Preach the Word

              Every verse of the Bible is important, but there are some verses that have been very popular and so are placed on walls in homes and  offices around the world. While working in a Christian Book Store in Bailey's Crossroads, Virginia, I was surrounded by many passages of Scripture that a person could purchase in a frame and hang on their wall. John 3:16 and Proverbs 3:5-6 along with Philippians 4:13 were perhaps some of the more popular verses along with Joshua 24:15. After arriving at our position in a church, the pianist did a cross stitch of a passage of Scripture which had the words, “Preach the Word.” That little plaques has been with me ever from 1979 until now. It hangs on my office wall just above my computer. Second Timothy 4;2 says, Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.” 

       The passage has been used in many a “charge” to men who have been commended to the ministry. It is a reminder and an exhortation to keep on proclaiming the Word of God, basically, all of the time. One may think that such an exhortation should not be necessary for a preacher but that is not the case. It is not the case, because many preachers have become intimidated by the things of the world in such a way, that they don't want to lose their popularity and prestige, so they begin to preach something else other than the Word of God. Paul said in Acts 20:27, “ For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God.” Paul was getting ready to leave the young local church at Ephesus and he was reminding them of his time spent in the proclamation of the Word of God. It is true that the preacher in a local church has the opportunity to address the majority of the people present during that time of the worship service where the message is presented to the people. Through looking at the examples in the New Testament, we soon find that the message does not have to be a long dissertation but can get the point across in a small amount of words. Peter's first and second sermons were not long but rather short and to the point. The difference is that they were preached in the power of the Holy Spirit and contained the gospel of the death, burial and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. You and I, as believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, also have the responsibility to share the same message. One thing that is absent from my wall is my “ordination” certificate, signed by seven pastors, “ordaining” or commending if you will, my life to the ministry. It is simply a piece of paper that looks good in a frame, but the message of the cross stitch piece that hangs on the wall in front of me is far more important. It simply says, “Preach the Word.” It says nothing else, other than that. First Corinthians 15:1-4 remind us of Paul's definition of the Gospel. That was what he preached and as we have often stated, everything hangs on the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. We have hope in the validity of the message of the Word of God because of the empty tomb. What is your message to those who around you? Praise God today for His exhortation to us to keep on preaching the word of God and you as a believer are a living example of what that message is to those who are lost.