In Season and Out – 2 Timothy 4

Preach the Word of God
Stand in the square like a town crier,
with no message of your own.
Not what you think is there,
not what people want to hear,
but what the Word already says.

Charles Simeon knew this.
Locked pews.
Locked doors.
Chairs dragged into aisles.
Preaching outside
to people who wished he wouldn’t.
Thirty years of resistance
and a sentence carved into wood:
Let them see Jesus.

Wally Behan knew it too.
No university.
No polish.
No band swelling behind him.
Seven people
and a Bible opened wide.
No plan except faithfulness—
and God did what God does.

This is the work:
to bring out of Scripture
what is there,
not what we wish was there.
To sit under the Word,
not over it—
not trimming it
to fit the mood of the moment.

Preach when it feels strong.
Preach when you feel weak.
Not to please the crowd,
but to place the church
under the Word,
not over it.

God’s Crown.
Remember the end.
Not applause now,
not quick reward,
not the comfort of being liked.

Many begin well.
Some drift.
The world is always tugging.
Every day is a battle
not to go soft.

Run the race.
Finish the fight.
Prepare people for glory.
There is a crown of righteousness—
not earned by brilliance,
but by faithfulness
to the end.

Delight in God’s Presence.
There will be lonely days.
Times when others walk away.
When faith feels thin
and joy hard to find.

Forgive those who disappoint you.
Love without keeping score.
You are never alone.

God stands with you.
God strengthens you.
God delivers you.

Let intimacy with God
be your deepest joy,
your quiet endurance,
your lasting strength—
the reason you keep going
when the road is long.

Original message by Paul Dale, The Bridge Church Macquarie Park NSW
Thanksgiving Farewell Service for Andrew & Christine West
14 December 2025