If we know a rain storm is coming, we might carry an umbrella.  If we know strong winds will blow cold, we put on a coat before going outside to face the elements.  If I know an ice storm is in the forecast, we will put our vehicle in the garage and put ice melt on the sidewalks and drive. 

If we know a great expense will occur in the maintenance of our home, we save funds to pay for the expense.  If we know a surgery has been scheduled to repair what ails us, we do what the doctor says to prepare us for the surgery before going to the hospital.  If we know our vehicle needs repair work, we will get the work done as soon as possible so we won’t have a breakdown on the road.

If we know someone special to our lives is going to visit, we prepare our homes to accommodate their visit so they will feel welcomed and comfortable.  We serve them by putting them first in our lives because we love them.

Yes, we all feel more able to handle life when we are “in the know.”  Life is good when good things are happening.  But what happens when people who don’t know God challenge and attack our faith?  What happens when we discover that we are not in control of all circumstances?  What happens if we live a naïve life thinking no real preparation is needed? 

Most quickly learn that evil is prepared to never give up in his efforts to distract, deceive, with attempts to deconstruct our faith even though he lost the war with Jesus when Jesus rose again from death in victory!  Life for us will get dicey and difficult in this imperfect world. This is when the enemy explodes on our horizons—in our weakest hour.  So, how do we prepare for these difficult times?  Paul teaches Timothy; “Don’t’ be naive.”  We can prepare for the unknown by staying in touch with the Known.

2 Timothy 3, The Message

Difficult Times Ahead

^1-5 Don’t be naive. There are difficult times ahead. As the end approaches, people are going to be self-absorbed, money-hungry, self-promoting, stuck-up, profane, contemptuous of parents, crude, coarse, dog-eat-dog, unbending, slanderers, impulsively wild, savage, cynical, treacherous, ruthless, bloated windbags, addicted to lust, and allergic to God. They’ll make a show of religion, but behind the scenes they’re animals. Stay clear of these people.

^6-9 These are the kind of people who smooth-talk themselves into the homes of unstable and needy women and take advantage of them; women who, depressed by their sinfulness, take up with every new religious fad that calls itself “truth.” They get exploited every time and never really learn. These men are like those old Egyptian frauds Jannes and Jambres, who challenged Moses. They were rejects from the faith, twisted in their thinking, defying truth itself. But nothing will come of these latest impostors. Everyone will see through them, just as people saw through that Egyptian hoax.

Keep the Message Alive

^10-13 You’ve been a good apprentice to me, a part of my teaching, my manner of life, direction, faith, steadiness, love, patience, troubles, sufferings—suffering along with me in all the grief I had to put up with in Antioch, Iconium, and Lystra. And you also well know that God rescued me! Anyone who wants to live all out for Christ is in for a lot of trouble; there’s no getting around it. Unscrupulous con men will continue to exploit the faith. They’re as deceived as the people they lead astray. As long as they are out there, things can only get worse.

^14-17 But don’t let it faze you. Stick with what you learned and believed, sure of the integrity of your teachers—why, you took in the sacred Scriptures with your mother’s milk! There’s nothing like the written Word of God for showing you the way to salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. Every part of Scripture is God-breathed and useful one way or another—showing us truth, exposing our rebellion, correcting our mistakes, training us to live God’s way. Through the Word we are put together and shaped up for the tasks God has for us.

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

I had a wise seminary professor who taught us what to strive to know:

Know God—Be with God before doing anything for God. Jesus did as Son of Man.  (Psalm 46)

Know Ourselves—In relationship and commitment to Jesus who is the Way to God. (John 3:16-17)

Know Our Audience—Study with understanding what they know before telling them who they need to know, namely Jesus who is Truth—the Way to redemption of all their sins with the bonus of eternal life!  (See Acts 17)

Know the Enemy—We will have opposition. Know and accept this fact.  Satan the fallen angel, kicked out of heaven because he wanted to be God, opposes all that is God.  Prepare for his tricks and lies by knowing the Word of God.  Jesus was tempted for forty days and nights in the wilderness.  He combated the enemy with the Word of God.  Jesus then began the mission God had sent Him to be and do.  Satan is the chief among liars, Jesus warns us, don’t listen to him—flee from him!  To know the enemy’s tactics is to suit up and prepare for the attacks that will come.  (See Ephesians 6)

Know Our Message

AND as Paul teaches Timothy;

“There’s nothing like the written Word of God for showing you the way to salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. Every part of Scripture is God-breathed and useful one way or another—showing us truth, exposing our rebellion, correcting our mistakes, training us to live God’s way. Through the Word we are put together and shaped up for the tasks God has for us.”

When all else fails, read the Instructions!  We all have many stories of failed construction projects when we don’t read the instructions of how to build first.

Consider this:  God’s Holy Spirit convicts us of what we have been doing that is not working to bring out God’s best in and through us.  Jesus is One and Only who forgives and redeems us when we repent of our sins.  Sin and guilt are then removed from our being— “as far as the east is from the west.”  God’s Word corrects us as we live our lives in Jesus, shaped by His love, mercy, and grace.    

Lord,

Thank you for not giving up on us.  We are undeserving and so unworthy of all you have done for us.  You gave so that we may live with you for eternity in Your holy presence.  You are with us now, putting us together and shaping us for what you created us to be and do.  Thank you, thank you, thank you! To you be the glory!  Thank you for all the course corrections you guide to make from Your Word.

In Jesus Name, Amen