This message originally delivered on August 25, 1991.
James chapter three, one verse, But consider it in light of the series on the Bema. That we have been studying. Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, because you know, that we who teach will be judged more strictly through that one more time. Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly what does the average person in this world think of a minister? What do you think? What does the average person in the world think of a Minister about this? How many of you think of father Mulcahy? On mash? How about this? How many of you say this wimpy that describe minister to you? Maybe this is a enlightened congregation. docile? docile, how would this dishonest immoral money hungry I put these little trinity of words together? How about that was that we do a little better job for you. Dishonest immoral money hungry? I'll be shaking your heads pointing at me back. They're lazy. How about this? Boring? I always thought ministers were boring till I became one. Living in the dream world. How about this arrogant, self willed, narrow minded or manipulative, scheming, and I didn't have a third one in that group. I've heard a lot of what do pastors do jokes. I've actually had people say to me, both in the church that I pastor and outside of the church that I pastor, I remember I think I may have told you before, but during vacation bible school week, when a pastor in a rural Ohio, one of the leaders, my church looked and said, Well, how are we gonna get this next project done? And they said, and they're talking about how tired they were in the one man said, Yeah, well, Pastor were really tired. I said, Well, I'm tired too. I mean, I'm not trying to excuse more tired but I'm tired too because yeah, but we've had to work all week. You know people that I've met at the YMCA say, oh, must be nice. And then I actually had one guy actually say this to me. You know, the pay it probably isn't that great, but man, you only have to work so little. One day a week. I found that even some of my close friends that are Christians have no idea what the ministry is really about. I think a lot of people think you go to ladies tees and you walk through the hospital is what you do. Some Pete one man said this your basic job description if you're a minister is this Mary Berry and comfort. You marry people you bury people and you comfort people. You know, there was a time they tell me I'm think I'm too young to know this that the minister used to be the most respected man in town. When I first went to the real Heil, that was the only two churches that Pastor one will rule on here. I never forget, I walked into the store to buy something the first day. And that town was a little bit, you know, good. I mean, it was sort of it was it was behind the times in the sense of goodness in the the minister. I mean, the man lingo said, Oh, hey, took 10% off the pay. I go, why take a 10% off your minister, Ministers get 10% discounts in this place? They told me no, I wish all you people would remember that. The strange looks that I've received over the years when people have introduced me as their preacher or their pastor. Because of people's preconceived and distorted ideas on what ministers and ministry is all about. Let me ask you this question. Have you ever wondered what this world would be like, if you took away every sermon that has ever been preached in it? I don't think people realize what has happened with Bible teaching by laypeople Bible teaching by pastors, and that is this what would what would this will be like right now, if there has never once been a sermon by a man named Jesus Christ? If there never once been a sermon by John the Baptist, if Jeremiah and Isaiah and those men had never open their mouth to preach, Ezra, what would this world be like if never had there been a sermon? There's a man in our church named Dan Evans, usually Dan and Cindy come to the second service. And he was just telling me the other day that his father heard a sermon in 1960 and as a result, gave his life to the ministry and has been in rescue mission. work ever since. And he's done all kinds of good since then, how many millions of people have changed the course of their life and their attitude and their actions because of a teaching from the Bible? What do you think of that? One man said this, get this. Now this may sound strong to you. But listen, he said, preaching, it is God's means of dispensing grace upon his people. Titus one, one through four, I'm gonna have your turn there a little bit. But it says, In this age, he has committed preaching to be the manifestation of truth to his people. Have you ever considered this listening? Have you ever considered the emphasis that the Bible puts upon preaching and teaching, if you ever considered that? For instance, what did the angels do? They delivered messages? What did the prophets do? They preached messages from God's Word that were burned in their hearts, and they gave a message. How do they go about doing this? Isaiah says, Lift up your voice as a trumpet, and declare my salvation unto my people. What did John the Baptist do when he came? What did John the Baptist do? He preached and he taught, What did Christ do? What was the main ministry of Christ? Teaching publicly, privately, constantly teaching. In fact, I told you to go to Titus. But I want you to go to Matthew 23. Because there's something I want you to see here. Because many people think of Jesus as this guy that walked around and sort of went, you know, blessings on you wonderful people. Oh, you know, let me kiss the children. And my point is, I think we have a distorted view. Everyone sort of thinks this harshness and anger never would have come forth from the light mouth of Jesus. Well, let me ask you something. You try to read this sermon from Jesus as he was instructing the Pharisees in Matthew 23. And tell me if you think he said it, real wimpy. It's like, I think I'll read this in sort of a wimpy way, a father McKay he type of way. Okay. Look what it says in verse 13, of Matthew 23. And let's read it in a father Mulcahy type of way. Woe to you teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You shut the kingdom of heaven and men spaces. You yourselves do not enter nor will you let those enter who are trying to what do you teach is the law and Pharisees, hypocrites. You travel overland and seek to win a single convert and when he becomes one, you may come twice as much as son of hell as you are. What are you blind guides? I'm not trying to sound effeminate. I'm trying to sound like a wimpy pastor. I think some of you are getting mixed up here what I'm trying to do. You see, Jesus preached and he preached his message that had those guys burning with anger because he proclaimed he lifted up his voice and he cried out against sin. All through this message. Look at verse 33. Everybody, your snakes, You brood of vipers, how will you escaping condemned to hell? And the reason I say that is this, there's a gigantic attack against preaching teaching today in our society. No longer is preaching and teaching. I preached one place not too long ago, Jim was with me and I got done. And the pastor gave him he says, Well, you Baptist, you're so emphatic about everything. So he said to me. You see, there's this there's this idea that calling something black and calling something white is not good. Saying that something's writing and something's wrong. Being clear about a message is not good anymore. What did they do when Jesus gave the great commissions to the apostles? What did they do? They went about everywhere, preaching and teaching, read about in the book of Acts everywhere they went, they preached and taught the Word of God. Now I had you turn to Titus, go back there now wouldn't be would you to Titus chapter one, and just get a quick glimpse of what an emphasis there is on teaching in the pastoral epistle, he says, verse three of Titus one is try to stick with me, we're gonna look at a lot of scripture this morning. It says, and it is appointed season, he brought his word delight through the preaching entrusted to me by the command of God, our Savior. Now, look down. He says, I want you to ordain elders in every city. And I'll just quickly let's bust through this book and get an idea of how much teaching there should be involved. Look at verse nine, he's describing an elders work, he must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that you can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it. Go to verse 13 of chapter one. This testimony is true, therefore, rebuke them sharply, rebuke them sharply. Here's the job of the Minister to rebuke. Look at chapter two verse one, you must teach what is in accord with sound doctrine chapter two verse two, teach the older men to be temper chapter two verse three, likewise, teach the older women. Look at verse six. Similarly encourage the young men. Verse nine, teach slaves to be subjects. We'll look at verse 15. These are the things you should teach, encourage and rebuke with all authority. book chapter three, verse one, remind the people chapter three verse eight, this is a trustworthy saying I want you to stress these things. Verse 10 of chapter three, Warren a device the person wants to warn him a second time, after that have nothing to do with him. You see, this is given to pastors, the teachers, teaching preaching over and over and over and over again, is people said, how do you build your church? How come your church has grown so much? What strategies do you have are using the phone system using these I don't even know what they're talking about. I say, look, here's what you do to build a church. You study the word until you cannot wait to get up on Sunday and preach it and you teach the word so you just can't wait just it just flows out of your mouth. You don't need to have all kinds of strategies that's all you need to do. Love God love him love his people preach His word. That's all you have to do. Teach it. God has called men to be teachers. Thank God we've got teachers in this congregation outside of me. By the way, if you read first in the three the qualifications for an elder guess what, what's the only thing he is supposed to be able to do? teach everything else is character quality. Teach he's got to be able to teach. Imagine that going to work IBM interviewing you. They don't ask you one thing about what you could ever do. They just asked you this What kind of person you are never caring about if you could ever sell they won't think they would do that. Then you read all through your your in Titus. Go back to the second First Timothy, go back to books. The first Timothy chapter four. There's a burden on my heart that I want you to see this morning. And in First Timothy chapter four. I want you to look at verse 11. This is a pastoral epistle written to pastors. Look what it says in verse 11, the first Timothy four, command and teach these things. Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young. But set an example for the believer in speech and life and love and faith and purity until I come. Devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture to preaching and teaching. Do not neglect the gift which was given you through a prophetic message when the body of elders laid their hands on you. Verse 15. Be diligent in these matters. Give yourself wholly to them what what matters preaching and teaching, so that everyone may see your progress. Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them for if you do, you will say both yourself and those who hear you be great commission make disciples go to Second Timothy chapter two and look at verse two. Here it is fulfilled, it says, And the things you have heard me say, in the presence of many witnesses, and trusted, reliable men who will be qualified to teach others, what's the great thing, take the word of God and trust it the faithful, reliable men who will continue to pass it on and to teach others now, did you know that if you read about Ephesians 411 12, God, Christ gave gifts to the church and guess what he gave apostles? What else do you give prophets? What else? Pastor teachers evangelist, why? So the saints can be built up God's plan? Listen, God's plan is for preaching to take place on a regular occasion in your life. It's important that you hear preaching. I'm not trying to keep my job here. I think I'm in good standing with this congregation. I don't need to try to save my job. That's not what I'm saying. I want you to know God's word says this regular, continual, emphatic preaching and teaching of God's word is important. I read a little did a little study this week on the history of the church, the history of the church, just here it is here. You start with the book of Acts, Pentecost, the first 30 years bang, and here it is, guess what was prominent the book of Acts, preaching and teaching. And then guess what happened by that by the year 300. Preaching it dropped off, and guess what you see darkness and inactivity in the church dying. And then guess what all of a sudden, a new sources of preachers, and you can just chart it out when the church was in his height there was preaching when the church was down, there wasn't preaching and teaching. But I want you to say, knowing all of that, there is a tremendously strong emphasis when it comes to the light of the Bema. That we are to be teaching the Word of God in light of the Bema. Now look here and see this, the Bema in light of teaching, James three, one, please get this we who teach will be judged more strictly, the Greek actually says this, you will be judged by a regular judge, which is obviously talking about Christ, but talking about the Bhima. But it says he will give a verdict on your life. And it's going to be greater is where we get the word mega mega trends, music mega is great. The idea it's going to be a greater judgment, a heavier judgment, a bigger judgment. So the point is this. don't presume to be a teacher, don't just run into the ministry just because it seems like a cool thing to do. You know that you are Charles Spurgeon used to say, Don't become a teacher of the Word of God unless there is nothing else you can do with your life. See, don't presume to be one because listen, we've been studying the beam and you know what the Bema is going to be fearful and not the way we've studied it. But how much more for a teacher because the teacher will receive a greater judgment. Now, there's many, many reasons for that. You see, because what does the teacher do this whole passage in James three, go back to their second one. And this whole passage in James three is about what the use of your tongue and in considering the use of your tongue, what person uses their tongue more than a teacher, he's constantly using it. So in speech where most of the teacher's work is done, it is very difficult to avoid the sin of air either willful or voluntary, so it's extremely important that we are accurate. You see many people, as James writes were covered in the office of Pastor teacher, James says, Don't be in a rush. Be careful, because you are going to receive a mega a greater judgment by God at the Bema. At the very least, I will receive a greater judgment at the Bema. The standards will be higher for Kim Coughlin than it will be for a person who loves the Lord who God loves as much as he loves me. But who was not entrusted with the Ministry of teaching His Word, pay that ought to sobers up. Don't be careful. God expects more, because you are handling the word of God and it must be done very, very carefully. One man says this, let me read it now the office of a religious teacher is necessarily one of the considerable influence and consequently of proportional responsibility for the exercise of that influence. Truth is God's instrument for quickening, comforting and sanctifying men. And hence, when one is looked to as an instructor fails to rightly divide the Word of Truth, others may perhaps be led astray and thus withheld to some extent from experiencing the blessed power of the gospel. In many cases, this may be done through culpable ignorance merely, but there are strong temptations also, at times, through motives of worldly interest to conceal or slur over some portions of divine testimony, how incalculable is the evil that thus may be wrought? The deviation from the Kingshighway of truth may seem very slight, yet some years of this teaching may be by temperament or circumstances be induced to fall diversas path right on, and every step carrying them a further from the point of peace until their feet stumble on the dark mountains. It says this, in olden days, there was the Cities of Refuge, he goes on to say, and those cities of refuge was a place that if you'd accidentally killed someone, you could get there and you wouldn't have your life taken. Well, how terrible would it be, if you come running through the woods and the man's chasing you, and you're about to be killed for an accidental murder that you committed, and you say, Which way to the City of Refuge, and that guy gives you the wrong direction, you end up getting killed? He goes on to say, that's exactly what happens when teachers don't handle the Word of God properly. So it's extremely important that we know how to heal the word God. Let me just say this, there's a man that I respect, and I've read some of his books, many of you like him very much. I'm not gonna mention his name. But he's written a lot in the area of psychology. And one of his books came out, in which he said and I know personally, he doesn't believe this. But he said things which I think that a lot of Christians astray, he said this, all the Bible study in the world, all the prayer in the world isn't going to help you until you deal with these other things. Now, there is some truth in what you're saying. But only the wise can understand that many immature Christians all over this country are going like this. Yeah, no need to say the Bible. No need to pray. It doesn't matter do that because until you and I've seen so many people excused themselves into not having to obey God pray God seek God as the as the formula for scripture is found because why? Because this learned man said this. Is he a godly man? Yes. Will he receive a greater reward the beam and the knee? I think so. But you know what? You've got to be careful how you teach. You know how hard it is for me. It is hard and this elegant. Greg says she does not but it is hard. It's one thing to go to one church. When I go get asked to speak at some other churches. It is so much fun. I'm there for one night or two nights. You know what I do? I get out my greatest illustrations, I get out my greatest sermons I get out the ones that mean the most to me. And I get the ones that I find tune them and got them down. And what do I do I get up and they deliver this message if you Oh, man, that's good stuff. It's totally other and more difficult weekend week out to the same group of people to teach the Word of God. It's extremely laborious and difficult to do. And yet at the same time, it is so precious and so important that we handle it carefully. Amidst in the pulpit is a fog in the pew. We've got to be careful, you know what's gonna happen, the church is gonna go astray because teaching is no longer clear, because people no longer see clarity. You're gonna see the minute in Jeremiah, when the preachers in Jeremiah's day went astray guess what people said, God's far away. You see, when there's no good Bible teaching and preaching, God seems far away to the people, because who is the lead the church? The pastor's the teachers, the men, whether they're officially in the ministry like I am, or if they are not being paid that lay teachers are to lead the church. Spurgeon every year gave a famous address to his preachers college. And he said this, I observed that certain persons certain teachers claim to believe in the atonement, but they will not say what they mean by it. I have heard this and it's burnt is burned my heart. Because I see so many people who love the Lord get sucked into this type of teaching. And listen, may not this mean that they really have no clear knowledge of an impossibly no real faith in it. Every man has a theory of what he knows, at least he can give a statement of what he understands. We have heard of the men of Athens and have their altar erected to the unknown God. Now listen to this. He's preaches 100 and some years ago, in England, we have a philosophical people who believe in an unknown atonement. We can see that in this way. either in nearly worship, he's quoting some man of his day Robertson of Brighton was orthodox compared with many in this advanced age. But one set of him that he taught that nugget this this is so typical of unclear, foggy preaching, he taught that our Lord did something or other, which in some way or other was more or less connected with our salvation. Not knowing clearly what the scripture says flimsy as it was, it was better than the doctrine of this hour is what Spurgeon goes on to say, at least he said, it's something to do with Christ and salvation. Somehow there's some connection there. We don't understand clearly it but, but it's something to do with that. That's what this one man preached. He says, Let's preach it clearly. Let's go on with all we possibly can to teach and preach the Word of God. Now, the Scripture says, the teacher is going to receive a greater judgment because you've already seen in the history of the church, all through the Scriptures, teaching and preaching is emphatic, I gotta say this, it's gonna come up later my sermon I'll say twice, if you don't mind. But I've got to say this to you. Do you know how vitally important it is to find a church that preaches the word? If for some reason, I was out of the ministry tomorrow? I want to tell you when I went to look for a church, I would not look for a church that had fantastic youth group, although that would be important. I wouldn't look for a church that had a fantastic choir. Although I wouldn't, I wouldn't mind that if they had a great choir. I wouldn't look for a church that had all kinds of wonderful things. Although I would my first and foremost above everything else would be this nots. What do I kid's gonna get something not about? But when I there is the head of the house, Kim Kaufman, is my soul being fed? Am I leaving with a greater heart for God? Am I what am I is my mind being renewed and awakened, my conscience being stirred? Am I being rebuked, encouraged, comforted, strengthened by the word of God, because that is so much more important far and away that when you take what is second, all the way down to what is 50 is of importance and you line them all up. It's like this. Here's the graph number one is this high, second through fifth is this high combined. We don't understand that we've lost it today. We are so apathetic and so corroded over, because we listen, my heartbreaks to tell you this. I've had preachers come up and tell me they said, Kim, are you still studying all the time? Orthodox preachers? Yes, my whole week I'm miserable. When I'm not studying. Ask my wife or as the guys that work around me. I'm burdened and discouraged when I'm behind on my sermons all week long. I hope my whole life is delivered. What's the what's going to be the Text this Week? How's it gonna fall? Well, you know, what things you still say? Oh, time is? Well, yes, of course. What do you mean, am I still studying all the time? They say, Well, you don't understand. I spent all my time on the transitions between what will be said after the offering and before the special music. Things like that. And we wonder why is there a lack of power? Let me tell you something. We are we are a little bit foggy up here. It's going to become darkness. Out there. Richard Baxter, who wrote the reformed pastor said several things to pastors concerning this back that will be judged. And be careful about your ministry. He said things like this. Take him by the way. Every other week, you come in here I preached to you. So let me preach to myself and you listen, would you Okay? Let's do this. Take heed to yourself, are you having to win or lose and souls that must be happy or miserable forever, and therefore it concerns you to begin at home and take care of yourselves as well as to others. So don't do this. Take heed to yourselves, for you have a depraved nature and sinful inclinations as well as others. If innocent Adam had need of heed and lost himself and us for wanting to bid how much more need we have such as wheat and it needs such as we have sinned dwells in us, when we much more need. I can't even read that one. Forget it. Let's go. This next one says, Take heed to yourselves because the tempter will supply you with his temptations more than other men. If you will be the leaders against the Prince of Darkness, he will spare you no further than God restrained at him. He bears the greatest malice to those who are engaged to do him the greatest mischief, as he hate his Christ more than any of us because He is the general of the field, the captain of our salvation, says another thing take you to yourselves, because there are many eyes upon you, and there'll be many who to observe your fall. You cannot miscarry the world but the world will ring of it. The eclipses of the Sun by day are seldom without witnesses. Concerning teachers, he says Take heed yourselves for your sins have more hideous aggravations than other men's, you are more likely than other to sinned against knowledge, Your sins have more hypocrisy in them than other men's because you've preached so fervently against sin. Take heed to yourself because such great works as ours require greater grace than other men's. Take care of yourselves for the honor of your lord and master and his holy truth in ways doth lie more on you than another men. And on and on. He goes, teaching excruciating is crucial. Very important, okay. Look at this. James three. And by the way, what are you still in James three. This is not necessarily the kind of example you want to give to young men to learn how to preach the sermon. But look at James three. Look what it says again, in verse one, not many of you should presume to be teachers. But now go down to verse 13. Many scholars say 13 and one go coincide hand to hand. Look what it says in verse 13. Who is why eyes and understanding among you. Let him show it by his good life, by deeds done in humility that come from wisdom. If you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts do not boast about or deny the truth. Such wisdom does not come down from heaven but as earthly unspiritual. Love the devil, for where you have envy and selfish ambition there you find disorder and every evil practice. But the wisdom that comes from above is pure, peace, loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere peacemakers, who sow and peace raise a harvest of righteousness. And the point here is this. teachers that teach the Word of God having wisdom from above, there's going to be that fruit of it in the life of them and in the lives of the congregation. Whereas people that give their own philosophies and human wisdom, there's going to be selfish ambition and disorder and bitterness of every sort. Now, look at what else I was gonna look at these quickly. Hebrews 1317 says, Obey your leaders doesn't say teachers, it says leaders, I realize, but it says obey them, how can you base them on if he's not teaching you? It says obey them? Because they keep watch over you as men who must give an account? You know, what would you pray for me about this? The number one motive is this, not what we do to get people in the door? Not what I can do to make sure everybody's happy. But this, what will God say for the kind of ministry that College Park had? That's it? Bottom line, that's it. That's all that matters? Not how do we look to some school? Not how do we look to some other group, not what other churches think of us. But this, what will God say? And then it goes on to make this point here is this obey them so that their work will be a joy? Look down here, you've got to go to Second Timothy and see this. I know this is a familiar passage, but you've got to go over with me to Second Timothy four, and see what it says here. Because this is so important. Second, Timothy, chapter four, it says this. After he just got done in verses 16 and 17, making this fantastic statement about the Word of God. He then says in chapter four, verse one, they get this because here's the Bema, in the presence of God, and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living in the dead, and in view of his appearing and His Kingdom, I give you this charge. Okay, what's the charge in view of the fact that, Timothy, if you're the fact that Christ is going to judge you with the Bema, here's what you're supposed to do. Look what it says, preach the Word. Be prepared in season, out of season, correct, rebuke, encourage with great patience and get this careful instruction. For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead to suit their own desires. They will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside the myths. But you keep your head in all situations and do Endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist discharge all the duties of your ministry far and away? What is the greatest duty of the ministry, they're preaching the word rebuking, correcting instruction, from the Word of God, listen, it says inseason analyses. I read a fantastic story this week about a great preacher. I can't remember his name. That's probably good, because you don't need to know his name. But his great preacher was called to the hospital because one of the members of his church had been a member of that church for some 30 years, all those years that that man had been a pastor was lying sick nigh unto death in the hospital. And when he came into the hospital room, here was this man who for had been he had been his pastor for some 30 years. And he walked into the room. And the man looked up to him and says, Pastor, the doctors tell me I only have a couple of days. I'm in serious trouble. Pastor, would you pray for me? That when the Bible says teach inseason out, it means more than just ended up on Sunday and preaching, it means being relevant with the Word of God and every situation that you'll face in life. And you want the pastor said, No way. I'm not going to pray for you. Man looked up at him in disbelief. You've been my pastor for 30 years. Pray for me, would you? This is a true story. The man says, I'm not gonna pray for you, but I'm gonna die. I'm not gonna prove to you why, hey, for the last 30 years, you've been nothing but a troublemaker in our church. All you've done is gripe and complain. Every time you've been on the board for all these years, every time there's anything to do with money, you're all the ones saying you got to have your hands on it. Every time there's anything to do with with the ministry, you're the one that's causing a ruckus and causing a big mistake. You're asked the people that work for you. We got several members of our congregation you don't even treat them fairly. Your own children don't respect you. The way you have lived, it's terrible. Why should I pray for you? We will be better off if you die for Lord takes you. I'm not saying you're not a Christian, but I'm saying we're gonna be better off if the Lord takes you. I'm not gonna pray for the pastor left. By the way, this was not some harsh young pastor like me. Okay, this was a wise pastor of a big church that had pastored for many years. The next day, who got all kinds of messages, come back and see this man come back and see this man, he came back to see the man. The man said, Pastor, they came in and turn off my lights and I sat there in the hospital room and I had nothing but to look at the dark ceiling. He says, I want to tell you, God deeply convicted me with what you said you arrived I want you to know now I want you to pray for him. Because if God would raise me up from this bed, I will serve him the way I should have not been selfish. Pastor said, Okay, you prayed for him. And sure enough, the man lives six more years. And those six more years he gave large sums of money to the church. He says, there's one contingency upon this money, I won't know how you handle it. He gave gave you one of the respect of his kids, he gave all his employees raises, he totally changed the way that he lived. Why? Because of teaching and instruction, you see, it's one thing Listen, friends, one of the reasons why it says, Hold men like me, in highest theme, that sounds arrogant for me to say it. But the reason it says hold men that teach you the Word of God in high esteem, is because you need to listen to what I'm saying. It's so easy to say it's when you're sitting in the pulpit, I preach against them as sinners, and all of you go yeah, get a Pastor Charles about them sinners. But the whole of the thing when I say you are the man, you're the man, you're wrong. And by the way, if you think it's easy for me to do that, like I'm on some kind of ego trip, run around, oh, my God, I really nailed today. This is so much fun. You are so wrong, because it's extremely difficult. But the Bible says rebuke a wise man and he will love you rebuke a fool and he loves you. He says, you rebuke a fool. He says you can whip a fool 100 times and he won't he still won't learn. So we need to understand how important it is to listen to rebukes and to teach you remember the old store pastor, you only gave it to him today pass the old game today. Every time the man left the church. He's a pastor, you only gave it to him today. We're gonna go pastor, you really gave it to him today. Then there was the big snowstorm, the only guy that showed up was that man and the pastor, the pastor said Now's my chance, because he always thought this guy needed of changes and ways. So he just preached this message as to one guy sitting there because of a snowstorm. And the guy got up and said, Boy, Pastor, too bad. They weren't here today. You were to give it to him today. You see? And the fact is, we often don't want to hear the word. But here it is. Jesus Christ will judge the living dead. How about this? Do you know that First Corinthians were that gold, precious stones and rubies? That whole section about wood and stubble? Do you know that the whole context is teaching? earlier? They say this? I'm a Paul, I'm a Paulus. I'm asleep as he says, It's not those guys. All of that is in the whole point of the foundation. And each man receiving his work is this stop saying I follow Charles Swindoll stop saying I follow Bill Gothard stop saying I'm a Calvinist. Stop saying I'm this stop saying you follow those guys and do this. realize God will judge each man's work. What you need to do is follow the Lord. That's the whole point. Don't take up sides and favorites. Even First Corinthians nine which we looked at so many times, says so I will not be disqualified for the Christ after I have preached to others. What's that about preaching and teaching by the way, there's one other ones first, Peter, I'm gonna read it to you but listen to this. You don't have time to turn there because we got to let you turn to Jeremiah which is I read this to you. First Peter chapter five. Listen to this. To the elders among you. Remember what an elder is supposed to do, according to the pastoral is preach and teach. I appeal as a fellow elder a witness of Christ's suffering one also who will share in the glory to be revealed. Be shepherds of God's flocks, it is under your care serving as overseers not because you must be because you are willing as God wants you to be not greedy for money, but eager to serve not lording over those who trust you, but being examples to the flock and get this now. And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive a crown of glory that will never fade away. One of my hopes is that I would receive this kind of glory. One of my hopes is this I would be the type of pastor that God would say here's a crown of glory, and I'll have some type of Crown of Glory. I'm not sure what it is, but it's never going to fade away in heaven. teaching the Word of God how crucially important it is. You're in Jeremiah, good luck with me starting to chapter two, way back in Jeremiah, please get this work hard with me just for a few more minutes. We're going to be done here just about five minutes if you if you don't pay attention, I'll preach longer. Okay, Jeremiah chapter two. Look what it says. Verse seven of chapter two. Look what happens when teaching goes astray. I brought you into a fertile land to eat its fruit and rich produce, but you came into file my land and made my inheritance detestable. The priest did not ask verse eight. Where is the Lord? Those who deal with the law did not know me. The leaders rebelled against me the prophets prophesied by Vale following worthless idols. Go to chapter five. Quickly, chapter five. And it says, kit this I love this one of my favorite verses in the Old Testament. Look what it says verse 30, are horrible and shocking thing has happened in the land. What is it that the Holy Spirit says is so horrible and shocking? What can be so horrible and shocking? What is it Look at this. The prophets prophesy lies, the priest rule by their own authority, and my people love it this way. But what will you do in the end? There is this I'll tell you, I really believe our country is now on the downhill side of appreciating preaching. I believe that I believe that possibly if God doesn't come back, if Christ doesn't come back and I lived To be 70 or 80 years old, Expository Preaching is going to be such a rare thing that hardly anyone will know about it anymore. Because just like this, people love it. The Phil Donahue the or for Oprah Winfrey syndrome we've talked about so many times, you know, don't say homosexuality is wrong. Don't say anything. You know why? Because we don't have preachers proclaiming the word like the show anymore. And those that do it is so difficult friends, it's so difficult to, to, to have people criticize you and not to have it come out. And then just while you're preaching, let me tell you this is I've had people come up many, many times and say, Hey, you, you said that because I was in the audience that day. And I can say a few times they've been right. But most of the time they've been wrong. It's terrible to build a whole sermon trying to get one person that person then show up that day, you sort of don't have a sermon left. Anyway, the province pumps out, but people love it to say but notice the last statement, it's Bheema look at the beam at the last statement, what will you do in the end? What are you going to do when it's all over? When you learn that there's no preaching or teaching, you don't want to hear about it refuse to go listen to the preaching and teaching of God's word. It's gonna be true. All right, but this next place, you got to see this chapter eight. Look at verse seven, chapter eight and look at verse seven. Look what happens when preaching goes down the tubes, chapter eight, verse seven, even the stork in the sky knows her appointed seasons, and the dove in the swift and the thrush observed the time of their migration, but my people don't know the requirements of the Lord. The stork knows the dove knows, but my people don't know why. How can you say we are wives, for we have the law of the Lord, when actually I'm reading verse eight, the lion pen of scribes has handled it falsely. Well, we have the word of God, you don't have the word of God, the scribes were not handling the word of God properly. The wise verse nine, when we put to shame, they will be dismayed and trapped. Why? Since they have rejected the word of the Lord, what kind of wisdom do they have? Listen, if we reject God's word, what kind of wisdom are we going to have? What is it nothing man's wisdom that's right. Therefore I will give their wives other men and their fields to new owners, from the least to the greatest all are greedy for great for grain for game. prophets and priests alike all practice to see get this look at what they say. Look what the teachers say. They dress the wound that my people as though it were not serious. Peace, peace. They say when there is no peace, their father McKay, he's you see, are they ashamed of their loathsome conduct? No, they have no shame at all. They don't even know how to blush. Here it is. The nation is going down the tubes, why Jeremiah was treated, you know, they all the things, those of you that know the book of Jeremiah know all the things that didn't Jeremiah, why? Because he stood up and says, This is what God says. And you preach it literally, you preach about sin in general, and Christians will go, but you preach about sin and that person's life and what they say, Oh, I back off, man. Because we aren't ready to receive the word would you come to church prayerfully saying, God, speak to me give our pastor wisdom and the Holy Spirit use the preaching of the Word to Make me the kind of person that needs to change and become all that I should play. It's important that we see that there's other verses, but I want you to see one last thing, Jeremiah 23rd Chapter, go over to the 23rd chapter, you got to see this says a 20 to 23rd Chapter notice concerning the prophets, verse nine, look at verse nine, concerning the prophets. He says, My heart is broken. I bones trembled. Look at verse 10. The land is full of adulterers. Look at verse 11. Both the Prophet and priests are godless. Even in the temple, they find wickedness, their paths will become slippery. Look among 13 among the prophets to marry, I saw this repulsive thing they prophesied by Baal among the province of Jerusalem, I've seen another horrible thing they commit adultery and live a lie. Verse 15, this is what the Lord Almighty says concerning the prophets. I'll make the bitter bitter through this with the Word of God. He says, Do not look at verse 16. Do not listen to the prophets. Verse 17, they keep saying, to those who despise me, the Lord says, you will have peace, and to all who follow the stubbornness of their own hearts. They say, No harm will come you. On and on it goes but then look at verse 23. He says, am I only a god nearby declares, Lord, am I not a god far away? Can anyone hide in the secret places so that I cannot see him declares the Lord, over and over if you study these passages, and we have to go through them so fast because we're out of time in this first service, but I want you to see it is so essential. You see a tremendous result of lack of preaching what happens to people is don't you go down the tubes so quickly a small strangulating effect happens to where all peace peace when there really isn't any peace everything's okay when it's not okay. God's happy with everyone when he's not happy with everyone. You go to Molokai you know what he says there? He says to you, Priest, I've got something against you. I'm going to take the off and the actually the feces from your festival services and I'm gonna smear it on your faces. Who says that? God says that. Why? Because you no longer speaking truth from from the mouth of the Levite true should come. But you don't have that truth. How about Jesus? What did he say to the Pharisees, You brood of vipers. And my point is not that by the way, my point is not that all good preachers are up there screaming and hating everybody. That is not my point. But Paul said to the collations, terrible things, Peter says darkest blackness is reserved for the false teachers do talks about it on and on we go and you see people, we need to understand how important preaching is. And I probably misdirected this message because it's supposed to be on the beam in light of teaching, as you can see, and look at look at this 12345 passages in the New Testament, and we didn't include First Peter five on here, but first Peter five also is a major beam, the passage concerning teaching. Teaching is extremely important. We're gonna live in light of it. I caught it, Edna St. Vincent Millay. Last week. She was the drunken atheistic poet who won Christmas Eve was up in a room in Paris, France, looking at over the city, watching all the things going on. And she was half drunk, and she wrote this poem, listen, it because it tells us about how we no longer listen to preaching and teaching and about how it needs to be done better. She says this For this your mother sweated in the cold. She's talking to Jesus. For this your mother sweated in the cold for this. You bled upon the bitter tree, a yard of tinsel ribbon, bought and sold a paper wreath a day at home for me. The Mary bells ring out the people kneel. Up goes the man of God before the crowd with voice of honey and eyes of steel. He drones Your humble your humble gospel to the proud. Nobody listens less than the wind. That blows are all your words to us. You died to save. Oh Prince of Peace. Oh Sharon's dewy rose, how mute you lie within your vaulted grave. The stone the angels rolled away with tears is back upon your mouth these 1000 years. Because people no longer pay attention to God's Word. We get in trouble. What do we do run to the psychologist instead of to the Word of God. I I know. I'm seeing things that probably offend people when I say this, but I'm going to tell you every time Israel went to Egypt, they got in trouble. It's one thing Listen, friends, it's one thing to go to an unsaved psychiatrist, and to get help. Because that man will give you help from general revelation. He knows the body. He understands chemistry and all that kind of stuff. He can help you That's God's blessing. It's just like going to a doctor because that's what he is a psychiatrist. But to run around to a psychologist who doesn't believe one word of this and sit down and say, Tell me how I should live my life. Tell me how I should change when the Word of God says Everything we need is founded here over and over and over. I'm telling you, we are going to be judged by God for that kind of an attitude. You must be careful. Psalm 19 says is all that we need that works in the inner man, Hebrews four hit the Word of God works in the inner man, we need to pay attention to it. Couple of things. Put yourself in the way of blessing. Stay involved in regular hearing the Word of God taught. And also pray for those teaching the Word of God and thank God for them and encourage them and I'm not just saying that for myself. I'm saying it for the other teachers in this church, other radio ministries that you appreciate Let us pray. Our Father, we need grace, so much more than anything else, and mercy. Because to do the work that you call this is really impossible. Apart from that we know that I pray you use this message and ascribe it on the hearts of the people and help us father not to be the kind of people like Israel was that gave in to the trends of the day. Help our standard and rule of life to be the word of God and help us to know you and be of people to seek you and be a people that believe it and follow it with all of our hearts. And Lord, I pray for your grace and myself and the other teachers in this church that we would keep in mind that we will receive a greater judgment for how we handle your word. In Jesus name.