Thank you. If you want to open your Bible, please, not at Deuteronomy, but at Paul's second letter to Timothy, at the back of your Bible. Paul's second letter to Timothy, chapter 3. 2 Timothy 3, and we'll read from verse 1 to 8. I'll make one or two comments as we read. I believe, listening to the opening remarks, that this is the Lord's message this morning. 2 Timothy 3, verse 1. This know also that in the last days perilous times shall come, for men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, Disobedient to parents. Unthankful. Unholy. Without natural affection. Truth-breakers. False accusers. Incontinent. That doesn't mean what you might think it means. The Greek word is akrates and it simply means excessive behaviour. That's what it means. Fierce. Despisers of those that are good. Verse 4. Traitors. Heady or headstrong. high-minded, lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God, having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof, from such turn away. For of this sort are they which creep into houses and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with diverse lusts, ever learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. Now as Janneys and Jamreys, way back in the Old Testament and the Book of Exodus, withstood Moses, so do these also resist the truth, men of corrupt minds, reprobates concerning the faith. We'll end there in those very harsh and hard words. I don't often quote from the Living Bible. I have lots of translations at home. I want to read to you the way the Living Bible translates this. Now I'm not recommending you go out and buy one, but as an evangelist I have many translations. This is what the Living Bible says in 2 Timothy chapter 3, in the verses that I've just read. You listen to them. You may as well know this too, Timothy, that in the last days it's going to be very difficult to be a Christian, for people will love themselves and their money. They'll be proud and boastful, sneering at God, disobedient to parents, ungrateful to them, and thoroughly bad. They will be hard-headed and never give in to others. They will be constant liars and troublemakers, and think nothing of immorality. They will be rough and cruel, and sneer at those who try to be good. They will betray their friends. They will be hot-headed, puffed up with pride, and prefer good times to worshipping God. They will go to church, yes. but they won't really believe anything they hear. Don't be taken in by people like that. They are the kind who carefully sneak into other people's homes and make friendships with silly, sin-burdened women and teach them their new doctrine. Women of that kind are forever following new teachers, but they never understand the truth. These teachers fight the truth just as Channies and Jamborees fought against Moses. They have dirty minds, warped and twisted, and have turned against the Christian faith. But they won't get away with all this. Someday their deceit will be made known to everyone, as was the sin of Channies and Jamborees. That's what it says. in that translation, and there's an awful lot of hard truth in there. And it made me ask myself the question, as I wanted to ask you this morning, in the light of what we've just read in scripture, have the perilous times come? Have the perilous times arrived? The Greek word used for perilous here is shalipos. It actually means hard times. It means difficult times. And it can also mean grievous times. Times of much grief. Let me take you back a wee bit in time. An old man gets lost in a big city. He stops and he asks for directions. He's pulled out of his car, he's violently attacked and robbed, and as a result the old man dies. That old man fought for queen and country, yet to be killed by a thug and a thief on the streets. That old man had he lived and thousands of other old men would tell you this morning that the perilous times are here. A young man is taken by force into the back garden of a house, I'll not tell you where the house is. Metal spikes are driven through his hands and his feet. This was done at what we call Easter time. I wonder what was going through the mind of those that done this evil deed. But that young man at the end of the punishment would tell you along with his family, these are indeed perilous times. More recently in the news, maybe a couple of months ago, a young girl goes missing. She's not seen for over a week. And then in the shade, parts of her body are discovered. And the police go to the parents and tell them this is their daughter. She'd been dismembered. A relative, a relative is charged with her murder. That young girl's mom and dad would tell you this morning if they were here through tears, these are perilous times. And there are those in our society who are capable of the most horrendous of wicked deeds. And a way back hundreds of years ago, Jeremiah said in chapter 17 and verse 9, that the heart is deceitful above all things. And then he said, it is desperately wicked. Who can know it? Let me bring you up to date. A few weeks ago, 148 students were brutally murdered at a Kenyan university. The Muslims were lined up and asked to quote from the Quran, and if they could quote from the Quran, they were set free. Those who professed to be Christians were shot dead. The heart is indeed deceitful and desperately wicked. The parents of all those young students would tell you these are indeed perilous times. But the reason I stress that point is that Paul was warning young Timothy not so much about the perilous times in society, he was talking about perilous times in the church. And you say to me, how do you make that out? What makes you come to that conclusion? Verse five, through Timothy three and five, these people had a form of godliness. Another translation puts it, they'll go to church, but they won't believe a word they hear. They'll sit maybe Sunday by Sunday under the word of God, but they'll deny it and they won't accept it. They'll tell you maybe they love God, but they love pleasure more than they love God. Paul says very clearly, in the word of God, which we hold to be God's word, from such turn away. He didn't say join them or support them. He said turn away from. I wasn't sure whether I would say this this morning, so I'll phrase it this way. If you're listening to me right now and you're stuck in some old dead empty church where the gospel is not preached, where your faith is not challenged, where doctrine is unimportant, let me say to you what Paul said to Timothy, from such turn away. Go and find a place where God's word is faithfully proclaimed. Where Jesus Christ is presented as the only savior. And when you practice your faith, you will know God's blessing. I prayed much before I said that. Let me ask you the question again. Have perilous times come? In the church today, speaking personally, I believe they have. I was reading Dr. Harry Ironside's commentary on Timothy's letter, and he said this, the church has gone into the entertainment business, and the people must be amused. And I thought, that's not far off the mark. I might be criticised for saying it or speaking on it, but I believe it to be true. And the question we as Christians need to be addressing is this. How do we deal with, how do we cope with these perilous times? I sat and I prayed with Sadie last week. which looked fine, now finds herself in the Royal Hospital. These things can suddenly just come upon us. None of us know what a day may bring forth. But how do you and I as committed Christians, how do we cope with perilous times even in the church? Well, the word of God has the answer. And thank God it has the answer, because I certainly don't. The answer is found in 2 Timothy 4 and verse 2, where Paul said to young Timothy, he said, I want you to go out there and I want you to preach the word. Preach the word. And then he says a few verses later, verse 5, 2 Timothy 4 and 5, go and do the work of an evangelist. That's what I want you to do, Timothy. And Paul lays this charge on the shoulders of a young man. And he said to him in chapter 4, 2 Timothy 4 and verse 1, I charge thee therefore, that is because of what you've learned from me, Timothy, I want you to go out among the people and I want you to preach the word. Preach the word. He didn't say this but he meant this. Preach the word but leave the outcome to God. Leave the outcome to the work of the Holy Spirit. I speak to people during the week. I was doing some tracks not far from a well-known shopping centre in Portadown. You're not allowed to advertise but it was Tesco's. I offered a young lady sitting in the car, I was putting some invitations on car windows, and I offered her a track and I could tell straight away she was offended. And I said to her, do you not bother with church or anything like that? And she sort of gave me a dirty look and says, no, I've got a baby. And I thought, well, my wife is three babies, but it didn't stop her from going to church. Some people can get very offended when you approach them about the gospel. That goes way back even into the Old Testament. The prophet Isaiah talked about seeking the Lord. It's applicable today. He said in chapter 55 of Isaiah in verse 6, he said, seek ye the Lord while he may be found. If you're gonna seek for something, you have to search it out. You don't sit down and wait for it to come to you. You go and you look and you seek for it. And then he talks about the seed of God's word. This is Isaiah, the prophet we're talking about. And in chapter 55 and verse 10, Matthew 13 backs up what he says. It says basically the same thing. It's about sowing the good seed of God's word. And Paul himself, of course, knew the power of God's word, and did the prophet Isaiah. Let me read Isaiah 55 and verse 11. Burt says, I want you to notice the word shall this morning. Notice the word shall in this verse. Isaiah 55 verse 11. So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth. It shall not return unto me void. It shall accomplish that which I please. It shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it. God meant Isaiah to put that down in black and white, if I could put it that way. You and I this morning as committed Christians, we believe God's Word. We don't maybe fully understand every bit of it, but we believe God's Word. Actually, we're not told to understand it, we're just told to believe it, but that's another argument. God's Word, I believe, is sufficient enough and powerful enough to meet our every need. sufficient this morning to meet Sadie's need in the Royal Hospital. I believe that. Hebrews 4 verse 12. For the word of God is alive, or quick as it sounds, but it's alive and it's powerful. And it's sharper than any two-edged sword. But let me put in a wee warning. We Christians, We'll face hostility. We will face trials. We will face criticism. You may experience verbal abuse, even threats of legal action. And we've certainly seen this recently in the Asher's battery case, which is still ongoing. and the bed and breakfast owners from Devon, a lovely part of the world. If ever you're going on holidays, Devon and Cornwall are beautiful places. When I was thinking about this issue and the threats made against Asher's Bakery and being taken to court and the court case is ongoing, I have been praying along with others, even signing a petition that God would undertake for them But I want to say this to you this morning, and don't be too upset with me if you don't agree with me. Don't be shocked if Usher's bakery lose this case. Don't be shocked. Do you know why I say that? Because the devil is behind all this. And the devil is not going to let go without a fight. and he has won so many cases where this particular issue is so prevalent and in America. So we need to be careful. Charles Wesley, most of you know I was saved in Methodism and I got some birthday presents today. Was I telling you it was my birthday today? My daughter bought me John Wesley's life story And Charles Wesley, his brother, and I feel I know both of them very well. Charles Wesley wrote the hymn, Soldiers of Christ Arise, and put your armour on. Strong in the strength which God supplies through his eternal son. Strong in the Lord of hosts, and in his mighty power, who in the strength of Jesus trusts. is more than conqueror. Wesley wrote some great hymns. He wrote some that I wouldn't say amen to, by the way, but that's another argument. Now you make no mistake about it this morning, and those maybe who are listening to me and you're a committed Christian, you will face opposition. You will. you will face opposition. Many will use different methods to put across their point of view. Some of the criticism or the critics that we would have, some of them will do it very openly. We've just come through Easter, next big holiday is Christmas. And at this time of the year you get TV stations and they drop out a string of religious professors, liberal theologians, a load of modernists, forgive me if this offends you, an awful lot of old dead bishops. I've listened to some of them over the Easter period. Many of them are evolutionists, don't believe in creation at all. Many of them in religious garb and white collars and cloaks and gowns deny the resurrection. It wasn't literal, it wasn't physical. It was only a story. And of course many won't accept the virgin birth. I'll say to you quite openly, that's nonsense. Nonsense. They're deeply offended committed Christians. You deeply offend a Muslim, do you see what happens? Some of them do it openly. We verse in Romans 1 and 22 says, professing themselves to be wise, they become fools. And those who promote evolution, educated men, far more educated than I am, They dismiss creation and therefore reject God's word. And if you watch the television or read some of the books you can buy today, they openly deny, openly deny that God exists in anything to do with God. But some of them not only do it openly, some of them do it, if I can use this word, cunningly. Very cunningly. And Paul the Apostle was very much aware of this. We verse in 2 Corinthians and chapter 11 he said, there are false apostles about. There are deceitful workers about. And their aim and objective is to deceive as many as they can. And in verse 14 of that chapter, 2 Corinthians 11 verse 14, he said, and this doesn't surprise me and it'll not surprise you, but it might surprise some people who are listening this morning. He said, Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. The devil himself can put on a collar and black robes or white robes and be as dark as hell. I wasn't sure if I should say this because some people mightn't agree with me. I wonder have you noticed the prominence given to homosexual behaviour in the soaps, you know these soaps that they have, Emmerdale and Coronation Street and East Enders. And nearly in every one of them there is this theme of homosexual behaviour brought to the fore. I think it's EastEnders, I might be wrong, but they have a vicar, a minister in the church having a relationship with a bartender in the pub and it's presented as normal. I don't think the Bible would go along with that. Some people do it openly, some people do it cunningly. Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light when the circumstances require it. And the devil knows precisely the circumstances that you and I find ourselves in. So some will do it openly and some will do it with cunning. Some will do it personally. This isn't easy to take, but listen to 2 Timothy chapter 4 and verse 14. Paul tells young Timothy, he said, he speaks of a particular man. He said, Alexander, the coppersmith did me personally. He's speaking personally. He mentioned the man's name. Alexander the coppersmith did me much evil personally. Alexander the coppersmith was well known. Another translation says, the NIV, Alexander the metal worker did me personally a great deal of harm. Who was Alexander the Coppersmith? Well the truth is we don't really know for sure who he was. But I don't think it matters who he was, it matters what he done. What he done. Paul said, this man did me, personally, much evil. Herbert Lockyer says in his book, This man opposed the faith. This man greatly withstood our words. I recall speaking at Speakers Corner in Hyde Park and at Tar Hill in London, and we would get hecklers and they would vehemently withstand the gospel. And they would shout at you while you were preaching. And they would say things to you that would certainly take your mind away from what you were speaking. And I must be honest with you, I thank God for the work of the London City Mission that taught me how to cope. Taught me how to cope. And I used to say to them when they were hackling me, I'd say, listen, if you give me five minutes, I'll come down and I'll talk with you. And I'd done that, and it sometimes worked. And being honest, sometimes it didn't. They kept on hackling because they were, for want of a better word, professional hackers. That's what they were there for. You see, the devil can transform himself into an angel of light. And one of them came to me one day, and I think I might have mentioned this to you before when I talked about sin. We're all sinners. This fellow said, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. Mary never sinned. And I said, can you give me a few minutes and I'll come down and talk to you? And he did. And I went down and I told him, as I'm sure most of you know, it says in the Bible, Mary rejoiced in God, her saviour. If she didn't need a saviour, why would she say all that? And they all was sort of, weasel or weird. This man stood against Paul's preaching, Paul's faith in Jesus Christ. Dan Brown done the same. You say who's Dan Brown? Dan Brown wrote the book The God Delusion and he said of Christians who believed in God you're deceiving yourself. Richard Dawkins, Professor Richard Dawkins, an educated man, make no mistake about it. I'm sure you've seen him, he's the chap you see sometimes in the wheelchair, talks through a computer. He denies the scriptures. He denies God. Maybe because the state he's in, he thinks, well, if God's a God of love, why am I like this? I don't know all the answers, but he denies God. And he stands against the preaching of the gospel. Alexander the coppersmith speaks to me of the devil. Might only, not just oppose me personally, but he'll want to do me harm. Never underestimate the depravity of man. or the determination of the devil. Spoke to a lady in the town in Port Adair the other day, and she said to me, people don't understand the power of the devil. They just don't understand. And we had a nice chat in a car park, and she told me where she went. I'll not tell you, but she was a free Presbyterian. And she was very open, very honest. And she says, people don't realise the power of the devil. I think I've quoted up here the children's chorus, the devil is a sly old fox. If I could catch him, I'd put him in a box. And I'd lock the box and I'd throw away the key for all the tricks he's played on me. And isn't there a wee chorus? I'm glad I've got salvation, eh? This world, my dear friends, this morning, this world is full of Alexander Coppersmiths. Absolutely. How do we deal with them? The same way that Paul deals with them. He said in 2 Timothy 4 and 14, the Lord reward him, that's Alexander the Coppersmith, the Lord reward him according to his works. The NIV puts it, the Lord will repay him for what he has done to me. You see, there are issues in the Christian's life that we need to leave in the hands of God. There are things that we just don't fully comprehend. When I pray for people and I know they're not saved, and especially even in my own family circle, I don't sometimes know, they've been brought up in the gospel, they've went to Brethren Sunday Schools, they've heard the gospel, they've heard the finest of preachers, but they're still not saved. Those are things that we have to leave in God's hands. You and I this morning, we might face trials in life. We might have cares and crosses to bear. We certainly will have concerns that affect us. There may be difficult days ahead. There may be perilous times ahead. But we have a great God who knows everything, knows our very thoughts. That frightens me sometimes. Knows what I want even before I ask. Knows the outcome. But I want to send you home this morning with words of Isaac Watts' great hymn. And when you think about it, lodge this hymn in your heart, write it down, put it in your wallet, keep it nearby. Because Isaac Watts knew all about this. And he wrote the words, amid the trials that I meet, amid the thorns that pierce my feet, one thought remains supremely sweet. What was the thought? Thou thinkest Lord of me. You see, in the perilous times, God is precious. That lovely reverse in 1 Peter 2 and 7. Unto you therefore which believe he is precious. We have a great God, great Saviour, able to save to the uttermost. I told you my father was a, he's with the Lord now, but he was a heavy drinking man. Very wealthy man. Had a great business head. Couldn't write too well or hadn't a great education. All he could do was maybe sign cheques. Very good to me and the family. And then he said to me one day, did you hear I got saved? And I said I did, but I was waiting for you to tell me. We have a great God. And we prayed. I prayed with my father once. in hospital on his deathbed, myself and my brother. And God heard and answered the prayer. So you take that great home, that great hymn home with you and have it close to your heart because the trials will come, but the Lord's thinking about you. And I think that's a great way to end. the morning ministry. Could we sing the hymn do you think? It's 386 in redemption songs.