God Rewards His Children

Precious Rewards

2 Timothy 4

As we close out the 2 Books of Timothy, next week will begin with a few lessons in the Book of Titus.

We should not forget this second book written in the name of Timothy were the last written words of the Apostle Paul.

It was written from Rome as Paul was arrested the second time by Nero, for preaching the "Gospel" of Jesus Christ.

This time Paul was sentenced to death by beheading, and again Paul was content that his life would soon be coming to an end and he would be going home to be with the Lord!

The truth is, we live in a world that is bombarded with messages of hope, yet all we can see is a world that is becoming more and more corrupt because our world offers no hope for true life.

My hope is that we could see one more worldwide revival and thousands or even billions would come to know the Lord Jesus Christ on a personal level that begins with love and remains as love because we have such a great love letter from our Savior!

The message of the Word of God is so simple that many do not understand the simplicity of salvation, but one thing must happen. The Holy Spirit must convict us of our sin!

The only lasting hope for all mankind is a personal relationship with Jehovah God, the Lord Jesus Christ, the Great "I AM" of the Scriptures.

The Word of God is so important that the Lord called special men and then equipped them to preach the "Gospel Message" of the Lord Jesus Christ!

*****2Ti 4:1 I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead "at his appearing" and "his kingdom";

2Ti 4:2 Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.

What is the work of that Preacher who is called of God? Number one He is to preach.

I think it would be good to mention that in all the pastoral epistles we find nowhere in the Scriptures where any female is authorized to preach the Word of God and the Word of God gives no indication that any woman should become the Pastor of any of the sheep of God who is the Good Shepherd of all His sheep!

In fact, it takes only one Scripture to prove my point!

1Ti 3:2 A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach;

What we know is that Timothy was a single man called to be Pastor in the Church at Ephesus.

For a married man called of God, he must meet the qualifications set down in what we call the pastoral Epistles, the 2 Books of Timothy and Titus, after first becoming a "Born Again" child of God.

In this one passage we see that the husband must be blameless and have only one wife and could even mean one wife at a time, but this one passage eliminates the woman who could never be the husband of one wife. If it turned out to be a couple in the LBGT movement then it cannot be any part of the church!

So, God commands that those men He has personally chosen, are to preach the Word of God.

How many false men behind the pulpits of America and even this world have rejected the Word of God and preached every version but the truth of God?

A Preacher, whether you say Pastor, Bishop, or any other name is to Preach the Word of God and this means every passage in the Bible, all 31,173 verses in the context that they were written, rightly divided.

2Ti 3:16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:

2Ti 3:17 That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.

We saw this Scripture last week and it has not changed, nor will it ever change!

It is a fact that we will be judged for every evil thing we have done since coming to know Savior but without a doubt that Pastor will be judged for every message he has preached all the time he has been called to be a pastor.

God is watching us all but there is much more written about God watching those who deal falsely with the truth of the Word of God!

The most important reason to preach the pure truth of God is the fact that we will all be judged by the same Word of God that is be preached.

I personally trust the King James Version Bible because it is an English translation from the original Hebrew and Greek manuscripts. I also realize that King James himself was an evil man who I never hear of changing. The King James Bible has nothing to do with King James except to say that he may have paid to have this work done and even then, not having the right intentions. As God does, He makes good things come from bad intentions!

I would stay away from any other English translation and those who use any of the other languages should gauge their own translation by those same Greek and Hebrew manuscripts.

Every work of the Christian must be good enough, not to satisfy men, but to satisfy Jesus Christ (Christlike)!

We must clearly understand that if the Lord gave such a command to "Preach" then He is certainly not trying to hide anything from us and He will greatly judge all those who do try to hide the truth of God from us.

In fact, the truth of God simply cannot be hidden from those who are seeking the truth but easily hidden from those who will sit and listen to anything from every "so-called" man of God!

No one is perfect and myself far from that, but we are all to search the Scriptures, so we will know the truth when we hear it and it is not that hard because God will never hide the truth from us!

The man has never lived who can outsmart God!

Psa_2:4 He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision.

Psa_59:8 But thou, O LORD, shalt laugh at them; thou shalt have all the heathen in derision.

The one thing that stands out in this passage is the fact that The Lord says to preach the Word of God and does not mean to preach any other matter to those who are listening! This is a sharp command to preach.

This is to take the Word of God and make sense of the Word so all those listening can understand, with the vigor to make sure they hear what God has to say!

This is so the Holy Spirit can do His work of conviction!

There are many Preachers and Pastors who have no problem with the preaching of God's Word. Where many fail they do not exhort those who are hearing to take the Word of God in to their hearts and apply it to their daily life.

God has already proved that He is longsuffering and even says so and all those who receive the Word of God into their hearts can be gloriously saved but even God has a limit with His longsuffering.

Isa 63:10 But they rebelled, and vexed his holy Spirit: therefore he was turned to be their enemy, and he fought against them.

We already know that God does not ever changed His perfect ways and He never will!

Why are all these things so very important? Because of the time we have arrived at today in the Church Age!

*****2Ti 4:3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;

2Ti 4:4 And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.

We should clearly understand that in the day Paul wrote these words to Timothy and the Church, false doctrine was already entering the Church!

The human being is still a basically sinful creature, since the time of Adam and we will use ever method thought of to avoid hearing the truth of our sinfulness. This is the Holy Ghost's first obstacle in convicting us of our sin!

The human being will seek out words that will be suited more to their desires and their fancies!

It is just a fact and even more so, when they only receive partial truths or the Word of God is not drilled into those fancies. Most every one that hears the Word of God that is preached as commanded, will know when they hear the truth and it is then it becomes time to make a decision to accept the truth or reject the truth, but the truth is understood and not many will do so the very first time they truly understand the Word of God.

The Preacher is to also be patient! Salvation is nothing to be toyed with. It is the most important decision any of us will make and it is the right decision!

God will continue to send His Words to individuals until the Holy Spirit says that it is enough! God said my Spirit will not always strive with man!

Church history has already proven that this happened early to the Churches in Asia and Paul even commented upon this same thing.

2Ti 1:15 This thou knowest, that all they which are in Asia be turned away from me; of whom are Phygellus and Hermogenes.

These are the 7 churches in the Book of Revelation, but we must also remember that these are also the 7 Ages of the Church nearing its end.

Only one Church the Church of Philadelphia will remain completely faithful to the Lord.

All six of the other churches became apostate in one way or the other with the greatest apostacy of leaving the first love of the church or the foundation which is the Lord Jesus Christ.

I believe this is where we are at in the USA and most of the rest of the world where the church is not still on fire for God! In fact, the USA has become one of the biggest mission fields in the entire world when it was once known as a godly nation!

We must also know that if we are not on fire for the Lord Jesus Christ, then we can also be considered to be an apostate Church!

People turn away from God simply because they have rejected the truth and do not want to hear the truth, not even considering the consequences of such a rebellion against our Holy God!

The Bible is very clear! When you turn away from the foundation of the Church, the Lord Jesus Christ, then Satan will have a man or even some woman who will teach unto you vain fables to make you feel good about the false church!

They will tell you anything that sounds close to the truth without having any truth in it.

Gen 3:1 Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?

Gen 3:2 And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:

Gen 3:3 But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.

Gen 3:4 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:

Gen 3:5 For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.

Sinful man simply wants teachers who will allow them to live as they please, without hearing anything about sin or Hell, or even Heaven.

For such people these places will become places that simply do not exist!

We must pray for such people and God still loves them!

But we must not ever be fooled the only way any one can be saved is to surrender to the whole truth of God!

Gal 1:6 I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel:

Gal 1:7 Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ.

Gal 1:8 But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.

Gal 1:9 As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.

We must realize that myths and fables exist in every religion but not in Christianity!

*****2Ti 4:5 But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry.

When God gives us a ministry then we are to make full proof of that ministry God has given to us!

It is obvious that when we look around we can see many so-called men of God who just do not remain faithful to their ministry!

A true minister of God will suffer more hardships than most because they have a target on their back for those who follow Satan to fire their fiery darts.

1Co 15:57 But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

1Co 15:58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.

Not every man of God will be traveling preachers because many are chosen to Pastor a church. For any ministry the object must remain to seek to win souls in everything that is done, even in discipleship training, the object is to seek those that the Lord can save.

The Lord Jesus has passed this baton to the church!

Joh 4:34 Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work.

We should not forget the circumstances of the Apostle Paul as the Holy Spirit gave him these words.

*****2Ti 4:6 For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand.

2Ti 4:7 I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith:

2Ti 4:8 Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.

Paul knows his punishment will be death by beheading but his knowledge of going home to be with the Lord far outweighs anything this world could do to him!

The very last act we as Christians must do is give our bodies as a sacrifice back to the Lord, who will then even resurrect that body at the "rapture of thee Church". That saved soul will be in Heaven at the last breath of that body.

When we give our life to the Lord, He will still require the death of that body at a time of His choosing!

To depart from this world and to move into that place prepared for us by the Lord Jesus Christ is the greatest blessing we can receive in this world and the beginning of true life!

**Paul said death was no more than a departure from this world and finally going home!

We must remember when we are in the Army of God we must live our life as a faithful soldier. We should clearly understand, God has an all-volunteer Army and we must be committed to the fight!

This world no longer has any real importance to that soldier in God's Army!

In the end we should all be able to say we have fought a good fight. In fact, our rewards will be based on our fight in the army of God!

**Paul said he had remained in his race and he had finished his course, he had completed his race in this life!

We must discipline our lives to the commandments of God and follow the Lord as our example right up till the end!

A true runner will never stop in the middle of a race. This would include taking care of that body that we have been given and following the lead of the Lord.

**Paul had kept the faith!

We must be good stewards of the Word of God. The Lord has given us the ability for our faith to grow. When we are saved we have sworn our allegiance to the Lord Jesus Christ. Even through all the sufferings of the Apostle Paul, when he could have thrown up his hands and laid his faith aside, but he had claimed that faith and he held onto his faith all the way to Heaven's gates where he was welcomed in the arms of the Lord!

We serve a righteous God who will Himself present a "crown of righteousness" to all those who have followed in the steps of the Apostle Paul!

Think about that for a minute!

The King of all the Ages make a presentation to a dirty rotten sinner like me, and like you, a Crown of Righteousness.

It is only then that we will have been made perfect in the eyes of the Lord!

Now if you are not looking and preparing for the return of the Lord Jesus Christ then you will miss out on such a precious gift that we will all just toss back to the Savior's feet.

How can I be worthy of such a thing? Have I truly finished my course? Have I been a consistent soldier in the army of God? Have I kept the faith as did Paul? Have I been true to the Lord once He saved me? Will I even have a crown to toss to the feet of Jesus?

1Co 9:25 And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible.

Jas 1:12 Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.

1Pe 5:4 And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away.

What did the Lord advise us all to?

Rev 3:11 Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown.

This is what happens to those who fall into the trap of false preachers and false teachers!

One of the things that Paul wanted and could be fulfilled before his death was to spend just a little more time with this young man Timothy before he went home to be with the Lord.

We can learn many things in these last breathes of the Apostle Paul.

*****2Ti 4:9 Do thy diligence to come shortly unto me:

2Ti 4:10 For Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world, and is departed unto Thessalonica; Crescens to Galatia, Titus unto Dalmatia.

2Ti 4:11 Only Luke is with me. Take Mark, and bring him with thee: for he is profitable to me for the ministry.

2Ti 4:12 And Tychicus have I sent to Ephesus.

We should understand that until we get to Heaven, human companionship is a necessary thing. The most important of those would be our family and our church family who we know we will spend eternity with. Timothy was close to the heart of the Apostle Paul.

We should also understand that though the Christian life is the greatest life while we are upon this earth, but there are certainly times when every believer needs help!

No doubt Demas was believed to a part of Paul's church family but when he realized that he could die because of his beliefs it was too much for him to commit to.

Demas loved this present world more than he loved the Lord Jesus and Paul was hurt by his leaving. It is a terrible thing for someone who has been involved in the ministry of the Lord to give up on the Lord when times get hard. They too just reject the truth!

Mat 26:56 But all this was done, that the scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled. Then all the disciples forsook him, and fled.

Mat 26:57 And they that had laid hold on Jesus led him away to Caiaphas the high priest, where the scribes and the elders were assembled.

We see these things happening all over our nation today who prefer to be politically correct rather stick to the proven truth!

It should be obvious that worldliness is fatal to God's plan of salvation.

The Lord Jesus said this was a sign of the end of the Church Age!

Rev 2:1 Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write; These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks;

Rev 2:2 I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars:

Rev 2:3 And hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name's sake hast laboured, and hast not fainted.

Rev 2:4 Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love.

Timothy was the Pastor in Ephesus until He was also murdered by the government and this is no reflection on his preaching, but it is a sign of the Church Age we live in today.

For some unknown reason Titus had to return to his own ministry but we should consider that Dalmatia was also a Roman province and persecution was no doubt an issue here.

This is the only mention of Crescens in all the Scriptures, but tradition says he was one of the seventy disciples of Christ Jesus who was sent to preach and no doubt Crescens also had to return to his ministry in Galatia also a Roman province.

Luk_10:1 After these things the Lord appointed other seventy also, and sent them two and two before his face into every city and place, whither he himself would come.

Luk_10:17 And the seventy returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name.

Doctor Luke remained with Paul right up to the end. We should not doubt that Luke was certainly a highly skilled medical missionary!

We also see that Mark was near to Ephesus and Paul needed someone to take over his jail ministry and Mark was a great value to the Lord for such things.

We know from past studies that Tychicus had been sent to deliver these epistles of Paul many times which shows the importance of such men who take the Word of God to places it is not allowed.

We should also understand that the Church has no power when the world is allowed to enter into it!

We cannot be politically correct and obey the Word of God at the same time!

We next see that there are other things that Paul held dear all of his days after he met the Lord Jesus Christ on the road to Damascus!

I pray we all remember our day on the Damascus road forever more!

When we lay on death's bed we need to remember what is truly important to us.

*****2Ti 4:13 The cloke that I left at Troas with Carpus, when thou comest, bring with thee, and the books, but especially the parchments.

No doubt that this Roman prison was a cold dark place and Paul left his heavy coat in Troas. Just so we know when Timothy found Mark and then to Troas it was a 600-mile journey to Rome in a time when walking was the most used transportation.

No doubt that some books were at that available and Paul had some favorites, but these could still be scrolls containing the Word of God which is probably more accurate but at least we know that Paul enjoyed reading!

Those parchments were probably animal skins that had been prepared for writing. These things would outlast paper because they were more durable.

Paul is in prison, he cannot preach nor, can he teach but he could keep his mind active by reading and studying from some books that he had chosen. I'm sure the Scriptures were among them!

Paul's life as a Christian missionary had certainly been harsh at times!

*****2Ti 4:14 Alexander the coppersmith did me much evil: the Lord reward him according to his works:

2Ti 4:15 Of whom be thou ware also; for he hath greatly withstood our words.

Since not much is known about this Alexander, then must just accept what Paul is saying. We can also understand that Timothy all knew of this person.

It is believed that this is the same Alexander of Ephesus who was a leader in a certain union of metal workers making idols to the false goddess Diana.

Diana was a goddess in Roman mythology and the Greeks called her Artimus. In Ephesus was the Temple of Diana, once listed as one of the seven wonders of this world.

This Alexander was a Jew and the Jews had developed an extreme hatred for the Apostle Paul.

We still see that answer lies in the fact that when we accept the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior, anything we place over our Lord then becomes our god.

We should be able to see that money was the god of Alexander and not Diana nor the Lord Jesus Christ and he was truly an evil man!

There is a real possibility that this same Alexander testified against the Apostle Paul at his first answer, as he puts it!

It seems that today, even more Christians are turning against other Christians effectively killing the Holy Ghost Power in the Church.

*****2Ti 4:16 At my first answer no man stood with me, but all men forsook me: I pray God that it may not be laid to their charge.

2Ti 4:17 Notwithstanding the Lord stood with me, and strengthened me; that by me the preaching might be fully known, and that all the Gentiles might hear: and I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion.

Here again we see another instance where Paul followed in the ways of Jesus Christ as he asks God the Father to forgive all those who had forsaken him.

We can also see that Paul would stand before Nero one more time. We may all stand before our own government one day just because we know the truth and accept the truth of God. We will never stand alone for though the whole world abandoned us, the Lord Jesus Christ will never leave our side the whole time.

We should not miss a very important point here. The Lord Jesus Christ was abandoned by all those who followed Him and was delivered by God the Father, The Lord Jesus Christ will deliver all those who call upon His name.

Paul knew He was going to his death, but he wanted every Christian to realize he would be delivered out of the mouth of the lion, that "roaring lion" Satan himself because, Satan holds no power over our death, because our life lies in the hands of our Holy God!

As long as our "faith" lies in work of the Lord Jesus Christ for our salvation, our life is held securely in the hand of God!

The Lord informed Paul that because he had remained faithful to the "gospel"; and the Holy Spirit had been the mind behind all the Epistles of Paul, that every Gentile would at some time, hear and understand the lifesaving Word of God, "The Truth" of life!

Php 1:7 Even as it is meet for me to think this of you all, because I have you in my heart; inasmuch as both in my bonds, and in the defence and confirmation of the gospel, ye all are partakers of my grace.

Php 1:8 For God is my record, how greatly I long after you all in the bowels of Jesus Christ.

What is true deliverance?

*****2Ti 4:18 And the Lord shall deliver me from every evil work, and will preserve me unto his heavenly kingdom: to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

If we could all just hold to the truth of this Scripture, all our worries in this world would vanish and stay away!

We as Christians have been delivered from a Devil's Hell. It is in the past, we have already been delivered! We have been preserved to live out eternity wherever the Lord our God abides in His Heavenly Kingdom!

Heb 2:14 Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil;

Heb 2:15 And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.

At the death of our body, in one moment of time, "the twinkling of an eye", our life in this world will cease and our life will begin wherever God is at!

Some say a twinkling is 11/100's of a second. This means it will be very quick!

One moment we are a citizen of this world and the next moment we will be at our new home in Heaven!

We will never have the taste of death in our mouths!

Isa 43:2 When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee.

While we remain in this body, we should remember everyone who have made a difference in our lives!

*****2Ti 4:19 Salute Prisca and Aquila, and the household of Onesiphorus.

2Ti 4:20 Erastus abode at Corinth: but Trophimus have I left at Miletum sick.

2Ti 4:21 Do thy diligence to come before winter. Eubulus greeteth thee, and Pudens, and Linus, and Claudia, and all the brethren.

2Ti 4:22 The Lord Jesus Christ be with thy spirit. Grace be with you. Amen

We should also remember that these are the very last words of the Apostle Paul.

Paul would always send greetings from those who were with him and also to those he was writing to.

If there was ever a woman who could take on the role as Pastor, it would be Priscilla, but she remained with her husband Aquila and they both helped Paul in any way that they could.

They had been driven from Rome by the Emperor Claudius and had met Paul in Corinth and they made friends quickly because they were all tent makers.

They accompanied Paul to Ephesus, later again they went back to Rome where they allowed their house to be a church, where God's people could assemble.

Again, they were run out of Rome and it seems they settled in Ephesus.

No doubt these two Christians were a great help to Timothy. Priscilla was a great example of the godly wife and would work tirelessly in the church at Ephesus.

Onesiphorus was a Christian from Ephesus who had shown a great kindness to Paul while he was in that Roman jail. No doubt that this entire family had been a precious family to the Apostle Paul.

Erastus was also a companion of Paul at Ephesus who had been sent with Timothy to Macedonia while Paul traveled in Asia. He was a native of Corinth.

Trophimus had traveled with Paul on his 3rd missionary journey. He was with Paul in Jerusalem. He was that Gentile Paul was accused of taking into the Temple which meant the Temple was made unclean until a ceremony of cleanness could be performed.

It seems that Trophimus was too sick to travel to Rome to assist the Apostle Paul in his own last days.

It was difficult for ships to travel the Mediterranean Sea in the winter months and Paul wanted to see Timothy before this time and he certainly wanted that cloak.

Eubulus was another Christ who had helped Paul while he was in that Roman dungeon.

Pudens was a friend of Timothy's who after the death of Paul was also murdered by Nero.

Linus is said to have become the Pastor of the Church in Rome after Peter had been murdered.

It is believed that this Claudia was the wife of Pudens and both of them may have come from royal families, she being from Britain.

When Paul said all the brethren then he was referring to all those of the Church that day and today!

All brethren have the same Father, God the Father, and are brothers and sisters to the Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ and filed with God the Holy Spirit!

Without wearing the seal of God, you cannot be in this family!

Eph 1:5 Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,

Eph 1:6 To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.

Eph 1:7 In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;

Eph 1:8 Wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence;

Eph 1:9 Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself:

Paul loved all those who have accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as their personal Savior!

Amen!

Let's Pray!