2 Timothy 4:1-2 TPT
“Timothy, in the presence of our great God and our Lord Jesus Christ, the One who is destined to judge both the living and the dead by the revelation of his kingdom—I solemnly instruct you to proclaim the Word of God and stand upon it no matter what! Rise to the occasion and preach when it is convenient and when it is not. Preach in the full expression of the Holy Spirit —with wisdom and patience as you instruct and teach the people.”
One of the motivations to be fervent forever should be that you will be standing before Jesus and when you stand before Jesus, you will give account of every aspect and season of your life.
Some people abandoned the assignment God has given them because a season came in their life that things were not convenient for them.
As a believer, whether it is convenient or not, your motivation should be that you will stand before Jesus to give account of the opportunities he brought your way.
2 Timothy 4:1-8
One way to also tell us that we are actually looking forward to his appearing is that we are going to continue doing what he has ask us to do because when we appear before the Lord, we will give account of what we did with what he has given to us.
Be instant in season and out of season means there should not be any season in your life where you should not be on duty.
Before Apostle Paul came to the point where he can say he has fought a fight of faith, he went through alot of things.
Philippians 1:12 -15
Paul was in prison when he wrote that scripture. And he understood that for him to be caged was a restriction from the devil for him not to preach the gospel. The devil thought that would be an end to the furtherance of the gospel or advancement of the gospel.
Apparently, what the devil thought was that the ministry of Paul would come to an end. But then the instruction we have is not to be slothful in business but fervent in spirit; serving the lord and also the fact that we will be standing before the lord and Paul will not tell God that the reason why he couldn’t preach the gospel is because he was locked up.
Life happens, but whatever will happen or as happened to you must never be a basis why your fervency in the Lord will ever go down because we will be standing before the Lord one day.
Paul said what they thought would be the end of the advancement of the gospel has rather fallen out to be for the furtherance of the gospel. Since Paul was locked up in the prison, he said since he can’t walk, he will write. And his letter went to places. Places where Paul was unable to go, his letter went there while in bounds. He stood before Kings and preached the gospel, this gospel entered the palace.
It takes a man who understands that we cannot be slothful in God’s business, that he must be fervent in the spirit, serving the lord even when in bounds.
If Paul did not understand the concept of fervency forever, he could have given excuses for why he was unable to preach the gospel but the prison did not limit Paul.
John found himself in the prison and his ministry ended there, but Paul was also imprisoned and his ministry rose. Even though he could not bring the gospel physically to others because of the prison limitations, he decided to write from the prison and that letter is what we are reading today in the church. That was how he wrote the gospel. That letter has gone to places. They locked him up hoping to shut him up, instead his ministry grew. He understood that the work of God requires haste. Such a man could not be silenced.
This tells us that there is no basis to end our calling. The gifts and the call of God upon our lives is without repentance. Even God himself is not changing his mind about calling you, why are you changing your mind about your call? We need to keep serving God regardless of whatever happens to us. It’s fervency forever. There is no basis to give up on God because God is not planning to give up on you.
You might think your situation is so critical and worse than others, but you will be shocked to hear people going through worse situations yet they are burning for God. They’re dealing with so much but it is fervency forever.
Paul’s situation became a platform for ministry. He took advantage of his situation, he didn’t allow it limit him. You have a choice to allow the things that will happen to you to be for the hindrance or for the furtherance of God’s word. Your allegiance will determine what will be the outcome of your experiences.
Paul asked us, “what can separate us from the love of God? Things present or things to come.” You may not have the slightest idea of the things to come but the Lord is sending you ahead of those seasons of life and this word will need to come alive again in your spirit that whatever happens is for the furtherance or hindrance of his work, knowing that you have pledged an allegiance.
Pledging an allegiance is different from bragging. There is a thin line between arrogance and faith confession. Jesus knows all things. He told Peter that before the cock crow thrice, he would deny Him.
Watch out for those that say “we will die with you.” They are those ones that will be the first to jump out.
This is why a leader must be able to separate his emotions from his dealings.
John was not saying such a thing but he stood by the cross. How would you think of someone standing by the cross and will not partake in the lashes of Jesus?
John had an affinity with Jesus. He has placed his head on the bosom of his master. He has placed his allegiance in the hands of the Master.
He was praying that the Lord should keep him. He was praying the Lord should hold him. He was praying, “when the going is tough, carry me, Lord. Keep me close to your embrace. “
We must keep praying that the Lord should give us oil in our lamps so that we will keep burning till the glorious day. That is the attitude. Our ears must be in His heart. This is why we must stop bragging.
The one that is always talking that he will stay all through may be the one jumping off while the one that does not talk but keeps saying in his heart that his allegiance is to the Father will be kept all through and he’d be the last man standing.
This is why it is not bragging, posting and the comments and likes on social media.
Also, likes and comments should not be the reason why you keep doing what you do for the Lord. You keep doing what the Lord has blessed you with even when you see no like and comment.
Nothing should hinder you from doing what the Lord has told you to do. Situation of life happens, but we must never be hindered by it. There are situations where the set-man of a church becomes discouraged and stops ministry because of life issues.
Despite not being able to give explanations to issues in our lives, we must keep burning for the Lord. There are challenges that hit a shepherd that would make him go inside to weep then quickly adjust himself and come out.
The shepherd would be leading and at the same time be bleeding. The leader himself needs prayer, yet in the midst of this, he will be interceding for other people.
Moses, for example, interceded for the whole Israel in that he said if they are not taken to the promised land, he should not be there as well. He said his name should be removed from the book.
Exodus 32:32
Yet now, if thou wilt forgive their sin–; and if not, blot me, I pray thee, out of thy book which thou hast written (KJV)
However, when Moses did wrong before God and that He told him he would not enter into the promised land, no one interceded for him. Not even to the point that the whole Israel would pour ashes on themselves and cry before the Lord that he should be forgiven.
We would have thought that the children of Israel would say there is no way they would be able to enter into the promised land without Moses. However, this did not happen. There is a place of leadership and toughness.
David’s wife and children were among the captives, and was rebelled against also by those he went up to the battle against the enemies of Israel. In one of his psalms he said the Lord should lead him to the rock that is higher than him when he is overwhelmed and did not know where to turn.
1 Samuel 30:6 And David was greatly distressed; for the people spoke of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and for his daughters: but David encouraged himself in the LORD his God (KJV).
The Bible says, “and David encouraged himself in the Lord. You must be able to bring comfort to yourself the same way you give comfort to others. Few leaders can do that. Few men can walk in that shoe.
When the things you have preached are now looking at you in the eyes, confronting you and you begin to doubt what you have preached.
This is the same way John the baptist who showed Jesus to Israel and called him the lamb of God. He at first said, “that I may decrease and he may increase.” This implies that he should faded away and the one that should run the show can continue. John was a man that yielded to God’s grace and calling. He was not afraid and ashamed of what Jesus’ ministry was.
However, we can see what he turned into as a result of life issues. When the messengers that John sent to Jesus left, Jesus faced the whole gathering, and said..
Matthew 11:7-9 And as they departed, Jesus began to say unto the multitudes concerning John, What went ye out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken with the wind?
But what went ye out for to see? A man clothed in soft raiment? behold, they that wear soft clothing are in kings’ houses.
But what went ye out for to see? A prophet? yea, I say unto you, and more than a prophet
He told them vividly that they should go and show John again what they had seen. This means there are things he had once seen and needed to see for him to be fervent again. John was not seeing correctly again. Afflictions can make a man go mad. Also, hope deferred can make a man grow weary. Afflictions can make a man sick.
Notwithstanding, in the midst of the affliction and challenges of life this is how we get to know that the Lord is building us as our allegiance is in the Lord. Obviously, we may be in tears, weeping in the night but our allegiance is in Christ. This is why we should not brag because it is not everytime we can stand on our feet to pray. We must not brag. There are days we do not feel like praying. We must stop the showmanship that we are intact and that everything is fine. This is because people are not being strengthened by our bonds. We must be real and authentic in the body of Christ. In our stories is someone’s strength and deliverance.
2 Corinthians 1:3
Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; (KJV).
So what do we have to give in comfort to others when He has not given you when you went through yours? You must tell us how you were able to walk through the issues and how you walked with the Lord in the midst of what you are dealing with.
When people remember the bonds of Paul, the Bible says, they were waxing strong. So what the enemy planned to do at that time was to inject fear into the atmosphere to cripple the boldness of believers from preaching. Rather than men to fear, they waxed strong and it was all to the furtherance of the gospel. They were willing to lay down their lives. They came to a point they could give their lives. So there was Paul speaking courage in things many of them were dealing with. They were strengthened. They realized that if God could help Paul then they can also be helped.
It is necessary to know that it is God that is carrying you. If it had been you, you would have been long gone and tired. Who are those that are picking instructions from the dealings of God over your life? Men are willing to lay down their lives for the gospel. God is meant to be your anchor else you’d be tired of the work. Let God be your source of strength. God’s grace is available for us to maximize. Paul boasted in the grace of God being sufficient for him while his infirmities were persistent. We should be confident that when our challenges rear their heads up, God’s grace is sufficient. When we do not submit to grace, we can’t enjoy what it has in stock for us.
When life stretches it takes grace to keep running. There is fire in the prison and there is fire outside the prison because one man refused to be slothful in business. His service was a blessing that men kept the fire burning even while he was in prison. What we owe the Lord is allegiance not bragging. The days will come when you can’t maintain your momentum; it wil require allegiance. Go for strength for the journey is too far. Don’t be everywhere, settle and harness grace for the days to come.
Your motivation for fervency for life is that whatever comes your way your allegiance is forever. Paul knows that there is a tendency for men to throw in the towel. So he said nothing can stop us or separate us.
Romans 10:36
There is a level of doggedness required for this journey. We are soldiers. We don’t drawback to perdition. In and out of season we are devoted. We are forever devoted. Our allegiance is forever!!! Amen.