“PREACH THE WORD!”

2 Timothy 4:1-5                                                  (ESV)

“1 I charge you in the presence of GOD and of CHRIST JESUS, WHO is to judge the living and the dead, and by HIS appearing and HIS Kingdom:

2 “PREACH THE WORD”; be ready in season and out of season; REPROVE, REBUKE, and EXHORT, with complete patience and teaching.

3 For THE TIME IS COMING WHEN PEOPLE WILL NOT ENDURE SOUND TEACHING, but HAVING ITCHING EARS they will accumulate for themselves TEACHERS to SUIT THEIR OWN PASSIONS,

4 and will turn away from LISTENING TO THE TRUTH and WANDER off into MYTHS.

5 As for you, always be sober-minded, ENDURE SUFFERING, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.”

Seeing all of the so-called “ministers” of congregations numbering in the thousands, being televised to the masses, preaching sermonettes that aren’t deep enough to convict sinners, should cause true Believers to humbly beg ALMIGHTY GOD to have mercy on the souls not hearing TRUTH!  There are very few people who attend church any longer who are seeking their lives to be changed.  Instead, people come to church to be entertained and coddled, and many parishioners find speakers who are happy to oblige them.  

The Apostle Paul probably had no idea when he wrote this letter to Timothy that his letter would be used for years to come to foretell exactly what he wrote about above.   THE TIME IS COMING WHEN PEOPLE WILL NOT ENDURE SOUND TEACHING, but HAVING ITCHING EARS they will accumulate for themselves TEACHERS to SUIT THEIR OWN PASSIONS, and will turn away from LISTENING TO THE TRUTH and WANDER off into MYTHS is not speaking about the future any longer, but about a lot of modern day houses of worship.  

When he wrote I charge you in the presence of GOD and of CHRIST JESUS, WHO is to judge the living and the dead, and by HIS appearing and HIS Kingdom: “PREACH THE WORD”; be ready in season and out of season; REPROVE, REBUKE, and EXHORT, the Apostle Paul was instructing Timothy to prepare to ENDURE SUFFERING!  He knew that true Saints would not expect to experience a life of luxury free from hardships.  

When we “PREACH THE WORD” we need to get ready to experience these same difficulties in our lives.  Romans 5:3-5 says in part “...but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because GOD's love has been poured into our hearts through the HOLY SPIRIT who has been given to us!”  ALMIGHTY GOD has provided us the HOLY SPIRIT to help us “PREACH THE WORD”, but we need to expect to ENDURE SUFFERING when we do!  Preachers and lay people as well!