Final Instructions

A Sunday School teacher asked the children, “If I sold my house and my car, had a big garage sale and gave all my money to the church, would I get into Heaven?” “NO!” the children answered.

“If I cleaned the church every day, mowed the yard, and kept everything neat and tidy, would I get into heaven?” Again the children answered with a resounding “NO!”

“Well”, she continued, “then how can I get to heaven?” In the back of the room, a five year old boy shouted out, “You gotta be dead!”

Milada Horakova was a Czech politician and was elected a Member of Parliament, where she remained until the Communist coup in February 1948.

On September 27, 1949, the Communist authorities arrested her and charged her with conspiracy against the state. Despite being tortured, she refused to accept the legality of the current government. She was sentenced to death after widely publicized show trial. The Communist authorities then offerd her clemency in exchange for a confession, but she refused and was executed by hanging. The night befor her execution her jailers allowed Horakova to writh three letters, one to her husband, one to her sixteen year old daughter Jana, and one to her mother-in -law, who would raise her daughter.

Part of the Letter to her daughter reads: “The reason was not that I loved you little; I love you just as purely and fervently as other mothers love their children. But I understood that my task here in the world was to do you good… by seeing to it that life becomes better, and that all children can live well. … Don’t be frightened and sad because I am not coming back any more. Learn, my child, to look at life early as a serious matter. Life is hard, it does not pamper anybody, and for every time it strokes you it give you ten blows. Become accustomed to that soon, but don’t let it defeat you, decide to fight.”

What’s Important?

If you want to know what was most important to a person, read what they have written as their last instructions to their children. For Milada, it was important that her daughter knew that life was hard, to be prepared for it and to fight for what is right, no matter what the cost. It cost Milada her life.

For Paul, who wrote his second letter to Timothy from Rome, knew that he was to be executed soon and wanted Timothy to know what Paul considered was important for Timothy to know.

Paul’s Last Instructions : 2 Timothy 4:1-8

Let us read what Paul instructs Timothy in Pauls last letter to him:

2 Timothy 4:1–8 “I charge thee in the sight of God, and of Christ Jesus, who shall judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: preach the word; be urgent in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching. For the time will come when they will not endure the sound doctrine; but, having itching ears, will heap to themselves teachers after their own lusts; and will turn away their ears from the truth, and turn aside unto fables. But be thou sober in all things, suffer hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfil thy ministry. For I am already being offered, and the time of my departure is come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith: henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give to me at that day; and not to me only, but also to all them that have loved his appearing.”

Here are some take-aways we find in this passage:

1. Preach the Word in season and out of season

2. Reprove, rebuke, and exhort with patience and teaching

3. People will turn from the truth and towards myths

4. Be self-controlled

5. Endure afflictions

6. Evangelize

7. Prove your ministry

Paul laid out 7 basic principles to Timothy to prepare him for the ministry. For time sake, today we will look at only three of them:

1. Preach the Word, in season and out of season

2. Reprove, rebuke and exhort with patience and teaching

3. Prove your ministry (Ha, I bet you thought I was going to say Evangelize, didn’t ya!)

1. Preach the word: in season and out of season

In season and out of season means that it doesn’t matter what mood your in, it doesn’t matter how busy your schedule is, always be ready.

1 Peter 3:15 “but sanctify in your hearts Christ as Lord: being ready always to give answer to every man that asketh you a reason concerning the hope that is in you, yet with meekness and fear:”