Brothers and sisters in the Lord, especially in these times, and Brother Van der Molen, along with your wife Lori, especially as you enter into the ministry, may you never forget, for his the kingdom, his of right, he rules the nations by his might. All earth to him her homage brings. And may we never forget that he alone is the Lord of lords and the King of kings. Being true, let us then turn to his word for the sermon this evening, which will be taken from a text of scripture from 2 Timothy 4, verses 1 through 5. 2 Timothy 4, 1 through 5. Now, we have, of course, as you know, here the word of the seasoned pastor, we might call him, the Apostle Paul, near the end of his life, as he's coming to the end of his course of his ministry, he turns, you might say, backwards, and of course, by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, he looks upon the younger Timothy, and he leaves them with what we might call these final words. 2 Timothy 4, one through five. I charge you, therefore, before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom. Preach the word. Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and teaching. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine. but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers, and they will turn their ears away from the truth and be turned aside to fables. But you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry. Thus far for this evening our reading from the word of God. Brother Vander Molen. to the congregation of Bethany United Reformed Church, to the family members that are gathered here tonight, and to friends, I do want to just say that I am honored to have this opportunity to address you at this monumental occasion in the life of the Van der Molens, but really in the life of Bethany United Reformed Church, that of the ordination and of the installation of your next pastor. I wish you the Lord's richest blessings. Eric, as we've walked along together through your seminary years, you've served as an elder in my concistory, we've talked, and now we co-labor together. I look forward to doing that, but I wish you the Lord's richest blessings. And to your dear wife, also, as she assists you in this great calling. And I wish you, as a congregation of Bethany United Reformed Church, the Lord's richest blessings in this time of transition. Receive this minister as a gift from God, sustain him with your prayers, and no doubt you will hear more of such charges in a few moments. But I want to turn our attention tonight briefly to a familiar passage, and I do believe it is a fitting passage for the ordination and the installation of a gospel minister. First, the Word of God. Given this theme from chapter 4 of 2 Timothy 1 through 5, a charge to the gospel ministry. I want to attempt to unfold this charge with three points. First of all, noting the context in which the charge is given. Secondly, the action in the charge. And then thirdly, the manner in the charge. So we have set before us tonight, by the inspired word of God, through the Apostle Paul, to the younger Timothy, a charge to the gospel ministry. The context, the action, and the manner. First of all, then, the context for the charge of the gospel ministry is that of a divine context, but also an apostate context. And Brother Eric, I believe both of those are critical for you to remember and to bear in mind, that you minister in light of a divine calling, but also that we minister in the context of an apostate world. And we might even say, of a church, broadly speaking, that is succumbing more and more to apostasy. So notice how the Apostle Paul begins this. I charge you therefore, before God, before God. We are not just here gathered in the mere presence of men. We're not just some type of social group that has a unified identity in which we have a cause to campaign for, but no, rather, in the very presence of God, the supreme being, the eternal being, the infinite being. the one who was and is and is to come. In the presence of God, we gather here together tonight. And in the presence of God, this charge is given to the gospel ministry. Not only God referring, yes, indeed, to the fullness of the Trinity, but also to the primacy of the Father, but also the Lord Jesus Christ. Of course, fully God, co-equal, co-eternal, co-essential with the Father and the Spirit. But Paul would especially, perhaps you might say, turn our focus to this fact, that the gospel ministry is connected with the person and the work of the Lord Jesus Christ. And this Lord Jesus Christ, upon the completion of his redemptive work, has received all authority in heaven and in earth. And it is that person, Brother Eric, who gives you this charge. It's not Paul. It's not me, ultimately. It's not Reverend Freswick who will give you this charge. I charge you before God and the Lord Jesus Christ. You are called to preach the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. You are called to be a herald, a town crier, if you will. You are called to stand in the presence of men, women, children, old and young, and all sorts of ages and experiences in between, and you are called to stand there and to authoritatively make known a message that you have received from God and the Lord Jesus Christ. May this solemnity And maybe we could even use the word, this heaviness rests upon you every time you stand behind this pulpit. And every time that you engage in an act of ministry, may you remember, I have been charged to be a minister of the gospel in the presence of God and the Lord Jesus Christ. Not only is it the Lord Jesus Christ, but notice that Paul goes on and he says that this Lord Jesus Christ will judge the living and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom. So yes, you need to have a focus on the Lord Jesus Christ, but you need to have a focus especially upon the imminent return of the Lord Jesus Christ and the actions that will accompany that imminent return. Preaching should be done in light of eternity. I'll say it again for myself, and maybe also it will be benefit for you. Preaching is to be done in the light of eternity. Receive your ministry in the light of eternity. There is a coming day of judgment. There is a day in which every single person will be raised from the dead and will have to appear before the judgment seat of the righteous one, the Lord Jesus Christ. And this ought to motivate us in our ministry. This ought to give a certain earnestness in our ministry. A couple of times tonight, Lord willing, I'm going to quote the man who gave me my charge into the ministry, Reverend Arthur Besteman. And I will never forget, as long as I retain my senses, as he said in his booming voice at my ordination, never just assume that the entire congregation is saved. Call them to repentance and faith over and over and over. Call them to repentance and faith. It's remarkable. but sometimes you'll hear a sermon that never has a call to repentance and faith. Every sermon you prepare, Brother Eric, every sermon you deliver, every time you stand behind this pulpit, remember there is an eternity that every one of your listeners will enter into. I charge you before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom. Not only is it a divine context, but it's also an apostate context. You'll notice that the Apostle Paul picks this up in the third verse, for the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine. This is what I mean by the apostasy, the falling away, the time will come. And I think we can safely say that the time has come, and it will continue to come, in which many individuals who were once connected to the church, at least in some way, have begun to heap up for themselves teachers because they have itching ears. They no longer want the simple gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. They no longer desire to hear that there is an eternity and that there is a judgment that will occur by the work of the Lord Jesus Christ. The time has come into which you and I and others are called to minister and to labor in which the falling away is beginning to occur. And so you will encounter individuals who will not endure sound doctrine, biblical truth. For example, the individual who is enraptured with a pluralistic view, will they endure the claims that Christ is the exclusive Savior? No. So they'll march off down the street and they'll find somebody, a puppet behind a pulpit, who will proclaim some form of universalism. Well, that certainly sounds much better to the pluralist ears. Materialism. Will the individual who is enraptured with the love of material possessions endure the preaching which calls for us to lay up treasures in heaven? No. They will march down the street and find someone who will tell them how to have their best life now, filled with material prosperity, in some form of prosperity gospel. Will the individual who is guilty of narcissism, well, will they endure the call to deny yourself and take up your cross? No. Well, what will they do? They will not endure sound doctrine, but they will heap up for themselves teachers, and they will turn their ears away from the truth and be turned aside to fables." Never mind. Never mind congregation. And never mind Brother Eric. Don't ever, don't ever compromise the gospel for people who have itching ears. Underneath God's sovereignty, perhaps they will go off and find some puppet pastor. Don't ever try new tactics, new antics. Don't ever try to repackage the simplicity of the gospel. The Apostle Paul doesn't say to Timothy, now, Timothy, make sure that you are the most modern, the most up-to-date, the most hip, the more cool pastor so that you can really, really engage these people with their tickling ears. Now certainly we don't want to be offensive in our own person, but just preach the word. It's so wonderfully simple. You have a message from the King of Kings. Preach the word. And that's the action to which the minister is called. And that's our second point, the action in the charge. So before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, in the context of growing and intensifying apostasy, very, very simple action, preach the word. I just want to try to unfold something of the grammatical explanation of this action and then offer a few words of practical advice on the action. The Minister of the Word. and sacrament, but the primacy is on the Word. The minister of the Word, he is to serve the Lord Jesus Christ, and he is to serve God primarily by preaching, by pronouncing, by heralding in an authoritative manner based upon the written Word, centrally focused upon the Word, the Lord Jesus Christ. But this is the number one duty of a gospel minister, to preach. to preach in relationship to none here or none in our beloved federation. But sometimes you'll be talking with someone, and maybe this will get me into a bit of trouble, but sometimes you'll be talking to someone in relationship to a church and a relationship to a minister, and they'll say, well, you know, he's a minister. He's just not, he doesn't like to preach. He's just not much of a preacher. And it always makes me just pause. A minister who doesn't like to preach? A minister who doesn't really feel compelled to preach? May I lovingly ask, where did we ever come up with this? It'd be like saying, well, he's a great mechanic, he just doesn't like to get his hands dirty. Or, she's a great mother, she just doesn't like children. A minister who doesn't sense a burning compulsion to preach? Brother Eric, preach. Whatever else you may do. And no doubt, in a congregation of this size, there will be many, many, many pastoral labors. But insist upon the primacy of the preaching of the Word. And if I may, to the consistory of Bethany, Make sure that Brother Vandermolen understands his most important duty in the office of the ministry is to prepare for and to execute preaching. Make sure he gets the time necessary to prepare for preaching. Make sure he gets the training necessary, ongoing, to grow in his preaching. Make sure that he's in a loving and positive way, critiqued even for his preaching. But above all, congregation, pray for your minister's preaching. But what are you to preach? Very simply also, preach the Word. Preach the Word, no doubt. This refers to the entirety of the Bible, but especially on the person and the work of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now to quote a statement that was told me at my ordination examination by another United Reformed minister, he's still living so I'll leave him unnamed, he also looked me straight in the eye. Must be something about these ministers looking me straight in the eye and he said, make sure every sermon is dripping with the blood of Jesus Christ. I wrote it down on a note card, hung it above my study desk where it has sat for the last 15 years. I'm not pretending that I've always perfectly done that. But Brother Eric, make sure every sermon that you write is dripping with the blood of Jesus Christ. Preach the word, the word incarnate, the word crucified. the Word resurrected, the Word ascended, the Word even now sitting at the right hand of the Father, the Word coming again to judge the living and the dead. Don't get bogged down with social or political commentary. Certainly there are times in which the principles of Scripture can be applied in some way to what's going on in the world, but don't try to be a political or social pundit from behind the pulpit. Don't also fancy your own thoughts, your own ideas. Don't try to have something new and something novel. Just give your congregation the old, old story of Jesus and His blood. Preach the Word. Remember, every time you preach, there may be someone in the congregation who hears the gospel for the last time. or for the first time. I always try again to ask myself, as we transition into a bit of practical advice on preaching, I always try to ask myself, if someone came into the midst of the congregation tonight, would they hear the gospel of Jesus Christ? Would they have an exclamation and a proclamation of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Before you ever leave your study, make sure that you can answer that with yes. They may find many flaws in my homiletical style or in my oratorical skills. They may think that I mispronounce words, and I probably do. They may question my gestures and my pulpic antics. but don't let them ever leave without hearing about Jesus Christ and him crucified as the only way to be reconciled with God. And so I would insist that the gospel minister ought to do all he can to aid his preaching. And I would encourage you, Brother Van der Molen, to follow these three general rules. Preach the word simply. Preach the word. Nothing more, nothing less. You'll take a text or perhaps a topical sermon as you follow the confessions. Preach that word. Unfold it. Unpack it. Explain it. Apply it. Preach the word simply. Do not try to engage in all sorts of fanciful, hermeneutical gymnastics trying to impress someone who you imagine is out there with your ability to work with the Greek and the Hebrew. Hopefully you can. We've tested you. We've examined you. Leave all of that on the study. Preach simply. Don't try to have some type of bizarre homiletical antic to try to stir up some emotional spirit artificially within the congregation. Don't come to the pulpit with some imagined, impressive philosophy. Just preach the word. I want to give you two quotes from Martin Luther. When I preach, he said, I regard neither doctors nor magistrates, of whom I have about 40 in my congregation. Luther said, I don't even look at them. I have all my eyes on the servants and on the children. I have all my eyes on the servants and on the children. And if the learned men are not well pleased with what they hear in typical Luther fashion, he says, well, the door is open, implying they can go elsewhere. Bethany is a congregation that has been blessed with children. Don't ever forget them. They need the gospel. Preach simply. Preach persistently. Preach the word in season and out of season. Preach, Brother Van der Molen, when it comes easy, but preach also when it comes hard. There will be times, and I remember our joint professor, Dr. Beeke, saying this, there will be times that you come to a text and you exegetically tap at it and it all falls into perfect pieces, you seem. And so by Tuesday afternoon, you come in and you tell your wife, well, the AM sermon's almost done already. And then Thursday morning, the PM sermon came together well also. Then there will be times that Friday morning you're still struggling on the AM sermon, and it just doesn't seem to fall in place. No matter what kind of week it is, preach the Word. Preach the Word when the congregation is receptive, and preach the Word when they are resistive. Preach the Word when the sanctuary is full. but preach it with the same enthusiasm and passion when only a handful of people gather. Preach the word when men sing your praises, but also when they slander your name. It's been said by one preacher that if they would have put him in a wooden whiskey barrel to try to shut him up, he would have preached out of the hole. Jesus Christ and Him crucified. So preach simply, preach persistently, and preach personally. Preach to the very heart of your hearers, the very soul of your hearers. Do not preach in an overly abstract manner. The people of God on Sunday mornings and Sunday evenings do not need some drawn-out lecture. They need the life-giving Word of God. So preach it personally, not in an over-academic manner, not as some type of museum curator saying, oh, look at this doctrine from a distance and analyze this theological truth from this angle. But preach the Word with a holy passion and compassion. Preach as a dying man, as it's been said, as you well know, to dying men. Preach as we have been taught experientially. Another charge that Reverend Besteman gave me, and 15 years ago, I did not understand the truth of this statement. But in every single pew, he told me, there sits an aching heart. Preach to that aching heart. Preach to the people of God. So in the context of apostasy and in the presence of God and the Lord Jesus Christ, the preacher is to proclaim the word of a crucified Christ simply, persistently, and personally. And yet briefly, I also want to unfold the manner in which you are to engage in this ministry. That brings us to verse 5. But you, Brother Vander Molen, if I may put that in there, you be watchful. You be watchful in all things. All of the Christian church needs to be watchful. Especially Christian office bearers need to be watchful. Especially Christian ministers of the word need to be watchful. The word watchful there indicates a spiritual but also a mental but really a holistic sobriety that comes with an alertness of mind. Be awake, you might say. Be alert. Be perceptive. And this sobriety, this watchfulness, is to be motivated in light of the imminent return of the Lord Jesus Christ. Be awake. Be alert. Know that the charge that has been given by the Lord Jesus Christ is made by the Lord Jesus Christ who is coming to judge the living and the dead. He knows who he is, a dear Christian brother in this building right now who often says to me, quoting Charles Spurgeon, perhaps today, referring to the return of the Lord Jesus Christ. Perhaps today, perhaps tonight. Remember that in your ministry. Not so much now in this context to motivate you in your proclamation, but to safeguard you. in your moral conduct. Be watchful in your life. The devil goes about as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. And apostasy and moral failures are not just something that occur out there in the world or out there in the liberal churches. Apostasy and moral failure are things that sadly occur far too frequently within our own churches. You and I have been made painfully aware of that over the years. Don't ever forget to be watchful with a sense of spiritual sobriety. Think of the Apostle Paul, what he says in 1 Corinthians 9 verse 27, but I discipline my body and bring it into subjection. Lest, when I, the Apostle Paul, have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified. Yes, you have to care for the souls of your parishioners, but you also have to care for the soul of your wife. and of yourself. So be watchful. Be watchful in your life and be watchful in your office. Always fulfilling the work of the ministry. in season and out of season. And especially, as we've somewhat seen in the recent context, especially when persecution increases and when it would seem that the world is off of its rocker, so to speak, especially in those times, the gospel minister, if I may say it this way, is to be the one man in the midst of the congregation or in the midst of the community and in the midst of the world who isn't scattering about in all sorts of trepidation and fear, but rather he especially should be the man standing with the Word of God in full confidence, looking up, looking forward, observing all of the signs on the battlefield of human history and saying, you know what? By the testimony given to me through the Word of God, I do believe the day of Christ is coming closer. I do believe that in all of the tumult and in all of the unrest, we're starting to see something of the unfolding of the return of the Lord Jesus Christ. And so, fellow brothers and sisters, ours is not to despair. No, the gospel minister should never despair. For let me ask you, when is it darkest? They tell me it's darkest right before dawn. And so when we find ourselves in the midst of societal darkness, let us not cower in fear, but let us say, the Lord Jesus Christ is coming, who will judge the living and the dead. And until he does come, we will be found by his grace faithful in fulfilling the task given to us of preaching the word. So Eric, this is not the formal charge, But this is a charge from the word of God. Before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, you are called to preach the word, being watchful, so that one day you may say what Paul was able to say. I have fought a good fight. I have finished the race. I have kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give to me on that day, and not to me only, but also to all who have loved his appearing. Amen. Let us pray. Our Father in heaven, We stand amazed that there is such a thing as the gospel to proclaim, the good news, the glad tidings of a new era, of a new kingdom of redemption, based not upon the works of man, but based upon the works of the Son of Man, the Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ. We thank you, Father, that although you did not have to, you determined that there would be a way of salvation, and that still today you send forth gospel messengers to preach the word. We're thankful also that you've given a call to Brother Van der Molen, both internal and external, and that in your providence you've wonderfully brought this brother to this congregation. Lord, we pray that your grace and your mercy may rest upon both of them, that his and theirs might be a fruitful experience in the work of the Lord. We do ask for your blessing upon the remaining portions of this service. May your name be honored and glorified, even as the nations rage, here within the church of the Lord Jesus Christ. In his name we pray, amen.