Well, we're coming toward the end of our study in 2 Timothy. It's been said, a man's last words are a window to his own heart. That's true of Paul in this epistle. We've been studying 2 Timothy, and I've said at the beginning of this study that it is a study of discipleship. A study of how to become and make Christ learners. That's some language that we're gonna be using going forward. Disciples are Christ learners. And so this letter that Paul penned to Timothy, but also to the church at Ephesus, is a study in discipleship. I would encourage you, exhort you, to take up your Bible and read through this letter in one setting. It's four chapters. It's not that long. It won't take you that long. But contemplate what's being said. Look at what's being said throughout and the themes that take place in this letter because it was meant for Timothy. It was meant for the church at Ephesus, but it's also meant for you and for me. and particularly this passage that we are looking at this morning. Chapter four, verses one through eight. I've entitled this message, Persevering Proclamation of the Word of God. We are to persevere in our own proclamation of the Word of God, whether it's to believers, brothers and sisters, or whether it's to those who are lost. and we meet them where they are with the good news of Jesus Christ. There is no better news than Christ crucified, risen and ascended. Well, let us pray and we'll get into this message this morning. Father in heaven, we do rejoice that we can open your word, that it is truth, that it is food for our souls, that we do not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from your mouth. And this was spoken, it was God breathed, you tell us. So father, by your spirit and plant this word deep within us, let it take root and let it grow and bear fruit in our lives for your glory in Jesus name, amen. This particular passage I've broken up just into two sections. One is preach the word, verses one through five, and the other is finishing well. Finishing well. How many of us start a task with a lot of enthusiasm, and we get into the work, and it is going so well, and then after a while it becomes harder. We've been, Gail and I have been displaced from our house all summer long. We had a slab leak that started on May the 24th. And we've got to move back in this week. The movers came on Wednesday and they moved some things. And on Thursday moved some other things. And then came the task of going through box by box by box. And we're in our house and it looks like a brand new house, kind of like Trinity when we came in from the flood. You remember that. It's a facelift and you look all around and there's new paint on the wall and there's new flooring and all these things. What a blessing. And then we start opening up the boxes. At first day, 78 boxes. Now, I'll tell you, some of the packing, you'd have a box and you'd open it up and it has a lampshade in it. Okay, so it's kind of encouraging, a box out of the way, a lampshade. And then another one would have the base of the lamp. And then you have other ones that were just filled full of things. And we're excited to get back in the house and we're excited to put everything away and to become a home again. But about Wednesday, Thursday afternoon and evening, we're kind of tired of this. Gala has said, never again, never again. Not only moving out of this house and moving back in, but never move again, period. So we start out enthusiastic in things, but God calls us, Christ calls us in gospel ministry, which is an every member ministry. It's not just Pastor Jake. and Pastor Jeff's ministry. It's not just the elders ministry. It's not just the deacons ministry like Bill Kornfield was up here this morning. It is an every member ministry. You are to know the gospel, not just for yourself, although you encourage yourself through it, but you're to know the gospel so that you can share it with someone who needs it, someone who is lost. So we'll look at this, preaching the word and then finishing well. Paul begins this portion of his letter and we really need to know the context here. He's going to give a charge to Timothy. It's not an imperative. It's an exhortation and it's an encouragement, but it's based on what he just said. Pastor Jake did a great job in covering this last week when he looked at 2 Timothy 3 and verses 10 through 17. And let me just read this real quick to put it in context for you. You, Timothy, 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. We shouldn't be surprised. while evil people and imposters will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. But as for you, Timothy, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it. And from your childhood, you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able, that means power, has the power to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All scripture All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable, beneficial for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. Timothy was a disciple of Paul's. He was a Christ learner. He had learned from his grandmother Lois, that his mother Eunice, and then from Paul, He is prepared. That's the context. And now Paul charges him. This is to be a motivation to preach the Word, to teach the Word. And what does he use for motivation? He goes to God first. He says, Timothy, I charge you, I exhort you. In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, in the presence of God in Christ Jesus. That idea of presence is God is watching. They are witnesses to what you're doing. How often do we go through life and we don't even consider that God sees what we're doing? We think that in our little corner of the world, it's not gonna pay attention. And we may do good things and we may do bad things. But a lot of time, we don't think about that. Paul is saying he's present. He's watching you, has a negative aspect. He sees everything that you do, but it has a positive aspect. He's there. The promise given earlier of the Holy Spirit in this letter that we are strengthened by grace in a spirit, not of fear, but of power and love and a sound mind. That Spirit is with us. So the first motivation is the presence of God, the presence of Christ in our life. We're not alone. Secondly, he gets into this idea of Christ's second coming as a motivation. Motivation that he is coming, Jesus coming again to judge the living and the dead. That should tell you that there's a sense of urgency here. to judge the living and the dead. He's coming again. He's going to appear, it says, and his kingdom. Appearance there is epiphany. You know, when you're by yourself, you're studying, or you're doing something, and all of a sudden you go, wow, I had an epiphany. I had a vision, something come to mind. Christ is coming again. So here Paul wants Timothy to be motivated by the coming of Christ. We look forward to that promise with great hope. We are a hopeful people. This is the motivation that he puts forth for Timothy to preach the word. To preach the word. And so he moves on this idea of preaching the word. We want to see the world around us, the need around us. Week before this, Gail and I were in Montana. Went up to a place called Summers. It's outside of Kalispell, and it sits just to the north side of Flathead Lake. It's a huge lake. It's the biggest lake west of the Mississippi. And so we were there the first day we got in, Monday, and it was a little bit rainy, but then the weather cleared up. We had gone out to dinner, we had come back to our little one-bedroom cabin. And as we got out of the car, we looked up into the sky. And there was no moon. I hadn't seen the stars like that in years. Bright, like diamonds on velvet. And I'm looking up and I see the Milky Way. We sat there for a few minutes like this till our necks got sore. Probably should have gotten a blanket and laid on the ground. And I thought to myself about Psalm 8. When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him and the son of man that you care for him? There is a famous quote that Ken Hughes brought up in his commentary as I was reading this week and studying, thinking about the stars that I saw in Montana and this grasp grabbed me. He writes about Frederick Langbridge, a gentleman who had a quote specific to this particular passage of scripture. He knew of Paul's state in the Mamertine prison. Remember I told you it looks like a dungeon. Has a single hole in the roof to let in fresh air and the light at certain times. But it was cold and it was damp. Langbridge says, two men looked through the bars. One saw the mud, the other the stars. He wanted people to understand and ask this question, how do you look at your life? Regardless of the circumstances, regardless of the situation, how do you look at your life? Paul from prison bars saw the stars and saw beyond the stars, or as scripture says, the great morning star, which is Christ himself. even in prison, even in his circumstances. And it is under these circumstances that he writes Timothy, he says, preach the Word, speak the gospel. And he goes on to say, in season and out of season. What that literally means is when it's convenient and when it's not convenient, when it's timely or when it's not timely. We say we want to share the gospel. We say we believe that the gospel is the power of God unto salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. We say this and we say we have this conviction that the gospel's important, but when it comes to practice, when it comes to actually doing it, it becomes inconvenient or untimely. Daniel Doriani, It tells of a friend of his named Dave. Dave traveled a lot, was a member of the church that he attended. Dave would always go on long trips. And one of the things that Dave liked to do was to sleep on long flights. But he was also a man that regularly prayed to share the gospel. And so Dave gets on a flight. This particular flight, he has a whole row to himself, three seats. You know how that is? We were on a flight to Kalispell on Monday last week. We fly non-rev, I just gotta tell you this. I have a middle seat. On one side of me, a large individual. And then another comes and takes the aisle seat, a large individual. I'm like this. I'm just squeezing to take place. And then my text flashes before we're about to leave. It says, you've been reassigned. It's like, wow. Gaila had saw the gate agent and said, hey, we're traveling together. Can you put us together? And at the last minute they did. But Dave on this flight is thinking, I've got three seats. Not only am I gonna get some sleep, I'm gonna lay down doing it. And here comes a man down the aisle. And this man is coming down and he is eyeing the place to sit. Must have been Southwest Airlines, no seat assignment. And he walks up and he sees Dave. And he says, you look like a man I can talk to. He says, I'm traveling home. My father just died and I need to talk. Dave is, have a seat. Two hour conversation between the two of them. Dave is listening, and Dave is speaking the gospel of Jesus Christ to an individual in need. Not worrying about sleep, enduring staying awake, but for the sake of the lost. It's something we need to think about, our practice, how we're going to do this. We are to preach the word. We're to be ready in season and out. And then Paul says to Timothy, you have a tool belt here for the gospel. I want you to know this tool belt, and these are imperatives, reprove, rebuke, exhort with complete patience and teaching. And the idea is you have these tools on the tool belt. You don't have to use them all. You have to use the right one for the right situation. This is why we need to be Christ learners. We need to move to maturity. We need to be like Timothy who was young and learned from his grandmother and his mother and from Paul and going on and know the gospel so well that we live it out and we speak it. This week, going around the house, putting things away, sometimes need a screwdriver. Sometimes it was a Phillips, other times it's a flathead. Other times, box cutter to open a box. All these are tools for the right situation, for the right circumstance. Sometimes we need to speak the gospel to someone in a reproving manner. In a reproving manner. Reproving is just correction. That's all it is. Brothers and sisters, you are in a Presbyterian church that has elders and has deacons. And the elders are to shepherd you and disciple you. Fellow believers, you're to disciple one another. There is a little bit of a shepherding role that you play as well. If you see a brother and sister and they're kind of beginning to drift a little bit, they need a little course correction, you speak the word to them, the gospel. that redirects them, reorients them back to Jesus. We all need it. It's not a negative thing. It's a good thing to be corrected and go on your way. That's the first part of being reproved, correction. John Calvin had an inclination to simply study, to write papers, to write books, to be an intellectual theologian. And in Geneva, there was a man named William Farrell. He was a fiery man for God. And in talking to Calvin, he reproved John Calvin. who is getting ready to leave Geneva and go and be a hermit and study. William Farrell said, that's not your calling. You've been called to preach the word. You need to preach the word. And Calvin says, I'm gonna go anyway. And then Farrell said this. Let me find it in my notes. He cursed him. And he said, may your retirement, your tranquility, your studies be cursed. That rocked his boat. Calvin went away and he thought about it. In his biography, it's captured that this didn't just change his life, it changed not just his geography and his vocabulary. But never again would Calvin work in what he called tranquil studies. From now on, every page of his 48 volumes of books and tracts and sermons and commentaries and letters that he wrote would be hammered out in preaching and in teaching. He would preach the word. Then there's rebuke, another tool in your tool belt. This is a little bit more harsh. You know that kind of people that have that certain type of personality that you go, you know what? I need to get their attention. I need to hit them on the forehead with a two by four. Maybe their behavior is sinful and you need to get their attention. It's for their own good. It is a life and death situation. It's a rebuke showing disapproval. Not your disapproval, but God's disapproval for their rebellious behavior. So there's rebuke. And then there's those that just need to be exhorted. Encouraged. That's what we really need to be doing on Sunday mornings when we gather together as a people of God. the one, all-member ministry, we should be speaking the gospel to one another, encouraging one another, so that we can live lives that go out and share the gospel. And all the while, all the while that we reprove, we rebuke, we exhort, we correct, we want to do it with patience, lovingly. And we want to do it with teaching. Well, these are the motivations to preach the Word. Now, what's the reason for preaching the Word? Well, verses 3 and 4 make it very, very clear. The world is lost. They're not always going to listen to the Word of God. In fact, they can't hear it. Their ears are stopped up. Their eyes are blind. And so were some of us. That's why we preach. These people will find teaching that suits their passions, is what Paul says in the text. And it's out there in every form or fashion. It is out there in secularism, in humanism, in feminism, socialism, communism, and every other ism, asm, and spasm that there is out there. They teach what people want to hear. It tickles their ears. And yet, as Proverbs says, there is a way that seems right unto man, but the end is death. It's a reason to preach the gospel to the world. Do you look at the world as lost and dying? I shared a few weeks ago that vision of the lost. This idea of a sea of people in a stormy sea, bobbing up and down, just trying to survive. And some of them go under and never come back up again. And yet out of this ocean storm, there is a rock, a picture of Christ. And some of those lonely stragglers make it to the rock. And there's people on the rock that are lending a hand and pulling them out of the stormy sea. Brothers and sisters, the lost will die and will perish forever. We have the good news of how to be saved. to make it to the rock who is Christ. Are you willing to not just lend a hand, but to speak a word, to rescue those who are dying and perishing? Think about 2 Timothy. Read this. Be encouraged. All you are required to do is speak the word. The results aren't yours. That's the Holy Spirit. to come and save that which is lost. Well, the other aspect for this is for the believer. Timothy was told to fulfill his ministry, his purpose. He needed to be sober-minded. He needed to endure the suffering that would come with the preaching and teaching and speaking of the Word of God. He was to do the work of an evangelist. And again, this is to Timothy. Timothy, you have a purpose. From the laying on of my hands, Paul would say, till the day that you part this world, you have a purpose. Do you know your purpose? It's simple. You are bivocational. Every single one of you that is a believer in Jesus Christ is bivocational. You do have your labor that you do, that God uses as a means to provide for you, so you may have sustenance, a roof over your head, and clothes on your back. But you have another purpose. The church, the people of God, are to declare, proclaim the Word of God, in season and out. Preach the Word, because that is the means that He, God, has ordained for people to be saved. There's no other way. Will you join me in refining our purpose, reforming our lives, conforming to a behavior, a practice that we're to keep to show our love and obedience for the Lord Jesus Christ? Well, that is preaching the word. Then Paul turns to finishing well. Finishing well. I spoke earlier in this series about the four by 100 relay and how every runner plays their part in the contest. Every runner is their part. They pass the baton to another. And when the race is over, it is good to know that they have done their part. And they have done it well. That they have been pouring out themselves to achieve the goal. Win, lose, or draw. They do their best. Paul brings back these images to Timothy one last time. of the soldier, of the athlete, and the farmer. We saw those earlier in this epistle. But he begins with this, this explanation of what it means to finish well. Remember, he's in prison, he's chained. He doesn't see the mud on the floor, he sees the stars in the heavens and Christ beyond. He speaks about himself as being poured out as a drink offering. In the Old Testament sacrificial system, this was the last work of the high priest. The animal has been slaughtered. It's been put on the altar. The fire is hot. There is a grain offering that goes, but it's the libation, the drink offering that's last to be poured out. Paul says that he has been poured out like a drink offering. This is his way of saying from that Damascus road, coming face to face with the Lord Jesus Christ, my life changed. And it has been devoted to Jesus Christ ever since. Remember in his letter to the Philippians, he's contemplating leaving or staying. And he says, to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. And it'd be much better for me to go, but you require me to stay." And so he does. But he sees now his life in the present. He's looking at the present. He sees himself in this cell. He knows that he is just probably days away from being executed. And yet, even in the present, He is seeing the stars. The time of his departure has come. The end of the road. This idea of departure, and I'll touch on this in a moment, has the idea of being on a ship or a boat. You've untied the ropes to the dock, you've pulled the anchor, and you're sailing away. Paul says, it's time for me to say adios. He says, but looking at the present, I don't regret a single thing. And then he looks at the past. He says that I have fought the good fight. I have finished the race. I have kept the faith. In looking at the past, he has fought the good fight. Looking back, he is the devoted soldier. He wears the armor that we see in Ephesians chapter six. Perhaps his breastplate shows markings of the sword of Satan and his demons. His helmet of salvation may be dented. His shield of faith has the pockmarks of spears and arrows, the burning that goes with it. His belt is worn, has the stains of sweat and toil. His shoes, though tattered, not torn, the gospel of peace. And yet Paul is about to depart on that boat, that ship, to cross into the presence of Christ. And I have this image here of, I've fought the good fight, I've been a good soldier, I have finished the race, I'm like the athlete, and I've passed the baton to you, Timothy. It's your time now. Have my armor. Take by baton. Keep the faith. Keep the faith. Every age the church is challenged. We must guard the gospel, we must be stewards of the gospel, and we must proclaim the gospel. Paul has this image of the present, he has this image of the past, but he also has an image of the future. What is laid up for him, he says, is the crown of righteousness. The crown of righteousness that he'll receive from the righteous judge. And not only me, but all who have loved his appearing. That really should be loves his appearing. It's a verb that's in the perfect tense. It just means that it's already happened. So it's happening, it will happen, it has happened, that fruition. So we look forward to Him coming for that crown of righteousness. You know, the Olympic Games that they would have then, the Greeks, they would put a temporal wreath on the head of the victor that would just wither away over a matter of days. But it was to honor the person who had done well, who had raced by the rules and completed his race like Paul did. a Greek would win and became a champion, would return to his hometown. Those towns would have walls around the city. They would make a new opening, a new way for them to enter through that has never been used before. Paul knew on his departure that He would receive the crown of righteousness, Christ's righteousness made complete. We're declared righteous, but we will be fully righteous with Him. And that the new way is the way that Christ has opened for us to be received into heaven. Many will go through that opening. It doesn't take a special person, it takes one who believes. Well, this was Paul's look at the future And all along the way, he saw beyond the stars. He saw Jesus. He saw the morning star. Departure is something that we all face. It's really how we live along this life. James says our life is but a vapor. And if you've ever traveled down some farm road, and been going by and seeing all the posts, the fence posts, you're going 70 miles an hour, it looks like a straight line. But very soon, you leave that farm, it's over. Paul's departure had come. It's true for all of us. As I was looking this week at this, I thought back to Lord of the Rings, Return of the King. If you remember the end of that movie, Frodo Baggins is writing the last letters and words in a big red book. The story started by Bilbo Baggins and his uncle was now being completed by him. Samwise Gamgee comes in and says, hey, you finished the book? And he says, there's pages still here for you, Sam. And then Gandalf comes, Merry, Pippin, all the others. They think they're just taking Bilbo to the elf harbor for him to be honored by the elves and take off, sail off into the sunset. And that they are about to do. And they get there and Bilbo sees Elrond. And Elrond says, the sea calls us home. Bilbo says, I have time for one more great adventure. And as they're all moving away, the rest of the hobbits are standing there on the shoreline. Gandalf says, it's time, Frodo. It's time. Sam looks at his best friend and says, what do you mean? I think of Timothy looking at Paul, what do you mean? The time of your departure has come. He goes, it can't be, Sam says. Frodo says this, we set out to save the Shire and it has been saved, but not for me. It's been saved for you to go back to. Paul tells Timothy, I've set out to save the world on my missionary journeys. My time is complete. Now it's for you to take not that big red book that Frodo gave Sam, but to take the good book, the word of God, the gospel, and go out to do the work of an evangelist. to seek and save that which is lost. Well, I pray that you'll do that, that you'll take up that task. But if you're here today and you don't know Jesus, if you look at your situation in life, you don't see any stars. You see mud. You see dirt. You see all the things of this life. you need to look to Jesus, the bright morning star. Believe in Him, receive forgiveness of sin and life everlasting. With God's help, you will. Let us pray. Father, we do thank you for your word. It is good. It is gracious. It is merciful. It fills our every need, forgiveness, your righteousness, Father, it enables us to live lives that reflect yours to a world that is in need. I pray that each and every one of us, by the power of the Spirit, would look to speak the gospel to one another and to the lost, to do your work until our departure time comes. And then we will be received by you by those words, well done, thy good and faithful servant. In Jesus' name, amen.