I loved this session. Never heard of the guy before, but was a real encouragement.

Session 5
The Don introduces K. Edward Copeland who used to be known as Kenneth E. Copeland! But he is trying to make a distinction to a certain other Kenneth Copeland...

Ed Copeland:
My friend is dying. Visited. Wants to talk, because he has been pasturing for 50 years, and wants to know who would pastor his flock after he has left, and would that person hold the line of truth. Therefore the text about to read is very palpable and personal to me today. A message from a man who knows he only has a few days left.

2 Tim 3:1-9
Paul starts with a thematic funnel with the broad problems of the last days, then he describes the people, then on to a subset of them, and ends with a pointed statement that gives us hope.

Refers to the 'last days' - once Jesus invaded this planet, the fourth quarter started. We are in the musical coda. Paul is in his last days too. When you know you have little time, you zero in on the most important things.
That fact should inform our ministry. Getting practical. We have no time for recreational preaching. Fiddling about. It's 11.50. The pardon has been granted, but the inmate hasn't heard.

There will be certain kinds of people in these last difficult days. 18 or 19. Not an exhaustive list. An indicative list. But I want you to focus on the real problem. The essence of this list is wholesale shift to where the centre of all existence will be self. In that black hole of self-centredness there will be all kinds of violence and degradation. Making idols in our own image. You shall be greedy because I am greedy. Etc.

Verse 5. The tragedy of this is that it will not be mainly contained in the secular world. Somehow the people of God will be the ones who have these very characteristics. Main reason? They have chosen form over power. Problem of professing Christians who are practical atheists. Lip service but no life service. A form, but denying the power. Barren fig trees.

You can arrange the wood, but only God can send the fire. You need to recognise the power is not in your external practices. We think, like the neurotic rooster, that the sun is coming up because we are crowing. Power is not in performance. Power is not in your passion. Just because it is emotive that is not power per se.

The power is in the gospel. Rom 1:16. It is inherent in the message. People in the last days will deny the power. Avoid such men. Personally, virtually, electronically, absolutely. Stay away.

Specific subgroup of that set, v6. ‘For among them...'
Heralds were like reporters, just bringing news, the facts.
We don't have journalists today, so much as political and social commentaters. And we have pulpiteers like that. People who are bringing their opinions about the Son.
‘...among them are those who creep in and captivate weak women'. These creeps specialise in appealing to and approaching those who have a lot of time on their hands. Not that women are spiritually weaker, but here they were people who are the most vulnerable in that context at that time. Ever enrolling in spiritual classes, but never reaching repentance. Always learning but never maturing into application. Thinking exposure is the same as experience.

We are over-saturated with information, that we can make no application of. On a daily basis we hear reports of global wars, and the the economy, but are hard pressed to really understand and apply this. We hear much but do not know what it all means. In the last days we will be overfed but undernourished, because we will have cultural commentaters preaching recreationally, appealing to those who are laden with sins, led on by implulses, but we only giving enough truth to be inoculated against the truth. Paul says watch out for these people.

Refers to Egyptian conjurers, Jannes and Jambres, who opposed Moses. These men from the last days, are like these two OT people. In each chapter of 2 Tim, a pair of men are mentioned by names who rejected the faith, but put on an impersonation of true gospel ministry. Timothy, these men will oppose your ministry. Here is the good news. Verse 9. They will not make further progress. Their folly will be obvious to all. Jannes and Jambres posed a real threat, but had a real God-ordained limit.

The last days will be difficult because of the people who populate these last days. They are impostors. And there will be those in the pulpit but have no power. Don't get upset, because ultimately their folly will be seen. Luke 6v11 has the same word... there translated as enraged , such that senseless, unthinking.

Bottom line: God is still in control. If God is God and he is, if right is right, and it is, then evil is incapable of a perfect plan. It cannot anticipate God's intervention. God ain't worried about it and neither should you be. We don't live in a dualistic universe like Batman v the Joker. One day even death will have a funeral. Every lie has an expiration date, but truth will march on from everlasting to everlasting.

In their foolishness evil powers killed Jesus, thinking they had won, yet they activated the great victory. Since this universe hinges on moral foundations, so evil will not stand, that means that you and I must always remember several things:

- Stop acting like what you do does not matter. You are on the winning side. Act like that.
- Why so distressed about who is in office. God is on the throne and is not up for re-election.
- Don't worry about lies from evil men. Preach the truth.
- Be faithful in your proclamation, knowing the power of the Holy Spirit is working.

Final illustration: JS Bach died writing a piece and it was not complete. His son analyzed it. In Bach's last fugue, he put his name in the piece... ('B natural' was shown as H). His name lives on in his music. He wrote his name within the fabric of the music. Evil men will get worse, but we have a composer who wrote his name in every line. But we have to play it right. Get the notation correct. If you do, people will hear his name.

My wife has fuelled an addiction in me. I watch ‘24'. Exploits of Jack Baur. She purchased the DVD set of several seasons. I was so addicted, that I watched staying up so late. Finally in one episode, they kill Jack. How will that work? Watched on. Then I watched the credits roll, and I saw that Keifer Sutherland, is the executive producer... so then I went to sleep! Why? Because I recognised that if Keifer is the exec producer, he will make sure his character is alright.

In this final chapter of God's masterpiece called 'time', don't worry. I have good news from the exec producer. We win. He has written the script. According to the script, every knee will bow, and tongue confess. Do your best, but don't stay up at night wondering. We win.