Where Are You Taking Me?

Paul was writing to his “son” in the faith and in Chapter 4 of 2 Timothy Paul strongly urges Timothy to do some necessary things to keep the faith and be the man God has called him to be. The Scripture is as follows: 2 Timothy 4:

1 I solemnly urge you in the presence of God and Christ Jesus, who will someday judge the living and the dead when he comes to set up his Kingdom: 2 Preach the word of God. Be prepared, whether the time is favorable or not. Patiently correct, rebuke, and encourage your people with good teaching. 3 For a time is coming when people will no longer listen to sound and wholesome teaching. They will follow their own desires and will look for teachers who will tell them whatever their itching ears want to hear. 4 They will reject the truth and chase after myths. 5 But you should keep a clear mind in every situation. Don’t be afraid of suffering for the Lord. Work at telling others the Good News, and fully carry out the ministry God has given you.

Timothy had to really appreciate the fact that Paul was showing him where all of this was going to be taking him. Paul first sets up the case that we all know that there will be judgment and that fact is positioned throughout Scripture as a fact. So, there is a judgment coming and that basic fact of life is the underlying stimulus for what we are doing. The fact of a judgment for those who don’t know Christ is a wake up call for all who claim to know Christ because if we agree with scripture, and we do, we are “called” to be concerned about the spiritual condition of all humans, as Jesus was concerned.

Secondly, Paul tells Timothy to be ready to preach the truth wherever He goes and be patient in correcting, rebuking, and correcting those he is trying to reach. In the present times we are living in today we see the need for a “wake up” call for believers to recapture our heart for reaching the lost. But, we must be willing to go the course of patience and stand by the Word of God. We must never try to water down the Word of God by trying to make it more palitible for those who need the truth. Inserting our opinions into God’s judgment never works because we are flawed at best and our judgment is not perfect like God’s judgment so we if we preach from our own perspective we preach lies. God’s truth is perfect and it will stand on its own if we will just speak it. Some may say “that verse really hurts” and try to explain an easier, more watered down explanation of what it says to those who are listening. To water down the definitive Word of God we must take our human reasoning out of the equation and allow God’s Word to speak out unfiltered. It is a matter of spiritual life or death for eternity.

In verse 3 of the above scripture Paul warns of a time when people will no longer listen to the teaching of the Word of God. For the believer we have to hold fast to the Word and let it affect every situation. Holding to the Word of God in all situations may put us in uncomfortable situations and it will at times stretch us and make us think “God, where are You taking me in all of this?” To which His reply would be “keep on keeping on.” It is so easy to depart from the reasoning of the Word of God because it takes the heat off of any situation and positions us to look better to people. But that is not our calling. We are called to lift up the name of Jesus and the Word of God because it stands on its own without our weak explanations. The Word of God is perfect!! PERFECT!!

Paul goes on to tell Timothy that no matter what happens around us we should remain faithful to preach the word and “live” the Word. So as the church we should preach the whole truth of God and let it fall where it may. Not all will be able to handle the truth, but usually that is when conviction comes into the whole thing and those who are convicted have to decide if they will follow Christ or the ways of the world. If we position ourselves off of the foundation of the Word we have lost who we are and where we are to go.

The Word of God will take you down a path that will call for total sold out commitment to it because it is our life and our breath. We must get to know what it says and how it is speaking to us and then live our life out of that truth. Holding to that truth may lead to some suffering along the way but it is our basis for who we are. Paul tells Timothy to keep a clear mind and that is a mind that is not cluttered with a little bit of God’s Word and a little bit of human reasoning. Human reasoning needs to be kicked out and replaced with more understanding of God’s Word. Paul also says that Timothy is to keep going no matter what happens and keep the Word of God as his guide.

G.K. Chesterton once said Nobody understands the nature of the Church, or the ringing note of the creed descending from antiquity, who does not realize that the whole world once very nearly died of broadmindedness and the brotherhood of all religions.

God is taking us to where He wants us to be and if we will follow His Word and deepen our relationship with Him through that Word we will have a clear mind that is focused on His truth.  Just take the step... 

The Pilgrimage continues….

David Warren