Eric Smith | 2 Timothy 4:9-22

thank you Brothers for leading Us in worship good morning what an honor to be with you today I'm grateful to DrMohler into the Seminary for the invitation thanks to faculty colleagues and Boyce College Southern Seminary students for being here today I'm truly humbled to open God's word with you let's take our copies of God's word and turn now to Second Timothy chapter four second Timothy chapter four we're going to be looking at verses 9 through 22. and I have to say if there was one person in all the world with whom I could sing a duet in broadest Chapel it would be you DrAiken nothing's changed in these 20 years brother appreciate you so much second Timothy Chapter 4 verses 9 through 22 I know we just got seated but would you please stand with me again as we honor the reading of God's word from second Timothy 4 verses 9 through 22. Paul writes under the inspiration of God's holy spirit do your best to come to me soon for Demas in love with this present world has deserted me and gone to thessalonica creskins has gone to galatia Titus to Dalmatia Luke alone is with me get Mark and bring him with you for he is very useful to me for Ministry tikacus I have sent to Ephesus when you come bring the cloak that I left with Corpus at troas also the books and above all the parchments Alexander the coppersmith did me great harm the Lord will repay him according to his deeds beware of him yourself for he strongly opposed our message at my first defense no one came to Stand By Me but all deserted me may it not be charged against them but the Lord stood by me and strengthened me so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it so I was rescued from the lion's mouth the Lord will rescue me from every evil deed and bring me safely into his Heavenly Kingdom to him be the glory forever and ever amen greet prisca and Aquila and the household of Vanessa forests erastus remained at Corinth and I left trophymus who was Ill at melitus do your best to come before winter sends greetings to you as do Putin's and Linus and Claudia and all the brothers the Lord be with your spirit Grace be with you this is God's word you could be seated well that great Kentuckian Daniel Boone was known for always being prepared for every journey and that held true for his final Journey too several years before his death when he felt old age creeping up on him he had a beautiful coffin made of cherry wood custom fitted for himself he was very happy with the finished product and kept it in his room he usually stored it under his bed but he would often drag it out to admire it visitors often caught Daniel Boone polishing that coffin whistling peacefully to himself as he considered the quality of the craftsmanship a little bit more disturbing is when his visitors would find him having climbed into that casket to make sure that it still fit that he hadn't outgrown it in some of his less active years most disturbing of all is when his children and grandchildren caught him taking a nap inside that custom fit coffin that's quite a surprise to find Papaw asleep in that charity casket we may find that a little bit morbid a little bit over the top particularly for such a young crowd but what the Bible tells us is that there is wisdom in thinking about the end and in preparing for the end even when you're just starting out Ecclesiastes chapter 7 verse 1 says a good name is better than precious ointment and the day of death better than the day of birth that's a curious statement isn't it to say that the day of death would be better than the day day of birth but I think the truth of the matter is on the day of birth we don't know if you're going to carry a good name all the way to the end we don't know what's going to become of your life but on the day of your death we do that's why later in Ecclesiastes 7 we're told that the end of a thing is in many ways better than the beginning because we know what you've done with this life that God has given to you and that's why Ecclesiastes 7 goes on to say it is better to go to the house of mourning a funeral than to go to the house of feasting a party why because this is the end of all mankind and the living lay it to heart there is wisdom and there is Grace even for The Young and the vibrant and the strong and the active for those just starting out to consider the end to lay it to heart that one day I won't be at the beginning I will be at the end and to consider what I want that end to look like the Bible says there's wisdom in that in this text that I've read for us it helps us to do that to consider the end it's the the final words that we have in the final letter from the Apostle Paul it's Paul at the end and I I know it's filled with the kinds of mundane sorts of uh details and information greetings and clerical work and all that sort of thing it's the it's the kind of stuff that we tend to zip right through on our way to the rest of the New Testament but I think if we'll look a little bit closer we'll find that Paul is showing us modeling for us how to finish well what we want the end to look like for ourselves and so as we leave this place today and go to class and receive the information and the tools to start off well in Ministry let's take a few moments to pause and lay to Heart from the Apostle Paul how to end well what we want the end to look like it's a very personal passage and I I want to receive it very personally today and so I want you to notice first of all the purpose that I want at the end I see here the purpose that I want at the end the Apostle Paul is about to die he's just told us so in verses six through eight which is one of the Bible's most beautiful farewells maybe you're familiar with it help me out he says I have fought the good I have run the I have kept the henceforth there's laid up for me a that's very good there's laid up for me a crown that seems like a great place to end second Timothy it's an excellent opportunity to sign off but maybe like a lot of preachers Paul just doesn't know when to quit because he keeps going past verse 8 into this long section that we have read today and I I would expect Paul as he continues writing then to to lean his head back against that cell wall and just take a break just relax it's time to rest he's about to leave but instead in verses 9 through 22 we find the Apostle Paul to be as busy as ever John Leland that old Baptist who I like so much would call him the busy little Apostle and the busy little Apostle is just as active here at the end just look at the way that he speaks at the beginning of our text he is strategizing for the advance of the Gospel he's got a map of the Roman world in his mind thinking about where he needs to move the next piece to advance the kingdom of Jesus he's deploying men to new cities he's warning Timothy of opponents and obstacles he's sending for partners who are value able in the work who are useful in Ministry he's calling for books and parchments Paul still wants to read and learn and grow it's an incredible sense of purpose all the way to the end Paul is as focused on serving and living for the Lord Jesus at the end as he is on any page in the book of Acts it's remarkable Paul would say I'm about to depart the ropes of the ship are being loosened from the duck but it hadn't sailed yet for me to live is still Christ my life is not about myself but my life is a drink offering for the Lord Jesus being poured out for him and there's still a few drops left and I want the Lord Jesus to have every last one of them we might say that Paul plays all the way to the final whistle now DrAiken could tell you that there was a time when the Dallas Cowboys won Super Bowls it's a long time ago DrAkin matter of fact I believe some of these folks weren't even born the last time the Dallas Cowboys won a Super Bowl but boy there were some Glory Days in the early 90s if I know what I'm talking about and in 1993 I can remember the Cowboys being up real big on the Buffalo Bills and uh or maybe it was in the fourth quarter when the Great defensive tackle uh Leon let forces a fumble Scoops it up and he's running for the End Zone this is the one moment in this brother's life he's going to score a touchdown he says all pro defensive tackle and he's about to cross the goal line just put the icing on the cake of this big Dallas Cowboy romp but what does he do just before he gets to the goal line he slows down to celebrate and he wasn't counting on that Buffalo Bills wide receiver Don Beebe chasing him down the field swiping that ball forcing his own fumble and dooming Leon led to every blooper reel until the Lord Jesus returns we learn from this that bad things happen when you celebrate too soon when you pull up too quick before you cross the goal line that's not what Paul does Paul is going to celebrate with Jesus but he hasn't heard that last whistle yet and so he plays all the way to the end we must do the works of him who sent us while it is still day because night is coming when no man can work Paul has incredible purpose all the way to the end and to me this stands out all the more poignantly in a letter where we meet so many individuals who Drft from their purpose before the end Paul mentions right here in verse 10 Demas once Paul's trusted co-worker once the kind of person who would have been in a room like this in a chapel service going out to classrooms like those that you will go to later today Demas was someone who labored side by side with Paul with great purpose in serving the lord Jesus but now demas's heart has drifted and he's fallen in love with his present world he is nowhere to be found he's just somewhere off in thessalonica we meet others in second Timothy who've drifted from their purpose some have grown distracted by the world others are deceived by false teaching others disqualified by immoral and ungodly living y'all that should sober us up today but just because we're serving the lord Jesus with purpose right now and with passion right now that is no guarantee that we will continue to serve him with purpose all the way to the end we are called to persevere to press on to build into our lives those practices that will keep our hearts warm towards the Lord Jesus and focused on his work it's what Paul's been calling Timothy to throughout this letter to endure to continue on in what you have received to fulfill your ministry Friends by God's grace I want this kind of purpose at the end I want it for me and I want it for you it is very possible to start well to serve with purpose for a season without finishing with purpose at the end so how about you are you serving the lord Jesus with purpose even right now as a student at boys college or at Southern Seminary have you built into your life those practices and called into your life those people who will help you persevere in purposeful passionate Ministry for Jesus Glory all the way to the end that's the purpose I want at the end but I also see here people I want at the end I see the people I want at the end Paul really doesn't have a whole lot when he gets to the end does he he doesn't have any books to read he doesn't have anything to write with he doesn't even have a cloak somebody get this brother a jacket or a blanket he has nothing in this prison but I tell you there is one thing that Paul does have as we look at this text Paul has people we we look at this passage and we see all of these names that crowd these verses and again it's so easy to think of it just as a list for us to skip on uh so that we can go to other more substantive things but these names represent people the people who fill Paul's mind and fill Paul's heart at the end people who testify to a life spent loving and serving and investing in disciple making in the name of Jesus friends I want people at the end I want friends like Luke in verse 11.

proverbs 11 or excuse me 1717 says a friend loves at all times her brother is born for adversity I want there to be friends at the end who have stayed by me through thick and thin because of a shared love for Jesus and his work who stick with me when everybody else runs out I want friends like that at the end I want younger people at the end who I've invested in and trained like Christians and Titus and tychicus in verses 10 and 12. younger people who perhaps slow you down when you're in the midst of your own work in your own Ministry who require time and energy and patience and all this but after you are gone they will go places you can never go and they will interact with people you will never meet and they will serve the Lord Jesus to an extent that you never will I want people like that at the end I want people like prisca and aqua in verse 19 you know Paul says in Romans 16 through that they risked their necks for his life and I want people at the end who suffered and sacrificed in the trenches of ministry with me and we've got the stories to prove it I want local churches of ordinary people like many of those mentioned in our text who know and love God's word because of my very imperfect but by God's grace sincere Ministry to them but I want some Timothy's pulse called him my beloved Son in this letter twice in our text verses 9 and verse 21 he urges Timothy come see me I know that we'll meet again in a better world but before I close my eyes on this one I just want to see you one more time there are things that I want to share face to face heart to heart this is someone who hasn't just seen Paul in the public eye Paulie shared his very life with him every single week since they've known one another I want people like that at the end DrBucher people who who knew me and walked with me and for all my sin and weakness and failure knew that I loved Jesus and I loved him and so they will read God's word and they will sing to the Lord and they will lay me to rest and they'll do impressions in my crazy little voice and then they'll go eat Mexican food and they'll keep serving Jesus I want people like that here and I want people like that there waiting for me to receive me into Heavenly dwellings I want people at the end but if I want people at the end I better start loving people right now should not if you want this kind of legacy of loving and serving and investing in people at the end the time to start loving and serving and investing people is right now in the midst of your very busy life I cannot live for self and have people at the end Adrian Roger said the world's smallest package is a man wrapped up in himself and I can't spend my life in that tiny little wrapped up package of me and expect there to be people at the end rising up and calling me blessed to the glory of God I can't be more concerned with building a platform of virtual people invisible people pretend people and ignore the real people right in front of me who the Lord has put before me I can't be so task oriented and goal-oriented oriented even in Ministry that I don't let people interrupt and inconvenience me and I can't be quick to write off those who frustrate me and irritate me like Mark in verse 11. you know that Mark is the one who so disappointed Paul an aggravated Paul when he when he left Paul in Barnabas on that first missionary journey he was the cause of the split between Paul and Barnabas back in the book of Acts and yet here we have years later in the Providence of God Mark has been discipled by the Apostle Peter he's experienced the mercy and the grace of God Paul has been softened by the grace of God Through The Years this man who has received such patience from Jesus has now learned to extend patience to others and at the end he says make sure you bring Mark he is so useful to me and if I want people at the end I've got to learn to give Grace right now maybe one of the great surprises that this text teaches us is that at the end we'll be surprised by those who are not there with us and will be surprised by those who are there I want people at the end but I also see here the perspective I want at the end the perspective I want at the end there's a dark side to this text there's no getting around it living with gospel purpose loving people in Jesus name y'all it leaves scars you can ask anyone in this room who's been in Ministry for any length of time it leaves scars or you can just listen to the Apostle Paul it's it's almost as if he is reviewing his scars like some old sea captain here in this text he he reminds us that there are some in Ministry who will desert you I mean back in Colossians 4 14 Demas was someone who Paul relied on Demas was someone he loved he trusted Paul probably expected demons to get up and read scripture at his funeral and tell stories about him at his funeral but when times got tough demas's heart had drifted from Jesus to other things and he left Paul for the Comforts of the world and the truth of the matter is in Ministry there are some people you will pour your life into and they will break your heart and they will desert you there are others who will disappoint you Paul expected these Roman Christians to show up for his trial I mean this is a big moment he'd been looking forward to this opportunity to preach Christ at the center of the Roman world and he kept watching that door for those friends to come through there and strengthen him by their presence and they never showed up we don't know why maybe they got scared to identify with Paul maybe they just got busy and forgot that it was the time for the trial maybe they really tried to get there but they were actually just just prevented we don't know what we do know is it was a painful lonely moment for the Apostle Paul after all he'd done to pour into these believers they didn't show up for him and friends in Ministry people who you show up for again and again will sometimes fail to show up for you and they'll disappoint you and then there are some who will despise you Paul says that this Alexander the copper Smith did me great harm verse 14.