We want to turn our attention this evening in our Bibles to what we know as the pastoral epistles to Paul's second letter to Timothy. You'll find that near the back of your Bibles between Thessalonians and the letter to the Hebrews, 1 and 2 Timothy, just before Titus. On the Pew Bibles it's on page 1268. These letters, these pastoral letters, were written to Timothy and Titus by Paul for the purpose of establishing them in the ministry of the gospel as gospel ministers and through them to establish churches in which elders and deacons were ordained to serve the body of Christ in that place. And these letters instruct us, as they did Timothy and Titus, in the way of succession, the way that the one holy Catholic apostolic church will continue throughout the ages until Christ Jesus returns for her. And it points us to the purpose and the means of this succession, which is the perpetuation of the gospel from generation to generation, across time and across space. And the apostolic succession that was set in motion by Paul and the other apostles, of course, continues even down to us today. This church was established 60 years ago this year. And it's been served by men ordained to the offices of minister, elder, and deacon throughout its life. And because our elders and deacons serve for a limited time instead of for a lifetime, we experience their ordination every year, year by year. Many of you in this room have witnessed the ordination of sons, brothers, fathers, perhaps grandfathers and even great-grandfathers. And if not your own, perhaps those of families that you know. What a wonderful blessing it is, but this blessing brings with it the seduction that might lead us to think of this whole process as rather routine. More or less automatic. We might come to expect that men of these lines will be the ones that just when the time comes, the call will come, they'll say yes and they'll step into office and no preparation necessary, no plans to be made. They just follow the example of their fathers and on we go. And perhaps in the history of the church there have been times where that was enough, where the life of the church was so entwined with the life of its people that the examples set by those who'd gone before in these offices was enough to motivate and to encourage and to instruct the people to be ready. To others among us, this whole notion of church office is relatively new, maybe strange. We might wonder why it's so important. Or we may wonder, and even all of us may wonder, How is it possible that a man could ever hope to be able to fulfill the demands of these offices? And I will tell you, every elder or deacon that's ever been called anticipating the office has that very thought. How is it possible? And for even among us, those mothers and fathers, sisters and brothers, look and think of your siblings and your children and wonder how could they ever be ready for that. Well, the Apostle Paul, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, had much to say in these letters about exactly that, about establishing the church, about training up its officers, about extending and perpetuating the gospel over time and around the world. And we want to give our attention tonight to just a very short section from chapter 2. Chapter 2, which I thought was going to be brief, but there's more in there than I can handle tonight. I'm going to do it all that I can, but I'm leaving out a lot, just so you know. I want to start reading, however, from the first of 2 Timothy, chapter 1, verse 1, and read the first 14 verses to kind of set the stage, the context, before turning our attention to the text in chapter 2, beginning at verse 1. So hear now the word of God from 2 Timothy. Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, according to the promise of the life that is in Christ Jesus. To Timothy, my beloved child. Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. I thank God whom I serve, as did my ancestors, with a clear conscience, as I remember you constantly in my prayers night and day. As I remember your tears, I long to see you, that I may be filled with joy. I am reminded of your sincere faith, The faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now I am sure dwells in you as well. For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control. Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord nor of me as prisoner but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God who saved us and called us to a holy calling not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began and which now has been manifested through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel for which I was appointed a preacher and apostle and teacher which is why I suffer as I do but I'm not ashamed For I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that he is able to guard until that day what has been entrusted to me. Follow the pattern of sound words that you have heard from me in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. By the Holy Spirit who dwells within us, guard the good deposit entrusted to you. And now turning to our text, chapter 2, verses 1 through 7. You then, my child, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus. And what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him. An athlete is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules. It is the hard-working farmer who ought to have the first share of the crops. Think over what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything. So ends the reading of God's Word tonight. Well, from our text this evening, the first seven verses of chapter 2, we will be reminded that perpetuating the gospel is neither routine nor is it novel. And this primary purpose and means for extending the church across time and through space requires strengthening in Christ's grace. That's our first point tonight. It requires strengthening in Christ's grace. It also requires entrusting trustworthy men with this gospel. The gospel does not continue apart from the involvement of men. And third, this perpetuating of the gospel requires suffering, purposeful hardship. There's no way of getting around it. Well, Paul begins by reminding Timothy that going forward, he is to be continually finding his strength in the grace of Christ. Paul loved Timothy, his brother in the Lord. He wasn't really related to him other than in Christ, but he loved him like a son. And so he addresses him as my child. And as Paul knows that the time of his death is quickly approaching, he wants to be sure that he gets Timothy, his son, established as a minister of this gospel and prepared for what will face him when Paul is no longer there to be his help and his aid. And knowing that opposition and hardship await Timothy, Paul begins with this command in verse 1. He says, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus. That's a command. Be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus. You see, like a wise father to his less experienced and perhaps more self-confident son, you young men may know what it is to be self-confident, and you older men may know what it means to be less self-confident, he's looking out for his son. And he warns him against trying to perpetuate this gospel to be a gospel minister in his own strength. Already in chapter 1, verse 8, which we read, he called for him to join in suffering for the gospel by the power of God. And so now his command is not that Timothy strengthened himself for ministry, not that he girded himself up, not that he get fit, so to speak. He tells him to continually look for strength elsewhere. To be strengthened from outside. To be strengthened by Christ himself. You see, Paul had learned where his strength came from, and he learned it the hard way. Some of you have heard me tell you this, that there's two ways to learn wisdom in this world. First is to sit at the seat of the wise man, listen to him, believe him, and act on it. By nature, we don't like that so much. So we usually choose the second school, which is the school of hard knocks. Which is to try it our own way. Push a little harder until we just can't go anymore. And Paul tried it that way. Paul had been raised to be a law-keeping Pharisee, and in that law-keeping had grown to become self-confident in his self-sufficiency. As he said in Philippians, he had reason to boast in his flesh. And so Paul makes this confession in 2 Corinthians chapter 12. He says, to keep me from being conceited, a thorn was given me in the flesh. Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, but it would not leave me. He had to be humbled. He had to be given something that he could not manage on his own. and the Lord said to me my grace is sufficient for you for my power is made perfect in weakness Paul went on to say that for the sake of Christ then I am content with weaknesses insults hardships persecutions and calamities for when I am weak then I am strong but Paul learned that in the school of hard knocks and he wants to spare Timothy the lesson. It's why he could say later in Colossians, I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me. So Paul wants Timothy, his bright and capable and energetic son, to likewise be humbled by this wise instruction. The same instruction comes to all of us today. We live in a culture that would have us be self-reliant in all things it's pandered to it's sold to us we need to know that we have no strength especially when it comes to the gospel of jesus christ we have no strength for this and so paul points timothy to the source of every christian strength if spirit whether the body's frail or not it makes no difference and that's the power of god that's in christ jesus that's where he points him this power is the very power of god that that god worked in christ when he raised him from the dead He's pointing him to resurrection power, to life-giving power, to creative power. This power that's given to everyone who trusts in Christ, even though we often don't feel it. It's ours in Him. It's ours if we have been joined to this Christ, who's been raised from the dead, through faith, which is the gift of God. This faith is something that only God can give us. His faith is something that God will give us if He's chosen us. It's His gift. Undeserved, unearned. And Paul makes it clear that this gift of God comes to us by His grace. It's His goodness to us. He's chosen to give us this wonderful gift that ties us to life. Even though everything in us not only doesn't deserve it, deserves its opposite, which is His wrath. That's why Paul says that Timothy is to be strengthened by the grace that's in Christ Jesus, by this gift that comes from Christ Jesus, this gift that when we look to Him in faith, is ours. And we need to know that no matter how ready we might feel for the task we have in this life, whatever task the Lord has laid before us, and tonight we're going to give a little attention to the task of office, we should know that no matter how ready we feel for the task, the work of ministry in particular, will bring you to the end of yourself. You will find a place where you have no power. Ask any elder or deacon, he will tell you. But no matter how inadequate you know yourself to be, by the grace of God we come to know that we are inadequate. We're promised here that the grace of Christ is sufficient to enable us and to carry us. This comes to each of us in our need to be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus. The reality is, in spite of all of our self-deception, that we are totally independent of God. We're totally dependent on God. We're totally dependent on Christ for everything. For the breath that we have, the life that we have, the work that we do, the family we're born into, the church that we are joined to. We're dependent on Christ for everything. And no Christian, not even those ordained by Christ to fulfill an office in his church are exempt from that dependency. In fact, the authority officers are called to exercise and the responsibilities they are called to meet will quickly expose any notion to the contrary. And I believe that it's the fear of being exposed in this way, of being exposed before God for sure, oneself to our own distress, and probably even before our family and friends, that we would be exposed as not as capable and able as we would like to see ourselves as being can lead a man to not only dread the prospect of being called but actually working to resist the nomination I've been there, I've done that I know the feeling and your fear is right, you will be exposed but your fear is incomplete you're not exposed and left naked you're exposed and clothed with Christ because this command carries with it the promise that the grace that is in Christ Jesus is sufficient for even the likes of you. The immeasurable greatness of His power toward us who believe is far greater than our deepest fear and far greater than our most glaring deficiency. Through faith in Christ, we can confess with Paul that when I am weak, not trusting in myself, not in my own resources, but when I'm trusting in Christ and the resources He gives to me, then I'm strong. And in Christ, I can do all things because it's in Him that I'm strengthened. So Paul wants to make that point very clear to Timothy going forward. You're not going forward alone, Timothy. You're not going forward in your own strength, Timothy. And all the men that you'll work with and the succession that you'll start in the process through history will not go forward by the strength of men. Those who depend on their own strength will falter and fall. Their churches will fold. Their witness will be taken away. So be strengthened. Continually be strengthened in the grace that's in Christ Jesus. We need to remember that not only for the rest of this sermon because there's things that Paul will call upon us to do but for the rest of our lives. And especially you office bearers who are called to positions that are on display that are prominent in their own way and that are demanding in ways that people that don't serve in that office can't begin to comprehend his strength is sufficient so paul moves on having oriented timothy to the grace that's in christ jesus he directs him to a task of particular importance to perpetuate in the gospel in the church of jesus christ and that task is the task of entrusting trustworthy men with this gospel. The life that we are given in the gospel of Jesus Christ is not to be put under a bushel. It's not to be kept to ourselves. It's not to be kept for this generation or for this place. It's to be put on display and to be broadcast from here, outside here, to our friends and neighbors, and to the world. And in order for that to be done, there's no man that can do all of that. It has to be entrusted to other men. faithful men, Paul says. And so we read in verse 2, what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. What Timothy had heard from Paul in the presence of many witnesses is the sum and substance of Paul's ministry. Paul's not thinking of just certain things that were said here and there. He's talking about his public ministry as an apostle of Jesus Christ. You see, When Paul was converted and given the understanding of God's word and the nature and the work of Christ for him and for, in fact, the cosmos, he didn't take that way to himself and call people to himself to a secret place or a hidden religion or to a secret club with handshakes and this sort of thing. It was broadcast to the world. And throughout his ministry, Paul made it clear, and whenever he spoke and whatever he wrote, That what he was delivering had been entrusted to him. It wasn't original with him. He didn't make it up. It was handed to him from God. He exalted Jesus Christ in person, to be sure. And so he gives this defense of his ministry in Corinthians chapter 15, 1 Corinthians. He says, I delivered to you, as of first importance, what I also received. That Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures. that he was buried and that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures and that he appeared to many and finally he appeared to me through direct revelation from god the apostle was inspired to understand how the old testament spoke of promised and was fulfilled by jesus christ and it's that good news that gospel that he was commissioned to spread among the nations and so he had good reason to declare in romans chapter 1 i'm not ashamed of the gospel not only because it's the power of god for salvation to everyone who believes that's a good reason to be unashamed but also as he declares in this letter chapter 1 verse 12 i'm not ashamed for i know whom i believe i know where this came from and i know whom i believe and I'm convinced that he is able to guard until that day, the last day, what has been entrusted to me. Speaking of the gospel. And it is this gospel that he received from Christ that Paul has entrusted to Timothy and now he tells Timothy you must entrust this gospel to faithful men who are able to teach others also. You can't keep it for yourself. Now in one sense, every Christian is entrusted the gospel. Everyone here who's believed the gospel of Jesus Christ has been entrusted with the gospel. You're to guard it, and you're to give it away. Bearing witness to Jesus Christ by what you profess to believe and how you live in accordance with that profession. We all have been entrusted with the gospel. But Paul has something more specific in mind here. He's talking about the public, like Paul, the public ministry of this gospel. Entrusted to faithful men. Men who are not only believers, but men who are trustworthy. That's probably a better word than faithful. Those who are trustworthy. Worthy to be entrusted with this deposit. Worthy to receive it and not destroy it. Well, how are such men to be identified? We know from our theology that there's no man in himself that's qualified to be that trustworthy. We're all sinners. Paul's not looking for the perfect man to entrust it to. He's looking for men who have shown themselves trustworthy. In the parable of the dishonest steward, Jesus said this. He said, one who is faithful, or trustworthy, same word, in a very little, is also faithful in much. And the one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much. He's talking about character. Character that can be observed. And that we can see in the little things of life, indicators of a man's character. And so Paul applied this principle when he outlined for Timothy the character of men that should be considered for ordination to office. 1 Timothy chapter 3, Titus chapter 1, those places that we consider what a man should look like that should be considered for office in the church. You're familiar with these. You hear them and see them every year when the names come out and the pictures are displayed. Who's up for nomination? You're reminded there of those words. What to look for. Are these men, do they look like they're trustworthy? And the idea is that if a man shows himself faithful in everyday things, we should consider him trustworthy to receive these eternal things in service to the church. I want to pause there for just a second. By the time you get that paper in, when does that come, in September, October? Maybe even as well as late as November? That's really late. This is January. He wants you to start thinking about it now. So that when you see in the bulletin come August, the council asking for you to present to them names of men that you think should be considered for office, that you would heed this instruction and consider who among us appears to have this character. It doesn't matter who they're related to. It doesn't matter how old they are in a certain sense. They have to have some life experience. The point is, what's their character? And start thinking now and observing it now across the weeks and across the months so that when that call comes, you can respond to your consistory and give them a name or two. Paul goes on to press one more characteristic that's necessary for men to display before they're entrusted with this gospel. They have to have that character. But he says these faithful men will have to be able to teach others also. And this is probably the biggest hurdle, the stumbling block to men that I know. That's not me. I can't stand up there and speak. So I have to dispel a myth here tonight that that's all that's referred to here. It's not. Paul is not looking or telling Timothy to look for those who are accomplished speakers, who are professional teachers. He's telling him to look for men who will be able if not now, someday, to teach others. Now it's clear that this applies to ministers of the gospel and that's Paul's main concern is that those who do publicly proclaim this word are vetted by the church. Ministers must be able not only to rightly handle this word but to proclaim it publicly and to proclaim the whole counsel of God as we heard this morning even those things that are difficult to bring. ministers of the gospel don't function alone we're not lone rangers we're called by other ordained officers to serve a congregation of Jesus Christ we're called and ordained by elders who must oversee and hold us accountable for what we preach and what we teach and deacons whose ministry of mercy frees the minister and the elders to be involved with the ministry of the word these offices stand and fall together and all these men i believe should be men known to be faithful we know that from scripture worthy of being entrusted with the gospel not only to guard it from corruption and neglect but also to perpetuate it by teaching it to others and here i'll add the qualifier to teach it to others in ways that are appropriate to their office see an elder doesn't do what a minister of the word does a minister of the word doesn't do what an elder does a deacon doesn't do either and neither do the two do what a deacon does but this morning you witnessed the ordination of elders and deacons and they all came forward and signed what was referred to as the form of subscription a form that says that they know and believe that the word of god tells us all that we need to know about salvation that our reformed confessions do fully agree with it so far so good but when they signed that this morning, they also signed and men, if you didn't read the fine print, here it is. You signed that you promise to, quote, diligently teach and faithfully defend, end quote, that doctrine. Elders and deacons have a place to roll in the teaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ. And that's because teaching and defending come in all different shapes and sizes, all different forms. As simple as a conversation with our child about right and wrong. As difficult as facing our spouse or our best friend to confront them in a sin that they just won't let go of. In our church order, we find that the duties of each of these offices contain something to do with teaching. Something that requires the ability to teach the Word of God to other people in a way that helps them, in a way that directs them. It doesn't mean that you have to have the answer to every problem, every question. No minister has the answer to every problem and every question. But that you're able to bring the word of God to bear on that person's life or situation and to be of help. Ministers of the word must be able to preach, catechize the youth, and assist the elders in shepherding and the discipline of the congregation. All of that is the word of God applied in some way. It's taught. Elders must be able to rule according to the principles taught in Scripture. They need to be able to understand Scripture and apply it. Not only to themselves, but to the consistory, to the council, and to this body. To maintain the purity of the word and the sacraments, they need to know what's right and what's wrong, what's true and what's false. And to bring that to bear on the minister. Assist in catechizing the youth, visiting the members according to their need, meaning knowing how to bring the Word of God to bear on that need and to exercise discipline, which is with the Word of God, of course. Otherwise, it's not discipline. And deacons, a reminder to you and those who would pursue that office that you must exhort members of the congregation to show mercy. Not because you want them to be a bunch of good Boy Scouts or Girl Scouts. Not because it's a good idea, but because the Word of God calls us to that and your exhortation is from that Word to their lives. and also to encourage and comfort with the Word of God those that receive the gifts of Christ's mercy. The mercy that Jesus Christ gives to His people and to those who are apart from His church comes in His name. It comes for His purpose. It comes because of His gospel, and deacons are tasked to teach that with the giving. It could be as simple as a cup of cold water in Jesus' name. Well, you're probably thinking this is beginning to sound like a lot of work. It is. And that's why Paul goes on in verses 3 through 6 to press home the reality of this work. The reality that perpetuating the gospel requires suffering, purposeful hardship. There's things to do, there's obstacles to face, and there's suffering to be endured. The gospel will not go forward without it. Now he knows the personal cost involved in perpetuating the gospel. He gives a litany in Philippians of all that he suffered and endured. And he has called Timothy to share in suffering as a good soldier in Jesus Christ. Verse 3, share in suffering. Share with me, literally, in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. You see, brothers and sisters, and especially every office bearer, to be entrusted with the gospel of peace is to be enlisted into the army of God. You're not given a waiver to go on leave. When you are commissioned and entrusted with the gospel of peace, you're enlisted to fight. And with ordination comes the charge in Timothy 1, verse 18, to wage the good warfare by holding firmly to this faith and a good conscience, a clear conscience. See, those entrusted with the gospel, especially in their efforts to teach it to others, will know suffering. You will suffer when you bring the word of God to bear in the lives of people. Praise God, some will receive it with gladness. Praise God, some will receive it and be changed and come to make professions of faith so that in this room and before this church, the delight of your lifetime is to hear what God has done. But it will also come with opposition. There will be some that will oppose the truth and promote error in its place. They'll fight you. And there are others who will not endure sound doctrine and then we'll run away and try to take others with them. You don't have to look far in the history of the church. You don't have to look far in your lifetime to see that played out in the life of churches. This is spiritual warfare. This is what it's about. And in this warfare, the best defense is a good offense, and that's a growing knowledge of the Word of God. It's with the knowledge of this Word that comes from there by the power of the Spirit, the armor of God. in which we fight. And the strength that is in Christ Jesus is ours through this word. And so as we're in this word, this word with which we've been entrusted, we are strengthened. And we grow stronger in the Lord and in the strength of His power, not our own. Now because perpetuating the gospel involves suffering, Paul calls to mind three images in verses 4 through 6 that are there for a purpose. They seem a little disjointed when we read them. And they're there for this purpose, and that is to highlight that how keeping our eyes on Jesus Christ, who is our strength, will motivate us and enable us to press on suffering against the hardships that are involved in entrusting this gospel and perpetuating it through history. Each of these images, by way of an analogy, merits prayerful consideration. We're going to just touch on them for a minute tonight. And I want to suggest that this evening and over the course of the next few days that you do exactly what Paul encourages Timothy to do in verse 7. He says, think over what I say. This has to do with these analogies. He's presenting these pregnant pictures and invites us to prayerfully consider and contemplate and to meditate on them in light of the task that's been set before us, which is the advancement of the gospel of Jesus Christ, and in particular, serving as officers in this church toward that end. All I want to do tonight is simply jumpstart our thinking by looking at each of these very briefly. And as I do, I want to call attention especially to the young people, those who are not old enough to serve in office, those who haven't even thought about serving in office, but those who, especially young men, that if the Lord tarries, may be called upon to serve His church. These images are pictures of those who are in service. And I want you to be thinking and pondering how it is each of these images, if you think about them even a little bit, expose and open up to us the reality of a lot of preparation necessary to be ready to do what these images show us to be doing. We have the image of a soldier, the image of an athlete, the image of a farmer. And I'll just say it this way, that none of these three just shows up on the scene to do his work ready and able to go. Every one of them spent time in preparation, in training, anticipating the day when he would go to work. And I want to challenge you that way tonight, and your fathers to encourage you and help you this way, and your mothers to encourage you and help you this way, and your spouses, if you're married, to encourage and help you this way. The Church of Jesus Christ, as long as it stays in this world, needs men to meet these offices, and to meet them in the strength of Christ, and to meet them for the sake of the gospel, not for themselves, and to meet them ready to face the suffering that they bring. So the first image in verse 4 is that of an active-duty soldier. There Paul writes, no soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him. Now I want to rephrase that in this way using if and then to kind of tie the thought together. What Paul is saying is if the soldier's aim is to please the one who enlisted him, if that's his purpose, then he will not get entangled in civilian pursuits. If a soldier's highest purpose is to please his commander, then he'll be motivated and equipped to do all that he can to disentangle himself from the distractions of everyday life, the mundane things that have to be taken care of in order to get on with his mission. And if you've served in active duty or known those who have, you know this is exactly what they have to do before they get deployed. Their affairs are in order. Their paperwork's in order. They are to go to the field without a care for the details here. That's the image. How does that apply to you? Well, if your highest aim, Your greatest purpose is to please King Jesus above all. Your commander and your chief. Then you'll have the motivation and the ability to fight the good fight. More and more disentangling from the cares and the riches and the pleasures of this life that choke your faith and frustrate your fruitfulness and focusing on and working out the victory that's already yours and his. Setting your eyes on Jesus Christ, your purpose on pleasing him will change. Everything it is about this fight. Second image, verse 5, that of an athlete. An athlete is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules. Let me rephrase that again using if and then. If an athlete wants to be crowned the winner, then he will compete according to the rules. If an athlete's ultimate goal is to win first prize, not to place or to show or to just make a good showing of practice that day, but to win first prize. Then he will be motivated and he'll be equipped for maximum exertion from start to finish, to and through the finish line. All the time being careful to avoid anything that would disqualify him. How does this apply to you? Well, if your ultimate goal, your greatest purpose, is to have Jesus meet you at the finish line and to crown you a winner, then you'll have the motivation and the ability to finish the race. To more and more, as the author of Hebrews says, put aside every weight and sin that clings too closely, and running with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus at the finish line, the founder and the perfecter of our faith. Set your eyes on Jesus. Not the race, per se, but on the goal. And you'll find the motive and the power to run. The third image, verse 6, that of a farmer. It is the hardworking farmer who ought to have the first share of the crops. Again, if and then. If the farmer wants to have the first share of the crops, then he's going to have to work hard. If the farmer's critical objective is to feed his family from that crop, no matter what the market's doing, no matter how small that crop is, but he wants to bring that home to feed his family, he will be motivated and he will be equipped to do all the hard work required and to be prayerful, prayerful, prayerful, trusting God to bring the harvest. How does this apply to you? If your most urgent desire, your greatest purpose is at the end of it all to reap a harvest, a harvest of righteousness, then you will have the motivation and the ability to do all the hard work required of you to pursue your sanctification, to pursue the calling that's set before you, all the while prayerful, prayerful, prayerful, trusting that God will bring the increase. Paul reminds us especially those who are called to perpetuate the gospel that neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything. It doesn't mean that planting doesn't need to be done. It doesn't mean that watering doesn't need to be done. But those who do it are not anything, but only God gives the increase. We live our lives that way, looking for the increase from God, doing all that we can on our part on the way. Again, contemplate those images. Paul clearly considered his own life in light of these images. As he neared the end of his earthly life in 2 Timothy 4, verses 7 and 8, he said these very familiar words, and they'll sound different to you now, having considered these images. He says, I have fought the good fight. I have finished the race. I have kept the faith. Henceforth, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day, not only to me, but also to all who have loved his appearing. I leave that in your ears tonight and I say that we would be well to do the same to consider our lives as short or as long as it may be through these images and with a better understanding that perpetuating the gospel the purpose and the means for extending the church of Jesus Christ requires strengthening in Christ's grace alone entrusting trustworthy men with this gospel and suffering purposeful hardship for the cause of the gospel. May this be our prayerful meditation as we leave here tonight. Let's pray. Our God and Father, we thank you that you have condescended to the neediness of fallen men by sending a Savior, Jesus Christ, the righteous. We thank you that he has come and accomplished all that we have been commanded to do as your people. Fulfilling all righteousness in our place, suffering the wrath that we deserve in our place, rising again and ascending to your right hand in our place and giving us the Holy Spirit by which he upholds and continues your people in this world. We thank you for the church of Jesus Christ, his body to which you've joined all who believe. We thank you, Father, for the mysterious reality that you have chosen to continue that church through men. to govern that church through men, to proclaim that gospel through men, to show the mercy of Christ through men. We know, Lord, that we are not worthy. We know, Lord, that we are not able. It's a fearsome thing to consider, and we thank you that this evening you have reminded us that our strength for these things is found in Christ, and that what you provide for that transmission is not perfect men, but trustworthy men. Believers, who your spirit is at work in to mold a character that prepares and equips for this service. And that you have given us the focus that we need, which is Christ Jesus himself. And all that he is for us and all that he will be for us when we see him on that last day to motivate us and to enable us, Lord, to press on when the work is hard, when the race is long, and when the battle is fierce. We thank you, Father, for the promise that we will overcome in Christ. We will fight the good fight in Him. We will finish the race in Him. And we will keep the faith in Him. Because He alone is our strength. It's in His name that we pray. Amen.