by Timothy Hille

Read II Timothy 3:13-17; 4:1,2

            There are many things going on in churches today, but the greatest need of the hour in which you and I are living is that the Word of the Lord be preached.  A sermon in and of itself can do nothing.  A message from THUS SAITH THE LORD that is preached by the enabling power of the Holy Spirit and is accompanied by the effectual working of the Spirit will impart faith to those who hear it.  Preaching is not an occupation, it is a calling, and God calls men to preach His Word.  Paul said: “It pleased God, who separated me from my mother’s womb, and called my by his grace, to reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him among the heathen” (Gal. 1:15,16).  When God calls a man to preach, He makes that man His mouthpiece to proclaim His wonderful Word.  When God calls someone to preach, He calls that person for life:  “For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance,” (Rom. 11:29).  “Then said I, Lord, how long?  And he answered, Until the cities be wasted without inhabitant, and the houses without man, and the land be utterly desolate” (Isa. 6:11).

            Something that we must remember is that we have to do with the means and God takes care of the results.  God has appointed the means by which He will save sinners and add to His work.  “For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe” (I Cor. 1:21).  You and I do not need to improve one single bit upon God’s plan; much rather, we need to submit to His will and fulfill our part in His plan that He has designed for us.

            The preaching the Word is a divine appointment with divine purpose.  Why preach God’s Word?

1.                  God commands it.

2.                  God’s Word is dependable.

3.                  God’s Word stabilizes children of God.

4.                  God’s Word convicts and converts sinners.

5.                  God’s Word is at the center of true revival.

God does not tell those whom He calls to preach to change, soften, or take away from His Word in order to suit the carnal likings of sinful men, women, boys, and girls.  God says: “Preach the Word!”

1.      God Commands It.

The first reason that a preacher has for preaching the Word is that God says to do so.  Every true New Testament church has the responsibility to see that the Word of the Lord is proclaimed and held forth from the pulpit because God would have it so.  The charge that Timothy received is the same that every true gospel minister receives:  “Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.”  The preacher doesn’t need to come up with a message, so to speak, but he needs to preach the Word of God.

God commands that all of His Word be preached.  Paul stated to the elders of the church at Ephesus: “Wherefore I take you to record this day, that I am pure from the blood of all men.  For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God,” (Acts 20:26,27).  Paul did not hold back, and no faithful preacher will hold back in preaching the Word of the Lord.  If he does, he has betrayed his calling, the One who called him, and those to whom he has been sent.  A God-called man has the burden of the Word of the Lord upon his heart, and he must proclaim the message God has given.  “For though I preach the gospel, I have nothing to glory of: for necessity is laid upon me; yea, woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel!” (I Cor. 9:16).

2.      God’s Word Is Dependable.

You can rely on God’s Word, it will never let you down.  That is not true concerning your word and mine, for we often say things we do not mean or have no intention of carrying out.  Sometimes we say things that we intend to do, but we lack the power to do it.  Man’s word is next to useless, but God’s Word is sure and steadfast.  “Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away” (Matt. 24:35).  You can make decisions based upon the Word of God, and His Word won’t let you down.  His Word is a light for your path that won’t allow you to stumble if you walk according to its precepts and principles.  You don’t have to worry that God’s Word will ever be out-of-date or inapplicable, for His Word is ever fresh and practical for your daily life.  “For ever, O Lord, thy word is settled in heaven” (Ps. 119:89).

God’s Word being dependable means God’s Word won’t fail:  everything else will.  Everything that people are relying on today apart from the Word of the Lord is going to fail and disappoint them.  Many churches are relying on man-made programs and schemes to accomplish something that only God’s Word can do.  Their plans and programs and devices will all fail, their religious kingdoms will all crumble to the ground one day, and all that will stand the test of time is that which is built upon and according to the everlasting Word of the Lord.  Yes, young Timothy had other things he could have relied on in his ministry and could have used amongst all the churches in which he ministered.  Others were doing just that.  “But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived.  But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of.”  What Timothy could rely on is the same thing you and I can rely on, the unchanging Word of God.  God’s Word will get the job done and nothing else will.  God says, “So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it” (Isa. 55:11).

3.      God’s Word Stabilizes Children of God.

The scriptures are what God has given us so that we “may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.”  If something is “throughly furnished,” it is not lacking anything that is required to make it complete.  The problem with the lives of many children of God is that they are spiritually incomplete, lacking some good thing that would stabilize their Christian walk and life.  True churches are not weak today because God’s Word is not what they need, but because God’s Word is not being preached and believed like it should be, so church members are weak and spiritually unstable.  Spiritually, you must have a continual intake of Bible doctrine or else you will grow weary and faint and wither away.

(Read James 1:5-8.)  A lot of Christians are double minded today:  they are hearers of the Word, but they are not doers, and God’s Word does not find lodgment in their hearts and lives.  When God’s Word is received by believing hearts in them that hear it, it will take root and grow, bringing forth abundant fruit in that person’s life.  “For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe” (I Thess. 2:13).  (Read Eph. 4:14,15.)  A stable Christian is one who can be a blessing unto others, whose life is a good example unto others, and whose lips speak forth words of wisdom seasoned with grace to the encouraging and uplifting of the hearers.

4.      God’s Word Convicts and Converts Sinners.

God’s Word is the only effectual weapon against he hardened heart of a sinner.  “The sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” (Eph. 6:17), is that which convicts sinners of their sins before God and converts them through repentance and faith.  Paul wrote to Timothy, “And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.”  Nothing else can do what God’s Word does!  Dramatic acting, eloquent and persuasive speaking and oration, and entertaining and enticing plays and movies will not save a single soul or turn a single backslider from his sinful ways.  Only the Word of God can do this.  “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged 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” (Heb. 4:12).

The psalmist David wrote, “The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple” (Ps. 19:7).  The preaching of the scriptures made effectual by the operation of the Spirit of God will turn the most stiff-necked sinner from darkness to light, and change the stoniest heart into a heart of flesh.  God’s Word never almost saved anybody, but it does save effectually and completely all who hear and believe.  “For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God” (I Cor. 1:18).  “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek” (Rom. 1:16).

5.      God’s Word Is at the Center of True Revival.

Paul said, “All scripture . . . is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.”  God’s Word is that which will not only stabilize children of God, but will spiritually arouse them and awaken them and give them spiritual fervor and zeal for the Lord.  The preaching of the Word of God is not useless.  Many church members are spiritually asleep, and the only thing that will awaken them is the Word of the Lord.  (Read Eph. 5:14-21.)  A revived church is an energized church, which is stirred up, not in the flesh, but in spiritual things.

Revival is necessary when we become spiritually lethargic, spiritually complacent, and spiritually unaware.  Many times we become desensitized to sin and the wickedness that is around us, so much so that pretty soon it comes creeping into the Lord’s church.  Only God’s Word will awaken us to the dangers around us, the duties about us, the need of those amongst us, and the love and grace of God sent down upon us from on high.  (Read Neh. 8:1-17.)  Some things had been neglected in the service of the Lord by the children of Israel; and that which brought it to their attention and aroused them to faithfulness unto the Lord with gladness in their hearts was the reading and expounding of the Word of God.

            When God’s Word is preached, there shall be a harvest.  Paul wrote unto the church at Corinth, “I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase.  So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase” (I Cor. 3:6,7).  When God’s Word falls on the good ground of ready hearts that have been prepared by the Spirit of God, it will bring forth fruit.  (Read Luke 8:4-15.)  We don’t need to worry about the harvest taking place, but we need to pray for workers to preach the Word and work in the fields.  “Therefore said he unto them, The harvest truly is great, but the labourers are few: pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth labourers into his harvest” (Luke 10:2).