Your best life is not now and it can’t be now because what comes after this life is way better.  Chris Brannon wraps up our 2 Timothy series by talking about living for the long term. He preaches from 2 Timothy 4:1-8 and, in this passage, Paul was about to die and he knew it.  We must develop an eternal perspective and it has little to do with merely changing the way we think about our lives in the grand scheme of time.  However, it has everything to do with believing that God is who He says He is!

Paul uses three phrases to describe the life that he lived well and how we should live ours. First he says that he fought the good fight and so should we. What are you pressing towards or straining forward to? Next he says that he finished the race and encourages us that the finish line is where the payoff is. It will not be easy, but worth every hardship in the end. Lastly, he tells us that he kept the faith. What does it mean to keep the faith?

We have a limited time so we need to let God help us number our days. Stay in the race, fight through the faith and finish the race well!

Chris Brannon continues in our 2 Timothy series and asks us if we are walking in sound doctrine. If you read 2 Timothy 4:1-5, you can see that this passage speaks to Timothy (and us) of two important facets of church life that were and still are relevant today.  We need leaders to step up and lead! We also need to be aware of our susceptibility to turn away from truth and sound doctrine. Now is a time where many churches have abandoned the preaching of the Word. So it is important that we understand Paul’s words and make sure that this church never veers from them!

Chris continues to warn us of the ramifications on false doctrine. It leads to ungodly behavior because what one believes, determines how they behave. False doctrine can also lead to more doctrinal error and, eventually, shipwreck the faith of a believer. Other ramifications of false doctrine is that it will destroy the unity of the church and it will render a believer unusable for God! He then goes through two broad categories of false doctrine to keep a watch out for. Chris wraps up his sermon with some questions for us to reflect on.

You need a spiritual mentor in your life!!  Chris Brannon continues in our 2 Timothy series by talking about how important it is to have a spiritual mentor and to mentor others.  Paul reminds Timothy of his own example in 2 Timothy 3:10.  Spiritual faithfulness is not automatic, but requires recognizing and following godly examples who follow Scripture.  Chris tells us what a godly example looks like: A godly example is known for his teaching, his character, and his godly behavior under trials.

To grow in spiritual faithfulness, we have to learn how to follow godly examples.  This principle is based on the truth that we become like the people we associate with.  If we follow ungodly people, we will become ungodly ourselves.  If we follow those who follow Jesus, we are more likely to become like Jesus ourselves.  To learn how to follow godly examples, there are three things that we must do:  1. Continue in what we have seen and learned  2.  Develop strong convictions  3.  Continue in our convictions, even when under fire.

Chris finishes by asking us a couple of important questions that we must reflect on.  Who are the examples that we follow?  To whom are we being the example?  It’s important that we find someone that we can open up our life to in that way.  Someone who knows us really well, our real self.  We also should have someone that we know really well.

In the mind of Paul, the last days brings an intensification of evil.  Chris Brannon continues in our 2 Timothy series by speaking on the last days.  There are at least three meanings to the phrase “the last days”:  1.  It can apply to the entire time period between the first and second coming of Christ. 2.  It also applies to unique periods of spiritual testing that occur at different times in different places and 3. It obviously applies to the last few weeks and months and years preceding our Lord’s return to the earth.  So we are already living in the last days and we have been since Christ came.  Paul’s basic assertion is “We must recognize and knowingly avoid false, empty religion and those who propagate it.”

Empty religion is a constant danger for us all, but what does empty religion mean?  The root problem of empty religion is misplaced affections:  Those with empty religion are lovers of self, money and pleasure rather than God.  Chris talks about manifestations of misdirected affections and how their reactions are heightened.

It’s time for the church to be the Church!

We should not be surprised when hardships come and we should willingly embrace them for the gospel.  Chris Brannon continues in our 2 Timothy series by talking about establishing a healthy theology of suffering.  Hardship, trouble and suffering are woven into and integrated throughout scripture.  There are a long list of prominent Bible characters that we read about and they all have some sort of suffering in their lives.  Through all of our hardships, God is working through them to cultivate us in maturity to be more like Jesus.  To be a fruitful Christian, we must willingly suffer hardship for the gospel now in view of future rewards.

As Paul writes to Timothy, there are three different types of people that he compares to with suffering.  The first one is the soldier.  As a soldier, we leave the civilian life behind to live a new life of service.  The second is the athlete.  It is only by discipline that the athlete may compete and win.  The last one is the farmer.  This one seems more mundane, but the farmer works tirelessly to see the rewards at the end of the harvest.  Jesus is our ultimate example on how to embrace the hardships.

If we do not understand God’s grace, we do not understand the gospel. Grace is the core of the gospel!  Chris Brannon continues in our 2 Timothy series in 2 Timothy 2.  We are to be strengthened by grace, but how?  How does God strengthen us by grace?  He justifies us before a holy God: to be strong in grace, we must stand firm against the enemy’s relentless attempt to pollute God’s grace with human merit.  God’s grace fortifies us in our battle against sin: Chris talks about “dependent responsibility”.  God’s grace enables and empowers us to serve Him and His kingdom: Our source of strength to do the work of God doesn’t come from ourselves, but rather constant, dependent, trust and reliance upon His abundant, gracious provision.  God’s grace sustains us in our trials: To be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus, you must be weak in yourself, but strong in His sufficiency.

Strength for the journey in this life is not found in ourselves, but in the grace God supplies.  It is God’s grace that strengthens us to carry on God’s work, especially when we just feel like giving up.  The resource for our strength will never come from ourselves.  We must always remember it is God’s divine grace!

We are to be unashamed in sharing the Gospel of Christ!  Chris Brannon continues in our 2 Timothy series with 2 Timothy 1:8-14.  The Gospel is not preaching religion or preaching church.  The Gospel is the word of God, written down for us to share with one another what God has done to reconcile us to himself!  How do we share the testimony of Jesus Christ?  Chris gives us three different aspects of sharing the Gospel: 1. Use your life…you don’t have to say a word, just show them Jesus. 2. Use your personal story…your testimony can be a very powerful tool! 3. Use scripture…this is the most direct way to share the Gospel to others.  Romans 3:23-24 is one of the most important verses that you can memorize and share with others!  Write it down everywhere and get it memorized!!

Now that we know how to share the Gospel, Chris gives us four truths that empower us to be unashamed in preaching it:  1. Remember that God has saved and called us. 2. Remember that you weren’t awesome to begin with. 3. Remember that death is dead.  4. Remember that you are guarded by a big God!!  The bigger we make God, the smaller we make ourselves and the more confidence we will have in boldly doing what God commands us to do.  The bigger we are, the smaller God gets and the less confidence we will have to walk in obedience.  Who will you share the Gospel with today?

God is a gift giver.  How do we respond to God’s generosity?  By not neglecting or choking out the gift!  Chris Brannon continues in our 2 Timothy series.  He gives us four factors that can choke out the fire:  willful sin, neglect, others and fear.  We are to develop the gifts that God has given us – fan it into flame!  Take what God has given you and set it on fire.  Chris also gives us four ways that we can discover our gifts:  by our desires and abilities, by serving, by recognition from others and by effectiveness.  Then he tells how we can develop our gift:  by training and learning and by the experience of serving with evaluation.  Use your gifts now! Serve the Lord now!  Get involved now!

There are two important thoughts for you to ponder on:  1. Fear of failure comes from the devil. He whispers to us, “You aren’t qualified to do this. You aren’t important, you can’t. You don’t have what it takes.” Those thoughts don’t come from God and 2. Never believe the devil, even when he speaks the truth. Why? Because he uses truth for the wrong reasons. He is a liar from the beginning and will twist the truth to keep you from serving the Lord!

If there was ever a prime candidate for discouragement, Paul was it!  Chris Brannon starts a new series in 2 Timothy.  In this book, Paul was speaking words to Timothy that he hoped would stick.  Paul was soon to be killed by Nero, so these words were more important than ever!  The purpose of this letter was to encourage Timothy to endure in his faith, to say good bye and to give final instructions to Timothy and the church.  What is your spiritual heritage?  Who has God used to move you?  We are challenged to build up those who are coming behind us in the next generation, as Paul did with Timothy.  Chris gives us just a few things that disciple making is:  relational, personal, biblically-based, intentional, transformational and reproducible.

He also asks some questions for us to think and pray on:  Is there a Timothy in your life?  Is there a Barnabas in your life?  From whom are you learning to better love God and love people?  Who are you helping to know Jesus better/to understand scripture and to navigate this world through the lens of God’s principles and commands?  Who is it in your life that you gain encouragement from to grow in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ?  If you can’t answer these questions, pray and seek for God to give you the answers.