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Friday, November 15, 2024
"Our Job Description"
Message summary: Today's list is an excellent description of the work God has called each one of us to do.
Listen to our message on your audio player.
"Preach
the word; be
ready in
season and out
of season;
reprove,
rebuke, and
exhort, with
complete
patience and
teaching.
Always be
sober-minded,
endure
suffering, do
the work of an
evangelist,
fulfill your
ministry" (2
Timothy
4:2,5).
I
sure
appreciate
having a very
clear job
description.
(It's also
helpful when
it's as
concise as
possible.) My
most
heartening job
description
came from
little
six-year-old
Jeffrey in the
church we
served in New
England.
He knew I was
the pastor so
I asked him
what the
pastor does.
He replied, “Teach
people to
believe in
God”. Now
that’s a very
good, succinct
answer that
properly
describes the
greatest
responsibility
of a pastor.
In 2 Timothy 4 Paul begins by making a solemn charge to Timothy which we discussed in yesterday's message. Following this charge is essentially a job description for Timothy and also for the pastor or ministry leader specifically. In my teaching this coming Sunday I call this "Paul's charge to Timothy".
However it is also an excellent description of the work God has called each one of us to do. Let us consider an application to each of these points for all faithful Christ-followers and disciple-makers:
1) "Preach the word". In our lives may God's Word be a foundational consideration as we minister to others in various ways in which we do so.
2) "Be ready in season and out of season". Peter makes a very similar command, "Always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear" (1 Peter 3:15).
3) "Reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching". These qualities are needed for any type of ministry. Especially consider reproving and rebuking (correction) which we all need on occasion. We must also be used of God to prayerfully bring correction to another when prompted by the Spirit.
4) "Always be sober-minded". The Greek word literally means to abstain from intoxicants but, used metaphorically, it means to be free from every form of mental and spiritual ‘drunkenness’. Peter writes, "Therefore be clear minded and self-controlled" (1 Peter 4:7).
5)
"Endure
suffering".
Like Timothy,
we too need to
be "strong
in the grace
that is in
Christ Jesus"
(2 Timothy
2:1) so that
we are
prepared and
willing to
endure
whatever
rejection,
hostility or
persecution
that may
result from
our allegiance
to Christ.
6) "Do the work of an evangelist". A reminder to continue to obey the Great Commission (Matthew 28).
7) "Fulfill your ministry". Timothy was to carry out his ministry to its end, completing all its demands and requirements. A few verses after this Paul provided a model for this, "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith" (2 Timothy 4:7).
Examine your life in light of these seven descriptors and make or renew your commitment to live by them!
Be encouraged today, Hebrews 3:13
Stephen & Brooksyne Weber
Daily
prayer:
Father, much
is asked of
those who
earnestly
serve You as
ambassadors
for Christ,
whether from
behind the
pulpit or as
laypersons
seeking to
influence
others for
Christ. May we
fulfill our
duties by
being
Christ-like in
our testimony
and in our way
of life. In
doing so we
will be ready
to give an
answer to
everyone who
asks us of the
hope that we
have in You.
May the hope
of salvation
be explained
clearly in our
verbal witness
to those who
live without
hope every
day. Show us
how to do it
with
gentleness and
respect. Many
who share
freely the
gospel undergo
ridicule and
persecution as
Scripture
forewarns us,
so keep our
eye not on
earthly reward
that is only
temporal but
on the moment
You present us
eternal reward
for our
faithfulness
to the gospel
message,
through Christ
Jesus we pray.
Amen.
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Stephen & Brooksyne
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Scripture references are from The Holy Bible: New International Version. © 1984 by International Bible Society; NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, New King James Version (NKJV) Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. and the King James Version and a variety of other versions.
Personal Mission Statement: "I am created by God to bring Him glory. Through God's Son Jesus Christ I have been redeemed and make it my life's goal to please the Lord. My mission in life is to honor God through my faith and obedience and prepare myself and all whom I may influence for eternity."
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