Greetings, radio friends, in the precious name of the Lord Jesus. Shall we read together the epistle of Timothy the second letter, chapter four? I would like to read verse two, three, and four. Preach the word. Be instant in season, out of season. Reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long suffering and doctrine. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but after their own loss shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears, and they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables. May God bless the reading of this short section out of its precious word. May I repeat what we gave in the opening study of this letter, an outline of the whole body of truth. We find it dealing with the truth of God. We found the apostle exhorting in chapter one that one should hold it. One should certainly hold to the truth of God. We found in chapter two that one also had to stand and commit that truth to others. And in chapter three we have learned that one should not only hold it, but he should certainly be true to it. And then we find in chapter four we are told to preach it. Preach the word as we saw in our preceding message. Preach the word. Now may I cover what we have before as in the verses three and four, two, two, three and four. We are told what to preach. We are told when to preach. We are told how to preach. And we are told why to preach the word. Preach the word. That is what we must preach. Second, when to preach, in season, out of season, at all times seeking to be available to make known the truth of God. My beloved, may we think of what Paul wrote to the Romans again in chapter one, verse sixteen, when he said, I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation, to everyone the believer. to the Jew first and also to the Greek. There is nothing to be ashamed of in making known the word of God, and we should preach it, and we should do it in season and out of season, constantly seeking to make known the truth of God. When should we ever see? May I tell you this, my friend? When does the devil ever stop his business? When does the devil ever give up? When does the devil ever stop and take a rest? He doesn't. But I am persuaded that there are too many Christians at arresting. There are too many believers in the Lord Jesus Christ that are laying back on their oars, and just as the hymn writer says, sinners, sitting at ease in Zion. Oh, my beloved, this is wrong. We're to be busy, and we are told to be in season as well as out of season. And then Paul says, in thus preaching, we prove, exhort. and rebuke with all long-suffering and doctrine. How to preach with conviction. That's the meaning of the word reproofed. You know it's a wonderful thing when you hear a preacher and he preaches so forcefully that you can say, well that fellow believes what he's preaching. Well he better. For he'll never have an effective message. For the message must be one of conviction. That he believes in the message himself. Or do you never carry a message of conviction to others? How to preach with conviction? Not only with conviction, but even with rebuke. Oh, when you and I preach the word of God, it not only convinces men of sin, but it rebukes them for their sins. And may I say, my beloved preacher friend, as well as my faithful servants of God and Christians who are serving God, let the Word of God rebuke. Don't you rebuke? Let the Word of God convict. Let the Word of God convict. And then note what follows, and this is important, exhort with all long suffering and doctrine. Meaning and courage. The word of God is to be a word not only of conviction, not only of rebuke, but a word of exhortation, meaning encouragement. And how the saints are needing encouragement today. Many of saints needs encouragement. traveling around the country. I find the people of God longing to be encouraged. I find them hungry to get a word of exhortation that will cheer them, that will strengthen them, that will feed them, and that will help them along the way. And, beloved, we need it. God help us indeed to know how to preach, to know how to minister the Word of God, for the encouragement of others, and to do it, as the Apostle goes on to state, with all long-suffering and doctrine or teaching. Oh, beloved, how to preach. We have to be patient. There has to be the spirit of long-suffering. Men don't readily exceed and consent to the Word of God when we preach it. My, even tonight, even today, in my message, there may be some of you that don't believe what I'm saying. Well, that doesn't bother me when I know that it's the truth of God. But I must be patient. I must realize long-suffering must be my spirit. For you know, God works patiently. And sometimes preachers preach impatiently. Sometimes Christian workers... or impatient in their service. Makes me think of the incident that I read of. A dear man had found Christ as his Savior. Not long after his salvation, one night he said to his wife, wife, I'm going to meet my neighbor next door. I'm going to visit him. I'm taking my Bible. I'm going to show him how to be saved. And so he went over to visit his neighbor and show him the way of salvation as he now knew it from the Word of God. He came back in about thirty minutes and he put his Bible on the table and said to his wife, he said, that neighbor is the dumbest man I ever met. She looked at him surprised. She said, John, why do you say that? Well, he said, I went over and I showed him John three sixteen, one of the easiest verses in the Bible. And I showed him how he could be saved through the message of John three sixteen. And he says, I spent all that half hour explaining it. And he kept saying, I can't see it. I can't see it. I don't see it. He's the dumbest fellow I ever met. Well, his wife looked at him pathetically. She said, John, listen. It took you forty years before you saw it. And you expect him to see him in thirty minutes. Beloved, you know it does take some a long time. Some shorter, some longer. But when you and I are seeking to deal with men and women, boys and girls, who are blinded to the truth of God, we have to preach the Word with all long-suffering and doctrine. And thus we must know how to preach. God gives us the patience and the long-suffering that is needed. For how long God has been patient with men and women is far greater in its character than your patience and mine. And then I want you to know this. Not only does Paul say what to preach, not only when to preach, not only how to preach, but he tells why to preach. And listen to these words carefully. They're important in verses three and four. For the time will come, and may I paraphrase it by saying, we could read the time has come. when they will not endure, put up with sound doctrine, for the time shall be when they will not bear sound teaching. Now I want to dwell upon this first. It is unfortunately true that many today do not wish to hear and refuse to listen to what is sound teaching from the Word of God. Beloved, this is a very solemn and a disastrous testimony. Paul, thousands of years ago, now unto two thousand years ago, wrote these words by divine inspiration. And in the present day that you and I are living, these words are actually true. That men will not bear sound teaching. And many a sound preacher and teacher of the Word of God has been threatened for preaching the truth of God. Now beloved, this God's word declared would take place. But that's why we've got to keep preaching. Because the time has come when they will not endure sound teaching. And why will they not endure sound teaching? Note what follows. After their own lusts or desires shall they heap to themselves teachers having itching ears, and they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and will have turned aside unto fables. Now, beloved, here's something that's very solemn and serious. Men today want to listen to what they did like to have scratching their ears. Their ears may not want the truth of God. Well, may I say very, very frankly, if you don't want the truth of God, there's only one inevitable thing. You're going to get error. You're going to get what Paul says are famous untruths. You know, it's a strange fact. Men would rather listen to what's not true today than what is true. The Word of God. Now that seems strange, but that's a fact. And their own desires is to have men preach what they wish to hear. I think of a faithful preacher who was asked by a fellow preacher to be careful what he preached when President Andrew Jackson was in the audience. And when the man stood up to preach and deliver his message, he said very courageously, I understand that President Andrew Jackson is in this audience. I want to tell President Jackson that he is a sinner and that he's on the way to hell unless he finds Jesus Christ as his own personal Savior. That's what I've got to say to President Jackson. Well, what a boldness you say. Well, you know what President Jackson said. He said, I wish I had an army of courageous men like that man. I wouldn't be afraid to fight any enemy. And he valued the courage of a man that could preach his conviction. God give us more. For we're living in days when men turn away from the truth. Oh, my radio friend, I plead with you, take the Bible. It's the word of God. It's the truth of God. Listen to its message. Find Christ as your Savior and be saved. Shall we pray? Blessed Father, if there are many ears that are turning away from the truth today, reach them by this message and bring them to thyself through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.