Like many Christians in the last ten to twenty years, I've spent a lot of time and energy learning about Jesus' second coming, the rapture, and tribulation. I was weaned as a baby Christian on all the best-known teachers of the second coming of Jesus. It was and still is a subject that truly excites me! However, after several years of hearing many debates on whether there would be a rapture before, during or after the tribulation, I simply wore out waiting for Jesus. I decided it was time I seriously looked into the bulk of Scriptures dealing with the Christian's lifestyle and ministry.

I discovered that Jesus said this regarding the end times: "And this gospel of the Kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come." (Matt. 24: 14)

Jesus clearly links the end times to the completion of a task. That task is the extending of God's rule upon the earth in the words and works of the Kingdom! This message and ministry of the Gospel is to be taken to the whole world by each generation of the church until He comes! Jesus does want us to be committed to His second coming and be prepared at all times. But He also wants us to be committed to speaking His words and doing His works until He appears!

The Sending Ministry of the Holy Spirit

In Acts 13, the Holy Spirit set aside Paul and Barnabas from the church at Antioch and called them out to become traveling ministers of the gospel. Today the Holy Spirit continues this unique ministry of calling out believers to leave their home fellowships and to go into other areas to pioneer new fellowships in the ministry of the gospel. Here in Anaheim in the fall of 1984, we were finally getting settled in a building that could accommodate our rapidly growing fellowship. At the same time the Holy Spirit began to accelerate this ministry of calling out many of our people to leave the fellowship and go to other areas to start new fellowships. From as close as Yorba Linda to as for away as Long Island, New York, many of our dearest friends followed God’s call to pioneer new works.

The Lord has spoken to us that this is just the beginning and that many more will be trained and sent to start new fellowships. For those that have been sent and for those God is prepared to send – and for us who minister in our home fellowships, the apostle Paul’s inspired advice to Timothy, a young pastor, has special meaning.

Ministry is Never Out of Season

The crux of Paul’s advice to Timothy is found in 2 Tim. 4:2-5. "Preach the Word, be prepared in season and out of season;" (2 Tim 4:2a) Here Paul urges Timothy to be ready to preach the gospel and minister "in season and out of season." The Gospel ministry, unlike fresh strawberries, is never out of season. We must be ready and willing to share the life and works of Jesus at any time – when we "feel anointed".... when we have energy and when we don’t.

This willingness to minister any time takes self-discipline – an unpopular lifestyle for many of us. We don’t mind ministry when we feel like it, but ministry anytime? That would cramp our style. Yes, as Hebrews 12: 6-7 reminds us, children of God who are not disciplined live as if they have no father. We need to be under the rulership of our Father. When opportunities to minister come our way – it pleases our Father for us to minister. Ministry knows no season.

Pastors as Patient Gardeners

"…correct, rebuke, and encourage with great patience and careful instruction." (2 Tim. 4:2b)

The job of a pastor or leader of a small group can be compared to that of a gardener. A gardener must prune, clean and water his plants from time to time. But he must wait for the proper season and stage of growth to cut back and prune overgrown spots. With many plants, the gardener who prunes when the plant’s sap is running can even kill the plant.

As ministers, we often see people in our group who are immature or out of control which disrupt others or distract from what God is doing. However, we need to let God work patience in us and be sensitive to Him before moving in to correct or rebuke. I have learned through many clumsy attempts to discipline others that is as far easier to move to correct a brother on impulse or out of irritation than it is to wait for God’s timing. When that time comes, however, we must move fearlessly but gently, to correct or instruct one in need. It is part of our job.

Warnings About "Itching Ears"

"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. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths." (2 Tim. 4:3-4)

Paul warns Timothy about one of the most distressing realities of being a Christian leader. No matter how faithful and true one is to preaching and ministering the gospel, there are times when some people will turn their ears and hearts away from the truth and will follow teachers and prophets not sent by God. In order to suit their own desires, they would rather hear fables than facts.

We find that this was common in Old Testament times also. For in Ezekiel 13:3, the false prophets of Israel are harshly rebuked "…Woe to the foolish prophets who follow their own spirit and who have seen nothing!"

Today, going about the Body of Christ, we see many who, like these prophets of Ezekiel 13, are prophesying out of their own imaginations. They go in the power of the flesh and are not sent by God. They go in their own initiative, perhaps feeding their own needs of notoriety or success, but they have seen nothing from God.

Sadly, there are people in the church who grow weary of the "same old Gospel." They are unwilling to listen to a message of repentance from sin. Therefore, they seek a clever new message. They seek to be entertained or stimulated or have their egos lifted up.

We need to guard our hearts and ears from this dangerous condition. As good stewards of what we listen to, we should realize this: Not everything preached from the Word is OF the Word!

Sound Advice for Troubled Times

"But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry." (2 Timothy 4:5)

Paul continues to exhort Timothy to fulfill his ministry in the face of hard times, times when many might turn away from the truth. Though others might chase after new truths, Timothy and we are encouraged to keep our heads and endure hardship. Sometimes there is nothing we can do to "fix" the situation. Instead of being surprised and discouraged at difficult days and resistant people, we must learn to be at peace and persevere in our work.

Paul also reminds us along with Timothy to do the work of an evangelist. We all need to be reminded not to become too inward looking so that we forget the people outside the fellowship of the church. These people desperately need to know Jesus and experience his dramatic deliverance and restoration. God wants us to continue to seek out the lost and minister the whole gospel, words and works, to them.

Renewing Our Commitment to Ministry

Like young Timothy, we all need to be encouraged to persevere in the ministry to which God has called us. We can become discouraged and fearful when we face the inevitable hardships, resistant or hostile people, and frustrations of the ministry. These are simply the realities of ministry. Yet the Holy Spirit, the same Spirit who calls us to serve God, can renew our strength and remind us of the true and eternal value of our work.

This is an exciting time in history to serve God. Our enemy, Satan, has overplayed his hand by brutalizing the people of the earth for centuries. The earth and its people are crying out for relief and salvation from the evil forces and destruction, which continue to victimize them. God wants to use us to continue Jesus ministry of liberation! To the sick and diseased, Jesus brought healing; to the spiritually oppressed, Jesus brought deliverance; to those separated from God, he brought forgiveness and restoration. It was always Jesus’ plan to continue to vanquish the power of the evil one by using flesh and blood people like you and me. There is no greater calling!

An Article from First Fruits May 1985