-O-W, showmen. Like they stand up on stage, they're really good at speaking, uh and they're experts at pulling at the heartstrings of their audience. And I think Boy Jones is on to something. He was saying all that over 50 years ago. But it still rings true for us today, doesn't it? Here's another one I wanted to add on. None of us have any problems accessing this book. The Bible, right? The label available in our own heart language, available in English. We're not like the Yembi Yembi that I talked about last week, where people had to go into their tribe and learn their language and teach them how to read and write and then translate their Bible and then teach them the Word of God. None of us have that issue. And some of us have multiple copies of this lying around at home. Access to the Bible is not a problem. And anytime we have a question about this book, we we have all the resources in the world available at our fingertips to answer them. And so the question remains who needs preachers? And so, in a world where sermons seem outdated, and in a world where we can easily figure things out about the Bible whenever we want. Why do good preaching and godly preacher still matter in the church? That's what I want us to wrestle with today. And so I want to invite you to turn with me in your Bibles to the book of 2 Timothy. We're going to be picking up where we left off last week in chapter 4. We're going to go through five verses of chapter 4. 2 Timothy chapter 4. Again, in a world where you could get answers to the Bible on your own real easily, in a world where sermons are seemingly outdated and old-fashioned. Why do good preaching and godly preachers still matter for the life of a church? And the first answer I see in our passage today is this good preaching still matters because the Bible needs to be taught and applied to specific people in specific ways. Good preaching still matters because the Bible needs to be taught and applied to specific people in specific ways. So look down at verse 1 with me. Paul writing to Timothy says this. Be ready in season and out of season, reprove, rebuke, and exhort with complete patience and teaching. For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears, they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. Let's stop right there. So coming at the end of chapter three and to chapter four, Paul is really coming off of a high point at the end of chapter three, where he's essentially extolling the virtues of scriptures, telling us it's not only it's not only the only book written in this world that has the ability to make us wise for salvation, but it's the only book written in this world that's breathed out by God. Profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness, that the man of God would be equipped for every good work. And the very next thing that Paul asks of Timothy is actually a charge, it's a formal charge. It's a command with an added weightiness, because this is a man who's in his last days writing his final words to his protege, Timothy. And so these words are important words, but not only that, these are his final words. And I want you to notice that Paul doesn't just give these final words and leave it at that. No, he charges Timothy in the presence of God, of Christ Jesus, by his appearing and by his kingdom. Four things: God the Father, Christ the Son, Christ's second appearing, and Christ's eternal kingdom. Four things. And he makes this extra comment that Christ is the one who is to judge the living and the dead. So if you take this all together, what Paul's trying to do here is he putting everything into an eternal perspective to Timothy. He's putting everything in an eternal perspective. Yes, things are messy in Ephesus right now. Yes, there's a lot to think about. Yes, there are plenty more spiritual battles to be fought, but Timothy, keep in mind that all of history is not only in God's hands, but Christ Jesus will one day physically return to earth and judge the world, sending the righteous to eternal life, and the unrighteous, those who have turned their backs on Christ, rejected him to eternal punishment. Timothy, remember Christ's kingdom is unshakable and will last on to eternity. Therefore, Timothy, stay diligent to preach the word. Paul's bringing to mind the fact that God's grand plan of redemption, the one he has started from before the foundation of the world, to elect a people for himself, to adopt them as his sons and daughters, will beyond the shadow of a doubt, be accomplished. And this ought to give Timothy the courage he needs to move forward, to rebuke and correct false teachings of the false uh teachers and build up the saints with sound doctrine. In other words, to pastor well, to pastor well is to pastor with the second coming of Christ in mind. And then I want to make this really interesting connection between the end of chapter three with what Paul says to preach the word. Here's what I mean. I think you would all agree with me that the Bible is one of a kind. Amen? It's one of a kind. One of the unique things that stands out about this book is that no other book in this world is breathed out by God. It's unique, it's special, one of a kind, but to a certain extent, and in some ways, in some sense, the Bible as a book on its own has something missing. It's got something missing. And not in terms of its content, not in terms of its authority as the Word of God, but the Bible as a book is only able to make one wise for salvation. It's only profitable for teaching, for proof, for correction, for training in righteousness, insofar as it is opened up and read and interpreted and properly understood and applied to one's life. My point is, the Bible still needs to be preached from. The Bible still needs to be taught to people. Without a preacher, the Bible is only a book waiting to be opened up and read and explained. You remember King Josiah back in the Old Testament? He's only eight years old when he became king over Judah. And the Bible tells us that 18 years into his reign, the high priest by the name of Hilkiah sends word to Josiah. And he says, I have found the book of the law in the house of the Lord. Apparently, for years and years now, the book of the law of God was left neglected, sitting there in the house of the Lord. And when the king's secretary takes this book and reads it to King Josiah, the Bible tells us that the king tore his clothes, saying, Great is the wrath of the Lord that's kindled against us, because our fathers have not obeyed the words of this book to do according to all that's written concerning us. And what Josiah does next is so instructive for us this morning. Because what he does next is that he gathers all his people, all the men of Judah, all the priests, all the prophets, all the people from youngest to oldest, small and great, and the Bible tells us that he read in their hearing all the words of the book of the covenant that had been found in the house of the Lord, and the king stood by the pillar and made a covenant before the Lord, to walk after the Lord and to keep his commandments, his testimonies, his statutes with all his heart and with all his soul, to perform the words of this covenant that were written in this book, and all the people joined in the covenant. My point is that the book of the law of the Lord had just been sitting there in the temple, unread, neglected, unattended to, until one day it was found. It was opened up. It was read from. We were praying through a prayer guide. I'll tell you more about that later. For unreached people groups, unreached language groups. This one was the Chechen. Was you remember? There's an Islamic people group living in Turkey. And they actually have the Bible already translated into their language. Already translated, completely translated. But there's still no churches, no known believers, no known missionaries who live among them. And I remember telling my boys how these Chechen, even though they have a Bible translated into their language, they still very much need someone to go over there, open up the Chechen Bible, and teach them what's inside and how to be saved. The Chechen Bible translated into their language still needs something more than that. There is sufficiency in the Word of God, yes. To make us wise for salvation, yes. To equip up us for every good work, yes. But without a Christian opening up this book, explaining it to someone who's not in the faith, how are they gonna know how to be saved? How's it gonna be helpful for them in their walk with God in a fallen world? The Chechens still very much need pastors and missionaries who are trained in how to rightly handle the Word of God so they can properly interpret this book and see how it applies to their own lives. How many of you guys are excited for the World Cup? Maybe? Kind of? Eh. So here's another way to think of it. Imagine with me, imagine with me that one of the host cities of the World Cup just built the most amazing stadium to host this one event for their city. They've got the best grass in the world. They've got the most amazing technology that could rival the best uh stadiums in the planet. But I think you would agree with me that without a soccer team like Argentina or Brazil or Japan, you name it, playing on that field without crowds sitting in the in the stands, cheering them on, this amazing stadium is just a lifeless structure sitting there in the city waiting to be enjoyed. Amen. Now think about this. Imagine with me in a room the most amazing, beautiful, Stradivarious violin. Eighteenth century hasn't been touched in centuries. Until a master violinist picks it up and plays on it, it is just another lifeless but beautiful, amazing, but lifeless instrument. Music not filling the room yet. Just as violins need master musicians to make beautiful music with them, so the Bible needs someone to preach from it and teach God's word to God's people. Amen. And so, to those of you here today who aren't Christians with us, we're so happy to have you with us, I'm just gonna speak for a moment to you. If verse one of this passage is true, and I would argue that it is, then good preaching would never, never leave out the fact that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, that he's coming back one day to be judged over the living and the dead. And if Jesus really is gonna return to judge the living and the dead, this is how this specifically applies to you. You'd be wise to think long and hard about what your relationship with Jesus is right now. As someone said before, your attitude to Jesus in this life is the same as his attitude to you in the next. If you accept him now, he will accept you then. If you reject him now, he will reject you then. The bad news, the Bible tells us, is that all of us have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. The wages of sin is death. Not only physical death in this life, but eternal death in the life to come. But the Bible also brings us good news, which is that through the life and death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, God's Son, God has opened up a way to be reconciled to him. Because Jesus, his death on the cross, once for all paid for all our sins. God made him who knew no sin to be a sin offering for us. The wrath of God against our sin was born by his son on the cross so that we would never have to bear his wrath. And to all who believe in that, to all who turn away from a life of sin and turn to Jesus to be Lord and Savior, the Bible tells us that they will receive forgiveness of sins through his name. And not only that, all who believe in this gospel, this good news, will be welcomed into his eternal kingdom, the new heavens and the new earth. So, really, there are only two ways to live to accept him now or to reject him now. And that one decision is gonna determine what's gonna happen to you in the future. So, which is it gonna be for you? That's what this book. That's what this book applied to specific people in specific ways applies to you if you're not in Christ right now. And so I'm praying that today would be the day that you start this new life in Christ. If you want to hear more about what it means to be a Christian, or just talk to someone about what this book is about and how to understand it. Find someone here in our church and ask them about that. Or come find me after service. Parents, here's how this passage applies to you. Model for your children what it looks like to be a humble recipient of the preached word week in and week out. It's one of the benefits why we care so much that our children are with us on Sundays, gather for corporate worship. Let your children see how you take notes and pay careful attention to the word of God as it's preached. Ask your children what they learned about the sermon on the way back home in the car or over lunch while it's still fresh in their minds. Share with them what you've taken away from Scripture. And by doing all these things, you're showing your children that you value the preaching of the Word of God. And you are intentionally letting it make a difference in your life. Now, Christian, if it is true that good preaching still matters because the Bible still needs to be opened up and taught and applied to specific people in specific ways, then no celebrity preacher that you listen to in your podcast or on the internet is meant for to do for you what your own pastors are meant to do for you. Here's what I mean. I'm not saying that you can't be listening to other preachers. I, for one, have been greatly helped by preachers not my own. But be careful not to let your diet of listening to what other preachers have to say cause you to lose appetite for what your own preachers in your own church have to say about Scripture week in and week out. These are pastors who are called by God to shepherd your souls. These are pastors who are watching over you. They're called to be your shepherds. And when you come on Sundays, ask the Lord to speak to you from his word. Ask the Lord to change whatever he wants you to change about your life so that you would not be unchanged when you leave, unmoved when you leave. Amen. And church, the fact that good preaching, just applying this to a congregation now, the fact that good preaching still needs to happen because the Bible needs to be taught and applied to specific people in specific ways, is precisely why we need to pray for missionaries to be sent out and live among people who've never heard the gospel before in their language. Even those who have a Bible already translated into their own language, they still need preachers to open up the book, teach them what it means, how to be saved, and how to live for God in a fallen world. Amen. And so, one practical way I want to give you that you can start praying for these unreached language groups and for this to happen in their tribes, is to grab one of those new prayer guides right there on the resource table. I got a bunch of them for you to take home. They go through just an unreached language group one by one. And I want to encourage you to take one home today. And use it with your family over family worship. Use it in your personal devotional life. Use it whenever you're gathering or pray with others. Use it when you're at your dinner table and just praying for anything else. You pray for an unreached language group. So back to the question. In a world where sermons seem outdated and where we can easily find answers to the questions about the Bible on our own, why do good preaching and godly preachers still matter for us today? First, good preaching still matters because the Bible needs to be taught and applied to specific people in specific ways. And second, godly preachers still matter because ungodly ones can do more harm than good. Godly preachers still matter because ungodly ones can do more harm than good. Look back down with me at start uh starting in verse one. I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom, preach the word, be ready in season and out of season, reprove, rebuke, exhort with complete patience and teaching. For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears, they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into midst. As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry. So, right after Paul gives Timothy his main charge to preach the word, he qualifies this, he adds a few more words to detail what he means, the manner in which he is to preach the word. And what I want you to see here is that Paul is basically spelling out the marks of a godly preacher. Starting verse 2, he gives three clauses that follow preach the word. First, Timothy is to preach the word in season and out of season. What does this mean? Well, in the original Greek, in season and out of season, has a meaning of at an opportune time and at an inopportune time. Either or. In season, out of season. So one way it's been explained is that Timothy is to preach when it's convenient for him and when it's not convenient for him. As a preacher of God's word, Timothy is to be ready and on deck to bring God's word to God's people whenever he needs. And not only is Timothy to preach the word in season and out of season, but second, he's to preach the word in a way that reproves and rebukes and exhorts his listeners. The first two words on this list of three mean that Timothy is not to shy away from saying whatever is needed, even if it's hard for his listeners to receive. He's not to be afraid of reproving and rebuking those in his congregation who are not only false teachers, but those in his congregation who are swayed or being swayed by those false teachings. In other words, preachers have to deal with their fear of man. They have to deal with their fear of man if they are to faithfully carry out the work of ministering God's word to God's people. They can't be people pleasers. Timothy also willing, has to be willing to exhort people with his preaching because a mark of a godly preacher is the ability to edify and build up the body of Christ with the word of God. I'll prove this to you from other passages here. In Colossians 1 28, Apostle Paul writes this. Ephesians 4 12 to 13. And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers to equip, to equip the saints for the work of ministry. Listen to that. It's not that these leaders in the church are to do all the work. No, they're to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ until we attain to the unity of the faith, knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. So the marks of a godly preacher, he's to be ready in season and out of season. He's to be willing and able to reprove, rebuke, and exhort. And third, he's to do all that with complete patience and teaching. You see, it's not easy to be patient when week after week you're preaching your heart out, and then you look out into the lives of the congregation, and there is no immediate change, at least obvious change. The problem is, it's kind of normal for people to change slowly. That's a par for the course, which is why patience is so crucial. It's such a critical ingredient to the pastorate. The Apostle Paul writes in 2 Timothy 2.24, and the Lord's servant must not be quarrelsome, but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, correcting his opponents with what? Gentleness. Not quarrelsome, kind to everyone, patient, gentle. These are the marks of a godly preacher. Verse 3. 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 think it's interesting how Paul said it's the time is coming. It seems like he should have said, and has now come. Because already in the church of Ephesus, people were being led astray by the Ephesian false teachers and their heresy and being in the mids. But apparently, if you read this closely, apparently, not only were these people being deceived, the Bible tells us they were intentionally looking for teachers who scratched the itch of their ears. See that? They were deliberately seeking out teachers who taught them what they wanted to hear. Did you hear that? They weren't just passive recipients. They were looking for the kinds of preachers who said whatever they wanted to hear here. And the fact that this is true for Paul back then has major implications for us today. First, we must never count popularity or the rapid growth of a church as an indicator of genuine ministry success. And perhaps the false teachers around Timothy would always have large followings precisely because they were doing whatever it took to say words and to preach words that scratched the itch of their listeners' ears. Second, Timothy must ultimately preach to an audience of one, seeking to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints, seeking to do this in his teaching ministry was more important than satisfying the itching ears of his congregation. Third, Timothy has got to deal with the remaining idolatry in his heart. The idolatry of people, the allure of people's encouragements and words of affirmation, puffing him up, the worship of people's praise. He's got to deal with the idolatry of ministry success in a worldly way, the desire to be popular, to be liked, to grow a church rapidly, to be seen as a success by society. Every last bit of his fleshly pride has to be mortified if Timothy were to actually carry out Paul's words faithfully, to preach the word. Fourth, by remaining faithful to God and the scriptures over against chasing popularity and quick ministry success, Timothy is going to help lead his church to continue to be a pillar and a buttress of the truth. The true gospel is going to continue to be preached. People are going to continue to be saved as they hear the word of God. And the church will continue to be filled with the knowledge of God and his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord. And so I conclude from this section of the passage these words. Not be fast, but faithful. For us to bear fruit, friends, for us to be successful as a church doesn't mean necessarily rapid growth. In fact, rapid growth may sometimes be an indicator something is wrong. And as a pastor, I need to be continually guarding my own heart, what comes out of this pulpit, to make sure that in my preaching I'm not teaching anything or holding back from teaching anything that simply scratches the audience's ears. Galatians 1.10 needs to be written over my life and any pastor over any pulpit. Am I now trying to win the approval of man or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ. Verse 5. As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry. Now, as we read through 2 Timothy, keep in mind these are words, personal words, in a personal letter written between the Apostle Paul and his proje Timothy. So there are things written here that I don't think applies universally to all Christians for all times, but there are still principles that we can take away from it. And so here I see Paul giving some more marks of a godly preacher. First, Paul calls on Timothy to always be sober-minded. Now, what does that mean? Well, if you look at other parts of the Bible, there are several other passages that use this term. 1 Peter 1 13. Therefore, preparing your minds for action and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 1 Peter 5.8, be sober-minded. Be watchful. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour. 1 Thessalonians 5, 6 through 7. So then let us not sleep as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober. For those who sleep sleep at night. And those who get drunk get drunk at night. So I conclude that being sober-minded in a spiritual sense means to have a clear-mindedness about you, a clear-mindedness that's watchful against the schemes of the devil. And to not be sober-minded would look like not thinking straight, not being concerned enough about the times we're in, and letting our guards down in the fight against Satan and his forces. Then Paul calls on Timothy to endure suffering. We've already touched on this last week and in earlier parts of this letter, 2 Timothy 2.10. Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory. 2 Timothy 2.24, and the Lord's servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach patiently, enduring evil, correcting his opponents with gentleness. And 2 Timothy 3.12 all who desire to live a godly life will be persecuted. Paul's argument on this theme, all throughout his letter, is that Satan and his forces are all hands on deck, fighting against, desperately fighting against the spread of the gospel and Christ's building up of this church. Therefore, be ready to suffer, be ready to endure persecution, because that's the lot of everyone who claims the name of Christ walking through in this world with God, in this fallen world. Third thing. Paul calls on Timothy to do the work of an evangelist. It's interesting that Paul doesn't seem to separate the work of a shepherd teacher from the work of an evangelist. Because Paul knew that the minister in a local church, part of Timothy's job is to lead out in the work of evangelism. He's not supposed to say, Well, I'll take care of the preaching and Timothy and, I mean not Timothy, Mark and Barnabas and Thomas. You guys go take care of the evangelism. You see, sometimes, especially in churches where pastoral roles are so specialized, in departments, this ministry mindset can creep up on us. Pastor of outreach. Pastor of missions. Oh, those are the evangelism guys. If I'm the preaching guy, then I just need to spend most of my time preparing my sermon. And so the main preaching guy, main preaching pastor, gets off the hook if he does not ever seem to be around people who are far from God. That should not be the case for any church. Instead, every single elder of a church should desire improving in his effectiveness as an evangelist. And the last thing Paul says to Timothy in verse 5 is this: fulfill your ministry. Timothy had a very clear task ahead of him. He was to guide the Ephesian church back onto a trajectory of health. Back to the kind of Bible saturated, gospel-centered, teaching, false teaching avoiding. Jesus Christ's exalting church that all local churches ought to be. Timothy had a tall order in front of him. But Paul wrote to reassure young Timothy that he had everything he needed. God had already equipped him with everything necessary to fill this ministry assignment. He had the Holy Scriptures, he had the Holy Spirit, and if he would just faithfully preach the word, then he would be on track to guiding the church back in a healthy way. Church, in these first five verses of chapter 4, the Apostle Paul gives us the marks of a godly preacher. And when I say that godly preachers still matter today, because ungodly ones can do more harm than good, here's what I mean. It's precisely because preachers who carry out their ministries without heing the words carefully of the words of Scripture like this get themselves into trouble. And they cause harm, you know what I mean, to those under their spiritual care. Believe it or not, there are pastors out there who instead of using the word of God to reprove, rebuke, and exhort, they use the word of God to scratch the itch of their audience's ears. Instead of preaching to an audience of one, there are pastors out there who desperately seek the audience of many in order to feed their egos. Instead of having a kind of patient and kind and gentle spirit, there are pastors out there who lord over their congregations with a harsh and mean and biting tongue. And instead of being content with the church growing as fast or as slow as the Lord would have it, there are pastors out there who idolize speed and size and popularity and influence at the cost of faithfully preaching the word of God. And I'm not above that. I'm not saying that I am. As much as godly preachers are helpful to the state of the church, ungodly ones can do more harm than good. And so, students in here, students in here, this is for you. Listen up. This passage, 2 Timothy 4, these five verses, students, they tell you what you need to look for in a church one day when you leave your parents' home and have to look for your own? Don't be fooled by the size of the church. Don't be fooled at how good the music sounds. Don't be fooled at how trendy the church is on social media instead when you're in a church. Ask yourself these questions. Is the gospel being clearly explained by the preachers who come up week after week to preach? Is the Word of God being faithfully taught and applied? Do the pastors who teach God's word seem to fear God more than they fear man? Or do they water things down? Maybe they twist the scriptures to make sure that they're relevant with the times and simply say what people want to hear. And last but not least, is the pastor a patient man? Gently, humbly, teaching God's people, God's word? Or can you sniff out a bully in the pulpit? Who's mean? Who's cruel? Who's harsh with his words, either publicly or privately. Be aware that there are bullies masquerading as pastors in the church. There are. And if you want to learn more, this goes for anyone, but if you want to learn more about the topic of spiritual abuse in the church, I'd encourage you to pick up a book by Michael Kruger. He's a professor at RTS Reformed Theological Seminary, and it's called Bully Pulpit. If you're interested in reading more about that, it happens. It happens. Don't be fooled. Now, Christian, I know that most of you sitting here in this room are not going to be called by God to regularly preach the word on a Sunday. And so a lot of what's been said today might feel a little distant from you, might feel a little irrelevant. And so here's what I would say you should ask yourself as a takeaway for the passage today. Are you willing to sit under preaching of pastors who are not simply always going to preach what you want to hear? Remember that godly preaching is a willingness to reprove and rebuke and exhort. So in that case, is that the kind of preaching you're willing to submit yourself to? Because if not, I think it might be time for you to ask yourself if you need to read yourself into verse 3 of this chapter and question whether or not you simply want your ears tickled, your ears, itching ears scratched, and hear what you want to hear. May that not be the case for anyone in this room. Instead, may we be people who, with open and humble hearts, say to the Lord, each time you come to a sermon to hear a sermon, speak, Lord, for your servant is listening. Last thing, church, let's pray. Let's pray that God would raise up many more godly preachers from this church, ones that will stay with us and ones that will eventually go out and pastor other churches, whether locally or globally. Let's pray and work towards the kind of church that cares deeply about developing young men who have the marks of a godly preacher. They're kind, they're gentle, they're patient, they're able to handle the word of God rightly, in season and out of season. Men who are able to reprove, rebuke, and exhort with complete patience and teaching, free from the fear of man. So last week I had you guys pray that the Lord would be pleased to raise up missionaries from among us. And so I want to do the same thing. I want you guys to gather in groups of fours and fives with people right around you. If you don't know each other, introduce yourselves real quick. And again, I want you to pray that the Lord would raise up godly preachers in response to the word today. The Lord would raise up godly preachers from this church, ones that will stay with us, and ones that will eventually go out and pastor other churches, whether locally or globally. Let's do that and I'll close this in a little bit.