 Let's look at this together chapter 4 2nd Timothy. We're going to be looking at fighting the good fight And we'll see that when we conclude our our verses, but we'll look at verses 1 through 5 I'll give you an introduction as I normally do and then move on into our study. So today we're in 2nd Timothy We're going to look at chapter 4. We'll begin by looking at the first five verses beginning at verse 1 2nd Timothy chapter 4 Paul writes I I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ who will judge the living and the dead at his appearing in his kingdom preach the word be ready in season and out of season convince rebuke exhort with all long suffering and teaching for the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine but according to their own desires because they have itching ears they will heap up for themselves teachers and they will turn their ears away from the truth and be turned aside to fables but you be watchful in all things endure afflictions do the work of an evangelist to fulfill your ministry Paul has been instructing Timothy concerning last day's conditions and as we've been going through 2nd Timothy especially chapters 3 and 4 we've seen that Paul has said to him a few things that relate to the conditions that would be prevailing in the days just prior to the return of Jesus Christ he had said in the last days that there would be dangerous and evil times that were existing he had said to him believers will be persecuted evil will flourish deception will be on the increase he had pointed out that the church itself would be infiltrated that there would be tears amongst the wheat instead of dying to self loving self would dominate the thoughts of those who profess to be Christians and the fruit of this kind of belief system would filter into the life of the church itself ultimately the genuine will be revealed the false will be exposed and that is because the truth of the gospel will have ultimate victory he had said in verse 9 speaking of false teachers that they will in chapter 3 they will progress no further for their folly will be manifest to all as theirs also was so they're going to go a certain distance they're going to progress to a certain place but ultimately what is going to happen is the gospel will have the ultimate victory so in light of this Timothy and all faithful believers are to remain steadfast they're to remain firm in the things that they've learned they're supposed to remain steadfast in the word of God he said in chapter 3 verse 14 you must continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of knowing from whom you have learned them so he's pointing out that there to remain firm in the things they've learned they need to hold fast to the word of God so as a believer Timothy is to rely on scripture and he's to do so for all ministry he needs to remember that it's the holy scriptures that had made him wise for salvation the passages that were planted by his mother and grandmother prepared him for Jesus as he was raised his mother and grandmother had trusted in scripture and as an infant Timothy had been bathed in the word of God so when Paul communicated that Jesus was a promised messiah Timothy had soil that had been prepared and therefore he readily believed you see before I came to know Christ my the soil my heart had been prepared Timothy's had been prepared I had a mother who was not a Christian but she was a God-fearer and she had a certain amount of religiosity about her one of the things though about my mom is that she believed that God's word truly was God's word now my dad didn't my father did not believe the Bible and didn't want it in the house as I grew up I saw a mother who was by and large very very submitted to her husband and my mom and my dad didn't get saved till they'd been married 25 years so when I grew up in in the home the first 25 years of my life as their child I never saw my father interested in things of faith my mom was but not my dad and my dad had told my mom that he did not want a Bible in the house because the only person my dad ever knew who read the Bible according to my father was crazy so he thought the Bible made you crazy I did pretty good without the Bible but my dad thought that the Bible reading the Bible and believing in the Bible was a waste of time and that it would actually contribute to you being imbalanced so that's the one thing I can tell you that I know my mom quote unquote disobeyed my father in my mom actually had a Bible that she hid in the house and on occasion I would see her reading it on occasion she'd have it pulled out and my mom made sure that we went to what was called catechism my mom made sure that we had religious instruction my father was not real supportive of that he wasn't totally posed he just didn't support it he thought it was a waste of time not my mom my mom thought that our hearts needed to be receptive to God even though she didn't know Jesus until she was an older lady but when I got saved I started sharing with my mom and my dad I was 20 my mom and dad got saved and later on my mom spoke to me and she said that she had read in the Bible she said there's a phrase in the Bible it's in Isaiah she said there's a phrase in the Bible I read and it and it said and a little child shall lead them she says so I figured you must be that little child so I listened to what you had to say as interesting as that is to me to this day my mom believed that the word of God was God's word my heart was prepared by a mother who believed in such a thing as a God who could speak and preserve his word that she actually contributed that to the way I thought as a kid I figured if there is a God then surely he can communicate what what kind of God would be silent therefore he must communicate and I also believed that if he was God all things were possible with him because he's all powerful therefore if he can communicate he must be able to make sure that his words are preserved so it only made sense to me that if there is such a God and he is all powerful and he does communicate it only made sense to me that he could do so in a book called the Bible and so I already had the soil of my heart prepared so that when somebody got saved and began to share with me the gospel my heart readily accepted these things because I didn't have a built-in antagonism to God's word that's not the same today there are many today who don't believe God can speak don't believe God is powerful enough to preserve his word don't believe that he communicates to people there are a lot of people perhaps some in this room now who don't believe that well timothy had a grandmother and a mother who did and they imparted to him a faith that God could speak and that's how he got saved it says in verse 15 in chapter 3 from childhood you have known the holy scriptures which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus the word of God was imparted to you you've known these things from the time you were a baby the word childhood is actually a word you can you can translate from infancy from the time he was an infant his mom and grandmother had given him scripture so what happened with timothy when the gospel was given there was already a readily prepared heart to receive that jesus christ is messiah and so when paul communicated that jesus was a promised messiah timothy was prepared and therefore he believed and it's these scriptures that were planted in timothy these scriptures that prepared him for salvation in christ in first Corinthians chapter 3 verse 6 paul said it like this paul said i planted apollos watered but god gave the increase so scriptures are inspired by god and they're profitable in the life of the believer man's wisdom can be very practical practical and very deep and when moral is greatly appreciated before he was saved my dad was a very basic very wise man and he had some practical wisdom but the scriptures are inspired by god and are profitable because the bible goes deeper it doesn't speak only to a person's mind but the bible impacts their soul in john 6 verse 63 jesus said it's the spirit who gives life the flesh profits nothing the words that i speak to you are spirit and their life so paul wrote all scripture is inspired by god profitable for various things like doctrine for reproof for correction for instruction in righteousness god's word equipped believers for service in contrast to the errors of false teachers you see the errors of the false teachers produce self-centered greedy arrogant disciples but god's word produces godly people who persevere through all trials you see self-centered people do not endure trials because they don't have genuine faith jesus was speaking about that in matthew 13 in chapter 13 of matthew jesus gives a series of parables and one of the parables he gives is a parable of the sower and the seed and he speaks concerning the the power of the seed but the lack of receptivity of the soils and he speaks of how a sower went on sowed some seed and he speaks concerning this particular soil that's referred to as stony stony ground or stony places and when he was speaking concerning that in matthew 13 verses 20 and 21 jesus said he who received the seed on stony places this is he who hears the word immediately receives it with joy yet he has no routine himself but endures only for a while for when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word immediately stumbles so there are those who receive the scripture quickly they say oh yeah i believe that but in fact they're they're really not they're really not yielding completely to god his word the power of the holy spirit at all so when things occur that that caused them to question god and and their faith they they they stumble they're offended and they step away and so timothy is to endure persecution and he's to trust god's word and and paul uses himself as an an example of one who endures afflictions and he's saying to him timothy you can use me as an example and that's what he's been saying up to this point so in this section he continues to exhort him and he begins in chapter four verse one by saying this he says i charge you therefore before god and the lord jesus christ who will judge the living and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom in light of all that i've said to you paul is saying to timothy i want you to do certain things so as we get into chapter four paul is about to conclude his letter to this young pastor of the church in this mighty and very pagan city called Ephesus what would he be led to write seeing that this is the last letter that he will ever write second timothy is the last letter we we have of the writings of the apostle paul what is it that he would write as his last letter what will be his closing commands to this son in his faith if you had an opportunity to give some last words say you were given the opportunity to speak to those whom you love the most and you were giving your last having your last conversation or if you were writing a last letter what would it be we have an opportunity to see that here in the life of paul and in the life of this young man by the name of timothy as i was preparing this i couldn't help but think about king david king of israel and how the how the bible speaks concerning his last words to his son Solomon it's found in first kings chapter two verses one through three listen to what david said it says when david's time to die was near he told his son Solomon i'm going the way of all the earth so be strong show yourself to be a man do what the lord your god tells you you walk in his ways keep all his laws and his word by what is written in the law of moses then you will do well in all that you do and in every place that you go these are the things that a godly man would say to his son i want you to know god's word i want you to be obedient to the word of god i want you to walk in his ways i want you to to know him and and that's what a father would tell his son that's what david told Solomon so what is it that that paul is going to tell his son in the faith what is it that he believes is most important he's closing his letter this is the last time he's going to communicate to him what is it that matters to him we see that in chapter four how he begins at verse one by saying i charge you therefore before god and the lord jesus christ i most solemnly command you in front of these divine witnesses i command you in front of god and jesus they're with me right now in my prison cell and they are with you in your study in Ephesus and i am giving to you a command before them i'm giving you a charge that word charge is a military command it conveys urgency and obligation to respond and he's saying timothy you are a soldier you are under military orders so carry them out and i'm judging and i'm charging you before god jesus christ who will judge the living and the dead at his appearing in his kingdom so this emphasizes the importance of what he's saying and this emphasizes the importance of what timothy must do you see timothy understood that he was in spiritual combat he knew that he needed to follow orders this is a military command everybody knows that in the military well you're not in a democracy when i served in the military i understood that i was i didn't have a vote i mean if the if the captain lieutenant even the sergeant gave an order i had to follow it it's not a democracy it's not something you voted on well he says get up at six but i don't want to get up at six i'm going to get up at ten we didn't have a democracy i still remember a friend of mine who was in his bunk everybody was already up we'd already had breakfast and it was time to go to work and one of our sergeants walked into his room and my friend was laying in his bunk he didn't want to get up and the sergeant walks up to him and says what are you doing he said i just don't feel like getting up and so the sergeant took the blankets threw him off him grabbed him by a shirt and threw him on the ground you see there is no you have to get up it's not a democracy the guy says but i'm sleepy and the sergeant said i don't care where you are you need to get up and we learned that very quickly you don't have a vote and when a commander gives to you an order you are obligated to respond you have to obey as long as it's what is called unlawful order and so what we have here is paul giving timothy a lawful command he's saying i am in god's army the general you are a lesser officer i'm giving you a command you have an obligation to hear and to obey and this is what i'm commanding you to do and i'm telling you this because you're in a warfare right now you're in a spiritual battle and therefore i'm giving you commands that are are going to be kept because in doing so you'll be victorious in the war you see we're engaged in spiritual warfare and timothy you need to use spiritual weapons it's like what it says in 2nd chrithians 10 verses three through five how paul says although we live in the world we do not wage war as the world does the weapons we fight with are not weapons of the world on the contrary they have divine power to demolish strongholds we demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of god we take captive every thought to make it obedient to christ you're in a war every person in this room is in a war if you're a believer even if you're an unbeliever there's a battle going on and as a believer we've been given commands by the lord the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in god through the pulling to the pulling down of strongholds casting down imaginations every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of god and bring it into subjection every thought into captivity of jesus christ that's what we've been called to that's what equips us and that's why paul would be speaking to the Ephesians and he'd say that that we have weapons of warfare he would say that our waste is girded with truth that we wear the breastplate of righteousness our feet are shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace that we have the shield of faith the helmet of salvation and the sword of the holy spirit these are the weapons of your warfare and the weapons of your warfare are not carnal they're not earthly they're not fabricated after the weapons of of the military of the world but they're spiritual and thus you need to understand that you need to understand that spiritual war requires spiritual weapons and if we understand that the war we are in is spiritual then that will direct my approach to the battles that i that i find myself in and that's one of the reasons by the way that prayer is so important because when you read concerning the weapons of our warfare in Ephesians six especially after paul outlines each item he says that we're to be praying constantly because the weapons of our warfare require us to know where we're supposed to use them and how to use them you see and that's one of the reasons why the annual national day of prayer is so important for us to observe we should be praying every day of course but i think it's a special time when churches throughout the nation gather to pray i was reading that approximately 35,000 prayer gatherings will be held this upcoming thursday may 3rd if there's ever been a time when this nation needs prayer isn't it now and if there's ever been a time when this state needs prayer isn't it now we absolutely do need to pray and and god speaks and know this was a statement to the nation of israel it is the scripture that is used to identify the national day of prayer we're in second chronicles chapter seven verse 14 god says if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways then i will hear from heaven will forgive their sin and heal their land so we're going to be hosting the prayer gathering in chino at the city hall around noon about 1145 and we'll hold a time of prayer that night here in our chapel at seven o'clock we need to pray and in light of the prevailing conditions of Ephesus paul is issuing a command he's saying this timothy i have an order you must carry out preach the word the term preach the word is another way of saying preach the sayings of god why is it important to preach the sayings of god to preach the word what can we glean from this i might encourage the sharing of our own faith well notice what he says when he says in verse two preach the word be ready in season and out of season convince rebuke exhort with all long suffering and teaching why would i do that because he said in verse when i charge you before god and the lord jesus christ will judge the living and the dead we preach because there's a coming judgment we preach because jesus christ will judge the living and the dead we like to preach how that jesus christ is a savior of mankind god so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son the whosoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life and there are so many scriptures that tell us if you believe then you can be born again but we also need to understand that he's not only the savior here's something that we need to remember he is also the judge jesus christ is the judge the bible tells us in john 527 that god has given jesus authority to execute judgment in hebris in chapter 10 verse 42 peter said that god commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that it is he who was ordained by god it was jesus who was ordained by god to be judge of the living and the dead people need to be told and reminded that eternity is before them we need to remember that a holy god is also a just god there is grace offered but when rejected judgment comes in hebris 927 it is appointed unto men to die once and after this judgment in hebris 1031 the writer says it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living god and this knowledge compelled paul to proclaim the opportunity for salvation in 2nd carinthians 5 11 he said knowing therefore the terror of the lord we persuade men if salvation from the inevitable day of judgment is possible what must timothy do well he tells them in verse 2 preach the word the word preach means to proclaim loudly and openly it's a picture that we in our american history might remember being taught of what was called the town crier and his responsibility was to let everybody know with a very loud voice a variety of things that were occurring because judgment is coming we need to know and share his message because it's the gospel and not your own opinion or testimony that saves people there are many places that don't seem to understand that today but again we're living in the last days in perilous times are here and so you can go and you can hear the opinions of the pastor or you can hear the testimony over and over again every time you show up but he didn't say give your opinion he didn't say give your testimony he said preach preach the word let god's word be known it's the gospel that saves people not my opinion it's the gospel that saves people not my testimony when paul was writing to the thessalonians in 1st Thessalonians 2 13 he said for this reason we also thank god without ceasing because when you receive the word of god which you heard from us you welcomed it not as the word of men but as it is in truth the word of god which also effectively works in you who believe in james 121 we read therefore get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent humbly accept the word planted in you which is able to save your soul you preach the word my opinions will not save your soul my testimony will not save your soul entertainment from a church stage will not change your soul it doesn't save you it's god's word that does and when because that's true I want you to notice he says preach the word be ready in season and out of season you're not on the clock you don't punch in as a christian at eight and then punch out at five timothy you're on 24 seven and you're to take this gospel and share it when given opportunities be ready whenever the opportunity presents itself share when you can when you read the gospel of john and you get to chapter four there's a story of a woman that's at the well of sicker we call her psychar but it's more than likely a sicker she's had jacob's well and at the beginning of that chapter we're introduced the idea that jesus is going to go into samaria and he says i need to go there i must needs go there i'm going there his apostles his men don't want to go in there they because samaria is a place that that the jews would avoid i mean if you look at the map you'll see you've got the southern central and northern section and the central section represents much to the east by the jordan river represents a region called samaria samaria was a place that the jews by and large would avoid so if i were in the south in the jewsland maria will say and i was going to go to the north to the galilee very often i would simply step across the jordan and go north and then avoid samaria and then come back in once i was past the region john says the jews have no dealings with samaritans and yet we have jesus is over there in this well well his men are out trying to find some food for them and he had said i need to go through samaria and there they are he's the way he's at the well called jacob's well and as he's there by the well a woman of samaria shows up we know the story and it's that noon and that tells us something if you know anything of the jewish culture you would know that if water was to be drawn from a well it would normally be drawn from the well in the morning or in the early evening why because it's so hot we've only been to israel one time during the summer i will never go again during the summer why because it was 112 to 116 degrees it is hot and so we don't go during the summer we've had teachers say can you go during the summer and i say no no no read your books and find out it's too hot no i will not do that so we've done it and we will not do it again we've only gone once and so what happens is during that day it was the woman's duty to get the water for the family and that's why we call those the good old days anyway um so she would go with she would go with the water pot and she would draw with a bucket from the well and she'd put it in the water pot and it was for their use but they would go in the in the morning when it's cool or in the afternoon when it was cool now when the woman would go to the well that was a place to socialize and so the other ladies who were in the city would also convene at the well and so it was a place for them to talk about you know the family and how things are going it was a social place for them and that's what the ladies would do as they were seated there drawing the water visit how's everything going and that's what they would do but that's what makes it interesting to note this the scripture says the woman went at noon noon is the hottest time of the day that tells you something about the woman the other women wanted nothing to do with her so to avoid the pressures and the things she was dealing with if she'd have gone in the morning or the afternoon she chose to go at noon so she goes at noon but there's a Jewish man seated at the place by the well and as she comes to draw water Jesus says woman give me something to drink and it startles her and she looks at him and she asks him the question how is it that thou being a a a man of Israel being a Jew asks a drink of water for me being a woman of Samaria and that's when John goes on to say for the Jews have no dealings with Samaritans the Jews had a an animosity towards them because the Samaritans were actually not fully Jewish because the Assyrians had brought in peoples from other lands and had populated Samaria and when they came in they created an ad mixture if you will they were not fully Jewish people plus they had brought in religious systems from other countries and it polluted the Jewish religious system and had built a temple for themselves in a little mountain that was there where they would do their offerings and there was a conflict between the Jews and the Samaritans that was very deep which gives you insight into why Jesus would use a parable and speak of a good Samaritan because it cut right across the barriers when he spoke in that way and it also gives you insight into Jesus's ministry to women in that she asks how is it that you being a man it's what she's really saying being a Jewish man speaks to me a woman of Samaria how is it that you because he's breaking barriers because Jewish men would not speak to women alone and Jewish men would never speak to a Samaritan woman because they have no dealings with and that's where that conversation takes its depth if you knew who I was you'd ask me to give you living water you don't have a vessel to draw water from the well is deep now the water I give you that'll spill out of you as a water of life give me some of that water because I hate coming and getting this in the heat give me some of that water well go get your husband I have none hmm in this you've spoken truly you've had five and the one you're shacking up with that's not your husband interesting story let me add one little thought she had five men she had been married to she's now living with another man that's six men in her life six men you've had five plus one that you're living with that's not even a legitimate husband you've got six men in your life but guess what you came to the seventh seven in scripture is the number of perfection you've gone through six men till you finally came to the right one it's me and you will have the water if you ask I can give you water of life hmm sir I perceive you're a prophet so from how is it that you being a Jew it's now sir it's now prophet because he's bringing her slowly and surely so when he says go get your husband she doesn't have one he continues speaking to her and what is the next thing she does she rushes off and speaks to the men of the city read your passages read chapter four you'll see this she runs to the men of the city why the men of the city because a Whitman had nothing to do with her they spoke she spoke to the men come and see a man who told me everything I've ever done and you can almost add to that the thought and he still loves me and he still accepted me can this be messiah now remember at the beginning of the story Jesus said I need to go through Samaria why Jesus because there's a woman that I'm going to meet with at noon so I can give her water of life be ready in season and out of season to communicate the gospel of Jesus Christ be ready that's what Paul is speaking about here when he says that you need to be instant in season and out of season be ready when it's safe and you can do so in a peaceful way but Timothy when the days ahead begin to be tough be ready to give God's word when conditions may be dangerous and difficult Paul in the book of Philippians speaks concerning how you can use him as an example because in Philippians 1 verses 12 and 13 Paul writing out of a jail cell said I want you to know brethren that the things which happened to me have actually turned out for the furtherance of the gospel so that it has become evident to the whole palace guard and to all the rest that my chains are in Christ my chains are in Christ I am in here for the preaching of the gospel and it may not be an easy place to be but I've been able to evangelize the whole palace guard he had said in 2 Timothy chapter 2 verse 9 I suffered trouble as an evil doer even to the point of chains but the word of God is not chained now be ready in season and out of season to preach the word and he says in verse 2 convince rebuke exhort with all long suffering and teaching convince the word convince speaks about exposing faults it's a word that can speak about reprimanding somebody or convicting somebody who is listening have you discovered that truth can be direct and sometimes it must be plainly said and when it's plainly said it convinces Jesus was speaking will say to the scribes and Pharisees it's recorded in Luke in chapter 11 verse 39 the Lord said now you Pharisees make the outside of the cup and dish clean but your inward parts are full of greed and wickedness that's a pretty direct thing coming out of the lips of love himself in Luke 11 43 woe to you Pharisees you love the best seats in the synagogues greetings in the marketplaces Luke 11 52 woe to you lawyers you have taken away the key of knowledge you did not enter in yourselves and those who were entering in you hindered truth sometimes comes very plain and very convicting and that's how you preach sometimes sometimes he says it'll come as a rebuke convince and rebuke the word rebuke means to admonish Stephen is an example of of that kind of preaching when he was about to be martyred he was speaking to the Jewish authorities and this is what he said in act 751 and 52 he said you stiff-necked and uncircumcised and harden ears you always resist the Holy Spirit as your father did so do you and then they killed him it's not always something that people respond well to sometimes you exhort the word exhort means to beg to entreat sometimes you speak with tears in your heart that comes out in your voice Ezekiel 33 11 say to them as I live says the Lord God I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked but that the wicked turn from his way and live turn turn from your evil ways for why should you die oh house of his room you could almost hear the tear in the voice of the Lord in 2nd Corinthians chapter 6 verse 17 therefore come out from among them be separate says the Lord do not touch was what is unclean and I will receive you in 1st Thessalonians 2 verses 11 and 12 as you know how we exhorted and comforted and charged every one of you as a father does his own children that you would walk worthy of God who calls you into his own kingdom and glory there are times that you speak like that my mom and my dad got saved I went into the army I was gone for a couple of years came back they'd been Christians for two years I came home I got out around Christmas I bought my dad some books Christian books that I wanted him to read because I noted some things I had noted that my father's walk with the Lord hadn't really grown and I still remember speaking to my dad after at Christmas had come I had given him those books my dad hadn't picked up one of them yet to read and I still remember we were in the patio at my parents house and I looked at my father and with tears I started to weep I looked at my dad I was 22 years old I looked at my dad and he started to cry and I said daddy you're not doing well with the Lord at all I said daddy you haven't grown a bit and I was weeping when I spoke to him it wasn't a an arrogant son it wasn't a a proud full it was a broken heart daddy you're not growing you're not growing I gave you those books and you haven't opened one of them yet dad open those books and read you need to grow there are times that you speak like that you exhort you and treat you beg and there may be tears coming down your eyes as you do it because your heart is pierced with the things of the Lord those who go forth weeping bearing precious seed shall doubtless come again rejoicing bringing their sheaves with them there's the time when a tear reveals a heart and there are times when the minister will break and will weep you convict sometimes you just speak you exhort you do it with long suffering in all manner of teaching somebody says well you know why do we need long suffering why well some things take times take time did you did you when you got saved on we'll say a sunday did you the next day start teaching bible studies on monday with depth some things take time so one of the things that i've had to learn over the years is to be very patient i have to be patient about myself because i'm an impatient person in many ways but i also have had to learn to be patient i had a bible study we used to do just up the street not not a half mile or so from here just up the street there east end in philadelphia if you go on philadelphia from here and you're going to the west and you come to east end you go across and you go maybe a quarter mile or less off to the side there's a place called lube grain some of you may be familiar with that and there's a house a little house that i think it's still there that's right there on the property if you drive by you'll see this house and they have placed these it looks like boulders that they have put on on the house we used to call it a rock house we don't anymore but we used to call it that then because we didn't sell rock but anyway when you when you look at it i used to do bible studies there in 1975 i lived there i was one of four roommates that rented out that house we spent twenty five dollars a month rent that's those are the good old days twenty five dollars month rent and he used to have a bible study there and there was a young man there in the bible study who was younger than i and he was an alcoholic i think he was maybe 20 21 years old and he was confirmed alcoholic at that age he used to come home with two cases of beer now that wasn't my house i wasn't renting it out to people the owner was renting it to us we started a bible study he started coming to the bible study when he came to the bible study i started sharing what matthew had to say about salvation and he gave his heart to christ and so about two or three weeks after he had prayed to receive the lord i was talking to him and he asked me a question he said david let me ask you something why do you get so close to me when you're speaking to me he says i think it's because you're trying to see whether i have beer on my breath he was right that's exactly right because i used to see him carrying two cases at a time and he drank it by himself confirmed alcoholic and i said well well he says no admit it you're getting close to me to see if i have beer in my breath i said you're right you're right i am i said forgive me he said i want to tell you something i've never forgotten this i share this with you i want to tell you something i believe you loved me more as a sinner than you do now that i'm a christian because i treated him with more grace and kindness before he knew jesus then after he prayed with me he was right he was a hundred percent right that's exactly what i did i tried to explain it i tried to say i'm just concerned for you steve and he said to me listen i gave my heart to jesus he's with me now he has set me free and he doesn't need you monitoring my life he was right so i shot him no he was right i made me so mad and he went to heaven no he was right have you ever done anything like that you ever been treated like that somebody watching you with this holy spyglass to see whether or not you're doing right or wrong guess what it's not that i should ignore my brother and ignore his sin no i'm not saying that i'm not saying just give him permission to say no of course not i should love him enough to tell him the truth but at the same time i should know that god is able to take care of those who are his he knows how to take care of his kids he knows how to chase in him he knows how to spank him he knows how to bring him back in line he really does and so we have to realize that some things take time and that's why you do this ministry with long suffering and teaching just hold on and watch what god will do because steve eventually met a good christian girl they got married served the lord continued on as far as i know 40 years later they're still serving the lord because god has a way of doing that that's what the holy spirit and the word of god does in somebody's life he transforms you by the grace of god so timothy understand that understand that well why we better rush on i've got to get to verse three for the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine but according to their own desires because they have itching ears they will heap up for themselves teachers will they will turn their ears away from the truth and be turned aside to fables why would we do that well because the time is coming when they will begin to select teachers who will tell them exactly what they want to hear according to their own desires because they have itching ears they're going to heap up unto themselves teachers that time by the way is now somebody said the thirst for novelties in doctrine the desire for a teaching that while offering peace to a troubled conscience would yet allow the old self-indulgent life to go on as before will increase and that's true it's a message that is devoid of a call to live for christ the time will come the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine the time will come when they are going to to basically uh collect teachers who tell them exactly what they want to hear their own lusts will separate them from the doctrine that purifies their souls they will think that the teaching is too strict and harsh so they'll reject the teaching as well as the teacher they will seek less convicting teachers who will flatter them and say what they want to hear they will want to hear something that they have not heard before that's what israel said in isaac 39 and 10 when god was speaking to the nation he said of them this is a rebellious people lying children children who will not hear the law of the lord who say to the seers do not see to the prophets do not prophesy to us right things speak to us smooth things prophesy to seats they're going to want to hear things they already believe and already agree with and because of that timothy do these four things be watchful endure affliction be an evangelist fulfill your ministry timothy verse five be watchful the word watchful means to abstain from wine be on the alert be attentive be discreet he had already told him to avoid foolish arguments to remain solid and simple truth he was to avoid discussions that led to strife to be patient and gentle with everybody he told him to avoid the influence of false teachers turn away from false believers so you need to be watchful second you need to endure affliction you need to be prepared to endure suffering for jesus christ don't be surprised when you go through hard or difficult times but hold fast to the end in second timothy in chapter two verse three he said you must endure hardship as a good soldier of jesus christ so endure affliction third do the work of evangelist do the work fulfill your commission in other words keep your eyes on the things that are eternal continue sharing the gospel give away your faith and fourth fulfill your ministry don't fall short don't hold back be committed to christ fully perform your ministry task it'll evidence the genuineness of your ministry and then paul says use me once again as an example because in verse 60 he said i'm already being poured out as a drink offering the time of my departure is at hand i have fought the good fight i have finished the race i have kept the faith and finally there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness which the lord the righteous judge will give to me on that day and not to me only but also to all who have loved his appearing so he says i'm already being poured out as a drink offering a drink offering a company of a sacrifice it was a picture of his impending death being poured out therefore speaks of his total dedication to christ a drink offering contained elements of sacrifice and service and because of this he said i'm ready to depart i'm i'm i'm wane anchor i'm striking the tent i'm moving on and this is what i can say i have fought the good fight i finished the race i have kept the faith i have fought i have finished and i've been faithful i fought as a good soldier and i'm victorius in christ i'm finishing the race i ran the course that was set out for me successfully not only did i start i followed the rules i ran well i completed that course and i've been faithful i have kept the faith i guarded god's word remained faithful i did not compromise my life and i never watered down god's word and as a result verse eight finally there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness laid up for me it is safely stored and it's guarded by god himself i will receive the victor's reward and that's what motivated my service he's saying to god my faith filled expectation is to be given of victor's crown i i finished my race properly i followed the rules i did not cheat i finished the course i get the crown of righteousness i received the victor's accomplishment and that is a crown that is awarded he says to the righteous he hungered and he thirsted for righteousness and that was all that would ever satisfy him he lived a life battling the flesh the world and the devil but he was yet to be a finished product that was about to take place but guess what timothy this crown is not mine alone it belongs to you too keep that in mind this crown is given to all who love god and all who look forward to seeing jesus you can have it too hey we're not there yet are we we're just passing through we're moving on we're pilgrims we're sojourners we're aliens we're living in a in a hostile environment a christ rejecting world but we're just passing through there's a man by the name of henry morrison he served 40 years on the african mission field and finally when his service was was done and he was heading home he came home by boat on that same boat also rode theodore rusevelt morrison was quite dejected when he entered the new york harbor because president rusevelt received a great fanfare as he arrived home morrison thought he should get some recognition for 40 years in the lord's service then a small voice came to morrison and said henry you're not home yet and that's how we ought to think this world is not my home i'm just passing through and it doesn't matter if they have this great band that's playing for somebody else because when you enter into heaven you don't want to hear lots of voices you know what you want to hear i think you want to hear what i want to hear it's not the loud voices of others it's the loud voice of one who will say to you well done my good and my faithful servant that's the voice that i want to hear someday that's a voice that my ears have been attuned to when i hear the voice of jesus christ say well done welcome home i have fought the good fight i have finished the race that's what i mean