In this sermon, the speaker emphasizes the importance of aligning our words with our actions as Christians. He highlights the fact that we are representatives of God and Jesus Christ on earth, and our lives should reflect their character. The speaker also mentions the significance of being prepared and living a life of integrity, just as the Apostle Paul did. He emphasizes the power and usefulness of the Word of God, stating that it is edifying, exhorting, and comforting. The speaker encourages Timothy to hold onto the truths he has learned and to remain diligent in his faith.

We'll read from verse 10, But thou, that is, Timothy, hast fully known my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, longsuffering, love, and patience, persecutions, afflictions, which came unto me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra. What persecutions I endured, but out of them all the Lord delivered me. Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. But evil men and seducers shall become worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived. But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned, and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them. And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works. There is a beautiful picture here of this man, Paul, an older man, a mature man in the Lord, and a younger man that he had taken the responsibility for discipling. To disciple one means that you devote a lot of time to the spiritual development of that person. And if there is one weakness within the Church today, it is that one area in which we do not personally seize upon the responsibility and a wonderful opportunity to more perfectly instruct another person that knows less than you know. Now, certainly we can find somebody that knows less than we know. I think the woods is just full of people that many of them are just crying out. I would like to know a little bit more about the scriptures. And if someone would just come to my side and help me, it might be a nice little quiet home Bible study in which you can open the word of God, and you can instruct that person, even share your own experiences with them. And thereby they begin to grow, they begin to develop and mature spiritually. It cannot be any higher calling, because it is that one-on-one in which another person is benefiting from your experiences as a believer, and which, again, you are taking the promises of God, the truth of God's word. You have tried it, you have proven it, and you are sharing it with that person. Well, that's what Paul did with Timothy. He took him along with him on his missionary journeys. He was interested in him. He left him at Ephesus. He instructed him as to some of the things that he should be warned about, things we touched upon this morning. I don't want you to be caught unawares. These things are in the world, they're happening, and it may grieve you, it grieves me, but face life with a reality that there are things out there that there's no use closing your eyes to them. They are there, and they are part of this real world in which we live. I think in this section he is charging Timothy to rely upon the knowledge of God's word, the truth, that he had learned in this personal way, to be a safeguard in his own life's experience. Again, the value of the word of God. It's indeed a shame that a believer does not acquaint himself more perfectly with what God's word has to say. Coming up empty-handed when there is an opportunity to share something of spiritual value with someone else, and so often having to plead ignorance. I don't know. I don't know where that's found. I don't even know if that truth is in the word of God. Peter would tell us, Be ready to give every man an answer of the hope that is in you. It does speak of alertness and that readiness of heart and mind. You've got to know the word of God, and even better when you have taken that word and you've applied it to your own life. And this is exactly what Timothy had observed in Paul's life. He says, You have known me in a very intimate way. Ours has been an intimate relationship. It's like a father and a son. And I've cared for you. I've even protected you, perhaps, in times when you needed protection. I have taught and instructed you in the truth. I haven't led you astray. The things that you've observed in this intimate contact with me, they are the truth. They've been delivered to me from God, and I've taught you these things. And I've also lived these things before you. Timothy, I believe, was impressed with Paul. You know, most of us, during our early years, boys and girls alike, we have idols. It may be a sports figure. It may be someone that you look up to. For some reason, you strongly admire them. You want to be like them. You walk like them. You act like them. I think that's the kind of picture we have of Paul and Timothy. Timothy, when he looked at Paul and when he heard Paul talk and he sat at his feet, you could just see beaming in his face a strong admiration for this little Jew, this fellow that had meant so much to him in his Christian life, been responsible for him maturing and growing in the Lord. And he appreciated it. I thought about a little sign. It said it was a Chinese proverb. It says, Only follow the Master's word as far as the Master lives that word. I think that's the principle that's involved here. We can tell people a lot of things with our lips, but you know, for it to really have its impact upon that life, I believe we have to live it. If they don't see that truth lived out in our lives, you know, they say, You just talk. You just talk about these things. But there's no reality in what you're talking about. And I have to confess that sometimes when it comes to the things of God, the reason that some people don't take them seriously, they don't see it being taken seriously in the lives of Christians. They're not practicing what they preach. That wasn't true with Paul. He practiced the truth in the presence of this young man. And so he tells him, My purpose and my faith are no secrets to you. You have observed firsthand. I purposed in my heart. It sounds a little akin to Daniel. As that young man went away into Babylon, he purposed in his heart. He wasn't going to defile himself with the king's dainties. He purposed he was going to pray. He purposed he was going to be faithful to God, come what may. And of course you remember his friends, his companions, and that experience of being cast into the fiery furnace. These were men of purpose, of heart. And people need to see that in our lives. It's contagious. No doubt in my mind, Timothy, when he looked at Paul, that man means what he says, and he says what he means. And when he acts, he acts out of deep convictions. And he's convinced that his purpose in life is the one that God has chosen for him. This was no secret to Timothy. It was so obvious. Paul's life to Timothy was like an open book. In fact, he could say, You were eyewitnesses. You were an eyewitness to my endurance. You know I never gave up. You never heard me say, I quit. I surrender. I'm going back to Jerusalem. I'm going back to Antioch. I'm going back to Tarsus. I'm going to throw in the towel. Timothy never heard Paul say that. Endurance, steadfastness of purpose. Never any indication at all in his life that he swerved from that purpose of life that was his. That which he believed was God's will for his life. And he stuck to it. My love, he says. My love. And Paul could say is one that was, he was a doer. An active man. One that was looking for opportunities to serve the Lord. Ever listening so keenly to God's direction for his life. But there was one thing that he never forgot. One ingredient that he knew that was essential in his service for God. It was love. Remember he penned those words to the church at Corinth that you read there in 1 Corinthians 13. Love is the greatest of all gifts. Love never fails. And love was a part of Paul's life. And you see, Timothy observed and observed carefully, Paul doesn't forget to love. Sometimes he might act firmly. Sometimes he might take actions in which others misunderstand. But it was always with love. I just believe that Timothy could see Christ in Paul's life. He could see a man that he believed what God had desired for his life was important and he wanted to be conformed. He wanted to be fashioned into the likeness, to the image of that wonderful person, our Lord Jesus Christ. Tribulation and patience. Other ingredients that were a part of this man's life. So often one can be swept along when there is success with forgetting the little people and sometimes brushing aside the feelings of others. But Paul was a patient man. And he wrote, you know, tribulation work of patience. He had his share of tribulation and trial. But he recognized it as something that he would use. He would use it in a way that he was bettered by that tribulation and trial. He wasn't a complainer and a griper and a murmurer. He took whatever God sent his way and he used it for God's glory. He interpreted everything that touched his life in the light of God's will for my life. And I'll be a better person as a result of this thing touching my life. My life will be perfected. I will become mature in my faith as these things that God allows to touch my life. Patience, such a necessary ingredient to any Christian's life. And all of these qualities, of course, were practiced when I met that persecution there at Antioch, in Iconium, and at Lystra. All of these qualities of life that others may look upon and say, they're of no value. Well, they're of no value if you never used them and if you never see any occasion when you need them. But Paul had ample opportunity in his life to put these things into practice. And so often we may complain and say, you know, I don't even recognize a learning experience from God when He comes my way. I have that difficulty of even discerning. Is this God's will? Is God sending this into my life for purpose? Well, that's why we need that vital contact with God every day so that we know without question, this thing has touched my life and God has something in view. He's going to make me grow. He's going to help me. And you know, I've developed qualities in my life that I don't have to run and hide and say, you know, the test is too hard. That hard test that Paul was subjected to in his missionary travels at Antioch, Iconium, and Lystra. Timothy had observed firsthand again. You know firsthand how the Lord brought me safely through all of those experiences. I know who is my helper. I know the one that supplies that sufficiency of grace that I need. I know Him. I've tried Him and I've proven Him. No question in my mind, I'm not one of those vacillating, unstable individuals that never really seem to know when God is speaking and when God is sending something into my life that will result in my own personal good and perhaps for the good of others. So it is important, you see, that we grow in grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus. It's so important that we be prepared. Why does an athlete take his body and abuse it almost, subject it to all sorts of things to make the muscles stronger, to stretch a little further, run a little faster? Why does he do all of those things? Because he knows one day his reputation, his ability as an athlete is going to be on the line. There will be a test set before him. He can be a winner or a loser. I'm telling you right now, when you think about the Apostle Paul, he was no loser. He never thought about second best. He says, When I run in a race, I run to win. I'm not just also ran. I run to win that race. And you know that purpose of heart, that attitude in the things of God, developing a positive attitude toward our Christian experience. It's not the legalistic attitude of what I can't do, the legal attitude of restraints placed upon me. If that's the attitude, we've forgotten the freedom and the liberty and the glory that we have in our Lord Jesus Christ, and the fact that the Word of God says we're more than conquerors through him that loved us and gave himself for us. You think about his experience, and now let's bring it right down to something that's very personal tonight. He says, Yea, and all that will live godly, all that will live godly, every Christian that will live a life that is godlike in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. Persecution is inevitable. It's inevitable for a very, very, very elite group among Christians. And I have to say that because it seems that there are not too many of us that are willing, day by day, to say no to the world, no to anything and everything. We will not be conformed to this world and its ways. I'm going to live my life for the glory of God. That is an elite group. It's a minority within the Christian family that really says that and really practices that. And the inevitable persecution that comes their way as promised of God. These are those that are determined to live godlike lives. That should come as a challenge to us. It's very personal tonight. There's no reason why we should exclude ourselves and say, well, perhaps someone else is chosen. Someone else will have to take the lead in being more godlike. Someone else will have to be the shining star. I choose to take a more obscure place. Brother, what you're saying is, you're hiding and you're keeping your light under a bushel. You see, you're failing to face up to your responsibility, my responsibility, as an ambassador for Jesus Christ. Let our colors fly. Let men know where we stand and be ready to speak that word of witness for Jesus Christ our Lord. Are we ashamed of him? Are we ashamed of the reproach of Christ? This man says, I'm not ashamed of the gospel of Christ. I will not let my life be affected by the reproach that fell upon him. I will rather identify myself with that reproach. It was through that reproach and that rejection and his death that I found life and the forgiveness of sin. God doesn't expect anything less from us than he did from the Apostle Paul. We are brothers in Christ. Paul was very special. We need to be very special. We need to join that elite group of those that say, come what may, I'm going to live my life for God. Persecution, of course, is inevitable. That 13th verse says that evil men and seducers shall become worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived. You know, I have a deep sense of pity in my heart for that person without Christ. You have to. You look out over this world tonight and you think of all the people that are unsaved and they have no hope. Theirs is a hopeless existence. And the word of God says, these wicked, these deceitful, they're going from bad to worse. Some of them by reformation try to lift themselves up a little and even get a little religious and things of that sort. But they're still going downhill. And they are deceived and they're deceiving others. Misery loves company. They are exploiting others and in turn being exploited. Man, that's a jungle. That's a hard world. You live in a world, you function in a world where truth is not held up. Truth has no value. It's how cleverly you can lie and deceive. And when someone comes along that's a little more clever than you are and knows how to keep a straight face and knows how to drive a hard bargain, knows how to rest and twist the truth and manipulate another person. You become a victim of the same thing. That's a vicious world. Little wonder that the word of God says there's no rest for the wicked. The wicked, he has no peace in his soul. He lives in a world that is very sad. It's a world that is filled with pessimism. It's a world in which the God of this world holds in his grip dominion over his subjects. And he controls and manipulates them at his will, at his choosing. I'll tell you, living without God in your life is a hard life. Living without the Lord Jesus as your Savior is a sad experience. And not one of you in this room that can't say amen to that. You've tried it and you know what it is. Living without Christ is a bummer. That's a hard life. And all of us have had a taste of it. Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift, our Lord Jesus Christ. But then he comes back to Timothy. And he says, Timothy, there's one thing that's very important in your Christian life. You must be steadfast. It's a good Bible word. You must give diligence. You must pursue with diligence the things that you've learned, those things I've taught you. Be careful. Don't let them slip away from you. You know, I'm told in certain professions that if you stay out for a given length of time, it's almost impossible for you to go back. Say someone's practicing law, a doctor, all of the things that are changing in this world in which we live. You can't pick up the thread. And say, well, I've been gone five years, but I'm going back. Oh, no. Things have been moving since you dropped out. And brothers and sisters in Christ, don't be a spiritual dropout. Stick to the book. And you know, Paul was telling Timothy, look, my son in the faith, give diligence. These things that I've taught you, these things that I've impressed upon your heart, they're important. It's the most important thing you'll ever learn in your life. And one day they'll stand you in good, because God will send into your life those things, those experiences in which these things will be much needed. This truth, you've learned it. I want that truth to have a grip upon you. Don't be a dropout. The truth of God, it never loses its value. Men change, God never changes. God's Word never changes. Not one jot, not one tittle of the Word of God. Every little old mark, everything about it, it's important. God is a God of detail. And sometimes we approach this business of living to God in such a careless and indifferent manner. Oh, it's not important. It doesn't really matter. You know, we just kind of slough along. I'll do it tomorrow. No, I didn't have a quiet time today. I didn't pray today. I didn't pray yesterday. I forgot to read the Word. Oh, I said last week when I was here, during this week, I'm going to read more. I'm going to pray more. And something happened. You didn't do that away about your job. All of those other things that seemed so important. That apartment that you had with someone that you looked forward to. Those engagements. Why you even lived through an experience before it ever happened, because you looked forward to it. Why not that attitude toward the Word of God and the things of God? What has happened to us as believers in our Lord Jesus Christ? Are these things truly precious and dear and meaningful? Paul would tell Timothy, there is nothing upon the face of the earth more dear than the truth that I've shared with you. And he wanted to impress it upon him. He says, one thing I want you to do. It's nice to be able to reflect upon the source of the truth that came your way. He says, you remember the character of the people that your knowledge has come from. These things that you've learned. Think about the people that shared those things with you. Were they real? Were they hypocrites? Were they people that just exploited you and did it for some selfish gain? Was that their motivation? Never. You know they loved you. They know that you know that they loved you for Christ's sake. They wanted to win you. They wanted to see you strong. You know the character of those individuals. Impeccable character. Men whose word meant something because they stood for God's truth and for God's Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. You know, Paul, when he speaks to the church at Carnes, he says, this is one thing I will tell you to do. You only follow me in the measure in which I follow the person of Jesus Christ. If I'm not an example of what Christ asked me to be, pay no attention to me. Ignore what I'm saying. For you look at my life. You examine my life. And if I'm not loyal to the cause of our Lord Jesus Christ, forget what I said to you. I'll tell you, this man backed up what he said with his life. What he said he meant. It was a part of his life. And you know, there can be a tremendous gap between what we say and what we do. And brothers and sisters in Christ, people are watching us. You know, we're like a showcase. We say we're Christians. We represent the true and the living God. We represent the person of Jesus Christ. We are his ambassadors here upon the face of the earth. What do they see in our lives? Is it genuine? Is it real? Is there that sterling quality of character, that Christ-likeness that the world should see in us? That's what Timothy could see in Paul's life. And he could say this, you received God's truth from your early childhood. Your dear grandmother. He must have known his grandmother and his mother. Your dear grandmother, Lois. And your mother, Eunice. They took the word of God. They shared it with you. They knew the value of that word. They knew you needed that word. It was truth that exalted the person of our Lord Jesus Christ. And you know, you can review your own life. You can think back upon your own life. Remember the day when, perhaps, at your grandmother's knee, she encouraged you to just confess, Timothy, my child, you know you're a sinner in the sight of God. That's what God's word says. We're sinners. And God has sent his beloved son from heaven. And she'd go on and tell him the wonderful love story, God's love, for him, Timothy. And all that he needed to do was to receive Christ as his Savior. He learned that in his own home. At his grandmother's knee. At his mother's knee. That encouragement. That inspiration of looking back and saying, I had godly parents. They instructed me in the things of God. And I thank them for it. Paul says, don't forget that. Don't forget where you came from. Don't forget your heritage. There were those that cared for you and loved you. You can thank God that you had them. It brought enlightenment. It brought salvation to your soul. Your faith was directed toward the only one who could save your soul. The Lord Jesus Christ. He closes, and this is almost like a doxology. All scripture is God-breathed. My, oh my, when we pick this book up, does sometimes, are we just, it's an awesome thought. This is God's word. God gave his word to us for a purpose. It's a lamp unto my foot. It's a light unto my pathway. Oh, it's powerful and it's sharp and it's quicker and sharper than any two-edged sword. It's living. Oh, it can divide asunder between the bone and the marrow, discerner of the intents of the mind and the heart. My, how wonderful this book is. The word of God. All scripture is God-breathed. And here are some of the very positive things about the word of God. It's useful for teaching the faith that we claim in our Lord Jesus Christ. Everything in this book, in the way of truth, in some way, somehow, relates to the person of Jesus Christ. It is useful. It's so helpful. It's so encouraging. Three things are said about the word of God. It is edifying. It is exhorting. It is comforting. Three areas in which every one of us, day by day, need some help. And we can find it in the word of God. It's used for correcting error. Take the word of God. Take error and attack that error with the word of God. I'll guarantee you, God's word will win. God's word will win. All of those skeptics, all of those scoffers, and there have been millions of them down through the ages. Think of all of the attacks that have been directed toward this book, the word of God. Think of all those countries today, tonight, around the world. There's one thing they don't want the people to have. God's word. They don't want them to have enlightened minds, liberated spirits and souls. If you want to attack error, you take the word of God. It's God-breathed. It's God's word. It's helpful for resetting the direction of a man's life. Sometimes we get off course. Sometimes we begin to put, as we've pointed out, values upon the wrong things. Get back to the word of God. As Christians, where did we start? Faith comes by hearing, hearing by the word of God. That's where we got our start, in this book. No man is saved apart from the spirit of God and God's word. There can be no conviction without the word of God and the spirit of God to apply it to our souls. And when we are saved by God's grace, we still need the word of God. Sometimes we wander. Sometimes we go astray. It's God's word. It's God's word. As I read and as the spirit of God brings back that stability to my life that is needed, God's word. Resetting the direction of a man's life and training him for good living. I tell you, to have a good, healthy spiritual state in your soul is something that is priceless. You can't buy it with money. Money won't buy that. You can have it, though. I can have it, if I'm willing to give the time that's necessary, if I'm willing to search, if I'm willing to appropriate what God has for me in this book. I can be strong. I can be healthy. I can be robust, spiritually speaking, not weak, not lifeless. Which would you choose? You say, I want to be strong. I want to have a testimony for God. Oh, it's none of this showiness that goes on in the world today. When people talk about being spiritual and being spirit-filled, it's none of that. It's appropriating by faith what God has for you out of His word. It's that spiritual food that you need to strengthen you and to make you strong. Then you're living the good life. You're living the good life, that good life that we found in Christ. And finally, he closes with the fact that the man of God, he knows the value of God's word. And through obedience to that truth, he's fully fitted for every good work. I've had people tell me that I'm not qualified for that job. You know what I could have told that person? Brother, that's your own fault. That's your own fault. You could have been qualified. You just haven't taken the time, the time to equip yourself so that you could serve God effectively. You've been neglecting God's word. This word will fit you for God's service. It'll give you that assurance and that confidence. We are confident that our God is able to do over and beyond anything we can imagine. Sometimes he takes something that looks weak, and if that something that looks weak happens to be some human being that's learned the value of this book, God's word, and he's appropriated it, and he's used the instructions to fit himself for God's service, God will use him. And he won't be embarrassed, because those that serve God truly in the spirit and according to this truth don't have to apologize to anyone. How about it? You want to live a good life? You've got to stick to the book. Truth is important. Pursue it every day of your life, and value it above anything else in this life. My brother Les is going to come and lead us in a hymn, closing prayer.