Today’s continuation of the spiritual disciplines necessary for growth begins in Paul’s second letter to Timothy. Shortly before he was martyred, Paul told Timothy he was ready to depart having fought the good fight, finished the course, and kept the faith. That’s not to say Paul never failed and today we were reminded, that you’re not a failure because you fail, you’re a failure when you quit trying. Maybe the measure of spiritual maturity is visible in how quickly we get up from the mat to try again. It’s the truths of God's word within us that give us the power needed to do so.
If a church is merely entertaining, it’s not likely to be teaching the things we need to hear and today’s message was a warning that casual teaching can lead to false doctrine. In Matthew 16, Christ said it’s in taking up our personal cross daily that we can follow after him and He must be the focus, not the cross we bear.
The world will not love us for standing true to God's word and even if rejected we must be careful to obey 2 Timothy 4:2-5 regardless of how hard it gets.
In obedience to these verses, we must be committed, careful, and clear-minded.
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