The Cost of Following Jesus | Pr Gloria Paul

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
You're listening to a message to go from acts church.
We hope this message will light up your day.

Speaker 2 (00:08):
And so today's message we're going to go into second Timothy. Yeah.
And in fact, this book here could be I mean,
as we look at research, it could be one of
those last books that Timothy Paul wrote, and it was
at a state where he was actually not doing too good. Okay,
he was back in prison when he was writing this
letter to Timothy. It could have been his final words

(00:32):
to him as well, right, because he felt that he
may not come out of prison at this point. Okay,
So you can just imagine as you read this book
in what kind of situation he was trying to read it.
He was not having it all good, okay, but he
was going through trials, Okay, he was going through struggles,
and all he had is to just acknowledge that only

(00:54):
God can take me through this and no one else. Yeah.
So just sharing with you a bit of context here
to understand where Paul is coming in, what kind of
shoes you know is coming from, and you know that
it carries so much of weight because it could be
one of his final words.

Speaker 3 (01:14):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (01:15):
And so when I was just studying this book. I
got me thinking, you know that if I was in
Paul's situation, Okay, when we know that it's our final
days again and we have a final letter to write
or a message to write, what we write about, what
we think about, okay, and what would matter to us okay,

(01:35):
And sometimes it just puts things into perspective when we
know or realize that this is all I have. Again,
that was Paul's situation as well. Yeah, and do it
was his final days or one of his final letters,
he still had Timothy in mind, okay. And that is
the heart of discipleship. It was the whole thing about

(01:56):
doing life. It was not just another thing to check
right or another task to be completed, right, but it
was also but it was just so part of him.
You know that he loved Timothy as his son. Yeah,
and he wanted to just give that final message to
encourage him. Right. So if you have your Bibles, okay,

(02:19):
you can just prepare by turning it to first Timothy, sorry,
second Timothy. Yeah. And the title of today's message is
the course of following Jesus. Yeah, the course of following Jesus.
There is a price for us to pay to follow Jesus.

Speaker 3 (02:38):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (02:38):
And I think it's something that we don't talk about often, okay,
because we all like, of course, good days, blessings and
those are a short right, but we know that in
order to follow Christ, okay, in order to follow Jesus,
we've got to carry our across. Yeah, And there is

(03:02):
a price to pay. And I would say it's it's
it's better that we know it earlier in our life
than to be caught surprise later on, to think that, oh,
it's going to be all good and then your surprised. Yeah.
And I think it just prepares our hearts as well,
that when we go through trials, when we go through

(03:23):
tough situations, it's just part of life, okay, and it
just brings us to a closer dependent with God. Yeah.
And so when we look at the life of Paul okay,
with the missions he did he did, of course, he
had his fair share of pushback, right. He had his
season of wanting to be against God and against God's people,

(03:48):
but he had a turning point, right, and then he realized, Okay,
this is the true God. And ever since then he
went on Okay, he went on pursuing God's work, his ministry,
and at the same time though he was doing a
lot that was persistent challenges and suffering that he had
to face. Yem. So, you know, when we look at

(04:09):
this whole Second Timothy, the first Timothy was very much
about giving some guide guidelines and warning to Timothy about
how do you need to take care of the church.
Don't lose out your calling, right, he was telling all
of this. And in the Second Timothy here he reminds,
you know, Timothy about holding on to your call and

(04:31):
not losing it. Okay, holding on to your faith. Right.
So I'm going to draw us to three main points
that we can take on from Second Timothy, and then
we will read a couple of scriptures to understand ym
So the first point that we can see as you
read chapter one here, it's that Paul was reminding Timothy

(04:51):
to accept his calling. Tender person next to you and
tell them accept your calling. Okay, how many of if
you know that you are called, no one, how many
of you know that you are called you have a
calling in your life. If you're seated here, you have
a calling in your life. Right. It's not about whether

(05:14):
I'm just standing in the front. Therefore I have a
calling Okay, it's just being a child of God is
a calling, being His instrument in the marketplace, in the school.
The moment you talk about Christ, you have a calling.
The moment you said I received Jesus as my personal
Lord and Savior. Remember, you have a calling. You have

(05:36):
a calling to live this life for him. Yeah. And
so in this chapter here Paul reminds Timothy. Firstly, it
starts off, Okay, let's just read this chapter together. Yeah. First, Second,
Timothy chapter one, Okay, it says, Yeah, Paul, an apostle
of Jesus Christ, by the will of God, according to
the promise of life which is in Christ Jesus to Timothy,

(06:00):
a beloved son, Grace, mercy and peace from God the
Father and Christ, Jesus our Lord. I thank God whom
myself with a pure conscience, as my forefathers did, as
without ceasing, I remember you in my prayers night and day,

(06:20):
greatly desiring to see you, being mindful of your tears,
that I may be filled with joy when I call
to remembrance the genuine faith that is in you, which
dwell first in your grandmother Lewis and your mother Eunice.
And I am persuaded is in you. Also. Therefore, I

(06:41):
remind you to stir up the gift of God which
is in you, true the laying on of my hands.
For God has not given us a spirit of fear,
but of power and of love and of sound mind
a man. So this first portion of the chapter, Paul
acknowledges the fact that you know he is his son. Okay,

(07:05):
he prays for him diligently. This is what we see
what discipleship is all about. We pray for each other, okay,
not just having a meal together, okay, but you are
truly remembering the person in prayer. Again, that is what
Paul was doing here. And then he talks about the
generation that Timothy came from. So Timothy was this guy

(07:25):
who was very faithful serving the church, though it was
not an easy church, the Church of Ephesus. There were
a lot of false teachers, you know, a lot of
situations that were going on. But yet Timothy held on
to his calling right. And so he acknowledges that it's
because of the generation that he came from his grandmother,

(07:46):
his mother, okay, and therefore it was passed on to
him as well. And I think what this reminds us
of is that some of us here may have that
privilege to be in such generation. Okay, maybe you have
parents in ministry and then you take it on of
your scene, your father, your mother's serving and then you
catch it. Right. For our parents here, you play a

(08:10):
very big part in building the next generation, right, the
prayers that we say to our kids, and that's why
we believe in our children, because these are the coming
generation that will lead and do his work. Yeah. And
so Timothy caught it because he had family that believed
in him, all right, who served God, and therefore he

(08:33):
caught it as well. Okay, And so good on you
for those of you who have that ability to see
someone serving, you know, and catching it on. But what
Paul reminds Timothy here is not to take it for granted, right,
just because you come from that generation. Yes, you're grateful
and you have that faith in you, but you've got

(08:54):
to also God your faith, okay. And so in this
version when we read KJV, it says, yeah, I remind
you to stir up the gift of God which is
in you. Okay. So the thing about our faith is
that it cannot just because I believe God at the
age of twelve years old or the age of twenty.

(09:14):
It doesn't mean that it's assured always. I mean, yes,
God promises tends, but we've got to do our part
to keep our faith going. Yeah. So what we can
see here is that you may come from a Christian family,
you may believe you know the word, but it is
an ongoing process to stir up your faith. Yeah. Or

(09:36):
you may not come from a you know, a Christian
family and you have caught it. Well, then it's the
same thing. We've still got to stir our faith. Some
version says to flame our faith, okay, to keep going,
to keep putting. If the fire has to burn, if
you go for a camp, the fire won't just burn
by itself, right, you have to keep it burning. The

(09:59):
moment that's no one there, the fire goes off. Yeah,
And so the same thing is with our faith. We've
got to keep our fire burning. Right. In fact, if
I may ask all of us this morning, how are
you keeping your faith stirred up all the time? Okay?
Because if you don't, it can feel like I'm stagnant. Okay,

(10:20):
you can feel like, what's the point of believing God?
I'm waiting and nothing happening. Right. But you've got to feel.
You've got to read the word of God, you've got
to speak to each other, you've got to be involved
in church. Right. You have to have the constant communication
with God. Right. And so Paul starts off the letter

(10:41):
with that, Okay, to stir up the gift of God.
So most of us here have gifts and talents and abilities.
But don't just keep it. Whatever you keep too long,
you won't be able to use it after a while. Okay.
I remember passing the Kenned was sharing his story about
his journey towards healing, and because he couldn't walk for
a while, he kind of forgot how to move his

(11:04):
leg to walk. Okay. And it's just a reminder of
how sometimes when we keep something too long without movement it,
we just don't know how to use it. I can
sing well, but now I just don't know how to sing.
I don't know how to dance anymore, right because I
don't do it. Yeah, I don't do it. So it's
about stirring. You know, God is there, It promises yes

(11:26):
and amen. But if you don't speak to him, it
becomes harder to speak to him. It's like I am
I good enough to come before God?

Speaker 3 (11:34):
Right?

Speaker 2 (11:34):
We have that that doubts then, But if it's just
something you do constantly, it's natural. Whether it's your updownce
up times or your downtimes, you will still go to God. Right.
So remember Church, stir up your faith. Turn the person
next you tell him, stir up your faith. Okay. Sometimes

(11:55):
you need each other to stir up as well. If
you see someone's a bit too quiet and staatenant, okay,
come on, wake up, okay, wake up, because we need
to keep our fate going right. So that's the first
part that he tells to Timothy. Okay, And then, of
course the scripture that we often go to. It says
that I've not God has not given us a spirit

(12:18):
off fear, but of power, love and sound mind. Remember
God has given us a sound mind. So whenever you
find yourself feeling too anxious, too troubled, too fearful, it's
not from God. Okay, it's just the way our human
minds are. We tend to think miles away before something

(12:39):
even happens, right, But it's good to come back and
ask God, God give me a sound mind. If you're
having difficulty to rest to sleep. Ask the Lord he
gives you. Restress comes from him. Yeah, so he has
given you a sound mind. Amen. And then it goes
on in this same chapter where he talks about not

(13:03):
to be ashamed of the Gospel.

Speaker 3 (13:06):
Right.

Speaker 2 (13:06):
And Paul is telling this because not just because it
was just a warning that he was trying to give Timothy,
but it was because he was going through that at
that point of life. Okay, some people was very shy
to acknowledge Paul because, Okay, this is the guy who
was sent to prison because he spoke so much about God.
So I don't want to be his friend. Okay, that

(13:29):
he was what he was facing. He was losing a
lot of friends at this point. Not many people came
and visited him at the prison, and that is why
he was acknowledging one of the guy's name in the
Bible that you'll go through later, that he came and
saw him frequently. Right. And so you know, sometimes following
Christ can just mean this. You might lose people, right,

(13:50):
because you are pursuing the things of God and not
the things of the world. Yeah, but what Paul reminds
Timothy here is to not be a shame of the
Gospel of God. And so if God is going to
call you today to bring his gospel, are we ready? Right?
Are we ready? Or is it? The first thing that

(14:11):
we think about is, Hey, what are they going to
think about me when I say I'm a Christian? When
I say talk about the gospel. Yeah, these things are
sometimes a good heart check to ask ourselves whether are
we ready? Because if we know the word of God,
and we know the power of God's word, why are
we sometimes so hesitant to talk about it to othersts? Yeah? So,

(14:33):
do not be a shame of the Gospel of God. Amen? Right?
And in this same chapter here Paul reminds Timothy to
hold on to his faith. Right now, let's read the
remaining scriptures here. Okay, From verses eight, chapter one, Therefore,

(14:53):
do not be a shame of the testimony of our Lord,
nor of me He's prisoner. But share with me in
the sufferings for the Gospel according to the power of God.
Now let's move on to verses thirteen. It says, hold
fast the pattern of sound words which you have heard
from me in faith and love, which are in Christ Jesus,

(15:20):
that good thing which was committed to you. Keep by
the Holy Spirit who dwellsinus this you know that all
those in Asia have turned away from me, among whom
are the two names he mentions here. I'm not going
to try to pronounce it. The Lord grant mercy to
the household of Monte Cyprus. Okay, this is the guy

(15:41):
who kept visiting him, for he often refreshed me and
was not ashamed of my chain. But when he arrived
in Rome, he sought me out very zealiously and found me.
The Lord grant to him that he may find mercy
from the Lord in the day. And you know very
well how many he ministered to me at Ephesus. Yeah.

(16:04):
So what we can catch from this portion of scripture
here is that he's telling to Timothy to hold on
to your faith, to hold on to the pattern of
sound words. Right, because when trials hits you, what's the
first thing that's going to help you. Is it talking

(16:24):
to a friend or remembering God's word, remembering a teaching
that you heard from a sermon or from a fellow
believer okay who told you that if you're not fear,
the Lord is with you, or like what we read this, now,
God has given you a sound mind. Yeah, these are
the things that you need. These are the tools that

(16:46):
you've got to go back to as children of God. Right,
it's not about you know, only when life hits you
then you start reading the word of God. I don't
think anyone who is not in the right mind. Maybe
that's not the first thing that you do. But when
in your good days you're already filling your heart and
your thoughts with God's word, the first action that you'll

(17:10):
take when something hits you is to remember God's promises. Right,
remember God's promises. So for those who are here, can
you at least recall five scriptures? And you want to
take up the challenge five memory versus? Maybe the kids
can win in this five memory versus. You know that

(17:31):
when something comes you know, and you are go into
your trouble, you will recall that scripture.

Speaker 3 (17:37):
Any takers, beware, beware of the ease of the said
diuces and the Pharisees.

Speaker 2 (17:50):
Okay, so how does this scripture?

Speaker 3 (17:55):
Don't follow the worldly things? Follow the word of God? Man.

Speaker 2 (18:00):
Okay, that's good. So something to guide you our future
creature anyone else. Any other scripture that you can is
top of your mind that encourages your minds are just
blank to elie for all this. Okay, I'm just encouraging

(18:24):
you to remember, Okay, remembering the Word of God. It's
so important. Yeah, it's so important because when life hits you,
that's the first thing that you need, not another quote
from social media. All Right, it may sound nice to listen,
but what is true and what works is only through

(18:45):
the Word of God. Yeah. So remember, So this is
what he's trying to tell Timothy, to hold on to
your faith, good thing that was committed to you. And
so Paul was just reminding Timothy. Remember we have been
journeying together. They have been decided ship. Right, I've spoken
to you these words, I've encouraged you, I've prayed for you.
Try to recall those things. Okay. So you was trying

(19:07):
to remind Timothy of all this. And it says in
verse fourteen that good thing which was committed to you
keep by the Holy Spirit, who dwells in us. So
we need the Holy Spirit and we need the Word
of God.

Speaker 3 (19:23):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (19:24):
Every Sunday we are listening to messages. Okay, but the
real hard check is how am I bringing that Sunday
message to my week? Okay? When I walk into school,
when I walk into my office, Can I apply that?

Speaker 3 (19:39):
Right?

Speaker 2 (19:39):
Can I apply that to someone and I'm speaking to
or the way I make decisions? Because if not, it's
just going to be a hate knowledge.

Speaker 3 (19:47):
Right.

Speaker 2 (19:47):
It feels nice to listen on a Sunday, but what
am I doing for the week to come? Right? So
always learn to apply your word. I always remember, I
always believe that God's word is very practical. Again, that
is how if you read even this example of Paul
and Timothy, it's meant to be leaving out Timothy. Paul

(20:07):
show Timothy how to live by living out his life.
He was a testimony. He was not just all speaking
because just because he was a good teacher, right, but
he led his life that way so that Timothy had
a role model. So the same thing it is with
us when we disciple others, when we walk with others.
Are we a living testimony? Right? Are we a living testimony? Yeah?

(20:31):
So hold on hold on to the pattern of wholesome
teaching and God the precious truth. All right, God, the
precious truth. You know, the enemy is very quick to
take that truth away from us.

Speaker 3 (20:43):
You know.

Speaker 2 (20:44):
The when we are in a situation, what influences our decisions.
Is either the truth that we hold on to or
the lie of the enemy. It's either one. Yeah, it's
either one. And because the enemy knows that as children
of God, we have this you know, word which cannot

(21:05):
you know, and he knows that his future is determined
by the word of God as well. And that is
why he tries to rob that from us. So can
you see how sometimes why is it easy for us
to be disappointed very quickly, right, or to feel so
half fartted on things? Because he tries to mess with

(21:25):
our thoughts, all right, And that is why we need
to hold on to our faith. Don't let anyone take
it away from you, even friends who don't believe, you know,
just say why you all Jesus all the time. Don't
allow anyone to take that from you. Yeah, you are
a child of God. Be proud about it and speak
his word. Amen. Yeah. And then as we go on

(21:47):
into the same book, we can see that Paul reminds Timothy.
Here the third point is to stand strong with the
grace of Jesus. Yeah, to stand strong with the grace
of Jesus. So he builds the foundation here he says,
remember the word of God. Remember your relationship with him.
Don't take your faith for granted. You know why, because

(22:11):
and all these things that are going to happen, struggles,
you need the grace of God. You need his strength. Yeah.
So that's the third point here that we can see. Okay,
let's just read some scriptures here from chapter two Second Timothy,
Chapter two. Okay, it says from verse one, you, therefore,
my son, be strong in the grace that is in

(22:31):
Christ Jesus and the things that you have heard from
me among many witnesses. Commit this to faithful men who
will be able to teach others. Also, you therefore must
endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No
one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of

(22:54):
this life, that he may please him who enlisted him
as a soldier. And also, if anyone competes in athletics,
he is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules.
The hard working farmer must be first to partake of
the crops. Consider what I say, and may the Lord

(23:15):
give you understanding in all things. Remember that Jesus Christ,
of the seed of David, was raised from the dead
according to my gospel, for which I suffered trouble as
an evil doer, even to the point of change. But
the word of God is not changed. Therefore I endure

(23:35):
all things for the sake of the elect, and that
they also may obtain the salvation which is in Christ
Jesus with eternal glory. This is a faithful saying, for
if we died with him, we shall also leave with him.
If we endure, we shall also reign with him. If

(23:56):
we deny him, he also will deny us. If we
are faithless. He remains faithful. He cannot deny himself a man.
There's a lot of points to take on from this chapter. Yeah.
The first thing that Paul reminds Timothy is to pass
on this truth to others. That is how the word

(24:18):
of God shouldn't work. Okay, when you catch it, when
you experience the goodness of it, don't keep it to yourself,
but pass it on. In fact, that is discipleship. Okay,
you don't just stay there, but you pass on and
you raise artists as well. Yeah, and then he goes
on by talking about being a good soldier. So he
uses tree examples here, right, He use an example of

(24:40):
a soldier. He uses an example of you know, a farmer, okay,
and as someone who is in the spots. Right. So
if you look at all these tree examples here, okay,
canyone tell me what is that one thing, one common
thing that they should all have to succeed. Discipline, very

(25:02):
good commitment, yes, sincere being sincere. Yeah, all right, there's
the reason why Paul uses this example, Okay, because he
says soldier, because if you're going to think about the
affairs of the people, you can never get you know,

(25:26):
get things done. We have a ex military, right you
would know. Yeah, So you need to keep your mind
on the right thing. Yeah. And if you're talking about
an athlete, you can't win the championship if you're going
to look at left and right, okay, or if you're
going to break the rules and think that you're going

(25:47):
to take a shortcut okay, if you get caught, you
can't join the competition anymore. Right. And of course a farmer,
you should be the first to enjoy your crops, right
and so meaning to be able to show up. Yeah.
And so the one thing that they have in common
is to, like you said, discipline, committed, to keep your

(26:08):
mind on the game, right, to keep your mind on
the game. The moment you lose track, you forget what's
important in life. Yeah, I'm not sure if you have
all watched all these kind of shows on police shows,
all the FBI and all that. I think the one

(26:28):
that's going on in Netflix is Rookie. Rookie is the Yes, Okay,
those have watched Data. I enjoy watching it because you
get to see how they solve things. Right. It's all action.
But there will be moments right that you'll see these
police officers that they will get emotional, like if only
I didn't, you know, tell this person to go, they

(26:49):
wouldn't have caught right, or they wouldn't have got into
this crime issue. Then another police office officer will tell them, hey,
get your hat straight, because if you don't focus, you're
not able to help this you know this victims. Yeah,
and they keep reminding each other if you watch this
show's right, it's because you've got to put your hit

(27:10):
on the game. Okay. You may have families, you may
have personal things to look into, but if you're called
to be a police to see if the nation, then
you've got to do what's right. Yeah, and so He
uses this example here that sometimes we can get so
wavered by things, emotions, struggles, and people's opinions. But then

(27:32):
that's gonna get us out track. We would lose our focus. Yeah,
we would lose our focus. So we have to get
ourselves back our mind. Our mind is the greatest battlefield. Okay,
you can ask anyone out there, especially if you're there
doing physical activities out it's the mind. You can ask

(27:54):
any spotsman. It's the mind first. If you can't tackle this,
then you're just no point. No matter how much muscles
you have, how many muscles you have, Ah, You're not
just gonna do it right. It's all about your mind.
And that is why Paul reminds Timothya that God has

(28:14):
given you a sound mind, a sound mind. Right, So
how sound our minds are?

Speaker 3 (28:23):
Right?

Speaker 2 (28:23):
How sound our minds are? How focused are we in life?
Because we can have they can have. There's a lot
of distractions around us, right, There are a lot of
distractions around us, and we are living in that. Those
times you just go click with your phone, so many opinions,
so many thoughts. How are we then going to listen

(28:44):
to God's voice? How we're then going to pursue his work,
because come on, guys, God is coming. His time is coming, right,
Jesus is coming for all of us. And if you
think about all that's happening around us, it's not always
good news, right every other day when you watch the news,
and the only one that can save is God himself.

(29:07):
So you've got to not stop preaching God's with We
shouldn't stop saying that, hey, there's hope in a world
that seems to be hopeless. Right, and if you and
I don't bring that gospel, who is going to do that?
We're just going to remain then yep, So let's get
back our mind on the game. Turn to a person
next to you. Get your mind on the game. Okay,

(29:33):
get your mind on the game. And sometimes it's about
just changing small habits, right, small habits. How you manage
your time. Who are you spending your time with? Who
are you constantly talking with? Some people can just be
wasting your time. Conversations that you're having toxic are you
gossiping with others? Those things are not necessary, right, They

(29:59):
talk about things. It helps you grow. It's word like
they say, the person you become are the five people
that you always mix around with who are your five
closest people of friends that you communicate? Do they help
you grow? Do they bring you closer to God? Do
they remind you of your ability, your potential? Or are
they there to bring you down? Yeah, it's time to

(30:20):
choose your friends wisely, It's time to choose what you
read every day, because what you consume is what you become. Yeah,
so remember that. Then he goes on here in this
same chapter, okay, where he talks about the Word of
God cannot be changed. Okay, So he uses this example, okay,

(30:43):
where he says in verses nine, as we read this
now for which I suffer trouble as an evil doer,
even to the point of change. But the Word of
God is not chained. And so he gives us this
example of his life. He went he's you know, persecution
because of what he did. But then again, the word

(31:05):
of God is not changed. It's able to set us free,
is to break every other chain in our lives. And
so it doesn't matter what your past would have been, Okay,
your past choices, you know, maybe the generation that you
came from, all those things can be broken because you
are a child of God. You are chosen by him.

(31:28):
Always remember that, never allow anyone to take that identity
from you. Yeah, the word of God has so much power.
It is not chained. So if you just declare the
word of God, you can imagine what it had it does.
Don't just play along, I mean, don't just be very
careful with your the words that we speak, because it
carries weight. Yeah, it carries weight, the same thing how

(31:52):
we speak with people. We can either bring each other
closer towards or we can draw apart the choices in
our hands. Okay, so let's be wise with how we
speak and declare the word of God. Amen. And then
as we read on earlier, you know, in verses eleven,
we can see that this is what it means to

(32:14):
be faithful. Right, this is what means to be faithful
where he says him. For if we died with him,
we shall also leave with him. Okay, what does dying
with him means? Canyone tell me died to yourself? Dying
to yourself means being humble, Yes, giving up what I

(32:36):
think is right all the time, my ego right. And
that is when we can leave with him, Because the
more we get rid of ourselves, the more we are
making space to experience God. Right, and then it goes
on saying, if we endure, we shall also reign with him.
So can I say, don't give up. Turn to the

(32:57):
person next to you, do not give up. Let's keep enduring, okay,
Let's keep enduring this rays of life. Though it can
feel tiring sometimes, okay, doing ministry or you know, you know,
serving others, it can get tiring, right, But God is

(33:18):
there with us, okay, and if we keep enduring, we
will reign with him. That should be our end goal. Yeah,
that should always be our end goal. He says. Here,
if we deny him, he also will deny us. And
I think none of us would want that for him himself,
denying us when we see him, right, would the respond

(33:41):
be good and faithful servant. I'm sure we all want that,
And that's something we've got to work now. The salvation
is a short but the relationship has to constantly be built. Yeah,
So let us draw with him, and he says he
if you are faithless, he remains faithful to God be
self right. As humans, we can fail, we can forget.

(34:05):
We are all sinners, you know, in our own ways,
but He is still faithful. So whenever you feel you're
too far away from him, quickly run back to him.
Don't go even further, don't hesitate to speak to him,
because he's always there, faithful. He's not going to say, okay,
just because you're not spoken to me, I'm not going
to speak to you. That's not God. Our God is

(34:26):
always there, the only one that remains him. He cannot
deny himself. This is what it means to carry the cross.
Does it sound easy?

Speaker 3 (34:40):
No?

Speaker 2 (34:41):
But is it possible? Yes? True God, right, true God.
And the moment you start to catch this, especially when
you're a younger person, you will leave a more fulfilled
life because then you know what matters. Right, You're not
just running around like a lost chicken wondering. You know

(35:02):
what is important? I need this, I need that everything,
but what matters? And that's why sometimes people wish to
a certain level of their lives. You know where they
have it all, they have money, possessions and everything. But
yet why am I leaving? Have you heard of people
like that I've come across? What's the purpose? Why am

(35:22):
I still not happy? Well that's because we have not
cotton the core of it, which is to remain in
God first, to get rid of ourselves so that we
can endure Him to the fullness. Yeah. So when you
go through trials, when you go through waiting seasons, remember

(35:43):
God has not forgotten you. Right, God, God never make mistakes.
Nothing is in coincidence in the eyes of God. He
always has the best short for each one of us.
But it's just that we're all in different seasons of
our lives. Yeah, and He will take us through. Amen.
And as we you know, come towards the final part

(36:05):
of chapter two. Okay, he talks about being an approved
and a disapproved worker. Okay. So in this portion of
the scripture, okay, he reminds us about, you know, doing
things that are right in the eyes of God. Let's
read Versus fourteen on words. Okay, it says remind them
of these things, charging them before the Lord not to

(36:28):
strive about words to no profit to the ruin of
the hearers. So meaning, choose what you get to want
to engage in. Okay. If it's not worth talking about,
if it's not worth arguing, then don't do that. Be
diligent to present yourself approved God, a worker who does
not need to be ashamed rightly dividing the word of God.

(36:51):
But shun profane and ideal babelings, for they will increase
to more ungodliness, and the men say should spread like cancer.
So he was giving this example because there were people
during that time in the church where they were doing
such things, talking unnecessary things, trying to cause chaos in

(37:11):
the church, confusion. So you're trying to warn them. Yeah,
and then it goes on. Okay, let's look at okay
Versus nineteen. Nevertheless, the solid foundation of God stands having
this seal. The Lord knows those who are his, and
let everyone who names the name of Christ depart from iniquity.

(37:35):
But in a great house, okay, Jesus this example in
Verses twenty. But in a great house there are not
only vessels of gold and silver, but also of wood
and clay, some for honor and some for dishonor. Therefore,
if anyone cleanses himself from the letter, he will be

(37:55):
a vessel for honor, centified, useful for the Master, prepared
for every good work. So as we go into this chapter,
it's reminding Timothy about guiding your hearts, doing what is right,
and keeping from evil, keeping away from last ful desires. Yeah,

(38:17):
and so use this example that in our house you
will find gold and silver plates, okay, and treasure, but
at the same time you will see wooden plates clay plates. Yeah.
By the end of the day, two of it has
its own function. The one that is made of gold
and silver are used for royal okay, it's used for

(38:37):
more important matters, whereas the one that is made of
wooden or clay, it's for just things that are not
so important. So what he's trying to tell you us
here is that we have a choice. Yeah, we have
a choice. You either want to be the one that
is of importance, right, or do you want to just

(38:59):
be sitty there. Yes, you have a place in the house,
but you don't carry any value, right, You don't carry
any value. So it's a choice that we have. It's
not about being in between. It's not about just going
with what I like, But it's about how we carry ourselves.
Because a thing is seen as something pure or something

(39:22):
valuable because it has gone through its refining process, it
has the why, it has a value to it, you
spend more money to purchase it. Yeah, But the other
one may be cheaper because there's not much time put
into it and therefore anyone it's available to anyone. Right,
And so what this example or analogy is used, what

(39:42):
is it used for? It is it just show us
how are we presenting ourselves? So if God is going
to enter this house today, which category are we going
to fall under? Are we found as the gold and
silver like what the Bible says? Okay, where we are pure,
a blameless. Our lives are a pleasing example. Right, we

(40:05):
don't engage in last fool you know, last fool thoughts?
Or are we the other? Because God will choose the
one that is pure? Okay, and you've got us an
assignment for us today. Okay, First, he wants to see
our hearts. It's not just the outward appearance, but it's
about how we carry ourselves. Yeah, how we carry ourselves.

(40:29):
And that's why he uses this example of being an
approved or a disapproved worker. So everyone is going to
be there, but who is the one that is going
to hand pick to be used?

Speaker 3 (40:42):
Yeah?

Speaker 2 (40:42):
And so God is gonna call us today our answers.
Is it going to be like okay, I just need
to be more time to get things right, or can
be straight away say yes I'm ready. Let me just
take up this call, because I hope it is the
second one where we can just say, yes, I'm ready,

(41:06):
let's go. Because if there's things to work on, do
it today. Don't wait when you're older, don't wait when
Let me enjoy all I can first, then I come.
That's not how life works because you don't know when
the day would come. Right, Let's seize the moment. Can

(41:28):
we be prepared all the time, because that is what
Paul tells Timothy here, because you will never know what
comes tomorrow, so let's be ready. Let's be ready all
the time. Yeah, the coming of Jesus is something that
we'll never know. And if he shows up, the question
I always ask myself is are we ready? Right? Are

(41:49):
we ready? If you're not, then let's do something about it.
Whether it's forgiveness, ready to forgive someone, whether it's asking
forgiveness from God, or changing our life choices, our decisions,
our lifestyle, or like what we read, getting rid of
certain things that are not right in the eyes of God.
What is it so that there's nothing that is stopping

(42:12):
us from answering the call of God? Yeah, answering the
call of God. So the choice is ours at the
end of the day to be clean and to be
ready and be used by God. Yeah. And if you can,
if you have the time, you can read on the
rest of the chapter here okay where he lists out

(42:34):
a couple of things that shouldn't be in our lives. Yeah,
where he talks about flee from you, youthful last okay,
But pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace with those who call
on the Lord out of a pure heart. That is
what God is looking for, Not to please men, not
to look good in front of others, but the heart.

(42:58):
So our prayer every day should be God, give me
clean hand, to come before you with clean hands and
a pure heart.

Speaker 3 (43:06):
Right.

Speaker 2 (43:06):
It is a prayer that I've learned to say every
other day. Now it becomes a habit. We'll say, God
renew my mind, okay, out of the things that sometimes
you know, because we listen to a lot of things,
it it tends to influence the way we think. So
God renewed my mind. My eyes, Help me to see
my surrounding the way you want me to see. Help

(43:27):
me to see your people the way you want me
to see them, to love them. My years to listen
to your voice and to shut down every other noises
that are necessary my mouth, to speak your word, your
truth with boldness, my heart to be pure. So there's
any kind of evil thoughts, any kind of unforgiveness, would

(43:51):
you get rid of it? That's how we have to
start our day every other day, so that we're starting
it right and we're coming right before God, building alter
before him. Yeah, and so that's something that we've got
to learn to do and cultivate it as a lifestyle. Yeah.
It's not about doing it one day and then get
it's right all the time. But it's a constant journey it. Man,

(44:16):
are we catching something here? Yes? All right? If you
see your friend dozing off nuts them, okay, yes. And
so as we come to a you know, a close
towards this message, right towards the end here, Okay. What
Paul reminds Timothy is to be prepared.

Speaker 3 (44:38):
Right.

Speaker 2 (44:38):
Let's look at Versus chapter four, Okay, Versus two. It says,
preach the word be ready in season and out of season, convince, rebuke,
exhort with all long suffering and teaching. For the time
will come when they will endure sound doctrine. But they

(45:00):
will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires.
Because they have itching years, they will hip up for
themselves teachers, and they will turn their years away from
the truth and be turned aside to fables. But you
be watchful in all things and your afflictions. Do the

(45:21):
work of an evangelist and fulfill your ministry. Amen. So
preach the word Church, Yes, presh the word. Be ready
in season and out of season. Yeah. Do not be
caught hoff guard when you're told to share. Just be prepared. Okay.

(45:44):
What is that to be hesitan about? That's always something
I think about when someone asks for favor or to help.
You know, why am I hesitan about? Especially when it
comes with things of God? Right, because we don't have
much time. Okay, I mean I say time, not talking
about just the twenty four hours, but the time of
Jesus coming. That should always be our focus, right, and

(46:10):
that's how we will live our lives as well.

Speaker 1 (46:14):
We hope you've been blessed by this message. For more
information on our church, please visit as Church Org. We
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this week is going to be a good week ahead
for you. God bless