2 Timothy 3, 14-15 says, But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned, and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them. And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. I have many favorite characters in the Bible. One of them is the Apostle Paul. And of course, you realize from studying the scriptures that when Paul wrote the book of 2 Timothy, he naturally was in a jail cell. Now, it wasn't three hots and a cot as we think today. It very much was a very difficult situation. Pastor Holmes, I think, referred to it recently that you actually had to have your food and water and clothing purchased. They did not provide it for you. So if someone didn't provide it for you, you went without. Also, it was sometimes carved into a cave or a basement dwelling. It would have had little light, no doubt would have been damp and dreary, and more than likely, there would have been several inner jail cells, more than likely. Paul could have been in one, followed by another jail, followed by another hallway. He could have been isolated, but more than likely was literally chained to someone. And I'm not trying to be off color, but you can imagine how difficult that would be if it comes to bathroom situations. There was no bathroom. So just in your mind's eye, figure where Paul was at. It was not a pleasant thing. A hot shower did not happen. Bathrooms did not happen. Food did not happen. There was not a place to wash your hands or just to be comfortable. He probably did not have a bed. He may have had a blanket. More than likely, he laid on the floor. There probably was rats and mice and bugs and all kinds of unpleasant things. And Paul is there, and he's writing to his son. Now, not his natural son, but his son in the Lord. And you can hear the termology that Paul uses. There's a deep, deep love for Timothy. He feels such affection for him. Not the sick kind of affection that unfortunately the world has done, but a brotherly love. A love that honestly the world can't really comprehend and wrap their mind around. And Paul is writing to Timothy. Now you have to understand something else in the scriptures. The apostle Paul knows what is coming. Later on in the message, we'll talk about what Paul was through, but Paul was no dummy. He knew that he was not walking out of this jail alive, and he knew it. He could sit there, and he felt the cold, hard breath on his neck that was death. Now sometimes, if you're like me, you're up at night, and you maybe worry about things, and you fret about things. Could you imagine not literally knowing where your next meal was gonna come from? Not knowing that the people you love and care for are now out of your care, because there's nothing you can do. And you may be here through the grapevine, things going on, and there's nothing you can do about it. And so they provide, or people provide for him some parchment and some sort of writing utensils, and he's writing these present epistles. And so he's encouraging Timothy, and he's basically trying to tell him, and we'll look at it later, I know that I'm not gonna make it, Timothy. I'd love to see you one more time. Bring the parchments, bring some people with you. I want Christian fellowship so bad. But he tells them, continue, don't quit. Timothy, there's gonna come a time I can't help you anymore. And so you can feel the desperation Paul has as he's writing this. And you can almost, if you've read it, and I've read the Timothy's, first and second Timothy, more times than I can even tell you. And each time I read it, I just feel the love and the support coming off of those pages that Paul is giving to Timothy. And so I'm gonna give you three quick principles tonight. Principle number one, is the principle of walking in truth, of walking in truth. You could also write living in truth, or continuing in truth. So it is walking in truth, living in truth, or continuing in truth. to be persistent in it. What does persistent mean? It means the quality of being determined to do, to make a choice. It's a firmness of purpose. I'm going to walk in. I'm going to persist. I'm going to go after the truth. Proverbs 23, 23 says, buy the truth and sell it not. Also, wisdom and instruction and understanding. When it's referring to wisdom here, it's referring to practical knowledge. How many of you would say, David, we've got more devices and more computers and more way to get wisdom, but I've never been around such dumb people in my entire life? Practical knowledge. My mom and dad used to say a statement that the man was so simple he didn't have the common sense to come in out of the rain. Have you ever heard about that? Some of you older folks, younger kids are like, YouTube what? No. Practical. The Bible says buy it, get a hold of it, gain it. That to me means it costs something. If you really want wisdom, it's gonna cost you something. You have to look for it. The Bible says in Proverbs 23, 23, and instruction, that has to do with moral culture, discipline. And finally, an understanding. It's the facility, it's being able to understand discernment, to know, to see trouble coming, and to walk away from it. One time they stumbled across a very wise man, and they got his journal, and he says, got up, went to work, went down that alleyway, and fell into a hole. I crawled out of the hole, Fixed my cuts and bruises and went to work. The next day, went down to the alley, saw the hole, tried to walk around it, fell back into the hole, cut myself up, crawled out of the hole, went to work. Third day, went down the alley, saw the hole, tried to get boards over the hole, walked over the hole, boards broke, fell in hole, got cut, crawled out of the hole, went to work. Fourth day, went a different way. What is that? That's wisdom. It's getting wisdom. It's buying wisdom. Beloved, I'm here to tell you, as sure as I'm sitting here, all 200 and something pounds, there's an absolute standard for truth. And bless Texas, it's the Bible. We can know the truth. There is an absolute truth. It's the moral compass by which every Christian should live their life. It's not Facebook. It's not Twitter. It's not YouTube. It's not social media. It's the Bible. And we don't have to wonder and worry. And it doesn't change. It's eternal. It's living. Many people today try to blur the line between right and wrong, between the truth and a lie. Beloved, I'm here to tell you, don't sell the truth. Continue in the truth, persist in the truth, live in the truth. Let me give you some practical advice. I shared this with some students a while ago. I've shared this with my boys. I'll share it with you. I personally believe every Christian needs to have a life verse. I really believe that. I believe it's a way for you to persist in truth, to live in truth, to continue in truth. I believe that every single person in here, if you are of the ability to do that, to memorize it, to talk about it, that you should have a life verse. I should walk up to you and say, what is your life verse? And you can, or life verses, and quote back to me what your life verse. I really believe that. Say, David, why? My life verse is, anybody know it? Jude 22, and if some have compassion, making a difference. I really believe that if a Christian gets a hold of that and applies compassion, it really can change people's lives. And I try, I fail miserably, but I try to live that. I really do. And I try to be that kind of person. And I think that you should have a life verse, and then take that life verse and apply it to your life, and live your life. And it should come from the Bible, because the Bible is truth. And then when you're at work, and you're trying to talk to someone on the line, and you're trying to talk to someone at school, or at your workplace, and they say, what's new? Quote them your life verse. After all, they asked. You're allowed to answer a question. If they look at you like you have two heads, explain to them what it means to you. Why not? Believe me, it's a free country. If they don't wanna hear it, they'll walk away. Tell them your life verse. You can know the truth. Here's the deal, beloved. Have a favorite book of the Bible. Have a favorite book of the Bible that you study and you read and reread. I probably have re-read the book of James, I bet you, I don't want to exaggerate, 50 times. I love the book of James. I'll read it, and I'll read it, and I'll sit down and read the whole thing front to cover. It's only what, five chapters? And just read it. Then I'll read it again. Then I'll sit down and I'll read the first chapter six times. There's nothing that says you have to do a certain amount of chapters. I may read three verses and just look at it and read it again. And what does that mean to me? And read it again. Well, what does that mean? And then I'll Google it. Or you can be spiritual and use the Bible coordinates. Whatever you want to do. What does that mean? Why? I want to know the truth. People lie to me all the time. I want the truth. And God's Word is the truth. Have a favorite Bible character. have a life verse, have a favorite Bible book, and have a favorite Bible character. Why not? You're probably not going to memorize all 66 books. You're probably not going to go to the book of Leviticus, because we all know how thrilling the book of Leviticus is. But you can study 1 Timothy. How about Philemon? Book of James is tremendous. How about a favorite character of the Bible? How many mission trips did Paul take? How many times was he in prison? How many books did he write? What do you think Paul's favorite? You can do, that's a way to study. And guess what you're learning the whole time, friends? The truth. You'll gain something from it. Say, David, I can't, I'm not, look, I'm not the sharpest tool in the shed. I graduated sum cum lucky in 1995. People say, were you on the dean's list? I was on the dean's list, all right. But it wasn't the kind of dean's list you want to be on, believe me. But I tell you, you know something? That you don't have to be smart. You can work hard. You don't have to be smart to work hard. You can put time into the Bible. You can reread and reread and reread the truth. So persist in truth. Live in the truth. Continue in truth. Walk in truth. Don't sell the truth for relationships. Students, someday, you're gonna see this person, and it's gonna make your heart race. You're gonna have trouble breathing. You might break out in cold sweats. They used to tell me, Mr. Weirich, I think I'm in love. I'm like, I think you just described asthma to me, I'm not sure. Don't sell truth for relationships because relationships usually don't last. Bible will always will. Don't sell it for material things, possessions, status, your job. Your convictions should not move from day to day. You should have a conviction, a Bible principle, and it doesn't matter what happens, it's what you live by. Why? Because it's the truth, and the truth changes not. Now, you can grow, you can mature. There may be some things that you take a second look at, but it's not something that every single day you're doing. People probably get so ticked off at me why it takes such a long time to make a change for radio. If we add a preaching program, Dan and I will probably talk about it for six months to sometimes a year. Why? I want to make sure it's what God wants us to do. I want to make sure it's what we should be doing. I just don't want to change things around. I want to make sure we're right. Your convictions, your principles. Yeah, you re-evaluate, you look at things, but it's not people that make you change, it's reading the truth and the Holy Spirit talking to you and tugging on your heart's door and letting you know maybe you should rethink that, maybe you should revisit that. Have you prayed about that lately? I'll never forget, we were in Cincinnati, and I think I've told you this story before, There was a man there and he said, I want you to talk to my son. Turns out his son was a scientist. And through the conversations, I think I told you this already, comes to find out he worked for NASA. And he was a scientist, but he was a Christian. But he believed in evolution. And he believed in an old earth. And we were talking back and forth. And I asked him, I said, did you always believe this? And guess what his answer was? No. He used to believe in a young earth creation. He went to college and he looked at me and said, it's almost impossible. He said, someday you have to choose, basically, God or science. You can't be both. He said, but oh, there's a lot of Christians that are scientists. I thought to myself, somewhere that guy sold the truth. Somewhere, for whatever reason, he sold the truth. There are many former church members that used to go to church all the time. They don't know why, because they sold the truth for a temporary fix in the world that's gonna let them down anyways. But David, they chose pleasure. Can I tell you something? We make a mistake. Well, you can either choose pleasure or God. That's a lie. It's both pleasure. Serving God is pleasurable. Living for the world is pleasurable. Guess what the distance? The duration of the pleasure. The reward of the pleasure. Going to the world is a lot of fun, it is. That's why so many people do it. It's the duration of it. Buy into the truth of the gospel. Someone might say, David, where will I be in 20 years? Well, that depends. Where are you headed now? What decisions are you making now? What books are you reading now? What places are you going now? You answer that question, I can tell you where you're gonna be in five years. I can tell you where I'm gonna be in 10 years. I can tell you where I'm gonna be in 30 years. That's really easy to find out. So basically, in my life, I won't do this, because we don't have a lot of time, but if I was to pace off 44 paces, each pace representing a year, okay, that would get me to a certain distance, just for sake of time, let's say I started over there at orchestra, and it got me here, and those 44 years represented something. Now, whether I live for God or not is gonna represent what I've done with those 44 years, and by the way, I will give account for those 44 years. And let's just say I double that, okay, and I'm gonna live a total of 88 years. So then I pace off another 44, and just for sake of illustration, I walk around the auditorium, and I end up here, and we look back and say, oh, 88 years. And we think, okay, Dave, that's a long time. What did you do in those 88 years? Well, it depends on what I was heading, to where I was going, to what results I got. But really, that's the short way to look at it, because am I really only representing 88 years, class? No. Because am I gonna live forever? If I know the Lord Jesus Christ is my personal Savior, yes I am. So guess how long will I live? Forever. Those 88 steps won't stop when I die. I'll give an account, and I'll be in heaven with Jesus, and what I've done for him will be put ahead, and those steps will go from 44 to, you could keep going, to 1,000, to you could walk from here to the end of the earth. That's big picture. That's trying my best to live and walk and continue and persist in the truth. Why? Because there's a lot to talk. It's important. It's big picture. There's more than just Clyde, Ohio or Fremont or Georgia or Tennessee. God's country, right? Where will I be depends on where I'm headed. Buy into the truth of the gospel. Embrace your godly heritage. I don't have one, David. Look at me. Then start one. It's gotta start somewhere. I never forget, my dad, we were opening up gifts. My poor children were so patient. We're reading the Luke chapter two, and these poor guys just wanna tear into the gifts. And my dad starts talking. You never believe this, where my dad got his godly start from? The public school. Because kindergarten, first grade, second grade, his teachers, his public school teachers, opened up the Bible and read it to him every single day. Did you know there was a time in America at Christmas Place and the public school, they actually had Bible scriptures? Did you know that? Did you know that? I'm not joking. They really did. Do you know they really sang Christmas songs like O Holy Night and Silent Night and the public school? Did you know that? They actually preached God? That's how my dad knew when he was a sophomore and they told evolution, my dad does the same hand motion every time. He said, I looked at my science teacher and said, you're full of baloney because Mrs. So-and-so told me God created me. And that stuck in my dad's heart. And that's why when he was 18 years old and a Friday night and Billy Graham turned on, he didn't turn the TV off because the kindergarten teacher and a first grade teacher and a third grade teacher told him the truth. Beloved, who's gonna tell the truth? Who's gonna tell it? Who's gonna save the next Terry Wyrick? Who's gonna do it? Does that burn in you? That burns in me. Who's gonna tell the truth? How's he gonna know the truth? If we don't tell the truth, no one's going to. I'm here to say you won't always understand the Bible, everything in it. I don't. There's certain parts of the scriptures, I'll be real transparent, I do not understand. They do not make sense to me. I still embrace it. Why? Because it's the truth. Someday I'll get it. Right now I don't. We're almost done. Point number two is the principle of right thinking. Philippians chapter two says, look not every man in his own things, but every man also in the things of others. Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus, who being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God. Right thinking, not just positive thinking, but Christ-like thinking. Learning to have a servant attitude, a servant thinking attitude. What can I do? for Christ. What can I do to impact the kingdom? Don't dwell on negative thinking either. Christ thinking is right thinking. Right thinking is not negative thinking. When you think of your church, choose to remember the good. Choose to remember the fun. Choose to remember the humorous things that happen. Positive thinking. The Apostle Paul, now think about this. Have you ever read 2 Corinthians 11, verse 23? It's basically Paul's resume, and it talks about all the things that he went through in his life, okay? Well, I kind of rewrote it, if you don't mind. And this, I put it in my own words, okay? This is not the King James Version, this is the DPW Version. This is not authorized, in case you're wondering. Paul says, I've worked harder than anyone else I've been beaten, thrown in jail, and been at death's door more times than I can count. Five times the Jews whipped me with 39 lashes. The Romans beat me three times with rods. And I was even hit over and over and over again with rocks one time. Three different times the ship I was on crashed. And in one of those shipwrecks, I spent a day and a night in the open sea swimming for my life, clinging onto a board, wondering if I was going to see the next day. I've taken many, many long trips that were not easy. I had to swim across rivers, fight off robbers, struggle with relationships, and debate friends and foes. I've had dangers in the city, deserts, and countryside. I've been betrayed, now this hurts me. I've been betrayed by people I thought were my friends. I've known hard work that's both painful and grueling. There have been many long and lonely nights without sleep. I've missed more meals than I can remember. I've been in the freezing cold, boiling hot, and just plain been exposed to weather conditions you can and cannot imagine. But that's just the beginning. Now add the daily pressures of being a pastor. When someone is hurting, stressed, and confused, I feel the desperation of my spirit. When someone falls into sin, an angry fire burns in my gut. It bothers me. That was the Apostle Paul's life. But guess what, when he ended his life, what did he say? So we know that in 2 Timothy, he's writing to Timothy, it's his swan song, he knows he's going to die. Does he bring these things up? What does Paul talk about? Well, 2 Timothy chapter four says, it's right thinking, it's positive thinking. He says, for I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought a good fight. I have finished my course. 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." The Apostle Paul could have went negative, could he not? Couldn't have the Apostle Peth said, come on, God, after all I've done for you. I've been shipwrecked three times. I've been beat five times. I've been thrown in prison more times than I can count. I've lost tons of friends. I lost tons of family. I've watched people murdered. And this is how it's going to end, God? It's going to end in prison, riding next to someone who I don't even know? No, he didn't say that. He said, I fought a good fight. I finished the course. Praise God. If you go on the scripture, he says, I count. I don't care. I give it all up. I give glory to God. I have glory in the infirmities. Man, that's positive thinking. I don't think I could do that. Could you imagine that? That's a principle he tried to tell Timothy. Not easy to do, beloved. But the Paul says, I didn't do it by myself. I had help. Finally, the principle of right choices. Now this isn't a prison epistle, but Joshua 24, 15 says, But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. Apostle Paul is telling Timothy, now you've got a choice, my friend. You can continue in what you know what to do, or you can leave like many others have. You can continue pastoring churches, or you can go do something else. Now, did you know something? Timothy's dad was not saved. His mom was, his grandma was. As far as we know, Timothy's dad never come to know the Lord, as far as we know. Far as we know, his dad perished and went to hell. As far as we know, he had a home that was broken. That was not the perfect home as we consider. So what are our choices tonight? To be saved or lost? That's our choice. Our choices are to be spiritual or to be carnal. To be scriptural or to be logical. To be safe in God's will or at risk in our own will. So choose tonight, will you stay close to God? Well, how do I do that? Well, number one, forget the past failures. You're gonna fail, beloved. You're going to fail. You've gotta forget those failures. You've got to move on. You've got to change. Number two, forgive the people who have hurt you. Have you ever been hurt, my friends? Have you ever hurt people? It's time to forgive that. It's time to move on past that. It's time to quit holding on. It's time. And finally, for that, fill the voids in your life with godly things. Well, how do I choose to love God with all my life? Well, number one, love Him in your home. Love Him at work. Love Him in your finances. You can do that. These are just some simple steps. It's not a one size fits all, but it's some principles that you can put in. So number one on stay close to God was forget the past failures, forgive that people have hurt you, and fill voyaging life with godly things. How do I love God with all my life? Love him in your home, love him at work, love him in your finances. And choose tonight that you'll live for God for all your life. It's not an easy life, but I'm telling you that Christian life is the best life. It's the most fulfilling life. Choose tonight that you will be excited about your ministry and get busy in it. What is your ministry? Find one. If you don't have a ministry you're involved in, find one. Find it this week. Now wait till Pastor Holmes comes back and make sure that he's sitting down. And walk into his office and say, Pastor Holmes, what can I do? Now his first thing he's gonna say is nothing. Then you'll say, for those that are good, say, I know the light fixture in the bathroom is not working. Would you mind if I came on Tuesday and fixed it for you? Now he's going to fall over. Then pick him back up. You're going to say, I notice there's scuff marks all in the gym. I'm going to come in, I'm going to purchase the paint, and I'm going to paint the scuff marks on the wall. I've noticed that the bathroom door is broke. It's been broke. I'm going to come in, and I'm going to fix that. I know the plumbing doesn't work. I'm going to come in, and I'm going to fix that. I notice there's carpet stains. I'm going to come in, and I'm going to fix that. I notice there's people that we need door greeters. I'm going to come in, and I'm going to greet them. I notice we need people to take up the offering. I'm going to be here every service. You're not going to have to call me. You're not going to remind me. I'm going to be here every service, and I'm going to do that. I notice that sometimes there's trash around the auditorium. I'm going to come in every Wednesday night 30 minutes before and I'm going to clean that up and I'm going to help out. I'm just going to do that. I'm gonna make sure that there's a guest pastor, I'm gonna go over, I'm gonna introduce myself, and I'm gonna talk to them, and I'm gonna do that every service. That can be your ministry. It doesn't have to be playing music or preaching. That can be your ministry. You can do that. You're gonna say, every time it snows, I promise you, I'll be here 45 minutes before, I'll bring my family, and we're gonna shovel the walks and put salt down. I promise you, no matter how much snow, people come, they're not gonna fall, because I'm gonna be here. If it pours down rain, I'm gonna go down to the dollar store, I'm gonna purchase some umbrellas, I'm gonna stand there, I'm gonna walk people in. I know, crazy isn't it? We start doing that, I'm telling you we'll turn Clyde upside down. People won't even know what to do. You start walking and say, I've determined that every single service, I'm gonna go to four people that I don't really know, and I'm gonna get to know their first name and their last name, and I'm gonna have a relationship with them. This is getting real, beloved. This is changing things. I'm gonna go across the auditorium. I'm gonna sit, uh-oh, uh-oh. I'm gonna sit in a different spot so I can talk to different people. Pastor, I'm gonna do that. I'm going to, I'm gonna get to church early. Oh no, David, please. When he says amen, I'm gonna hang out and talk. Because Facebook can wait and so can the television. And I'm gonna fellowship. I'm gonna go out, pastor, and I'm gonna grab 20 gospel tracts. and I'm going to make it my mission to hand out 20 gospel tracts every week. I'm going to do that, Pastor. That's going to be my ministry. I'm going to go to the nursing home, and I'm going to go to the door of those lonely people. Can I tell you something? I go to the nursing home. I don't think I've got that great of a voice. They love to hear me sing. Why? They just want people. I don't know what to say. All I've got to do is grab their hand, pat it, and say, God bless your heart, and just talk to them. David, how do I do that? It's making right choices. You make enough of those choices, someday down the line you'll have a different life. I'm gonna volunteer to drive the bus. I'm gonna volunteer to fix it. I'm gonna volunteer to help on the roof. Whatever. I'm gonna do that. I'm gonna pull out my old instrument and oil it up and I'm gonna play in the orchestra. I've spoken a long time, I'm done. What is it, beloved? I'm not trying to bite on you, I'm not trying to hurt on you. The Christian life isn't always the easy life, but it's the best life. It's the best life. Principles from a jail cell. If Paul was here, he might say the principle of walking in truth, living in truth, continuing truth. He might tell us that. He might say, you know what, I'm gonna give you the principle of right thinking. continue in right thinking, walk in right thinking, live in right thinking. He finally might say, you know what, I'm gonna give you the principle of right choices. Paul would say, I've made some wrong choices, but praise God, I've made more right than wrong. I praise God for that. David, what do you do when you fall and you've messed up? You get to the altar, you confess it, and you go on again. What about next Wednesday? Get to the altar, confess it, and move on. What about next Sunday morning? Get to the altar, confess it, and keep moving on.