22nd
PENTECOST Sunday
Rev. Norman F. Seeger
2 Timothy 3:14-4:5
14 But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, 15 and how from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.
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: 2 Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. 3 For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. 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. 4 They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. 5 But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.
2 Timothy 3:14-4:5
"BE PREPARED TO PREACH”
1. God’s Word is Our Life’s Source
2. God’s Word is Our Life’s Resource
Dear Christians,
“Are you prepared?” our
Lord would indirectly ask us this morning as he orders us to “Be
prepared.” Are you
prepared? Showering, brushing our teeth
after we eat a little breakfast, putting on clean clothes that show our respect
for God as we come into the Lord’s house, making sure there is enough gas in
the tank to get us to church, as eight o’clock approaches on a Sunday morning,
we may say, “Yes, I am prepared…I am ready to worship my Savior.” Preparing for worship today, children (with
their parents) may have also sharpened their memory, reviewing words to the
song they would sing before saying, “Yes, I am prepared…I am ready to sing my
Savior’s praises.” Good. But “Are you prepared to preach?”
Our Lord actually asks,
“Are you prepared to preach?” “No,” you
may say, “preaching is Pastor Seeger’s assignment.” True, on one hand, members may rightly expect
me to translate our text, reference other passages clarifying & deepening
God’s meaning in this portion of his Word; to carefully consider specific
applications to situations we face in life today. Members may rightly expect our pastor to prayerfully
outline, write, memorize & to as effectively as possible preach a sermon
instructing, correcting & encouraging us to properly live our eternal life
in Christ. As
What if I had vanished
into thin air as I walked to church this morning? Would you be prepared to step into this pulpit
to present God’s truth? No, this is not
what God expects. Nor will the Lord ask
anyone to publicly preach on a moment’s notice.
However, God does order all his people to “be prepared – in season &
out of season – to preach the Word” … to personally speak Jesus’ truth
in private or personal conversations which can occur in public settings. Are we prepared … prepared to talk about our
Lord … prepared to witness our Savior at every opportunity? As apostle Paul writes to young pastor Timothy,
like a veteran reviewing God’s will with a vicar, our Lord addresses each one
of us Christians, ordering us, “Be prepared to (personally) preach!” I pray we realize, ordering us to
witness the Savior in our daily lives, the Lord will equip us for our task by
focusing our attention on the Scriptures, for God’s Word is not only our life’s
source, but God’s Word is also our life’s resource.
Preaching produced
persecution in Paul’s life, but opposition Timothy might face is not to deter
him nor deter us from witnessing Christ.
In fact, Paul points out, “Everyone who wants to live a godly life in
Christ will be persecuted while evil men go from bad to worse, deceiving &
being deceived. But as for you, continue
in what you have learned & have become convinced of, because you know those
from whom you learned it & how, from infancy, you have known the holy
Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in
Christ Jesus.” Facing
opposition, let Timothy look back to his childhood where, like many of us,
Timothy could see a loving mother & grandmother, Eunice & Lois, who
passed on their faith to their children, handing God’s gift of salvation to their
next generation by telling Timothy about Jesus, the Christ whose cross would
produce eternal life rather than death for all his faithful followers.
No matter how
threatening today’s earthly opponents may appear, can Timothy even think of
disappointing his faithful mother or grandmother by walking away from God’s
word? Will Timothy let deceptive false
preachers persuade him he has no sins deserving eternal death or convince him
his own actions are good enough to gain God’s approval? Not wanting to disappoint our loving ancestors;
never desiring to seaparate ourselves from faithful parents whose prayer as they
face death is that we continue confessing Christ so we will be reunited in
heaven is a powerful, emotional incentive for me to keep repenting of my sin
& rejoicing in Jesus’ forgiveness. But
loving parents do not produce faith nor sustain faith. God’s Word is our life’s source. “Faith comes from hearing the message
through the word of Christ.”[ROM
10] “The holy Scriptures” – law
& gospel, the commandments that convinces us we are sinners & the good news
about Jesus atoning for all sin by sacrificing himself as every soul’s
Substitute – law & gospel, “Scriptures” the Holy Spirit moved
men to record for us in the Bible produce faith. “The holy Scriptures make us wise for
salvation” by leading souls to see Jesus our Savior redeeming our sins
through his death after living a perfect life God counts as our holiness.
“In view of Jesus appearing at the end of time to judge the living & the dead” – since we certainly want to
be part of Christ’s heavenly kingdom – Paul instructs us to continue studying;
to keep believing the Word of God which the Holy Spirit uses to make us wiser, to
make us more certain of our salvation. Studying
God’s Word, the source of our eternal life – using the Bible when we worship,
studying Scripture together, reading our Bible privately – God’s Word serves as
our life’s essential resource. Direction
& power for faithful Christian living comes from “the Scriptures.” Producing saving faith in hearts, leading us
to rely upon Jesus’ promised forgiveness to carry us into his heavenly home, “holy,
God-breathed Scriptures” also prepare God’s people to faithfully live
for Christ today. “The holy Scriptures thoroughly
equip us for every good work, teaching, rebuking, correcting & training us
in righteousness.”
Am I “prepared
to preach…to preach God’s Word in season & out of season”…stepping
into this pulpit Sunday morning, running into someone on the street Tuesday
afternoon or visiting in your home Thursday night? Are you “prepared to preach?” Are you prepared to speak Jesus’ truth at any
time? Are you ready to talk about our
Savior in conversations you anticipate, possibly in one-on-one conversations
you specifically initiate, conversations where you may plan in advance what you
want to say about Jesus? Are you
prepared to tell somebody Jesus’ truth if opportunities to talk repentance
& forgiveness or to speak about sin & our Savior arise in impromptu discussions
we would not have anticipated?
Studying the
Scriptures is the only way we will become better prepared to witness
our Lord & Savior, Jesus Christ.
Only God’s Word will enable us to rightly “rebuke” a sinner, to
specifically point out what another individual is doing is sinfully wrong – not
‘wrong’ in our personal opinion, but absolutely ‘wrong’ in God’s eyes. Calling for an individual to “correct”
sinful actions or attitudes, we are to only apply God’s instructions, not
our individual ideas. Using “the
Scriptures,” we will not only warn sinners to stop doing what God
forbids, but we will also use “the Scriptures to teach, to train; to
encourage” people to do what is right in God’s eyes & will be
beneficial in their lives.
Studying the
Scriptures, becoming better prepared to witness Christ at any time, you
& I will not only learn what to say as we speak for our Savior, but we will
be guided & enabled by the Spirit to speak for our Lord “with
great patience & careful instruction.”
Patience, as you may know by experience, is not natural. Patience is a “fruit of the Spirit” God
grows in us saints as we are studying his Word.
We listen when Jesus patiently responds to the accusation he is a devil as
he exorcises an evil spirit by noting how self-defeating it would be for Satan
to cast out Satan; then explaining a person defeating the devil must be God…the
Son of God who came to save us all from our sins. Learning not to respond to inaccurate evil
accusations with angry accusations of our own, we are inspired to respond to
earthly opposition by calmly, patiently explaining Jesus’ call for repentance
& promise of forgiveness.
Urging us to exercise “great
patience & careful instruction” as we speak God’s Word in our
world, Paul offers a scouting report on opposition we will encounter, warning, “the
time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. 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.” Paul was looking
at our modern world, wasn’t he? God knew
people would be unwilling to acknowledge their sins, so they would find ‘false’
preachers to tell them sexual appetites being satisfied outside of marriage,
anger, greed, defying authorities, swearing, worshipping whatever, whenever,
whomever & however we want to worship, along with countless other
unscriptural attitudes & actions are not sin but are our personal options. God knew but never approved of what today’s
worldly prophets would falsely preach, so he warns, “People wanting to satisfy themselves will turn their itching ears away from the truth; will turn aside to
myths. But you, children of God –
our Lord orders -- keep your head in all
situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the
duties of your ministry.”
Are you ready to fully
serve our Savior? Are you prepared to
preach? Are you ready, will & able
to patiently speak Jesus’ saving truth at any time? Study the Scriptures! Cling to God’s Word proclaiming law &
gospel, sin & grace, repentance & forgiveness because God’s Word is our
source of eternal life as the Holy Spirit, using the gospel, produces faith in
Jesus Christ in our hearts. God’s Word
is our resource for our Christian life as the Holy Spirit, using law &
gospel, directs & empowers us to faithfully witness Christ as we live in
Jesus’ love & patiently, yet persistently talk about about Jesus, carefully
instructing & calmly inviting even the opposition to believe & be saved
by our Lord Jesus Christ.
Amen.