Today, we commemorate TES Sunday as we do once a year here at Grace Immanuel Bible Church. We do so, because we have the privilege in this local church to raise up and teach men to preach God’s Word at The Expositors Seminary in this very building.
Until Christ returns, the Apostle Paul wrote to Timothy what pastors must be doing in 1 Timothy 4:13.
Publicly read scripture.
Exhort: Help people learn how to be obedient to scripture.
Teach: Explain the scriptures, so the church learns how to live by it.Additional passages: 2 Timothy 2:2; Titus 2:1; 2 Timothy 4:2-5; 1 Corinthians 1:21
The Expositors Seminary trains pastors to teach God’s Word. We will examine and outline the twelve reasons why we follow the superior calling to train men to preach:
Teaching pastors reaffirms our belief in the sovereignty of God.
Psalm 119:89 – God’s Word is settled, or stands firm, in heaven.
Deuteronomy 8 – God’s words are life; they are for our moral lives.
Proverbs 3:5-6 – Do not lean on your own understanding; trust God and His words.
Teaching pastors exalts Jesus as the Lord of His people.
John 14:15 – Everything Christ commands, we obey.
Colossians 1:18 – Christ is the head of the church.
1 Corinthians 1:23-24 – We preach Christ crucified; the power and wisdom of Christ.
As we are training and teaching pastors, we are humbled under the authority, sufficiency, and power of Scripture.
2 Timothy 3:16-17 – Scriptures rebuke, expose, correct, and build-up to one end, so that the man of God will be fully equipped for every good work.
Answers on how to be pleasing to God are found exclusively in Scripture.
God’s Word renews the mind and nothing else changes a man’s moral life. It is right and sufficient.
2 Peter 1:3; Hebrews 4:12; 1 Thessalonians 2:13 – The Word of God performs its work.
The reason we train Pastors to handle God’s Word is because the Scriptures reveal or illuminate the believer’s mind with the will of God for everything that has moral or eternal interest.
It is an eternally moral Book with revelation about the soul. If you want God’s will and mind on things, you go to the Truth.
1 Corinthians 2:14 – we receive what a natural man cannot receive. By the mercy of God, a regenerated man has new life and can see on scripture a diagnosis of himself.
Eyes of faith are not opened until they believe. But once they do, the Spirit pulls out implications from the text for the believer.
The reason we train pastors is because the scriptures coupled with preaching and proclamation properly diagnose our problems and give us answers.
Romans 1:17-21 – Paul tells us what is wrong with mankind. The truth about God is evident to them, but they suppress truth in their unrighteousness, because they did not honor God as God or give thanks.
Scriptures show us that all men are responsible and culpable for their rejection of God.
We teach pastors the Scriptures deliver sinners from darkness.
A person who is blinded by the evil one, is poor, and without understanding.
Why? Because they suppress truth. And, they can be delivered from that blindness by a simple proclamation of God’s word.
Colossians 1:13; 1 Corinthians 1:21; Romans 10:14; Romans 1:16
People are delivered from a path toward hell. Salvation is a miracle.
They were helpless and lost, but they were brought into the Light permanently. They cannot be lost. It is a radical change which can only be done by God and His Word.
We teach men to be pastors because the Word of God transforms the unsanctified life into godliness.
A person who believes in Christ then is transformed becoming more like Jesus. When you come to Christ, He doesn’t just leave you where you are.
Psalm 19:7 – The statutes of the Lord produces an opening of the eyes and a cleansing of the conscience. They produce an ability to see truth vs. error. And they produce righteous living. This is another miracle orchestrated by God
We teach men to be pastors because the Word of God produces discernment and maturity.
Ephesians 4:12-16 – We equip the saints for the work in the ministry and they mature to the fullness of Christ. They can see error and not be tossed around.
Hebrews 5:14 – They gain discernment by practicing godliness.
We teach men to be pastors because the Word of God exposes the schemes of Satan.
Matthew 7:13-14 – It is tragic that people practice intelligence and survived this life but find ultimately that they were duped.
Broad is the way to destruction and many of those who are on that way are deceived in their thinking. They cannot see.
Once coming to Christ and studying God’s word, the schemes of Satan are exposed.
We teach men to be pastors because the Word of God protects believers from temptation.
Ephesians 6:10 – We have the armor of God. There is faith. There is righteous living. There is integrity at the core of your life. You have the word of God in hand. You deflected the blows of Satan. You are protected by your armor.
We teach men to be pastors because the benefits extend past us. The Scriptures also gives wisdom that leads children, when taught corporately and in the home.
2 Timothy 1:5 – Timothy is a great example, he was taught by his grandmother and mother about faith in Christ.
The more a child learns about God, the more the Spirit of God gets the opportunity to show the child the difference between himself and his great God.
Children are crushed under the reality of their depraved hearts and they learn their need for a Savior.
We teach men to be pastors and they teach God’s Word, because it guards homes and families against destruction.
Psalm 127 and Psalm 128
