2 Timothy 4
2 Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of
season; correct, rebuke and encourage - with great
patience and careful instruction.
How do I preach if I can’t preach?
Behaviour as a message
2 Timothy 4
3 For the time will come when people 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. 4 They will turn
their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.
Believing what we want to hear
2 Timothy 4
4 They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn
aside to myths.
Timothy to respond to …
Difficulty
Opposition
Isolation
Disappointment
2 Timothy 4
5 But you, keep your head in all situations
Responding to difficulty:
Keeping our head
Self controlled responses
Taking breath not panicking
Patience not uncontrolled anger
Not over-reacting
Gracious waiting
2 Timothy 4
5 But you, keep your head in all situations
Responding to difficulty:
Keeping our head
I've learned that you can tell a lot about a person
by the way he/she handles these three things:
a rainy day,
lost luggage,
and tangled Christmas tree lights.
Maya Angelou
2 Timothy 4
5 But you, keep your head in all situations, endure
hardship
Responding to difficulty:
Accepting difficulty as part of the cost
Not reacting with surprise or avoidance
2 Timothy 4
5 But you, keep your head in all situations, endure
hardship
Responding to difficulty:
Accepting difficulty as part of the cost
Not reacting with surprise or avoidance
If you don't like something, change it.
If you can't change it, change your attitude.
Maya Angelou
The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of
attitude on life. Attitude, to me, is more important
than facts.
Charles R. Swindoll
The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life.
Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more
important than the past, the education, the
money, than circumstances, than failure, than
successes, than what other people think or say or
do. It is more important than appearance,
giftedness or skill.
Charles R. Swindoll
The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life.
Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important
than the past, the education, the money, than circumstances, than
failure, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It
is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will
make or break a company... a church... a home.
Charles R. Swindoll
The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life.
Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important
than the past, the education, the money, than circumstances, than
failure, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It
is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make
or break a company... a church... a home. The remarkable
thing is we have a choice everyday regarding the
attitude we will embrace for that day.
Charles R. Swindoll
The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life.
Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important
than the past, the education, the money, than circumstances, than
failure, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It
is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make
or break a company... a church... a home. The remarkable thing is
we have a choice everyday regarding the attitude we will embrace
for that day. We cannot change our past... we cannot
change the fact that people will act in a certain
way. We cannot change the inevitable.
Charles R. Swindoll
The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life.
Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important
than the past, the education, the money, than circumstances, than
failure, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It
is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make
or break a company... a church... a home. The remarkable thing is
we have a choice everyday regarding the attitude we will embrace
for that day. We cannot change our past... we cannot change the
fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the
inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the
one string we have, and that is our attitude. I am
convinced that life is 10% what happens to me
and 90% of how I react to it.
Charles R. Swindoll
The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life.
Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important
than the past, the education, the money, than circumstances, than
failure, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It
is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make
or break a company... a church... a home. The remarkable thing is
we have a choice everyday regarding the attitude we will embrace
for that day. We cannot change our past... we cannot change the
fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the
inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we
have, and that is our attitude. I am convinced that life is 10% what
happens to me and 90% of how I react to it. And so it is with
you... we are in charge of our attitudes.
Charles R. Swindoll
2 Timothy 4
5 But you, keep your head in all situations, endure
hardship
Responding to difficulty:
Accepting difficulty as part of the cost
Not reacting with surprise or avoidance
Focusing on the hope
to come
Refusing to give up
2 Timothy 4
5 But you, keep your head in all situations, endure
hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the
duties of your ministry.
Responding to difficulty:
Maintain the call we believe is on our lives
Keeping the promises we made God
Un-deflected
2 Timothy 4
But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the
work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry. 6 For
5
am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the
time for my departure is near.
Responding to difficulty:
Taking inspiration from those ahead
Being ready to meet Jesus
without unfinished business
I
2 Timothy 4
But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the
work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry. 6 For I
am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time for my
departure is near. 7 I have fought the good fight
5
Responding to difficulty:
Fighting the good fight
What are we fighting?
How are we to fight?
2 Timothy 4
7 I have fought the good fight
What are we fighting?
Giving up:
Cynicism
Apathy
Bitterness
Temptation:
Irrelevance
Despairing guilt
Opposition:
Persecution
Injustice
Fighting the good fight
How are we to fight?
2 Timothy 4
7 I have fought the good fight
What are we fighting?
Giving up:
Cynicism
Apathy
Bitterness
Temptation:
Irrelevance
Despairing guilt
Opposition:
Persecution
Injustice
Fighting the good fight
How are we to fight?
Not with …
Any means …
Violence
Revenge
Deception
Coercion
Manipulation
2 Timothy 4
7 I have fought the good fight
Fighting the good fight
What are we fighting?
How are we to fight?
Giving up:
Cynicism
Apathy
Bitterness
Temptation:
Irrelevance
Despairing guilt
Opposition:
Persecution
Injustice
Decision
Prayer
Fellowship
Awareness
Repentance
Forgiveness
Truth of Scripture
Avoiding
Love
Opposition
2 Timothy 4
7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I
have kept the faith. 8 Now there is in store for me the
crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous
Judge, will award to me on that day - and not only to me,
but also to all who have longed for his appearing.
Crown: Reward of … Eternal joy
Perfection without sin
Satisfaction of achievement
of people won
Questions for Reflection
What are the difficulties
I am having to fight?
What are the roles I mustn’t be
deflected from?
What are the strategies I need to use to fight?
God, give me strength to run this race,
God, give me power to do what’s right,
And courage lasting through the fight;
God, give me strength to see your face,
And heart to stand till evil cease,
And, at the last, O God, your peace.
Author unknown.