Apply Within

Guest (Male): Welcome to Apply Within, a verse-by-verse study of the Word of God with Pastor Bob Davis of North Country Chapel. We invite you to join with us as we, by the power of God's Holy Spirit, apply His Word within our own hearts as we study line upon line, precept upon precept, verse-by-verse through the Bible. Our study of 2 Timothy concludes as Paul shares final instructions and warnings for Timothy. Here's Pastor Bob.

Bob Davis: You know, Paul is writing this letter to Timothy from prison. I know you know that, but it's good to be reminded. And he's about to wind this letter up, he's about to finish. He says, "I'm ready," verse six, "to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand." Any time now, I'm going home.

Listen to this: "Do thy diligence to come shortly to me." He shares his heart often in his writings, but you see something here that you get to sit with him for a moment and just listen to him and see he's been through it, man. We see him here simply sharing his own desires. That's real rare. Usually he'll say, "My desire is that you're doing okay," and that's true, but we get down to the real him, get down into the heart of the Apostle Paul.

He says this to Timothy—let me put it in American—do the best that you can to get here as quickly as you can. Please hurry and come and see me. See, he loves Timothy. And he understands by the time Timothy gets this letter, if he can pack up his stuff quickly and get moving, it'll take maybe a month or so, four, five weeks, maybe a little longer for Timothy to get this letter, and then it'll take a while for Timothy to get ready, and then it's going to take Timothy to travel all the way back to Rome. And travel in those days was a little slower than it is now. So, you may be looking at a couple of months easy, maybe more.

And here's what he says: Do the best that you can to get here as quickly as you can. I'd like to see you before I die. Paul says, "Demas has abandoned me." That's what the word means. He's abandoned me. You could say it this way if you like, the King James uses the word, "He's forsaken me." So the word, if you want, is abandon or you could use this word if you choose, "He has deserted me personally."

This is a friend of mine. He's been with the ministry a long time and he just packed up and he's gone. What's the old song? "You left me just when I needed you most." He knows he's got God, but he's in prison. He's locked up now and he says, "He abandoned me, he deserted me, he's gone." Basically, he just up and dropped everything and headed to Thessalonica.

Now Thessalonica is, as you look in those days, a pretty good-sized city. A lot to do. Probably made a lot of friends there. They had a ministry there. Paul was there for three weeks. Maybe you didn't hear what I just said. He was there for three and a half weeks, not quite four weeks. And during that time, he told them the gospel, he gave them the Word of God, and he talked about the rapture. And he was only there for less than a month.

Demas is mentioned a couple of times before you read this. You probably recognize his name if you've been reading through your Bible. Paul's letter to Philemon, Paul says that Demas is his fellow laborer. Demas and Luke, my fellow laborers. Those guys, they served the Lord hard with me, shoulder to shoulder, side by side, man, we're serving the Lord. Demas. They served together in the ministry. In his letter to the Colossians, Paul says, "Demas sends his greetings to you guys there. He loves you guys. He talks about you. He wanted me to make sure you knew he said hello." Demas, our fellow laborer.

So, what happened to this guy that was in full-time ministry? What happened to him? He got caught up in the things of this world. He got caught up in the world, the things of the world, the entertainment, the distractions, maybe I don't know, the bright lights. Some people, I don't like big cities, but some people just like big cities. The excitement of the city of Thessalonica. The clubs were jumping, you know, lots of people, lots of fun, lots of party. Maybe he's got a group of friends that when they were there and he's been there a couple of times, maybe he's got some friends and he just kind of wants to run with them. And that's what they're all about. So he's just slowly joining with them. I mean, they're friends. I think some of them even go to the church at Thessalonica, but you know, they get down on the weekends and he's slowly drifting from his service to the Lord.

So, if it can happen to Demas, that means it could happen to me. And if it happens to Demas, that means it could happen to you. It could happen to us just as it could happen to Demas. But Paul says to Timothy, "You know, when you come out here, bring Mark with you. Bring Mark." You see that? Verse 11, "Only Luke is with me. Take Mark and bring him with you, for he is profitable to me for the ministry."

Do you guys remember Mark? This young man, when we met him, we met him in the book of Acts, he was John Mark. And they still called him John Mark every once in a while. He'd be called Mark. But we're looking at John Mark here. Do you remember John Mark? He was a young believer. He went with Paul and Barnabas on their very first missionary journey. Remember that? And it was a little bit of a rough journey. It was. They had some. Go back and read through the book of Acts.

So what happened was John Mark, he got scared. He was afraid. And he left them and went back home. You see, it was too difficult. It was too hard. It was really dangerous. And John Mark just was too afraid. He just ran back home. In the book of Acts chapter 15, they decide to go back and visit some of the churches that they had planted, Barnabas and Paul. And Paul says, "Let's go back. The Lord's laid on my heart," and Barnabas says, "I like it. I think it's really the Lord. Let's go back and visit and see how they're doing."

Barnabas says, "You know what? We've got to take along John Mark." And remember Paul said, "Not in a million years. He's not going with us. No." Why? Because he's unreliable. He could get us all killed quickly. We're not taking him. He's not going on my team. Barnabas says, "Come on, the kid is young, but I think he loves the Lord. I think he'll grow up." Paul says, "He might, but he's not going to grow up on our trip. We're not taking him."

And Barnabas says, "I think we should. I think you're making a mistake." And the Bible says they had such a dispute between them that they parted company. That didn't mean they don't like each other anymore. That just means Barnabas says, "I'm taking the kid." Paul says, "Take him and I don't care where you go. I'm going with Silas. We're going to go this way. We're going to go visit the churches." See, John Mark wasn't ready to go on that second trip, and it would have been dangerous for the team, and Paul was right. Barnabas was right, he is immature, he is young, but he's got a heart and if somebody will put some time into him, this kid's going to be something one of these days.

And here's good news for you and me. John Mark did grow up. He did mature. He did learn to serve. I'm sure it was a little harder for him. He was a little bit slower, but he did learn all these things. He continued to trust the Lord, and after all these years, what did Paul say? "Timothy, when you come down, and you've got to hurry, bring Mark with you." Why? "He's profitable to me for the ministry." You know what? He's grown up. He's matured. He may have been a little slow growing, but by God's grace, John Mark grew up to serve the Lord.

So don't give up on you and don't give up on those around you. I understand, though, there are places that I go—and I don't travel much—but there are places I go I wouldn't take certain people because they'd probably get themselves into trouble if you go into a war zone. You know, they just may not be mature enough. It's nothing personal against them, but I would say, you know, I wouldn't consider certain people. It's just too dangerous. It's just too scary. It's just too hard. And they say, "I'm ready, I could do it!" I'm sure you are, but no, not now.

But one day, if they continue to trust, that's good news for every one of us. Because when others say to you, "You're too immature. You're too slow. You're not dependable," all those things may be true. Some people are just a little blunt, you know what I'm saying? Some people just have a way to hurt you. It's all right. Don't jump ship. Don't give up. Keep on. Keep on walking in God's ways and listen, just like Mark did.

And Paul then reminds us, "I sent Tychicus," another faithful servant of the Lord. "I sent him to Ephesus." Tychicus is probably the one—because where does Timothy pastor? Ephesus. He is the one probably that's carrying this letter to Timothy. He's going to stay there and fill in for Timothy while Timothy hurries back to visit Paul. Right? So he says, "Tychicus I've sent to Ephesus. You'll see him soon."

Well, verse 13, "The cloak that I left at Troas with Carpus, when you come, bring with you. And the books, but especially the parchments." Another thing, this reveals a little bit about Paul's situation. We know it, but he doesn't really say much about it. But we know it now, and here he brings it up. He asks Timothy to bring me my coat. How many coats do you think he had? It looks here to me like he has one and he let someone else use it. "I left my coat with Carpus there at Troas." Paul is saying this: "I'm cold."

He's not a young man anymore. You know, it gets below 80, us old people are cold. Hey, he's cold down there in that Roman dungeon. There were dark, damp cells. They were underground. And so water would seep into the cell because they were underground. It's cold at night. It's damp. And he doesn't have a coat. So he says, "Do me a favor, hurry. And on the way, stop at Troas and grab my coat. Would you bring my coat with you? I'd like you to do that."

And then he says, "Bring the books and the parchments." Many believe that these parchments, the books, would be the Word of God, you know, the law and the Old Testament. But the parchments, some believe, referred to actually the gospels that had been written by this time. And he wanted to have them and wanted to read them. Paul wanted to read through them. So, "Bring my coat and bring me the books and the parchments, please."

"Alexander the coppersmith did me much evil. The Lord reward him according to his works. Of whom be thou ware also, for he has greatly withstood our words, our preaching, our teaching." Alexander the coppersmith—you and I might say metalworker. Alexander really did me a lot of harm. He hurt me. He hurt the ministry. He was a real problem.

Paul doesn't say, "And I want to get that guy. I'm going to die, but you get him for me, man. Find a way to get that guy." No, Paul does not want revenge. He says, "You know what? I'll leave it with the Lord. Let the Lord take care of every bit of that. Let the Lord handle him." Paul has not forgotten, but at the same time, he is not carrying some kind of bitterness, some deep-seated anger, some kind of grudge. He leaves it in the Lord's hands.

So a lesson for me, a lesson for you, for us: Don't carry it with you. You may not forget it. Paul hasn't forgotten it. But he says, "Alexander, man, he was mean. He hurt me. He hurt the ministry. Take care of that little problem. Let's just let the Lord." I know what he would want first and foremost for Alexander is that Alexander would come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ, but I'll leave that with God.

And you know, some people say this, "Well, if he's not bitter about it, upset about it, angry about it, then why does he even bring up Alexander right here?" These are the last recorded words of the Apostle Paul before he dies, his swan song. Why would he bring up Alexander if he wasn't carrying some kind of grudge, if he wasn't carrying some kind of bitterness or some kind of anger deep down inside? Good question.

And he answers it right here, verse 15. "I bring him up because I want you to be aware. For he greatly withstood our words." You see, he's not saying, "Alexander, man, I hate that guy. I hope he gets what he's got coming to him and I hope you get him." No, he's saying, "Let's just leave that with the Lord. I'm bringing him up for this reason: Timothy, I love you. You need to watch out for him. If he hasn't changed, watch out for that man. He stands against the Word of God. He stands against the word that you and I preach. He fights it. He doesn't want it. So I love you, man, and I just want to remind you: Watch out."

Verse 16, Paul says, "You know, at my first answer, no man stood with me, but all men forsook me. I pray God it may not be laid to their charge. I pray that the Lord won't hold them accountable for that. 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 it. And I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion. And 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."

He's referring to his preliminary hearing right there. This is the second time he's been imprisoned in Rome. And when they held his preliminary hearing, "I stood there and no one was with me. No one came to my defense. There are the prosecution over here and they got all their witnesses and there's a big crowd of them and me, I'm standing all alone. No one came to my defense."

And he says, "I'm not mad at them. I understand it. I ask the Lord not to hold them accountable or not to hold that against them." What did Jesus say? "Father forgive them, they don't know what they're doing." See the heart attitude? Paul understands that they were afraid. That means he's telling you and me he had an awareness of the very presence of Jesus Christ the Lord standing right there with him. He said, "All the guys are gone, but I'm not alone. The Lord's right here." You know it. You've been a Christian, you've known that. You just know, I just know the Lord is present. I know it. How do you know? I just know. You just know His presence.

And then he says this, "The Lord delivered me out of the mouth of the lion." Here's what he means: I've been through every bit of this. This is my second time in Rome in prison. I'm still here today by God's mercy and God's grace, according to God's will and God's plan. He's delivered me out of the mouth of the lion and He's going to continue to deliver me. Do you know Paul expected to be raptured? He said it, "Then we which are alive and remain will be caught up." He expected to be raptured.

And he's thinking this, whether I get raptured or whether He delivers me by cutting my head off or if I die of old age, it doesn't matter. Whatever the Lord chooses for me, he says, "I know He'll deliver me. He's delivered me from the lion's mouth this far. I know He'll deliver me." But whatever happens to us, He is our God and we serve and we worship Him. He'll do what He's going to do and what He's going to do is fine with us.

And you know what? Maybe He'll rapture us. Maybe He'll let them cut my head off or maybe something will happen, I'll go free and die an old person of old age. Whatever happens, I'm just going to tell the whole world how it happened. The Lord delivered me and He's going to continue to deliver me, no matter what happens. And here's what he's saying: I know I'm going to be standing in the very presence of Jesus Christ there in His eternal kingdom. I know He'll get me there by His power, His mercy, His grace, His promises. Jesus gets all the glory, he says, forever and ever, Amen.

However God chooses to do it is how God chooses to do it. And it's always a surprise to us because God never moves early. He moves when it's right on time, just in the ta-da nick of time. That's how God does it. So you'd better hurry, better hurry, you're going to be late. Oh, you're not late. Thank you.

Verse 19, "Salute Prisca, Priscilla and Aquila, and the household of Onesiphorus. Erastus abode at Corinth, but Trophimus I left at Miletum sick. Do thy diligence to come before winter." Second time now in these verses, hurry and get here, I want to see you. "Eubulus greets thee, and Pudens, and Linus, and Claudia, and all the brethren." Remember there's a church in Rome now because of Paul. "The Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Grace be with you, Amen."

That's how he ends it. Paul's final farewell. He has shown us his heart. He has shown us that he really was just a guy, just like all the rest of us, a human who did have feelings and did have issues. And he was a real live person, not just a Bible character. He's just like us. And he went on through it and he gave God all the credit and he knows it was God that did it all.

And he says, "Priscilla and Aquila, say hi to them for me. I'll probably see them in heaven. I won't see them down here. Say hi to them for me." Do you remember that couple? One thing I liked about Priscilla and Aquila—sometimes it's Aquila and Priscilla—it's a man and his wife. What I liked about it is everywhere they moved to, they had a church at their house.

Then he says, "Say hi to them. Say hi to Onesiphorus and make sure you say hi to Erastus. He stayed over there at Corinth. Say hi to him. Get a message over to him for me. Check on Trophimus. I had to leave him there at Miletum because he was so sick." He was so sick, the language means, he couldn't travel. He had to be left there. Man, Paul prayed for people and demons were cast out. He prayed for people and they were healed. He prayed for people and there were—risen from the dead! Eutychus fell out a window and Paul prayed for him and raised him from the dead. He went back and finished their Bible study. Remember that?

Where was his faith? How come he didn't? What about Trophimus? Where was Paul's faith then? Was he getting too old? Don't you understand? It's the Lord who does the healing and it's the Lord who does the healing for His purposes in His time. Don't you believe that Paul prayed for Trophimus when Trophimus was that sick? I do. But he said, "I had to leave him. We had to continue on our trip." Sounds like he maybe be doing better now, just please say hello to him.

And then he says it again: "Try your hardest to get here before winter. If I'm cold now and need my coat, do your best to get here. If it's cold now, it's going to be freezing when winter comes, especially without a coat in a damp dungeon. Would you hurry?" Then he says, "The believers in Rome say hello to you. Eubulus, Pudens, Linus, Claudia." And then he says, "The whole church family right here. Everybody says hi to you, Timothy."

And then he ends it this way: "The Lord Jesus Christ be with you." And I love his final recorded words: "Grace." It is grace. How did I get saved? What did he say? "Grace be with you." Unearned, undeserved mercy, kindness, forgiveness, love. It's grace. Do you understand that we didn't know we were lost and He came and got us? Do you remember He says to His disciples, "Truth is, guys, I love you. You didn't choose Me, I chose you"?

I didn't know I was lost. People said, "You're lost." I go, "I'm right where I'm at." But then one day I was found and I thought, "Wow, I was headed for hell, didn't even realize it." Now I'm headed for heaven by God's grace alone, not by any works of righteousness I have ever done. But I get to go to heaven and be in the presence of God Almighty and Jesus Christ for all eternity.

And when we've been there a billion years and someone comes up shocked that you are there—because they will, it'll take them that long—Jesus Christ died for me and He rose again. He shed His blood. And after we've been there forever and ever and then even longer, we'll always remember how we got there. "I was really good! I did everything, I gave a whole lot of money! Everybody loved me! That's how I got here!" Really? Liar. Jesus Christ has been crucified. What's the word? Grace.

"Grace be with you," and he says, "Amen." Amen means literally, "So let it be that way. Let it be always that way. Amen." We end this book and I love these last few. We started in verse 9. I just love it because we're listening to Paul. This is coming directly from his own heart now. "I want you to say hi to so-and-so. I want you to be careful and watch out for so-and-so. And I really would love to see you if it's at all possible, so hurry and see if you could get here, if you can at all, before winter. And you know what? It's all Jesus Christ. It's all Jesus Christ. The Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Grace."

Guest (Male): Thank you for listening to Apply Within with Pastor Bob Davis. Apply Within is a radio outreach ministry of North Country Chapel. Our Sunday morning Bible studies are 9:00 and 11:00 a.m. We also have a Friday evening Bible study at 7:00 p.m. and a Monday evening Bible study at 7:00 p.m. You can download today's message in its entirety at NorthCountryChapel.com/studies. That's NorthCountryChapel.com/studies.

If you would like a copy of today's message, write to us and ask for the message with today's date. The address is Apply Within, 2281 West Seltice, Post Falls, Idaho 83854 or call us at 1-800-572-8851. That number again: 1-800-572-8851. Our mobile app is available for iPhone and Android. Download it to listen to full-length studies, watch the livestream of our services, or to find out more about church events. If you have been blessed by the teaching or have prayer requests that you would like to share with us, write, email, or call us as well. Please join with us every Monday through Friday as we study together verse-by-verse on Apply Within, sponsored by North Country Chapel. God bless you.