 Welcome back after the break. Just before we went for our break, we were looking at 1st Timothy, chapter 1, verse 2, where Paul is writing, saying, 2 Timothy, a true son in the faith, grace mercy and peace from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord. So here Paul says, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ are Saviour. So this pronoun R stresses, you know, the need for personal faith that one needs to have in our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. And once we have that personal faith, that personal relationship with God our Father, we will experience grace, mercy and peace. Now why does Paul write here and again mention, you know, like he says in verse 1, he says, God our Father, God our Saviour and the Lord Jesus Christ are hope and verse 2 again, he says, God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord. Why does he mention Jesus Christ our Lord or Jesus Christ as our Saviour is because, you know, at Paul's time, the word Saviour was used to honour the Roman Emperor. Okay, and people were called or were forced to call Caesar, Nero as Saviour. So Paul, you know, makes this identity of who the real Saviour is very clear. And he says that the Saviour is God in the person of our Lord Jesus Christ. Okay, verse 3, Paul says, tells Timothy, remain in Ephesus that you may charge some that they may teach no other doctrine. Okay, so why does he tell Timothy remain in Ephesus? When he's left Timothy already in Ephesus, why does he say remain in Ephesus? Any reason? Maybe Paul knew that Timothy wanted to run away from Ephesus. The work was too challenging, too difficult. He wanted to take a break. Maybe he would have told Paul that you're written to Paul. So Paul is saying, hey, Timothy, remain in Ephesus. Okay, and he says he does not want him to leave Ephesus. Maybe, you know, for different reasons, but maybe because the task was very, very challenging. Okay, but despite all of these reasons, there is no doubt that God and Apostle Paul wanted Timothy to remain in Ephesus. So the rest of chapter one, Paul is giving Timothy at least, you know, six reasons why he should stay there and, you know, finish the task of do the ministry that God has given him to do. So just basically listing out a few things. Now, if you notice, you know, some of the things that I'm saying is not in your notes, so you could follow through with your notes and also make additional points that can help. Okay, so some of the things that Paul writes to Timothy, giving him reasons why he wants to remain, wants him to remain in Ephesus. This is not mentioning your notes if you want, you can write it down. He says, because they need the truth, because the people at Ephesus need the truth. He talks about this in chapter one, verses three to seven. And in verses eight to 11, he says, because you minister in a hard place, I know it's a hard place, but remain there. In verses 12 to 16, Paul is reminding Timothy how God uses unworthy people. And verse 17, he says, because you serve a great God, a great God was able and powerful enough, sufficient enough, omnipotent enough to help you to enable you to strengthen you to, you know, to do the work there. And also verse 18, he says, because you're in a battle and you cannot surrender. So he's reminding him that it's a battle and the battle, you know, a soldier does not leave the battlefield and run away and cannot surrender. So he says, you have to stay there. And in verses 19 to 20, he says, because not everyone else does not everyone else is called to this ministry is not called to the specific position called to the specific responsibility, but you are called. So he says, I want you to remain there. Okay. Now, even as we look at this, we are reminded that, you know, God would call us to be in difficult situations. You know, all things that God calls us to do is absolutely impossible. But God puts us in those positions, because, you know, he wants us to absolutely depend on him. Because when we absolutely depend on him, then, you know, his work and his enabling his strength and the way that he enables us to do what he has portioned for us or what he's called us to do helps us to know that he's a God of the impossible. So it just helps us to grow in our faith in God. You know, most of things are all things that God calls us to do is absolutely impossible. Yes. But God puts us in that position, because, you know, he wants us to know that it is absolutely possible by the God who has called us and our absolute dependence on him and his work and his enabling in our lives teaches us that he is the God of the impossible. Okay, so God would allow us to be in different difficult situations, but we must set our minds to meet these challenges. And if we don't know who God is, we don't recognize him. And we don't look at as our calling is a command we will surely give up. Okay, many years ago, and a very famous article explorer, he put up this ad in the London newspaper. He's a very famous article explorer. And so he puts up this newspaper ad in the London newspaper. He says, men wanted for hazardous journey, small wages, bitter cold, long months of complete darkness, constant danger, safe return, doubtful. Okay, so this is the ad that he puts in his the newspaper ad in London, the London newspaper. And but he also adds this thing, he says, honor and recognition in case of success. So he's, you know, listing out all the difficult things like, you know, cold bitter cold, long months of complete darkness, constant danger, safe return is doubtful. But he says honor and recognition in case of success. And it was surprising because thousands of men responded to this appeal. And they were shocked, you know, how could thousands of people, you know, respond to this appeal, even though their lives were at risk, because they were willing to embrace this difficult job. You know, when it was called by a great leader, okay, the person who put this ad was a very famous article explorer. So thousands of them, you know, put their lives at risk because they knew that, hey, the one who's calling us a great leader is a great explorer. He knows his job, you know, he will see us through, he will help us. And because, you know, with God, God has called us, things are going to be challenging, things are going to be difficult. But, you know, even as we have responded, you know, we have put ourselves in the place where he wants us to be, you know, we can do so because we have a great God, a God of the impossible. A God will see us through, a God will lift us through, a God who called us was faithful and he would complete the work that he has begun in us, okay. So Paul is reminding Timothy and encouraging him in 1 Timothy chapter 1 with all of these truths that he's mentioning to him, okay. And then he says, remain in Ephesus that you may charge some, okay. The ancient Greek word for this word charge is a military word, and it means to give strict orders from a commanding officer. So Timothy, you know, wasn't, you know, having an option to choose, you know, but he was presented with the option of the correct doctrine. And this is the doctrine that he had to teach, and it was a command coming like a military officer giving a command. So it was a command that he had to stay in Ephesus, and it was a command that he had to teach no other doctrine, okay. And he had only one option of the correct doctrine that had to be taught to the people at Ephesus. Verse 4, now give heed to fables and endless genealogies which cause dispute rather than godly edification which is in faith. Now what are these fables and endless genealogies? Now, you know, it's all talking about the false doctrines. Basically, the challenge that Timothy was facing was a lot of false doctrines. And surprisingly, these false doctrines were not coming from outside the church, but within the church. So these were these Jewish converts from Judaism into Christianity who were bringing in their Jewish, you know, fables, mythologies, endless genealogies, circumcision rituals, the food that they had to eat. And they were all forcing it upon the Gentile believers. So, you know, Paul is saying that, you know, these endless genealogies were basically connected to Jewish types of legalism dating back to one's Jewish ancestry. And, you know, they had mystical readings about the Old Testament genealogies, they had all these fables about all these endless genealogies that they had. Basically, they were so connected with their genealogy to Abraham to whom God had made the promise in the covenant. And so they had brought up all these, you know, mystic readings of Old Testament genealogies and endless things that were there. You know, it was very complex and all was like spiritual mysteries and wild speculations that they had. And he says that, you know, all of these things which were interesting them is not going to bring about any, you know, godly edification. Okay, he's saying these fables and endless genealogies are only causing more strife, more division, more disputes among yourself. So he's saying, what you need to do is, Timothy, don't talk about all of these things. Don't engage with these people who are, you know, talking all over of these things. Just, you know, teach the sound doctrine, because it's the sound doctrine that is going to edify people in the faith. It's going to build up the believers in the faith. Just do one thing, remain in Ephesus and just teach the right doctrine. That's it. Okay, so like I mentioned in the introduction, you know, Paul, during his third missionary journey, Paul had met the leaders of Ephesus in Miletus. This was nine years before he writes first Timothy. We read this in Acts chapter 20, verses 28 to 32. Paul is already warning these leaders, you know, nine years have passed, but things haven't changed. So he's telling them, you know, take heed of the flock, Acts chapter 20, verses 28 to 32. Can somebody read that, please? Acts chapter 20, verses 28 to 32. Acts chapter 20, verses 28 to 32. Therefore, take heed to yourself and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers to shepherd the church of God, which he purchased with his own blood. For I know this, that after my departure, savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. Also from among yourself, men will raise up, speaking perverse things to draw away the disciples after themselves. Therefore, watch and remember that for three years, I did not cease to want everyone night and day with tears. So now, brethren, I commend you to God, enter the world of his grace, which is able to build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified. Amen. So here Paul is mentioning, you know, about ravenous, savage wolves, you know, that's going to come among them, not going to spare the flock. And this is nine years before he's already talking about it. So I think it's a constant ongoing problem with the church of Ephesus. And then look at what he says in verse 31. He says for three years, that means this is nine years past. He's writing to Timothy nine years past. He's before he has warned the leaders of Ephesus. And he says, you know, he's telling them, even that before that three years, he has been warning them, you know, every day, night and day with tears. Because, you know, a false doctrine has been ripping the church and paring the people apart. And so he's saying, you know, take heed of the flock, you know, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseas, overseers. We shepherd the church of God, which he's purchased with his own blood. So Paul is so burdened about the church at Ephesus. And that's why, you know, now he makes so many trips to to Ephesus. So we see that Paul is mentioning the importance of teaching the doctrine here because teaching the doctrine is not just important to Paul, but also important to God. And it should be important to us as his people. So that is why as, you know, students who are studying in a Bible college, you know, part of these courses where you're studying so important for us to stay on track with the right doctrine. You know, today, there's so many false doctrines that there's so many teachings that slowly kind of creep in and, you know, subtly take us away from the truth and from the alignment of the truth in God's word. So today, you know, what one believes that is their doctrine is, you know, remarkably is kind of unimportant to most people, you know, in this in this modern age that we are living in. You know, people are influenced by a lot of modern Christianity, modern Christian teachings, philosophies. And, you know, we live in a day where, you know, a pilot's question, what is truth, which he pilot asked in John chapter 18 was 38. You know, people today will answer whatever it means to you. Truth is whatever it means to you. Okay, so you can believe lies, but you can, you know, it's true for you so you go ahead and believe it and live it. But, you know, for God, it's so important that we align ourselves to the truth of his word. Truth is important to God and doctrine is important to God. All the revelations are true that he's revealed to us and scripture is important to God as it should be important to us as his people who are part of his church, who are part of learning his word and also ministering his word. So it's important for us to stay aligned through the truth in God's word. Before we look at verses five to seven, anyone has any questions? Any questions from verses one to four? You said there are six reasons for Timothy to preach, right? I just noted down four things. I couldn't note it down quick. Can you just repeat for him to stay in Ephesus? Because they need the truth because they need the truth because you minister in a hard place versus eight to eleven because God uses unworthy people verses twelve to sixteen because you serve a great God verse seventeen because you're in the battle and cannot surrender verse eighteen because not everyone else does. Verses nineteen to twenty. Any questions? Okay. If there are no questions, we'll move on to verses five to seven. Can somebody read verses five to seven please? First Timothy chapter one verses five to seven. Somebody can read that. Now the purpose of the commandment is love from a pure heart, from a good conscience and from sincere faith. From which some having strayed have turned aside to idle talk, desiring to be teachers of the law, understanding neither what they say nor the things which they affirm. Amen. Thank you Rosalind. So here Paul is saying that the purpose of the commandment or the purpose of the law is, you know, like he's mentioning the purpose of the commandment of the law because, you know, but the Jews, they're so legalistic, you know, they're so caught up to the law. I'm talking about Jewish believers, you know, Jews who have become believers in Christ Jesus who come into the church, who's still holding on to the law, to the sign of the covenant, the circumcision and all of those things. So he's saying the purpose of the law is not just found in outward following of these endless genealogies and myths and, you know, keeping the circumcision ritual and eating certain kind of food, following certain kind of days and all of those things. He's saying it's found in the inward work upon the heart and it's not just outward mere observance, which something Paul has been reminding the Jewish Christians again and again in each of his letters. And without this understanding, you know, it's very easy to become very legalistic and become people who are only concerned about outward performances, rituals and doing things and observing things rather than an inward change of heart. So he's saying, what does God want from us? So he's saying the purpose of the commandment. So the purpose of the commandment means he's saying, why did God give us the commandment? Why did God give us the law? What is the purpose of it? So he's saying, the purpose why God gave us this or what God wants us to do, he's saying is because it should be love and love must flow out from a pure heart, a good conscience and from sincere faith. So he's saying, we need to stay focused on this, but if you're not staying focused on this, we are deviating from the truth, from the main things and getting into a lot of unnecessary things. So he's saying pure heart means, you know, we should be pure in our motives, no selfish interests, no personal selfish agendas. So love from a pure heart basically is suggesting the idea that the problem in Ephesus was, you know, people becoming very legalistic. The believers, the Jewish believers, very legalistic, and they were again misunderstanding the purpose of the law, the commandment of the law. And then he says, good conscience. He says it is a clear conscience. Clear conscience is where you live right before God and also before man. We studied this also in Romans when we were studying the book of Romans. And then he says, sincere faith. Sincere faith means real, genuine faith, not a faith that you put on as a pretence before people. Okay. Now for us, what do we learn from this? You know, if we spend time with God in his word, fellowshiping with God, having this personal relationship, disconnect with him, you know, then we can love from a pure heart. We would have a good conscience, a clear conscience which tells us what is right and wrong and help us do what is right before God and man and also have sincere faith, not just putting on a, you know, pretence faith before people, okay. So, and we will not even get into being very legalistic, you know, which when we get into being very legalistic, we can twist God's word. So, instead of being loving, we can be harsh and judgmental, you know, instead of having a good conscience, if we become very legalistic, we can feel very condemned. You know, always feeling condemned and we feel we don't measure up to God, to his love, we don't deserve anything from him. And instead of having a sincere faith, you know, we will just trust our own ability in doing things to please God. Okay. So, this is what the Jews were doing now because they were becoming so legalistic, you know, there was no love. They were being very harsh on other believers. They were being very judgmental, you know, and if they were not following all of these rituals that people were not following it. The Gentiles were not following it. They were condemning them and they were also feeling very self-condemned because they did not measure up. That is why Paul writes in Romans and says there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Okay. And instead of having sincere faith, you know, they will try to do things in their own ability to please God. And that is why they're bringing in all of these teachings, trying to do things to please God. So, we need to also be very, very careful. It's not just the problem at the churches at Ephesus, but can also be a problem where we can get too legalistic with rituals, doctrines, the word of God and doing things in a certain way. And we can also deviate from the main truth and can lead us into all of these unnecessary behavioral attitudes which can cause strife and division in the church. And in verse 6, he says, For which some having strayed have turned aside to idle talk. Okay. So, in the King James version, this word idle talk is translated as being gangling. The idea is just meaningless babbling, meaninglessly just talking things. And, you know, so Paul is saying all of this is idle talk. It's just good for entertainment, you know, but it does not edify anyone. It does not build up anyone. And the end result is just controversy and division and strife and a lot of unnecessary problems. Okay. Verse 7, he says, Desiring to be teachers of the law, understanding neither that they say nor the things which they affirm. So the problem with these false teachers is they are teaching all this. They don't understand anything because it's all mythology. It's just fables. It's just some people who have brought some things, you know, they don't even understand what they are saying. They don't even understand the implications of their own teaching. So Paul is telling Timothy, hey, Timothy, don't get into all of these things. You just teach the doctor. You just teach the pure word of God. You just teach the joke. Okay. Any doubts versus, sorry. Anyone has any doubts? Any questions? Till verse 7. Okay. There are no questions. No doubts. We'll move on to verses 8 to verse 11. Can somebody please read verses 8 to 11, please? But we know that the law is good if one uses it lawfully. Knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous person, but for the lawless and the insubordinate, for the ungodly and for the sinners, for the unholy and profound, for murderers, for fathers and murderers of mothers and for man slayers, for fornicators, for sodomites, for kidnappers, for liars, for pagiudas, for purigerers, and if there is any other thing that is contrary to sin, according to the glorious gospel of the blessed God which was committed to me, to my trust. Amen. Thank you, Lubega. So Paul is saying, you know, again, what he's, we read, we learned in Romans. He says, hey, the law is good. Okay. If one uses it lawfully. And he says the whole purpose of the law is basically to show us that we have sinned, that we have fallen short of God's standards with trespass. Okay. And it says that the law was not made for righteous people, but for the lawless, the insubordinate. It means for those who are basically sinners to show them that, hey, you're sinning. You're doing something that is against God, going against the law. Now, the idea is that the law is not that the law has nothing to say to a righteous person. Of course, the law is important for the righteous person to know when they also break the law, when they miss and they do something that is wrong when they sin against God. But especially, you know, it speaks to the ungodly to the sinner. So he says for the lawless and the insubordinate, for the ungodly and for sinners. So now in Paul's mind, you know, sound doctrine and right conduct are, you know, vitally connected. So he's saying, hey, if you don't have sound doctrine, if you're not believing in sound doctrine, if you don't, you know, teach sound doctrine, then it also shows in your conduct. Okay, because he says, you know, you won't have love, you won't have sense of faith, no right conscience. And if you don't have the right conscience, you know what happens, right? If we have our conscience smeared, if our conscience is not right, we know we can sin, we can go away from God. And even when we are sinning, you know, we can, our conscience can tell us, hey, what you're doing is right. So he says that, you know, it's important that we believe in sound doctrine because sound doctrine actually helps us to live the right conduct, to walk in God's ways, to live right and holy before God or righteous before God. So sound doctrine and right conduct are vitally connected. And the sinful actions that are, you know, he mentions in verses 9 to 10, he says, are contrary to sound doctrine? Okay, so there's any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine, which he's saying here, you know, in verse 10, he says, and if there is any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine, the implication is that, you know, the churches in Ephesus, you know, there was, you know, all these sins that he has listed out in verses 9 to 10 were all, you know, very evident in their lives. It was part of the believers in the church, you know, there were liars, fornicators and all of those things. So he says, you know, why is all of these sins existing in the church is because of the false doctrines that people are believing are teaching? You know, and he says, all of these false doctrines has in some way allowed or promoted all of these sinful lifestyles. So if you want to know if a preacher or a teacher or a church is teaching the right doctrines, of course, one thing is go back to the word of God, that is our standard. But also you can look at the way of life, you know, you can see evidence of sin because wrong doctrines always promote sinful lifestyles. And he says, anyone who says these sins are okay is they are talking contrary to sound doctrine and it's contrary to the gospel that is in Jesus Christ. Okay. And while we must be aware of all of these sins, you know, it's important to note what he says in verse 10 where he's talking about fornicators and sodomites. You know, he's basically talking about sexual immorality, men who practice homosexuality. So if you look at the English standard version, it's talking about sexually immoral people or those who practice homosexuality. So any kind of teaching that says sexual immorality or homosexuality is okay is contrary to sound doctrine and is contrary to the gospel of Jesus Christ. And then he goes on to say, you know, in verse 11, according to the glorious gospel of the blessed God which was committed to my trust. Now Paul is saying, yes, the law was given to us to, you know, to point out to us that we are sinning, the law cannot make us righteous. You know, we studied this in Romans as well. But the glorious gospel of the blessed Lord and Jesus Christ that Paul had committed to teaching and teaching, he's saying this can make us righteous. So it's a faith in Christ Jesus. And it's what Jesus has done for us that can, you know, make us righteous before God and nothing else. It's not the law. It's not keeping the law. It's not by works. And he says, Paul saying that I'm committed to this. You know, why am I writing this to you, Timothy? Why am I writing to you to stay aligned to the doctrine? Why is doctrine so important? Why should we, you know, stop these false teachers and all of those things? He's saying it's because God is interested in the truth. God is interested in the doctrine that is taught. And he says, you know, God has entrusted or committed to him this charge and trusted him with the truth of this gospel. And Paul senses this responsibility to preserve and guard the gospel. And he says, he's indirectly telling Timothy, I have passed on the truth of this gospel to you, Timothy, and to others as well. Now it's important for you, even as God has entrusted you with this responsibility to preserve and to guard the gospel. So just as Paul is reminding Timothy, you know, God is reminding us as well that, you know, he has given us the truth in his word. He has given us the opportunity to study the truth and the revelations in his word. And it's important that we preserve and guard the gospel by teaching the right doctrines. And even if we listen to other preachers, if we listen to new revelations and thoughts that they bring out to their feet, keep preaching and teaching is important for us before we ascribe to it, before we believe in it to go back, see if it's aligning with the truth in God's word. And if it's aligning with itself to the rest of the scripture, entirety of scripture, not just taking a passage in a verse and just bringing out a doctrine. But if that is in truth or alignment with the rest in agreement with the rest of the entire scripture, which is what God wants us to do and he's entrusted to us this great responsibility. And it's important for us in this day and age, even as we live in this so much of false teaching and false doctrines, like in the Church of Ephesus, God is looking up to us as stewards of what is entrusted to us, his mystery, his gospel, to preserve it and to guard it and to teach it well in the right way. Verses 12 to 17. Before we move to verses 12 to 17, anyone has any questions? Any doubts, anything I'd like to say? Okay, we'll move on to verses 12 to 17. Can somebody please read verses 12 to 17 please? Verse 12. And I thank Christ Jesus, our Lord, who has enabled me because he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry, although I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor and an insolent man, but I obtained mercy because I did it ignorantly in unbelief. And the grace of our Lord was exceedingly abundant with faith and love, which are in Christ Jesus. This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners of whom I am chief. However, for this reason I obtained mercy and that in me, first Jesus Christ might show all longsuffering as a pattern to those who are going to believe on him for everlasting life. Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, to God who alone is wise, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen. Till 20 minutes. This charge I commit to you, son Timothy, according to the prophecies previously made concerning you, that by then you may wage the good warfare, having faith and a good conscience, which some having rejected concerning the faith have suffered shipwreck, of whom are I manious and Alexander, whom I delivered to Satan that they may learn not to blaspheme. Amen. Ma'am, you're muted. Yeah, I'm muted to cough in between. Thank you, Rosalind. Okay. So here in this verses, Paul is reflecting on his own life and calling. He says he thanks Jesus Christ, our Lord who has enabled me. So Paul, you know, was entrusted with the gospel. And he says he was entrusted with the gospel and Jesus enabled Paul, you know, to carry on the ministry to carry on the work to preserve and guard the truth in God's word. And Paul is here thanking Jesus for enabling him. Paul was also enabled for this ministry because he was counted faithful for the ministry, right? He was counted faithful for the ministry. Isn't that wonderful that God counts us faithful, you know, and puts us into the ministry. So when, you know, it's such a great privilege actually to think that this great and mighty and awesome God who lives in unapproachable light, who no man has seen or can ever see, this, you know, we can't even comprehend and think about who he is and, you know, all about him so vast. But he looks at us and counts us faithful. And he has put us into ministry, you know, if you look at my own life. I think God, I'm just so many times I've been unfaithful. You know, I have hurt your heart. I have done things that have displeased you at times the way that I live also. But yet you count me faithful, you know. So sometimes when we see challenges in ministry, when we see things are very difficult, challenging, we just want to give up. I think it's important for us to remember. Timothy chapter one was 12. God has counted us faithful and he has put us there. And, you know, he has put you into this ministry. And when he put you into the ministry, doesn't he know that you will go through all of these challenges, all of these hardships, all of these struggles, face all of these giants. Doesn't he know it and isn't he able to help you to overcome those giants to conquer them, you know, through your faith to enable you to, you know, continue to run your race, enable you and strengthen you to do what he has called you, what he has taken hold of you. So so important for us to keep reminding ourselves, you know, first of all, who God is like we saw in the preceding verses and also so important for us to know that God has counted us faithful. I think it just is so powerful. This, this was, you know, just counted me faithful policy counted me faithful and put me into the ministry because Paul knew who he was his previous, you know, his life, how he's persecuted Christ and the things that he has done. So even when you think that you're not capable of doing ministry, you, you know, you don't have the skills expertise that is required of you. But you need to remember, hey, God has put you there in that ministry. And when he's put you there, he's put you there for a reason. You know, he will give you the skills and the expertise he will enable you all you need to do is just stay faithful, stay connected and be a good steward of what he's interested you to. I think that is, that is just so powerful, you know, Paul saying counted me faithful. No, we don't have to be smart to be faithful. You know, we don't have to be talented, super talented or super gifted to be faithful. No faithfulness is faithfulness is something very down to earth. Each of us just can be faithful in the place where God has put us. But it's important that when we really stay faithful, that we just don't stay content where we are. You know, that is another thing. Just say I want to be faithful with what God has given me and do the same thing, you know, day in and day out. No, that is not what God wants us to do. Like the parable of the challenge, you know, when the manager comes back, he says, well done, my good and faithful. So when does he say, well done, my good and faithful servant? Not when the person has gone and taken that one talent and hid it in the ground, but when the person has multiplied that five talents to five more. Okay, so that is what God is looking for us in us. You know, he's perfectly faithful as God, you know, his faithfulness is like a supreme quality of God. And he's also looking for faithfulness in us. And in verse 13, he says, although I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, an insolent man, but I obtained mercy because I did it ignorantly in unbelief. So Paul is going on to say why he's saying that, you know, God has counted him faithful is because in the past, you know, of who he was. But Paul is saying irrespective of my past being a blasphemer, persecutor, an insolent man, you know, he says it does not call disqualify him from serving God. Okay, and he says God's mercy and grace is enough to cover the past and enable him to serve God. Okay, so whatever has been our past times when even when we are in the ministry, even when we are not calling, when we fall, you know, it's important for us to rise up to repent, to ask God for forgiveness and to correct ourselves and to run our race and to live a life that is honoring and pleasing in God's sight and doing what he is interested us with. So, you know, we should never make those past mistakes as an excuse and as look at it as something that, you know, God is unable to use us, but God still uses us when we are ready and when we are available. So with these words Paul, you know, gives Timothy and other reason to remain in Ephesus, right. So he's saying, you know, you might feel that, Timothy, you might feel you're unworthy, incapable of the work that has been entrusted to you, but to these words Paul is just assuring Timothy. And he's saying, hey, if there's anyone who's to be disqualified, who's unworthy, it's me, you know, but when God found me and he found me useful for the ministry, he will also use you. So he's saying, you know, you would be used by God in a mighty way. Timothy just remained in Ephesus. And Paul says, because I did it ignorantly and unbelief, you know. So here Paul is not using ignorance and unbelief as an excuse for the sin that he has committed. And we should not use ignorance and unbelief as an excuse for our sin. Because when we do, we do not receive the mercy, the forgiveness of the grace of God. Because sin and ignorance and unbelief makes one less guilty than the believer who knows the sin knowingly. So he says, yes, I was, you know, I did not know Jesus Christ. So I did it out of ignorance and unbelief, but you know, it does not make me feel less guilty. You know, it makes me feel guilty, but I know that my guilt and my sins have been taken away. And then he says, and the grace of our Lord was exceedingly abundant. You know, Paul, it was not Paul's ignorance that saved him. It's not his unbelief that has saved him, but it is the abundant grace of God. Or it is God's unmerited favor that has saved Paul. Okay, so we know God has lavished efficiency. God has lavished his grace, his goodness, his kindness towards us. And you know, that goodness and that kindness, that favor that God has upon us will enable us to do what he has called us to do. So Paul is saying, no matter what we have done, you know, God can still take us and use us if we come to that place where we honor and respect that grace, that kindness, that love of God towards us. And we, you know, do things that are pleasing and acceptable in his sight. Okay. And then verse 15, you know, Paul basically summarizes his personal experience of the gospel. I'm going to stop here at verse 15 because we just have a minute. Any questions anyone else has? Any questions? Okay. There are no questions. Then we are not going to meet, be meeting to study first Timothy for the next two weeks. We're going to be missing four classes. So next week we have a Christian leaders conference. So we will miss two hours. And the week following that is a holiday. It's a republic day in India. So we won't have classes. So I'm a little worried because I'm going to be missing four classes in a row. But we will just try to, you know, do our best to finish the course. And also we'll be missing again, another Friday that is good Friday in March. So missing two more classes or total of six classes I'll be missing six hours, but we'll make up. Okay. There are no questions. So thank you all for joining class. I hope you received and encouraged by what Paul is writing to Timothy. God bless you all and have a wonderful Friday, rest of Friday and a weekend, a refreshing weekend. See you all next, see you after two weeks. Okay. Bye everyone.