In this sermon, the speaker emphasizes the concept of the deposit in the Christian faith. He explains that the deposit is ourselves, our faith, love, and everything that concerns us, committed to the Lord. The speaker uses the analogy of a precious box of jewels entrusted to a faithful employee to illustrate how the Lord trusts us with his truth and gifts. He urges believers to recognize that what they have received from the Lord is not just for their enjoyment, but a trust that needs to be kept. The speaker also addresses the challenges and persecution that Christians may face, reminding them that their life and relationship with God is in Christ and cannot be taken away.

In Richmond, Virginia, the ministry is given through Brother Stephen Tong. We are sorry we were a little late. There was an accident on the highway. We should be here before 3.30. Will you please turn to 2 Timothy. 2 Timothy, chapter one. We'll read from verse three. 2 Timothy, chapter one, verse three. I am thankful to God whom I serve for my forefathers with pure conscience. How unceasingly I have the remembrance of thee in my supplications night and day. Earnestly desiring to see thee. Remembering thy tears that I may be filled with joy. Calling to mind the unfading faith which has been in thee. Which dwelt first in thy grandmother Louis and in thy mother Eunice. And I am persuaded that in thee also. For which cause I put thee in mind to rekindle the gift of God which is in thee by the putting on of my hands. For God has not given us a spirit of cowardice. But of power and of love and of wise discretion. Be not therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord. Nor of me his prisoner. But suffer evil along with the glad tidings. According to the power of God. Who has saved us and has called us with a holy calling. Not according to our works but according to his own purpose and grace. Which was given to us in Christ Jesus before the ages of time. But has been made manifest now by the appearing of our savior Jesus Christ. Who has annulled death and brought to light light and incorruptibility by the glad tidings. As to which I have been appointed a herald. An apostle and teacher of the nations. For which cause also I suffer these things. But I am not ashamed. For I know whom I have believed. And am persuaded that he is able to keep for that day the deposit I have entrusted to him. Have an outline of sound words. Which words thou hast heard of me in faith and love which are in Christ Jesus. Keep by the Holy Spirit which dwells in us the good deposit entrusted. We have been considering together lately on the last three letters written by the apostle Paul. They are 1st Timothy, Titus and 2nd Timothy. Now 2nd Timothy is the last of the last three letters written by the apostle Paul. Most likely it was written probably a few months before his martyrdom. And if we can reconstruct the event. Let us say that Paul was imprisoned in Rome for over two years in the beginning. As we find at the end of the book of Acts. He was allowed to live in his own apartment. And he was given certain liberty to receive those who came to see him. And after he was there two years and maybe over. He was acquitted. He was set free. Now after he was set free. All we can say that most likely he went to Spain. Because you remember in the 15th chapter of Romans. He mentions how he would desire to go to Spain. So very likely he did visit Spain. But he also revisited the places in Greece, in Asia that he labored before. He was in Ephesus no doubt. Because the first letter to Timothy showed that he was there. But because he couldn't remain there long. He left Timothy behind. But he was hoping that he would return pretty soon. And as he was delayed. He wrote the first letter to Timothy. To not only tell him. But to show us how we should behave ourselves in the house of God. He also visited the island Crete. And there he left Titus behind. And that's how we have the epistle to Titus. And probably from Crete. He went again to Ephesus. And from Ephesus to Troas. And maybe from Troas he was going to Nicopolis. He was hoping that he might spend the winter in Nicopolis. You remember in his letter to Titus he mentioned that. And he hoped that Titus would come to Nicopolis to join him. Now Nicopolis was a Roman city. You know the Romans as they conquered the world. They established Roman colonies in many different places. And Nicopolis was a Roman colony. A Roman city. That is to say in that city everything was Roman. In that city the customs, the habits, the law, the government. Everything was Roman. And Paul went to that city Nicopolis. Now we do not know why did he go there. It was possible that things began to change. Because you know in A.D. 64 and some historians think that it was A.D. 66. We do not know. Probably 64. You remember in A.D. 64 Nero the Roman Caesar he burned the city of Rome. He set fire to that city. Probably he was thinking of rebuilding that city. But after he set fire to that city the hostility of the people was of such immense measure that he was frightened. And he was looking for a scapegoat. Trying to put the blame on somebody else. And the easy prey for that of course were the Christians. So he began to put the blame on the Christians. Saying that the Christians set fire to that city. And because of that there was great persecution coming forth in the Roman Empire. The people were very hostile to Christians. And the Roman Empire began to persecute Christians in a very severe way. And it was considered as a crime just to be a Christian. To be a Christian was a crime to the nation. We do not know why Paul went to Nicopolis. Nicopolis was a Roman colony. Well on the one hand if he should go there he might find some protection there because he was a Roman citizen. But on the other hand being a Roman colony probably the persecution will be even more severe. Because Nero the Caesar the Emperor decreed that the Christians must be persecuted as criminals. But anyway we know that Paul was in Nicopolis. Whether he was taken after he arrived there we do not know. But from what we can gather we can say that Paul was freed. And he was again brought to Rome. But this time when he arrived at Rome it was very different from the first time. The first time he was there it was just a matter of the Jewish law. Disagreement of the Jewish law and custom. And because of that he was treated very kindly. But this time when he was again a prisoner in Rome he was not just a person that had some dispute with Jewish law and custom. He was a common criminal. And he was treated very severely. As a matter of fact from 2nd Timothy probably he was put into dungeon or somewhere. And you know Onesiphorus had very hard time just to find him to locate him. He was imprisoned there. And because the whole atmosphere had changed. Paul said all Asia was so prisoner. Now probably he was speaking of those believers who came from Asia and were in Rome. And when they knew that Paul was put in prison nobody will acknowledge him. They all were thinking of their own lives. Not in the sense that all Asia had denied the Lord. But in the sense that they were so afraid that they just forsook Paul and left him alone. Only Onesiphorus found him out, visited him. We do not know what happened to him. And some commentators felt that when Paul wrote 2nd Timothy he mentioned the house of Onesiphorus. Probably Onesiphorus because he visited Paul he was seen and he was healed. That was possible because the whole atmosphere had changed. And when Paul made his first descent nobody stood with him. He was all alone. But thank God the Lord was with him. And he was delivered out of the lion's den. But anyway you'll find that Paul was there in prison. And after his first defense of course there will be the final trial. And from all that he could see most probably he will be killed. And this happened not only to Paul. But you know the whole thing was spreading over the Roman Empire. He was thinking of Timothy. When he was in that kind of situation waiting as it were for his martyrdom. He longed that he might see Timothy once again. Now dear brothers and sisters in a sense this second letter to Timothy. We can call it as the last will and testament of Paul. Because after he wrote that he was martyred. He longed that he might see Timothy once again. He remembered the tears of Timothy. Probably when they took him away from Timothy. Or probably when Timothy heard that Paul was taken was seen. The tears he remembered the tears that Timothy shed. There was such a relationship between Paul and Timothy. Timothy was a son to him. And before he died he yearned that he might see him once again. Now dear brothers and sisters. Sometimes we may think that to be spiritual you have to be less human. Sometimes we have the wrong concept that a spiritual person is not human at all. You have no emotion. You have no affection. You do not feel anything. You are just like a rock. No feeling at all. And if you are like that then you are spiritual. Paul before he died he longed to see Timothy just to see him once again. How human that was. The more spiritual a person is the more human he becomes. I often feel that we are all subhuman. But the redemption of the Lord Jesus ought to so deliver us from such human level that we may truly be human. Divinely human and humanly divine. And that is what our Lord Jesus did. So here you will find Paul. Before he died he longed to see Timothy again. So he wrote this letter to urge Timothy to come to him before it was too late. He wanted to see Timothy once again. And then very human. But of course he wrote this letter not only for the sake of desiring to see Timothy. That was one of the reasons. But of course there were other reasons. Why? Because at that time you can see that the situation had completely changed. Within 30 years. Or a little over 3 decades. The gospel had spread all over the world at that time. Just within that short period. The gospel was preached all over the world. Even though there was persecution. Say persecution from the Jews. And sometimes the Roman magistrates might not be very favorable. But as a whole the Roman Empire was very tolerant to Christianity. The gospel was able to spread all over the Roman nation. There was not that national policy of persecuting Christians. But now the situation was completely changed. The Roman Empire was using its full power to crush Christianity. To wipe out the Christians. And Paul was seen. Was put in prison. His martyrdom was approaching. Many believers were frightened. And it is only pressure from outside. Probably the consequence would not be that bad. But we know that within that 30 or some years as the gospel was preached all over the world. Gradually you find heresy began to creep into the church. People began to introduce heathen philosophy. Mix of the gospel with philosophy of this world. And heresies began to spread also into the church. And there was corruption everywhere. On the one hand it was spreading. But on the other hand you find within itself there was corruption. There were heresies. In other words Christianity was weakened from within. And it was as it was weakened from within. When the persecution came. When the pressure came upon it. It looked as if Christianity was going to be completely wiped. As Paul looked into the future. As he looked back to the past. As he considered what was happening in the present. A question arose. Will the testimony of Jesus continue on? Paul was known to lay down the torch as it were of the testimony of Jesus. The torch had to be handed to somebody else. Maybe to Timothy and to somebody else. Will there be people who were faithful enough to continue on with the testimony of Christ Jesus? What would happen to the gospel? What would happen to the future of the church of the living God? You find the whole thing as it were in balance. In a balance. Satan. All Asia was hopeless. And even his own fellow workers. Demons. Loved the world. And left it. And went to Thessalonica. At that time. Not in any sense that demons had left the Lord. No. The time was just too difficult. He just couldn't stand it. He left in order to have a better, easier time. You find there was falling away on all sides. What will be the future of the testimony of Jesus Christ? Could Timothy stand firm? Paul knew Timothy. Timothy was relatively comparatively younger, you know. Actually he was not really young. But he was comparatively younger. But Timothy was of such a nature. Of such a temperament. He was a very timid, very shy person. He was very feeble physically. Timothy was not a person that can push himself forward. Timothy was a person that can withdraw very easily. He was that kind of temperament. And Paul knew him well. When all this pressure began to descend upon the church. Of course Timothy will also felt, feel the pressure of the hour. Will Timothy be able to stand firm? Will Timothy be able to take from the hand of Paul the torch of the testimony of Jesus Christ and faithfully carry it on? Paul was thinking of Timothy. He wanted to see Timothy not only because of the human relationship he wanted to see Timothy. He wrote to Timothy because he wanted to encourage him. He knew to it. Brothers and sisters I do feel that the second letter of Timothy has a very special message for us today. It was not only for Timothy. It was for us today. What is our situation today? Dear brothers and sisters. Is not our situation today very similar to the last days of the apostles? Even though we say there is no persecution all over the world. And yet there are persecutions in many parts. Just to be a Christian is a crime. You may be put into prison because you are a Christian. Not because of any other things that you have done. And this is happening. This has happened. In many parts of this world. Satan knows that his days are numbered. He is out to get it. If you read 2 Timothy chapter 3 Paul said in the last days these are perilous days. These are very dangerous times. And then he began to describe what these days are. What are the dangers? What are the phenomena of the days? Now probably we would say he was describing the symptoms of the world in a sense. But if you read what he said in the third chapter of 2 Timothy you find that he was not describing the situation, the conditions of the world as it is. He is describing the condition of the so-called Christians. If you compare 2 Corinthians chapter 3 with Romans chapter 1 they are almost alike. But Romans chapter 1 is describing the world. But 2 Timothy chapter 3 is describing the so-called church. The church has so fallen it appears as if it has no difference from the world. Man will be lovers of money. Lovers of pleasure. Lovers of self. Yes. People in this world they love money, that's right. Money is their God. But look at Christians today. Lovers of pleasure. Of course the world the people in this world they love pleasure but that's all they have. But how about Christians? Lovers of self. Oh how we love ourselves. Not lovers of God. Not lovers of the good. And if you read the whole thing you will find you have, we have the form of piety but not the power. The form is still there but where is the power? Where is the love, the first love? Oh brothers and sisters we are seeing falling away from all sides as we are in such a situation. What can we do? Many who are the Lord have fallen away. Many who are servants of the Lord are we able to continue? Is it worthwhile? What should we do at this moment? When everything is shattered everything is shaken is falling off does God have a message for us? When Paul wrote 1 Timothy it was shortly after he was released from his first Roman imprisonment. Ephesus was the center of his labor for many years. You remember that in his third missionary trip he made Ephesus his center of operation. He was there for three years. And if you read his letter to the Ephesians Oh the church in Ephesus was in their first love. And because they loved the Lord so much they were able to know the Lord. Paul was able to share with them the whole counsel of God. The eternal purpose of God in Christ Jesus. What a church it was. But after Paul was released from the Roman prison when he revisited Ephesus you know what he found there? Evidently those elders of the first generation had passed away. You find there was disorder there was even other teaching preached in the church in Ephesus. Situation had changed. And Paul had to leave Timothy behind. Try to set everything in order. There was all disorder. There was chaos. Corruption. Evil teaching. People going for fables. And so forth. It was changed. But even though it was changed in 1 Timothy Paul still said that I write this letter to you that if I should delay that you know how to behave in the house of God the church of the living God the pillar and the base of the truth. In other words even though there was corruption even though there was disorder even though things began to change for the worse and yet Paul still considered that as the church of the living God. It is still the house of God it is still the pillar and the base of the truth. But after a few years it wasn't a few years. When Paul wrote the second letter to Timothy probably it was A.D. 67 or 68. That was the last year of Nero. That was the year Paul was martyred. It was just a few years. And because of the persecution that came upon the whole church at that time you find the situation has completely not just a little bit changed but the church was as it were in the balance. Whether it will continue on whether it will completely be wiped out whether the testimony of God will still be kept or whether it will be wiped out by the Roman Empire. Just in a few years it was completely changed. Completely changed. You cannot even see the difference between the church and the world. What a falling away. Brothers and sisters are we not today in the same situation? Is the church of the living God in its normal state? If we just look around if we know anything about Christianity can we say that the church today is still normal? Are we not today in an abnormal situation? When the church is normal we have the word of God telling us how to behave in the church of the living God. But suppose the church is abnormal then what should we do? Should we give up? Should we withdraw ourselves? Should we try to hide ourselves? What should we do? Is there any word from the Lord telling us how we should be in this abnormal time? I've been looking to the Lord. Lord, is there any word? Any word for thy people today? When everything is so abnormal even the church is abnormal is there any word that we know we are walking in His way? When the time is abnormal the normal way is no longer. You have to know how to meet abnormal situations with special ways from the Lord. And because of this dear brothers and sisters I do thank the Lord for 2nd Timothy. If there is no 2nd Timothy I do not know how I should live in this abnormal time. There is 2nd Timothy. Oh, I feel 2nd Timothy is so essential to us today. We are living in a most abnormal time. We are living at the end of the end days. Everything is coming in so quickly. On the one hand it is true our Lord is coming back soon. But on the other hand this will be the darkest of the hours. Can we continue? How shall we continue? What shall we do as God's people? And if you read 2nd Timothy Oh, thank God He shows us the way. He shows us the way. So I do believe 2nd Timothy is written for abnormal times. It is not only for Timothy. It is for the testimony of Jesus. In abnormal days. Therefore it is for us today. Now of course the whole letter is very precious. Oh, we can read that letter and see the relationship between Paul and Timothy. What love there is between Paul and Timothy. How they love each other. How they long for each other. And it is pure in God. But I think for our fellowship this time probably we will just mention a few points in 2nd Timothy that are essential for us. Now this afternoon I think I will just mention one. And that is in 1st Timothy, 2nd Timothy chapter 1 verse 12 For which cause also I suffer these things but I am not ashamed for I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that he is able to keep for that day the deposit I have entrusted in him. Have an outline of sound words. Which words thou hast heard of me in faith and love which are in Christ Jesus keep by the Holy Spirit which dwells in us the good deposit entrusted. Here you will find the word deposit. This is a very important word. What is a deposit? Well you go to the bank. You deposit the money in the bank. And why do you deposit your money in the bank? Because you are afraid if you put your money in your home probably the thief will come and will steal your money away. So you take your money and deposit in the bank. Let the bank keep it for you because you believe that there is security there. A deposit. Brothers and sisters do you know that we have a deposit? And as you read you will find that the deposit is of people. Paul says I know whom I have believed. And I am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have deposited to him until that day when everything is falling away. If you know whom you have believed not only what you have believed but whom you have believed. Dear brothers and sisters in the abnormal time it is our personal knowledge of a person that give us the strength if all we know is what? If all we know is doctrine is teaching is creed however accurate they are they are good for normal times but they are not good for abnormal times. When abnormal times comes the only thing that will sustain us is our knowledge of a person. We know whom we have believed. If you look at people people are falling away and if your trust is in people your trust will be trusted. But thank God we know whom we have believed. We know. And not only we know whom we have believed but we are fully persuaded we are fully convinced that he is able to keep for that day the deposit I have entrusted to him. And what is that deposit? We know whom we have believed the Lord Jesus. He is the one whom we have believed we know him and we are fully convinced that he is able to keep for that day. What day? It is the day of Christ. It is the day when he shall return and we shall all stand before him that we may be blameless before him in love. He is able to keep for that day until that day the deposit we know that. And what is the deposit? Of course different commentators offered different opinions but I don't think we need to go into that. I think what we need to see is what is the deposit? No doubt the deposit is ourselves our faith in the Lord our love for him our whole life everything that concerns us everything that is related to us we have believed in him and we commit ourselves our life our faith our love our grace our gift our all we commit everything as a deposit in him. Please turn the cassette over at this point. They were assured by the family saying we have not denied the Lord. We are still Christian even though we don't talk about it about it we are not able to talk about it but we are still Christian we haven't denied the Lord and as a proof they show their parents their identification card on the identification card they were still labeled and if you are labeled as Christian you have lots of inconvenience and that is happening in China now. So dear brothers and sisters I do feel the time is coming and it has come just be a Christian probably one day will be a crime and certainly an Antichrist shall appear to be a Christian is a crime but thank God if we know beforehand that the suffering is connected with the deposit we have such a marvelous deposit we have such a precious deposit and if we suffer for that it is worthwhile it is not something to be ashamed of but when Paul suffered lots of believers were ashamed of him all Asia believers they wanted to have nothing to do with him because Paul was considered as a criminal and who wanted to befriend a criminal and to befriend a criminal would be suspected as of the same kind this is the security the perseverance of the faith brothers and sisters often times we wonder whether we can persevere and I think it is good for us to consider that I think it is if we all felt confident you know some people think that they so love the Lord that if they should die for the Lord certainly they would die with with Him oh if everybody would fall away not me, not me I'm willing to die with you I'm going to die with you but what happens brothers and sisters as we see the cloud is gathering as we see the storm is coming as we see the whole thing is approaching as we see the path of the road to be a Christian is considered a crime do you think we can escape that suppose if you come to us today are we able to say are you confident oh if you are confident you will fall if anyone thinks that he can stand be careful lest he fall but thank God even though there is no confidence in ourselves and yet we do have a place that is the church we have a bank the robber cannot get into it nobody can get into it our life in Christ our whole relationship with God in Christ do you think we can keep it ourselves we are foolish if we keep it ourselves but if we deposit it in Christ he is able to keep that which we have deposited in him until that day that we may stand before him without doubt this is our keeping this is our persecution but dear brothers and sisters the bank cannot keep any deposit if you haven't deposited it if you put your money in your home and it's stolen you cannot go to the bank and ask for reimbursement they say you haven't deposited it if we do not commit ourselves completely to the Lord do not leave anything behind it's foolish dear brothers and sisters in view of a perilous day the only safe thing is deposit yourself and everything in Christ just give yourself to him and say Lord I leave myself and all in you and you are to keep it I can probably Timothy was thinking of the very same problem will I be able to stand his temperament he knows he cannot and maybe he is frightened what can I do Paul is able to do that because Paul is of a different nature different temperament he is a person with an iron will but I Timothy can I stand certainly I cannot and here is the secret it is not Paul it is not Timothy it is Christ let me illustrate and you will forgive me to use that illustration because I admire that person if you have heard of a famous Chinese Christian by the name of Wang Mingtao he was a famous Chinese Christian he came to the Lord and he lived such a life with the Lord oh he he was such a gentleman a Christian gentleman there was no one in China who preached Christian ethics and practiced it more than that person if I use some illustrations you will see it you know in China we have to walk on the left side or the right side now suppose that we have to walk on the right side on the street and of course if you are a pedestrian you never will notice that but he will always walk on the street he was such a gentleman he was well known in China and when the communists came he stood firm he said he never compromised with the Japanese during the Japanese occupation and when the communists came he would never compromise he not only would not compromise but he wrote published things against the modernists against everything that was not of the Lord he was not afraid to go to prison he had his little package ready any time he was ready to go to prison and he did all the Christians at that time looked up to him everybody looked up to him he was taken into prison and you know what happened they put two other persons in the same cell with him and worked on him day and night until his personality he was he would say anything they wanted him to say he made a public confession with tears that he had poisoned the young people in China because the college students oh they just flocked to him he poisoned them he was an anti-revolutionary he confessed all his sins with tears and he was relieved a dear brother whom I knew visited me later and he said I am a Jew I have betrayed the Lord he was depressed but gradually his spirit began to be reborn renewed and when my friend went to see him he told my friend he said when everybody says Wang Ming Tao is good I may not be that good when everybody says I am that bad I may not be that good and said I deny everything that I have confessed they put him into prison I use that as an illustration why this strong man people weaker than him was able to stand but he who was the strongest of everyone of all he was destroyed why? because the secret is not in him it is in Christ no matter how strong we are we can stand no matter how weak we are we can stand if we are in Christ if it is Christ we can stand so dear brothers and sisters this is the time that we have to deposit ourselves you know don't keep yourself to yourself you won't be able to keep it we have to put our deposit in the hands and he is able to keep to that day the deposit which we have entrusted in him this is our security but the deposit is of two sides this is because we have deposited to him but do you know that he has put a deposit in us so here you find Paul told Timothy have an outline of sound words which words thou hast heard of me in faith and love keep by the Holy Spirit which dwells in us the good deposit thank God we can put ourselves as a deposit into Christ in Christ but don't forget he has also put a deposit do we know that we have a deposit do we know that our Lord has trusted us to such an extent that he deposits something precious for us to keep it is not one side oh I remember years ago I read a story and it was a true story told by D.L. Moody D.L. Moody told lots of stories but they were all true stories and one story was there was a criminal he robbed a bank or something of that nature and because of that he was put into prison he was in and after he was paroled he couldn't find a job because nobody could trust but a bank robber he couldn't find a job until a Christian heard about it and a Christian who was in a kind of security business insurance business he heard about that man so he asked that man to come and he employed him and one day some rich people have a box of jewels and trusted to that security company to keep for some time and you know what this Christian employer he put that box of jewels in the hand of that ex-convict who was sitting in that room alone with a gun in his hand and a box was before him and he was there keeping that box nobody else was there and you know what happened as he was sitting there watching this deposit of course thought began to come to his mind you don't need to rob a bank it is here just take it and go his tears came down he was so grateful that his Christian employer so trusted him as to trust that precious box of jewels to his keeper he couldn't sell his employer he kept it dear brothers and sisters do you know that the Lord so trusts us he has deposited all that we have heard all that we have seen the outline of the sound words the gospel the Christ that we know we have experienced all his truth that he has given to us do you think that all that he has given to us is just for you to enjoy but more whatever you have seen and heard and you have received from the Lord is a trust is a deposit brothers and sisters it is your humble to think that our Lord Jesus is willing to entrust himself knowing who we are what we are there is a deposit in us and dear brothers and sisters what should we do with that deposit is it because the time is getting more difficult therefore we should compromise therefore we should give up we should go away throw the deposit away many have done that many will do that but how about you especially in abnormal days we exercise even more to see how that the Lord should deposit him and how we should keep that deposit for his glory but how are we going to keep that deposit by the Holy Spirit who dwells in us by ourselves we cannot keep it our flesh is weak sometimes we are willing but our flesh is weak but he has perfect Holy Spirit in us and the Holy Spirit in us will all we need to do is cooperate with the Holy Spirit yield ourselves to the Holy Spirit let the Holy Spirit take control of our life let the Holy Spirit rule our life be filled with the Holy Spirit that is to say and if we allow the Holy Spirit to rule over our life the Holy Spirit knows how to keep that never, never trust our flesh in our flesh there is no good there is no good oh dear brothers and sisters at the time of the grave falling away is the time that we should be reminded of the good that God has entrusted he is so faithful to us can we be can we fail him we cannot and if you consider the whole thing of the deposit I believe it will tell you how to behave in abnormal other people may go away demons may go to Thessalonica all Asia may forsake but not Paul he knows whom he believes he knows that the Lord is able to keep the deposit for him and how can he not be faithful in keeping the deposit that God has given to him faithful and thank God he did so dear brothers and sisters I do believe that the word of God for us today in our time is that there is a deposit and we should pay attention to that may the Lord encourage us shall we pray Our Heavenly Father how we praise and thank thee that Thou has never left us alone Thou has always a word for us Thou does not want us to grope in darkness not to fall or falter but Lord Thy word is our strength we do praise and thank Thee that Thou are able to keep us until that day and we do pray and thank Thee that by Thy Holy Spirit Thy deposit in us shall be kept and we do desire to keep it O Lord do encourage us that we may not follow the crowd that we may press on towards the mark the on high calling of God in Christ Jesus O that we may complete our course and keep the faith we ask in the name of our Lord Jesus Amen and thank Thee that Thy servant Paul was not ashamed of his suffering because he knew whom he suffered for and what he suffered for Lord we ask Thee to arm us with the same mind that we may be able to be faithful by Thy grace to the very end O how we praise and thank Thee knowing that Thy return it will not be too long Lord keep us faithful to the very end that when Thou shall appear we may receive the crown of life O Lord do encourage us to acknowledge our heart as we see falling away on all fronts Lord we ask in the name of our Lord Jesus