Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables. (2 Timothy 4:2-4) Therefore they that were scattered abroad went everywhere preaching the word. (Acts 8:4)
“PREACH" OCCURS 50 TIMES IN THE KING JAMES BIBLE. In 2 Timothy 4:2-4 it means to proclaim as a public herald; one who travels through the streets calling out an announcement. But in Acts 8:4, “preach” means to evangelize or communicate more on a personal basis.
WIERSBE COMMENTS: “In Paul’s day, a ruler had a special herald who made announcements to the people. He was commissioned by the ruler to make his announcements in a loud, clear voice so everyone could hear. He was not an ambassador with the privilege of negotiating; he was a messenger with a proclamation to be heard and heeded. Not to heed the ruler’s messenger was serious; to abuse the messenger was even worse.
“TIMOTHY WAS TO HERALD GOD'S WORD WITH THE AUTHORITY OF HEAVEN BEHIND HIM. The Word of God is what both sinners and saints need. It is a pity that many churches have substituted other things for the preaching of the Word, things that may be good in their place, but that are bad when they replace the proclamation of the Word. In my own pastoral ministry, I have seen what the preaching of the Word can do in churches and in individual lives; and I affirm that nothing can take its place.
“TIMOTHY SHOULD BE DILIGENT AND ALERT to use every opportunity to preach the Word, when it is favorable and even when it is not favorable. It is easy to make excuses when we ought to be making opportunities. Paul himself always found an opportunity to share the Word, whether it was in the temple courts, on a stormy sea, or even in prison. “He that observeth the wind shall not sow; and he that regardeth the clouds shall not reap” (Ecc_11:4). Stop making excuses and get to work!
“PREACHING MUST BE MARKED BY THREE ELEMENTS: conviction, warning, and appeal (“reprove, rebuke, exhort”). To quote an old rule of preachers, “He should afflict the comfortable and comfort the afflicted.” If there is conviction but no remedy, we add to people’s burdens. And if we encourage those who ought to be rebuked, we are assisting them to sin. Biblical preaching must be balanced.” (Wiersbe)
BEYOND THE PUBLIC PROCLAMATION KIND OF PREACHING by one who is gifted and called of God to the task, there is the one-on-one kind of preaching that must be done by individuals who encounter individuals as they go through the day, throughout the world. Much preaching can be done privately by the use of John 3:16 combined with the questions: 1. Do you need to be saved? 2. Do you want to be saved? 3. Do you know how to be saved? 4. Would you like for me to pray with you? Another word for private preaching is “witnessing.”
WHEN WE WAKE UP IN THE MORNING, we should begin the day with thanksgiving to God for rest through the night and the blessing of a new day. Then, ask the Lord to show you someone to greet with John 3:16. That’s not the only verse, but it is a good one. If you have committed your day to the Lord, He may give you another verse or give you another statement to share with those you meet during the day.
JESUS DID A LOT OF PUBLIC PREACHING AND HE ALSO TALKED TO INDIVIDUALS such as the woman by the well in Samaria (John 4). We need to be about the Master’s business of sharing, “preaching” the Word with people we meet during the day. They are in Walmart, at the Post Office. It doesn’t take long to share a good tract with someone at the cash register and ask them to read it. They are those strangers that call you, trying to sell you something. “May I ask you something? Do you have a Bible in your house?” “Do you know the best-loved Bible verse in the whole world for the last two thousand years?” And then quote John 3:16. That is seed-sowing and it is a vital part of “preaching.”
Read Through the Bible in a Year
June 25, 2019 – TUESDAY
A.M. Job 4-6 P.M. Acts 7:20-46
(Bible Gateway will read this to you if you like. Look for the speaker icon.)
Great Memory Verse:
Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee. (Psalm 119:11)
Song for Today:
The Loveliness of Christ (4:34) (Solo: Jacob Francis)
https://www.facebook.com/100009410046480/videos/2584280931895550/
This is new to me…a beautiful song!
Wait a few seconds. You may have to wait for an ad.