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 watch 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." And 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, had executed Paul, according to history. Paul was ready to perish, 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 are 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 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 instructions 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 follow those who do live godly here in this world. And thirdly, Timothy, verses 13 to 17, Timothy continue on with the instructions that are given to us in the Holy Scriptures. 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 kinds 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. But 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. Mashiachim. But in reality, they never knew the Lord, Yeshua, as 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 dad 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 grace, saved through faith. And that is not of yourself. This is the gift of God, lest any man should boast. So in this great house, there are many who claim to know the Mashiach, 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 one. This 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, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fearers, despires of those that are good, traders and heady and high-minded, lovers of pleasure, more than lovers of God. And notice verse five. And notice verse five. 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. Second 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 five. Having a form of godliness, they are religious, but there is no reality in their life. They name 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 chapter 5 and 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 thereof. 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 house. 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 and 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 is 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, first of all, in verse 10a, he said to him, but thou had fully known my doctrine and manner of life. Just pause here for a moment. That expression, manner of life. It is so interesting, that expression manner of life. The Hebrew says, often 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 knew 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 2,000 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 said that in verse 10, he said, 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 we 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 we live godly in Yeshua, the Messiah, will I assure you, he says, 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 encouraging. 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 in 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 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, chapter 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 the Apostle Paul has encouraged Timothy, and he is encouraging us as well.

So, it is important. And why I am saying it today, especially today, brothers and sisters, look at this and the time in which we live in. "We are in the last days," as 2 Timothy 3, verse 1 says, "These all sorts of doctrinal views that exist 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've got to go back to the Word of God. The Tanach, 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, 10 C. 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. 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's faith, Paul's long-suffering, Paul's love, and Paul's patience.

You see, look again to verse 10. It says, "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 these, 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 rewarder 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. If we are part of the body of Messiah, if we are going to keep maintaining, 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 and you want to be effective? 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. In verse 8, Paul is saying there, love never fails. Love never fails. Love never fails. Prophecies shall fail. Tongue shall cease. Knowledge vanish away. But love never fails. 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, 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 workers' 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. 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 have delivered me. And yea, all that will live godly in the Messiah, Yeshua, shall suffer persecution. Timothy, you also observed the kind of persecution that I have experienced in my life. Now, brothers and sisters, listen.

Paul really have 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 Meshechiim, 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, it's not because he had 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 rained. But they stoned him to death. And how many sins that time have been persecuted because of their faith in the Messiah? Turn to 2 Corinthians chapter 4, verse 7. 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 chapter 6, 2 Corinthians chapter 11. Again and again, Paul is presenting the persecution that he has 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 beaten with rods. Once was I stoned. Thrice I suffered shipwreck. A night and a day I have been in the deep.

In yearning 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. Chapter 3. Verses 10, 11, and 12. Timothy. Follow those godly men. Who follow Yeshua the Messiah. Then notice that he says. Yet out of all these. The Lord have delivered me. In spite of the suffering. Suffering that he have experienced. The Lord have delivered him. Out of all these. And then he tells us something. That we. Perhaps don't like to hear it. But listen what it says. In verse 12. "Yea all that we live godly. In Christ Jesus. In the Mashiach Yeshua. Shall suffer persecution." This is a sure thing. This is a sure 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." And 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 am sure Paul was not perfect. Yet they are 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. Says 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 HaChadashah. The New Covenant. This is the word of the Lord.

And so Paul is saying now to Timothy. In verses 13 to verse 17. Timothy continue on. Continue on. With the instructions 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 not real. They are going to wax 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. 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 these last days. Perilous times shall come. These evil men and seducers. 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 have 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. Have 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. Whether 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. And. 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. Have given to the nation. Of Israel. That the Mashiach. Will come.

In the fullness of time. That he will come. Into this world. To fulfill. All what God. Have 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 said.

You continue. With the things. That you have learned. And so. Just continue. To know. From whom. You have learned them. 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. 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 15. A tells us. That Timothy. That Timothy. Already. From. Childhood. He knew. The holy scriptures. And that from.

A child. Yelled. Thou has 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. 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 synagogue. 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 synagogue. 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. Our fathers. My grandfather. 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. 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 are going to get old.

And all your body. Going to have decayed. Your eyes. Cannot see anymore. 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 are not. Going to stay young. All the time. You are one day.

Going to give. An account. To God. And you are not. Going to be able. To do things. That you are able. To do right now. From. A child. You have known. Notice he called it. The holy scriptures. Kitvei Hakodesh. These are. Not only scriptures. But they are holy scriptures. They are set apart. By God. This is the word. Of the Lord. This is not the word. Of man. 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 is why.

It is called. Holy. Scriptures. Kitvei Hakodesh. In the Hebrew text. And so. He is saying. To him now. In verse. A. 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. 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. And Mashiach. Yeshua. Christ Jesus. You know. Sometime. We think.

That only the new testament. Is scripture. And we neglect. To realize. That both testament. Old testament. New testament. Are called scriptures. Both of them. According to scripture. According to the bible. Are called scripture. If you just turn back. To first. Timothy five. 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. Remember. Especially. They. Who labor. In the word. In the word. And doctrine. And then he tells us. In verse 18. For the scripture. Sayeth. Thou shall not muzzle. The ox. That treadeth out. The corn. This is old testament. The tanach.

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 tanach. 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. Sayeth. And. 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. Encouraging. Timothy. To get a hold of.

Verse 16. All scripture. Old testament. New testament. The tanach. The brit hachadasha. Is given. By the inspiration. Of god. 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. Thoroughly furnished. Unto. All. Good. Works. Notice that. He says. This is all scriptures. The old testament. The new testament. The tanach. And the brit hachadasha. All of them. Has 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 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. Second. Peter. Chapter. One. In 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. 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 man.

But holy men of god. Spake. As they were moved. By. Ruach. Hakodesh. By the holy spirit. Was not a private. Interpretation. It is not human. 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. 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. In all this. And lead us. To continue. To follow. After him.