Shabbat Shalom. God bless you. Please open your Bibles. We are studying in 2 Timothy chapter 3, from verse 10 to verse 17. Paul is writing to Timothy, and he said, But thou hast fully known my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, long-suffering, love, patience, persecutions, afflictions, which came unto me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra, what persecution I endured, but out of them all the Lord deliver me. Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived. But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned, and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast 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 Christ Jesus. All Scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works. Again, I'm repeating myself, but bear with me, that Paul was writing this letter just before he died. He knew very well, according to chapter 4 and verse 6 and 7, I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought a good fight I have finished my course I have kept the faith Paul, Shaul was faithful until the time that he was ready to depart out of this scene it was about 67 66 AD when Nero the Roman emperor have executed Paul according to history.

Paul was ready to perish, he was ready to die. He knew very well that soon enough he is going to leave this world and by way of preparing others to continue on with the developing of the assembly, of the congregation, of the body of Messiah, Paul was now instructing Timothy in this last letter. And this is very important, just like a father. Who would leave this scene and he wants to instruct his children and he says, listen, here are the way things are going to develop as time is going to pass by. I have this information for you. You take this information and continue on to develop what God had called you to do.

And so you can see the heart of the Apostle Paul. And i believe every Bible teacher or spiritual leader in the world today he has a responsibility to hand over the privileges and the responsibility and the things of the Lord to the ones that are just alongside with him why because the truth of the word of God must be continuing on the gospel must be preached the teaching of the word must be taught the word of God and occupation with Yeshua the Messiah must continue on because we are like you might say servants that handing over the responsibility to others and they continue on and another one continue on.

It is so important to understand that and Paul, Shaul, took this responsibility and he sent this letter to Timothy who was already serving the Lord in the city of Ephesus. And so in 2 Timothy he wrote him this letter and he encouraged him in continuing to follow the Lord. If you remember in our previous meeting together, we said that the third chapter in which we are right now, Paul is giving instruction. To Timothy for an effective ministry. If you and I are going to be effective in the work of the Lord, we need to follow the instruction that are given to us in 2 Timothy chapter 3. Number one, Timothy, turn away from those who do not live godly in their life.

This is 2 Timothy 3, verses 1 to 9. And now in these verses that I read, two more thoughts, two more important truths are being presented by Paul to Timothy. Secondly, he says, verses 10, 11, and 12, Timothy followed those who do live godly here in this world. And thirdly, Timothy, verses 13 to 17, Timothy continues on with the instructions that are given to us in the Holy Scriptures. Kitvei Hakodesh in Hebrew. And so I would like today in this ministry to talk about those two additional things that Paul is encouraging Timothy in the third chapter. Let me remind you that we are now in a great house. The church became, Christendom became that great house.

In this great house, there are all kind of vessels. There are vessels of honor and there are vessels of dishonor. Remember that? We have already talked about it in chapter 2 and verse 20. But in a great house, there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth, some to honor and some to dishonor. Christendom, the professing church, became a great house. Within this great house in the last days, there will be all sorts found under the umbrella of those who confess that they belong to Yeshua, to Jesus, the Messiah. But in this great house, there are all sorts of views, and many who claim that they belong to Yeshua the Messiah, and many never truly have accepted him as their Lord and Mashiach and Savior.

You know, in the earlier days, in the dark ages, do you know how they got people become part of the church? They baptized little babies, and they called them Christians. But in reality they never knew the Lord Yeshua is their Lord and Savior you don't become a child of God by baptism you don't become a child of God because your mom and have accepted the Messiah you don't become a child of God by paying to any priest or any person and saying make me a child of God you become a child of God through faith in our Lord Yeshua the Messiah you cannot earn it you cannot pay for that you cannot work for that it is by gracia saved through faith and that is not of yourself this is a gift of God lest any man should boast and so in this great house there are many who claim to know the Messiah the Messiah but actually they never knew the Lord and you see Timothy had to face this Timothy had to experience the challenges that some who have already in his days when he was serving at Ephesus claimed to belong to Yeshua the Messiah, claimed to be a Meshichim, a Messiah follower, a Christian.

But this is one group. But there is another group within Christendom that are true believers. But in their lives, they don't live a life that is honoring to the Lord. And so while they are saved, they are forgiven but they don't live their lives in a way that they ought to live you and I at a time fail the Lord in the manner in which we live and so sometimes we are not vessels that are honoring the Lord and therefore Timothy is exhorted to separate and you remember the first nine verses he already told them notice that verse 1 these know also that in the last day perilous time shall come For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemous, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, truth-breakers, false accusers, incontinent, fearless, despised of those that are good, traders, and heady, and high-minded, lovers of pleasure, more than lovers of God.

And notice verse 5, having the form of godliness, but denying the power thereof from such, turn away, Timothy, Paul is saying to him in the first nine verses. And you see, brothers and sisters, I mentioned it before, and please bear with me, 2 Timothy does not only talk about the unbelieving world, but it also talks about the professing church. Believers and unbelievers. Those that take the name of Yeshua and yet deny the power thereof. Verse 5. Having a form of godliness. They are religious, but there is no reality in their life. They named the name of Jesus. But they do not walk in fellowship with Him. They are believers, but believers who walk calmly, who walk away from the Lord and not having fellowship with Him.

They will be those who will one day stand, like all of us, at the judgment seat of the Messiah, 2 Corinthians 5, verse 10, and there the Messiah Yeshua himself will have to burn anything and everything that was not done for him. These are believers who are not enjoying fellowship with the Lord Yeshua the Messiah. They have a form of godliness, but deny the power they offer. And then on the other hand, You have those who are not believers, and they also named the name of the Lord Jesus, the name of the Lord Yeshua, the Messiah, but they did not accept him as their Lord and Savior. They will ultimately end up to suffer the judgment of the Lord at the great white throne judgment found in Revelation chapter 20.

One day they will have to stand before the Lord. As we read in Matthew 7, many will say unto me, Lord, Lord, having we done this in your name and in your name we cast out demons and so on. But he said, I never knew you. You never had a relationship with me. You have never invited me into my heart. How sad that will be when people who have gone on their life, assuming that religion will bring them to heaven and never accepted the grace of God through the person of Yeshua the Messiah. So Timothy is called to separate from both. On the one hand, from those who are believers who live carnally, and on the other hand, from those who are not believers but profess to be part of the church.

Timothy is called by the Apostle Paul to separate from both groups. Well, this is not easy because in Christendom, you have those that are truly believers and those that are unbelievers. And within those that are truly believers, you have those that do not walk in fellowship with the Lord, live carnally and away from the fellowship with the Lord, Yeshua, the Messiah. Turn away, Timothy, because they will only draw you further and further from the things that belong to Yeshua, Jesus, the Messiah. And so now, beloved brothers and sisters, in the passage we read, he's telling them two more encouraging things to do in the last days of the church of the assembly.

Notice in verses 10, 11, and 12, he's encouraging Timothy now not only to turn away from ungodly men and ungodly individuals but now to follow godly men and women who love God and seek to live for him and so notice what he says first of all in verse 10a he said to him but thou has fully known my doctrine and manner of life just pause here for moment. That expression, manner of life. It is so interesting, that expression, manner of life, the Hebrew says, ofen hachayim, the way I live. You knew, Timothy, the manner of life in which you saw me, the way I lived as a child of God, as a believer in Yeshua, the Messiah.

Now to our shame, we oftentimes live publicly differently than the way we live privately isn't it true many times our public life is different than our private life and it is unfortunate but because we are human and we are failing people we are oftentimes not living consistently with the way we live privately and with the way we live publicly. But as far as Paul was concerned he says to Timothy Timothy you knew my life you know the way i lived you watched me you observed me you have heard me you have seen me you have been part of the ministry which i have had in my life Timothy you have observed my manner of life apparently if you and i would have been with Paul Shaul some two thousand years ago we would see a man who is really in some small measure you might say looks like or behave like Yeshua, Jesus, the Messiah.

Can you imagine what it must have been for those early believers among our own Jewish people who have actually lived with Yeshua, the Messiah? They watched him. They saw the way he walked in his life. They felt his heartbeat. John, Yohanan, leaned on Jesus' breast at Passover, at Pesach. They watched him. John said, we have handled him with our hands. We have touched him. We have seen him. We have been with him. Well he must have been the most attractive person ever lived and Apostle Paul learned from Yeshua the Messiah though he had never seen him on earth he had seen the glorified Messiah on the way to Damascus in Acts chapter 9 but he was so attracted to Yeshua he was so occupied with Yeshua that he changed his life and from being an aggressive man you remember earlier he was so aggressive he wanted to persecute the early Jewish believers he did persecute our own brethren the early Jewish believers who became believers in Yeshua the Messiah going to the synagogue and pulling them and bringing them to the city of Jerusalem to be beaten and some of them to kill to harm them because they have accepted Yeshua and later on when he became a child of God through faith in Yeshua the Messiah he recognized the grace of God and he changed his manner of life that Shaul Paul now is a servant of Yeshua the Messiah in humility in brokenness of heart he served his Lord and his Messiah and so he says Timothy.

You have watched my manner of life you have watched me you have seen me you have heard me you observe the way I live the way I behave and Timothy and notice as he says that in verse 10 he says Thou had fully known my manner of life. You have fully known that the expression here in verse 10, fully known, is not only fully known, but you have also followed the manner of life that I have lived. It must have been so precious to watch, to observe these two early believers, Shaul Paul and Timothy, the way they lived their lives. They were devoted to Yeshua the Messiah sometimes you know when you think about it you ask yourself you know we live in a time when in Christianity or in Christendom they want to be so popular you know and so you know we are looking for all kind of things in this world and we don't realize that when you follow the Lord you will experience tribulation and persecution and rejection and misunderstanding by the world which is outside here it says in verse 12 and I'll get to it in a moment and all that will live godly in the Messiah Yeshua shall suffer persecution in other words following Yeshua the Messiah does not mean that we're going to claim everything and you're going to have everything you're only going to have persecution according to what Paul is saying here in this all that will live godly in Yeshua the Messiah will I assure you suffer persecution and so in verse 10a we see the manner of life that Timothy have seen in the Apostle Paul.

The Apostle Paul who stood before King Agrippa in Acts chapter 26. He says, King Agrippa, my whole nation know the manner of life in which I have lived. Shaul Paul lived a life of an example and devotion to the Lord. And so the observation of the manner of life it was Gideon who said in Judges chapter 7 verse 17 he says do as I do watch me and do as I do because that Gideon was a follower of the God of Israel he says to them look at me and do likewise Judges chapter 7 what a beautiful way in which we are encourage. And you see, brothers and sisters, if we are going to be successful in ministry, we are to learn from other men and women, godly brothers and sisters, who set an example in our lives.

And that's what we need. The younger people here that are with us today, I encourage you. I encourage you, if you want to be successful in your life as you're going to serve the Lord, You connect with brothers and sisters who walk with our Lord Yeshua the Messiah. That will be a blessing to you that you will never, ever regret it. That's the encouragement that Paul gives us. Now, secondly, notice Timothy, not only that you knew my manner of life, verse 10a, but Timothy also knew Paul's doctrine, manner of teaching. You see, doctrine was so important. Notice, I'm reading again, verse 10. He says, you have fully known my doctrine.

The Hebrew word is hora'ah, limud, to teach the teaching. Now I know that today in the world, in general, in Christendom, people say, you know what, it's doctrine. Why are you so brothering with doctrine? You need to have love. We all should love each other. Like the Beatles says, all we need is love, you know. But we don't need only love, beloved brothers and sisters. We also need sound teaching. We need good doctrine. You know, it is the God of our fathers who have taught our nation, Israel, the importance of sound teaching and the importance of the teaching that are given to us in Scripture.

Psalm 119 that we read earlier, every word has to do, I love thy law, thy instruction help me in my life. And so on, you have the words teaching and instruction and counsel and all the Hebrew words that has to do with God teaching his people. And Paul said to Timothy, Timothy, you knew the doctrine. You knew the way and what I do teach. And as I teach, you know the thing that I taught. I didn't teach things that are not found in God's word. I didn't teach things that the Bible does not teach me. I didn't teach things that Yeshua did not teach me to teach.

And it is so important, the doctrine, the teaching. If somebody ever tells you, well, doctrines are not important, you know that there is a real problem here. Doctrines are very, very important. The word in doctrine is limud in Hebrew, hora'ah. The true, sound teaching are so important, beloved brothers and sisters. The men of Israel of old have taught us the importance of doctrine. Look at, for a moment, just a verse in the book of Proverbs, chapter 4. Shlomo, the king of Israel, said to our forefathers, and again, Solomon himself did not follow the doctrine that he himself had been teaching. But notice what he said. He said, hear ye children the instruction of a father, and attend to no understanding.

For I give you good doctrine, forsake ye not my law. For I was my father's son, tender and only beloved in the sight of my mother. He taught me also, and he said unto me, Let thine heart retain my words, keep my commandments, and live. This is the teaching that God had given our nation, Israel, the importance of listening and submitting to the Word of God. Good and healthy teaching that had been given to the people of Israel. Go to 1 Timothy chapter 4 and verse 6. Listen to that. If thou put the brethren in remembrance of these things, Thou shalt be a good minister of Yeshua the Messiah, nourished up in words of faith and of good doctrine, whereunto thou hast attained.

You notice that? 1 Timothy 4, verse 6. Look at verse 13 in that chapter. Till I come, give attendance to reading, to exhortation, and to doctrine. Continue on in verse 16, take heed unto thyself and unto their doctrine, continue in them. For in doing this thou shalt both save thyself and them that hear thee. You see the importance of doctrine that Apostle Paul have encouraged Timothy and he is encouraging us as well. So it is important and why I'm saying it today, especially today, brothers and sisters, Look at this in the time in which we live in. We are in the last days, as 2 Timothy 3 verse 1 says. These all sort of doctrinal views that are existing in Christendom.

Those that profess that they belong to Yeshua, the Messiah. Well, what would you follow? Where are we going to go? What are you going to adhere to? Who are you going to listen to? Well, you got to go back to the Word of God. The Tanakh, Old Testament, and the Brit HaChadasha, the New Covenant. It is only here that we can find sound doctrine that will help us in our walk here with the Lord. And this is so important that Paul is encouraging Timothy. Notice again, back to 2 Timothy, chapter 3, and this time again, verse 10. And this is the third thing that I would like to emphasize today.

Not only that Timothy knew Paul's manner of life, Paul's doctrine, but also, look at this, 10c, he says to him, you also fully known my purpose. My purpose. What do you think Paul's purpose was in what he was doing? When Paul shared the gospel and occupied people with Jesus, with Yeshua the Messiah, do you think he sought glory for himself? He had his motives, his inner motives, and the purpose of his heart was to build the body of Mashiach, to edify the believers, to glorify Yeshua the Messiah. This is the purpose that Paul had when he shared the message of the Word of God. He didn't think, well, listen, if I'm going to be this great preacher, the Apostle Paul, I will be placed upon a podium and I'll be able to have all the honor and the greatness from everybody else.

You think Paul thought it in such a way? No, the purpose of the Apostle Paul is to do God's will and to glorify Yeshua, our Messiah. That's the reason that he ministered. Can you imagine who would want to be in a state in which the Apostle Paul was? Constantly being persecuted, hated without a cause, beaten many times, we're going to read about it in a moment, rejected and despised by men as he followed his Messiah. Who would want to be in that situation? Paul didn't have an axe to grind. Paul wanted to minister the Word of God so the body of Messiah will be growing more people who are lost in sin.

They can come to know Yeshua the Messiah and be eternally saved. That was the motive of the Apostle Paul. And so it's very interesting to see when he said to Timothy, he said, you have also fully known my purpose. Timothy spent enough time with Shaul Paul to realize that the purpose of the Apostle Paul in serving in the gospel was not to gain glory for himself, but to set the person of Yeshua the Messiah before others. And beloved brothers and sisters, this is true ministry. True ministry is not attracting people to oneself. True ministry is attracting people to the person of Jesus, Yeshua, the Messiah.

True ministry, the purpose should be that we're going to exalt the Lord and have people encouraged. Unsaved people hear the message and come to know Yeshua, the Messiah, and accept Him as their Lord and Savior. So, number one, the manner of life. Number two, the doctrine. Number three, the purpose in ministry. And you remember what he says in Philippians 1, verse 21, For me to live is Mashiach, is Christ. And to die, it is gain. That's the way the Apostle Paul wanted to live his life. Because the Mashiach, the Messiah, was his life. Unfortunately, we many times cannot say that. Many times when we review our own hearts and our conscience and our life, we can say, Lord, I fail you.

I stumble and I fail. Many times the pride and the self-will rises within us. And if we are honest, we will say, Lord, I fail you. But give me grace that the purpose of the ministry, the purpose of my life will be to glorify Yeshua the Messiah and to be a blessing to many others. The fourth thing that i would like to emphasize in verse 10 is that Timothy also knew Paul faith Paul's long suffering Paul's love and Paul's patience you see look again the verse 10 he said thou had fully known and then the last part my faith my long suffering my love and my patience I added the word my, but it's a thought here that you have observed me, Timothy, and you have seen my faith, you have seen my long-suffering, you have observed and seen my love, and you have observed and experienced to see my patience.

Now that tells us a lot about Shaul Paul, because if you are going to have a good ministry, a good service for the Lord in days such as this, you have to develop in your life, faith, long-suffering love and patience you know, you can't serve the Lord Timothy would never be able to serve the Lord if he's not going to trust God have faith you remember what we read in Hebrews chapter 11 without faith it is impossible to please God for he that cometh to God must believe that he is and that he is a reworder of them who diligently seek him. That has to do with faith.

When you think about long-suffering, you remember what we read in Ephesians chapter 4? Endeavor to keep the unity of the Spirit. Having long-suffering. We are part of the body of Messiah. If we are going to keep, maintain not the unity of the body, but the unity of the Spirit, that the people of God will be an encouraged people, we must have long suffering. How long is long suffering? It's getting longer and longer and longer needed as we serve among the people of God. Timothy, do you want to serve the Lord in the last days? Do you want to be effective? Do you want to have an effective ministry, Timothy?

Well, you don't only have to have faith and trust God for that, But you also have to have long suffering. Meaning that you're going to have to bear with a lot of things. With your brothers and with your sisters who are not always easy. You see, we are not an easy people. We have a sin nature that rises up within us many, many times. And we need a lot of grace from the Lord in dealing with each other. And if we are going to maintain the unity of the Spirit, We must have long suffering, Paul said to Timothy. You notice that I said the unity of the spirit and I didn't say the unity of the body because the unity of the body is not maintained by us.

It's maintained by Yeshua the Messiah. He brings the people into that one body. But we are to maintain the unity of the spirit, the way in which we conduct ourselves, the behavior of the brothers and sisters. You and I are to seek to maintain it as we have long suffering one towards another. Thirdly, in this verse 10, D is mentioning love. You know, and it reminds me of a verse in 1 Corinthians chapter 13, the apostle there speaking about love. And notice this statement, especially in verse 8. Paul is saying there, love never fail. Love never fails, prophecies shall fail, tongue shall seize, knowledge vanish away, but love never faileth.

And Paul must have practiced this when he was serving. He says, Timothy, you watched me, you saw my manner of life, you heard about my doctrine, you knew about my purpose, And you also, Timothy, you knew about my faith in Yeshua. You know about the long suffering. But Timothy, you also have experienced my love towards others in the ministry. Brothers and sisters, love never fails. You want to keep a good friendship? Love your friend. You want to keep a good marriage? Love your wife and your husband. You want to keep a good relationship in the body of Messiah? Love the brethren. You want to keep a good relationship with God?

Love the Lord Yeshua, the Messiah. Love never fails. Do you know that we're going to go to heaven and we're going to be with Yeshua? Prophecies will stop. Tongues, languages to be able to speak in another language of another nation without to take a school lesson it will also, according to verse 8 it will cease even knowledge somebody says, wow, I have so much knowledge that will also vanish away but in the presence of God one thing will remain and that's love the love of God towards us the love of Yeshua the Messiah towards humanity and the love that you and I will enjoy throughout eternity that will never fail, never stop and Paul said to Timothy you are known also my faith, long suffering, love and fourthly beloved brothers and sisters in this verse 10D he says my patience I thought of the verse in Romans chapter 5 tribulation work as patience and then in Hebrews chapter 10 the Hebrew writer wrote to our forefathers the Hebrew believers he says be patient unto the coming of the Lord Hebrews chapter 10 and verse 36 and verse 37 Yeshua is coming He is coming and therefore be patient He is coming soon and when He is going to come.

We are going to be with Him and like Him never to be separated from Him anymore and Apostle Paul encouraging Timothy in such a way, in verse 10, where he mentioned manner of life, doctrine, purpose, faith, long-suffering, love, and patience. So we need that if we are going to serve the Lord, if we are going to participate in the work of the Lord, that is essential for a valuable ministry and a ministry that will be profitable for the people of God and honoring the Lord. Well, we continue in 2 Timothy. Now notice in verses 11 and 12, notice what he is emphasizing there. Timothy, I want to remind you that you observed the sufferings that I have experienced in my life.

Look at this, brothers and sisters. Verse 11 and verse 12. He says, you have fully known my persecution, my affliction, which came unto me at Antioch and at Iconium, at Lystra, what persecution I endured. But out of them all the Lord hath delivered me. And yea, all that will live godly in the Messiah, Yeshua, shall suffer persecution. Timothy, you also observe the kind of persecution that I have experienced in my life. Now, brothers and sisters, listen, Paul really has experienced persecution. You know, we have to admit, we don't like to be persecuted. Who likes to be persecuted? When you think about Paul and many Christians or many Messiah followers that live in many, many other countries in this world in which we live in, who suffer for the name of the Lord Jesus, of the Lord Yeshua, the Messiah.

We know that. We heard even recently of in Syria. We hear in many other countries, many Muslim nations or many communist nations, how believers in the former Soviet Union, before the Iron Curtain was opened, how believers in Yeshua the Messiah have suffered persecution. Even the early brethren of ours, the early Jewish believers in the first century, suffered persecution. And they believed in Yeshua, the Messiah, and it cost them. Some of them lost their families. They lost their possession. You know, the early Jewish believers were scattered abroad. Peter writes to those early Jewish believers who were scattered abroad because of their faith in the Messiah. They could no longer live in Israel, in the land, because they had been persecuted.

If you remember, Stephen was the first martyr who died in Acts chapter 7 by being stoned. And the reason that he died is not because he has done something wrong. It is because that he believed that Yeshua is the Messiah. And he was presenting his faith in the Messiah before the sun had rain. But they stoned him to death. And how many sins at that time have been persecuted because of their faith in the Messiah? Turn to 2 Corinthians 4, verse 7. I just want to mention a couple of these things about the Apostle Paul. Paul says, But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God and not of us.

We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed. We are perplexed, but not in despair. Persecuted, but not forsaken, cast down, but not destroyed, always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Yeshua, that the life of Yeshua, Jesus, might be made manifest in our body, Paul said. If you can read, I'm not going to read it now. 2 Corinthians 6, 2 Corinthians 11, again and again, Paul is presenting the persecution that he had experienced in his life. Now, just turn to chapter 11 of 2 Corinthians. Notice what he says. Listen to this short list, verse 23. Are they ministers of the Messiah? I speak as a fool. I am more in labors, more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequent, in death often.

Of the Jews, five times received I forty stripes save one. Thrice was I bitten 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 waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by my own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, and in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren, in weariness and in painfulness, in watching often, and in hunger and thirst, in fasting often, in cold and nakedness, beside all things that are without, that which cometh upon me daily, the cares of all the churches, of all the assemblies.

Now, I'm reading that, I'm getting tired just reading that. Imagine what Shaul Paul had experienced in his life as a servant of the Lord, beloved brothers and sisters. So, what Paul is saying in 2 Timothy 3, verses 10, 11, and 12, Timothy, follow those godly men who follow Yeshua, the Messiah. And then notice that he says, yet out of all these, the Lord has delivered me. In spite of the suffering that he has experienced, the Lord has delivered him out of all these. And then he tells us something that we perhaps don't like to hear it. But listen to what it says in verse 12. Yea, all that will live godly in Christ Jesus, in the Mashiach Yeshua, shall suffer persecution.

This is a true thing. This is a true thing. You know, Yeshua said in the Gospel, if you remember in the Gospel of John, in chapter 15, I just want to read this verse. Yeshua said in verse 20, he says, listen to this. He says, remember the word that I said unto you, that the servant is not greater than his Lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they have kept my saying, they will have kept your saying as well. The disciple is not greater than his master. And if they have persecuted me, Yeshua said, they will surely persecute you. So, brothers and sisters, the first thought that we have here today is that verses 10, 11, and 12, Timothy is exhorted to follow those that are godly and how we have to be thankful for brothers and sisters who over the years we have looked at them and we saw their commitment to the Lord we saw their devotions to the things of the Lord oh yes they are not perfect and I'm sure Paul was not perfect yet they're an example for us to help us to follow the Lord a godly life will also lead us to experience from time to time some misunderstanding and persecution by those who do not follow the Lord, those who reject the Lord.

Well, let's move on quickly to the second part of this chapter. In verses 13 to verse 17, Paul is encouraging Timothy now to continue in the instruction of the Holy Scriptures. You know, this is very, very important. We have a Bible in our hands, the Scripture in our hands, this is the word of God. Many times those of us who come to the front and read the Scripture say this is the word of the Lord. You read throughout the history of our people Israel, thus saith the Lord. God spoke, Israel was called to submit. We have the word of the Lord in our hands. We have the Tanakh, the Old Testament.

We have the Brit HaChadasha, the New Covenant. This is the word of the Lord. And so Paul is saying now to Timothy in verse 13 to verse 17, Timothy, continue on with the instruction that are given to us in the Word of God. Timothy, continue on in following the Word of God. So let me read verse 13 now. And I'm reading, he says to Timothy, But evil men and seducers shall wax or shall grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived. Timothy, I can assure you, as we live in the last days, as we continue on towards the soon coming of the Mashiach, of the Messiah, to take his heavenly company to be with him, and to restore ultimately Israel back to himself, Timothy, evil men and seducers, shall wax worse and worse deceiving and being deceived.

Now, brothers and sisters, Paul was not speaking about the outside world. The evil men, or verse 13, are the men that are written already in verse 2. For men shall be, and we have the list of 17 or 18 characteristics of people who will profess to be part of the body of Messiah in the last days. And so he's saying to Timothy, listen, even men and seducers, they will wax or they will grow more and more. Don't anticipate, as we live in the last days, don't anticipate that everything is going to be great and there will be the body of Christ, the professing church will be all on one ground, gathering in the same way and having the same mind as it was in Acts chapter 2.

The opposite is going to happen, Timothy. He says, listen, evil men and seducers. The word for seducers in Hebrew is kosmim. Those are people who are actually imposters. They are not real. They are not real. They are going to watch worse and worse. And they will be deceiving others. But they will be deceived themselves. You see, Satan is a deceiver. In Genesis chapter 3, he deceived Chava, Eve, in the garden of Eden. And he became the deceiver. In fact, in Revelation chapter 12, he is called the accuser of the brethren which deceived the whole world. Now deception will be prominent in the last days. And according to here, verse 13, these evil men and seducers or imposters, they shall grow more and more.

There will be more of them. And what's going to happen, they will be deceiving others and they will also be themselves being deceived by Satan. And you know, it is something for us to be aware of. We are to be very careful in who we listen to. We are not to allow things that are taught that are unsound to be adhered to and you might say to take it in if it were one has to be extremely careful extremely careful because according to this passage in this last days perilous times shall come this evil man and seducer shall become or wax or grow worse and worse and they will be successful in deceiving many but they themselves are being deceived by Satan himself then notice it says in verse 14 he says Timothy you on the other hand be careful he says continue thou in the things which thou have learned and has been assured of knowing of whom thou hath learned them Timothy you continue Notice he doesn't say start, but he says continue.

In other words, Timothy had a good foundation. He had already heard about the God of our fathers, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob from his own mom and from his own grandmother. Timothy had a good foundation. Later on, his mother became a believer in Yeshua, the Messiah, and then he himself had learned from her, and he himself have accepted that Jesus, that Yeshua was the Messiah. And then later on he became a servant with the Apostle Paul, Acts chapter 16. Shaul Paul took him to minister with him as he was sharing the gospel in Asia Minor. So Timothy says, listen, Timothy you continue on in what you have already learned and knowing of whom you have learned this.

You know, this is so important. Go back to chapter 1 for a moment, verse 5. When I call to remember, as Paul said to Timothy, the unfeigned faith that is in thee, Timothy, which dwells first of all in thy grandmother Lois and thy mother Eunice, and I am persuaded that it is in thee also. Apparently, brothers and sisters, his grandmother, And his mother have taught him the word. Now his grandmother Lois and his mother Eunice, apparently Jewish women, that have learned from the Scripture, from the Hebrew Scripture, and they have seen the promises that God has given to the nation of Israel, that the Mashiach will come in a fullness of time, that he will come into this world to fulfill all what God has intended for him, and that he will become a sacrifice, that he will die and be buried and be resurrected.

I mean, we can have many verses in the Tanakh, in the Old Testament. Isaiah 53, speaking about the suffering servant. Psalm 16, speaking about the death and the burial and the resurrection of the Messiah. Even Moshe, long ago, Moshe, Moses said, A prophet like unto me, God will raise from among you. Those are the promises that were given to our forefathers in the Bible, in the Scripture. And Timothy, he says, you continue with the things that you have learned. And so just continue to know from whom you have learned. You know, brothers and sisters, again, I'm encouraging you to treasure those that have taught us the word of the Lord.

To respect them and to appreciate them. And to recognize that if they taught the word of God, we are to continue on with the healthy teaching that we have learned. And so he says to Timothy, knowing of whom you have learned them. Now notice verse 15. And verse 15a tells us that Timothy already from childhood, he knew the Holy Scriptures. And that from a child, Yeled, thou hast known the Holy Scriptures. Kitvei Hakodesh in Hebrew. In other words, when he was a little boy, a little child, he already learned the Scripture. Now, I vividly remember, though my grandfather was not, as far as I know, a believer in Yeshua, but I remember what a value he put on the Tanakh, on the Scripture.

I remember that so clearly when we came home on Shabbat, Friday night, the Shabbat came in, and when my grandfather would open the Word of God and he would read to us the Scripture coming from the Senegal, he valued the Scripture. I was a little boy. I thought, you know, these things, this is a religion that we have, but I always appreciated that the Word of God was read by my grandfather. I remember even going to the Senegal and sitting with my grandfather in the city of Jerusalem with the elderly men, all long-bearded men, and they were singing. I'll never forget that. And I was shouting, trying to catch up with them as much as I could, singing Exodus chapter 32, 33, 34, singing to the God of our fathers.

My grandfather valued the Bible, the Torah. He never would put it on the floor. He would never allow anything to be written inside. Now, mind the way, I'm marking my Bible all over. But he treasures the Word of God. He treasured the Bible, and I honored him for that. I do not know if he ever come to faith in Yeshua, the Messiah. Only God knows. But he honored the Scriptures. And he valued the Word of God. It was part of his life. In fact, brothers and sisters, he would put to shame many Christians by the manner of life. He has a zeal of God. Romans chapter 10 tells us that our own Jewish conservative brethren will put many of us to shame.

They have a zeal of God. Yet it is not according to knowledge, to biblical knowledge, but they have a zeal that will put many of us to shame. And so we respect it. And Timothy, according to here, Timothy, you know, I'm telling you, you continue with the things which you have learned and has been assured of knowing of whom you have learned them. You have learned it from your grandmother. You have learned it from your mother. Timothy's father was not Jewish, was Greek. We never read of him becoming believers, though. We never know that. But at least we do know that his mother and his grandmother were believers in Yeshua, but also believers in the God of Israel who understood that the Mashiach will come and that Yeshua is the Messiah.

And they taught Timothy. And Timothy had to be reminded by the Apostle Paul, Timothy, you continue. And from a child, you have known the Holy Scriptures. Again, I encourage children and young people, you know, that's something that you will never, never, never regret, learning from the Word of God. Earlier today, one of our sisters and I were speaking about the time in which we live in today. You know, Solomon said in Ecclesiastes chapter 12, Remember thy Creator in the day of thy youth. Before you're going to get old, and all your body is going to have decayed. Your eyes cannot see any more clearly. Your ears cannot hear well as you used to.

Your words do not come of your mouth. Your teeth, the grinders are falling apart. The knees are shaking. You cannot walk the way you used to walk. Some of us can say your heart is not working the way it used to work. But can you imagine, brothers and sisters, remember thy Creator. Shlomo, Melech Israel, the King of Israel, said to our people, remember thy Creator in the day of thy youth. Because you're not going to stay young all the time. You're one day going to give an account to God. And you're not going to stay young all the time. You're not going to be able to do things that you are able to do right now.

Remember you're created. From a child you have known. Notice he called it the holy Scriptures. Kitvei Hakodesh. These are not only Scriptures, but they're holy Scriptures. They are set apart by God. This is the word of the Lord. This is not the word of men. The Bible is to be distinguished. The Scriptures are to be distinguished from any human writings. It is divinely inspired. It is the word of God. It was given to us by the Holy Spirit of God. That's why it is called Holy Scriptures. Kitvei Hakodesh in the Hebrew text. And so he's saying to him now in verse 15a, he says, from a child you knew the Holy Scriptures.

And then verse 15b, he says, the Holy Scriptures is both all the New Testament, and notice because he continues in verse 15b, he says, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in the Messiah, Yeshua. You know what? How can one ever be saved unless he or she look and read the Holy Scriptures? Without faith, we read that, it is impossible to please God, for he that cometh unto him must believe that he is. Romans chapter 10 faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God. The word of God is the only source whereby God uses it in the power of the Spirit of God to lead a person unto salvation.

That's why we need to teach the word to preach the word to read the word to hear the word to sing the word. We are to always be occupied with the Word of God. Why? Because the Holy Scriptures are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith in the Messiah, in Mashiach, Yeshua, Christ Jesus. You know, sometimes we think that only the New Testament is Scripture and we neglect to realize that both Testaments, Old Testament and New Testament are called Scriptures. Both of them, according to Scripture, according to the Bible, are called Scripture. If you just turn back to 1 Timothy 5 for a moment, there we read in verse 17 and 18 those words.

Listen to that. Let the elders who rule well be counted worthy of double honor, especially they who labor in the word and doctrine. And then he tells us in verse 18. For the Scripture saith, thou shalt not muzzle the ox that treadeth out the corn. This is Old Testament. The Tanakh, Deuteronomy 25 and verse 4. Then he said, and the laborer is worthy of his hired or his reward. This is New Testament, Luke chapter 10 and verse 7. You notice that? Paul calls Scripture both the Tanakh, Old Testament, and the Brit HaChadasha, the New Testament. That is Scripture, not only the New Testament, but both are Scripture. The Old Testament, Deuteronomy 25, verse 4, the New Testament, Luke 10, verse 7.

Scripture, as it says here, for the Scripture saith, and he's saying both Old Testament and New Testament are the word of God indeed. And so finally, he's getting to the last verses here, verses 16 and 17, what we discover here that Paul is encouraging Timothy to get a hold of. Verse 16, all Scripture, Old Testament, New Testament, the Tanakh, the Brit HaChadasha, is given by the inspiration of God. It is God-breathed. And then he said, and it is profitable for doctrine. For reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be perfect or complete, fully furnished unto all good works. Notice that he says, this is all Scriptures, the Old Testament, the New Testament, the Tanakh, and the Brit HaChadashah, All of them have been given to us by the inspiration of God.

Nobody wrote this on his own. It's not human opinion, the Word of God. It is indeed the Holy Scripture that is the Word of God. It is not an opinion of man. It is not a suggestion by man. It is God's instruction. It is God's breathe. And it is given to us for the purpose that it will help humanity. It is profitable for doctrine, for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for instruction in righteousness. If you want to live a godly life and an honoring life to God, we need to learn it from the Word of God, from the Scripture. It was given to us by divine inspiration.

It's not human opinion, but it is given to us by the Spirit of God. It is God-breathed. Ruach ha'Elohim had given this to us, the Word of God. It is given to us by inspiration of the Spirit of God. Let's just read one verse here in conclusion, 2 Peter chapter 1 and verse 20 and 21. Peter, again, an apostle to the circumcision to our own people Israel. Paul was the apostle to the uncircumcision. Both of them were guided by the Spirit of God to give us the Word of God. Listen to these words, and I'm just going to conclude here with this. Knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation.

For the prophecy came not in all time by the will of men, but holy men of God spake as they were moved by Ruach HaKodesh, by the Holy Spirit. It was not a private interpretation, it is not human opinion, it is not what I or you or anyone think. Even Paul and Peter, Old Testament saints like Moshe and Joshua and Daniel, All were guided and governed by the Spirit of God, by Ruach Ha'Elohim. And he guided them to pen what we have here in our hands today. And it is enabling us, beloved brothers and sisters, to be equipped so we can continue to serve the Lord here in this world, to be able to serve Him and to honor Him until His soon return to come to take us to be with Him at home.

So, beloved brothers and sisters, that the man of God may be complete, may be perfect. You and I ought to have a desire to be men and women of God who serve the Lord until His soon return. May the Lord help us in all this and lead us to continue to follow after him.