Address—T. Cedarland
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278 Savior, we long to follow thee daily, Thy cross to bear count all else where it be unworthy of our care. We are not now our own, but dying the purchase of thy blood, and made by grace and love divine the sons and heirs of God. 278.
Save your, we love to.
Prosper.
Turn again to the book of Second Timothy.
Second Timothy.
Beginning with the third chapter tonight.
Verse one.
Second Timothy chapter 3 and verse one.
This know also that in the last days perilous times shall come, for men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous boasters, proud blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, compliment, fierce despisers of those that are good traitors, heady, high minded, lovers of pleasure.
The lovers of God having a form of godliness by denying the power thereof from such turn away. For of this sort are they which created houses and lead captive. Silly woman, laden with sins, LED away with diverse lusts, never learning, never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. Now as Janice and Jambrus withstood Moses, so do these also resist the truth. Men of corrupt minds reprobate concerning the faith that they shall proceed no further, for their folly shall be manifest unto all men, because theirs also was. But thou has fully known.
00:05:24
My doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, long-suffering, charity and patience.
Persecutions, elections which came to me, came unto me at Antioch. Naconium and Lispa LED persecutions. I endured, but out of the moral the Lord delivered me. Yeah, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution, but evil. Many seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived. But continue thou in the things which stop us learn, and has been assured of knowing of whom thou has learned them. And then from a child thou hast known the Holy Scriptures which are able to make thee wise unto salvation.
Through faith, which is in Christ Jesus, all Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable. The doctrine will reprove for correction, for instruction and righteousness, that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.
Well, we spoke a little bit last night, another some here that weren't here last night, but we took up in the first two chapters in this epistle of Second Timothy, we mentioned how that in First Timothy we see the House of God in order and just individuals departing. But in Second Timothy we see the House of God in disorder and the masses have departed and it's just individual faithfulness. While his readiness from a dungeon there in Rome, a place where he was cold and uncomfortable.
He asked Timothy to bring his coat. There were no windows there.
Place where the food was let down to him. But there was Nepal in that dungeon, writing these last words, the last epistle that we have before Paul was taken home, before he was let out and beheaded. History tells us. And we have these wonderful words from the apostle Paul, Not words of discouragement, words of despair. Scientifically, it's just not worth it to commit the Christian life, but it's encouragement, encouraging Timothy to go on.
For the Lord in a day of ruin to be faithful to the very end. We mentioned in the first chapter now that the 1St chapter was encouragement for a believer in a day of ruin. And we saw how Paul encouraged Timothy, how he let Timothy know that he was dear to his heart. How he let Timothy know that he was praying for him night and day. How he was sympathetic, mindful of his tears. And how he had confidence in Timothy, knowing that faith that had been his mother and his grandmother. And he was persuaded that it was in Timothy too.
So we see this older brother encouraging a younger one to go on saying stir up the gift, which is indeed. And then we saw in the second chapter the pathway. We saw how that there were those different illustrations that are used.
In connection with the individual in the last days, he mentioned the soldier verses two and three. We know that the Christian life is a warfare. We're in a battle.
4th chapter we'll see how Paul could say I fought a good fight and kept the faith. We saw how he mentioned about the husband then and the athlete striving for the games, and then the Workman that needed not to be ashamed. How he wanted Timothy to fight the Christian fight, run the race according to the rules and not not his own in his own thinking or his own way or how others did it. But it said, study to show thyself approved unto God, not unto the brethren, not unto man.
Study to show thyself approved unto God.
When we saw the vessel into honor separated and then last of all, the servant of the Lord must not strive. Those seven characteristics of a believer starting with a son and anyone will deserve it. But then after seeing the encouragement in the first chapter and the the pathway in the second chapter would come to the third chapter and we see the resources for a believer in a day of ruin. Before Paul gives that he points out the times in which it would be in the last days.
Then he gives the resources on how to deal with that. And these last days or days, the days I believe that we're living in at this very moment, just before the coming of the Lord Jesus, just before the shout, you know that there's nothing that has to happen before the Lord comes. God's prophetic time clock has stopped during this period of the day of grace, which we believe to be approximately 2000 years. Don't know the day nor the hour, but very, very soon the Lord Jesus is going to come and take up the church. We see these conditions.
00:10:00
Of the last days. Now like to say that this is not the last days of the world. You'll probably see that perhaps in Romans chapter one. These are not the latter times. If we remember in first Timothy chapter 4, Paul wrote about the latter times and says many shall depart from the faith, giving heed to sedition, spirits and doctrines of demons and so on, Forbidding to marry and commanding to abstain from meats. You know that during the dark ages, the Church of Rome, it was that forbidding to marry and certain things that they learned to eat.
Many of those things that were taking place, and we might be able to say tonight, in fact at the latter times, as it were, have come and gone. We're now at the last days just before the coming of the Lord. And these last days mentioned here, as we said, are not the last days of the world around us, but it's the last days of professing Christendom, as we see it has to do with those who have a form of godliness. And the first thing that he says about those he says men shall be lovers of their own selves.
The self love covetous. Another translation says money lovers. We've seen and read perhaps, and the papers of men who profess to be great religious leaders. And then it came out about their greed for money and what they were doing with this money and all of those things. And those are characteristics of the days as as Paul by inspiration wrote of the times in which we would live. Posters proud blasphemers, disobedient to parents.
You see that today I'm thankful unholy. Then we say that this disobedience appearance is not just the world around us, but that's what comes right into the professing church and so on. We're not going to take time to to cover all of these. It's really a 21 Things here that we could point out and I just mentioned a few verse four. It says in the middle of the verse, lovers of pleasures or the lovers of God. As we point out, this is the professing church.
And we see what Paul is saying in the last days, that the church is going to want to be entertained. They're going to want pleasure more than really wanting to follow God. And we see that around us. There's that danger of wanting to be entertained. And people who can get up and entertain and and sing songs and so on are acclaimed as heroes.
Compared to somebody who might stand up and read the word of God. And so, and these are days of apostasy that Paul is writing about having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof might just mention in verse eight it says now as Janice and Jambrus withstood Moses, so do these also resist the truth. Men of corrupt minds reprobate concerning the faith.
Well, how did Janice and Jammers withstand Moses? If we remember that account that when Moses stood before Pharaoh, Moses took his rod and he cast it down and it turned into a serpent. Well, Janice and Jambus were there and they took and cast their rods down, and they also turned into a circuit. And we'll remember how Moses brought that serpent, swallowed up their serpent. So what was it? It was counterfeit miracles that were going on.
Trying to duplicate what God had done. I just mentioned this in passing because I believe that it's something that perhaps many struggle with today. But generally speaking, in scripture, whenever you read of signs and wonders in the last days, it always has to do with deception. I'm not talking about the signs in the heavens that we read about from God, but signs and wonders on the earth.
In the last days in scripture when you read it. But it always has to do with deception and the Antichrist is going to deceive many.
With many signs and wonders. So there's those today who claim to do many miracles and so on. And we know that in the days when the apostles were here, the Lord worked with them with signs proving that the resurrected Christ was operating in power to those disciples that were here. The Jews sought after sign that as the Jews rejected the gospel, as the Word of God was completed. We don't need any more signs. We have the whole word of God. And the Bible says faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. We're told that if they hear not Moses and the prophets, that's the Scriptures, they won't believe even if one was raised from the dead.
And so Janice and Jambrus were mentioned as those that have the corrupt minds.
Counterfeit miracles and so on.
So we read about these deceivers, but when we get to verse 10 and we see the contrast, Paul says, but thou hast fully known my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, long-suffering, charity and patience. Well, Paul's life is a contrast from these deceivers and his life is an example. He says, but thou has fully known my life. I think it was someone said it was Sunday said many years ago, said an ounce of example.
00:15:09
Is worth 40 million tons of advice.
One person made the comment. They said they would rather see a sermon any day and hear one. But we know that Paul's life is consistent with what he preached. He had suffered. Timothy knew those things. He had lived in that town where Paul had come through and been persecuted and suffered. That Paul's life was an example. You know, another place Paul likes to Timothy and he says be thou an example of the believers. Paul's life is that example I can remember.
Some time ago.
Visiting the state of Iowa and visiting a certain meeting and having some gospel meetings and preaching the gospel. And they were the first night there was a man who came in the meeting room and he sat in the back of the meeting with his girlfriend sitting next to him.
And I wanted to talk to him after the meeting, but I didn't get a chance. He was out the door. Well, the next night he came in and sat down by his girlfriend. We had the opportunity to visit with him a little bit and he said these words to me. He said, you know, I work with some men to go to this meeting. He said we work in a grain elevator.
He said, you know, these men are different than the other people that work in that elevator. He said if somebody telling a dirty story, he said they just walk away. He said at lunchtime they sit there with their Bibles open. They're happy they say and they're discussing the scriptures. He said, well, there's equal lunch. He said there always seem to be happy.
And then finally, he said, I guess what I'm trying to say is that I want to be like them. I don't want to be like them. And then he went on and told me. He said, you know, recently there was an explosion in another nearby grain elevator. And he said.
They were talking in the grain elevator where I work, and they said, what would what would you do? Somebody said if there was an explosion in this elevator, They said one of these ungodly men, one of these men he said to. And then he said, I'd grab on to name the name of this man who was a believer. He said, and I'd hang on.
He knows where he's going.
He said afterwards, he said, I guess what I'm saying is I want to be like these men. Well, the next night he came into the gospel meeting and listened to the word of God. And that night he professed the word Jesus Christ as his personal Savior. But there was a testimony that was in keeping with what was said. And that's the way it was with Paul's life. He says that was fully known. My doctrine, my manner of life. His life was an open book. He wasn't preaching anything in secret, wasn't going around in a corner trying to promote some 1 lopsided view of the truth or another.
But it was all out in the open and it was power in it.
And then he says in verse 13, in contrast to him, he says, but Timothy, evil men and seducers relaxed, worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived.
In other words, it's not going to get any better. It's going to get worse.
Somebody has said to try to to try to fix up the world is like trying to rearrange the furniture on the site on the Titanic. It's a sinking ship and it's going down. And we have today many believers who have good intentions, are trying to go out and promote things that might fix up the world and try to paint the ship marching against this thing or that thing.
Has to be changed. We can't legislate morality on a nonregenerate world. It's the heart that has to be changed and not the outward and so it's told, we're told here that it's going to get worse and it's getting worse and that's where we are today. People, men and seducers receivers lacks worse and worse deceiving and being deceived. Then he says in verse 14, he says, but Timothy he says, but continue thou in the things that thou has learned and has been assured of knowing of whom thou has learned them and that from a child that has known the Holy Scriptures.
Which are able to make you wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.
Is this because things are getting worse? And if they're saying it's no excuse for you to give up, but he says continue now, is that exhortation to continue to continue? We remember on the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit was poured out in 3000 souls were saved. And we read that in verse 41. It says then they gladly received the Word, were baptized and the Lord added to the Church 3000 souls. And it says they continued steadfastly in the pulse's doctrine.
Fellowship, breaking of bread and prayers. Their hearts were so taken up with the one who had set his face steadfast to go to Jerusalem, to die on that cross for them, that they wanted to continue steadfastly for him. When the apostles doctrine, the teaching of the Word of God, fellowship and we need fellowship, the breaking of bread and the prayers. Someone has said those are the four acres for a believer and we might have one or two anchors out. Maybe we pray to come to the prayer meeting.
00:20:22
And learning the word of God. Is there that fellowship with other believers? Is there that being at the world's table breaking bread? I don't read of any script with any any believers in the scripture who are not breaking bread except those on your discipline. Normal Christianity would be that if a person was saved, it would take their place at the Lord's Table. Every believer has a place there if they're walking in guardian order.
Well, he says from a child, there's no more Scriptures. If you remember back in the first chapter, Paul mentioned the faith that was in his mother and his grandmother. And he says, I'm persuaded that's in you too. Where did Timothy learn the scriptures?
We read that he learned it from his mother, He learned it from his mother and his grandmother, and he learned it from Paul. All we know about his father is that he was very. We don't even know if his father was a believer, but I just say this because I believe sometimes.
Sisters perhaps don't think that it's important to learn the Word of God. It's important to get into the Scriptures. But I believe that it's just as important, or more so, for a sister to learn the Word of God as it is for brother. We don't take part. Sister says I don't take part in the meeting.
Just come there and sit quietly. But when her sister is bringing up children for the Lord. I can say that much of what I learned about the scriptures I mean from my mother. My father had worked an odd shift and he was gone in the evenings, and it was my mother to talk to me, the word of God.
And often.
I've heard others say how they said something in a meeting and afterwards my sister shared a list with them and she wasn't teaching, she just shared a verse. That verse was a real help to them and I believe it's important for her sister and only to God so they can pray intelligently. They can teach the scriptures to their children. There were a group of ladies that were at a Bible study and they were sitting around in this Bible study and they were each sharing with one another what they did.
And one lady, she said that she was a legal secretary and another lady was.
I I remember all the different occupations that they have, but finally they came to this one sister and she has four young men in the, in the mission field. And they said to her, she got several more at home, six children. They said, what do you do?
And she said, I raised young men for God, I raise young men for God. Well, there was a hush that fell over that little crowd, and those ladies realized that there was somebody who was doing something that's worthwhile for eternity and not just for time. I believe today that Satan is making a real effort to try to belittle the privilege that a woman has to raise children for the Lord and make them feel that they're not fulfilled unless they're out in the workplace working a job.
Or whatever. I'm not saying it was wrong for a woman to work. We see principles in college 31 That I believe the greatest privilege that a woman has is to raise those children, bring those children up for the Lord. It's a tremendous privilege.
Think of what Moses mother was told was told she had that little baby, Pharrell said. Throw it in the river and those babies had to be cast in the river. She built that ark and then when the Princess came down and found that baby.
That baby was brought to its own mother.
Placed in the arms of Jacob, Moses mother. And then the very Princess said these words. She said, take this child and nurse it for me or raise it for me and I will pay you by wages. Not only did Moses mother get her own child back that she would have wanted anything more, but then she got paid for it on top of that. And I believe that there's wages, there's rewards for raising children for the Lord.
Well, he mentions from a child that has known the Holy Scriptures. Here's the resources for a believer in a day of ruin. The scriptures that you're able to make the wise into salvation through Christ Jesus, through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction and righteousness, that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.
00:25:03
Here we see the inspiration Paul was bringing the Timothy of the word of God. If we remember Peter in second Peter chapter one, he says he lies to those believers and he says we have not followed cunningly devised fables when we made don't under you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. In other words, he's saying this isn't something that somebody made-up cleverly some clever fairy tale. He says, but we were with him on the holy mountain. We were eyewitnesses of His Majesty.
We heard that voice from heaven that said, this is my beloved son and my world. Please. We saw him with our eyes. But after he lays all of that out in first Peter chapter one, he goes on to say we have also a more sure word of prophecy. When do you do you do well?
If you take heed, well, what was that more sure word of prophecy? Something more sure than seeing, something more sure than hearing, He says, holy men of God.
Pieces the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man, but holy men of God spake as they removed by the Holy Ghost and so he brings out the inspiration of Scripture and that's what Paul does here. He says it's profitable and he mentions it for doctrine to prove correction and so on. He says that the man of God might be one translation puts it complete, fully fitted for every good work. In other words, what Paul is saying is that this book.
Will fully fit me for every good word.
If I want to know how to get along with my wife, this book will give me instruction. I know there's a lot of other books that are written. I'm not saying that there aren't some helpful things in some of those books, but I believe sometimes we need to spend a lot more time reading the book than other books because this scripture tells us that the Word of God will fully fit me for every good work. I want to know how to serve the Lord. Go out and preach the gospel. The instruction is in this book. I want to know how to get along with my brethren.
Instruction is here if I want to know how to bring my children up for the Lord. The instructions in this book it fully fits me for every good work and so there's other books that are written that are helps the Lord has given gifts to the church and those other books should be books that would help me understand this book better and if there's any other purpose if they lead me away and what's in this book. I don't need them because it tells us that the scriptures.
Make the man of God complete and solicited for every word. So there's the resources first. He lays out in this chapter the apostasy and the confusion that would come in. This is Timothy. The resources are those scriptures that you learn from a child. You know, most of us here learn the scriptures from when we were children, but not too many people here. We grew up and lived 20 years before we ever heard the Bible verse. Before I could even remember, I was learning scriptures. I was being taught the scriptures.
And those are the things.
That fully fit me to serve the Lord in the day of ruin. Well, it goes on to the 4th chapter.
We mentioned that the 4th chapter again is service on a day of one. After getting encouragement and pathway and finding the resources, the word of God, we come and receive service in a day of ruining.
He says, I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead by his appearing in this Kingdom, preach the word. Be instant in season and out of season. Reprove, rebuke.
And absorb with all long-suffering and doctrine. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine after their own. Less shall they heap to themselves teachers having itching ears, and they shall turn away their ears from the truth will be turned into fables.
Well, we know that in this chapter follows, as we pointed out earlier, he's about to die. And so he's giving those last bits of instruction to Timothy and he says, I charged thee before God. And he speaks about the judgment that's going to come on this world. God, who is going to judge the living and the dead. It should be translated by his appearance. I believe the thought here is the same thing that we get in another place. He's saying, and he's speaking about what's going to take place in Second Thessalonians chapter one.
When the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven and flaming fire, taking vengeance on all them that know not God, and obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will be punished?
With everlasting destruction.
All the same, knowing therefore the terror of the Lord would persuade them. So he sang to Timothy in view of the fact that the Lord Jesus is going to come back and he's going to judge this world. Timothy preach the word, preach the word. Oh how easy it is, is the word that's coming gets near that we sort of hide the word and we don't come right out and preach the word. We don't want to offend somebody. And so we kind of hold back and pull in.
00:30:11
A little bit of pulses morning Timothy was a timid man just like we are. He says Timothy preach the word don't be a shame appreciate it. This is the instant in season and out of season we prove and we do exhort with all long section and so on doesn't say preach. What do you think that people want to hear? Remember Jonah the Lord the word of the Lord came into doing it the second time and he said to go to Nineveh and preach the word that I bid thee the word that I bid thee and we know that the Scriptures tells us the word of God is quick and living and powerful.
And sharper than any two edged sword. And so he's brought before Timothy how that that word is his resource, that he can use it. And now he says to Timothy, preach it, preacher. Well, if we don't know the word, we can't preach it. We won't have it to use. There's three things that we see throughout the whole book of Acts in every conversion. There's the Spirit of God, there's the man of God and there's the word of God and there be conversion spirit of God, the man of God and the will of God and.
The Lord is pleased to use people. There was the man in the Ethiopian Munich. He's riding along his chariot. He had the word of God and the Holy Spirit had been given on the day of Pentecost. But as he's riding along, he was trying to figure out what it said. And Phillip was signed, the Holy Spirit all the way 80 miles from Samaria down to Gaza. And he draws near that chariot and says, do you understand what you're reading? And the answer comes back, how can I?
Accept some man, show me.
That's where you and I come in. The Scripture says that please God by the foolishness of preaching to save them, to believe. And so God has chosen to use men in the 11Th of Acts, Cornelius is praying that he might know the truth is a Gentile and he's praying. They're a devout man. And God sends an Angel. Does the Angel give him the gospel? Because angels, women trusted with the gospel. But the Angel tells him where to go, where he can hear it, where there's a man of God. And so those servants go to where Peter is, and Peter comes back.
Brings in the gospel and we have to hang our heads and say we failed in being the men of God that we should be. It's interesting that Timothy is spoken of in this book as a man of God. Thou O man of God. The only times we find the expression man of God in the New Testament or in the epistles of first and second Timothy know how we need men and women of God today. Preach the word be instant in season and out of season.
He speaks about the time coming when they won't endure sound doctrine. Those are the days we're living today, says they the people they'll heap to themselves teachers having engineers and that's what we see today. Some man who is a great gift and many people will that like his type of teaching. They've got to this man and others go over here and they listen to this man and they keep up. Teachers that are going to say what they want to say rather than meeting according to what is laid out in scriptures is tells us that these teachers will turn their ears away from the truth.
If we think back in the days of Exodus chapter 32, Moses went up on the mountain and says it came to pass that when the people saw that Moses delayed him coming down from the mountain, it says that's when they got together and made the golden calf. They were looking for Moses to come back and he didn't come back. And so there were others that stepped in like Aaron, and he said these are the gods that brought you out of Egypt. None of those people knew. They took their earrings.
And it reminds us of the itching ears that we have here. And we flew them into the fire and actually we gave them the air. And Aaron said they threw them into the fire and out came in his cap. They gave him to him and he fashioned that calf. He said, this is the God that brought you up out of Egypt. He turned away their ears from the truth. And that's what we see today as people get their eyes off the Lord's coming, looking for something physical that they can see, rather than the Scripture tells us that faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen.
We're looking for something tells us about the Lord Jesus, whom having not seen ye love and rejoice with Joel unspeakable. Well, we don't need some object down here to keep us. What will keep us is if we're looking up at the person of the Lord Jesus and we have our eyes on him and we're expecting his mere return and we're not going to be turned away. If we get our eyes on man and we follow after man, we're going to lead us astray. They're going to disappoint us. But if we follow after the Lord, if we continue.
As Paul exhorted, Timothy continues out in The Things That Stop Us Learning.
00:35:02
Well, he says in verse five, but watch down all things, endure reflections. Do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry. Well, we have so much in this epistle about holding fast and clinging to the truth and not letting it slip. And so Paul knew the danger of what can happen if we get occupied with just pulling on to the truth. We might forget and neglect to do the work of an evangelist. So he sang, as it were, Timothy.
Don't forget to do the work in evangelism. If we sometimes we can get the mentality that we have the truth and no one else does. And so we'll, we'll guard that truth, but the gospel is given up. Someone has said if we give up the gospel, then we've given up the truth because the gospel is the foundation. And so Paul says, remember Timothy? Don't forget to do the work of an evangelist. Make full proof of that industry. We know that Judaism was not evangelistic.
Judaism was a garden enclosed and the Jews were never told to go down in the Old Testament to the Philistines.
Or the Hittites, or do the Amalekites and pass out tracks. They were told to dwell on the land in obedience, and that would be their testimony. Judaism was that garden enclosed. It was to just be obedient. And then even the queen of the South would come from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon. Well, when we get to Christianity, we see something entirely different. That new wine that couldn't be contained in the old wineskins. The Lord rises from the dead. He says that his disciples go into all of the world.
And preach the gospel to every creature. And those early disciples went out and turned the world upside down. Sometimes when you get in these Second Timothy days, it's easy, so to speak, to just pull all the wagons into a circle and say, well, we just have to hang on and then hope that we haven't all been killed off by the Indians, as it were, by the time the rescue party gets here. But that's not Christianity. Christianity is something that flows out. The man that was bearing that it says a picture of water doesn't say it was a water pot.
Well, in the Old Testament it would have been a water pot. It's something that contained water that the man in Luke 22, he was bearing a pitcher of blood or something that was meant to be poured out.
You know, Christianity is an outflow. We've often mentioned that if we were to go over to the land of Israel today, we would see two seas or two lakes. One is the Sea of Galilee and the other is the is the Dead Sea. And if we were to look at the Sea of Galilee, we would see fish swimming in that sea and trees growing around that that sea. We get on down to the Dead Sea. Both of these seas are basins of the Jordan River. But there is no life, no trees going around it, no life in that sea. What is the difference?
Both of them have an inflow, but only one of them has an outflow, and the one that has the outflow is not stagnant. You know, we can come and take in lots of truth, like those lepers in the second King Seven who carried away gold and silver and raiment, all those precious things. What did they do? They hit it. They went back again and they carried away more, and then they did that. Finally they said we do not. Well, this is a day of good tidings, and we hold our peace. If we tarry till the morning light. It's a little picture of the Lord's tongue in the morning light. Some mischief will come upon us.
And so I think we see there in picture, if we sit on the gospel, there's no desire for an outreach. We fall in the mischief and we begin to fight amongst ourselves and be occupied with problems and difficulties rather than going on and serving the Lord. And so here's this important comment that's made here. Do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry. And then he says in verse six, I am now ready to be offered in the time of my departure is at hand.
It says in verse seven, I fought a good fight. I finished my course.
Kept the faith, henceforth there is a crown laid up for me.
Laid up for me a crown of righteousness which the Lord, the righteous judge shall give me at that day, and not to me only, but to all those that love his appearing. Well, if you remember back in the second chapter, Paul told Timothy, endure hardness as a good soldier. Don't give up even though the problems are going to come. It was a day when people were deserting the ranks. He says you're in a warfare, Timothy, you're fighting a battle. And he says endure hardness well here.
Paul is one who had finished that warfare, so to speak, he said. I thought a good fight. I kept the faith.
And there's a reward laid up for me, Timothy, and I want you to have that reward too. It's not just for me, but he says it's for all those that love his appearance. You know, I believe it's nice that he didn't say, Timothy, it's just for you, but he said it's for all those that love has occurred. And I believe rather than tonight, that includes every one of us in this room. Paul had gone on faithfully for the Lord and he knew there was a reward for that faithfulness. And he wants wanted others to have that reward too. He wanted you and I to have that reward.
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To fight that good fight, to keep the faith. I finished my course. I think we have three things that are mentioned that we already spoke about in the second chapter. I fought a good fight. That's the soldier that we had in verses two and three or three and four in the second chapter.
And then he says, I finished my course. There's the athlete that ran in verse five and then there's the Stewart. I have kept the faith. Well, I.
I'd like to think of the consistent numbers, a crown that's laid up for me and the Scriptures would get a number of pounds that are mentioned if we were to turn over to the 1St Corinthians 10. We won't take the time tonight. The pulse is there. He says no, you're not. But those that run a race, they run all but only one receive at the crown. He says therefore run that you may obtain and so on. He says they do it to obtain a corruptible ground and he says we an incorruptible crown, in other words, on the aisle.
On the the Isthmus of Corinth that stuck out. They had these games every year and these people would come from miles around and they would spend years hours training for these races. And then they get in those races and they run with all their might. And when they finished, the person at one would be given a little wreath made out of leaves that would soon wither. Paul says they go to all that trouble just for a corruptible friend. And then how much more are we who are striving for an incorruptible crown?
We think of some of these rewards in the Scriptures. Some of these crowns he mentions in the First Thessalonians chapter one and verse 19. I like to call that one the soul when it's crowned. He said, what's my joy, my crown of rejoicing? Is it not even you in the presence of our Lord Jesus at His appearing? You get that same one in Galatians chapter or Philippians chapter 4 and verse one. He speaks of those Philippians Saints as His joy, as His crown, those that He had left to the board.
Ground and here we find the stewards crown, a crown of righteousness before a crown of joy here a crown of righteousness. It's a steward's crown. One who was faithful with what was entrusted in every one of us here tonight have been entrusted with a deposit of truth and we're going to be judged on whether or not we're faithful in that deposit of truth. The scripture says to whom much is given, much shall be required. Paul got a Stewart's crown. He wanted Timothy to have that Stuart's crown.
In James chapter one and verse 12 There's another crown, not a crown of joy or righteousness like here on a slow winner's crown or stewards crown, but it's a sufferers crown. It's spoken of as a kind of life. It's also mentioned in Revelation in chapter 2 and verse 10 he says.
James chapter 2 or chapter one and verse 12 about those who suffered, they're going to receive a crown of life. Blessed is the man that endures temptation.
The one he has tried, he shall receive the pound light. And in Revelation 2IN verse 10, it's be thou faithful unto death, and you receive a pound of blood, faithful and suffering for the Lord Jesus. Sometimes we're not always appreciated at work or by our neighbors because we're a Christian. We take a stand for the Lord, but there's a reward for that. And then the last one I like to think of is in first Peter chapter 5. That's the shepherd's crown. It's spoken of as a crown of glory.
When the Chief Shepherd appears.
You receive a crown of glory. Well, if we're faithful and shepherding the Lord's people, helping them along, there's a reward for that. And So what a privilege to have that desire. What followed? He didn't say I thought a perfect fight. There's only one person who could find a perfect fight, and that was the Lord Jesus. And look, the Psalms we read Mark the perfect man. If he Republicans say I fought a good fight, wouldn't it be wonderful if we could hear those words as we pass them to glory?
From the lips of the Lord, Jesus has no doubt all over them.
Well done now good and faithful servant, inner Valley, to the joy of my Lord. Well, he speaks about loving his appearing, but then he gets into verse 10 about somebody who loved the world. Contrast.
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He says in verse 10, For Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world, and has departed unto Thessalonica, Christians to Galatia, Titus to Dalmatia. Only Luke is with me. Take Mark and bring him with thee, for he is profitable to me for the ministry. So here's this contrast of Luke and Demas. Dimas had traveled with Paul. We read about him in other places, but as Paul's ministry, as Paul came into reproach.
And finally Paul put down into this dungeon and the going got rough. Demas took the easy path. In fact, Demas, his name means popular. Popular. Maybe he was afraid of what others would think of him. He would lose his popularity. And so he abandoned Paul. Isn't that he gave up the faith. He still loved the Lord, but he turned away from Paul and he compromised. He perceptile. Demeth has forsaken me, having loved this present world.
Then he says only Luke is with me and I've been struck as I thought about this sometimes in my study, looking at these two verses and thinking about Luke, who remained faithful to fall to the very end. We read about Luke in the book of Acts. I was thought he we know he wrote that book and we read the book of Acts and it says we and us as we traveled and then pretty soon it's day. Luke stays behind and then he catches up with Paul when it's we announced and he's with Paul throughout the book of Acts.
But here at the very end of Paul's life is just about ready to be offered up. Paul says, Luke is with me, Luke is with me. Like I say, I thought about this as I sat in my study and looked at these verses and thought, how is it going to be when I get up to heaven and meet the apostle Paul? First of all, when we get to glory, we're most looking forward to meeting the Lord Jesus Christ. But we know we're going to meet other Saints. There speaks about many coming from the East and the West.
And sitting down with some of those Old Testament Saints, Moses and why she and so on.
We're going to sit down with Abraham and Jacob, it says in Matthew. And so we get to heaven. We're going to meet these different ones. And one of the people I'm going to meet, I know, is the apostle Paul. And I thought about this. What would it be like if the apostle Paul were to meet me there in heaven and he were to stick out his hand and say, well, Brother Tim, what was it like to be there on the earth just before the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ? I would have longed to have been there to preach the gospel right up to the shower.
And to carry on faithfully in those things that were given me by the Spirit of God. Tell me, what was it like?
And I have to, so to speak, hang my head and say, well, Paul.
I guess I was like Venus.
Lot of problems and difficulties came up in the little meeting where I was at. It was kind of discouraging and there were certain brethren that didn't understand me and they were critical. So I, I didn't remain faithful to those things that you laid out in your epistles. I first took fall, I first took your ministry. I took the popular path, I took the easy path. And would I be able to say all by the grace of God, I was like Luke, those things that you, you laid out in those epistles that were given to you by the Spirit of God.
Those words that came from the Lord Jesus Himself, I remain thankful unto those things by the grace of God.
Searches my heart when I think about that. You know, the coming of the Lord Jesus is near. It's just just right at the door. We're just about to hear that shout and the enemy is doing everything he can to get us discouraged and to cause us to forsake the truth of the word of God and take the easy path. And may the Lord help us to be like Luke and remain faithful.
And not like Fall or not like Demas incompromise the truth.
Lily says in verse 11, Only Luke is with me. Take Mark and bring him with thee, for he is profitable unto me for the ministry.
Well, if you remember, John Mark was one who.
Earlier in the book of Acts, we read how that he started out on a journey with Paul and Barnabas. And then the going got a little bit rough and John Mark turned back. He turned back. John Mark's mother lived in Jerusalem. The disciples met in her home. She was perhaps probably a wealthy lady. He was used to the comforts and got out into the to the rough situation of doing missionary work and he got discouraged and turned back. But later on.
We find as we get to this verse that Paul says, bring Mark, he's profitable. This is a great encouragement to me because I think sometimes how often it is that we fail, how often we get discouraged and we make mistakes. It's wonderful throughout all Scripture to see that God is a God of second chances. Look at Jonah, there he was and God says, Jonah, I've got to work for you to do. I want you to go and fix for those MENA bites and tell them that I'm going to destroy their city because their wickedness has come up before me.
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What does Jonah do? He just obeys, runs the opposite direction, runs down to Joppa, and he tries to run away from the Lord. The Lord sends the wind, and that doesn't wake up Jonah. He sends the storm. The lots fall on Jonah. He's guilty. That doesn't turn him around.
Finally they froze stubborn Jonah overboard and the fish swells enough but that doesn't turn him around. It tells us that he was in the belly of the fish. 3 days and three nights to discover and then he says then Jonah prayed.
Sometimes I like to think it was me. I would have been praying when I saw the storm. The journal was in that belly 3 days and three nights and then he prayed. He was pretty stubborn. But then when Jonah has vomited up on the dry land, it says the word of the Lord came to Jonah the second time.
And said, I want you to go to Nineveh and preach the word that I bid thee. Oh, we would have thought Jonah blew it so bad. He made such a bad mistake that God would just have to throw another boy. But now God picked him up and used him. Peter, he says, leans over to the Lord and he says, James and John over here and these other disciples, they might deny you, but I never will. And we.
Since Peter before the **** pros, you're going to 93 times. Well Peter said he never would. And then he turns around and he denies the Lord with oath and curses. Well could the Lord use Peter again to come the day of Pentecost? And you see who it is that the Lord uses to stand up. But it's Peter and 3000 souls are saved. And then in the 4th chapter of Acts we find that Peter is standing after being filled with a spirit in the midst of all of those people and the names are given.
And one of them's name is Anis.
And another's name is Caiaphas, while those were the same two that Peter denied the Lord in front of. And yet he turns to those men and he says ye denied the holy one in the desperate God had turned him around and picked him up and used him again. Some of us have heard the Lord speak to us about certain things. We know that we should be spending more time reading the word and we say, OK Lord, I'm going to spend more time in reading scriptures. And we get busy at work and things come in and we fail the Lord.
You know, we should perhaps be more active in the gospel and we, our hearts are searched like the men of Reuben who had great searchings of heart of judges. That's as far as it went. Well, God is improved. He's a God of second chances. And here we see it, John Mark, he had turned back, but God saw fit that he could be used again. And Paul writes and says, bring Mark for he's profitable, the one who before was unprofitable.
Is now profitable for the ministry, for service for the Lord. It's often been pointed out that the same person who was used was referred to as the servant that failed. The uncomfortable servant was the one that God used to write the gospel of the perfect servant, the gospel of Mark.
That's the gospel that brings out the servant character of the Lord Jesus Christ. I'm the perfect servant used to write out the record of the perfect serial.
Well, this is an encouragement to us tonight, isn't it? When we fail the Lord, He's there and He picks us up if we're willing, and He'll use this again for blessing. Well, after that he speaks in verse.
13 The cloak that I left at Trollaz with the carpets, when they'll come us bring with thee, and the books and asbestos departments. Alexander the copper Smith did me much evil. The Lord reward him according to his works. Of whom be thou wear also, for he hath greatly withstood thy words. That my first answer No man stood with me, but all men forsook me. I pray God that it may not be laid to their charge. Well, if they serve the Lord, all is warning. Timothy, and a man named Alexander the coppersmith.
And there's going to be Alexander the coppersmith, there's going to be those who are going to oppose, you know.
When a person is running a race.
It's not those who are also in the race with their eyes on the goal that are being critical of the people in the race, that it's the people usually who are sitting on the sidelines and they look down on that race and they say, well, if that man had just jumped that hurdle a little differently, he'd be a little farther ahead. Look at this guy over here. His socks don't match. And on and on the criticism comes. But it's not from those who are busy in the race. It's from those who are sitting on the sidelines. And so all the same, Timothy, there's going to be those that are going to oppose the work.
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Don't be discouraged or something like that and he speaks about this man Alexander and he says of whom be thou where beware of Alexander the coppersmith. He did me much evil, but Paul didn't say it, but I sure got him back. I did him into he didn't say that. Oh the Lord Jesus, that perfect servant says when he was reviled, he reviled not again when he threatened threatened, he threatened not but he committed himself to him to judge his legislative. He left it with the Lord and even these others that forsook Paul says that my first answer.
As he stood there in that courtroom being tried no one else, all the brethren had left and forsaken him. He said, notwithstanding the Lord stood with me, and then he didn't blame him and said, I pray God, he prayed for them that it be not laid, that it be not laid to their charge. Well, there's an example for us. Someone does this evil, we can pray for them. We can do them all the good that we can not render evil for evil, but to keep coals of fire on their head, you know, faces and is a destructive thing.
I think we mentioned the Lord today morning here in the Sunday school, how that when Jacob wrestled with the Angel, his thigh was touched. And the Bible says the sin you shrink. It says from that time on the children of Israel didn't feed on the sinew. In other words, they didn't feed on that which was speak of the faults and failures of one another or the faults and failures of Jacob. And if we just eat sinew, it's a bad diet. Sometimes we look at families that we've seen that children grow up and they leave the meeting and they leave.
The truth.
Well, often part of the problem was the brethren came home on Sunday evening or Sunday afternoon and they had roast brethren for the supper table, for the dinner table, and they criticized different ones in the meeting and the children left. But let's be careful that we don't have a critical spirit, but that we speak with one about one another, with the things that we can see of Christ. You know, there's some in Christ in every believer in this room. There's some of Christ in you. You know the Lord and the Son of Christ by the grace of God in me.
And let's not feed and assume, let's not oppose the truth, but let's be a help and let's be an encouragement like Paul was in the first chapter. Another thing criticism does, as it brings in barrenness, often have been struck in reading the account where in Second Samuel, when David was bringing up the ark, there was great rejoicing. But it tells us that Michael, Saul's daughter, looked out the window and she saw David. He laid aside his royal garments and there he was dancing with the other young men for joy.
Because the ark was being brought up and it says she despised him in her heart, and then she criticized him. She said you're just like the other, the vain fellows, just like everybody else. See, David had just thrown aside any important position he had. He was just thinking about the Lord. You know, when we come to the meeting, locking the door, it doesn't matter whether you're a doctor or a lawyer or whatever. We all take the same place or the same is saved by the grace of God. That's where David was. He laid aside his position and he was just thinking about the Lord.
And that might have criticized him, she said. You became what? The vain fellows?
What does the Scripture tell us? It says that Michael Saul's daughter was barren till the day of her death. And there's the lesson that we did in that criticism brings a fairness. Find a brother or sister who always sees the faults in somebody else. You see somebody who's barren. There's not much food in that life for God. You look at an assembly where every little thing that's tried to be done for the Lord is criticized. Lots of criticism. It's embarrassing. People get up and leave.
And as the assembly Withers away and may the Lord help us to be an encouragement to one another, we're living in those days just before the show. We're at the end of Second Timothy times and we're about to be face to face with the Lord Jesus and we learn helpless to be faithful, to be like Luke, to remain faithful to him and not to be like you. And as well, it's wonderful, it says, nevertheless, the Lord stood with me. Well, even if no one else understands the difficulties and problems that we have, we can rejoice and know the Lord will stand with us. He's promised.
As we have in Hebrews, He will never leave us nor forsake us. Well, let me just sing hymn #200 and 88288.
About his mercies for exhale.
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We can do ourselves.
Nothing like evil.
How many days are there more displays?