CLICK HERE TO RETURN TO LESSONS

TIMOTHY FIRST PREACHES IN CORINTH!

If someone has only been at Bethany for a few weeks they’d get the impression that Pastor Hendrix does all the preaching. Those of us who have been around for a while could hardly find fault with them. For Rich does take his responsibility to be in the pulpit each Sunday seriously and rarely hands the task off to another. But in reality Rich doesn’t do all the preaching, just most of it.
In like manner, if someone read the book of Acts and no other book in the New Testament they’d get the distinct impression that the only one doing the preaching in Asia Minor was Paul. Even those who lived in Asia Minor at the time saw Paul as the preacher. For in Acts 14:8 - 13, during the first missionary journey we read:
While they were at Lystra, Paul and Barnabas came upon a man with crippled feet. He had been that way from birth, so he had never walked. 9 He was listening as Paul preached, and Paul noticed him and realized he had faith to be healed. 10 So Paul called to him in a loud voice, “Stand up!” And the man jumped to his feet and started walking.
When the listening crowd saw what Paul had done, they shouted in their local dialect, “These men are gods in human bodies!” 12 They decided that Barnabas was the Greek god Zeus and that Paul, because he was the chief speaker, was Hermes. 13 The temple of Zeus was located on the outskirts of the city. The priest of the temple and the crowd brought oxen and wreaths of flowers, and they prepared to sacrifice to the apostles at the city gates.
What is interesting to note about this passage is that Barnabas was referred to as the chief god - Zeus. While Paul who was well on his way to becoming the acknowledged leader on this first missionary trip was accredited as being Hermes. The reason they were tagged in this way is because in Greek mythology Hermes was the one who delivered the telegrams, the one who did all the text-messaging, while Zeus was perceived as the dignified behind-the-scenes god.
So Paul, since he was the one doing all the preaching, was given second-billing. This “secondary” role characterized Paul in each of the three missionary trips. So it’s not surprising that anyone reading only the book of Acts would reach the conclusion that he was the one who did all the preaching on the three trips.
Not so! For in Corinth Timothy was given an opportunity to do some preaching. Now how do we know this to be the case? After all, it is not information we would ever glean from the book of Acts. However, in II Corinthians 1:17 -20 we are given this tidbit of knowledge. We read:
You may be asking why I changed my plan. Hadn’t I made up my mind yet? Or am I like people of the world who say yes when they really mean no? 18 As surely as God is true, I am not that sort of person. My yes means yes 19 because Jesus Christ, the Son of God, never wavers between yes and no. He is the one whom Timothy, Silas, and I preached to you, and he is the divine Yes—God’s affirmation. 20 For all of God’s promises have been fulfilled in him. That is why we say “Amen” when we give glory to God through Christ.
Judging from this passage it appears that all three of them set aside employment while they preached the Word. They were able to do this, of course, because the Philippian believers had sent a financial gift through Timothy and Silas.
If Timothy was given his first opportunity to preach in Corinth, and I believe he was given such an opportunity, how did he handle it? How did he handle his preparation? How did he handle his nerves? What pitfalls did he plan to avoid? Was Paul’s example helpful to him? Why or why not? In short, what did he do to get ready for his first sermon?
Okay, let’s make this a little easier, or maybe harder. Suppose Rich came to you and asked you to be prepared to preach on the 4th of September. He explained that he and Jennifer would be out of town on that weekend as would everybody else on staff. So he put the name of every regular attender at Bethany in the offering bag, prayed that God’s will would be done, closed his eyes, reached into the bag, and drew your name. He then came and told you the good news.
Given this wonderful opportunity to preach, how would you handle it? What questions would you have of Rich? What would you do to prepare? What pitfalls would you want to avoid? How would you handle your nerves? Would Rich’s example be helpful to you? Why or why not? In short, what would you do to get ready for your first sermon?
Okay, so you’re not asked to preach. But Timothy at some point during the year and a half that he and the others were in Corinth was asked to preach. We don’t know what advice Paul gave him at that time. But we do know what Paul wrote to him at a much later date. For in II Timothy 4:1 - 5 Paul charged Timothy to preach the Word in season and out of season. We read:
In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: 2 Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. 3 For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. 4 They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. 5 But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.
Here, in his last days, Paul was not asking or even encouraging Timothy to preach the Word. He was “charging” him to preach the Word. The verb translated charge, diamartyromal, was a word used in a court of law. It had to do with “testifying under oath” or “adjuring” a witness to do so.
It was as if Paul stood before Timothy and said:
“In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge - please raise your right hand and repeat after me.
“I Timothy promise to preach the Word; to be prepared in season and out of season; to correct, rebuke and encourage.; and to do so with great patience and careful instruction so help me God.”
There are three aspects of this charge to be noted, the first is obvious but not always given enough attention. First, Timothy was charged to actually preach the Word. The word for “preach” means “to cry out, herald, or exhort.” So Paul charged Timothy to not count preaching out.
It is interesting to note at this point that while Paul was a writer he himself held preaching in high regard. For in Romans, a book that has had a major impact upon history, he expressed his desire to preach the gospel to those is Rome. In Romans 1:10 - 15 we read:
One of the things I always pray for is the opportunity, God willing, to come at last to see you. 11 For I long to visit you so I can share a spiritual blessing with you that will help you grow strong in the Lord. 12 I’m eager to encourage you in your faith, but I also want to be encouraged by yours. In this way, each of us will be a blessing to the other.
I want you to know, dear brothers and sisters, that I planned many times to visit you, but I was prevented until now. I want to work among you and see good results, just as I have done among other Gentiles. 14 For I have a great sense of obligation to people in our culture and to people in other cultures, to the educated and uneducated alike. 15 So I am eager to come to you in Rome, too, to preach God’s Good News.
When it came to communicating the Word of God writing was actually Paul’s second choice. His preference was to travel to a particular city and preach the gospel in person. He only wrote letters when he was unable to visit churches or cities for one reason or another - usually because he was incarcerated at the time.
For Paul, Peter, and others in the Scripture preaching was God in action. Peter, for example, reminded his readers of the power of preaching when he said in I Peter 1:23 - 25:
For you have been born again. Your new life did not come from your earthly parents because the life they gave you will end in death. But this new life will last forever because it comes from the eternal, living word of God. 24 As the prophet says,
“People are like grass that dies away;
their beauty fades as quickly as the beauty of wildflowers.
The grass withers,
and the flowers fall away.
But the word of the Lord will last forever.”
And that word is the Good News that was preached to you.
Through preaching many of those who heard Peter were redeemed. It is the same today. God still speaks through Scripture to all people at all times. It is not simply “the old, old story” of what God did in the past. The Bible is God’s tool through which he addresses men and women today.
The second thing to be noted is that we, as preachers, formal or informal, are never to lose our sense of urgency. Timothy was to be prepared in season and out of season, he was to be ready at all times to preach the Word. Those who preach or teach are handling matters of life and death. It is not a time to be lackadaisical or lethargic.
For example, when you preach through Psalm 1, or any other psalm, you need to do so as if life hung in the balance. For those who walk in the counsel of sinners are headed for trouble - serious trouble. If they fail to heed the psalmist it is not simply a matter of missing out on the abundant life, it is a matter of losing everything. It is a matter of being blown away like chaff which is utterly worthless.
Finally, it has to be practical. We are not simply to preach the Word but to teach it. Or rather to preach it with all teaching. In the midst of our proclamation we are to convince, rebuke, and encourage those in attendance.
So what’s the point? The point is that we ought to be praying for our pastor. That he would keep his head in all situations and always preach the Word.

CLICK HERE TO RETURN TO LESSONS