Shine Brighter!

Second Timothy chapter three, and we'll begin reading in verse one. Second Timothy chapter three and verse one. We're gonna read verses one through seven, then we'll jump down and we'll read verses 10 through 15. Okay? Second Timothy three verse one.

This know also that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy. Without natural affection, truce breakers, false accusers, incontinent fear, those that are good, traitors, heady, high minded, lovers of pleasures, more than lovers of God, having the form of godliness but denying the power thereof, from such turn away. For of this sort, the houses of silly women laden with sins led away with diverse lusts, ever learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. Look if you would in verse 10.

But thou hast fully known my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, long suffering, charity, patience, persecutions, afflictions, which came unto me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra. What persecutions I endured, but out of them all, the Lord delivered me. Yea, and all that live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. But evil men and seducers shall wax 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, are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. Let's go to the Lord in prayer. Dear heavenly father, thank you, Lord, for your word today. Thank you, Lord, for the clarity of the message that you have. To help us, Lord, in days such as this, to know how to respond in faith to them and to you.

Lord, give us grace and wisdom and courage to shine brightly in the world that you have placed us in today. And Lord, if there's one here that's not sure that they have received you as savior and Lord, I pray that today they would make that sure before they leave this place. In Jesus' name, we do pray. Amen. We could take several services just picking this passage apart.

All the words, what they mean. But this morning, I just wanna take a few minutes to to look at the over overview of this as it relates to what our response should be to it. Paul is warning Timothy of the things that will get worse in the world in general before they get better. When will they get better? They'll get better when Christ comes back.

They will get better then on earth. They will get be better for us when we stand before him in heaven. We will be like him someday. They will get better. But before they're better, they will, in general, get what?

Get worse. And that's what Paul is telling Timothy. He is warning Timothy the world is not likely to change much for the better or be more welcoming to the gospel. Jesus said to his disciples, don't be surprised if the world hate you because it hated me before it hated you. In other words, most people aren't gonna respond too positively to what you have to say because sinners don't like to be told they're sinners.

They don't like to be people don't like to be told they need the Savior's help. That isn't human nature. So don't expect a warm welcome from everybody. Through the centuries, there have been aberrations, exceptions to the rule in certain places at certain times. Founding of our country in some regards was an exception to the rule.

The gospel was more prevalent, but that has changed. As it changed in Noah's day, Adam and Eve's children all knew there was a God. Some of them didn't accept him. Some rejected him as in Cain. But they knew there was a God.

But as time went along, generation after generation, the world moved further and further from God, rejected his authority over them. And so we see a world in Noah's day where every imagination of their thought was only what? Evil continually. We see that in our world today more and more. We read of a a similar slide into perversion in Romans chapter one.

If you would like, you can hold your place in second Timothy and go with me to Romans one where I'll be reading several verses that give us a similar picture of humanity. Several times throughout history, God has intervened in a society, in a group of people to to make his presence more known, to bring revival. But again and again, we see even in those cases over time, those societies spiraling downward away from God, back to man's natural, so to speak, state in sin. In Romans one twenty one, Paul writes, because that when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful, but became vain in their imaginations. Their foolish heart was dark.

Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools. They changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into the image made like the corruptible man, and birds and four footed beasts and creeping things. Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness to the lust of their own hearts, to dishonor their own bodies between themselves. And change the truth of God into a lie and worship and serve the creature more than the creator who is blessed forever. Amen.

For this cause, God gave them up into vile affections for even their women to change the natural use into that which is against nature. Likewise also the men leaving the natural use of the woman burning their lust one toward another, men with men working that which is unseemly, receiving in themselves that recompense of their error which was meet or fitted. And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind to do those things which are not convenient. In other words, which make no sense. Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness, full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity, whisper whispers, backfires, haters of God, despite the proud boasters and vendors of evil things disobedient to parents, without understanding covenant breakers, without natural affection, implacable and merciful, who knowing the judgment of God they would commit such things to worship, death not only do them, but have pleasure in them that do them.

The world in which we live today reflects many of the things in this list, does it not? This list and the one in second Timothy. Sin is taking its toll on society. Men's hearts have turned away from God. Turned away from his authority, from his word, from his love, from the truth.

They've chosen instead to worship nature, creation, and themselves, humans. So many who and even so many who claim to worship God today do not really know it. They're just going through the functions. This has resulted in unimaginable moral decay. Embracing promiscuity is the norm, homosexuality and transgenderism as a moral good rather than evil.

Adultery is commonplace, pornography is everywhere. Unbridled greed is applauded and lying is a way of life. Young people are encouraged to live for the moment to do whatever feels good or gratifies the worst desires of the flesh while being taught to hate anyone who tells them other lies. This is the way of truth. This is the way to save it.

Yeah. Families are falling apart. Natural affection for parents has disappeared. Drug and alcohol abuse is way of life for growing portion of society. Violence in the streets is on the rise and more abroad is knocking at the door.

False teachers abound both in the classroom and in the office. Campus. We could expound, but for the sake of the message, this morning will continue. In other words, in the end times, perilous times will come. Difficult times.

I try to. Dangerous times. Persecution of those who stay the course with God will be inevitable. Doesn't maybe feel like it here in The United States, but in other parts of the world, it is already the case. Those days are definitely coming and in many ways are already here.

I don't say this to depress you. Paul did not write Timothy or the Romans to depress them, but to prepare and to encourage to respond correctly in the face of this rejection of God. So what should be our response? Back to second Timothy chapter three. Second Timothy chapter three beginning in verse 10 again.

What should be our response. Actually, look look starting verse 14. Let's start in verse 14. But continue thou in the things which thou hast wrought and has and has been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them, for in large part, and that was Paul himself. And that from a child thou hast known what?

Description. The word of God. Which are able to make thee wise on the salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable, beneficial for doctrine, teaching, for reproof, and for correction, for instruction in righteousness that the man of God may be perfect, truly furnished unto all good works. I charge thee therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ who will judge the quick and the dead.

The word quick means living. Who shall judge the living and the dead and his appearing and his kingdom. Preach the word. Be instant in season, out of season, reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long suffering, all patience, doctrine. The time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but after their own lust shall heed to themselves teachers having itching ears.

They shall turn away their ears from the truth and shall be turned out of failures. But watch thou in all things. Endure afflictions. Do the work of an evangelist and make full proof of thy mention. Paul goes through all these things in second Timothy chapter three.

All these terrible things that speak to the worst nature of humanity that he will face in his ministry and progressively so as we get closer to the time of Christ's return. And then he says to Timothy in verse 14, but continue what? But continue down in the things which thou hast. What is the proper response of the child of God? To continue in the things which we have learned from God.

To shine brighter. The darker the world gets, the brighter Christians should what? Shine. Shine or in it. Continue in the things which we have learned from the scriptures, God's word which does not change.

Preach it. Live it. Obey it. Endure hardship for it and stick with it. That is to be our response.

Few things that should not be our response this morning. Number one, it is not time to run and hide in fear. What is the natural response when danger comes your way? To run and hide in fear. The word perilous speaks of danger.

Timothy, in the last days perilous times shall come. In your ministry, Timothy, you will face what? Perilous times. Paul knew of what he was speaking. He had faced perilous times over and over and over again.

He reminded Timothy that through all of that, the Lord delivered him over and over and over again. So he tells this so he tells Timothy in second Timothy one seven, for God has not given us the spirit of what? Fear. Fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. Do not be driven by fear, Timothy, to run and hide.

Be driven by the power of God and the love of Christ and the teaching and doctrine that God has changed your mind. Do not be overcome by fear. It is not time to run and hide. That may be a temptation. But just because things are getting more difficult doesn't mean that God wants us to cloister ourselves away in a monastery somewhere away from the world, to hide ourselves away.

Now God has not given us the spirit life. Fear. Be not afraid for the Lord thy God is with thee, whithersoever thou doest. You don't need to be afraid because you have who? You have Jesus.

Doesn't mean it's gonna be easy. He didn't say it's gonna be easy. But he says, you don't have to be paralyzed in fear. You don't. Number two, and this kind of follows along.

It's not time to fall silent. It's not time to hide in fear and it's not time to fall silent in fear either. What does he tell Timothy? He tells him in verse two of chapter four to preach the word. In other words, here's what you do Timothy in the face of this persecution, the face of this this this decay of society that you see.

You proclaim what? You proclaim the word of God. You proclaim it. You stand up for it. You don't fall silent.

You open your mouth and you speak it. Preach the word. That is the proper response. How shall they believe in him of whom they have not what? Heard.

Heard. We've already went over that verse in Sunday school. World isn't going to change if we keep our mouth, what? Shut. That's the problem in many ways.

It's too many Christians have kept their mouth, what? Shut. Faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God. What brings faith to the heart of people? The word of God.

How's it gonna bring faith to him if nobody's willing to tell him, to share it with him if we fall silent? The world has never more desperately needed the hope of the gospel than it needs it today. And rather than falling silent, we should be encouraged and motivated to open our mouth in love and tell them. Too many Christians today believe that keeping their mouth shut and not rocking the boat is more important than opening their mouth and giving forth the gospel. We've been fed the line if you wanna reach people for Christ, well you just you just need to live it before them and keep your mouth shut.

Really? Now is living it before them important? Yeah. Oh, yeah. It's vital.

That they may see your works and glorify your father which is in heaven. If the mouth words coming out your mouth don't match the actions of your life, then they're not gonna listen to the words coming out your mouth. That's true. Someone said that people don't care how much you know until they know how much you Care. Care.

That's true. But somewhere along the line, you've got to open your mind. You've got to open your mouth. And their response may be disheartening. Their response may bring cause you pain.

But the only way they're gonna know is if we tell them. Remember Jeremiah? Beginning of Jeremiah's ministry, God said, I've sent you I'm gonna send you with a message and you need to tell them. They need to hear the message. But I want you to understand their response isn't doing any good.

No. For the most part, they're gonna hate you, they're gonna persecute you, and they're not gonna listen to you. But it's vital. It's vital that they hear. Yes.

It may require sacrifices and a lot more faith, But it is the right thing to do and we know it. Not only to share the gospel, but to let others know what Christ is doing in our life. To let them know what we spend our Sundays doing. To let them know when asked in particular, the difference between right and wrong. How are people gonna know they're sinners if nobody's willing to tell them, you know, that's sin.

God God does not agree with that. That is not what he had If we neglect our duty in this regard, things will only get what? Worse. And that's what we see. Too many Christians have fallen silent.

Back in the late twentieth century, I remember hearing the term of silent majority. What's the problem with that phrase? The silent part. And you know now something, the silent majority is now the silent what? Minority.

Because when we were the majority, we kept our mouth shut and reveal. So what does Paul say to Timothy? Don't fall silent. Speak up. It is not time to compromise.

Not time to compromise. What did he tell Timothy? Continue in the water. To continue in the word. Do not abandon it.

Do not doubt it. Do not water it down to make it more what? Palatable. Don't tweak it. It does not need updating.

Now the principles of God's word, we need to learn so that we can apply them to our life today. And we deal with different circumstances and issues today in some respects than the generation before the generation before that. And so we have to learn to apply the scripture properly, but the scripture does not change. The principles do not change. The commands do not change.

They do not need to be updated. We need to conform our lives to God's word, not God's word to our lives. I'm afraid again that that is an issue for large parts of Christianity. Compromise. Well, I'll just keep Paul said to Timothy, preach the whole council of scripture.

Well, I'll just I just won't mention these parts that might get me in trouble. I just gloss over these parts that somebody might not might not like. We can't do that. We need to speak the what? Truth.

They shall know the truth and the truth shall set them free. People need to hear the truth. Too many preachers and churches become weary in the fire. That's true. And it's weary in the fire.

It's weary when the world is constantly yelling at you. Just just compromise a little, you know, just be tolerant. You're the bad guy here. It's weary. It's weary when even others around you that claim the name of Christ are saying, you're just too stuck in the mud.

You just need to get with the program. You know, flexible. Someone once said, we wanna be as narrow as the bible is narrow and as broad as the bible is broad. There are some areas in which we can be flexible in the application of principles. We don't all agree, but we must not compromise the clear principles and teachings of God's word regardless of how many other Christians are telling us that we're relics and that we need to change.

Some things change but some things must never change. Compromise with the world. Compromising the message of scripture is the wrong response. It has and it will result in further erosion of our society, further weakening of the gospel message. We must not give up on our convictions if they're grounded in the teaching and principles of God's word.

We must stand strong. Jude said it this way, contend for the faith. The purity of God's message is vital. If we lose it, then it will be lost. We must not lose it.

We must contend to keep it. It is not time for anger and hatred. It is time for love, for mercy, and forgiveness, to demonstrate the compassion of Christ while remaining true to the savior. Being holy and speaking the truth is not contrary to love. No, it is a result I stay true to the faith because I love who?

My savior. And I speak truth to the world around me because I love them and I don't want them to go flying off the cliff. Sin is the enemy of mankind. It is not the friend. And people need to hear the truth.

But they do need to hear it in what? In love. And it is not time for hatred to come into our heart. It is not time for anger to control what comes out of our mouth, how we think or what we say. Vengeance is mine.

I will repay it, savior. That's his pride. What does he tell us? Well, he says to us, turn the other what? Turn the other cheek.

He says overcome evil with what? Good. He says pray for them which despitefully use you. He says, do good unto all men. Show the lost in sin that Jesus loves them.

So do you. They do not need our hatred and they do not need our anger. They need our love. They're lost. They need a savior.

Their problem is sin and Satan. The same problem that we have. It may reveal itself in different ways. They may be further down the the road of decay and but it's where we all found ourselves lost in sin and needing a savior. And somebody out of love told us that our savior out of love died for us that we might be saved.

Don't forget who you were before you knew Christ. Don't forget what he's done for you. Don't forget where you would be without him and that God can change them. God can change them. He can save them and he can change them.

You don't win friends by acting like an enemy. You win enemies by acting like a what? Friend. It is not the time for anger and hatred. It's a time for love.

Show them that their souls matter and that it is their sin that is destroyed. They need to see compassion. That's what they got from Jesus. They got compassion. He was willing to put up with so much so that he could show them the truth.

Remember Matthew or Levi, the tax collector? He said in the Matthew, follow me, and Matthew left his tax collecting. And he put his faith in Jesus. And Matthew had a celebration for Jesus, and Matthew invited his friends. They were his friends.

Where his friends were the other outcasts of society. He didn't have any friends that were upstanding people because they didn't hang out with tax collectors. It was the other outcast, the drunks, and the prostitutes. Those were the people that were Matthew's friends and he invited them to meet his savior. And Jesus didn't run out of there and Jesus didn't beat them with words of anger, but with what?

With words of love. It is sinners that need a savior. It is the sick that need a doctor. And the sick were there. And Jesus had the remedy.

We have the remedy. We need to share it. It is not time to give up, but to press forward. Galatians six nine. And let us not be weary and well doomed for a new season we shall reap if we faint not.

Isaiah forty thirty one, they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings as eagles. They shall run and not be weary. They shall walk and not faint. Do not be weary in well doing for a due season we shall reap if we faint.

What does faint mean? It means to quit. It's not time to quit on the world. It's time for us to shine brighter. It's time for us to open our mouth.

It's time for us to show the world the love of Christ. God's word will not return what? Will not return. Romans 13, Paul writes this. That knowing the time, the now is high time to wake out asleep.

For now is our salvation nearer than when we believe. The night is far spent. The day is at hand. Let us therefore cast off the works of darkness. Let us put on the armor of light.

Let us walk honestly as in the day and not in writing in drunkenness, not in chambering in wilderness, not in strife and envy, but putting on the Lord Jesus Christ and make no provision to the flesh to fulfill the lust thereof. Now it's high time for us to get serious about this business. I mean, the salt of the earth and the light of the world. As we see the world spiraling down with the chaos of sin, there are souls still to be one. There is a savior still to be glorified.

It's not time to hide in fear. It's not time to fall silent. It's not time to compromise or to get angry or to give up. It's time to get busy. God is still in the soul winning business, but he needs his servants not to back it in and go home.

He needs his servants not to run away with their tails between their legs. He needs us to shine brighter, to be more committed than ever before, to put off the works of darkness, to lay aside the ways and sins with dust so easily beset us, and get serious. For the end of the race is just a heaven. Dearly father, thank you for the encouragement of your word this morning. Do not allow the darkness to overwhelm us, be weary in well doing, but to grasp the opportunity that lays before us.

The opportunity to be the light, to share the word, to show others the love of Christ, to show others that our God is real and that he has changed our life and will change theirs also. Lord, help us to stand strong. Give us courage. Lord, it isn't easy, father. And it's not likely to get easier, but harder.

And we need not be afraid for you're with us every step of the way. Use us, we pray. And Lord, if there's one here that's not trusting Christ as savior, Lord, I pray they come as we give this hymn of invitation today. For us to do know, I pray, Lord, if you have touched our heart today for our need. To be a brighter life that we would respond in faith to you and take a moment to ask for your help and your forgiveness.

In Jesus' name, we do pray. Amen.