As We Approach the End

As we approach the end of this year and prepare to enter a new one, I thought it would be appropriate as your new pastor to visit the last words of the apostle Paul. In 2 Timothy Paul wrote to his young friend, Timothy, who was serving as the pastor of the church at Ephesus. These last words are more than just words of encouragement. As Pastor of Ephesus Timothy would face challenges and trials, the church would face challenges and trials. These closing words from Paul were instructions on what Timothy was to do in the face of these circumstances.

Church, I would be a liar if I stood here today and said, “We don’t have to worry about these challenges.” I want you to know that most certainly do have to concern ourselves with these challenges. Today, as we close out 2021 and prepare to bring in 2022, I want us to look at Paul’s challenge to Timothy, and I want you to know what you may expect from me, your pastor.

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This passage has encouraged me through the years and when I read Paul’s words to Timothy I see here three promises I want to make to you. I promise, first, that I will not...

Give In 1-5

Paul warns Timothy that pressures will come, that times will be tough, that this task he is charging him with will not be easy. Paul tells Timothy that he will face pressures.

Sadly, one of the most common places we will face pressure will be from within the Church. There is now, and there has always been the pressure to compromise.

Vance Havner has said “The most vulgar word that can be spoken in a church is compromise”.

It was true in Timothy’s day and it is even more true in our day. Today we face the monster of compromise on every front. From music, to Bible translations, even to the way and method of how we should preach a sermon, it is everywhere. Paul knew it and we know, so Paul gave Timothy some instruction on how to deal with the pressure to compromise. LOOK IN VERSE 2 ...

In 4:2 Paul instructs Timothy on how to handle the pressure of compromise:

Preach the Word. Simply put he told Timothy to proclaim the Word, despite its seeming unpopularity.

There are some who believe that the gospel is too bloody, but I say that’s fine, it was the blood that saved me and it’s the blood that will save you, and nothing but the blood!

There is never any reason to change the message, there is only one message that saves, and that is the gospel message of Jesus Christ.

To be instant in season, and out of season. This means that Timothy was to preach the Word when he felt like it and when he didn’t.

This means that not only was he to preach the Word, but he was to do it consistently.

I can see Paul now as he's sitting in his cell chained with a guard on either side of him, what do you think he talked about, the weather?

Was he begging for his life? NO! He was proclaiming the gospel and begging them to trust the Savior!

HE was instant – he stood upon the truth, in season, out of season, at every single opportunity he had he was giving the gospel, encouraging the brethren and begging sinners to turn to Christ!

Reprove. This word reprove means to bring to conviction, it means to tell of a fault.

Can I be honest with you this morning? I hate this “new” thing of being down on sin, no I'm always downing sin, but this thing of not calling it sin, cause that might offend somebody...that's of the devil!

My Bible says to stand up, speak up, and bring conviction to people by the preaching of the Word!

Rebuke. To rebuke means to forbid.

It has the idea to asses a penalty to something – our pulpits need not be filled with preachers to preach to bring conviction but with preachers who preach with conviction!

Sin is sin, and God hates sin, therefore we have no choice in the matter but to hate as much as He does.

Exhort. This means to call near, to comfort.

Isn't God wonderful? It'd be easy for me to get caught up on this thing of reproof and rebuke, but then I'd run the risk of becoming a bully.

God's Word tells us here that as believers, we're to not only call out people for their sin, but we're to comfort them and help bring them into a right relationship with God as well.

With all longsuffering. Paul encouraged Timothy to be longsuffering, to have forbearance, to be patient. We can't expect to see lives changed in an instant, we must be patient and wait on God, we must be focused keep on the task at hand.

Doctrine. Simply put, the Word of God is to be used for instruction.

There is a problem in the family of God today,

the Bible gets pushed aside because it doesn’t agree with our opinions or our traditions, so we let those opinions override what the Bible teaches.

Paul told Timothy to use the Bible to correct these opinions and traditions.

There is a movement today away from taking the Bible literally, and denies its authority.

I say its the Word of the Living God.

The Bible declares itself to be the source, and the measure of truth, I say its authoritative and worthy to revered.

Paul reminds Timothy to keep his resolve, to not give in to these pressures. Verses 3 and 4 give a better picture of our day than the morning news does...

“Will not endure – put up with,

sound – healthy doctrine, and they will consciously turn from the truth v. 4.

Look at verse 5 with me... Not giving in to theses pressures takes work. Paul told Timothy, and the Holy Spirit preserved these words for us, to “watch” to be vigilant or be discreet. To endure or undergo hardships and afflictions to do the work, of an evangelist – a preacher of the gospel!,to make full proof of your ministry is to entirely accomplish the task at hand.

I don’t need tell you church, this is not an easy task, this is work, and hard work to please God. In the face of all the challenges we will face this year church, I promise, I will not give in. Promise number two, I promise that I will not...

Give Out 4:6-8

Pressures will come, persecutions will take place, this is not an easy task, but we cannot let them wear us down. I am not Superman, I am just a man. I get tired, i get sick, I get frustrated. There will be times when I will need a break. Jesus often took time to get away from the crowd. Jesus often brought His disciples away from the work for a break. I am going to take vacation with my family. Probably two trips this year. In September I’ll be going to The Wilds for a week with the school, and then at the end of September to Myrtle Beach for a teacher’s convention.

Three quick reasons why not to give out doing the work of God:

Despite all the persecutions that Paul had faced in his life, in the face of his execution he had not given out on the cause of Christ. He had not let the circumstances of his life wear him down to the point of giving up. He knew that Heaven was his destination. He had the right attitude.

Vs. 6: he viewed his execution as an offering of service to God. He realized that his time, and more importantly, his work here on earth was completed. “The time of my departure is at hand”. The word departure used here was a nautical term, it was used on a shipyard to describe ships being loosed from their moorings and setting sail for their journey. Paul was about to set sail to his heavenly home.

Friends, you may be going through some tough times, but if you are saved then you must realize that one day the time of your departure is going to come and you too will set sail for glory land.

Paul assured Timothy that his departure was not premature. Paul was not giving up, he had finished vs. 7.

J.T. Lyons, missionary to Africa and Spain, said to us in a chapel service in school :

“Men, its one thing to start well, its another thing to end well. It doesn’t matter how well you start if you never finish”.

Thousands of people run in marathons every year, but only one can win the race, but even the person who finishes dead last, 20 minutes later can still say “I finished the race”.

There is no honor in quitting on God. I want to be like Paul, sense the urgency, and finish the race.

There is a far greater reward waiting for us in Heaven vs. 8.

There is a need today among Christians to realize that we are not at home yet.

We spend too much time trying to make ourselves comfortable here on earth when we should focusing on our true home.

I promise not to give in to the pressures, not to do my absolute best not to give out in the work, and,, lastly, I promise to not:

Give Up vs. 9-10

Never lose hope. Paul was not only writing from a prison cell, but he was writing with the knowledge that his time was almost up, he was facing not persecution, but execution. In this last section of II Timothy, we see Paul encouraging his young friend to stick with it, and not to give up as some had.

Demas had lost hope of the cause. Maybe it was the fear of persecution, of imprisonment, or of execution, but what ever it was Demas gave up. The Bible says that Demas “loved this present world”. The Bible says:

1 John 2:15 KJV 1900

Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

I know the pressures are tough, and that this world has a lot to offer, but its only temporary. When I weigh the cost of loving this present world, against the world to come and the reward of Heaven, there is no comparison. I don’t know exactly what caused Demas to give up, all I know is that the Bible says he loved the world, and the Bible warns us not to love the world, and that is enough for me. Demas is an example of what “not to do”, Paul is an example of “what to do”.

Paul never gave up, even in his last letter he was still encouraging Timothy to do the same, knowing that his days were literally numbered Paul was still as strong as ever. Friends, don’t be a Demas. Don’t give up on serving God. Now is not the time to quit, now is the time to regroup, to muster the troops, to regain momentum and to press on toward the mark. Don’t give up!

CONCLUSION: Church, I promise this to you. But I cannot do it alone. Will you stand alongside me and make the same promises to me as I’ve promised to you?

Don’t give in to the pressures, don’t give out in the work, and don’t give up on the cause of Christ.

This was Paul’s last message to Timothy, but there is a good reason why the Holy Spirit saw to preserve this for us today, its because we are living in a time when we need this encouragement as much, if not more, than Timothy did.

Friends we live in a world that is controlled by Satan, and it is totally against our message,and our God.

Now is the time to let Paul’s charge to Timothy become God’s charge us and to stand up for the cause of Christ.

We need to stand up in the face of adversity and ask the same question that David asked in the face of Goliath: “Is there not a cause?”

Friends, there has never been a greater cause on this planet than the cause of Jesus Christ. There is no greater message than the message of salvation through the blood of Jesus.

My charge to you is the same as Paul’s was to Timothy, don’t give in, don’t give out, and don’t give up! There are people in this town, on this road, who are going to die and go to hell. Are you OK with that?

Let’s bow our heads...