Building the Relationship - Paul and Timothy — 2 Timothy 1

0:00 I appreciate how many of you came out on Saturday, especially since you live in the frozen tundra and you finally have some some warmth and yet you came to spend your day inside. So I know that that was a sacrifice. I raised cows, and so I'm outside all the time. And pretty much one of the great parts of living where I live is we have about one week of your winter. Other than that, we're pretty like this.

0:32 Now we have to pay for living there in July and August. There's no way to say it. It's it's ugly and it's awful. But for old people like myself, I like heat way better than cold. But let me just introduce something in the back.

0:48 You came in. There's an Augusta Counseling Ministry table at the back. My wife is the executive director of this ministry. It is a licensed professional counseling service available to, believers, unsaved. We we run it as a three part ministry.

1:09 It's a... An outreach for the gospel. It's a place where Christians can come when they are struggling with different issues, and they don't wanna end up on the prayer chain. We're bound by confidentiality, and there are lots of things that folks run into that they really don't want out in the general population of Christians because though we may be well meaning, there is a way that word gets around very quickly. And and and so we work with with Christians and we give them the opportunity to to have a place to come and talk without fear of having someone undermine their faith.

1:52 Counseling ministry, and and we... And I'll say this in conjunction with the third point. We do not believe unfettered in the counseling vocation. It is a fairly godless foundation outside of those that know the lord Jesus. We know this because we have dealt with it for years.

2:17 And so the third, I guess, stool of our... For... Third leg of the stool of our ministry is that we offer to, particularly the assemblies, a place where elders, folks like CMML can come and receive expert advice on dealing with situations that they do not run into on a on a regular basis. We have had, over the last couple of years, elders from across the country. We have dealt with CMML on a regular basis.

2:52 We work with the assemblies across the country to give them expert help in particularly difficult areas. All of this is done under the guidance of the scriptures. We do use professional things that we learn just like you would go to the doctor and have somebody fix your leg. We do use things that we have learned professionally, but everything must be guided by what the word of God says. Nothing that we will tell you or somebody that is here or somebody that you know will be something that will be against the word of God.

3:33 It may not be exactly written in the word of God because there are many things in scripture that are not written. For instance, child abuse. There's not a whole lot in scripture that tells us how to deal with a person that suffered a recurring child abuse as a child. And that manifests itself many years later in a lot of lot of areas. And so we do offer expert help for elders, for folks in church leadership.

4:02 We do use telehealth, so it's not like Cleveland and and, South Augusta are that far apart via, you know, the Internet and via phone. So just know that that is what that ministry is. We're... We put on a conference in California this year. We're used at camps all over the place.

4:21 Again, like I said, elders and folks from CMML use us on a regular basis. If you have any questions, please see Tammy regarding that. I'm sort of like the fullback that clears the way for the talented running back to go, you know, through the line. I don't know if you all understand that being from Cleveland. But, hey, I understand, but my son and I did follow Cleveland football.

5:05 He was... And he was... He's just a great guy. He was a wonderful wonderful player. I know he didn't do anything to to mess mess his reputation up here, but we we are...

5:14 We followed Cleveland. Cobb would come in every week. Chubb had 78 yards. Chubb, I mean, so we we knew what Cleveland was doing but the point I was I was trying to make with that is completely lost on me now that I that I devolved into to to it But the the the point with all that is, you can contact us from Cleveland to Augusta. No problems.

5:38 Young people that are going into the counseling field and elders and leaders in this assembly, please hear me. Please hear me, and this is one of our central messages. Do not send your student to get a counseling or a psychology degree or a social work degree without your intimate involvement in their lives Because that is part of what we're talking about today. This connection between the old and the young, the ministries within the assembly. If you let your kids off to college for four years without you speaking into working in their lives, why do you wonder that they go astray?

6:22 And in certain fields in certain fields, whether it's going into medical school or whatever, every one of those places has a godless foundation. They start with evolution. They start with something of that nature. In this way, in counseling, the foundation is you can get help. You are the most important person in the universe.

6:41 All of those things go against what the scriptures say. If you as elders and leaders and parents are not actually working with your children in this, they are going to be subject to a a roaring lion who seeks who he may devour. And part of why we're talking about what we're talking about this weekend is the essential role of young people submitting to leadership that is older and wiser and older people actually saying, I'm not gonna die on the couch. I am going to spend my last years fighting for the next generation. And so that's what I really want us to understand with what we're talking about with Paul and Timothy is that to have a healthy functioning local church, every single person matters.

7:32 And there are things that old folks don't like and there are folks... Things that young folks don't like. You gotta work together. We'll get into all of this later, but I'll just give you an example. I think I can say this because I'm an outsider.

7:50 I love your music. I absolutely love your music. My father, who's over 80 and a incredible curmudgeon, who I love I love dearly, I don't know that he would wanna sing a song that was written after 1960 if the lord descended with a shout and gave him a copy of the song that he wanted sung. Okay? So understand this.

8:15 I am wholly against his position, and I love him dearly. I would love to see new songs. But he has a point in one complaint, and this is just from an outside observer. It's hard for old people to learn songs that there are no notes to. And I don't know that there's any way that you can rectify that situation, but I know that that is a universal complaint amongst older people.

8:39 I'd love to at least try your new song, but I have to sit there and go, I have no idea where we're going. I have no direction. I have... Because it's just words on the page. You young people, you're young, you're fresh, you memorize things very quickly, wait till you get older, and things don't memorize as quickly as they did when you were young, and you'll understand some of that complaint.

9:02 And instead of fussing together, you'll work for a solution. That's just a practical example of what we're trying to work out this weekend when we look at the relationship between Paul and Timothy. Again, absolutely love what y'all are doing here. Love the music. Moved within my soul to be a part of that.

9:25 But but that is a way that young people and older people can work together to come to a solution to what is an obvious issue. Everybody fellowshipping together in worship in song. Okay? Now that I've gotten my practical lesson out of the way, I can get to the scriptures and I'm really excited about today. I don't know that you'll be excited after we finish today.

10:14 I hated the bureaucracy. So I went to upper education, higher education. Not so much sure of of where that's going either, but I I I've always been in educational field. My wife and I were involved in youth group for decades. Well, not decades.

10:32 Well, we still aren't. Just last weekend, I was speaking at a youth retreat at Camp Hope in Georgia. Some of you know about Camp Hope. We have been involved with young people our whole lives, and we have a incredible deep connection to the older generation. I am wearing a suit jacket today.

10:51 I don't believe this is necessary. I want everybody to understand this. I do not believe that this gets me closer to god or that you will actually listen to me more because I have a suit jacket on. But I come from a generation where if you were a conference speaker, whether or not it's a conference where we're sitting drinking whatever we are from Dunkin' Donuts on the front row or we're, you know, just you you wore a suit jacket. Young people, you don't have to wear a suit jacket but I'm just saying there's a deep connection between where I come from, what I believe, what I what I value.

11:25 My degree is in history for crying out loud. I mean, I believe in older things. But we cannot go forward in triumph if all we do is defend things that have no more relevance to today's world. And I don't mean that the scriptures, the scriptures we defend till the death. Okay?

11:47 We defend them to the death because those are, I hate the term relevant, but those are relevant for everyday life. And what does Paul tell Timothy? They are profitable for doctrine, reproof, that the man of God may be perfectly furnished. We'll talk about that tomorrow. But my point with all of this is, folks, I would absolutely love to go to my grave.

12:13 I don't know when that's gonna be. I'm not rushing it. Okay? I'm not rushing it. I would love to go to my grave knowing that if I pass through Cleveland, the environs of Cleveland, that I can stop and worship the lord Jesus in spirit and truth with a group of believers that is loudly proclaiming his name and his pattern in this area.

12:40 In my heart of hearts, I am going to leave here and forget your names. If you're dead, I remember your names. I'm very good with dead people's names. Okay? Live people's names, I I struggle with those.

12:53 But I will tell you this, I will always, always remember, I was at Westlake and wow, what a testimony they had between the youth and the old folks. Because I do a lot of speaking in a lot of places. And you you know what the worst thing or the second worst thing to hear in the lord's supper is? Anybody got an idea what the the second worst thing you could hear in the lord's supper? Go ahead.

13:28 The babies? No. The second worst thing is the screaming baby. Second worst thing is the screaming baby in the lord's supper. You know what the worst thing is?

13:38 No screaming, baby. In the world's in the lord's. You you you understand what I'm saying? We all have our our things. I can't believe that child is, you want to and from a place where we have no children?

13:50 Where we come from a place with no children? What I would give to have six screaming babies in my lord's supper. Not my lord's supper but the lord's lord's supper because I know that we are transmitting it to the next generation. So, that is my heart. My heart is for y'all through this looking at Paul and Timothy to go out of here this weekend energized for the next year.

14:55 There's a caveat here that I must say immediately or get out front. We're going to look at all of Paul's writings. So, every information, piece of information we have is from Paul himself. How many books did Timothy write? Not a one.

15:19 How many quotations do we have of Timothy? Not a one. Timothy, this incredible man of god who is mentioned in 24 verses in the New Testament. 24 verses, Timothy is named. Find 12 disciples.

15:45 How many of them are named more than 24 times? Not many. Not many. Timothy has no written part in the New Testament. What we are going to look at is what Paul says about Timothy and what we can extrapolate regarding the conversation that Paul has with Timothy regarding what Timothy's mind was and hopefully through that, we'll get an accurate picture of this relationship.

16:25 Now, I'm not going to ask you to turn to all of these verses but I will ask you to pay attention to our first point which is Paul's descriptions of his relationship to Timothy. Paul's descriptions of his relationships to Timothy. The first one is he uses a family term, a family term and he uses it personally. This is a personal term that he uses for Timothy. In first Corinthians four seventeen, he says, my beloved and faithful son in the lord.

17:07 Just a moment, just a just a a reflection. Have you ever thought what's going to be on your tombstone? Some of you actually have tombstones with stuff on it. My parents, we have a family graveyard. That's the one of the glories of having 300 acres.

17:27 You can put something out there where your family can be buried and we have a my dad and mom already had their tombstone. They have some very strange verse from Psalm. The Psalms on it and I say strange because it's when you read it's like, I never heard y'all mention this. This was not but evidently young in their marriage. This was a big part of their life.

17:46 They had this, have you ever thought what your epitaph would be? Have you ever thought what would go on your tombstone? I would tell you this, if the preeminent apostle to the Gentiles, the one who was sacrificed more brutally and often in the pages of the New Testament were to look at you and say, my beloved and person and and faithful son in the lord. I would be very happy to put that on my tombstone. My name is David.

18:21 I was Paul's faithful, beloved son In in first Timothy chapter one verse two, he says, my own son in the faith or my true son in the faith depending on your translation. In first Timothy one eighteen, he's called his son. And in second Timothy one two, my dearly beloved son. My dearly beloved son. How many of you have daddies that you love?

18:54 Don't raise your hand. I don't want to but go back in your mind. In Andy's case, I actually love his father. I mean, I know, I know mister Billy for the Hiltons go back. His grandfather and my grandfather worked in opposite stores on a place called Broad Street in Augusta back in the 40s.

19:15 To give you an idea how how far we we've gone back as far as knowing each other. I've known mister Billy forever. He used to have a powerful singing voice and he's always got a huge smile on his face. It's just, he's just a joyous human being to be around. There are many parts of mister Billy that I'd I'd I'd love to be like but I have another.

20:13 Do I agree with everything? No. Do we do we exchange words from time to time? Is there a confession because of what goes on? Yes.

20:22 Those things happen because of that relationship. Okay? Fathers and sons are complicated thing at times but I'll tell you what, I wouldn't trade my daddy for anybody else's in the world because I watched a man faithfully serve the lord Jesus his entire life. He became an elder when he was 29 which is a bit young but he helped start the meeting that I go to in 1973. I am still at that meeting not because I love the music.

20:52 We don't have much. Not because there's a lot of people my age there. We don't have many. I'm there because I believe what the word of god says about the meeting together of the people of god and I believe it because I watch my daddy every single time the doors were open. Get up and show the way.

21:15 Yes, he spoke but he lived and so when we look at Paul and we look at Timothy, we see that Paul says to Timothy, I dearly love you. You are my son. Now, Paul didn't have any physical children. He was never married. He doesn't have a family.

21:37 There's no indication in scripture that there was any any any you know, progeny of his own creation. Timothy is his son in the faith. And he is loved dearly, dearly by Paul but Paul doesn't even stop there with with the family relationship to the other churches or to several churches, he refers to Timothy as our brother, our brother. That's a family description but it's a corporate description. Individually, personally, Paul loved Timothy as a son and when he presented him to other churches, he identified holy with him as his devoted and loved, he loved his son in the faith but he also said he's our brother.

22:37 If you go to second Corinthians one one, Colossians one one, and first Thessalonians three two. He also refers to Timothy in ministerial or ministry terms, in terms that you would recognize from the local church. He says in in Romans chapter 16 and verse 21, my fellow worker. In first Corinthians chapter 16 and verse 10, he says of Timothy, he does the work of the lord as I do also. What are we noticing about Paul and this these descriptions of Timothy's ministry.

23:26 Number one, we see that Paul is proud to identify with Timothy, my but he also equates the work that Timothy is doing. My fellow worker. He does the work as I do. Just a quick Well, let me finish the last one. In verse, three...

23:49 Verse two of first Thessalonians three, it says this, Paul calls Timothy a minister of god and our fellow laborer in the gospel of Christ? In the gospel of Christ. Don't answer this question, but I do want you to consider it. I want you to think about it. In the local church, does being an older saint give you more access to god?

25:22 No. No. The believer in Jesus Christ. Whether that believer is a five year old little girl with a flower in her hair and down south, lots of bows and ribbons. Or a man who is the right hand of Billy Graham and dies at 99, they are both equally what?

25:48 They are in Christ but they are priests. There's not levels or gradations of relationship with Jesus Christ. Now, would the older saints have the advantage of years of study and experience? Absolutely. Absolutely.

26:10 That's why it's imperative for young people to put the brakes on rushing to conclusions about what will and what won't work. You haven't lived long enough. I can tell you this honestly and Andy was there. Andy could attest to this but he he was also guilty of this. When we were 22 years old, we knew everything.

26:41 We could solve all the problems that the assemblies and the world had. If they just listen to our vaulted wisdom. I'm not sure about Andy. But I am a much more humble man today than I was when I was 22. Why?

27:04 Because life has a way of teaching you things through living that you can't learn in a book. Paul, Paul, he is to Timothy. Not only a spiritual father, not only a willing identifier as a brother with this young man. Not only a man who says, this guy is a fellow laborer with me. This guy in another passage is a bond slave with me of Jesus Christ.

27:47 He brings with him the experience of faithfully serving the Lord for decades. For decades. Folks, when we look at the relationship between Paul and Timothy, we have to acknowledge that there is an affection from Paul to Timothy that is often lacking in our local churches. It's often lacking. I'm 55.

28:23 I know I don't look it. You were saying 28, 32, something like that. I don't... I know. I know.

28:28 I... No. I am just beat down. I used to look like a cherub. I did.

28:33 I was... You'd be There there's one common denominator. This is why we don't do marriage counseling because it's a really quick quick thing. Tammy will acknowledge this. She said, I'll look at them and I'll show a picture of me before marriage and I'll show a picture of me after marriage and I'll say, what's the denominator?

28:55 And I said, this woman over here has turned me from this to the, no, I'm just kidding. We don't we don't do that. We don't do that but folks, when we look at the age and experience of older people, we've got to remember that as experience and as age give us wisdom, teach us things, they also do some bad things. Anybody heard of a curmudgeonly old man? Anybody heard of somebody, an an older lady that is curt?

29:42 I don't wanna hear. I don't wanna... Stop. I know what I'm talking about. Don't come to me.

30:11 I'm like a junior varsity old person, okay? I'm I'm I'm there. Are we deeply affectionate towards the younger people in our meeting? Do we have one or two or a group that we consider actually consider our sons or daughters or brothers, actual equal brothers or sisters in the work? Paul was deeply affectionate and very, if I use the word, proud of pointing out the accomplishments of the work of Timothy.

30:58 Now, young people, we're going to see this later on but Timothy earned that. Timothy earned what Paul says of him. And so many times we forget that there is a reciprocal relationship. Old people don't have to love you because you're young. They just don't.

31:20 Now they need to love you because you're a Christian. You're a brother or sister in Christ. I'm not fighting that battle. But just because you walk into the room and you remind them of a life that they once lived, they don't have to say, wow, I'm so grateful to have you in my presence. Because you're going to ask them something that they have no clue of, and they're going to ask you something that you have no clue because your cultures are different.

31:44 You just live in different worlds. You all can all commiserate over the Browns and shared failure for decades. Could be a 100 or you could be 20. It's still the same thing. I was my Falcons fans.

31:56 We can share from beginning to end. But in the local church in the local church, you're gonna run into these cultures that are different, that are conflicting. Older folks, I would heartily beg you to take the example of Paul and his affection, his affection for Timothy, and his display of that affection in the divinely inspired word of god. You you understand this? The spirit inspired this and Paul readily readily writes these wonderful words about his son in the faith.

32:40 Young people, I would heartily heartily ask you to look at the life of Timothy and say, do I deserved? Have I earned? Am I earning? The title of beloved and faithful son in the lord. Am I?

33:02 Am I doing the work that the older generation has done? Am I a minister of God? Am I a fellow laborer? You wanna see a place alive for Jesus? It's when both both recognize and work to this end.

33:30 What about Paul's heart for Timothy? What does Paul say about Timothy? Not a title, not a not a relationship, not a work. What does he say about Timothy? What is Paul's innermost heart for this young man?

33:46 Well, turn over if you would to second Timothy chapter one and verse three. Second Timothy chapter one and verse three, and most of these will be in the Timothy's in this section. So you won't have to turn very far. I mean, in second Timothy chapter one and verse three, we read these words. I thank god whom I serve from my forefathers with pure conscience that without ceasing, I have remembrance of thee in my prayers night and day.

34:30 Not that you wanna hear it, but I'm gonna tell it to you anyway. I woke up at 03:45 this morning. I've been awake since 03:45 this morning. I got three hours of sleep and I gotta preach all day. That doesn't mean I have plenty of energy.

34:42 Don't worry about it but why did I wake up? I wake up. I woke up because I got a call from the guy that's watching my farm last night. He tells me that one of my calluses bloated. It's a terrible disease.

34:52 They got on some grass and something it swells the cow up and the cow will actually suffocate. It'll suffocate because it just blows the cow up. I woke up in the middle of the night and the first thought I thought of was, I wonder how my cow is and then I thought, what if all the other cows, same thing happens. What if I'm going to lose $30.00 today? That's a a real possibility.

35:15 I'm going to lose $30.00 today and I've gotta preach the word of god. Am I going to handle that like Paul did? He's in prison and so my mind just went off. Done. So, I felt guilty about praying for a cow and not praying for people.

35:29 So, I began to, you know, all those sorts of things and so different things came into mind but the the the the point to that is, I am a terrible prayer but when I am forced into the occasion, I will go to the lord in prayer. What is Paul? Ceaselessly remembering. Where's his mind? His mind is on his young protege.

35:51 His mind is on this young man who's serving the lord. So, he goes ceaselessly in prayer. Any older people here at the meeting, ceaselessly ceaselessly in prayer for these young people? How about you young people? Any of you ceaselessly pray?

36:06 You know what's... There's an old saying, you can't be a sissy and be an old person. I am understanding this. It is amazing how bad it is to get poked and prodded by doctors on a regular basis. It is terrible when you can't get out of bed because your knee is frozen.

36:23 Try to drive across the country to do ministry work, and your knee pops every time you bring it off the gas. Those things... Do you pray for the older folks here? I mean, daily, daily, daily remembering them. Paul loved Timothy.

36:38 Paul spoke of Timothy to the Lord in prayer night and day. In for... In second Timothy chapter one and verse four, we read, greatly desiring to see you. If you look in second Timothy verses nine and twenty one of chapter four, we read these words, do thy diligence to come shortly unto me. Verse 21, do thy diligence to come before winter.

37:08 What does Paul want? He wants to see Timothy. He wants to see Timothy. Let me tell you young people. Me tell you something that you don't have to do anything hard.

37:21 Nothing hard to encourage the saints, the older saints that are here. You know what they want in their heart of hearts? They want to know that their faithfulness will not die with them because really, when you die, nobody remembers you. I remember you because I have to read you in a book and I don't even remember but like 1% of all human beings are point 5% or some. We don't remember but we've been faithful.

37:45 Older people have been faithful to the work of the lord Jesus and when they go, they want to know, they want to know that their lives have meant something to the next generation. Okay? Paul wanted to see. Young people, if you show up at the lord's supper, which you should do anyway because Jesus himself commanded you to be here. That goes for old people too.

38:11 Let me just throw that out. But you young people that are here, you want to encourage older people, show up and say hey to them. But more than that, show up and worship the lord Jesus who they adore and have given their their lives for. What does Paul ask? I cannot wait to see you.

38:34 I am sure this place has a wonderful ministry between old and young where the young people are visiting the older people. The older people are... I'm sure that's happening. But if it's not, you're looking for a ministry, young people? You're looking for something where you impact the the the saints, where you you bring joy to the heart of Jesus Christ?

38:56 Go and spend time with his older saints. Paul wants Timothy to be with him. It's not hard to show up to the Lord's supper. It means you get up. It means you put on some clothes.

39:13 It means you say, I love Jesus, and he loves me. He asked me to be here. I sit down in my place, and you don't have to say a word. Then there'll be an older couple in the back that looks over and says, thank you, Jesus. Thank you, Jesus.

39:29 It's not hard, young people. You know what, older folks? Did you tell them how happy you were to see them that day? That's the relationship that Paul had with Timothy. You want a healthy, vibrant family of god?

39:46 The Christian church today is looking for nursery schools. We want everybody in the same age category. Oh, I gotta go to that church. They have a, they have the programs. There there are 6,000 people that are 18 years old.

39:59 That ain't a local church. Nowhere in scripture do you find this where you get to go according to your age group and your predilections, what you like. The local church is made up of what? Human beings that have come to Jesus. Some are young, some are old, some are in the middle, we're faithfully growing together as a family.

40:25 If you grasp how much Paul loved Timothy, if you grasp how much he desired to see Timothy, it will change both spectrums of the age range here. Older folks, you will find a new verb in your step. Man, I cannot wait to love on some young people this this week. And young people, I cannot wait to love Jesus and in loving Jesus, I get to encourage somebody that might have a rough day because they've got six doctor's appointments this week. Did that say this in the scriptures?

41:01 Did I read this from? No, I didn't but I told you, this is what Paul wanted and what Paul desired. What does chapter one verse four tell us? Greatly desiring to see thee that I may be filled with joy. Filled with joy.

41:28 We've gotta move on but I want you to take just a minute to look in first Timothy chapter five. First Timothy chapter five. Lest you think all of this has to do with spiritual things. What does Paul tell Timothy? In verse 23, drink no longer water but use a little wine for thy stomach's sake and thine infirmities.

41:57 Paul is concerned with his physical being as well. Paul is concerned with his physical stature, the illnesses that he faces. This is not carte blanche, young people. Your visiting conference speaker did not say go out and drink wine. Did not say this.

42:15 Okay? Take that up with your elders. I'm not getting into that, but I am saying what the scriptures say. And what was the prescription for for Timothy's physical ailments? It was a little wine for his stomach's sake.

42:28 Tammy has had a kidney transplant. Tammy has had pulmonary fibrosis. We've had a death sentence for years. We've been alleviated from that at the moment. But it's amazing how many cures we've gotten over the last ten years.

42:40 Some well meaning person actually brought us a gallon or two of carrot juice and said that if we drank carrot juice, she would not need a kidney transplant. We struggle with information like that and all of us but what was the heart of that person? They were trying to help. You could either be ugly and tell them, don't bring this stuff to me anymore or you can say, I'm not going to drink carrot juice. I thank you for your heart for me.

43:14 There's somebody here that may enjoy carrot juice. You know, something... But how do you act? Do you care about people's physical? Again, that's not carte blanche for you to sell essential oils at every every fellowship dinner.

43:28 Okay? If you if you like them and you do them, David is saying, go forth and conquer. Enjoy them. But at the same time, care about people's physical state as well. Care about their physical state as well.

43:44 Young people, that really goes for you and older folks. You have no idea what pain is, young people, unless you've got a chronic disease. Please please, mister... There are people that are young that have chronic diseases, and I'm not speaking to that. But for the most part you don't know what a joint is, not that joint.

44:01 You don't know what a joint is until you start jumping on and off of tractors or trucks or whatever and you've hit 40. And then you start realizing, oh my cow, life is going in a different direction than I wanted. Are you, young people, caring about the physical needs of the older? Older people, you got kids going off to college. There are different kind of physical needs.

44:25 They might have ever thought about slipping them a $50 when they're going on a mission trip? A $100? You ever thought about filling their tank up with gas on their way to whatever college that they're going to? Ever thought about sending them a letter, encouraging them to the lord with a little something to go to chick fil You you understand what is it? There are different ways that we can minister across the spectrum.

44:45 And face it, older folks have a lot more money. You don't believe it, but generally you do than young people. Now the young people today have more money than than we had when we were kids and vice versa generations. But physical things matter as well. Alright.

45:27 Help us to be in a spiritual relationship that mimics Paul and Timothy. Help us to love each other, to identify with each other, to work together. Help us to see in this local body and in our fellowship with others in the universal church the great desire of your heart that we be a family. And that as a family, we lift up our head, our groom, that we lift up the Lord Jesus through our actions and lives. Help us to grow together, we pray.

46:08 In Jesus name. Amen.