as he calls us to worship this afternoon from Psalm 100. Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth. Serve the Lord with gladness. Come into his presence with singing. Know that the Lord, he is God. It is he who made us and we are his. We are his people and the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise. Give thanks to him. Bless his name for the Lord is good. His steadfast love endures forever and his faithfulness to all generations. Amen.
Let’s join together in singing this psalm together as we turn to 100A in your Psalter hymnal. 100A, shout to the Lord all the earth. And let’s stand together and sing. world, that made the joyful wise. With gladness serve the Lord your God, before him lift your voice. Now the work is done, he made us, we are his. ♪ Enter his gates with praise ♪ ♪ Then fill his courts with praise ♪ ♪ Give thanks to him and bless his name ♪ ♪ To God your voices raise ♪ ♪ Because the Lord is good ♪ ♪ His steadfast love endures ♪ O Lord our God, who hast founded thy church upon earth, and hast promised to abide with it forever, enlighten and sanctify it, we beseech thee by thy Holy Spirit. We pray for all ministers of thy word and sacrament, that thou wouldst increase in them, by grace, looking to the Great Shepherd and Bishop of our souls, even Jesus Christ, our Lord.
Amen. If you would please turn with me in your Bibles to our first scripture reading from Isaiah chapter 61 verse 1. The spirit of the Lord God is upon me because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and the opening of the prison to those who are bound, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, to grant to those who mourn in Zion to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit, that they may be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he may be glorified.
They shall build up the ancient ruins. They shall raise up the former devastations. They shall repair the ruined cities, the devastations of many generations. Strangers shall stand and tend your flocks. Foreigners shall be your plowmen and vinedressers, but you shall be called the priests of the Lord. They shall speak of you as the ministers of our God. You shall eat the wealth of the nations, and in their glory you shall boast.
Instead of your shame, there shall be a double portion. Instead of dishonor, they shall rejoice in their lot. Therefore, in their land, they shall possess a double portion. They shall have everlasting joy, for I, the Lord, love justice. I hate robbery and wrong. I will faithfully give them their recompense, and I will make an everlasting covenant with them. Their offspring shall be known among the nations, and their descendants in the midst of the peoples. All who see them shall acknowledge them, that they are an offspring the Lord has blessed.
I will greatly rejoice in the Lord. My soul shall exult in my God, for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation. He has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself like a priest with a beautiful headdress, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. For as the earth brings forth its sprouts, and as a garden causes what is sown in it to sprout up, So the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to sprout up before all the nations. Amen. Let us now sing our hymn preparation from hymn 490, Behold My Servant. We’re going to be singing stanzas one and three. delight. To him, my spirit, I will lend, the holy heaven-bright.
His absence fills the nations, so he humbly serves their need. ♪ The angels sing to those gone missing ♪ ♪ The poor and the sad and the saints ♪ ♪ The angels sing to those gone missing ♪ ♪ The poor and the sad and the saints ♪ I’m glad to bring greetings from Covenant OPC in Barrie, Vermont, and glad to have Olivia Durham here, my wife, as well. And it’s a joy to have friendships and relationships with the pastors who’ve served here faithfully, and those who’ve gone to Quebec from this church and helped with the drama tremendously, and the teaching of the young people, too. So it’s a privilege to be here and to wish God, pray for God’s great blessing on the future ministry of our brother here, Reverend Cashin. And so thanks for inviting us to be here with you today.
Let’s turn then in God’s word to 2 Timothy chapter two. 2 Timothy 2, verse 1. The Apostle Paul is writing to his son in the faith. This is the last letter that Paul wrote, and he is concerned to encourage Timothy to stand faithful to the Lord after his pending departure. He urges Timothy with these words, 2 Timothy 2 verse 1. You then, my child, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus. And what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus.
No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him. An athlete is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules. It is the hardworking farmer who ought to have the first share of the crops. Think over what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything.
Remember Jesus Christ risen from the dead, the offspring of a David, as preached in my gospel, for which I am suffering, bound with chains as a criminal, but the word of God is not bound. Therefore, I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.” Amen.
May God bless his word to us today. Let’s pray briefly. Our gracious God, we are not living here for the moment, although we rejoice this Saturday afternoon for the beginning of your call to this dear brother, Reverend Cashin, and for the future fruit that you’ll bring here. But we’re not living just for today. We ask you to bless your word preached every single Lord’s Day in this pulpit. We ask you to bless those who teach Sunday school and parents who teach their children that your word would dwell in this congregation richly and that you bless the reading and preaching of it now in Jesus’ name, amen.
Well, a brief look at Paul’s charge to Timothy and to all faithful disciples and the title is taken there from verse 8. Remember Jesus Christ risen from the dead, the offspring of David, as preached in my gospel. But the title could have been taken from any of the memorable verses all the way up to verse 10.
It’s a beautiful chapter, isn’t it, in the Bible. It’s incredibly valuable because it’s Paul’s last letter. So there’s a concentration of and a focus in his words to Timothy. And so he’s really quite burdened for Timothy. And the simple reason is this, because the church is always expecting, Romans 8 verse 36 says, that we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered. So that’s the reality for the church of all ages. And so Timothy was feeling the pressure of that.
Back in chapter 1, 2 Timothy, Paul remembers his tears in verse 4. And Paul has to remind Timothy, verse 15, that all who are in Asia turned away from me. He’s on trial for the second time in his life. He’s imprisoned in Rome, I think, for the second time. And this time, he’s not going to be released. And so, There’s a danger for Timothy to join many other professing believers in being ashamed of Paul’s chains.
And Paul urges him to join him in suffering and not to be ashamed. I am not ashamed, Paul says, verse 12, 2 Timothy 1. And so he urges Timothy also to follow the pattern of the gospel, the costly gospel, It’s been laid down. So that’s the background. And I think I really appreciate that emphasis in some scholars because we tend to think of these letters to Timothy as offering general encouragement, and they do, or general warnings, and they do. But we need to really delve down for a moment to realize how urgent the need is for Paul to give Timothy this charge, this earnest charge. B.B. Warfield wrote this way, the temptations to unfaithfulness by which Timothy was assailed were very numerous and persuasive.
A lot of professing believers had abandoned the apostle Paul. And the perverted teachings of false teachers were gaining traction. And so with a great show of learning, these false teachers were gaining an entrance into the church. And one of their elements in their teaching would have been to have a scorn towards the Apostle Paul, and that only those with dull wits could rest in the crude ideas with which Paul had faced the world. The sword of persecution had been ruthlessly unsheathed, and The sufferings and the cruel death that awaited the Apostle affected anybody who stood with Paul.
And so that’s why it’s so special. We don’t know who this person in 2 Timothy 1.16 was. May the Lord grant mercy to the household of Anna Sepphoris, for he often refreshed me and was not ashamed of my chains. And so that’s, I think, the only reference to that man in the New Testament. What a beautiful reference, that he was not ashamed. So, crude ideas, simple teaching, subject of being scorned in the world.
That’s what Paul was, and that’s why Timothy was being sorely pressed to distance himself from the apostle. Yet at the same time, B.B. Warfield concludes in that great sermon he preached, The Risen Christ, it was called, Paul does not for a moment lose courage either for himself or for Timothy but he will not involve Timothy unwittingly in the difficulties and dangers in which Paul found himself.
Now that’s a great message that you need to understand. One of the invitations to the ministry to stick to the word of God is to call to be willing to suffer with your new pastor. to call to be willing to suffer with the elders who rule over you, to be unashamed of the gospel which they preach and live by. So that’s the basic background of this exhortation.
And Paul, therefore, beautifully expresses his confidence that, going back to 2 Timothy 2 now, Paul beautifully expresses his confidence that Christ will enable Timothy to stand, and he uses three metaphors to picture the life that lies before Timothy.
A good soldier of Jesus Christ who seeks to please his superior officer. Share in the suffering of the gospel like a good soldier of Jesus Christ, verse 3. The second metaphor is an athlete is not crowned, verse 5, unless he competes according to the rules, and the farmer who waits patiently for the crops to bring a harvest. And then it’s interesting, verse 7, isn’t it? Such obvious metaphors or pictures of the Christian life and of serving Christ all over the New Testament, we have that language of being a good soldier of Jesus Christ, and we also have That picture of being an athlete who runs the race, that’s Hebrews chapter 12, isn’t it? And then the farmer, consider Job, the patience of Job.
So why does Paul promise that the Lord will give insight into these things, verse 7? It seems so obvious. Why does Paul promise this? One scholar puts it this way, he basically says, Paul knew he was writing scripture. Isn’t that a beautiful thing first? He knew he was writing the word of God.
And so therefore, his confidence was that by the spirit, the Lord Jesus Christ in heaven would give the discernment and insight to be able to apply scripture to our own lives. Even the most obvious basic teachings of the Bible, we need the Holy Spirit’s help to apply personally into our lives. And that should be a great encouragement. That’s what you have to look forward to. That’s the promise of God that through his son, the word will be honored. And insight will be given to apply God’s word to your own particular life situation. And just one application I’m going to make then for the rest of my time and it’ll be done. Here it is.
Think over these pictures. How do these things apply to you? Being a farmer, what’s involved most of the time when you’re farming? Waiting. Trusting in God to provide. Trusting that God controls the climate. Trusting God that somehow the huge investment in the spring where you had to take out loans in order to plant your fields, somehow you’ll get that money back in a harvest. And in the same way, an athlete. Ninety percent of being an athlete is not on television or more. It is self-denial, exhaustion, focus, and nobody is there when you do your training. And so you’re doing it quietly. And being a soldier.
I’m not an expert on this, but I remember George Philip converted during the Second World War in the Navy, the British Navy, and they never knew why they went back and forth, back and forth in front of a Norwegian fjord. They just never knew why. They just turned their ship around and went back across the mouth of the fjord and turned around and went back in order to keep a German U-boat in the fjord and not allow it out into the Atlantic. Another picture when it comes to being a faithful servant that is a soldier of Christ, because it seems like Paul gives that a special emphasis, in verse 3 and 4.
In a novel, I love these novels about Montana, and my wife and I read them. And first of all, it didn’t really hit me. But finally, they got the father, the grandfather, to sit down. He never talked about the First World War. This was in the 30s. And they finally were able to ask their dad. They had a boarder with them, another young teenage high schooler. So tell us what it was like. What do you remember about the First World War? And he said, shaving. And I thought, it just doesn’t. In those cold trenches, shaving every day. Why? because the gas masks would only fit if your skin was absolutely smooth, so you wouldn’t be gassed.
And so the whole lesson is that’s the Christian life. It’s not the big things where you ask for God’s blessing. It’s the small things. And it might be the most interstitial. I love that word. It’s not a big word. I’m not using it because I’m not trying to boast about what I know. I love that word, though.
Because that’s the Christian life. Christian life is about what you do in between the big events. It’s what you do when no one else is there. And Professor Ben Shaw put it this way about the Book of Ecclesiastes. Well, it’s true of all wisdom literature in the Bible. And that’s another sermon, but some scholars think that Second Timothy 2, there’s an echo of the Book of Proverbs. Especially verse 7, the Lord will give you insight.
Well, the Bible makes it clear that joy is not found where we might expect to find it. It is not found in the big events or the memorable moments. Instead, it is found in the ordinary, the simple, and the repetitive aspects of mundane life. There’s nothing better for a person than that he should eat and drink and find enjoyment in his toil. This also I saw is from the hand of God.”
Ecclesiastes 2.24. And so repeatedly Solomon encourages us first to find and take joy in the ordinary aspects of life. And he urges us to recognize that these are good gifts from God. Everyone should eat and drink and take pleasure in his toil.
And that’s the best benediction and prayer we can give for your pastor and for the elders here in terms of Hebrews 13. make it so their job is not a hardship, but a joy. And what an exciting thing it will be for your pastor to rejoice in the blessings daily, which you provide him, the daily encouragements, and learning to value the interstitial moments of life. And Paul, I believe, gives these three metaphors in 2 Timothy 2. What he’s saying to Timothy is, Your tears, because I left you, but Timothy, you need to realize, much of your ministry is going to be in loneliness. When I’m not there, when there’s no dramatic apostolic healing ministry, it will be the quiet words of the risen Lord Jesus, giving insight and practical application for the in-between times. And so that’s our prayer, that the Lord will bless you in Cape Cod with many encouragements on a daily basis.
Small things. So don’t despise the day of small things and be encouraged. The last quote I almost forgot is, please, one Puritan says, remember that God does not despise small things. God takes notice of the least breathings of our hearts after him. When we ourselves can see nor perceive no such thing, everything that is of the Lord is noted in his book, though not in ours. And even while his people are struggling with sin, God can find something in our hearts and in our words and our ways that pleases him.
Much more in our duties. God is a skillful refiner that can take much gold in that ore where we saw nothing but leather clay. He remembers the duties which we forget and forgets the sins which we remember. Amen. So every blessing, we look forward to what God will do here. Thanks for this time. Amen. Oh, yes. So we’re going to sing now, aren’t we? 357. Let’s turn and sing together 357. We’ll stand together and sing this great resurrection hymn at this time. You.
From death to life eternal, from this world to the sky, our Christ hath brought us all away with him to reign. The Lord, if made eternal, of resurrection light, and list’ning to His accents, may hear so calm and plain. His own all-healing, hearing, may raise the victor’s head. ♪ Joyful, let earth her song begin ♪ ♪ Let all the world each triumph ♪ ♪ And all that is therein ♪ ♪ Let all things seen and unseen ♪ ♪ Bear no sin or face pain ♪ ♪ For Christ the Lord has risen ♪ Please remain standing for the reading of God’s word from Ephesians chapter four, verse one through 16.
I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in the manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one spirit, just as you were called to one hope that belongs to your call. One Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God, and one Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. But grace you were given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift.
Therefore it says, when he ascended on high, he led a host of captives and gave gifts to men. In saying he ascended, what does it mean that he had also descended into the lower regions of the earth? He who descended is the one who was ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things. And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds, and teachers to equip the saints for the work of the ministry, for building of the body of Christ until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the son of God, to mature manhood to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.
Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.
You may be seated.
Well, as Reverend Cashen is about to be installed as the pastor of this congregation, it’s fitting to briefly review the nature and duties of the pastoral office. The pastor joins with the ruling elders in a local church to govern the congregation, and it is the charge of the pastor in particular to feed and tend the flock as Christ’s minister and with the other elders to lead them in the service of Christ. And here’s a summary from our book of church order about the work of the pastor. It is his task to conduct the public worship of God, to pray for and with Christ’s flock as the mouth of the people unto God, to feed the flock by the public reading and preaching of the word of God, according to which he is to teach, convince, reprove, exhort, comfort, and evangelize, expounding and applying the truth of scripture with ministerial authority as a diligent workman approved by God, to administer the sacraments, to bless the people from God, to shepherd the flock and minister the word according to the particular needs of groups, families, and individuals in the congregation. catechizing by teaching plainly the first principles of the oracles of God to the baptized youth and to adults who are yet babes in Christ, visiting the homes of the people, instructing and counseling individuals, and training them to be faithful servants of Christ, to minister to the poor, the sick, the afflicted, and the dying, and to make known the gospel to the lost. It’s quite a job description, isn’t it?
Well, after this congregation voted to extend a call to Reverend Cashen to do this work, and remember what we read just now from Ephesians 4, in giving us ministers, it is a gift of the ascended Christ that he is giving to his church. But after this congregation extended a call, that call was then presented to our presbytery at our spring meeting, at which point the call was found to be in order, and its terms were approved. And then the call was placed, and we physically did this, it was placed in Reverend Cashin’s hands, and we asked him if he was inclined to accept it, and he said that he was. And so then we interviewed Reverend Cashin, we found him to be fit for this call, and we determined to proceed to his installation as pastor of this church. And that’s how we get here today.
So at this point, I’m going to ask Reverend Cashen if you’ll step forward as I ask you these three questions, your installation vows as pastor of the Presbyterian Church of Cape Cod. Are you now willing to take the charge of this congregation as its pastor, in agreement with your declaration when you accepted its call? I am. Do you conscientiously believe and declare, as far as you know your own heart, that in taking upon you this charge, you are influenced by a sincere desire to promote the glory of God and the good of his church? By the grace of God, I do. And do you solemnly promise that by the assistance of the grace of God, you will endeavor faithfully to discharge all the duties of a pastor to this congregation, and will be careful to maintain a deportment in all respects, becoming a minister of the gospel of Christ? Again, by the grace and mercy of God, And now to the members of this congregation, I would address these questions, and I’d ask you to answer each of these questions in the affirmative by holding up your right hands.
That’s how we do this. So just after I ask the question, you can raise your right hand. Do you, the people of this congregation, continue to profess your readiness to receive Reverend Christopher Cashin, whom you have called to be your minister? You can put your hands down.
Do you promise to receive the word of truth from his mouth with meekness and love and to submit to him in the due exercise of discipline? Thank you. Do you promise to encourage him in his arduous labor and to assist his endeavors for your instruction and spiritual edification? Thank you. And do you promise to continue to him while he is your pastor, that worldly maintenance which you have promised, and whatever else you may see needful for the honor of religion and his comfort among you? Thank you.
Well, I now pronounce and declare Reverend Christopher Cashin installed to be regularly constituted the pastor of the Presbyterian Church of Cape Cod. Praise God. Let’s pray together. Oh, almighty God and everlasting Father who governs all things in heaven and earth by your wisdom, and has ordained for your church the gospel ministry.
We thank you for your provision of a new minister for this church. And this is not something that we take for granted, oh Lord, as we have just heard from our General Assembly that there are many, many pulpit vacancies in our denomination at this time. And so we do give you heartfelt thanks for filling this pulpit so quickly. And we ask also, oh God, that you would fill those other pulpits all throughout our denomination.
We ask now that you continue your steadfast love to the Presbyterian Church of Cape Cod and to Reverend Cashen. Empower him with your Holy Spirit that he may rightly handle the word of truth and faithfully shepherd this flock. Give the members of this congregation hearts that are receptive to your word so that they may grow in the grace and knowledge of Christ. Keep them all in the unity of the spirit and in the bonds of love through Jesus Christ our Lord, in whose name we pray, amen.
Well, let’s join together in singing our thanks to God now as we turn in our Psalter hymnals to 9B, 9B, Wholehearted Thanksgiving. We’ll sing stanzas one and two. Let’s stand together and sing. In praise of thy marvelous deeds I will sing. In thee I will joy and exultingly cry. Thy name I will praise, O Jehovah Most High. Praise the Lord, praise the Lord. Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord! Let the people rejoice! Come, come to Jehovah, prepare He is made, and give Him all honor, for justice is made. ♪ You are our refuge for all the oppressed ♪ ♪ Oh trust me, you know me, and trust me, you are blessed ♪ ♪ For ever the Lord did thy mercy forsake ♪ ♪ The soul that has sought you, thy grace did partake ♪ Amen. You may be seated.
Well, first, I want to thank you for the invitation as a New Yorker. To be back up in New England, I was born and brought up in Connecticut and for many years was part of this presbytery. And your founding pastor, Wendell Rockey, was not only a very dear friend, but it was Pastor Rockey who, out of his love for church planning and desire to see missions focused on New York City, he was one of the ones who went out on a limb urging the General Assembly to have what at that time was the smallest presbytery of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church, Connecticut and Southern New York. So the last time I was up in Cape Cod was when I was here for a presbytery meeting. I think that would have been, oh my, the late 80s I guess it was.
So thank you for your faithfulness to the Lord. It is a privilege to be here. I must apologize, though, We have a special event at the Haven, the church that I pastored for some years on Long Island. And that is tomorrow morning. And so Margaret and I need to be back for that. So we are going to scoot out.
I hope I have the permission of the Presbytery before the benediction, which I don’t like to do. But we need to get to London, Connecticut to get a ferry to get to Orient Point so that we can get out to our home in Deer Park in time so we can get a little bit of sleep. before everything for tomorrow, but it really is a joy to be with you and to be back up in New England and once again to enjoy your inimitable New England clam chowder. Manhattan clam chowder just doesn’t make it, folks.
Chris, a word that you are most familiar with with all of your fine work with the Reformed deacon. You are first of all a servant. You are not, first of all, a servant of the people. You are a servant to the people. You’re a servant of the Lord Jesus Christ. But never forget that even above your title as a minister, it is as a servant. And I want to borrow a phrase out of the Ordained Servant publication, which is the officer publication of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church. Chris, you are a servant writer.
And my call to you this afternoon is that you write the best books. There are the John MacArthur’s and there are the Tim Keller’s and others who become very famous through their written books as well as their preaching. But we’re mere mortals and we’re not Tim Keller’s and we’re not John MacArthur’s. But I want to call upon you to write even better books than they have in print.
My text is from 2 Corinthians chapter 3, and I’d urge you to look at this text. It’s rich, rich with meaning, especially for ministers. And Paul is here in the first place speaking of himself as a minister apostle and to all others who labor in the ministry. 2 Corinthians chapter 3 and verses 1 through 3.
Are we beginning to commend ourselves again, or do we need, as some do, letters of recommendation to you or from you? You, yourselves, are our letter or epistle of recommendation, written on, it could be either your hearts or our hearts, to be known and read by all. And you show that you are a letter from Christ delivered by us, written not with ink, but with the spirit of a living God. Not on tablets of stone, but on tablets of human hearts.
Chris, and to my other fellow ministers here, please, write the best books. Chris, every statement that you make, every sermon that you preach, every utterance that comes from your mouth is going to serve the everlasting blessedness or it will further the everlasting damnation of every single person with whom you speak. In some cases, it is to their damnation. your gracious encouragements to people to come to Christ, to believe in him, to repent of their sins, to stop in their tracks and go in the right direction. By God’s grace, that’s very often heeded. In other cases, it’s not. But your ministry to that person, even though that person remains in steadfast unbelief right through his or her death, that’s part of the ministry that the Lord has given to you because those words will be used as further statements of why damnation is the only fitting end for those who’ve turned away from the wonder of the gospel. And some of your utterances, Chris, as you speak are to that kind of epistle.
Because you are always speaking to what the scriptures call living epistles from the publishing house called the image of God. Everyone that you speak with, God has made to be a living letter on which messages are written that will redound either to their judgment or to their blessing. Now of course, the great thing in the ministry, especially as a pastor to the Lord’s people is that in most cases, the things that you utter, those will be the things that form epistles of those who will not die forever, but live forever. And never forget that every person to whom you minister is going to live or die forever. To those who will live forever, I want you to think with me as Paul speaks about his ministry as a ministry not on tablets of stone, but on tablets of the human heart. I want you to think of what’s involved in that ministry that comes. Every sentence that you utter, even if it’s only one sentence to a person to whom you minister, wherever it is, that’s embedded in that heart in one way or the other.
And you want it to be a sentence that sobers, a sentence that encourages, a sentence that teaches, a sentence that exhorts. It must be a meaningful statement of something of Christ from the scriptures because it’s written on the tablet of that book made in God’s image. And it’s amazing, Chris, that even your exclamation points When you hear things of praise and thanks and things worthy of praise from people, even those exclamation marks that you give with your voice are significant to encourage a genuine saint in the next step in his or her walk. And sometimes it’s more than a sentence.
As a pastor, one of your great privileges is you get to write at least paragraphs in the lives of people like this, men and women and boys and girls. and you’re writing those paragraphs of truth that help them avoid error, you’re writing those passages that give them light when they’re in the midst of some of the worst forms of darkness. You are saying things to them that may be the instrument by which they flee from the devil who is about to devour them. They may be those statements that convince when doubts about the gospel and about life and death prevail but everything you do in those paragraphs is significant and it will not be forgotten because God has ordained for you as a minister and as a pastor to be writing on those living epistles of the human hearts and in some cases you’re writing beginning chapters of people’s books from the time you pray for a child that is gestating, as I hope you will, from the time you are with parents after the baby is born and you encourage them in the high calling of motherhood and fatherhood in a culture that doesn’t esteem motherhood and fatherhood the way it should. When you begin to catechize those young children as you’re called to do and you begin to put the building blocks of truth in them from the time in which you hear their professions of faith, and rejoice that what is signified and sealed in baptism has been embraced by them in faith.
And Chris, in not a few cases there will be tears that will accompany the writing that you do on living epistles because there are the prodigal children. Remember in the covenant there’s always a cross and there are tears and there’s sorrows and you’ll weep with parents but that weeping will mix with the ink of your writing and a pastor to bring them through those difficult times is absolutely indispensable. One of the areas in which I had to express repentance to our own Presbytery was following the pandemic when our governor, who was virtually given the authority of an emperor, declared that only essential businesses could function And my repentance was, and I hope ministers you’ll share in this conviction, my repentance was, regardless of the pandemic, for granting for a millisecond that the work of the ministry is not the most essential work in all of the universe.
No other work prepares people to live forever. You do that sometimes at the beginning of life. Sometimes at the end of life, as you read the 23rd Psalm, you’re again writing on that dying living heart and letting them know that though they walk through the valley of the shadow of death, they will fear no evil for Christ is with them and you represent him. All of those things from beginning to end and everything in between.
Chris, you have the most unspeakable privilege that any man can have. Despite what our culture is trying to do, you can’t be a mother, but you can be a spiritual father. And in being a spiritual father, you’re always, always, always thinking about what you’re going to write.
You are meditating on how exactly to write what you’re going to write. And when you speak, you’re actually writing on the tablets of human hearts. Now, it’s interesting as you look at the text, you think first about what your pen is. A pen is something that has ink in it and you write with it, with your hand. And you, Chris, you are the pen.
And this is not word processing. A minister does far more than process words. You process your heart before and during and after you speak. And Chris, this is not artificial intelligence. You have a conscience. You have consciousness that includes everything computer programs, no matter how sophisticated, do not have. You have emotions. You have feelings. You have sensitivities.
And all of that makes you up as the pen of the Holy Spirit, now called to work with this congregation. And I would add that you have one flesh with you as your pen. And it is grace who will be the helper suitable to you for your needs. So you’re always writing, if not always with the best smoothness, at least you’re always writing faithfully.
And any pen aficionados know that the most important part of your pen is the nib, the part that actually touches the paper where the ink flows out. The best nibs. are 16 carat gold. And there’s a reason for that. A diamond nib would be very, very hard and harsh. Gold is actually a soft metal. And when you write with a gold nib, it’s like almost writing on air. But why is that significant?
King David said, not your harshness has made me great. Your gentleness has made me great. And any of us, if we reflect at all upon God and his dealings with us, will say the same thing. Chris, let your mouth have the gold nib of the gentleness of God as you represent the gentle and lowly one, the Lord Jesus.
And what about the ink? Well, Paul answers that in here when he says that You are an epistle of Christ, and it’s interesting he uses the word deaconed by us, ministered by us. You are serving the Lord’s people as a servant writer, written not with ink, but here is your ink, the spirit of the living God. And Chris, you need the Holy Spirit, not just every day and not just every hour, but moment by moment.
And our Lord Jesus very wisely said, if you come to your father and ask for bread, will he give you a stone? The answer is no. If you ask for a fish, will he give you a scorpion? And the answer is no. And then Jesus throws this curve ball that sometimes bothers Presbyterians. It almost sounds a little bit charismatic. Will not your father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask. And yes, Orthodox Presbyterians, we need the Holy Spirit moment by moment.
And that Holy Spirit needs to fill you as the pen of the Holy Spirit writing, so that as you are filled with the Spirit, formed by the Spirit, convicted by the Spirit, developed by the Spirit, what is coming to people is Christ himself. because the Holy Spirit is the one who is the secretary of state of the Godhead, and he brings Christ to us.
Chris, write the best books. And why are they the best books? Well, any book that you might write that’s published is going to burn up at the last day. God takes people to heaven. He doesn’t take our books. But those living epistles, on which you write. Yes, some will die forever, but others will live forever. They will never, ever die. And it’s a glorious thought, Chris, that at the last day, however things work out with giving an account to God, when people can say, I was at my wit’s end. I was ready to give up. I was ready to throw in the towel. In fact, God, to be honest, I was about ready to curse you.
And a pastor, Chris Cashin, came to me in my home and he listened to me and he didn’t berate me, but he once again reminded me of your grace and your mercy and your love. And that’s one of the reasons by your grace, oh God, that I’m here. Chris, there is no other privilege greater than that, except maybe this, to have someone come before the Lord and say to my own misery and sorrow, I was an object of wrath at every single point, suppressing the truth and unrighteousness, angry with you and resentful of you, And a man came to me with a Bible. And he warned me, we are in the hands of the living God. And at that point, God, you were God angry with me. But he told me of the great love of Christ for sinners. And I knew, I knew I was a sinner. And this Pastor Cashin told me that there was a full free gospel invitation for me to come and drink of the water of life freely. And by your grace, oh God, I did that. But your grace used the pen and ink of Pastor Cashin to do that.
What a glorious thing to know that you are an instrument to see people brought from death to life and from darkness to life and from misery to blessedness.
And then as you think about your own eternity, and here again, this is why I want to convince you and all of my fellow ministers, these are absolutely the best books. One day the Library of Congress will burn the same way so many wonders of the ancient world burned or were destroyed. But there’s going to be a library of heaven in which There is a book, some very short, some rather long, a book for each one of God’s elect, each one chosen from the foundation of the world, each one given to Christ in God’s glorious electing work, each one saved in time by the mysterious but wonderful work of the Holy Spirit and kept by that God so that What came from the publishing house of Image of God now ends up in the library of heaven to the glory of God. And Chris, what a blessing it will be unlike anything else if you can be perusing those books and you come across the name of congregation members from the Presbyterian Church of Cape Cod. And for as many years as God gives you, and I pray that it be many, you can look in that book and you can see how sentences, phrases, periods, exclamation marks, sometimes even question marks, which can be used of God for good, paragraphs, chapters, are in that book, the book of one who is with the Lord in glory. and where you were privileged to be part of the authorship as one writing, not on tablets of stone, but on tablets of the human heart.
And I’ll just give this little PS in here. Paul says at the very beginning, I don’t need to have a published book. He calls that a letter of recommendation. I don’t need to have something from an earthly publishing company to give.
I’ve got you and I’ve got others and they are living testimonies to the work that the Lord is doing through me, totally by his grace, but through the pen of the minister and the ink of the Holy Spirit. Chris, your servant, your servant writer, every moment, always do it to the glory of God and for the everlasting well-being of everyone that you meet.
Well, Saints of the Presbyterian Church of Cape Cod, I want to begin my charge to you by reminding you of something that’s really quite astounding that we’re told by the Apostle Paul in the second chapter of his epistle to the Ephesians. In the latter part of that chapter, Paul says that through the men whom Christ calls to the gospel ministry, Christ himself comes and preaches peace. Through those men, Christ comes and preaches the word that reconciles you to God and that builds you up into his dwelling place. So it is through the gospel ministry that God is working out his gracious purpose for you. It is a glorious thing.
Now, of course, we also need to acknowledge, and Paul acknowledges elsewhere in his writings, that we are but vessels of clay at the same time. And you’ll be reminded of that at many times, I’m sure, as my congregation has been reminded at many times throughout my ministry. But the fact that God is working out his gracious purpose, his eternal purpose for you through your minister, should cause you to love your minister and to strive to be a great encouragement to him.
And in this charge, I want to offer you just two insights from Psalm 122 on how you can do this. Psalm 122, if you’d like to turn to it with me, it’s a brief psalm. I’m going to read it in its entirety and then just draw out two insights for you. Psalm 122, hear God’s word.
I was glad when they said to me, let us go to the house of the Lord. Our feet have been standing within your gates, O Jerusalem. Jerusalem, built as a city that is bound firmly together to which the tribes go up, the tribes of the Lord, as was decreed for Israel, to give thanks to the name of the Lord. There, thrones for judgment were set, the thrones of the house of David.
Pray for the peace of Jerusalem. May they be secure who love you. Peace be within your walls and security within your towers. For my brothers’ and companions’ sake, I will say, peace be within you. For the sake of the house of the Lord our God, I will seek your good. Now the first insight that I want to point out from this psalm is that you should joyfully assemble for public worship each Lord’s Day. David says that he was glad when his fellow believers urged him to join them in going to the house of the Lord. Now that term, glad, tells you that your participation in public worship is not to be regarded merely as a matter of duty.
It is a duty, but it’s much, much more than that. And because of that, you should cultivate an eagerness for worship. Now, of course, that’s not something that comes naturally to us. And because of that, you need to help each other. in fostering and maintaining such an attitude. And we see this right here in this psalm, in that phrase, let us go to the house of the Lord. So the verb that David uses here is in the plural, and it conveys the idea of determination and resolve.
So you need to do that for each other. You need to be a help to each other by your example, certainly, and by your urging. to be a people who are devoted to public worship. One of the greatest ways that you can encourage your pastor is by showing up. Just show up. Let him see in you an eagerness for worship and a hunger for God’s Word.
I can’t tell you how encouraging it is to see someone from the nursing home who has every reason in the world, they would have every excuse for not coming, be wheeled into our worship services each Lord’s Day, and can’t even stand up, hunched over, and yet she’s there. Why? Because she wants to be there. She’s glad when people say to her, let’s go to the house of the Lord.
Now, how can you cultivate a love for worship? Well, you’ll do so if you remember some of the things that are said about the house of the Lord in this psalm. When you attend public worship, where are you going? You’re going to the house of the Lord. Public worship is the place where you meet with your God through the administration of his appointed means of grace. by those whom he’s called to this ministry and whom he’s equipped for this ministry. God’s primary way of continuing his work of grace in your life is through the preached word, the church’s public prayers, and the administration of the sacraments, the outward and ordinary means of grace.
And so you can think of it this way, your participation in worship each week is preparing you for eternity. Listen to the way George Herbert expresses this in his poem Sunday. There’s just one stanza from that poem. The Sundays of man’s life threaded together on time’s string make bracelets to adorn the wife of the glorious eternal king. What a picture that is. You don’t want to miss a Lord’s day. It’d be one less jewel on that bracelet, right?
Now an eagerness for worship is also fostered by understanding that the reality that Jerusalem embodied in the old covenant era is embodied now by the church in the new covenant era. And so that means the three affirmations that David makes about Jerusalem in this psalm apply to the church today. What does he say about Jerusalem?
Well, he says it’s a city that’s built and bound firmly together. What does that tell you? Well, that tells you that the church is the place where God’s people enjoy the security that comes from belonging to him. He is our mighty fortress and we’re safe in him. And then there’s the description of Jerusalem as the place to which all the tribes go up. What does that tell you?
Well, it tells you something about the unity of the church, the unity that the church enjoys in Jesus Christ. We read about that unity earlier in the reading from Ephesians 4. And then this mention of Jerusalem as the place where thrones for judgment were set. You might think of that as, well, I’m not sure about that, thrones for judgment, but actually if you need justice, You want thrones for judgment that are reliable, right? And so this tells you that the church is under the just and good reign of the Lord Jesus. Now, of course, we do not experience any of these things, security, unity, justice, perfectly in this world.
But we do begin to experience them through our participation in the life of Christ’s church. And at the heart of that life is public worship. So that brings me then to the second insight from Psalm 122, and that is that you should diligently seek the Lord’s, the church’s good. Seek the church’s good. And we see this in David’s exhortation here in verse six, pray for the peace of Jerusalem and for the security of those who love her. Your vigilance in prayer for the church is a vital means by which the church is provided for and protected against division and false doctrine and error and scandal. Your prayers actually play a mysterious role in the building up of the church and the advance of its mission.
Dean Stevenson, one of the elders of our church, and I were just talking about this on the drive down today. We’re talking about how we’ve been praying regularly for the Lord to fill the vacant pulpits in our presbytery. And he’s done so. Praise the Lord for that. He’s worked through our prayers to bring about his purpose.
And I want to share with you another passage that gives you some really profound insight into the mystery of prayer. I don’t know if you’ve ever come across this, but it’s in Isaiah 62. And in that chapter, the Lord says that he has set watchmen over the walls of Jerusalem and he has given them this exhortation, put the Lord in remembrance, take no rest and give him no rest until he establishes Jerusalem and makes it a praise in the earth. What a remarkable passage that is, isn’t it?
God wants you, first of all, God wants you to put him in remembrance of what he’s promised regarding his church. He wants you to approach him and say, Lord, you said you would do this. Please do it. Keep your word. And then on top of that, he even encourages you to try to wear him out with your prayers for his church. Give him no rest. What an image that is. He’s encouraging you to be importunate. Is that the right way to pronounce that word? I don’t know. I can’t speak big words like some other people, some of my other brothers.
Now Psalm 122. ends with this statement, for the sake of the house of the Lord our God, I will seek your good. I will seek Jerusalem’s good. I will seek the church’s good. And there’s an expression there of strong resolution. I will seek your good. Now you have just made a strong resolution yourself. You did so when you answered in the affirmative those four questions. that were addressed to you upon the installation of your new pastor. Remember what you’ve promised. Keep your word. Don’t fall into the trap of expecting your pastor to do everything. If you do that, you will burn him out.
No, you will be all the more richly blessed to the extent that you pitch in and help in whatever way you can. Your endeavors on behalf of the church, even things that are small and unnoticed, things that seem very insignificant, even those things enable your pastor to keep his focus on the word that he’s called to preach for your edification and growth in grace. So be diligent in seeking the church’s good. Let these stanzas from one of the hymns we sing with some frequency be reflected in your life.
I’ll conclude with this. I love thy church, O God. Her walls before thee stand, dear as the apple of thine eye and graven on thy hand. For her my tears shall fall. For her my prayers ascend. To her my cares and toils be given, till toils and cares shall end. Amen. Let us make a prayer of thanksgiving.
It is with much thankfulness, Lord, that your regional church has gathered to witness this wonderful service of the installation of Reverend Christopher Cashin as the minister of the Presbyterian Church of Cape Cod. We are blessed by the care of our presbytery and the aid and counsel provided to our church in this process. May you, Lord our Savior, be glorified. You had shown your love to our church and all of this with great abundance.
We bless you and extol you in Jesus’ wonderful name. Amen. Let us stand and sing hymn number 404. The church is one foundation. ♪ is his good creation by water and the Word. From Heaven he came and sought her to be his holy wife. With his own blood he bought her and for her life he died.
♪ Charger of salvation ♪ ♪ One Lord, one faith, one word ♪ ♪ One holy name she blesses ♪ ♪ Our days with holy fruit ♪ ♪ And to one Lord she blesses ♪ ♪ In every race, in every kind ♪ ♪ The stormful wonder ♪ ♪ The seekers soar upwest ♪ ♪ Christ is as grand a splendor ♪ ♪ By heaven’s siege distressed ♪ ♪ And saints their fathers are keeping ♪ ♪ Their cry out aloud ♪ A church shall never perish, her dear Lord to defend, to guide, sustain, and cherish His with her to the end. Now there belongs the day, and all sons and daughters She asks the foe and traitor, she ever shall be near. With toil and tribulation and tumult of her own, she waits the consolation of peace forever. ♪ All the eyes are blessed ♪ ♪ And the great church victorious ♪ ♪ Shall be God’s church at last ♪ ♪ Yet she on earth hath union ♪ ♪ With God the three in one ♪ Receive the Lord’s blessing. The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you. The Lord lift up his countenance on you and give you peace. Amen.