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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
Having reminded us that although we are living in a very wicked world, we are involved with God in the most important endeavor of our lives. We serve the God of the universe and nothing happens in our lives that has not come through His will for us. And, think of it, we are involved in sharing the message that will rescue people from hell and grant them eternity in heaven with everything that is good and right and wanted.
The Apostle has also reminded us that we must do this work of calling people into a personal relationship with God through the Lord Jesus because coming is a day when truth will be totally rejected by most and a strong delusion will come from the wicked one and people will believe things that are not true which will lead them to an eternity in Hell.
In today's text the Apostle Paul begins with, "But you, keep your head in all situations." This means we are to be defined by God's word. We are to operate in this world guided by the word of God and the abiding Holy Spirit. This will then make us consistent in the work He has called each of us to. Steadiness always comes from a firm base and the firm foundation is none other than the Lord Jesus Himself and His definitions of all things.
Our base for every day must be that we are being saturated in our thoughts with His thoughts so that we think biblically about life. That should be our base where we are resting upon the relationship we have with the Living God who is with us to steady us through times of pressure and danger. His goal is to impart to us the wisdom and power we need to be used of Him in the lives of those who know Him not.
In today's text we continue to read, "But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship." To "endure hardship" is to expect that there will be times when we will be discouraged and we will suffer in various ways. The verb "endure" simply means to suffer evil in this case.
The beauty to all of this is the fact that the grace of God trains us to understand that these unwanted moments are apart of His overall plan for our lives and the lives of others. It is encouraging to think that the experiences that we have had in life that He has navigated us through are quite useful in helping others through their moments in life. We must frequently recall what the Lord said to us through Paul in Romans 8 that "All things work together for the good."
Now, there is this widely held belief among many Christians today that when we became followers of the Lord Jesus that God would smooth out everything for us, that He would protect us from all problems and dangers, and He would not allow us to suffer any disappointments. Scripture stands solidly against this theology which allows some to live in this world as if this world is the ultimate of reality. We are not fighting to regain this world, we are fighting for the furtherance of His coming kingdom in the hearts of people today. And, in order to connect with people, I have found that my pain clears the channels helping them to hear a little bit better. Our pain makes us more authentic to share the message.
Many believe that if something is wrong in our lives, then we are not walking with the Lord. But the Lord faithfully reminds us that there will be trouble, that those who seek to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution. The reason, of course, is that Christianity is counter-cultural and if we are going to live in faithfulness to the Lord Jesus, like Him, we will be treated unjustly.
Continuing to read today's text, we read, "But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist."
Even though the word evangelist is only mentioned three times in the New Testament, the verb form to share the good news is mentioned fifty-four times and the noun for good news is mentioned seventy-six times. We must not preoccupy ourselves with strictly teaching the saved; we must also present the good news to the lost. We are to be engaged in the work of the evangelist, even though we are not gifted to do so.
It’s vital that we share the gospel, and when we do, we do this best by sharing it in the context of our story with the Lord Jesus. The gospel is best shared out of how we came to the understanding that we needed a Savior, and then how we turned to the Lord and how He began to relate with us. We must be methodical and remember that we didn't learn these principles overnight.
We must always share the gospel with the goal that those with whom we are sharing will make a decision. We must present the truth that calls for a response, but we must be careful to not manipulate our hearers. And, it may mean that they do not make a decision in that moment that we share with them. It may mean that they will make the decision later when they are alone with the Lord or with someone else. I never say, "I led so and so to the Lord." That is the work of the Holy Spirit, and I am the faithful messenger of the gospel. I like to say, "I watched this person go from the darkness to the light."
The remainder of today's text reads, "But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry."
The final idea in this verse proves that as followers of the Lord Jesus, we all have a ministry. In fact, we have many ministries to different individuals on a daily basis. To "discharge all the duties of our ministry" is to fulfill these daily appointments that God gives us. This is the beauty of the Christians life, we are engaged in a one-on-one relationship with God and daily He has certain things He wants us to do. And, we must be sensitive to follow His lead. As a result, we will be known to stop and talk with someone in a restaurant or in a parking lot. Oh, the exhilaration of hearing Him speak to our hearts and following His lead and watching Him work. There, my friends, is nothing better!
