Trevor Ferguson
July 1, 2018
1st Timothy 4:1-2
1 Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;
2 Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron;
1 Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;
2 Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron;
2nd Timothy 3:1-5
1 This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.
2 For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,
3 Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good,
4 Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;
5 Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.
1 This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.
2 For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,
3 Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good,
4 Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;
5 Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.
2nd Timothy 4:1-5
1 I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom;
2 Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.
3 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;
4 And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.
5 But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry.
1 I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom;
2 Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.
3 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;
4 And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.
5 But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry.
**Message
delivered for opening session at bethel United Church of Jesus Christ (Apostolic)
Convocation 2018**
INTRODUCTION
The theme for this year’s
convocation calls on us to examine our approach to evangelism in the end-time
and discover how we can operate in the miraculous power of God. For today’s
message, I will focus on the broad principles of end-time evangelism and our
approach to preaching the gospel in the end-time.
Now, some may ask, what do we
mean by the end-time?
The end-time refers to the period
preceding the return of Jesus Christ, when he will come to take his church out
of the world and execute judgment up mankind. The bible refers to this period
as the “last days” or “latter times”, in several Old and New Testament
passages, while in the book of Daniel, this period is referred to as the “time
of the end”. For us today the end-time refers to the period of time from the
present to the time of Christ’s return; but in a broader context the end-time can
refer to the period of time spanning the entire church age (from Pentecost to
the return of Jesus Christ). Indeed, the Apostles expected Christ to return
within their life time, and in every generation since then, believers have
actively looked for the coming of Christ in their days.
We note that the theme
presupposes that we are living in the end-time and that the return of Jesus
Christ will be sometime soon, so this can be taken as given. It is important to
note that 'soon' does not denote a specific or maximum number of days or years
but suggest that Jesus could come at any time in the near future, including
today! However, as Peter points out, a day with the Lord is like a thousand
years and a thousand years as one day, therefore no one has the authority to
put a date on the timing of Christ's return. In fact, the scriptures clearly
teach that no one knows the day, or the hour in which the Lord will return, not
even the angels in heaven. Therefore, we will actively look or watch for Christ’s
return at any time during our life time; but we must also understand that that
it is quite possible that his return may take longer than we think.
The major responsibility for the
church in the end-time is to preach the gospel message. The passage of focus
for this year's convocation, instructs us to go into all the world and preach
the gospel to every creature; in short, we are commanded to evangelize. The
question posed indirectly by the theme is how do we approach evangelism in the
end-time? Do we need special methods? Do we need new methods? How do we
structure our evangelistic strategies in the end-time?
As I reflected on the theme,
I was directed to book of 2nd Timothy and Paul's charge to Timothy, his son in
the gospel, with regards to his ministry in the end-time. Now Paul is regarded
by many as the greatest evangelist of all times; in less than three decades he
evangelized all of Asia Minor and significant parts of Europe! He raised up
great churches and his ministry was accompanied by miracles of healing, raising
of the dead and casting out devils. He was operating in the miraculous. Clearly
if we want to learn evangelism, we must listen to Paul. So today I would like
to share with you what I would like to call "Pointers from Paul for
End-time Evangelism"
The text comes to us from 1st
Timothy 4: 1-2, 2nd Timothy 3:1-5 & 2nd Timothy 4:
1-5
The message can be summed up
in three words "PREACH THE WORD!", which I will use as the main theme
or take-home message today. If you remember nothing else today, don’t forget:
PREACH THE WORD!
EXPOSITION
For the rest of our
deliberations today, I want us to focus on three main points highlighting the
context in which we evangelize in the end-time, the content of the end-time
evangelistic message and our attitude and approach to end-time evangelism.
Point
#1: People in the end-time will not like sound doctrine
This relates to the background or context
within which we evangelize. The scriptures in 1st Timothy 4:1-2, 2nd
Timothy 3:1-5 and 2nd Timothy 4: 3-4 illustrates this well. 1st
Timothy 4 tells us that in the end-time there will be great apostasy. Many will
abandon true biblical faith and will instead will follow after seducing,
deceptive spirits, and doctrines or teachings of demonic origin! This is
happening today! Not only are we seeing strange teachings being promoted by
many, but we also see persons who openly worship Satan!
In 2nd Timothy 3, Paul outlines for
Timothy at least 18 characteristics of people in the end-time. It is important
to note these, so that we understand the people to whom we must minister. People
will be: 1) lovers of their own selves, 2) covetous [i.e. lovers of money], 3)
boasters, 4) proud, 5) blasphemers [abusive, slanderers], 6) disobedient to
parents, 7) unthankful [ungrateful], 8) unholy, 9) without natural
affection [i.e. without love], 10) trucebreakers [unforgiving, merciless], 11)
false accusers [slanderers], 12) incontinent [i.e. without self-control], 13)
fierce [brutal, cruel], 14) despisers of those that are good, 15) traitors [betrayers],
16) heady [rash, reckless], 17) high minded [i.e. conceited, puffed up with
pride], 18) lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God.
When we understand that these are the types of
persons to whom we must evangelize, we realize the end-time evangelism is no
small feat. People will not be easily won over; We can’t just go around having
church as usual, sing a few songs, preach half-prepared sermons, and expect
people will respond in large numbers. That won’t work! We have to get back to
the power and presence of God, so that the anointing can break the yolk; We must
break through the powers of darkness, so that the light of the glorious gospel
to shine through! We need the power and the presence of God!
How do we get there? This brings us to point #2
Point
#2 The end-time evangelist must preach
the word!
This was most likely Paul’s final word to the
church, his final charge to Timothy. He knew that death was near, and he had
one final charge for his son. From the deep recesses of his inner being and
calling on God as his witness, he wrote his final charge, summarized in three
words: PREACH THE WORD! We note the
use of the word ‘therefore’ in verse 1 of 2nd Timothy 4. This
suggest that we must look at the preceding text. We have just looked at 2
Timothy 3:1-5, so we know that this speaks to our response in a context of a
depraved, apostate world.
So, how do you evangelize in this fierce, self-loving,
pleasure seeking, apostate world? PREACH THE WORD! We note also that verses 16 -
17 of chapter 3 also provide additional rationale for Paul’s charge. Listen to
what Paul says:
All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for
reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God
may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.
Note therefore, that if we are to preach the
word, we must be familiar with the word! Listen also to Paul’s word to Timothy
in 2nd Timothy 2:15:
“Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”
We further emphasize that the word of God is
powerful and effective. This is illustrated in Hebrews 4:12:
For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper
than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and
spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
It is clear therefore that the word of God has
the power to penetrate human thought and to convict mankind of sin. Our words
may have some power, but they are impotent when compared to the word of God. If
we are going to effectively evangelise in the end-time, we must PREACH THE WORD.
I would also like to make some secondary points
that follows on the charge to preach the word; we want to look at when to
preach, what to preach and how to preach.
Point
2 (a) The end-time evangelist
must be ready to preach at all times. Paul charges Timothy to be instant, to
be prepared and ready to preach at all times, whether the conditions are
favourable or unfavourable, whether the people are willing to hear or hostile;
the end-time preacher must be bold, thick-shinned, broad-backed, not easily
discouraged.
Point
2 (b) The end-time preacher
must correct, rebuke and encourage. This speaks to the content of the
message. The end-time preacher must correct misinformation or error; he must rebuke
sin and false teachers and their teaching; he must encourage those are seeking
after God, he must encourage those that are growing in Christ, he must
encourage the weak and feeble minded. The content of the end-time message must
be bible-based, comprehensive and complete.
Point
2 (c) The end-time preacher
must exercise great patience and provide careful instruction. This speaks to the issue of how to preach.
Our attitude and posture while we preach is equally important as our content;
because if we have good content and bad attitude we will not be successful.
Paul says we should exercise great patience (long suffering). People will often
take some time to respond to the gospel message. We must patiently wait as we
continue to proclaim the word and pray for Divine revelation.
The end-time preacher must also provide careful instruction. Isaiah
28:10 says
“… precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little:” We need to ensure that the word is presented in a logical, sequential manner that everyone can understand. We cannot presume that people are familiar with complex doctrinal issues, but we must take them through step by step.
“… precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little:” We need to ensure that the word is presented in a logical, sequential manner that everyone can understand. We cannot presume that people are familiar with complex doctrinal issues, but we must take them through step by step.
Point
#3 The end-time evangelist must be vigilant and prepared
for all facets of ministry
This second section of Paul’s charge to Timothy
now turns the focuses on the preacher. It is important to recognise that the
attitude and mindset of the preacher is critical to the effectiveness of the
message. So, as we look at verse 5 of 2nd
Timothy 4, I would like to emphasize four subpoints pertaining to the end-time
preacher. These are self-explanatory, so I will just let them speak for
themselves.
Point
3 (a) The end-time evangelist must keep a clear mind, being sober and vigilant
at all times
Point
3 (b) The end-time evangelist must be prepared to endure hardship and should
not be afraid to suffer for the gospel
Point
3 (c) The end-time evangelist must consistently evangelize both within the
local church community and where necessary as an itinerant preacher
Point
3 (d) The end-time evangelist
must discharge all the duties of his/her ministry
If we put these into practice, I firmly believe
that we will see great success, we will see miracles, signs and wonders, and
the name of Jesus will be magnified.
LIVE
THE WORD
Now some may say that I am not a preacher and
therefore, this word does not apply to me. That is far from the truth. This
word applies to you! The preacher or evangelist is not limited to those who
preach behind a pulpit, but all of us are preachers and evangelists in one way
or another. In all our interactions with family, friends, co-workers, fellow
students or the people in our communities, we must preach the word, and more
importantly we must LIVE THE WORD! In
this sense we become, as Paul said to the Corinthians, living epistles or walking sermons, seen and read by all. This
applies to each and every Christian. Just as the preacher must preach, every Christian must live!
So, the we can extend the sermon theme; We have
already declared that the end-time evangelist must PREACH THE WORD; Now we can add, every Christian must LIVE THE WORD!
SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION
In conclusion therefore, as we open Convocation 2018, we
have shown that we are living in the last days, a period characterized by
self-love, self-indulgence and apostacy, the end-time evangelist must:
- Preach the Word
- Be ready to preach at all times
- Correct, rebuke and encourage
- Exercise great patience and provide careful instruction
- Be vigilant and prepared for all facets of ministry
- Keep a clear mind, being sober and vigilant at all times
- Be prepared to endure hardship and should not be afraid to suffer for the gospel
- Consistently evangelize both within the local church community and where necessary as an itinerant preacher
- The end-time evangelist must discharge all the duties of his/her ministry
Every Christian must LIVE
THE WORD
God bless you all, as
we put these words into practice. In Jesus Name!