welshie's wanderings

FORUM NOTES - Richard Cunningham, 2 Timothy 3:10-4:18

Paul writes this as he contemplates his execution. 4:6 “For I am already being poured out like a drink offering and the time has come for my departure.”
In Paul’s final letter, what do we expect?
Timothy has people around him who aren’t interested in key doctrines. The dying man says to the young leader – CONTINUE IN WHAT YOU HAVE LEARNED, CONTINUE EVANGELISING, CONTINUE TO SUFFER FOR THOSE THINGS…

-Continue in the gospel that you’ve become convinced of, that captivated you. Continue in the good stuff!

There’s always a danger we move away from what we’ve learnt. We partly define ourselves by what we’re reacting from. There’s that pattern in the church, of a move away from orthodoxy, from the cultural narrowness of church. There’s a danger of polarisation. Either “That’s a great Bible-teaching church” or “That’s a church really led by the spirit”.

BUT there’s a deliberate closeness between the word spoken and spirit or breath. “A Spirit moving on the waters, and THEN GOD SAID…”
You can’t get a wedge between God’s word and His Spirit.

Make sure you attend a church where you’re taught, corrected and rebuked in the Word of God.
Make sure small groups prepare each other for mission by preparing from gospel itself.
Read Bible everyday. Read all of it.

2 Timothy 4:1-5. “In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage – with great patience and careful instruction. For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.”

We have to be willing to offend. People cannot be absorbed into the family of God. Yes, we need to be loving, but people need to BELIEVE for THEMSELVES.

2 Timothy 3:12 “In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted”

WOW! But, there is power to suffer, power from God,
2 Tim 1:7,8 “For God did not give us a spirit of timidity but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline. So do not be ashamed to testify about our Lord, or ashamed of me his prisoner. But join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God.”

“He is no fool who gives up what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose”

“When I am dying
How glad I will be
That the lamp of my life
Was blazed out for Thee”

GRACE!!!

Letter ends on grace. “Grace be with you”.

“He giveth more grace as the burden increases
For out of his riches in Jesus
He giveth and giveth and giveth again.”

Paul’s dying words? Memorable. Hard.

God’s Holy Spirit-breathed word. Powerful. To be obeyed.

posted by Welshie @ 6:35 am