Our Decisions

2 Timothy 1
Address—R. Thonney
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Dear young fellow believers.
And the Lord Jesus.
The Lord's coming is near.
Everywhere.
It seems.
That those who belong to him.
Are sensing it.
Circumstances in the world around point to it.
Our own low condition and the failure in general of the Christian testimony points to it. The Lord is coming.
And I really believe with all my heart the Lord is coming soon.
There may be things as we look around.
In connection with the testimony that we seek to carry out.
And other circumstances as well that might.
Mean to you discouragement?
But really?
Thinking of the place and portion that is ours in the Lord Jesus.
Thinking of that Spirit of God who still is in our midst.
Thinking of the precious, changeless, infallible Word of God that we have in our hands.
The challenge is greater.
Right now, 1980 than ever before in the history of the world, to live to please the Lord.
All the moments getting there, we're going to leave this world.
Into a burst of glory.
When the Lord comes, how is he going to find you? How is he going to find me?
Continuing.
Or discouraged and cast down on one side or another. This is a challenge that comes tremendously to my own soul as we approach the moment when we're going to be raptured into eternal glory.
Dear young person, are you discouraged? Are you sidetracked by one thing or another? This afternoon? I want to challenge your soul with all that's in my heart, in view of the greatness of the blessing that we've been brought into.
And in view of the promises of God, this book is full of.
Oh dear, young people, continue on.
Little Hymn and the Echoes of Grace often comes to mind.
I just copied out a verse of it before meeting. I'd just like to read it to you.
I found a friend, oh, such a friend. All power to him is given to guard me on my onward course and bring me safe to heaven. Then this part especially is what I had in mind. The eternal glories gleam afar to nerve my faint endeavor. So now to watch.
To work, to war, and then to rest forever.
You know, there's just one word I'd rather change in that. The eternal glories gleam afar. It says they're not very far off, dear young person. They're near. We're close to the moment.
We're going to be raptured into heaven.
To the presence of the man who died for us and who lives for us and who waits for us now. Are you ready?
There was a young man.
The time.
Of the apostles.
Who is perhaps timid?
Some of you already know who I'm talking about.
That young man's name was Timothy.
I'd like to go to Second Timothy chapter one to see a few of the principles that the apostle Paul.
In the last lines he ever penned gave to this young man.
Oh, there is every reason to be encouraged. There is every reason.
To press on the few remaining moments.
Second Timothy, chapter one, verse one.
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Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God.
According to the promise of life, which is in Christ Jesus.
To Timothy, my dearly beloved son, grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.
I thank God whom I serve from my forefathers with pure conscience.
That without ceasing, I have remembrance of Thee in my prayers.
Night and day, greatly desiring to see thee.
Being mindful of my tears that I may be filled with joy.
When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee.
Which dwelt first, And thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice.
And I am persuaded that in thee also.
Wherefore I put thee in remembrance, that thou stir up the gift of God.
Which is in the by the putting on of my hands.
For God hath not given us the spirit of fear, but of power.
And of love. And of a sound mind.
Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of Maine his prisoner, but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel, according to the power of God, who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace.
Which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began.
But now, but is now made manifest by the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the Gospel.
Whereunto I am appointed a preacher and an apostle, and a teacher of the Gentiles.
For the which 'cause I also suffer these things, nevertheless I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.
Old fast, the form of sound words which thou hast heard of me in faith and love.
Which is in Christ Jesus.
That good thing which was committed unto thee keep by the Holy Ghost which dwelleth in US.
This thou knowest, that all that are all they which are in Asia be turned away from me, of whom are Fajilas and homogeneous. The Lord give mercy into the House of Anissa for us, For he off refresh me was not afraid ashamed of my chain. But when he was in Rome he sought me out very diligently.
And found me the Lord granted to him, that he may find mercy to the Lord in that day.
And how many things he ministered unto me at Ephesus, thou knowest very well.
As we mentioned before.
This is the last lines that the Apostle Paul penned in his life, or at least if he didn't write them himself dictated. This is his last epistle and it's written to an individual.
Written to an individual who was a young man and it appears quite a timid man.
And so this epistle can be taken very much to heart.
By those of us who are younger.
To all of us, of course, but very much for us who are younger. And I just like as we go through this chapter, don't profess to be able to give word to word exposition. But there's a few things that call my attention in these verses I'd like to share with you.
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In verse one we have the will of God spoken of.
Upon the apostle of Jesus Christ, by the will of God.
Oh, what is God's will?
Ah, friend, if you are here without the Lord Jesus Christ.
God is not willing that any should perish.
But that all should come to repentance, and in First Timothy.
Chapter 2 we have is the will of God, that all men should come, should be saved and come.
To a knowledge of the truth.
And I like to think of the will of God as a vast stream of blessing.
That flows in from that past eternity blessing that was already purposed in a past eternity. It flows in, flows through time and it flows out into the future eternity and blessing the souls. Woe be to the person who resists that will, God's will for you if you're here unsaved. And we feel that they're perhaps some who are passing for believers.
But not real in their own souls. If you are here, God's will for you is to be saved.
And to be saved now, not tomorrow, now.
If you resist that, well, there is only one thing you can expect.
Then that is terrible, awful, eternal judgment.
Is that the desire of your soul?
Friend, the will of God is your salvation.
And for us who are believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, this should be something supreme in our lives as well.
This day and age in which we live is characterized by the will of man. Man's will is supreme. We've all heard a lot of this program.
That's called human rights. Every man has his basic human rights.
Well, we cannot comment in political circles. The postures of the earth will strive, but when it comes to those of us who have been redeemed with a precious blood of Christ, let's establish one thing very certain according to the Word of God, and that is no one who is.
Redeemed with that precious blood of Christ.
Has any right to their own will at all? No. We have declared that we have forfeited every right. The only rightly, rightly had was to the lake of fire, and He redeemed us from that end. Now He who has every right in my life is the Lord Jesus Christ.
And so when it comes to decisions in life, it is not a question any longer of what I want.
No, that's what the Lord wants for me. The will of God, remember.
That will may seem hard at times, but that will is written for your own blessing.
When the word of God says, Be not unequally yoked together with unbelievers.
It's written for your own happiness and good and blessing. Dear young person, if you are even thinking of marriage with someone who is not a true believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, and you are, I ask you to consider what is the will of God? Remember His will.
Is for your own good and blessing ultimately.
And those who resist that will will only do so to their own sorrow.
And so this is something that affects us in all our lives, all the.
Apostle before he was saved as Saul of Tarsus.
Was going madly along his way, his way persecuting the believers. The Lord Jesus shined out of heaven, said Saul. Saul, why persecutest thou me? And Saul didn't know who was talking, but he did recognize one thing, that the one who was talking was Lord. And he said.
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Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord responded.
I am Jesus, whom now persecutest. What's the next question Paul asks? Lord, what will thou have me to do? Oh, this should be the question that we ask in every decision of life. Lord, what wilt thou? It's not a question of what I desire my own natural desires any longer. It's a question of what He desires.
And remember, His desire is for your good and blessing.
It may seem that you have to pay a terrible price to follow that desire of His for you, but remember it's for your ultimate good and blessing and happiness. And so the will of God was something that was supreme in the life of the Apostle Paul.
There are many things the scripture speaks about the will of God that are very clear and definite.
There are other things in our lives when it takes real getting into the Lord's presence and prayer and searching His Word so that we can tell what His desire is, what His will is for us.
But I want to share with you a verse that's been a tremendous help in my own life, and that is in Psalm 32.
Read it.
Psalm 32 Eight. I will instruct the and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go. I will guide thee with mine eye. Be not as the horse or the mule, which have no understanding, whose mouth must be held in with bitten bridle, lest they come near unto thee.
Verse eight is the verse which shows us how we ought to be guided.
In the decisions of our lives.
His eye is honest. That's the way it should. Read here the last part of verse eight. I will guide thee with mine eye upon thee. His eye is on you. Each one of you that belong to Him is. I is on you.
How are you going to discern his mind? Have you turned your eye on him?
Have you looked to him? That's the only place you're going to get an answer that gives peace to your soul.
In the decisions of life, others may give you good counsel very well, but it will never be the final answer. No, only He is the one that can truly guide you in life. I will, He says, instruct thee and teach thee in the way that thou wilt go. And dear young person, if you don't know.
Then wait, the Lord is waiting.
In Isaiah chapter 30 and verse 18 it says therefore the will the Lord wait that he may have mercy upon you, for the Lord is a God of judgment. And then at the end of the verse it says blessed are all they that wait for him. He's waiting to show you His will for your blessing and happiness.
He's waiting, and blessed are all they that wait for him.
In verse nine of Psalm 32, it speaks of two animals.
The horse and the mule. Impulsiveness and stubbornness.
The two extremes of our own human nature. How often we are guided by these things.
And by circumstances. But it's never the real way that God wants to guide us in. He may guide us by circumstances. Thank God if he doesn't let us go our own way. And he does use circumstances to hem us in. But remember his promises. I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way that thou shalt go. I will guide thee.
With mine eye upon thee.
And so, dear young person, in every area of your life, keep this before you. God's will, what is it? And you'll never, and I'll never be intelligent of what the will of God is for me in my life if I don't spend time reading this book, other young person read it. Read it often.
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Be in prayer. Often this is the way the Lord shows us.
His will.
And so this is what we get in verse one of first two Timothy, one, the will of God. Like I say, I'm not going to take up these verses in detail, just mention a few things that I feel are very important from verse to verse here.
Verse 3 There's another point feels very important for us as young believers. That is a pure conscience.
Pure conscience. Various times in First and Second Timothy this word conscience is used.
Let's look at First Timothy chapter one.
Verse 5. Now the end of the commandment is charity.
Out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and a faith and faith. Verse 19.
Holding faith and a good conscience, which some, having put away concerning faith, have made shipwreck.
Oh, how important that conscience be pure, that it be good.
You know man was created in innocence and told.
That there was one tree of the Garden of Eden, that he was not to eat of that garden. That tree was the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
But.
Eve deceived by Satan and Adam with his eyes wide open.
Ate of that tree anyhow.
And they had what we now call and know a conscience, the knowledge of the the knowledge of good and evil.
You have that knowledge. Each person born into this world has a conscience, and for as much as a man may turn infidel in his mind, his conscience always witnesses to the truth.
There may be greater light from the Word of God in certain parts of the world.
Than there are in others, and so in the light the conscience.
Is more active, perhaps, than in places where there's very little light. But in every part of the world God has his testimony of one way or another witnessing to man, and man's conscience is active according to the light that he receives from the revelation of God.
And here we have it now in connection with these last times. That conscience of yours, dear young person, make sure that it is good. Make sure that it is pure. Make sure that there's something not troubling you there and you're trying to cover it up.
In First Timothy 4 it speaks about a seared conscience, those whose conscience bothers them so much they just try to put it down continually until finally the voice of conscience begins to fade. Son. Not completely, but son.
Oh, it's a serious thing. And those in First Timothy, one who put away that concerning faith made shipwreck, they didn't hold faith in a good conscience. Oh, how important to let the light of the word of God shine in ever upon our lives.
Conscience is not a guide. The Word of God is our guide.
But conscience is a good policeman to tell us when we're wrong.
And don't ignore the voice of that conscience of yours.
Oh, how important to be extremely careful in our lives in these few days that are left before the Lord comes to take us home.
Dear young people, be careful.
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The customs and practices of this world.
Are not to be taken up for us and whatever they may decline to.
Remember, our guide is the Word of God. It never changes.
And I'd just like to say a word to those who are thinking about taking a life companion. Thank God if you find someone who has a true believer in the Lord Jesus.
And that you have a sense in your soul that this is the one the Lord has for you. But be careful. Be careful before you're married. More and more you see the custom of freely handling one another.
And the wisdom of the Word of God is in First Corinthians 7, it is good for a man not to touch a woman. Sure, we give we.
Shake hands. But beyond that, dear young person, be careful. Be careful.
If that boy really respects you, really has a love that is born out of respect, remember he's not going to freely handle you.
Remember that.
And dear young brother, if you really respect and love that one you're interested in.
Then you want her to be pure. You do.
Be careful.
Sometimes we think we can trust ourselves.
Remember.
Although we are not in the flesh any longer as the position before God, we are in the Spirit, still the flesh is in.
And we cannot trust.
Cannot trust.
Be careful how important to have a pure conscience before God.
And then we come down to verse 5, something else so important for our day in which we live.
When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith.
That is in thee which dwelt first in thy grandmother lost, and thy mother Eunice. I am persuaded that in thee also.
Faith. Faith. What is faith?
Oh dear young person, we live in a world that is controlled by materialism. Everything is controlled on the basis of how it will affect us materially.
But in Second Corinthians chapter 5 the word of God says we walk by faith not by sight. And in the 4th chapter the apostle Paul says.
While we look not on the things which are seen, but on the things which are not seen, for the things which are seen are temporal.
Things which are not seen are eternal.
We have a viewpoint as a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ.
That reaches way out into eternity. There are many wise businessmen in this world who control their businesses and their personal interest by looking with sharp precision into the future, are able to discern and to tell how to move their interests for their own material.
Gain. But the Christian has a viewpoint that reaches farther than any of them.
Right out into eternity. And what should control us is to be have that day when we stand before the throne of God, the judgment seat of Christ, before our souls.
When I make a decision, oh it might help me materially, but will it help me in view of that day or is it going to be lost in view of that day?
That's what faith does. Faith looks at that which is not seen.
And faith is based always on the Word of God. Faith is not based on circumstances necessarily. No faith is based on what God has simply said.
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No matter what circumstances may appear to say.
Oh, how important to be guided in this way in our Christian lives. Not guided by material things, not guided by circumstances, guided by the book we hold in our hands this afternoon.
And here we have something that is very interesting in this verse and that comes as a challenge.
To my heart as a parent, and perhaps there are younger ones who have.
Children to.
Faith is not something that is naturally inherited from parents to children.
But here we see grandmother, mother and son, and they all have faith. How is this? We turn to the third chapter. We see how it was.
3rd chapter and verse.
15.
That 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.
Oh, here we have that the Timothy had known from a youth the Holy Scriptures. Oh, how good to be brought up in a home where the Word of God is read daily. Is that the custom? Is that the habit of the home where you are head of.
Is it?
The day we live in is a day of a lot of pressure, and it seems like the pressures of life are growing stronger all the time.
But is there time in your home to open that book?
Even if it's just for 5 minutes in the morning before you meet the world and all its pollutions, is there time to open the book in your home?
Oh, I really feel if there's no time to read the precious word of God.
For our families, then we're too busy. And this comes home to my own soul too. I don't stand here and point the finger at you. Only, dear brethren, I'm not an example, a perfect example, I want to say very definitely, but this is the word of God. This is the wisdom of God. Timothy had a grandmother and a mother who read the Scriptures.
Them daily and what was the result? Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God.
Oh, how important this is.
Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God, and so how important to take time.
To fill those little water pots with water from their youth up.
You know, in Bolivia there's been a real need.
Amongst families to read the word of God in the homes. Something you can speak about, but it doesn't get across very fast.
Has been something had to speak very plainly about sometimes about reading the word of God in the home to the children. So many of the children that grow up don't go on.
But if we do not sow that precious word, how can we expect that there will be faith in their hearts? How can we expect?
And so how important this is for us of us who are parents, just like to read in Deuteronomy Chapter 11.
A few verses that have spoken to my own soul.
In connection with this.
Timothy was a man of God.
How was that young child formed?
You know, sometimes we hear of the importance of assembly life, and it is very important, but I want to say that there's another important sphere for the forming of men of God, and that's family life where the Word of God is read and respected.
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Deuteronomy Chapter 11.
Verse 18.
This is the instruction that was given through Moses to the children of Israel.
Since the principles of God's Word remain the same, there is instruction for us as well here.
Therefore verse 18 Therefore shall ye lay up these my words.
In your heart and in your soul.
And bind them for a sign upon your hand that ye may be, as that they may be as frontlets between your eyes. Notice what comes first. All the challenges is to my heart as a father.
To lay up these words in my heart and my soul.
Do my children see that I'm walking in the enjoyment of what I speak to them about?
Verse 19 and then comes.
Ye shall teach them your children, Speaking of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, when thou liest down and when thou risest up. And thou shalt write them upon the doorpost of thine house, and upon thy gates, that your days may be multiplied, and the days of your children.
In the land which the Lord swore unto your fathers to give them as the days of heaven.
Upon Earth.
Oh, this is a precious little recipe for a home that is heaven upon earth. May it be so in my home. May it be so in your home, dear young person. It's a great challenge in these days in which we live to bring children up in a world that is going so fast and with such a terrible current to destruction.
And if it weren't for the fact that in God's precious word.
We have promises to count on God to work in their hearts.
By faith.
Not only of faith. I'm not talking about a faith that just sits down and crosses its arms. Talking about a faith that works. The faith, the living faith of the Word of God, is a faith that works incessantly.
But it also counts on God to work in their hearts.
To bring them to the knowledge of himself, but weren't for that. I'd be terrified bringing up children in a day that we're living in, because if they're going to go to eternal destruction.
Better they never be born in the 1St place. Far better.
Oh, may this challenge come home to my own soul.
The souls of those who are parents here.
And then going back to the first chapter again of Two Timothy.
Verse 6 Wherefore I put thee in remembrance, that thou stir up the gift of God that is in thee.
Which is in me by the putting on of my hands.
Timothy had a gift.
But evidently for some reason.
He was timid, perhaps. Perhaps he saw the small response there was in the part of the Ephesians.
To what the Apostle administered, and he must have got a bit discouraged.
And Paul has to exhort him.
To stir up the gift of God that is in the stirred up.
Sometimes, you know, I hear statements. Perhaps they're not meant in the way they are sound, but.
Some brother will be commenting on another person to say that person just doesn't seem to have any gift at all.
Well, I want to say to you, dear young person, there is no such thing in the body of Christ of a member without a gift.
In Ephesians chapter 4 it says, For unto us is given grace.
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According to the measure of the gift of Christ. Excuse me, I should have quoted the whole thing. Or unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ.
Every one who is a true believer in the Lord Jesus and therefore.
A member of the body of Christ.
If you are, you have a gift.
What is your gift?
What is my gift? I don't know perhaps, but what it should be our exercise in the presence of the Lord.
Is to be ready in what little I have to use it for him.
I enjoy thinking of what the Lord said unto Moses. What is that in my hand? Oh, it's just a rod, Lord.
I'll use that. Moses used that rod, that thing that seems so simple in his hand. He used that for the delivering of the people of God from Egypt and carrying them to the borders of Canaan.
What is in your hand? Use it for him little by little as your exercise before the Lord to be a help in one way or another. The Lord will show you your place. And there are real gifts in the body of Christ. But I really feel, dear young person, that there are many, many, many gifts that are completely dormant in our assemblies.
Go back home, we say. Oh, there's just no gift here.
Is that true?
No, that's not true. There is gift.
But it is an active that's the problem.
I like the way it puts it in the Spanish translation. It says wake up the gift of God that is in thee. Wake it up dear young person, you have a gift.
I really believe, dear young people, This is why OFT times there's a tendency amongst us to look to those who seem to have real gifts, to look to them even for decision making.
Oh dear young person, every member of the body of Christ has a gift. You have a gift. I don't know what it is, but if you are exercised before the Lord and holding practically the head, the Lord Jesus has head in the assembly, the Lord is able to use your gift.
It doesn't have to be much, it can be a very little amount, but he can multiply the five loaves and the two fishes.
So that there will be plenty for everyone there. May the Lord encourage you, dear young person, to stir up the gift of God that is in thee.
Sometimes when the Lord has called home some of those who have been a real blessing in our midst.
I hear statements that say.
Well I just can't understand why the Lord took him home. Just can't understand we need him so bad.
Dear young person, is Christ still head of His body, the Church? He is, He is, Is He not there over all principality and power, and might and dominion, in every name that is named? Is there anything too hard for the Lord? What we need is exercise, each one of us.
Not to be looking at one another, as Joseph told his brethren, but to be looking to the head. That's where all supply comes from, and the Lord encouraged us to be exercised as to any little measure.
Of using something we have from the Lord for the blessing of others.
In the assembly where we are.
Verse seven. For God hath not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. Oh I like that verse. What a verse to be written right at the end of the Apostle Pauls writings.
God has not given us the spirit of fear.
Power, and of love, and of a sound mind.
I'd like to thank in the Old Testament, perhaps there are examples of this in different places. One example that's well known is David.
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David.
That little shepherd boy.
Out in the Wilds you had learned to prove his God.
Killed a lion and a bear when it came to the time that his father sent him up to see how his brethren were.
There was an uncircumcised Philistine defying who?
Define the armies of the living God.
And so David, in the simplicity of his faith, was not.
Controlled by a spirit of fear. No, God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and a sound mind.
For David, the battle was not a question between his capacity and Goliaths.
No, the battle for David was between the God of heaven and Goliath and there was no question in Davide mind as to how the issue would be of that battle. No, he had to be the winner because it was between God and God. And so David in a sense of this spirit of power.
And a spirit of love for the people of God who were terrified by this man.
And our sound mind, he wasn't going out there as a fool, no.
He had well measured things. He had well counted the cost.
Oh, this is the Spirit that God has given us, Spirit of power and of love and a sound mind. May I encourage you, dear young person, to stand up for the Lord in these last days. We have other examples. We don't have time to mention them now. Just like to continue on here. Verse 8. Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony.
Of our Lord, nor of me his prisoners.
But be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God.
Here it speaks of the testimony of our Lord. Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord. The testimony is the Lords. Dear young people, it's not our testimony. We're only a testimony to our own failure and weakness.
And christen them in general, of which we are a part is filled with failure. But remember, God is fully able, and he will maintain his testimony. Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner.
What was wrong with the Apostle Paul?
Everybody in the end of the chapter, everybody had forsaken emanation. Those believers at Ephesus that Paul had written such a tremendous epistle to.
That all forsaken him. What happened? Oh, faithfulness to the Lord had caused him.
To be rejected and remember dear young person.
That faithfulness to the Lord in these days will not be popular. If you want to be popular, be careful.
You may go wrong.
No, faithfulness to the Lord will not 'cause you to be popular. And that's the way it was with Paul.
But Paul says, be not ashamed of the testimony of our Lord.
Nor of me is prisoner, but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God.
And then I like to connect with that verse what we have in verse 12.
The apostle says for the which 'cause I also suffer these things. Nevertheless I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed against.
Excuse me. And then persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.
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Says to Timothy, don't be ashamed. I am not ashamed.
Apostle Paul not ashamed word his pathway where the doctrine.
That was so precious that he taught word, had it led him, oh, as a heavenly teaching about a heavenly people, the church, a heavenly body, and that we are no longer form any part of this world system. So much so that the world in effect, said Paul, the only place we have for you is the dungeon. No more place in this world system for you.
But all he says there in the dungeon.
The end of his days. I'm not ashamed.
Oh, I love that spirit of that apostle To me. This is a tremendous challenge. I must say to my dear older brother, and some of you have been a terrific challenge to my own heart to see the firmness no matter what and the conviction the Word of God has in your own soul. Still remember dear brother Jackson in his last days.
How?
Down there in Florida, you talk about the Lord's coming.
It's so thrilled, his soul. He got up on the edge of his chair. He couldn't get up by himself any longer. And all of a sudden he sank back. He couldn't take any longer. The spirit was.
New. He wasn't old. No, the spirit was new. He wasn't ashamed. How many people come to the end of their days?
And then they reflect, ashamed of their lives. Oh.
Terrible. Terrible really, to lose your life that way.
The Apostle Paul could say, I am not ashamed, I know what firmness, what solidity here. I know whom I have believed, and I'm persuaded that he is able to keep that which I've committed unto him against that day.
And before we close, I'd just like to touch on verse 13 and 14.
Hold fast the form of sound words.
Which thou hast heard of Maine faith and love, which is in Christ Jesus.
Hold fast the outline, it says in the new translation.
Oh fast, this outline of sound doctrine. Dear young people, try to get It'll be a real help to you in your later life. An outline of scripture.
There is much precious written ministry that is written for us that can be a help to get an outline of sound doctrine. Why did the apostle Paul write First Timothy? Why did he write First Corinthians? Do you really understand? Do you have an outline I'm not Speaking of? Can you explain in detail? No.
You're going to put up A-frame house. You put up the outline first, the framework.
And then after that's put up, you put up the detail work, but get an outline of sound doctrine. It'll be a real help to you in all your life if you do that. And then verse 14, that good thing which was committed unto thee, keep by the Holy Ghost which dwelleth in thee.
In us keep oh, the precious truth of God, dear young people, don't let it slip. Here it is in the word of God. And I just want to say a word, dear young people, Sometimes it seems that.
What is believed amongst us is believed because of writings.
Of dear gifted brethren like Jay and Darby and William Kelly. But dear young people, our faith is not based on those writings. Our faith is based on this word of God that lives in abides forever. Seek to found your soul here.
Those writings are very helpful to help to explain to us what the Word of God means so that its power will really reach to our souls. But this is the ground of our Christian lives, nothing of the writings. Isn't it the ground of our Christian life or testimony? Oh, may the Lord encourage you to search it out and to possess it for yourself.
00:55:03
Early feel were being robbed of the precious truth of God because we're not willing to dig and get it for ourselves. You may read it in a book of ministry, fine, but then go to the Word. Do you see it there for yourself? Until you see it there for yourself, it's not yours.
Oh dear young people, keep that good deposit that has been committed unto us. Story is told in Bolivia. Some of you have probably heard of it, heard it before.
Of in the region of Eulog, where Brother Eric Smith went first amongst the Indians, Certain time of year they gather the taxes together.
And in that time of year, it's very rainy.
And the rains, since there's no vegetation on the hills, the rains when it rains heavily, rains come right down the mountains and fill the rivers. There's often flash floods. This Indian was dispatched to carry this large sum of money in his hand in a bag to the authorities in different part.
On the way, crossing a river, a flash flood caught him and carried him downstream, beat his body against the rocks and the and the logs that were floating down killed him when they finally found his body few days later.
It was beginning to decompose, but still clasped in those hands was the treasure didn't let it go even in death. Dear young person, when the Lord Jesus comes again and he's coming so very soon, how is it going to be? Is he going to find you with that attitude toward the precious?
Deposit of truth that we have here in the Word of God.
Oh, as I say, dear young people, as we close the challenge to live for the Lord to continue on in the things that we have been taught is so much greater now than ever in the history of this world. May encourage you may encourage my heart until he comes, just pray.