Preach the word of God. Be prepared, whether the time is favorable or
not. Patiently correct, rebuke, and encourage your people with good
teaching. 2 Timothy 4:2(NLT)
We are investigating some of Scripture’s urgencies – places in our
lives where the Christian believer is to do something without ceasing. In this text Paul tells his protégé Timothy (and
us) to preach the Word of God; he also says to be patient about
it – never quitting, always pushing forward, no matter what conditions may try
to block or hinder.
Proclaim
the Good News without ceasing!
Timothy
was a pastor, so “preaching” carried the idea of public ministry, proclaiming
the Gospel to believers and unbelievers.
But this also extends to those who aren’t pastors. In the Book of Acts (8:1-4) we find the Apostles were all glued to
Jerusalem, but many of the church folk were scattered all over the place, and
wherever they went they preached the Word.
That was also true of the Methodist frontier movement in John Wesley’s
time. Proclaiming God’s Good News was an
urgent command for the church of Paul’s day, and it is no less urgent for the
church in this time.
Now,
just to be certain we are on the same page here, let me say it rather
definitively: it is Holy Writ, the
Word of God, Scripture, Gospel, the Bible
which is to be preached.
Unfortunately
there are preachers (and laity also) who major in minors when it comes to this;
they preach, debate and argue all day long about the Bible…you get human
ideas, human criticism and human opinion, when they
should be holding up Jesus Christ and His cross.
The
great Baptist preacher and Bible expositor G. Campbell Morgan once said…, Preaching
is not the proclamation of a theory, or the discussion of a doubt.... Preaching
is the proclamation of the Word, the truth as the truth has been revealed.[ii]
Well,
if it is the Word of God which is to be preached, the question
becomes WHY is that so?
Preacher, give me a little understanding of Paul’s urgency; what is
there about the Word that is so important?
For
that we back-up to the previous chapter and see Paul’s reasoning:
2 Timothy 3:16 - 17
All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true
and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are
wrong and teaches us to do what is right. God uses it to
prepare and equip his people to do every good work. 2 Timothy 3:16-17(NLT)
Notice the
Apostle says two very important phrases about the Word:
Scripture
is inspired by God…and…useful to teach us
“Inspired”
literally means God-breathed – this is His Word; it is God’s will
communicated to us for our good.
Therefore every part of it – from Genesis to Revelation – we have
invaluable treasure, the wisdom of Almighty God revealed to His creatures.
And
every bit of it forms a useful, teaching road map for our lives, which, if
followed, can prepare us with the tools to build His Kingdom, navigate
difficult waters, and locate and live within His perfect will.
This is
why we preach the word without ceasing!
So,
let’s think about four
truths from
God’s Word, the roadmap of life:
1. The Word is a map of god’s course
…useful to teach us what is true…
The Bible is like a truth map, travel brochure, and guide all in
one. There is not a moment of life into
which anything can flow or happen which the Bible doesn’t address.
It speaks of marriage, raising children, government leaders, how to be
a virtuous person (or an evil one); there is so much about living in Scripture,
you can study it for a lifetime and barely scrape the surface of the wisdom and
strength God can build into your life if you let Him by being
obedient to the Word.
The reason for this is that the Holy Spirit speaks these words. It has been said that Scripture is twice-inspired;
it was inspired when God gave it to the 40 or so people who wrote the original
66 books…and it is inspired a second time whenever a human reads it in a
genuine attempt to come closer to God.
If you want to know how to live life in a manner that pleases God,
blesses those around you, and will never leave you in a condition of being
ashamed of what you do…let Scripture put you on God’s course.
If you
do, the next truth will also be a reality:
2. the Word tells us when we’re off-course
…and to make us realize what is
wrong in our lives….
A
preacher needs to preach the Word and let the chips fall where they may. If a person is off-course from
God’s road map of life, the Holy Spirit will convict; it’s never up to a
preacher to judge. But the Word of God
will:
·
reprove (tell a fault)
·
rebuke (strongly convict
when a person won’t let go of their sin)
·
exhort (call
near/invite).
This is
all the Holy Spirit’s work through the Word….not a preacher’s judging. That is why it is so important to find a
church and pastor where it is God’s Word that is preached. Frankly, if you hear a sermon that is laced
with nice, frilly, feel-good witty sayings, or deeply-profound human
thinking, you’d better make sure it can all be backed up with the Word of
God. Otherwise you’re listening to a
fool.
I have
a colleague who will not preach on marriage; he says it’s too
controversial. I disagree; we must
preach (as Paul said Acts 20:27)
the whole counsel of God --- particularly the
controversial stuff! The Word illumines even
uncomfortable truth, and preachers that shrink back from that are not obedient
to their calling.
An
English vicar [preacher] found out after preaching a powerful sermon against
betting, that one of his own [church officials] was a heavy gambler. Immediately, the vicar hurried over to explain
to the man that he had not meant for the sermon to come across as a personal
attack on him. The man said, Don’t
worry about it. It’s a pretty poor
sermon that doesn’t hit me somewhere.[iii]
So,
God’s truth roadmap for life – a true map, and one that will tell you when
you’re off course, and also…
3. the word Corrects our course
…It corrects us when we are wrong…
Its one
thing to know you’re off-course, but it’s critical
to get back on-course again.
Scripture pulls us back to where we ought to be.
A
somewhat rough-cut middle aged man joined a very large downtown church full of
professional people. He had come out of
a life with the mafia, but had just gotten a huge dose of enthusiasm to serve
Jesus. So he went to the pastor and
wanted to know what he could do to help in the church’s ministry and
outreach. The pastor hemmed and hawed a
little, but the excited man just craved to be a part of serving.
So the
pastor handed him some of his stationary and told him to contact those church members
who had been missing in worship for quite a while. Several days went by and the pastor received
a letter from one of the absentee members on the list he’d given his
enthusiastic new helper. The letter
read:
Dear Pastor, I received
the letter sent by your church office. I
am so sorry for being absent…let me assure you my family and I will not miss
church again. I am enclosing a check for
back tithes and offerings, plus an extra check for $3,000 for being tardy in
giving. We will see you this Sunday,
Lord willing….
P.S. If you will, please
tell your secretary there is only one “t” in dirty, and no “c” in skunk?
Sometimes
the Word is gentle; sometimes not so gentle!
The
Word is a truth road map, tells us when we’re off-course, how to get back on
course, and…
4. The Word Teaches us how to stay on course
…and teaches us to do what is right….
This
may be the most important part for people who have been believers for a
while. Unless we continue in studying
God’s Word, fellowshipping with God’s people, giving, serving, witnessing,
worshipping and praying, there is a tendency to get off course.
And the
Word teaches us that all of those are critically-important to the healthful,
vital Christian life.
My
friend, it is easy to become a Christian – it’s a
simple act of stepping towards god in faith.
That happens instantaneously, because God is faithful to His Word,
forgiving our genuine prayer of confession.
But it is not an easy thing to stay a healthy Christian,
because the enemy, that old devil is after you every single day.
The
Bible teaches that staying on-course with Jesus means
growing in our faith, maturity and service.
And it’s all connected.
I’ve
been asked before, Pastor, what are the minimum requirements for being a
Christian? The problem with the
question is that no Christian ought to be concerned with giving himself or
herself to Christ in a half-hearted, minimum-commitment sort of way.
Brothers
and sisters, discipleship, being a servant of Jesus Christ is to be
wholehearted or it is useless.
The
Word of God informs and inspires God’s people and lost people to know and love
God. This is why we preach the Word!
Notice these few examples of those who preach the word:
Noah, says the Book of Genesis, was a preacher of righteousness. He spent 100 years preaching God’s Word
without a single convert outside his own family…but he was loved by God and
counted as faithful enough to begin the human race all over again after the
flood.
Jonah ran from God, then obeyed and preached a simple 3 day revival that saw
a whole country repent.
John the Baptist, Jeremiah, Peter, John
and Paul
gave everything they had, and fruit from their ministry is still drawing the
great cloud of witnesses.
Here is
a word of challenge and comfort for you:
Whether you are world-wide famous for preaching the word like Noah, Jonah,
Jeremiah, John the Baptist, Peter or Paul, or completely unknown…preach
the word!
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