Please turn in your Bibles this morning to II Timothy chapter 4 as we look at the ministry of Paul coming to an end, he is being called home! Now what makes a person qualified to serve in the first place? Was Paul even qualified to serve? I have received a very confidential report on several candidates who were being considered for the pastorate, and I think you will see why they came up short. The report goes as follows:
ADAM: Good man but problems with his wife. Also one reference told of how his wife and he enjoy walking nude in the woods.
NOAH: Former pastorate for 120 years with not even one convert. Prone to unrealistic building projects.
ABRAHAM: Though the references reported wife-swapping, the facts seem to show he never slept with another man’s wife, but did offer to share his own wife with another man.
JOSEPH: A big thinker, but a braggart, believes in dream-interpreting, and has a prison record.
MOSES: A modest and meek man, but poor communicator, even stuttering at times. Sometimes blows his stack and acts rashly. Some say he left an earlier church over a murder charge.
DAVID: The most promising leader of all until we discovered the affair he had with his neighbor’s wife.
SOLOMON: Great preacher but our parsonage would never hold all those wives.
ELIJAH: Prone to depression. Collapses under pressure.
ELISHA: Reported to have lived with a single widow while at his former church.
HOSEA: A tender and loving pastor but our people could never handle his wife’s occupation.
DEBORAH: Strong leader and seems to be anointed, but she is female.
JEREMIAH: Emotionally unstable, alarmist, negative, always lamenting things, reported to have taken a long trip to bury his underwear on the bank of a foreign river.
ISAIAH: On the fringe? Claims to have seen angels in church. Has trouble with his language.
JONAH: Refused God’s call into ministry until he was forced to obey by getting swallowed up by a great fish. He told us the fish later spit him out on the shore near here. We hung up.
AMOS: Too backward and unpolished. With some seminary training he might have promise, but has a hang-up against wealthy people – might fit in better in a poor congregation.
MELCHIZEDEK: Great credentials at current work place, but where does this guy come from? No information on his resume about former work records. Every line about parents was left blank and he refused to supply a birth date. (This aside from Les: Ancient Jewish tradition has it that Melchizedek is really Shem. If you check out the lifespan of Shem in the Bible, it seems to be true!)
JOHN: Says he is a Baptist, but definitely doesn’t dress like one. Has slept in the outdoors for months on end, has a weird diet, and provokes denominational leaders.
PETER: Too blue collar. Has a bad temper – even has been known to curse. Had a big run-in with Paul in Antioch. Aggressive, but a loose cannon.
PAUL: Powerful CEO type leader and fascinating preacher. However, short on tact, unforgiving with younger ministers, harsh and has been known to preach all night.
JAMES & JOHN: Package deal preacher & associate seemed good at first, but found out they have an ego problem regarding other fellow workers and seating positions. Threatened an entire town after an insult. Also known to try to discourage workers who didn’t follow along with them.
TIMOTHY: Too young!
METHUSELAH: Too old . . . WAY too old!
JESUS: Had popular times, but once his church grew to 5000 he managed to offend them all, and then this church dwindled down to twelve people. Seldom stays in one place very long. And, of course, he’s single.
JUDAS: His references are solid. A steady plodder. Conservative. Good connections. Knows how to handle money. We’re inviting him to preach this Sunday. Possibilities here.
- getfed.com
That obviously is a little tongue in cheek, but it is how the world and some Christians view not only pastors but also fellow servants, and that is wrong. If God were looking for perfect people, He would still be looking. God is looking for available people, faith people whose hearts are in love with Him and that was Paul and his ministry, and like any ministry, his was a calling by God!
As we have seen in our study in II Timothy, Paul is in the Mamertime prison in Rome waiting to be martyred for his faith in Christ. And this second letter to Timothy is his last letter we have of Paul. Thus, Paul’s words are important, but not all last words are. Let me explain:
“On his deathbed, Napoleon said, ‘I die before the fate which so soon awaits the great Napoleon.’ Not long before he died, Gandhi, the world-renowned Hindu religious leader, confessed, ‘My days are numbered. I am not likely to live very long – perhaps a year or a little more. For the first time in fifty years I find myself in a slough of despond. All about me is darkness. I am praying for light.’ The nineteenth century French statesman Talleyrand wrote the following words on a piece of paper and laid it on a nightstand near his bed: ‘Behold, eighty three years passed away! What cares! What agitation! What anxieties! What ill-will! What sad complications! And all without other results, except great fatigue of mind and body, and a profound sentiment of discouragement with regard to the future, and of disquiet with regard to the past!”
“How different are the words of Paul as he neared the end of his earthly life. They are a triumphant epitaph. Some thirty years after his encounter with Christ on the Damascus Road, in every regard that matters he was without regret or remorse. With an economy of words known only to a Holy Spirit – inspired writer, he not only affirms his own spiritual triumph but also offers forceful motivation for every believer to live a life of faithful service to Christ.”
- John MacArthur
This morning we are going to examine these words of Paul as he looks back over his life and is giving to Timothy so that he may steady the course and follow in Paul’s footsteps. With that said, let’s begin reading in II Timothy chapter 4, starting in verse 6 and see what the Lord has for us this morning.
During Paul’s first imprisonment in Rome, he wrote the Philippians and said, “For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain. But if I live on in the flesh, this will mean fruit from my labor; yet what I shall choose I cannot tell. For I am hard-pressed between the two, having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better. Nevertheless to remain in the flesh is more needful for you. And being confident of this, I know that I shall remain and continue with you all for your progress and joy of faith, that your rejoicing for me may be more abundant in Jesus Christ by my coming to you again.” Paul felt that he would be released from his first imprisonment and he was!
But now things were very different. His life that was lived as a living sacrifice unto the Lord was now ending as a drink offering or as a final offering unto the Lord, (Numbers 15:1-10). Paul speaks of his departure or the loosing of the moors of a ship, pulling up anchor and setting sail for heaven. Now, in knowing that he doesn’t have long to live, he looks back over his life and examines how he did, not just to boast but to encourage Timothy to do the same as well as us. Paul makes three points and then he draws his conclusions on how this life he lived will be looked upon by God, his rewards for faithful service! So let’s look at these three things and then we will sum it all up to help us in our walk with the Lord.
1. FOUGHT THE GOOD FIGHT
As Paul looked back on his life with the Lord, he realized that he fought a good fight and he did well. I saw a boxing match once where a guy was not fighting a good fight. He was getting creamed as his opponent had him boxed in a corner and he was like a punching bag. Then, all of a sudden, out of nowhere came this man’s mom to help him fight, and she started hitting this guy with her purse! It is not a good fight when you have to have your mother come in and help you like that! Don’t let things box you in so Satan can beat up on you!
You see, the fight I think Paul is speaking of here is the fight against the flesh nature that tries to rise up from time-to-time and disqualify us from service just as that boxer was disqualified because his mom got into the ring and was fighting with him. Paul makes that point in I Corinthians 9:24-27 as he said, “Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it. And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown. Therefore I run thus: not with uncertainty. Thus I fight: not as one who beats the air. But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified.”
God used Paul mightily and in that the flesh loves to rise up, pride can grow and before you know it you are doing something or are getting involved with something that will put you on the shelf for God, a vessel of dishonor you might say. That was the point that Paul was making in II Timothy 2:20-22, “But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay, some for honor and some for dishonor. Therefore if anyone cleanses himself from the latter, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified and useful for the Master, prepared for every good work. Flee also youthful lusts; but pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.” Paul lived and ended his life as a vessel of honor for the Lord, set apart and used mightily by the Master!
Stan Mikita was a professional hockey player with the Chicago Black Hawks and he use to get in a lot of fights during the games. He stopped when his eight-year-old daughter asked him a very grown-up question: “How can you score goals when you’re always in the penalty box, Daddy?” And we can’t serve the Lord if we are on the shelf!
God is calling us to fight the good fight, don’t give up, don’t give in but discipline your body, set it apart to be used by God, be open to the Holy Spirit’s direction and don’t quench or hinder what the Holy Spirit is doing in your life!
Paul, in Romans chapter 7 gives us a glimpse into his own life’s struggles and he tells us starting in verse 15, “For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do. If, then, I do what I will not to do, I agree with the law that it is good. But now, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find. For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice. Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. I find then a law, that evil is present with me, the one who wills to do good. For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man. But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?” Romans 7:15-24.
You see, we can’t do it on our own, but who can deliver us from this? Only Jesus as we submit our lives to His Spirit, give our lives to Him as a living sacrifice, that is how we can fight the good fight!
2. FINISHED THE RACE
As Christians we need to remember that the Christian faith, our life is not a sprint but a long distance race you must endure! In distance races there are those runners who are called “rabbits.” Their function is to start out fast to try to get the other runners to follow them, to keep up with them. They are not going to finish the race that fast, if they finish at all, but in doing this they are paving the way for their teammates to win the race!
Many Christians are like that. They are so busy, doing all these things, at every Bible study and in a few months you never see them again. They might have gone out in a blaze of glory, but they went out! They didn’t finish the race! Over the Fourth of July we see some awesome fireworks that light up the sky and yet, they only last for a few seconds and then they are gone, burned up!
As a distance runner, especially if I am just getting in shape again, I keep putting one foot in front of the other because I know, as tired as I am, that if I stop, I won’t get started again. Paul was a man on the move, he was in the race for the long haul, he was in to finish! And maybe Paul had in mind here the event in the Olympic Games, a race. You see, the winner was not the one who finished first, as you would think. No, the winner was the runner who finished with his torch still lit! Paul finished the race burning bright for Jesus, may we do the same!
Another race that Paul might have in mind here is the Marathon. How did this get started in the first place? In 490 B.C. the Athenians won a crucial and decisive battle over the forces of King Darius I of Persia on a plain near the small Greek costal village of Marathon. One of the Greek soldiers ran nonstop from the battlefield to Athens to carry the news of victory. But he ran with such unreserved effort that he fell dead at the feet of those to whom he delivered the message. The marathon races that are so popular today are named for that battlefield. They also are a tribute to that soldier, the length of the run being based on the approximate distance (just over 26 miles) he ran with maximum effort for his country. He had completed his course, and there is no nobler way for a man to die. Paul ran that way; he is encouraging Timothy and us to do no less, to finish the race!
In Hebrews 12:1-2 we are told, “Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” The point is simple, we are to run the race we are in with endurance, not letting the things of this world entangle us or weigh us down. Our eyes are to be focused on Jesus who is not only the author of our faith, but the finisher of our faith. So we are to run with ENDURANCE!
In Galatians 5:7 Paul tells us, “You ran well. Who hindered you from obeying the truth?” In other words we are to run with steadfastness, we are to obey the Lord and not let things keep us from finishing the work, finishing the race we are in. God shows us the course we are to run one step at a time and the Devil, using man as his instruments, shows us a detour. It is our choice but one leads to God and the other away from God! We are to be STEADFAST in this race!
We have looked at these verses already, but lets read them again. In I Corinthians 9:24-27 Paul tells us, “Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it. And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown. Therefore I run thus: not with uncertainty. Thus I fight: not as one who beats the air. But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified.” You have to be focused, you have to know where you are going, who you are fighting, and you need to know who you are following! You see, we must be FOCUSED in the race we are in!
Paul was a man who started out right, and that of course is important. He not only started out well but he also ended well and that is just as important. A great example of a man who finished well, he had endurance, a steadfastness, he was focused was the protestant theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer. We are told that:
At the height of WWII, Protestant theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer was imprisoned for taking a stand against Hitler. Yet he continued to urge fellow believers to resist Nazi tyranny. A group of Christians, believing that Hitler was the Antichrist, asked Bonhoeffer, “Why do you expose yourself to all this danger? Jesus will return any day, and all your work and suffering will be for nothing.” Bonhoeffer replied, “If Jesus returns tomorrow, then tomorrow I’ll rest from my labor. But today I have work to do. I must continue the struggle until it’s finished.”
- Our Daily Bread, 11-10-91
We can finish the race we are in if we keep our eyes focused on Jesus and keep walking forward, keep moving as Paul did and is encouraging Timothy to do the same, to finish the race!
3. KEPT THE FAITH
Faith is trusting in God, resting your whole weight upon Him. And here is the thing about faith, it doesn’t operate in the realm of the possible, if it did, it truly would not be faith. You see, if I can accomplish something all on my own, by my own efforts, then I wouldn’t need God. Faith truly begins when man’s power ends! Faith is trusting an unknown outcome to a knowing God. It is believing that what God has promised He is more than able to bring to pass! And folks, it is not faith in our faith, or faith in anything or anyone as long as you are sincere, but faith in the true and living God. Let me explain with this true story:
In April 1988 the evening news reported on a photographer who was a skydiver. He had jumped from a plane along with numerous other skydivers and filmed the group as they fell and opened their parachutes. On the film shown on the telecast, as the final skydiver opened his chute, the picture went berserk. The announcer reported that the cameraman had fallen to his death, having jumped out of the plane without his parachute. It wasn’t until he reached for the absent ripcord that he realized he was freefalling without a parachute. Until that point, the jump probably seemed exciting and fun. But tragically, he had acted with thoughtless haste and deadly foolishness. Nothing could save him, for his faith was in a parachute never buckled on. Faith in anything but an all-sufficient God can be just as tragic spiritually. Only with faith in Jesus Christ dare we step into the dangerous excitement of life.
- Unknown Source
Let me add this, only with faith in Jesus Christ dare we step into the afterlife! Now, a good definition of faith is given to us in Hebrews 11:1, which says, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” The Amplified Bible puts this verse like this, “NOW FAITH is the assurance (the confirmation, the title deed) of the things [we] hope for, being the proof of things [we] do not see and the conviction of their reality [faith perceiving as real fact what is not revealed to the senses].” Faith is to believe in something that you cannot see, but you trust in the promises of God!
In Romans 10:17 Paul tells us, “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” You see, faith comes as we read and apply God’s Word to our lives, trusting in His promises to us. Faith is derived from the Word of God!
In Hebrews 11:6 we are told, “But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” You see, salvation is based totally on faith in what God has promised to us. We can’t see it. We believe that His atoning work on the cross of Calvary for our sins can save us because God’s Word has told us, thus we are saved by Grace through Faith! Faith demands that we believe God and His Word!
Paul tells us in II Corinthians 5:7, “For we walk by faith, not by sight.” In other words, our walk is not based upon what we can see outwardly, which can be deceiving, but upon God’s Word, trusting in His Spirit to guide us. In a sense, it is faith’s design – to walk by faith!
In Hebrews 4:2 we are told, “For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them; but the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it.” You see, it is not only hearing God’s Word but believing it, applying it to our lives. If you only hear it that is an empty faith, but if you hear it and believe it that is saving faith. The dualism of faith – hearing and believing!
Lastly, in Romans 1:17 Paul tells us, “For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, ‘The just shall live by faith.’” In other words, we are to live by faith on a daily basis, trusting in God and His Word. Faith’s duty in our lives is to live by it!
Now let me give you an example of faith that is lived out in a person’s life. It is the story of Shammah, one of David’s mighty men and in II Samuel 23:11-12 we are told, “And after him was Shammah the son of Agee the Hararite. The Philistines had gathered together into a troop where there was a piece of ground full of lentils. So the people fled from the Philistines. But he stationed himself in the middle of the field, defended it, and killed the Philistines. So the LORD brought about a great victory.”
The archenemy of Israel were the Philistines and they came against a small group of Jews, who upon seeing the Philistines all fled except for one man, Shammah who stood his ground. He was not going to let the enemy get this piece of land from him. Now, what was so important about this piece of land that made this man risk his life to protect it? What riches did this land possess? What value did it have? It must have been very valuable, very important for him to stand while all the others fled? Folks, it was a hill of beans, no really, it was filled with lentils or beans! Then why did he risk his life for it? Because God entrusted it to him and he had faith that either with 100 men or just 1 God would give him the victory and He did! Be faithful even for a hill of beans because in God’s economy, it is that important!
Paul kept the faith, even to the very end as he sat in this Roman prison, the Mamertime prison there in Rome that was just a cold, damp, dark, filthy dungeon. You see, none of those things were going to move him from the faith, and what a lesson for us to follow.
So Paul fought the good fight, he finished the race, he kept the faith and his conclusion is, “Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing.” And The Amplified Bible puts II Timothy 4:8 like this, “[As to what remains] henceforth there is laid up for me the [victor's] crown of righteousness [for being right with God and doing right], which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me and recompense me on that [great] day — and not to me only, but also to all those who have loved and yearned for and welcomed His appearing (His return).”
Paul realized that he would be rewarded for his faithful service to God, not so he could then boast of all the rewards he has obtained, not at all. You see, I truly believe that we will place all our rewards, our crowns at the feet of Jesus because He is the one who has enabled us to accomplish them in the first place. Thus, He alone deserves the glory and honor, not us! In Revelation 4:9-11, as John is in heaven we are told, and this is from the King James Version, “And when those beasts give glory and honour and thanks to him that sat on the throne, who liveth for ever and ever, The four and twenty elders fall down before him that sat on the throne, and worship him that liveth for ever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying, Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.” I believe the twenty-four elders represent all believers and as we worship Him we place our crowns or our rewards at His feet!
“Thus, Timothy, fight the good fight, finish the race, keep the faith because what God is going to reward me with, what He is going to reward you with, He is also going to reward all those who are looking forward to His coming again!” You see, Paul was leaving a fragrance of Jesus behind for Timothy and others to smell and even today we can smell that fragrance of Jesus from Paul!
Paul, in II Corinthians 2:14-16 tells us this very thing. He says, “Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place. For we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing. To the one we are the aroma of death leading to death, and to the other the aroma of life leading to life. And who is sufficient for these things?” Folks, in our lives and even in our death, may we leave the fragrance of Jesus behind wherever we go!
As I close this morning may I admonish you to fight the good fight, to finish the race, to keep the faith as Paul did and one day we will hear those glorious words from our Lord, “ . . . ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’” Matthew 25:23. May we fight the good fight, finish the race and keep the faith that God has entrusted to us!