2017-12-31 – 2 Timothy 4:1-8 – Finishing Well
(Amazing Holiday weather outside;  Church Lock-In)

Good morning everyone. It is so nice to be able to spend some time with you all in fellowship with the Lord. Thank you and God bless you for being with us today.

I pray you all had a wonderful Christmas experience, I know I sure did J Christmas reminds me how much I am blessed with family, friends and this church especially. However, at this point some of you may be experiencing what is sometimes referred to as the Christmas let down – disappointed that the Christmas magic is over, and I understand that, but in reflection of the Christmas story, think about what the shepherds must have felt. They saw the angels with their own eyes, and even spent some time with baby Jesus Himself. However at some point they had to leave that manger scene, the Holy birthday party was over. Scripture tells us though that “the shepherds returned praising God for all they had seen”. Perhaps we can learn something from those shepherds. Even though Christmas is over, we should endeavor to continue thinking about the positive things of Christmas, continue thanking God for Jesus in the days ahead, and continue proclaiming His Joy to the World as we move forward in faith. Okay?

Last week we declared that Christmas time is “The Most Wonderful Time of the Year”. We saw in scripture how God perfectly orchestrated the perfect solution at the perfect time to demonstrate His perfect Grace in the birth of Jesus Christ. Then on Christmas-Eve we read through the Christmas story as depicted in the Gospel books of Luke and Matthew, and we sang those beautiful and cherished Christmas Carols. What a joy it was to celebrate the birth of our Savior Jesus. Thank you to all who attended and contributed to those blessed festivities.

Now today’s message is a tribute to the closing of this year 2019, as New Years day will be celebrated this coming Wednesday already. This message is entitled Finishing Well. Finishing our year well, but more specifically as Christ followers we should also be striving towards finishing our earthly lives well too.

Please turn to 2 Timothy 4, in pew Bibles pg. 1052 of the Inspired, Infallible and Living Word of God, but let us first start with prayer..

What we are going to read now in scripture is actually the closing thoughts of a letter from the Apostle Paul, who wrote almost a third of the New Testament. Paul wrote these last words to his understudy Timothy while he was being held in prison, and right before he was sadly beheaded as traditions tells us. We know that Paul was in a cold prison cell and he was downtrodden, however as these verses convey, Paul was still enduring his suffering, and carrying out his ministry fully as he wrote this impassioned letter. Starting at verse one, He wrote:

1 I solemnly charge you before God and Christ Jesus, who is going to judge the living and the dead, and because of his appearing and his kingdom: 2 Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; rebuke, correct, and encourage with great patience and teaching. 3 For the time will come when people will not tolerate sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, will multiply teachers for themselves because they have an itch to hear what they want to hear.
4 They will turn away from hearing the truth and will turn aside to myths.
5 But as for you, exercise self-control in everything, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.

So Paul instructs Timothy then, and effectively us today, to preach, proclaim and encourage the Gospel message to the world. And also to convince, rebuke and encourage each other as we are going about doing it.

Paul warned them and us about a time in the future when people will not put up with sound doctrine anymore. When people will be wandering away to just about any other thing except the Bible for inspiration and instruction. Kind of sounds like that today doesn’t it? Sadly, not only do many people not trust the Bible today, but they go to far lengths attempting to make a mockery of it even. Interestingly though, you might notice that critics hardly ever attempt to make fun of any other religious book except the Bible, perhaps because they might be in fear of their lives for doing so. But our Christian Bible is open to all for ridicule for many reasons; and the main reason, I would argue, is because it is true.

There is so much evidence that supports God’s word, much more than any other book written about human behavior and history, let alone the proven geological or the spiritual positions it poses. People attack the Bible because it also calls out the people’s sins, and it brings light onto their dark folly. The Bible is also a target due to God’s righteousness that shines brightly against the backdrop of dark human sin. Sadly indelibly people become pawns for Satan as he urges people to mistrust the Bible’s instruction, just like he urged Eve to mistrust God’s word back in the Garden of Eden. Fact is, there is nothing new with Satan’s schemes, and God’s holy word is always true and trustworthy.

This Bible is simply an amazing gift from God. I frequently refer to it as the Inspired, Infallible, and living Word of God, because it is the Inspired, Infallible and living Word of God. If you ever find anything in this Bible that you think might be contradictory to those terms, please let me know. I have been reading and studying it for years and not only do I find it meeting that mark, but it amazes me as there is something in it for everyone at all stages in life.

The Bible is actually a library of 66 books, originally penned in 3 languages from 3 different continents, written by 44 authors over a period of about 1500 years. The 39 books of the Old Testament were composed between 1400 and 400 B.C. And the 27 books of the New Testament were written between 50 and 100 A.D. But the most amazing thing is that the Bible is really one complete story. One story that shows above all else, God’s enduring and insufferable love for us.
Paul calls this Bible sound doctrine and the truth, and says that we should not only pay attention to it, but we should endeavor to preach it, teach it, and proclaim it to the community, and to the nations. Are ya with me on this?

Paul continues here in verse 6 of 2nd Timothy 4:
6 For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time for my departure is close. 7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8 There is reserved for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me on that day, and not only to me, but to all those who have loved his appearing.

Again, this is kind of a farewell letter from Paul to his apprentice Timothy. It is sad when we think of our loved ones that are preparing to die or have already passed on. At this stage in my life, I have been blessed with many friends, mentors and relatives that have sadly passed away and I miss them dearly. But as Christians, we can also celebrate their lives as we remember them, especially knowing that we will see them again in heaven. Paul, in this letter, is attempting here to be an encourager and a good example of a solid sold-out Christian leader to his protégé Timothy. And as we see in these verses, there is something special about people’s last words. At this point Paul knew that he didn’t have long for the world. People in that position have no reason to boast, brag or lie. Some of the most truthful and trusted words a person speaks are in their final days, as they have nothing to gain or lose by giving them.

Paul considered Timothy to be like his own son. Paul knew that Timothy’s learning would be a big part of his legacy and the lasting fruit of his ministry. Like Paul, we all should be endeavoring to mentor somebody. Jesus also is a great example for us today in this. In John 15:16 , Jesus said, “You did not choose Me, but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit — fruit that will remain”. That is God’s will for each of us. He wants each of us to leave a Christian legacy. Question: Who is your protégé? What is the fruit of your ministry that you would like to remain after you’re gone? Something worthy to ponder indeed.

In Paul’s last verses here, we should also notice that although he was dire straits, he also has a tone of victory in his writing. He said, “I have fought a good fight”, “I have finished the race”, and “I have kept the faith”.
I will talk briefly about each of these.

“I have fought a good fight”:  As Christians, you might realize our fight is both outside of us and inside of us. We know that Paul was chained-up in a cold place and he was in prison, that is the outside the body situation. Not to mention the fact that he also wrote about the times he was beaten, shipwrecked, left for dead, and a number of other external life challenges. Paul had truly fought a “good fight” externally, but also internally as well. In 1 Corinthians 9 he also wrote: “I discipline my body and I keep it under control, lest I be disqualified” He also said that he had to tell himself over and over again, “no”. Paul is admitting that there is a battle that raged inside him, and each one of us should admit we have that same internal struggle. On top of all that, Satan and the world at large, also tries to manipulate us all the time, which adds to the stress we feel.

I’m here to tell ya folks, this is a spiritual battle we face in the world today. And that is why Paul wrote earlier in Ephesians 6, that we should “Put on the full armor of God, so that you can make your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this world's darkness, and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms”.

That is also another reason why Jesus gave us the Church and He sent the Holy Spirit into o