P’s and Q’s : II Timothy 4:1-8
“I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction.” (verses 1 & 2)
- Paul obviously makes a very firm case in this short two-verse passage for the importance of “preaching the Word.” Name three places in your everyday life you have to “preach the Word” by the way you live and the way you talk.
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- Describe how talking about knowing Jesus and living like you know Jesus go together like peanut butter and jelly.
Your beliefs affect your behavior. If I am living a life separate from Jesus but talking like I know Him, then I truly do not know Him.
Why are they inseparable?
- “In season and out of season” – What is Paul referring to in this great phrase packed full of meaning?
- Define each of Paul’s descriptive words/phrases about effectively communicating your faith (whether talk to one or many).
“For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths.” (verses 3 & 4)
- Advice comes from friends, parents, pastors, teachers, TV marketers, and social media, right? Advice fills your head constantly; people selling ideas about yourself surround you every day. How can you tell if someone is “filling your ears” with sound advice?
- How can you be sure that you are not just “tickling the ears” of your relationships to get what you want from them rather than what God wants for them?
Note also Acts 17:11 – “Now these were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so.”
- What is discernment?
How are you becoming more biblically discerning?
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Why is this important to you?
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- What does filling your head with TV, Netflix, popular music, and social media barrage do to your development of Biblical wisdom and Biblical discernment?
- How can you recognize the difference between myth and truth?
With anything, going back to God’s Word is key! Scripture is truth. So many things can “sound” good to the ears, but that doesn’t mean they are true.
“But you, be sober in all things, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.” (verse 5)
- What is your ministry?
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How do you fulfill it?
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“For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith.” (verses 6 & 7)
- How does the life you’re living now compare to the statement “fight the good fight, finish the race, keep the faith”?
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Name one way you want to “crush it” (go all out) with each of the following:
Fight the good fight –
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Finish the race –
___________________________________________________________Keep the faith – ___________________________________________________________________
“…in the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing.” (verse 8)
