Multiply By Preparing The Next Generation   October 18, 2026 01: We only have one more message in our multiply series after today. If you look at the text on the screen, it's 2 Timothy 4, and there's only four chapters in 2 Timothy. And so we take two weeks to cover one chapter. Today, the first half of 2 Timothy, 2 Timothy 4, 1 through 5, and then next Sunday, the remainder of the book. The central point of this message series has been the theme of mentorship. If there is a theme that not only covers 2 Timothy, but 1 Timothy, it is the theme of mentorship where Paul is making sure that things are not only good in his day, but in future days. One of the things that I would like to say is that it takes a certain level of maturity, not only for you to want things to be good in your day, but to invest intentionally so that when your race is run and your time is done, that the gospel of Jesus Christ continues onward. I know a lot of pastors now. I've met a lot of pastors throughout my time in the ministry, and it's been interesting to notice that a lot of pastors that I know have done really well while they've been the pastor of a church, but I only know a very, very small handful. of pastors who as they neared the end of their ministry made it their intentional cause to make sure that the ministry flourished after they were no longer well the main person responsible to get things done. I had two examples of this happen. know, I mean I know a lot, actually probably three examples of all the pastors I know, only know of three. I give you maybe two, maybe three of them here today. A friend of mine, he's preached here. His name is Mike Fitzgerald. He pastored Clifford Baptist Church in Amherst for 40 years. He pastored one church for 40 years. And what was really something about Pastor Fitzgerald's tenure at Clifford Baptist, which is just up the street, it's a church out in middle of nowhere, literally, more obscure than Appomattox. I mean, can you do that? He did it. And for 40 years he passed through that church faithfully and for 40 years, year after year, it continued to main vitality. Really something. And I talked to him before he had retired. He says, I think the Lord is asking me to retire, to refocus my time, to refocus the remainder of my life, not as being the senior pastor of Clifford Baptist, but to make sure the baton is passed. And I sat there and watched him week after week, month after month, trained. Jeffrey Campbell, who's the new pastor. He intentionally poured into him, where you saw Mike, you saw Jeffrey. And even after Jeffrey became the pastor, Mike still attends, Mike encourages. That is a very unusual situation, unfortunately. I only know of one other story like that. Another man I knew less directly, but he pastored Heritage Baptist Church in Lynchburg. His name is Jerry Crowell. I knew Jerry Crowley as he got older. Again, he pastored Heritage Baptist Church for a long time. And I went out to lunch with him and the new pastor, the soon to be new pastor of Heritage Baptist. And I said, would you guys tell me about this transition process you went through at Heritage? And Jerry, who was at that time becoming elderly, he said, I called around to all my friends and said, do you have a template on how to transition? from one pastor to the next. And he says, I called multiple churches and they said, no, we don't have a template. We've never done that before. Usually the pastor leaves and then a pulpit committee picks whoever they want to pick and there's very little transition and what had happened and what will happen is just kind of whatever happens. He says, well, that's discouraging. So he said, I guess I'll have to make up my own template. So he said, the only thing I know to do is before we hire the new guy, I need to watch him for a while. He said, so I moved Pastor Nate into my office and said, every Sunday you report to my, I mean, every week you report, every day you report to my office. He said, it was kind of odd. He's like, I'd be sitting over there studying. I looked, Nate was sitting over there studying. And, and he says, we would just, he saw what I did and, and I saw what he did and we did that for a few years. And then Jerry Crowell kind of faded. or faded into the dark or whatever, he moved on. I think he's still around. I don't think he's dead. And the church continues on. Both of those situations, there were 50 years of ministry. 50 years of ministry. That has an unbroken chain of vitality. Not tied to one personality, but tied to the gospel of Jesus Christ and an intentional effort to pass it on. It takes a real level of maturity to make sure that when you're gone, that the Christian gospel continues on, that someone is willing, not just, well, we hope somebody picks up the baton, but that you have intentionally passed the baton. You know, every generation faces the same challenge. The people who currently carry the gospel will one day be gone. And the question is whether anyone will be ready to take their place. Paul today, is getting really close to his last words. And this, these are kind of Paul's last charge. Paul will talk about himself, about the process of his own death. He'll greet some friends next week. But this really is Paul's last charge. And he tells Timothy, look, Timothy, this is what you need to do to make sure things continue on. I do want to say that I would like to say, well, everybody is interested in multiplication. And now I've been around the block and I actually realize that many people are not interested in multiplication because I have another burden. It is a burden to me that I have for a long time based upon my work here and based upon how I can encourage beyond here. I have a deep concern about especially the rural church in America. I mean, right around Appomattox, this is a very church community right around this region, right around the state and what has dotted the American landscape for hundreds of years of these little churches. And many of these little churches are teetering on closure. And the reason they're teetering on closure is many things. think the spiritual reason is the main reason. And sometimes people don't want to face up to that. I used to think, well, everybody wants to pass it on. Everybody wants to make sure that the gospel goes on in future generations. And unfortunately, just talking to sincere people, I found out that's not the case. I've actually been called in to consult on churches about to close. And I'll go into these little churches. I'll say, look, you've got a great facility. You've got a vibrant community around you. Why don't you just take the gospel outside the walls? love on the people, share the people, share with the people. Just do it for a while and you'll be surprised. I people will come here. They'll attend. You'll get to meet people you don't know. You'll get to share the gospel with people who don't know the gospel. God could do a work here. And if I've been told this phrase one time, I've been told it a hundred times. And sincere church members, sincerely wrong, but they're sincere. They said, I've had several people look at me and say, I know what you're saying. I understand you want us to be involved on mission in our own community, but they said, all I'm really concerned about is I just want the church to hang on long enough so that they can have my funeral here. And I want to say, I think we've already had it. Because you're dead and you ain't had the funeral yet. Like your mission is gone. Your passion is gone. And usually, because I'm trying to be a Christian man and gentleness, I don't say to them at that moment, that is the most disobedient thing I think I've ever heard come out of someone's mouth. I have on a few occasions said that. But usually I restrain myself. And so why do I say that? Because multiplication, is not everybody's mission. A lot of people's mission is, what does it work out for me? How does it make me feel? Is this the type of church that I want? And multiplication requires something totally different. I actually had a young man come to me at the end of the 930 service and he says, look, I'm young, I think I have something to contribute, but I don't really know a lot of the other younger guys in the church that I might be able to mentor. He goes, isn't that kind of a barrier? And I said, actually the first act of selflessness is to go be in a place where you're not naturally already invested. Make relationships with people that you don't know so that you can share with them something that you have that they don't, that's kind of awkward to get started. He goes, is that really the case? I said, welcome to multiplication. And this requires a heavy level of intentionality. You say, Rusty, why are you beating this drum because my series is almost over and I just don't want, I preach now tons of message series and I'm hoping that in six months if I say, Second Timothy multiplication, you go, yeah, I got that person I'm entering. Because if that doesn't happen, then it doesn't mean that God's word has not done what it's supposed to do. But I'm saying that is kind of the main message and all the other points kind of support that big idea. I want to give you these three ideas where Paul kind of gives his last big words to Timothy as he launches Timothy out on his mission. Second Timothy chapter four, verses one through five. Three big ideas today that kind of frame out this concept. The first big idea is to multiply. We need to recognize God, the one to whom we will give an account. Verse one says, before God in Christ Jesus, who is going to judge the living and the dead? and by His appearing and His kingdom, I solemnly charge you." I do want you to notice, I haven't given you what Paul said. I'm giving you the manner by which he says it. He says here at the beginning that he's like, this is not nice pastoral advice that might be helpful and might not be helpful. You can take it or leave it. That's not the way this starts out. Paul tells Timothy, look, I'm charging you. And he says, I'm charging you before God and Christ Jesus. And he says, and when you think about your ministry, the first thing you need to think about is not your present circumstance, but how this is all going to end. You know, there was a proverb that I learned long ago as a teenager, actually, the fear of man brings a snare. But whoever puts his trust in the Lord will be safe. And that whole idea of the fear of man. You know what the reality is in ministry and in life, people can get big and God can get small. And right here at the beginning, Paul says, no, God needs to get big and people need to get small. He says, your ministry, what you do, you won't give an account to me, you won't give an account to a body of elders, you won't give an account even to a church, you'll give an account to God who is going to judge the living and the dead. It'll be God who asks, did you do what I asked you to do? Did you fulfill the ministry that I wanted you to fulfill? Did you reach out to the people that I sent your way? That's the person that you'll give an account to, no one else. And so, you know, plenty of people say, well, I quit doing this because I don't like this person. I've quit doing this because I don't like this person. Well, this guy ruffled me up and I can't do this anymore. Okay, well, I'm sympathetic. I'm sorry how that happened. But here's the truth. You'll give an account for the life that you live before the Lord. You have to live your life before the face of God. You have to do your ministry before the face of God because that's really the only one that matters. And here's the deal, sooner than later, the Lord will return or you will be in front of Him and judgment day will be upon you. You say, Rusty, whew, I don't want think about all of this. No, actually, I think you probably ought to think a great deal more about this. that we live our life before the face of God and He's the one to whom we'll ultimately give an account. And one day, one glorious day, He'll return, He'll judge the earth and He'll make all things new. And that's what's coming for us. And I mean, even if you live a full long life, you get to live this side of heaven for a hundred years. But that's what is before us. And quite frankly, for all of us, that's right on the other side of the door. Paul tells young Timothy, look, I'm out, man. My time is up. He's like, but you don't have as much time as you think you have, because the judge of all the earth stands at the door and you ought to do your ministry before his face. So that when you give an account to him, that you'll heal our well-done good and faithful servants. I think that's a super big idea that we ought to really wrestle with. But then here comes the second big point where Paul really leans into ... Here's your obligation until judgment day. The second big point is to multiply. We must persistently proclaim the message with patience and teaching in the face of rejection. Verse two says, proclaim the message. That's the way the Holman Christian Standard translates it in its 2017 translation. I still prefer, actually the Holman Christian Standard actually updates their translation and I'm using the 17. In the 2020, they actually changed that to preach the Word. I'm like, why did you mess with it in the first place? Because that's the way the old translation said. But nevertheless, proclaim the message, preach the Word, persist in it, whether convenient or not, rebuke, correct, and encourage with great patience and teaching. For the time will come when they will not tolerate sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, will accumulate teachers for themselves because they have an itch to hear something new. They will turn away from hearing the truth and will turn aside to miss. I think this idea, I remember as a child hearing the phrase, preach the Word, and King James says, in season or out of season. And obviously in this, whether convenient or not, whether it's receptive or it's not. And I remember hearing like this idea, especially being in the ministry, know, preach the Word that you could almost like It blisters people's skin off by how overwhelming you are preaching. Unfortunately, that's not all that the text says. The text does call for boldness. And by the way, Christianity, I hear people say sometimes, you know, preach the gospel and if necessary use words. Excuse me, the gospel requires words. There is no wordless gospel. Sorry about that. I mean, an example is a good thing and you ought to connect your life in word and in deed. Christianity requires proclamation. It requires teaching. You can't just go live a good life and say nothing because Christianity is a message, something you must say, something that people have to understand. So preach the Word, but when to preach it? It's a little better here. I can see most of your faces. The 930, it's really bright in that room. I can see everybody's face. I can see everybody who unwraps a star. what is those mints called? Starlight mints. I mean, I can see everything. It's a little overwhelming, to be honest. And I'll notice when I say something, I can see it here. mean, your faces aren't hidden from me, but I can definitely see it at 9.30. I can say something and I can see people go. Like, I don't like that. You know what Paul says? Preach the word, whether they like it or not. Because my responsibility is not to make you happy. My responsibility is to tell you the truth. And there is some abrasive qualities to preaching the words, no doubt about it. I mean, you have these words here, rebuke. Some people don't like it. I've got a lot of thoughts on this subject. My brain is a little overwhelmed because we do need to speak the truth in love. We do. Paul's going to get around to patience and encouragement. He's going to say all those words. But every now and then, I don't care how loving, I don't care how encouraging. When you deliver the Christian gospel, it lands with a Because you know why? It tells people, sorry, you're a sinner. That's wrong. God says no to that. And that's part of my responsibility. And it's not just part of my responsibility, it's part of your responsibility. How will they know if you don't tell them? And so preach the word, whether it's in season or out of season, rebuke. Correct. Not only tell them where they're wrong, tell them how to get right. And then it says right there, mercifully, encourage. You don't have to be the prophet of doom only. You can say, no, God loves you. Jesus died for you. There's forgiveness and grace in Jesus. That's part of the message too, by the way. You can give it to them hot. You can give it to them warm. Encourage. And then notice, I think a lot of times, at least when I first heard this and that like preach the word, go in, give it to them, get out. I've actually had a few of you say, You ought to just give me a few minutes in the pulpit." And I'm thinking, no, no, no, we're not. I could get them all straight in 10 minutes. I said, no, you just took them off in 10 minutes and they wouldn't get straight. Because actually here, you're not only to rebuke, you're not only correct, you're not only encouraged, but you know what? With great patience and teaching. That's also part of preaching the word. To what you told them on Monday, you got to tell them again on Tuesday. Which you told them on Tuesday they didn't forget and they don't understand on Wednesday. They ask you the same question on Thursday, again the same question on Friday. Saturday you take a day off and the following Sunday they forget everything you told them the whole week. You start over again. Requires patience. And that's also part of preaching the word, showing up and restating it. By the way, the apostle Paul did not just give it to the false teachers. The apostle Paul also knew that at one time he was a false teacher. So he wanted patience for God's mercy to be shown to people. Now here's the deal. I have a philosophy of preaching. You ready for it? It's really exciting. You'll be overwhelmed. I mean this is what I'm trying to do every Sunday. I don't try to be overly boring. I don't try to be overly long. Both of those you may not believe, but those are true. Okay? But what am I trying to do every Sunday? I'm trying to, because I believe this is the Word of God, the Bible, I'm trying to faithfully read it, interpret it, explain it, and apply it. That's it. That's it. And I want, and if you ever get the impression that I don't appear like just wrestling with a text, that's all I'm doing. I'm trying to say, I don't, it's not my message to deliver. It's God's message. He's already delivered it. And I'm trying to, to redeliver it in a way that is consistent with what has been delivered. That's it. It always terrifies me to be honest when people say, I went and listened to a pastor. He said all these things. There's no way I could have seen that in the Bible. But wow. And I'm thinking if there's no way you could have seen it, he probably didn't see it either. Because the text cannot mean what it's never meant. Do you understand what I'm saying? But people have a proclivity. I'll tell you, one of the things that like theological education did for me and seminary did, it almost ruined me in this regard. You ready for it? I had a very hard time after seminary listening to many pastors. Not because I was a jerk, okay, but because I noticed they weren't taking the Bible very seriously. And I'm sitting there going, what are you talking about? I mean, it's a funny story. You know, you're a good speaker. You know, you look good. You sound good on the stage. What are you talking about? You're not talking about the Bible, because I got one, you know, and I'm trying to read and I'm trying to understand what you're reading and I can't catch. And then I look around and I'm like, I'm sure everybody else feels the way I feel. No, then no one felt the way I felt. Because I've noticed that people like to hear about what is the most relevant thing to them. You know? I mean, here's the deal. Maybe what I say today has nothing relevant for your current situation. How in the world could I preach a sermon that is relevant to everybody's diverse situation in one sermon? Have you thought about that? I mean, the level of differences that you have here is overwhelming. I remember hearing a professor friend of mine who was actually invited to a local university to give a lecture and the title of the lecture was, God Relevant? It was the title of the lecture. And he began the lecture by putting a mathematical equation on the screen. He says, can anybody tell me the relevance of this mathematical equation? Not a single person in the room could tell anybody the relevance of this mathematical equation. He says, it was that mathematical equation that cracked the code for the cellular phone. They go, huh. He said, had that not equation been cracked, you wouldn't have had a cell phone. And y'all all like those now, don't you? They go, yeah. He says, it's very strange to me that you've invited me to a university to ask me the question, is God relevant? He says, that is ... He says, who cares if God is relevant or not to you? He says, isn't a more reasonable question than a university to ask the question, is God true? They're like, hmm. He says, I thought the whole point of a university was that you read all this stuff, you learn all these ideas that you think are completely irrelevant. I mean, how many times have you heard people say, this is so irrelevant. Why does this apply to me? Okay. But here's the wonderful thing about reading widely and opening up your minds. that sometimes something that you might think is completely irrelevant actually solves a problem and becomes the most relevant thing you ever learned. You know what you call that? Learning. It's part of like the whole ethos. Well, I don't know, see how this is relevant. You're not in a position to know what is ... who cares if it's relevant to you right this now? Why don't you just set and learn? The Bible gives you an opportunity. But rather than do that, rather than do that, you know what people want to do? They want to just gather up teachers to tell them what they already know, to reaffirm what they already believe, to make them feel really good about what they already think, and they get into a vicious loop. And if this was bad in the first century, the 21st century of social media has spun this up that people literally live in little echo chambers and only hear their own voice bouncing back to them and think they are so smart and they are completely disconnected from reality. Now, So over the last week, we put a Facebook post up. We were gracious enough to be given free tickets to the White House. It's a fun thing to do. So a few months ago, I said, come one, come all, first come, first serve, and all the tickets got gobbled up. That shows me, y'all said, we don't read the emails. Liar, liar, liar, okay? Because... We sent that out, free tickets to the White House, and the phones in the office melted. I could say, I've got a whole stack of gospel tracts. Come on up and pick them up. The phone wouldn't ring. I said, I got free tickets to the White House, I mean, the ladies in the office, the phone was ringing, and everything was ringing. Okay. So that's another, that's a whole other, that's a whole other. We had a nice little trip. You said, why are you telling us this? Because I saved an extra day. And I took the boys to the Museum of the Bible. And by the way, went to the White House, I guess this is my, ought to go vote. How about that? You know, was election season. Nevertheless, I had to get an Uber. Okay. And I'd gotten a few Ubers while I was in DC, but where I was, I didn't know if I could get an Uber and if the Uber would come fast enough. So I clicked the button, okay, here comes the Uber and lo and behold, it was a red Tesla. Okay. My boys were thrilled. They're like, dad, we never ridden in a Tesla. I said, well, you're going get to ride in one now, you know? And so, but I... If you have the Uber app, you can watch the Uber come to you. Okay? Well, looks like this Uber got lost because it said it was six minutes away, five minutes away, four minutes away, 12 minutes away, 11 minutes away, and she kept like riding around in a circle. And then finally she shows up. And James and Thomas, they're like, ooh, dad, look at this, a red Tesla. said, just get in. Okay? And I got in, there was junk everywhere. I don't like open food in my car that someone else had eaten. And when I sat down, it wasn't the smell of cigarettes. You understand? It was something else you smoke. That's now legal in America. And I thought, help me, Lord. You know, I'm just like, hope the boys don't ask questions. And she goes, where are you going? I said, Museum of the Bible. And then she starts manifesting to me. I said, boy, here we go. And it was early in the morning. I hadn't sleep well in the hotel. It was not good. And she goes, I'm going to be a multimillionaire. I said, OK, are you? I said, we already got the Tesla. She goes, I'm manifesting it. I said, boy, you're manifesting it. Manifested, There you go, manifested. And she goes, I'm a God's girl. I said, OK, good, good, good. And she says, I'm going to become a life coach. And I've done all of this. And da, da, da, da, da, da. She was going around, going around. And she goes, you're going to the Museum of the Bible. You must be a Christian." And I can just say, what if I get this woman fired up? I'm not going to be able to shut her down. And Thomas from the back goes, my dad is the preacher of Liberty Baptist Church. And I thought, boy, here we go. Here we go. I am on a wild ride now. She goes, well, I'm not a Christian. I said, you're not a Christian. Okay. She goes, she started telling me I grew up in the projects and I did feel sorry for the lady, said, look, you had a terrible life, you know. She goes, grew up in the project, I've been overcome that. I had a divorce with my husband, but he was a decent man. He told me how to pray, but I don't, I don't, I don't do church and I'm not really a Christian. And so I'm thinking, well, okay. I said, well, where'd you learn all of this? I got it right from the Holy Spirit. I said, you're not a Christian. She goes, no, I got it from the Holy Spirit. I'm manifesting my destiny. I'm manifesting. million dollars. I said, well, how are you going to get a million dollars? Well, I'm going to do life coaching for girls. I said, where are you going to do that at? And well, I'm going do it here in Virginia, but it's going to be national. I said, no, it's going to be national. And then she's like, I'm a God's girl. And then she started quoting scripture. I said, well, that's the Bible. She goes, it's the Bible. I said, well, that's actually Jesus. It is. I pray in Jesus' name. I said, okay. I said, you're not a Christian. I'm like And then I got her rolling and she wouldn't stop and she just... I said, lady, eyes on the road, lady. She's just talking and talking and talking. I'm thinking this lady is so confused. And it hadn't dawned on her because I tried to ask. My one attempt was, who are you teachers? Who told you all of this? nobody told me all this. I get it directly. I'm thinking no, because I know you're teachers. You got a little bit of prosperity this. You got a little bit of... New Age, this, you got a big mismatch of all things religious and American. You stirred them up in a big pot and it's not logical, it doesn't make sense. It's a mismatch. You're deeply hurting inside and you're trying to throw whatever you can against the wall hoping something sticks. Paul sent Timothy into that in Ephesus. And Jesus Christ sends us out into America with this. And I'll be honest, I wish I would have prayed with that lady before I had gotten out of the Tesla. I didn't, because we had pulled up and just said, Spirit of God, open her eyes. She's hurting. She's seeking, reveal yourself to her. I didn't do it. I got out of the car. I did pray for her after the fact. I prayed for her even today. If you don't think that this is what's going on in your world, that the level of clarity, a person who actually knows the Bible, who can walk in a room, who proclaims the message, whether it's in season or out of season, rebuke, correct, encourage, and teaches with great patience, that is so profoundly needed. Because if that person doesn't show up, people collect up whatever they can collect up. and they end up as lost and confused as they will ever be. I wonder what's gonna happen when she manifested her millions and her millions never come. Did God abandon her? Or maybe God never promised that. You understand? God says, look, preach the word, Timothy. Get in there, mix it up, and don't be bashful. I want to just end on this. He says, you have a responsibility of proclamation. He says, but while you're proclaiming, you've got a few other things you need to keep your eye on. The third big point is to multiply. We should remain clear-headed. endure hardship, evangelize and fulfill our ministry. Verse five, he wraps this up. He says, but as for you, one of the things that I've really appreciated more in the Bible is just the idea of sobriety, clearheadedness. Because you get multiple ladies like that talking to you like that and you're trying to teach. Your head gets scrambled up, at least mine does. Paul tells Timothy, Keep a clear head about everything. Endure hardship. Do the work of an evangelist. Fulfill your ministry. Think about these practical admonitions. Look, while you're trying to preach the Word in a context where the Word is not well received, keep your head on. Stay sober. By the way, when you do that, hardship comes just as a part of ministry. Don't see it as a surprise. See it as a natural extension of just speaking truth. It may not make your life better. It might actually make your life worse. I mean, you'll be doing what God wants you to do, but hardship is part of it. Notice here these last two admonitions and I'm done. The false teaching in Ephesus was not outside the church, but inside the church. And Paul actually names names in 2nd Timothy and in 1st Timothy about certain false teachers that needed to stop saying some of the things they were saying. And so Timothy is going to go in and he's going to try to have to straighten all this stuff out in the church in Ephesus. And I know how it is to try to be in the middle of church life. And you can start thinking about everything related to church life. And that's why this particular admonition is so important, because Paul tells Timothy, while you should go to Ephesus and while you do need to teach sound doctrine and you do need to straighten out things inside the church, do the work of an evangelist. Don't forget. that you need to get outside the walls and go share with lost people. That's why some people say, why do you do so much stuff in the community? Because churches become insular. I can promise you, you will make the case for what you want in this church. Promise. I don't mean that negatively. It's just you're going to say, the bathroom needs to be cleaned, the door stoppers over there are broken. These are all today. I can give you a whole list, you know, this and this and this and this, fine, and I'm happy to address whatever things. That's always going to be the case. You need to say this, you need to do this, you need to be, because this is how the church needs to go. Fine, that's all part of ministry. But you can't in the midst of doing that, some pastors and some churches, they just get focused being insular. And Paul tells Timothy every now and again, you need to go do the work of an evangelist. Get outside the church, share with people. because you can get too self-consumed. And here's the end. Paul tells Timothy, fulfill your ministry. I don't want to take my thunder for next week. I watch a lot of people die, unfortunately. I've asked this question, can you die knowing you fulfilled everything God wanted you to do? Can you do that? And answer is, sure you can. Unfortunately, that's not typically what I see. A lot of people, they're dying and they say, well, I did the best I can, preacher. I did what I could. You know, I hope the Lord accepts what I did. My feeble ... That's usually what I get at the bedside. I did the best I can. I hope it was good enough. That's what I get. get that. I'll share this again next week. It's worthy of saying it twice. If I would have shown up ... And by the way, I've shown up to people's bedside, not many, but some who when they're dying, they're like, did everything God wanted me to do. to the degree that God wanted me to do it as much as a feeble person can do it. I've had a few of those. But if you would have gone to Paul's bedside, because no doubt Timothy could have, he wasn't at Paul's bedside, I don't think, because Paul dies in Rome, a martyr's death. But when Paul dies, if you rolled up to his hospital bed, you know what he said? He wouldn't have said, pastor, I did the best I could. That's not what he said. He says, I fought a good fight. I finished the course. have kept the faith. Henceforth is laid up for me the crown of righteousness with the Lord, the righteous judge, who give to me on that day, and not to me only, but also to all those whose love is appearing. Now I'm going to die. Wouldn't it be nice to die like that? Fault the fight, finish the course, get the faith. Mission accomplished. You say, well, that's something only Paul could do. No, I've actually seen other believers do it. I remember Robert Alderman. He was the interim pastor here before me. He said this in sermons. He says, most people, when I come to their bedside, he says they had no idea God had a plan for their life, and they certainly didn't have any idea if they'd accomplished it. And that's a blast from the past, because he's been dead for a while. That was the past generation. And this is what I want to tell you. Paul didn't tell Timothy, well, you just do your best. And he says, fulfill your ministry. And I think some people, they get hurt, they get discouraged, they get frustrated, and they say, you know what? I'm tired of this. I mentored somebody, didn't turn out like I wanted it to. I shared the gospel and they didn't receive. I served in that church and you know what? They didn't say thank you to me ten times. I'm out. Well, you can get up frustrated at folks, but you're going to give account of your ministry before God. And I do hope that this is what you take away, that once the baton is passed to the next person, the example of you doing your job will give them encouragement to finish their job. If you're today and you're not a Christian, if you're to die today before God the Judge, what would you say? There's only one thing to say that's right. that I put my faith and trust in Jesus Christ and in Him alone for my salvation. If you're today and you're not a Christian, you don't know where you spend eternity, I'll be right here at the front, take a Bible, show you how you can be a Christian. If you are a Christian, we've got one more message in this message series. It'd be a shame to leave a multiplication series and you not be in the process of multiplication because the message is not just to be understood, the message is to be lived. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we ask you. God, that we would live our life before Your face. God, we will give an account of our life to You and to You alone. God, we pray that we would preach the Word, whether in season or out of season, that when it's hard and but we will still rebuke and correct and encourage with patience and teaching. God, may we have compassion upon people who are trying to figure it all out and need someone to share with them. Then God, we pray in the midst of it, our head would be clear that we'd endure hardship, that we wouldn't become insular, we would do the work of an evangelist, that when the days get hard and the mission gets weary, that we continue on until we're done. We pray you'd give us what you need, what we need, so that we can walk this road well. In Jesus' amen.