Shabbat Shalom. Today we are going to start with a new book, this time from the Berit HaChadasha, from the New Covenant, the New Testament. I would like today by way of introduction mainly to just begin by reading the first five verses of 2 Timothy chapter 1. I'm going to read those verses and then I would like to give some introduction that perhaps will help us to really appreciate the letter that the Apostle Paul, whose Hebrew name is Shaul, wrote to a younger brother by the name of Timothy at sometime around 67 AD. That was the last letter that Paul, Shaul, wrote. And this is a very important letter because it speaks about the last days of the church age, of the assembly age in which we live in.

Just listen and follow me as I'm reading the first five verses by way of introduction. Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ, Yeshua HaMashiach, by the will of God, according to the promise of life which is in Christ Jesus, in Mashiach Yeshua, to Timothy, my dearly beloved son. Grace, mercy and peace, chesed, rachamim and shalom from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord, Messiah Yeshua our Lord. I thank God whom I served for my forefathers with pure conscience, that without ceasing I have remembrance of thee in my prayers night and day, greatly desiring to see thee, being mindful of thy tears, that I may be filled with joy.

When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois and thy mother Eunice, and I am persuaded that in thee also. Let me just mention by way of introduction that just the same like the book of Nehemiah, Nehemiah, was one of the last books that was written to our people Israel, in fact from Nehemiah's days, who in his time Malachi preached, and in his time Zechariah and Haggai preached to the nation of Israel. Before the Messiah came in his first coming, 2 Timothy is written also by Paul, Shaul, to a younger brother by the name of Timothy in preparation of the second coming of the Messiah.

In fact beloved brothers and sisters we can see that when Shaul Paul wrote this letter to Timothy he was anticipating terrible days that are going to approach among the professing church in the last days. You will notice how many times the Apostle Paul will speak about the last days. In fact, in chapter 3 and verse 1, he says, This know also that in the last days, perilous times shall come. And he gives us a description of the condition that will prevail among the assembly, the church age, at the last days before the Messiah is going to come in judgment upon the face of this world. And the Apostle Paul is preparing as he's writing this letter to Timothy.

Now notice how the letter began. And I just want to give a few thoughts for us all to understand the background of this book. First of all, we find out that the author, the one who wrote this letter, is none else but Paul himself. It says here the very first word of 2 Timothy chapter 1 and verse 1 is Paul. Who was Paul? Shaul, his Hebrew name. Paul, his diaspora name. He was this Jewish man whom years earlier rejected the testimony of Stephen and many others concerning the person of our Lord Yeshua, Jesus the Messiah. Later on in Acts chapter 9, we know this very well. He was on the way, he was that Pharisee who took letters from the leaders of the city of Jerusalem and he went on the way to Damascus.

And he was taking these letters to go to the synagogues and to bring every Jewish believer in Yeshua back into the city of Jerusalem to be punished because he had accepted that Jesus, that Yeshua was the Mashiach. This is the very same Paul. His Hebrew name is Shaul. His diaspora name is Paul. And now he is known to be the minister of the gospel among the Gentile world. And this Paul is writing now this second letter. We would call it a pastoral letter to this man by the name of Timothy. Notice that again in verse 1. He was an apostle of Jesus, the Messiah, Yeshua HaMashiach.

By the will of God, according to the promise of life, which is in Christ Jesus, in the Mashiach Yeshua. He was an apostle. In Hebrew, the word apostle means shaliyach. He was a messenger of Yeshua, the Messiah, to the world around. He became one of those special, gifted, called out ones to be a shaliyach, an apostle, a messenger to preach the message of the gospel just turn with me for a second to Acts chapter 9 to show us that he was a messenger of Yeshua the Messiah look what the Lord Yeshua said to Hanania concerning Shaul Paul we read here in verse 15 go thy way for he this is Paul the chosen vessel unto me to bear my name before the Goyim, the Gentiles and Kings, Melachim and the children of Israel Bnei Israel for I will show him how great things he must suffer for my name's sake here is Shaul Paul was chosen by the Lord Yeshua the Messiah on the way to Damascus when he was ready to capture Jewish believers, the early Hebrew Christians, and to bring them into Jerusalem on the way to Damascus.

The Lord said to him, Shaul, Shaul, why are you persecuting me? And Shaul says, who art thou, Lord? And from there on the Lord have called him to become a shaliyah, an apostle to the nations of the world. And he's writing this letter to Timothy. He was an apostle he was a messenger of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah and he now beloved brothers and sisters i want you to understand he was writing this letter at the last days of his life time has passed by he preached the gospel in Asia Minor and in various other areas in the then known world and this was his last days of his life before he's going to die he's writing this letter of encouragement to a younger brother by the name of Timothy so Paul is the author he is the writer he wrote this letter again as i mentioned about 67 a.d just before the temple in Jerusalem was burnt and destroyed, and the Jewish people scattered and taken by the Romans, that's 70 AD.

Secondly, I want to mention, notice in verse 2, the recipient is a man that is called Timothy. He said in verse 2, to Timothy, my dearly beloved son. In fact, Timothy became a son in the faith through the apostle Paul. Tell him with me to act chapter 16, please. Again, we want to learn the background of the second letter that Paul wrote to Timothy. The background is Paul in the last days of his life, Timothy, a younger brother, and he's calling him, as it says here, My dearly beloved son, B'ni Hayakar, B'ni Ha'ahuv, as we say it in Hebrew. Look at chapter 16 of the book of Acts. We read in the first three verses, Then came he to Derbi.

Again, the he is Shaul, Paul. He came to Derbi and Lystra, and behold, a certain disciple was there by the name of Timothy. A son of a certain woman which was Jewish and a believer. But her husband was a Greek. And it says in verse 2, which was well reported of by the brethren that where at Lystra and Iconium, him would Paul have to go forth with him. And he took and he circumcised him because of the Jews which were in those quarters, for they knew all that his father was a Greek. You see, Paul was already in the city of Lystra. We read of it in chapter 14.

He was earlier in the first missionary journey in a place that is called Lystra. By the time he is arriving the second time, he heard about this man by the name of Timothy. His mother was Jewish. His father was Greek. But his mother was a believer already in Yeshua, Jesus, the Messiah. But there was a wonderful report. By the time that Paul came the second time, Timothy also became a believer. And he began to grow spiritually. He was according to Acts chapter 16 and verse 2 that he was well reported by the brethren which were in Lystra. He had a good report. He didn't only say that he's a believer in Yeshua, the Messiah.

He lived it out in his life. And everybody said, did you hear about Timothy? He's walking with Yeshua, the Messiah. He's a good testimony here in this world. He's preaching the message of the gospel. He's a faithful servant of our Lord Jesus, the Messiah. And so Paul took him. Apparently, his mother didn't circumcise him when he was eight days old, every one of us who is Jewish was circumcised at that time. So Paul takes him and he's circumcising him in a little older age. And why does he do it? Because he knew very well that the Jewish community, when he will share the gospel with them, will tell them, wait a minute, this Timothy is Jewish, but he was not even circumcised.

What kind of a Jew this man is? So Paul, being wise, he knows circumcision doesn't save. He knew that circumcision doesn't take us to heaven, but he wanted to have a good testimony and an open door among the Jewish community. He circumcised Timothy, and then he used him for the ministry. According to verse 3, Paul would have to go forth with him, and he took him and he circumcised him because of the Jews which were in those quarters. For they knew all that his father was a Greek. A Yevani in Hebrew. And so it is interesting to see that now Paul, an older brother, writing to Timothy, a younger brother, just before the apostle Paul was ready to leave the scene.

Now, amazingly, beloved brothers and sisters, when you think about Paul, I'm always fascinated with this man. He was a special vessel. There were not too many people that can be said about them like the Apostle Paul. There were 12 Apostles that were chosen by the Lord in Matthew chapter 10. But he was a unique Apostle. He was called, according to Galatians chapter 2, the Apostle to the uncircumcision, to the Gentile world. While he loved our nation, of all the nations of Israel, his heart went to all the nations of the world. Because everyone needed to hear that Yeshua was the Messiah. That the only answer for sin is through the person of our Lord Jesus, our Lord Yeshua the Messiah.

So Paul was called and exercised to go to share the gospel with the nations of the world. And he took along with him this young man by the name of Timothy. Now, Paul wrote two letters to Timothy, the first letter earlier, and the second letter in which we are reading right now. But beloved brothers and sisters, when we think about Paul, about Shaul, this man has suffered so much in his life for the sake of the gospel. Shaul, Paul gives us a list of the sufferings that he has experienced because of his faith in Yeshua the Messiah notice what he's saying in 2nd Corinthians chapter 11 and verse 23 are they servants of Christ of the Messiah he says I speak as a fool he says okay if somebody's thinking himself to be proud about being a servant of the Messiah let me tell you a little bit about myself and my history in serving the Lord notice what he said are they in verse 23b he said I'm more in labors more abundance in stripes above measure in prison more frequent in death often of the Jews five times I received 40 stripes save one thrice I was beaten with rods once was I stoned thrice I suffered shipwreck a night and a day I have been in the deep in journeying often in perils of water in perils of robbers in perils by mine own countrymen in perils by the heathen in perils in the city in perils in the wilderness in perils in the sea in perils among false brethren.

In weariness and painfulness, in watching often, in hunger and thirst, in fasting often, in cold and nakedness. Beside all these things that are without, that which cometh upon me daily, the care of all the assemblies, the churches. Now notice, beloved brothers and sisters, the list of challenges that the Apostle Paul, Shaul Paul, had experienced in his life. You know, sometimes you and I, when we think about our walk with the Lord, we wonder, really, the Lord have allowed us to live in this country, praise God, and the privileges that we have in this country, but can you imagine what this man had experienced in his life?

And he was so much encouraged by having other younger individuals follow him and serve the Lord Yeshua, the Messiah, among the nations of the world. Do you see that Apostle Paul was in prison many, many times? In chapter 16 of the book of Acts, he was in prison in Philippi. In chapter 21, we read of the book of Acts and verse 33, he was captured in the city of Jerusalem. In chapter 24 of the book of Acts, he was in prison in Caesarea. In chapter 28 of the book of Acts, the apostle Paul was captured and was in prison, in a house prison, in the city of Rome. These men have experienced imprisonment in his life.

Can you imagine? Two years in Caesarea, two years in this place, two years in this place. But by the time that he's writing here this second epistle, Paul was released at about 63 AD from the prison in Rome. And he had a few years where he was free to serve the Lord. And so what does he do? He continued to minister the gospel apparently according to Romans chapter 15 and verse 24 he intended to go to spain and some Bible teachers believe that he may have arrived to spain and ministered the word in spain and then later on returned to Asia Minor and to europe and eventually beloved brothers and sisters he was imprisoned again in about 67 AD at Rome now I don't know if you have been there I haven't been there yet but if you would go to Rome today and you will make a visit to the area where the apostle Paul was in prison it was not a pleasant place to be it.

It was like a dungeon. There was a terrible condition of living in that same prison in the city of Rome. The Romans were cruel. They did not love the believers in Yeshua the Messiah just the same as they didn't love the Jewish people. They didn't love the Jewish people, the nation of Israel. They didn't love the Jewish believers like Paul and Timothy and many others, and they didn't love all Christians in general. In fact, beloved brothers and sisters, the Apostle Paul was imprisoned by a man that is called Nero. He was the Roman Emperor. He was called the Caesar. And Nero was a wicked man.

He imprisoned many, many of the Christians, of the believers in Yeshua the Messiah at about 64, 65, 66, 67 A.D. He actually died at about 68 A.D. And he's the one that apparently had executed Paul who was in prison in the city of Rome. And therefore we believe most Bible teachers tell us that the Apostle Paul died at about 67 A.D. But before he died, He was in this dungeon. He was writing this letter. His concern for the welfare of the body of Messiah, of the believers, was so deep with grave within his soul. And therefore he's writing these letters to Timothy and to Titus as pastoral letters.

He says, listen, Timothy, listen, Titus. I want you to understand that we are going to arrive to a difficult days in the church age. And you need to care for the welfare of the believers. To minister the word of God. And to be faithful in preaching the word, in sharing the truth that God had given us in his word. And so we find out that he's writing here because, beloved brothers and sisters, he anticipated to die. If you just go to the last chapter of 2 Timothy, it's a very short book, a short letter, and Apostle Paul in the last verses of this fourth chapter, he says in verse 6, he says, for I am now ready to be offered and the time of my departure is at hand I fought a good fight I have finished my course and I have kept the faith henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness which the Lord the righteous judge shall give me in that day and not to me only but unto all them that love his appearing now can you picture the scene beloved brothers and sisters it's not a man who is having a suit and a tie sitting in some place casual and have everything well with him it is a man that is sitting in a dungeon in the last days of his life.

He is anticipating to die by Nero. He knows that his end is coming. And so he's writing this last letter that the Apostle Paul ever wrote, this second letter to this young man by the name of Timothy, as a letter of encouragement. I don't know about you. If we ever want to encourage one another in the things of the Lord. We always have, instead of putting people down and shoving people down and talking bad about other people, we should always seek to lift them up and to set before them the love of our Lord Yeshua, the Messiah. To set before them the truth of the gospel and what the Lord has done for us and the fact that whatever is going to happen here in this world, there will be days in which the Lord is going to take us out of this sin.

And we are going to stand before him. And we want to come to be in his presence that he will be able to say to us, well done, good and faithful servant. Like the Apostle Paul said, I'm ready to be offered. The time of my departure is at hand. I have fought a good fight. I have finished my course and I have kept the faith. I sought to be faithful until the Lord will take me to be with him at home. So what does he write, beloved brothers and sisters, when he writes this epistle to Timothy? He encourages this young man by the name of Timothy with the things of the Lord.

You see, Paul longed so much to see Timothy because Timothy was one of the only ones that was left to be faithful to follow after the apostle Paul many have already left the apostle Paul many have departed and left him and can you imagine after years and years and years of service many have left him many have gone away they didn't continue to follow in his footstep again I want to mention in second Timothy chapter 4 those verses notice that what he says he says to Timothy in verse 10 You remember Demas? Demas was the one who was earlier with the Apostle Paul. Now Demas had forsaken the Apostle Paul and he left him.

According to this verse, he loved this present world. You remember what John said in 1 John 2, Love not the world, nor the things that are in the world. For all that is in the world is the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, which is not of the Father. So Demas left him. Notice what he continues, and he says, Cyrethians, he says, to Galatia, and Titus went to Dalmatia. In other words, there's another two servants of the Lord that he sent them now to minister the gospel. He didn't keep them close to him. He sent them to serve the Lord.

And then he says in verse 11 of chapter 4, he says, only Luke is with me. Only Luke is with me. Imagine all the years of service, all the year of ministry, all the years that he labored, you might think, wow, he will have such a group of people around him. He might have a large congregation or an assembly or church where he will establish and he finds himself in prison, in dungeon. Demas have forsaken him. Others have left to do some ministry and he remained there alone anticipating to die. So he writes this letter of encouragement to Timothy. I don't know about you, beloved brothers and sisters.

I know very well that when there are so many discouragement and there are so many problems in this world, one need encouragement from another. And Paul sought to encourage Timothy, but it seemed to be from this letter that he was somewhat a little bit down. Even though he trusted in the Lord, but he longed to have those whom he loved so much and served with them so much, he longed them to be with him. But unfortunately, things have been allowed for him to be in prison, ready to depart out of this world. So what does he write to Timothy? As we're going to go through the second letter to Timothy, you will notice that he writes a few things to Timothy, and I would like to highlight those.

Five of the things that he highlighted here when he spoke to Timothy, when he wrote that second letter. The first thing that we can maybe emphasize in this letter that he encouraged Timothy is found in chapter 2 and verse 1 look what he says to Timothy Timothy thou therefore my son be strong in a grace that is in Mashiach Yeshua in Christ Jesus Timothy i know how things are going to happen here in this world after my departure and as the time passes by, Timothy, I would like you to be strong in the grace that is found in the person of our Lord Yeshua, Jesus the Messiah.

In other words, what he's saying, Timothy, if you're going to continue to serve me here in this world, if you're going to be a testimony here for the Lord Yeshua, the Messiah here in this world, Timothy, you need to be strong grace getter. I remember years ago when I was on the streets of New York City handing out trucks. I'm talking about now 15 years ago, 20 years ago, I don't even remember. I think I mentioned this before. The Bible teacher, the minister that ministered the Word of God to our group was Moshe Rosen, the leader and the founder of Jews for Jesus. I remember him speaking about this very passage.

And he was saying, you know, what does that mean to be strong in a grace that is in Christ Jesus, in the Mashiach Yeshua? In other words, he's saying it seems to be like a contradiction to be strong and at the same time get more grace. What does that mean? It means that if you and I are going to continue on to follow the Lord here in this world, we need more grace, more chesed from the Lord because we cannot continue the path of following the Lord without the grace of God. Every one of us need more grace from the Lord to help us to continue on in the path in which He called us to follow after Him.

We need to be strong in that. We need to say, Lord, please give me more grace, more chesed, as we say it in Hebrew. You remember the Bible tells us in John chapter 1 that the The law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Yeshua, the Messiah. In other words, beloved brothers and sisters, that's what Paul is saying to Timothy. Timothy, you're going to see what's going to happen in the coming days. There will be difficult times in your life, but be a strong grace getter. Get more grace. Don't depend upon your flesh. Don't depend upon your qualification or your achievement, your background, your heritage, your accomplishment.

Depend upon the grace of God. That's what we need, beloved brothers and sisters. We cannot depend upon ourselves because we know that one day we are on the mountain. The next day we are right down in the valley. And we are one day walking under the guidance of Ruach HaKodesh, the Holy Spirit. The next day we are walking in the flesh and our sin nature rise up. And so Paul said to Timothy, be a strong grace getter. Secondly, beloved brothers and sisters, the Apostle Paul, in the same second chapter, in chapter 2, the second thing that Paul is saying to Timothy by way of encouragement, He is really saying to him, commit to others what you have learned from me.

Don't keep it for yourself. Look at this verse, 2 Timothy chapter 2, and verse 2 says this, And the things that you have heard of me, among many witnesses, the same commit to faithful men who shall be able to teach others also. Timothy, don't keep the information that you have about the person of Yeshua the Messiah and the work that he had accomplished for salvation for us. Don't keep it for yourself. Share this with others and commit this to faithful men. You see, brothers and sisters, Paul didn't want the truth of the gospel to be laid aside. He wanted that it will be passed along to another and that other will pass along to another.

And that it will not remain only within one person that the gospel should be shared, but also to entrust these truths to other faithful men, so they in turn will be faithful like Paul and faithful like Timothy and preach these truths and share this with others. Now look at the days in which we live in. He knew that the last days are coming. Look how much false doctrine is being taught today by professing church. Look at the false practices that are going on in the professing church today. Look at what's going on in the last days of the church age, like the apostle John received this Revelation from the Lord concerning the loudest sea and days.

He said, I will spew you out of my mouth. And therefore, Paul is being responsible and encouraging Timothy. He says, Timothy, listen, you be a strong grace getter, Timothy, But also pass to others, to faithful men, the things that you have learned from me. Pass it to others, teach it to others. And beloved brothers and sisters, how ought you and I be thankful for other brothers and sisters in their spheres who shared with us the truth of the Word of God. Who shared with us faithfully the work that the Messiah had accomplished for us. They were faithful to stand for these truths that salvation is only on the basis of the finished work of Yeshua the Messiah, and that everyone has to come to Him if he or she want to be saved and forgiven and have eternal life.

Timothy, pass it along to faithful men, that they in turn will share it with others. And today, beloved brothers and sisters, the very fact that we have this Bible, this Word of God in our hands, and the letters that we have from Romans all the way to Revelation of the Brit HaChadasha, including the Tanakh, the whole Word of God, the whole Bible, is because faithful men, Jewish men in time past, and other Jewish men who wrote the Word of God, and other non-Jewish men who kept it and faithfully taught it over the years, you and I have it today because of faithful individuals. Who taught us from the Word of God.

So Timothy, Paul is saying to him, don't keep it for yourself, but share this with others. Thirdly, by way of encouraging Timothy, Paul is writing here, he's saying to Timothy, not only share the thing that you have learned from me to other men, notice what he says in chapter 4 and verse 1, he's encouraging him to preach the Word of God. Notice that, I charge thee therefore before God and the Lord Jesus the Messiah, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom. Preach the word. Be instant in season and out of season. Preach the word. You know, I was encouraged over the years by brethren who tell me, Brother Gideon, whenever you have an opportunity, preach the word don't tell stories don't have your own imagination what do you think and what's your opinion preach the word the word of God the Bible the word of God the Hebrew Scripture the Tanakh the Britach and Hashem preach the word Paul is saying to Timothy why because Yeshua said heaven and earth will pass away but my word will never pass away It remained the same.

We cannot change the Word of God. Do you know many people have tried to change the Word of God over the generation and they were not preaching the Word. They are gone. But the Word still remains. And you and I are sitting here today and people after us will sit next week and next month and next year and the Word of God remains the same. It doesn't change. And therefore we are called to preach the Word of God. The Word of God is sharper than two-edged sword. The Word of God is able to discern thoughts. The Word of God is precious. And the Word of God is faithful.

And therefore, Timothy is encouraged to preach the Word, just to share the Scripture. And beloved brothers and sisters, wherever we are, wherever the Lord has placed us, we are responsible to preach the Word of God simply clearly with a tender heart desiring that the Spirit of God will use the word of God for the benefit of those that hear the word and you remember what we read in Romans chapter 10 faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God every one of us who is a believer here today it is the word of God that had been preached to you and to me that brought us about to make a decision to say God I'm so thankful that you provided the Mashiach for me you forgave my sins and he died on the tree in order to redeem a person such as me and so number one be a strong grace getter number two commit to others what you have learned from me number three simply Timothy preach the word.

And the fourth thing that the Apostle Paul says to this younger brother by the name of Timothy in chapter 2 and this time verse 3 he says, I want you to endure hardness. You know, imagine. Notice verse 3, thou therefore endure hardness as a good soldier of Yeshua HaMashiach of Jesus the Messiah. What do you think, Paul is saying to Timothy? Do you think that when you have become a believer in Yeshua, that things are going to be easy in your life? He himself finds himself right now in prison in Rome. A few years earlier, he was also in a house in prison for two years in Rome.

He was already in prison in Qasariah, in Jerusalem, as well as in Philippi. He had such a difficult life, and now here he is in a dungeon somewhere in Rome, ready to be killed by Nero, this wicked emperor who killed many of the believers in Yeshua, the Messiah, he's saying to Timothy, Timothy, you know, you will have to learn to endure hardness. And you and I know very well that from the day that we became believers in the Lord Jesus, the Messiah, we didn't have a picnic along the way. Problems comes our way. Challenges comes our way. And you will notice the more we will be involved in the things of the Lord Jesus the Messiah, the more hardness and tough time will come across our way.

It's not necessarily going to be easy, Paul is saying to Timothy. So he's saying, therefore, in due hardness. To in due hardness means that you will have to experience some difficult times. A time that are not easy, Timothy, for you. And Paul is encouraging Timothy to realize that and to accept it and to seek the Lord's grace as he is enduring hardness. And then the fifth thing, beloved brothers and sisters, that Apostle Paul is emphasizing when he is writing this letter to younger Timothy before he dies, he is saying, notice it, back to chapter 4, and this time verse 5, He's telling Timothy, the Lord called you for a ministry.

I want you to fulfill the ministry of an evangelist for which the Lord Jesus, the Messiah, called you. But watch thou in all things and do affliction. Again, he's telling him this here. Do the work of an evangelist. Make full proof of thy ministry. What did God call you for, Timothy? If the Lord called you to serve him, You need to fulfill, as it says here, make full proof of your ministry. God gave you a ministry to do and be faithful in doing this ministry. And brothers and sisters, what did the Lord call you and I to do? He didn't call us to be spectators sitting in a pew and going on Sunday or on Shabbat to a meeting and then finishing the meeting and that's it.

I don't need to serve the Lord the rest of the week. He called us to do something for Yeshua, something for Jesus the Messiah. And Paul is saying to Timothy, Timothy, listen, you are to fulfill the ministry which the Lord called you for. He didn't call you just to save you, to give you a ticket so you can go to heaven and the rest of the time not having any participation in the Lord's work. You have a ministry to do. He gave us gift, Ephesians chapter 4. Romans chapter 12, 1 Peter chapter 4, 1 Corinthians chapter 12, and the gift that he has given to the believers, they are to be using the gift for the ministry to serve the people of God.

We know very well that as believers in Yeshua the Messiah, we never have satisfaction in our own soul, in our walk with the Lord, when we do not participate in the Lord's work. The Lord's work is not one man's show. It is ministry among the people of God that every member of the body of Messiah is responsible to take this responsibility. And so, Timothy, number one, be strong in the grace. Number two, commit to others the thing that you have learned. Number three, preach faithfully the word of God. Number four, endure hardness as a soldier. Number five, fulfill the ministry that the Lord had called you for.

See, that's the reason that Apostle Paul wrote this letter to the man by the name of Timothy. Now, there is a key verse that is really important to read and that really is the theme of the whole second epistle to Timothy. And this is found in chapter one, back to our chapter, chapter one. And the verse is verses 13 and 14. This is really the key verses that are found here in that letter. Let me read them. We're going to reread them again in our next meeting together. But notice what he said. Hold fast the form of sound words which thou hast heard of me in faith and in love which is in Christ Jesus, in the Messiah, Yeshua.

That good thing which was committed unto thee, keep by the Holy Spirit which is dwelling in us. Timothy, Paul is saying to him, hold fast. Notice the two words here. In verse 13, hold fast. In verse 14, keep. Hold fast and keep. Why? Because as time is going to pass by and he's heading on towards the last days, the sound doctrine will be slipped. And the responsibility of those who want to please the Lord is to hold fast to the sound words, to the sound teaching. And secondly, to keep those things, the good things which have been committed unto us. You know, brothers and sisters, over the years, the Lord has raised in our lives some individuals that taught us the Word.

And we need to appreciate that. And if they preach the truth of the Word of God, to hold fast to the truth that they have taught us. And to keep them in our own hearts because that will preserve us when false teaching comes through. And when we are exposed to all kinds of things that Satan will seek to cause us to divert from one place to another, from one thing to another, and we are to hold on, to keep and to hold on that which is sound and which is honoring unto our Lord Yeshua the Messiah. And so, beloved brothers and sisters, the Apostle Paul, writing this letter about 67 AD, he's ready to die.

He knows that he's going to leave this scene. And he's writing to a younger brother by the name of Timothy to encourage him to continue on in the path that the Lord had called him. And so you and I need this as well today. We also need encouragement to continue on with the things of the Lord. Even though at times there are frictions and problems and challenges, we are called to be faithful and to continue on in the things that the Lord had given unto us. Now I want you also to notice how many times the word Christ Jesus is mentioned in that order. Christ, Mashiach, Jesus, Yeshua is mentioned.

Not only Jesus Christ or Yeshua HaMashiach, but the reverse, Christ Jesus, the Messiah Yeshua. Notice, for example, in verse 1, he said, Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, according to the promise of life which is in, notice the reverse, Christ Jesus, the Messiah Yeshua. Notice in verse 2, at the end, he says that the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. Notice the reverse. Mashiach Yeshua, rather than Yeshua HaMashiach. Why is it? You will notice that it's mentioned here quite a few times in this book. At the end of verse 9, in Christ Jesus, in Mashiach Yeshua, rather than in Jesus the Messiah. Why is it?

Well, there's a reason for that. It is because the Messiah Jesus was no longer on earth. See, when you say Yeshua HaMashiach, you emphasize his humanity when he was here on earth but when you say Mashiach Yeshua you emphasize the fact that he was now the exalted and ascended and is seated at God's right hand he is the exalted one, he is in heaven he is not here on earth anymore and it shows us now that we are linked with a heavenly Messiah who is right now in heaven notice we never read in the Bible that we are called the body of Jesus but we are called the body of Christ the body of the Messiah why because he finished the work here on this earth he is now exalted and ascended he is the Mashiach the anointed one that God said to him in Psalm 110 sit thou on my right hand until i make thine enemies thy footstool.

And so, here we can see that we are related to one that is the head of the body, who is in heaven, and the believers are here on earth to live here for him. And it is so interesting, when the apostle Paul, before he became an apostle, his name, of course, is Shaul, this Jewish man on the way to Damascus. When he persecuted the Jewish believers, the Hebrew Christian of the first century, and Yeshua said to him, Shaul, Shaul, why persecutest thou me? Now, of course, he was not persecuting Yeshua because Yeshua was in heaven already. But the believers here are linked with him. He is the head in heaven, and we are the body of Christ, the body of Mashiach.

And so, beloved brothers and sisters, there is a reason why many, many times you find in these epistles, instead of Yeshua HaMashiach, you find Mashiach Yeshua. Instead of Jesus Christ, you find the word Christ Jesus. The anointed one, the risen one, the glorified one, who is already in the right hand of the Father in heaven. And we, the believers, Jew and Gentile, united together, are the body of Messiah here on earth. Beautiful to understand it, as the Apostle Paul is writing. So now, with the remaining time that we have, let me just highlight a few thoughts here in chapter 1, in the first five verses. The first thing we find out in verse 1, that of course it was Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ, by the will of God, according to the promise of life, which is in Christ Jesus, in the Mashiach Yeshua.

Paul is saying in verse 1 already of this epistle he says listen Timothy i am an apostle i was called by the Lord Yeshua the Messiah to serve him here in this world and it is by the will of God it's not my thought i did not planned it it was the will of God for me to be that servant and it is according to the promise of life which is in the Mashiach Yeshua in the exalted Messiah Jesus. Now notice, brothers and sisters, there is a promise of life. You see, a person that rejects the Messiah will never have eternal life. The Bible say, 1 John says, He that has the Son has life.

He that has not the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him. Timothy, Paul is saying, to him in this first verse he says listen I was called by God and I became a messenger of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah and apostle it is not according to my plan I didn't plan it to be so but it is according to the will of God and it is according to the promise there is a promise of life for those that have accepted the finished work of the Messiah Yeshua John 3.16 says for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believeth on him shall not perish but have everlasting life how beautiful to see the book of Colossians tells us in chapter 3 it says in verse 4 Christ the Mashiach he's our life he's our life without him we are lifeless we have no hope without him we have no hope he's our life and so there's a promise that the apostle Paul said and emphasizes here in this verse 1 of chapter 1 it is according to the promise of life and this life can only be found.

In the Messiah Jesus, in Christ Jesus. That is verse 1. And so you notice, it's like Paul is saying shalom to Timothy because he doesn't know if he's going to see him. And as he's saying shalom, he also says lehitraot because he knows he's going to be with him in glory. But he says, I'll see you again. But still, Timothy, when you serve, just like me, make sure that you express to others that the only way to find life is through the person of the exalted Messiah who finished the work on the tree. Secondly, in verse 2, it was written to Timothy, as I mentioned, and I want you to notice the affection that Paul had for Timothy.

He loved him, brothers and sisters. He says in verse 2, to Timothy, my dearly beloved son. Now, if you go back to 1 Timothy 1 for a moment, he didn't say the word, my dearly beloved. In verse 2, he says, unto Timothy, my own son in the faith. 1 Timothy 1 and verse 2. But in 2 Timothy 1 and verse 2, he had the word dearly beloved. And many suggest that now that the Apostle Paul is just at the end of his life, Nero is going to execute him at any time. Paul showed his affection towards this younger brother whom he was used to lead him to the Lord. And he said to him, My dearly beloved, my dearly beloved son.

He called him son. And the reason that he is calling him son in Hebrew ben is because he led him. He was used by the Lord to lead him to Yeshua the Messiah. And Timothy became his son in the faith. He was not a son in the flesh. He was not born through Paul. But he was a son in the faith. And he loved him. And he wanted so badly to encourage him and to see him before he is leaving this scene, this world. He is continuing to tell him in verse 2. If Timothy is going to continue to serve the Lord in these difficult days, He said to him, grace, chesed, mercy, rachamim, and peace, shalom, from God the Father and from Christ, Messiah, Jesus, our Lord.

Timothy, if you're going to serve the Lord and to remain here as a spiritual man, a servant of the Lord in this world, You will need, number one, grace. You will need, number two, mercy. And you will need the peace of God in difficult days. Don't you think, beloved brothers and sisters, that you and I also need every day grace, every day mercy, and every day shalom, the peace that passes understanding. Sometime when we go through trials and difficult times in our life, to whom shall we turn? We can turn to the Lord and ask for grace, ask for mercy, and ask for peace that passes all understanding.

By the way, he adds here the word mercy, which he doesn't have in other epistle. In those pastoral letters, he adds this word because any man, any servant of the Lord who minister among the people of God need not only grace and not only peace but he also need a lot of mercy and Timothy will need that mercy again and again Lord have mercy on us as we minister among the people of God then verse three brothers and sisters Paul now want to tell Timothy and he does tell him how much he is so thankful to God that Timothy had been brought into his life.

And so he says in verse 3, I thank God whom I serve from my forefathers with pure conscience that without ceasing, I have remembrance of thee in my prayer night and day. Timothy, I want you to know that I am so thankful that God placed you in my life. I am so thankful to see your faithfulness, Timothy, your desire to serve the Lord. Timothy, for me, Paul is saying, he's really opening his heart to Timothy and he says, Timothy, I am so thankful to God because God has placed you in my life. And I served God all the time. He says, from my forefathers' days with pure conscience.

You know that word forefathers is mimei avotai. Long time ago, even before I became a believer in Yeshua. I served the God of our fathers. And I didn't know that Yeshua was the Messiah until God revealed him to me. And now that I know that Yeshua is the Mashiach, the Messiah, the Savior, the Redeemer. I am also faithfully serving Him with pure conscience. You know, Paul had a clean conscience. You know, sometimes, brothers and sisters, we don't have a clean conscience. And when we don't have a clean conscience, we don't have liberty. And when we don't have liberty, we can serve in a way that is pleasing to the Lord.

But Paul had a clean conscience. You know what it means? It doesn't mean that he was perfect. It doesn't mean that he didn't sin. But it means that when he sinned, he confessed it to the Lord. And the Lord, according to 1 John 1, 9, he says, if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Paul had a clean conscience. He judged himself regularly. He repented of the wrongdoing when he was doing. You remember when he executed the judgment upon the early Jewish believers, how he'd grieved his heart. He was broken. He says, I have persecuted the church, the assembly, the believers.

He felt the guilt of what he had done to the early believers. But he repented of this. And he turned to the Lord. And now he has a clean conscience. And he says, listen, I have served the God to whom I am so thankful about you, Timothy, and I have served him for my forefather's day with pure conscience. That without ceasing, Timothy, I want you to know, I am praying for you night and day. You know, Paul was a man of prayer. Can you imagine Paul, when he went to bed, he didn't forget to pray. He went on his knees, I'm sure, and he was praying for Timothy.

When he got up in the morning, he didn't forget to pray and to thank God. He was praying for Timothy again. And he was throughout, and you notice what he says, he used the word night and day. It's very Jewish, because the day does not begin in the daytime, it begins in the evening. And in the evening and the morning was the first day. That's why he used this expression, I do not cease to pray for you, remembering you, Timothy, in my prayer night and day. It's an ongoing prayer. You know, never reject someone who prays for you. We need the prayers of the saints.

We need to pray for each other. It might not seem to be so that immediately we get an answer, But prayer is essential. And that's why we should pray all the time. We should pray for each other. We should pray for the servants of the Lord. We should pray for the salvation of our family. We should pray for the needs of God's people. Paul is saying to Timothy, Timothy, I always remember you, Timothy, in my prayer, night and day, night and day. Laila vayom, Laila vayom. Night and day I am praying for you, Timothy. Thank God for the prayers of Paul for Timothy and for others, for you and I.

By the way, if you read other passages in Romans 1, he's praying for the Romans. In Romans 10, he's praying for Israelite people. In Corinthians chapter 1, he prays for the Corinthians. In Ephesians chapter 1, he prays for the Ephesians. Paul was a man of prayer. He was taking the time to pray. We sometimes begin to pray and we fall asleep, right? Don't you feel like there's a time we start to pray and we just get so tired and we fall asleep but prayer is important in the life of God's people in verse 4 he continued now in the introduction notice how his affection towards Timothy he wanted so badly to see Timothy and he says Timothy greatly desiring to see thee being mindful of thy tears that I may be filled with joy Timothy I have such a burden to see you I'm desiring so much to see you and I remember Timothy that the last time I've seen you I remember you weeping before the Lord maybe Timothy was sad when he saw Paul suffering maybe Timothy was sad because he saw the condition of the people to whom he was serving specifically at Ephesus maybe he was sad because of the fact that things were so wrong in various areas he cared for the welfare of the people of God and the work of the Lord you know brothers and sisters I can assure you that if we will weep more for the Lord's people.

And for the work of the Lord the Lord will bless us more and we will see fruit in the lives of God's people our problem is that we don't weep enough I remember years ago when I used to go to a meeting when I've seen the brethren crying on their knees it left so much impression upon my heart I remember when I was a young boy when I saw my grandfather in the Jewish community in the synagogue in Jerusalem in the day of atonement crying to God for mercy and forgiveness and I saw the shedding of the tears But you see, we are too proud to weep.

We think that everything is okay. We don't realize how it was real, the things of the Lord to the Apostle Paul, to Shaul, and how to Timothy it was a real, it was a real life experience. It was not a religion. It was a reality in their lives. Jesus, Yeshua, was real to them. The Mashiach was real to them. His love for God's people was real in the life of these men. And that's why Paul remembers. He says, I remember, Timothy, verse 4. Oh, I remember the tears. I'm mindful of thy tears. And I want you to come, Timothy, that you will give me some joy.

I want to see you, Timothy. You see, Paul is ready to live. According to chapter 4, as we already have mentioned then, he says in the last verses, and I'm repeating this, for I'm now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. Oh, Timothy, I'm longing to see you before I pass away. You see the heartbeat of the Apostle Paul here. And finally, brothers and sisters, in verse 5, Paul remembers Timothy's godly grandmother and mother. Notice that? When I call to remembrance, he says, the unfeigned faith that is, number one, with you, Timothy, which dwell first in your grandmother, Lois, And in thy mother, Eunice, and I am also persuaded that it is in thee also.

Timothy, he said to him, I remember the faith that your grandmother, Savta, and your mother, Emma, had. They were women, Jewish women, who believed in Yeshua, the Messiah, earlier, before Timothy became a believer. And it's so nice to see, you see, this is a Jewish family. You know, those of us that are Jewish know very well the struggles that we experience because we believe that Yeshua is the Messiah. We know what our family think about us. We know how they don't understand how can you believe in this person by the name of Yeshua, Jesus. But you see, beloved brothers and sisters, already in the early days of the assembly, of the church age, in the 60s A.D., the early believers experienced the same thing.

And they had to have faith in God, faith in the Mashiach, faith in the Word of God. And Paul says, I call to remembrance. I remember. Timothy, the faith that your grandmother had, Lois, and your mother Eunice had. What a commendation, brothers and sisters. Just turn to chapter 3 for a moment here. And we're going to close with this. Look at this. Apparently, his grandmother and mother left an impact upon him. Look what it says in chapter 3 and verse 14 and 15. But continue thou in the things which thou had learned and has been assured of knowing of whom thou has learned them. And that from a child thou hast known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation, through faith which is in the Mashiach Yeshua, in Christ Jesus.

From a child. So apparently we learn from here that his grandmother Lois and his mother Eunice though his mother was married to a Greek man apparently even though she was married to a Greek man they taught him about Yeshua the Messiah in certain time in their life they realized after all that yes even though our nation Israel did not accept the fact that Yeshua is the Messiah but we believe that he is the Messiah and they have taught him from a child you have known the Holy Scriptures. And Paul says, I call to remembrance, verse 5 of chapter 1, the unfeigned faith that is in you, Timothy, which dwelt first in your grandmother, Lois, and in your mother, Eunice, and I am persuaded that in thee also.

Beloved brothers and sisters, this is the last letter that Apostle Paul was writing to Timothy and this is a great example of how can a man that is living this scene ready to encourage a younger person by the name of Timothy and we will learn a lot about this second epistle specifically as it's. Applied to our days, the last days of the church age. May the Lord bless his word.