Proclaim the word; be ready in season and out of season. 2 Tim. 4:2a
Dear saints, let us pray that the saints would be urgent to sow the gospel seed, being ready to proclaim the word in season and out of season (2 Tim. 4:2a; Eccl. 11:1-6; Isa. 55:10-11).
Paul told Timothy, “Proclaim the word; be ready in season and out of season; convict, rebuke, exhort with all long-suffering and teaching” (2 Tim. 4:2). We should not say that it is winter and that we need to wait for spring to sow the seed. Rather, we are peculiar farmers; to us every day is for sowing the seed and for reaping the harvest. “In season” is when we have the opportunity, and “out of season” is when we do not have an opportunity. Whether or not we have the opportunity, we need to be ready. To “be ready” means being urgent, attentive, and on the alert. We can compare this kind of readiness to instant tea or coffee. Whenever we need some tea or coffee, it can be ready instantly. We need to be “instant” preachers, ready without need of further preparation. We should be ready at any time and in any place. We are ready at the supermarket, the bus station, the office, and the classroom. We must not say that we are not ready or that there are no opportunities. Every occasion—spring, summer, fall, and winter—is the time for us to be ready. This is not the religious way of preaching. This is the proper Christian living. There is no other way to take. We need to have this kind of gospel living. We should not say that this is not the right place, the right time, or the right person for the gospel. Every place is the right place, every time is the right time, and every person is the right person. We must be instant, ready, urgent, and attentive in season and out of season. (Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1973-1974, vol. 2, “The Normal Way of Fruit-bearing and Shepherding for the Building Up of the Church,” ch. 6, pp. 586-587)
More details via Beseeching.org, day 368.
