Let’s turn together to 2 Timothy 4:1–5. We’re continuing our series through the book of 2 Timothy, nearing the end of this great book. And we come today to a seminal passage in the Scriptures, especially for preachers. I’ve entitled the message today, “Mamas Don’t let your Babies Grow Up to be Preachers.” “Let ‘em be doctors and lawyers and such.”

And you might respond to that by saying, “Why would you say that, Pastor Tony? Aren’t you a preacher? Don’t we need preachers? Isn’t it an honorable thing to preach God’s Word?” My answer is, “Yes, Yes, Yes.” I’m all for preachers and preaching. I’ve experienced God’s favor as a preacher. But you need to know, preaching is difficult work. Preaching is labor-intensive (good preaching anyway). Preaching is not for the faint of heart. And preachers are answerable to God for their preaching. So they need to count the cost, and they need to be sure that their calling is genuine, and that it doesn’t come from a place of selfish ambition or foolish conceit.

You might say, “Well what makes preaching so difficult?” And you might ask, “What exactly do good preachers do?” “And why should there be such conviction and sober-mindedness about a calling to the task of preaching?”  Well let’s turn our attention now to 2 Timothy to address those questions.  

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I want to ask and answer two questions for you this morning. First, what do preachers do? And then secondly, what do preachers not do? Let’s start with the first question, and let me give you five things that preachers do. Here’s the first thing. 

Five Things Preachers Do (4:1–2):

1. They preach the Word 

Paul says to his young understudy, Timothy, to whom he wrote this book:

1 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: 2 preach the word

Preachers preach the word! They don’t preach the newspaper. They don’t preach modern philosophies and ideas. They don’t preach sappy, sentimental anecdotes from the Reader’s Digest. They don’t preach the latest controversy that populated in their Twitter feed. They don’t preach country music songs (unless it’s a catchy introduction to their sermon). 

They don’t preach political ideologies. They don’t preach encyclicals from the pope. They don’t preach clever cultural analysis. They preach the Scriptures and the gospel held therein. 

There’s actually a lot of debate as to what Paul is referencing in verse 2 with his statement “preach the Word.” Does that mean “preach [the Word, the Scriptures]?” Or does that mean “preach [the Word, the gospel]?” 

Well in light of the previous passage in 2 Timothy, I’m inclined to say the former, the Scriptures. Paul just said at the end of chapter 3 that the Scriptures are “breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness” (2 Tim 3:16). Now he says at the beginning of chapter 4, “preach the word… reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching.” I see a connection between those two passages. 

But obviously, part of Timothy’s role is to preach the gospel. I’m not totally convinced that Paul doesn’t have an eye on that responsibility as well with his statement in 4:2. That’s why I say that Paul is calling Timothy to preach the Scriptures and the gospel held therein. To teach one is to inevitably teach the other. 

And Paul even says in verse 5, “Do the work of an evangelist.” The word for evangelist there is the Greek εὐαγγελιστής, which is related to the word for gospel—εὐαγγέλιον. So Paul might as well be saying, “Do the work of a gospelize-er, Timothy. Preach the Gospel!” But in verse one, Paul is saying more than just preach the gospel. He’s saying preach the Scriptures. He’s saying preach the whole counsel of God, which we call the Bible. 

And why do we do that? What’s our motivation for that? Well here’s the motivation in verse 1. And this is a verse that brings trepidation to every person who stands up in front of a church and utters syllables on behalf of God before the people of God. It probably doesn’t terrify every preacher or pastor, but it should. This is why I said at the beginning, “Mamas don’t let your babies grow up to be preachers!”

Paul writes,

4:1 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: 

I hope you see the seriousness of this in verse 1. Before Paul gives Timothy the command to preach, he gives this sobering reminder. He invokes this solemn oath over Timothy. He charges him in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, the first and second member of the Trinity! “Timothy if you don’t preach the Word, you will answer to God.” 

John MacArthur says it this way, “every minister… ministers under the omniscient scrutiny of [Christ’s] divine presence.” No pressure! Goodness, that is a terrifying thought! This is a serious thing! 

Interestingly, the judge here is Jesus, not God the Father, which is consistent with what Jesus said himself. Jesus said, “The Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son” (John 5:22). Jesus said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me” (Matt 28:18). And Paul reinforces that idea here when he says that Christ Jesus is the one who will “judge the living and the dead” (Maybe you recognize that language from the Apostles’ Creed?). 

Paul appeals to four things here: 1) God the Father, 2) God the Son, 3) Jesus’s appearing—“[B]y his appearing,” that is the second coming of Christ, and 4) Jesus’s kingdom—“[A]nd by his kingdom,” that is the present and future reign of Jesus. When you put all these appeals together, with God as a witness, you have an incredibly solemn and serious oath that Paul is charging Timothy with. “I charge you, Timothy, with this great task,” says Paul. “I hold you accountable before the Lord if you don’t do this, Timothy.” “Don’t do what?” “Preach the Word!”

It’s like at a courthouse where a person puts their hands on a Bible and they say, “I swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help me God.” It’s like that. But in this case “the truth” that Paul is charging Timothy to speak under oath is the truth of the Word of God. And preachers (myself included) will be judged according to our faithfulness to this task. That’s why the Book of James says, “Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness” (3:1). The author of Hebrews says that church leaders will give an account (13:17)

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So Paul says, “preach the word.” Paul wants preachers to preach the Word, and he wants churches, like this one, to listen to the Word preached. And here’s a second thing Paul tells Timothy to do. He says, “be ready.” Here’s a second thing preachers do…  

2. They stay ready

2 preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; 

Now what does that mean… in season and out of season? Does that mean summer and winter? Does that mean when it’s 100 degrees outside and hot enough to fry an egg, but also when it’s single digits. No. That’s not what this is talking about.

I like the way that Bill Mounce explains this. He says it means that we need to be ready to preach “when it is opportune or inopportune.” In other words, when it’s convenient and when it’s inconvenient. When you’re relaxed and when you’re ill-at-ease. When the people have receptivity towards your message, and when the people have hostility towards your message. 

Pastor Tommy Nelson said once, “Peter preached in Acts 2 and he got 2000 converts. Stephen preached in Acts 7 and got 2000 rocks.” Was Stephen any less faithful to God than Peter was? No! In season and out of season, preachers preach the Word. 

Sometimes the people don’t want to hear it, and the preacher’s got to preach. Sometimes the preacher doesn’t want to do it, and he’s got to preach.  Sometimes the church doesn’t want to hear it, but you’ve got to listen. I’m charged here to be ready in season and out of season to preach. You are charged, Verse By Verse Fellowship, with being ready in season and out of season to hear God’s Word preached. 

I have to be ready. I have to be available. I have to be studied up and prepared for the task. You likewise have to be ready. You have to be teachable. You have to be attentive and responsive to the Word of God preached.  

Let me just speak honestly with you for a moment. There have been some days here on Sunday morning, where I’m raring to go. I’m like, “Let’s do this, Lord. I’m ready. Let’s preach your Word!” It’s a delight. I’m energized by it. The congregation is responding to me. All my jokes are landing. And I think to myself, “I’ve got the best job in the world. Who has it better than me?” 

And then there are other days. On some days… it’s hard to preach. Can I be honest? Some days you guys look like the cat just dragged you in. Daylight Savings Time comes to mind as one of those days. Some days I feel like the cat just dragged me in. Some days it’s tough to preach. Some days, it’s inopportune. For example, if there’s a conflict that is brewing in the church, that’s inopportune. Or sometimes the text that I’m preaching is a hard text, and my spiritual life isn’t where it needs to be. That’s inopportune. Paul told Timothy, and Paul is telling me, “Be ready.”

Some passages are tailor made for powerful, radical, life-changing impact. Other passages and other sermons are what you might call “meat and potatoes.” It’s a good, solid, healthy meal. And that’s okay.  

One of the best things I’ve ever heard about preaching came from Tim Keller. I remember hearing him say once that not every sermon needs to be a homerun. Sometimes his wife would characterize his sermon as just meat and potatoes. When I heard Keller say that, it eased some of the anxiety I had about preaching. Because I remember being overly concerned about whether or not my sermon was radically altering the course of everyone’s life. And that was a crushing burden sometimes. And I needed to hear another pastor say, “Sometimes a sermon is just a good, healthy meal. Sometimes the church just needs meat and potatoes.”

Paul doesn’t tell Timothy to radically alter the course of every person’s life every Sunday. He says, “Preach the word.” So be content, church, with a steady, healthy diet of God’s Word. 

And by the way, part of being ready in season and out of season as a preacher is making sure that you’re not indulging your flesh Monday through Saturday. Right? If I’m indulging my flesh throughout the week, how could I be ready to stand up here and say, “Thus says the Lord?” 

And part of you being ready in season and out of season to hear God’s Word is that you are living it out and following Christ seven days a week, and not just on Sunday. And then, you are ready and prepared every Sunday to come to church and hear from God’s Word. 

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Go ahead and write this down as a third thing preachers do:

3. They reprove

Paul uses three verbs to flesh out this idea of Biblical preaching. He says in verse 2,

reprove, rebuke, and exhort

The first word “reprove” is the Greek ἐλέγχω. This is a teaching word. It means to bring the light of understanding into the darkness of bad action. It means to “bring a person to the point of recognizing wrongdoing.” It’s taking a person who is going in a harmful and destructive direction, and saying, “Look buddy, that doesn’t square with Scripture. Go this way! Fear God and obey his commandments. And by doing that, you will experience the blessing that God offers those who obey.”

Reproof can be a hard thing for a pastor. And it can be a hard thing for a church to receive. But this is part of God’s expectation of a preacher. It’s part of a preacher’s calling. And God wants congregations to receive reproofs, just like God wants preachers to give them.   

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Fourthly, here’s another thing preachers do. And this is even stronger than the previous expectation. Preachers reprove. Also…

4. They rebuke

The Greek word has the idea of expressing “strong disapproval of someone… to speak seriously, [to] warn.” This is the word used of Jesus when he rebuked the wind in the waves in the Sea of Galilee (Matt 8:26). This is the word used of the archangel Michael when he was arguing with Satan over the body of Moses and he said, “The Lord rebuke you” (Jude 9). 

Reproving someone means showing them where they are wrong. Rebuking means telling them to stop. It means to speak forcefully to someone who is defiant and resolute in their opposition to God and the Scriptures, and say, “You’ve got to change. What you are doing is wrong!” Sometimes a pastor needs to say that publicly from the pulpit. Sometimes elders need to speak that to a person privately. 

Now, let me just say this. No pastor enjoys the responsibility of rebuking his flock. Yet no pastor who is faithful to the Word of God and the instruction of his people will shirk this responsibility. Let me say it a little more forcefully than that. If a person enjoys rebuking people, that person shouldn’t be a pastor. But if a pastor isn’t willing to rebuke the congregation, then he shouldn’t be a pastor. And if a pastor is faithful to the exposition of these Scriptures, then there’s no way that he’s going to be able to avoid a rebuke from time to time. It’s inevitable. 

And by the way, oftentimes the rebuke comes to the pastor first. I feel the reproof of the Lord, Thursdays and Saturdays when I study for a message. And then, after I’ve felt the weight of conviction and have responded appropriately (maybe including repentance?), I am charged with the task of doing that for the congregation. 

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Now does that mean that a pastor just negatively rebukes and reproves his congregation every Sunday, beating them to a bloody pulp? No. Of course not! Look what else Paul commands Timothy. 

reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching.

Fifthly, here’s another thing preachers do:

5. They exhort

They παρακαλέω. They encourage. They urge. They appeal to. Literally they “call a person to one’s side.” “I’m going this way, brother. I’m going this way, sister. After Jesus. Come follow me. Come by my side and we’ll go together.” “Do as I say, but also, do as I do.” The reality is this—you can’t preach something you haven’t lived out. And you can call someone to do something that you’re not doing yourself. So part of a pastor’s responsibility is to say, “Come on. Let’s do this. Follow me.” “Come on I’ll help you. We’ll do this together.”

You know when pastors fail they usually fail in one of two ways. 1) Either they reprove and rebuke but they don’t encourage, which just wears out a congregation. Or 2) They exhort and encourage but they don’t reprove and rebuke and challenge the congregation. Warren Wiersbe said once that a preacher should, “afflict the comfortable and comfort the afflicted.” John describes Jesus as “full of grace and truth” (1:14), right? Grace and truth is the balance that we’re trying to strike as the body of Christ. And pastors need to model that from the pulpit. 

I heard a pastor on TV once say… a very well-known pastor that all of you would recognize… He said, “I’m not really a teacher, I’m more of an encourager.” And I yelled at the TV, “Then get out of the pulpit! Stop calling yourself a pastor!” Sanja said, “Why are you yelling at the TV?” Why was I yelling? Because this guy who calls himself a pastor was demeaning my calling. He was compromising my profession. 

I just hate this idea that pastors are a bunch of pseudo-psychological image-consultants that give everybody pep-talks. Is that what God wants pastors to be? Where are the pastors that are teaching people the Scriptures? Where are the pastors who will declare “Thus says the Lord” with authority and with unction? They’re out there. I know they’re out there. But unfortunately it’s not present in every church. May that never be said of VBVF! May this pulpit never lack a Bible preacher who reproves, rebukes, and exhorts the congregation! 

Now notice what Paul says at the end of verse 2. 

reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching.

And by the way, that last clause (“with complete patience and teaching”) applies to all the verbs: reprove, rebuke and exhort. In other words, Paul is saying 1) “Reprove” with complete patience and teaching. 2) “Rebuke” with complete patience and teaching. And 3) “Exhort” with complete patience and teaching.

Patience (or “forbearance” would be another way to translate this word) is so important, because sometimes it takes time for the truths of God’s Word to really seep into a person’s soul. And teaching (or the idea of consistent faithful instruction) is so important because reproof and rebuke without teaching will lead people to despair. You’ve got to tell people what they are doing wrong, but you’ve also got to tell people why it’s wrong. And you’ve got to be able to tell people how to make it right. Don’t go this way. Go this way. It’s better for you this way. It’s healthier.

Several years ago I travelled to Cameroon in West Africa. Our church was involved in planting a church in that country. So I went to help get the church off the ground. And I preached a message there. And afterwards the pastor of the church said, “Tony, your message needs to be more bitter!” And I remember thinking to myself, “What in the world? Bitter?” 

And what he meant, I think, is that the people wanted to feel the reproof and the rebuke of the Scriptures. They were hungry for that. And of course, we, in North America, we’re all about exhortation and encouragement and ethereal ideas in the abstract that don’t really hit us applicationally where the rubber meets the road. And I’ll never forget that experience in Cameroon. It forced me to think more seriously about how I’m reproving, rebuking, and exhorting the congregation.

And listen, preaching is not like juggling bowling pins on stage. It’s more like shooting an arrow with a bow. You aren’t trying to entertain people on stage. You are trying to pierce the heart of your listener with the truth of God’s Word. 

And to be honest, sometimes I’d rather just juggle pins on stage. “Hey look at these facts about the Bible and here are some more facts. And hey, look at these exegetical observations from the text. And let me point out some more nuggets about history and context.” Instead, a sermon needs to be a pointed, clear, convicting message that penetrates your heart. That’s what I should be going for. I may not hit that every time, but that’s my goal. 

I heard a pastor say once that preaching is like organizing a mob for your own lynching. But listen, if you’re in this congregation, you should want this. You should want a preacher that has a 2 Timothy 4 conviction. You should come to church on Sunday with a mentality of “Give it to me, Pastor! Let’s do this. Reprove me. Rebuke me. Exhort me. Let the Word of God do its good work.” 

You should come hungry on Sunday morning for the Word of God. You should come with a mentality, “I want to leave changed this morning. I don’t want to be the same person that came in today. I want to learn. I want to grow. I want to repent. I want to be different. I want to mature as a disciple.”

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So that’s what preachers do. They preach the Word. They stay ready. They reprove, rebuke, and exhort. But Paul doesn’t stop there. He also gives us some things that preachers don’t do. And consequently these are three things that you, the congregation, shouldn’t tolerate. So this is for me, but this is for you too. Alright? #1.

Three Things Preachers Don’t Do (4:3-5):

1. They don’t abandon sound doctrine

3 For the time is coming when people will not endure sound [that’s the word “healthy” or ὑγιαίνω… We get our English word “hygienic” from this word ὑγιαίνω] teaching, 

In other words, a day will come when people say, “I don’t care what the Bible says. I don’t want to know what the Bible says about that. I don’t care if the Bible forbids that.” “Tell me what I want to hear, preacher. Affirm what I want to hear, pastor, not what the Bible says.” “Tell me what accords with my way of life, and my doctrine, and my understanding, and my identity.”

You know whenever someone starts coming to church and asks me, “Pastor, what’s your view on X, Y, or Z?” You just know, that’s a set-up. That’s a sting operation. “What’s your view on drinking, pastor? What’s your view on homeschool? What’s your view on debt? What’s your view on the end times? What’s your view on the intersection of God’s sovereignty and human responsibility?” Those are tough questions that require nuanced responses. 

And I get it. People need to attend churches that are consistent with their theological convictions. But sometimes if you don’t answer that question just right, or in the way that suits a questioner’s passions, it’s over. They’ve dismissed you.  

“What’s your view on spiritual gifts, pastor?” “What’s your view on women in ministry?” “What’s your view on the government?” “What’s your view on divorce and remarriage?” “What’s your view on sexuality?” “Who are you going to vote for, Pastor Tony?” You know I’ve been doing this a while now. And I’ve seen some stuff. And oftentimes when questions like that come, there’s not a true desire to understand what God’s Word says about those topics. Instead there’s a desire to find a teacher that suits a person’s own passions and caters to a person’s own preconceived notions about what the Bible should say about those topics. And a pastor cannot accommodate another person’s hobby-horse. He can’t hobby-horse himself either. That’s not teaching that is sound or healthy either. 

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Here’s another thing that good pastors don’t do. Write this down as #2.

2. They don't tickle ears

Paul says in verse 3,

3b but having itching ears [or ticklish ears] they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions,

“Teach me what I want to hear, pastor. Scratch this itch. Chase this rabbit trail. Promote this political party. Say what I want you to say.” Paul calls this “itching ears” which is a great metaphor. Bill Mounce explains the metaphor this way, “Rather than sound teaching, the Ephesians wanted teachers who will scratch their itching ears with doctrine that stems from their evil desires… The imagery is that their itching ears are tickled by the false teachers who teach whatever is sensational or novel but in the end what conforms to their evil lusts.” Does this kind of stuff go on in our day? Does ear-tickling happen in our day? You better believe it does.

The image that comes to mind when I read this is an old cat that we used to have named Matsa. Matsa was a killer when she went outside, but she was a snuggly lap cat when she came inside, which was kind of creepy actually. And she used to do this thing that drove me nuts. She’d get in your lap, and when you’d pet her, she would move and twist around and wiggle and squirm and just go nuts to get you to pet some other part of her body. And sometimes when you were petting her with one hand, she would head-butt your other hand and motion you to pet her with both hands. And no matter what you did, she was never satisfied. It was never enough. She always wanted more.

So I have this picture of the church in Ephesus, where Timothy was pastoring when Paul wrote him this letter. I have this picture of them, kind of like my cat, saying, “Scratch me right here, Pastor Timothy. And scratch me right there too. Yeah, and over here too!” And you get the sense that instead of desiring sound, healthy, life-giving teaching and convicting truth from the Word, they just wanted Timothy to tickle their fancy. They just wanted their passing, momentary itch scratched. And Paul says, “Don’t do that, Timothy. You teach the Word. You teach them what they need to hear, even if they don’t think they need to hear it. Teach them sound doctrine. Teach them the meat and potatoes that they need!”

I’ll tell you that as a pastor, the greatest joy that a pastor can experience… and I feel that here… the greatest joy that a pastor can experience is the freedom to preach the Word as God has given it to us and to have a congregation that says “Bring it, Pastor. We don’t want our ears tickled. We want to be taught the Scriptures. We want sound, healthy, life-giving teaching.” I honestly feel that here at VBVF. It’s my privilege to be a pastor where convictional, Biblical teaching is valued. 

Look at verse 4. Actually let me start in verse 3, since this is all one sentence. 

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, 4 and [the people] will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.

A good church doesn’t turn away from listening to the truth. And a good preacher doesn’t turn away from preaching the truth. A good preacher doesn’t wander off into myths and vain speculation. And a good church doesn’t crave that kind of teaching. A good preacher doesn’t get bogged down in fruitless, meaningless quarrelling or fear-based paranoia-mongering. There’s a lot of that that takes place in churches. Some pastors sound more like “chicken little” than they do the Apostle Paul. And a good church doesn’t run after preachers that do those things.

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Instead Paul says in verse 5, “Be sober-minded!” Keep your wits about you. Don’t be sucked into silly myths and foolish speculation and stupid arguments. Those don’t feed the flock. 

Paul says,

be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.

Write this down as a final thing that good preachers don’t do. 

3. They don’t give up on the gospel or the church

Paul says “be sober-minded.” Be cool and clear-headed. I read a commentary this last week that compared pastoral ministry to the fog of war. And he said that sometimes in the fog of pastoral ministry, pastors are tempted to cut corners or panic or quit. And this is Paul’s not-so-subtle command to Timothy to get a grip. Be sober-minded. Don’t get lost in the fog of ministry.  

Paul is telling Timothy here to have the right estimation of himself. “Don’t think too highly of yourself, Timothy. Don’t think too lowly of yourself either. Be sober-minded.” I heard a preacher say once that a sermon is never as bad or as good as the preacher thinks it is. That’s oddly comforting to me.

Paul says, “endure suffering.” In other words, don’t quit even if people quit on you. Don’t quit even if people reject you for holding fast to the truth. I was talking to a pastor the other day, and he told me that his son wants to be a pastor. And I said, “Good. That’s great. We need more pastors.” But then I said, “Tell your son to be ready to suffer. Tell him to get ready to feel the scorn of people who hate the church and hate everything that a pastor stands for. Gone are the days when being a pastor was a privileged place in a community.” 

Paul says also, “do the work of an evangelist.” Even though there will be suffering, do the work of an evangelist!” I take that to mean that a pastor needs to be more than just a Bible-teacher. He needs to be more than just a talking head. He needs to be more than just an over-educated idea machine. A pastor needs to call people to repentance. He needs to both publicly and privately share the good news of Jesus Christ boldly, so that a person can go from unsaved to saved… so that a person can go from unredeemed enemy of God Almighty to a redeemed child of God Almighty. 

Church, do you know Jesus Christ as your Savior? Have you been born again? Are you saved? If you aren’t, I don’t ever want it to be because you didn’t hear how you might be saved on Sunday morning. Salvation is a matter of repenting of your sins and trusting Jesus Christ as your Savior. If you do that, you can be saved. You can do that today if you haven’t done it already.

I’ll tell you what church… can I just be honest with you for a second? If I was a weaker man… or let me put it this way… if I feared God less and feared men more, I would probably give up the task altogether of sharing the gospel. I kind of like the idea of just being an idea machine. I like juggling bowling pins and giving you a bunch of interesting facts about the Bible.  

But Paul says here, “It doesn’t matter how hard it is. It doesn’t matter how much opposition you get. It doesn’t matter how awkward it makes you feel. It doesn’t matter if the culture hates you for doing it. You, Timothy… You, Pastor Tony… do the work of an evangelist! Don’t stop preaching the gospel!”

And in that same vein, Paul says finally, “fulfill your ministry.” “I’m about to die, Timothy. I’m at the end of my ministry, and I’ve run my race faithfully. You, likewise, fulfill your ministry to the people of God all the way to the end. Endure suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. God has given you a gift. God has called you to preach and teach and lead and evangelize. You keep doing that. And you don’t quit.” 

And you might say, “Man that’s a tough task. That’s a lot.” That’s why I say, “Mammas don’t let your babies grow up to be preachers.” Unless they’re called to preach. Unless God has put that burden of responsibility on them. And if God has done that for you, or if God does that for your babies when they grow up, you just point them to 2 Timothy 4:1–5 and the instructions given here. 

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Now some of you might say this, because I know your heart in this. You’ll say, “I’m not called to be a preacher, Pastor Tony. But what can I do to help? What can I do to facilitate and encourage the preaching of the Word here at church?”

Well you can do three things:

 1) You can pray for your pastors and elders. You can pray for The Preacher’s Guild. You can pray for whoever else fills this pulpit as a herald of God’s Word. Pray before the service on Sunday. Pray throughout the week for the preacher’s sermon preparation. 

2) You can come hungry to hear God’s Word. Don’t come to have your ears tickled. Don’t come to point out the pastors mistakes or criticize his shortcomings. Come rather to be reproved, rebuked, and exhorted by the preaching of these Scriptures. Come with your Bible ready, notes in hand, pen in hand. Write it down. Answer the application questions. Go home and process this material with your family. Be a doer of the Word and not just a hearer. 

3) You can pass it on. In other words, preachers are not the only heralds of God’s Word in this church. Every Sunday there are 60+ young ones in Journey Kids that need to have the Word of God heralded to them at their level of understanding. Every summer you have a chance to teach at VBS. You go and obey 2 Timothy 4:1–5 with them. “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Tim 2:15, KJV). And then go and bless their lives with sound, healthy teaching.