Faithful to the End

I want to begin my message this morning with a question.

If you knew how many days you had left to live,

and that number was about, let's say, six months,

how would you spend those days?

What would you do with those last six months of your life?

What would be most worth your time,

your attention, your effort?

This morning, as we look to the Word of God,

we've now come to the end of Paul's second letter to Timothy,

and we're about to see how Paul intends to spend the last months of his life.

And for Paul, his choices are somewhat limited,

because he's in a Roman prison.

So that really narrows the options down a lot for him.

But how will the Apostle use up what's left of his life?

Let me read the closing of this letter to you.

the last words that we have in our Bibles from the Apostle Paul

as he writes to Timothy saying,

this is chapter 4, verse 9.

He says,

Do your best to come to me quickly.

For Demas, because he loved this world,

has deserted me and has gone to Thessalonica.

Crescens has gone to Galatia,

and Titus to Dalmatia.

Only Luke is with me.

Get Mark and bring him with you,

because he's helpful to me in my ministry.

I sent Tychicus to Ephesus.

When you come,

bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at Troas,

and my scrolls, especially the parchments.

Alexander, the metal worker,

did me a great deal of harm.

The Lord will repay him for what he has done.

You too should be on your guard against him,

because he strongly opposed our message.

At my first defense,

no one came to my support,

but everyone deserted me.

May it not be held against them.

But the Lord stood at my side

and gave me strength,

so that through me,

the message might be fully proclaimed,

and all the Gentiles might hear it.

And I was delivered from the lion's mouth.

The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack

and will bring me safely to his heavenly kingdom.

To him be glory forever and ever.

Amen.

Greet Priscilla and Aquila

and the household of Onesiphorus.

Erastus stayed in Corinth,

and I left Trophimus sick in Miletus.

Do your best to get here before winter.

Eubulus greets you,

and so do Pudens, Linus, Claudia,

and all the brothers and sisters.

The Lord be with your spirit.

Grace be with you all.

The first thing that Paul does

as he closes his letter is this.

He urges Timothy to come to him quickly.

Paul knows that his days are numbered,

but he wants to see Timothy one more time.

And so he tells Timothy to make the journey

all the way to Rome,

where Paul is right now in jail,

and come quickly.

At the end of verse 21, Paul says,

do your best to get here before winter.

So think back over all that Paul

has charged Timothy to do in this letter

with the church, in the church, for the church.

And the first thing that he's to do, though,

before any of that is to pack his bag

and book passage on a ship to Rome

to meet with Paul.

Now, why does Paul want to see Timothy?

Is it just because he knows that he is soon to die

and wants to see a familiar face one last time?

Far from it.

As we're about to see,

Paul has a purpose in summoning Timothy.

He has a purpose that goes way beyond

his own comfort at the end of his life.

He says,

Do your best to come to me quickly,

for Demas, because he loved this world,

has deserted me and has gone to Thessalonica.

Crescens has gone to Galatia

and Titus to Dalmatia.

Only Luke is with me.

Get Mark and bring him with you

because he's helpful to me in my ministry.

I sent Tychicus to Ephesus.

When you come,

bring the cloak that I left with Carpus

at Troas and my scrolls,

especially the parchments.

So why does Paul want Timothy to come?

For or because Demas has deserted him

and the rest of his co-workers

in the cause of the gospel

have been sent out to all these different places

so that the only person with Paul

at the moment right now is Luke.

What is Paul doing

as he sits in this jail cell?

As he awaits execution in Rome?

Amazingly, he's not sitting there

feeling sorry for himself

in a dejected stupor

just waiting to die.

Rather, he is actively coordinating

the spread of the gospel,

building up of the churches

all over the Mediterranean world

from his jail cell.

He is continuing to proclaim

the words of Jesus as an apostle.

He is continuing to shepherd

the churches all over the Gentile world

from his prison cell.

And how is he doing this?

He's doing this through other people

and through parchments.

Let's talk about these people.

The sense that we get here

is that people are going back and forth

to and from Paul

from all over the place

to the region of Galatia.

That's up here, central Turkey.

Crescens has gone there.

To the region of Dalmatia,

that's kind of over here

across the Adriatic Sea.

Titus has gone there.

Titus was previously stationed

on the island of Crete right here.

Paul says,

I sent Tychicus to Ephesus

over here.

And that's where he's also calling Timothy

to come from

to where he is in Rome.

Paul's also keeping track

of some of the men

that he left in different places

on the way to Rome.

He talks about

Trophimus in Miletus,

which is kind of around there.

And he also talks

a little down further

in verse 20

about how he left

Erastus

in Corinth,

which is on the Greek peninsula here.

So Paul is actively coordinating

the spread of the gospel.

He's actively working

to build up churches

all around the Mediterranean world

through other people,

through men such as these

who are listed here.

Who are some of these people?

We might wonder.

Who's Demas?

Demas is mentioned

in two of Paul's other letters.

One of them is

Colossians 4.14.

And Demas,

we see there,

was with Paul

when Paul wrote

the letter to the church

at Colossae.

And he's mentioned

right alongside Luke,

Luke,

the dear friend

and doctor Luke,

the guy who wrote

the gospel of Luke.

Demas is also mentioned

in Paul's letter

to Philemon.

And there he's mentioned

right alongside

a bunch of other guys.

Luke is there again

and Mark

as a co-laborer,

a co-worker

of Paul's.

So Demas has been

working at Paul's side

with him

in the cause of Christ,

spreading the gospel,

strengthening the churches.

But now,

what does Paul say

about Demas here?

Demas,

because he loved

this world,

has deserted me.

This must have been

painful for Paul.

A dear friend,

a co-worker

in the cause of Christ

has abandoned me.

And Paul says

the reason is

because he loved

this world.

Right now,

Paul's being looked at,

treated as a criminal.

He's suffering persecution

and it seems,

it would seem,

Demas is not willing

to suffer with Paul

and begins to distance

himself from Paul.

And Paul identifies

the problem here.

He says

that it's a heart issue.

He loves

this world.

And Paul doesn't really

flesh that out anymore,

but it seems clear

the way he says it,

that this is a bad thing.

This is perhaps

a misplaced love.

Perhaps it's a desire

to be approved

by the people around him.

A love for their approval.

Or perhaps it's a love

just for the life

that he could have

in the world

so long as he's not

locked up in a jail cell

with Paul.

Whatever the case,

it seems that it's a matter

of where his allegiance

and his loyalty lies.

Paul says,

he's abandoned me

because it lies

in the wrong place.

He has loved this world.

How painful it must have been

to just watch Demas

turn and walk away.

So Timothy,

come quickly,

for he has abandoned me.

I was counting on him,

this is maybe implied,

I was counting on Demas

for some important work

in this stuff

that we've got going

in the cause of Christ,

but since he's left

and no one else is with me

but Luke,

I need you to come.

Now we may wonder

at this point,

does this mean that Demas

has lost his salvation?

Or does this mean

that he was just a pretender

all along?

What's going to be

the end of the story

for Demas?

Is he a Christian

that just blew it here

and gave into fear?

Or is he one of those

who fall away

when persecution comes

because the gospel

never took root deeply

in his heart?

But it doesn't say here

or anywhere else

in the Bible

how Demas' story ends.

Is he like Judas

who walked with Jesus

three years

and then betrayed Jesus

at the moment

of greatest persecution?

Or is he like Peter

and the other eleven

who walked with Jesus

and then fled

in the garden

and in Peter's case

denied the Lord

when things got tough

but then

was later restored?

We don't know.

All we know

is that a dear friend

and co-worker of Paul's

has deserted him

and there's a deep

spiritual problem

of the heart

at the root.

But

all is not despair

and betrayal here.

Demas is one

who has deserted Paul

but there's another man

mentioned here

who stands in stark

contrast to Demas.

Mark.

Paul says

get Mark

and bring him

with you

because he is helpful

to me

in my ministry.

This is a beautiful

statement

because

who was Mark?

Mark was the guy

who years earlier

was one of Paul's

co-workers

on one of his

missionary journeys

but then deserted

Paul

and did not finish

the trip.

This is what we read

about Mark

in the book of Acts.

Acts 15:36

Chapter 15

verse 36

Paul said to Barnabas

let's go back

and visit the believers

in all the towns

where we preach

the word of the Lord

and see how they're doing.

Barnabas wanted

to take John

also called Mark

with them

but Paul

did not think

it wise to take him

because he had deserted

them in Pamphylia

and had not continued

with them

in the work.

They had such

a sharp disagreement

that they parted company.

Barnabas took Mark

and sailed for Cyprus

but Paul chose Silas

and left

commended

by the believers

to the grace

of the Lord.

This was back

years before

this letter

was written.

Mark

for whatever reason

it doesn't say

he just deserted Paul

just left

in the middle

of the trip

and because of that

Paul was unwilling

to take him

on another one.

Just no

not going to do it

and Barnabas

reasoned with him

but Paul would not

he wouldn't have it.

The trust

it seems

had been broken

and the disagreement

was so significant

that Paul and Barnabas

decided not even

to go together

on a trip

at this point

but to go their

separate ways.

But now

look at what Paul

says about Mark

here

at the end of

his life

years later.

Get Mark

bring him with you

because he is

helpful to me

in my ministry.

this is awesome.

Demas has deserted

yes

but Mark

who was once

a deserter

has since become

dependable

and helpful

working faithfully

in the cause

of Christ.

And so

Timothy

get him

bring him

with you

when you come

I've worked

for him

to do

too.

So it's not

all despair

and pain

and betrayal.

Mark

and others

listed here

are living

courageously

and are loving

Christ

more than

the world

more than

their own

lives

and they're

continuing

to serve him

all over the

place.

Men like

Crescens

and Titus

and Luke

and Tychicus

this is probably

an encouraging

reminder to

Timothy

that as hard

as it seems

right now

in Ephesus

he's not

alone.

Others

are risking

their lives

right now

in the cause

of the gospel.

Think about

Crescens

he's in Galatia

right now.

There's all

kinds of

stuff going

on there.

This is the

only place

Crescens

is even

mentioned

in the

Bible

but

it's an

honorable

mention.

Timothy

know that

Titus

he's in

Dalmatia

right now

he's serving

the Lord

there.

He was

on Crete

before

and that

was a

tough

assignment

there

we heard

about that

when we

went through

the book

of Titus

but now

he's in

Dalmatia.

Luke

is with

me

the guy

who wrote

the book

of Luke

the gospel

of Luke

and the

book of

Acts

Tychicus

and it

just goes

on.

All of

these

are

continuing

to serve

and proclaim

the name

of Jesus

Timothy

despite the

opposition

that's arising.

I love

this.

Paul

he just

goes right

on.

He's

actively

coordinating

the spread

of the

gospel.

He's

building up

the churches

all over

the Mediterranean

world

through

these other

people

and he

wants to

continue

doing this

good work

through

Timothy.

So

Timothy

come

come

I have

an assignment

for you.

Oh and

when you

come

bring the

cloak

that I

left with

Carpus

at Troas

and my

scrolls

especially

the

parchments.

I love

this.

It would be

nice to have

my cloak

here in

jail

but never

mind that

make sure

to bring

the parchments

especially

the parchments.

Even in

jail

Paul is

continuing

to work

he's

continuing

to study

and a

huge part

of his

work

is writing

letters

like this

to people

like Timothy

and to

churches

bring my

parchments

especially

the parchments.

In

verse 14

and 15

Paul warns

Timothy

about a

certain

Alexander

the

metal

worker.

It's not

certain

exactly

whether

this is

the same

Alexander

from the

riot

that took

place

in

Ephesus

that we

read about

in the

book of

Acts.

Probably

more likely

though it

is the

same

Alexander

that we

heard about

in Paul's

first letter

to Timothy.

Back in

that first

letter

1 Timothy

1 19

and 20

he referred

to a

man named

Alexander

who had

shipwrecked

his

faith

getting

into

false

teaching

and

blaspheming

Paul says

he did

me a

great deal

of harm.

He doesn't

say what

it was

just said

it was a

great deal

of it

and you

know we

almost might

expect the

next words

of Paul

to be

may the

Lord

repay him

for what

he has

done to

me.

But if we

read this

carefully we

notice that

this is not

a vindictive

statement.

This is not

a curse.

He's not

saying I

hope God

makes him

pay.

Rather it's

a statement

of the

sober

reality that

God will

deal with

Alexander.

The Lord

will repay

him for

what he

has done.

I think

it's a

tone of

sadness as

Paul remembers

the great

evil that

was done

to him

by this

man.

Paul says

watch out

for Alexander.

He strongly

opposed our

message.

He strongly

opposed the

message of

Christ Jesus.

Next

Paul tells

us a little

bit about

his situation.

We read in

verse 16.

He says

at my

first

defense no

one came

to my

support but

everyone deserted

me.

May it not

be held

against them.

So Paul has

already had

one trial,

one appearance

before the

court and

no one,

not a

single person

says Paul

came to

support me

or to

stand with

me.

We don't

know if

Luke was

in Rome

during his

first defense

or only

just arrived

now to

help him

write this

letter and

care for

his needs

but this

must have

felt so

hard for

Paul.

He knew

of believers

in the

area.

There was

a church

in Rome.

There were

dear friends

and brothers

and co-workers

all over

who were

keeping tabs

on Paul

and what was

happening with

him in Rome

but no one

came to

stand with

me at

my trial.

everyone

deserted

me.

It would

seem that

those claiming

the name of

Christ around

Paul and

the church

in Rome

abandoned

him in

this moment

but is

Paul bitter

about this?

Not in

the least.

He says

may it

not be

held against

them.

He

recognizes

the

weakness

and the

failure

that we

are all

prone to

and some

of them

may not

have been

true believers

in the

first place

and this

is just

exposing that

and others

of them

are but

have given

in to

fear and

cowardice

just like

Peter did

on the

night when

Jesus was

tried.

May it

not be

held against

them.

Sounds like

Jesus' words

on the cross.

Father,

forgive them.

yet

even though

no one

came

and everyone

deserted

him

Paul says

I was not

alone

at the

trial.

Look at

verse 17.

He says

but the

Lord stood

at my

side

and gave

me

strength

so that

through me

the message

might be

fully

proclaimed

and all

the

Gentiles

might hear

it.

I love

this.

Make no

mistake

I wasn't

alone

at my

defense

somebody

was there

somebody

stood

with me

the

Lord

Jesus

himself

stood

at my

side

he

supported

me

he

gave

me

strength

strength

to do

what

strength

to make

a clever

defense

so that

I could

win the

favor

of the

court

and get

off the

hook

and be

released

from

jail

no

he

gave

me

strength

so that

through

me

the

message

might

be

fully

proclaimed

and all

the

Gentiles

might hear

it

so that

the

proclamation

with

fullness

might be

heard

by all

the

Gentiles

what

was

Paul's

aim

at the

trial

that

could

decide

whether

he

would

live

or

die

his

aim

was

to

fully

proclaim

the

gospel

of

Christ

Jesus

so that

the

nations

would

hear

it

this

is

amazing

and

Paul

tells

of the

outcome

of this

first

trial

he

says

I

was

delivered

from

the

lion's

mouth

probably

an

allusion

to

the

prophet

Daniel

who

was

cast

into

the

lion's

den

centuries

earlier

Daniel

was

told

to

stop

praying

to

the

Lord

a

command

was

issued

a

decree

was

issued

that's

now

illegal

this

is

kind

of

a

similar

situation

Paul

is

being

told

all

over

the

place

stop

preaching

the

message

of

Jesus

and

he's

just

continuing

on

with

it

well

now

he's

in

the

thick

of

the

moment

in

the

lion's

den

and

this

first

trial

could

have

been

it

many

probably

thought

it

would

have

been

and

yet

he

says

I

was

delivered

from

the

lion's

mouth

God

saved

me

he

spared

me

he

rescued

me

from

almost

certain

death

yet

again

and

then

Paul

goes

on

to

declare

with

such

confidence

he

says

the

Lord

will

rescue

me

from

every

evil

attack

and

will

bring

me

safely

to

his

heavenly

kingdom

this

is

amazing

Paul's

basically

saying

no

matter

who

tries

to

hurt

me

no

matter

who

tries

to

get

me

killed

they

will

never

succeed

yeah

they

might

kill

me

yeah

they

might

hurt

me

but

in

the

end

this

is

what

I'm

looking

forward

to

I

will

die

at

some

point

yes

he's

already

said

that

in

the

letter

Paul

looks

that

certain

future

reality

in the

face

and he

says

this

the

Lord's

going

to

rescue

me

from

every

evil

attack

and

bring

me

safely

to

his

heavenly

kingdom

even

death

itself

he's

going

to

rescue

me

from

that

and

take

me

into

his

kingdom

his

heavenly

kingdom

I love

this

chал

amazing

ican

kingdom

he is

the

steel

king

and

wehr

side to his heavenly kingdom. I love this. I mean, this is so inspiring. This is so encouraging.

Here's a man on death row, his crime, proclaiming Jesus Christ and what happened with him and what

he said and did all over the world. He has traded every comfort, every pleasure, everything this

world has to offer in order to proclaim Jesus Christ. And he's ready to trade his life itself

for this because he is that sure that Jesus will deliver him from all of it and bring him safely

into the coming kingdom of heaven. Wow.

After calling for the Lord Jesus to be glorified forever and ever, Paul ends the letter in this way.

Greet Priscilla and Aquila and the household of Onesiphorus. These were dear friends and

co-workers of Paul in the cause of the gospel and they're mentioned elsewhere and commended for

things done in the service of Christ. Erastus stayed in Corinth and I left Trophimus sick in Miletus.

You hear this? Paul just goes right on back to coordinating and keeping tabs on the men who

are out in the field serving Jesus. Do your best to get here before winter, Timothy.

Eubulus greets you and so do Pudens, Linus, Claudia and all the brothers and sisters.

None of these names are mentioned elsewhere in the Bible but the names seem to fit where Paul is.

They're Roman names. Even though no one came to Paul's defense, there is a church here in Rome who

Paul is connected with and perhaps has renewed their connection after the trial ended. Those people

say hi, Timothy.

And then he ends in this way. He says, the Lord be with your spirit.

Grace be with you all.

It might be tempting to just kind of skip over this final blessing. Wow, that sounds nice. That's good.

But consider what Paul has said in this letter up until now to Timothy.

Back in chapter 1, he urged Timothy not to give in to a spirit of fear,

but to allow the spirit of God inside of him to give him power and love and self-discipline.

Perhaps the greatest plea of this whole letter is for Timothy himself to be faithful and to serve Christ to the end,

no matter how difficult it gets, no matter who turns away or abandons him.

And then we just heard Paul tell the story of how at his first trial, no one showed up to stand with him,

but the Lord Jesus was with him.

And now he says to Timothy, may the Lord be with your spirit.

We can't do it.

We can't do this life for Jesus alone.

We can't do it in our own strength,

in our own resources.

But with the Lord Jesus in us

and with us,

with his spirit in us,

with our spirit,

we can.

We can fight the good fight.

We can get back up and keep running the race.

to the end.

We can hold on to the faith.

Even if everyone around us seems to be drifting or turning away.

The Lord be with your spirit, Timothy.

And grace be with you all.

In the background of this letter to Timothy is the church.

Are the Christians of the churches in Timothy's region,

and it's Christians plural,

you all.

We all need God's generous favor

to live in this world

as followers of Jesus.

May the Lord Jesus supply

what all of you need

from him.

What an end to this letter.

What an end to Paul's earthly life.

What would you do

with the last, say, six months of your life?

That was the question I asked at the beginning.

We know what Paul did.

Even from his jail cell,

he kept serving Jesus with everything he had.

He kept calling men to come

and sending them out.

And he kept proclaiming the gospel.

He kept seeking to shepherd the churches.

He kept writing letters like this one

to people like Timothy

and to churches wherever he could.

Even at his trial,

he took it as an opportunity

to proclaim Jesus Christ,

to go on record to the whole empire.

This is who Jesus is.

This is why I'm on trial.

I want all the nations to know about him.

He cared more about that

than whether his trial would seal his death.

It's a breathtaking example

of what it looks like

to run the race of life for Jesus well,

all the way to the end.

To be faithful to the end.

And so we should let Paul encourage us

with these words to do the same.

That's why he's writing this letter to Timothy.

It's about encouraging Timothy

and the Christians around him

to follow his example

and fight the good fight

and run the race to the end

and keep the faith no matter what.

We too have a heavenly kingdom

to look forward to,

the kingdom of Jesus.

We too have the crown of righteousness

to look forward to,

which the Lord will award

to all who have loved his appearing,

to all who are longing for him to return.

So let's fight.

Let's run this race.

Let's keep the faith right to the end.

In just a little while,

he who is coming will come

and will not delay.

Let's pray.

Let's pray.

Father in heaven,

thank you for the deep encouragement

of these words,

and I pray that they would sink

right into our souls.

Lord, you know all the tough stuff

that we face day in and day out,

week after week,

and I pray that all of the feeling

of overwhelm and anxiety

or fear or whatever

would just melt away

because you will carry us through.

You give us,

you are with us.

You are with us,

deep inside of us,

leading us.

And I pray that we would bring

great glory to your name,

each one of us individually

and as a church together

in this community.

May we bring glory to your name

for how we lived,

for how we fought and ran

and held on

to this precious hope and truth

that you have revealed to us.

Thank you for Jesus.

We look forward to your kingdom.

In his name we pray.

Amen.