Reading
DISCLAIMER: The following has been auto-transcribed. We hope it will help you to find the section of this audio file you are looking for.
Now the very God of peace.
Us Holy sanctify and grant us such a rich increase of power from on high, that spirit, soul and body may preserved free from staying be blameless until that great day, Lord Jesus Christ, Amen.
N.
On in chapter 5.
Verse 23.
Very God of peace sanctify you wholly.
I pray God, your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved, blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Suggest we start at verse 7, Second Timothy 4.
Try to perhaps just get a little outline of what we have in these last verses. There's lots here, but just in the hour or so, try to get an outline of Paul's last words.
Second Timothy 4, verse 7.
I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, shall give me at that day, and not to me only, but unto all them also that love His appearing. Do thy diligence to come shortly unto me. For Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world, and is departed unto Thessalonica, crescents to Galatia.
Scientists to Dalmatia only Luke is with me. Take Mark and bring him with thee, for he is profitable to me. For the ministry. Antikycus have I sent to Ephesus the cloak that I left at Troas with Carpus. When thou come us, bring with thee and the books, but especially the parchments. Alexander the coppersmith did me much evil. The Lord who reward him according to his works, but of whom be thou? Where also for he hath greatly withstood our words.
00:05:24
At my first answer, no man stood with me, but all men forsook me. I pray God that it may not be laid to their charge. Notwithstanding, the Lord stood with me and strengthened me, that by me the preaching might be fully known.
And that all the Gentiles might hear. And I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion. The Lord shall deliver me from every evil work, and will preserve me unto his heavenly Kingdom, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen. Salute Prisca and Aquila, and the House of onosiferous Erastus about it Corinth. But Trophimus have I left at my victim sick. Do thy diligence to come before winter. Hubulus greeted thee, and Putin's, and Linus, and Claudia, and all the brethren.
The Lord Jesus Christ be with thy Spirit, grace be with you. Amen.
In the eighth verse, he's going to speak of what is yet future henceforth he says, and uh, he speaks of that which is laid up for him. But before he does that, in three short statements he sums up his Christian life. And it's not that Paul was being boastful here, because he could say earlier, by the grace of God, I am what I am. And Paul, perhaps like no other of the apostles, lays out the grace of God, not just the saving grace of God.
But the preserving grace of God that brings us along and brethren, if we've been brought along in the path of faith and service to any degree, if we there's any desire in our hearts that this morning to follow the Lord, it's only the grace of God. It's God that works in us both to will and to do of his good pleasure. But I believe when Paul writes this, of course he's writing by inspiration, but he is writing it with the with the a genuine feeling of satisfaction and peace before his God.
That he had carried out what had been set before him and given him to do that. He had sought by the grace of God to live for God's glory. He had sought by the grace of God to stand for the truth and to pass it on to this young man, Timothy. So he says. I have fought a good fight. Earlier in the pistol in the second chapter, he had exhorted Timothy to endure hardness as a good soldier. Paul certainly did that. We've made comments on it. Paul didn't have it easy.
He was withstood, He fought with beasts at Ephesus, he said, in every city bonds and afflictions, persecutions.
As he said, I more than you all and and so on. And there are lists that he gives of those things that he suffered. So he certainly fought a good a good fight. And there's a spiritual warfare we have too. And he takes that up in the book of Ephesians. And then he says I have finished my course or if you notice Mr. Darby's translation, my race. And we've already spoken of that in connection with the race here. It's more the thought of the relay, as we've been saying.
But he finished it. He doesn't say he won the race. That wasn't what he was striving to do, but he was striving to finish it. Maybe there's someone here and you say, oh, I, I don't, I don't know. I, I, I'm, I, I don't, I can't win the race. That's OK. If you finish the race, that's, that's OK. You know, when we were, uh, children, they used to have Sunday school picnics at Rita Ferry up where I come from. And when we were for the real little children, when we were, when we were little, they had the windmill race.
And so whoever was in charge made sure that they knew how many small children there were who would participate. And at the other end of the field there were, if there was 20 children going to participate, there were 20 windmills stuck in the ground at the other end. And it didn't matter if you won the race, what mattered is you finished the race. And everybody that finished the race got a windmill. And we were so happy. I remember being 5-6 years of age and getting my windmill. I was probably the if there were twenty children, I was probably the 15th one in, but that didn't matter. And so Paul says I have finished the right my race.
And then he says, and this is very important, brethren, I have kept the faith. Now faith is taken up in different ways in the Scripture. Sometimes faith is confidence in God. And I think someone mentioned without faith it is impossible to please God and so on. But when the article the is in front of it, it really it usually doesn't have to do with that aspect of things. Let's go to the book of Jude and I think you see it there.
00:10:23
There are several places, but let me read in the book of Jude because it goes along with what we're we have in our chapter.
Uh, the third verse of the book of Jude. Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you and exhort you that you should earnestly contend. Now notice this for the faith which was once delivered to the Saints. What is the faith once delivered to the Saints? What is the faith that Paul had kept? It's the truth of God. It's what has been given to us as a deposit from God.
It's not just salvation, but it's all that pertains to the glory of the Lord Jesus, His person and work, the truth that has been laid out as to our position as believers and our heavenly calling. The prophetic aspect of things, the faith, brethren, is this book we hold in our hands. Now are you and I going to be able to say at the end of our course, not in a boastful way, but in our own souls that we have fought a good fight?
We finished our race and that we've kept the faith. Not a tremendous testimony for Paul at the end of his life, brother. And I covet that for my own soul and I trust that each one of us covet that for our own soul. And again, as we've been stressing in these meetings, and I don't think we can stress it enough. This is written right at the end in in connection with difficult days, perilous times, the last days, times of giving up on the subverting of souls and the undermining of the truth.
Paul went on to the end.
He fought that fight, He finished that race, He kept the faith. And he says to Timothy, now you can do the same thing. And brethren, it comes right down to us. Today. We by the grace of God and with the resources we have from God in Christ can finish our course. And Paul said in another place, he finished it with joy. All Christians don't, but he finished it with joy.
And given from God, from the risen Christ and glory of revelation, given to Paul. He expected the Lord to come in his generation, as every believer, with a proper hope that blessed hope has. We ought to expect them in our generation. I believe that this generation is going to be a reality. He is going to come during our lifetime and very shortly. But in First Thessalonians chapter 4.
Paul was speaking by revelation, and he was teaching the truth that the Lord was going to come at the rapture and he was going to come for his Saints.
And so in verse 13 and 14 he speaks of the appearing and the Lord Jesus is going to come with his Saints and then in verse.
15 down to verse 18, First Thessalonians chapter four, he says that's how they got there, that's how they got into heaven. He tells them the details and the sequence of events that takes place. But if you'll notice, it says in verse 15.
For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that speaks of the revelation that He got from God, that we which are alive and remain under the coming of the Lord shall not prevent or go before them which are asleep. So he expected the Lord to come in His generation, but it was a revelation from the Lord that he was going to have to pass through death. He was going to enter into martyrdom, and he was going to be offered up, as I believe that this is a little umm.
Expression that's used by the Spirit of God a little picture of the drink offering he was going to be poured out offered at the in the time of my departure. My release is at hand. He is he was ready if that was the will of the Lord, he was ready to depart to be with Christ far better and so he got this by revelation.
And to the Philippians, far better, he knew exactly what he was talking about. You know, if if John or James or any other New Testament writer had said to depart and be with Christ as far better, you'd say, yes, of course it's scripture and we know it is. But Paul had been caught up there. He knew what was ahead. He had been temporarily in the 3rd heaven. And it really gives weight to that little expression far better. And the only reason Paul was content.
00:15:13
To be left on earth a little longer was for the furthest of the gospel and the blessing of the people of God. But it is interesting here that as he goes on, he talks, not hears so much of the rapture because as you say, now he realizes he's going to go to be with the Lord through the article of death. But he looks beyond that and he speaks of the appearing because as we've already said, the appearing has to do with responsibility.
Paul says I fought the fight, I finished the course, the race. I've I've kept the faith. Now he looks on to the day of reward. I just want to say this rewards, brethren, are never given to us as the object or the motive for following the Lord. The object for following Christ, for following the Lord is Christ himself. The motive is to be a heart that's attracted goes out to himself.
But rewards and the judgment seat of Christ are given as a nice little incentive. Not only that, but usually when we think of reward, we think of what it means to us. We're gonna get a reward. But I think it's good to move beyond what it means to us and to realize what it's going to mean to his heart. The Lord Jesus is looking forward to saying to you, just saying to me.
Well done now, good and faithful servant, you know, any of us again who've had children, we don't, we delight to reward our children. We've delighted to give them something. Maybe they've done something that pleases us, something we've asked them to do. And when they've done it, well, we've rewarded them. They look forward to that reward. But didn't it throw your heart as a father or a mother to be able to say to your son or daughter, you know, that really pleased me and I'm glad to give you this little, this little, little reward. I hope you enjoy it. That's what the Lord Jesus wants to do. Brethren. Are we going to give him that privilege?
Are we gonna give him that joy? Yes, we're gonna rejoice too. But he's going to rejoice in that day to be able to reward for faithfulness. So Paul says, henceforth is laid up for me a crown of righteousness. Now, the crowns in the New Testament are taken up in different ways. They're all always in contrast. So there's an incorruptible crown in Corinthians in contrast to a corruptible crown. Men give rewards.
Great men rise to power. They have their laurels or their crowns or whatever they pass away, Paul says in Corinthians. I'm running the race and I'm going to get a crown that's incorruptible. There's a crown of life for one who lays down their life here.
But why is there a crowd? Why is this a crown of righteousness? Because it's a reward for living righteously in an unrighteous world. Paul has re written of all the UN the rise of unrighteousness.
Not just in the world, the ungodly world, but the professing Christian world, as we've been saying, Paul says, is that where I sought to live righteously in an unrighteous world? And now there's a crown of righteousness. It's another, there's another reason it's called a crown of righteousness too. And that is because it it will establish our position in the righteous reign of Christ. A king shall reign in righteousness, it says, and Princess shall rule in judgment and our faithfulness to the Lord now.
Is going to establish our position in the righteous Kingdom. Be thou over 5 cities, be thou over 10 cities, and so on. But just go to Titus for a moment in connection with living righteously for the Lord now.
To the book of Titus in chapter 2.
And verse 11 For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men. Now notice this. This grace is a teacher here. And what does it teach us? It teaches us that denying ungodlyness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly and here's our word, righteously and godly when in this present world or this present age. When is that? That's right now.
And I say that because there might be especially somebody younger here and you might say, well, you know, that was all right for Paul's day. I know there were difficulties, but that was all right for Paul's day, Timothy's day, our grandfather's day. But it's a, it's a pretty dark day today. Yes, it is a dark day today. But we can live righteously for God's glory and have a crown of righteousness laid up for us even in the present age we live in because.
00:20:24
If the day ever gets so morally and spiritually dark that we can't live for God's glory and live righteously in this world, then the Lord will take us out. But until that moment, we can live soberly, righteously godly.
In this present age, and Paul says the crown's not just for me, it's for you too, Timothy, and for all those, all those that love is appearing, Who are they? I trust that you and I this morning.
Present and future, those verses in Titus. Yeah, so. So Paul sought to live right? Just like he exhorted Titus to live righteously. Pulse, exhort Timothy here to go on in a day of ruin. But then there's us as well. That's Paul was looking on to others who would believe and have a desire to follow the Lord. And then he says the day is coming when we're all gonna stand together at the judgment seat of Christ. And he said it's gonna be a joy for him to reward us.
Picture given to us in the Old Testament in Ezra chapter 8IN connection with the faith.
We have the entire body of truth that has been delivered to us, everyone as individuals. And I'd like to just look at this very briefly a couple of verses. In Ezra chapter 8, they had the vessels of the temple that they were had been brought into captivity by the Babylonians and the king had proclaimed that they could go from Babylon back to the land of Israel. And so they were carrying those precious vessels and the articles of the.
Umm, the articles that were used in the Tabernacle, in the temple. And so they were given to the children of Israel, to the priest to carry back. So let's look at Ezra chapter 8, verse 24. Then I separated 12 of the chief priests, of the priests, Cherubaya, Pashabaya, and ten of their brethren with them, and weighed unto them the silver and the gold, and the vessels, even of the O the offering of the House of our God, which the king and his counselors and his Lords and all Israel there present had offered.
I even wait until their hand. 650 talents of silver, 600 vessels in 100 talents. He goes through in detail.
So the faith is what a brother Jim has just brought out the entire body of Christian truth, not one single part of it. Can we take a black Magic marker to and mark it out? And we find that when they arrived in Jerusalem in chapter 8 of Ezra verse 32, it says we came to Jerusalem and abode there three days. Now on the 4th day was the silver and the gold and the vessels weighed in the House of our God by the hand of Marimo the son of Uriah the priest.
And so he goes through the details. Not one article was missing in faithfulness. They had carried it through the wilderness. And at the end of the journey in Jerusalem, really in the presence of the Lord, the thing was all weighed out, all those vessels. And so you and I individually are responsible to hold the truth of God, all of it, every bit of it. There's nothing that we could lay aside in the sand in the wilderness, say this is too heavy to carry. It was all to be brought in.
And then it would be weighed. It's going to be weighed. And so he speaks to the crown of righteousness. And I just add one thing to what Jim said. Paul was treated like an unrighteous man. He was treated like a criminal. And he was put to death as a malefactor, you might say, a criminal in the Roman Empire because he was an idolatrous and he spoke of the living God and so on. And so in a future day, he says.
The crown that I get is going to be displayed before this world. Christ is going to give me a crown. He's going to give you a crown.
Everyone of us will have a crown of glory, and when will that crown of glory be displayed? It's going to be displayed at His appearing. And so you and I, when we appear with the Lord Jesus, we're going to be displaying those rewards that He has given to us. And those rewards and the glory that we are associated with in connection with the Lord Jesus will magnify his grace, magnify his glory.
00:25:06
And so Paul, when Paul is seeing why he's going to have a crown of righteousness and the world is going to know that he was put to death as an unrighteous man, he was treated as a criminal, but God sees him as righteous. So this is what he's really referring to. And so he's going to, he loves the thought of the Lord's appearing. And you and I, if we have a right spirit, we're not taken up with this present age. We're taking up with the future when the Lord Jesus will have his rights and be glorified before this world. Every eye shall see him.
They may see him at a different time each. Each one is going to see him though every eye and all those rewards will be displayed at that time at his appearing.
I think we already mentioned if we had read on in Titus, the next verse, we won't turn back to it. Grace teaches us to be looking for two things, the blessed hope and the glorious appearing. Now the appearing is always, as you say, when He appears back in this world. And the appearing always has to do with responsibility, because when He appears, we're going to appear in glory with Him and the rewards that were given at the judgment seat of Christ.
Are going to be manifest at the appearing and the world is going to look up and see those who were despised and rejected now as the followers of Christ. And they're going to see them glorified with Christ and coming forth, uh, in that way. And so we are to love his appearing and to love his appearing too, brethren, I believe, is to rejoice in the fact that there's a day coming when the Lord Jesus is going to be vindicated in this world.
He hasn't had his vindication yet in heaven. He's crowned with a crown of glory and honor. But as we leave these meetings and we go back to the spheres in which we operate, we're going to sometimes hear the name of Christ in curse. He's still the song of the drunkard. He's still despised and rejected of men. But God is looking forward to that day, and I don't believe the heart of God will be fully satisfied until his Son has his full vindication.
Here on planet earth, where they spit in his face and nailed him to a Roman cross. And in Hebrews chapter 10, the Lord is looking forward to that day too. It says He seated at the right hand of God, and then it tells us what he's thinking about henceforth, expecting till his enemies be made his footstool. The Lord Jesus is sitting there anticipating the day when He's going to come forth, not crowned with a crown of thorns, the way the world saw Him last.
But crowned with many crowns are many diadems and coming whose right it is. But brethren, if I can just suggest too that we not miss these last few verses of the of the chapter. I know there's much that can be said, but there are some names and individuals mentioned in the end of this chapter, both as warnings and encouragement to us. Now just say this about verse nine. He when Paul says, do thy diligence to come shortly. If you notice, Mr. Darby's translation has come quickly.
Why did he say that? Well, two reasons. He wanted Timothy's fellowship. There was a man he could have fellowship with. All in Asia had forsaken him. He, Paul, Paul. I know Luke was with him, but Paul, Paul desired Timothy's fellowship. Someone that was of like mind, someone that they could enjoy the precious things of Christ together with. But as Robert said earlier, Paul realized he didn't have long for this world either. And Paul desired to see his son in the faith one more time.
Timothy, I'm not long, I'm, I'm gonna lay down my life as a martyr. I'd just love to see you one more time. This, this side of heaven. And as we go on to these verses that follow, remember this. There's a very human side that comes into things And I, I, I, I suggest we don't want to miss that. We can spiritualize a lot of things that are here and, and, and, and I, I don't have a problem with that. I, there's, there's applications we can make.
But to see the age of Apostle Paul, he wasn't sitting in comfortable chairs with air conditioning like we are today. He was, he was in prison. He, he didn't have the comforts of life like like we have. And the Apostle Paul felt things, he as a servant of God, as an apostle of Christ, he hadn't lost that human touch and that human sense. And I, I, I, I'd like us to get a little feel of it as we go down through these verses to see the human side of Paul.
00:30:29
And how God takes care of his agent servant at the very end.
Spirit, soul and body, doesn't it Very practical, uh, the feelings of affection and, uh, the desire that he had for Timothy. And it should be found in us too. We should have a desire for the spiritual well-being of, first of all our families and, and, uh, our brethren. But there's also a very, uh, natural side of things which there should be.
A uh, a laws that is felt and enjoyed. Our assembly should be places where it should be known that there is a love for each individual that we would seek to be a blessing to spiritually, but we desire to see them go on. I think it was John that desired as as the Spirit.
Prospered that they might prosper and embody as well. And so there is that. Uh, we are, we are made-up of three parts.
Spirit, soul and body and and it's very, very important that that the Lord only knows the balance, but where the others, other parts of the being are neglected.
Then there's there's going to be a void that is left. It's going to be detrimental.
So one that was putting off the Lord's coming. In practice, I might not say that I really am not really waiting for the Lord to come, but my life will show whether I'm waiting or not waiting and watching. Those two words are used not very frequently in the New Testament, but they are used together, waiting and watching. And so Dimas, I believe his name means popular. And so he wanted to be, have the popular side of Christianity perhaps, and not so much the reproach.
Of Christ and the reproach of the Apostle Paul and his doctrine, remember.
It's the apostles doctrine, it's Paul's doctrine that teaches us about the rapture and the difference between the, uh, appearing and the rapture. And so the Lord Jesus is going to come for his Saints.
At the rafter, and then he's going to come with his Saints at the appearing. And Paul gives us the distinction. He teaches it throughout his ministry. And well, we've already spoken of it, that he's going to come with all of his Saints and they'll be glorified in those Saints. But Dimas had forsaken Paul, having loved this present world, and is departed in the Thessalonica. So it's a little picture perhaps in Thessalonica. They were marked by having turned to God from idols.
To serve the living and the true God and to wait for his Son from heaven. That's what characterized him in the first epistle. He goes to Thessalonica. We know that the apostle Paul wrote another epistle to the Thessalonians, and he brought before them the need to really remember that there was a distinction between his rapture, the rapture and the appearing, and that they had let go of that hope of his coming. And so the the Dimas went to that place.
He went to thus Malika. I wonder if it wasn't because his conscience wouldn't be as bothered about living for this present world as possible. To love the business world, to love the financial world, to love the manufacturing, love the farming world, whatever it is, and to sync our time and our effort into those things.
In this context is not the physical globe on which we live. It's helpful to see that the world is taken up in in different ways. Sometimes it is the physical planet on which we live. Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. That is, he came right here to planet earth in incarnation and went to the cross to accomplish the work of redemption. Sometimes the world is the people that inhabit the planet. God so loved the world. Well, obviously he didn't love a planet, if I can speak reverently, the people that inhabit it.
00:35:15
But the world often is taken up in connection with a system of things that is set up by man in independence of God. There's the religious world, there's the social world, there's the business world, many aspects of of the world. And it's interesting that in Galatians chapter one and verse four, it tells us that one of the reasons Christ came and died was to deliver us. I want you to notice this.
From this present evil world. And so we have been delivered from this world. We're no longer positionally part of this world and its system. We're no longer under the judgment that is hanging over this world. But that's not what it says here about Demas. He didn't go into a present evil world, just the present world or the it's really the present age, isn't it? It's like it we, we had the verse. We can live soberly, righteously godly in this present age.
Whatever Demas took up with it wasn't wicked in itself. And Mr. Lundin used to say the same thing that you you have mentioned that perhaps it was the so-called Christian world. You know, it was one thing to associate with Paul the missionary when they he was out on the mission field and there was blessing from his preaching when he visited assemblies and they were built up. And so that was one thing, but it was quite another thing to associate with Paul the prisoner.
There was a reproach connected with that, and no doubt even a fear of death or or physical persecution. To associate with a man who was considered the head of this movement in many ways and to be associated with him, put yourself in real danger. And at best I say, at least I say as to reproach. And so Dimas didn't go off into something lewd or wicked, but there was something that characterized the spirit of the age.
That took him away from being associated with the Apostle Paul and what Paul had ministered and stood for.
Another little word of encouragement regarding this UMM Demas forsaken me. I believe it could be said that this weekend those who have made especially speak to the young, those who have made the UMM the attempt and made plans and spent money and and offered up their time to be here at this conference. I've had the privilege of being with the Apostle Paul.
And enjoying the truth that the Spirit of God would umm would further regarding the ministry that the apostle that was given to the Apostle Paul and in one sense you have chosen to be with him.
And it's an encouragement for those of us that are older to umm.
See, younger people and actually all the Lord's people that would would like to be subject to the revelation that God has given to the apostle Paul. And so we can exhort one another to do it. And yet I think that we can also recognize that we have done it by the grace of God and that we have enjoyed what was revealed to the apostle Paul.
And we recognize that it is this grace that finds us here.
Uh, just a little expression that our older brethren used to use in connection with the world. One was that the three parts really, when you read about the world and the scriptures or the age, the people, the planet and the program. And so all three and then also speaks of the world to come. It's a term for the millennial Kingdom of the Lord, though the world to come is going to be a, an age of glory and the Lord Jesus will be magnified throughout this entire world. So those.
Free expression is the people, the planet and the program. And also if you remember when you're reading the Gospel of Matthew, when you read the world, he says, just for example, I think it's the last verse, he says, lo, I am with you always unto the end of the world. It's really unto the end of the age. So it'll be a better reading, better rendering to read it the age. And so when you read in Matthew's Gospel, particularly the world.
00:40:12
Remember that it's probably the age and Mr. Darby's translation will help. So here he mentions these different individuals and uh, we could spend, uh, the next half hour just on verse 10, but he speaks of Christians gone to Galatia, Titus to Dalmatia. The apostle Paul felt the loss of the fellowship of these dear ones. And he speaks very highly of Luke. He spoke of him as the beloved physician, but here he speaks of, uh.
Luke is with me.
And he speaks of Mark, who had had failure in his life and he had been profitable, or he was a servant to me, suitable for the ministry. And so he acted as a servant to the apostle Paul. And we can be walking in fellowship, as Brother Phyllis mentioned in connection with how we walk in this scene. Our lives are going to be walking and proving they're walking in fellowship with Paul's doctrine or not. And so here was Luke.
Ministering to the needs of the Apostle Paul.
At the end of his life and Mark taking up a little work of service and being characterized by umm ministering to Paul, but no doubt UMM doing a little service that would support Paul's doctrine.
10 Dimas, Luke and Mark are often mentioned together. We won't take time, but it's interesting that Dimas was one on two previous occasions.
Who was noted as a fellow laborer? The apostle Paul, in Colossians and in Philemon. He associated and labored with Paul. In other words, he began well, but he ended poorly. That's not what God wants in our lives. I am so thankful to see young brothers and sisters beginning well, but He wants us to end well as well, not just a flash in the pan or a good start. Dimas had a good start, but he had a poor finish.
Then we find I'm gonna skip over to Mark for a minute or John Mark, as he's referred to in other, uh, places. He began poorly. You know, there was a dissension, uh, back in the book of Acts because there was someone who wanted to take Mark. Was it Barnabas that wanted to take Mark on a missionary journey? And Paul just felt Mark wasn't perhaps spiritually or in some other way up to it and there was a problem. But now he says, uh.
Take Mark and bring him with the for his profitable TV to the ministry for the ministry. He began poorly, but he ended well. There was evidently Mark went home and considered what Paul had said and done and he learned from it, realized that perhaps he wasn't spiritually or even physically up to what they were going to face on the missionary journey. He evidently got into the presence of the Lord. He was exercised and he ended well.
Loop, though, began well and ended well. That's what God wants from every one of us. But I mentioned that there's a very human side to what we have here. And when he says Luke is with me, I think this is one of the most touching statements in in, in, in this whole book. Why did God make sure that only Luke was with him? Who better to minister to the physical needs of the apostle Paul?
At the end of his life, send the beloved physician. God made sure that the one who'd been so faithful and beaten and shipwrecked and and abused in so many ways and been so faithful in the truth, God made sure that of all people with him, not just to minister to him spiritually, but to minister to him physically, was the beloved physician. I find that a tremendous comfort, and I know there's some older brother here who gone on quietly for the Lord.
You know the Lord values what you've done, He values your service and He takes care of you right to the very end. And so Paul here, he could say only Lucas with me ministering to his spiritual needs, yes, a comfort to him spiritually, yes, but also being able to minister to him physically.
Oh, a picture perhaps in the book of the Acts in connection with Paul's companions. In chapter 19 it says verse 29. The whole city was filled with confusion. This is Ephesus, and having caught Gaius and Aristarchus, men of Macedonia, Paul's companions and travel, they rushed with one accord into the theater. So there was a riot. But then it speaks a little bit further on in chapter 20 and verse four, and name seven of his companions.
00:45:21
And so they're accompanied him Acts 20 verse 4, they're accompanying him into Asia. So Phaedra and Bria and I know that Thessalonians, Aristarchus and Secundus and Gaius of Derby and Timotheus and of Asia, Tikakis and Trophimus, these be going before tarried for us intro us. And so Tikakas it seems that the apostle Paul.
Found him to be a faithful messenger, a faithful deliverer of a message to the Saints of God. And then he was also an encourager of the heart of the Apostle Paul. And, you know, we could speak of the different lessons in connection with all of those seven different companions of the Apostle Paul. And your life and mine is proving practically as to whether or not we're walking in companionship with the apostles.
And so this man was an encourager, and Paul could send tickets to Ephesus, the place where he was burdened. No doubt they had left their first love. Perhaps there was a process of leaving their first love, leaving the freshness. I think it's the new translation says that it's the best love or a note to that effect. And so the best love in a marriage is the first love, the freshness of love.
And what we find is the grind of life sometimes works away at that love and the affection that a a husband has for his wife. But it's a work of God in the grace of God, if there's that freshness of love throughout the marriage relationship. And so he speaks of this with Technicus and he commends him as it were. He sent him to Ephesus, I believe is an encourager.
Are you an encourager?
When the Saints, when you come to the Saints, when they speak with you, are you encouragement or they feel a little downcast after you came for a visit? We need to be encouraging one another so much the more as you see the day approaching.
Two, it's a very unselfish thing on the part of the Apostle Paul. Paul would have desired, I suppose, to keep tickets with him. There was one again like Timothy, who could encourage him and they could enjoy fellowship with Paul, says my brother, the brethren in Ephesus need him more than I do. I, I, I think again, that's a very human side of things, but I appreciate that. Brethren, are we willing to make sacrifices for, for the people of God?
You know, Paul might have said, well, if I can't go, I'm not, nobody can go.
If I, if I can't go, well, that's, that's it. It's all over. No, he said I, I can't go. But I've got a man I can send and I know that he'll be a help and blessing. I'd love to have him with me, but I'm gonna send him for the blessing of of the people of God at Ephesus. Brethren, you and I have that much concern and love for the people of God that we are willing to make some sacrifice for them.
Timothy, uh, that the apostle Paul had sent Timothy to the same assembly, he says in First Timothy chapter one, I besought thee to abide still at Ephesus when I went into Macedonia, that thou mightest charge some that they teach no other doctrine.
So we live in an age of, uh, the spectacular, when people want to see something that's a spectacular or, you know, spectacular, uh, embellishments of doctrine and so on. But the truth of God is simple. It's clear and it never changes. And so I believe there's a little bit of a, an expression here, the confidence that the Apostle Paul had, don't you think in this man, he knew the truth. Get acquainted with all of the truth of God.
And so getting acquainted with it and then be capable of being able to stabilize your brethren in the assembly where you're from.
You know, wonderful just to be able to be a stability, and I believe this is indicative of Timothy as well as Tikakas. They could stabilize things.
00:50:05
Human side comes in again, doesn't it? Paul needed his coat. Winter was coming. I I say this, brethren, because we don't want to ever think that we reach a plane of spirituality where we become callous and indifferent to the circumstances of life. The circumstances of life that God allows are to exercise us and if we become callouser and different to them.
We're not going to learn the lessons. But Paul still wanted his coat. And what else did he want it. He wanted the books and the parchments, you say? Well, what good with the books and the parchments be with Paul? He he he's been given this wonderful deposit of the truth. He passed it on. Now he's ready to depart and be at hand. His departure was at hand. What's good with the books and the parchments? Gonna be he was soon gonna be in the presence of the Lord and absent from the body and present with the Lord. You know, I appreciated this in my grandmother.
My grandmother lived across the field from us when we were growing up and after I was married, not too far away from us, and we would often drop in, uh, on a even after I married, my wife and I would drop in on a a Friday night or perhaps a couple times a week. She was always there with her Bible at the table and a book of ministry that she was reading. And my grandmother lived to be just shy of her 100th birthday in her own home. The Lord preserved her mind.
And she told me, she said, Jim, every day I take a few verses and memorize them. She said, maybe tomorrow I won't remember at 99 years of age. But she said it's to my benefit to memorize. We memorize a few verses every day and to read something that helps me to understand what I've memorized. You say, well, why? She was 99 years of age. She knew she wasn't much longer, but she enjoyed the word of God.
And things that God had caused men to write that were edifying and helpful in the instruction of the word up until the Lord, the Lord took her. That was a tremendous testimony to me. And I think of it in connection with Paul. Maybe I hope I'm not stretching things here, but he wanted the books in the parchment. Those things that had been written, perhaps not just by inspiration, but other things that he or others had written. Paul wrote other things that were not included in the in, in the word of God.
He, he no doubt wrote letters to other assemblies. In fact, I think there's little indications in the epistles that he had written to other, other, uh, assemblies and individuals. And Paul values those things. There's a, again, there's older brother in here. And I, I appreciate when I enter the homes of my older brother and they're still studying the word, they're still valuing the books and the parchments, so to, so to speak. And I trust that we all learn to do that till we're called home.
Mr. Darby that had, uh, an extensive library, you may have heard the story, but uh, after he was, uh, gathered to the name of the Lord Jesus, he had all of these classical books and, uh, many books, uh, that he had on his, uh, in his library. He wondered whether it was, uh, really very suitable. And he thought he might just get rid of all of the books. And, uh, he was, uh, faced with a man who was, uh, really, I don't know if he was agnostic or just, uh, a troublemaker.
But uh, he said, uh, he ridiculed the Scriptures. He said, uh, Mr. Darby said, all scripture is given by inspiration of God. All of it is profitable. And he happened to know about this verse. He said, well, I can tell you one verse is absolutely useless. And so he, he quoted this verse of, uh, the cloak that I left at Trois with carpets when thou comest bring with thee, and the books, but especially the parchments. Mr. Darby said, well, that's the verse that the Spirit of God used to tell me that I ought to keep my library.
And that it might be useful in the future. And so he kept his library. Every scripture is expired of God and it's usable even in the day that we live in.
Well, in verse 14, he brings in a little bit of a warning for Timothy. And Timothy needed to be warned of those that had not walked in fellowship with the apostle Paul and had opposed the truth, the heavenly truth of the church. And we're not told specifically what the details are, but we can oppose. And there are those that oppose the plain teaching of the heavenly truth of the calling of the church, and they can oppose the truth of the rapture.
00:55:05
The difference between is coming for the Saints and coming with the Saints. They can oppose the truth of what it is to be gathered by the Spirit of God to the precious name of the Lord Jesus and to walk in fellowship with Paul's doctrine. And so the coppersmith, he did much me much evil. Paul doesn't elaborate and he doesn't get angry, doesn't get vindictive. He warns Timothy in a quiet way. So just be careful. And then he says the Lord reward him according to his work, so he says in the governmental ways of God.
The Lord is going to deal with this. I don't need to get involved. And so we need to remember that in a day of failure, there's going to be the, uh, we're going to suffer abuse. Perhaps if we stand for the truth and stand for Paul's doctrine and present Paul's doctrine, defend Paul's doctrine, we may suffer some abuse. But remember, I think it's Paul that wrote it. I think it's even in Romans chapter 12, he says, uh, vengeance is mine, saith the Lord. Let's not get vindictive or hard hearted about things.
And uh, let's be tender hearted towards our brother. And I think this is a game, a little picture, a little illustration that the Spirit of God gives us that Paul was not hard hearted to the people of God and those that opposed him. He had the Spirit of Christ and he prayed for them, no doubt. And this man, he just wanted Timothy to know that there was a little bit of a difficulty. He could face some opposition. He didn't get into any detail and he just went on. So let's have the same spirit.
There is a new translation, verse 14.
Alexander the Smith did many evil things against me. The Lord will render, will render to him according to his works.
So it sounds less.
Vengeful than the King James?
The matter and there are some things, brethren, that are never going to be fixed this side of glory. And it's only a work of God to fix and to restore a soul, to bring souls into repentance and restoration as a work of God. And let's not get involved to try to produce that repentance and that restoration. It's a work of God. Let's understand as Paul did, that he wasn't going to fix this situation with Alexander and he wasn't going to try to engineer things behind the scenes to fix Alexander. He just said the Lord is going to remember, uh, render unto him.
His reward and he didn't get involved.
And then even though next verse that didn't stand with him when he was, uh, brought up on trial, was he what did he feel it? Yeah, he felt it, but he didn't wish any ill against them. He says, I pray that it not be laid to their charge. That's the spirit. That's the spirit of Christ. And then just to move on. I just got a few minutes and there's a few names at the end. Then he speaks of the fact that no man stood with him. The Lord was with him and the Lord is with us. No matter. Maybe there's someone here and you say.
Nobody standing with me in my exercise. Sometimes even family members don't understand. Paul said that's all right. The Lord stood with me. He'll never leave us nor forsake us. As was quoted earlier, He's with us even under the end of the age. And then he was delivered because he had been in prison on a previous occasion and the Lord had had delivered him. I think when it's the lion here, it's not so much Satan, but I believe it's Nero that he, he's Speaking of. The lion is taken up in different ways. Satan is a roaring lion, but delivered out of the mouth of the lion. He was delivered from the Roman authority at that time.
But then notice verse 18. And the Lord shall deliver me. Not interesting. And yet he wasn't, he knew he was gonna lay down his life. Why does he say the Lord shall deliver me? Because he knew in living, laying down his life, he'd be delivered from the civil authorities and the opposition and persecution that he had. He, he had experienced. That's why Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego said to the king, we don't know if we're gonna, if we're gonna be delivered from the fiery furnace, but he will deliver a set of thy hand.
They knew one way or the other whether they perished in the furnace, whether they were brought through the furnace, they would be deliverance. But I brethren, if you just. We've only got 10. Go ahead Bob. You have something before. Yeah. It's just, uh, in connection with your comments, uh, umm, that uh, it may not be made to their charge. It was a really he was saying to the, uh, to Timothy, it's a sin of ignorance. He says if, if there's a Saint of God.
01:00:12
That doesn't go on in Paul's doctrine. Perhaps it's a sin of ignorance and it's the same spirit that the Lord Jesus exhibited at the cross of Calvary. He said, Father, forgive them for they know not what they do. And so there's repentance. There's going to be future repentance and restoration for the nation of Israel because it was a sin of ignorance. And then we'll have the little example in connecting with Steven. He was laying down his life and he prayed for his persecutors. He said lay not to send to their charge.
And so he, he said it was a sin of ignorance. Paul says it's a sin of ignorance. If we don't walk in Paul's doctrine, it may be a sin of ignorance. And I think that's a nice spirit. Just gonna add that. Thank you. But we don't wanna miss these names. There's a few names mentioned at the end of this epistle and I've enjoyed I Washington. I wanna just mention how I've enjoyed it in connection with the three spheres of life, the different spheres of life that God has placed us in. Now we have some individuals that are mentioned here.
And again, as we said at the beginning of these meetings, I believe the last days are characterized by individual faithfulness. As we leave these meetings, God's eye is upon each one of us as individuals. He's looking for individual faithfulness in spite of whatever opposition we may face both in the religious world and in the natural world. And so there's these individuals. But notice how he starts.
I wanna notice verse 19. He starts with Pritzker, Priscilla and Aquila. Now they are mentioned several times. They were a great help to the apostle Paul in practical matters as well as spiritual matters. They were a couple. Now we never read that they had children, but what I've enjoyed is he says at the end of the top, at the end of things, there's a couple going on for the Lord. Isn't that beautiful?
Because there's provision not just to go on individually, but as husbands and wives. As we said, the first institution set up for the blessing of man on the earth was the marriage tie. Adam and Eve were placed in the Garden of Eden, and God has made full provision to go on as couples, as husbands and wives to the very end. Here was a couple, Priscilla and Aquila. Here they were going on as a couple. Then there's the household of Vanessa Forest.
I love this. There's some here who are raising families, households. There's provision to go on as households, not just into as individuals, not just as husbands and wives, but as households as well. Don't get discouraged. Fathers and mothers. Is the day dark? Is the enemy busy to smash the Christian home? Yes, indeed he is. But there's provision. There was a household here that could be commended at the.
At the, at the very end, and so I, I've just enjoyed this before he even mentioned individual. He says it's possible to go on in the marriage tie as couples possible to go on as, as, uh, families and households and then individuals as well. Brian, I, I think that's a tremendous encouragement. And what we all fall into one of those spheres, don't we, we're, we're either individuals, we are, are married or, and we, and, or, and, or, and we have, uh, we have, we have families.
Young and old, yes, no doubt some of these we're we're on in life now. Some were young. Timothy was young had had called a young man earlier his middle age. Folks here, no matter where you are in your Christian life, physically or spiritually, the resources are there.
Chapter 16 one of those times either as a couple, they're named six times in Scripture three times Quilla's name first and three times his wife Priscilla. But here in Romans chapter 16 he says Greek Priscilla and verse 3 greet Priscilla and Aquila, my helpers in Christ Jesus, who have for my life laid down their own necks, unto whom not only I give thanks, but also.
All the churches of the Gentiles.
Likewise greet the church that is in their house. And so they they were particularly characterized by courage. This couple the enemy was going to get Paul. It looked like a done deal. Paul was going to get it. And it seems that equivalent Priscilla stood in the way and they took the abuse or they deflected the enemy's purpose to eradicate the problem Paul.
01:05:28
And so they were characterized by courage, but another thing that characterized them is that they had the assembly in their home. And brethren, I've used this very scripture in connection with some of these little assemblies in other places. And, umm, in Brazil, perhaps there might have a couple, two or three, maybe, uh, two or three families and they don't have a meeting room and they're exercising, they're sorry that they don't have enough to, uh, enough individuals to have a meeting room. And so we can go through these passages of scripture and show that it was normal Christianity at the beginning of the testimony.
To have the assembly in the home. And then we know that there are meeting rooms today and I think perhaps intro us, you would have had that, uh, third story meeting room and other places. But umm, this gathered Saints used to have large, large meeting rooms. And now in the day that just before the Lord's coming, many assemblies that we visit are in the homes of the Saints. And it takes sacrifice to have the assembly in your home, but I believe that there's a special blessing.
Let's not despise the day of small things, and if there's a little assembly meeting in the home, let's encourage those dear Saints. So Paul speaks of them, and he had a very high regard for them. Remember, he's giving a list of those that had distinguished themselves during his lifetime, and as he had ministered the heavenly truth, they had distinguished themselves in support of Paul's doctrine.
The last verse of this chapter is very, very important to consider because he says here something that is unique. He says the Lord Jesus Christ be with not you. That's true, but thy spirit. There are three epistles of the apostle Paul's that end in this way, Galatians, Philemon, and this one. And here we have now the last recorded words.
Of the apostle Paul to an individual by divine inspiration and why does he say the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit by spirit? The Spirit here is not the Holy Spirit, of course, it's our attitude. It's the attitude in which we operate from day-to-day as believers. Paul had been telling Timothy to go on in the truth to contend for the faith to stand fast.
To endure hardness as a good soldier, to run the race and all the exhortations that we've had before us in these meetings. Now he says, Timothy, I want you to do it in the proper spirit. And brethren, I this needs to speak to my own heart and perhaps it will speak to yours. Because as we see the breakdown of everything, the breakdown in government, the breakdown in the world, in the home, in amongst the people of God, even amongst those gathered to the Lord's name. As we see the breakdown of everything.
And as we seek to be faithful to the truth of God, we need to do it in the proper spirit. I'll give you a little homework. You can look it up. But it has touched my own heart in connection with Caleb. You remember when Caleb and Joshua came back from spying out the land, they stood firm for the trip. If I can put it this way, the truth as they saw it in their day, they brought up a good report. The other 10 spies, they brought up an evil report.
The congregation of Israel believed the evil report and they all spoke of stoning Joshua and Caleb. It's pretty, pretty severe. Well, it's pretty hard trial. They Joshua and Caleb stood firm. But there is a comment made about Caleb that you don't even have in connection with Joshua. It says of Caleb that he was going to go through the wilderness and get his inheritance. And here's the reason given. You can look this up, my servant Caleb, because he had another spirit with him.
He was faithful as He stood for the truth, but He did it in the proper spirit. He didn't do it in a hard, obnoxious way. He did it in the proper spirit. And so much did God value the spirit of Caleb that He recorded it in His eternal word for your encouragement in mind. And not only that, but when they did enter the land, and there were only two of that generation that we know for sure from Scripture that came through the wilderness and entered the land, Joshua and Caleb. But Caleb got something that nobody else got to either.
01:10:20
Caleb is the only one we read of that got a personal inheritance. All the rest got their inheritance by Lawton tribe and family. Caleb got a personal inheritance. Why? I believe it goes back to the fact that not only was he faithful, but he did it in the proper spirit. And that was what Paul was praying for. Timothy, the Lord Jesus Christ be with thy spirit as you take up the baton of the truth now and as you run with the torch and as you pass it on, if you do it in the proper spirit, then there's gonna be blessing. And then he says grace be with you. Why? Because grace meets our present need.
And so, brethren, we're gonna leave these meetings momentarily. Are we gonna be left here a little longer, a few moments, a few days? I can't tell you how long, but as long as we are left here, the grace of God, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ is here to meet our present needs. The psalmist said the Lord will give two things, grace and glory. Glory is what comes at the end. That's what Paul was Speaking of earlier in the chapter. Glory is what comes at the end.
But grace is what meets our present needs. Do we need more grace? He gives more grace. Is it available to us all? Of all we received of His fullness and grace? Grace upon grace. Is it all we need? My grace is sufficient for Thee.
I really believe we should take this to ourselves because.
The apostle Paul says to Timothy, the Lord Jesus Christ be with thy Spirit. He's speaking directly, specifically Timothy. And then Paul thinks of those who might be present.
When Timothy's this epistle with Timothy might be read, and so he adds grace be with you. That's plural, and that's for us.
Yeah.
4747.
I was trying to find that him too. Brother John.
Yes.