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
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
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
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
week
and
to
reflect
on
it
how
these
words
to
Timothy
apply
to
you
what
is
the
ministry
that
God
has
equipped
and
gifted
you
for
in
this
church
and
in
this
community
we
we're
going to
go
to
the
Lord's
table
now
the
Lord's
table
is
something
we
do
each
month
to
remember
our
Lord
Jesus
the
one
Paul
spoke
about
to
Timothy
the
one
he
called
as
witness
to
the
charge
we
remember
the
Lord
Jesus
whom
Paul
said
would
judge
the
living
and
the
dead
whom
Paul
said
would
someday
appear
we
remember
the
Lord
Jesus
who
is
Christ
that
is
king
of
the
coming
kingdom
we
remember
the
word
of
God
that
Paul
preached
as
he
traveled
all
over
the
Mediterranean
world
and
what
did
he
preach
he
preached
Christ
crucified
he
preached
in
his
words
the
word
of
the
cross
this
is
the
amazing
truth
of
God's
word
the
king
of
kings
the
one
who
will
someday
judge
the
living
and
the
dead
when
he
appears
the
one
who
is
coming
to
rule
and
reign
over
earth's
last
and
greatest
kingdom
that
one
came
into
our
world
and
gave
his
life
for
ours
he
suffered
and
bled
and
died
on the
cross
as a
sacrifice
to
God
for the
forgiveness
of our
sins
he
came
and
he
offered
us
citizenship
in
heaven
in
his
coming
kingdom
and
eternal
life
as a
gift
completely
free
for all
who
believe
in
him
that's
what this
table
is all
about
it's
about
the
king
who
died
to
bring
us
into
his
kingdom
the
judge
who
came
and
took
the
punishment
we
deserve
who
served
our
sentence
so we
could
go
free
the
bread
that we
partake
represents
his
body
which
was
broken
for us
as he
died
on the
cross
and the
cup
represents
his
blood
which
was
shed
for
us
and
us
eating
and
drinking
of
these
things
is a
sermon
that we
preach
for
whenever
you
eat
this
bread
and
drink
this
cup
you
proclaim
the
Lord's
death
until
he
comes
let's
take a
few
minutes
to pray
quietly
now
and reflect
on what
Jesus
our
king
has
done
to
save
us
and
then
the
elders
will
come
and
pass
out
the
elements
and
we'll
wait
until
everybody
has
been
served
and
then
we'll
eat
and
drink
together