In a day when words are used to confuse, distort, manipulate, and misdirect, hope is found in the eternal, never-changing word of God and His faithfulness to keep His word to every generation.

The foundation of the Christian faith is that God is truth, and the Bible is His inspired inerrant word. Every believer is called to believe in faith and stand firm in God's truth. Psalm 12 teaches three requirements for standing firm in God's truth.

TPreach the word. Three simple words. One powerful command.

The message of the passage is straightforward. You must faithfully proclaim God's word and sound teaching regardless of the world's acceptance or hostility. So, how can you faithfully obey this command to preach the word?

This passage teaches three things that are required of you to be faithful to preach the word.

To endure the hostilities of this world, you must remain faithful to the word of God, even if it requires you to stand apart from the world and unfaithful Christians.

Paul had known persecution and great suffering for the gospel. He knew that Timothy and the faithful church would likewise experience the world's hostility and the abuse of false teachers. He knew that under these pressures, there would be a great temptation to abandon the foundation of the faith.

Faced with the ever-growing threat of worldly hostility and spiritual imposters, how can you remain faithful to the Lord and mature in the faith? The Bible's answer is plain and simple: Hold firm to your faith and God's word.

This passage contains two commands that, when obeyed, provide for believers to remain faithful in a hostile world.

Knowledge and understanding give perspective and hope in the midst of difficult times. 2 Timothy chapter 3 begins with the description of difficult days that the church will endure. Paul writes these words to inform Timothy that he might have knowledge and understanding to help him endure. These words are for the church today, so you also will have knowledge and understanding to help you endure.

This passage teaches three things that enable you to endure these difficult days.

To be useful to God, you must be set apart from sin and the world. And if you are to be used by God to rescue those who have swerved from the truth, you must reject the temptation to be quarrelsome and instead teach the truth with the gentleness and patience of Christ.

This passage has two commands required of those who desire to be ready for every good work and a good servant of the Lord.

Competence and skill are not declared but demonstrated. The evidence of a workman’s competence and skill is proved over time when their work proves to be able to endure the test of time.

The primary task of every ministry of the gospel is to rightly and faithfully make God’s word known. There are temptations that work against this, but Paul warns Timothy not to swerve from the truth.

In this passage, the Bible gives two commands to keep you from swerving from the truth so that you might be an approved and unashamed workman. It also gives a test that testifies to the genuineness of your faith and approval before God.

Work, labor, and suffering are not words well received today. Wealth and modern conveniences have created a world where ease and comfort are celebrated as the ultimate goal. This unhealthy celebration of ease and comfort has also infected the church. Many Christians today see their relationship with the church and gospel work not in terms of sacrifice and service but in terms of consumer choice and comfort.

God calls every Christian to labor in the gospel work. And God equips faithful Christians for the work. No Christian is called to be only a consumer. Ease and comfort are not the ultimate goals of followers of Christ. Christians are called to be about gospel work regardless of cost or difficulty. 2 Timothy 2:1-7 teaches three fundamental truths that must be understood by those who desire to be faithful to the gospel work.

The world is defined by theology. Whatever you hold as true defines how you see the world. Whatever you believe has the power to save has your heart's affection, and it will motivate you to fight for it passionately.

Common throughout psalm 119 is a focus on God's word. One of the basics of being a Christian is knowing and obeying the word of God. If you are a Christian, your faith began when you confessed Jesus as your Lord. If Jesus is your Lord, then you obey His commands. The commands of Jesus are known through His word, the Bible.

In this sermon, I make a case that your devotion to the word of God does not begin with determination but with devotion.

Hope in God's word. Love God's word. And be transformed by God's word.