2 Timothy 4:2 - Sharing Jesus at Every Opportunity!
2 Timothy 4:2 - Sharing Jesus at Every Opportunity!
2 Timothy 4:2 (KJV) Preach the word; be instant in season, out
of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and
doctrine.
2 Timothy 4:2 (NRSV) Proclaim the message; be persistent whether
the time is favorable or unfavorable; convince, rebuke, and
encourage, with the utmost patience in teaching.
2 Timothy 4:2 (AV) Herald and preach the Word! Keep your sense
of urgency [stand by, be at hand and ready], whether the
opportunity seems to be favorable or unfavorable. [Whether it is convenient
or inconvenient, whether it is welcome or unwelcome, you as
preacher of the Word are to show people in what way their lives are
wrong.] And convince them, rebuking and correcting, warning and urging
and encouraging them, being unflagging and inexhaustible in patience
and teaching.
2 Timothy 4:2 (TLB) to preach the Word of God urgently at all
times, whenever you get the chance, in season and out, when it is
convenient and when it is not. Correct and rebuke your people when they
need it, encourage them to do right, and all the time be feeding them
patiently with God's Word.
Be ready in season and out of season. i.e., always be ready,
whether the time is opportune or not. [Ryrie SB]
"Be prepared in season and out of season" means to always be
ready to serve God in any situation, whether or not it is convenient.
Be sensitive to the opportunities God gives you. [Life Application
SB]
Be prepared for, courageous in, and sensitive to God-given
opportunities to tell the Good News. [Life Application SB]
Be ready in any situation to speak the needed word, whether of
correction, of rebuke or of encouragement. [NIV SB]
We are not saved only to be instruments for God, but to be His
sons and daughters. He does not turn us into spiritual agents but
into spiritual messengers, and the message must be a part of us. The
Son of God was His own message--"The words that I speak to you are
spirit, and they are life" (John 6:63). As His disciples, our lives must
be a holy example of the reality of our message. Even the natural
heart of the unsaved will serve if called upon to do so, but it takes
a heart broken by conviction of sin, baptized by the Holy Spirit,
and crushed into submission to God's purpose to make a person's life
a holy example of God's message.
There is a difference between giving a testimony and
preaching. A preacher is someone who has received the call of God and is
determined to use all his energy to proclaim God's truth. God takes us
beyond our own aspirations and ideas for our lives, and molds and
shapes us for His purpose, just as He worked in the disciples' lives
after Pentecost. The purpose of Pentecost was not to teach the
disciples something, but to make them the incarnation of what they
preached so that they would literally become God's message in the flesh.
"... you shall be witnesses to Me ..." (Acts 1:8).
Allow God to have complete liberty in your life when you
speak. Before God's message can liberate other people, His liberation
must first be real in you. Gather your material carefully, and then
allow God to "set your words on fire" for His glory. [My Utmost for
His Highest by Oswald Chambers]
Many of us suffer from the unbalanced tendency to "be ready"
only "out of season." The season does not refer to time; it refers to
us. This verse says, "Preach the Word! Be ready in season and out of
season." In other words, we should "be ready" whether we feel like it or
not. If we do only what we feel inclined to do, some of us would
never do anything. There are some people who are totally unemployable
in the spiritual realm. They are spiritually feeble and weak, and
they refuse to do anything unless they are supernaturally inspired.
The proof that our relationship is right with God is that we do our
best whether we feel inspired or not.
One of the worst traps a Christian worker can fall into is to
become obsessed with his own exceptional moments of inspiration. When
the Spirit of God gives you a time of inspiration and insight, you
tend to say, "Now that I've experienced this moment, I will always be
like this for God." No, you will not, and God will make sure of that.
Those times are entirely the gift of God. You cannot give them to
yourself when you choose. If you say you will only be at your best for
God, as during those exceptional times, you actually become an
intolerable burden on Him. You will never do anything unless God keeps you
consciously aware of His inspiration to you at all times. If you make a god
out of your best moments, you will find that God will fade out of
your life, never to return until you are obedient in the work He has
placed closest to you, and until you have learned not to be obsessed
with those exceptional moments He has given you. [My Utmost for His
Highest by Oswald Chambers]
It's not easy to be rejected and ignored. Right now one of my
closest friends, who has pastored one church for over 25 years, is
feeling the frustration Paul alluded to. Somehow his leadership now
seems unwelcome. It's not that the people have turned "their ears away
from the truth." Its just that, somehow, he seems much less effective
than before. The work of ministry, whether engaged in as a
profession, or as an expression of every believer's faith, is both rewarding
and discouraging. When discouragement comes it's so easy to lose
heart--and to fail to keep our heads. How do we respond? We do the work God
has called us to do. For Timothy this was preaching the Word, in and
out of season, correcting and rebuking and encouraging--and all with
great patience and care. For us, ministry is exactly the same. We have
the same Word to share, the same concern for others, that any
professional pastor has. It isn't necessary that everyone respond favorably
to us as we serve them for Jesus' sake. It is only necessary to
"discharge all the duties of your ministry." [The 365-Day Devotional
Commentary]
[In the following commentary think of recovery in the board
sense of all sin and not just that of addiction]
Sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ with others is an integral
part of Christian living. The good news of our recovery in Christ is
also something to be shared. In fact, a strong and permanent
recovery is impossible unless we make sharing our story an integral part
of our life. By sharing our story of deliverance, we will offer
new life to many needy people. In the process, we will be reminded
of God's wonderful work in our life and be encouraged to persevere.
We will build strong relationships with others as we walk
through recovery with them. This will lead to the healthy community
life necessary to support our recovery on a permanent basis. [Life
Recovery Bible mod]
LINKS WORTH CHECKING OUT:
Grace Notes:
http://www.e-gracenotes.org/index.php
A Better Way to Live:
http://www.itiswritten.com/betterway/
Excellent Spiritual Resource Site:
http://www.christianlifemediacenter.com/
More Spiritual Resources:
http://www.aBible.com
Lifting Up Jesus Bible Studies:
http://www.liftingupjesus.net/
The FAST Bible Memorization Program:
http://www.fast.st/fast/index.php
