No One Stands Alone!

Introduction:

Last week

Preach the Word - Be ready and faithful to preach the word and fulfill your ministry even when people turn away from the truth

Today:

Be and encourager and don’t let our brothers and sisters in Christ stand alone.

The Army’s warrior Ethos - I will always place the mission first, I will never accept defeat, I will never quit, I will never leave a fallen comrade ! The point? To give Soldiers a foundation that will help them prioritize mission sucess and team survival over personal comfort.

Vs. 6-8 - An Example of Faithfulness

Paul turns once again to the example of his life and his imminent death.

I am being poured out as a drink offering.

The idea is an offering poured out in conjunction with a sacrifice which represents a complete pouring out of oneself in devotion and service (Biblehub).

First seen in Genesis 35:14 with Jacob.

The idea is total surrender.

Can we say this? Can we say… Lord here we are in total surrender to You and Your plan for our life?

Spurgeon - Paul is resolved to show his thankfulness to Christ, the great sacrifice, and he is willing that his blood should be poured as a drink offering on the altar where his Lord and master was the great burnt offering.”

His departure was near -

The idea of loosing a vessel and preparing to set sail.

Paul knew that this wasn’t the end, but a transition to glory where he would be in the presence of His savior.

You Timothy - must be ready and continue preaching the Word even when I am gone.

The Lord calls His servants home and raises others up.

Our job is to remain faithful.

A look at his life and ministry:

I have fought:

There was an enemy that Paul engaged in battle with - Ephesians 6:10-18; There is an enemy that we engage with as well.

He engaged with demonic forces, he engaged with religious opponents, he engaged with false teachers, he engaged with the enemy.

I have finished the race -

I have endured and played by the rules

I have kept the faith -

I have not wavered in the doctrine of the faith.

Look at his reward:

A crown of righteousness -

I wonder if Paul is thinking that he will be condemned here as a criminal, but will be received and judged by the righteous judge and will be given a crown.

A crown of vindication from the Lord.

How awesome the grace of the Lord and how great is Paul’s assurance.

No thought of life before Christ here, no wavering, just simple confidence in the greatness and power of the blood of Jesus.

This crown of righteousness, this vindication from the Lord should spur us on to endure and remain faithful and ready as we wait and long for His return.

Green - “Faithful stewardship brings full reward; but if we are lazy and careless, allowing others to serve while we live the life of a spiritual hobo, then those who serve will receive the reward.”

To those who long for His appreaing.

Those who are in Christ Jesus need not fear His return because we will be with Him in that moment.

Vs. 9-16 - Ministry can be lonley

We need the encouragment of others, especially those who will stand with us when times get tough.

Come to me quickly

Don’t linger - Paul knew the time of his death was near

He probably desired friendship/companionship

The Lord has placed us in one another’s lives to be there for each other.

Ruth 1:15–16 “Naomi said, “Look, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her gods. Follow your sister-in-law.” But Ruth replied: Don’t plead with me to abandon you or to return and not follow you. For wherever you go, I will go, and wherever you live, I will live; your people will be my people, and your God will be my God.”

Proverbs 17:17 “A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for a difficult time.”

Ex: David and Jonathan

We need encouragement because seperation can take many forms:

Some desert, others move on due to the hand of the Lord, and others are sent away.

He had been deserted

Demas forsook him because he loved this present world

He was counted at one point as a fellow worker with Paul

Philemon 24 “Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, and Luke, my coworkers.”

Now he is a deserter of his brother in Christ because it seems that he desired the comfort of this world over enduring hardship for the Lord.

Isn’t this where the enemy tries to get us - fear of what may happen. I am not down playing the brutality of persecution - it can be scary to think about.

Hebrews 11:24–26 “By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter and chose to suffer with the people of God rather than to enjoy the fleeting pleasure of sin. For he considered reproach for the sake of Christ to be greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, since he was looking ahead to the reward.”

Jim Elliott - “He is no fool who gives up what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.”

These things that are offered to us - ease, money, comfort, etc. they will all be taken away at some point anyways, but our faith and inheritance in heaven cannot be taken away.

Jesus was deserted on the night of his arrest

Mark 14:50 “Then they all deserted him and ran away.”

People need friendship, people need the presence of other people - maybe even just to sit.

We encourage one another, we pray for one another, we build one another up, we suffer with one another.

Application - Let’s not be people who forsake our brothers and sisters in need, especially when times get tough

How can we stand with them?

Pray for them, write to them, give to them (organizations that can provide material things), travel to go see them, etc.

Be reconciled to others as much as you can be.

Bring Mark

A time of restoration

Mark went with Paul and Barnabas when they started but deserted them at some point

Paul and Barnabas split over bringing Mark a second time

Acts 15:36–40 “After some time had passed, Paul said to Barnabas, “Let’s go back and visit the brothers and sisters in every town where we have preached the word of the Lord and see how they’re doing.” Barnabas wanted to take along John who was called Mark. But Paul insisted that they should not take along this man who had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not gone on with them to the work. They had such a sharp disagreement that they parted company, and Barnabas took Mark with him and sailed off to Cyprus. But Paul chose Silas and departed, after being commended by the brothers and sisters to the grace of the Lord.”

Paul now wants Mark with him.

How awesome to see restoration take place in the body of Christ

We don’t see any sin here in the above passage, just two guys who had a disagreement over someone that led to them splitting and going seperate ways.

The Lord used both of them, but it is still cool to see how Paul and Mark are reunited.

Also, when facing death, some things just don’t seem as important.

It is okay to ask for what we need

Paul understood that he was human and had needs.

He’s getting older and sitting in a dungeon that probably was not kept at 70 degrees even.

He probably wants to be kept warm.

He still desires to feed his mind.

Stott - “Yet the help he obtained from his Lord was indirect as well as direct. He did not despise the use of means. Nor should we. When our spirit is lonely, we need friends. When our body is cold, we need clothing. When our mind is bored, we need books. To admit this is not unspiritual; it is human.” John R. W. Stott, Guard the Gospel the Message of 2 Timothy, The Bible Speaks Today (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1973), 121.

Beware of those who oppose the gospel.

Alexander did him much harm

Informed many things against me - It is possible that this man may have been an accuser of Paul before Rome.

He opposed the gospel

We need the discernment of the Holy Spirit when it comes to sharing the gospel with others.

There are people that are out there and stand ready to accuse us before the governments.

Matthew 10:17 Beware of men [whose nature is to act in opposition to God], for they will hand you over to the courts and flog you in their synagogues; (AMP)

We see this in China and other restricted and hostile nations.

We may start seeing this here in our country at some point.

God would judge and repay this man - Paul would not spend any unnecessary time on this.

No one should stand alone

Everyone one had deserted him when it came to present his case before the courts.

The time when Paul needed people the most, they were not there for whatever reason.

He does not count it against them.

A different attitude from his response to Alexander.

Don’t we often find ourselves standing alone in pivitol moments praying we had people around us?

I remember standing alone as a young private first class in Basic Training before my platoon members.

Some were just stupid antics, some were questions by a Drill Sergeant that I couldn’t answer.

I believe that the Lord had me there for a reason.

David stood alone before a giant when people, even his brothers made fun of him.

Daniel stood alone before a king when he was accused of praying to the Lord.

Elijah stood alone before the king and the prophets of Baal

Application:

We may find ourselves alone sometimes, but again, let’s not be people who allow others to stand alone.

Jesus sent them out in pairs - I believe for a reason.

Vs. 17-18 - The Lord is our strength

But… The Lord stood with Paul and strengthened Him.

Paul may have been alone in the physical sense, but he was not alone in the spiritual sense.

The very one who holds the universe was by his side, encouraging him.

Acts 18:9–11 “The Lord said to Paul in a night vision, “Don’t be afraid, but keep on speaking and don’t be silent. For I am with you, and no one will lay a hand on you to hurt you, because I have many people in this city.” He stayed there a year and a half, teaching the word of God among them.”

Acts 23:9–11 “The shouting grew loud, and some of the scribes of the Pharisees’ party got up and argued vehemently, “We find nothing evil in this man. What if a spirit or an angel has spoken to him?” When the dispute became violent, the commander feared that Paul might be torn apart by them and ordered the troops to go down, take him away from them, and bring him into the barracks. The following night, the Lord stood by him and said, “Have courage! For as you have testified about me in Jerusalem, so it is necessary for you to testify in Rome.”

Acts 27:23–25 “For last night an angel of the God I belong to and serve stood by me and said, ‘Don’t be afraid, Paul. It is necessary for you to appear before Caesar. And indeed, God has graciously given you all those who are sailing with you.’ So take courage, men, because I believe God that it will be just the way it was told to me.”

Green - Whatever may darken our way and blind the spiritual eye, even though we may not be able to see Him in person, the Lord stands by the saint. Mysteriously, not visible to the human eye, He gives power and grace sufficient for trials, temptation, and heartaches.

David - 1 Samuel 30:6 “David was in an extremely difficult position because the troops talked about stoning him, for they were all very bitter over the loss of their sons and daughters. But David found strength in the Lord his God.”

Isaiah 40:31 “but those who trust in the Lord will renew their strength; they will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not become weary, they will walk and not faint.”

Hebrews 13:5–6 “… for he himself has said, I will never leave you or abandon you. Therefore, we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?”

How does He strengthen us?

He is there in the battle, storms, valleys doing what? He is walking with us, preparing a table in the presence of our enemies.

We are strengthened by the power of the Spirit - Ephesians 3:16 “I pray that he may grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with power in your inner being through his Spirit,”

We are strengthended in our weakness where His power is manifested in our lives.

Strengthened for what purpose?

So that the gospel would be preached.

This was Paul’s main focus… he was poured out for this very purpose… that those he spoke to would hear the gospel of Jesus Christ.

The Lord told him that he would go before Caesar.

It may have been that this was a public trial with many people attending and Paul would have preached the fullness of the gospel - I have fully preached

The Lord would deliver

Through Paul’s release from prison or through Paul’s release through death

The Lord would preserve

Who has our trust?

Jesus says not to fear man but fear God who can destroy both the soul and body

2 Thessalonians 3:3 “But the Lord is faithful; he will strengthen you and guard you from the evil one.”

Psalm 31:23 “Love the Lord, all his faithful ones. The Lord protects the loyal, but fully repays the arrogant.”

Vs. 19-22 - A Final Farewell

Paul desires to greet those who have helped him throughout his ministry.

We need one another to complete the ministry that the Lord has given us.

We all have a part to play in the body of Christ.

1 Corinthians 3:5–7 “What then is Apollos? What is Paul? They are servants through whom you believed, and each has the role the Lord has given. I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So, then, neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth.”

Paul left a friend sick.

The Lord is the one who heals. It seems that even though Paul had healed in the past, that the Lord decides when people get healed.

Come Timothy - again, Paul desired his son in the faith to join him and bring him encouragement and joy.

The Lord be with your Spirit.

What encouraging words from a mentor and father in the faith to a younger pastor who would need the encouragement when Paul was martyred.

The final words recorded from Paul and it is not about leadership, church growth strategy, how to counsel people, but a prayer that the Lord be with Timothy.

Conclusion

This immediate passage:

Are we running well, fighting well, keeping the faith?

If someone looked at our life, would they be able to say… this person is running the race, fighting the fight, and keeping the faith?

Are we being a good friend to those who feel like they are standing alone for Christ and have had others abandon them for whatever reason?

Are we restoring relationships that need to be restored because of a split of somesorts?

Are we being strengthened by our Lord and savior as we walk through the ministry that He has given us?

The overall book:

There is so much we could say, but this is where my mind goes.

Guard the gospel, endure suffering, be strong in the Lord’s grace, and raise others up, and preach the Word.

2 Timothy 2:1–2 “You, therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. What you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, commit to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.”

Wiersbe - “As John Wesley used to say, ‘God burries His workmen, but His work goes on.’ You and I must be faithful so that (if the Lord does not return soon) future generations may hear the Gospel and have the opportunity to be saved.”