Preach the Word!

All right, well this morning as we come to the Word of God, we are starting off the final chapter in Paul's second letter to Timothy.

The Apostle Paul has been writing to encourage Timothy.

We remember that Paul at the time of this writing is in prison.

And Timothy right now is one of the leaders in the region of Asia Minor, which is today the country of Turkey.

Timothy has been working with the church of Ephesus there in Asia Minor and likely with the other churches in the region.

But now, the place where Timothy has been living and working has become a difficult place to be, a Christian.

Persecution is happening.

False teachers are beginning to arise.

Self-interested pretenders are beginning to cause trouble in the churches.

While the world around them is becoming increasingly intolerant and hostile towards the followers of Jesus.

And so Paul is writing to encourage Timothy.

He's writing to remind Timothy of what's true.

He's writing to help Timothy overcome his fears.

He's writing to help Timothy.

He's writing to help Timothy remain faithful and push forward in the cause of Christ.

The last thing that we heard in chapter 3 was Paul reminding Timothy about the reliability and helpfulness of the Holy Scriptures.

It's faith in those scriptures.

It's faith in those scriptures which has prepared Timothy to receive the good news about Jesus.

And Paul reminds Timothy that the scriptures which were in his time primarily the ones of the Old Testament.

The scriptures, all of them, he said, are God-breathed.

They come from God.

And they are useful for the work that God has given you to do as a leader in the churches.

With that said, Paul now comes to the climax of his instruction to Timothy here in chapter 4.

Let me read the first two verses for us this morning.

This is Paul addressing Timothy.

He says,

Be prepared in season and out of season.

Let's start by noticing the imperatives here.

There are five.

Preach.

Be prepared.

Correct.

Rebuke.

And encourage.

These are five things that Paul is telling Timothy to do.

But now let me ask you a question.

Judging by what's written here,

what's Paul's tone as he gives this charge?

There's a funny thing that happens often between parents and their children.

Father says to his son,

Can you go and brush your teeth?

Or can you go and take out the garbage?

And sometimes we parents are met with a response like,

I could do that.

And a blank stare.

Like, Dad, are you asking if I'm capable of doing it?

Because, yeah, I'm capable of doing it.

But do I have to do it?

Have you parents ever experienced this before?

It's as if a child detects a bit of wiggle room in our language,

in the way that we asked for them to do something.

And they're now pushing to see how far they can exert their will in the opposite direction.

Does Dad's politeness and tone of voice mean that this task is up to me if I want to do it?

Can I respond with,

Nope.

Can't do that right now, Dad.

I'm busy playing with Lego.

What's the tone here as Paul tells Timothy to do these five things?

To preach, to be ready, to correct, to rebuke, and to encourage.

Look at how Paul leads up to these imperatives.

Look at how he introduces what he's telling Timothy to do.

He says,

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.

How much wiggle room is there?

None.

Not even a little bit.

In fact, this is the strongest and most serious way of telling someone to do something

that I have ever heard in my life.

There are moments in our society where someone may question how serious we are.

There are moments when our words matter so much that we take an extra measure

to ensure that what's being spoken or agreed to is accurate.

Think of a courtroom.

Before giving a testimony, it is a tradition that a witness be solemnly charged to tell the truth

and then swear an oath to tell the truth.

And in those moments, a person often appeals to something valuable or precious or sacred to them

or to a higher authority or power.

It's done to add weight and seriousness so that what they are about to say is true.

A similar sort of thing is happening when we do up a legal document like a will or a purchase offer for a house.

These are things in which the terms of the arrangement matter so much that we call someone else to be the witness to the arrangement,

to the deal, to the contract, so that there can be no questioning what was said, what was meant.

We call someone as a witness.

These things are the kind of things that Paul is doing here as he charges Timothy.

It's almost as if he's in the courtroom.

The language, I give you this charge, is the kind of thing that we might expect in a courtroom.

According to one Greek lexicon, that word for charge, I give you this charge,

was used to exhort with authority in matters of extraordinary importance,

frequently with reference to higher powers.

The old English word that we rarely use anymore would be,

I adjure you.

I solemnly charge you.

That's how Paul is speaking here.

And then we see how in giving this solemn charge,

Paul calls God himself and the Lord Jesus as his witnesses to the words that he's writing to Timothy.

It's as if Paul is sitting there in his jail cell writing this letter

and nobody else can see me or hear me

or knows what I'm writing on this papyri right now except you, God.

But Timothy, as I write these words to you now,

God is watching me write them.

Jesus Christ is watching me give you this command and charge to preach the word.

And so when you receive this letter and read it,

don't think for a moment that you can just crumple up this letter and stuff it in a hole

and then walk away because things are tough right now.

When we come to stand before Jesus on that final day, Timothy,

and our lives and everything that we've done is open before Jesus,

you will not be able to say,

Paul never told me that I had to do this.

It's amazing.

Paul calls God himself and Christ Jesus himself as witness to the command he is giving to Timothy.

And in the midst of this call,

he reminds Timothy that Jesus Christ himself will be the one who judges everyone,

both the living and the dead.

In other words,

Timothy,

if I'm executed in a short while here,

you're not off the hook from this charge.

Jesus himself is the judge

and he is my witness

as I say these things to you.

He will hold you to account as to whether you do this or not.

He will judge us all

at the end,

on that day when he appears.

He will be judge of those presently alive

and he will be judge of those who died

before his return just the same.

So Paul just piles so much weight onto this charge.

It really is the most serious command

a person could ever receive from someone.

And if that weren't all enough,

Paul piles even more onto this

with God and Jesus Christ as my witness.

But I also give you this charge

with the reminder that Jesus is coming back.

I give you this charge

in view of his appearing.

He will appear once more.

So preach the word.

And in view of his kingdom,

he is coming back to rule and to reign.

The kingdom of God is coming.

And so I charge you to preach the word.

I don't think I know of

any other commands given in the Bible

which are set up with this same level of seriousness.

Calling God and Christ as witness

with a reminder of Jesus' return

and kingdom and judgment.

What should we understand from all this?

We should understand that the preaching of the word

is of the utmost importance.

Based on how Paul just introduced this,

it is to be among the highest priorities

of a church leader.

It is to be among the highest priorities

of the Christian church.

If not,

why set it up

like this

in his charge to Timothy?

Why say all this?

Why add all this weight?

Let's examine this charge to preach the word

more closely.

The word for preach in the original Greek

means to announce,

to proclaim,

to declare out loud.

This was the word that was used

for the town criers

and the town heralds.

The guys who say,

hear ye, hear ye.

His royal majesty has issued a decree.

So Paul is charging Timothy here

to be vocal

and to proclaim,

to declare out loud,

even publicly,

the word.

This word for preach

is also used to describe

what John the Baptist did

as he was preaching

in the wilderness.

It's used to describe

what Jesus did

as he was proclaiming

the good news

of the kingdom of God

going from place to place.

It's used to describe

what Jesus told his disciples to do

when he sent them out.

This word for preach

is also used to describe

what Jonah did

to the Ninevites

and what Philip did

in Samaria

in Acts chapter 8

Acts 8 · chapter mention

and what Paul began to do

in the synagogues

after he became

a believer.

And so there can be

little doubt about

what it means to preach

because the New Testament

is full of accounts

of men who preached.

And not just that they preached

but also what they preached.

the very words

and contents

of their proclamation.

Next we notice

what Paul tells Timothy

to proclaim.

Preach.

Proclaim the word.

Now most of us

recognize intuitively

that the word

is shorthand

for the word of God.

the word of God.

The word of God

refers to the things

that God

has spoken

whether through

the prophets of old

or the apostles.

It includes the things

Jesus himself spoke

when he walked the earth.

And for us today

we have the word of God

written down

in our Bibles.

the God breathed scriptures

as Paul was

telling Timothy about

reminding Timothy of

before this

in the previous verses.

So this is the prime directive.

This is the main thrust

of Paul's

solemn charge.

Declare.

Proclaim

the words of God.

This should be

one of our highest priorities

as a church.

Regularly

declaring

the word of God

in our midst.

And to our community

around us.

For me

these words

are so helpful

when it comes

time to

sit down

and decide

what to say

on a Sunday morning.

Or for those of you

who are teaching

alive on Sundays

this is helpful

as you prepare

what to teach.

For all of us

as we interact

with others

in our community

this is helpful

as we consider

what to say.

What is the content

of our preaching

and of our teaching

to be?

Preach

the word.

The word of God

is what we are

to declare.

people may think

we are crazy

for our relentless

persistence

in taking people

back into

the Bible

to hear what it says.

People may think

we are crazy

for actually

taking the words

in the Bible

seriously

and believing them

that they're true.

But regardless

of what people

may think of us

these words

are true.

true.

This is

the word

of God

and this is

what we have

been charged

in the presence

of God

and in the presence

of Christ Jesus

to proclaim.

This is to be

our message.

This is to be

our curriculum.

This is our

gospel

our good news.

God

we are not

charged

to come

together

and enjoy

some good

stories

or jokes.

We are not

charged

to go out

and share

some wise

and persuasive

words

the kind

that we

think people

will agree

with and

appreciate.

We are not

charged to

share what

we have learned

from our

experiences

in life.

We are not

charged with

sharing our

best sounding

apologetical

arguments

for the

existence

of God.

in the

presence

of God

and of

Christ Jesus

who will

judge the

living and

the dead

and in

view of

his appearing

in his

kingdom

I give

you this

charge

preach

the word

preach

the word

of God.

Now don't

get me wrong

there is a

time to

address certain

issues or

to share

wisdom and

counsel or

to debunk

modern

false

teachings

but the

main content

of the

sermon

of the

lesson

of our

evangelism

must be

the words

God has

spoken.

now we've

already talked

about how

the word

preach

means to

proclaim

or to

declare

and so let

me ask

this

what's our

tone

to be

what's the

manner of

our message

to be

it's to

be

proclamation

not just

suggestion

proclaim

proclamation

not just

suggestion

not just

here's

something

for your

consideration

not just

well you

know this

is what I

believe

here's some

human level

arguments for

why you

might consider

this faith

for yourself

no

declaration

is to be

our tone

is to be

our manner

of presentation

now this

doesn't mean

that we

should be

people who

go around

shouting in

the faces

of others

we are to

proclaim

Christ

with

gentleness

and respect

but

proclamation

means that

we are not

just suggesting

we are

confidently

asserting

the word

of God

as fact

as truth

in fact

earlier in

the letter

what did

Paul call

the word

of God

if you

look back

to

chapter

one

verse

chapter

two

verse

15

he said

there

do your

best

to present

yourself

to God

as one

approved

a worker

who does

not need

to be

ashamed

and who

correctly

handles

the word

of truth

sometimes

we hear

unbelievers

say things

like

stop

preaching

at me

sometimes

preaching

is equated

with being

arrogant

and there

certainly

are people

who have

acted less

than Christian

in their

preaching

perhaps they

are arrogant

or argumentative

or hurl

insults

and slurs

at people

and call

them stupid

well that's

not good

at all

but those

things aside

we are

called

by God

to proclaim

his word

proclaim

not just

to share

it

but to

declare

it

and declaring

things to

be true

to people

who don't

agree with

or believe

in our

source

will be

offensive

to some

but that

in itself

is not

arrogance

or pride

true

humility

is not

doubting

the truth

in fact

it takes

even greater

humility

to assert

the truth

and proclaim

the word

of truth

when the truth

is unpopular

and so

as we

proclaim

the word

of God

some

will

respond

negatively

some

will

be

offended

but we

cannot

let that

response

of some

cause us

to turn

down the

volume

from

proclamation

to suggestion

or from

declaring

aloud

to

whispering

behind

closed

doors

as

Jesus

said to

his

apostles

Matthew

Matthew 10:26

chapter

10

verse

26

do

not

be

afraid

of

them

for

there

is

nothing

that

is

concealed

that

will

not

be

disclosed

or

hidden

that

will

not

be

made

known

would

I

tell

you

in

the

dark

speak

in

the

daylight

what

is

whispered

in

your

ear

proclaim

from

the

rooftops

now

let's

acknowledge

the

reality

that

this

is

not

easy

this

is

not

easy

for

Timothy

in

his

day

and

time

where

persecution

is

growing

and

it's

becoming

unpopular

in the

culture

to be

a

Jesus

follower

people

in

Timothy's

day

are

being

arrested

and

the

more

they

proclaim

Christ

the

bigger

the

target

is

getting

on

their

backs

yet

Paul

doesn't

say

just

preach

a little

quieter

turn

the

volume

down

a bit

take

a break

from

preaching

the

word

until

things

cool

off

in

your

region

no

he's

telling

Timothy

here

to

turn

the

volume

up

to

let

the

word

of

God

ring

out

from

your

lips

I

know

it's

hard

Timothy

I

know

it's

unpopular

I'm

sitting

in a

jail

cell

right

now

in

chains

because

of

it

but

don't

let

that

stop

you

and

just

so

you

know

Timothy

it's

only

going

to

get

harder

verse

three

for

the

time

will

come

when

people

will

not

put

up

with

sound

doctrine

says

Paul

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

so

we

cannot

judge

the

effectiveness

of

proclaiming

God's

words

simply

by

the

outward

visible

results

of

it

because

in

Timothy's

day

Paul

said

that

the

results

he

could

expect

would

be

increasingly

disappointing

public

appreciation

for

the

word

of

God

is

going

to

decrease

to the

point

that

many

won't

put up

with

listening

to your

preaching

they will

have an

itch to

hear

something

else

something

different

something

new

something

perhaps

more

interesting

to them

or

entertaining

that

desire

will be

like

an

itch

and

you'll

find

that

preaching

the

word

of

God

will

not

be

scratching

the

itch

for

them

many

will

turn

their

ears

away

from

you

Timothy

and the

truth

that

you

are

declaring

and

will

give

their

ears

to

a

great

many

teachers

who

will

say

what

their

itching

ears

want

to

hear

in

Timothy's

days

it

would

be

myths

they

will

turn

their

ears

away

from

the

truth

and

turn

aside

to

myths

said

Paul

but

it's

amazing

just how

relevant

and how

true

these

words

ring

in

our

day

today

almost

2000

years

later

I

mean

there

once

was

a

time

not

too

long

ago

when

most

Canadians

went

to

church

most

Canadians

sat

through

sermons

week

after

week

but

now

we

followers

of

Jesus

find

ourselves

increasingly

in

the

minority

many

have

turned

away

in

our

day

to

myths

of

a

different

variety

and

follow

after

the

voice

of

a

great

many

teachers

who

tell

them

what

they

want

to

hear

whether

it's

the

ideas

of

another

world

religion

or

the

supposed

joy

of

being

set

free

from

religion

altogether

or

perhaps

it's

the

hollow

and

self

oriented

ideas

of

finding

your

authentic

self

or

mindfulness

or

maybe

it's

the

myth

that

you

can

be

your

own

god

and

ultimately

you

can

determine

your

own

reality

while

the

rise

of

the

internet

and

social

media

has

its

many

blessings

and

benefits

it

has

also

made

it

even

easier

for

people

to

find

those

who

are

saying

exactly

what

their

itching

ears

want

to

hear

but

don't

let

that

discourage

you

Timothy

even

if

almost

no

one

is

listening

don't

let

this

become

a

reason

you

stop

proclaiming

the

word

of

God

it

will

become

more

difficult

but

you

keep

your

head

in

all

situations

endure

hardship

do

the

work

of

an

evangelist

discharge

all

the

duties

of

your

ministry

so

keep

on

proclaiming

the

word

of

God

Timothy

keep

a

level

head

keep

your

hands

steady

on

the

wheel

endure

hardship

when

it

comes

your

way

continue

the

work

of

proclaiming

the

good

news

of

Jesus

that's

what

do

the

work

of

an

evangelist

means

that

word

evangelism

meaning

bring

or

announce

the

good

news

keep

on

ministering

Timothy

and

serving

in all

the

ways

that

God

has

given

you

to

serve

and

to

minister

who

do

you

ultimately

want

to

please

with

your

life

and

your

words

Timothy

that

person

who

might

be

offended

by

the

Jesus

that

you

so

confidently

declare

or

Christ

Jesus

himself

whose

throne

we

will

all

soon

stand

before

now

you

may

wonder

how

does

this

all

apply

to

me

I

mean

we

know

that

Timothy

was a

leader

in the

church

and so

naturally

we tend

to see

a passage

like

this

as being

for

pastors

or

elders

how

does

all

this

apply

to

me

I

think

there

are

two

considerations

here

and I

can't

unpack

this

all

fully

this

morning

but I

would

encourage

you

to

take

some

time

to

reflect

on

this

this

week

the

first

consideration

we

may

not

all

be

church

leaders

pastors

elders

or even

teachers

but all

of us

are called

to proclaim

the word

of God

and to

minister

in some

measure

to some

people

we are

all

called

to

proclaim

the word

of God

whether

to our

children

or to

the

neighbors

around

us

and

proclaim

as I

said

earlier

doesn't

necessarily

mean

shout

or give

a sermon

it means

to declare

the truth

of God's

word

we didn't

even get

to these

other

imperatives

like

correct

and

encourage

but these

are things

that can

happen

in daily

life

with our

children

and with

each

other

we are

to bring

the word

of God

into

our

parenting

correcting

our

children

training

them

in the

instruction

of the

Lord

and there's

lots of

other places

in the

Bible

where we

are

called

as

followers

of

Jesus

to

encourage

one

another

we are

all

called

to

proclaim

the

good

news

of

Jesus

to

the

people

around

us

whether

our

unsafe

family

or

friends

or

neighbors

or

coworkers

and so

proclaiming

God's

word

and things

like

correcting

and encouraging

and these

are not

just things

for pastors

to do

in sermons

they are

things we

are all

called to

do in

our

everyday

lives

and in

our

relationships

we're

called to

do these

things in

love for

the benefit

of others

Paul tells

Timothy to

be ready

in season

and out

of season

so

proclaiming

God's

word

isn't

just

for

Sunday

morning

sermon

time

we

should

aim

to be

ready

to

declare

the

word

of

God

to

proclaim

Christ

at

all

times

even

when

we're

not

expecting

it

that's

the

first

consideration

we

may

not

all

be

church

leaders

pastors

elders

or

even

teachers

but

all

of

us

are

called

to

proclaim

the

word

of

God

and

to

minister

in

some

measure

to

some

people

second

consideration

here

it is

good

for us

to

recognize

that

there

are

different

roles

and

responsibilities

and

ministries

in the

church

and that

each

of us

participates

in those

differently

Timothy

was a

church

leader

the

people

in

Ephesus

and the

region

were

looking

to

him

about

how

they

should

follow

Jesus

in

these

increasingly

difficult

times

they

were

watching

Timothy

is

he

going

to

turn

the

volume

down

or

preach

more

quietly

is

he

going

to

start

changing

the

message

now

that

it's

becoming

unpopular

so

this

is

absolutely

a

charge

to

Timothy

specifically

and it

does

apply

directly

to

church

leaders

today

who

minister

in the

same

ways

that

Timothy

did

it

applies

directly

to

pastors

and

elders

Paul

says

to

Timothy

discharge

all

the

duties

of

your

ministry

but

then

as we

think

of

how

there

is

more

than

one

ministry

and

role

and

responsibility

in the

church

in the

household

of

God

we

can

ask

the

question

what's

the

ministry

that

God

has

given

me

to

discharge

in

this

body

to

carry

out

if

I'm

not

an

elder

or

pastor

or

someone

who

gets

into

a

pulpit

well

what

needs

has

God

uniquely

gifted

and

equipped

me

to

meet

what

are

those

things

that

I

may

find

difficult

or

challenging

hard

wearisome

but

maybe

for

different

reasons

than

Timothy

as

Jesus

parable

of

the

talents

made

clear

we

will

all

have

to

someday

give

an

account

before

the

king

did

we

use

that

which

was

entrusted

to

us

for

him

or

did

we

just

bury

it

in

the

sand

so

I

want

to

encourage

you

to

talk

to

the

Lord

about

this

this

week

and

to

reflect

on

it

how