Uncomfortable Discipleship (pt. 2)-Pastor David Tasi

 -2 Timothy 4:2-4
For the time will come when people 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. (vv. 3-4)
 
Paul’s charge to Timothy is to preach the Word persistently and faithfully. When Timothy does so, some will turn away even when the preaching is true and challenging. Perhaps especially when it is true and challenging. There are those of us who don’t want to hear the message preached because it makes us uncomfortable. I say “us” because I am certainly included.
Many Biblical teachings make us uncomfortable: calls to repent, to mourn or lament, and calls to meekness or mourning, as mentioned in the Sermon on the Mount. This uncomfortable teaching may also include calls to honor the sabbath or not to be influenced by our consumer culture in our spending and accumulation of possessions. In a politically divisive age, the call may include challenges to give God a higher allegiance than our political party, or to love those with whom we disagree.
One question that I have found helpful is to ask when I find myself feeling uncomfortable after I experience a sermon or other form of Christian teaching (such as a book or essay) is this: “Am I uncomfortable because the teaching is unbiblical in some way, or is it because I am being challenged to grow in my faith in a new way?” If I am honest, I will admit that most of the time I feel uncomfortable after a sermon, it is the latter: I am challenged to grow in a new way.
This is a simple principle, though not easy to follow, for all disciples of Christ (at least for me): the path to Christian growth often involves us being willing to be challenged in uncomfortable and countercultural ways. We need to be willing to be unsettled and uneasy if we are to grow, and we should be aware of ways that culture tempts us to a more comfortable message than that of God’s word.
This passage also contains an explicit and simple principle for those in church leadership: keep preaching the Word, even when it is challenging and uncomfortable, and when folks don’t want to hear it.
When preparing sermons and Bible studies, I usually start with one question I bring to God: What does this audience need to hear right now? Phrased another way: What message, however challenging or uncomfortable, is God putting on my heart?  Afterwards, I ask a follow-up question. How can I make a connection to this audience? How can I understand them and break down any barriers that make the message harder to hear than it needs to be, without diluting the message itself?
It is interesting to note that when Paul tells Timothy to persistently proclaim the message, along with convincing and exhorting (or, as some translations read, correcting and rebuking), Paul also exhorts Timothy to be encouraging. An uncomfortable message delivered with obvious love, understanding, and empathy is much easier for people (including me) to hear: a message from somebody walking alongside us on the challenging road of being a disciple.
 
Gracious God, thank You for loving me enough to want me to grow in my relationship with You. You also love me enough to challenge me. I am grateful for the gift of Your Holy Spirit, who always walks with me when those challenges make me uncomfortable. Help me to do the same with others when I am called to speak truth that is uncomfortable. Amen.
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