Timothy I and II Presented by Elder Ron Gannon

[0:00] about this morning would be the letters that Paul wrote to Timothy. And we call those the pastoral epistles. And of course, Paul wrote those while he was in prison, or just after he was released from prison, really, he wrote 1 Timothy.

[0:19] So that's what we'll be talking about this morning. Paul wrote two letters to Timothy, whom he trained in ministry. Paul picked up Timothy when he started his second missionary journey.

[0:34] And he was a young man. His mother and his grandmother were very devout ladies. And he got familiar with Timothy, and he decided that he would take him along on his missionary journeys.

[0:50] And during that time, his missionary journeys, Paul just trained Timothy in all the things that he was teaching as he was going from city to city and from country to country.

[1:01] And as we see here, as time ran out for the Apostle Paul, that he wrote some letters, not only to Timothy, but he also wrote one to Titus, who was also another young man that they picked up and went along with them on their missionary journeys.

[1:19] Titus was also one of the ones that went to Jerusalem when Paul came back from his first missionary journey. And he was confronted with some of the Jewish population who was not agreeing with what he was doing and what he was saying.

[1:35] And he had to go up to Jerusalem to meet with the elders there in Jerusalem. And, of course, James, Jesus' brother, was one of the leaders at that point that he had to go up and defend what he was preaching.

[1:50] And as we know, as he did that, and as they presented their cases, that the elders there had to agree with the Apostle Paul, and they told him that, yes, you go present your ministry and do it the way you are doing it.

[2:07] But, of course, they stayed there around Jerusalem, and they presented the same things they've been presenting. So we see that the ministry kind of went two different ways.

[2:18] The apostles there in Jerusalem continued with the ministries they were presenting, and the Apostle Paul started with the ministry of grace. And of faith.

[2:30] And so we see that distinction there. So as Paul was doing his thing, Timothy was with him, and he was learning as he was going on.

[2:42] And we see Timothy mentioned in a lot of Paul's letters. And as time was ending up, and the time frame we're looking at here is when Paul was in prison.

[2:53] And, of course, we know that that would be at the end of the first 30 years. Paul had a ministry of over 30 years. We're talking from Jesus until this time. It's 30 years.

[3:05] So we see that this time is ending up. Paul would have been, well, I assume he was in his 50s or 60s at this point, since it was around 30 years old when Christ died.

[3:16] So this ministry was ending up at that point. So we see that the first 30 years of the ministry after Jesus Christ was buried, crucified, buried, and rose again.

[3:29] And we see that things started happening there around Jerusalem. And we see that the Pentecost, when all the people was there for Pentecost, and we've seen what happened as the apostles got the message to go out and talk to the people.

[3:45] And they told him about the people of the nation of Israel, put your Savior, the Savior, on the cross.

[3:56] And he died there on the cross for the sins of the Jewish people and for the world. And, of course, we see there at Pentecost there was a difference of opinion, but we also know that people started being saved, and there was 2,000 or 3,000 saved at that point.

[4:10] And as Peter and some of the apostles kept on preaching, we saw that the church started growing, and thousands started accepting Jesus Christ as their personal Savior.

[4:22] Now, these people that were doing that, who were they? Well, mainly we're talking about the nation of Israel. These were Jewish people who were accepting a Jewish Messiah as their Savior.

[4:34] And that ministry went on for several years, and then we know that as things were heating up again, because like every other thing, you have people who turn against what is being preached.

[4:49] And the same thing was happening here around Jerusalem. As Peter and John and the apostles were going out preaching this message, we also had other Jews who were coming around preaching that this is all not right.

[5:02] And it was apostasy. So they were preaching against what the apostles were preaching for. And, of course, we know that that got bad. And the apostle Paul came on the scene.

[5:17] Not Paul at that point, but Saul. And he was given the opportunity to go out and deliver the nation of Israel from these people who were preaching Jesus crucified, buried, and rose again.

[5:31] And he was happy to do that. And he was going from town to town, bringing in these people and taking them back to Jerusalem. And, of course, we know the story that after doing that, he also was going to a town, and Jesus Christ confronted him right there on the road and threw a flash of light.

[5:52] And he was blinded. And he said, Saul, why are thou persecuting me? And from that point on, when he went into the town, his eyes were opened again.

[6:05] And the apostle Paul was changed completely. And he accepted Christ into his life. And what God was telling him is that, I have a job for you, Paul.

[6:17] And when you go out, you're going to preach this new message. And it's your message that I'm giving you. And it's about faith. It's about grace. And it's about the fact that Jesus Christ died on that cross.

[6:32] He was buried. And he rose again. And now he sits at the right hand of God, the Father. And that's the message that Paul has preached, the gospel of Jesus Christ.

[6:44] And he started that ministry. And he started his first missionary journey. Well, before that, of course, he went out and he was taught by Jesus Christ because he went to another country. And we don't know how it was done, but we know that he communed with the Lord.

[6:59] And the Lord showed him what he wanted him to preach. And after he came back and he started his ministry, then things started to happen. And his first missionary journey, he went to all these different towns and countries and people were accepting Jesus Christ as their Savior.

[7:15] And we had the second missionary journey, and that's where he picked up Timothy and Titus. And the third missionary journey, he went on and went back to a lot of towns and crossed over into Mesopotamia and started those towns over there.

[7:32] People were being saved. And the country was being set on its head. But again, there were those who were against that.

[7:45] And it was going to stay clear through Paul's ministry. He would go out and he would preach. And people in that town would accept Christ as their Savior and they would start a new church. And after a while, there would be a part of the Jewish community who would turn against Paul.

[8:00] And sometimes it was, that's some of the sufferings that Paul suffered. They would take him out. They had strikes. They had beatings. And in one of the towns, he was left for dead. They beat him so bad.

[8:13] So every place he went, there was always those who were against him. But Paul continued on because that's the ministry that God had given him to perform. And as we see in the third missionary journey, as he was wrapping up that missionary journey, he knew that he had to go back to Jerusalem.

[8:34] And he knew that the time was probably ending. And he needed to get back into Jerusalem. And of course, all of his followers didn't want him to go there because they had a feeling what would happen. And of course, when he went back, that's exactly what did happen.

[8:47] He went into the temple and he was preaching. And those from the other side came in and accused him of teaching things that was not what the Jewish people believed.

[8:59] And of course, it was a setup because they also took Timothy and they said that he was a Gentile and he shouldn't have been there. So we see that he was arrested and we know all the things that he went through were going to different Roman leaders.

[9:15] And they just kind of passed him off from one to the other because they really didn't know what to do to him or do for him because they knew that from what everybody was saying, this man didn't do anything.

[9:26] All he did was come in and preach. But the Jewish population, they wanted Paul dead. And they kept it up. And of course, he was just converted or taken to one place and to another.

[9:38] And finally, they said that Paul said, I want to go before Rome. And that's when he had his journey across the seas. And he ended up in Rome and he ended up in prison.

[9:49] Of course, this prison was not like our prisons today. This was a house arrest and he was attached to Roman guards 24 hours a day. But he had free room in his house and he could bring people in and he could teach the gospel just like he'd been doing all those years.

[10:05] And after that time, after so many years of being in prison, he wrote all the prison epistles, which would have been Ephesians and Philippians and Thessalonians and these epistles that he wrote during his time in prison.

[10:21] And after a while, he was released from that prison. And as he started traveling again, he went to different cities that he told the people that he wanted to visit and he got to do that.

[10:35] And during one of these trips to the cities, he wrote a letter to Timothy. And we know that after a while, the people released him, but the Roman government kept coming back.

[10:52] Well, this Roman governor was doing things he shouldn't be doing. There was a big fire in Jerusalem and trying to get everything away from him, he blamed it on the Jews. And of course, they came back to the Apostle Paul and they put him back into prison.

[11:06] And when they did that, they didn't put him back into house arrest. They put him into the dungeon prison. And of course, the Apostle Paul knew that his time was short. And at this point is when he wrote the second letter to Timothy.

[11:21] And during this letter, it was a personal letter, very personal letter to Timothy telling him that time was short and these are the things that need to be set up. And this is what the letters to Timothy is all about.

[11:38] It's about the Apostle Paul who had done his 30 years of service. He knew that his ministry was coming to an end just like a lot of the other apostles.

[11:50] The Apostle Peter, Apostle John, Barnabas, all those who were involved in the ministries that was going on during these 30 years. They were becoming of age now and they knew that their ministries were going to be coming to an end.

[12:04] So what do you do when you've been a pastor or a leader and you've been doing this for 30 years and all of a sudden you realize, well, things are going to come to an end.

[12:17] And I know that there's all these people out here who disagree and are willing to come in and to convert the people back to the way it was before. So what are they going to do?

[12:29] Well, the Apostle Paul and a lot of the apostles wrote letters. And in these letters, they were leaving it to people of the church so that they could pass on this information.

[12:40] And that's what these letters are all about. All the epistles that was written not only by the Apostle Paul but all the other apostles that wrote letters. These were just regular letters.

[12:52] They sat down and they hand-write these letters and they'd pass them on to a church. And as that passed on to that church, they would pass it on to the next town, to another church and to another church.

[13:03] And the whole idea is to get these congregations to come on board and to believe and to live what was being taught.

[13:16] And that's exactly what the Apostle Paul was doing when he wrote these letters to Timothy. He'd served these years. Timothy was with him and now it's time to stop.

[13:27] And he wanted Timothy and Titus because we also have another one of the pastoral epistles which would be Titus. So he wrote both of these men. and he was instructing them these are the things we've done.

[13:40] These are the things that we have taught. There's other people that's going to come in and try to talk against this. And these are the things that I want you to do.

[13:51] I want you to pass on this information. I want you to keep it going. So that's what he was writing to Timothy. And when we get to the first letter of Timothy, if you'll turn to the book of Timothy, we'll see that the Apostle Paul, and there is no doubt who wrote the letter to Timothy and Titus because he starts it out the same way on all these books or letters.

[14:24] He says, And the next thing he does is he goes into this, he does the same thing on both letters.

[14:44] and now he instructs Timothy on doctrine in the first epistle, or the first Timothy, he instructs Timothy on the doctrines that he wants to be passed on.

[14:55] And he also warns against other false doctrines that will be coming into the church. As soon as he leaves, and as soon as Timothy leaves the church that he's preaching at, he knows that other people are going to be coming in and bringing in false doctrines.

[15:10] So he wants Timothy to prepare the people for the things that's going to be happening. So here in the first Timothy, the Apostle Paul is teaching Timothy and Titus, and he's telling them, These are the things that's happened, and now I want you to pass these things on.

[15:26] And he's going to give them instructions concerning worship. We see in chapter 2, prayer in the church. He says, he tells Timothy, First of all then, I urge you in entreaties with prayers and petitions and thanksgivings to be made on behalf of all men, for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all goodness and dignity.

[15:51] This is good and acceptable in the sight of God, our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, one mediator, also between God and men, the man, Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all the testimony given at the proper time.

[16:13] So we see here the Apostle Paul is telling Timothy, one of the first things you need to do in this ministry is always to have prayer, to hold these people up in prayer.

[16:24] And he's telling them that as we hold these people up and to remind them that Jesus Christ is our mediator and that there's no problems that you're going to run into that can't be handled through Christ.

[16:38] As things come about, we have a mediator and that is Jesus Christ. We have Christ sitting there at the right hand of God and he's our mediator. I think this morning we was in Romans and I talked about who can say anything against us and the fact is that nobody can say anything against us when we are Christians.

[16:58] When we've accepted Christ as our personal Savior because we have that mediator, we have Christ sitting there and Christ is the one who paid the penalty for the things that were held against us before.

[17:12] But since we've been saved, since we've been set free from the sins of our past, nothing can come against us with God at this point. He has set us free.

[17:24] He has given us liberty. He has completely justified us. And with that in our background, then nobody can hold anything against us. So Jesus Christ is our mediator.

[17:35] We also talk concerning leaders. If we go to chapter 3, it says, it's a trustworthy statement. If any man aspires to the office of overseer, it is a fine work he desires to deserve.

[17:50] An overseer then must be above approach to husband of one wife, temperate, prudent, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not addicted to wine or pugnacious, but gentle, peaceful, free from the love of money.

[18:07] He must be of one who manages his own household well, keeping his children under control with all didn't. And we see here now that the Apostle Paul is teaching Timothy how to set up these churches.

[18:23] He's been setting them up for years and he's been doing these same things. Now he's telling Timothy, when you go to these churches, when you establish these churches, set these churches up in this way. First, do it through prayer and then start by building leadership in your church.

[18:39] And when you build the leadership in your church, these are the type men that we want. These are the type of people that we need to establish our churches and to be leaders in our churches.

[18:50] So he gives them a list of the things that should be done here. And I believe that as Timothy started his ministry and went out and was doing all the work for the Lord that he had these letters in mind and he probably had them in hand and he had an outline of what he would be doing.

[19:08] So he talks about the bishops. He also talks about deacons. And of course, bishops, deacons, we're talking about the leaderships in the churches. And through the years there have been different type name used for the leaders of the churches.

[19:20] The deacons, bishops, elders. It just so happens in our church we have an elder-run congregation which would be the elders of the church who takes the business of the church before the elders and then they bring it before the church for both.

[19:39] And of course, we have a leader of the church which would be Pastor Marth. So all the churches and of course so many churches here in the United States and all over the world that function differently but each of them are set up kind of the same way.

[19:53] They have leaderships that lead the church and of this leadership we need these type people in these positions. And well, I guess over the years just like everything else we get instructions and we know the right things to do but over the years these things just kind of slip and slide, don't they?

[20:13] And it's just like everything else when, well, like television shows, like everything else. We have things that were the old way and all of a sudden things start doing a near way and people just kind of ignore, don't pay attention to what was going on before and before long a whole culture can change.

[20:34] and I have a feeling that the leadership parts of our churches and all the things is also going through the same thing. And, you know, we just kind of sit back and as changes come we just sit there and kind of watch and we say, you know, that really shouldn't be but who am I?

[20:53] You know, I'm nobody in this church and I really can't make change. But that's really not the case because we, the congregation, we're the ones that set the tone for the church.

[21:05] Yes, we have elder board, we have a pastor leader but the congregation should be the one that sets the ground rules. And we here at Grace have always kind of kept that in mind because this is a congregation run church.

[21:21] Although we have a board of elders who makes decisions, they don't make those decisions and pass them until sprout before the church. And of course, normally we do that on once a year during the business meeting but during the year as things come up, we'll also have a special business meeting that when things need to be voted on to let the congregation make those decisions.

[21:41] So I think Paul had these things in mind when he was teaching Timothy that I want to establish more churches and the way to do that is the way that I'm teaching here.

[21:52] This is the way I did it and things worked well. So why not pass that on to the next generation which is exactly what he was doing at that point. We also go to chapter 4 and the apostle Paul is going to tell Timothy about some of the dangers that he may encounter while he's doing these things.

[22:16] And it says here in chapter 4 but the spirit explicitly says that in latter times some will fall away from the faith paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons.

[22:28] by means of the hypocrisy of liars seared in their own conscience as with branding iron. Men who forbid marriage and advocate abstaining from foods which God has created to be gratefully shared and by those who believe and know the truth.

[22:46] For everything created but God is good and nothing is to be rejected. It is to be received with gratitude for it is sanctified by means of the word of God and prayer.

[22:56] So all these things are set apart and we do have and as we see even when the apostle Paul was teaching the Corinthians we saw that there was always people coming in trying to put new rules into effect and they go back to the dietary restrictions that they had they would go back to all these different things that Paul said we were set free from.

[23:21] And so we always have a group of people who are dangerous who come back and try to get the congregation to change. So in verse 6 in pointing out these things to the brethren you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus constantly nourishing on the words of the faith and the sound doctrine which you have been following but having nothing to do with the worldly fables fit only for old women and on the other hand discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness.

[23:51] For bodily discipline is only of little profit but godliness is profitable for all things since it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.

[24:03] So here Paul is telling Timothy that they're going to changes or people are going to come and change ignore these things stay away from these people don't fellowship with these people because all they can do is after time make it a stagnant type thing where you just kind of see things and you just let them slide and before long changes are made and you're sitting there and all of a sudden you say how did this happen?

[24:31] How did these changes happen? And if you just stop and look you can go back and you can see how just little things come in slip in and it's taught it's ignored it's taught some more it's ignored and all of a sudden it's just part of the congregation it's part of the teaching that's there so the Apostle Paul warns Timothy in all these things be careful of people coming in and trying to change in chapter 5 he talks about governing various duties he talks about those of older and younger these are the things you should be doing with these people in your congregations and he says there in verse 5 do not sharply rebuke an older man but rather appeal to him as a father to the younger men as brothers the older women as mothers and the younger women as sisters in all purity toward widows here he's talking about widows and the first two where he's talking about the older men and the older women and the Apostle Paul knew it and he's trying to teach Timothy here in our congregation when you have older men and women these are the people that you should turn to these are the people that have experience and we have a lot of sharp people that come in that are young but usually what happens with that is you might be sharp you might have all the newest technology you might have all the newest information but you don't have the experience and that's what the older generation have is that they have experience and there's nobody that can come in with all this new knowledge that can't benefit from an older person so that's why it's always good to have a congregation with older people in it

[26:19] I think we've matched that right now we have maybe an overbalance so we would like to get some younger people coming in that we can pass some of this stuff on to but he's telling Timothy here take care with your older generation because they have information that's just so profitable for your church that they can pass it on so these new people coming in it's so important that they have somebody that they can that somebody can come alongside them and mentor them so that they can become the leaders of the church also I know that when I had when I worked I had the opportunity to do interviewing and a lot of times you'd have these young young couples people would come in they had all the college education they had their certificates they had all their ducks lined up in a row but after you talk to them for a good while you find out that all they've got is information and I know you have to start somewhere but you have to make a decision and sometimes it's all the information doesn't matter you've got to have some practice you've got to have some practicality to see the information that you've got so it's the same way we've got to depend on some of our older people to mentor the younger people as they come in toward widows and this is very important

[27:39] Timothy or the apostle Paul here is telling Timothy when you have widows take care of the widows it's so important verse 3 of chapter 5 honor widows who are widows indeed but if any widow has children or grandchildren they must first learn to practice piety in regard to their own family and to make sure make some return to their parents for this is acceptable in the sight of God now she who is a widow indeed and who has been left alone has fixed her hope on God and continues in treaties and prayers night and day but she who gives herself to wanton pleasure is dead even while she lives prescribe these things as well so that they may be above reproach for if anyone does not provide for his own and especially for those of the household he has denied the faith and is worth than an unbeliever a widow is to put on the list only if she is not less than 60 years old having been the wife of one man well here

[28:43] Paul is trying to get across the fact that provide for your family men especially you have to provide for the family and the way you do that hey get a job get a job go out there and provide money for your family and it's today sometimes that's rough to do we see a society where we have a lot of welfare we have a lot of people who are taking money from other places they're really not earning the money and that just breeds problem after problem after problem as we see in this society today and if we just sit here and try to explain all those things it's massive but the way people have to react when they can't support their self and when there's other people providing funds for you it's so difficult to be able to take control and to be able to run a household the way it should be run so

[29:44] I assume it was the same back here in this day here because the apostle Paul has seen it and now he's telling Timothy so he can pass it on if you have widows if you have families who doesn't have a father that's died or whatever take control take care of these families the way they should be taken care of and today I think that the church's responsibility is to do that I know that in our society today again the way it was set up the way the apostle Paul is trying to set it up is church takes care of their own and I think that's the way Paul intended it to go and I think that's the way it started many many years ago and we've seen this even come through our churches over the years that the church took care of and fallen behind but I think it's very important that the church understand that we have a mission here at

[30:46] Grace Bible Church and every other church here and around the county and that is to take care of people who don't have the opportunity to take care of themselves and I think that's what the apostle Paul is doing here just trying to tell Timothy there's people out there that need help and the church is a place for that to happen so get your leaders in charge of that and be sure that the widows the orphans all those are taken care of so that is one of the things that Paul is trying to get established and I know all churches have mission programs a lot of those mission programs of course today is pretty much to go to foreign countries and I think that's a mistake I think mission should be primary here in the United States primarily here in the city of Springfield here in Clark County and from there that mission kind of goes on out but it's even like Christianity you start in a small circle and that small circle should be

[31:50] Clark County Springfield and you go on out to Dayton Cincinnati Kentucky and get out there to the world main emphasis should be getting to the people in your own area that's where the mission should start and I think that's what the Apostle Paul here is trying to get Timothy to understand is start there in your churches get these things going and then it'll spread and that's exactly what Christianity do it'll spread when we start here get our people ingrained in the things of the spirit and let them do it we don't have to have so many missionaries that's out there on planes traveling all over the world and there's nothing wrong with that I'm not trying to say that there's anything wrong with our missionaries who are going overseas and preaching Jesus Christ I'm just saying I think we've fallen back from doing it locally and we need to do that a lot more than we are today and

[32:51] I think once we do that more than it'll proceed and go on out further than what it has before okay towards elders toward elders okay we've talked about setting up establishing that leadership in your church and again here I said Grace Bible Church has a board of elders and here's what it says about how do you treat your elders these are the people that lead your church the elders who rule well for the scripture says you shall not muzzle the ox while he is stretching and the laborer is worth all his wages do not receive an accusation against an elder except on the basis of two or three witnesses those who continue in sin rebuke in the presence of all so that the rest will also be fearful of sinning I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus and his chosen angels to maintain these principles without bias doing nothing in the spirit of partiality so here now the apostle

[33:56] Paul is telling Timothy as you establish these churches and you set these churches up with leadership respect the leadership in your churches don't take people's word for things and say hey did you know what our elders are doing don't take false accusations if you get a false accusation what are you supposed to do you go to that person and not just one do it with one and then you take two and then you take three but get the facts and don't just take the word from somebody that says this is what's going on respect the elders the elders who you have teaching elders you have elders who take care of the take care of them because they're the leadership of your church chapter 6 he talks about masters and slaves here again you got to understand the time frame we're talking about here when the apostle

[34:58] Paul was writing these letters and writing these books it was not uncommon for to have masters and slaves that was a common thing at that day so as he's teaching he's also teaching the example for the masters and also for the slaves these are the type things everybody's in a different situation you're a master and you have control over this person I'm the slave and I have to be obedient to him how do you do that what's your attitude and that's the things Paul is trying to bring out here chapter 6 all who are under the yoke of slaves are to regard their own masters as worthy of all honor so as that the name of God and our doctrine will not be spoken against those who have believers as their masters must not be disrespectful to them because they are brethren but must serve them all the more because those who partake of the benefit are believers and beloved teach and preach these principles so here again the apostle

[36:00] Paul is teaching you're going to have these type in our congregation but the thing still sets I mean we have bosses we have people that we report to we have people that's in control of us how do we react to that it's the same thing that Paul is talking about here if you're the master you respect the people that you have control of and we see that not only here but also in Paul's letters to the Ephesians do it with respect do it without begrudging you're in this predicament just live the life of Christ and that's the way we ought to do that and then he finishes up with toward false teachers verse three if anyone advocates a different doctrine and does not agree with sound words those of our

[37:00] Lord Jesus Christ and with a doctrine confirming to godliness he is connected and understands nothing that has a morbid interest in the controversial questions and the disputes about words out of which arise envy strife abuse abusive language and evil suspicions and constant friction between men of depraved mind and deprived of the truth who suppose that godliness is a means of gain his last thing he wants to tell Timothy is again you're going to have people it's going to come into your congregation you've got to confront them because you can't let these false doctrines in to your congregation especially back then it was very important because again we had all these false prophets false teachers who would just follow the footsteps of the apostle Paul as he would go from church to church and how they get in the doors

[38:02] I guess it would be just like how they got in the door here they have an open door policy and people come in they get acquainted with the people and they start passing on this false information before long people are believing it and lastly he says toward money and godliness chapter verse 6 that godliness actually is a means of great gain when accompanied by contentment for we have brought nothing into the world so we cannot take anything out of it either if we have food and covering and these things shall be content but those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction what do we do with our money what is our attitude against our money we all have jobs we go out and we earn a living and we raise our family with this living we have to have the attitude of what we're going to do are we thinking money is more important than our family then we've got problems always keep in mind that and we go out and earn the money and we have a purpose for it and that purpose should be to maintain our family in a way that they should be maintained and there's all different avenues there's all different levels of money and you can't really be concerned about that because there's nothing you can do about it

[39:35] I mean we have people that run corporations and they have all the money in we are just to go out and earn our money and be satisfied with what we have and we have the food we have clothing and we are able to maintain that family life and that's what we should be doing and I was going into 2nd Timothy because here he gets personal and he wants to tell Timothy not to be faint of heart and he says he's going to be telling Paul knew once he got put back into prison the second time that things were going to change and that he probably would not get out of there alive and that's where he's coming to Timothy now and he's going to be telling Timothy stay strong stay strong be of good spirit take these words I give you and pass them on to the future generations and

[40:38] I think Paul had to do so he's telling him here in the second letter to take care of himself he even mentioned some of the medicine that he should be taking to take care of the problems that he had with his stomach so this is a personal letter to Timothy to say Timothy I'm going to be leaving I'm turning this over to you and these are the things you should be doing so these two are just great letters that the apostle Paul wrote to Timothy and to be able to pass on the ministry to the whole world and I think Timothy did this and I think Timothy passed that on to somebody else and somebody passed that on to somebody else and now we are down to where we are today and somebody passed it on to Brother Marv and Brother Marv has been here in this congregation for over 40 years doing the same thing for us telling us about the

[41:39] Bible telling us about God's word giving us instruction on how we should live our lives and what are we to do we are just to turn around go out in our life pass that on to our kids pass that on to our grandkids and just keep the generation going and going and I think that's what Father we just thank you this morning Father we thank you for the apostle Paul and for all the teaching that he did and for what you did in his life Father he was against and Father you told him and you showed him your word and you instoned it into his heart that all he thought about was preaching your word Father the gospel of Jesus Christ and that's what he did for over 30 years and now we see here in the letters to Timothy and he has passed that on to Timothy and to Titus and that this word is being passed on and has been passed on for generation to generation to generation

[42:41] Father we just thank you for your word this morning Father we know that your word is from the spirit and we know that all the men that have wrote this word all the men that it has written is all done from the spirit and they have done it in their own hand and Father but you have guided them in the word we thank you for that we thank you for your amazing love this morning and we thank you for Grace Bible Church and all that has been taught here over the years Father just help us this morning as thanks this morning and we ask it in Jesus name Amen