Paul's Epistles – II Timothy – Part 7:
A Final Charge to Timothy
Pastor Bruce A. Shields
House of Faith Church | www.PS127.org
| www.TruthDigest.org | Online Audio Files
This Document is a
Sermon Outline, you may hear the full audio of the actual sermon by following
the link Online Audio Files located
above for this, and other Full Sermon Audios.
For a complete list of Sermon Outlines, visit TruthDigest.org, for our
Official Church website, visit PS127.org, or find us on facebook at House of
Faith Church
SERMON INTRODUCTION
This second letter from Paul to Timothy will be the
next “epistle” we examine.
After writing his first Epistle to Timothy, Paul left
Corinth, and set sail with Titus for Crete, where he left him to set the Church
in order (Titus 1:5).
The key-word in II Timothy is “Ashamed.”
“I must not be ashamed of my Lord, His Gospel, or His
suffering saints (II Timothy 1); How can I become a workman that “needs not be
ashamed” (II Timothy 2 & 3.), and then the Lord will not be ashamed
to own and stand by me (II Timothy 4).
PREVIOUSLY
Introduction to II Timothy
Appeal for Loyalty
Remaining Loyal to Christ and Paul’s Teaching
Warning Against Quarreling About Words
Terrible Times in the Last Days
TODAY’S SERMON
A Final Charge to Timothy
II Timothy 4:1-8 (66 AD, approximately one year after
the first Epistle to Timothy)
In the presence of God and
of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of
his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge:2 Preach the
word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and
encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. 3 For
the time will come when people will not put up with sound
doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them
a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. 4 They
will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. 5 But
you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an
evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.
6 For I am already being poured out like a drink
offering, and the time for my departure is near. 7 I
have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the
faith. 8 Now there is in store 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 longed for his
appearing.
The overall message of this
epistle to the church is;
Loyalty to the Lord and
Truth in the view of persecution and apostasy
I. PAUL’S CHARGE TO
TIMOTHY
a. Paul first officiates the
charge
i. In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge
the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his
kingdom, I give you this charge:
ii. Officiating
the Truth and Validity of the charge he is about to give Timothy
iii. The charge is
simple...”Preach the Word”
b. Preach the Word
i. Not;
1. preach this program you developed from the bible
2. preach hidden secrets in the scriptures
3. preach “keys” to success in business, life and marriage
4. preach “money, wealth, and happiness”
5. preach warm fuzzies
ii. “Preach the Word”
iii. “Be prepared in
season and out”
iv. “correct”
v. “rebuke”
vi. “and encourage”
vii. do these things
“with great patience, and careful instruction”
c. Why?
i. “For the time will come
when people will not put up with sound doctrine.”
ii. Sound doctrine comes straight from The Word, not a “teaching”, a
“companion book”, a system of belief, a denominational teaching or
denominational “rule” or “law”, but from the Word
iii. Sound doctrine is a double edged sword
1. Hebrews 4:12 “For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged
sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it
judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.”
2. It doesn’t just do this for the “wicked”, but the “followers” as well!
iv. When you are faced with a true doctrine from the Word, you can either
run from it, or cling to it...the choice is yours.
II.
WHAT TIME IS COMING ACCORDING TO PAUL?
a. II Timothy 3:1-8
i. “But mark this:
There will be terrible times in the last days. 2 People will be lovers of
themselves, lovers of money, boastful,
proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful,
unholy, 3 without
love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the
good, 4 treacherous, rash,
conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— 5 having a form of
godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people.
6 They are the kind who worm their way into homes and gain control
over gullible women, who are loaded down with sins and are swayed by all kinds
of evil desires, 7 always
learning but never able to come to a knowledge of the truth.8 Just as Jannes and
Jambres opposed Moses, so also these teachers oppose the truth. They
are men of depraved minds, who, as far as the faith is concerned, are
rejected.
ii. This sounds an awful lot like today!
b. So heed the warnings!
i. God warned Lot - Genesis 19:14 “So Lot went out and spoke
to his sons-in-law, who were pledged to marry his daughters. He said,
“Hurry and get out of this place, because the Lord is about to destroy the
city!” But his sons-in-law thought he was joking.”
ii. God warned the Pharaoh - Genesis
41:30-32 “but seven years of famine will follow them.
Then all the abundance in Egypt will be forgotten, and the famine will ravage
the land. 31 The abundance
in the land will not be remembered, because the famine that follows it will be
so severe. 32 The reason the
dream was given to Pharaoh in two forms is that the matter has been firmly
decided by God, and God will do it soon.”
iii. God warned the Israelites - Exodus 12:23 “When the Lord goes through the land to strike down the
Egyptians, he will see the blood on the top and sides of the doorframe and
will pass over that doorway, and he will not permit the destroyer to
enter your houses and strike you down.”
iv. God warned Jonah (and
Ninevah) - Jonah 3:4,5 “Jonah began by
going a day’s journey into the city, proclaiming, “Forty more days and
Nineveh will be overthrown.” 5 The Ninevites believed
God. A fast was proclaimed, and all of them, from the greatest to the least,
put on sackcloth.”
v. God warned Noah - Hebrews 11:7 “By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in
holy fear built an arkto save his family. By his faith he condemned the
world and became heir of the righteousness that is in keeping with faith.
vi. All of these things God warned, and they came to pass, and now we read
His warning in His Word about what is taking place NOW!
c. Jesus warned us in Matthew
24:37-39
i. As it was in the days of
Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 38 For in the
days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in
marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; 39 and they knew
nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away.
That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.
III.
THE SIGNS POINT TO NOW
a. To suit their own desires
i. “they will gather around
them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to
hear. 4 They will turn their ears away from the
truth and turn aside to myths. “
1. Gathering a great number of teachers is why we have denominations,
cults, various systems of beliefs including false religions, prosperity
preachers banding together for the good of their wallets, etc.
2. All ready to “preach”, not the Word, but what the pews full of itching
ears want to hear.
3. Following their “desires” instead of Christ Jesus, they turn their ears
from TRUTH (God’s Word), instead to myths
4. What are myths?
a. A “traditional” story,
especially one
concerning the early history of a people or explaining some natural or social phenomenon,
and typically involving supernatural beings or events.
b. A folk tale, legend, fable, folklore, mythology
c. A traditional story passed down
d. Mark 7:13 “Thus you nullify the word of God by your tradition that you have
handed down. And you do many things like that."
b. This time is NOW
i. The
scriptural descriptions are accurate to today!
ii. These things weren’t taking place when they were written, but were a
warning of what was future to them!
iii. And is now present to us!
c. But you, keep your head in all
situations
i. Paul
reminds Timothy not to “lose his head”, “go crazy”, “freak out” over the things
that will be taking place.
ii. Instead, Paul instructs him to endure the hardship
iii. Do the work of an evangelist (preaching the Word)
iv. and Discharge (release, set free, liberate) all the duties of the
ministry
1. The clear implication here is inside Timothy was the ability to
accomplish all Paul has charged him with.
2. Timothy just needed to let it out!
3. Matthew 19:26 “Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but
with God all things are possible."
5. God prepares and equips those He calls!
a. Romans 8:30 “those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also
glorified.”
b. Hebrews 13:20,21 “Now may the God of peace, who through the blood of the
eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great
Shepherd of the sheep,21 equip you with everything
good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to
him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.”
d. I am ready to be poured out
like a drink offering
i. and the time for my departure is near. 7 I
have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the
faith. 8 Now there is in store 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 longed for his
appearing.
CONCLUSION
– THE END TIMES ARE HERE, NOW, SO
ACT!
Luke 19:46 “It is
written,” he said to them, “‘My house will
be a house of prayer’[a]; but
you have made it ‘a den of robbers.’”
The church is NOT an ATM machine for
prosperity preachers to get richer.
The end times are
now, and they have become covetous lovers of money, and it has become their
master (2 Peter 2:3; 1 Timothy 6:5-8)
“My people are destroyed because they lack
knowledge” - Hosea 4:6
This knowledge is
“The Word” that Paul instructs Timothy to preach exclusively!
Romans 10:17 “Faith comes by hearing the Word of God”
So do NOT forsake
the assembling together, and exhort (encourage) one another, even MORE so when
you see “the day” approaching - Hebrews
10:25
But the day of the Lord
will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the
elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in
it will be laid bare.
Next week we will look Paul’s “Personal
Remarks” at the end of II Timothy
Want to learn more about
Salvation and Getting Saved?
Want to hear the audio to this sermon?
