Ministry that Lasts Through the Ages Week 2--II Timothy 4:1-5

Chesley Sullenberger III was born in Denison, Texas in 1951. As a child, Sullenberger built model planes and aircraft carriers and eventually became interested in flying after seeing military jets at an air force base near where he lived . . . But you wouldn’t know Sullenberger from those achievements. Upon discharge Sullenberger flew for US Airways from 1980-2010. You might recognize him from his nickname Sully, or from his connection with Flight 1549. . . Despite the fact that the plane he was flying had lost all power and was left to fall out of the sky, he did not panic. He did not lose his ability to reason. A plane with 155 people was falling out of the sky, and he made a plan. He was able to hold himself together make a plan that would save the lives of everyone on board and make him a hero for his bravery and quick decision making. ‌‌ And as we come to our text today, I think Paul challenges Timothy to make some of the very same choices Sully had to make. Things were getting tough in the church at Ephesus. As we will see from our text, people were leaving the faith, they were rejecting truth, and they were turning toward other things. Just like Sully’s plane was falling out of the sky, Timothy’s church was collapsing from the inside out. And God recognizes this and he gives a message to Timothy—no matter what is going on around him, he needs to keep a cool head and maintain the right focus. And Paul gives Timothy some priorities for ministry. When things seem to not be going well, he needs to remember certain truths about ministry, and he needs to develop a Biblically driven philosophy of ministry. And our big idea last week as well as this week is this: ‌‌ Big Idea: Ministries that last are firmly planted on Biblical principles