More Than Good Intentions | Ezra 7 & 2 Timothy 2 | Bishop Tim Wambunya

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

Ezra 7:6–10

to 10, and we had 2 Timothy chapter 2, verse

2 Timothy 2:1–15

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

Ezra 7:10

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,

2 Timothy 2:1

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.