 So let's begin reading together here in 2 Timothy chapter 2, and we'll look at verses 1 through 7. We'll read those and then move into our study. Paul writes, You therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus, and the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses. Commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier. And also, if anyone competes in athletics, he's not crowned, unless he competes according to the rules. The hardworking farmer must be first to partake of the crops. Consider what I say, and may the Lord give you understanding in all things. And so let me give you a backdrop, we'll move into our study after I share a few things to help to contextualize the things that we're seeing here in 2 Timothy chapter 2. At this point in the ministry of Timothy, as a young pastor, he's having very difficult times in ministry. And there are difficulties that he's facing that are bringing significant pressure upon him. When you look at the life of Timothy, you need to remember that prior to his pastor in the church, he had actually been a missionary working alongside of the Apostle Paul. You look into chapter 16 of the book of Acts, and that chapter tells us that he joined with Paul as well as a man named Silas, and he began to do the work of evangelism. Now working with Paul and working with Silas gave him opportunity to begin to see firsthand the cost that is involved in serving the Lord. You see in chapter 15, we see that Luke, who wrote the book of Acts, begins to speak to us concerning a man named John Mark. John Mark was the cousin of a man named Barnabas. And the Apostle Paul and Barnabas were actually ministry teammates. They worked together. Barnabas had been saved before Paul and was actually his naming son of encouragement. He was the one who came along alongside of Paul and helped to disciple him in the first few years of his life. Barnabas was very, very instrumental in helping him. Spoke a good word to those who felt that Paul wasn't genuine in his faith in all. And so they had a good relationship. Well, Barnabas had a cousin by the name of John, also known as Mark. And John Mark had gone with them on a missionary journey. It's recorded in chapter 12 of Acts. And later on, Paul and Barnabas are speaking about going on a second journey to go and see the churches they had ministered to in order to encourage them. And Barnabas wanted to take John, John Mark, with them. But what had happened is John Mark had deserted. He had left them after going through a season with them. And that had settled on Paul in a negative way. And Paul didn't want to take John Mark and Barnabas insisted on taking him. And so there was a division between Paul and Barnabas and Paul went off with Silas and John Mark and Barnabas went off to do ministry together. Well, that was just before we're introduced to Timothy. So Timothy in chapter 16 of Acts is introduced to us and we see him as somebody who goes on ministry trips with the Apostle Paul. So there's no doubt that Timothy is aware of the rift that had occurred between Paul and John Mark and Barnabas. No doubt he's aware of that. So he knows that ministry has certain costs and he knows how serious Paul is about what he does. So then in Acts chapter 16, we're introduced to Timothy and Timothy's with him even as they go to a place called Philippi. So when Paul is there with Silas and Philippi and you read the very famous portion of scripture in Acts chapter 16 you see that they're put in prison and they're beaten. And so right from almost the beginning, Timothy becomes aware that ministry isn't as easy as it looks. And he sees that Paul goes through quite a number of things to be a faithful minister of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Not only is he aware of the physical things that go on in ministry but he's also aware of the problems that churches can have. Eventually what happens with Timothy is he becomes a traveling companion, very faithful to Paul and actually begins to represent him to other churches in order that he can go and mediate sometimes when there are problems. And we see an example of that in a time that he went to the church of Corinth. Corinth was having a difficult time. There are a lot of problems and Paul sends him to represent Paul to the Corinthians. And we read in 1 Corinthians 417, for this reason I have sent Timothy to you who is my beloved and faithful son in the Lord who will remind you of my ways in Christ as I teach everywhere in every church. So he went to Corinth to be of influence on Paul's behalf to help to settle church disputes. And so he saw that there are problems in ministry. When you look in the life of Timothy as his relationship with Paul, you know that Paul loved him deeply. He loved him as a son. He encouraged him often in his walk. He was what Paul would refer to as a genuine son in the faith. And Paul would actually commend Timothy to other people. You see an example of that in the book of Philippians in chapter 2 verses 19 through 22 where Paul said, I trust in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you shortly that I also may be encouraged when I know your state. For I have no one like minded who will sincerely care for your state for all seek their own, not the things which are in Christ Jesus. But you know his proven character that as a son with his father, he served with me in the gospel. And so this is a man that Paul loved deeply. Well, while pastoring in Ephesus, opposition has continued to exist as well as to grow. I remind you that Ephesus was a very pagan city. Opposition to the gospel was very great. And Timothy as a young pastor is undergoing trials and ministry pressures. There's opposition. Not only is there opposition from the outside, but there's also opposition that's growing on the inside of the church. There are false teachers that are bringing false teachings. They're entering the church, infecting members. Members are embracing these doctrines. And so there's problems that are beginning to develop. When you read again in the book of Acts chapter 20, Paul had met with the elders of Ephesus. And when he met with those elders, they more than likely included Timothy. And he had been giving them directions as well as warnings concerning what the future held for the church there in Ephesus. And when you read in Acts 20 verses 29 and 30, he said this, Paul said, I know this, that after mighty parks, your savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. Also from among yourselves, men will rise up, speaking perverse things to draw away the disciples after themselves. So he had said, listen, it's not just the problems that you'll you'll experience from outside people who will come in and infiltrate, but there are going to be people that actually rise up from amongst you leaders who are going to draw people away and bring them to a false doctrine. And that's what's going on. Timothy is experiencing pressure from this. He needs to strengthen the church's organization and he needs to develop leadership. Opposition to his leadership is also mounting. We've seen this in 1st Timothy, how the church considered him too too young to lead properly and they began to reject and question the elders. They thought his qualifications to lead were something that were suspect. All of this contributed to Timothy beginning to lose a bit of confidence in his ability to lead because what it could do when you have to deal with this constantly is it drains you of fire and it can push you towards giving up. It's been said that pastors leave churches not because the whole church turns against them, but pastors will lead leave the church because of a handful who continually are causing problems. And so it's very possible that Timothy is is encountering opposition to the point where he's beginning to lose his fire. That's why Paul would say he needs to stir up the gift of God that had been placed in him by the lane on of his hands. He needed to rekindle the flame that he had of the Holy Spirit and he needed to be reminded of this. Paul had already said to him in chapter one of 2nd Timothy at verse three that he had kept him in prayer constantly in chapter one verse five. He encouraged him by telling him that he was confident of his salvation. And again in verse six, he said, I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the lane on of my hands. You need to walk in the power of the Holy Spirit. You see Paul is encouraging him to remain faithful in ministry and there are two things that he needs to be reminded of. One is he needs to remain strong in the power of God's Spirit. God hasn't given to us a power. God hasn't given to us a spirit of fear but a power love in a sound mind. Paul told him and also in verse 13 of chapter one. He said, hold fast the pattern of sound words which you heard from me. So Timothy, if you're going to be faithful and if you're going to be used by the Lord and anybody here in this room who wants to remain faithful and be used by the Lord. Paul would say the same thing to all of us, stir up the gift of God that is in you. Walk in the power of the Holy Spirit and stay faithful to the word of God and that's what he's telling this young protégé, this young pastor, a son in the faith by the name of Timothy. And what he's doing is he's saying this. He's saying, make use of what God has already provided. God has provided you everything you need, Timothy. He's giving you the word of God and he's given to you of his power through the Spirit. And God has given to you what you need. In 2 Peter 1 3, the Apostle said, his divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. We have it all, we're lacking nothing. In Ephesians 1 verse 3, praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. In Romans 8 37 and all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. God has given to us what we need. We simply need to access it. It's available to us. We need to live in it. Paul didn't write that he needed something more as if he's lacking something. He said, stir up that which you already have in Jesus Christ. And that's why Paul told Timothy to be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. We need to rest in the grace that God has given to us. Remember 2 Corinthians 12 9, how Jesus spoke to Paul and simply said, my grace is sufficient for you. Well, we need to walk in that grace that God has given to us. As we've gone through chapter one, chapter one included various believers who were examples of the faith of Christ. We saw Timothy's grandmother Lois, his mother Eunice. Paul used himself as an example and we had the example of anisophorus. All of these were examples of Christian faith, steadfastness in service. And these are all people that Timothy could use as models of faith as he was serving the Lord. So Paul is writing words of encouragement to Timothy in chapter two. He's encouraging him to remain steadfast in ministry. And in doing so, he gives us insight into what it means to serve the Lord. And so verse one, you therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. Let's begin looking at it this way. One, notice with me how Paul speaks to him. Paul writes to Timothy as a father. As a father would write to a son. Notice how he begins with a strong exhortation, but that strong exhortation is tempered with tenderness. He's saying, be faithful in God's work. And in order to do so, you need to be strong in God's grace. When he speaks to him and says to him, be strong. That word strong means to be undue with strength. It means to be strengthened. It means to receive strength. So faithfulness to God begins with the grace of God because grace permeates our life. When you read your New Testament, the word grace in the original language is the Greek word keras. The word keras is a word that occurs in the Greek text of the New Testament over 170 times. It's a word that signifies the unmerited operation of God in the heart of man, affected through the agency of the Holy Spirit. And for the Christian, grace is the center of our life. Grace is not something we earn. Grace is something we receive because God's grace is given freely. And it's through God's grace, His unmerited favor that our lives are actually transformed. When you look in the Bible, you'll see that grace works in a variety of ways in our lives. For example, we're saved through the grace of God. Ephesians 2.89 says, it's by grace you've been saved through faith and this is not from your sounds. It's a gift of God, not by works, so that no one can boast. We're spiritually gifted by the grace of God. Romans 12.6 says, having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us and we are set apart for ministry by God's grace. Galatians 1.15 Paul said, it pleased God who separated me from my mother's womb and called me by His grace. So grace permeates us. We're saved by grace, gifted by grace, set apart by grace and we're strengthened by grace. So he says in verse one, be strong in the grace that's in Christ Jesus. Timothy, you need internal strength. This internal strength comes by God's grace. So keep on being strong in Christ-centered grace. This grace saves us. This grace gifts us. This grace places us in a place to be serving the Lord. This grace permeates our life. Now Paul had been abandoned by those in Asia. He had been cared for by Onesiferous. So in contrast to those who've been faithless, he's saying remain faithful even as Onesiferous has been. Listen, God has not given you a spirit of fear. God has given to you power and love and a sound mind. Now the strength that I'm speaking of is not the kind of strength that men speak of. This strength when he says be strong is not physical strength. The strength that he's saying is not simply emotional strength. It's a different kind of strength. When Marie and I, my wife and I were about to get married, I went and spoke to the pastor who performed the... I meant the ceremony. His name was Noel, Noel Weiss. He was a completed Jew. He was a messianic believer. And Marie and I loved him very much. And I went to see him and I was speaking to Noel, Pastor Weiss. I was a young man at that time in my early 20s. And I was seated across from him and as we were speaking, I told him, I said, Pastor Weiss, I desire one day to be a pastor. I want to be in ministry. And again, I was a young man and he was an older man. He had to be in his 40s. He was ancient and I was looking at him and he was, you know, to describe Pastor Weiss, he was probably about six feet tall, kind of chunky and all, and not an imposing person physically at all. He wasn't there wearing a muscle t-shirt or anything. He was just kind of a heavy said guy. And as we were speaking, he said something to me. He said, David, if you want to be a pastor, pastors are strong. You know, I'm just out of the military. You know, I was still in good condition. Again, it's a long time ago. And I was looking at him and I'll be honest with you, when he said that to me, when he said pastors have to be strong, as much as I respected and loved the man, I didn't get it. I looked at him and I didn't say anything, but I thought, you don't look so strong. He didn't. He looked kind of like, hmm, where's the Twinkies? You know, he's, you know, he's just so, so I did not get it. But now I do. He wasn't talking about physical strength. He wasn't even speaking about simple emotional strength. Those things are important, I guess. What he was speaking about was spiritual strength. He was speaking about strong and grace. He was speaking about that internal strength that you have that keeps you going when others would give up. He's talking about that strength that comes to the power of the Holy Spirit and a confidence in the word of God and awareness of your call and the mightiness of God to fulfill his plan through your life. That's what he was talking about. But when he's speaking to me as a young man, I'm only thinking on the carnal physical level. So I'm looking at this man and I say to myself, he doesn't look that strong to me. Now he's speaking about a strength that comes from being connected to the Lord. And that's something that Jeremiah says in chapter 9 verses 23 and 24. When Jeremiah writes, this is what the Lord says, let not the wise man boast in his wisdom or the strong man boast of his strength or the rich man boast of his riches but let him who boast about this that he understands and knows me that I am the Lord who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth. For in these I delight, declares the Lord. You know, you don't, you don't rest, you don't boast in your strength, your money. You don't boast in your intellectual pursuits. You don't boast in any of that. What you boast in is your relationship with God. And Paul is simply saying here, Timothy, you need to be strong in the grace of Christ. He's not saying Timothy, man up. Stop being such a coward. He is saying Timothy be inwardly strong by grace because it's grace that enables you to obey God. In Ephesians 3 16, Paul prayed that God would grant them according to the riches of his glory to be strengthened with might through his grace or his spirit rather in the inner man. You need an internal strength. You need a strength that comes by the grace of God. And so you need to maintain this relationship with the Lord. So Timothy, it was grace that, that strengthened unasipharists to serve faithfully and it's God's grace that will continue to strengthen you that you might be able to do the same. So he's saying Timothy, maintain your closeness to Christ. Hold fast to Jesus. Hold him as tightly as you can. Hold tightly and don't let go. When my daughter Corinne was a little girl, less than a few years old, five years old, we wanted her to learn how to swim. So we took her to get swim instructions, swimming lessons. She didn't like the water at that time. And so I remember Maria and I, my wife and I taking our little girl and taking her to a pool and there was a guy who was supposed to train her how to swim. And so she didn't want to go in the water. And so I kind of led her to the lip of the pool and he reached his arms out for her. Again, she's four or five years old and she doesn't want to go. So he eventually, he puts her in the water and that little girl jumped on him. She wrapped around him. Her arms are around his neck and he couldn't peel her off for anything. And she's yelling, no, no, no. And he's looking at me. Can you help me? She's going to kill me. I had to peel her off of this guy and I've never forgotten that because in a sense, I'm supposed to be hanging on for dear life to Jesus. I'm supposed to cling to Him in His grace and His strength and His majesty. I'm supposed to hold fast to Him and not let go. And so if you want to be used by the Lord whole fast, tightly to the Lord Jesus Christ. In John 15 verse five, Jesus said, if a man abides in me and I and him, he will bear much fruit for without me, you can do nothing. And so determined to live in loving obedience to him by grace. And so he's saying, be strong. He moves on in verse two and he says, the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. Now, as you serve through the grace of God, Timothy, continue equipping others to do the same. You are intended by God to continue giving sound words to believers. This will ensure that the message of the gospel continues going forth over time. Remember that the church was intended to continue into the future beyond the life of the apostle Paul. Because that's true, there is a need for future leaders to be developed. So what is it? What is it that should be preserved? Notice again in verse two, the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these. What things are these that he's speaking concerning? What is it that needs to be preserved? It would be his teachings. Teachings that Paul had delivered to Timothy concerning Christ. Somebody wrote, the things were no doubt the sum of Paul's teachings, the general conception of Pauline theology, which Timothy, so long the apostles intimate and confidential friend and disciple was to give out to another generation of believers. Give out my teachings. Give out the things that you have learned. Be faithful as you do so. Communicate what you have learned from me. Timothy, you are to be a disciple making teacher and you are to commit God's word to faithful men. Again, notice that Paul instructs him to communicate what he had heard from him. The things that you've heard from me among many witnesses. Timothy had learned his doctrine through the teaching of the apostle Paul. We need to remember that Paul didn't invent the gospel, but he did own it. It was something that he held fast to on a personal level. Paul knew that he had been entrusted with the word of God and Paul held fast to it. What he did is what he had received he gave to others. So here's something for you. If you want to be used by the Lord, hold fast in a personal way to the word of God. I've heard people who have spoken on behalf of the Lord who don't really know much about him. They're good at speaking about what others have written. They're able to speak concerning somebody else's testimony. But it's not like it's coming from a well of experience that they themselves possess. It's because what they're giving is something that they've heard somebody else say. And they say things like, well, you know I heard so and so say. So they quote a lot of people, but they don't have personal knowledge themselves. They're very good and eloquent in terms of communicating and they speak with force and they speak with confidence. But in reality, they haven't experienced much of the things that they're telling me that I'm supposed to do. So if you're going to have a ministry that really has an impact, if you're going to have a ministry that really reaches people, Timothy, what you need is to be strong in the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ yourself and you need to commit these things to faithful men. The things that I have taught you need to be handed to other people. And these are things that Timothy, you should know yourself by experience so that you can give them not just lessons from Paul, but lessons of life. You can speak concerning how you know how faithful God is and thus you'll be able to communicate this to others. You'll be able to communicate it to others into the future. You see, Paul had such an experience with the gospel that he could speak of it as being his gospel. In verse 8, you see that. He says, according to my gospel, he's not saying I invented the gospel and he's not saying the gospel originated with him. He knows that the gospel originated with God. He writes about that in Galatians 1 in verses 11 and 12. He said, I make known to your brethren that the gospel which was preached by me is not according to man. For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it. But it came through the revelation of Jesus Christ. Paul knew that he didn't invent this message called the gospel. He received it from the Lord. So when he says our gospel, he's making it clear it's not of human origin. He's making it clear that the gospel is God's message of grace made available through faith in Christ. So referring to the gospel as our gospel, he's saying, I have been one who has partaken in its blessings. I was a sinner, the chief of sinners. And I've discovered how good God is. And when you experience how good God is, you can speak from that perspective. You can tell people, I was once blind and now I see. I was lost and now I'm found. I was addicted, but I've been set free by the power of the Lord Jesus Christ. I was violent, but God has given me a heart of peace. I was unfaithful, but God has given me love for my wife and my children. God has done a work and you're speaking from personal experience. You're not pointing to somebody else. You're saying this is what God has done for me. Let me tell you what God has done for me. And it's not my gospel in a message I originated. It's the gospel that I received. It's a gospel that dwells within me. It has found root in my life and changed my behavior. And that's what makes you a good communicator of the gospel. There are many people who speak of the gospel as if it's a message others have partaken in. You need to speak as the one who has partaken in that message. He has taken me a blind man and given me sight. That's how it works. And that's where the confidence comes from and that's what he's saying here. This gospel is good news to all sinners. And Paul has included himself in sinful humanity. Salvation is received through personal belief in Jesus Christ. The gospel that he preaches has not been changed. It's been given as received. In 1 Thessalonians 2 verse 4, we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel. Even so we speak not as pleasing men, but God who tests our hearts. So this gospel was entrusted to him and handed faithfully to Timothy. And Timothy is to hand the same message to faithful men even as Paul himself had done. Make sure you accurately transmit what I have given to you Paul is saying, what I have personally taught you, embrace personally, and give to faithful men who will also embrace it personally. God has always required his task to be performed by faithful people. In 1 Corinthians 4-2, Paul said it is required in stewards that a man be found faithful. So these are the things that Timothy had heard from Paul. Notice among many witnesses. Timothy had heard Paul preach and Timothy had heard him teach on many occasions and he had seen him as he did this in front of many listeners. Think of it for a moment. Timothy had seen Paul when Paul would preach to Gentiles and he saw the way that he would present the gospel and he learned by watching. Timothy had seen Paul when he spoke to Jewish people and he saw how Paul would speak to the Jewish listener. He had seen him when he spoke to the rich, many of whom didn't see any need for anything because they were rich. And he saw him when he spoke to the poor knowing that they had nothing. He watched them as Paul would speak to the rabbis, the learned ones and he'd debate with them and he watched the way that he did this and he also had the joy of watching Paul speak to those who had no faith at all and were untaught. He had heard how Paul taught and he had learned his teachings in various ways. And with this in mind, Timothy is now to commit Paul's teachings to other faithful men. I want you to see this. He is not to commit these things to simply professing believers. Notice that he is to commit these things to faithful men. He's to entrust these words to men who are spiritually mature believers. These are men who are to be loyal. These are men who are trustworthy. These are men of good reputations. Men who are filled with the Spirit of God. Men who are filled with wisdom. These are men to be filled with faith. Men of integrity. These are men of good works. And all of these qualities are to be present if they're going to be able to teach others also. They are to possess knowledge and they have to have the ability to communicate with others. But they're not simply to be able to communicate. They need to be anointed. They need to be people filled with the Spirit and called to do that work. He's to entrust these words to them. These are men that God can use. Somebody said the great Christian truths were never allowed to be handled recklessly. His dying charge directed his beloved disciple to make careful provision for the choice and training of teachers in the congregation. Men who are capable as well as willing, gifted as well as zealous should be the men that he chose to entrust the preaching and teaching to. You see the preaching of the gospel is to continue into the future for it to continue effectively. Faithful men need to be entrusted with its truths. There are false teachers invading the church so there needs to be faithful men who stand up and present the gospel. They need to understand the message of salvation and they need to give that message as it is. And so that's what he's saying to him. He goes on in verse three and he says, You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier. Let me give you a few things about that. Timothy. Timothy is under so much opposition and discouragement. Timothy, you can get discouraged. But remember what it cost me. Remember the sufferings that I have endured. By the way, Timothy, remember that right now as I write to you, I'm awaiting the loss of my life because this is the last letter that Paul wrote. Second Timothy is his last letter. I'm about to lose my head. So if you want to think in terms of cost of presenting the gospel and remaining faithful, all you need to do is think of me, Paul could say. All you need to do is think of what I've gone through and therefore you need to understand that you need to endure hardship as a good soldier of the Lord Jesus Christ. So share with me in the sufferings of the gospel according to the power of God. I'm suffering. I'm suffering for the gospel even as I write this. And so I'm encouraging you, Timothy. You need to remain faithful. You need to stay fast in all of this. Somebody once said, every pastor has scars on his arms. I didn't realize what that meant at one time. I do now. You know, the thing is, is every pastor will stand up against wolves. The wolves enter in and the pastor will stand up and the pastor will confront and the pastor will say, you're not going to do this. You're not going to lead these sheep astray. You're not going to enter in and do that. And they're attacked past. All pastors are attacked. Wolves do attack. And if you look closely at pastor's arms, she can almost see the scars that they have because of the defense for the gospel and for the sheep. Some don't appreciate that. Some don't understand that. But it's a fact. It's a fact. There are wolves that enter in who attempt to steal the hearts of the sheep. But there are also sheep that begin to drop people after themselves. It's been said, sheep are not dangerous, but they do have teeth. And that's true. And I've been bitten up by more than one sheep. A tough little sheep. They'll gum you to death if they can. They're just... But you would be surprised. You would, perhaps you wouldn't be. Maybe you've been a believer for a long time. When I was at first surprised, I expected, and I still do, I expect wolves to attack. I expect that because they do. Wolves attack. You expect it. You're ready for it. That's a fact. What surprised me in the early days was the sheep. Because the sheep, well, sometimes they can be a little mean. Little mean spirited. And sometimes mean they attack. And sometimes they say things that are so cruel and so penetrating that it causes you to wonder, are they even saved? Where's their love? Where's their concern? Where's their grace? Over the years, and I'm not going to make this a pity party. Forgive me if it sounds that way. I'm not. But anyway, no, I'm not going to do that. But if you're not called to the ministry, the ministry will consume you. It will. It will overwhelm you. You're the first person that they praise and the first person that they curse. That's just a fact. Not only will they attack you on a personal level from the things that you wear, how you speak, what you look like. Whether you have long hair, short hair, whether you have piercings or tattoos, there will be something they find to criticize you for, especially if they're convicted. I was given a message many years ago now, over 30 years ago, and I had a friend of mine who worked at a particular warehouse that housed shoes, tennis shoes. And they gave him a pair of tennis shoes, and he gave them to me. They were new shoes. They were nice. But they were a gift he gave to me. He said, look at these. He said, they give us shoes every once in a while, and I want to give you these. And he gave me a pair of shoes, and I was wearing them, and I was teaching on a Wednesday night. This is many years ago now. And as I was sharing, I was speaking to parents, and I said, listen, parents, be careful that you don't go out and buy very expensive tennis shoes for your children, especially when they're small. I mean, I had four kids myself, and they're growing up. They outgrow their shoes. You buy them a pair of shoes at the beginning of the year, and within the year, if they continue growing, they're going to outgrow their shoes. So you spend a lot of money on a pair of shoes that you're going to throw away. So just get things that they can wear. It was just advice. It wasn't condemnation. I was just encouraging them. I said, it's just advice for you just to be aware, because sometimes we spend money on things we don't need to. So be wise in the way that you spend. And it was out of the passage I was looking at. I was looking for a basic application. That made sense to me, and it was true. Immediately afterwards, as I'm walking out, a woman I've never seen before, I haven't seen since, walks up to me and she says, I see you have nice shoes, and walks out. So I took them off and threw at her. Take that. Take that. They're tennis shoes. I ran after her. No, they'll do that. I mean, they get hit and they bark and they bite. That's just a fact. And some people get mad at the smallest things, and then what they'll do is they'll, they'll say things that are critical. They find things about you. They think about your wife. They'll find things about your children, and on and on it goes. And you can get discouraged over this and all. So be aware. These things happen. I've told people before, if you go into ministry, it is something that if you're not called, it will consume you. There's no doubt about it. You have to be called by God. I've been ministering a long time. I began ministry in 1973. I've been at it a long time. I gave a Bible study in my home back in the early 80s, and a woman walks up to me in my house after the study. And I'm standing by the dining room table when she walks up to me and she looks at me and she says, I hate you. And I said, baby, don't tell that. Don't tell me that in front of everybody. It was my wife. No, I said, no, this woman approaches me and she says, I hate you. And I said, oh, okay. I wonder what in the study caused you to come to that conclusion. She says, I hate you, but I don't know why. I said, oh, I guess I'm supposed to help her to discover that. So I said, really? She says, yeah, she goes up. It may be because I hate authority and you represent authority. And that may be why I hate you. And I said, okay. But it may be because I'm sexually attracted to you. And I said, I think you hate authority. I did. And I called mama over mama. Get this bad woman. No, I mean, I am telling you, you know, when people are wandering out, getting a coffee, visiting with friends, you would be surprised at how people can be. You have to be ready for that. This is a surprise to every minister when they first enter in. That people can be like that. Endure affliction. Endure persecution. Endure it. Not just from the world, but be aware of the fact that it comes also from within. Don't shrink back. Be willing to suffer hardship for the gospel. Remember, Timothy, you're a soldier. Battles bring casualties. So be willing to endure whatever you must go through. Suffer hardship. You are a soldier of Jesus Christ. Keep that in mind. Jesus endured much suffering. It's part of your call to also endure hardship. Jesus knew hunger. He knew thirst. He knew sleepless nights. Jesus knew pain and rejection. Jesus knew sorrow. And so will you. Notice how he says in verse 4, No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life. That he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier. Soldiers on active duty are to be concerned with military affairs. On the battlefield, they are not to be concerned with the entanglements of regular life. Their mind is to be on the battle that they're engaged in. Their mind should be on doing proper service. You see, ultimately, the soldier has only one obligation and that's to satisfy the officer who enlisted him. Those who devote themselves to their military work with the respect of the commander. And if you serve the Lord with a desire to hear him say to you, well done, my good and faithful servant, that's the right attitude. So today, we need to remember that we are to serve the Lord in that fashion. Tozer once said, he's one of my favorite writers, A.W. Tozer. He said a whole new generation of Christians has come up believing that it is possible to accept Christ without forsaking the world. And that's true. For the Christian, one holy passion must consume them and that should be to satisfy the Lord. In 1 Corinthians 10,31, Paul said, whether you eat or drink, whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. So he speaks of a soldier. In verse 5, he speaks of an athlete. He said, if anyone competes in athletics, he's not crowned unless he competes according to the rules. Timothy, if you will be faithful to the end, you need to be disciplined. So discipline yourself in order that you may win the prize. During that time, interestingly enough, we're going through Olympic season now, Winter Olympics and all. During that time, 2000 years ago, the Greeks had two athletic games. One was the Olympics. The other was called the Ithbian Games. Corinth hosted the Ithbian Games. Paul actually makes mention of this when he writes in 1 Corinthians 9, 24 and 25, when he says, do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives a prize? He goes on to say, run in such a way that you may obtain it. And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. They do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown. Even the Olympic athletes who are right now competing for that gold medal should the Lord Terry in 40 years pass and they gain the weight that they're going to gain over time and they're no longer as strong and fit and beautiful as they were when they won that. They may be in their den sitting there with a little pot valley and somebody comes over and says, you were a gold medalist and they open up their little treasure chest if you will, their vault that they have their medals and they pull it out over 40 years and there's this medal. It's already corrupting. Well, the bottom line is those things do corrupt during the time of the the writing they would actually win a wreath and so a wreath would just wilt and fade away quickly but we we are actually competing for a crown that doesn't perish and he's saying, keep your mind on the things that matter keep your mind on serving the Lord for eternal rewards because again, perishable crowns crowns will deteriorate but God's reward never fades and then finally, he speaks in verse 6 the hardworking farmer must be first of our take of the crops. Timothy, Timothy, remember that ministry is hard work toil energetically. Laziness has no part of a believer's life. The farmer is a hard worker. I remember the first week that I came on to staff in ministry. The first week I'll always remember it was so exciting to be freed up to serve the Lord full time and I remember putting in about 80 hours that week and loving every minute of it. In my secular job, I didn't like to work overtime but in my ministry there was no such thing. It was just serving the Lord. It was so enjoyable because that's what I was called to do. And Timothy, you need to understand that too. You don't punch a clock. Timothy, you're on 24-7. And you need to remember that the farmer is the first partake because you can only give away what you first have had. You can be supported, Timothy, but don't take advantage of people. And what you reap in your labors, remember this, it's not always for yourself. You see, when a farmer would plant a crop, it would be not just for the farmer, it would be for his wife, his children, and it would also be a way to produce for others. It's not just for you. You take of it so that you can give of it. And remember that always. Work hard, but have the attitude to give to others. Partake, but make sure you're giving what you have yourself. Again, don't give out what you don't possess. Give what you know. And yes, there are lessons you may learn at the beginning of your walk with the Lord that only over time grow in their depth. I remember hearing of a man and his wife. The man was a pastor of many years' experience. His wife and he were on their way to a conference where this man was going to speak. There was a small town. They stopped and went to church on Sunday, heard a great message and as they were leaving, they were in the car driving away when the wife turns and says to her husband, that man is a great preacher. And the pastor of many years' experience said to his wife, no, he's a good communicator, but he's not a great pastor. And she says, why do you say that? And he says to his wife, he hasn't suffered. He was too young to have experienced many things. Many years later he came back. The young man was still in that church, still preaching, had gone through many things and they got in the car and they were driving away and the husband turns and looks to the wife and he says, now he's a good pastor. Now he's a great preacher. You give what you experience. You know God is good and you know God is powerful. You know God is gracious because that's how you got saved. And then you walk with him five years and you learn some things about that. Then you walk with him 10 years and you learn more about that. Then you walk with him 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45 years and on and you know your God. You know. Somebody asked me, what is the greatest lesson you've learned over time? And I said this, this is the greatest lesson. It all works out in the end. God's in control. That's what I've learned. That's what I've learned. I have had like you many sleepless nights. I have had times on my face in my bedroom crying like my heart was going to break. I have been there. I have been there. So have you. Weeping over pain. Weeping over loss. Weeping for things that I can't recover. Weeping for a child not doing well. Weeping for the response of people who should have known better attacking me and my family in our lowest moments. I've been there. I've been on my face many times losing friends, losing dad, losing my mom. I've been there. I've heard. So have you. I have wondered, God, where are you? Do you not hear me? Don't you hear me? God, you know me. You know me. You know what would break my heart if you let it happen. Why? And the Lord says it all works out for good, my son. I'm in control. I will make you into the man. You asked me to make you in. And remember Jesus is the wounded healer. He was wounded and you will be too. But guess what? Weeping. Weeping indoors for a night but joy comes in the morning. You'll see it. You'll see it. God is good. Timothy, if you are going to be a man of God, remember you're a soldier. Remember you're an athlete and remember you're a hard working farmer partake in the fruit. Give it away and you will be a man of God. Consider what I'm saying to you. Listen deeply because it matters.