The PRIORITY of PREACHING-II—2Timothy 4:1-8
Attention:
Preaching is a standardized & major part of the livelihood of a church. It is vital to the worship experience. It is necessary to alignment with Bible Study. It calls the hearer to action. It draws the hearer closer to God. But is it only to be used inside the church during corporate worship?
Need:
I don’t see what’s so great about preaching but every church I go to I have to put up with it. It bores me to tears.
There must be some way to avoid preaching.
Why do others see it as so important?
Paul solemnly charged Timothy to preach the word of God as knowledge of it is vital to overcoming a hostile environment(3:15-17).
Every pastor is compelled to place his priority upon faithfully preaching God’s revealed word.
Pastor’s must prioritize preaching God’s word.
Why must pastors prioritize preaching God’s word?
5 incentives/principles prioritizing the preaching of God’s word.
OVERCOMING a HOSTILE ENVIRONMENT-III—2Timothy 3:10-17
A hostile environment is overcome by Adherence to Authority’s…
A—IMITATION of APOSTLES-I-III(3:10-14)
B—KNOWLEDGE of SCRIPTURES(3:15-17)
1—REVELATION /Authority(:15a)
2—WISDOM(:15b)
3—BREATH/Inspiration(:16a)
4—PROFIT(:16b-17)
Last time we saw 2 of the Incentives prioritizing the preaching of God’s word are....
1—The KINGDOM(:1)
2—The CONVICTION(:2)
3—An incentive prioritizing the preaching of God’s word is....
The TIME(s)(:3-4)
Explanation:(: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;”
There will be a time when those who preach the word will face sincerely religious people who refuse truth & thus surround themselves with the trappings of the novelty they crave.
They will want to hear niceties & worldly things in church, not how they oppose God’s truth, but how they are legitimate lifestyles for Christians.
There will always be supporters of human desire, & preachers encouraging such, rather than the truth of God’s word. These accumulate teachers of their own desire. They build churches, schools, seminaries, send missionaries....but they fail God.
“Endure/Put up with”—anecomai—to hold up;2) to hold one’s self erect & firm; 3) to sustain, to bear, to endure “Sound”—ugiainw—to be sound, to be well, to be in good health.
“Doctrine”—didaskalia—See 3:16 above.
“Desires/Lusts”—epiyumia—desire, craving, longing, desire for what is forbidden, lust.
“Itching /Tickled”—knhyw—To scratch, tickle, make to itch; 2) to itch; 3) Desirous of hearing something pleasant.
“Heap up/Accumulate”—episwreuw—to heap up, accumulate in piles.
:4—“& they will turn their ears away from the truth, & be turned aside to fables.”
Doctrinal teachings: the Tri-unity of God—The Father, Jesus, the Holy Spirit. Nature of God—Omniscience, omnipresence, omnipotence, etc. Soul Competency with the responsibilities of both God & man.
Accept homosexuality as something which cannot be refused on genetic grounds rather than accepting its reality as sin. Churches install pastors, leadership, etc. who are openly gay.
Accept abortion as something to be decided by lifestyle & personal choice rather than accepting the truth that the unborn child is a blessing of God, a person & a potential adult with future ramifications for good which you can only imagine!
Accept that the government should watch over everything & supply everything for us rather than maintaining a Christian work ethic.
“Turned aside”—ektrepw—1) To turn or twist out—1a) In a medical sense used of dislocated limbs; 2) To turn off or aside; 3) To be turned aside; 4) To turn aside; 5) To turn away from, to shun a thing, to avoid meeting or associating with one.
“Fables/Myths”—muyov—A fiction, a fable—2b1) An invention, a falsehood.
Argumentation:
Acts 17:16-21—“Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was provoked within him when he saw that the city was given over to idols. Therefore he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews & with the Gentile worshipers, & in the marketplace daily with those who happened to be there. Then certain Epicurean & Stoic philosophers encountered him. And some said, “What does this babbler want to say?” Others said, “He seems to be a proclaimer of foreign gods,” because he preached to them Jesus & the resurrection. And they took him & brought him to the Areopagus, saying, “May we know what this new doctrine is of which you speak? “For you are bringing some strange things to our ears. Therefore we want to know what these things mean.” For all the Athenians & the foreigners who were there spent their time in nothing else but either to tell or to hear some new thing.”
Ps. 95:7-11—“For He is our God, And we are the people of His pasture, And the sheep of His hand. Today, if you will hear His voice: “Do not harden your hearts, as in the rebellion, As in the day of trial in the wilderness, When your fathers tested Me; They tried Me, though they saw My work. For forty years I was grieved with that generation, And said, ‘It is a people who go astray in their hearts, And they do not know My ways.’ So I swore in My wrath, ‘They shall not enter My rest.’””
Illustration:
Some mainline denominations accepting Gay leadership:
Presbyterian Church, USA
Episcopal Church, USA
United Church of Christ
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
Among SBC—Cooperative Baptist Fellowship
GQ Bill board— ‘The church for people who don’t like church’/Eventually they become ‘The church” they despise!/Think that by doing things differently, they honor God/Eventually the difference becomes standardized/The TIME(s)
Application
?The TIME an incentive for Prioritizing the Preaching of the word?
?You Prioritized the Preaching of the word?
Or would you rather deal in niceties?
4— An incentive prioritizing the preaching of God’s word is....
The FULFILLMENT(:5)
Explanation:(:5)
:5—“But you, Be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.”
“Be watchful in all things”
“Watchful/Sober/Keep your head”—nhfw—Sober, Calm, Circumspect, Collected in spirit. Strong—To abstain from wine (keep sober), i.e. (figuratively) be discreet:-- Be sober, watch.
“All things”—Personal life, privatelife, family life, church life, friendships, relationships. etc.
1Thes. 5:6—“Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch & be sober.”
“Endure afflictions”
“Endure Afflictions /Hardship”—kakopayew— Hardships, Troubles.
2Tim. 2:3-4—“You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier.”
“Do the work of an evangelist”
“Evangelist”—euaggelisthv—1)A bringer of good tidings. 2)NT heralds of salvation through Christ who are not apostles.
What is the work of an evangelist?—To spread the good news of salvation in Christ among everybody within your influence.
“Fulfill your ministry.”
To fulfill ministry is to discharge all kinds of work to which God has called you in the name of Christ.
“Fulfill”—plhroforew—To bear or bring full, to make full—1a) To cause a thing to be shown to the full—1a1) To fulfil the ministry in every part; 1b) To carry through to the end, accomplish; 1b1) Things that have been accomplished. From plhrhv—Full, complete, perfect.—To bear constantly or wear.
“Ministry”—diakonia—Service, Ministering, esp. of those who execute the commands of others; 2) Of those who by the command of God proclaim & promote religion among men.
Col. 4:17—“And say to Archippus, “Take heed to the ministry which you have received in the Lord, that you may fulfill it.””
Summary—As a consequence of the hypocrisy which will infect the church, Timothy is encouraged to combat it with sobriety, diligence & continual evangelization in order to fulfill his call.
Argumentation:
Eph. 4:11-13—“And He[Christ] Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, & some pastors & teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith & of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ;”
Illustration:
Took 2 suits to Quality Cleaners in GQ middle of the week/They said they would be ready @ 4pm Friday/I called @ 3:45, Friday/“We’re putting them together now. They’ll be ready in 5 min!”/FULFILLMENT
Application:
?The FULFILLMENT an incentive for Prioritizing the Preaching of the word?
?You Prioritized the Preaching of the word?
Or would you rather deal in niceties?
5—An incentive prioritizing the preaching of God’s word is....
The OFFERING(:6-8)
Explanation:(:6-8)
:6—“For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, & the time of my departure is at hand.”
Paul is nearing the completion of his life’s sacrifice for the Lord. Thus he is in the process of being poured out...of being given over fully to the Lord, in the sense that his time on this earth is nearing it end. Paul is aware that the “time of” his “departure” has arrived.
Num. 15.—To fulfill a vow or as a freewill offering— In order: a Burnt offering, then a Grain offering placed upon the animal sacrifice, The entirety of the Drink offering was poured out upon the grain offering. This completed the offering.
Php 2:12-17—“Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear & trembling; for it is God who works in you both to will & to do for His good pleasure. Do all things without complaining & disputing, that you may become blameless & harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked & perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast the word of life, so that I may rejoice in the day of Christ that I have not run in vain or labored in vain. Yes, & if I am being poured out as a drink offering on the sacrifice & service of your faith, I am glad & rejoice with you all.”
:7—“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.”
The following 3 descriptions further flesh out what it means to have reached the stage of ministry where Paul is aware that he is being poured out as a drink offering(:6).
“I have fought the good fight,”
“Fought”—agwnizomai—1) To enter a contest: contend in the gymnastic games;2) To contend with adversaries, fight; 3) metaph. To contend, struggle, with difficulties & dangers; 4) To endeavor with strenuous zeal, strive: to obtain something.
“Fight”—agwn—1) An assembly,—1a) A place of assembly: especially an assembly met to see games, 1b) The place of contest, the arena or stadium; 2) The assembly of the Greeks at their national games—2a) Hence the contest for a prize at their games, 2b) Generally, any struggle or contest, 2c) A battle, 2d) An action at law, trial. Strong—properly, A place of assembly (as if led), i.e. (by implication) a contest (held there); figuratively, An effort or anxiety:-- Conflict, contention, fight, race.
Paul has spent his years in Christ involved in a “fight” & he has fought well, giving it his all. He has not wasted his energy in the fight because it is “the good fight.” There is but one fight worth our involvement...The fight of faith in Christ empowered by the Holy Spirit...
1Tim. 6:12—“Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called & have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.”
1Cor. 9:24-27—“Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it. And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown. Therefore I run thus: not with uncertainty. Thus I fight: not as one who beats the air. But I discipline my body & bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified.”
“I have finished the race,”
Heb. 12:1—“Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, & the sin which so easily ensnares us, & let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,”
Likewise Paul has run, to its end, the race/course that God had chosen/laid out for him.
God likewise has laid out a course for you as well! What is it & are you on it?
You cannot stay on the path apart from daily interaction with the Designer & Director of the goal & the path leading to it.
“Finished”—telew—1) To bring to a close, to finish, to end—1a) Passed, finished; 2) To perform, execute, complete, fulfil, (so that the thing done corresponds to what has been said, the order, command etc.); 3) To pay(tribute). Strong—To end, ie. complete, Execute, conclude, discharge (a debt):-- Accomplish, make an end, expire, fill up, finish, go over, pay, perform.
“Race/Course”—dromov—A course(of life or office). Used 3X. Strong—A race, i.e. (figuratively) career:-- course.
“I have kept the faith.”
As a vital aspect of Paul’s “finishing” his race/course, he has also “kept the faith”—1)Faithful to the call & 2)Faithful to the Gospel of Christ.
When we get to the end of a task, we sometimes get lazy just because we are near the end. Friday evenings, Shift endings, etc.
But Paul says that he has not only finished but been faithful during its run!
“Kept”—threw—To attend to carefully, take care of. Expresses watchful care & is suggestive of present possession. Strong—To guard (from loss or injury, properly, by keeping the eye upon.
: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, & not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing.”
“Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness,”
Paul’s crown is reserved(“laid up”) for him alone.
It will be given to Paul by “the Lord” Himself as He is “the righteous Judge” of all. Thus Paul’s crown will be given per the terms of the Lord’s perfect judgment & will not be determined thru tainted human means.
2Tim. 1:12,18—“For this reason I also suffer these things; nevertheless I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed & am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day.”.... “The Lord grant to him that he may find mercy from the Lord in that Day--& you know very well how many ways he ministered to me at Ephesus.”
Phil. 2:14-16—“Do all things without complaining & disputing, that you may become blameless & harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked & perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast the word of life, so that I may rejoice in the day of Christ that I have not run in vain or labored in vain.”
“Laid up”—apokeimai—1) To be laid away, laid by, reserved; 2) Reserved for one, awaiting him. Strong—To be reserved; figuratively, To await:-- be Appointed, (be) Laid up.
“Crown”—stefanov—From an apparently primary stefw (to twine or wreathe); a chaplet (as a badge of royalty, a prize in the public games or a symbol of honor generally; but more conspicuous & elaborate than the simple fillet, diadhma), literally or figuratively:-- crown. Like the Latin "corona" is the crown in the sense of a chaplet, wreath or garland -- The badge of"victory in the games of civic worth, of military valor, of nuptial joy, of festive gladness"
“Righteousness”—dikaiosunh—1) In a broad sense: State of him who is as he ought to be, righteousness, the condition acceptable to God; 2) In a narrower sense, Justice or the virtue which gives each his due. Strong—Equity (of character or act); specially (Christian) justification:-- Righteousness.
“Which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day,”
“Lord”—kuriov—He to whom a person or thing belongs, about which he has power of deciding; master, lord.
“Righteous”—dikaiov—Righteous, observing divine laws. Strong—Equitable (in character or act); by implication, innocent, holy (absolutely or relatively):-- Just, meet, right(-eous).
“Judge”—krithv—One who passes or arrogates to himself, judgment on anything. Gives prominence to the mental process, whether the judge is a magistrate or not.
“Give”—apodidwmi—1) To deliver, to give away for one’s own profit what is one’s own, to sell; 2) To pay off, discharge what is due; 3) To give back, restore; 4) To requite, recompense in a good or a bad sense.
“& not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing.”
Paul’s crown is of a category of crowns which will be given to others as well. These who receive the crown of righteousness must, as Paul, be faithful to their calling & steadfast in living out the Christian faith with purpose. As such faithful people they will have been those “who have loved” the “appearing” of their Lord Jesus Christ.
“But also to all who have loved His appearing.”
“Loved”—agapaw—Strong—To love (in a social or moral sense). RWP—Dative case of the perfect active participle of agapaw, to love, who have loved & still love his second coming. hgaphkosin is Perfect tense & is ‘the accomplishment of something in the past which has continuing effects.’—MacArthur
‘Perfect tense...suggests that they have loved Jesus’ appearing in the past & continued to do so until the moment of reward.’—Thomas D. Lea
“Appearing”—epifaneia—An appearing or appearance. RWP—Can, as in 1:10, be interpreted of Christ’s Incarnation.
2Tim. 1:8-10—“Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me His prisoner, but share with me in the sufferings for the gospel according to the power of God, who has saved us & called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose & grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began, but has now been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ, who has abolished death & brought life & immortality to light through the gospel,”
Argumentation:
Lk. 7:41-47—To Simon the Pharisee—“There was a certain creditor who had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, & the other fifty. And when they had nothing with which to repay, he freely forgave them both. Tell Me, therefore, which of them will love him more? Simon answered & said, “I suppose the one whom he forgave more.” And He said to him, “You have rightly judged.” Then He turned to the woman & said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave Me no water for My feet, but she has washed My feet with her tears & wiped them with the hair of her head. You gave Me no kiss, but this woman has not ceased to kiss My feet since the time I came in. You did not anoint My head with oil, but this woman has anointed My feet with fragrant oil. Therefore I say to you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much. But to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little.””
Why do you offer, Jesus & others, what you offer?
Mk. 12:28-31—“Then one of the scribes came, & having heard them reasoning together, perceiving that He had answered them well, asked Him, “Which is the first commandment of all?” Jesus answered him, “The first of all the commandments is: ‘Hear, O Israel, the LORD our God, the LORD is one. ‘And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, & with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment. “And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.””
If you do not love you can neither serve nor offer yourself for the One you do not love. Your crown is reserved only if you love enough to live righteously.
Rom. 12:1—“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.”
Illustration:
2010 trip to Sunset Beach,NC for my uncle Paul’s funeral/Down US 52 to Wadesboro & got on US 74/Garmin GPS/Useless!/Did not recognize the highway we were on for 2/3 of the trip!/The OFFERING was negligible
My uncle Paul/Raised his own son’s child to adulthood/Collected the Bronze Star & Purple Heart during WWII/Tithed unreservedly to his church/Oversaw the purchase of the land on which the church was built/Oversaw the laying of its foundation/The OFFERING
Application:
?The OFFERING an incentive for Prioritizing the Preaching of the word?
?You Prioritized the Preaching of the word?
Or would you rather deal in niceties?
CONCLUSION:
Action:
Incentives prioritizing the preaching of God’s word are....
3—The TIME(s)(:3-4)
4—The FULFILLMENT(:5)
5—The OFFERING(:6-8)
1—The KINGDOM(:1)
2—The CONVICTION(:2)
Presented 06/27/2010am to:
Needmore Baptist Church
1620 Mt. Vernon Rd.
Woodleaf,NC 27054
