1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:04,360 Alright, good job. 2 00:00:04,360 --> 00:00:09,460 Second Timothy chapter 4. 3 00:00:09,460 --> 00:00:11,000 Second Timothy chapter 4. 4 00:00:11,000 --> 00:00:18,300 We're almost finished with Second Timothy. 5 00:00:18,300 --> 00:00:19,700 Second Timothy chapter 4. 6 00:00:19,700 --> 00:00:22,260 We finished chapter 3 last week. 7 00:00:22,260 --> 00:00:32,960 We ended on a very popular verse that all scripture is God-breathed. 8 00:00:32,960 --> 00:00:42,100 And tonight we're going to be looking at another popular verse from Second Timothy. 9 00:00:42,100 --> 00:00:49,920 Second Timothy chapter 4 verse 1 is where we will start. 10 00:00:49,920 --> 00:00:52,060 Let's pray and we'll jump in. 11 00:00:52,060 --> 00:00:53,200 God we come to you tonight. 12 00:00:53,200 --> 00:00:54,780 We thank you for your word. 13 00:00:54,780 --> 00:00:58,820 I pray that your word would speak to us tonight, that you would help us to hear what you want 14 00:00:58,820 --> 00:00:59,820 us to hear. 15 00:00:59,820 --> 00:01:05,100 I pray that our hearts would be focused on you and not the distractions and the worries 16 00:01:05,100 --> 00:01:10,260 and the desires of this world, but that we would just be open to what you say, that we 17 00:01:10,260 --> 00:01:11,920 would hear what you say, dear Lord. 18 00:01:11,920 --> 00:01:13,660 You know what we need to hear. 19 00:01:13,660 --> 00:01:17,340 I pray that we would hear it and listen to it and act on your word, that we would grow 20 00:01:17,340 --> 00:01:21,980 in your word, that we would be encouraged by your word or corrected by your word. 21 00:01:21,980 --> 00:01:26,580 Whatever it may be that we need tonight, I pray God that you would hide me behind the 22 00:01:26,580 --> 00:01:31,420 cross and that you would do a good work in this place tonight through your word. 23 00:01:31,420 --> 00:01:34,300 In Jesus name I ask it. 24 00:01:34,300 --> 00:01:36,180 Amen. 25 00:01:36,180 --> 00:01:43,460 These are kind of the beginning of the closing words that Paul is giving to Timothy here. 26 00:01:43,460 --> 00:01:46,740 Second Timothy chapter 4 verse 1. 27 00:01:46,740 --> 00:01:53,220 In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus who will judge the living and the dead and 28 00:01:53,220 --> 00:01:58,940 in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge. 29 00:01:58,940 --> 00:02:04,660 So, he's reminding Timothy here, okay, we serve God, we serve Jesus. 30 00:02:04,660 --> 00:02:06,100 Jesus has come. 31 00:02:06,100 --> 00:02:12,100 Jesus is going to be the judge one day and I charge you in the presence of God that you 32 00:02:12,100 --> 00:02:17,300 remember what your mission is, what your ministry is, what your job is. 33 00:02:17,300 --> 00:02:21,740 Now we had just saw in the last chapter, in chapter 3, he talked about at the beginning 34 00:02:21,740 --> 00:02:27,340 of that chapter some evil people and their evil ways, but Timothy was called to be a 35 00:02:27,340 --> 00:02:34,020 godly man and to act in godly ways and here's this final charge of what Timothy needs to 36 00:02:34,020 --> 00:02:38,700 do as he carries on his ministry. 37 00:02:38,700 --> 00:02:40,300 Verse 2. 38 00:02:40,300 --> 00:02:41,660 Preach the word. 39 00:02:41,660 --> 00:02:45,020 Okay, this is a simple instruction. 40 00:02:45,020 --> 00:02:48,540 What is Timothy's job in the ministry? 41 00:02:48,540 --> 00:02:50,740 It is to preach the word. 42 00:02:50,740 --> 00:02:52,780 It is to speak the message. 43 00:02:52,780 --> 00:02:55,900 Some of your translations may say something like that. 44 00:02:55,900 --> 00:02:57,620 The message is what? 45 00:02:57,620 --> 00:03:00,780 The message is the gospel of Jesus Christ. 46 00:03:00,780 --> 00:03:02,200 That is the message. 47 00:03:02,200 --> 00:03:06,180 The word of God and everything that is in the word of God. 48 00:03:06,180 --> 00:03:10,540 But when we read the word of God, everything is pointing us to Jesus Christ. 49 00:03:10,540 --> 00:03:15,060 Now there are certainly a lot of commands and a lot of instructions in God's word that 50 00:03:15,060 --> 00:03:20,860 are good for us, but ultimately first and foremost the message is the gospel of the 51 00:03:20,860 --> 00:03:22,740 truth of Jesus Christ. 52 00:03:22,740 --> 00:03:27,680 So therefore, he tells Timothy, don't forget the God you represent. 53 00:03:27,680 --> 00:03:32,300 Don't forget that one day you and all those that you preach to will stand in judgment 54 00:03:32,300 --> 00:03:34,060 before God. 55 00:03:34,060 --> 00:03:36,020 Therefore preach the word. 56 00:03:36,020 --> 00:03:40,060 Preach the good news so that everybody would know what God's word says. 57 00:03:40,060 --> 00:03:45,220 So that everybody would come to faith in Jesus Christ if they would just listen to and accept 58 00:03:45,220 --> 00:03:46,540 the word that you preach. 59 00:03:46,540 --> 00:03:53,360 So first and foremost, Timothy's instruction is to preach the word. 60 00:03:53,360 --> 00:03:57,300 Be prepared in season or out of season. 61 00:03:57,300 --> 00:04:02,260 Some of your translations may say something like whether it's convenient or not. 62 00:04:02,260 --> 00:04:03,900 In season or out of season. 63 00:04:03,900 --> 00:04:09,460 That is to say, always be prepared to stand up for God. 64 00:04:09,460 --> 00:04:12,380 Always be prepared to do the work of God. 65 00:04:12,380 --> 00:04:16,460 Always be prepared to preach and teach the gospel of Jesus Christ. 66 00:04:16,460 --> 00:04:20,940 You should always be prepared in the times when you're expecting it and the times where 67 00:04:20,940 --> 00:04:24,660 you think it's going to happen and the times where you're called and the times that are 68 00:04:24,660 --> 00:04:26,020 set aside. 69 00:04:26,020 --> 00:04:30,940 Be ready in those times, but also know there's going to be times that when you least expect 70 00:04:30,940 --> 00:04:36,500 it that you're going to need to preach the word of God in season or out of season. 71 00:04:36,500 --> 00:04:40,180 Right now we're getting close to hunting season. 72 00:04:40,180 --> 00:04:42,920 So when it's in season, what do you do? 73 00:04:42,920 --> 00:04:43,920 You prepare. 74 00:04:43,920 --> 00:04:45,340 You get all your camo out. 75 00:04:45,340 --> 00:04:47,020 You get your guns ready to go. 76 00:04:47,020 --> 00:04:48,360 You get your ammunition ready. 77 00:04:48,360 --> 00:04:49,900 You get your deer stands out. 78 00:04:49,900 --> 00:04:50,900 Why? 79 00:04:50,900 --> 00:04:51,900 Because it's that season. 80 00:04:51,900 --> 00:04:53,260 You're ready to go kill a deer. 81 00:04:53,260 --> 00:04:54,940 So you're prepared. 82 00:04:54,940 --> 00:05:00,140 And what Paul is saying here, you need to be prepared in season, but really every day 83 00:05:00,140 --> 00:05:01,140 of season. 84 00:05:01,140 --> 00:05:03,260 You need to always be prepared. 85 00:05:03,260 --> 00:05:05,060 It's not always going to be convenient. 86 00:05:05,060 --> 00:05:10,260 It's not always going to be easy, but sometimes you're going to encounter people in situations 87 00:05:10,260 --> 00:05:12,420 when you least expect it. 88 00:05:12,420 --> 00:05:17,580 And you may have the opportunity to preach the gospel to them, to share Jesus Christ 89 00:05:17,580 --> 00:05:18,580 with them. 90 00:05:18,580 --> 00:05:21,100 We had an experience like that on vacation. 91 00:05:21,100 --> 00:05:25,300 There was a lady that we'd sit by in our chairs every day and Michelle kind of made friends 92 00:05:25,300 --> 00:05:26,300 with her through the week. 93 00:05:26,300 --> 00:05:31,300 And at the end of the week, Michelle had an opportunity to just share with her the love 94 00:05:31,300 --> 00:05:32,300 of Jesus Christ. 95 00:05:32,300 --> 00:05:33,540 And it was a beautiful thing. 96 00:05:33,540 --> 00:05:37,860 And Michelle did an excellent job of just letting this woman know the importance and 97 00:05:37,860 --> 00:05:39,260 the significance of Jesus. 98 00:05:39,260 --> 00:05:43,660 I hope you don't mind me sharing that story tonight, but it's a good example of what it 99 00:05:43,660 --> 00:05:46,420 means to be ready to share the gospel. 100 00:05:46,420 --> 00:05:50,100 Even when you're down on the beach with your feet in the sand, you never know when you 101 00:05:50,100 --> 00:05:51,820 might have an opportunity. 102 00:05:51,820 --> 00:05:55,880 You're ready for those opportunities if you're going out for ministry or if you're standing 103 00:05:55,880 --> 00:05:57,740 behind the pulpit on Sunday mornings. 104 00:05:57,740 --> 00:06:02,440 But sometimes you just meet a stranger and there's that opportunity to serve whether 105 00:06:02,440 --> 00:06:04,340 or not we're a preacher or not. 106 00:06:04,340 --> 00:06:09,780 There's those opportunities for us to share the word of God, to share the gospel of Jesus 107 00:06:09,780 --> 00:06:13,620 Christ in season and out of season. 108 00:06:13,620 --> 00:06:15,220 What does he say? 109 00:06:15,220 --> 00:06:18,140 Correct, rebuke, and encourage. 110 00:06:18,140 --> 00:06:22,140 Some of your translations may use some different words there, but those are similar to the 111 00:06:22,140 --> 00:06:27,380 words that we see at the end of chapter three when it talks about the word of God, that 112 00:06:27,380 --> 00:06:31,540 all scripture is God-breathed and is used for what? 113 00:06:31,540 --> 00:06:35,780 For correction, for rebuke, for encouragement. 114 00:06:35,780 --> 00:06:37,380 That same idea. 115 00:06:37,380 --> 00:06:44,060 He's telling Timothy here, look, as you preach that you need to correct, rebuke, and encourage. 116 00:06:44,060 --> 00:06:49,220 Based on the end of chapter three, it appears as though the ability to do that comes through 117 00:06:49,220 --> 00:06:50,220 what? 118 00:06:50,220 --> 00:06:51,820 It comes through the word of God. 119 00:06:51,820 --> 00:06:57,860 That idea of rebuking is acknowledging that there is some sin, that there is some evil 120 00:06:57,860 --> 00:07:00,660 there, but we don't just want to stop there. 121 00:07:00,660 --> 00:07:05,620 It would be easy for us to look at everybody else, and we're probably guilty of this. 122 00:07:05,620 --> 00:07:10,900 It's easy for us to see everybody sin and maybe even call them out for that sin. 123 00:07:10,900 --> 00:07:11,900 That's a sin, that's evil. 124 00:07:11,900 --> 00:07:12,900 You shouldn't do that. 125 00:07:12,900 --> 00:07:15,380 Okay, well, that's part of the problem. 126 00:07:15,380 --> 00:07:18,860 We need to acknowledge that in ourselves too, that there's sin there. 127 00:07:18,860 --> 00:07:20,800 Sometimes the scripture rebukes us. 128 00:07:20,800 --> 00:07:26,280 We read it and we say, holy smokes, I'm guilty of that, but we don't want to just stop there. 129 00:07:26,280 --> 00:07:30,420 We don't want to just tell people, okay, this is what sin is. 130 00:07:30,420 --> 00:07:32,620 We want to see what we need to do about that. 131 00:07:32,620 --> 00:07:35,800 The Bible tells us, okay, we need to correct those things. 132 00:07:35,800 --> 00:07:40,100 It doesn't just say this is the wrong way to live, but the Bible also says this is the 133 00:07:40,100 --> 00:07:42,020 right way to live. 134 00:07:42,020 --> 00:07:45,860 God tells us lots of things that we should do and how we should do right. 135 00:07:45,860 --> 00:07:50,580 Yeah, it tells us a lot of things we shouldn't do, but God says, okay, don't hate your neighbor, 136 00:07:50,580 --> 00:07:51,580 love your neighbor. 137 00:07:51,580 --> 00:07:54,980 Okay, don't do evil things to your neighbor, but pray for your neighbor. 138 00:07:54,980 --> 00:07:58,660 Don't hate your enemies, but pray for your enemies. 139 00:07:58,660 --> 00:08:02,260 It'd be easy to say to somebody, okay, you're hating somebody, don't hate them, but you 140 00:08:02,260 --> 00:08:04,380 need to tell them the correct thing to do. 141 00:08:04,380 --> 00:08:06,500 Don't hate your enemy, but love your enemy. 142 00:08:06,500 --> 00:08:08,820 Pray for those who persecute you. 143 00:08:08,820 --> 00:08:09,820 It's a process. 144 00:08:09,820 --> 00:08:11,640 We rebuke sin. 145 00:08:11,640 --> 00:08:13,340 God rebukes it in our own lives. 146 00:08:13,340 --> 00:08:18,100 Sometimes we have other people that speak the truth to us and it may hurt, and it rebukes 147 00:08:18,100 --> 00:08:20,060 us in our sin. 148 00:08:20,060 --> 00:08:25,940 Hopefully there's a heart of correction there to lead us on the right path and an encouragement. 149 00:08:25,940 --> 00:08:30,660 Okay, you're living in sin, but here's the way that God wants you to live, and don't 150 00:08:30,660 --> 00:08:31,660 give up. 151 00:08:31,660 --> 00:08:32,660 Be encouraged. 152 00:08:32,660 --> 00:08:33,660 It's hard. 153 00:08:33,660 --> 00:08:35,260 Don't let sin get the best of you. 154 00:08:35,260 --> 00:08:39,780 So there's this process here that we see as we read through God's word. 155 00:08:39,780 --> 00:08:46,020 Hopefully we see that, and we use that process to help other people to grow in the Lord. 156 00:08:46,020 --> 00:08:47,420 Sometimes we're rebuked. 157 00:08:47,420 --> 00:08:51,880 Sometimes God corrects us, and we need that encouragement that God loves us, that even 158 00:08:51,880 --> 00:08:56,900 though we are sinners, that God's grace is good, God is patient with us. 159 00:08:56,900 --> 00:08:59,260 And what does the next thing on the list say? 160 00:08:59,260 --> 00:09:05,740 Correct, rebuke, and encourage with great patience and careful instruction. 161 00:09:05,740 --> 00:09:10,660 So if we're going out into the world and we're trying to reach people who don't know Jesus 162 00:09:10,660 --> 00:09:16,100 Christ, and we're trying to point them in the right direction, away from the ways of 163 00:09:16,100 --> 00:09:22,180 sin and point them to the light of Jesus Christ so that they can be encouraged and their sins 164 00:09:22,180 --> 00:09:26,540 could be forgiven, that's not always an easy job. 165 00:09:26,540 --> 00:09:31,200 Now maybe there's people you know, and maybe you know that they need to know the Lord. 166 00:09:31,200 --> 00:09:32,740 Maybe you're trying to minister to them. 167 00:09:32,740 --> 00:09:36,540 Maybe you've been trying to reach them for years, and maybe there are days that you just 168 00:09:36,540 --> 00:09:39,180 want to give up, and you say, that's it. 169 00:09:39,180 --> 00:09:40,300 I've done all I can do. 170 00:09:40,300 --> 00:09:41,300 They're just hard-headed. 171 00:09:41,300 --> 00:09:43,100 There's no hope for them. 172 00:09:43,100 --> 00:09:45,100 But we need to have patience. 173 00:09:45,100 --> 00:09:49,580 And the best way perhaps for us to remember to have patience is to be reminded of the 174 00:09:49,580 --> 00:09:52,980 patience that God has had with us. 175 00:09:52,980 --> 00:09:56,820 Because spoiler alert, we may not be as good as we think we are. 176 00:09:56,820 --> 00:09:59,980 We may say, well yeah, God has patience with me, but I'm not as bad as him, or I'm not 177 00:09:59,980 --> 00:10:00,980 as bad as her. 178 00:10:00,980 --> 00:10:07,060 But God is patient with us far more than we realize, far more than we deserve. 179 00:10:07,060 --> 00:10:10,820 And so there are people that maybe that we are called to minister to, and they're just 180 00:10:10,820 --> 00:10:12,160 hard. 181 00:10:12,160 --> 00:10:16,540 They're just hard, and their attitude is bad, and they just don't want to listen to God's 182 00:10:16,540 --> 00:10:20,660 words, or they don't pay attention, or they just kind of shrug you off and don't want 183 00:10:20,660 --> 00:10:22,900 to hear what you have to say. 184 00:10:22,900 --> 00:10:27,160 But let God give us patience, that we would continue to rebuke, that we would continue 185 00:10:27,160 --> 00:10:32,300 to correct, that we would continue to encourage those people, that we would be patient with 186 00:10:32,300 --> 00:10:38,620 them, as God is patient with us, and that we are careful in our instruction, that we 187 00:10:38,620 --> 00:10:44,420 carefully instruct them in the way of God, that we carefully instruct them in the love 188 00:10:44,420 --> 00:10:45,420 of Jesus Christ. 189 00:10:45,420 --> 00:10:51,580 Now these words are good for someone in a ministry type position for sure, but I think 190 00:10:51,580 --> 00:10:59,460 they're good for us in every level, in some regards, as all Christians, that we need to 191 00:10:59,460 --> 00:11:05,140 remember these things, because we're all doing the work of Jesus Christ, and we need to remember 192 00:11:05,140 --> 00:11:07,900 these instructions. 193 00:11:07,900 --> 00:11:13,780 Verse three, for the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. 194 00:11:13,780 --> 00:11:20,220 Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers 195 00:11:20,220 --> 00:11:24,160 to say what their itching ears want to hear. 196 00:11:24,160 --> 00:11:30,340 They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to miss. 197 00:11:30,340 --> 00:11:35,320 Okay, so there comes a time when people don't want to hear sound doctrine. 198 00:11:35,320 --> 00:11:39,340 Now maybe sometimes people start out and they're okay with the word of God, and then pretty 199 00:11:39,340 --> 00:11:44,620 soon they get kind of bored with it, or they don't like it because it begins to convict 200 00:11:44,620 --> 00:11:47,620 them and rebuke them of things that they don't really want to hear. 201 00:11:47,620 --> 00:11:51,060 And so they would rather just hear things that they like. 202 00:11:51,060 --> 00:11:53,180 Who wants to hear things that they don't like? 203 00:11:53,180 --> 00:11:57,260 Who wants to hear somebody say, well look, this is a sin and that's a sin, and God wants 204 00:11:57,260 --> 00:12:02,060 you to repent, and God wants you to live for Him, when all the while in your heart you 205 00:12:02,060 --> 00:12:06,900 say, but I like this sin, and I like doing what I want to do when I want to do it, and 206 00:12:06,900 --> 00:12:08,740 I don't want to have to serve a God. 207 00:12:08,740 --> 00:12:12,180 I'd rather God just save me and just let me do what I want to do. 208 00:12:12,180 --> 00:12:15,340 I'd rather God just give me salvation, but just let me live in my sin. 209 00:12:15,340 --> 00:12:17,580 Well that's not the way it works. 210 00:12:17,580 --> 00:12:21,420 But they don't want to hear the message of the truth, and so they just find somebody 211 00:12:21,420 --> 00:12:23,620 that will tell them what they do want to hear. 212 00:12:23,620 --> 00:12:28,500 Just find a teacher who will soften it up, who will make it nice and pretty, who will 213 00:12:28,500 --> 00:12:29,500 say, you know what? 214 00:12:29,500 --> 00:12:31,680 God wants you to be happy. 215 00:12:31,680 --> 00:12:33,060 Whatever you need to do to be happy. 216 00:12:33,060 --> 00:12:36,140 Oh, God's not going to send anybody to hell. 217 00:12:36,140 --> 00:12:40,340 They look for people that'll tell them all these things that they like to hear, and they 218 00:12:40,340 --> 00:12:42,060 don't care if they're true or not. 219 00:12:42,060 --> 00:12:44,860 They don't care if they're myths, if they're lies, if they're made up. 220 00:12:44,860 --> 00:12:47,660 They don't care where these things come from. 221 00:12:47,660 --> 00:12:49,220 They just want to hear what they want to hear. 222 00:12:49,220 --> 00:12:51,700 We like to hear what we like to hear. 223 00:12:51,700 --> 00:12:54,940 We like it when we think something and people agree with us. 224 00:12:54,940 --> 00:12:55,940 That's what we like to do. 225 00:12:55,940 --> 00:12:59,100 When we're doing something we shouldn't do, we like to find other people who will agree 226 00:12:59,100 --> 00:13:02,300 with us and make us feel better about what we're doing. 227 00:13:02,300 --> 00:13:07,780 None of us probably like people that tell us what we don't want to hear. 228 00:13:07,780 --> 00:13:10,540 He tells Timothy here, all right, be ready. 229 00:13:10,540 --> 00:13:15,540 Be ready to do this work, but know that as you try to reach people, that there's going 230 00:13:15,540 --> 00:13:20,280 to be a lot of people, maybe they start to listen to you for a second, but there's going 231 00:13:20,280 --> 00:13:23,620 to be a lot of people that really don't want to hear what you have to say. 232 00:13:23,620 --> 00:13:25,300 They'd really just hear the good stuff. 233 00:13:25,300 --> 00:13:29,340 They'd really just hear the stuff that they like and that they agree with and that they 234 00:13:29,340 --> 00:13:30,340 want to hear. 235 00:13:30,340 --> 00:13:32,340 But that's not for the Christian. 236 00:13:32,340 --> 00:13:33,860 We can't go along with that. 237 00:13:33,860 --> 00:13:36,580 We have to stand by the truth of God's word. 238 00:13:36,580 --> 00:13:39,660 We have to live by the truth when it's hard for us. 239 00:13:39,660 --> 00:13:42,940 We have to speak the truth when it's hard on us. 240 00:13:42,940 --> 00:13:44,440 Sometimes it is. 241 00:13:44,440 --> 00:13:49,360 Sometimes it is hard to speak the truth because we all have friends or we have family and 242 00:13:49,360 --> 00:13:52,340 sometimes they're doing things that are just not right. 243 00:13:52,340 --> 00:13:57,340 Sometimes we have to say, look, I love you, but what you're doing is not right. 244 00:13:57,340 --> 00:14:02,300 We don't like to hear that sometimes and those that may need to hear that truth don't like 245 00:14:02,300 --> 00:14:04,780 to hear that sometimes. 246 00:14:04,780 --> 00:14:06,780 It's not always convenient. 247 00:14:06,780 --> 00:14:11,860 It's not always easy to stand up for the truth of the gospel, but what else can we stand 248 00:14:11,860 --> 00:14:12,960 up for? 249 00:14:12,960 --> 00:14:15,820 We don't want to be those who begin to cave. 250 00:14:15,820 --> 00:14:20,500 We don't want to be those who just tell people what they want to hear because that's of no 251 00:14:20,500 --> 00:14:25,000 benefit to anybody's soul to not hear the truth of God's word. 252 00:14:25,000 --> 00:14:29,220 It's not going to benefit anyone's soul to hear lies. 253 00:14:29,220 --> 00:14:33,500 It's not going to benefit anyone's soul to encourage someone to live in sin and pretend 254 00:14:33,500 --> 00:14:36,100 like they're not and sweeping it under the rug. 255 00:14:36,100 --> 00:14:37,740 That's not going to benefit anyone. 256 00:14:37,740 --> 00:14:42,140 We need to know the truth of our life and that sin is sin and we don't want to live 257 00:14:42,140 --> 00:14:43,140 in sin. 258 00:14:43,140 --> 00:14:44,140 It's not good. 259 00:14:44,140 --> 00:14:48,900 It's not right and we want to stand on the truth of God's word. 260 00:14:48,900 --> 00:14:55,940 Some are not going to want to hear that truth, but he says in verse five, but you keep your 261 00:14:55,940 --> 00:14:59,420 head in all situations. 262 00:14:59,420 --> 00:15:00,660 Keep your head straight. 263 00:15:00,660 --> 00:15:04,020 You hear people say sometimes he's got a good head on his shoulders. 264 00:15:04,020 --> 00:15:05,860 That means he's wise. 265 00:15:05,860 --> 00:15:06,860 He's smart. 266 00:15:06,860 --> 00:15:08,940 He knows what he's doing. 267 00:15:08,940 --> 00:15:13,500 He makes good decisions and that's kind of the advice that he's giving him here. 268 00:15:13,500 --> 00:15:15,300 Look, you're called to do the work. 269 00:15:15,300 --> 00:15:17,660 There are going to be some who don't want to hear the truth. 270 00:15:17,660 --> 00:15:21,540 They would rather hear what they want to hear, whether it's a lie or not. 271 00:15:21,540 --> 00:15:27,020 They don't want to hear the truth, but he says, but you keep your head in all situations. 272 00:15:27,020 --> 00:15:28,780 Don't get discouraged. 273 00:15:28,780 --> 00:15:32,680 Don't give into that, but you stay strong and you do what's right. 274 00:15:32,680 --> 00:15:33,680 You're wise. 275 00:15:33,680 --> 00:15:34,680 You're smart. 276 00:15:34,680 --> 00:15:35,680 You know what to do, Timothy. 277 00:15:35,680 --> 00:15:37,740 Paul had already said, look, you've seen my example. 278 00:15:37,740 --> 00:15:38,860 You've seen the way I live. 279 00:15:38,860 --> 00:15:44,160 You've been there with me and so don't forget those things. 280 00:15:44,160 --> 00:15:49,940 Keep a good head on your shoulders as you're trying to do the work of the ministry. 281 00:15:49,940 --> 00:15:50,940 Undeer hardship. 282 00:15:50,940 --> 00:15:56,140 Now, we've already seen that throughout the ministry of Paul, throughout really most of 283 00:15:56,140 --> 00:15:57,500 scripture in the New Testament. 284 00:15:57,500 --> 00:16:04,340 We see this pretty common thing that those who are doing the work of the Lord experience 285 00:16:04,340 --> 00:16:06,340 a lot of hardship. 286 00:16:06,340 --> 00:16:11,180 And so he tells Timothy here that you need to be ready to endure that hardship. 287 00:16:11,180 --> 00:16:13,460 Do the work of an evangelist. 288 00:16:13,460 --> 00:16:14,460 Okay. 289 00:16:14,460 --> 00:16:15,780 Do the work of an evangelist. 290 00:16:15,780 --> 00:16:16,780 What does an evangelist do? 291 00:16:16,780 --> 00:16:20,420 Well, the Bible doesn't really give us a super clear definition. 292 00:16:20,420 --> 00:16:24,700 The word evangelist is not used very many times in scripture and I don't know that it 293 00:16:24,700 --> 00:16:30,580 ever really spells out a good definition, but typically the way that we think of evangelists, 294 00:16:30,580 --> 00:16:36,900 and I think rightly so, is an evangelist is one who preaches the gospel of Jesus Christ. 295 00:16:36,900 --> 00:16:43,420 One who preaches a very gospel-centered, Jesus-centered message, a message of salvation, that Jesus 296 00:16:43,420 --> 00:16:48,980 Christ died on the cross so that our sins could be forgiven, that we are all sinners 297 00:16:48,980 --> 00:16:55,540 in need of a savior and Jesus Christ is that savior and there is salvation in no one but 298 00:16:55,540 --> 00:16:56,700 Jesus Christ. 299 00:16:56,700 --> 00:17:01,020 That is the gospel message and that is the message of the evangelist. 300 00:17:01,020 --> 00:17:06,980 The evangelist is one who's trying to reach those who have not been reached for the gospel. 301 00:17:06,980 --> 00:17:11,220 Those who don't know Jesus Christ, those who don't follow Jesus Christ. 302 00:17:11,220 --> 00:17:17,340 That's typically when we think of an evangelist, we think about someone who preaches in that 303 00:17:17,340 --> 00:17:18,340 way. 304 00:17:18,340 --> 00:17:19,820 What does Paul say to Timothy? 305 00:17:19,820 --> 00:17:23,780 He says, do the work of an evangelist. 306 00:17:23,780 --> 00:17:25,580 Discharge all the duties of your ministry. 307 00:17:25,580 --> 00:17:27,140 I don't really like that translation. 308 00:17:27,140 --> 00:17:30,820 Some of your translations will say fulfill your ministry. 309 00:17:30,820 --> 00:17:32,180 That I think makes more sense. 310 00:17:32,180 --> 00:17:35,600 It does to me than this translation. 311 00:17:35,600 --> 00:17:36,600 Fulfill your ministry. 312 00:17:36,600 --> 00:17:42,220 Okay, so Timothy has been called to serve God and Paul gives him all these instructions 313 00:17:42,220 --> 00:17:43,380 through this letter. 314 00:17:43,380 --> 00:17:48,540 He tells him that he's going to face opposition, but he tells him at the end of this section, 315 00:17:48,540 --> 00:17:50,260 fulfill your ministry. 316 00:17:50,260 --> 00:17:51,900 Don't give up. 317 00:17:51,900 --> 00:17:56,180 I think that's a really important message, especially for people who are in ministry, 318 00:17:56,180 --> 00:17:59,780 especially for anybody who's a pastor. 319 00:17:59,780 --> 00:18:03,620 Maybe somebody listening online is a pastor. 320 00:18:03,620 --> 00:18:12,140 This is an important reminder to fulfill your ministry because it's not always easy. 321 00:18:12,140 --> 00:18:14,700 Ministry is not always easy. 322 00:18:14,700 --> 00:18:18,940 It comes with things that, for those who've never really been in ministry, things that 323 00:18:18,940 --> 00:18:21,620 you can't even really imagine or understand. 324 00:18:21,620 --> 00:18:26,640 It comes with joys and sorrows and pains and difficulties. 325 00:18:26,640 --> 00:18:29,220 It's a blessing, but it's difficult. 326 00:18:29,220 --> 00:18:33,580 It's really easy and you see this sometimes for people in the ministry that they just, 327 00:18:33,580 --> 00:18:34,900 they give up. 328 00:18:34,900 --> 00:18:37,540 They don't fulfill their ministry. 329 00:18:37,540 --> 00:18:39,220 What does Paul tell Timothy here? 330 00:18:39,220 --> 00:18:42,660 I think what he's telling him here is, don't give up. 331 00:18:42,660 --> 00:18:45,380 You need to finish what you started. 332 00:18:45,380 --> 00:18:47,900 You need to fulfill your ministry. 333 00:18:47,900 --> 00:18:52,020 I think that's what he's saying here based in the context of the next verse that we're 334 00:18:52,020 --> 00:18:53,940 first going to look at. 335 00:18:53,940 --> 00:19:01,420 Verse six, for I am already being poured out like a drink offering and the time of my departure 336 00:19:01,420 --> 00:19:02,420 is near. 337 00:19:02,420 --> 00:19:06,980 Now, we talked about this at the beginning of this letter, that this is the last known 338 00:19:06,980 --> 00:19:10,960 writing of Paul that we have, the last letter that he wrote. 339 00:19:10,960 --> 00:19:13,940 He probably died not too long after this. 340 00:19:13,940 --> 00:19:15,940 Paul recognizes this. 341 00:19:15,940 --> 00:19:18,700 He knows that his time is getting short. 342 00:19:18,700 --> 00:19:20,860 He's being poured out like a drink offering. 343 00:19:20,860 --> 00:19:24,620 That is, he's given everything he has. 344 00:19:24,620 --> 00:19:29,060 Physically, he is probably really wore down by this point. 345 00:19:29,060 --> 00:19:30,060 He's been in prison. 346 00:19:30,060 --> 00:19:31,060 He's been beaten. 347 00:19:31,060 --> 00:19:36,760 I mean, all of these things that Paul has gone through for the gospel, he's given everything 348 00:19:36,760 --> 00:19:37,760 he's got. 349 00:19:37,760 --> 00:19:39,420 There's not much more to give. 350 00:19:39,420 --> 00:19:47,060 He has shed blood to do the work of the kingdom of God, to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ. 351 00:19:47,060 --> 00:19:52,380 He says, look, I've given everything I have, I'm being poured out like an offering here 352 00:19:52,380 --> 00:19:54,940 and my time is short. 353 00:19:54,940 --> 00:19:57,660 I do not have much time left. 354 00:19:57,660 --> 00:19:58,780 But listen to what he says. 355 00:19:58,780 --> 00:20:00,480 Some of you may have heard this verse. 356 00:20:00,480 --> 00:20:04,760 This may be the most popular verse in all of 2 Timothy. 357 00:20:04,760 --> 00:20:06,620 He says, I have fought the good fight. 358 00:20:06,620 --> 00:20:08,220 I have finished the race. 359 00:20:08,220 --> 00:20:10,380 I have kept the faith. 360 00:20:10,380 --> 00:20:16,860 I think that's exactly what Paul is encouraging Timothy to do here when he says, fulfill your 361 00:20:16,860 --> 00:20:17,860 ministry. 362 00:20:17,860 --> 00:20:20,620 Now, Timothy was probably still relatively young. 363 00:20:20,620 --> 00:20:22,900 He had a lot of years left to serve. 364 00:20:22,900 --> 00:20:25,540 Paul's days are drawing to a close. 365 00:20:25,540 --> 00:20:27,580 Paul had been there for Timothy. 366 00:20:27,580 --> 00:20:33,540 Timothy had served alongside Paul, but there comes a time when you have to take over the 367 00:20:33,540 --> 00:20:35,620 reins in your life. 368 00:20:35,620 --> 00:20:40,060 Probably all have experienced that in some way, maybe in a family situation. 369 00:20:40,060 --> 00:20:44,540 You got the matriarch and the patriarch of the family and they're kind of the head and 370 00:20:44,540 --> 00:20:48,980 then at some point they pass away and then you move up into that role. 371 00:20:48,980 --> 00:20:54,620 You become the matriarch and the patriarch or maybe you've seen it in a business opportunity. 372 00:20:54,620 --> 00:20:59,180 Maybe you were an employee for a while and then all of a sudden you own the business. 373 00:20:59,180 --> 00:21:01,140 You're the one who's running the business. 374 00:21:01,140 --> 00:21:03,900 You're the one who takes the reins. 375 00:21:03,900 --> 00:21:08,540 Sometimes you have those people in your life that were once kind of your mentors, those 376 00:21:08,540 --> 00:21:12,900 who were your leaders and oftentimes they impart wisdom to you. 377 00:21:12,900 --> 00:21:18,540 They say, okay, I'm handing the reins over to you, so make good choices, make good decisions, 378 00:21:18,540 --> 00:21:24,140 do what's right, raise your kids right, take care of the business, be aware of these things, 379 00:21:24,140 --> 00:21:26,620 don't get caught up in these types of things. 380 00:21:26,620 --> 00:21:32,580 We have those people in our life that's kind of passed the baton on to us. 381 00:21:32,580 --> 00:21:35,780 That's exactly what Paul is doing here for Timothy. 382 00:21:35,780 --> 00:21:41,420 He's saying, look Timothy, you've been trained up, you've been called by God, you're doing 383 00:21:41,420 --> 00:21:47,260 the ministry, continue to fulfill the ministry, but I'm not going to be here with you forever. 384 00:21:47,260 --> 00:21:49,180 My time is getting short. 385 00:21:49,180 --> 00:21:55,100 I have done everything I can do and I have served God till the end and Timothy, you need 386 00:21:55,100 --> 00:21:56,380 to do the same. 387 00:21:56,380 --> 00:21:57,380 Don't give up. 388 00:21:57,380 --> 00:22:01,180 Then he tells him the words that we just read there. 389 00:22:01,180 --> 00:22:04,940 He says, I have fought the good fight. 390 00:22:04,940 --> 00:22:06,580 What about you and I? 391 00:22:06,580 --> 00:22:09,380 Are we fighting the good fight? 392 00:22:09,380 --> 00:22:13,940 Are we always fighting for the goodness of God? 393 00:22:13,940 --> 00:22:19,660 Do not get tired of doing good, for at the proper time you will reap your reward, is 394 00:22:19,660 --> 00:22:21,740 what the scripture tells us. 395 00:22:21,740 --> 00:22:24,020 Don't get tired of fighting the good fight. 396 00:22:24,020 --> 00:22:25,300 It is a fight. 397 00:22:25,300 --> 00:22:30,900 Living for God is not always easy, but we must continue to fight. 398 00:22:30,900 --> 00:22:36,100 We must continue to fight against the temptations that are in our life that are tempting us 399 00:22:36,100 --> 00:22:37,100 to sin. 400 00:22:37,100 --> 00:22:42,220 We must continue to fight for those who need to hear the gospel of Jesus Christ, who need 401 00:22:42,220 --> 00:22:44,180 to know the love of God. 402 00:22:44,180 --> 00:22:49,580 We do not want to give up the fight and I'm telling you tonight, it is not easy. 403 00:22:49,580 --> 00:22:50,580 You know it's not easy. 404 00:22:50,580 --> 00:22:51,580 I don't have to tell you. 405 00:22:51,580 --> 00:22:55,980 You've all lived long enough that you know that life is not easy, that sometimes standing 406 00:22:55,980 --> 00:23:02,040 up for the Lord is not easy, but we must fight the good fight. 407 00:23:02,040 --> 00:23:03,420 We cannot give up. 408 00:23:03,420 --> 00:23:04,820 We cannot give up. 409 00:23:04,820 --> 00:23:08,420 We don't want to take the gloves off and just say I'm done. 410 00:23:08,420 --> 00:23:09,940 We cannot forfeit. 411 00:23:09,940 --> 00:23:13,420 This is a fight that we need to continue to fight. 412 00:23:13,420 --> 00:23:19,580 And Paul says, I have fought and I have fought and I have fought and my life is almost done 413 00:23:19,580 --> 00:23:26,420 and I can say that I have not quit the fight, that I have fought until I am going to leave 414 00:23:26,420 --> 00:23:27,420 this world. 415 00:23:27,420 --> 00:23:28,840 What about you and I? 416 00:23:28,840 --> 00:23:29,840 Can we say that? 417 00:23:29,840 --> 00:23:33,260 I hope we can say that, but maybe tonight is a struggle. 418 00:23:33,260 --> 00:23:34,360 Maybe tonight it's tough. 419 00:23:34,360 --> 00:23:36,500 Maybe you don't think you can fight another day. 420 00:23:36,500 --> 00:23:38,260 We'll keep fighting. 421 00:23:38,260 --> 00:23:41,840 When you don't have strength to fight anymore, then you say, God, I need your strength because 422 00:23:41,840 --> 00:23:43,340 I'm about fought out. 423 00:23:43,340 --> 00:23:47,660 I'm in the ninth round and I don't think I can make it another round, but we can through 424 00:23:47,660 --> 00:23:50,580 the power of God. 425 00:23:50,580 --> 00:23:52,740 I have fought the good fight. 426 00:23:52,740 --> 00:23:55,620 I have finished the race. 427 00:23:55,620 --> 00:23:56,620 Wow. 428 00:23:56,620 --> 00:24:02,740 What a beautiful thing that Paul had been running the race and he's finished the race. 429 00:24:02,740 --> 00:24:04,580 It's easy to start the race. 430 00:24:04,580 --> 00:24:05,820 Starting the race is easy. 431 00:24:05,820 --> 00:24:08,020 There's a lot of things in my life that I've started. 432 00:24:08,020 --> 00:24:09,300 Y'all ever done that before? 433 00:24:09,300 --> 00:24:10,980 You say, I'm fixing to eat healthy. 434 00:24:10,980 --> 00:24:11,980 I'm starting. 435 00:24:11,980 --> 00:24:12,980 I'm going to start. 436 00:24:12,980 --> 00:24:13,980 I'm going to eat healthy. 437 00:24:13,980 --> 00:24:14,980 And how long does that last? 438 00:24:14,980 --> 00:24:16,560 It lasts about three days. 439 00:24:16,560 --> 00:24:20,940 It's easy to start, but then all of a sudden you want that Reese's Cup and it's pretty good. 440 00:24:20,940 --> 00:24:22,700 You say, I'll eat the Reese's Cup today. 441 00:24:22,700 --> 00:24:23,780 It ain't going to hurt. 442 00:24:23,780 --> 00:24:27,340 And then a week later you eating three Reese's Cups a day and you ain't eating nothing healthy 443 00:24:27,340 --> 00:24:28,340 anymore. 444 00:24:28,340 --> 00:24:29,340 It's easy to start. 445 00:24:29,340 --> 00:24:30,340 I'm going to work out. 446 00:24:30,340 --> 00:24:31,340 I'm going to be healthy. 447 00:24:31,340 --> 00:24:33,140 I'm going to walk a mile a day. 448 00:24:33,140 --> 00:24:35,060 I'm starting today. 449 00:24:35,060 --> 00:24:36,780 It's easy to start. 450 00:24:36,780 --> 00:24:39,700 You walk a half mile and you say, well, maybe I'll just start with a half mile. 451 00:24:39,700 --> 00:24:41,240 A mile's too much. 452 00:24:41,240 --> 00:24:42,940 And then you walk a half mile three days. 453 00:24:42,940 --> 00:24:45,740 And then after that you get too busy because you got to go do something else. 454 00:24:45,740 --> 00:24:48,900 And then pretty soon you don't finish. 455 00:24:48,900 --> 00:24:50,660 Does anybody else have a problem with that? 456 00:24:50,660 --> 00:24:51,660 Maybe it's just me. 457 00:24:51,660 --> 00:24:53,800 You start things, whatever they may be. 458 00:24:53,800 --> 00:24:54,800 It's easy to start something. 459 00:24:54,800 --> 00:24:57,020 I'm fixing to start this. 460 00:24:57,020 --> 00:25:02,740 And then all of a sudden we get discouraged or we get busy or we get sidetracked and we 461 00:25:02,740 --> 00:25:03,740 don't finish. 462 00:25:03,740 --> 00:25:06,860 But this is something we've got to finish. 463 00:25:06,860 --> 00:25:13,460 This is something as brothers and sisters in Christ, this is a race that we must finish. 464 00:25:13,460 --> 00:25:18,100 It's easy to start to race, but life's not always easy. 465 00:25:18,100 --> 00:25:20,140 It's finishing the race that's tough. 466 00:25:20,140 --> 00:25:24,900 When the going gets tough and life is difficult and we don't understand the things that God 467 00:25:24,900 --> 00:25:28,940 may allow to go on in our life and they don't make sense to us and people begin to kind 468 00:25:28,940 --> 00:25:32,100 of come at us and attack us and mock us for our beliefs. 469 00:25:32,100 --> 00:25:36,460 And we just begin to see things in our life and sometimes things get difficult and we 470 00:25:36,460 --> 00:25:38,780 say, God, I don't know if I can keep doing this. 471 00:25:38,780 --> 00:25:40,140 And it's so easy. 472 00:25:40,140 --> 00:25:44,140 It would be so easy for us to just stop running the race. 473 00:25:44,140 --> 00:25:46,900 But nobody who quits the race is going to get the reward. 474 00:25:46,900 --> 00:25:49,420 Only those who finish the race. 475 00:25:49,420 --> 00:25:51,100 And what does Paul say? 476 00:25:51,100 --> 00:25:52,100 I fought a good fight. 477 00:25:52,100 --> 00:25:53,940 I hadn't stopped fighting. 478 00:25:53,940 --> 00:25:55,980 I have finished the race. 479 00:25:55,980 --> 00:25:59,820 I have run from the time that Jesus appeared to me. 480 00:25:59,820 --> 00:26:05,380 I have run and I have run and I have run through prisons and I have run through beatings and 481 00:26:05,380 --> 00:26:08,020 I have run through everything that has come against me. 482 00:26:08,020 --> 00:26:13,420 I have run through all the people who have come to attack me and I am still standing 483 00:26:13,420 --> 00:26:15,820 on Jesus Christ. 484 00:26:15,820 --> 00:26:17,940 And Paul says, I have finished the race. 485 00:26:17,940 --> 00:26:21,040 I did not give up. 486 00:26:21,040 --> 00:26:25,460 In Hebrews chapter 12, it says run the race with endurance. 487 00:26:25,460 --> 00:26:30,220 Run the race with endurance, laying aside every sin that so easily ensnares, keeping 488 00:26:30,220 --> 00:26:34,260 our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith. 489 00:26:34,260 --> 00:26:35,620 What a beautiful verse. 490 00:26:35,620 --> 00:26:40,580 I think I quoted it the other night, but what a wonderful verse. 491 00:26:40,580 --> 00:26:45,900 What a wonderful call to us to run the race with endurance. 492 00:26:45,900 --> 00:26:50,180 Let us be those who run the race with endurance so that we may be those at the end of our 493 00:26:50,180 --> 00:26:56,700 life when we are passing the baton to another generation that we can say, my time has come, 494 00:26:56,700 --> 00:27:04,540 but I have stood on the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ and I have finished my race. 495 00:27:04,540 --> 00:27:09,420 We pass that baton down to our kids and to our grandkids and those others that we have 496 00:27:09,420 --> 00:27:12,080 an impact in their life. 497 00:27:12,080 --> 00:27:16,080 What a beautiful thing that Paul can say this at the end of his life. 498 00:27:16,080 --> 00:27:19,260 And Lord willing, may we be those who say it at the end of our life. 499 00:27:19,260 --> 00:27:22,100 He says, I have kept the faith. 500 00:27:22,100 --> 00:27:23,380 I have kept the faith. 501 00:27:23,380 --> 00:27:27,980 The most important thing that we could possibly do is keep the faith. 502 00:27:27,980 --> 00:27:33,300 Is to come to faith in Jesus Christ and to keep that faith and to not give up and to 503 00:27:33,300 --> 00:27:34,300 not turn back. 504 00:27:34,300 --> 00:27:35,500 That's the whole book of Hebrews. 505 00:27:35,500 --> 00:27:40,980 That's what we've been talking about is that that audience had come to faith in Jesus Christ, 506 00:27:40,980 --> 00:27:42,980 but they were not keeping the faith. 507 00:27:42,980 --> 00:27:48,500 They were in danger of losing the faith and going back to their old way of life. 508 00:27:48,500 --> 00:27:51,620 But Paul says, I fought the good fight. 509 00:27:51,620 --> 00:27:56,580 I have finished the race and I have kept the faith. 510 00:27:56,580 --> 00:27:58,860 And what's the result of that? 511 00:27:58,860 --> 00:28:06,780 He says in verse eight, now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the 512 00:28:06,780 --> 00:28:14,700 Lord, the righteous judge will reward to me on that day and not only to me, but also to 513 00:28:14,700 --> 00:28:17,300 all who have longed for his appearing. 514 00:28:17,300 --> 00:28:19,340 Well, isn't that beautiful? 515 00:28:19,340 --> 00:28:24,420 Paul says, look, I have served God and one day I will stand in the presence of God who 516 00:28:24,420 --> 00:28:30,460 will judge me and God will give me the crown, the crown of righteousness, the crown of life, 517 00:28:30,460 --> 00:28:34,020 the crown of victory over sin and death and sorrow and pain. 518 00:28:34,020 --> 00:28:36,540 God will grant me victory. 519 00:28:36,540 --> 00:28:38,180 I will have finished the race. 520 00:28:38,180 --> 00:28:42,340 I will have won the race through Jesus Christ. 521 00:28:42,340 --> 00:28:44,620 And Paul says, and good news. 522 00:28:44,620 --> 00:28:50,820 It's also for you, Timothy, and it's also for those people in 2024 sitting on the pews 523 00:28:50,820 --> 00:28:55,900 in the Enterprise Baptist Church, for those who would come to Jesus Christ and fight the 524 00:28:55,900 --> 00:28:59,460 good fight and run the race and keep the faith. 525 00:28:59,460 --> 00:29:03,420 Paul says, God will not forget that. 526 00:29:03,420 --> 00:29:05,220 God will remember that. 527 00:29:05,220 --> 00:29:09,620 God will reward you when you get to be in his presence. 528 00:29:09,620 --> 00:29:14,940 It's a good word of encouragement today that God has not forgotten us on the days that 529 00:29:14,940 --> 00:29:19,560 are difficult, on the days that are tough, that God has not forgotten us. 530 00:29:19,560 --> 00:29:25,500 So let us be those who fulfill whatever it may be that God has called us to. 531 00:29:25,500 --> 00:29:29,520 Let us be those who seek him and who trust him and who learn from those brothers and 532 00:29:29,520 --> 00:29:35,600 sisters in Christ who impart their wisdom in our life as Paul did in Timothy's life. 533 00:29:35,600 --> 00:29:39,700 And let us be those who we can say at the end of our life that we have fought the good 534 00:29:39,700 --> 00:29:42,940 fight, we have run the race, and we have kept the faith. 535 00:29:42,940 --> 00:29:43,940 Let's pray. 536 00:29:43,940 --> 00:29:45,060 Father God, we come to you. 537 00:29:45,060 --> 00:29:46,540 We thank you for your good word. 538 00:29:46,540 --> 00:29:48,980 I pray that you would help us to grow in this word tonight. 539 00:29:48,980 --> 00:29:52,020 I pray that you would help us on the days where it's difficult. 540 00:29:52,020 --> 00:29:55,340 Dear Lord, your word tells us that those days are going to come. 541 00:29:55,340 --> 00:29:59,860 Paul tells Timothy that he's going to encounter those who don't want to hear the truth. 542 00:29:59,860 --> 00:30:05,260 And God, we certainly live in a world today where we experience the same thing. 543 00:30:05,260 --> 00:30:09,540 So God, first I pray that you would help us to want to hear the truth, that you would 544 00:30:09,540 --> 00:30:12,660 help us to read your word and listen to it. 545 00:30:12,660 --> 00:30:18,500 The hard stuff that convicts us, let us not turn a ear from it, but that we would stop 546 00:30:18,500 --> 00:30:23,580 and listen, that we would repent of our sins, that we would let your work do a work in our 547 00:30:23,580 --> 00:30:28,660 heart and our life, dear Lord, that we would let your word be able to take the speck out 548 00:30:28,660 --> 00:30:33,700 of our eye so then we can go and help take the speck, take the, excuse me, take the log 549 00:30:33,700 --> 00:30:37,260 out of our eye, dear Lord, so then we can go and begin to take the speck out of others' 550 00:30:37,260 --> 00:30:38,540 eyes, God. 551 00:30:38,540 --> 00:30:41,060 I pray that we would grow in your word. 552 00:30:41,060 --> 00:30:44,220 I pray, God, that you would help us to be the men and the women that you want us to 553 00:30:44,220 --> 00:30:49,620 be, that whatever opportunities you call us to, that we would fulfill our ministries, 554 00:30:49,620 --> 00:30:54,580 dear Lord, and that we would run with endurance and not give up, that we would keep the faith, 555 00:30:54,580 --> 00:30:57,740 dear Lord, and long for the day that we see your face. 556 00:30:57,740 --> 00:30:59,820 And I ask these things in Jesus' name. 557 00:30:59,820 --> 00:31:00,820 Amen. 558 00:31:00,820 --> 00:31:03,860 Amen.