Address—Bob Thonney
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What we do in conferences in Latin America is to get the brethren to come back. We start singing and then they hear and come back.
So let's sing #242.
Sing aloud to God our strength. He has brought us hitherto. He will bring us home at length. This the Lord our God will do. Doubt not, for His Word is stable. Fear not, for His arm is able.
Well, I would like to go to the Epistle of Second Timothy.
I want to do a brief repass of the epistle.
Not in any extensive way, but picking up on things that have been a tremendous encouragement to my own soul, and I want to share them with you all. Remember, Timothy evidently was a young man. He says in the first epistle, Let no one despise thy youth, but be thou an example of the believers.
So he was a youth. I don't know what that means. What?
Kind of age he might have had, but he was a young man in comparison to the Apostle Paul who took him and wanted him to come with him. I must say, brethren, it has been a very great blessing in my own life to have an Eric Smith, a Ramon Alarcon, a Clemby Cannon that have asked me to accompany them.
You know, discipleship.
Is not only learning by what is taught, but it is learning by example. And I must say, I treasure in my soul the memory of how they handled situations. So here we have Timothy with the Apostle Paul, and Second Timothy is the last of his writings.
In the fourth chapter, he says I'm now ready to be offered.
And the time of my departure is at hand. I think it is so interesting.
Is Paul discouraged? Well, let's see here in chapter one. Let's start there. Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ, by the will of God, according to the promise of life which is in Christ Jesus. Timothy, my dearly beloved Son, grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.
I thank God whom I serve for my forefathers.
With pure conscience that without ceasing eye of remembrance of thee in my prayers night and day. Here's something mentioned in this chapter. I just want to focus on a bit. He talks about a pure conscience. We don't have time to go back to first Timothy, but in first Timothy in two separate verses.
He talks about a good conscience.
Maintaining faith and a good conscience.
How important it is the question of your conscience.
You know what your conscience tells you about.
And Paul says here in Second Timothy, I've served from my forefathers with pure conscience. Notice he doesn't say a good conscience, a pure conscience. Because Paul, even when he was not a believer in the Lord Jesus, he was doing what he thought was right. It was a pure conscience, but it wasn't a good conscience because as he watched them stoning Stephen to death and his face shining like an angel's.
The Lord Jesus said to him a little later, he says, It is hard for thee to kick against the ******. The ****** of conscience came into his soul. He must have thought, what is going on?
At least he had what is called a pure conscience. But it's important to maintain a good conscience. You know what conscience is.
It's that which is in every human being, even little children. You know, sometimes in a home, a mother might say to a little child, don't you touch that vase on that table.
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And the child wandering around goes up to that table, looks around at his mom, see if his mom's watching before he wants to touch that vase. Why does he do that? His conscience. Conscience is what man did not have.
Before the fall in the Garden of Eden, he was innocent means without the knowledge of good and evil.
But when he ate of the tree that was forbidden, that tree of the knowledge of good and evil, immediately they knew that they were naked, and they hid themselves. What was it? Conscience. And you and I have conscience, Paul says in the book of the Acts. Herein do I exercise myself to have.
Always a conscience void of offense toward God and toward man. He doesn't say I always have a good conscience. No, I exercise myself. It's a continual daily exercise.
Don't ignore the voice of conscience. Is there something in your life right now that you know is not right and you're just trying to push it off into a corner?
Listen to the voice of your conscience. Somebody has said a conscience is a good policeman.
It's not a good guide because conscience operates according to the measure of light it has.
I have good eyes. I can see you all out there.
But if it was all dark in here.
You could hear some noises around. I could guess there might be some people in here. That's when somebody switches on the light, then I can see you. That's the way conscience is. It's the light of the word of God that makes conscience work properly. And so the Lord help us to be reading the Word, especially you young people, be encouraged to take time to read the Word. It's the light, and that way you will.
What is good and what is not good that's so important in our lives?
Exercise yourself to have always a conscience void of offense toward God and toward man. Now we go on verse.
Forth, greatly desiring to see thee, being mindful of thy tears, that I may be filled with joy when I call to remembrance.
The unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and in thy mother Eunice. And I am persuaded that in thee also in this nice to see that Timothy had a grandmother and a mother that had real faith. And in chapter 3 it says.
That from a child he had known the Holy Scriptures.
Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.
So important for those who are parents to let their children hear the word of God. I've had sometimes parents say to me, I I don't really know how to explain the Bible. That's why I don't read it to my children. I say, you don't have to explain it, read it. Faith comes by hearing. It doesn't say faith comes by explaining the word of God. No, it's by hearing the word of God.
That's so important. Anyhow, we don't know very much.
About Timothy's father. He was a Greek.
And it really doesn't say if he was a believer or not. But Timothy's grandmother and mother were women of faith, unfeigned faith. That is beautiful.
Verse 6 Wherefore I put thee in remembrance, that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands. I love that.
Timothy had a gift. We don't know exactly what his gift might have been. Chapter four, he says do the work of an evangelist. He didn't say, Timothy, you're an evangelist. No, just do that work. And you know, you and I can always give out a gospel tract or a calendar or whatever and perhaps speak a word. There are those who are gifted as evangelists.
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But he was told to do the work of evangelists.
I don't know what his gift may have been, but he's told to stir up the gift of God, which was in him in the Spanish translation is wake up. You know, I think some of our gifts are dormant.
And that to me, really concerns me because I see and hear so many young people that are coming along. Are you aware of the fact that God has given you a specific gift for the blessing of others? That's what He does in the body of Christ, and each one has one. It's very clear in Scripture. We have the gifts mentioned in Romans chapter 12.
In First Corinthians chapter 12.
And Ephesians chapter four, we don't have time to go to those scriptures, but in each place it says very clearly that.
Each one has a gift.
Are you using that gift?
What are you going to do? You get before the judgment seat of Christ and the Lord said I gave you a gift. How did you use that?
I didn't even realize I had a gift. Are you going to say that it's kind of late to say that it's now you want to wake up as to the gift that the Lord has given you. And I must say, I see certain young people starting to exercise their gift. You know, gift is something that is developed with the use and so be exercised. Remember, Chuck Hendricks was asked one time.
How can I know what gift I have?
His answer was, I'll just say what?
Mary, the mother of Jesus said to the servants at the wedding feast, whatever he says unto you, do it so be exercised before the Lord. If the Lord put something on your heart, do it, because that's the way gift will be developed in time. I thought that was a good answer.
The thing is to be exercised, not dormant. You know, if it's dormant, you're just not doing anything.
May the Lord help us, dear, especially I say to my dear young brothers and sisters. I've seen some of them when the Lord turns on the switch. I don't know how it happens exactly, but oh the blessing that there can be. Had a brother in the South of Bolivia. He got saved when he was probably in his 20s.
And he had never gone to school at all. He didn't even know how to read. But in his intense desire to read the scriptures, he taught himself how to read. And that brother turned out to be a blessing in the South of Bolivia, especially because he knew fluently the Quechua Indian language, which is used in many of the.
Assemblies in southern Bolivia.
Oh the way God can use even those that are uneducated. Look at Peter and John and how the multitude.
Marveled that these men were unlearned, unlettered men and yet God used them in such a marked way. That's our God. He's giving gifts and you need to stir up the gift of God that's in you now verse.
Seven, God has not given us the spirit of fear.
But of power and of love and of a sound mind, I guess. So beautiful. You know, in the last couple years, there's been a lot of fear floating around in the United States. Fear of getting sick, fear of dying.
Brethren, the Lord deliver us from that. God has not given us the spirit of fear, but of power.
And of love and of a sound mind. I'm not saying we should be careless in our habits. We should be careful. We should take precautions that we can but don't get under the spirit of fear. It says in first John chapter 4 that.
Perfect love casts out fear because fear has torment.
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Oh, brethren, the Lord help us in this. God has given us not the spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.
What brother was talking about in the open meeting about the Kingdom of God is in power. Oh, it's wonderful to see the Spirit of God working. It's not a matter of who I am, brethren. I'm just a nobody. But if the Spirit of God is allowed to operate, there's no telling what might happen.
Wonderful, beautiful God has not given us.
The spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. Now he says in verse 8, And I love this. Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God.
Don't be ashamed of the testimony of the Lord.
Nor of me, his prisoner. There was Paul in prison in Rome.
Waiting any day they were going to take him out to the chopping block outside. I don't know where it might have been, and he'd have to lay his head down on that chopping block and the executioner would take his axe. What?
Paul, aren't you ashamed? Your life is one complete failure. Look at the way as you've lost everything in life.
Verse 12 he says for the which 'cause I suffer these things. Nevertheless I am not ashamed. Don't you be ashamed, Timothy, of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner. I I love that. It's so wonderfully beautiful. No, we don't have to be ashamed.
The Lord Jesus is not.
Accepted in the world that we live in.
But it's not anything that we should be ashamed of. The power of God and the gospel is the power of God and to salvation to everyone that believeth, we're going to be ashamed. That word power really is the dynamite. It is the power of God. And you know, we often go into prisons to preach the gospel. And I like to think that they put those men in prisons, they enclose them.
But they can't change them.
The power of God gets inside of those men and changes them from the inside out.
And it is amazing what God does in some of those prisons and their extremity.
Nothing to be ashamed of. So it's beautiful here Paul says I am not ashamed of the in verse 12, he says, nevertheless I'm not ashamed for I know whom I have believed and am persuaded. I, I love that, you know, to be persuaded means you've got some evidence presented to you and based on that evidence you have been persuaded.
Brethren, are we persuaded, or is there quite a bit of doubt floating around in our soul? Lord help us that we too would be persuaded. I am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have committed unto Him against that day. New translation says my deposit. You know you deposit money in the bank, in the savings account.
Or whatever.
And sometimes a bank fails.
And you're going to be ashamed, but there is an account you can deposit into.
That you will not be ashamed. Oh, I want to encourage you young people to live in view of that coming day of glory. Deposit your energy, your time, your resources into that heavenly account that deposit on high. You know, I must say, I was really challenged by the life of dear brother Eric Smith.
Since we traveled together, he told me a lot about his early years in New Zealand.
And how his father, who was not a believer when he learned that Eric Smith had gotten saved and decided to go to Bolivia.
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As a missionary, he thought it was such a foolish thing. He wanted all his sons. He had quite a few sons and he wanted them all to prosper in life, to get a good education and to earn good money.
And when he learned that that was Eric Smith's decision, he said, if that's your decision, son, get out of my house. You don't have any longer any place in this house. Get out. And he had to get out and make his own way. He studied medicine for two years in Bolivia. They always called him El Doctor Smith, but he went to Bolivia.
Arrived there in 1921.
I went for the first time in 1967 to Peru with him and then to Bolivia in 1968.
Rather, when I saw the results of what he had sown in those countries, I said to the Lord, Please, Lord, please help me not to be deceived by the material things of this life, but to live for that which is coming.
I was able to visit him.
Shortly before he went to be with the Lord in a nursing home in Montreal, Canada, and he couldn't speak anymore, he he died two days short of his 103rd birthday.
In 1997, and I must say it was a challenge to me. As I walked into the room, he looked at me, those little beady eyes. He couldn't say anything.
But I greeted him in Quechua.
The only thing I saw was a little nod of the head a little later.
He went into the glory.
Rather.
It was such a challenge to me to think of him going into the glory and meeting so many of those Bolivian people that came into the knowledge of the truth of salvation through Christ.
That that again, was a tremendous challenge to me not to focus on things down here that are so soon going to pass away.
Paul was not ashamed.
Hopefully we want to be ashamed either. It's interesting there's another man in this chapter that was not ashamed. It's verse.
16 on Nessa for us. He was not ashamed of my claim chain. Beautiful to think about. I want to go on now because quite a few things I want to focus on in chapter 2, Chapter 2. Sometimes it's been called the Magna Carta of the Christian testimony.
In the in the present age, but just let me point out two things to me that are are bulwarks in this chapter that don't depend on me in any way, but they are bulwarks that you can lay hold of to me. It is so amazingly wonderful. We're living in days of ruin of the Christian testimony. People look around and say, I don't see that there's just one body of Christians here in this town.
There's one body over here and another body over there and another body. What do you mean by there is one body?
Well, it's true the Christian testimony is in ruins, but remember, the truth remains. There is one body, and that truth is as much true today as it was on the day of Pentecost when the church was first formed. How important it is to get those things true. And that one body includes every true believer in the Lord Jesus.
Whether they meet with us or not, if they are a real believer, they are part of that one body.
And so we are to recognize that precious truth. But I just want to point out these two things that are a bulwark in my own soul. It's one of them is inverse 13. It says if we believe not yet he abideth faithful. He cannot deny himself. I just find that a bowling.
He abides. Faithful. Sometimes people complain to me, those brethren over there, they're not really being faithful.
Yeah, it could be true.
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I wouldn't want you to look at me for faithfulness, brother.
But there's one who is the faithful and true witness. He abides faithful. He always will be faithful. You can count on him. He cannot deny himself. God is God and God is faithful.
To me, that's a bulwark.
Let's hold on to it in these days that we live in the other one that I find as a bulwark here. Before we go through this chapter, I just wanted to point these two out is in verse.
19.
And it's the first line of that verse says, nevertheless, he's been talking in the verses previously of Hymenius and Phylidus, who concerning the truth have erred in saying that the resurrection is passed already and overthrow the faith of some. But notice what he says then. Nevertheless, the foundation of God standeth sure.
The foundation of God is sure you know in the Old Testament.
When the children of Israel were unfaithful, God allowed Nebuchadnezzar to come in.
And to take over the country. And he destroyed the temple, and he broke up the foundation so that when.
They came back in the time of Ezra and Nehemiah. They had to relay.
The foundations.
Remember, in the New Testament, the foundation is never removed. It's firm. You can count on it. What is that foundation it says in?
Ephesians chapter 2 That it is the foundation of the fossils and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone. So it's the Scriptures that God has left us in the New Testament that are the foundation work and it stands firm. It hasn't been removed.
You might have to dig down through your own thinking sometimes.
To get to the foundation, but it's there and it's been such a consolation to me to realize that. Dear young people, here's the two bulwarks. I want to leave you in this chapter. First of all, he abides faithful. The second one, the foundation of God stands short.
I'd like to go back to the first part of the chapter because we have Timothy, a young man given different figures of the believer in this chapter.
And there are figures that we know in life commonly.
Verse three is the soldier. Verse five is the athlete. Verse 6 the husbandman. Verse 14.
I mean, I'm sorry, verse 15, the Workman and verse.
19.
I'm sorry, verse 20 vessel and verse 24 the servant. They're figures that we know in life and they're all put there by the Apostle Paul for us to learn lessons. But before he begins with those who just want to comment on verse one.
Thou therefore, my Son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.
What is it will make us strong? It's not, brethren, being legalistic and setting down rules and regulations. That's not going to make us strong. It's to enjoy the grace that is in Christ Jesus that will make us strong. And I find that very tremendously beautiful. You know, grace touches the heart and the heart is the mainspring of Christian life.
If I lay down some rules and regulations that doesn't touch your heart, I'm sorry, it's not going to have much power over you.
But it's when we understand the grace that is in Christ Jesus that we will be enabled to go on even in days of ruin. And then verse two, he talks about faithful men. Notice there's four generations in verse 2. The things which thou has heard of me, the apostle Paul #1.
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Timothy heard of him among many witnesses. The same Commit thou to faithful man. That's the third generation.
Who shall be able to teach others also? That's the 4th generation.
What kind of men does God use to carry on his testimony?
He doesn't say Timothy 8. You looked for some really good, eloquent preachers.
No, he didn't say that. What kind of man? Faithful man. What's a faithful person? It's one who is obedient, who does what he's told. That's a faithful man. And that's the kind of man that God will use in the Christian testimony. So we have illustrations now in verse three and four of a soldier.
What's the number one lesson a soldier has to learn?
Obedience. Obey.
You know, in Bolivia.
They're used to military governments sometimes and let me tell you, you hear about some things that happen.
One of the brothers told me he was a student in a university, in the military, was in power, it was in the democratic government, and they came into the university to round up some of those students because they were giving them trouble.
And he was one of them.
And he says the chow is terrible.
So he said he took his plate of food and just kind of carefully put it under the table and dumped it out so he thought nobody would see him, and he put it back on the table.
To a chagrin, one of the sergeants saw him do it.
And came up to him and said you didn't like the food. No Sir.
And so he signals another soldier to come bring 3 plates of food and they put him down in front of him. Then he said bring 1/2 pint of kerosene and he pours that into those bowls of soup. Now you eat those three plates and he had to eat the three.
With a kerosene.
He says the next morning I was first in line and I like that stuff.
Well, he learned what it was to obey. Sometimes it doesn't seem reasonable. The brethren, when God speaks in his word, learn to not reason with what God says. Learn to obey so important the next one is that he speaks of.
Is in verse five is an athlete be a man also strive for masteries, yet is he not crowned except he strive lawfully. In other words, if you're going to run a race, you've got to do it according to the rules of the race. You can't just say I'm going to cut across the middle and I'll be there first. Can't do that. You have to respect the rules of the race. God has principles in his word you can't ignore.
There are people who just say, oh, that was for the Corinthians. That doesn't apply to us now.
You can't do that.
When God has said specifically in the book of Corinthians to the church that is at Corinth and to all those in every place that call on the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, how important it is to learn simple obedience to the Word of God. If you want to be used by the Lord, you've got to remember to respect.
God's principles of his work. Then we have the husbandman in verse six are a farmer.
Harmer of husbandman, that laborers, it says here must be first partaker of the fruits, but really the thought is he must first labor to be partaker of the fruits. The new translation gives that that way to understand it. In other words, you're not going to have immediate results.
How long does it take to produce a crop?
Here in Wawa, I don't know who's a farmer yet here. Is there any farmers left?
Let's see Ron, where are you?
How long does it take to produce a crop of wheat from the time you plant it to the time of harvest?
Ten months.
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OK, so you don't get discouraged after two or three months you don't have a crop yet?
No, and that's the way it is and the things of the Lord don't think you're going to get immediate results. Be patient. So Paul says to Timothy here. Notice in verse seven, consider what I say and the Lord give the understanding in all things. In other words, in these illustrations, these natural illustrations.
There's a lesson to be learned. And so he says in verse 8, Remember that Jesus Christ of the seed of David was raised from the dead, according to my gospel.
I used to not be able to understand why did he put that verse there.
But it's come to me this way and I believe this is the thought there.
The Lord Jesus at the end of his life on earth, it appeared to be complete failure. How many disciples he have? 12 disciples. 3 1/2 years. Only 12 disciples.
One of them was false.
The other eleven took off and ran, and he was left completely alone.
It condemned.
No one stood up for him. It looked like his life was a complete failure.
Remember Timothy, Jesus Christ of the seed of David?
Raised from the dead, according to my gospel. In other words, God's answer is not in this life. God's answer is in resurrection. And all that's so important to remember, Even the apostle Paul, it was the same way. We've already said it looked like his life was a complete failure.
But.
Paul told Timothy. Don't be ashamed.
No, it's worthwhile. God's answer is in resurrection and in that resurrection day when we stand before the Lord at the judgment seat of Christ. I am certain if you have lived in view of that day that Paul talks about in chapter one, verse 12, you will not be ashamed.
But I fear sometimes that we get so occupied with material things we are so busy we don't have time to.
Use our gift that God has given us for the good of other fellow believers.
Let's stop and let's think about it. Dear young people and older ones, to each one of us, how important it is to live in view of that day.
Well, we come down to verse 15 and we have another.
Illustration of a believer. It's a Workman.
Study to show thyself approved unto God, a Workman that needeth not to be ashamed.
Rightly dividing the word of truth. You know, there's in scripture it says there's Jews, there's Gentiles, there's the Church of God, there's different people groups in Scripture. And when you read the Scriptures, remember the people group he's addressing.
In Psalm 150 it says to praise the Lord with all kinds of musical instruments.
You brethren, why didn't you have some musical instruments in here to praise the Lord?
That was written.
To the Jewish people, and that was very proper and right in its day. But when you come to the New Testament, you never find in the church musical instruments used. There are two instruments that are spoken of, the heart and the lips. Those instruments we are to use in praising the Lord. But beyond that, we're not to use musical instruments, we are to praise God.
In spirit and in truth. I like that because it's in spirit, because God is a spirit.
In truth, because it is according to the revelation of God that we have in Scripture.
That we worship Him. Oh, how wonderful it is to understand these things that are precious, brethren. So to put things in their place is to be a Workman that doesn't need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. Another thing I think that is often mentioned in Christian circles is the question of tithing.
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You're in $100.
10% is gods, 90% is for you.
But you know what in the New Testament?
We find that tithing is never practiced in the church.
Why not? You know why? Because 100% is God's and we are just administrators of that which God puts into our hands. So if I say 10% for God and 90% for me, I'm robbing God of 90%. Careful what you do. It's all Gods and we are to use it for Him. So it's rightly dividing the word of truth. How important those simple.
Things are.
And so that's to be a Workman now in verse.
1920 and 21 we have the question of being a vessel and talking about a great house, and in that great house there are all those that name the name of the Lord, the name of Christ, it says in verse 19. And if you name that name, you are responsible to depart from iniquity.
And so in that great house there are many vessels.
Vessels of gold, and of silver, and of wood, and of earth. And it says some to honor, and some to dishonor. Therefore a man purge himself from these he shall be a vessel until honor sanctified, and meet for the master's use, and prepared unto every good work. In other words, if I'm going to be a vessel that God can use, I need to be.
Separated for him.
I sometimes use the illustration of sister is washing the dishes after a meal in her kitchen. Here's all The Dirty dishes in one side. And then there's the water with the I guess everybody has dishwashers now. But if you do it by hand while you have the water with soap in it and then rinse water and then a place to put the ones after they're washed. So here I'm going to take up a dirty one and I wash it and I rinse it off.
Nice and clean. Shall they put it back with The Dirty ones? You can say no, no, don't do that, Don't do that. Why do you tell me to not do that? It's just going to get dirty again.
And so here we have now we've washed a lot of dishes and we got a nice clean, clean bunch over here. Pick up a dirty one over here and put it with a clean one. Where's the sister of the house going to say no, don't do that, don't do that. Why? You're going to get them dirty and we want them clean.
Brethren.
Things contaminate in that great House of profession and we need to know how. It's not a matter of saying we're a bunch of better people. That's not the point.
Lord help us, because when the Lord comes into his house and he wants to use a vessel.
He's going to look for one that's clean. I hope I'm clean. I know I get contaminated sometimes and I have to be washed to be a vessel. Meet for the masters, use the Lord. Help us in that. Another point in verse 24, we have the servant of the Lord.
And he says he must not strive, but be gentle unto all men. Apartment to teach, patient in meekness, instructing those that oppose themselves.
Oh brethren, may that be the character of our lives in meekness, instructing those that impose themselves. Don't get this Henry cantankerous spirit in criticizing others. The Lord help us in this. I just do want to mention a couple more things before we go on to.
The Gospel meeting. But in chapter 3 we have.
The perilous times of the last days. And these are pretty easy to see that we are in these times. Interesting. Notice verse two men shall be lovers. What's number one lover of their own selves?
Does that ever characterize our culture? And then it says the second one, covetous.
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New translation puts it lovers of money.
And a little later down verse four, it says lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God.
Are there lovers? Yeah, these people are lovers, let me tell you. They love their own selves, they love money, they love pleasure.
But there is no love of God.
Nor of God's people. Tragic, but this is the characteristic of the day in which we live.
Brethren, the Lord help us, I have to say, as I travel between Latin America and the United States frequently.
I have to say, and I've said this in a number of places, that what I really believe is killing the Christian testimony in this country is the principle of pleasing yourself.
I've got money in my pocket. I'm going to do what I like and don't you criticize me. I'm going to do what I want. I've got the rights to do it. That's killing the Christian testimony. And since I've been going down to South America, I, I just have to say rather than it's not what I've done. First time I went down, there was only gatherings to the Lord's name in Peru and Bolivia.
Now there is in Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Argentina, Chile.
Ecuador and I should say Brazil and Paraguay and I haven't done it, it's been the Lord that has done it. And I just say why is there such blessing down there? Because people know how to self sacrifice. It's not self pleasing, it's self sacrifice. That's the principle of Christianity. The Lord Jesus said Vinyaman will come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross and follow me. Deny yourself. What in the world?
Deny yourself.
That's what's killing us.
Because we want to please ourselves.
Lord help us, brethren, I I have to confess here. Please don't misunderstand me. I'm not pointing the finger at anybody out there. I have to point the finger at me because we are living in this culture and it's a strong current that affects you if you're in it and I'm in it and I confess that I've been affected by it. But I think the best thing we can do is to recognize it and to confess it to the Lord and ask him.
To help be overcomers.
Yes, these in the last days are lovers of their own selves.
Lovers of money, lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God. But I think it is so beautiful how he ends the chapter. He talks to Timothy. He says, verse 10, Thou hast fully known my doctrine, manner of life. Not only his teaching, but his manner of life corresponded to it. Purpose, faith, long-suffering, charity.
Patience, persecutions, afflictions. She came unto me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra.
What persecutions I endured and out of the mall the Lord delivered me. Yeah, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution rather than we don't know much about persecution in this country. Our brethren in other parts.
Are passing through severe persecution.
We need to remember them in our prayers if nothing else. Brethren, in Nigeria, northern Nigeria, Muslim tribes are coming into towns at night and slaughtering Christians. It's incredible what's going on. You know, there is a list of nations in this world that persecute Christians and Nigeria has gone way up on that list.
As close to the top, if not at the top now.
But there are others. And with the reports you hear of what's going on in those countries, brother.
We don't know what it means to be a Christian very much. We have it so good, so comfortable.
The Lord help us, Lord, stir us to be stirred up to pray at least for those dear brethren over in those other countries.
Evil men shall wax worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived. But continue thou in the things that thou hast learned and have been assured of, and of whom thou hast learned them, and that from a child thou has known the Holy Scriptures. You're able to make thee wise and to salvation through faith, which is in Christ Jesus.
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All scripture is given by inspiration of God means God breathed.
And is profitable. Even the Old Testament scriptures are profitable.
Don't stop at Justice the new The new talks about the church.
That's the main focus in the New Testament.
But all Scripture is profitable. And so we go back to the Old Testament, that which refers to Israel and those faithful men of God in the Old Testament, and we learn. All Scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, which means teaching for reproof.
For correction, For instruction in righteousness, that the man.
Of God may be perfect. It means complete, mature, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.
I just want to point out a couple things in chapter 4 before we close.
In verse one it says, I charge thee therefore before God in the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and at his Kingdom. Preach the word the instant in season out of season, reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long-suffering and doctrine. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but after their own lust they shall heap to themselves teachers.
Having itching ears, and they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned to fables.
But watch thou in all things endure infliction. And here's this exhortation we talked about before.
Do the work of an evangelist. Make full proof of your ministry. You know, brethren, I think it is so important to keep a gospel focus in our ministry, in our assemblies. It keeps us down to the basics. It's important.
And our assembly in Lawrenceville, we had the privilege. The Covic had shut it down for a while. We're hoping to get back in, but into a state prison there.
And those of us that go find that when you talk to those men, you don't have to tell them they're guilty. They know it, but you've got to talk at their level. And I think that is healthy. Sometimes in meetings we talk at a different level. And sometimes young people are not exactly sure what we're talking about. And I think if you get into gospel work, you have to talk at the level of the people you're talking to. And it's helpful, I find it very helpful to keep down to reality.
So do the work of an evangelist.
And he says, I'm now ready to be offered. We mentioned that late, earlier in the time of my departures at hand. Notice verse seven. I have fought a good fight. I have finished my course. I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is 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 unto all them that love His appearing.
Just want to point out in verse seven that he says I have finished my course.
I like to compare that with the Lord Jesus in John 17. The Lord Jesus says I have finished the work thou gavest me to do. I think he's the only one that will be able to say I have finished the work thou gave us me to do. Paul could say I finished my course, but all of us have failed in one way or another.
We can't hold up ourselves, brethren, as being faithful. There is one who was completely failed.
Grateful he could say, I've finished the work that thou gave us me to do. I must say, brethren, life is short.
I left here, Walla Walla 60 years ago this year. I can't believe it. I don't know how you look at me. If you look at me as an old guy or what. I don't feel old, I feel young.
But that's the way life is, that's the way time is. It's very relative. So young people take advantage of the years you have now. Use them in view of that day, not out of this world's day.