Paul Washer | The Sufficiency of Scripture: God's Church God's Way | G3 Conference 2017

please open your Bibles first of all I'd like to say what a tremendous privilege it is to be here and I praise God actually that I am here I preached out on the west coast last week and when I was flying home I started getting very sick today was the first day that I actually left the house after four days I was supposed to be here yesterday but I had to cancel my flight and then I woke up this morning at about 2:00 and I was so sick that I thought to myself well as soon as it's daybreak I'll come I'll call pastor Bice and tell him that it's just no way and I got back to sleep finally in about 3:45 in the morning I woke up and God seemed to give an unusual grace to tarry with him and to watch with him in the night and he greatly encouraged my soul in prayer and it was so unusual that I thought well the Lord must want me to go ahead and come here now before I read my text I want to read something that I wrote that as a burden on my heart actually it's a small portion of what was going to go in a book with regard to this conference and I want you to know that almost every time pastor vais talks to me his burden is always not about a big conference and that's what I so appreciate about him in his church he's always saying Paul tell all these young people tell all these young guys and young girls to get in church to get in church and I want to read something that puts conferences like this in a proper perspective in a truly reformed tradition we will begin by saying that the foundation of the world before it the foundation of the world was laid God contrived a plan to get glory for himself through a people that he would redeem he elected them before the foundation of the world to be redeemed through a savior who was foreknown before the foundation of the world and he purposed from all eternity that this manifold wisdom which for ages has been hidden in him would be brought to light through the church and that he would be glorified in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever and when I want to read a quote from Charles Hodge the works of God manifest his glory by being what they are it is because the universe is so vast the heavens so glorious the earth so beautiful and teeming that they reveal the boundless affluence of their maker if then it is through the church that God designed specifically to manifest the highest to the highest order of intelligence his infinite wisdom and grace the church in her consummation must be the most glorious of all his works now the Scriptures teach that the church is the pinnacle of God's work and the great revelation of his manifold wisdom but here's my question is this great compliment direct compliment directed only to some Universal Church are to some church triumphant in heaven or is it given also to the local assembly of believers on earth the entire course of Paul's ministry would indicate that the local assembly is more than to be included for it was for the sake of real people gathered in real local assemblies in real places scattered throughout Asia Minor and Europe that Paul laboured so strenuously during his time on earth they were not large in number these churches they were not many wise according to the flesh they were not many not many noble but the Apostle Paul saw them these local churches as the great means through which the glory of God what is and is revealed to both men and angels it is for this reason that we argue I argue that to neglect the local assembly and its spiritual prosperity is to neglect God's greatest plan on earth to reveal his glory there is much of which to praise God about in this recent resurgence of the Reformed faith throughout the world especially among young people however there are also many troubling signs that not all is right in Zion it seems that a significant number of newly reformed are more often enamored with doctrine celebrity teachers Bible conferences and mission agencies than they are with the local church and her ministers while at least some of these things just mentioned can be very helpful they are not God's primary means of advancing the gospel caring for his people are revealing his glory to men and angels God's plan is the local church why then is she oh so often neglected and passed over especially by the young possibly for the same reason that the typical housewife cannot compete with the supermodel or actress on stage or screen the housewife is real with faults and defects exposed but the actress is made up and decorated the housewife is the stuff of everyday life but the actress is seen only in the most attractive role and at the most spectacular moments similarly the local church is something that is real exposed and undecorated a congregation of redeemed people caught in time between the already and the not yet new creations that are not quite fully new pilgrims on the road to tsiyon but still marred by the soil of Babylon the conference is different however it is filled with like-minded people even in the most intricate nuances of the faith and they are all appearing on at their very best behavior there are no misunderstandings no bickering no are outburst of immaturity conferences represent three or four days of heaven on earth then there are the conference speakers they have published more books than the local pastor has read they are educated and eloquent and their sermons are full of the most intricate theological wonders they appear suddenly upon the platform speak with the lips of a seraph and then are whisked away like Elijah and a chariot of fire but the Minister of the local church knows no such glory he lives in Antony matiee to the larger Christian community and yet is under the constant scrutiny of his people day after day and year after year he has three messages a week to prepare private counseling sessions visits to the hospital and a constant battle with fatigue and doubt he is a shepherd guarding a handful of sheep a lonely Sentinel on a Night Watch a steward who gives God's servants their rations at the proper time like his master the pastor of the local church has no stately form or Majesty that we should look upon him nor appearance that we should be attracted to him for these reasons and many more unmentioned it is not difficult to see while that why the young and immature will be enamored with the conference's YouTube speakers and the great authors and musicians of our day but the discerning eye will see the wisdom and power of God in the local congregation and in the men who faithfully serve there we should praise God for Bible conferences and the helpful preachers who are often used so mightily in them we should also praise God for the internet and the bountiful supply of good preaching that can be found there however these things should never compete with our devotion to the local church and the pastor's who care for our souls Jesus admonition to the undiscerning crowd is applicable to us do not judge according to appearance but Judge with righteous judgment a great theologian was once asked who is the greatest preacher alive today he responded whoever he is you don't know him another old preacher has to be a friend of mine he said this some of the greatest sermons that have ever been preached were preached to only five or six people it is a truth well known among the mature that God often hides his best men and his best works from a greater audience why would God plant the most beautiful rose he has ever created in a forest through which no man or angel will ever walk how can he receive glory from something that is so hidden the answer he receives glory because it is not hidden from him and he looks upon it with great delight it is interesting that with regard to our participation in meetings outside of the local church in the scriptures we have no commands but with regard to the local church we have a sound and certain command Hebrews 10:24 25 young people this is a command let us consider how to stimulate one another to good deeds let us not forsake our own assembling together as is the habit of some but encouraging one another and all the more as you see the day drawing near and this is not talking about getting together in a coffee shop it's talking about getting together in a true local church with true biblical leadership this text is proof positive that if we are not committed to a local congregation of believers we are not walking in the will of God and the key word here is commitment the command is not fulfilled by mere attendance but by our active participation in the growth and sanctification of the body we should never think that we are doing God's will we should never think that we are doing God's will simply because we attend a church with sound theology expository preaching and are frequently involved in theological conversations with our peers we are committed to the local church when we are actually ministering in the church under the direction of the elders and for the seek for the sake of the least of Christ's brethren even those who do not share our interest in high theological dialogue but are simply struggling to make it down the road to Zion if we do not love the most broken needy and theologically inept brethren in the local church then our love for the church and for Christ himself is in question if you are young and reformed I would plead with you to start your journey into truth and Krait likes Christ likeness within the context of the local church and under the care of a pastor our pastors whose lives are worthy of imitation who preached the truth and who truly care for your soul I would also bleed with you to understand that your theology is only as good as your piety and your love for the local church manifested in acts of self-denial and service to the least of Christ's brethren [Applause] the church the church now let's look at our text first Timothy 3 verse 14 Paul writes to Timothy I'm writing these things to you hoping to come to you before long but in case I am delayed I write so that you will know how one ought to conduct himself in the household of God which is the Church of the Living God the pillar and support of the truth by common confession great is the mystery of godliness he who was revealed in the flesh was vindicated in the spirit seen by angels proclaimed among the nations believed on in the world taken up to glory let's pray father I ask in weakness that you would give help great help Lord I did not come here to hear myself speak or even to put forth a sermon worthy of imitation but that you would speak to your people and help them and Lord God that they would know they have been helped in Jesus name Amen we're going to look at three things if we had time the owner of the church that's God the character and purpose of the church it is the pillar and support of the truth then finally the rule of the church scripture only one rule only one guidebook scripture now the owner of the church look what Paul says here in verse 15 but in case I am delayed I write to you so that you will know how one ought to conduct himself in the household of God which is the Church of the Living God Paul is being very Hebrew here he is piling one term upon another to convince you of a most important truth God is the owner of the church it is his church it is not your church it is not my church it is God's church now you and I as ministers are in constant need of hearing this even the most sincere humble and godly minister in the local church is in need of hearing this constantly that it's God's church listen to what Paul says to the elders in Ephesus in acts 20:28 he says be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers to Shepherd the Church of God which he purchased with his own blood the people to whom do they belong they belong to God by right of creation we see that in the introduction to the law in Exodus chapter 20 he is the Lord God and then he goes on who redeems you from the house of slavery so the people in your congregation that congregation those people they belong to by right of creation and they belong to God by right of redemption through the blood of his son God incarnate and what are you if you are a minister what am i if I am a minister it says here I am an overseer I am a shepherd a servant leader to feed guard and protect I am NOT to be clever I can't even find where I'm called to be a great leader all this nonsense about leadership I am called to be biblical and to lead God's church only according to what is written all this nonsense today somebody goes out in some denomination and in a few years creates a mega church and then writes a book on how he did it if you had any discernment at all you would know that is wrong is wrong because what that man is doing is building his own kingdom on the bones of unconverted church members we don't need to hear from clever men we need to hear from the inspired scriptures now look here it says the household of God the OI cost that word is used earlier in the same chapter when it talks about an elder must manage his own oh it costs well is that talking about a house or building it's talking about the people under his care his wife his children there's an idea here they keep every time I read this pastor I keep getting this Hebrew name thrown up at me at dawn at dawn he's the master of the house when it says that this is the household of God first of all it reveals that there is only one Lord one master there is only one head to the church to that local church and it is Jesus Christ it's his house and his rules now I'm somewhat hospitable I like having people over if they can bear with my wild family and all the wild things we do love to have people over try to be extremely polite but if you walk into my house and you start directing my wife and you start ordering my children and you start moving things around listen very carefully there is a sense in which I will in the old-fashioned use of the term I will despise you I will say to you who do you think that you are coming into my house this is my house do you see that let me give you an example several years ago there was a very wealthy wealthy businessperson owned a huge media corporation and this person one day heard a preacher a Christian preacher our so he identified with Christianity say that God was a jealous God and because of that this very wealthy and prosperous and brilliant businessperson decided that no I do not want the god of Christianity at all if he's God how can he be reduced so low as to be jealous how could he be so petty this person doesn't realize what they're saying now this person that I'm describing is brilliant has built an empire and has worked very very very hard now imagine that one day a brand new employee it's his first day at work he walks into the central office and all of a sudden he takes over and this business magnate walks out of the office in Gus who who are you you didn't build this do we knew you weren't even here when I started this is your first day how dare you be so audacious arrogant that you would come in here and think that you could run this company by your rules that's exactly what's happened that's exactly what's happening when pastors and ministers of Christ are not running the church according to Sola scriptura what is written but according to their own clever plans are the clever plans of some successful man in their denomination who happened to build a church by not doing the Word of God let me give you another illustration this name household of God also denotes the intimacy that God has with the church his love for the church it shows him to be a husband to a bride and a father to children that's what we see in this now I have a wife and she is beautiful and I love her very much and I have children and I love them very very much you see there were times my wife would go with me anywhere when we were missionaries in South America I mean she'd walk in to danger no problem but there were times when I would go into certain military zones where I knew they're gonna pull me off the bus they're gonna rough me up a little bit they're gonna push me around they're gonna try to show their authority and when they do that to me that's fine been there done that got the t-shirt that doesn't bother me a bit but if one of them laid one finger upon my wife well that's quite another story isn't it now I want you to think about this pastors think about this there was a great king who loved his bride oh he loved her and he always dressed her in the simplest yet most elegant white linen she needed no audacious colors on her face she needed no wild hairdos she was beautiful simple elegant pure godly beautiful and one day this King goes on a long journey and he calls you as a Stewart he says I'm going to entrust my bride to you I'm going to be going I've laid out for you in a book every rule I want you to maintain I want nothing changed nothing changed Stewart you be faithful to carry out this book well the King goes and he's been away a long long time and all of a sudden the Stewart begins to realize that the people in the kingdom are no they're losing interest in the King because they're losing interest in the bride she's too simple too prudish rather boring she's out of step with the times and so this Stewart thinks in his mind aha I've got it figured out he calls her in he takes off her white elegant godly dress and dresses her in something far more attractive to carnal men paints her face and then parades her up and down the street and by doing so draws all the carnal wicked men back into fellowship supposedly with the King that's exactly what countless pastors in America are doing today they have take the simplicity of the Bride of Christ her magnificent beauty her purity her holiness and they have tore it from her and they dress her up in parade her in front of carnal men that they will be attracted to somehow come back to God let me tell you something on the day of judgment don't don't worry about the atheist don't fear for the prostitute or the murderer you want to fear for somebody on the day of judgment you fear for a large number of evangelical pastors who have departed from the Word of God and are parading the church in a dress a garb that God never intended her to wear many times I pray Lord increased your fear in me increase your fear and me you should be afraid to touch my wife terribly afraid oh but how much more afraid should you be to touch the Bride of Christ and do anything with her that is not found in this book we are to be like the faithful hag I remember him he was put over ester and what was his purpose was he to make her presentable to the nation was he to work with her and dress her and do all sorts of things with her that she might be pleasing to the people of the kingdom absolutely not he had one task make her pleasing to the king listen to what Paul says in 2nd Corinthians 11:2 for I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy for I betrothed you to one husband so that to Christ I might present you as a pure virgin now look what else it says pastor minister it's called the Church of the Living God whenever this kind of language is used it adds a great deal of Old Testament solemnity to the matter listen to what Jeremiah says in Jeremiah 10 10 the church belongs to the true God he is Living God and the everlasting king at his wrath the earthquakes and the nation's cannot endure his indignation he is not to be taunted are approached as Goliath and Sennacherib learned pretty quickly and his commands for his church are not to be ignored and replaced with the clever ideas of men as nay dab and a bio and good OSHA learned in a costly costly manner now I want you to see here something when it says the Church of the Living God the name draws a contrast between the church and all the pagan temples that were in Ephesus and here's what you need to see here's the idea whenever we see in the Old Testament the Living God it's usually a challenge he's usually stepping out with his armor on ready to fight and what is he ready to fight false gods and idols that's why we here living God what why is Paul using this in Ephesus because he's saying this in the context of Sola scriptura in the context of exalting the scriptures as the only means to care for the church he says this those temples and Ephesus those pagan temples those gods that are there are the inventions of men therefore men can invent ways to worship them and serve them men invented the god men can just figure out how they ought to be worshipped and served but it's not the case in Christianity in Christianity God is not our invention we are his creation and the work of his Redemption he is the real true and living God not an invention in therefore as a pastor you have no right to think up clever ways in your church that he can be worshipped and served you only have the right to do what is written as a steward that is all and why am I saying it this way brothers a good healthy dose of the fear of God in the pastor it would revolutionize the church in America to fear him to fear him now he goes on the character of the church it is the pillar and support of the truth I want to quote D Edmond Hebert here and just as a side note if you're a pastor preacher by every book of D Edmond Hebert every commentary he is such a blessing this is what he says he goes when it says the pillar and support of the truth this reminds us that the church holds up and supports the truth before the world and maintains the truth in opposition to all attacks upon it Calvin says this she is called the pillar of truth because the office of administering doctrine which God hath placed in her hands is the only instrument of preserving the truth in the world that it may not perish from the remembrance of men let me quote a text from Psalms 11 3 if the foundations are destroyed what can the righteous do what is the task of the church she has been entrusted with a mystery the mystery of the gospel and all the truths of the full counsel of God that are necessary in order to understand that gospel and to actually live it out Christianity is a truth religion why are so many pastors laying aside the truth and becoming entertainers laying inside the truth and expecting to draw a crowd because they wear skinny jeans bold glasses and they got tattoos all over their body unless you've been in Special Forces don't get a tattoo our biker gang you don't need Jesus written on your arm you need the law of God written on your heart the church has been entrusted with the truth of God with his greatest revelations therefore she does not bend to the whims and desires of ever-changing fallen men and their ever changing cultures something I've written here I'd like to read this is one of the things which frightens me most about the contemporary reformed movement it seems that many are not presenting the church to the world as the pillar in support of the truth but as intellectual cultural and cool in such cases the scandal of the gospel is lost freedom becomes licentiousness and much time is wasted trying to convince the world that we are not as ignorant unsophisticated and unhip as it thinks we are in the end the world is not convinced and we just look silly brothers have you studied history if I were to put in a nutshell the difference between the Reformation and an apostate Roman Catholicism notice I don't say Roman Catholic Church I don't believe it ever was a church but if I were to draw a distinction this is what you would say Roman Catholicism didn't care about the truth at all it would go into a culture and like a would paint its face anyway it had to paint its face in order to attract that culture if it means adapting some pagan God or some pagan ritual or say do whatever it had to do to reach the people the Reformation comes along and says no Sola scriptura we will not we will not build the church according to the changing whims of an ungodly culture we will change that ungodly culture by the power of the immutable gospel now you say Amen but look at what's being done in evangelicalism just open your eyes and look at what's being done even the so-called conservatives and evangelicals look what's being done find out about the culture find out about the culture find out about the culture do everything you can look stop worrying about their culture find out about God find out about scripture find out what God says in the Bible and just do it do what he says and stop you know what it's like it's a bunch of little boys playing army because it's a lot easier to get a tattoo on your arm it's a lot easier to look cool it's a lot easier to open up a coffee shop than it is to fast for two weeks till the power of God falls down on a place or study scripture eight hours a day until you think your brain is going to melt but that's what men of God - that's why we're called men of God we love people but we know the best way to help people is to spend most of our time with God so that when we walk out among the people we have something to say to them thus saith the Lord not the latest poll says this now the rule of the church all brothers brothers brothers I'd say I'm here to preach and it is embarrassing honestly last week I was out with dr. MacArthur's you know how embarrassing it is I have a bachelor's degree from the University of Texas PhD where I'm from Meade's post hole digger sometimes I sit around and even at this conference at da Carson's there and all these people and the only thing I can think of is well I could skin a deer faster than these guys I am NOT the sharpest crayon in the box but look brothers look how easy it is look at verse 14 I am writing these things to you hoping to come to you before long but in case I am delayed what does he do I write I write so that you will know how one ought to conduct himself in the household of God how do you know what to do in the church only through what is written sometimes I've been asked to teach music ministers I don't play an instrument and I can't sing but here's one of the things that I've done that they've said is most helpful to them I've said this in your study of worship you know when you began in Genesis and read all the way through the scriptures to the book of Revelation and then put every text together and developed your theology of worship what did God show you and they go I didn't do that I said you know God killed to worship leaders in Leviticus 10 when you read his words do you fear him prayer so can sometimes be one of the most joyful things in the world reading the word can sometimes be so joyful prayer also can be like kneeling three feet away from an f5 tornado do you not know this God he is to be respected you are stewards he did not ask your opinion in one matter he only told you go to what is written and do that and I can assure you there's enough there's enough commands in the scripture so that if you do them you won't have time to do all this other foolishness brothers you have read haven't you 1st Corinthians 3 look there for just a moment let me read verse 12 now if a man builds on the foundation with gold silver precious stones wood hay straw each man's work will become evident for the day will show it because it is to be revealed with fire and the fire itself will test the quality of each man's work if any man's work which he has built on it remains he will receive reward if any man's work is burned up he will suffer loss but he himself will be saved yet so as through fire for this have you how can you know that your thirty years of ministry is not going to be burned up like chaff only if in those thirty years of ministry you have only done what God has commanded you to do in the written word of God as a steward throughout oh look at first Timothy 4 look at verse 16 pay close attention to yourself and to your teaching persevere in these things for as you do this you will ensure salvation both for yourself and for those who hear this is not only about paul Washer preaching the gospel so that people will be saved this is about paul Washer submitting to the truth to know that he is in this realm of salvation that he is actually being saved all dear brothers dear brothers now throughout much of history there has been this debate between what's called the regulative principle and the normative principle the regulative principle says that those elements that are instituted by command or example or which can be rationally deduced from Scripture are permissible in worship and when it says worship it doesn't just mean music it means in the life of the church now the normative principle teaches that whatever is not prohibited in Scripture is permitted in worship as long as it contributes to the peace and unity of the church now I am NOT here to debate the virtues and vices of these two things but in light of first Timothy 3 and in light of first Corinthians chapter 3 it should be clear to all of us that the more we lash ourselves down to the regulative principle the more the more that we only do Sola scriptura that we only do what he commands us to do the more confidence we can have that on the day of judgment our works will remain and the more that we move towards the normative principle the more that we get creative the less confidence we can have and we quite possibly will open up a Pandora's box that will bring many harmful things to the church no I want to say something else I want to talk about Sola scriptura the Reformation and us the foundation stone of the Reformation was not a Calvinistic soteriology now I'm going to say something in some of you Calvinists let's put your stones away here's what you need to understand the bedrock of the Reformation with Sola scriptura believing everything that it says and seeking to conform every aspect of doctrine and practice in every area of life to what is written if we follow that definition guess what there's some more minions out there that are more reformed than you guys now why do I say that most people come to understand the Reformation are introduced to the Reformation because they first hear about the doctrines of grace or Calvinism that's how most of us started studying the Reformation now here's the problem we begin to think that just because we have a Calvinistic soteriology that were sons and daughters of the Reformation and that's simply not true to be a son or daughter of the Reformation is to last your debt self down the scripture to limit yourself to Scripture and to seek to apply everything that is written in this book to your life and ministry your life and your ministry brothers this was the genius of the Reformers this was the genius of the Puritans I don't always agree with the Reformers they're formers didn't always agree with the Reformers I don't always agree with the Puritans even though those two groups are my favorites but here was their genius they were men who decided they would not go beyond Scripture that they would seek to find out what this book is saying and submit every aspect of their life to it now let me give you some hard questions are we were formed in our gospel are we I've seen many guys who have all kinds of reform books in their library and yet when they go to deal with a soul I mean it's for spiritual laws all the way it doesn't matter what's on yourself what matters is what's in your heart and what's in your practice this your gospel emphasize the character of God the holy and righteous character of God does it emphasized the radical depravity and sinfulness of man does it make much of the atonement that the atonement solves the great dilemma how can God be just and yet justify wicked men there's only one way he must satisfy the demands of his offended justice and he does so through the death of his son Jesus Christ your gospel what kind of gospel called to you give I see that hand is that what you do or do you deal with souls painstakingly sometimes for week sometimes for a month sometimes in the Nightwatch you can't sleep because there's a soul under great conviction and you're praying for them assurance do you just tell people well you prayed that prayer and so now you're saved or do you to lead them into true biblical assurance do you give them gospel warnings do you preach a biblical gospel let's go on are we reformed in our devotion our prayer in our study of the scriptures with the consistency and diligence of John Calvin Jonathan Edwards and JC rile be seen in our study in our libraries at home then let's just look at good ones instruction on prayer and the life of David Brainerd in Robert Murray McShane have they influenced you so that not only are you convicted by their lives but you're seeking maybe in the smallest steps but you're seeking to imitate them it's so easy to have the theology of the reformers and not have anything else our character our character are we do we study the law do we delight in it do we meditate upon the Beatitudes the fruit of the Spirit the life of Christ do we seek to imitate him do we live a life of brokenness and yet at the same time joy there you know the Puritans weren't called Puritans for nothing is moral purity and intense concern of yours or do you watch things you should not watch have you gone through the Scriptures to find the things that God hates and to repel them from your lives if you go on into the scripture to find the things that God loves and do you cling to them our homes are our homes reformed are we disciple are we washing our wives in the word are we disciple in our children maybe catechizing them at least family devotions consistently purposefully are we doing that the Reformers did Matthew Henry did Philip Henry you need to understand that John Calvin and Luther were not only hated because of their doctrine of soteriology they were hated because of their doctrine of marriage and family let me give you an example if I walked into your church and I said this how many and all your men were there and I said how many of you men are purposefully consistently intentionally disciple in your wives and your children would it not be true in the typical evangelical church or even Reformed Church that we'd have men look at each other and go and it wouldn't even really brush up against them but then if I said this well since we're not doing that then starting now I'm canceling all the women's groups all the children's groups children church youth groups college I'm cancelling it all what would the men do they would rise up and start screaming crucify him crucify him and you know what I would tell them you hypocrites you annul the command of God for the sake of your traditions I am NOT against all those kinds of groups not at all whatever the church can do to help in discipleship I'm all in favor of it don't get me wrong but let me tell you something in most churches what it is is the church is doing something in order to give all the men in the church the excuse for not obeying God now realize again what I'm saying I'm not one of these people who says throw this out throw that and know but know this there's no command direct command in Scripture for the church to be doing that to your children but there are all kinds of commands in the Old Testament and the New Testament that you sir are to do that for your children you see how quickly we can think we're biblical but in actuality we are indirect obedience against clear commands of Scripture we go on the pastoral ministry brothers how many times how many times in all these denominations a man I mean come on this guy figures out a way to have me he's leadership he is all about leadership I mean he is a magnificent charismatic leader and an organizer and through all that he has grown a church to 10,000 15,000 people and guess what happens his denomination comes to him and has him write a book and then that book is promoted so that everyone else starts getting on the bandwagon if you're not on the bandwagon brothers you don't grow a church by imitating a charismatic leader you grow a church you manage a church you minister to a church by doing what God says whether anyone applauds you or not Baxter's reformed pastor have we read it has it had any impact on our lives bridges Charles bridges treatise on the Christian ministry would we agree with the Apostles who said but we will devote ourselves to prayer in the Ministry of the word the Ministry of the word and notice prayer is actually mentioned first what's our primary obligation devote ourselves to prayer and the Ministry of the word that's when you take the gates of Hell by the latches and begin to pull if your ministry and your success and everything else is based on something more then your devotion to prayer and the Word of God then the devil laughs at you as a little boy playing army our churches brothers ecclesiology ecclesiology it is the missing it's missing everywhere it's missing everywhere and again I would like to look at each one of you in the eyes and hold you by your shoulders and pull you close in and say do you realize you're only supposed to be guided by what is written do you see that now we're not to do what is right in our own eyes we're not to do what the world wants we're not to send out questionnaires to see what type of church would you attend unless you're gonna send that questionnaire to God you don't need to because he already wrote a book about it it's called a Bible and our missionary endeavors oh brother you talk about a need for Sola scriptura brothers I think if we took 75 percent of all the missionary activity that's come out of the United States and we brought it all back here and then put it on an island with no people we would advance the kingdom of heaven now I'm not being smart alecky I'm just talking it's true we do not do missions our way what is missions you know how you plan a church the same way your pastor one you study the Word of God you pray you do the work of an evangelist and when people start getting saved you disciple them through the pulpit and personal ministry and then second Timothy 2:2 you start training up leaders and as God increases leadership so that you have men of 1st Timothy 3 and Titus 1 character some of those men are going to go out as missionaries the you will only send them out if they meet the qualifications of an elder and can actually be an elder in your church if you send out anybody else you're just wrong and you lay your hands on that person with fear and trembling knowing that every sin that he commits out on the field you're participating in and you watch over that missionary and that missionary goes out and what does he do the same thing you do he prays studies the word he preaches and he disciples and he trains up elders and starts the process all over again but no one wants to do that because if we did it set it shut down most of the PhD programs and missions it's too busy doing other things that really don't melt to a hill of beans that's why we got a bunch of people walking around China 20 year-old American boys with Teva sandals and really cool backpacks and what would Jesus do bracelets on their arm they've never been in a biblical church and they wouldn't know how to start one and they have no authority to do so because they were not sent out to a local through a local church because listen to me as my pastor says over and over missions is not primarily the work of the local church it's exclusively the work of the local church to be guided by elders and not missionary experts are we reformed I want to read to conclude I've gone over so take about a minute Christ's ministers are not primarily charismatic figures movers and shakers or inventors of clever ideas they are stewards who do only what their master has commanded and afterwards declare we are unworthy slaves we have done only that which we ought to have done they are men of God watching daily at his gates and waiting as his at his door post they live to know God and make him known through the proclamation of the word in the street the house the pulpit and the counselor's chair like Ezra they have set their heart to study the law of God and to practice it and to teach its statutes and ordinances in Israel like Levi they Revere God and stand in awe of his name true instruction is in their mouths and unrighteousness is not found on their lips they walk with Him in peace and uprightness and turn many back from iniquity their lips preserve knowledge and men seek instruction from their mouth for they are indeed messengers of the Lord of Hosts they are followers or imitators of God and speech conduct love faith and purity showing themselves to be examples of those who believe they are leaders who seek to guide the church into the very center of God's will using only the means that God has given them to do so what is written when these things become our stock and trade then we will truly be sons of the Reformation in heirs of the legacy of Sola scriptura god bless you you

Channel: HeartCry Missionary Society

Views: 32,623

Keywords: paul washer, heartcry, jesus christ, missions, bible, sermons, gospel, missionary, society, god

Id: B_FBd9EWhJY

Length: 56min 44sec (3404 seconds)

Published: Fri Mar 20 2020