Preach the Word! We finish off 2Timothy today. Paul tells his young reader Timothy to tell others about God’s word and the consequences of what happens when people fail to follow it.
2 Timothy 3: Godlessness in the Last Days
1 But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty.
2 For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy,
3 heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good,
4 treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God,
5 having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people.
6 For among them are those who creep into households and capture weak women, burdened with sins and led astray by various passions,
7 always learning and never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth.
8 Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so these men also oppose the truth, men corrupted in mind and disqualified regarding the faith.
9 But they will not get very far, for their folly will be plain to all, as was that of those two men.
All Scripture Is Breathed Out by God
10 You, however, have followed my teaching, my conduct, my aim in life, my faith, my patience, my love, my steadfastness,
11 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.
12 Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted,
13 while evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.
14 But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it
15 and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.
16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,
17 that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work
2 Timothy 4: Preach the Word
1 I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom:
2 preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching.
3 For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions,
4 and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.
5 As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfil your ministry.
6 For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come.
7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.
8 Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that Day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing.
Personal Instructions
9 Do your best to come to me soon.
10 For Demas, in love with this present world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica. Crescens has gone to Galatia, Titus to Dalmatia.
11 Luke alone is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is very useful to me for ministry.
12 Tychicus I have sent to Ephesus.
13 When you come, bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at Troas, also the books, and above all the parchments.
14 Alexander the coppersmith did me great harm; the Lord will repay him according to his deeds.
15 Beware of him yourself, for he strongly opposed our message.
16 At my first defence no one came to stand by me, but all deserted me. May it not be charged against them!
17 But the Lord stood by me and strengthened me, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. So I was rescued from the lion's mouth.
18 The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed and bring me safely into his heavenly kingdom. To him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.
Final Greetings
19 Greet Prisca and Aquila, and the household of Onesiphorus.
20 Erastus remained at Corinth, and I left Trophimus, who was ill, at Miletus.
21 Do your best to come before winter. Eubulus sends greetings to you, as do Pudens and Linus and Claudia and all the brothers.
22 The Lord be with your spirit. Grace be with you.
Things to think about…
1. When I read 2Tim 3:1-7 I think of the society we live in right now. Things have changed even over the last 30 years. Kids are overtly disobedient to parents (due to Christless parenting), people are “without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless” - you only have to look at the amount of road rage, domestic violence and abuse that goes on in our day, even in the ‘Christian West’. “Lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God”, how true is that! The rise of pornography, casual ‘hook-up’ sex through online dating sites like ‘Tinder’ (and many others) and the disgrace of subscriber porn sites like ‘OnlyFans’ are signposts of our depraved society that adequately fulfills Paul’s description here. Sadly many of these things are tolerated in the church and the spirit of the world kills off any desire for the Spirit of the gospel. Lord have mercy on us!
2. Do you know that Jannes and Jambres mentioned in 2 Tim 3:8 are not mentioned in Exodus in the incident Paul is talking about regarding Moses. At some point there was information about who these guys that has since been lost. Some say they were the Egyptian magicians that came against Moses. When I was in Israel in 2017 I had heard of a version of Jewish writings that actually has a commentary on these 2 men. Who knows whether this account is true or not. But we cannot add to the scriptures which says nothing more of them. Their example spoken of here by Paul is enough to say these were men who sought after their own desires rather than obeying God’s voice through Moses. Men that follow their example will end up the same way these 2 men did, vs 9. Although we don’t know what their judgment was, people at the time of Paul’s writing certainly did.
3. Paul tells Timothy what he is unlikely to enjoy hearing that “all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted”, 2 Tim 3:12. But this had been Paul’s experience and he details in the following verses how this is the case. We know very little of persecution in Australia. Mainly because we are so far away from the cross and the true message of holiness and the gospel. Note that Paul is writing a truth here. If we are not experiencing this truth working out, the issue is with the failing believer and not the faithfulness of the Word of God.
4. Paul reminds Timothy of his upbringing. He asks him to remember the scriptures, they saved him and how they can save others, 2Tim 3:16,17. Looking at these verses, how have the scriptures saved you? Are they still doing so in your life? Note that the scriptures should have influence over every aspect of the believer’s life so that they may be “equipped for every good work”. There should be no doubts in direction for the disciple of Christ who regularly reads the Word of God and attends the gathering of the saints for counsel, accountability and encouragement.
5. 2Tim 4:1-8 is the primary calling for anyone who is in a preaching/teaching ministry. Look at this list. Is your pastor preaching like this or not? Pray for him and encourage him to open his heart as he opens God’s word to speak it out with love, grace and truth. Pray for our church and pastors in general that we all get this nailed into our ministries. The “itching ears” syndrome is a killer and a very powerful spirit in our age.
6. Paul is really feeling the cost of a faithful ministry. Have a look at 2Tim 4:9-18. He has been forsaken by everyone except Luke, the dear old doctor. But praise God Paul had been reconciled with Mark, clearly Mark held no grudge towards Paul and like has cousin Barnabas, Mark was a great encouragement to the Apostle. Look at what Paul wants aside from a warm coat, 2Tim 4:13 – he wants to study the scriptures. This man would likely have known much of the OT by heart. A rebuke for me that’s for sure. If you are in a prison – whatever it may look like, it is an ideal time to be alone with God and His word.
7. One of the hardest parts to read in Paul’s letters is at the end of Timothy where beloved brothers had departed from Paul, 2Tim 4:9-18. There is no doubt he was a forceful personality, but leaving someone who has been faithful to Christ their whole life only to drop them when they need a word of comfort or encouragement is a denial of Christ’s character who gave Himself to those he loved. Jesus said He would never leave or forsake us, we should do the same in the body of Christ. Thankfully many stayed, including faithful Luke vs 11 and Timothy was on his way. Note that Paul asks for Mark to be sent, vs 11 because he was useful to Paul in his ministry. This was not always the case when Mark left Paul and Barnabas in Acts 15:37-39. It caused a division between Paul and Barnabas, but here after years of maturity for Mark and perhaps years of grace for Paul they are reconciled.
8. We know Paul had the gift of healing, even healing someone by raising them from death, Acts 20:7-12. Why did he leave poor Trophimus ill at Miletus, 2Tim 4:20? God’s will is not ours at every point. Even though Paul had the gift of healing, as was evident with Eutychus, he was unable to heal Trophimus whom he had no doubt prayed for. There is a purpose in suffering. But even through trial, Christ is still our Healer – Hallelujah!
Vision statement for CBC
CBC’s Vision :- To be a growing biblical church community, significantly influencing our city and beyond, through intentional outreach, fulfilling our mission.
Life groups Wednesdays. 6:30pm every Wednesday. 5:30pm prayer.
Prayer Points
1. Pray for Ric as he begins this next phase of ministry and healing.
2. Pray for Phil and Anna Kennedy that healing, comfort, peace and rest may be their portion
3. Pray for the work we have going on with site development and TMR and the development of a project team.
4. Keep praying for PlayPatch on Fridays, pray for more families to be reached.
5. Pray for Chaplaincy and Kids Hope at Karalee State School.
6. Pray for peace over the US elections
7. The ongoing conflicts in Israel and Ukraine.
8. Church finances to continue to grow and expenses to be more than met.
9. Pray for Kids@Church, Life groups. Young Adults.
10. Mathys has a prayer time at church on Wednesday afternoons, 5:30pm at church. He would be happy for you to join him and to send prayer requests.
11. Pray about the possibility and planning of a Farmers Market at Chuwar Baptist Church once a month on Saturdays. Anastasia taking the lead on this. Pray for us as we plan
12. That we be bold in our witnessing for Christ. Pray for a heart to see those around you to be saved. Pray for the blessing over the new pastoral care and hosting program.
13. Growth, conversions, joy in the Word and Spirit to increase.
Praise Points
1. Praise God for Pastor Ric’s ministry over the past 12 months.
2. Praise God for a blessed business meeting, unity, grace and future projects.
3. The ministry of the word on Sunday and the kids ministry.
4. Praise God for young people stepping up in a number of ministries.
5. Church finances – Income has met expenses for the past few weeks.
6. Joy, peace and grace we see at CBC. Thankyou Lord
Announcements
1. Father’s Day celebration – Men to lead service. What’s great about your dad – this Sunday.
2. Baptisms 15th September morning service. Let Pr Jay know if you want to be baptised.
3. Men’s event. Conquering the Mount. Men’s racing. Fri 11th Oct@Church from 5:30pm. 16+. $10 each. Dress in team colours Red – Holden, Blue – Ford, Gold – Chevrolet. See Tim Freeman for more details.
4. Prayer meeting 5:30pm and Life Group Wednesday 6:30pm at church.
5. Church bank details bsb:- 704 913 and Acc number:- 4000 4388 1
6. Tune in again this week on our YouTube page. Subscribe to the CBC channel Chuwar Baptist YouTube channel.
Catechism questions for August...
Q. 23. What is meant by transgression? A. Doing what God forbids.
