WEBVTT 00:00:07.040 --> 00:00:12.720 This sermon was recorded at Faith Evangelical Free Church in Grand Forks, North Dakota. 00:00:19.920 --> 00:00:26.719 This is a unique morning in the history of Faith Evangelical Free Church. 00:00:27.280 --> 00:00:44.640 We are gathered to worship the Lord Jesus Christ, what he's done for us, and to be built up together to encourage one another to love and good works and to be spurred on, then to take the good news of the Lord Jesus Christ to a lost and hurting world. 00:00:45.359 --> 00:00:48.479 That's not the unique part of this morning, though. 00:00:49.039 --> 00:01:11.120 This is special because all of us gathered together, participating in worship of the Lord Jesus Christ while officially recognizing the Lord's work of setting apart a man for his work. 00:01:11.599 --> 00:01:15.280 That's only happened a handful of times in this church's history. 00:01:16.719 --> 00:01:22.640 Every believer in the Lord Jesus Christ is called to take up their cross and follow him. 00:01:24.480 --> 00:01:26.560 That is without exception. 00:01:27.200 --> 00:01:33.519 But there are some whom the Lord uniquely sets apart to serve him in vocational ministry. 00:01:34.640 --> 00:01:53.680 And in this setting, the local church then acknowledges that yes, God has indeed set someone apart for himself, and we gather to ceremonially charge that person to follow Christ faithfully. 00:01:54.480 --> 00:01:59.599 At the same time, we seek the Lord's empowerment and blessing for that work. 00:02:00.560 --> 00:02:03.359 In our case, Jeremy Gonzalez. 00:02:03.439 --> 00:02:04.319 Jeremy, would you stand? 00:02:04.480 --> 00:02:06.319 Everybody may not know who you are. 00:02:07.599 --> 00:02:08.400 Thank you. 00:02:09.840 --> 00:02:12.639 I'm jealous that I didn't come up with the bearded Baptist. 00:02:18.479 --> 00:02:24.159 Jeremy has shown himself to be faithful to the Lord in our midst. 00:02:25.199 --> 00:02:37.520 When I was seeking our student and family pastor five to six years ago, I told our elders I did not want a youth pastor. 00:02:39.680 --> 00:02:41.840 I did not want a youth pastor. 00:02:42.159 --> 00:02:43.759 I wanted a pastor. 00:02:44.960 --> 00:02:53.199 I wanted somebody who could step in and fill any given role in ministering to the Lord's church. 00:02:54.879 --> 00:03:00.479 I wanted somebody who could lead students and be crazy with students. 00:03:00.879 --> 00:03:02.159 He can be crazy with students. 00:03:02.240 --> 00:03:03.280 You may not see it in the pulpit. 00:03:03.360 --> 00:03:04.960 He can be crazy with students. 00:03:06.240 --> 00:03:12.080 I wanted somebody who could lead students in the worship of our great God. 00:03:12.960 --> 00:03:22.639 I wanted somebody who could lead students in understanding the Word of God and applying that to their lives. 00:03:23.840 --> 00:03:32.080 At the same time, I wanted somebody who could go to the hospital and be at a bedside. 00:03:33.439 --> 00:03:37.919 I wanted somebody who could sit down with somebody in need of counsel. 00:03:39.039 --> 00:03:45.280 And I wanted somebody who could stand in this pulpit and accurately divide the word of truth. 00:03:47.360 --> 00:03:57.360 Over the last four and a half years, Jeremy has shown himself to be faithful to the Lord in our midst in all of those areas. 00:03:59.360 --> 00:04:08.719 Jeremy, I, and I think we are extremely proud of you because of what Christ has done in you. 00:04:10.479 --> 00:04:21.759 The elders jointly recommended Jeremy for ordination through the EFCA, which involves a process of biblical and theological evaluation. 00:04:22.639 --> 00:04:27.120 We'll learn more about that in our time together following this service. 00:04:27.519 --> 00:04:41.600 But in all of that biblical and theological evaluation and questioning and examination, Jeremy has displayed that unique setting apart from the Lord for the work of ministry. 00:04:42.879 --> 00:04:58.160 Now, the pressures of ordination, both the trial of the process and the commitment to serving Christ in the local church, reside mainly in the one being ordained. 00:04:59.279 --> 00:05:02.480 The preparation is trying. 00:05:04.000 --> 00:05:06.319 It's extremely trying. 00:05:07.120 --> 00:05:14.319 You add to that the burdensome nature of the work of ministry, and it again become overwhelming. 00:05:15.199 --> 00:05:20.720 There's a reason the scriptures warned that not many should be teachers of the scriptures. 00:05:21.439 --> 00:05:25.040 For it says those who do so will incur a stricter judgment. 00:05:25.360 --> 00:05:39.360 And so it's appropriate to go through an evaluation process to examine is someone indeed fit to be presented and set apart to the Lord for ordination for the work of the ministry. 00:05:41.199 --> 00:05:50.319 But we, as the local church among which Jeremy has served, we also bear a responsibility. 00:05:50.560 --> 00:05:52.720 We don't get off the hook today. 00:05:53.040 --> 00:05:55.519 We're all involved in this. 00:05:55.920 --> 00:06:01.360 Part of our responsibility is to acknowledge the Lord's work in Jeremy's life. 00:06:01.680 --> 00:06:13.279 But like Jeremy himself, we also have the unique calling as part of the Lord's work to serve with Jeremy and actually to serve him. 00:06:14.800 --> 00:06:26.399 I'd like to consider three passages of Scripture this morning to explain what I mean when I say we are all called to serve Jeremy. 00:06:28.319 --> 00:06:32.160 And what it means for Jeremy to serve Christ. 00:06:32.319 --> 00:06:40.079 The first passage that I'd like to like us to consider is the short New Testament book called Philemon. 00:06:40.319 --> 00:06:43.600 If you can't find it in your Bible and you have to use the index, that's okay. 00:06:43.759 --> 00:06:44.720 Don't be embarrassed. 00:06:44.879 --> 00:06:47.680 It's only generally one page in your Bible. 00:06:47.839 --> 00:06:49.839 It's right before the book of Hebrews. 00:06:50.079 --> 00:06:53.199 It's the shortest New Testament book, only about a page long. 00:06:53.519 --> 00:07:05.279 Philemon is a letter that the Apostle Paul wrote to a man named Philemon, who lived in the ancient Turkish city that we know today as Colossae. 00:07:05.680 --> 00:07:10.720 The church and Colossae met in Philemon's home. 00:07:11.519 --> 00:07:13.120 So this is a personal letter. 00:07:13.199 --> 00:07:18.160 And then our interest isn't so much in what Paul wrote to Philemon. 00:07:19.120 --> 00:07:28.560 I want us to notice a particular detail that is included in the letter, and it's in the introduction to Philemon. 00:07:28.720 --> 00:07:31.360 So if you have your Bible open, you can follow along as I read. 00:07:31.439 --> 00:07:33.199 If not, it'll be on the screen for you. 00:07:33.519 --> 00:07:37.839 Says Paul, Apostle Paul's writing this, a prisoner for Christ Jesus. 00:07:37.920 --> 00:07:56.000 He is in prison as he writes this, and Timothy our brother, to Philemon, our beloved fellow worker, and Aphia, our sister, and Archipus, our fellow soldier, and the church in your house. 00:07:58.560 --> 00:08:01.120 There are three recipients to this letter. 00:08:01.360 --> 00:08:09.360 Philemon is the direct recipient, and Aphia and Archipus are also included. 00:08:09.600 --> 00:08:27.120 Now we don't have any specific or in detail historical elements to identify who these people are or anything really in detail about them, but what we do know tells us that it is likely that these three individuals were from the same family. 00:08:28.000 --> 00:08:30.399 Maybe it's a husband and a wife and a son. 00:08:32.639 --> 00:08:37.200 But please notice the third name: Archipus. 00:08:38.480 --> 00:08:43.039 Do you see that Paul calls him a fellow soldier? 00:08:44.240 --> 00:08:46.080 It says, our fellow soldier. 00:08:46.240 --> 00:08:55.200 So Paul's in prison, Timothy's with him, and he's writing to three people, one of whom he identifies as our fellow soldier. 00:08:58.399 --> 00:09:03.120 That description is significant because it's only found twice in the New Testament. 00:09:11.519 --> 00:09:18.879 It's a term that implies struggling together, working and serving together under challenging circumstances. 00:09:19.120 --> 00:09:24.639 And it also implies someone who has committed their life to that kind of service. 00:09:25.519 --> 00:09:28.480 You might say that this is a ministry family. 00:09:29.759 --> 00:09:35.120 In the times before church buildings, this family hosted the church in their home. 00:09:35.759 --> 00:09:41.840 And one of them appears to have devoted his life to serving the Lord and his church. 00:09:42.799 --> 00:09:46.960 Now I mentioned that this family lived in Colossae. 00:09:47.440 --> 00:09:55.679 The Apostle Paul also wrote a letter to the church there, likely the very same church meeting in Philemon's home. 00:09:55.759 --> 00:09:58.480 So look with me at Colossians chapter 4. 00:09:58.960 --> 00:10:01.039 Colossians chapter 4. 00:10:02.240 --> 00:10:10.000 The end of this book, so we go from the introduction of Philemon to the conclusion of Colossians. 00:10:10.399 --> 00:10:17.759 And beginning in Colossians chapter 4, verse 15, we read these words. 00:10:22.960 --> 00:10:31.200 Give my greetings to the brothers at Laodicea, and to Nympha and the church in her house. 00:10:32.000 --> 00:10:41.759 And when this letter has been read among you in Colossi, have it also read in the church of the Laodiceans. 00:10:41.840 --> 00:10:44.159 These communities were not very far apart. 00:10:44.960 --> 00:10:48.720 And see that you also read the letter from Laodicea. 00:10:49.279 --> 00:11:00.480 And say to Archipus, see that you fulfill the ministry that you have received in the Lord. 00:11:00.720 --> 00:11:02.240 There is Archipus. 00:11:03.679 --> 00:11:08.559 Church tradition built off of verses 16 and 17. 00:11:08.720 --> 00:11:15.519 And there is a tradition that reports that Archipus was the pastor of the church in Laodicea. 00:11:16.559 --> 00:11:22.799 He served faithfully at the church in Laodicea until his death by stoning. 00:11:23.840 --> 00:11:26.559 He was a martyr, according to church tradition. 00:11:27.840 --> 00:11:33.519 And his service was the same kind as Paul's service. 00:11:34.320 --> 00:11:37.600 Remember, he was called a fellow soldier. 00:11:38.000 --> 00:11:42.720 Somebody who is a soldier serving alongside of another soldier. 00:11:43.039 --> 00:11:49.279 As a fellow soldier of the Lord Jesus Christ, Archipus received his ministry from the Lord. 00:11:49.440 --> 00:12:01.039 His ministry was not one necessarily of being in charge, of leading, or of directing, although he may have done every single one of those things on a regular basis. 00:12:01.440 --> 00:12:04.000 His ministry is one of service. 00:12:05.600 --> 00:12:07.840 That's what ministry means. 00:12:08.480 --> 00:12:10.639 Same word from which we get the word deacon. 00:12:10.799 --> 00:12:12.639 It's someone who serves. 00:12:13.519 --> 00:12:20.799 Archipus served Christ first, and Christ's people in the church second. 00:12:21.840 --> 00:12:27.120 Here we find two components of Paul's statement that I want us to focus on for a few moments. 00:12:27.440 --> 00:12:36.480 One is the command for Archipus to fulfill his service, and the other is the context in which that command was given. 00:12:36.720 --> 00:12:39.919 Both of those components are significant for this morning. 00:12:40.159 --> 00:12:42.559 Let's consider them in reverse order. 00:12:42.799 --> 00:12:43.120 Okay? 00:12:43.440 --> 00:12:48.720 First, think about the context in which this expectation is expressed. 00:12:49.279 --> 00:12:52.080 The expectation is fulfill your ministry. 00:12:52.720 --> 00:13:02.080 The context in which that command was given is in a public letter to a local church. 00:13:04.399 --> 00:13:11.919 Maybe even the local church that met in his own home in Colossae. 00:13:12.480 --> 00:13:13.679 We don't know that for sure. 00:13:13.840 --> 00:13:15.840 We know that it's in a local church. 00:13:16.000 --> 00:13:17.120 We know that it's in this letter. 00:13:17.279 --> 00:13:20.480 Paul could have written a letter directly to Archipus. 00:13:21.120 --> 00:13:21.759 He didn't. 00:13:21.840 --> 00:13:23.679 He wrote a letter to Philemon. 00:13:24.320 --> 00:13:27.039 If he wrote a letter to Archipus, we don't have it. 00:13:27.360 --> 00:13:30.159 He could have written a letter directly to Archipus. 00:13:32.879 --> 00:13:34.320 We don't have that. 00:13:35.039 --> 00:13:40.080 He could have included the instructions in the letter to Philemon, but Paul didn't do either of those. 00:13:40.399 --> 00:13:43.679 Philemon was a private letter that apparently became public. 00:13:43.919 --> 00:13:53.279 Instead, Paul included the command to fulfill his ministry in a letter to be read publicly to the church in two different communities. 00:13:54.000 --> 00:13:58.480 Hey, don't just tell the church in Colossae that Archipus is to fulfill his ministry. 00:13:58.639 --> 00:14:02.480 Tell the church in Laodicea that he's supposed to fulfill his ministry, too. 00:14:03.440 --> 00:14:06.320 Jeremy, you can run, but you can't hide. 00:14:12.639 --> 00:14:15.120 I think this tells us at least two things. 00:14:15.440 --> 00:14:23.039 Number one, the expectations for Archipus, the faithful soldier, were known publicly in the local church. 00:14:23.679 --> 00:14:30.720 And to some extent, the church was to encourage and to exhort him to fulfill his ministry. 00:14:32.240 --> 00:14:34.080 I don't think this is corrective. 00:14:34.799 --> 00:14:37.519 Paul knew Archipus as a fellow soldier. 00:14:37.840 --> 00:14:39.440 He has given that commendation. 00:14:39.600 --> 00:14:44.320 He's already shown that he has endured hardship like a good soldier of Jesus Christ. 00:14:44.559 --> 00:14:51.039 History does record for us that Christian life in the city of Laodicea wasn't exactly easy. 00:14:52.080 --> 00:14:55.679 But maybe Archipus needed encouragement to continue enduring. 00:14:55.840 --> 00:15:00.159 Perhaps Paul knew that Archipus would need the encouragement and the exhortation of the church. 00:15:00.320 --> 00:15:07.440 Or maybe, just maybe, there was an element of apostolic exhortation to the church. 00:15:09.600 --> 00:15:21.440 If you know your servants, your ministers, your fellow soldiers, encourage them and urge them to fulfill their ministry. 00:15:25.279 --> 00:15:29.519 Those parts of the body need the rest of the body. 00:15:31.440 --> 00:15:35.759 You don't just need them, they need you. 00:15:38.000 --> 00:15:45.120 I suggest that we find a crucial element of ordination in the life of Archipus in the churches at Colossae and Laodicea. 00:15:45.360 --> 00:15:54.480 There is a mutual expectation and dependency between the churches and their shepherds. 00:15:55.600 --> 00:16:08.799 As Archipus heard this exhortation from Paul, as the letter was read in the gathering of the church, he is also to hear it again from the people in the church. 00:16:10.159 --> 00:16:19.679 Likewise, Archipus was to fulfill his ministry, his service to the same people, encouraging him to do so. 00:16:22.240 --> 00:16:34.559 And say to Archipus, say to Jeremy, see that you fulfill the service that you've received in the Lord. 00:16:36.559 --> 00:16:39.519 But what does that mean? 00:16:40.240 --> 00:16:43.279 What does it mean to fulfill one's ministry? 00:16:43.440 --> 00:16:51.039 To some extent, that depends on the ministry one has received from the Lord and location and context. 00:16:53.600 --> 00:16:59.279 In our situation, it means serving Christ in the middle of North Dakota winters. 00:17:00.799 --> 00:17:08.240 You know that God is behind it when Jeremy moves his family here from Colorado in December. 00:17:13.680 --> 00:17:17.519 But beyond that, what does it mean to fulfill your ministry? 00:17:17.680 --> 00:17:20.640 Here's our third passage, 2 Timothy chapter 4. 00:17:23.119 --> 00:17:25.359 2 Timothy chapter 4. 00:17:29.519 --> 00:17:38.319 This is a primary text for the church that wants to know what to expect of their pastor teachers. 00:17:38.559 --> 00:17:43.839 It's a primary text for the man called to be a pastor teacher. 00:17:44.160 --> 00:17:53.359 2 Timothy chapter 4, beginning in verse 1, the apostle Paul says, For the time let me see here. 00:17:53.440 --> 00:17:54.559 I'm missing of. 00:17:56.079 --> 00:17:56.640 There we go. 00:17:56.799 --> 00:18:05.759 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, preach the word. 00:18:06.240 --> 00:18:09.200 Be ready in season and out of season. 00:18:09.599 --> 00:18:16.160 Reprove, rebuke, and exhort with complete patience and teaching. 00:18:16.480 --> 00:18:17.119 Why? 00:18:17.519 --> 00:18:27.119 For the time will come when people will not endure sound teaching, but have itching ears, they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions. 00:18:27.599 --> 00:18:32.319 And they will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. 00:18:32.720 --> 00:18:36.160 As for you, Timothy, always be sober-minded. 00:18:36.720 --> 00:18:38.000 Endure suffering. 00:18:38.240 --> 00:18:40.319 Do the work of an evangelist. 00:18:41.359 --> 00:18:44.000 Fulfill your ministry. 00:18:46.160 --> 00:18:51.119 There are only three places in the New Testament that we find the phrase, fulfill your ministry. 00:18:52.480 --> 00:18:57.039 Two of them directed to Archipus, one directed to Timothy. 00:18:58.160 --> 00:19:02.640 Verse 1 here tells us the standard of ministry. 00:19:03.119 --> 00:19:08.160 He says, the judge of all the earth is returning. 00:19:09.279 --> 00:19:12.480 He's returning to establish his kingdom. 00:19:14.720 --> 00:19:17.839 And he will be the ultimate evaluator. 00:19:20.000 --> 00:19:25.119 The Apostle Paul says to the church at Corinth, it's nothing for me, for you to judge me. 00:19:25.359 --> 00:19:27.119 Well, why does he say that? 00:19:28.640 --> 00:19:33.599 It's not that he's diminishing the role or the place of the local church or of human beings. 00:19:34.079 --> 00:19:39.599 It's that he understands there's a much greater judge before whom he stands. 00:19:40.559 --> 00:19:53.359 Verse 2 tells us Timothy was to act accordingly, proclaim the word of God in all readiness, reproving, rebuking, exhorting, with impeccable patience and instruction. 00:19:54.880 --> 00:20:05.279 Verses three and four provide the reason for churches to possess these expectations and for the pastor teachers to carry them out. 00:20:08.400 --> 00:20:15.119 The way the world is, people will drift away and care nothing for the word of God. 00:20:18.880 --> 00:20:27.599 So if the desire was for less Bible and more philosophy, Timothy was to give them more Bible. 00:20:28.400 --> 00:20:33.759 If the desire was for less doctrine, Timothy was to give them more doctrine. 00:20:34.000 --> 00:20:40.160 If the desire was for less preaching and teaching, Timothy was to give them more preaching and teaching. 00:20:40.400 --> 00:20:45.359 This is what the church is to hold out as the standard for Jeremy. 00:20:46.000 --> 00:20:49.440 This is the standard that Jeremy is to pursue. 00:20:49.680 --> 00:20:52.240 And verse 5 then gets personal. 00:20:52.880 --> 00:20:59.599 As for you, always be sober-minded. 00:21:00.880 --> 00:21:02.400 Endure suffering. 00:21:02.720 --> 00:21:04.480 Do the work of an evangelist. 00:21:04.720 --> 00:21:06.240 Fulfill your ministry. 00:21:06.480 --> 00:21:15.359 Now a careful listener automatically hears parallels to archipelus, not only in the fulfill your ministry portion, but also in the soldiering aspect. 00:21:16.480 --> 00:21:25.680 Sober-minded is a term that means being under the control of the Spirit of God. 00:21:28.079 --> 00:21:30.799 Why does it mean being under control of the Spirit of God? 00:21:30.960 --> 00:21:35.680 Because the tendency of sinful human beings is to be under the control of something else. 00:21:38.400 --> 00:21:45.359 We are to avoid submitting our minds to substances and the impact of distractions and discouragement and worldly things. 00:21:45.519 --> 00:21:56.880 The first century Jewish historian Josephus used this term for Roman soldiers who had endured significant battle losses. 00:21:57.599 --> 00:22:09.440 He wrote, and I quote, he is the The best warrior who is of sober mind under great misfortunes, so that he might continue in the right mind. 00:22:11.200 --> 00:22:19.759 That means that no matter what's going on around you, your mindset is clear, your mindset is right, and you are able to focus on the things of God. 00:22:21.599 --> 00:22:32.319 Peter wrote similarly in 1 Peter chapter 1, verse 13, therefore, preparing your minds, speaking to Christians in general, preparing your minds for action. 00:22:32.400 --> 00:22:34.799 Does that not sound like battlefield language? 00:22:35.440 --> 00:22:37.440 And being sober-minded. 00:22:37.519 --> 00:22:42.960 You cannot be properly prepared for action if you are also not sober-minded. 00:22:43.200 --> 00:22:47.119 Set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you. 00:22:48.960 --> 00:22:59.519 If your mind is not prepared, and your mind is not sober, and you will struggle at setting your hope fully on the grace that is brought to you. 00:23:00.960 --> 00:23:09.519 So, my friends, our responsibility is to urge Jeremy to be sober-minded. 00:23:12.079 --> 00:23:15.119 Because he has a part in leading us into battle. 00:23:16.960 --> 00:23:23.200 His responsibility is to exhort you and me to be sober-minded. 00:23:23.599 --> 00:23:26.480 Because he's leading us into battle. 00:23:28.000 --> 00:23:33.680 Again, Peter wrote in the end of his book, be sober-minded, be watchful. 00:23:33.839 --> 00:23:34.319 Why? 00:23:34.559 --> 00:23:41.119 Because your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour. 00:23:42.240 --> 00:23:43.200 Resist him. 00:23:43.680 --> 00:23:45.359 Being firm in your faith. 00:23:45.599 --> 00:23:52.160 Because you know that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. 00:23:55.359 --> 00:24:00.400 We can also see then that being sober-minded is linked to suffering. 00:24:02.079 --> 00:24:07.119 Both in 1 Peter chapter 5 and in 2 Timothy 4, verse 5. 00:24:08.000 --> 00:24:10.480 This is battlefield language, friends. 00:24:10.799 --> 00:24:26.799 Archipus, Timothy, and every pastor-teacher is to be a faithful soldier who is always sober-minded, always prepared for the enemy, and advancing the king's cause by proclaiming the word of our commander. 00:24:30.160 --> 00:24:36.240 But in the battle, that may come with suffering of many kinds. 00:24:37.759 --> 00:24:40.400 It may be lacking physical nourishment. 00:24:41.119 --> 00:24:46.799 Remember when Paul said to the Philippians, I've learned to be content in whatever situation I am. 00:24:47.039 --> 00:24:52.000 I've learned to be content if I'm hungry or if I'm full. 00:25:26.240 --> 00:25:27.599 Endure suffering. 00:25:31.680 --> 00:25:33.359 Jeremy, you've been a marine. 00:25:34.880 --> 00:25:36.559 You've endured suffering. 00:25:38.160 --> 00:25:42.559 But you have to prepare your mind for sufferings that you don't expect. 00:25:45.119 --> 00:25:46.160 Endure them. 00:25:49.359 --> 00:25:53.599 And beloved, you need to pray for this brother. 00:25:54.079 --> 00:25:59.759 Because he will endure the onslaughts of the enemy unlike anything we might know. 00:26:01.279 --> 00:26:02.799 He will suffer. 00:26:03.759 --> 00:26:14.240 Weep with him and rejoice with him, strengthen him and encourage him, and exhort him to fulfill his ministry by enduring suffering. 00:26:15.839 --> 00:26:18.000 Do the work of an evangelist. 00:26:18.319 --> 00:26:26.640 When we hear the word evangelist, we picture someone like Billy Graham or maybe you've seen a street preacher here and there or on YouTube. 00:26:27.519 --> 00:26:28.799 That's not wrong. 00:26:29.039 --> 00:26:34.079 That's not wrong, but but the word merely means being a proclaimer. 00:26:35.279 --> 00:26:38.240 Do the work of proclaiming the king's message. 00:26:38.319 --> 00:26:41.759 That means, Jeremy, that you are to know the word of Christ. 00:26:42.000 --> 00:26:45.200 It means you must labor to study and to learn. 00:26:45.440 --> 00:26:49.920 It means that a shepherd teacher is a lifelong learner of Christ's word. 00:26:50.240 --> 00:26:56.880 It means the message proclaimed is not our message, but his message, no matter the cost to you. 00:26:59.440 --> 00:27:04.559 The church must hold its pastor teachers to that standard. 00:27:05.839 --> 00:27:18.720 A church must expect and provide for its pastor teachers to learn, to study, and to proclaim and to come along and support when it is painful and laborious work. 00:27:22.240 --> 00:27:26.880 Because they lead the church in proclamation. 00:27:28.079 --> 00:27:41.279 They lead in proclaiming publicly so that you too might have the encouragement and the strength and the boldness to go out and to proclaim publicly as you're going, making disciples. 00:27:44.319 --> 00:27:46.400 Finally, fulfill your ministry. 00:27:47.279 --> 00:27:50.160 As for you, always be sober-minded. 00:27:50.799 --> 00:27:52.240 Endure suffering. 00:27:52.559 --> 00:27:54.640 Do the work of an evangelist. 00:27:55.119 --> 00:27:56.799 Fulfill your ministry. 00:28:00.000 --> 00:28:09.119 Timothy and Archipus and all pastor teachers since then are to be faithful soldiers of Christ Jesus. 00:28:09.279 --> 00:28:14.559 They're to be sober-minded, enduring, proclaiming servants. 00:28:14.880 --> 00:28:18.319 That is what it means to fulfill your ministry. 00:28:20.160 --> 00:28:25.359 So, Jeremy, this is a day of renewal of your commitment to that end. 00:28:26.480 --> 00:28:34.799 Over the course of the years, Jeremy has gone through our local church licensing process in which he kind of did a mini-ordination. 00:28:35.680 --> 00:28:37.279 Or we evaluated. 00:28:37.759 --> 00:28:38.880 Does he know doctrine? 00:28:39.039 --> 00:28:40.880 Does he know his Bible? 00:28:41.759 --> 00:28:47.920 He has served alongside of us counseling some of the most difficult counseling situations that we've encountered. 00:28:48.880 --> 00:28:50.720 He has taught all ages. 00:28:54.799 --> 00:28:56.640 He's done funerals, he's done weddings. 00:28:56.720 --> 00:29:02.160 And Jeremy, this day is a renewal of your commitment to the end of fulfilling your ministry. 00:29:03.440 --> 00:29:05.759 Faith Evangelical Free Church. 00:29:06.240 --> 00:29:11.680 This is a renewal of your commitment to hold the standard high for Jeremy. 00:29:12.160 --> 00:29:19.119 Not only to hold the standard high, but to encourage and to exhort him to fulfill that ministry. 00:29:19.519 --> 00:29:25.039 And as you do that for him, he is encouraged and exhorted to return the favor. 00:29:25.759 --> 00:29:27.680 To do the same for you. 00:29:40.319 --> 00:29:53.599 Polycarp was a disciple of the apostle John, which makes his instructions in this kind of situation among the earliest instructions we have outside of the New Testament. 00:29:54.000 --> 00:29:59.440 Here's what Polycarp said about church elders. 00:30:00.160 --> 00:30:04.960 Let them be compassionate and merciful to all. 00:30:05.920 --> 00:30:08.160 Bringing back those that wander. 00:30:09.039 --> 00:30:19.039 Visiting all the sick and not neglecting the widow, the orphan, or the poor, but always providing for that which is becoming in the sight of God and man. 00:30:20.079 --> 00:30:40.079 Abstaining from all wrath, abstaining from the respect of persons and unjust judgment, keeping far off from all covetousness, not quickly crediting a bad report against anyone, not severe in judgment, as knowing that we are all under a debt of sin. 00:30:41.680 --> 00:30:49.920 If then that we if we entreat the Lord to forgive us, we ought also to forgive. 00:30:50.960 --> 00:31:02.319 For we are before the eyes of our Lord and God, and we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, and must everyone give an account of himself. 00:31:03.519 --> 00:31:31.440 Let us then serve him in fear and with all reverence, even as he himself has commanded us, and as the apostles who preached the gospel unto us, and the prophets who proclaimed beforehand the coming of the Lord, let us be zealous in the pursuit of that which is good, keeping ourselves from all causes of offense from false brothers and from those who in hypocrisy bear the name of the Lord and draw away people into error. 00:31:33.200 --> 00:31:33.839 Amen. 00:31:34.079 --> 00:31:35.039 Would you pray with me? 00:31:35.200 --> 00:31:36.480 Lord Jesus. 00:31:39.279 --> 00:31:47.039 We begin this morning singing praises to you for who you are and what you've done. 00:31:48.640 --> 00:32:08.720 You are a great God who calls us to yourself, who justifies us, who satisfies the wrath of a holy God against our sin, who fills us with your spirit, so that we might go out and proclaim that good news. 00:32:12.480 --> 00:32:18.960 In that same vein, we give you praise and thanks for doing all of that in Jeremy. 00:32:20.079 --> 00:32:24.079 And even more, we give you thanks and praise for the work that you've done in him. 00:32:24.799 --> 00:32:26.799 To prepare him for this day. 00:32:27.119 --> 00:32:29.279 We thank you for his family. 00:32:29.440 --> 00:32:33.359 Thank you for their patient endurance throughout this process. 00:32:33.599 --> 00:32:36.720 Thank you for their encouragement and standing beside him. 00:32:38.480 --> 00:32:42.880 Thank you for bringing him to be amongst us, to serve with us. 00:32:44.799 --> 00:32:51.759 And so we recognize that all that we honor today, we are doing so because of your work in him. 00:32:53.680 --> 00:33:01.519 Thank you for causing him to be receptive to your leading, to be open to your instruction. 00:33:03.039 --> 00:33:13.519 And now, in a way, we give him back to you, asking that you would refresh him, that you would renew him in his commitment to fulfilling his ministry. 00:33:14.960 --> 00:33:25.759 And that you would refresh us too in our encouragement of him and our our willingness to exhort him to fulfill the work of ministry that you've given him. 00:33:27.599 --> 00:33:34.400 All of this, Lord Jesus, we commit to you because it's from your word which you've given to us. 00:33:34.960 --> 00:33:36.480 And by it we honor you. 00:33:36.799 --> 00:33:38.079 In Christ's name we pray. 00:33:38.559 --> 00:33:39.200 Amen. 00:33:40.640 --> 00:33:50.400 At this time, I'd like to invite Jeremy to the pulpit to give a word of response to this exhortation. 00:33:54.079 --> 00:33:55.599 Thank you, Jason. 00:33:58.720 --> 00:34:04.960 Knowing that this was this part of the service was coming, uh, I talked with my wife about what I would say. 00:34:05.200 --> 00:34:19.440 Um, and I think I just settled on yes, which is uh Pastor Jason's favorite response to us when presented with things. 00:34:20.480 --> 00:34:33.679 Uh today is an important day for me, uh, not just because of my ordination, it's also the only day I can recall that every single member of the pastoral staff is wearing a tie. 00:34:35.519 --> 00:34:37.679 It's very, very important. 00:34:38.559 --> 00:34:56.400 Uh brothers and sisters, in your affirmation of me, I'm something that has been at the forefront of my mind since my calling into ministry is is this just something I want to do? 00:34:57.679 --> 00:35:00.960 Many men aspire towards ministry. 00:35:01.840 --> 00:35:06.880 But ministry, the pastoral office is not something you can just study for. 00:35:07.760 --> 00:35:11.519 It's not something that you can just make yourself good at. 00:35:11.599 --> 00:35:14.559 It's not a vocation that you pursue. 00:35:16.800 --> 00:35:18.239 It is a gift. 00:35:19.280 --> 00:35:30.239 And I don't say that in a way that you think of me as a gift to you, although I think the pastoral ministry of this church is a gift to this church according to Ephesians 4. 00:35:31.199 --> 00:35:46.239 But if we go back to what Paul tells Timothy and 1 Timothy, 1 Timothy 4, he says, Don't neglect the gift that is in you. 00:35:48.000 --> 00:35:50.480 There is a gift in Timothy. 00:35:51.119 --> 00:35:54.559 Some intangible that couldn't be measured, it couldn't be studied for. 00:35:54.719 --> 00:35:56.800 There was a gift within Timothy. 00:35:57.920 --> 00:36:04.079 And I think he aspired towards ministry, but there is that aspect of is this just something I want? 00:36:04.239 --> 00:36:07.679 Is this just something I'm pursuing and aspiring towards? 00:36:09.199 --> 00:36:15.760 He goes on to say, it was given to you through prophecy with the laying on of hands by the council of elders. 00:36:15.920 --> 00:36:28.320 This morning is not just me pursuing the affirmation through the EFCA or through our district. 00:36:28.639 --> 00:36:34.480 Church, this morning I'm hoping for the affirmation of you. 00:36:35.679 --> 00:36:48.079 This is something that I aspire towards, but I've always been very cautious in seeking out what I think is best, and seeking out what I want and what I desire. 00:36:51.280 --> 00:37:03.039 I believe I've had the gift, and I've always aspired to have the affirmation of you of our church elders. 00:37:03.679 --> 00:37:19.199 And in that, uh earlier on in 2 Timothy, Paul also says, again, going back to the gift, therefore I remind you to rekindle the gift of God that is in you through the laying on of my hands. 00:37:19.360 --> 00:37:21.119 Again, there's that gift of God. 00:37:21.199 --> 00:37:24.400 It's not something you just came up with, it's not just something you're good at. 00:37:24.880 --> 00:37:29.679 It's a unique gift given to you by God, but it's affirmed by others. 00:37:29.840 --> 00:37:36.719 And in that, Paul exhorts Timothy to fulfill his ministry. 00:37:37.840 --> 00:37:58.639 Church, if you will affirm that in me, I will affirm that I will do so long as it depends on me, everything within my strength and power as the Lord allows to be sober-minded, to be self-controlled in everything, to endure hardship, and to fulfill my ministry. 00:37:59.920 --> 00:38:00.400 Thank you. 00:38:00.559 --> 00:38:01.440 Thank you, Jason. 00:38:03.920 --> 00:38:07.599 That concludes this sermon from Faith Evangelical Free Church. 00:38:07.760 --> 00:38:14.639 Our mission is to declare the Word of God and disciple believers into mature, devoted followers of Jesus. 00:38:14.880 --> 00:38:18.960 You can learn more by visiting our website at faithfree.com.