"Preach the Word"

READ: 2 Timothy 4:1-22

REFLECT
Herein lies the ongoing, all encompassing, over arching task of any evangelist, “preach the word”! To Christians and to non-Christians, whether they like it and listen or hate it and reject the message - “preach the word” and keep on preaching it. It’s not just about “preaching” but it is also about what you preach. Evangelists need to make the word practical and real to their audiences (whether consisting of one or one thousand), but it is not their job to entertain their audiences. When I hear an evangelist preach, I want to hear the word of God. I want to be confronted with the holy scriptures and challenged to look deeply into the truth and to measure my life by what God says.

It is my opinion that evangelists today feel so much pressure to capture the interest and hold the attention of even their Christian audience. Often, that portion of their message that has anything to do with exposing and explaining the word of God is minimal or lost in the telling of creative and humorous stories or in making some eye-popping visual presentation. Thus evangelists often spend more preparation time on the illustrations, examples and visuals than they do digging deep into the truth of God’s word. I believe, even in our fellowship, that we are in danger of doing exactly what Paul warned Timothy about - “Instead to suit their own desires they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.” In our case today, “they will turn aside” to entertaining talks.

I’m not saying that evangelists shouldn’t strive to be relatable and to make their messages interesting and practical, but rather, when the manner of preaching is more important than the message, we all are in a scary place spiritually. Love for the truth and conviction about the truth within the hearts of both the evangelist and the audience are what will make the preaching of the word exciting and compelling.

PRAY
Father, I am so jaded by technology and so bombarded by information and presentations that it is easy to struggle with my attention to both the written and the preached word of God. I feel the pressure to capture and hold the interest of my audience. May I never doubt the power of your Holy Spirit to use the preached word to capture the hearts and minds of those who are truly seeking a relationship with you. May I not give into the worldly pressure I feel to entertain, and to compare myself to those who might be more gifted in telling stories or preparing visuals. May I devote my energy to studying your word, living it out in my own life and then confidently preaching it to the crowds, both Christian and non-Christian. It is your word that moves people, not my speaking ability.

OBEY
How do you evaluate your evangelist’s messages? Is he more focused on preaching the word or on being entertaining? Do you love to hear the word of God being preached? Do you love to hear the truth explained and applied to your life?