Let’s Wake Up To What Changes And What Doesn’t! Series

SERMON OUTLINE:

(1). A Changing World

(2). An Unchanging God

(3). A Strategy to Enact.

• (a). the way to live (vs 10-14)

• (b). the means of salvation (vs 15)

• (c). the word of truth (vs 16-17)

SERMON BODY:

(a). A Changing World.

Ill:

• We live in a world of change:

• i.e. Tadpole to frog.

• i.e. Four seasons.

• i.e. Cars/Possessions (rust/break etc.)

• i.e. People (eyesight, hearing, hair-loss, walking sticks etc.)

Consider this information:

• It’s estimated that 90% of all the items in your supermarket didn’t exist ten years ago.

• More information has been produced in the last thirty years than in the past 5,000 years.

• It is estimated that 50% of graduates are going into jobs;

• That did not exist when they were born.

• TRANSITION: everything in life changes!

• Sometimes things deteriorate and the changes are negative,

• Sometimes things improve and changes are positive.

(2). An Unchanging God.

• Now I said everything changes, but not quite everything!

• The Bible says God does not change;

• i.e. Malachi chapter 3 verse 6: “I the Lord do not change”

• There is of course a New Testament equivalent:

• i.e. Hebrews chapter 13 verse 8: “Jesus Christ the same yesterday and today and forever”

The technical term for God not changing is ‘immutability’.

• Simply stated, that means God is unchangeable.

• He is neither capable of nor susceptible to change.

• And that makes sense.

• Any change would probably be for the better or for the worse.

• God cannot change for the better because He is already perfect.

• And He cannot change for the worse,

• For then He would be imperfect and would therefore no longer be God.

• Created things change; they run down or wear out.

• It is part of their nature.

• But God has no beginning or end. Therefore He cannot change.

(3). A Strategy to enact.

• Now in a world that is constantly changing,

• Christians are told to hold on to certain key truths,

• And in these verses are some unchanging values.

Ill:

• Last summer we did what one million tourists do every year;

• We visited the leaning tower of Pisa.

• It is one of the great tourist attractions in the world,

• It stands 179 feet tall and is a work of beauty,

• The problem is the architect built it on 10 feet of foundations.

• The leaning tower of Pisa was always externally impressive;

• But it was also a disaster waiting to happen!

• And it has only survived to this day,

• Thanks to the knowledge and skill of a variety of experts.

• TRANSITION: In these final verses of this short letter;

• The apostle Paul give Timothy some advice.

Question: Who was Paul?

• Paul started life as Saul, a top Jewish leader;

• He was once an enemy to Christ and a persecutor of the Church.

• (Acts chapter 9).

• But one day when he was travelling on the road to Damascus;

• He encountered the risen Christ and was converted.

• And the persecutor became a preacher!

• Paul was an apostle in the early Church,

• He had met with the risen Christ and was given a new calling.

• And over the years he has become a seasoned ministry,

• ill: We would say today, ‘he’s been there done it and got the t-shirt!’

• Note: the apostle Paul is writing this letter from a prison cell;

• And it is only a matter of weeks or days before he is executed, martyred for the faith.

Question: Who was Timothy?

• Unlike the apostle Paul who had a dramatic conversion;

• Timothy was raised and influenced by his mother and grandmother;

• He came from a believing home.

• His mother and grandmother read and taught him the stories of the Bible;

• And then one day when a visiting preacher called Paul came along,

• Timothy responded to the message and he was converted!

• At one time Timothy had been a travelling companion of the apostle Paul,

• But at the time of this letter;

• Timothy was the Pastor of a Church in Ephesus.

Note:

• This letter that the apostle penned is his swan song,

• His last will and testament!

• And a person’s last words are often very significant;

• And this letter contains some of the apostle Paul’s.

• Now I want to pull out just a few threads from these verses.

• The apostle Paul gives Timothy an agenda to follow;

• He reminds him of what changes and what doesn’t.

(a). Integrity - the way to live (vs 10-14).