All right. Are we ready? All right. Well, good morning. It is a delight, a great joy, as usual, as well as a quite sad occasion this morning. As I sat back there, I thought about the fact that we've been here for almost a decade. In fact, we've been here so long that many of you thought we would never leave. And we've gotten that message from many people who said, why are you going? If you'll recall, when we came, we said that we would be here for three to five years. That was our plan. It has now been almost 10. And so that that time has come. But as I sit here, there are several memories that just flood my mind. And one of them, we almost always sit right over there. Very few people know why we've always sat right over there. Our children have even forgotten why we always sit right over there. The reason we always sit right over there is because when we first came, our children, the ones who came with us, were two, three, five, six, seven, eight, and 11. And so we had some who were still being trained to sit in church, and we needed a quick way to get out if they needed reminding, amen? And so that's why we've always sat over there on that side, because when we came, that was the phase of life that we were in. And now we sit here, almost a decade later, and all but one of those children has spent most of their life here in Zambia. It's hard to wrap our minds around. When we first came, we didn't have any grandchildren. Now we have three on our way to 50. Amen. and God's been good. We're grateful to have had this time and opportunity to be here and to share this part of our life with you. And as I thought about this day and the opportunity to come and bid farewell, I couldn't help but be guided again and again to Second Timothy, where Paul essentially bids his farewell. He's at the end of his ministry. He's at the end of his life. He knows that he's at the end of his life. One of the most famous passages in the entire letter occurs there in chapter four. That's not our text for today. But in chapter four, he says to Timothy, for I am already being poured out as a drink offering. And the time of my departure has come. I fought the good fight. I finished the race. I've kept the faith. Henceforth, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day. And not only to me, but also to all who have loved his appearing. And so at the end of his life, when he is in prison and knows that it could be his last time, knows that his execution could be near, he takes pen to paper and he has his amanuenses, his secretary, if you will, to pen a letter to young Timothy, to give young Timothy his final words. to give young Timothy what he hoped wouldn't be his final farewell, but what ended up being just that. And so if you have your Bibles with you, open with me to the book of 2 Timothy. 2 Timothy chapter two. Title of my message today is, I leave you with this. Second Timothy chapter two, beginning in verse one. Then, you then, my child, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus, and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits. since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him. An athlete is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules. It is the hardworking farmer who ought to have the first share of the crops. Think over what I say. The Lord will give you understanding in everything. As Paul brings his ministry and his life to a close. He gives several instructions to young Timothy, but here in chapter two, he gives what is essentially the crux of the matter. Everything that he's saying here in the book of 2 Timothy can really be summed up in what he says here in chapter two. But what's important here is not just what he says, but how he says it. It gives great insight, not only into his relationship with Timothy, but it also gives great insight into the relationship between those of us who have been called to preach and those to whom we have the privilege of preaching. Four things. that he leaves, that today I leave with you. First, I leave with you a fatherly affection. He says in verse one, you then my child. Timothy is not Paul's biological child. He's not Paul's child by adoption. Timothy is Paul's child in the faith. They have a very close, intimate relationship. And the reason that he refers to Timothy like this is because the church is essentially the household of faith. The church is the family of God. And because it's the household of faith and the family of God, it unites us in ways that nothing else in this world can. We don't gather here today because we have the same taste in music. We don't gather here today because we're all from the same generation. We don't gather here today because we're all from the same culture. We gather here today because we are all part of the family of God. And one of the incredible privileges of preaching the gospel, especially being able to preach for a while, is that you come to realize that in the family of God, the person who stands here and does what I am doing this morning, is exercising a fatherly responsibility. It is an incredibly great weight to carry. And one of the most awesome privileges in all the world. And it has been my privilege for the better part of a decade to be able to share this fatherly affection with you. to look out upon the face of brothers and sisters, to look out upon the faces of people who've become so incredibly dear to me and to my family. Listen to the way Paul puts it in chapter one. Go to chapter one, beginning in verse three. He says, I thank God whom I serve as did my ancestors with a clear conscience as I remember you constantly in my prayers night and day. That's fatherly affection. I pray for you. I pray for you regularly. You're on my heart all the time. He says, as I remember your tears, that's fatherly affection. I long to see you that I may be filled with joy. I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice, and now I am sure dwells in you as well. Paul and Timothy had shared life together, and he was expressing fatherly affection. They had shared loss together. They had shared great joy together. They had shared victories and defeats together. It's not just here, but elsewhere in the letter. In chapter four, verse nine, he says, do your best to come to me soon. Again, Paul knows he's at the end of his life, and he's saying to young Timothy, hurry up and get here. In chapter four, verse 21, do your best to come before winter. Because of course, once the winter comes, it'll be difficult to get there at all, and you have to wait until the winter is over, and Paul doesn't believe he has that long. He loves this young man with a fatherly affection and yearns to see him again. That is what the church does. That is what the church gives us. That is who we are as followers of Christ. Jesus said in John 13, 34 and 35, a new commandment I give to you, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this, all people will know that you are my disciples if you have love for one another. In First Timothy. Paul says in chapter five, verses one and two, do not rebuke an older man, but encourage him as you would a father. Younger men as brothers, older women as mothers, younger women as sisters in all purity. It is the family of God. And as I look out today, I look out upon my brothers and my sisters, my uncles and my aunties my nieces and my nephews, and in some instances, my fathers in the faith. And so as we depart, know that this is how we depart. We don't depart as people who came here as laborers and hirelings just to do a job. But we depart having invested ourselves having given ourselves away to our Zambian family. Secondly, not only do I leave you with fatherly affection, but I leave you with God's grace. Again, in verse one, you then, my child, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus. be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus. Paul knows that what Timothy has lying ahead of him is going to require a strength that is beyond his. And so he encourages him to be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus. The grace of God is the source of our strength. Relying on anything else is a fool's errand. If you rely on anything in yourself, you will fail. If you rely on anyone other than God himself, you will fail. They will let you down. Your only source of reliable strength is the grace of God. That is it. The grace of God saves us. The grace of God sanctifies us. The grace of God sustains us. and the grace of God will deliver us to our heavenly home. It is all of grace. All of it. And if you've heard nothing else from me over these years, I hope you've heard that. You know, Paul begins and ends all of his epistles with this. 13 epistles, and they all begin and end with grace. Perhaps you've never done this before, but we're gonna do it today. Romans chapter one verse seven, he begins with grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Chapter 16, he ends with the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. First Corinthians, he begins in chapter one, verse three, grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. He ends in chapter 16, the grace of the Lord Jesus be with you. Second Corinthians, he begins in chapter one, verse two, grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. In chapter 13, he ends with the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Galatians, he begins with, grace to you, peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. He ends with, the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brothers. Ephesians chapter one verse two, grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. He ends in chapter six, grace be with all who love the Lord Jesus Christ, with love incorruptible. In Philippians, grace to you and peace from God, our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. He ends in verse chapter four, the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you. In Colossians, he begins with grace to you. peace from God our Father. He ends with grace be with you. In 1 Thessalonians, he begins with grace to you and peace. And he ends in chapter five with the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. In 2 Thessalonians, grace to you and peace from God our Father, the Lord Jesus Christ. In chapter three, the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. In 1 Timothy, Chapter one, verse two, grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. Chapter six, grace be with you. In second Timothy, he begins with grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father. And he ends with the Lord be with your spirit, grace be with you. Titus chapter one. grace and peace from God the Father and our Lord Jesus, sorry, and Christ Jesus our Savior. Titus three, grace be with you all. Philemon, chapter one, verse three, grace to you, peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. And he ends with the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, be with your spirit. Why bother going through all of that? To make this point, It may seem redundant to us, but the fact of the matter is, for Paul, everything he did, everything he said, everything he wrote began and ended with the grace of God. He did not take it for granted. He did not assume that, well, these brothers know me, or, well, they've received another letter from me before, so they already know that this begins and ends with grace, so I'll just move on to something else. He never moves on from grace. We never move on from grace. Our entire Christian life from beginning to end is of grace. All of it is of grace and nothing but grace. Even the obedience that we offer to God, we offer that obedience to God by His grace that enables us to do so. It is all of grace. I leave you with the grace of God. It is all you need. And there is nothing that I could leave you with that is more significant than the grace of God. Thirdly, I leave you with a pattern of sound words. Verse two, and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust the faithful men who will be able to teach others also. Now, why do I refer to this as the pattern of sound words? Well, because elsewhere in the book, Paul uses this terminology. In fact, he makes a reference to this idea in every chapter of 2 Timothy. Listen to this. in chapter one, verses 13 and 14. Follow the pattern of sound words that you have heard from me in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. By the Holy Spirit who dwells within us, guard the good deposit entrusted to you. Chapter two, we hear him saying here, what you've heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust the faithful men who will be able to teach others also. Go to chapter three and look at the beginning of verse 14. But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All scriptures breathe out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. And finally, in chapter four, verses one and two. I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and by his kingdom, preach the word. Be ready in season and out of season. Reprove, rebuke, and exhort with complete patience and teaching. Why this emphasis? Why this emphasis in every chapter? Think about this for a moment. The Lord Jesus Christ has come, he has lived his perfect life, he has died his sinless substitutionary death, and he has ascended to his father. His apostles are left to carry on his work and to communicate the gospel everywhere. But even early on, There are perversions of the gospel. When you look at Corinthians, when you look at 1 John, you see that there are enemies of the gospel coming in on every side. The apostles are dying one by one by one. Paul now knows that he is at the end of his life. So what's the only hope? They don't yet have the compiled New Testament. So the only hope is that faithful brothers who have heard this pattern of sound words would hold firmly to this pattern of sound words, this gospel message, and communicate this gospel message to others who will hold onto it and transmit it as well. Otherwise, the gospel message dies in the first generation. That's the urgency. That's the urgency. Hold on to it, and don't just hold on to it, but hold on to it rightly. Turn with me, if you will, to 1 Corinthians chapter 15. This is an example of where Paul lays out this pattern of sound words. First Corinthians 15, verse one, Paul writes, now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as a first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, or Peter, then to the 12. Then he appeared to more than 500 brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James and to all the apostles. Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared to me. This is the pattern of sound words. This is the gospel that we preach. You see, the grace of God is the source of our strength, absolutely. But the pattern of sound words, the message of the gospel, explains the grace of God to us. The grace of God, many people out there talk about the grace of God. People who don't even believe in God talk about the grace of God. It's only when you have the pattern of sound words that you properly understand what the grace of God means. When he says grace and peace, by the way, first century believers often greeted one another with those words, grace and peace. Why the words grace and peace? It was really shorthand for the gospel. the grace of God that we need because we are sinners. The gospel message shapes the way we understand the world. There's a God who created the world and everything in it. He created man in his own image. First man, he put in the garden and he gave him a command, a particular command, not to eat of a particular tree. Promised him life. upon the keeping of it and threatened death for him and his posterity, should he not keep it. And he didn't keep it. He ate of the fruit. And because of that, sin entered into the world. And all of us in Adam are now fallen. But in chapter three of Genesis, the curse of the serpent gives us a promise. When God says to the serpent, I will put enmity between you and the woman and between your seed and her seed, you will bruise his heel, but he will crush your head. There is a promise right there in Genesis that there is one coming who is going to defeat the serpent and who is going to undo what the first Adam has done. And all of the Old Testament with its prophets and priests and kings remind us again and again that God is in control, but our deliverer has not yet come. No king was king enough. No priest was priest enough. No prophet was prophet enough. That is until our prophet, priest, and king, Jesus Christ, born of a woman, born of a virgin. Why born of a virgin? So that he does not inherit Adam's sin. Lives a perfect life in our stead. Keeps the law completely on our behalf. so that his righteousness might be imputed to us. And then dies an undeserved death, a substitutionary atoning death, where our sinfulness is imputed to him and is crushed and killed on the tree. Our sin is paid for. That's the grace of God. That's the pattern of sound words. That's the message that shapes our understanding, not only of our salvation, but of everything in the world around us. The problems in our world are not primarily economic. They're not primarily political. The problems in our world are primarily sin-based. And we need the grace of God. And when we come to God by his grace, guess what? We find peace. peace with God instead of enmity with God. And New Testament believers sort of shortened this and they would greet one another, grace and peace. And Paul began all of his letters, grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. It was a summary of that pattern of sound words. It was a reminder that we are who we are and that we have what we have because of the message of the gospel. And nothing else, nothing else will do. And so I leave you with fatherly affection. I leave you with the grace of God. I leave you with a pattern of sound words. And finally, I leave you with a mission worth suffering for. Look beginning in verse three of our text. Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No soldier gets entangled with civilian pursuits since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him. An athlete is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules. It is the hardworking farmer who ought to have the first share of the crops. Think over what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything. By the way, just like every chapter in 2 Timothy talks about preserving and proclaiming, the gospel, preserving and proclaiming this pattern of sound words. Every chapter in 2 Timothy talks about suffering for this cause. Look at me at chapter one in verse eight. Therefore, do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me, his prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God. In chapter two, right here, share in suffering as a good soldier in Christ Jesus. In chapter three, look beginning in verse 10. You, however, have followed my teaching, my conduct, my aim in life, my faith, my patience, my love, my steadfastness, my persecutions and sufferings that happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium, and at Lystra, which persecutions I endured. Yet from them all the Lord rescued me. Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. while evil people and imposters go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. Finally, in chapter four, beginning in verse three, for the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears, they will accumulate for themselves teachers, to suit their own passions and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. As for you, always be sober minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry. It is a mission worth suffering for. Four chapters and four times, Paul tells young Timothy, Two things, preserve and proclaim the gospel. And endure the suffering that will inevitably follow as a result of doing so. And folks, here's what's amazing about this. Paul is in prison. He is most likely about to be executed. He picks up pen and paper, gets his emanuencies, his secretary to write a letter to young Timothy. And if I may, here's the summary of second Timothy. Timothy, I love you. They're about to kill me for preaching the gospel. When they do, preach the gospel. That's second Timothy. That's it. they are about to put me to death. Most likely they're going to cut off my head, and they do. And when it happens, when it happens, I want to make sure, by the way, that's why in 2 Timothy, listen, if I'm in prison, I just need to be honest, amen? If I go to prison, if I went to prison in the first century, And I'm the Apostle Paul, and I'm writing a letter to somebody. My letter would go something like this. Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Do you remember those guys who were praying for Peter when he was in prison, and then the doors opened up and he left? Yes, go get them. That's my letter. But that's not Paul's letter. Not once does Paul flinch at death in this letter. Why? Because he is bidding young Timothy to follow him in laying down his life and not just dying, but being killed for the gospel. You can't call a man to do that if you're scared. You can't do it. And so he says to his young protege, Not I'm dying, but I'm already being poured out as a drink offering. Why that turn of phrase? I'm already being poured out as a drink offering. Not I'm about to die, not I'm about to be executed, but he saw his impending death as an act of worship to his God. But the ministry to which we're called, is not just worth it, it's more than worth it. Preserving and proclaiming the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, it's more than worth it. Our desire is that Christ would have the fullness of the reward for which he died. Whatever it is that we're called to endure, it's more than worth it. By the way, if you're wondering how we can do that, go back to chapter one again. There was a turn of phrase there. And I'll end with this. I'll end with this. Second Timothy chapter one, beginning in verse eight. because it's everything. It's everything. Therefore, do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me, his prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God. Isn't that amazing? When you're suffering, you think what you need is the power of God to get you out of your suffering. Paul says, share in suffering by the power of God. who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works. but because of his own purpose and grace, there it is, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began and which now has been manifested through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, there it is, for which I was appointed a preacher and apostle and teacher, which is why I suffer as I do. But I'm not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and I'm convinced that he is able to guard until that day what has been entrusted to me. Then he says, follow the pattern of sound words that you have heard from me in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. By the Holy Spirit who dwells within us, guard the good deposit entrusted to you. How? He is not saying to young Timothy, Be more manly. Be more masculine. He's not saying to young Timothy, cause all fear to leave your body and your existence. He's not saying that to young Timothy. He's saying to young Timothy, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. Continue to preserve and proclaim the gospel. You are going to suffer, but when you do, It is the grace of God and the power of God that will grant you all you need in order to be able to suffer well. It's enough. It's enough. And so, as I leave, I leave you with fatherly affection. I leave you with the grace of God. I leave you with a pattern of sound words. And I leave you with a mission that is worth suffering for. Let's pray. Our good and glorious and gracious God, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. The God who saves us by his grace, sanctifies us by his grace, keeps us by his grace, and who will bring us to our heavenly home by his grace. God, we bow before you in humble adoration and overwhelming gratitude for your goodness. thanking you for the fact that you loved us in spite of ourselves and not because of anything in us. Father, grant by your grace that we might hold firmly to the pattern of sound words, that we might call men and women, boys and girls to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. and that beyond that, we would equip other faithful followers with the same pattern of sound words so that they might give it away to others long after we are gone. I pray that the work that you've given me the privilege of doing here over the last decade would bear that kind of fruit. Thank you for the people of KBC, for the investment that they have made in the Baucom family, and for the investment that the Baucom family has been allowed to make in this church. Use this, we pray, by your grace and for your glory. In Christ's name, amen.