Latest / The Bible Explained with Jenn Kokal / 2 Timothy 4:1-8 - Fight the Good Fight, Finish the Course, Keep the Faith

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2 Timothy 4:1-8 - Fight the Good Fight, Finish the Course, Keep the Faith · The Bible Explained with Jenn Kokal

• 0:02
  Speaker 1: Life Audio. Hi, faith listeners, Welcome to the Bible explained.
• 0:06
  Speaker 1: I'm so thankful that you're here to share a cup
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: of coffee with me as we delve into Tewod Timothy,
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  Speaker 1: chapter four, the last chapter of two Timothy. This is
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  Speaker 1: a sad chapter. We're going to get into why that
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  Speaker 1: is in just a second. So I hope you all
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  Speaker 1: have been doing very well so far this week. If
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  Speaker 1: you ever have a prayer request, don't hesitate to reach out.
• 0:31
  Speaker 1: I tell you, guys that all the time. You can
• 0:33
  Speaker 1: find my email address listed in the description of this episode,
• 0:35
  Speaker 1: so send me any prayer quests that you may have,
• 0:37
  Speaker 1: and I will write you down in my prayer journal
• 0:40
  Speaker 1: for the week. Now, we're going to get into the
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  Speaker 1: episode in just one second, right after our sponsor gives
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  Speaker 1: a message to you guys. As I said earlier, this
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  Speaker 1: is the last chapter of Tewod Timothy, so we will
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  Speaker 1: be finishing up this book very soon here. But today
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  Speaker 1: we're going to talk about kind of a really sad
• 1:00
  Speaker 1: portion because this is Paul's last letter, most likely before
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  Speaker 1: he dies, and he's essentially saying goodbye to Timothy, which
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  Speaker 1: is really sad in my opinion. So let's read two
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  Speaker 1: Timothy four one through eight. As usual, I'll be reading
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  Speaker 1: from the web. I command you therefore, before God and
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  Speaker 1: the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and
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  Speaker 1: the dead at his appearing in his kingdom, Preach the word,
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  Speaker 1: be urgent in season and out of season. Reprove, rebuke,
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  Speaker 1: and exhort with all patients and teaching, for the time
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  Speaker 1: will come when they will not listen to sound doctrine,
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  Speaker 1: but having itching ears, will heap up for themselves teachers
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  Speaker 1: after their own lusts, and will turn away their ears
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  Speaker 1: from the truth and turn away to fables. But you
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  Speaker 1: be sober in all things, suffer hardship, do the work
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  Speaker 1: of an evangelist, and fulfill your ministry. For I am
• 1:53
  Speaker 1: already being offered, and the time of my departure has come.
• 1:56
  Speaker 1: I have fought the good fight. I have finished the
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  Speaker 1: course the faith. From now on the crown of righteousness
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  Speaker 1: is stored up for me, which the Lord, the Righteous
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  Speaker 1: Judge will give to me on that day, and not
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  Speaker 1: only to me only, but also to all those who
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  Speaker 1: have loved His appearing. Starting in verse one, it says,
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  Speaker 1: I command you, therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ,
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  Speaker 1: who will judge the living and the dead his appearing
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  Speaker 1: and his kingdom, to preach the Word. Now, obviously this
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  Speaker 1: letter is to Timothy, who is a young preacher, but
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  Speaker 1: we know that though Timothy was a young man, he
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  Speaker 1: was very knowledgeable in the scriptures. And Paul, at the
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  Speaker 1: end of his life, which is when he wrote this letter,
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  Speaker 1: was confident that Timothy could continue the work that Paul
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  Speaker 1: and the other apostles were doing, which is why he
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  Speaker 1: writes this letter to Timothy. And possibly this was the
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  Speaker 1: last letter that Paul ever wrote. And we actually see
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  Speaker 1: that right here in verse six, which we'll get into
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  Speaker 1: in just a second. So Paul is commanding Timothy before
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  Speaker 1: God and the Lord Jesus Christ. So in other words,
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  Speaker 1: says God is his witness, and as Jesus is his witness,
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  Speaker 1: he commands him the to preach the word. But notice
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  Speaker 1: what he says right here about Jesus. He says, Jesus Christ,
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  Speaker 1: who will judge the living and the dead in his
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  Speaker 1: appearing and his kingdom. So that's actually the Church creed
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  Speaker 1: is that Jesus is going to judge the living and
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  Speaker 1: the dead. But you guys might be a little bit
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  Speaker 1: confused as to what the living and the dead means,
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  Speaker 1: because you might be thinking, as I did, well, how
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  Speaker 1: is he going to judge the living because everybody standing
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  Speaker 1: in front of him is obviously going to be dead
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  Speaker 1: like here on earth, but their spirits will be there
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  Speaker 1: in front of Christ. Well, there's two points that could
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  Speaker 1: be made about this verse. Firstly, this means that Jesus
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  Speaker 1: is going to judge everybody, past, present, and future. Everybody
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  Speaker 1: who is alive right now, if Jesus came at this
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  Speaker 1: very moment, anybody who is alive at this time is
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  Speaker 1: going to be judged by Jesus. The past dead are
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  Speaker 1: going to be judged by Jesus. Every single human being
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  Speaker 1: is going to be judged by Jesus when he appears
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  Speaker 1: with his kingdom, so in other words, with his second coming.
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  Speaker 1: That's the first thing this could mean. The second thing
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  Speaker 1: that this could mean is Jesus is going to judge
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  Speaker 1: those who are spiritually alive, meaning they have already gained
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  Speaker 1: eternal life through their belief in Jesus, and those who
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  Speaker 1: are spiritually dead, those who refused to believe in Jesus
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  Speaker 1: during their time here on earth. But regardless of what
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  Speaker 1: Paul meant here, the fact of the matter is, Jesus
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  Speaker 1: is going to judge every single person. Everyone will stand
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  Speaker 1: in front of Jesus and give an account for their
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  Speaker 1: lives and what they did here on earth. And it
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  Speaker 1: also says in the Book of Hebrews that every knee
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  Speaker 1: will bow in front of Jesus and declare him as Lord,
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  Speaker 1: whether they want to or not, because they're going to
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  Speaker 1: understand when they stand in front of Jesus that he
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  Speaker 1: is God, whether they wanted to believe that here on
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  Speaker 1: earth or not. But going back to the original point,
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  Speaker 1: Paul commands Timothy to preach the Word in verse two
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  Speaker 1: be urgent in season and out of season, So regardless
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  Speaker 1: of what time it is, always preach the Word fulfill
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  Speaker 1: the great commission, which is what Jesus gave us before
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  Speaker 1: he ascended up into heaven. The great commission is go
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  Speaker 1: and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in
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  Speaker 1: the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
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  Speaker 1: That's the great commission. So we are supposed to, as Christians,
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  Speaker 1: preach the Gospel and baptize people as well once they
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  Speaker 1: eventually do believe in Jesus's name. Paul says, it doesn't
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  Speaker 1: matter what season it is be urgent in every season,
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  Speaker 1: in season and out of season, reprove, rebuke, and exhort
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  Speaker 1: with all patients, and teaching. So that is what is
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  Speaker 1: included with preaching. A lot of people think that preaching
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  Speaker 1: is just standing up there on the altar and giving
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  Speaker 1: a feel good message to the congregation, letting everybody go
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  Speaker 1: after that, and then repeating every single Sunday. But that
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  Speaker 1: is not what preaching is. Here's what preaching is. It
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  Speaker 1: is reproving, rebuking, and exhorting with patience and teaching. Reproving
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  Speaker 1: and rebuking is included in the definition of preaching according
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  Speaker 1: to this verse right here. So if you go to
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  Speaker 1: a church where your pastor is only preaching really nice
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  Speaker 1: and fluffy messages and maybe avoids the word sin or
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  Speaker 1: avoids topics that includes sin because he thinks they might
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  Speaker 1: be inflammatory or something that is not a healthy preaching style,
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  Speaker 1: that is only showing part of the gospel. Yes, there
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  Speaker 1: are feel good things in the Gospel, but if you
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  Speaker 1: guys have been going through the Bible with me long enough,
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  Speaker 1: you'll know that it's not just feel good stuff. There's
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  Speaker 1: a lot of depressing things that happen, especially in the
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  Speaker 1: Old Testament. I was actually just talking to a friend
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  Speaker 1: about that at dinner the other night. The Bible is
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  Speaker 1: not just feel good messages. It's actually a lot more
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  Speaker 1: about our sin and how it corrupts and how Jesus
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  Speaker 1: came and saved us from all of that. So obviously
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  Speaker 1: we have to talk about sin if we are going
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  Speaker 1: to effectively preach the Gospel to people, if we're going
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  Speaker 1: to effectively evangelize, How are we possibly going to evangelize
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  Speaker 1: to people if we don't talk to them about why
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  Speaker 1: they need a savior. You know, the entire point of
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  Speaker 1: Jesus coming down to earth was to save us from
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  Speaker 1: our sins. But if we use language like, oh, Jesus
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  Speaker 1: came to perfect what has been made broken, or he
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  Speaker 1: came down to earth just to spread a good message
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  Speaker 1: and be a wonderful prophet and heal people, well, yes,
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  Speaker 1: those things are both true, but it's only part of
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  Speaker 1: the truth. The whole truth is we sinned, We caused
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  Speaker 1: death in a perfect world where there was no death,
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  Speaker 1: and Jesus came down to earth not only to fix that,
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  Speaker 1: but to save us from the wrath of God because
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  Speaker 1: of our sins. Jesus took that wrath of God on himself,
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  Speaker 1: and we have to preach this stuff. We have to
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  Speaker 1: be urgent about this is what Paul says, in season
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  Speaker 1: and out of season. And why do we have to
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  Speaker 1: be urgent, Well, because Jesus could come back at any time,
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  Speaker 1: and we have to tell people about this so that
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  Speaker 1: they hear the gospel message and potentially their souls can
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  Speaker 1: be saved before Jesus comes back the second time. He says,
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  Speaker 1: do this with all patience and teaching as well. So
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  Speaker 1: that's the other part of it. It kind of seems
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  Speaker 1: like it's hard to find that middle ground when it
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  Speaker 1: comes to preaching styles. A lot of preachers will go
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  Speaker 1: up there and they'll give feel good messages and never
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  Speaker 1: talk about sin or corruption or personal responsibility. They'll just,
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  Speaker 1: you know, give happy messages and send everybody home. But
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  Speaker 1: on the flip side, there's pastors that do nothing except
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  Speaker 1: talk about doom and gloom and destruction of the earth
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  Speaker 1: and how God is going to strike all of us
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  Speaker 1: dead and our sin and how it corrupts. And Paul says,
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  Speaker 1: right here, you gotta find that middle ground, Timothy. You
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  Speaker 1: can't be one or the other. You got to you know, obviously,
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  Speaker 1: reprove and rebuke, but also you have to exhort with
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  Speaker 1: patience and teaching. Exhort typically means to encourage somebody, and
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  Speaker 1: you do this with patience and also teaching the Bible.
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  Speaker 1: But Paul gives a warning right after this. He says
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  Speaker 1: in verse three, but the time will come when they
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  Speaker 1: will not listen to the sound doctrine, but having itching
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  Speaker 1: ears will heap up for themselves teachers after their own lusts,
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  Speaker 1: and will turn away their ears from the truth and
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  Speaker 1: turn away to fables. There are going to be people
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  Speaker 1: that don't want to hear any of the truth. That
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  Speaker 1: is why churches that have those feel good message are
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  Speaker 1: often far more attended than churches that actually speak the truth,
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  Speaker 1: because nobody wants to hear that they're wrong. I get it.
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  Speaker 1: I also don't want to hear that I'm wrong. But
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  Speaker 1: that doesn't matter regardless of how somebody feels regarding the
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  Speaker 1: Gospel message. It's the truth and you have to tell
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  Speaker 1: the whole truth. In fact, if you go to Jeremiah
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  Speaker 1: chapter six, verses thirteen and fourteen, God is talking about
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  Speaker 1: these false teachers and false prophets that are leading the
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  Speaker 1: people astray because they're not telling the truth. Here's what
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  Speaker 1: God says in Jeremiah six, starting in verse thirteen from
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  Speaker 1: the NIV version. From the least to the greatest, all
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  Speaker 1: are greedy for gain. Prophets and priests alike, all practice deceit.
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  Speaker 1: They dress the wound of my people as though it
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  Speaker 1: were not serious. Peace, peace, they say, when there is
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  Speaker 1: no peace. Are they ashamed of their detestable conduct. No,
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  Speaker 1: they have no shame at all. They don't even know
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  Speaker 1: how to blush. And I'll stop right there and move
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  Speaker 1: over to Micah chapter three, again from the NIV version,
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  Speaker 1: starting in verse five, ending in verse eight. This is
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  Speaker 1: what the Lord says, as for the prophets who lead
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  Speaker 1: my people astray, if they proclaim peace, if they have
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  Speaker 1: something to eat, but prepare to wage war against anyone
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  Speaker 1: who refuses to feed them. Therefore night will come over
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  Speaker 1: you without visions, and darkness without divination. The sun will
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  Speaker 1: set for the prophets, and the day will go dark
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  Speaker 1: for them. The seers will be ashamed and the diviners disgraced.
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  Speaker 1: They will cover their faces because there is no answer
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  Speaker 1: from God. But as for me, I am filled with power,
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  Speaker 1: with the spirit of the Lord, with justice and might
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  Speaker 1: to declare to Jacob his transgression, to Israel his sin.
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  Speaker 1: And that is Micah actually finishing that statement right there
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  Speaker 1: where he's saying, even though these prophets are tell telling
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  Speaker 1: everybody falsehoods, I am going to tell the truth. He says,
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  Speaker 1: I'm going to declare to Jacob his transgressions and to
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  Speaker 1: Israel his sin. So Micah is like, I will tell
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  Speaker 1: people of their sin if no one else will, because
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  Speaker 1: that's important, it's the whole truth. And that is what
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  Speaker 1: Paul is telling Timothy to do. But he's saying, be aware.
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  Speaker 1: There's going to be people who don't want to hear
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  Speaker 1: what you have to say because they just want to
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  Speaker 1: hear whatever their itching ears want to hear. That's what
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  Speaker 1: they're going to listen to. Whether it's a false prophecy,
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  Speaker 1: whether it's false teachers, whether it's just blatant lies, they're
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  Speaker 1: not going to care because they don't want to hear
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  Speaker 1: the truth. They don't want to hear that they're wrong.
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  Speaker 1: They don't want to hear that things aren't just hunky
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  Speaker 1: dory all the time. They want what they want. So
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  Speaker 1: be aware of those people, he says, But you, Timothy,
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  Speaker 1: be sober in all things suffer hardship, do the work
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  Speaker 1: of an evangelist, and fulfill your ministry. So he says, Timothy,
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  Speaker 1: do all these things with a sober mind. That means
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  Speaker 1: be self controlled, think rationally about things. Don't be angry,
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  Speaker 1: don't be swayed with your emotions, don't be swayed by
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  Speaker 1: false prophecy or fame or money. Do things the right way,
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  Speaker 1: and suffer hardship, is what he says. Do the work
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  Speaker 1: of an evangelist, and fulfill your ministry. So he promises Timothy.
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  Speaker 1: He's like, Timothy, you're gonna have hardship, And we know
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  Speaker 1: that Timothy did, actually because the Book of Hebrews mentions
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  Speaker 1: at the very end that Timothy had been released from
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  Speaker 1: prison after that book was written. So Timothy suffered his
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  Speaker 1: share of hardships as well. We know he did because
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  Speaker 1: he was a true preacher for the Gospel message. He
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  Speaker 1: didn't just tell people what they wanted to hear. And
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  Speaker 1: then Paul goes into his own sufferings because he's about
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  Speaker 1: to die verse six, for I am already being offered
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  Speaker 1: and the time of my departure has come. That is
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  Speaker 1: such a sad verse actually, because it's very similar to
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  Speaker 1: what he said back in the Book of Philippians in
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  Speaker 1: chapter two, starting in verse seventeen, here's what Paul says
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  Speaker 1: from the web. Yes, and if I am poured out
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  Speaker 1: on the sacrifice and service of your faith, I am
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  Speaker 1: glad and rejoice with you all. In the same way,
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  Speaker 1: you also should be glad and rejoice with me. Now,
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  Speaker 1: the Book of Philippians was written during Paul's first imprisonment
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  Speaker 1: in Rome, and there is a possibility he could have died,
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  Speaker 1: and he said that in the book. He said, Look,
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  Speaker 1: even if I do die, I am happy. Even if
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  Speaker 1: I am poured out on the sacrifice of your faith,
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  Speaker 1: I am glad and rejoice. That's what he says right
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  Speaker 1: here in Philippians too. But later on in the same chapter,
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  Speaker 1: in verse twenty four, he says, but I trust in
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  Speaker 1: the Lord that I myself also will come shortly. So
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  Speaker 1: in Philippians, Paul believed he would be released. At least
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  Speaker 1: he had faith that he would be. But he did say,
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  Speaker 1: regardless of how I feel about something, God's plans might
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  Speaker 1: be different for me. So I may die here in prison,
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  Speaker 1: I may be sentenced to death by Nero. Paul had
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  Speaker 1: faith and hope that he would get out of prison.
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  Speaker 1: When he was writing Philippians, he does not have that
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  Speaker 1: same faith and hope. When he writes the Book of
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  Speaker 1: two Timothy, he says, I am already being offered, and
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  Speaker 1: the time of my departure has come. He knows he's
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  Speaker 1: going to die, and he's telling Timothy that right here.
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  Speaker 1: He says, Timothy, I have fought the good fight. I
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  Speaker 1: have finished the course. I have kept the faith from
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  Speaker 1: now on, the crown of righteousness is stored up for me,
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  Speaker 1: which the Lord, the Righteous Judge, will give to me
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  Speaker 1: on that day, and not to me only, but also
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  Speaker 1: to all those who have loved his appearing. I got
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  Speaker 1: a little bit teary eyed when I first read that. Imagine,
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  Speaker 1: you know, sitting in prison, knowing that you are about
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  Speaker 1: to die a very excruciating, possibly painful death. Nero was
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  Speaker 1: not a kind emperor. He was known for being very cruel,
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  Speaker 1: especially to Christians. He would use them as torches in
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  Speaker 1: his garden, like he would light them up. He would
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  Speaker 1: make them spectacles essentially for the people. Nasty guy. And
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  Speaker 1: we don't ultimately know how Paul died. Church history says
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  Speaker 1: he was beheaded by Nero, but ultimately we actually don't
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  Speaker 1: know the fate that Paul suffered after he wrote two Timothy,
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  Speaker 1: but he likely did die at the hands of Nero.
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  Speaker 1: Paul is sitting in prison, knowing he's about to die,
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  Speaker 1: and yet his faith is steadfast. He says, I have
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  Speaker 1: fought the good fight, I have finished the course, and
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  Speaker 1: I've kept the faith. He's using a sport analogy here.
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  Speaker 1: He's using the analogy of a runner who is gaining
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  Speaker 1: a prize, the crown. Actually, now the crown was not
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  Speaker 1: like a like a king's crown that the runners would receive.
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  Speaker 1: It was a laurel wreath that would be placed on
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  Speaker 1: their heads if they won. That's talked about in First
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  Speaker 1: Corinthians nine. Actually from the NIV version, verse twenty five.
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  Speaker 1: It says everyone who competes in the games goes into
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  Speaker 1: strict training. They do it to get a crown that
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  Speaker 1: will not last, but we do it to get a
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  Speaker 1: crown that will last forever. Paul likes his sports analogies.
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  Speaker 1: He really did, and here he's saying that he was
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  Speaker 1: a runner in this spiritual race, and the crown that
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  Speaker 1: he's going to receive is not this dinky little laurel crown,
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  Speaker 1: but it's a crown of righteousness that God is going
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  Speaker 1: to give him when he dies. He says, I am
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  Speaker 1: getting a crown of righteousness that is stored up for me,
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  Speaker 1: which the Lord, the Righteous Judge, will give to me
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  Speaker 1: on that day, but not to me only, but also
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  Speaker 1: to all those who have loved his appearing. So Paul's like,
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  Speaker 1: this isn't just for me. This promise is not just
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  Speaker 1: for me. It is for everybody. Every single person who
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  Speaker 1: fights it's the good fight, who finishes the course and
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  Speaker 1: who keeps the faith, they too will receive a crown
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  Speaker 1: of righteousness. And I think that's why this letter feels
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  Speaker 1: so urgent. Out of his love for Timothy and everybody else.
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  Speaker 1: He wanted them to know not to give up, even
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  Speaker 1: when things seem so desperate, even when you are on
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  Speaker 1: the brink of death, don't give up on your faith.
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  Speaker 1: Keep the faith and it's worth it, because if you do,
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  Speaker 1: Jesus is going to reward you. For me, this was
• 18:37
  Speaker 1: a really sad episode to talk about. For some reason,
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  Speaker 1: I teared up when I read this today, even though
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  Speaker 1: I have read this verse I don't even know how
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  Speaker 1: many times throughout my entire life, because it's such a
• 18:47
  Speaker 1: famous verse. I sort of teared up today because I
• 18:49
  Speaker 1: was really thinking about Paul sitting in prison ready for
• 18:53
  Speaker 1: his death sentence, writing these things out to Timothy. I
• 18:57
  Speaker 1: can imagine when Timothy received this letter, so many emotions
• 19:00
  Speaker 1: going on with him. You know, his best friend, his
• 19:03
  Speaker 1: father figure, is about to die, and yet Paul had
• 19:06
  Speaker 1: so much faith in spite of that. So my encouragement
• 19:09
  Speaker 1: for all of you guys today is keep on being
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  Speaker 1: faithful listeners. You all know why I call you that.
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  Speaker 1: It's not for me. You are faithful and you are
• 19:18
  Speaker 1: listening to the Bible, So keep being faithful. All right,
• 19:23
  Speaker 1: here's a quick word from a sponsor and I'll end
• 19:25
  Speaker 1: the episode after that. Faithful listeners, I really hope you
• 19:30
  Speaker 1: have a fantastic and wonderful rest of your week. As
• 19:33
  Speaker 1: you all know, Fridays are for the members. So if
• 19:36
  Speaker 1: you'd like to become a member and gain access to
• 19:38
  Speaker 1: the Friday Podcast, which is ad free, I should mention
• 19:41
  Speaker 1: you should check out the link in the description that
• 19:43
  Speaker 1: says kofee okay, and that's where you're going to go
• 19:46
  Speaker 1: to gain access to the Friday Podcast episodes when you
• 19:50
  Speaker 1: sign up for the Coffee Teer. By the way, I
• 19:52
  Speaker 1: am going to be switching the tears pretty soon here.
• 19:55
  Speaker 1: I've been saying that for a long time, but I'm
• 19:57
  Speaker 1: genuinely working towards something to switch the tears. But I
• 20:00
  Speaker 1: have some more ideas of what I'm going to include
• 20:03
  Speaker 1: actually for the tears, and that should go into effect
• 20:07
  Speaker 1: pretty soon. So all of you faithful members that have
• 20:09
  Speaker 1: already purchased a tear, don't worry about anything changing, just
• 20:14
  Speaker 1: expect some more. All right, faithful listeners, have a fantastic
• 20:18
  Speaker 1: and wonderful, wonderful rest of your day. I'll see you
• 20:21
  Speaker 1: all on Monday for an episode from Second to Chronicles.
• 20:24
  Speaker 1: Happy weekend, and God bless. I just want to take
• 20:32
  Speaker 1: a second to thank the team at Life Audio for
• 20:34
  Speaker 1: their partnership with me on the Bible Explain podcast. In fact,
• 20:37
  Speaker 1: if you go to lifeudio dot com you'll find dozens
• 20:40
  Speaker 1: of other faith centered podcasts in their network. They've got
• 20:43
  Speaker 1: shows about prayer, Bible study, parenting, and more.