PREACH THE GOD-BREATHED WORD

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

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; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction.

2 Timothy 4:1-2

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Like within this ministry, The Christian Walk, people compose Christian messages to share with others every day. And on Sundays, believers will go to the church of their choice and hear a sermon crafted by their pastor or other person called by the Lord to speak. Indeed, preaching and teaching is never hard to find but are the messengers bringing proper messages to the people of God?

To answer that question, we need to define “proper” and in the opening verses of 2 Timothy 4, we find the Bible doing just that. Look again at the words of the Apostle Paul as he writes to Timothy, his ministry partner and pastor of the church in Ephesus:

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; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction.

First of all, we know this exhortation carries ultimate authority as it is given “in the presence of God” and “Christ Jesus”. No one in their right mind would speak falsehood before the Maker and Master of Creation and His Savior Son who will return one day to “judge the living and the dead” so therefore we know that the charge that follows is offered up in the purest of truth to be applied completely as prescribed. And this command applies to not only Timothy but anyone else who serves as a messenger of the Lord from that point on.

What was the command given?

It was simply this.

Preach the Word.

Note here that the call isn’t to preach some of the Word but all of it. No messenger has the right to pick and choose what they do and don‘t want to share. For the entirety of the Word, from Genesis to Revelation, contains God’s overall plan for the judgment, redemption, and salvation of His created people. This includes intentional discussions about Heaven and Hell because both are real potential destinations for a person.

This Word that is to be preached in its entirety is found in no ordinary book but rather the Holy Bible itself, the Bible that contains the scriptures, all of which are God-breathed (2 Timothy 3:16-17). As we looked at in yesterday’s message, this means that the Word is a living and dynamic Word that holds the very power of God to transform from the inside out when it is read or shared with others. Look at these words from Hebrews regarding the power of the scriptures:

For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account. 4:12-13

When the Word is preached and taught properly, it “penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit”. It cuts straight to the heart, exposing and judging” all inner “thoughts and attitudes”. In other words, it accesses places that no one but the Lord can. A person may be able to hide things from others but no one can conceal anything from God’s sight. He uncovers everything within our hearts and minds, laying them bear and holding us accountable.

This is a teaching and preaching we all need to hear today.

So the demand is to preach the Word and to do so completely. A message void of an emphasis on the scriptures is a wasted message. Anyone can write an exposition on life experiences using their own viewpoints and emotions. Further, anyone can choose to just preach and teach things that people want to hear, proclaiming that a breakthrough is coming imminently or healing will happen anytime now or financial prosperity is going to happen soon. None of this is scriptural of course but it makes a person feel good and breeds a sense of hope, no matter how false it might be.

So what would go into ensuring a messenger delivers a proper preaching and teaching of the God-breathed, living Word?

Go back to our passage for today from 2 Timothy 4 for the answers.

First, the person who provides the message must be properly prepared.

I can say that for me, this means to pray and meditate on the scriptures I will be writing about. Then, it’s a full on partnership with the Holy Spirit from the first to the last words typed out. I never want my messages to be my words but the words of the Lord I serve, the Lord who gave us all the Word and the best way to do that is to allow the Holy Spirit to speak the words into my heart and mind so I can share with my readers.

Second, a messenger of the Word has to be ready to share messages that will sometimes appeal to others but at other times correct. When you read the Bible, we learn that our Lord is a Lord of love but equally is a Lord of judgment and wrath. He loves the sinner but despises the sin within them. A messenger who chooses to just preach or teach one without the other is violating the command to preach the whole Word of God.

Finally, a genuine Bible message, one that obediently honors the God who calls for it, will be crafted “with great patience and careful instruction”.

Many times, I have sat for quite some time to make sure the message shared is just right. This often would require connecting the scripture I was writing from with other scriptures in the Bible, much like invoking the Hebrews passage in today’s message. Good messengers of the Word know and understand that scripture often informs scripture and one must exercise caution to not just rush a message to fruition, all the while missing important points that could have (and should have) been made. Again, allowing the Holy Spirit to lead the message crafting process goes a long way toward ensuring proper patience is exercised.

This proper patience will also lead to the “careful instruction” of the people of God. It’s absolutely critical to make sure that the true intent of the Lord’s Word is conveyed to those who will receive the message delivered. Falsely interpreting the scriptures will lead to a message that delivers falsehood and that’s something that simply can’t happen. The Holy Spirit will prevent this as long as the messenger works hand in hand with Him during message development.

My brothers and sister in Christ Jesus, I count it an honor and privilege to be used by the Lord to share devotional messages with you daily and I pray that they are a blessing to your life and the lives of others. I have and always will “preach the Word” after the needed patient preparation and share what the Holy Spirit places in my heart and mind, whether it is to encourage or rebuke, all to carefully instruct you the reader. This will always be my commitment to you through The Christian Walk Ministry.

Blessings to you always.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.