2 Timothy 4:2
κήρυξον τὸν λόγον, ἐπίστηθι εὐκαίρως ἀκαίρως, ἔλεγξον, ἐπιτίμησον, παρακάλεσον, ἐν πάσῃ μακροθυμίᾳ καὶ διδαχῇ.Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. [NKJV]
Paul’s
command to Timothy, amid all the commands, rings predominant. Here was the Main Thing, that he must focus upon. “Preach the word.” It cannot be secondary.
Yet without prayer, who can preach, for “who is sufficient
for these things?” [2Cor 2:16] Without the
love of Christ toward those who are lost, who will listen to the preacher? We must grow in these as we go, not wait until we old and mature before daring out into
the deep water. Who knows but what, even
lacking heart and soul for the lost, God may use our simple obedience to his
command. Could I shed broken-hearted
tears night and day for the lost, would that make me sufficient for the work of
God? If, with mustard seed faith,
mountains can be moved, perhaps hearts may also be moved by mustard seed love
when God’s living Word is proclaimed in it.
Clearly, it is His Word that gives life, not my prepared sermon or inspired wit.
And it is His love that reaches them, not my bowels of mercy. Of course, I will not bother to preach at all if I have no
love, and it will have no power. As Paul stresses elsewhere, without love, I am but a sounding brass or clanging cymbal. No matter what power of persuasion I may have, without love, I am nothing.
The thing that made Timothy so valuable was that
he really cared, like Paul, for the welfare of God’s people. Love such as this is not a gift. It is the fruit of the Holy Spirit. In Christian preaching then, as in being a true Christian at all, we
are dependent entirely upon the work of the Holy Spirit, and I think, in
desperate need of prayer for this outpouring.
Lord, please pour out
your Spirit on this empty, noisy brass vessel.
Fill me till I will not make so much noise, but overflow to others,
especially my family, my father and mother, my sons Josh and Matthew, my
daughter Sadie, and my precious bride Christine, then to my friends and to the
people of UVa and Charlottesville. Lord,
I am despairing of ever preaching at all. After so much time I still show no
fruit, no power, no changed lives, no glory, no crown. Please refresh me in this short sabbatical
from preaching, that I may draw closer to You, O Savior, and cling to your
words of promise, and receive your Holy Spirit. Lord, take all, but take not
your Holy Spirit from me. Fill me and
anoint me to reach this generation for you, O King, O glorious King of Power
and Wisdom. Lord Jesus Christ, King of
Kings, take the throne in my life now. Amen.
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