Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching. 3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; 4 and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables. 5 But you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, FULFILL YOUR MINISTRY!
The Lord has been giving me scripture after scripture about life. Not a easy successful life as we pray so often for. But a life that is exampled by paul, one of jail time and being followed around by false teachers, trying to water down what he had taught. Most of his books were written from jail. That goes to prove that he knows what he is talking about when he said to fulfill your ministry. If he could do all that he did from jail, think about what we could do unhindered.
I have caught myself praying this...."Lord don't let that happen to me , Lord free me from this struggle, Lord keep me from hurt." I'm not saying these are a sin to pray, But when do we see paul pray for all the "bad things" to stop? God has given us life for what? "To fulfill our ministry" not to flow along peacefully. You can do that, but your life means nothing in the perspective of eternity. Your life may not mean much in the worlds eyes. You could be known as that nice person who was easy to get along with....
I'm not saying you should pray for struggles either, but be thankful for the hard things in life. Be thankful for the things that come through work and sacrifice, those are the things that will truly last. Not because you or I did it, but because it was Christ who did it. 1 Cor 3:13 "each one's work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one's work, of what sort it is."
Pray for those who are false teachers, and pray for those who have itching ears that wish to hear there false teaching.
Pray that you will be ready in season and our of season.
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