Greetings, radio friends. In the precious name of the Lord Jesus we come to you once more with a blessed page of the Word of God before us to study in the second epistle of Timothy and commencing today in chapter three to read the first five verses of one of the most important sections in this epistle for our consideration. We have been emphasizing that the background of this epistle has much to state regarding the responsibility of a believer in the last days of Christianity. I would like to take the first five verses of this third chapter of Second Timothy and speak to your heart as well as to your mind concerning the description prophetically given hundreds of years ago by the Spirit of God through his servant Paul concerning the actual conditions of the last days in Christianity. Now that might seem a strange statement to some, but let me clarify it if it be necessary. The church began, the Christian age commenced on the day of Pentecost where it is recorded in the second book of the Acts that the Spirit of God descended from heaven to the earth and has been upon the earth in its present relationship to the people of God and to the world. Now the Spirit of God still present upon the earth continues to do his work, convincing men of sin to bring them in conviction and conversion to the Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ, to receive him as their Savior. He is also the great teacher, revealer, guide, director, and the chief agent of our Lord Jesus Christ upon the earth for the church. But there is a moment coming when the church in its earthly pilgrimage will be finished. When there will be a departure out of this scene, and that departure of the church is the wonderful return of the Lord Jesus, taking the saints out of the grave, changing the living saints upon the earth, and bringing them to meet them above in the air. This will be the consummation. This will be the end of the church testimony under God and His Spirit upon the earth when Jesus comes for His own. Now, beloved, listen. There will be an end to the church age. The word of God emphatically and clearly teaches this. But God, by his Spirit, has given for our admonition, for our warning, though eighteen to nineteen hundred years ago the words were written, He has given us in second Timothy three, verses one through five, the description of the perilous times at the end of the church age. Listen to these words as I read them. This know also that in the last days perilous or difficult times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasted, proud, blasphemous, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, Truth breakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisors of those that are good, traders, heavy, high-minded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God, having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereon. From such turn away. May God bless the reading of this portion from his word. May the Holy Spirit give us the enlightenment and the conviction of soul we need to realize the importance of these statements. Now, beloved me, I go very carefully and clearly down the category of conditions that the Spirit of God describes. Again, the beloved Apostle states in the opening words, it is a description of the last days the last days undoubtedly pertaining to the Church of God, the last days pertaining to the Christian testimony. And if I may suggest to those who were Bible students before the Christian testimony was the great testimony of Judaism in its prominent display of divine work. But since the laying aside, the setting aside of Judaism, Christianity for almost two millenniums has been in the forefront of the divine testimony of God without shadow of doubt. No one could deny that. It would be a blind man who would do so. But may I say, there is coming a day when the testimony of Judaism, when the testimony of Israel will be revived and God will again take up his earthly people according to his purposes. But in the meantime, the great interval of the church age is between the crucifixion of our Lord Jesus, the rejection of his by Israel of their Messiah, and the coming in of the church. But, beloved, I'd like to speak carefully. You and I are near the end of the church age. Now Paul, by the Holy Spirit prophetically states, In those last days of the church age, there would be difficult times. Perilous or difficult times shall be there. That is the meaning of it. Now, without alarming, though I do not believe I shall alarm anyone enough, but may I state, there is certainly plenty of provocation in the conditions we see around us to be concerned that they are descriptive. of the last days of Christianity. Now Paul enumerates these descriptions. We want to touch upon them carefully. I'd like to see them with you thoroughly as possible. The first thing that Paul says in this great list, men shall be lovers of their own selves. Now may I point out, and this is indeed an important point, selfishness heads the list. There will be a world of selfishness. Men shall be lovers of their own selves. Do I need to ask my listener, can this possibly be true? Oh, my beloved friends, look on every hand. Look in every stage of society. Look at the political world. Look at the economic world. Look at the social world. Look in every direction, in every phase of human life. and the outstanding sin of selfishness prevails in every direction. Oh, beloved let us realize this ingrained selfishness has much to do with the cause of the conditions that prevail. And because of it, note the next word, as one can find covetous, that are translated and literally meaning, men are not only selfish, lovers of self, they are also lovers of money. Oh, may I point out to you, here's where the heart of men seems to be in this direction and upon these things. They love themselves. They love money. Dear lover, do I need to re-emphasize these facts? They are before our eyes, evident upon every hand. Many years ago, in my early days, giving us a talk to many of the children in the kindergarten of the Sunday school, about eighty to a hundred little youngsters. And I gave them a message concerning the human heart. And as I spoke to the children, I asked them the question, What do you do with your heart? And I received various answers. They told me they loved or they hated. But most of them said it was to love with. And I asked a question of them all. Whom do you love? And then to my surprise, a little chap in the back shouted out. He said, I love myself. And I could not help but comment, Sonny, you're more truthful than the grown-ups. Oh, beloved, may I say, one of the outstanding predominant sins of the last days its selfishness, lovers of self, and then followed by being lovers of money. Oh, beloved, let's see this is true. And upon every hand, and may I say many times, unfortunately, these characteristics may be found in professing Christians. May God forbid. Now shall we go on, and we read the next word. Men shall not only be selfish, men shall not only be covetous, men shall be boasters, meaning boastful. Oh, beloved, the arrogance of pride, as we see it in the world today. Boasters. I think of the words of the dear apostle Paul in Galatians six fourteen, and let me quote them. God forbid that I should boast, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world. Oh, my radio friend, may I ask, where is your boast? In what or in whom do you glory? As we look across the scene of time today, we find many standing with boasting as being their loudest proclaim. The proclamation of that which they boast themselves to be, not only boasting what they are, but boasting what they are going to do. Beloved, you know, oftentimes these are anti-boasts. And then link with it, which naturally follows pride, proud. One of the greatest sins of the human race is pride. One of the greatest sins that God hates is pride. The word meaning arrogant. Not only boastful, but arrogant with their boasting. Caring not for God nor caring either for man. These are conditions that the Spirit of God describes in the last days. Now my beloved radio friend, I want you carefully examine these words. Selfishness, lovers of self. Covetous, lovers of money. boasting in what they have or in what they will do, as well as proud of what they are and proud of what they are attempting. Oh, beloved, how contrary to the Spirit of Christ, how contrary to the humility of Jesus, my radio friend, may God deliver you and me from these things. Shall we pray? Father, May thy Spirit speak to the hearts and consciences of every one of us, that we may seek deliverance through our Lord Jesus. From these characteristics that prevail in the last days, we ask it for the glory of God in our Savior's worthy name. Amen.