Latest / INSIGHT FOR LIVING: Biblical Wisdom For Everyday Living / The Integrity of Finishing Well Msg 1212 - Pastor Chuck Swindoll Insight for Living

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The Integrity of Finishing Well Msg 1212 - Pastor Chuck Swindoll Insight for Living · INSIGHT FOR LIVING: Biblical Wisdom For Everyday Living

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  Speaker 1: For the last several weeks, we have been giving attention
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  Speaker 1: to the series I've called Walking with Integrity.
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  Speaker 2: Through Times of Adversity.
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  Speaker 1: Last time, we talked about the integrity of pressing on.
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  Speaker 1: It's continuing on day after day, week and month after month.
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  Speaker 2: From one year to the next.
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  Speaker 1: I took the time to put together some thoughts last
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  Speaker 1: week on what's included.
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  Speaker 2: In pressing on.
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  Speaker 1: I promised I would bring it back to you this week,
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  Speaker 1: lest some of it slipped away in the time.
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  Speaker 2: That has passed.
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  Speaker 1: What's included in pressing on? I suggest at least five things. First,
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  Speaker 1: you rid your life of distractions.
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  Speaker 2: In order to press on.
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  Speaker 1: And you spend your time and energy on essentials.
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  Speaker 2: As you press on.
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  Speaker 1: And then you focus your attention on goals and priorities.
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  Speaker 2: As a part of pressing on.
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  Speaker 1: You discipline yourself to stay at it in order to
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  Speaker 1: finish well. And you set your mind to endure any test.
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  Speaker 2: And any trial.
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  Speaker 1: Those seem pretty simple to write down, but they are
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  Speaker 1: quite an assignment when you apply them to everyday life.
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  Speaker 2: As we must from one day to the next. Paul
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  Speaker 2: did that.
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  Speaker 1: No better example in the scriptures than the great apostle,
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  Speaker 1: as from the time of his conversion on the road
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  Speaker 1: to Damascus, all the way to the dungeon in Rome.
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  Speaker 1: He was pressing on. Today we're looking at the integrity
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  Speaker 1: of finishing well.
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  Speaker 2: Which again, he certainly did, as.
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  Speaker 1: A habit of his life, not just toward the end,
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  Speaker 1: but throughout his life, he worked toward the finishing point
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  Speaker 1: and doing it with gusto, with energy, with great anticipation.
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  Speaker 1: We're looking at chapter 4 of 2 Timothy, These are
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  Speaker 1: his final written words before he died, before his life
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  Speaker 1: was taken. So they become extremely important words to all
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  Speaker 1: of us. We look back on those we have lost
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  Speaker 1: and we in many ways wish we had listened more
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  Speaker 1: closely to their last words, which are often The best
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  Speaker 1: words they ever share. I think of that as we
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  Speaker 1: look at 2 Timothy 4. When you find your place,
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  Speaker 1: will you please stand as I read for you from
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  Speaker 1: the New Living Translation, verses 5 through 18. 2 Timothy
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  Speaker 1: chapter 4. But you should keep a clear mind in
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  Speaker 1: every situation. Don't be afraid of suffering for the Lord.
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  Speaker 1: Work at telling others the good news and fully carry
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  Speaker 1: out the ministry God has given you. As for me,
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  Speaker 1: my life has already been poured out as an offering
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  Speaker 1: to God. The time of my death is near. I
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  Speaker 1: fought the good fight, I finished the race, and I've
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  Speaker 1: remained faithful. And now the prize awaits me, the crown
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  Speaker 1: of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give
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  Speaker 1: me on the day of his return. And the prize
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  Speaker 1: is not just for me, but for all who eagerly
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  Speaker 1: look forward.
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  Speaker 2: To his appearing.
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  Speaker 1: Timothy, please come as soon as you can. Demas has
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  Speaker 1: deserted me because he loves the things of his life
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  Speaker 1: and has gone to Thessalonica. Crescens has gone to Galatia.
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  Speaker 2: Titus has gone to Dalmatia. Only Luke is with me.
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  Speaker 1: Bring Mark with you when you come, for he will
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  Speaker 1: be helpful to me in my ministry. I sent Tychicus
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  Speaker 1: to Ephesus. When you come, be sure to bring the
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  Speaker 1: coat I left with Carpus at Troas. Also bring my
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  Speaker 1: books and especially the parchments. Alexander the coppersmith did me
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  Speaker 1: much harm, but the Lord will judge him for what
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  Speaker 1: he has done. Be careful of him. for he fought
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  Speaker 1: against everything we said. The first time I was brought
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  Speaker 1: before the judge, no one came with me. Everyone abandoned me.
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  Speaker 1: May it not be counted against them. But the Lord
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  Speaker 1: stood with me and gave me strength so that I
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  Speaker 1: might preach the good news in its entirety for all
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  Speaker 1: the Gentiles to hear, and he rescued me from certain
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  Speaker 1: death Yes, and the Lord will deliver me from every
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  Speaker 1: evil attack and will bring me safely into his heavenly kingdom.
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  Speaker 1: All glory to God forever and ever.
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  Speaker 2: Amen.
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  Speaker 1: Bow with me, please, as we turn to God in prayer.
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  Speaker 1: We turn to you, our Father, confident that In you
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  Speaker 1: we have hope, always hope. Because of you we have
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  Speaker 1: been delivered, directed, sometimes rescued, often comforted in the passing
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  Speaker 1: of the months of this year. As we approach the
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  Speaker 1: end of it, we pray that this approach will be
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  Speaker 1: filled with joy, music, great reminders of your son's arrival
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  Speaker 1: among us. How grateful we are that he came. And
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  Speaker 1: how mindful we are that the same attitude that was
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  Speaker 1: in him you have told should be in us as well.
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  Speaker 1: Thank you for his humility in leaving the magnificence of
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  Speaker 1: heaven and coming to such a place as this earth to.
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  Speaker 2: Become one of us. Thank you that he lived among us.
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  Speaker 1: And was never once contaminated with sin. Thank you for
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  Speaker 1: the strength of his life and for that strength as
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  Speaker 1: it is transferred to us that we might live in
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  Speaker 1: many ways as he lived his life. We give you
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  Speaker 1: thanks for the passing of a wonderful holiday, the joy
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  Speaker 1: of family and friends, the love of life.
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  Speaker 2: As we find it in one another. Thank you, Father.
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  Speaker 1: We're grateful for those who, to this day.
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  Speaker 2: Bring us such joy.
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  Speaker 1: And though we're separated from many of our friends, thank
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  Speaker 1: you for the memory of their lives and the joy
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  Speaker 1: of our times with them in days past. This Thanksgiving,
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  Speaker 1: we've been reminded of that over and over. We confess
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  Speaker 1: our hearts are heavy for those who are wayward, those
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  Speaker 1: who have left the path of righteousness and turned to
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  Speaker 1: their own way.
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  Speaker 2: Bring them back, Father.
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  Speaker 1: Give us the the faith of the prodigal's father, as
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  Speaker 1: he every day waited for the return of his dear son.
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  Speaker 1: We trust you, Lord, as we move into this season,
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  Speaker 1: to speak to us in fresh ways as we celebrate.
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  Speaker 2: This time of year.
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  Speaker 1: Love has come down and surrounded us and invaded us
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  Speaker 1: and changed us. Give us hearts that reach out to
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  Speaker 1: those who've never trusted in your son. And now, Lord,
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  Speaker 1: we will turn to a very moving section of scripture today.
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  Speaker 1: May we hear it well. May we heed the words
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  Speaker 1: that are given to us. Thank you for preserving them
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  Speaker 1: from the pen of a faithful apostle who served you
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  Speaker 1: to the end. We ask these things in the name
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  Speaker 1: of Christ, our Savior and Lord. Everyone said amen.
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  Speaker 2: Please be seated.
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  Speaker 1: The final words of Paul to Timothy should be read
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  Speaker 1: on our knees. In fact, we should read his touching
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  Speaker 1: words slowly and loud, and I would add often. Remembering
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  Speaker 1: these are his final words, which should be treated as
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  Speaker 1: sacred words.
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  Speaker 2: For they are truly that. It also helps to remember
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  Speaker 2: where they were written.
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  Speaker 3: He was in a cold, dark, stone dungeon, damp and depressing.
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  Speaker 2: The only light into that dungeon came from a hole
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  Speaker 2: above him. covered with a rusty grate.
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  Speaker 1: People walked by not even thinking there was anything below them.
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  Speaker 1: In this cramped, dingy, filthy area where rats ran free
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  Speaker 1: and fed and bred in a place like this dark cave,
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  Speaker 1: Paul lived his last few hours and days. Seems amazing,
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  Speaker 1: doesn't it? A life lived so well. A life that
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  Speaker 1: finished so strong would be in this hole in the ground.
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  Speaker 1: Known today as the Mamertine Dungeon. Those who travel to
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  Speaker 1: Rome often are not even aware of this place. Most
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  Speaker 1: guides don't take tourists there. Some don't even know of it.
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  Speaker 1: When you visit there, you walk down a narrow, tightly curved,
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  Speaker 1: spiral staircase to the base. The place is black with age,
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  Speaker 1: and it still stinks. There must have been for Paul
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  Speaker 1: an open bucket where he would urinate and defecate.
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  Speaker 2: The stench must have been terrible.
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  Speaker 1: How long he stayed there we're not told, but the
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  Speaker 1: inevitable would soon be heard, the dull pounding of the
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  Speaker 1: boots of Roman soldiers forming the execution squad that would
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  Speaker 1: take him to the place where his head would be
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  Speaker 1: severed from his shoulders.
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  Speaker 2: One in the squad would be carrying the axe. But
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  Speaker 2: none of this depressed Paul, interestingly. None of it caused
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  Speaker 2: him fear.
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  Speaker 1: You read nothing of complaining or blaming or bitterness or
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  Speaker 1: lack of forgiveness.
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  Speaker 2: As you read through.
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  Speaker 1: These final words. You read of his life sort of
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  Speaker 1: passing in review. Pastor Kent Hughes does a good job
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  Speaker 1: of summarizing it all with these words. It was there
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  Speaker 1: he surveys his life, his conversion, and then the kaleidoscope
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  Speaker 1: of sermons he preached, shipwrecks, confrontations, deliverances, the stoning, the beatings,
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  Speaker 1: and the victories.
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  Speaker 2: His conscience is absolutely clear.
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  Speaker 1: There is no guilt, no weight of unresolved sins, nothing
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  Speaker 1: to confess. He has been true to the gospel and
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  Speaker 1: his calling. He was not sinless, but he was blameless.
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  Speaker 1: And he was faithful. Paul wrote as he waited for
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  Speaker 1: the arrival of the squad. And we're so grateful that
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  Speaker 1: he did write. For in these few words, only four chapters,
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  Speaker 1: in our English Bible, only 83 verses, he captures the
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  Speaker 1: essence of what is on a man's heart at the
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  Speaker 1: end of his days, having lived the life he lived.
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  Speaker 1: The letter begins with a tender expression to my dear son, Timothy.
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  Speaker 1: Perhaps he thought of him as the only son he
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  Speaker 1: would ever have. In those years they had been together,
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  Speaker 1: and the places they had gone, the things they had
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  Speaker 1: seen and endured together. He saved his best words for
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  Speaker 1: his final hours. He would press on all the way
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  Speaker 1: to his death. Of special interest in this letter is
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  Speaker 1: the final chapter.
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  Speaker 2: I believe it is a.
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  Speaker 1: Becoming my favorite chapter in all the scriptures. It's a
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  Speaker 1: dripping with emotions, of course.
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  Speaker 2: He's at the end. Looking back, don't you wish you.
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  Speaker 1: Had had a pen and paper in hand as you
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  Speaker 1: stood alongside the one you loved and lost?
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  Speaker 2: To write down what they said. How you felt.
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  Speaker 1: The emotions of the moment. Paul is finishing well. And
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  Speaker 1: he leaves these words. For Timothy to ponder. He would
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  Speaker 1: soon press this little bit of parchment. Into Luke's hands.
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  Speaker 1: And to see that this gets to. to Ephesus so
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  Speaker 1: Timothy can read it. I've often pondered what Timothy must
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  Speaker 1: have done when Luke handed him.
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  Speaker 2: This little scroll.
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  Speaker 1: I think he must have burst into tears when he
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  Speaker 1: saw my dear son. knowing they came from the one
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  Speaker 1: who had meant so much to him during his life.
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  Speaker 1: Everything starts in this fourth chapter with a solemn charge.
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  Speaker 2: Paul has lost nothing of his passion.
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  Speaker 1: I solemnly charge you, I urge you in the presence
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  Speaker 1: of God and Christ Jesus, who will someday judge the
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  Speaker 1: living and the dead when he appears to set up
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  Speaker 1: his kingdom. So he's charging younger Timothy to step into
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  Speaker 1: the ranks without hesitation, without reluctance. I charge you in
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  Speaker 1: the name of the living God to move into your ministry.
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  Speaker 1: I call this these first five verses, the minister's job profile.
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  Speaker 1: It doesn't get better than these words. The solemn charge
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  Speaker 1: is followed by a command. And in the command, there
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  Speaker 1: are several parts that go with the command, but the
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  Speaker 1: command is familiar to us. To all of us. Preach
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  Speaker 1: the word, Timothy.
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  Speaker 2: Preach it. Don't hold back. Stand strong in it. Preach
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  Speaker 2: the word.
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  Speaker 1: Be prepared whether the time is favorable or not. Patiently correct, rebuke,
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  Speaker 1: and encourage the people with good teaching.
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  Speaker 2: I love that. I often think of that as.
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  Speaker 1: Sunday mornings arrive, and I think of my responsibility, this
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  Speaker 1: is for all who handle the scriptures. This isn't just
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  Speaker 1: for Timothy. It's been applicable down through the centuries. How
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  Speaker 1: much strength has been gleaned by those of us who
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  Speaker 1: step into a pulpit and hold forth or stand before
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  Speaker 1: a body of people in whatever capacity, preach the word.
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  Speaker 2: Declare the truth of God.
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  Speaker 1: Don't fall back on your opinions or your ideas or
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  Speaker 1: your feelings. No one ever said it better than Walt
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  Speaker 1: Kaiser in his book, Revive Us Again. Listen to his
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  Speaker 1: penetrating expressions. He writes, too often the Bible is little
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  Speaker 1: more than a book of epigrammatic sayings. or a springboard
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  Speaker 1: that gives us a rallying point around.
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  Speaker 2: Which to base our editorials.
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  Speaker 1: But where do we get the audacious idea that God.
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  Speaker 2: Would bless our opinions and judgments?
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  Speaker 1: Who wants to hear another point of view as an
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  Speaker 1: excuse for a Bible study? Isn't that a great question?
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  Speaker 1: Who said God would bless our stories? Our ramblings on
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  Speaker 1: the general area announced by the text. Surely this is
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  Speaker 1: a major reason why the famine of the word continues
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  Speaker 1: in massive proportions in most places in North America. Surely
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  Speaker 1: this is why the hunger for the teaching and proclamation
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  Speaker 1: of God's word continues.
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  Speaker 2: To grow year after year after year.
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  Speaker 1: Men and women cannot live by ideas alone. no matter
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  Speaker 1: how eloquently they are stated, but solely by a patient
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  Speaker 1: reading and explanation of all scripture, line after line, paragraph
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  Speaker 1: after paragraph, chapter after chapter, book after book. Where are
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  Speaker 1: such interpreters to be found, and where are they? Those
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  Speaker 1: are timeless words.
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  Speaker 2: From Dr. Kaiser.
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  Speaker 1: After Paul's powerful and challenging charge, he moves into a
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  Speaker 1: very honest appraisal of his time, and if you will,
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  Speaker 1: Our time. He says in verse 3, this is the
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  Speaker 1: reason you must do what I've commanded. A time is coming.
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  Speaker 1: We could say today the time has come. When people
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  Speaker 1: will no longer listen to sound and wholesome teaching, they will.
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  Speaker 1: They will follow after their own desires and they will
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  Speaker 1: look for teachers who will tell them whatever their itching
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  Speaker 1: ears want to hear. They will reject the truth and
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  Speaker 1: chase after myths. Is that true or what?
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  Speaker 2: Tell me what I want to hear. Don't tell me
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  Speaker 2: what I need to hear. Dumb it down. Let's have
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  Speaker 2: a little fun here.
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  Speaker 1: Paul writes to Timothy in all seriousness, this charge that
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  Speaker 1: is timeless.
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  Speaker 2: As it is true.
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  Speaker 1: Wherever you live, wherever you move, Whatever may be your circumstance,
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  Speaker 1: look for places where you can find the word of
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  Speaker 1: God taught faithfully. That's the place to link up to.
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  Speaker 1: Don't just go with your denomination or go with tradition
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  Speaker 1: or go because your family's.
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  Speaker 2: Been going there all their lives. Seek the truth. Seek
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  Speaker 2: one who is the guts and the temerity to deliver it.
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  Speaker 2: and to deliver it Sunday after Sunday.
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  Speaker 1: Because apart from it, you will be embracing nonsense.
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  Speaker 2: And myths.
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  Speaker 1: You will only hear silly little stories and funny little skits.
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  Speaker 1: You need the truth, and so do I. We grow
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  Speaker 1: from the truth. It's like verbal and written nourishment to
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  Speaker 1: our souls. It is what holds you together when the
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  Speaker 1: bottom drops out of your life. It is what you
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  Speaker 1: fall back on when the one you love so dearly dies.
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  Speaker 1: It is what you need when you're alone and your
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  Speaker 1: imagination plays tricks on you or when you're tempted and
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  Speaker 1: no one is around to know if.
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  Speaker 2: You may fall. The truth will hold you close.
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  Speaker 1: No wonder he said to young Timothy, preach it, herald it,
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  Speaker 1: make it known. Don't stop when I leave this earth.
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  Speaker 1: Timothy must have felt a little chill up his back,
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  Speaker 1: realizing that the torch was now being passed to him.
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  Speaker 1: He says to Timothy directly in verse 5, you should
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  Speaker 1: keep a clear mind in every situation.
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  Speaker 2: Don't be afraid of suffering for the Lord.
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  Speaker 1: That's part of it. The suffering only means you're on
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  Speaker 1: the right track. Don't hold back from telling others the
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  Speaker 1: good news and fulfill your ministry in every way. Carry
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  Speaker 1: that gospel to the lost. Teach the truth to the saved.
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  Speaker 1: Never apologize for either. And suddenly, it becomes personal. When
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  Speaker 1: you're at the very end Your thoughts turn to life
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  Speaker 1: as it really has been.
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  Speaker 2: As it does for Paul. Listen. As it passes in review.
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  Speaker 2: As for me. Verse 6. As for me. My life
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  Speaker 2: has already been poured out as an offering to God.
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  Speaker 2: The time of my death. It's any moment. It's near.
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  Speaker 2: And those soldiers will come. It was in 1844 that
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  Speaker 2: James Russell Lowell wrote words.
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  Speaker 1: We still quote. Truth forever on the scaffold, wrong forever
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  Speaker 1: on the throne. But that scaffold sways the future. And
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  Speaker 1: in the dim unknown stands God within the shadow, keeping
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  Speaker 1: watch above his own.
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  Speaker 2: Wicked Nero was on the throne. Or was he?
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  Speaker 1: God is enthroned. God is in charge. God is sovereign.
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  Speaker 1: And the apostle says, Acknowledges that his days are now
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  Speaker 1: numbered down to hours. And so he looks back and says,
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  Speaker 1: the Greek reads, the good struggle I've struggled.
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  Speaker 2: The race I have run.
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  Speaker 1: The faith I have kept. This isn't pride on parade.
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  Speaker 1: This is a fact on record. He's simply declaring his
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  Speaker 1: life in a few words. You ran part of that
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  Speaker 1: race with me, Timothy.
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  Speaker 2: Remember it. Remember how we endured. Stay at it.
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  Speaker 1: And this faith that we believe in, Stand on it.
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  Speaker 1: This is an honest appraisal of life. The struggle, it'll
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  Speaker 1: be there and it'll stay there. Only means you're on
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  Speaker 1: the right track. And with that, interestingly, he begins a
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  Speaker 1: remarkable thing. Remember, remember where he is. He's in this dungeon.
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  Speaker 1: He has his memory, and it is as sharp as
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  Speaker 1: it can be. Cognitively, he is acute. And I've taken
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  Speaker 1: the time, I've numbered them carefully. 16 friends are named,
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  Speaker 1: along with several of them telling where they are at
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  Speaker 1: the time.
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  Speaker 2: In a dungeon, only his memory remains. and he's able
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  Speaker 2: to name.
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  Speaker 1: One after another after another after another and tell where
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  Speaker 1: they are, what they're doing, or where they left him
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  Speaker 1: or where he left them. Look for yourself. He says,
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  Speaker 1: Demas has deserted me, verse 10, because he loves the
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  Speaker 1: things of this world and has gone to Thessalonica. Crescens
• 31:25
  Speaker 1: has gone to Galatia. Titus has gone to Dalmatia. Only
• 31:33
  Speaker 1: Luke is with me. I take it that Luke was
• 31:36
  Speaker 1: able to come into the dungeon when the medical situation
• 31:40
  Speaker 1: was at.
• 31:42
  Speaker 2: Such a point that he needed a physician.
• 31:45
  Speaker 1: I doubt that Luke stayed right there as a constant companion.
• 31:49
  Speaker 1: I doubt the Romans would allow that. This is punishment.
• 31:55
  Speaker 1: unfair to the extreme.
• 31:58
  Speaker 2: Only Luke is.
• 31:58
  Speaker 1: With me, and he says back to Timothy, bring Mark
• 32:03
  Speaker 1: with you when you come, for he will be helpful
• 32:06
  Speaker 1: for my ministry.
• 32:07
  Speaker 2: This is John Mark who wrote the gospel by Mark.
• 32:11
  Speaker 1: This is the one who had deserted them earlier on
• 32:15
  Speaker 1: the journey, but he says now all is forgiven.
• 32:19
  Speaker 2: Bring Mark. Bring him with you when you come.
• 32:23
  Speaker 1: Oh, by the way, In case you wonder if you
• 32:25
  Speaker 1: really want to see Timothy soon, look at verse 21.
• 32:30
  Speaker 1: Come before winter. Can you feel the emotion in that?
• 32:35
  Speaker 1: Come before the leaves fall. Come before the snow flurries
• 32:39
  Speaker 1: blow across the street. Come before this tomb-like dungeon becomes.
• 32:48
  Speaker 2: Like an icebox. Do your best to get here before winter, Timothy.
• 32:59
  Speaker 1: Going on with the names. He said, and by the way,
• 33:01
  Speaker 1: when you come, oh, I missed one. I sent Tychicus
• 33:07
  Speaker 1: to Ephesus. And when you come, be sure to bring
• 33:11
  Speaker 1: the cloak I left with Carpus, there's another name, at Troas.
• 33:16
  Speaker 1: That's where he was arrested and chained and brought back
• 33:19
  Speaker 1: to Rome for the final.
• 33:24
  Speaker 2: Time. So he had left his cloak in a hurry.
• 33:28
  Speaker 1: Probably it was good weather there, or maybe he didn't
• 33:31
  Speaker 1: have a chance to grab it on his way out.
• 33:35
  Speaker 2: Now he needs it.
• 33:38
  Speaker 1: And he said, bring my scrolls. He reads books in
• 33:43
  Speaker 1: our Bible, but it really is scrolls, and especially the parchments.
• 33:49
  Speaker 1: That would be the fragments of scripture that he carried.
• 33:51
  Speaker 1: Isn't that beautiful?
• 33:53
  Speaker 2: Right up to the end, the man is studying. Love it. Oh,
• 33:59
  Speaker 2: I've got to have my books.
• 34:01
  Speaker 1: Maybe when the light is just right, I'll be able
• 34:04
  Speaker 1: to do a little extra research. And I miss the scriptures.
• 34:12
  Speaker 1: When you're dying, you long for the scriptures. You long
• 34:18
  Speaker 1: for verses that have comforted you through life. Bring the scriptures, Timothy.
• 34:29
  Speaker 1: And then, if you will, drop over to verse 19.
• 34:34
  Speaker 2: Give my greetings to.
• 34:35
  Speaker 1: Priscilla, her husband Aquila, those living in the household of Onesiphorus.
• 34:45
  Speaker 1: What a great man he was. Erastus stayed at Corinth.
• 34:49
  Speaker 1: I left Trophimus sick at Miletus. Do your best to
• 34:54
  Speaker 1: get here Before winter. Publius sends you greetings. And so
• 35:00
  Speaker 1: do Pudens. And Linus and Claudia. These are people we
• 35:03
  Speaker 1: don't know anything more about. Paul's got them on his mind.
• 35:07
  Speaker 1: Right to the end. Right to the end.
• 35:11
  Speaker 2: Acute. Sharp. With it.
• 35:16
  Speaker 1: And how much his friends meant. And he wanted Timothy
• 35:20
  Speaker 1: to remember. Oh speaking of remembering.
• 35:23
  Speaker 2: I deliberately.
• 35:25
  Speaker 1: Walked past a man he especially wanted Timothy to remember.
• 35:31
  Speaker 1: Verse 14. There's Alexander the coppersmith. He did me much evil,
• 35:40
  Speaker 1: the Greek reads. He did me much evil. Don't you
• 35:45
  Speaker 1: wonder what that included? I've had evil done against me
• 35:52
  Speaker 1: on several occasions. sometimes threatening evils. I don't know what
• 35:58
  Speaker 1: happened in the case of Alexander, but he said the
• 36:02
  Speaker 1: Lord will judge him for what he has done.
• 36:04
  Speaker 2: There's no vengeance. That's the Lord's work. He's finishing well,
• 36:09
  Speaker 2: isn't he? But he also adds this, Timothy, Timothy, be
• 36:16
  Speaker 2: careful of him.
• 36:17
  Speaker 1: He fought against everything we said. The Greek says every
• 36:22
  Speaker 1: word He fought against it. There are some people like that.
• 36:29
  Speaker 1: There are some people just, they just have the gift
• 36:32
  Speaker 1: of criticism. There is no such gift, but they think
• 36:35
  Speaker 1: they have it. And so they exercise it regularly. And
• 36:39
  Speaker 1: if there's something they can criticize, they'll criticize it. Something
• 36:43
  Speaker 1: they don't like, they'll talk about what they don't like.
• 36:47
  Speaker 1: I often wonder, why don't they just leave? But the
• 36:50
  Speaker 1: church is a great feeding ground for a place like that.
• 36:54
  Speaker 1: My mentor, Howie Hendricks, used to say, where there's light,
• 36:57
  Speaker 1: there's bugs.
• 36:58
  Speaker 2: So remember that. Alexander was a bug.
• 37:02
  Speaker 1: He was, in fact, a boar in God's vineyard. By
• 37:06
  Speaker 1: the way, remember this. When a man of God dies
• 37:10
  Speaker 1: and relocates, his enemies reload. They're still around. They're still
• 37:18
  Speaker 1: doing evil. They're still doing mischief. Guard against him, he says.
• 37:32
  Speaker 1: Guard against Alexander. He'll take you on next. It's part
• 37:38
  Speaker 1: of finishing well is to pass along warnings. He wants
• 37:42
  Speaker 1: Timothy to watch out for him when he starts coming
• 37:51
  Speaker 1: to the church at Ephesus. Be careful, Timothy. In former churches,
• 37:59
  Speaker 1: when I have begun my ministry there, good friends warned
• 38:04
  Speaker 1: me of certain individuals to watch out for. One or
• 38:08
  Speaker 1: two here, one there, one or two here.
• 38:11
  Speaker 2: And you know what? Invariably, they were right. Invariably. Carnal
• 38:21
  Speaker 2: people remain carnal people.
• 38:23
  Speaker 1: Unless God does a magnificent work in their lives. Watch
• 38:29
  Speaker 1: out for them. Guard against them. They hurt the ministry.
• 38:38
  Speaker 1: Who knows but about this time he hears the boots
• 38:41
  Speaker 1: above him. And his time has come. Before he knew it,
• 38:53
  Speaker 1: he was surrounded by Roman soldiers. one with an axe.
• 39:02
  Speaker 1: You know, wanting to end this well, because it is
• 39:11
  Speaker 1: at the end of this series and because it is
• 39:14
  Speaker 1: such a moving scene at the end, for this is
• 39:18
  Speaker 1: the final period in Paul's writing, I wondered, how do
• 39:24
  Speaker 1: I do this best?
• 39:26
  Speaker 2: Well, I have a confession to make.
• 39:29
  Speaker 1: I uh, realized that it would take time to really
• 39:34
  Speaker 1: develop this. And I remembered something I had written in
• 39:39
  Speaker 1: my book on Paul back in 2002. And I decided
• 39:43
  Speaker 1: I will do what I've not ever done before.
• 39:46
  Speaker 2: I will read from something I've written.
• 39:49
  Speaker 1: Now you've reached the bottom of the barrel when you
• 39:51
  Speaker 1: start quoting your own stuff. But knowing the work I'd
• 39:55
  Speaker 1: put into the book and the research, I felt like
• 40:00
  Speaker 1: that would say it best, rather than my rambling and
• 40:04
  Speaker 1: trying to say it as best I could today.
• 40:10
  Speaker 2: Here's my best effort.
• 40:13
  Speaker 1: The manacled prisoner walking stiffly, ragged and filthy, from the
• 40:20
  Speaker 1: dungeon was not ashamed or degraded. The squad of grim-faced
• 40:27
  Speaker 1: soldiers never noticed as they frowned and stared ahead, but
• 40:33
  Speaker 1: there was a faint smile on their prisoner's face. Paul
• 40:39
  Speaker 1: was en route to a triumph, the crowning day of
• 40:43
  Speaker 1: his reward. For to him to live was Christ, and
• 40:51
  Speaker 1: to die was gain. No ax across the back of
• 40:57
  Speaker 1: his neck would rob him of his triumphant destiny.
• 41:02
  Speaker 2: It would, in fact, initiate it.
• 41:07
  Speaker 1: They marched Paul to the third milestone on the Ostian
• 41:11
  Speaker 1: Way outside Rome to a little pine wood in a glade,
• 41:17
  Speaker 1: a glade of the tombs, known now as Trefontaine. At
• 41:26
  Speaker 1: that place today, there stands an abbey in his honor.
• 41:33
  Speaker 1: He is believed to have been put overnight in a
• 41:36
  Speaker 1: tiny cell near the place of his execution. At first light,
• 41:43
  Speaker 1: the next dawn, The soldiers took Paul to a stump-like pillar.
• 41:56
  Speaker 1: The executioners stood ready, stark naked, axe in hand. The
• 42:05
  Speaker 1: men stripped Paul, tied him, kneeling upright, to the low pillar,
• 42:13
  Speaker 1: which exposed his back and his neck. The lictors beat
• 42:20
  Speaker 1: him with rods for the last time. He groaned and
• 42:25
  Speaker 1: bled from his nose and mouth. And then, without a
• 42:32
  Speaker 1: hint of hesitation, the executioner frowned as he swung the
• 42:38
  Speaker 1: blade that gleamed in the morning sun high above his head,
• 42:43
  Speaker 1: then brought it down swiftly, hitting its mark with a
• 42:48
  Speaker 1: dull thud. and the head of Paul rolled down into
• 42:55
  Speaker 1: the dust. In that brutal moment, silently and invisibly, the
• 43:08
  Speaker 1: soul of the great apostle was immediately set free. His
• 43:16
  Speaker 1: spirit soared into the heavens, absent from the body, he
• 43:25
  Speaker 1: was at last.
• 43:28
  Speaker 2: At home with the Lord.
• 43:35
  Speaker 1: Wherever we may be and however we may die, whenever
• 43:40
  Speaker 1: it occurs, whatever the circumstances, we who know Christ can
• 43:50
  Speaker 1: claim that hope Hear it again. At death, there's a separation.
• 43:59
  Speaker 1: The body remains. The spirit soars instantly to be with
• 44:04
  Speaker 1: the Lord, absent from the body, face to face with
• 44:08
  Speaker 1: the Lord.
• 44:09
  Speaker 2: And there we.
• 44:14
  Speaker 1: Are with those we have lost but now found, spending
• 44:19
  Speaker 1: our eternity forever with one another.
• 44:23
  Speaker 2: In our heavenly home.
• 44:29
  Speaker 1: But you who are without Christ, there are not words
• 44:36
  Speaker 1: to describe the dread of what you face.
• 44:42
  Speaker 2: No exaggeration here.
• 44:47
  Speaker 1: The truth is, you will know nothing of a heavenly
• 44:50
  Speaker 1: home There is no purgatory. There will be no change
• 44:56
  Speaker 1: after your death. If you die without Christ, into a
• 45:03
  Speaker 1: Christless eternity you will go. Judgment awakes you, and ultimately
• 45:11
  Speaker 1: the eternal flames.
• 45:14
  Speaker 2: Will surround you forever. without comfort, without hope of ever
• 45:25
  Speaker 2: being removed.
• 45:28
  Speaker 1: Is it any wonder that we who preach inevitably plead
• 45:33
  Speaker 1: with you without Christ to turn to him?
• 45:38
  Speaker 2: You have a gift offered you that will.
• 45:40
  Speaker 1: Change your entire way of life as well as your destiny.
• 45:51
  Speaker 1: For you to wait is a risk not worth taking.
• 45:55
  Speaker 1: It can be well with your soul in this life
• 45:59
  Speaker 1: as it was with Paul. To the very end, you
• 46:05
  Speaker 1: can know the joy of no complaints, no bitterness, no blame, no.
• 46:12
  Speaker 2: Fear for you are soon to be with the Lord.
• 46:17
  Speaker 1: Amen. But you today must make your decision. You do
• 46:27
  Speaker 1: not know what tomorrow will hold. So for you especially,
• 46:34
  Speaker 1: I ask that we bow our heads together. Please sit quietly.
• 46:41
  Speaker 1: Please pray. If you are hearing me today and you
• 46:47
  Speaker 1: are without Christ, You have no hope apart from him
• 46:53
  Speaker 1: beyond the grave.
• 46:57
  Speaker 2: There will be no relief.
• 47:02
  Speaker 1: It will not be well with your soul. Those flashes
• 47:08
  Speaker 1: of insight given in the scriptures reveal torment, misery, pain, heartache, loneliness, lostness,
• 47:26
  Speaker 1: And so I plead with you today to turn to Christ.
• 47:29
  Speaker 1: Take the gift. He who has the Son has the life.
• 47:36
  Speaker 1: He who does not have the Son does not have
• 47:39
  Speaker 1: the life, but the wrath of God abides on him.
• 47:48
  Speaker 1: If we can help you make this decision, that is
• 47:50
  Speaker 1: why we exist. Connect with us.
• 47:56
  Speaker 2: We will show you the way. The path is clear.
• 47:59
  Speaker 1: And simple, but it isn't automatic.
• 48:06
  Speaker 2: You must make the decision.
• 48:11
  Speaker 1: Dear Father, as we close on this emotional note, I
• 48:15
  Speaker 1: pray there will be no relief, no rest, not even
• 48:19
  Speaker 1: sleep through the night for those without Christ, that they
• 48:25
  Speaker 1: might turn to you and trust in your son, Jesus,
• 48:30
  Speaker 1: that it might be for them well with their souls.
• 48:36
  Speaker 1: Thank you for your help in delivering this message. May
• 48:41
  Speaker 1: it be drilled into our minds and never forgotten that
• 48:46
  Speaker 1: we too or to fight the good fight and finish
• 48:51
  Speaker 1: the race and keep the faith.
• 48:56
  Speaker 2: To the last day of our lives.
• 49:01
  Speaker 1: In the name of Jesus, I pray. I'd like for
• 49:07
  Speaker 1: you to sit quietly for a few moments and listen.
• 49:13
  Speaker 1: I've asked our organist John Dill to play a piece
• 49:18
  Speaker 1: That I want you to hear. and then we'll leave together.
• 50:31
  Speaker 2: With my soul He is well He is well He
• 50:32
  Speaker 2: is well.
• 51:03
  Speaker 4: The preceding message, The Integrity of Finishing Well, was copyrighted
• 51:08
  Speaker 4: in 2021 and 2022, and the sound recording was copyrighted
• 51:14
  Speaker 4: in 2022 by Charles R. Swindoll, Inc. All rights are
• 51:18
  Speaker 4: reserved worldwide. Duplication of copyrighted material for commercial use is
• 51:23
  Speaker 4: strictly prohibited.