So let me just pray and then I'll speak. Lord
God, by your Holy Spirit, open your word to our
hearts. Form us in truth. Strengthen us by grace.
And make us faithful servants of the gospel of
our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. Now, let me say
to you that a faithful ministry today requires
more than just good intentions or strong opinions
or even managerial skills. It requires ministers
who know the Scriptures, love the Gospel, and
can handle the Word of God truthfully, humbly,
and courageously. We serve in a time of deep
confusion. spiritual hunger, and lots of cultural
pressure around us. The Church, not just the
Church of England, but the Church of Jesus Christ,
needs ministers who will not simply echo the
edge, but will preach Christ faithfully, teach
the faith that we have received, and pastor people
with biblical conviction and pastoral tenderness.
And to study, to live and teach the word of truth
is not just a narrow calling like you would hear
some people say to you or to us. It is the lifeblood
of gospel ministry. Feeding the people of God,
guarding the gospel, making disciples and bearing
witnesses to Jesus Christ is what God has called
you and I to do and that's why you're spending
all this time here in this college. And so, to
begin with, I just want to thank all of you who
have decided to offer yourselves to ministry,
gospel ministry, in whatever choice that God
has called you to in this season of confusion
and of challenge to the gospel. I thank you for
being bold enough and for being brave enough
to offer yourselves to ministry. But I also want
to thank your teachers and your tutors for all
they're doing. And not just the teachers and
tutors, but all those who work to ensure that
you are properly formed for the gospel ministry
that God has called you to or is preparing you
to go and be part of. It's amazing because as
a bishop, I always worry about drawing people
into the Church of England. to train for ministry.
And last year in Wolverhampton, we didn't have
anybody to ordain because nobody came forward
for ordination three years before then. And so
it's always wonderful to come to a theological
college such as this and to see men and women
who can still say to God, here I am, Lord, send
me. I just want to say it's not something to
be taken for granted. We know that many are struggling
today and asking themselves whether this is the
church they want to continue serving at Jesus
Christ in. We had two very beautiful readings
this morning. We had Ezra chapter 7, verse 6
to 10, and we had 2 Timothy chapter 2, verse
1 to 15. Ezra gives us a picture of the faithful
teacher. He sets his heart on studying the law
of the Lord, doing it and teaching it. Paul gives
Timothy a charge for gospel ministry, to be strengthened
by grace, to endure hardship, to entrust the
gospel to faithful people and handle the word.
of truth, rightly. And together, these two Bible
readings reveal the heart of our ministry, our
gospel ministry. It's not about self -display.
It's not about novelty. It's not about career
advancement, but faithful service under the authority
of God's Word. In our days, we used to be told
that it was more important to work on the way
you deliver the message rather than whether your
message was as faithful to what God was saying.
So we worked hard on presentation. You probably
need to work hard on presentation. But if you
think that your job is to ensure you're presenting
the gospel in the most attractive way in sort
of a human point of view, If you think that the
way you're going to advance in your career in
the church is by how amazing you are as a preacher,
rather than how faithful you are to the Word
of God, then I think you're sliding down the
drain very quickly. We meet people in the Church
of England who are working really hard to become
bishops. If I had my way, I would abolish the
role of bishops. But then I think if you abolish
bishops, you wouldn't have confirmation, because
bishops have to do confirmation. That's why we
keep the bishops. But we have people working
really hard, thinking when are they going to
become bishops. And so they get lost. Instead
of focusing on God's Word and remaining faithful,
they begin to be seduced by all these different
things around us. So my goal this morning is
simple. I want to encourage all of you, all of
us here, to study, live, and teach the word of
truth. To study, live, and teach the word of
truth, and to do so very faithfully. And so just
looking at our two readings this morning, It
seems to me that there are three lessons that
we can embrace from this two Bible readings.
Firstly, set your heart to study God's Word.
It's very simple, doesn't it? Set your heart
to study God's Word. And secondly, let the Word
shape your life before your teaching. Let the
Word shape your life. before your teaching. And
third, rightly handle the Word and entrust it
to others. Rightly handle the Word and entrust
it to others. So firstly, set your heart to study
God's Word. In these readings here we see that
Ezra is introduced not initially by his personality
charisma or public platform but by his relationship
to the word of God his ministry begins with a
settled inward resolve listen again to Ezra chapter
7 verse 10 it says this For Ezra had devoted
himself to the study and observance of the law
of the Lord, and of course to the teaching of
his decrees and laws in Israel. That's verse
10. So we see that Ezra is well -versed in the
law of Moses. This did not happen accidentally.
Because faithful teaching grows out of disciplined
attention, repeated reading, prayerful reflection,
and humble submission to Scripture. And the key
phrase is that Ezra had devoted himself. Or in
older language, set his heart. And this is more
than academic study. It is love, hunger, reverence,
and surrender before the word of the living Lord.
Notice that the law is not treated as a human
tradition to be managed, but as a word which
the Lord, the God of Israel, had given. And so
evangelical ministry begins here. God has spoken.
And his word is trustworthy, sufficient, and
life -giving. And so I want to say to you this
morning that all the studies you do here are
very important and all really matter for you.
Whether it's Hebrew, Greek, I was very good at
Greek or Hebrew. I had to have a private tutor,
the principal's wife. took me into the principal
house, and every time people came for Greek class,
I went for my own private lessons. And I still
just managed to scrape through. Didn't really
get a distinction in Greek. But all these things
matter. Hebrew, Greek doctrine, church history,
ethics, preaching, and pastoral theology. All
these are not just hoops to jump through. They're
part of learning to hear God's word carefully.
so that you may be able to feed God's people
faithfully. Imagine a medical doctor. A medical
doctor does not begin with public confidence,
but with long study. It takes about six or seven
years to qualify as a doctor. They have to study
anatomy, diagnosis. They've got to study medicine.
They've got to study patient care. All this must
be learned carefully because lives are at stake.
A careless doctor will harm bodies just the same
way that a careless preacher will harm consciousness,
faith, and eternal hope. And so the first lesson
is this. Set your heart to study God's Word.
Do not merely Seek to complete assignments, yes,
you must complete them, and you must do them
well, but become a lifelong learner of Scripture,
a servant under the Word, a minister who listens
before speaking. And yet Ezra does not just stop
at studying. The Word studied must become the
Word obeyed. Which brings us to our second lesson.
Let the Word shape your life before your teaching.
We see that Ezra's pattern is deeply important
here. He studies, he does, and he teaches. And
that order is very important. Study, do, and
teach. And Paul says something similar to Timothy
as well. The minister must be strengthened by
grace and leave as a faithful servant before
teaching others. Listen again to 2 Timothy 2,
verses 1 and 2. He says, You then, my son, be
strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.
And the things you have heard me say in the presence
of many witnesses entrust reliable people who
will also be qualified to teach others. And so
Paul begins with grace. Be strong in the grace
that is in Christ Jesus. Ministry is demanding,
but it is not sustained by self -reliance. The
minister's strength, your strength, and my strength
is not in our egos or cleverness, but it is in
the grace that comes from drawing closer to Jesus
Christ. Paul then presents three pictures for
us in this passage. The picture of a soldier,
picture of an athlete, and a farmer. The soldier
is focused, the athlete is disciplined, and the
farmer is patient. And together they describe
the shape of a life formed by the gospel. This
is where Ezra Spartan becomes searching. He studied
the law and observed it. The preacher never becomes
a signpost. The preacher must never become a
signpost pointing others to a road. that they
refuse to walk themselves. And so I say to all
of us who are here, your future congregations
or your present congregations will need more
than your sermons. They will need your life.
They will need your prayerfulness, integrity,
repentance, courage, kindness, holiness, endurance,
and most important of all your love for christ
imagine an impressive bridge and london has many
bridges chelsea westminster hammersmith or london
bridge a bridge must support the weight placed
upon it it is not enough for it to look impressive
it must have strength beneath the surface in
the same way Public ministry rests on hidden
formation, on prayer, on repentance, on obedience,
discipline, and grace. And so the second lesson
is this. Let the Word shape your life before
your teaching. The Church does not need flawless
ministers, but it needs honest, repentant, and
obedient ministers whose lives are being conformed
to Christ. And when the Word has been studied
and lived, it must be taught clearly, faithfully
and courageously. Which brings us to our third
lesson. Rightly handle the Word and entrust it
to others. Paul knows that Timothy's ministry
will be tested by suffering, false teaching and
destruction. Therefore, he calls Timothy to careful,
approved and faithful handling of the word of
truth. Listen again to just a few verses from
2 Timothy 2. Verse 8 says, Remember Jesus Christ.
raised from the dead. And then verse 9b says,
but God's word is not shamed. And then verse
15, do your best to present yourself to God as
one approved, a worker who does not need to be
ashamed, who correctly handles the word of truth.
Paul says, remember Jesus Christ. The center
of faithful ministry is not technique or ideology
or institutional survival. The center is Christ,
crucified, risen, David's son, God's Messiah,
the only Savior. Paul is chained, but God's word
is not chained. And this is a wonderful encouragement
to all of us. Because human circumstances may
restrict us, institutions may disappoint us,
culture may resist us, yet the word of God remains
living and powerful. Timothy must correctly handle
the word of truth. That means careful interpretation,
honest preaching, gospel clarity and courage.
We do not twist Scripture to suit ourselves.
We submit to Scripture so that it may rightly
shape the church. And Paul also says, entrust
to reliable people. And so we see that ministry
is not something we possess, but it is something
that we steward. The gospel we receive must be
passed on to others. future preachers, lay readers,
children, young people, families, parishes, and
communities. Imagine a steward in Buckingham
Palace. A steward in a great house does not own
the treasure in that house. They guard it, they
use it faithfully, and they pass it on according
to the master's will. It's the same with us with
the gospel. We do not invent it. We receive it.
We guard it. We proclaim it. And we entrust it
to others. And so very simply, the third lesson
is this. Rightly handle the word and entrust
it to others. The minister is a worker before
God. Not a performer before an audience. Our
task is to make Christ known faithfully. So how
are we to aspire to faithfully study, live and
teach the word of truth? I say this to all of
us. Make scripture your daily home. Read it devotionally.
Study it carefully. Preach it faithfully and
let it examine you before you explain it to others.
To those of us who are involved in tutoring,
in teaching, in lecturing, continue forming ministers
who are orthodox in doctrine, evangelical in
conviction, pastoral in heart, and courageous
in mission. And for our church, the wider church,
let us pray for those who are considering ministry.
Encourage and support them and ask God to raise
faithful laborers who will rightly handle the
word of truth. And may the Lord grant us a heart
to study the word, to study his word, a life
shaped by his word, and a ministry faithful to
his word. Let us pray. Faithful God, thank you
for calling your servants to minister in your
church. Strengthen all who are preparing for
ministry. Give them Ezra's devotion, Timothy's
courage, Paul's gospel clarity, and above all,
a deeper love for Jesus Christ. Make them faithful
workers who need not be ashamed, rightly handling
the word of truth. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.