2 Timothy 2:1-13 Live Out the Truths

The speaker is humbled to stand before the audience and is grateful for the opportunity to speak. They mention their previous encounter with the church committee at Iredell and express their admiration for Dr. Terry and Dr. Draper. They express their excitement to study 2 Timothy and appreciate the verse-by-verse Bible study approach of the class. They discuss the importance of remaining faithful to the Word of God and the influence of mentors in their life. They emphasize the need to encourage and be encouraged by others. The speaker then introduces 2 Timothy chapter 2 and explains how it builds on the teachings of chapter 1. They highlight the importance of being strong in God's grace, entrusting teachings to others, and enduring hardships. They mention the examples of a soldier, athlete, and farmer to illustrate the importance of following rules and working diligently. They remind Timothy to remember Jesus Christ and the salvation found in Him. They conclude by emphasizing the trust Alright, well I am very glad to be able to just stand here today and humbled to be able to do so. Yes, sir. Amen. I'm so thankful any time that the Lord will use me to do anything as we all should be. But I was a little bit intimidated. I think about this. You know, this is the place where you've listened to Dr. Terry, to Dr. Draper, and I've learned a lot. And I didn't realize, Brother Jimmy, that you were actually at Iredell here some years ago. And I was a second year student over at Southwestern. I received a phone call from the church committee at Iredell, and they invited me to come down. And so Sandy and I, and two girls at the time, went down to talk with Iredell and met with their pastor's search committee, and ultimately it was not the Lord's will for us to go there. But now I know why. Because they had Jimmy Draper as their pastor, and they just knew I'd mess up whatever he did. And so hopefully, I feel myself living in two different tensions right now. I don't want to mess up anything that Jimmy has done here for so many years, as well as Jack. But I really want Charlotte to have to tie up twice, and so we're going to see how all this goes. Yeah, I'll get halfway through. You have been so encouraging to me today. Thank you. Many of you have come up and said that you're excited that I'm going to be doing this today. I'm looking forward to doing it and just walking through 2 Timothy. I love the way that this class actually does Bible study, and that's one of the reasons that when we're in town, Sandy and I come to be a part of this class, because you just simply open up the Bible and you walk through it verse by verse. And I just think that's the best way for us to learn to grow in our knowledge of the Word of God. And so I'm going to walk us today through the second chapter of 2 Timothy, and we'll look at verses 1-13 today, 2 Timothy chapter 2, and we'll look at verses 1-13. Now Jimmy introduced 2 Timothy to us last week, and we see there where essentially what Paul is encouraging Timothy to do is to not be ashamed, not to be ashamed of the gospel, not to be ashamed of Paul, who is in prison because of the gospel. And I hear the echoing of the words of an aged apostle who has served the Lord so faithfully for a number of years. The challenges that he had been through, the persecutions he had endured, the tortures that he had endured, all of the challenges that we hear of this aged old man. And as he is writing to Timothy, he is encouraging Timothy, be faithful, be faithful. It is possible for us to remain faithful to the Word of God, and the evidence that you can do so is seen in the life of the apostle Paul himself. And that's true of us today, right? I think about the numbers of people that have been encouragers to us for so many years, that have been examples to us for so many years, and how we can learn from them. And as I begin to walk back through my life, I look at the numbers of mentors that God has given me to be able to study under, to learn from, and to come to know so much about. One of those is not only in this classroom for the Jimmy, Dr. Terry, that has taught me so much over the years, but a gentleman by the name of T.C. Melton, who went to be with the Lord not too long ago, and how I watched T.C. He was really one of the first ones who came alongside of me as a young pastor, and took me under his wing, and taught me so much, just over a meal, and just sharing with me. When pastoring would become so difficult, T.C. would be the one who would come alongside of me and pray for me. That's what I want to be in my life. And I think that's what we see in the book of 2 Timothy. Timothy, having come to the end of his life now, this book probably being the last book that Timothy had written, just a few days before he would go to see the Lord. God would take him. And that's the way I want to be in my life. Now, I hope that's the way you want to be in your life, that you simply want to be someone that God uses to encourage. I tell the students that I teach there at the seminary that we are to have two people, one on either side of us. We're to have somebody younger than us that we are pouring our lives into. And we're to have somebody who has walked with the Lord longer than us, that is pouring their lives into us. That is what it means for us to be conduits of the grace of God. And that's what I see of Paul. And that's what Paul seems to be telling Timothy, that he himself is to be. And that's what I want to be. And I hope that that is what you want to be also. Now, chapter two of 2 Timothy really is a shift in the conversation. One of Paul's short books, right? It's much shorter than the books to the Corinthians, 1 and 2 Corinthians. It's shorter than certainly the book of Romans. 2 Timothy is one of Paul's shorter books. And what we often see, and we've heard it spoken from this lector in the past, is that what Paul does is that Paul tells us these great things about God. And then based upon these great things that we learn about God, we are to respond in certain ways. So God is like this and God does this. And therefore, based upon what you and I see God doing and learning about who God is, we are to live in a certain way. So God acts and we respond. And that's what Paul is telling Timothy here. In 2 Timothy, chapter one, that's where we see Paul telling Timothy what God is like. And then in chapter two, the conversation changes and he says, because God is like that, Timothy, you and I are going to live our lives in a certain way. Now, in chapter two, Paul begins to teach us how we should live out the truths that we were taught in chapter one. And that is the reason that Paul begins chapter two with the word and in the original language, the very first word there is the word therefore. And as you know, when we read the word therefore, as Brother Jack tells us, we're to see what the therefore is therefore. Now, this therefore is what's referred to as a logical inferential, that is to say that based upon what has been said, it is logical that we infer this certain thing. For example, if I were to tell you I heard Sandy's stomach growling, therefore, I'm going to take her to lunch, you recognize that the therefore is a logical inferential. Sandy's stomach is growling, so you're going to logically infer that I am going to take her to lunch. And if you read between the lines, you're also going to logically infer that I'm going to do so because I don't want to get in trouble, because I've been in trouble before. And it's a very, very dislikable place to be. I don't like to be in trouble. A logical inferential is because God does this, we ought to respond like that. Now, this therefore is in reference back to chapter 1, verses 15 through 17, and we see there, you are aware of the fact, the Bible says, you are aware of the fact that all who are in Asia turned away from me, among whom are Thysalis and Hermogenes. The Lord grant mercy to the house of Onesiphorus, for he often refreshed me and was not ashamed of my chains, but when he was in Rome, he eagerly searched for me and he found me. And therefore, the Lord grant to him to find mercy from the Lord on that day, and you know very well what services he rendered at Ephesus. And so, Paul sets up before Timothy two different types of people. There are those who abandon him, and there are those who refresh him, like Onesiphorus. And based upon the fact that there are two different types of people, Paul wants Timothy to understand, Timothy, there are two types of people out there, often the critics have the loudest voices, but they're those Onesiphoruses who come alongside of you, and they refresh you, they encourage you. And so, Timothy, when you begin to get weary, don't listen to the voices of the critics, who usually are louder, but look for those Onesiphoruses who come alongside of you, and they refresh you. Now, I hope you have somebody like that in your life. I do. People who just come alongside and just say, you seem like you're struggling right now, worn down, a little weary. I want to encourage you. But you know, more than hoping that you have somebody like that in your life, I hope you want to be that Onesiphorus. I hope you want to be someone who seeks to encourage other people, because that's what I believe God wants us to do. That is the way that God continues to teach us to remain faithful in our service to Him, is that we are to be Onesiphoruses. We are to be people who refresh others. Barnabas was an encourager. Onesiphorus was a refresher. I hope that you want to be someone who refreshes other people. Now, let's read through the text, 2 Timothy chapter 2, verses 1 through 13, and then we are going to begin to walk through it, just verse by verse. You, therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. The things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. Suffer hardship with me as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No soldier in active service entangles himself in the affairs of everyday life so that he may please the one who enlisted him as a soldier. Also, if anyone competes as an athlete, he does not win the prize unless he competes according to the rules. The hard-working farmer ought to be the first to receive his share of the crops. Consider what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything. Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, descendant of David, according to my gospel, for which I suffer hardship even to imprisonment as a criminal. But the word of God is not in prison. For this reason I endure all things for the sake of those who are chosen, so that they may also obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus, and with it eternal glory. It is a trustworthy statement, for if we died with him, we will also live with him. If we endure, we will also reign with him. If we deny him, he also will deny us. If we are faithless, he remains faithful, for he cannot deny himself. What a beautiful text of scripture that we see Paul laying out for Timothy as well as for us under the inspiration of the Spirit of God. Let me give you, if I can, just a few moments to kind of set the structure of what's going on here. First of all, we're going to see five imperatives or five commands, okay? And so we're going to see those commands are this. He says in verse one, to be strong. So he is being commanded to be strong or to be strengthened. Command number two is the word entrust. Command number three is in verse three, it is to share. And then between verses three through seven, we're going to have three analogies of what it means to be a follower of Jesus Christ, right? We'll look at those analogies. Then the fourth command is to consider or to think about in verse seven. And then that final command is in verse eight when it says to remember. Now, here's why these are important, these imperatives or these commands. This is why they're important. Because commands in the word of God is like columns in a building structure. What keeps this building from falling down is that there are columns that are placed in the right point of the structure to keep the building from collapsing. The commands in the text of Scripture are like the columns. Everything else rests upon those columns. Those commands are the strength that keeps the structure of the text. And if we can find those commands, then everything else around it makes sense. To use a different analogy. Do you remember the old child's game where you'd get the little coloring book or whatever it was, and they would have all the numbers, the one, two, and you'd have to connect the dots. You remember that? And after you connected all the dots, the picture would come into focus. Those commands are the dots. And as we connect the dots of those commands, the picture of the word of God begins to take shape so that we see what God wants us to see. And so this text has those five dots to be strong, to entrust, to share, to consider, and to remember. And then as we draw the lines between each one of those five dots, we see the picture that the word of God is drawing for us so that we can understand God's commands and desires for us. And I said that there were three analogies. There is the soldier, there is the athlete, and there is the farmer. And then finally, as Paul so often does, he ends with what is a small hymn of praise. So we're going to build our lesson today upon those five columns, upon those five dots, the five imperatives or the five commands. And the first one is this. Be strong. Be strong. We should be strengthened by the grace that is in Jesus Christ. Let's look at verse one very closely. You, therefore, remembering that the therefore, he's developing this out of saying to Timothy, listen, Timothy, you're either going to be an onosiphorous that refreshes others, or you're going to be someone who abandons. You know, there's a movement today called exvangelical. You know what an exvangelical is? An exvangelical is someone who has grown disappointed that God has not done things the way that they think God ought to do things. And when they get disappointed in God, they become, instead of an evangelical, they become an exvangelical. They walk away from the faith. That's why we need to have within our lives onosiphorous people who remind us of what God has done. But Paul writes here to Timothy, Timothy, because you're either going to be an abandoner or you're going to be a refresher. You need to be strong or literally you need to be strengthened in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. Now, apparently, Timothy was kind of a timid person. We read in 1 Timothy 4, 12, where Timothy should not let people look down on him because of his youth. In 2 Timothy 1, 8, Paul says, don't be ashamed of the testimony of the Lord. It seems as if whatever's going on in the life of Timothy, he seems to be a little bit timid. And to be timid means that he wants to be a Christian. But perhaps there are seasons in his life where Paul could see in Timothy a bit of a shrinking back from the faith. It's not that he's denying the faith. It's that he maybe is not always as strong and courageous in the faith as perhaps what Paul wants him to be. But the word there for be strong, it's really kind of a, it's a passive imperative, which means that we are to not merely grit our teeth and quench our fists and say we are going to be strong, but it's the opposite. We are to be strengthened. We are to rest. And in that resting in God's grace, we find our strength. You see, it's the Lord who strengthens us. And I am strengthened in the Lord, not because I always understand what God is doing, but because I'm convinced of what God is going to have done. And I am strong, not because I agree with everything that I see going on in our world today and I see the events and the threats and political turmoil and cultural turmoil and divisions within our world. I don't find strength in that. I find strength because I am convinced that the one who is going to write the last sentence of human history and place the period on the final book is God. And I don't always know how we're going to get there. But I know this, God is going to get us there. Because He is strong and powerful and providential. And when I may find myself growing discouraged with the way things are going, I know God is in control. And we can rest in that. Think about how often the Bible tells us to rest in God. What is Isaiah's word in Isaiah chapter 40? Those who wait on the Lord will renew their strength. They will mount up on wings like eagles. They shall run and they shall not grow weary. And they shall walk and they will not faint. When we rest in God, we are strengthened. And so Paul, under the inspiration of the Spirit of God, is writing to Timothy and to us. When you grow weary, you rest in God. When we find ourselves at that moment where it is just God, I cannot continue to fight. I can often hear the Spirit of God leading me to realize, good, good. Now you will depend upon me to win the battle that you've been losing. Be strengthened by the grace that is in Jesus Christ. Number two, when we begin to get weary, we not only should be strong in the grace of Jesus Christ, but we should be committed to passing on the faith. Look what he says in verse two. The things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. Entrust these to faithful men. Take these things Paul is saying to Timothy and hand them on to other people. Because the Christian faith is a faith that is to be handed on to other people. It is us reminding people that what we're building our lives upon is the incarnation of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, eternal, born in Bethlehem, living a perfect life, crucified for your sins and mine, resurrected by the power of God, ascended back into heaven, for right now, at this moment, he is seated at the right hand of the Father, making intercession on your behalf, until he's told by his Father, go and get your church and bring him home. And bring him home. That is ultimately what you and I are to be about passing down. It is the tradition of the Christian faith that we are to be committed to passing down. Notice how beautifully Timothy, or rather Paul says this, he not only says that in verse two to pass this on, but in verse one, he reminded Timothy, Timothy, you are my son. Now, he's not saying he's his physical son, he's saying he's his spiritual son. Timothy, having been led to faith in God by Paul, discipled by Paul, trained by Paul, placed in the pastorate by Paul, under the calling of God, and Paul, therefore, is able to say to Timothy, Timothy, it's like you're my son. And as I've handed this down to you, the Christian doctrine of faith, you are to pass it on to other people. Now, think about how precious things can be. As I was getting ready this morning, I went into the closet and was picking out what Sandy told me I needed to wear. And I saw there on my shelf, just about eyeball high in my closet, this pocket knife. It's just a pocket knife, it really doesn't mean that much to you. You could run up to Academy and buy one today for $40 or $50. It's just a pocket knife, there's not a whole lot to it. Unless you understand where this pocket knife came from. You see, my family, my mom's side of the family was from East Tennessee, just outside of Chattanooga, a little town called Dayton. You remember the Scopes Monkey Trials? That took place in Dayton, where my mom's side of the family was. And when I was a little kid, we would make that trip from Texas to Dayton, Tennessee, at least once every year. And my dad and my mom's dad, my dad's father-in-law, my grandfather, had a custom that every time they would get together, they would exchange pocket knives. So my dad would get a pocket knife, and my grandfather would get a pocket knife, and when they would meet each other, and I remember this as a four and five year old, I remember when they would meet each other, they would exchange pocket knives. And it was a great thing. You see, in East Tennessee, what you would do is you would go up to the courthouse, just outside where the Scopes Monkey Trials occurred, and you would sit around the square of the Dayton courthouse. And the old men would sit out there, and they would talk about politics, and they would talk about the world, and they would talk about the economy, and they would whittle and spit. And whittling and spitting required pocket knives, because they would cut off a chunk of queen bee chewing tobacco, and then they would sit there and whittle on a stick while they talked. And I remember when I was five years old, I begged my dad for a piece of that queen bee chewing tobacco. One time, my mom was so mad at my dad, to which my dad said, he won't do it again. And he was right. How the hell in the world can you enjoy something that does that to your body? So, there was one year that my dad was unable to go, and it was the year that my grandfather was really, really sick, and he was about to pass away. And my dad had owned his own business in the oil field at the time, and he said, now, boy, that's what he always called me. I thought my name was Boy up until I was 12 years old. And he said, boy, I'm not going to be able to go, but you need to exchange this pocket knife with your grandfather. We called him Poy when you get there. I got there, and Poy was in pretty bad health. He would pass away a couple of weeks later. And I would exchange pocket knives with him, and he would give me a pocket knife to give back to my dad. And I would give him the pocket knife from my dad. And after he passed away, we went back for the funeral. My grandmother pulled me aside and took me into my grandfather's room, and she opened the top. I remember she opened the top dresser, and she pulled out that pocket knife, and she gave it to me. Almost 50 years later, that pocket knife sits in a prominent place in my closet, because it reminds me that there are things that we value. This pocket knife pales in comparison to what you and I are to pass on as believers. Imagine if we fail to pass on the crucifixion and the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ for the salvation of the world. If we lose that because we fail to pass it on, we've lost far more than a family heirloom. We've lost the very purpose of life. And so Paul says to Timothy, entrust to faithful men, men who would go on to pastor churches, entrust to the congregation, to the people. Teach it to children. I'm so glad for what was passed on to me. My daddy was a deacon. My mama was a Sunday school teacher. She was the one who did vacation Bible school, raised in church. So grateful for what they passed on to me. We must be faithful and intentional about entrusting others with the gospel of Jesus Christ, so that they will be able to teach others also. Be strong in the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. The second pillar, the second column, commend to others the gospel of Jesus Christ. Number three, be faithful. That third column, be faithful even in seasons of suffering. Look at verse three. Paul commands Timothy, suffer hardship with me. It's a command. It's a command. And the language that is used here, it's a command, but it's a command that essentially says, make a final determination right now. Right now, at this moment in your life, make a final determination. That no matter what comes your way, no matter how hard it is to be a Christian, that you are not going to quit the race before you finish. That's not always easy, because there are times where the race gets hard. The race gets long. And that's where his three analogies comes in. And so we need to remember these three analogies. And I would encourage you to remember these three analogies when walking with Christ, when running the race of faith begins to become weary. Remember these three analogies. The first analogy that he wants us to remember is that we are to be a good soldier. We're to be a good soldier. Look what he says, verse three, suffer hardship with me as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. Remember that the Christian life is a life that is not a life of ease. It is spiritual warfare. We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers. In 2 Corinthians 10, 3 through 6, we see that there is this warfare that seeks to set itself up against us as we seek to follow the Lord. It is spiritual warfare in which we engage. In 2 Timothy 1a, Paul had said to Timothy, do not be ashamed of me, the testimony of our Lord or of me as prisoner, but join with me in suffering for the gospel according to the power of God. Tommy Lee wrote, the soldier was concerned to obey his commander 24 hours a day. And Paul wanted Timothy to display the same zeal and commitment to the Lord. Now, there is no greater advocate that we can have than the person who does spiritual warfare on our behalf. The person who prays for us. I remember as a young pastor, I'd grown weary. The critics were louder than the advocates. And I happened to walk into the church on a Sunday morning and one of the elderly ladies pulled me aside and she said that she just wanted me to know that the Lord woke her up at two o'clock in the morning and told her to pray for me. And just the knowledge that somebody was praying for me gave me enough energy and enough courage to continue to serve the Lord, even when it was difficult. Be a good soldier. This life isn't easy walking with Christ. But we've got to be faithful. The second analogy is, after be a good soldier, he says in verse five, if anyone competes as an athlete, he does not win the prize unless he competes unless he competes according to the rules. Well, the athlete reminds us that we are to constantly be training and improving so that we are able to compete within the rules that God has given to us. Well, God tells us how we're to live the Christian life. He's given us a book. He's given us one another. He's told us how we are to live the Christian life. And we ought not be surprised when we step outside of God's will that things don't go quite as swimmingly as what we may want them to go. We are to compete like an athlete. We are to train like an athlete. Think about how often the Bible uses athletic competition. We're told in Hebrews to run with endurance. The race that is set before us. Looking unto Jesus, the author and the finisher of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, despising its shame, and is now set down at the right hand of God. He says we're surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses. And it is those witnesses that bring us encouragement to continue to run the race. Paul used athletic imagery in 1 Corinthians 9, verses 24 through 27, when he says we are to run to win the prize and not to aimlessly box like one beating the air. We're not only to be soldiers, but we are to be like athletes. We are to train ourselves as Christians. How do we train ourselves? Through the spiritual disciplines, prayer, reading and reflecting upon the Word of God, worship, witnessing. All of these things train us to be good Christians. And finally, we are to be like a farmer. Now, farmers, it says here in verse 6, the hardworking farmer ought to be the first to receive his share of the crops. You know, we live in a microwave society. We want to walk in and we want to put the cup of coffee into the microwave when it needs to be reheated. I'm letting you in on my household a little bit. And we put the cup of coffee into the microwave when it needs to be reheated. And we don't even have to punch any more 30 starts. We just have one button, usually, that says 30 seconds. And we push that 30 second button and I sit there and I tap my foot, waiting for that coffee to hurry up and get reheated because we've grown impatient. But God cooks in crockpots, not microwaves. We want to receive stuff immediately, but the farmer has to till the ground, plant the seed, water, fertilize, weed. And eventually, he'll see a little sprout and the sprout becomes a bloom. And the bloom is the first fruits of the crop. Of the crop. Sometimes we can get impatient. God, you're not doing it the way that I want you to do it. You're not doing it as quickly as I think you want to. But we keep waiting. We keep praying. We keep watering. We do not grow weary in well-doing. We will reap. Be a good soldier. Train yourself like an athlete to serve the Lord. Wait. Like the farmer. Like the farmer. We will eat of the crop that he brings to fruition. Be patient. And that fourth command that he gives us, that fourth column, is to be thoughtful. Think, verse 7. Consider. Think about what I say. For the Lord will give you understanding. You see, Paul wanted Timothy to understand that his words, which are the words of Scripture, the words of God, the words of the Spirit, his words were not merely to be read or heard. They were to be considered. They were to be thought about. They were to be prayerfully meditated upon. You know, there is nothing that helps me to grow as a Christian more than prayerful reflection upon the Word of God. Just simply sitting down and how many times has God enlightened our hearts? Replaced our sorrow with joy. Replaced our fear with courage. Replaced our doubt with faith. Because we spent time reading the Word of God. He says, consider what I say, Timothy. Think about the things that I have taught you. Think about the things that I have written to you. Because as you do so, the Lord will give you understanding. You know, one of the biggest challenges of being a professor at a seminary is that the idea can begin to develop within the mind of the student that they're there for intellectual preparation. We want to talk about the doctrine of the Trinity, and we want to talk about the doctrine of Christology, and we want to talk about Greek language and imperatives and indicatives and the Hebrew language and all of this stuff. That's what we want. And we continually have to remind ourselves and the students what we're doing is so much more than giving knowledge. We're giving understanding. Helping the world to be seen through the eyes of the Spirit of God. And how do we see the world through the eyes of the Spirit of God? By prayerfully reflecting upon the Word of God, which gives us not merely intellectual knowledge, but heartfelt understanding. That final column that he shows us is this, or not the final column, but the final statement here. He says, Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, is a descendant of David, according to the gospel. Notice here that what he's telling him, and I've got to do this one quickly, what he's telling him here is that Jesus descended from David, descended from David. That shows us the providential, sovereign oversight of God to look through the annals of history. Eternity past, eternity future, from creation to return. And we see that in every single instance what God is doing is God is directing the events of history toward his desired end. We don't have time to go through it, but for Jesus to be a descendant of David, think about all of the things that threatened that lineage. Whether it was Ruth, Boaz, wars, threatening, but God directed it in every single way. And as he so often does, he ends with a hymn. Verses 11, 12, and 13. This is a trustworthy statement. Probably a small statement that the churches would pass around to remind themselves when they grew discouraged. And he says that there are these trustworthy statements. He says, if we died with him, we'll live with him. Romans chapter 6 teaches us that our baptism is a visible symbol of the death that we died with Jesus when we gave our lives to him, buried with him in the likeness of his death. If we died with him, we'll also live with him. Now, we may have and will have, if the Lord cherishes, the expiration of the body. But there is no expiration on eternal life. The milk jug is stamped with a date when it will expire. But for those who are in Christ, our bodies may expire, but there's going to come a great day of resurrection. And that glorified body has no expiration date. If we died with him, we will also live with him. Verse 12, if we endure, if we bear under, if we persevere, we will reign with him. We will reign with him. And when he returns and all of the world says he is King of Kings, he is Lord of Lords, every knee is going to bow, every tongue is going to confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. For some, they'll confess it, but it'll be too late. But if we endure, we're going to reign with him. But if we deny him, he will also deny us. But here's good news. Even when we are faithless, if I'm honest with you, there are seasons in my life where I've been faithless. I just wrestled. Why, God? But you know, even when I struggled with my faith, God was always faithful. And I find great confidence in knowing that whatever it is that I fear about tomorrow, whatever concerns me about tomorrow, that conversation, that doctor's visit, that event, when I get there, he's going to be standing there waiting for me, waiting for me, telling me that he already has it under control. We can have faith in that. Great is thy faithfulness, O God my Father. There is no shadow of turning with thee. Thou changest not, thy compassions they fail not, but as thou hast been, thou forever will be. Great is thy faithfulness, great is thy faithfulness. Morning by morning, new mercies I see. All I have needed, thy hand hath provided. Great is thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me. He is faithful. Paul's words to Timothy, Timothy, some of them abandoned me. On a thifer, it's refreshed me. Timothy, you keep serving God. Because he is faithful. And that's a word for all of us today. Amen. Father, we thank you so much that even in seasons where we struggle, seasons where we wrestle, Father, you are faithful. And you will not let one promise of yours fail. In that, we take courage. We are refreshed. And we will continue to serve for your glory. In Jesus, do we pray. Amen. All right, good to see you today. Amen.