Let's look to the Lord in prayer as we begin. Heavenly Father, we praise thee for your blessings to us. Thank you for watching over us day by day. We thank you for your faithfulness, your hand in our lives. We pray that you would direct our Sunday school hour. We pray that you would guide us as we go through the scripture, help us to have an understanding of it, help us to make application and to be able to Make things practical in our own lives through your word through your power We pray for those who will be traveling other directions as going to today in this week and bless them with safety We pray we thank you for your kindness to us in Jesus name. Amen Okay, we are in 2nd Timothy and chapter 3 2nd Timothy chapter 3 and And we're drawing close to the end of our Timothy series here. And we just barely, I'm sorry, chapter four, 2 Timothy chapter four. We just started into chapter four actually. We got through verse one and then started in verse two. Verse one tells us, I charge thee therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom. And last week, we were talking about all the different ways that the word charge was used and so forth. But in this case, we're talking about he was admonishing them, urging them, as it were, in God's presence. And so this particular verse speaks of the fact that God will judge the quick and the dead, the living and the dead at His appearing, Jesus Christ and His kingdom. And then as we just barely started into verse number two, and verse number two, it tells us, preach the word, be instant, in season, out of season, reprove, Rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. So he's encouraging Timothy to preach the word, the scripture, and of course we have the completed word of God today, and it's important to make it part of our lives, our doctrine, how we conduct ourselves. We said that the phrase to be instant suggests to stand by at his post. or embrace every opportunity of making known the gospel of Jesus Christ. And then we talked a little bit about in season, or in good time or opportunity, when it can be done, whether in perhaps in season and more convenient time, as it were, without any obstructions. But there are times when there is obstructions and those who would oppose the gospel of Jesus Christ be instant in season and out of season when there are hindrances that come our way or harassments. And so we need to make the gospel our object of living and so forth. And then this little quote, a man who is greatly intent on an object We'll seek every opportunity to promote it. So if we think something is important, we will make it our cause, our purpose. And there might be something that means a lot to you. And you think of the various things in life. And sometimes, perhaps things of this world at times maybe mean too much to us and so forth. And we can get wrapped up in various things. And, you know, we know that... certain activities or exercise or sports, things are okay in and of themselves. If they become an obsession, we need to be careful of those things. But in any case, the gospel should be of utmost importance to us in telling others about Christ. And then a part of that, preaching of the gospel. In the process of preaching the word, part of that is to reprove, as he encourages Timothy to do so. To reprove suggests bringing to light or pointing out something. And there may be times that you have to bring things to light to your children, as it were. so to speak, I guess that's putting it in a little mild sense, perhaps, are things to be pointed out to them to reprove. And then secondly, to rebuke, perhaps a little bit stronger intonation in that word, a judgment in terms of what is wrong and pointing out wrong. Fault with evil, pointing out evil things. And, of course, if you step into the political realm, there are many issues out there that we as believers would see as activities that are against the scripture, such as the gay rights movement and so forth. And we think about some of the issues that came across in the political scene, whether a business had a right to not to make a cake for a gay couple getting married. And those kind of issues were brought to light over the last year. And of course, there's much conflict and controversy in our country in those kind of issues. But the concept of rebuking, so biblically, implying the fact that we need to point out evil at times as a fault of evil to deal with and needs to be explained and dealt with. And I think we need to be careful that we're not trying to be belligerent with people and our attitude and so forth as we would seek to promote what we believe. And so we need to have the right spirit about us as we would seek to reprove and to rebuke. And then exhort with all long-suffering and doctrine. To exhort, to call, suggest to call to one side or to summons, to appeal to something. So you're encouraging, you might say pointing out a particular direction. to exhort all long-suffering. In other words, a patient, persevering spirit is the kind of spirit and attitude that we need to have toward others as we would bring forth doctrinal teaching in terms of the scripture. Any comment that you have in verse number two? Preach the word. Any thoughts regarding that particular verse before we go on to the next one? Everybody been eating turkey for three days and you feel sleepy? That's to make sure all those leftovers are taken care of. All right, let's go on to verse number three. In verse three it says, for the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but after their own lusts shall heap to themselves, teachers having itching ears. For the time will come. So we're talking about, I mean, all the way back into chapter three in verse one. Verse one said, in this know also that in the last days perilous times shall come. And so there was descriptions that we went over and so forth. So in verse 3 of chapter 4, for the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine. And sound doctrine, talking about a healthy doctrine, a doctrine that is proper or right in accordance with the word of God. And you know, we find that we live in a society today that people want to take perhaps part of the Bible and apply it to their lives. And if things get a little bit, if it touches on their toes or steps on their toes too much, you know, maybe Let's not utilize that part of the Bible. It kind of reminds me of this little cartoon. I don't know if you can quite read it, but it's, the store is, this guy's coming into the store to buy a Bible, into the Bibles R Us store, and his request is, can I get a customized Bible? geared specifically for the way I want to live. Isn't that the way, so to speak? I need a Bible that has some changes in it, because I want to live such and such a way, and I want to be justified in the things that I do. And it's kind of a little bit of irony there, but it's kind of what sometimes can be done as human beings. We want to be able to justify our actions And because, you know, this feels right in my own mind and heart, so therefore it's okay. And so, you know, the means justify, the end justifies the means and so forth, and the spirit and attitude of life that we have in our society today. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but after their own lusts, okay, according to their own carnal desires, as it were. and want to have teachers that would appeal to what their own thinking, to heap to themselves teachers having itching ears. Now, it's not the teachers that have the itching ears. The word heap suggests to accumulate toward, and itching suggests to rub or scratch or tickle ears to feel an itching for something pleasing or gratifying. Instruction that would soothe their restless and uneasy desires or to gratify them. You know, it kind of makes me feel good. So trying to get to themselves teachers that, you know, perhaps would justify their sins. Saying, oh, this is okay if you do such and such. Ignoring the sound doctrine of the scripture. And then this quote, the deeper in darkness, the more gross the error, the more prevalent the wickedness of men. So we see a society today that does such and such. You know, I want to hear certain things. I want the teachers to say it's okay to do this, justifying their actions. Do we see that, any other areas in more specific sense, do you see that in society today? Anybody have any illustrations? Haping to yourselves, teachers having itching ears. So what are some teaching concepts that are out there that would justify sin? I was kind of thinking, as we're drawing this quarter to the end, so to speak, this Bible school quarter, I was thinking, hmm, should we have a nice fun quiz at the end? Would that be fun? How many like quizzes? Some of you endure. Some of you are in the Bible Institute program and so forth. I know you have tests. Do you have quizzes too? No? No quizzes. Alright. Now we see that there is a segment of our society that would like to candy coat sin, so to speak, in terms of things being all right. And I can remember, I remember talking to a lady that she professed to know Christ as their Savior, and however, she was a lesbian. And she had herself convinced that biblically that that was okay to be a lesbian. And so I had the, quote, opportunity to speak with her. But anyways, any thoughts as we go on to the next verse? So we see the justifying of man's heart according to the way that they want to live. And so what happens is people put their own heart, their own attitude, their own mind above what the scripture says, my feelings. And that's kind of like the whole mood of our society overall in a general sense. You know, if it feels good, do it. It must be okay. It feels okay. I don't feel guilty about such and such an action and so forth, so I'm going to do this. Verse number four, and they shall turn away their ears from the truth and shall be turned unto fables. And we talked about this concept a little bit. Let's look back at one particular verse in 1 Timothy. It kind of alludes to something similar. And 1 Timothy in chapter one, And verse four, it says, neither give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which minister questions, but rather than godly edifying, which is in faith, so do. So it uses the phrase, neither give heed to fables and endless genealogies. And so we have, again, a warning in 2 Timothy chapter four concerning the fables. speaking of things that are fiction or unfounded stories, as it were. And there were various stories perhaps passed down from generation to generation in the Jewish culture, as well as their perhaps over-emphasis upon genealogies and so forth. getting stuck on little tiny details as it were. So we see the warning concerning the fables, and she'll be turned in fables, turn away their ears from the truth. So instead of believing that the basic scripture and truth, their ears are turned onto fables. And then this thought is kind of kind of what some people do. His comment here is, OK, go ahead. I'm ready. And he's got his ears blocked, is the concept. Say what you want from the scripture. I'm just not going to listen or take it in anyway. I have my own mind. my own mind and heart on the particular issue. And you know, when people, when two people get into an argument, and oftentimes in that arguing process, there's no intent to hear the other side of the story. You know, they're just so steeped on their side of the story, and of course, you know, we do that too, in terms of being convinced of what we think in our heart concerning a certain issue. And so sometimes we do more talking than listening. And of course, that could step into the husband-wife relationship and so on and so forth. But we won't go there. We won't go there this morning. All right. And let's see, in verse number Five, it says, watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry. It says to watch thou. And the concept of watching suggests a type of vigilance. It kind of reminds me of 1 Peter 5, 7. Does anybody know what that says? 1 Peter 5, 7. What is it? Okay, maybe I have the wrong verse, but I think you're actually right. Be sober, be vigilant, for your adversary the devil walketh about like a lion, seeking whom he may devour. So we're talking about vigilance. Vigilant being wide awake, as a soldier perhaps is watching or guarding, and so there needs to be vigilance in protection, so to speak, and being wide awake concerning what we need to do. And so watching in all things, and then enduring afflictions, enduring afflictions or hardships. And of course, Paul had a lot of... hardships, physical challenges and so forth, the enemy attacking, being stoned, left for dead, et cetera. But it seems that in terms of afflictions in today's culture and society, or at least American culture, that we're so turned away by the minor, minor little things. You know, I can't go to church today. You know, I have this little headache coming on and so forth. It kind of reminds me of this particular lady here. You probably can't read it too well, but here's a lady. She's sitting in the doctor's office, and she's crying, and she has this problem. And it says, sorry, Mrs. Jones, your pet rock has a bad case of the hiccups. And then she's bawling because her pet rock has the hiccups. It's kind of a little sarcastic way to put it, that sometimes, you know, little things, you know, might feel deeply afflicted over something very small. Does anybody remember the craze of the pet rocks? OK, some of you. Now, here's the real question for you. How many had a pet rock? Either nobody wants to admit it or nobody had one. No, I didn't have a pet rock, but I did know people at the time that had a pet rock during the pet rock craze. And anyways, you didn't think I was going to bring that up this morning, I know. But the point is that sometimes we get so wrapped up in our little problems, so to speak, and we kind of make them bigger, bigger than they actually are. And, you know, so to speak, it seems like as we stare at our problems, we're just holding them in front of our face, and it makes them look so big. We need to, we might say, put them aside, as it were, that we were not concentrating on our own little afflictions. And so we see, it says, watch thou in all things endure afflictions. So big, small. In other words, don't allow the afflictions to hinder our ministry for the Lord, is the concept. Don't allow the little things. And sometimes in a local church setting, people will perhaps have somebody say some little thing about them, and they'll get offended, and, well, I'm not gonna teach Sunday school anymore because such and such a person said this about me. What I often think is ironic is that Sometimes in the workplace, people go in and, you know, let's say you work in a factory, you go to the factory and, you know, Joe at the workbench next to you or something, you know, says something, you know, about you, and the guy on the other side says about you and so forth. they're talking about you, you know, and you go home and you just pass it off and then you go into the local church and some little, some person says one little tiny thing and also, you know, the fur comes up upon us, you know, so to speak, the fur on our back, get easily offended in a little, in a local church setting. That's the ironic thing, but endure inflictions. And then telling Timothy, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry. The evangelist, and so the evangelist, the job of seeking forth to bring the glad tidings to the word, the evangel, the good news. We have a ministry of bringing the good news to others. Make full proof of thy ministry, to give full proof or to furnish full evidence of what is the design of the Christian ministry and what it is adapted to accomplish. And so in other words, a faithful performance of your duties as a minister of the gospel, make full proof of thy ministry. And then Paul kind of has interesting verse in verse number six. And it kind of draws your eyes to or attention to. And it says, for I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. Now, can you imagine, here's receiving this letter from Paul. And he's reading along, and he comes to this verse. And it's like, oh, I'm now ready to be offered. And I'm sure thinking Timothy must have had some things going through his mind, like, whoa. Is Paul leaving us? I am now ready to be offered, talking about the end of his life in ministry, ready to die, and having a willingness to part, and so Paul, perhaps, had a realization that he's coming to a close of his life. Time of my departure is at hand. The word departure is sometimes used in the language, used to describe the unloosening or untying of a ship ready to go for departure as the ship is loosed from being tied to the anchor or dock, as it were, and going out to sea, spreading the sails. And so as Paul was, you might say, spreading his sails on the broad ocean of eternity, ready to step away, as it were. So it's kind of an interesting way to phrase that. And, you know, perhaps you've had a loved one as they stepped out of this life and as they are ready to go off into eternity. And, you know, as we get older, we think about just going to heaven and so forth. It kind of changes our view of what we're doing right now or things upon the earth, changes perspective. as we get older. You know, when you're a teenager, you don't think so often about, you know, in a time to pass away and so forth. You think about all the things that you're going to do and, you know, the excitement of life and what direction you're going to take. But, you know, I say, when you get to be my age, you know, things, yeah, you start thinking about those kind of things. And, you know, the time of passing, you know, you never know. how long that we have upon this earth. So it changes our entire perspective of things. And then we see that Paul in verse number seven makes this comment. I have fought a good fight. I have finished my course. I have kept the faith. And there are times in the scripture that the Christian life is compared to a warfare. Anybody think of any verses that would remind you of that? Christian life is a warfare. Anybody, any verses come to mind? What about warfare, spiritual warfare? Don't everybody answer at once now. Okay, put on the whole armor of God. All right, I heard somebody else was at the same passage you were referring to. Okay, good. All right, the whole armor of God. And talking about wrestling not against flesh and blood, against principalities and powers, rulers of the darkness and so forth. So there is a battle, a spiritual battle going on. I fought a good fight. I have finished my course. I have kept the faith. And, you know, we think about, The race, so sometimes compared to a race, finishing the course, the fight, the course, the battle, and then as the race is run. And of course, we think of the Grecian games and so forth, the races that take place. Of course, today we have the Olympics and so forth. As a race that is run, so we need to maintain, or he maintained a life of faithfulness. He finished his course, he's kept the faith. He didn't swerve from preaching the gospel. Continued to preach the truth up until the end was his call, his commission, his life, his purpose. And so we need to have that kind of spirit concerning the gospel of Jesus Christ and seeing others saved. And then in verse number eight, we see that it says, henceforth there is laid up for me, up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge shall give me at that day. And not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing. So henceforth, in other words, what remains, alas to the rest, because of the fact that he kept the faith and kept up the fight, there's laid up for him a crown of righteousness. And so this crown given by the Lord, the righteous judge shall give me at that day, and not to me only, but all them that love his appearing." Now, when we think about the appearing of the Lord Jesus Christ, you know, is it, how do we view it? Is it like, ooh, I don't know if I'm ready to meet him yet, or so forth, I have to get my life in order, or is it the fact that we love his appearing or looking forward to, I want to see my Lord. I want him to say, well done. I would desire that in my heart. I want to seek to be faithful in my life, ministry, and what I am doing, and so forth. All those that love his appearing. And so this particular crown is a crown that is won in the cause of righteousness in getting forth the gospel. And of course, the Lord Jesus Christ described as the righteous judge. Do we love his appearing when he should come again? Instead of hiding, whoops, you know, kind of like the little kid. Do you remember when you were a kid and you did something wrong and you, maybe hidden under the bed. Anybody do that? A little wrong activity. And I can remember when I, my friend and I accidentally started the Woodthorn fire and started a forest fire. We thought we, well it was fall and it was dry and And we wanted to start a little fire in the woods, and we heaped up a big pile of leaves. Wow, look at this. This is great. But we didn't think about separating the pile of leaves from the rest of the woods. And so we lit the fire. Somehow the wind came up and it was windy, dry, autumn day, and the fire was spreading like crazy. So I ran into the backyard to go get some pieces of metal my father had back there that he used to put on his brush fires. So I tried to put that on it. That didn't help. The fire was just going wild. And so, you know, we knew we were in trouble, and we knew we couldn't stop it. So what did we do? We climbed up into a pine tree and bawled our eyes out, but, you know, just started crying. And then I went home, and, Mom, Mom, I just feel so sick. I just feel so sick. And then I just went into my room and kind of laid down. And it wasn't a long time, too long later that I heard that there was a forest fire in the woods. Can you believe that? Wow. Isn't that something? But I still felt pretty sick. Isn't that something how we kind of, you know, that hiding, that hiding feeling? Yes. Anyways, I hope I don't get in trouble for this. Let me see, I was about eight years old. I have the funny feeling I'm going to get reported here. My mother did find out, but it was quite a long time after. Anyways, so that's the forest fire story. But sometimes we hide when we're not doing the right thing, right? But will we love his appearing? Let's see, verse number nine. Verse number nine says, do thy diligence to come shortly unto me. And of course, we know the concept of being diligent. You know, we think about the fact that we need to be diligent in our work and showing effort, persevering, determination to perform a task, a conscientiousness. And so this case just simply applied to the fact of he desired to see him do thy diligence to come shortly unto me, come see me, basically. Not a long explanation for this verse, but like prompto, let's go, let's hurry. Perhaps you remember your parents encouraging you to either do a task or to come see them shortly. and to make it quick. The importance of being effective that way. So we are not told the details in terms of Timothy coming to Paul and so forth. Then he mentions a few other characters. at verse number 10, it says, for Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world, and is departed unto Thessalonica, crescens to Galatia, Titus unto Dalmatia. And there's only one other verse that tells us about Demas, and let's just look at that briefly. It's found in Colossians. Back a few books to Colossians and verse chapter four, Colossians chapter four. In verse 14, all it says is, Luke, the beloved physician and Demas greet you. So apparently during the time Colossians 4, 14 was written, the relationship between Paul and Demas was different. So he was still on board at this particular time in Colossians, but now in 2 Timothy, as 2 Timothy draws to a close, we find that he is on, you might say, the other end of things. Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world. It doesn't say what aspects to the world. Apparently there was something about what was going on in the world that might have meant more to Demas than getting out the gospel or working for the Lord at that particular time, whether it was money or things, as it were. We don't really know if it was direct sinful activity or the fact that he was wrapped up into the day-to-day business that he was involved in. But in any case, we see Paul kind of words of rebuke in a way, you could say, the Demas, it's kind of a warning, and as Christians knowing the scripture and so forth, you probably wouldn't name your child Demas, not that in and of itself there's anything wrong with that, but knowing the connotation that it's behind. I don't want to insult anybody, but that might be something you'd think twice about doing. It's kind of like naming your child Judas Iscariot, and then with the last name, it just wouldn't be maybe something that you would do, so to speak. But in any case, we see Demas, forsaken Paul, and then it mentions a couple other individuals, talking about Titus and Cretans, and not saying anything negative about it, just telling him that he is not with him at this particular time. And so Demas, love of the world. It's funny how when we do mention a particular name, the connotation often comes to mind. And even when you are naming your children, you're analyzing between husband and wife what names you might name your children. And sometimes you might know somebody with a particular name. It might have a negative connotation to you. Well, you know, that person did such and such. You know, and you have that in your mind, and you think, oh, I don't want to name them that, and so forth. So that brings a mental picture to your mind. Then let's continue on in verse number 11. It says, only Luke is with me. Take Mark and bring him with thee, for he is profitable to me for the ministry. So we have some other individuals that are mentioned. Luke is with him. We see Luke as a faithful one in the gospel. And it says, take Mark, bring him with thee. So he's recommending him. for this particular ministry. And then I think we'll do verse 12 and stop there, but talking about Tychicus, or some people say Tickicus, Tychicus, I like Tychicus, the T-Y, but have I sent to Ephesus. Now, if you look at him, at some of the things that he did, now let's, there's some verses mentioned, let's turn there to, Ephesians chapter 6, just for a minute. Ephesians chapter 6 refers to this individual. Back a few books. Ephesians chapter 6 and then looking at verses 21 and 22 mentions him. 621 says, but ye also may know my affairs and how I do. Tychicus, a beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord, shall make known to you all things whom I have sent unto you for the same purpose, that ye might know our affairs, that he might comfort your hearts. So we see him as a messenger and also one that would bring comfort. And so this is a special ministry and we could seek to be that kind of a person, a person that brings encouragement to others, has communication with other believers, coordinating situations, on what is going on between Paul and others. And of course, you know, those were days they didn't have Facebook in those days, right? You were sending a messenger, a person, maybe a note, a letter, and so forth, to find out what was going on in other places, in other churches. And so, in 2 Timothy 4, 12, Titus, I sent to Ephesus. And so, Ministry of Comfort, and seeking to gain information and to be of help to others in other ministry situations. Any thoughts that you have as we will be stopping there? In verse 12, any thoughts that you have before we dismiss? We're kind of quiet this morning. Yes. When we look at all these names that we're looking at, and like you were mentioning how we have certain connotations to it, when we look at the Apostle Paul, and he started off and we're introduced to him and the word God as a killer of Christians, a persecutor of Christians, But when we think of the Apostle Paul, we think of how he ended his life, not how he began his introduction to the Bible. And when we think about Demas, we think of him as one that forsook Paul. But in Colossians, he seems to start off well. challenge to us as believers to make sure we end well and not to be so concerned with the beginning and our faults in the beginning but to try to end well and to do well through our lives. All right, good point. Any other thoughts? All right, let's pray. Heavenly Father, we thank you for your kindness to us today. We pray that you would guide and bless in the service to follow this morning. We pray that your word would go forth with power and boldness. Pray that it would cause our hearts to be stirred unto thee and to do right. We thank you that we could have this time together. Thank you for each one here. We pray that you would meet individual needs of those in our class today. We know that some perhaps have come here to church with something upon their heart. We pray that you would quiet the heart and cause our souls to be stirred unto the things of thee. And we thank you in Jesus name. Amen.