10/28/07 - Pentecost 22 - 2 Timothy 4:1-5

PREACH THE WORD
- Be prepared in season and out of season
- With great patience and careful instruction

Preach the Word. How many times in your life have you heard that in a sermon? How many times have you been encouraged to tell others about Jesus, to spread the gospel, to preach the Word? How many times have I repeated that to you in many different sermons in the last year and a half? Over and over again in the Bible we are told to preach the Word. We know that. We’ve heard that. We’ve read that. But to actually do that is a whole other thing. If I told you today to preach the Word to your husband, to your wife, to your child, to your neighbor, to your coworker, to your friend - you wouldn’t disagree with me, you wouldn’t say it’s a bad idea, but the reality check in the back of your mind, your past experience, and your sinful nature would say, “Yeah right. That’s not going to happen anytime soon. Thanks for the encouragement, Pastor, but that’s a whole lot easier for you to say than it is for me to do.” You’re right. It is easier for me to say that than for you to do it. It’s always easier to repeat what God says in his Word rather than to put it into practice. But that’s no excuse.
The apostle Paul knew that. He knew that it was a difficult thing to preach the Word. And so when he wrote to his friend Timothy about doing that very thing, he also added a little advice on how to do it. Helpful hints, if you will, to carry out this ever important task. “Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage - with great patience and careful instruction.” I want to take some time today with this verse. There is so much in our entire sermon text that it’d be overwhelming to digest it all. And so this single verse will serve as our focus. And I pray that our time with this portion of God’s Word will help us understand how to better preach God’s Word.
To preach the Word you must “Be prepared in season and out of season,” Paul says. First of all, we need to look at that simple command: “Be prepared.” Be prepared! Be ready to preach the Word. Have Scripture at your finger tips for any topic that may arise. That means you’re going to have to know Scripture. If there’s something in the Bible that you can’t quite explain to yourself, you better find out quick! If there’s a teaching in Scripture that you’re a little confused about, you better start straightening things out as soon as possible! If there’s a doctrine that you are unsure about, that you can’t figure out why we teach what we teach, you better ask some questions fast! Don’t put it off any longer. You never know when those exact topics will come up in an important conversation. That’s why you have your Bible. That’s why we have a church library. That’s why we have Bible classes. That’s why you have me! Now, I’m not a scholar by any stretch of the imagination. But I can at least point you in the right direction. I can at least find you an acceptable answer in places you might not have access to. Use me! Use the Word! Be prepared! As a father stands in the pool, edging forward with his arms out, ready and alert and waiting to catch a young child jumping into the water, so you are to be prepared. Edging forward, ready and waiting for the opportunity to preach the Word that you have on the tip of your tongue.
Because the reality is: those opportunities will come “in season and out of season.” That means, “in good times and not so good times,” “when it is convenient and when it is not so convenient.” Opportunities to preach the Word do not wait until you are ready. Opportunities to preach the Word come when the Lord allows them to happen. You are supposed to be ready. You are supposed to be looking. You are supposed to be prepared at any time. Because there are so many opportunities out there! More than you know! More than you take advantage of! In every situation, in every conversation, make a conscious effort to look for those opportunities and openings that the Lord gives you to speak his words of truth. Whether the person is already a Christian or an unbeliever, the Word of God is never out of place. Certain words work better than others in certain situations. A Scriptural reminder might be more effective than a doctrinal conversation. Subtlety, frankness, and every nuance in between must be used with discretion. But the Word of God is never out of place. And there have been countless opportunities that the Lord has given you in your life. Most of which have passed by without even an effort.
Because you try to pass this stuff off on me, don’t you? You try to pass off 2 Timothy 4:2 off on me! “Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage - with great patience and careful instruction.” “Well that’s why we have a pastor. That’s what he’s called to do! I have other things going on in my life. He’s getting paid for it. He’s been trained for it. Who am I to explain God’s Word to other people?” And when it comes down to it, you give yourself enough excuses over enough time that you can convince yourself that it really isn’t your job after all. Yes it is. Preaching the Word is your job. It is your privilege. It is your responsibility as a Christian because that is what God has asked you to do for him. It is my job too. I am called to do that publicly for this group of Christians at this time. But don’t leave your pulpits empty expecting me to step in. When you talk to your family member, that’s your pulpit to preach the Word. When you talk to your neighbor, that’s your pulpit to preach the Word. When you talk to anyone who has a soul, that’s your pulpit to preach the Word. Because preaching the Word doesn’t mean you fire off a sermon. It doesn’t mean you have to have a memorized speech at hand. It doesn’t even mean you have to know all the ins and outs of Scripture. Preaching the Word simply means you repeat the clear truths of the Bible that you hear every week. But those pulpits have gone empty far too many times, haven’t they? And those ears who have so many times needed to hear that Word from you have heard nothing but silence.
Does this rebuke apply to me? Even more so. Because I am called to do that, because I am your pastor, I should be all the more prepared. I should be all the more ready and willing to take hold of the opportunities and preach the Word. But I will admit to you, I will be completely honest with you, I’ve left many a pulpit void of a gospel voice in my lifetime. I am no better a Christian than you. I have proved to be no better a pastor than any of you. And that’s to all of our shame. Our heads should hang low. Any pride that we once had should be completely crushed. We have not preached the Word as often as we should have. We have not been prepared. We have nothing else to say.
When Jesus was 12 years old he was in Jerusalem with his parents for the celebration of a Jewish festival. Jesus stayed behind in the temple while his parents left for home with family and friends, thinking that Jesus was with the group. Three days later when his parents finally found him in the temple courts among the teachers of the law, what did they find him doing? Preaching the Word. And this was just a warm up for what was to come. When he was about 30 years old, “Jesus traveled about from one town and village to another, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God” (Luke 8:1). One day he sailed over the Sea of Galilee. When he reached the other side he healed a demon possessed man and preached the Word. When he sailed back across the lake a crowd was waiting for him there. And so he preached the Word. On one occasion he told his disciples, “Let us go somewhere else - to the nearby villages - so I can preach there also. That is why I have come” (Mark 1:38). The Lord was relentless in his desire and drive to preach the Word to all people in every situation. He never failed to make the most of an opportunity that his Father placed before him. But he not only preached the Word perfectly, he fulfilled the Word. He is the Word! He is whom we preach. The life he led. The punishment he received. The sacrifice he made. The cross on which he hung. The tomb from which he rose. The heaven to which he ascended. This is the gospel. This is the Good News. This is the Word. And this is why we have forgiveness and peace and hope and eternal life. Christ is not only what we preach. He is why we preach.
And so with this in mind Paul reminds us to continue to preach this Word “with great patience and careful instruction.” Even though these are glorious words, life-saving truths that are the only source of peace, people are not going to be willing to believe them right away. It will take patience on your part. It will take persistent love without frustration. Because the obstacles are great. Those to whom you preach the Word are attacked by their sinful nature, by the world, and by Satan himself - just as you are. You know how hard it is to stay faithful to the Word. You know how easy it is to fall into sin after sin after sin. Patience is essential. Patience is not optional for a preacher of the Word.
Lately I’ve been in contact with a young man whose been struggling with the correct understanding of baptism and the Lord’s Supper. I have combined the emails that have been sent back and forth onto my computer in 10 point font - which means letters quite a bit smaller than what are on your bulletins. Our correspondence so far as covered 12 full pages with more to come. A little while ago a young woman and I had a similar email conversation about faith. Another 11 total pages in even smaller font. A few years ago I worked with a man who was sold on the teaching of the Rapture. I had multiple several hour conversations personally and over the phone with him on that single topic for over four months. Patience is essential. Continue to explain. Continue to repeat. Continue to let the Word do its work. Because it will not be you that will finally bring someone around to the truth. It’ll be the Word itself - the sword of the Spirit. “I planted the seed and Apollos watered it,” Paul said to the Corinthians, “but God made it grow” (1 Cor. 3:6). The Lord will make that seed you plant grow in its own time and in its own way. So don’t stop planting.
Don’t stop preaching the Word with great patience and careful instruction. Really Paul says “with all patience and all doctrine.” Don’t leave anything out. Use the wide range of passages in Scripture to deal with different situations. That’s why the Bible is such a big book! God has a lot to tell us! And he wants to give us as much ammo as we can handle! That’s why Paul says earlier in our text for today, “All Scripture is God breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness.” And so it goes without saying: continue to learn the Word so that you can preach the Word. I owe it to you to do that myself. I owe it to you to continue to read and learn and take classes so that I can better preach the Word to those under my care. You owe it to others. You owe it to those whom the Lord wants in heaven with him to take the time to learn. To take the time to grow in your faith. To take the time to solidify your foundation in the Word. That will take sacrifice on your part. But it will be time well spent - not only for others but for the sake of your faith as well.
We will talk about this again. Because there will inevitably be another sermon text devoted to this very same topic sometime soon. I hope you do not get tired of it. Because the Lord doesn’t. That’s why he repeats it so many times. So in your prayers tonight, pray for whomever and whatever you normally pray for, but also ask the Lord to help you with this. Plead with him to motivate you and give you the strength. And finally thank him not only for being the Word, but for giving you the privilege to preach it.
Amen.

“May the Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word. - 2 Thess. 2:16-17