“Preach, pray, or die!” Every preacher who has walked the halls of a God-honoring Bible college has probably been told at one point or another, “Always be ready to preach! In season or out of season, brother, just be ready.” When Paul under inspiration included those words in II Timothy 4:2, I wonder if he was only thinking about the readiness of the preacher. Could he have been also speaking of the readiness of the audience? I think so!
As a young preacher, I had the wonderful opportunity to preach to teenage guys at an all-night youth activity. Somewhere around 1:00 AM after the 3 on 3 basketball tournament had concluded, we all crammed into a small class room and into even smaller desks as I stood before them to preach the life-changing truths of the Word. Competing with fatigue, sweat, and the accompanying odors, I was no match! No one remembers what I said from the Bible that night—not even me.
I am not at all opposed to Bible preaching at all-nighters, but you have to admit that such a situation is “out of season.” Bible preaching is of utmost importance, but any Bible message can be rendered useless by poor conditions. On the other hand, any Bible message can be enhanced by good preaching atmosphere.
“In season, out of season” can just as easily refer to the readiness of the audience as it does the preacher. If I as a preacher get to choose “in season” or “out of season,” I’ll pick “in season” every time.