Word International Ministries Al Ain

JESUS CHRIST THE LIVING WORD TO A DYING WORLD

2 Timothy 4:1-8

by: Sis. Melle Permejo

Introduction:

Do you know that there are 4 kinds of soldiers (of the Lord). They are:

1. Active Duty:  Serving the Lord faithfully, daily, and on duty 24-7-365.
2. Reserve Status: Serving only when called upon, or twice a year: Christmas and Easter.
3. Guard Status: Backing up the Active Duty group.
4. AWOL: Absent without the Lord
   
   

Where do you find yourself best fit in? I hope not the last part. 

The title of my exhortation this Monday evening is “JESUS CHRIST THE LIVING WORD TO A DYING WORLD”. The passage we are going to read is from THE BOOK OF 2 TIMOTHY 4:1-8 (NEW KING JAMES VERSION).

1 I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom: 2 Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching. 3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; 4 and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables. 5 But you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry. 6 For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure is at hand. 7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8 Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing.

Where are we? (Historical back ground)

The book of 2nd Timothy is a Pastoral Epistle (letter from Paul to Timothy). The author is Apostle Paul who wrote it about 66 or 67 A.D. from prison in Rome. After a year or two of freedom, Paul was arrested again and executed under Emperor Nero Paul was virtually alone in prison; only Luke was with him. He wrote this letter to pass the torch to the new generation of church leaders.

He also asked for visits from his friends, for his books and especially the parchments – possibly parts of the Old Testament, the gospels and other biblical manuscripts. Ever since Rome had burned in July of A.D. 64 and Nero had blamed the Christians, it had become dangerous to be a Christian. It was also dangerous to have contact with leaders of the church such as Paul.1 Consequently many believers, including some of Paul's coworkers, had chosen to seek a much lower profile and become less aggressive in their ministries. Timothy faced temptation to do the same. Paul wrote this epistle to urge him to remain faithful to his calling and loyal to his father in the faith. Timothy needed to stand shoulder to shoulder with Paul and the other believers and to continue to "preach the Word" as he had done.

POINT 1: THE EDICT (2 Tim. 4:1-2). WHAT SHOULD YOU DO?

1 I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom: 2 Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching. 

CHARGE in the Greek word means to attest or protest earnestly, or (by implication) hortatively: charge, testify (unto) witness.

Paul's point was this. Jesus Christ will judge Christians at the judgment seat of Christ and then appear again at the Second Coming (cf. 1:10) and set up His millennial kingdom on the earth. Consequently Timothy needed to herald the Word of God (v. 2) and faithfully carry out the ministry that God had given him (v. 5).93

Truth: Do your work (faithfully) in such a way that all things will be ready whenever He appears. We will give our report to God in due time.

This is not a petty request from a person who is about to die. It has weight. It requires obedience. This is a command, a demand to follow. And what is the charge?

In verse 2 his message is to

2 Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching. 

Preach means Herald the Word of God! That is the primary responsibility of every leader of God's people. "kerysso ["preach"] is the verbal cognate of kerych, the 'herald' whose duty it was to make public proclamation. The verb thus means 'proclaim aloud, publicly' and is used in the NT of public proclamation or 'preaching' of the message that God has given.

As Francis De Assisi also says, “Preach the gospel at all times and when necessary use words”

The edict is to preach the Word. When?

Be ready in season and out of season Whether it is not popular, whether we see the need or not we must stick to our task. We must abide on it. We must do it.

Dr. Warren Wendel Wiersbe is an American pastor, Bible teacher, conference speaker and a prolific writer of Christian literature and theological works. He is perhaps best known for his series of 50 books in the "BE" series: Be Real, Be Rich, Be Obedient, Be Mature, Be Joyful, etc. and other theological works. “Preaching must be marked by three elements: conviction, warning and appeal. To quote an old rule of preachers, he should afflict the comfortable and comfort the afflicted. If there is conviction but no remedy, we add to people’s burden. And if we encourage those we ought to be rebuked, we are assisting them to sin. Biblical preaching must be balanced.

POINT 2: THE EVENT – Why do you have to do it? Verses 3-4

3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; 4 and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables.

What was the event? What was the situation during Timothy’s time? This is exactly what is happening in the world today. Have you find similarities? Look around you. Isn’t it amazing how Apostle Paul exactly visualizes what I looks like in the last days.

Truth: Whether you like it or not, ready or not, accept it or not, believe it or not we are on the last days. Either way the message is clearly stated. We have to preach the Word.

We are in the world where everything is acceptable to everybody. There’s no more absolute truth to them. We have to proclaim the word with all the doctrine. We are not to simply encourage everyone and improve their lives. We must also proclaim the doctrines such as: the nature of Jesus Christ, the sinfulness of man, salvation, the last days and other fundamental doctrines. So that the people would  how to handle the truth otherwise they will wander. As the song from the children’s ministry sang last time. “A HEART TO CHANGE THE WORLD” “How would the people know? Unless we show them, unless we tell them! You and I, got to have the heart to change the world Let the song start to sing in every boy and girl, By God's grace, in God's reign We can change the world, Let the world know that Jesus loves them.

And lastly,

POINT 3: THE ENDORSEMENT – How you should do it? Verses 5-8

5 But you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry. 6 For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure is at hand. 

Not Satisfied by -D.C.E. Our Daily Bread, January 13

Sometimes we are not satisfied with the responsibilities God has given us, thinking we are fitted for a larger ministry. Looking enviously at the size or scope of a fellow believer’s calling, we think less of our own work and begin to neglect it.

In his book Be Faithful, Warren W. Wiersbe illustrated how one Christian leader handled that problem. “A young preacher once complained to C. H. Spurgeon, the famous Baptist preacher, that he did not have as big a church as he deserved. ‘How many do you preach to?’ Spurgeon asked. ‘Oh, about a hundred,’ the man replied. Solemnly, Spurgeon said, ‘That will be enough to give account for on the day of judgment.’”

The truth of Spurgeon’s Statement is borne out in Paul’s reminder to “make full proof of thy ministry,” which means, “fulfill your ministry.” The apostle was telling his young friend in the faith to do all that God has called him to do. But this did not mean that Timothy was required to do the same things Paul was called to do. Nor did it mean that he would accomplish as much as the apostle would. Rather, it meant that whether Timothy’s task was large or small, in the limelight or behind the scenes, he was to fulfill his ministry in a diligent and commendable manner.

The same is true of us. Whether we are teaching three unruly boys in a Sunday school class, directing a girls club of hundreds, or preaching to thousands, we’re to do the job faithfully. That’s what God expects. And as we do, we will be fulfilling our ministry.

 7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8 Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing.

Paul revealed that he was about to die to impress on Timothy further the importance of remaining faithful to the Lord.Another view is that the first figure is military, the second athletic, and the third religious. Paul had lived the Christian life and served the Lord as He had commanded.

Paul had accomplish might things for the Lord and had endured many trials yet remained faithful. As a result, he had great confidence that he has a crown of righteousness reserved fro him in heaven.

In summary: JESUS CHRIST THE LIVING WORD TO A DYING WORLD

1. What should you do? - Edict
2. Why do you have to do it? - Event
3. How you can do it? – Endorsement/ Encouragement
   
   

IF by J. Wilbur Chapman

• If to be a Christian is worthwhile, then the most ordinary interest in those with whom we come in contact would prompt us to speak to them of Christ.
• If the New Testament be true—and we know that it is—who has given us the right to place the responsibility for soul-winning on other shoulders than our own’
• If they who reject Christ are in danger, is it not strange that we, who are so sympathetic when the difficulties are physical or temporal, should apparently be so lacking of interest as to allow our friends and neighbors and kindred to come into our lives and pass out again without a word of invitation to accept Christ, to say nothing of sounding a note of warning because of their peril’
• If today is the day of salvation, if tomorrow may never come and if life is equally uncertain, how can we eat, drink and be merry when those who live with us, work with us, walk with us and love us are unprepared for eternity because they are unprepared for time‘
• If Jesus called his disciples to be fishers of men, who gave us the right to be satisfied with making fishing tackle or pointing the way to the fishing banks instead of going ourselves to cast out the net until it be filled‘
• If Jesus himself went seeking the lost, if Paul the Apostle was in agony because his kinsmen, according to the flesh, knew not Christ, why should we not consider it worthwhile to go out after the lost until they are found‘
• If I am to stand at the judgment seat of Christ to render an account for the deeds done in the Body, what shall I say to him if my children are missing, if my friends are not saved or if my employer or employee should miss the way because I have been faithless‘

Jesus Christ is returning soon, are you ready to give your report to Him?

PREACH THE WORD AT ALL TIMES AND IF POSSIBLE USE WORDS. AS WE PROCLAIM JESUS CHRIST THE LIVING WORD TO A DYING WORLD.

GOD BLESS US ALL.