{"id":5500,"date":"2015-03-21T16:28:11","date_gmt":"2015-03-21T22:28:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.desertspringschurch.org\/blog\/?p=5500"},"modified":"2015-04-03T16:18:00","modified_gmt":"2015-04-03T22:18:00","slug":"session-5-recap-begg-preaching-in-and-out-of-season","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.desertspringschurch.org\/blog\/2015\/03\/session-5-recap-begg-preaching-in-and-out-of-season\/","title":{"rendered":"Session 5 Recap: Begg, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Preaching In and Out of Season\u00e2\u20ac\u009d"},"content":{"rendered":"

Editor\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Note:\u00c2\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>Marc Wilson is Elder and Rector at St. Patrick’s Church<\/a>, Las Cruces, NM.\u00c2\u00a0He is a member of the Albuquerque Chapter of The Gospel Coalition. This post is a summary of Alistair Begg\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s message from Saturday morning at Clarus<\/a>, March 21, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Preaching In and Out of Season,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d from 2 Timothy 3:16-4:8.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Preach the Word!\u00e2\u20ac\u009d This was the clear message from Alistair Begg who blessed those sitting under his teaching this morning at TGC Albuquerque\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Clarus \u00e2\u20ac\u212215 gathering.\u00c2\u00a0What are we to do as our culture turns from God\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s revelation to human speculation? How are we to engage those who want spirituality disconnected from any biblical truth?\u00c2\u00a0<\/em>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Preach the Word\u00e2\u20ac\u009d was Paul\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s charge to Timothy as he contended with similar circumstances in the church at Ephesus.<\/p>\n

At a time of transition from apostolic to post-apostolic times, Paul emphasized the important \u00e2\u20ac\u0153ministry of reminder\u00e2\u20ac\u009d by directing Timothy to continue in what he had learned and convinced of since infancy. That which Timothy was to remember is contained within \u00e2\u20ac\u0153the Holy Scriptures\u00e2\u20ac\u009d (Old Testament) and able to make one wise for salvation through faith in Jesus. Thus, Paul was passing on the gospel to Timothy at this time of transition, and the \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Bible is key to gospel competence.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Timothy was not to deviate from that which equipped him for the work to which Paul charged him. That fundamental charge was, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153preach the Word.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Timothy was called to be faithful to the charge of this ministry, and such faithfulness would likely result in sufferings similar to Paul\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s (4:6<\/em>). Begg helpfully highlighted two key aspects of this charge and their relevance for us today.<\/p>\n

First, preaching is a Solemn Charge<\/em>. The solemnity of the charge, as highlighted in 4:1<\/em>, is with a view to \u00e2\u20ac\u0153the Day\u00e2\u20ac\u009d in 4:8<\/em>.\u00c2\u00a0 This charge involves patiently and carefully \u00e2\u20ac\u0153reproving, rebuking, and exhorting\u00e2\u20ac\u009d consistently while also being aware of our environment. Even when the \u00e2\u20ac\u0153season\u00e2\u20ac\u009d is \u00e2\u20ac\u0153daunting and discouraging,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d we must trust that God\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Word speaks to people in different situations. Whether congregations are \u00e2\u20ac\u0153receptive or hostile, dreadful or delightful, tuned-in or tuned-out, growing or dwindling\u00e2\u20ac\u009d, the preached Word will consistently meet their needs and fulfill God\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s purposes. The preached Word must be our source of confidence. The best preachers are \u00e2\u20ac\u0153men who are awed with the charge of their ministry\u00e2\u20ac\u009d to preach the Word. There is a great danger for preachers and the people to remain unchanged under the preaching of the Word. Preachers are accountable to God because they are keeping watch over the souls of God\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s people, dealing with the eternal dimension of one\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s existence.<\/p>\n

Secondly, preaching is a Simple Charge<\/em>. Confidence in God\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Word convinces the preacher that \u00e2\u20ac\u0153he does not have to come up with something\u00e2\u20ac\u009d to meet the diverse needs of the people because \u00e2\u20ac\u0153God has come down with something.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d What God has spoken is contained in the Bible. God has spoken His sufficient Word. In quoting AW Tozer, Begg reminds that \u00e2\u20ac\u0153we are not diplomats but prophets, and our message is not compromise but an ultimatum.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d To \u00e2\u20ac\u0153preach the Word\u00e2\u20ac\u009d is a call for one to \u00e2\u20ac\u0153look and live.” Even when the biblical assessment of fallen humanity is unappealing to its hearers, we must remain patiently confident in the Scriptures to reprove, rebuke and exhort knowing there is glorious good news for those who acknowledge their fallen condition and the need for God\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Word. The Bible contains the gospel that makes us wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. Therefore, whether in or out of season, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153preach the Word!\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Editor\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Note:\u00c2\u00a0Marc Wilson is Elder and Rector at St. Patrick’s Church, Las Cruces, NM.\u00c2\u00a0He is a member of… Continue Reading ›<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[66],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.desertspringschurch.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5500"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.desertspringschurch.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.desertspringschurch.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.desertspringschurch.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.desertspringschurch.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5500"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/www.desertspringschurch.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5500\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5503,"href":"http:\/\/www.desertspringschurch.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5500\/revisions\/5503"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.desertspringschurch.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5500"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.desertspringschurch.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5500"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.desertspringschurch.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5500"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}