II Timothy 3:1 - 4:8
II 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: 2Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. 3For 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. 4They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. 5But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.”
No matter what happens preach the word, no matter what people say teach the word, and no matter what people do, live the word. This is the essence of what Paul is saying. The time is coming when people’s hearts will become hard and they will turn their ears away from the truth. When this happens stand strong. Remember your mirror! Where you came from, what you have been taught, and who has called you to this task. Don’t forget to Stand.
One of my favorite passages in the Old Testament is II Samuel 23:9-11
“Next to him was Eleazar son of Dodai the Ahohite. As one of the three mighty men, he was with David when they taunted the Philistines gathered at Pas Dammim for battle. Then the men of Israel retreated, 10 but he stood his ground and struck down the Philistines till his hand grew tired and froze to the sword. The LORD brought about a great victory that day. The troops returned to Eleazar, but only to strip the dead.”
Just picture this scene, you are standing to fight the Israelite army and just before you are ready to engage the enemy your fellow soldiers run away. I would probably want to run with them. But you see Eleazar was tired of running. He was ready to fight. In fact, he fought so hard that his hand actually cramped around the sword and could not let go. This is the perfect picture of fighting with no thought of retreat. The sword froze to his hand and when the army returned the battle was already won.
Paul is giving Timothy this same picture as he pens the words “I have fought the good fight and I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” Paul fought till the sword froze to his hand and the armies were defeated. Paul encourages Timothy to stand strong no matter what. Even if everyone runs away, stand and fight. These pictures give us a clearer understanding of the principle of the mirror. We do not live life looking out of the mirror but we do live life remembering what is in the mirror.
Remembering your past to direct your present in order to impact your future!
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