2 Timothy chapter 3. I know adult Sunday school classes you've been studying, 1st and 2nd Timothy. I don't know where you are today. I don't know what you covered today. You covered chapter 3 today. Well, in the providence of God, that's the way it is. My wife's not with me. She is in Arkansas, and she usually informs me during the week. She said, listen to this, Daddy. And then she'll read a portion of that, and she'll say, what do you think of that, Daddy? We've kind of bounced things off of us. I had been working all week on John chapter 12. Now I want you all to know something. Listen to me. Would you take the book of John and rip it out of your Bibles? Would you do that? At times I sense that when pastor gets behind a pulpit and he says, open your Bibles to the gospel of John, some of you have said, When is he going to be done with John? I want you to know that it bothers me. It does. It's not that I'm simply picking a sermon out of the file that I had preached before. I'm simply seeking to go through the Gospel of John honestly and to ask the Lord, what are you saying here in this portion of Scripture? And I want you to know that, and I want to simply say to you that when that is the case, with what measure you come to hear the Word of God, that's the same measure that you will receive. And that we ought to come together as God's people to say, Lord, our teachers and our pastors, They've been cooking this week. Lord, I come with an appetite. Enable me to feed the Word of God that I might grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus. Now, the reason that I changed this week, and it was on Thursday that I was still working on my sermon in John chapter 12, looking at verses 36 and following to the end of the chapter. What a difficult passage. And yet at the same time, the sovereignty of God is displayed in that portion of scripture that I've wrestled with and through. And yet on Friday night, we had that meeting with Rusty Thomas, who has been on the forefront of the sanctity of life and the abortion issue for some 30 years. And then on Saturday morning, again, we had him at our house and we talked for several hours. But when I came away on Friday night, I want you to know my spirit was exercised. And I was reminded again of the fact, and it's not that I have lost it, but it's always good to be reminded again from the Lord's servants in the day and the age that we live in. And that we cannot just simply fall in line, you see, with our society, what we think the Word of God teaches us that godly and righteous living is. And I went home, and I want you to know I tossed and turned all night long and tried to sleep. This portion of scripture came to my mind time and time again, and I've said, and I want you to know I'm very careful here when I say that. It is not just simply say, well, the Lord has spoken to me, but the Lord literally impressed this portion of scripture upon me in order for me to communicate this morning. And then Lord willing, we'll continue back in the gospel of John next week. 2nd Timothy chapter 3, reading in verse 1. This know also that in the last days perilous times shall come. And then look at verse 12. And yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. Oftentimes we think about the last days that are those days that are right shortly, you see, before the Lord's return. I believe that the scriptures we, in the New Testament, we can take time and prove that. I believe that when the Lord Jesus ascended into the heavens, that that particular time until the Lord Jesus will return again, those are the last days. I believe that those are the days even you see as Peter makes reference to the last days. In the last days, you remember when he stood before that crowded Pentecost. And there they questioned him, what were you doing? And Peter makes reference to an Old Testament passage in Joel. And there we read in shall come to pass that in the last days says God that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh. And there he explains to us that, I want you to know, I believe that we are in the last days. Do you know the early Christians, from the moment they came to faith in Christ, the Holy Spirit was teaching them to deny ungodliness and worldly lust, and teaching them to live righteously and soberly in this present world. And right then and there, the early church, you see, looking for the return of the Lord Jesus Christ. I want you to know that. And we cannot be caught up in this mentality that somehow or another that we'd say, you know, here are certain events, prophetic events that have not been fulfilled and on and on and on. We ought to be looking for the return of the Lord Jesus, even in our day. And that we would say, Oh Lord Jesus, even so come quickly. We are, I believe, in the last days. I believe that we can say that. Even as we, some years ago, we looked at the seven churches in Asia, you remember? Beginning with the church, the first one, Ephesus, and finishing with the church in Laodicea, that those churches, really, they were actual churches. And at the same time, those churches represented, really, churches throughout all of the church age. And all of those churches, they were all encouraged to look for to return and to be overcomers in order for them to be the recipients of life. And so we come to this passage and I know that you all have studied the second letter to Timothy. It is written from the Apostle Paul and it is addressed to his son in the faith. I want you to know what a powerful relationship that the Apostle Paul had with Timothy. We read in his word, in chapter 1, we read to Timothy, my dearly beloved son, grace and mercy and peace from God the Father and Jesus Christ our Lord. It's the son in the faith. And you know you can read in 1 Timothy that no doubt that Timothy was raised in a godly environment. He had a mother and grandmother that brought him up and educated him in the scriptures. And apparently, under the ministry of the Apostle Paul, he comes to faith in Christ. I want you to know, I'm very humbled by that. But there is a Harry Geiserer, you remember in Germany. And then there is Steve Scott, the pastor up in Kansas. They call me their father in the faith. And I want you to know I'm very humbled by that. But it goes to, not I, you see, I was the instrument how they came to know the Lord Jesus. And I have a wonderful special relationship with these two men who are preachers and proclaimers of the gospel. There are two reasons that the Apostle Paul is writing this letter to Timothy. One, In verse four, he says, greatly desiring to see thee being mindful of thy tears, that I may be filled with joy. And then in chapter four, verse nine, we read, do thy diligence to come shortly unto me. Then the Apostle Paul, he gives a list of, now remember the Apostle Paul here is, he is imprisoned in Rome and he is brought before Nero the second time and he is in prison for the preaching and the proclamation of the gospel of the Lord Jesus. I want you to know that. He writes this letter to Timothy and he's saying to Timothy, Timothy, son into faith, I want you to come, do thy diligence to come shortly unto me. And then in verse 21 we read again, do thy diligence to come before winter. Jubilus greeted thee and Pudens and Linus and Claudia and all of the brethren. So he had a special relationship with Timothy, this young preacher. The second thing that he writes, and the second reason for it, I believe when you look at, you've studied 1 and 2 Timothy. I want to simply say here that 1 and 2 Timothy in Titus are considered the pastoral epistles. I want to say we need to get acquainted with those truths. As a church, we ought to know what these passages tell us. Because it tells us how we're to order the life of the church. It tells us those who are to lead and to rule the church and those that are to preach and teach the church. It's right there in the pastoral epistles. 1st and 2nd Timothy and Titus and Philemon is also included in that as well. And so you see, the first letter to Timothy, you all know it, he makes it very plain and clear. He says to Timothy, I want to come to you shortly, but if I don't come to you, remember what he says, that you might know how you ought to behave yourselves in the house of God, that which is the church of the living God and the pillar and the ground of truth. I want you to know that. The church is not in the dark that we somehow don't know how we're to conduct business. I want you to know that. And there are not nude and think tanks necessary for us to know that here is what we do. There's all kinds of different ways that we can mechanically go about and how we do church. But ultimately, we need to remember that He has given us the Word of God, the yardstick, in order for us to know exactly what we're to do in the church, which is the house of God, which is the church of the living God, and it is the pillar and the ground of truth." You know that quotation this morning, what a powerful quotation. And we need that in our day, that where do we go when it comes to truth? And so the second reason that Paul writes the first letter, here's how I want you to do church, here are the elders and here are deacons, here are the prayer meetings, here are the widows, and here is how you deal in the life of the church. Church discipline, all kinds of things that are in 1 Timothy. Now the Apostle Paul writes the second letter, why does he write him? He writes him, number one, I believe, to encourage him. I want you to know something, and this is not just, I want you to know, this is where I was exercised on Friday. And I want you to know it is when you are continually, when you are desirous to apply the Word of God, when you are trying to live by the Scriptures, I want you to know it is very necessary in this day, in the age that we live in, as Paul writes to Timothy and he says, perilous this, know also perilous times shall come. Now, Kevin, I know you want to be a minister of the gospel. I want to just simply say to you, seek the face of the Lord. Travis, you've been a preacher of the gospel and you stood out there at the abortion clinic. Kevin, we're out there and And regardless where you are, it is not just for those who are the proclaimers of the gospel of Christ. It is not just those who are the pastors and the deacons. But you see, as we read a little while ago, that all who live godly shall suffer persecution. Pastor Hayling, this is America. Pastor Haling, I believe that as a society and as a people we have evolved. Men's hearts are not as dark as what they used to be. After all, you know, we're a civilized people. I want you to know something. The human heart has not changed. The human heart is exactly the same what it was 4,000 years ago. When you see, when the Lord looked at in Noah's day when he looked at mankind and he saw that evil was continually in their hearts. I want you to know that has not changed. If we get serious, if we get serious about Christianity and living a life for God, I want you to know persecution will arise. Bill Dard, the other night, he told us to give us a little statement, a little testimony of what laid hold of his heart to be involved with hands on in the sanctity of life ministry that him and his wife have had for some 20 years. Now I want you to know, I want you to know something. We're not just simply talking about appearing in front of an abortion clinic, but I'm talking about living godly, righteous lives at our jobs. with our families, how we raise our children, how we conduct ourselves, the attitudes that we display. It doesn't necessarily mean, and you see what Bill said, and I want to paraphrase that he came, he was confronted with the reality of godly living and applying himself to the word of God. He says, am I simply going through the mechanics? Or am I just going through the motions? Or am I serious about following Christ? And I want you to know that we need to be at that same place. And that we are in a place that we cannot deny. That we are in a day and an age of the last days where perilous times are, that perilous times are here. What does that mean? perilous times. Let me tell you what that means. It means difficult. What do you think? You say, Pastor, you're standing in front of me and you are even thinking about maybe even this morning to give an invitation, not to walk in the aisle, but to give an invitation to faith and repentance and to direct you to the living God and the mercies that are found to the Lord Jesus in order for you to have Him change your heart and that you're a new creature. There is a new heart and new direction. And you mean to tell me, pastor, that if that's the case, I'm going to face times in the season of where I live in, in a society where it is difficult? The answer is yes. And you see, this is where I believe that we have been lied to. Turn on the television. Listen, turn on the television. And I mean, we have done that for umpteen years we've simply said God wants you to be prosperous and wealthy and healthy and you are as a little God and all you need to do is speak the word and you will have the blessings and the prosperities all you have to do is this and that and I want you to know the Apostle Paul is saying terrible perilous time shall come You see, perilous times really are here. Troublesome, trying, uneasy, hard, violent, threatening and dangerous days. And so why is Paul writing to Timothy? Paul knows that he is at the conclusion of his life. He makes it very plain and clear. He says, I am ready now to be offered and the time of my departure is at hand. He said, I fought a good fight. I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid 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 is appearing. Not only does he want him to come and to fellowship with him, knowing he's there, but he is writing to him. I want you to know this, that perilous time shall come. I want you to be aware of that. Listen to me. All we have to do is open up our eyes. And let's just be honest. if we evaluate our society by the scriptures and through the lens of God's word. If we were to look at our world and our society and look at in comparison with the holiness of God, I want you to know we find ourselves in desperate, desperate, troublesome days. And so what is Paul doing? throughout the second Corinthian letters. What is he doing? The first thing that he does with him is, look at verse 8 in chapter 1. We may have to come back to that next week, but I don't mind. But at the same time, I want you to know something when you raise the banner of the Lord Jesus over your house. One of the things that convicted me this week is It's where the Lord Jesus is coming to the conclusion of his public ministry in John chapter 12. And he makes reference again that while you have light, walk in the light, while the light's with you, and for the light, and then he says, and he departs. And in that whole discourse, we find in the rest of that, John observes that there were many that believed, but they did not come out publicly because they were afraid of the effects that would have upon their relationship with whoever they were connected to. I want you to know something. I don't believe that God has in mind to have silent professors and followers of the Lord Jesus. That I believe that we ought to be a people like you made reference to this morning, that when July 4th comes along and we raise the old glory and we raise it up on in front of our homes and that we are saying, I am proud to be an American. But I want you to know there is a banner that flies higher and taller than the banner of the United States of America. And that is the banner of the Lord Jesus Christ. And I want to encourage you, Calvary Baptist Church brothers and sisters in Christ, raise your banner over the Lord Jesus. And as, as Paul is encouraging, you see Timothy in this letter to be ready for perilous times will come. The first thing that he says, don't be ashamed of the gospel and the Lord Jesus Christ. You know anything about that? Look at it. Be thou not therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but be thou a partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God." Who are we? How did we get to this place? Who is Timothy, the son in the faith? The human side of it is he was raised up by his mother and grandmother, Lois, and he came to saving faith in the knowledge of Christ. But in that process of something, I want you to know, there was something happened in the grace of God that God called this man to himself. You're sitting here this morning, and if you're a follower and believer of the Lord Jesus, it is because he says in verse 9, who has saved us and called us with a holy calling. What is that? Let me tell you what, there is a general call and a gospel call that goes out all the time. Men, we hear it on the radio, we read it in gospel tracks. We hear preaching and teaching lessons from the Bible. You see there is the call goes out. God calls men everywhere to repent. But I want you to know there is a holy calling. We call it the effectual calling. When God calls us, I want you to know that dead spirit comes to life and we arise and we get on our feet and we repent and we turn from sin. and we come running into the presence of the Lord Jesus. And all of that, the Lord worked it in our hearts willingly. I want you to know that. What is Paul, how is he encouraging him? I want you to know something. Those of you that have been at the abortion clinic, it is an awkward place and a position to be, isn't it? As I want you to know it's something for us and Lord willing we're going to baptize next Sunday. It's a grand thing for us to, I wish it was a little bit later we'd go out to the lake. And there what we ought to do, we ought to make a public spectacle of the fact that here is a person who has professed the Lord Jesus, repentance you see toward God and faith in the Lord Jesus and that we would make a public spectacle When Birgit Altsdorf was baptized in Bad Noyenar, on the main street right there in Bad Noyenar, I've been there. In front of that house, there's a big cherry tree. In front of that house, you know what they brought in? They brought in a stock tank. And up and down them roads, it wasn't, we call it a road where you can get out there and lay out there in the middle of that road and nobody's gonna run over you for a half hour. And let me tell you what they've done with her. They baptized her in that stock tank right out there publicly in front of everybody's eyes to see. What is Paul saying to Timothy? This is where we need to start. We cannot be ashamed of the gospel of the Lord Jesus. We cannot ever be at a place regardless where it is and what it is and whatever difficulties that we seek to address in our own lives. And with those that we work and live with, we must be the people that are boldly and unashamedly put the banner of the Lord Jesus and that we say, this is the name and this is the flag that we ship under. This is the one that our lives are ordered by. It is the Lord Jesus Christ. And why is that? He's called us with a holy calling. One more, one more description of that. My grandmother used to have a holy calling with boobie. Y'all heard me say that. Boobie was my nickname. Now don't call me boobie now because I'm 69 years old. But we lived in an apartment complex on the fifth floor. And from that, when you're up on that fifth floor, we were in the roof line, and you had the dormer looking out, and you couldn't look down on that side of the street. And just like a bill, you're acquainted with those neighborhoods in New York City, where one building is up to the other one. When we were as German kids, I want you to know, we hit the streets early in the morning, and we didn't come home until it was dark. Now that's the honest truth. We get on the street car and we'd be all over Carl's room. We'd take our slits and we'd come in cold and wet until we had the effectual calling. Hoo-vee! That wasn't effectual. That was general call. And my grandmother used to call like that two, three times. And then I want you to know after that, you could tell the way she was calling her vein was sticking out. And we were hightailing. Do you remember a time? Listen to me. Do you remember a time when you had all of the years listened to maybe Bible lessons? You've come to Sunday school and do you remember a time where you were urged to believe and embrace the Lord Jesus? Do you remember a time? Do you remember a time? And then you remember a time When the Lord impressed upon you your desperate plight, and He showed you your wickedness of your heart, and He showed you the fact that one of these days you have to stand before the all-seeing eye. Do you remember the plight and the pressure that you felt and the guilt that you felt with all of that? And then the Lord, you see, He not only impressed upon you your guilt, but He showed you the beauty of the Lord Jesus. Do you remember that? Oh, to grace how great a debtor. Daily I'm constrained to be. Let thy goodness like a feather by my wandering heart to thee. Prone to wander and prone to leave the God I love. Here is my heart, oh, take it, seal it, and seal it for thy courts above. The first thing he says, and he's doing that in order for him. I know that Timothy already knows that he is in that environment. But he is seeking to encourage him, know this. Don't be ashamed. Endure and remember who you are in Christ. And how you have come to know the Lord Jesus. I want you to know that sometimes all hell will break loose. I want you to know sometimes there is the fear of people. There's fear of people and personality. There's fear of society. There's fear, there is even fear, all kinds of things you may not even know yourself. But we have to remember who we are in Christ and that is in Christ alone. And that He who began the good work in us and what He wants us to be, He wants us to be a people that are faithful. You asked me, if you'd asked me an hour and a half ago, you'd say, Pastor, how are you feeling? I was telling this morning the brethren when we prayed, I said, will you all pray for me? I have been literally exercised for weeks. I want you to know I feel more inadequate now, today, after having preached for 30 years, to preach and to open and proclaim God's Word than I ever have before. There is a lack of, and I want you to know I was praying last night and I said, Lord, Lord, I thank you. Lord, I thank you that you are not done with me. Lord, am I trusting in my ability? Am I trusting in this and that? And the Lord is simply pulling out the rug out from under me. And at the same time, I want you to know these are encouraging words for me. We're not just spending. 45 minutes from 1115 to 12 o'clock that we have gone through the motions. I want you to know we are, we have met in the name of Christ. He has given us his living word. We are trusting and depending upon the Holy Spirit, the word conviction in the heart that when we leave this place and these premises, that wherever we are, that we raise the banner of the Lord Jesus high. And that when we come together, that we can say, the Lord has spared me this week. He has provided and supported and encouraged me this week. He are some of the things that I have faced this week. He has allowed me for a moment to set in the sunshine for a moment, but the rest of the week has been in the mire and in the battle and in the mud and the conflict of this dark, present, evil world. The second thing that he does, he encourages him to hold fast the form. Look at verse 13. Hold fast the form of sound words, which thou has heard of me in faith and love, which is in Christ Jesus. Let me tell you what we're in. We're in perilous days. We simply, our society, we don't have. We don't have the yardstick and the measurement of God's Word. When I turn on the television, when I listen to the news, when I look at the printed page, when I listen, let me tell you what grieves me, and we're going to look at that. We're not going to come to that today. But you see in that, the perilous times that you see in that, the characteristics that are described of a people who have a form of godliness without the power. That's what troubles you. Listen to me, just because someone has a bumper sticker of Jesus on a car, that doesn't mean nothing. If someone says, I believe in Jesus, I want you to know unless there is the fruit and evidence, you see, that backs up that, that means nothing. And I want you to know the gospel message has not changed. We need to insist. Listen to me. We need to insist upon the fact that the sound words in faith and love, which is in Christ Jesus, we cannot walk away from the fact of the plight of the human heart and what people are and where they are and then the work and the finished work of the Lord Jesus on their behalf. Listen to me. Do you know people are not 99.9% ruined? Did you know that? People left to themselves and apart from the Lord Jesus Christ will perish. Man by nature has no heart and no desire to seek God. There is no fear of God in their eyes. Listen to me. Now you start preaching that and you start proclaiming that and I want you to know all hell will break loose. I have recently introduced to my Sunday school class the controversy that's been a controversy for 2,000 years and it's really not a controversy. There's only one truth here in the scriptures, only one. There are not three mainstreams of interpretation of Christianity. There is but one. And in our recent weeks we have been studying total depravity. Meaning by that there is nothing that is in man that has any kind of saving value or that man can deliver himself from his plight as he is a sinner. They're all under sin. I want you to know something, folks. When you start preaching that, you know what's going to happen? Open the door. That's not the, you see, we want to quibble over the thing. You say, well, you know, people, they don't believe in predestination and the sovereignty of God and all that. Ultimately, when it comes right down to it, it is the unbelief of what man is in this natural condition and what he has inherited by Adam, our father, and that we are all dead in sin. We're children of wrath, even as others. And what is Paul saying to Timothy? Hold fast, be faithful. Then the third thing he does, and we'll finish with that, is be strong in the Lord. Look at chapter two. Thou therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men who shall be able to teach others also. And then he says, thou therefore endure hardness as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. What do you think? You say, Pastor, is that what you are introducing us to, to what Christianity is? It's not just for the pastors. but all who will live godly shall suffer persecution." We all must be faithful. We all must be, you see, sound in the words of the gospel. We all must be strong in the Lord. How can we do that? I want you to know when I look at the life of the Apostle Paul, and we saw that as we went through the book of Philippians, but in this particular passage, you see, we know that in this particular passage he's making, how is he able to do that? And I want to close with this. How are we, how is Paul, and how is Timothy, and how are you and I are supposed to apply ourselves to these truths? Endure hardness. Be strong in the Lord. Be faithful. Why is it? Look at verse 8. Remember that Jesus Christ of the seed of David was raised from the dead according to my gospel, wherein I suffer trouble as an evildoer, even unto bonds, but the word of God is not bound. I want you to know something. Do we know that? When I'm walking around and when I'm living my life, when I'm getting up, when I'm wrestling around in my bed, when all of these things come to my mind, when you see my face seem to be very small and I seem to be very frail and weak and all of that, when I see the circumstances and the world around me that seems to overwhelm us, what is it that ought to keep me faithful and abounding and trusting in the Word of God? What is it? The risen Christ. It's the risen Christ that the life of Christ would be manifested in us. I need to remember that. And that's what Paul is saying to Timothy. And he said, for this reason I endure, you see, these afflictions. I'm even treated as a criminal, but I endure these things for the elect's sake that they would also come to faith in Christ. What is it that he's saying to Timothy? You need to recognize and realize that we have a Savior who is at the right hand of God and I am in his hand as we were singing early a little while ago, that our names are written in his wounds. Now I want you to know, Kevin, that's the only way that we're ever going to face the ministry with a courage and a faithfulness and a perseverance. I want you to know that. That you see the life that we live is a life of faith and we don't just begin it, you see, and we're going to jump in the middle of it like some kind of a short race. but I want you to know it is a marathon and that we run it, you see, until we get to the end. And even though there are times where we want to say, I don't think I can take another step, but we're going to keep our eyes on the prize. And he is the one that is going to enable us because he is the risen Christ on the right hand of God. And we are in his hands. Now, let me tell you what I would like for you to do. Take an opportunity and read. the characteristics of this godless age and the godless society. And then, I mean, you look at that description of that godless society, and you see if that's not the age and the day that we are in. Say, Pastor, this is the year of 2013. There is no persecution. There is no suffering wrong. When you hold up the banner of the Lord Jesus and you begin to apply the Word of God to your life, listen to me, husbands and wives, on the job, wherever you are, when you begin to order your life by the Word of God and you're gonna say, I can or I cannot do that, I will and will not do that, I've got news for you, you are going to suffer persecution. The reason that we don't have any persecution in our day, I want you to know there's very little that's held up. of righteousness and godliness. You may be here this morning and say, Pastor, I don't know about that. I want to simply say, will you ask the Lord and seek the scriptures and say, Lord, will you work these things in my heart?