Somebody Loves You

Raul Ries: May God help us to count on the Lord and to be with the Lord, and to realize that apart from Him, we can't really do anything. It is only in the Lord that I can succeed and become what He wants me to be as I come in submission to the lordship of Jesus Christ and say, "Lord, here is my life. I give you all of my life. You do as you please, oh God."

Guest (Male): Welcome to Somebody Loves You Radio, the Bible teaching ministry of Raul Ries in Diamond Bar, California. Today's message concludes Raul's in-depth study of Second Timothy, and it's good to have you along. You know, the Apostle Paul wrote this letter from a prison cell not long before his execution, yet in his closing remarks, it's clear that his faith is steadfast.

His focus is unwavering as he uses every last opportunity to point others to God's love and compassion. Today's lesson is titled, "Keep Being Diligent and Faithful." Here's Raul Ries in Second Timothy, chapter four, beginning in verse nine.

Raul Ries: Paul the Apostle was not only a chosen vessel of God, but God truly chose him for such a time as when Paul the Apostle lived because Paul the Apostle was very needed at this particular time. Number one, because he was a chosen vessel of God. But number two, because Paul the Apostle was a theologian. He had been studying under Gamaliel and he had learned so many things about the Bible, especially the Old Testament.

God just seemed to save Paul on his way to Damascus as he was going to persecute Christians. His day came when Jesus came to him and converted him, and Paul the Apostle was never, ever the same ever again. He became a missionary to the Gentiles. According to the scriptures, he gave us three missionary journeys. Then he became a lover of Israel. He always wanted to go to the Jews, always wanted to preach to the Jews. Finally, he went and he was rejected by the Jews. God had called him to preach to the Gentiles.

Then Paul the Apostle was a mighty prayer warrior. He never, ever stopped praying. He was always in prayer for someone or for the church. Then Paul the Apostle was a very tactical Christian. He knew how to use the armor of God and how to stand in God's army. Paul the Apostle also became a great zealous preacher. He was one of the greatest preachers that ever preached in the history of mankind.

He preached more sermons to Gentile and Jew, and he saw many, many people come to know the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul the Apostle also was a respected co-worker. Wherever he went and made disciples, they fell in love with Paul. But at the same time, many other people hated Paul for what he stood for and the way he preached the gospel. Yet Paul the Apostle stood upon God's truth and God's grace and love and mercy when he proclaimed it.

Paul was one of the great teachers of the Bible as he taught the Word of God and instructed God's people. He also was a faithful steward of God's things that God had given to him. Paul the Apostle wasn't rich, but whatever he had, he always made the best of it and used it for the kingdom of God. He never begged for funds. He was a tentmaker; he made tents. Then he preached the gospel of Jesus Christ. The saints also gave offerings to him to take to the poor in Jerusalem, so we see him as a great steward.

Paul the Apostle also was a consistent example of Christ. He imitated Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior. Of course, Paul the Apostle was a compassionate soul winner, a compassionate soul winner. Wherever Paul went, especially when Paul became old and he was arrested by Caesar Nero, Paul the Apostle every four hours was chained to a Roman centurion. Paul the Apostle would share the gospel of Jesus Christ, and in some of his letters, he says "hi" to those in Caesar's house. Those that have come to know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, he says, "I'm saying hi to you that are there in Caesar's house."

I can hardly wait when I get to heaven to meet Paul the Apostle, one of my favorite guys that I want to meet because Paul the Apostle was surely sold out for the gospel of Jesus Christ. Now in this fourth chapter of Second Timothy, he's coming to the end of his life. The sad news is that everybody has abandoned him. It's sad. Everybody has left him alone.

I find it interesting as I was reading this story and as I was going over my lesson this evening and yesterday morning, that many times when I have been able to visit these old people's homes, retirement homes, it's pretty amazing when you walk through the hallways and you look into the rooms of these old people. They have the doctors, they have the nurses, they have the assistants. Then as you walk around in the evenings, you see some of the people coming in with their relatives or friends to meet with them and to talk with them and to visit with them.

But then at the same time, as you're walking through the hallways into the courtyard, you begin to see that there are those old people that also have outlived all of their children and their grandchildren and they have no one. Then you have another class of people that have been abandoned by their families. They never visit them, never really come to see how they're doing. They're left all alone in those homes, and all they do is wait for death to come.

May we not only become compassionate but understand that one day we're going to be old and that one day you might be in that retirement home. The Bible says we sow and we reap. Whatever a man soweth, that shall he reap. It's really important to continue to be compassionate, to be kind, to be forgiving, to be loving.

True Christianity is not what you get, but what you give of yourself and how you treat people. It's all about four words: Love. L-O-V-E. Loving people. Because if you love, you will be loved back. Paul the Apostle was such a man that he had given so much to so many people. He had met so many people in the ministry.

Timothy was called by Paul. Paul said, "Timothy, I want you to come and be with me by my side right before I die. I want to see you." He really loved Timothy. Timothy was struggling, and he's trying to teach Timothy. "Timothy, there's nothing out there but the kingdom of God. God is first. He has to be first."

Look what he says to Timothy in verse nine. The title is "Keep Being Diligent and Faithful." Paul struggles here and he's looking for friends. Now Paul gets to some practical things that he'll share with us. He mentions a lot of people's names right before he dies, and I love his last words. He says, "Be diligent to come to me quickly."

Timothy, literally what he's saying, "Timothy, hurry up. Time is short. I can see the blade, man. I can hear them already filing down, getting ready to cut my head. You better hurry up." Paul was remembering everything that God had given and done for him. Now he's asking Timothy to come to him because time is running out. "I need to see you. I'm lonely. Everyone's deserted me. But I'm here with the Lord." Paul had been left all alone in that prison.

Notice in verse 10, he says, "For Demas has forsaken me," or abandoned me. How sad. How sad that you could have people that you know and that they have sat with you and they have fellowshiped with you and they have even broken bread with you, and then one day they get up and they abandon you. Loved ones and friends, it happens to everyone. It happened to Paul.

Somehow we don't know how, but Demas, he's actually spoken of in Colossians 4:14 and Second Timothy 4:10 here. His name means in the Greek "popular." Somehow he forsook Paul the Apostle. He forsook Paul the Apostle as we have seen so many people in Calvary Chapel forsake the Lord because of this present world, materialism. The things of the world rather than the things of the Lord. Totally have come back into the world, forsaken the Lord completely, forsaken Christian fellowship.

Demas was one of them that had come to a place in his life knowing the Lord and experiencing and tasted of the goodness of God that one day he just got up and he forsook everything and abandoned Paul and abandoned the gospel of Jesus Christ and went back into the world.

Guest (Male): This is Somebody Loves You Radio with Raul Ries. Visit us anytime at SomebodyLovesYou.com for a wealth of resources to strengthen and direct you on your spiritual journey. You can also download our free app to enjoy livestreamed Bible teaching, digital studies, and much more. Now back to more with Raul Ries.

Raul Ries: Notice what it says. "And Demas has forsaken me, having loved this present world, and has departed for Thessalonica—Crescens for Galatia, Titus for Dalmatia." Somehow Demas had left the Lord because of something that he saw, an attraction, whatever it may be.

It's so sad because I have seen so many young people leave the church for a woman, or a young woman for a man, or for a new job or money or position, or whatever it may be. They put everything on the line, even their own families, just to get up the ladder and to become successful and at the same time leave the Lord behind and put everything else in front of them and then eventually forsake the Lord.

May God help us never to do that. May God help us to count on the Lord and to be with the Lord and to realize that apart from Him, we can't really do anything. It is only in the Lord that I can succeed and become what He wants me to be as I come in submission to the lordship of Jesus Christ and say, "Lord, here is my life. I give you all of my life. You do as you please, oh God."

It doesn't mean that I can't get educated, doesn't mean I can't get a job. Yes. But everything that I do, I align myself with God's perfect will for my life. I want the blessing and the peace in my life, that God is with me in what I'm doing and where I'm heading and what I'm going to do in the future.

Demas somehow didn't count the cost. He came to the place where he forsook all the body of Christ, he forsook all his friends. He forsook Paul. What's interesting here is that he talks about Demas and Crescens. Crescens here is really unknown. His name means "increasing."

Then Titus means "pleasant," pleasant. He's the one that gave us the three chapters in the book of Titus which we'll study about bishops and overseers. Then he says in verse 11 there's another one. He says, "Only Luke is with me." Luke, the one that gave us the Gospel of Luke and the Book of Acts, the physician. He was with Paul.

Now he wants Timothy to come. "Timothy come, because here my personal physician is with me." He says, "Only Luke is with me." He says, "And get Mark and bring him with you, for he is useful to me for the ministry." Wait a minute, what is Paul doing? Mark broke away from Paul, remember, in Acts chapter 13 when Paul and Barnabas got in a conflict because Barnabas's nephew Mark, John Mark, didn't want to go with Paul. So Paul said, "I'm not taking him. If he's that weak, I'm not taking him." So Paul and Barnabas got in a little fight, a scrum, and they separated. They both went their own way and Barnabas took Mark and Paul went with somebody else.

But now Paul says, "Mark is good. Mark is ready, he's matured. I want you to bring Mark." Notice that. "Bring Mark with you, for he is useful to me for the ministry." What is Paul doing? At the end of his life, he wants to make sure that everything is right before the Lord and before man. How we need to make sure everything's cool with everybody before we die. To make sure that we don't leave any loose ends. That we say we're sorry to those that we hurt. Those that have hurt us, we need to forgive them. If they don't forgive us, that's between them and God.

But here Paul now is saying, "I love Luke, he's with me. And now I want you to bring Mark." His name means "a large hammer" in the Greek. "Bring him with you, for he is useful to me for the ministry." Notice that. "I want to use him in the ministry because he now I can use him. I know he's matured. I know he's learned his lessons."

Then he goes on to say in verse 12, "And Tychicus I have sent to Ephesus." His name means "fortune," another co-worker with Paul. He was a native of Asia Minor and a companion of Paul in his last missionary journey to Jerusalem. He says, "And then bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at Troas, when you come." "Hey, bring my long, long sleeveless garment because I'm freezing in here," Paul says.

"And when you come," he says, "bring me the books." I love Paul. "Hey, I want my Bible with me. I want my Bible with me. I want to be able to read my scriptures." Imagine that. The word books here is literally the Old Testament scriptures. He says, "especially the parchments." That means the papyrus paper, the scrolls. They didn't have Bibles like we have. "Bring me the scrolls, Timothy. Man, I want to have them next to me so that when I go, I'm going to have the Word of God with me."

The importance of the Word of God in our lives. Studying it, reading it, meditating upon it, memorizing it. One day we might need it. One day we might not have the Word of God, but surely if it's in our hearts and our minds, then we can quote it and we can live by it. But here I love this priority in Paul's life. The most important thing I want is the Bible. Bring me my Bible. I want to read the scriptures.

Verse 14. "Alexander the coppersmith did me much harm." Paul here is literally talking about this guy that gave him a bad time, seeking revenge against Paul. "Alexander the coppersmith did me much harm. May the Lord repay him according to his works." Whoops, what are you saying, Paul? I mean, he's not really seeking revenge. He is saying, "Hey, the Lord's going to take care of him. I leave him in God's hands." I love Paul. "I leave him in God's hands. God is the best one that can judge him, so I leave him in His hands. He did me a lot of harm, but God is going to judge him one day."

Verse 15. "You also must beware of him, for he has greatly resisted our words." Notice that. He resisted what? The Word of God. He did not want them to share the gospel of Jesus Christ. There are people that are very antagonistic like this man that don't want you to share the gospel of Jesus Christ with their families or friends. Yet Paul says God will take care of him.

Verse 16. Notice. "At my first defense no one stood with me." Imagine that. Nobody stood with me. So who did he trust in? The Lord. I mean, if man fails you, God will never fail you. You've got to put your trust in the Lord. In tough times, the only one you can really, truly depend is on the Lord. Not even your children, not even your wife or your husband. You have to trust in the Lord because we're all human. We're all imperfect beings.

Paul says here, "At my first defense no one stood with me, but all forsook me." Just like Jesus and the disciples forsook Him. He says, "Everybody forsook me. May it not be charged against them." What is Paul saying? "I forgive you. I've forgiven them all."

"But the Lord stood with me." I love that. Underline that. You didn't stand with me, but the Lord was there. "But the Lord stood with me and strengthened me." I love that. In a moment of weakness, if I have to stand before a trial or a judge or in prison, whatever it is, who stands by me? The Lord. Those that are in prison today and have come to know the Lord Jesus Christ in prison, even though they've committed the crime, God has forgiven them if they're truly repented. The Lord will be with them. The Lord will strengthen them. They're not alone. Yes, they have to pay for their sin, but the Lord is with them, just like the Lord is with you and the Lord is with me.

Look what he says. He always is with us. "But the Lord stood with me and strengthened me, so that the message might be preached fully through me." He says the Lord gave me the power to preach as I was standing before Agrippa. I gave him the full gospel and he never came to know the Lord. Paul said, "Paul, you almost make me a Christian. Paul, you're going insane. Are you crazy or something?" That's what he said to him. He gave him the opportunity.

Imagine standing before—they say in history that when Paul stood before Caesar Nero, Caesar Nero became so mad at Paul's witness that Caesar Nero at that point in time became demon possessed, and he burned Rome down and blamed it on the Christians. Imagine, so mad. Now Caesar Nero is going to take his head off. Paul, you're dead.

Before that, God stood for Paul and preserved him. Now it's time to go home, Paul. He says, "I preached fully through me, and that all the Gentiles might hear. And I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion." You see who's the lion? Satan. God delivered me from the lion's mouth. Why? Because Satan is a deceiver. He's the father of lies. He's the adversary. Deceiver according to Revelations 12:9. Fathers of lies, John 8:44. Adversary, First Peter 5:9.

Yet at the same time, notice what he's saying. "I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion," which means what? God will keep you and hold you until the end. Satan cannot do anything to you unless God allows it. Unless God allows it. I love that. He can't touch you. You're in the hands of God.

Paul says here, finally, "I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion. But now it's time for me to leave. And the Lord will deliver me," verse 18, "from every evil work and preserve me for His heavenly kingdom." Isn't that beautiful? "He will preserve me for His heavenly kingdom."

Notice now how beautiful this is. Paul's confidence in the Lord. God's preservation over my life in the Lord. Who preserves me? The Lord. He's my preserver. He's the one that watches over me. Then notice what Paul does. He breaks into praise while he is really filthy in prison, alone, lonely, rats running all over the place. He says, "To Him be glory forever and ever. Amen." Paul the Apostle, my friends, the greatest apostle of all apostles, there in Rome on his knees before God.

Guest (Male): It's clear that the Apostle Paul provides a compelling example of a life well-lived for the Lord Jesus, considering others before himself and putting God's agenda before his own. You're listening to Somebody Loves You Radio with Raul Ries. If you'd like to hear today's lesson in its complete form, we'll be happy to send an unedited version to you for a donation of five dollars or more. Simply call 800-634-9165 and ask for Raul's teaching titled, "Keep Being Diligent and Faithful."

Now, as you think about how you might order your life for more Kingdom-building service, we'd like to tell you about Raul's entire Second Timothy study. This collection of 11 messages is available on both CD and USB, providing helpful insight into what it takes to go all-in for God. You'll get a challenge to spend more personal time in the Word and in prayer as you reset your priorities and look to the Lord for strength in every trial.

To order Raul's 11-lesson Second Timothy series, visit SomebodyLovesYou.com or call 800-634-9165. We'll send you the CD set for $24 or the thumb drive for $15. That's 800-634-9165. Or you can write to Somebody Loves You Radio, Post Office Box 4440, Diamond Bar, California 91765. Your tax-deductible contributions help us keep sharing wisdom and encouragement from God's Word, and we are thankful for your partnership.

Join us next time for a heart-lifting new series celebrating the passion and power of Jesus' sacrifice on the cross. In these days leading up to Easter, we'll discover more reasons to respond to our Savior with faith, hope, and humility. Here's Raul once again with a final word from Second Timothy.

Raul Ries: He says, by the way you guys, "Greet Priscilla and Aquila," my great friends, husband and wife team, tentmakers. "And the household of Onesiphorus." He means profitable bringer, his name Onesiphorus. "Erastus stayed in Corinth, and Trophimus I have left in Miletus sick." Can you imagine? This guy is dying and he's mentioning all these people. A true caring saint of God, Paul the Apostle.

"Do your utmost to come before winter! Eubulus greets you," and then he gives three Latin names, "Pudens, Linus, and Claudia, and all the brethren." "Don't forget them," he says. "These are my friends. These are my new friends. I want to say goodbye to you too." Then check this out, the last words of Paul: "The Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Grace be with you. Amen." It is done. Those are the last words of Paul the Apostle.

Guest (Male): This program is sponsored by Somebody Loves You Radio in Diamond Bar, California.