2 Timothy 3

"BUT KNOW"

 

Perilous Times and Perilous Men

 

 

But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: 

 

 

² For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, ³ unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, ⁴ traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, ⁵ having a form of godliness but denying its power.

 

And from such people turn away! ⁶ For of this sort are those who creep into households and make captives of gullible women loaded down with sins, led away by various lusts, ⁷ always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. 

 

 

⁸ Now as Jannes and Jambres resisted Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, disapproved concerning the faith; ⁹ but they will progress no further, for their folly will be manifest to all, as theirs also was.

 

The Man of God and the Word of God

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0</sup> But you have carefully followed my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, longsuffering, love, perseverance, ¹¹ persecutions, afflictions, which happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra—what persecutions I endured. And out of them all the Lord delivered me. ¹² Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution. ¹³ 

But evil men and impostors will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived. ¹⁴ But you must continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them, ¹⁵ and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.


¹⁶ All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, ¹⁷ that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.

"OVERCOMERS!"

1 John 5

 

 

 Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves Him who begot also loves him who is begotten of Him. 

 

 ² By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep His commandments. ³ For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome. 

 

 ⁴ For whatever is born of God overcomes the world.

 

And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. ⁵ Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?

2 Thessalonians 3

"WORK IS A COMMAND"

Warning Against Idleness

⁶ But we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you withdraw from every brother who walks disorderly and not according to the tradition which he received from us. 

 ⁷ For you yourselves know how you ought to follow us, for we were not disorderly among you; ⁸ nor did we eat anyone’s bread free of charge, but worked with labor and toil night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you, ⁹ not because we do not have authority, but to make ourselves an example of how you should follow us.

¹⁰ For even when we were with you, we commanded you this: If anyone will not work, neither shall he eat. ¹¹ For we hear that there are some who walk among you in a disorderly manner, not working at all, but are busybodies. 

 ¹² Now those who are such we command and exhort through our Lord Jesus Christ that they work in quietness and eat their own bread.

 But as for you, brethren, do not grow weary in doing good. 


 And if anyone does not obey our word in this epistle, note that person and do not keep company with him, that he may be ashamed. ¹⁵ Yet do not count him as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother.

"NO OTHER ROCK!"

Isaiah 44

God’s Blessing on Israel

 “Yet hear now, O Jacob My servant,
And Israel whom I have chosen.

² Thus says the Lord who made you
And formed you from the womb, who will help you:
‘Fear not, O Jacob My servant;
And you, Jeshurun, whom I have chosen.

³ For I will pour water on him who is thirsty,
And floods on the dry ground;
I will pour My Spirit on your descendants,
And My blessing on your offspring;

⁴ They will spring up among the grass
Like willows by the watercourses.’

⁵ One will say, ‘I am the Lord’s’;
Another will call himself by the name of Jacob;
Another will write with his hand, ‘The Lord’s,’
And name himself by the name of Israel.

There Is No Other God

⁶ “Thus says the Lord, the King of Israel,
And his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts:

‘I am the First and I am the Last;
Besides Me there is no God.

⁷ And who can proclaim as I do?
Then let him declare it and set it in order for Me,
Since I appointed the ancient people.
And the things that are coming and shall come,
Let them show these to them.

⁸ Do not fear, nor be afraid;
Have I not told you from that time, and declared it?
You are My witnesses.

Is there a God besides Me?
Indeed there is no other Rock;I know not one.’”

 

   "HEAVEN OPENED"                   

Revelation 19

⁶ And I heard, as it were, the voice of a great multitude, as the sound of many waters and as the sound of mighty thunderings, saying, “Alleluia! For the Lord God Omnipotent reigns! ⁷ Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready.” 

⁸ And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.
⁹ Then he said to me, “Write: ‘Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb!’” And he said to me, “These are the true sayings of God.” 

 ¹⁰ And I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, “See that you do not do that! I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren who have the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.”

 

Christ on a White Horse

¹¹ Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war. ¹² His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself. ¹³ He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. 

 ¹⁴ And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses. 

 ¹⁵ Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations.

And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. ¹⁶ And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written:

 

KING OF KINGS AND
LORD OF LORDS.

   "BLESSED ARE;"                   

Matthew 5

The Beatitudes

 And seeing the multitudes, He went up on a mountain, and when He was seated His disciples came to Him. ² Then He opened His mouth and taught them, saying:

 

³ “Blessed are the poor in spirit,
    For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

⁴ Blessed are those who mourn,
    For they shall be comforted.

⁵ Blessed are the meek,
    For they shall inherit the earth.

⁶ Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
    For they shall be filled.

⁷ Blessed are the merciful,
    For they shall obtain mercy.

⁸ Blessed are the pure in heart,
    For they shall see God.

⁹ Blessed are the peacemakers,
    For they shall be called sons of God.

¹⁰ Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake,
    For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

"RIGHTLY DIVIDING THE WORD OF TRUTH"

 

Approved and Disapproved Workers    2 Tim 2

¹⁴ Remind them of these things, charging them before the Lord not to strive about words to no profit, to the ruin of the hearers. ¹⁵ 

Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. 

¹⁶ But shun profane and idle babblings, for they will increase to more ungodliness. ¹⁷ And their message will spread like cancer. Hymenaeus and Philetus are of this sort, ¹⁸ who have strayed concerning the truth, saying that the resurrection is already past; and they overthrow the faith of some. 

 ¹⁹ Nevertheless the solid foundation of God stands, having this seal: “The Lord knows those who are His,” and, “Let everyone who names the name of Christ depart from iniquity.”

"THE HARVEST"

Luke 10

The Seventy Sent Out

 After these things the Lord appointed seventy others also,and sent them two by two before His face into every city and place where He Himself was about to go. ² Then He said to them, “The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few; therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest. ³ Go your way; behold, I send you out as lambs among wolves. ⁴ Carry neither money bag, knapsack, nor sandals; and greet no one along the road. 

 

⁵ But whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace to this house.’ ⁶ And if a son of peace is there, your peace will rest on it; if not, it will return to you. ⁷ And remain in the same house, eating and drinking such things as they give, for the laborer is worthy of his wages. Do not go from house to house. 

 

 ⁸ Whatever city you enter, and they receive you, eat such things as are set before you. ⁹ And heal the sick there, and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’ 

 

 ¹⁰ But whatever city you enter, and they do not receive you, go out into its streets and say, ¹¹ ‘The very dust of your city which clings to us we wipe off against you. Nevertheless know this, that the kingdom of God has come near you.’ 

 

 ¹² But I say to you that it will be more tolerable in that Day for Sodom than for that city.

"HE GIVES YOU POWER"

Luke 9

Sending Out the Twelve

 Then He called His twelve disciples together and gave them power and authority over all demons, and to cure diseases. 

 

 ² He sent them to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick. ³ And He said to them, “Take nothing for the journey, neither staffs nor bag nor bread nor money; and do not have two tunics apiece.

⁴ “Whatever house you enter, stay there, and from there depart. 

 ⁵ And whoever will not receive you, when you go out of that city, shake off the very dust from your feet as a testimony against them.”

⁶ So they departed and went through the towns, preaching the gospel and healing everywhere.

"HE WILL DO IT!"

Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ;
Philippians 1:6 NKJV

"DENY SELF"

 

Take Up the Cross and Follow Him    Luke 9:

²³ Then He said to them all, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. 

²⁴ For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it. ²⁵ For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and is himself destroyed or lost? 

²⁶ For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, of him the Son of Man will be ashamed when He comes in His own glory, and in His Father’s, and of the holy angels. 

 ²⁷ But I tell you truly, there are some standing here who shall not taste death till they see the kingdom of God.”

"THE THREE LOSERS"

 The Cost of Discipleship  Luke 9

⁵⁷ Now it happened as they journeyed on the road, that someone said to Him, “Lord, I will follow You wherever You go.”

⁵⁸ And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.”

⁵⁹ Then He said to another, “Follow Me.”
But he said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.”

⁶⁰ Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and preach the kingdom of God.”

⁶¹ And another also said, “Lord, I will follow You, but let me first go and bid them farewell who are at my house.”
⁶² But Jesus said to him, “No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”

Follow one; He is a passionate man, there is something he sees in Jesus, his words of authority, the miracles performed and his unconditional love. In searching the scriptures we find out this man was a scribe, his life had order, a man of great success, a comfortable life. A well known keeper of the law.

He believed that Jesus was in fact the one promised, but to save them from Rome, not from their sins.  Where he would be rewarded on the day of this imagined conquest over Rome. The answer by the Lord, revealed the heart of the man, and what really motivated him."“Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.”
Jesus was telling him that following him will not be an easy road, in fact unpredictable, and often times all comforts he  came to rely on would be gone. He never followed Jesus.

Luke 9:23

If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.

 

Follow two; There is not much conversation between Jesus and this person called. "another man,". To this man Jesus gets right to the point "follow me". This man for years had heard Jesus proclaim the kingdom of God, and now Jesus tells the man to go and do the same. The answer; “Lord, let me first go and bury my father,”and the answer from Jesus,  “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and preach the kingdom of God.”would on the surface make Jesus seem cruel and hard of heart. Jesus knew that the man's father was not dead. Jesus knew that what he was actually saying, was when my father dies, and I receive my inheritance. Then I will follow you. "He should have known that the nature of God is love. "He never followed Jesus"

1 John 2:15

 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

 

 Follow three; This man is the most troubled of all three, he uses that cautious word "but". “Lord , I will follow You, but let me first go and bid them farewell who are at my house.” This man looks back, he is clearly not ready or willing to just follow Jesus, he must make known this noble mission he is about to embark on, to all his family and friends. Perhaps, he desires a special send off, a celebration of sought. His flesh causes him to fail to see that the things of the past, is not worthy to be compared to following Jesus, and being appointed as one who is called to proclaim His kingdom. He needed to look back, in order to move forward. “ Lord,  I will follow You, but let me first go and bid them farewell who are at my house.” He never followed Jesus.

Matthew 10:37
 He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me.

Luke 9:23

 “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.

 

"Father in Heaven;  May this word bring us to our knees, broken and desperate, until we truly are your followers, never to look back! Amen.

"THE FURNACE"

"If we suffer, we shall also reign with Him."—2 Timothy 2:12.

E must not imagine that we are suffering for Christ, and with Christ, if we are not in Christ. Beloved friend, are you trusting to Jesus only? If not, whatever you may have to mourn over on earth, you are not "suffering with Christ," land have no hope of reigning with Him in heaven. Neither are we to conclude that all a Christian's sufferings are sufferings with Christ, for it is essential that he be called by God to suffer. If we are rash and imprudent, and run into positions for which neither providence nor grace has fitted us, we ought to question whether we are not rather sinning than communing with Jesus. If we let passion take the place of judgment, and self-will reign instead of Scriptural authority, we shall fight the Lord's battles with the devil's weapons, and if we cut our own fingers we must not be surprised. Again, in troubles which come upon us as the result of sin, we must not dream that we are suffering with Christ. When Miriam spoke evil of Moses, and the leprosy polluted her, she was not suffering for God. Moreover, suffering which God accepts must have God's glory as its end. If I suffer that I may earn a name, or win applause, I shall get no other reward than that of the Pharisee. It is requisite also that love to Jesus, and love to His elect, be ever the mainspring of all our patience. We must manifest the Spirit of Christ in meekness, gentleness, and forgiveness. Let us search and see if we truly suffer with Jesus. And if we do thus suffer, what is our "light affliction" compared with reigning with Him?

Oh it is so blessed to be in the furnace with Christ, and such an honour to stand in the pillory with Him, that if there were no future reward, we might count ourselves happy in present honour; but when the recompense is so eternal, so infinitely more than we had any right to expect, shall we not take up the cross with alacrity, and go on our way rejoicing?

BeyondTheVeil; Why fear the furnace, if it is there you meet the fourth man. Where the awe of God's presence in your life, drops the jaw of your enemy! Look up my brothers! Your Redeemer lives!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

"HE CALLS YOU FRIEND!"


John 15:15
No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you.


Proverbs 18:24

 A man who has friends must himself be friendly,
But there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.

HALLELUJAH! "YOU ARE GOD'S FRIEND!"