All right, well, I'll ask you to open your Bible with me to the letter of 1 Timothy chapter four. We've been going through verse by verse this epistle, and I'll be reading verse 11 through 16. Prescribe and teach these things. Let no one look down on your youthfulness, but rather in speech, conduct, love, faith, and purity, show yourself an example of those who believe. Until I come, give attention to the public reading of scripture, to exhortation and teaching. Do not neglect the spiritual gift within you, which was bestowed on you through prophetic utterance with the laying on of hands by the presbytery. Take pains with these things, be absorbed in them, so that your progress will be evident to all. 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 you.

What makes for a healthy church? What makes for a healthy church? That is the message this morning. It's a very simple passage, very straightforward, very direct. But before I answer that question, let me ask you, why should you be concerned about this question, what makes for a healthy church? In other words, why shouldn't you just be concerned about the question, what makes for a healthy Christian? Isn't that enough to have on your hands?

Well, let me remind you of a foundational bedrock passage that I think of often and I hope you do too. It's Matthew chapter 16 and verse 18 where the Lord Jesus said, I will build my church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it. So the first reason you should care about the church, care about what makes for a healthy church, is because Christ cares about the church. And we love him, we care about the things that he cares about. And he's building the church in this age, that's the work of the age, that's the work that we wanna be found busy about when he returns, when he suddenly returns.

Secondly, and from that verse as well, I will build my church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it. It's because Christ is alive with power to make healthy Christians in the church, in the church. He's building his church. That's the way in which he makes Christians to be healthy, is within the church. And that's what he's actively doing in a way that's invincible. in a way that Satan can never crush. He's building the church, and so we want to be a part of that and consider questions like this, what makes for a healthy church?

And then third, because Christ has ordained to make for a healthy church through you. That's the way he's building it. He's building it through you. And so I can even be bold and say this, that Christ has ordained to make Trinity Bible Church a healthy church through you, to maintain it as a healthy church through you as well.

So let me ask again, what makes for a healthy church? And before I answer again, let me just remind you, that's what this letter is about, this letter of 1 Timothy. It was written to a strategic church that Paul planted on his missionary journeys. And on Paul's missionary journeys, he kind of had a big two. churches, Ephesus and Corinth. That's the churches where he spent the most amount of time. And I think even more time at Ephesus than Corinth. And it says, when Paul was in Ephesus ministering for three years, all Asia heard. So it was a really influential, strategic, you might say, church. And it became a sick church through false teaching. Paul prophesied that. He told them in advance that false teachers, wolves would rise up among them, teaching perverse things and leading disciples away after them. And so Timothy was on a special assignment for this church to restore health to this church in Ephesus. And so that's what the whole letter is about. What makes a sick church like Ephesus healthy is the same thing that sustains health. in a church as well, and so that's what this letter is about.

Okay, so what makes for a healthy church? What makes for a healthy church? Three things in this passage, these three things are found in this passage in such a plain way. I think this sermon almost preaches itself. I can only mess it up, make it less plain than this passage. But the three things that are found in this passage that make for a healthy church preaching examples and growth. Preaching examples and growth. Or if you'd like it in three P's, preaching, people, and progress. 

So the first is preaching. And Paul speaks of it right away in verse 11. Prescribe and teach these things. He's talking to Timothy, he's on assignment, his assignment, the main part of his assignment is to teach, to preach, to prescribe, and to teach these things. 

I think as Paul got older, And he wrote this towards the end of his ministry, actually towards the end of his life. He may not have known that he was finishing the course when he was writing 1 Timothy. By the time he writes 2 Timothy, he does know that he's finishing the course, and this is shortly before that. And so, how well he knew it or not at this point, he's preparing the church for his departure. And he's gonna be doing that increasingly as he writes 2 Timothy. And he starts zeroing in on emphasizing preaching. This is what's gonna be the bedrock for the church, the foundation for the church after I leave, Paul's saying. And so if all the things that are part of the church and are good, like fellowship, even things that are essential, like communion, like baptism, he starts zeroing in on preaching. This is the thing that is going to keep the church healthy. 

There is a godliness that accords with the gospel, and that's what it means to be a healthy church, is for that godliness to be in us, to be in the church, the same godliness that accords with the gospel. And there's a teaching of godliness that accords with the gospel. It's only found in God's word. And that's where it comes from. The godliness that agrees with the gospel. And so preaching is the lifeblood of the church. It's first and foremost in the church. It's called in scripture, God's word is called the word of life. It's called the living word because it makes alive. It is the life giving word. It was through false teaching, that this church became sick, it's through true preaching that this church is gonna become well. And so this is the first task, the first and foremost, most prominent task that he gives to Timothy. He wants to encourage Timothy to keep preaching. preaching God's word, preaching the pure gospel. And he's writing this to Timothy, but it's a letter that was read to the whole church, and so he wants them to hear it too. Timothy's main assignment when he's here is preaching. It's said about Timothy's personality that perhaps he was timid. It's kind of hard to reverse engineer these things from what is said to a person and what their personality might be and draw certain conclusions about that. But maybe there was something in Timothy that made him want to hold back when he preached. And so Paul told Timothy here and in other places as well, don't hold back, prescribe and teach these things. Of course, he said the same to Titus too. We don't normally think of Titus as timid, but he says to Titus things like this, Titus 2.15, these things speak and exhort and reprove with all authority. Let no one disregard you.

And so he wanted Timothy to preach God's word, and he wanted to preach God's word with all the authority of God himself. That's what he wanted in this church, preaching with God's authority and with the urgency of life and death, because that's what this is. So he says this, and I'm skipping to verse 13, still I'm preaching. He says this in verse 13, until I come, give attention to the public reading of scripture. Exhortation and teaching.

Timothy was already doing this. He knew he was doing this and the church had a tradition for as long as the church had existed of doing these things. And so he tells Timothy, keep doing this. Hold fast to these things until I come. Hold fast to reading and he means public reading of scripture. The reading is what he says to exhortation and to a teaching.

This practice of public reading of the Word of God and then exhorting and teaching on it dates back to the time of Moses, the first time scripture was given. It was done for the children of Israel. It was done in the days of Ezra and Nehemiah, where they read to the people and then explained to them the sense of what it meant. It was done in the synagogues, you can see it in the Gospels, where Christ read from a scroll. and then said what it meant, this is fulfilled in your hearing.

You can see it, it was done in the synagogues, the Jewish synagogues in Acts, and I'll read just Acts chapter 13 and verse 15. It says, after the reading of the law and the prophets, the synagogue officials sent to them saying, brethren, if you have any word of exhortation for the people, say it. So you can see the picture there, and they actually had a practice of Jewish people that were traveling, they would let them speak. if they were in the synagogue and so Paul is given that opportunity here in the synagogue.

There's a reading of God's word and then an exhortation from his word as well. That took place in the synagogue every week on the Sabbath as well. They would read it and explain what it means and how God's word connected with the lives of the people. The New Testament churches did the same, kind of the same as what was done in the synagogue in that way. except they met on the first day of the week. Seems pretty clear from scripture. They met on the day of Christ's resurrection. They taught what the Holy Spirit had taught them about how the Old Testament was fulfilled in Christ. And then they also read from New Testament letters as well. And they read that and that was equal to scripture because that was also the words of God.

So they're already doing this. They're already meeting. They're already reading and giving, reading God's word. exhorting and teaching from God's word. And he wants him to hold fast to that, hold fast, keep on doing that, keep on doing that and give special attention to these things, to the reading of scripture, to exhortation and to teaching. He wanted Timothy to do all three of those things, not just read God's word, but also exhort, in other words, tell people how what is read in God's word applies to their lives, and also teach, in other words, explain what it means, explain what they're to think, what they're to believe about God's words and in a systematized way. Sometimes in liberal churches where The gospel isn't believed. The Bible isn't believed. The Bible is just read. It's read only. And that's great. I'm thankful for that, that the scripture is read. The word itself has power. It doesn't return void. There's a story given of Spurgeon that he tested sound, which was different. In those days, I don't think they had a microphone, but I think they had sort of like a soundboard or something in the back. But he just read John 3 16 out and somebody, some workman that was there heard him and was saved just by simply the reading of God's word. And so that in itself is profitable. But it's where all three are done, that it is a gospel preaching church. that it's a lampstand where the light has not gone out and where the Lord Jesus Christ is walking among the candlesticks. And so we want to do all three in all of our meetings. Like this meeting, we wanna read the word and not stop there, but also teach about what it means and exhort. that we're actually to live these things as well. We want to do this even in the kids' class. Every meeting that we have is to be characterized by all three of these things. It's easy to leave one of these out, you know, read scripture, be very heavy on application, do this, do this, do that, but not pay attention to what it really means and to the way in which we're to think about these things, about doctrine itself, and that's all too common. Or you can talk about what a scripture means and neglect to exhort. to talk about how to put it into practice, and then things get too academic, where church becomes like a school. And I think of those two things, I probably tend to fall into that myself. I like to teach, talk about what it means, but it's good to labor, this is what he wants Timothy to do, labor how what you're teaching applies to the lives of yourself and of those that you're ministering to as well. in our midweek services that I'd like to encourage you to come to if you can, because they've been great for all who've been participating in these last several years where we've had a focus on application. James this year writes questions, application questions that come from the message. the Sunday morning message, and so we discuss those, especially with a view to applying them to our lives, and that's a muscle you have to exercise to make it work, to talk about how these things apply to us. So we write these questions, ponder them, and ponder them not just in general, but okay, well, how do I put in, how has the Lord taught me how to put these things into practice as well? So Timothy was to pay attention to preaching, to preaching. He's instructor for that, and the church was to pay attention to the preaching of God's word, because that's really the baseline, the foundation of what makes for a healthy church, and was to pay attention to all three, and that's what we're to do. if we're to be a healthy church, is to pay attention to preaching, to not just come to church, to not just hear the sermon, but to meditate on the passage, to ponder during the week, what does the passage mean, and how am I to put this into practice in my life? How's the Holy Spirit teaching me to put this into practice in my life as well? If you can, come in the midweek. You can hear others talk about how they're putting it into practice in their lives as well. Or if you can't do it this year, maybe try to carve out some time next year to do that, because that's a help in putting these things into practice. Well, we said about Timothy, maybe there was something in Timothy that made him want to hold back sometimes in preaching, exhorting, and in teaching. And so Paul encourages Timothy by reminding him that the Holy Spirit has given him everything he needs to be a preacher of God's word, to do all three of these things, to give attention to the reading, to the exhortation, and to the teaching. And so that's found in verse 14. Do not neglect the spiritual gift within you, which was bestowed on you through prophetic utterance with the laying on of hands by the presbytery. In the, skipping ahead to 2 Timothy, he talks to him again about this gift. He reminds him of this as an encouragement to him. 2 Timothy chapter one, verse six. For this reason, I remind you to kindle afresh the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. So he says, Timothy, you've got a gift. It's in you. It's a gift for preaching. It's the Holy Spirit empowering you to preach. It's not automatic. You need to kindle it afresh. You need to pay attention to these things. You need to not neglect the spiritual gift which is in you, but take pains with these things, knowing that the power has already been put in you by the Holy Spirit. And so in our passage, she encourages Timothy with three things. The Holy Spirit has given you this gift. It's a gift within you, which was bestowed on you by the Holy Spirit through prophetic utterance. There was a prophetic utterance about Timothy being given this gift when it was given to him. We don't have that in scripture. We're probably a similar scene where the Holy Spirit set aside Saul and Barnabas for their missionary journeys. And probably something similar happened with Timothy where Timothy was, um, called out, he was selected, and the Holy Spirit told the church what kind of gift Timothy was given and how he was supposed to use it. So it was bestowed on you through the prophetic utterance and then the third thing given to confirm it. and the laying on of hands by the presbytery. And that just means a group of elders, a group of elders of a local church, they laid their hands upon him. And so all those things were to be an encouragement to Timothy. The fact that, I'll just pause on this. The fact that the hands were laid on him by the presbytery, by a group of elders is another example that God works through the church. He's building his church and he works through local churches in that these are elders of a local church that laid their hands on Timothy at this point. So Timothy's a missionary. He's a traveling missionary. He goes on special assignments. and yet when it's time for the gift in him to be confirmed, Paul doesn't say, well, I need Peter and John, I need apostles that are names we'd all recognize in order to lay hands on Timothy for the confirmation of this gift. No, he goes and he gets elders from a local church, because that's where God is at work, what he's building in his church. So he's reminding Timothy of the power at work in him, the way it was given in a memorable way with prophetic utterance and with the laying on of hands. Now you might say, well, that must be nice for Timothy as he's teaching. He's ministering in the church, and he can be reminded of even prophetic utterances that were made about him and laying on of hands about him being given this gift. And it'll be nice for James when he's ordained, Lord willing, next month when The elders come, lay hands on James, recognize what the Holy Spirit has called James to do in his life, to be a minister of the gospel of Jesus Christ, and lay hands upon him as well. But let me say this, you also have a gift. You might not be teaching, It might be teaching, that wouldn't surprise me. We need teachers here at this church. So the Lord may be calling you to that and equipping you to teach as well. But it could be a different gift, gift of helps, gift of mercy, gift of exhortation, gift of service, gift of giving. Those are some that are mentioned in scripture. I think the gifts that the Holy Spirit gives are as unique as his first creation. The gift that you have is unique to you. And perhaps you haven't had a laying on of hands for you for that, but there is a prophecy. There is a prophecy given to you as much as there was to Timothy. And I'm thinking of first Corinthians, chapter 12. And verse seven, which says, but to each one is given the manifestation of the spirit for the common good. And if you're a Christian, if you're a believer, that's you. And that's the prophecy. That's a prophecy from the word of God that the Holy Spirit has not neglected, but he's given you a gift. And so like Timothy, you need to use it. Not neglect it. It's to every single one of you. Not neglect it, but kindle it afresh. You might say, well, I'm not even sure exactly what my gift is. Timothy knew his gift was teaching and that was confirmed by what the Holy Spirit said. Well, you find it. by serving needs, if you don't know what your gift is. Because the gift is not for you, it's for others. It's for others. And so if you don't know what it is, I would say just start serving. Start finding out what the need is and filling it. And you'll find by what's helpful, what maybe the Lord directs you by your desires to do as well, what other people affirm, you'll find the gift that is in you. as well and be encouraged to use it. So I've gotten a little bit off from the subject of preaching. Timothy's gift was preaching and that's what Paul is reminding him of here. So what makes for a healthy church? Preaching, that's a big emphasis. Prescribe and teach these things, Timothy, until I come. Give attention to this, the public reading of scripture, to exhortation and teaching, and you're gifted for it, Timothy. Don't neglect the gift that the Holy Spirit has put in you. So what makes for a healthy church? Preaching. Second, examples. Examples.
 A healthy church needs not just preaching. Preaching, I think, is the most important. But it's not just preaching, not just preaching. A healthy church needs examples that go along with the preaching. And Paul urges Timothy to be that example. That's maybe the most important one for this church is Timothy's example. It wasn't just to be Timothy. Others were to follow in Timothy's example or to be helped by Timothy's example and then in turn be examples to the church as well. And so the preaching with power was to be done with the power of the Holy Spirit and then enforced by the power of the Holy Spirit with examples as well. And starting with Timothy, and so he urges him, let me read it, it's in verse 12. Let no one look down on your youthfulness, but rather in speech, conduct, love, faith, and purity, show yourself an example of those who believe. Not preaching alone, but preaching fortified, bolstered by example. You can find good preaching online. You can find bad preaching online, too. There's just everything out there. And so it's kind of the Wild Wild West. And people can get into some really bad things by just following whatever the algorithm feeds and going down some kind of rabbit trail to some really bizarre things. But you can also find really good preaching, if you're discerning, if you know where to look, just online. You can find better preaching than you'll hear this morning. from me, or maybe at any time from me online. But preaching that's good, that's adequate, with examples of people that you know, you'll find lonely here. You have to be in person for that. You have to bring your body to that kind of preaching and not have a disembodied listening like you have when you're just out there somewhere on the internet and nobody can see you and you can't see anyone else as well. Preaching with the power of the Holy Spirit enforced by example, you find only here. So this is what the way the Lord is building healthy Christians is through a healthy church. And it has preaching in it and it has examples as well. And so we think of, of course, Mr. Wierson. were actually instructed in scripture to pay attention to his life. Hebrews chapter 13 verse six, there's a banner out there now that talks about this and it certainly applies to Jim Wierson. Hebrews 13 verse seven, remember those who led you, who spoke the word of God to you and considering the result of their conduct, imitate their faith. So we're to pay attention to his light. He's an example that's gone before us. He's finished it to the end. He's been faithful. He's about to hear those words, well done, good and faithful servant. And so we're to serve powerfully as examples to one another. Doesn't mean as cookie cutter examples. We're not all to endeavor to be Jim Worson. That would not be a help. To be just like him, that's a bad way to follow example when you try to be exactly like someone else. It means that you're encouraged by what you see in that person, what you see in the Holy Spirit doing in that person's life, and it's different from what he's gonna bring out in your life. The Lord has a totally different track for that person. different strengths and different weaknesses, but it's an encouragement to you and others are to be encouraged by your example in the same way. So to be encouraged by Jim Worson's example. Think of him and then think of Doris. Think of Mrs. Worson. Be encouraged again by her example and then dare to think that you can be an example. You are an example. as well, and that's what he encourages Timothy to be here, is to be an example in the church. What he specifically says is, do not let anyone look down on your youthfulness, but rather, in speech, conduct, love, faith, and purity, show yourself an example of those who believe. The word that he uses for youth For Timothy, apparently, I'm told, could refer to somebody as old as 30 or 35 or 40. There's examples of that word being used in that way. But there were certainly older people in the church and people that might not, look too fondly on being instructed by someone much younger than them authoritatively as Timothy was supposed to preach God's word. So what does he say to Timothy about this? He says, don't let anyone look down on your youth, but what? poll rank on them, remind them of who you are, give them your title, tell them about your authority, tell them you're the Apostle Paul's official sidekick. Don't question me, don't question anything that I'm saying. Does he tell them, be more assertive? Don't put up with any criticism. No, he says to him, let no one look down on your youthfulness, but instead, here's how you're to accomplish that, but rather in speech, conduct, love, faith, and purity, show yourself an example of those who believe. To overcome people despising his youthfulness, he was to be an example of what he was preaching. In speech. in speech, and I don't think it means here so much in his preaching, but in the way he lived his life, the way he talked. Proverbs 18, 11 says, the mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life, but the mouth of the wicked conceals violence. And so the mouth of the righteous, what a person says can It can be like a fountain of life, or it can destroy. It can conceal violence. And the way to have good things coming out of your mouth, things that are a fountain of life, is to put good things in your heart, to be dwelling on good things, to be dwelling on the preaching of God's word. Matthew 12, 34, the Lord says, the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart. And so if your heart is full of God's word, the gospel of God, the commands of God. What's coming out of your mouth is not going to be falsehood, anger, bitterness, slander, gossip, malice, abusive speech, filthy talk, but is going to be instead truth, edification, admonition, tenderness, forgiveness, encouragement, blessing, thanks, and praise. So he says, be an example. Rather, in speech, in conduct, the deeds of the body are to be used not to carry out sin as we did formerly, as Paul says, you did formerly in your lusts of the flesh, but instead are to be used to carry out righteousness instead. And what does that mean? Well, it says, it shows in the next ways in which he's to be an example. In love, in faith, and impurity, and I would say that the first two are more positive, that he's to act in love. That's the chief characteristic of a Christian. That's the first thing people were to think when they think, how does Timothy act? How does Timothy speak, and how does he act? Well, he acts in love. That's the first thing I see about Timothy and about his example, and that's what we're to see in one another as well. And then where it comes from, it comes from faith. It comes from abiding in Christ, abiding in Christ's love, and then acting in love as well. And then that's sort of the positive aspect. And then negatively, purity. Purity is separation from sin of all kinds, in thought, in word, and in deed. And so it's to be separate from sin and have an example of, be an example of someone who is separate from sin. So what would it mean for you to be an example. That's what Timothy was commanded. Don't let anybody look down on your youth, but instead be an example in conduct, in speech, in love, in faith, in purity. What would it mean for you to be an example for others? And I think as I'm speaking to you in this, I think you already are in many ways. The Holy Spirit's alive in you. You're an example to me. I'm an example to you in things that the Holy Spirit is teaching us. But the command, and really the command that's given to Timothy, be a better example. Be a better example. That's what's commanded for Timothy. Show yourself. That's why he takes the trouble to tell Timothy this. He's already an example, but he wants him to be a better example. So what would it mean for you to be a better example of these things? What would you need to not say or say to be a fountain of life in the things that you speak? in your conduct so that it matches God's word, especially it says 1 Corinthians 16 verse 14. Let all that you do be done in love. Let all that you do be done in love. What would you need to cut out that's not done in love? Who would you need to no longer be hostile to? Who would you need to reconcile with? Who would you need to forgive? Or to be an example, not just of love, but also of faith. of faith that abides in Christ, that abides in his words, that your spouse or your friend sees you reading your Bible. Or even better, hears from you and it's obvious to you that you've been meditating on scripture. And you're saying to them, just because you're talking about what you're thinking about, here's what the Lord's showing me in my life as well. Would it mean more time in God's Word? Would it mean more time meditating on God's Word? More time in prayer? More time walking by the Spirit? What would you cut out from your life to be an example of purity and separation from sin? Well, as you're considering those things, I wanna go right into the third thing of what makes for a healthy church, it's preaching. It's examples, that's why he commands Timothy to be an example of these things that's essential for the church. And third, it is growth. It's growth. Verse 15, take pains with these things. meaning his preaching and also being an example. Take pains with these things, be absorbed in them so that your progress will be evident to all. I sort of take comfort from this, that Timothy is not expected to be perfect when he's here on assignment in this congregation. He's expected to grow. He's expected to grow. And he's expected to grow even in a fairly short time. So the people there are able to say, Timothy is different after leaving us than he was when he came. And we've seen him grow in these things, in faith, in love. He's more loving than he was when he first arrived. And he's to do this, like I said, in a relatively short time. In a relatively short time, Paul says in verse 13, until I come, give attention to the public reading of scripture, to exhortation and teaching. And he said in verse 14 of the chapter before, I'm writing these things to you hoping to come to you soon. I'm hoping it's going to be a short time. And yet he wants Timothy's progress, his growth, to be evident, to be obvious to others as well. We're not always good at measuring our own growth. You might think you're staying the same. You might say, well, how am I doing spiritually this year as compared to last year? It seems about the same to me. And like I said, we're not sometimes very good at measuring our growth. But you're either growing in godliness, or you're making the wrong kind of progress, and that's possible to do as well in sin. We don't stand still, we don't stand still. A Christian grows, a Christian grows, and Timothy is expected to grow, and that's the way in which he's to be an example. It's a great tragedy when a child doesn't grow. I've known a family with a child, they had a number of children and one child just wasn't growing and it was a huge, huge concern, a huge tragedy. It's a tragedy when a Christian, doesn't grow. It's a tragedy when a church doesn't grow because that's the way in which Christ is active and building his church is in growing. Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, I'm reading them because I'm following our calendar for this year, and it was not always a pretty picture. They made some mistakes, they fell into some sins, some bad ones, but they, one thing you can say about them, about all three of them, they were growing, they were growing. In fact, it says about Abraham, he grew strong in faith. And you can read about men before them, Enoch and Noah, they walked with God. They walked one step at a time and they grew with God. And so it doesn't matter how mature you are, In the Lord, the Lord has new vistas to show you, and especially new vistas of himself, new ways to show you, new situations, new difficulties to show you that he is sufficient. So you see something different about him. And so no matter how far you've come, the Lord has more things for you to do to grow. And so you're to take pains to grow. Take pains and be an example to others. Be absorbed in these things so that your progress will be evident to all. It's those who grow, step by step, who leave a legacy behind and hear, well done, good and faithful servant. And you've grown all along the way. You've grown strong in faith and in conduct that is more and more pleasing to the Lord. So he tells Timothy to take pains, be absorbed in growing, in making progress, and do the things that will cause him to grow in all of these areas. And then there's a promise. I take it to be a promise at the end, 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 yourselves and for those who hear you. And the way I understand this is, Timothy, if you work on these things, if you give these things your undivided attention, you will grow. You will grow. And it'll benefit not just you for salvation, but it's going to benefit those who you're ministering to as well. And I think that's the same promise that's given to every Christian as well. And so when you say, I'm going to pray this year more than last year, I'm gonna be in God's Word. I'm gonna walk by the Spirit more than I have before. I'm gonna meditate on God's Word so that His Word saturates my heart, it's what I'm thinking about. I'm gonna walk in love. I'm gonna conquer sin, whatever sin it is that you need to conquer, that the Holy Spirit has shown you.
 The promise is you will grow and it'll spiritually benefit not just you, but others. And the way that the Lord gives this promise He says, persevere in these things, for as you do this, you will save both yourself and those who hear you. And he puts it in a kind of a funny way. You'll save yourself and those who hear you if you focus on growing in this way. Of course, God alone is the Savior. He says that. Christ alone is the Savior. There's no other that is a Savior or is part of the work of salvation at all. But the Lord keeps what he saves. He saves us, sends his son to die on the cross for us, sends his spirit to call us to salvation. But then he keeps us from falling, from falling away. He's the good shepherd who loses not a one of his sheep. But the reason he loses not a one of his sheep is because he's the skillful shepherd. He's able to use all kinds of things in order to keep us on track. And he does that and loses not a one. He's the savior in that way, but he uses our efforts for growth to keep us. He uses our efforts for growth to keep others as well as we are examples to one another. And so it's actually a privilege, and he uses this word for it as well, that we'll save others or save ourselves by the efforts towards growth. So Paul uses that expression for himself in a number of other places. He talks about, I want to move to jealousy my fellow countrymen and save some of them. He's not talking about being a savior, but he's talking about his efforts being involved in saving them. I have become all things to all men in order that I might save some. Same thing. How do you know, oh wife, whether you will save your unbelieving husband? And how do you know, husband, whether you will save your unbelieving wife? He gives that as instructions to those who have a mixed marriage of a believer and an unbeliever, and he's, pressing them to stay on as long as they can in that marriage. And the effort that he describes there is involved in God's work of saving another person in that way. Or Luke chapter nine, verse 24, whoever loses his life for my sake, we'll save it. We'll save it. And so that's, he's talking about our, deeds and our efforts being used by the Lord in what he does, the Good Shepherd does in saving us as well. So there's a promise here. Pay close attention to yourself and your teaching, persevere in these things. If you do this, you will save yourself and those who hear you. He tells Timothy to press on. in growing, in growing as an example to others. Not because of the potential that's in Timothy, but because of God, because of God at work in us, because he's at work in us. And so earlier, the passage right before it, verse 10, for it is for this we labor and strive because we've fixed our hope on the living God. who's the savior of all men, especially of believers. He's the savior in bigger ways than you can imagine. He's saying that to Timothy. And so it's because he's a savior, because he's the living God, because he's given life to you, that when you make efforts, that when you labor and strive, your effort is not gonna be wasted. He's not setting you up to fail. He's a savior. He's setting you up to succeed. As Hebrews chapter six, verse 10 puts it, God is not unjust so as to forget your labor. God is not so unjust as to forget your labor. So the promises, Timothy, if you give your attention, to be an example to growing in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity, you're gonna have a result, not of disappointment, you're gonna have a result of being involved in your own salvation, of the Good Shepherd keeping you, and of the salvation of others as well, participating with Christ as he builds his church. So what makes for a healthy church? What makes for a healthy church? Simple passage, simple answer to the question. Preaching makes for a healthy church. You're to fill your mind with God's word. It's the word of life. So if you've lost your way, need to come back, or just need to be refreshed, start there. Start with the word of life. Start with, as he puts it here for this church, preaching. It means the preaching of God's words. What makes for a healthy church? Preaching. Second, examples of others. And this is two-way. This is two-way. What God is doing in the church He's spreading to you. And what he's doing in you, he's spreading to the church. So because what he's doing in the church, he's spreading to you, we need to listen with interest to one another about our spiritual lives. Ask one another. Know one another. Love one another. You're gonna be more likely to learn from somebody that you know. There's a wonder at work in each one of us. which is the Holy Spirit guiding us, causing us to grow in this way as an example to one another. And so, as it said, we've got two ears, one mouth, we're to be listening to one another, paying attention to one another as examples to one another, and then daring to be an example to others as well, and understanding that our spiritual lives, our spiritual struggles are not just for ourselves. but also to be an example to others. That's what he commands Timothy to do. That's what the Holy Spirit commands us to do as well. So what makes for a healthy church? Preaching, examples, and growth. Growth. Growth that comes by effort, which is why he says, pay close attention to yourself. Persevere in these things. Take pains with these things. Be absorbed in them. And we need to hear that. Each of us needs to hear that. Take pains, be absorbed, pay close attention, persevere in these things. We need to hear it, we need to do it. To reach out, to aspire, to strive, to grow in godliness, to grow in love, to grow in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, and in purity. I almost want to say you'll be rewarded in proportion to your effort. You'll grow in proportion to your effort, but I think it's better to say you will grow out of proportion to your effort. Your efforts are going to be magnified. Your efforts to grow in godliness will be not just rewarded, but richly rewarded, because they'll be involved not just in your own salvation, the way in which the Lord keeps you, but they'll be multiplied. to be also the way in which the Lord keeps others as well. You will you will save both yourself and those who hear you, he says to Timothy. So what makes for a healthy church preaching? Examples and growth. May the Lord bless his word to our hearts, and may he bless us as we obey these things. Let's pray. Father, we thank you for your word. We thank you that your word shows us the way of life. And so we pray that we might meditate on your word, meditate on what it tells us of yourself. of your gospel, of your commands, in the way in which we should go. Pray that we might be attuned to the examples of others and then seek to be an example of ourselves. And we pray that we might be encouraged to make efforts in order to grow. And we thank you for your promise, the burning wick you will not quench. And the one who comes to you, you will not cast out. And the one who makes efforts to grow, you will not despise that effort, but will multiply it in our lives and in the lives of others around us as well. So we pray these things with thankful hearts in Jesus name. Amen.