Sunday Morning Service 10:30AM - 2 Timothy 4:5-8 - "Carry Out The Ministry" - Pastor Ryan Nichols

2 Timothy, chapter 4. 2 Timothy, chapter 4. Well, when we started 2 Timothy, we gave it an overarching title for the book, and the title was, Final Words from a Faithful Servant. And that's what Paul has been delivering to Timothy, is he's been delivering his final words as Paul is in prison there in Rome, knowing that he's facing execution, and he was facing execution. Knowing that

that was the case, he began to share with Timothy everything that he needed to know in order to carry on the ministry, that Paul had begun, to be able to carry on what had already started, not only in the life of Timothy, but in the world in general. And he'd given him a handful of instructions. The first one came in chapter 1, when he told Timothy to guard the treasure, the treasure of the word of God, that he would guard it faithfully, that he would be the steward of that treasure. The second thing that he told him is that he needed to be strong. He needed to be strong in

the grace of God. He needed to be strong in the strength of the Lord, and he needed to be strong as a man of God, being who God had called for him to be. The third thing he told him in chapter 3 is he, or in chapter 2, is he told him he needed to be diligent. Be diligent particularly in the way that he handled the word of God, that he would be diligent to cut it straight, to handle it accurately, and to be diligent in his ministry.

In chapter 4, he told him that he needed to understand the times. That he needed to understand the people of the times, that in the last days that people would be lovers of self rather than lovers of God, and to prepare himself for that. The only way that he could prepare himself for that is to be prepared in the word, to know what God's word has to say so that he could stand strong. So he needed to understand the times.

The beginning of chapter 4, he told Timothy, he said, preach the word. That his life and his words were to preach the truth of God's word to everybody that was around him. And today as we come to this final lesson, this final charge that Paul will give to Timothy before he gives what I will call the long goodbye. This final charge, he tells him, Timothy, finish the work. Finish the

work. So we pick up in verse 5 of 2 Timothy chapter 4 and it says this, But you, be sober in all things. Endure hardship. Do the work of an evangelist. Fulfill your ministry. For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight. I have finished the course. I have kept the faith. In the future there is laid up for me

the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day. And not only to me, but also to all who have loved his appearing. As he tells Timothy to finish the work, there's two things he's going to tell him. He says, Timothy, you finish your work because I have finished my work. And so the first thing that we'll look at here is him telling Timothy

you finish your work. He starts off like this. He says in verse 5, he says, but you. But you. That should create in your mind a contrast. And you should ask yourself a question. What is he contrasting Timothy with? Well, he's contrasting Timothy with what just came before. Remember he said preach the word, be ready in season and out of season because there's going to come

a time when they will not endure sound doctrine. They will instead amass for themselves teachers after their own pleasures who will tickle their ears and tell them what they want to hear and they will give heed to myths and fables. But you in direct contrast to those who won't endure sound doctrine, to those who only want to hear what they want to hear and not the truth, to those who are giving way to myths and fables. But you be different than that.

And this brings up a really interesting point that I think that we should pay attention to. There should be a contrast between the church and the world. There should be a stark contrast between what it looks like to be a born again believer in Jesus Christ, a disciple of Jesus Christ and the rest of the world around us. The problem that we have faced in the church over the past 25 to 30 years is that we've stopped wanting to have a contrast. We want to look

as much like the world as we possibly can with enough Jesus to make ourselves feel good about us. And we've stopped creating the contrast. And what we have come to realize in the past few years is that the world doesn't want us to look the same. The world is crying for a contrast. They don't want to go to a church that looks just like the bar that they go to. They don't want to go to a church that acts

just like the friends that they don't want to be a part of anymore. They don't want to go to a church that looks just like the world. They want to go to a church that is in direct contrast to the world because what they've come to understand is that the world is going to hell. And they need a church that looks different than that. They need a church that creates

a contrast of holiness, a contrast of love, a contrast of generosity. They need a church that says, but you that looks different than the world around them. People will flock to that kind of a church because they want something different. And brothers and sisters, you can't decide in your life, I'm going to look as much like the world as I can to not create a ripple and have enough Jesus as possible to feel good about myself.

No, there has to be a stark contrast between you and the world. He says, but you, and then he tells them a handful of things that he needs to do. Number one, he tells them, be sober in all things. To be sober in all things. That word sober in some of your translations probably says be watchful or be alert or be wakeful. The idea of the word is this. It means to

have a clear mind. The word sober means to have a clear mind. But to an even greater degree it means to have a seriousness of purpose. To have a seriousness of purpose. We could put it this way. Be focused. He tells them to be sober. Be watchful of the things that are going on around him. Be alert of the world that's going on around him. But be serious in your purpose. Listen,

I am all about having fun. I love to laugh. I love to tell jokes. You all know that about me. But there comes a point in time when you've got to take life seriously. There comes a point in time where you've got to take your walk seriously. And you've got to say, I've got a purpose that I have to pursue. There is a serious purpose that I am pursuing with my everyday life.

And you have to take your walk with Jesus Christ seriously. You know why? Because this is life and death. And it doesn't get much more serious than that. Because the words that we have are the words of life. The words that we're following are the words of life. And if you don't take heed to the words of life, then the only thing that you have left is death. And so there has

to be a seriousness of purpose. There has to be a clarity of purpose that we have in our minds. And Paul says, rather than being those who drift about following the next false teacher that comes along, the next one that makes you feel good about yourself, instead you, Timothy, be focused and have a seriousness of purpose in the way that you live your life. He tells Timothy, number one, be sober in all things.

Number two, he tells him, endure hardship. Endure hardship. Have you taken note of how many times this exact same statement is used throughout the pastoral epistles? It's almost like Paul lived a really hard life, and he needed to prepare Timothy and Titus and everybody else for the fact that life as a believer in Jesus Christ is not easy. Listen, we have created

a false gospel in the United States of America. We have created the gospel of easy. God's desire for you is to live a happy life. God wants you to live a joyful life. But listen, sometimes your life is not always going to be happy. Sometimes your life is going to be really hard. And that's okay. Because you know what? Whether you're in Christ or not in Christ, your life was still going to

be hard. And we have to realize as believers in Jesus Christ that if we are going to pursue God, there's a certain amount of hardship that goes along with that. There's a certain amount of affliction that goes along with that. Literally, what he says here is, Timothy, don't be afraid of suffering. Don't be afraid of suffering. It's interesting, if we were to go back to the book of Acts,

after Paul's, I think it was his second missionary journey, it says that they journeyed back through all of the churches that they had started and they set up elders, and they told them, through much hardship, we will enter the kingdom of heaven. It was what Paul was always doing, was preparing believers in Jesus Christ for the fact that this is not Disneyland. This is a war. And you were at one point in time a prisoner of that war, but now that you've been set free, you're a warrior in it. Now that you've been set free,

you're a part of it. And you're a part of it. And you're a part of it. Prepare yourself for the hardship that awaits you. Listen, you've got to understand something. God is good, and I don't want to misrepresent that. The life of walking with Jesus is the most fulfilling, joyous thing I can imagine, but it's also the single hardest thing I've ever done in my life. Pursuing

God and serving God is hard. And that's okay, because my best life is not supposed to be on this side of eternity. My best life is supposed to be on the other side of eternity. And all of the hardship that I'm going through right now just makes me look forward that much more to the other side of eternity. It makes me look forward that much more to the home that waits for me, because life is

hard, but listen, God is good. But I don't want you to miss the point. Life is hard. And if every turn there's a little bit of hardship and a little bit of suffering, you can go, that's okay, because I knew this is what was coming. That's what Jesus told his disciples. I'm taking a group of kids through the book of John right now and Jesus is preparing his disciples for his leaving, and you know what he kept telling them

over and over again? If the world hates you, know that it hated me first. Don't consider it strange. What did Peter tell the believers that he was writing to? He said, don't consider the fiery trial that you're about to go through as something strange. This is a normal thing in life. He says, Timothy, endure hardship. Don't be afraid to suffer, because in the end you'll

find it's worth it. So number one, he tells them to be sober. Number two, he tells them to endure hardship. Number three, he says, do the work of an evangelist. Work at telling others the good news. I'm going to be honest, I've wrestled with this statement a little bit this week. Some commentators say that Timothy had the gift of evangelism, but he was scared to use it. Some people say

Timothy did not have the gift of evangelism, so he was encouraging him to not abandon that work. Which is it? I don't know, but I'll tell you what's true for me. I don't have the gift of evangelism. And so that's where I've kind of struggled. I struggled with this a little bit this week. I'm like, Lord. He says, do the work of an evangelist. I don't have that gift. I've shared this with you before.

I could give the greatest gospel message in my mind that I could have ever imagined. And people will come up afterwards and say, that was a great presentation of the gospel. And not very many people will get saved, because that's not my gift. And then I've heard other people give probably one of the worst presentations of the gospel I've ever heard, and hundreds of people walk forward, and I'm going, I think that makes sense. Right?

Because it's not about the messenger, it's about the message, and it's about the Spirit bringing the message. It's about the gifting. It's not how well they present it. It's not even how well they explain it. When the Holy Spirit's at work, the Holy Spirit's at work. And so if he tells them to do the work of an evangelist, what does that mean for me if I don't have the gift of evangelism?

It means this. It means that all of my ministry should have soul winning at the heart. All of my ministry should have soul winning at the heart. And that's what he's telling Timothy. Did Timothy have the gift of evangelism? Maybe. Did Timothy not have the gift of evangelism? Maybe. But at the heart of everything that Timothy did should be the desire to win souls. I'm reminded

of the fact that I'm never going to lead a ton of people to Jesus, but I have led a handful of people to Jesus. I've preached messages, and people have put their hand up to receive Jesus, and I'm reminded that it doesn't take hundreds of people to be successful. It just takes one. It just takes leading one person to Jesus to be successful in the art of soul winning.

I've shared this story with you before, but one of my favorite stories came from one of my former teachers in Bible college. His name is Ray Bentley. And Ray Bentley grew up being able to go to the movies every Sunday afternoon. That was the only time that they didn't have to do work around their dad's house. He said, one Sunday afternoon we went to the movie, and a church had rented it out for some

silly Billy Graham movie. We had a choice. We could either stay for the Billy Graham movie, or we could go back home and work. We opted for Billy Graham. He said, so we sat there in that movie, and the church rented this place out, and I watched me. He said, my soul was stirred. All I knew was that he may as well have been talking directly to me. He said, so the pastor

opens it up at the end, and he says, who would like to come forward and receive Jesus? He goes, he got counselors down front to talk to all the people that were going to come forward. They were planning on a huge response. He goes, you know who the one person that came to know Jesus that day was? Me. He said, I bet that pastor walked away feeling unsuccessful that only

one person came to know Jesus. He goes, but I know that that's not unsuccessful, because the day that I received Jesus, all of heaven celebrated. And can I tell you the rest of his story? Ray Bentley would go on to pastor one of the largest churches in Southern California. He would go on to lead other pastors and teach in Bible colleges. I'm here partly because of Ray Bentley.

He would go on to have satellite campuses all over the West. He would go on to lead thousands of people to faith in Jesus Christ. You tell me that one person didn't matter. But you know what? If that one person didn't lead a single other soul to Jesus, it was still worth it. Because Jesus cares about every single soul. And so he tells Timothy, he says, listen, at the heart

of everything that you do should be soul winning. That's why every week I tell you that the most important thing that you can do is share your story with somebody else. Share your story with someone. Because it not only sets you free, but it sets them free. Because as you share your story, as you share what Jesus has done in you, it begins to create interest

in the other people. And God will use it in a powerful way. Because soul winning should be at the heart of every ministry. You can't make a disciple until they first come to Jesus. He says, Timothy, do the work of the evangelist. And the last thing he tells Timothy here is number four, he says, fulfill your ministry. Fulfill your ministry. That word fulfill means

to fully carry out, to carry it to the end, or as I have put it, finish the work. Finish the work. Now listen, I bet there's a good number of men in this room that are a lot like me. You're really good at starting a project. You're really bad at finishing a project. And you know how I know I'm right? Wives just looked at husbands all over this room. We're not good at finishing

things, are we? We are not good at finishing things. You know why? Because it's really fun to buy the tools for a new project. It's a real big bummer to finish it, right? Pretty soon those tools get a little rusty. They get a little dust on them and you're like, I don't want to do that anymore. That project got boring, right? There's some reasons why we don't tend to finish the work.

It does kind of get boring, right? In the beginning it's exciting, like my old boss in construction used to say. Everybody gets excited when the circus comes to town, but pretty soon elephant poop starts to stink, right? It's not as exciting as it was in the beginning. Or maybe it got really hard. There were some unexpected twists and turns. That's why you don't finish the work.

Or maybe you just got lazy. Whatever it is, we're not always good at finishing the work. We're not always good at finishing the project. And he knows that about Timothy. He knows Timothy's tendency towards fear when things get hard. And he knows that all of us as humans have a tendency to get lazy and want to neglect the most difficult things. And so he tells him, Timothy, fulfill the

ministry. Finish your work. And that's what I'm telling all of us here today. Finish the work. Are you reading through the Bible this year? Finish the work. Are you now just getting into reading God's Word every day for yourself? Finish the work. Have you set out to become the man that God wants you to be, but through memorizing Scripture? Finish the work. Are you leading your family in

daily devotions? Then finish the work. Have you decided to step into an area of ministry and now you're scared to death? Finish the work. Listen, the work of the ministry is unlike anything else because it requires every fiber of your being. It requires every part of your soul. And I'm not just talking the ministry that I do. I'm talking the ministry that you do with your wives.

I'm talking the ministry you do with your families. I'm talking the ministry that you do of teaching Sunday school, the ministry that you do of loving the people around you. It requires every fiber of your being. And sometimes you want to quit. And I'm here to tell you, finish the work. One of my favorite pastors is a guy by the name of Chuck Swindoll. I just love listening to that guy. That guy

can tell a story better than anyone I've ever heard in my entire life. I feel like I'm right in the middle of it. And I'll never forget. I'll never forget hearing him say one time. He said, I sat on a panel of pastors one time. Chuck Smith was actually one of the pastors that was with you before. I don't know. He said, they asked us, what do you do every Monday morning?

And he said, some of them had their ideas. Chuck Smith said, well, we go right through the words. So I just get up and start studying the next passage of Scripture I'm ready to study. Chuck said, all I can do is look down at all those guys and say, am I the only honest one here? I wake up every morning and I write my letter of resignation. Because it's hard.

And sometimes you don't want to finish it. He said, but at the end of the day, I know that's not what I need to do. I need to finish the work. There's a great statement. I didn't originate it. I don't even know if the guy that I read it from originated it. But I think it's great. He said, when it comes to fulfilling the ministry, it's better to wear out for the Lord than to

rust out. It's better to wear out than to rust out. And I don't know about you, but I plan on wearing out. I plan on doing this until I can't do this anymore. I plan on finishing the work that God has given for me to do. Because I've been given beautiful examples of finishing the work. I've been given beautiful examples of this in my life. You see, there's three really good

examples I can give you of finishing the work. The first one is the guy that started Calvary Chapels. Chuck Smith. Do you realize that man preached the word up until the day that he died? Literally. Two days before he died, he was on stage preaching the gospel wearing oxygen. The man had lung cancer. Fantastically enough, he had never smoked a cigarette in his life. He hated cigarettes.

But he died of lung cancer. But two days before his death, he stood before his congregation one last time and he preached the word of God. Mark Fry, the guy that was the pastor here before me, is the second example I can give to you. This time of year always makes me incredibly reminiscent of that because it was about nine years ago over the last couple of weeks that I thought that, nine years ago, the week before Thanksgiving, I was told you're going to preach for me for the next six weeks while I have surgery to remove the cancer and then I'll get back to preaching again. Six weeks I was supposed to be preaching.

I haven't stopped since. Because after those six weeks, he got so sick that he had to stay in the hospital and he couldn't finish. Eventually, he got out of the hospital and got strong enough where for a short time, he and I could alternate Sundays. And he would do the best he could to get up here and preach, but it was hard for him because physically he was worn down. But his desire to finish

the work was so great that he would get up here every Sunday and try anyway. And I'll never forget the last Sunday that he attempted to preach. We had one service at that point in time. It was at 10 o'clock and it was his Sunday to preach and he got up and was getting himself ready to preach and I got a call at about 9 in the morning. At about 9 in the morning, I got a phone call from him and said,

Ryan, I can't do it. I just can't do it. I'll never forget the last message he preached. It came out of 1 Peter. Prepare yourself for action. That was the message he preached. I remember it. That was the last one he was able to give and that Sunday he said, Ryan, I can't do it this Sunday. I just don't, I don't have it in me. I'm too weak. I'm too sick. And he never preached again.

But he preached up until the moment that his physical body would allow him to do it. And then of course there's my dad. You know, he started getting real, real bad about a year ago at this point in time. And I remember the last time he was able to lead worship. He kept losing blood. He was anemic and he was very, very weak. And it requires a great deal of lung capacity to do it. Especially the way he did

it because he just belted it out so loud. And I remember that last Sunday that he was able to lead worship. I had to drop him off here by the door because he could not make it from the parking lot inside because he was too weak. Matter of fact, dropping him off at the door, he still had to go and sit in that row right over there to catch his breath so that he could do worship that Sunday.

And he got up and he led worship. And I remember my mom looking at me and saying, I don't know if anybody in this building realizes that they just witnessed a miracle. That he was able to do that. You know why? Because he wanted to finish the work. Because he wanted to finish the work that he set out to do. That's all he wanted to do. And brothers and sisters, that's all

I want to do. I plan on doing this until the day that I die. It may not always be from up here. It may not always be in this setting. It may just be sitting across the table from somebody. But I know that I want to finish the work. Because that's what we're called to do. He tells Timothy, he says, fulfill your ministry. Finish your work. Why does he need to finish his work? Paul said,

because I finished my work. Look at verse 6. He says, for I am already being poured out as a drink offering. And the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight.

Like I told first service, this is why I couldn't do 2 Timothy right after 1 Timothy. I fought the good fight. I have finished the course. I have kept the faith. In the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day. And not only to me, but to all who have loved his appearing. Paul says,

I have finished my work. And the first thing he says is, I am already being poured out. I am already being poured out as a drink offering. If we were to go all the way back into the book of Numbers, you would find that there's an offering called the free will offering. And the free will offering was either of the flock or it was of grain. It was of flour or of the flock. And they would bring it to the

Lord and they would burn it before the Lord. And the last thing that they would do with the free will offering is that they would take wine and they would pour it on that free will offering. That was called the drink offering. It was the last thing that was offered unto the Lord. And there's this beautiful picture that Paul gives of his own life because he had lived his entire

life as a free will offering unto the Lord. Remember what it said in Romans chapter 12 when he says, I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you would present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable unto God. Well, that's the way Paul had lived his life. He had lived his life as a free will offering unto the Lord. Only now that he's at the end of

his life, the free will offering is almost completely burned up and now his life's blood is being offered as a drink offering before the Lord. That's what it says, I think, in the Amplified Bible. No, it's the Weiss translation. It says, my life blood is being offered as a drink offering before the Lord. He says, I'm being poured out. The last of my offering is finished because my

time on this earth is almost done. He says, I am already being poured out. His death would be the ultimate drink offering offered to the Lord. The second thing he says here is, the time of my departure is at hand. The time of my departure is at hand. That word departure is a fascinating word in the Greek. It means unloosing. Unloosing. And in Greek literature, it's used in multiple different

ways. And it's fascinating because several commentaries that I read pointed this out. In each of the ways that it's used in Greek literature, very much fit into what Paul's saying here by the fact that he says, my departure is at hand. These are the ways that it's used in Greek literature. The word unloosing or departure is used of a boat that is pulling anchor and setting sail.

A boat that is pulling anchor and setting sail. It's kind of fascinating, isn't it? Because the ship of his life is about to pull anchor on this side of eternity and he's about to set sail into eternity. His ship is about to be loosed. About to be unloosed so that he can sail into eternity. The second way that it's used is of the taking down of a tent. In other words,

the unloosing or the departure, the breaking of camp, which is fascinating because if you were to look in 2 Corinthians, you would know that Paul refers to these bodies as a tent. He says that if this tent, this body is torn down, I have a building from heaven or a building made without hands eternal in the heavens that comes from God. And so it's interesting when he says my time of departure is at hand. He says the time of the tearing down of this tent is at hand because his physical body was about to be torn down, but he was about to move into a brand new building.

He was about to be unloosed from this tent so that he could live in a tent. He was about to move into a brand new building. He was about to be unloosed from this tent so that he could live in a tent. He was about to be unloosed from this tent so that he could live in an eternal home. The third way that it's used is of the unyoking of an ox. The loosing of an ox from its

yoke, which is kind of fascinating because if anybody was a workhorse for the gospel of Jesus Christ, if anybody pulled the plow for the gospel of Jesus Christ to plow up the hard ground, the hard soil of the hearts of men, it was Paul. But his ministry was coming to a close, and so it was time for him to be unyoked and to be set free. But the one that I think is the greatest is that of the loosing of a prisoner. That of the loosing of a prisoner.

That's what that word departure can mean, the setting of a prisoner free. Because while on the outside it looked like he was being delivered over to death, Paul knew the reality that he was being delivered into life. While it looked like he was being delivered over to his captors, what really was happening is he was being delivered into eternal life. Because he was being set free from the prison of this body that held him down.

Paul says, my departure is at hand. I just kind of find this fascinating because here Paul is at the end of his life and there's something fascinating that God does with his saints when he's preparing them to go home. There's something fascinating that God does to prepare his saints when it's time to go home. And I've witnessed this with multiple different people when it's time for them to go home because they start talking about home. They start talking

less about this earth and they start talking, more about the home that is to come. One of the greatest stories, and I botched this story the first go-round. I gave a wrong detail. I'm going to correct it on this one. One of my favorite stories is that of Rich Mullins. Rich Mullins is a fantastic Christian artist. And listen, you should go home later today and on whatever streaming service

you use, you should look up Rich Mullins. Now listen, for you kids, it's a little different than what you're used to, okay? This is 80s and 90s. Bear with the style. He was probably, in my opinion, one of the greatest songwriters in Christian history. His songs were just phenomenal. I love listening to them. But I'll never forget listening to a playlist on vacation. My wife goes, you kind of

like old music, don't you? And I'm like, you know what? That hurts. That hurts deep, okay? This is a great song. Stop mocking it right now. Rich Mullins died very early in his life. First service, they said he died in a plane crash. I was wrong. It was a car wreck. I had every other detail right. He was leaving Illinois to come back to Wichita. Wichita is what he called home. Leaving Illinois

to come back to Wichita to do a concert. It was interesting. According to one of the biographies that I watched about him, right before he left, somebody said, so Rich, you're heading home? And he said, home. It's an interesting thought, isn't it? I'm ready to go home. And he died in that car crash on the way home. And he went home. It's just fascinating how God in His grace

prepares saints for when it's time to come home. And I think that that's what God's done with Paul here. I don't sadness in what Paul writes when he says that his life is already being poured out and that the time of his departure has come. He's not like, I'm so sad to leave this earth. He's like, I can't wait to go home. Home is a fascinating thought. I'm ready for my life to finish being poured

out so that I can go home. So that I can finish my race. And God had prepared him for it. And that's what God had done with Paul. And so he says, I'm already being poured out. But then he says, I have. He says, I've done three things. Number one, he says, I have fought the good fight. I have fought the good fight. The idea of that phrase is this, like a wrestler, I have

fought to the finish. Now listen, sidebar here, okay? There's two sports that are mentioned in the Bible, wrestling and running. I'm not saying they're the best sports. I'm just saying they're the only ones mentioned in the Bible. You do with that what you will. I know how I feel about it. But they're the only two that are mentioned in the Bible. I guess boxing's

mentioned too, but it's more of a wrestling. That's what I'm going with. But they have fought the good fight like a wrestler that would fight to the finish. And I want to talk to all of us about this for just a minute. Because we have a fight that's ahead of us. I want to especially talk to you young men in here right now. You young men in here right now because it's time to get in the fight.

Listen, there's a fight in front of us right now. And it's a fight for faith. It's a fight for truth. It's a fight for families. It's a fight for morality. It's a fight for people to really know who Jesus is. And unfortunately, too many young men right now are fighting the fight of the Xbox. You're fighting the fight of whatever thing it is that, whatever video

gaming system you're using now. You're fighting the fight of fantasy football. You're fighting the fight of watching porn. Whatever it is, you're fighting the wrong fight. And you can't get into the fight because your head is distracted. Because your head's in all these other different places. And listen, those of you over the age of 35, just so you know, I'm talking to you too.

Because it's not just young men that are caught up in all these things. It's young men that are caught up in all these things. We as men, it's time for us to take the fight. It's time for us to get involved in the fight. Because there is a fight for truth out there right now, and if we don't get involved in it, we will get run over by it. Because the fight's here whether we want it or not.

You have a choice whether or not you're going to get involved or whether you're going to sit on the sideline and be completely destroyed by it. You have a choice to make, and it's time to get involved in the fight. That's why he tells Timothy, I have fought the good fight because he had lived his life with the fight of faith. He had lived his life for the fight of truth.

He had lived his life for the fight to show what grace really looks like and what truth really means. And he says, I have fought the good fight. Now it's your turn. Brothers, I'm here to tell you right now, it's time to get in the fight. It's time to be involved. It's time to stop sitting on the sidelines. And it's time to fight. Paul says, I have fought the good fight.

The second thing that he says is, I have finished the course. Some of your translations may say, I have run the race. And I love this because Paul says, there was a race that was set out in front of me, and I finished it. I finished my course. I want to tell you something. In the book of Hebrews, if you were to jump to Hebrews chapter 12, you would find that in Hebrews chapter 12, the writer of the book

of Hebrews says this. He says, therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside the weight and the sin which so easily ensnares us. And let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and the finisher of our faith. There's something fascinating about that word race in the Greek there. The word race

indicates that each person has their own individual race that they run. That means that the course that Paul ran looks different than the course that you're going to run. I would venture to say that almost everyone in this room is not going to go all throughout Europe and Asia starting churches and probably be beaten and stoned and death and then get brought back to life. I'm guessing that's not any of your courses. If

it is, I can't wait to talk to you. But I'm guessing that that's not your course. But you do have a course. You do have a race that you need to run. And you need to figure out what that race is. They say the two greatest days in a person's life are the day that you become born again and the day you figure out why. The day you become born again and the day you figure out why. And I can tell

you from experience, those are great days. Because I remember the day that I really started walking with Jesus and surrendered my heart to the Lord. It was the hardest, best day of my life. And I remember when God gave me my marching orders. When God told me why I was on this earth. When God said, this is why you're here and this is what I want you to do. Because it was a great day because I had

clarity of mind and I went, nothing can get in the way of this. I am moving forward with what God has called for me to do. And I've been doing it now for 23 years. And I don't plan on stopping anytime soon. Unless God takes away my voice, in which case I'll probably try to write it down. I'll have to type it because you can't read my handwriting. But I'll probably try to

write it all down. Because I know that I was put on this earth for one reason. To know God's word, to obey God's word, and to teach God's word. That's my course. What's yours? You have a course that God has set out for you. You have a race that God wants you to run. You've got to figure out what your race is. And the only way that you can figure that out is to

get to know the one who's going to give you the race. Get into the word. Start praying that God would show you. And once you know what that race is, once you know what that course is, get your eyes set. Get your gear on and go. Because Paul said, I have finished my course. I finished my race.

So he says, number one, I fought the good fight. Number two, I finished my race. Number three, I've kept the faith. I've kept the faith. I love the way the Amplified Bible translates this. It says this, I like a soldier have kept safely through vigilance the faith that's been committed to my care. Let me read that to you again. I, like a soldier, have kept through vigilance

the faith that has been committed to my care. I love that image that he gives to us. I shared this a few weeks ago, but I'm going to share it again because I happened to watch this movie the other night. There's a fantastic movie. It's called The Book of Eli. Spoiler alert, I'm going to tell you how it ends, okay? It's okay. You shouldn't go watch it. It has lots of bad words in it, and it has lots of

violence in it. But it's a great movie. It's a post-apocalyptic movie. There's been some sort of a nuclear war, a nuclear fallout that's taken place, and everything's just different. And there's this guy by the name of Eli, played by Denzel Washington. And he has this book that he's carrying with him, and he's been given a call in his life. The call that he's been given in his life

is to go west with the book. As the movie goes on, you realize that the book that he's carrying is the Bible, and there's actually the villain. in the movie, who collects books, but what he's really looking for is a Bible. And you know why he wants the Bible? He wants the Bible to be able to control people with it. And isn't it fascinating that the Bible can either be used

to set you free if it's used properly, or it can be used to control you if it's used improperly. Unfortunately, too many people have used it improperly, and so a lot of people don't want to know the proper use of it. But this guy really wants the Bible, and he knows that Denzel has the book. So he tracks him down and ends up stealing the book from him. Well, Denzel picks up,

and he just keeps going to the west coast. He gets out to the west, and the ending scene is this. Okay, if you don't want to hear the end of it, plug your ears. Wait, don't plug your ears. That's a great point. He gets out to the west, and while he gets to the west, you see the villain show back up with the book. And the villain opens up the book, and he realizes something fascinating about the book.

It's in Braille. He can't read it. And then Denzel makes it to the west, and she goes, what are you going to do now? You don't have the book. And he said, don't worry. And he goes to where they're compiling a library to try to rebuild society, and the thing that they really want is a copy of the King James Version of the Bible. So he goes, and he sits down with the guy

that's compiling the library, and he says, get a pen and a lot of paper. And he starts quoting the Bible to him, starting in Genesis 1-1, and quotes the entire Bible to him because he had been given a trust. He had kept the faith. In that moment, all I could think was, I've never thought my dad was that much like Denzel Washington. But in that moment, I realized he can read Braille,

he loves the Bible, and he will fight you for it, right? Never thought of my dad like that before. You're going to be honestly a little teary-eyed at the end of that one. That's what he means when he says, I've kept the faith. Listen, you have the words of eternal life. Do you know that? Do you realize that that's what this is? That these are the words of eternal life,

and are you keeping it like they're the words of eternal life? Are you vigilantly, holding on to it the way that Paul did? Paul says, I have kept the faith like a soldier who has been entrusted with the faith, and has been committed to my care, and I have held on tightly to it. That's what you have. That's what I have. That's why I get kind of passionate about it.

It's because this is life and death. This is what it looks like to really know real life, and this is what will lead me to it. John chapter 17. Lord, that they would know eternal life because eternal life is knowing. Knowing you and Jesus whom you have sent. That's eternal life. That's why this book is so important. That's why these words are so important. That's why the faith is so important.

And so Paul says, I have kept the faith. I have fought the good fight. I have finished the course. I have kept the faith. He says, but now, this is what's waiting. He says, and in the future, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness. Which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day. The crown of righteousness. Throughout scripture, there's two different Greek words

that are used for crown. One speaks of a diadem, a crown that a king would wear. The other one, which is what's used here, speaks of the laurel wreath that they would have given out in the Greek games. It was an award for both competing according to the rules and winning the victory. That's the crown that's being spoken of. That's the crown that's being spoken of.

He says, there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness. Not the righteousness that saves, but the righteous reward for the one who has kept the faith. The righteous reward for the one who has spent his life pursuing and serving their savior. He says, there's a crown of righteousness that's awaiting me. And who's gonna give it to him? God, the righteous judge, will award me.

Again, two different words used for judges in the New Testament. One speaks of a judge in a judicial sense. The ones that pass sentences based on legalities and laws. But the second is a judge in an athletic contest who doesn't handle things in a judicial way, but handles things in a rewards sort of way. That's the word for judge that's used here. He says, God, the righteous judge will give me this crown.

And a lot of people struggle with this. They're like, why are we working for crowns? Aren't we supposed to just be working for the joy of working for Jesus? Well, I mean, yeah, but if he's gonna give me a crown, I'm gonna work for that too, right? Like, that's gonna be part of my motivation is that I receive this crown. Only, you know, what's kind of fascinating

about the crowns that we receive is if we were to jump into Revelation chapter four, we see the 20 and four elders who are all before the throne, which I personally believe is the body of the church. It's a complete body. The church is there before the throne of God. What do they do with their crowns? They throw them at the feet of Jesus. Why? Because they know that he's the one

that gave them the ability to do that service. He is the one who rewarded them. Therefore, the best thing they can do, is throw it back at the feet of Jesus. So don't get too spiritual on me here, okay? Work for the crown. We are all working to achieve not a temporary prize, but an eternal one. Paul says, there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, and God, the righteous judge, will award me.

But notice what he says. And not only to me, but also to all who have loved his appearing. I love this, because it's presented to us that the ones that receive the rewards aren't just the super saints. It's not just the ones who wrote the New Testament. It's not just the ones who have performed some sort of a miracle. It's not just the ones who are the Billy Grahams

and the Chuck Smiths and the Chuck Swindolls and the Charles Stanleys of the world. They're not the only ones that are gonna receive a crown. The average everyday believer in Jesus Christ who serves God with all of their heart to the recognition of almost no one is gonna receive a crown. Amen. Because when no one else, when no one else sees, when no one else recognizes,

when no one else pays attention, Jesus does. And that's who we're ultimately working for. That's the crown that we care about. Not the one that the world gives, not the recognition that the world gives, but the recognition that the Lord gives. So if you're working in secret and nobody else sees it, I'm here to tell you right now, keep going, because Jesus does.

And he'll reward you on that day. He says that it's the same thing that will happen to us, but I want you to notice how he describes those who will receive this crown, those who have loved his appearing. Those who have loved his appearing. Those who are longing for the coming of Jesus. Those who are longing for the arrival of Jesus. Can I tell you, the older I get,

the more people that I lose, the more I just want to go see Jesus. The more I just look forward to it. You know, listen, I know what it's like to be you young folks in here, and I know what it's like to be like, but I want to get married first. Listen, marriage is great, but Jesus is going to be better, okay? I want to have kids first. Listen, I love kids, but they just cry a lot, okay?

Like, it's okay. Jesus is going to be better.

That's a joke. I really do love kids, okay? Those who have loved his appearing. And there's something amazing that happens to us when our hearts begin to love his appearing. David Guzik said this in his commentary, and I thought it was fascinating. He said, listen close, if you long for the appearing of Christ, and you live in light of that, righteousness, will be the natural consequence.

Let me read that to you one more time. If you long for the appearing of Christ, and you live in light of that, righteousness will be the natural consequence. What does that mean? Well, it's the same thing it says in 1 John 3, verses 1 and 2, when it says, Beloved, now we're the children of God, and it's not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when we see him, we will be like him, for we will see him just as he is, and he who has not been revealed has this hope, purifies himself even as he is pure.

When we know that any day Jesus could be here, there's a certain purity that comes about in our lives. Colossians puts it like this. He says, If then you have been raised with Christ, then set your affections, that's the Greek word there, set your affections on things above, not on things of this earth. Do you want to be more holy in your life? Start to set your mind on the things above.

Do you want to live a life that is a lot more like Jesus? Start setting your mind, a lot more focused on Jesus. Listen, this is where your daily time in the word is clutch in your life, because it's what keeps your heart and your mind focused on Jesus. This is where your daily prayer life is clutch in your life, because it keeps your heart and your mind focused on Jesus.

This is where personal praise and worship time is clutch in your life, because it keeps you focused, because we want to be the people that love his appearing. Brothers and sisters, Jesus is coming back. We better get excited about it. Amen? Amen. Finish. Finish the work. Because many that have gone before us have already finished theirs. Amen? Let's all stand.

And if you'd bow with me. Father, we come to you now.

And Lord, I thank you for your word. Lord, I thank you for where it challenges us. Lord, I thank you for where it heals us. I thank you for where it encourages us. And even where it convicts us. And so Lord, I want to lift up every person in this room and watching online now. And I just want to pray that your Holy Spirit would do the work in their hearts that needs to be done.

Lord, I lift up those that are fighting the good fight right now. Lord, that are in the middle of their course and they're trying to finish their work. But Lord, it's hard. Lord, it gets mundane. And Lord, sometimes they just want to quit. And Lord, I just lift those people to you and I pray that you would give them the grace to finish the work. Lord, that today would be the day

where they would say, you know what? It's too important to give up now. It's too important to quit now. I've got to finish the work. I've got to finish what you've called me to do. Lord, I want to lift up those that are sitting on the sidelines watching everybody else do the work and they're being run over by the fight. Lord, they're being destroyed by the temptation

because they won't get in and fight it. Lord, they're being destroyed by apathy because they won't get in and do it. Father, they're just being run over and it's time to stand up and fight. It's time to stand up and get in. It's time to do the work. Lord, I pray that today would be the day where that's exactly what they would do. Where they would find out what their course is

and start to run it. Where they would find out what their fight is and start to go after it. Lord, I lift up those in here this morning that have never come to know you as their Lord and Savior and they're at a place of going, man, I just need Jesus. I need a Savior in my life. I'm tired of all the garbage of the world. I'm tired of things being the way that they've always been.

I need a change in my life. Lord, I pray that today would be the day when they confess their sins to you. Lord, I pray that today would be the day that they would repent and today would be the day that they would cry out to you and ask for forgiveness and ask for brand new life in you. Lord, that today would be their day of salvation. So Lord, be with us as we go out from here.

Lord, may soul winning be in our heart. May the fight be on our mind. And may your spirit be our strength. And we just praise you, Lord, in Jesus' name. Amen. Be blessed. And all my life you have been faithful.

And all my life you have been so, so good. With every breath that I am able, I will sing of the goodness of God. I love you, Lord. I love you, Lord.

You never fails me. And all my days I've been filled in your hands. The moment that I wake up until I lay my head, I will sing of the goodness of God. And all my life you have been faithful.

And all my life you have been so, so good.

I will sing of the goodness. of your voice. You have led me through the fire of this night. You are close like no other. I've known you as a father. I've known you as a friend. And I have lived in the goodness of God. And all my life you have been faithful.

And so, so that I will sing of the goodness of God. This is running after. It's running after.

I surrender now. Your goodness is running after.

And all my life. And so, so that I will sing of your goodness. And so God.

And so God. And Father God, we want to use the breath that you give us. The life that you give us. To return praise. And sing of your goodness. And Lord, I ask a blessing on each and every one of us as we leave here today. And just go with us and continue to minister to us. We ask it in Jesus' name. Amen. You guys have a wonderful week. God bless you.