0721 PREACH THE WORD!

JULY 21 = 2 TIMOTHY 4

PREACH THE WORD!

There are some verses in 1 and 2 Timothy that refer to some themes that I think are important for us to know. 

“In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.”

‭‭2 Timothy‬ ‭4:1-5‬ ‭NIV‬‬

THE CHARGE

“In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: 

We are always in his presence, of course. But Paul is calling upon the highest of solemn charges when he recognizes he is in the presence of God. When he is in the presence of Jesus. When he is aware that Jesus will judge the living and the dead. When is is viewing his coming and his kingdom.

And so Paul issues what he calls a charge. It is a command. An Imperative. A solemn order from a higher authority. He is delivering the word from God to Timothy. 

PREACH

Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction.

Just as he is commanding Timothy to boldly declare to others. He calls it PREACH. To preach is more declarative than to teach, or to give a speech. It is more than a lecture. We usually call what someone preaches a sermon. But preaching can happen one on one with someone. You can get to preaching when you are convicted that what you are saying is of extreme importance.

Preach =  correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. 

 

Correct. You are thinking wrongly. Here is the right answer. This requires a man who not only knows what is right, but who has the bold confidence to deliver it. Rebuke goes to the next level. There is a lot of spiritual authority that lies behind a rebuke. And encourage. After breaking someone, they need a master who can rebuild the broken, repentant heart.

With great patience. Not just a little. What takes patience is having said hard things and people did not repent, and you keep standing alone, a voice of one crying in the wilderness, prepare the way of the Lord!

And careful instruction. Don’t just throw any old teaching off the top of your head at people. Learn what way people will best hear you. In what setting. With what stories or illustrations.

 

BE PREPARED ALWAYS

be prepared in season and out of season;

I have learned a little about seasons in my lifetime. 

One of my favorite sayings when people are making plans and I agree with them. I’ll say, “I’m game. But I’m not in season.” For some reason I think it’s funny and I keep trying it. But this is not the season for people to get my jokes, I guess.

In the same way, there are seasons of receptivity and seasons when you are not resonating with those to whom you are speaking. Even so, be prepared to preach the word.

There are even seasons when the environment is such that the gospel is actually under persecution, and the message of Jesus is offensive to people. Your family or your friends don’t want to hear it. If so, even while you are being silent, don’t shut down or give up. It might not be the season to preach, but be prepared.

More personally, there may be seasons when you are not the one who is given the pulpit. Maybe you are just the song leader, or a member who is sitting and listening to that message. It might not be the season for you to preach. But be prepared anyway. Make your life a sermon. Be learning, every day. You never know, after 4 or 5 decades of unseen discipline, you might be doing a podcast every day about some aspect of a chapter of scripture, and your study today could help you to be prepared for when it has finally BECOME your season. 

So, no matter what, even if it is not the season for you to deliver SERMONS, still I say PREACH THE WORD!

For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. 

Are we in this season, my brothers and sisters? The season of people gathering around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear? Is it common today to sing what we call songs of worship that actually are more about our personal feelings than about Jesus and what he has done? How often do we call upon the name of the Lord? How often do we find the word “justice” or “the poor” or “widow, refugees or the oppressed”? All of those words and topics are found often in the psalms, but people pay to hear songs that make them feel good. So writers write songs that people will pay for. And the cycle goes on and on, that people pursue what their itching ears want to hear, and a great number of teachers are available to say just what they are asking for.

So I say it again: we are all to be prepared. In season. Out of season. Even people will not put up with sound doctrine. Paul’s charge to Timothy might not be addressed to you and me directly. But his charge is for every one of us in this room today. And so I deliver that message to you this morning: PREACH THE WORD.