Breaking The Heart Of A Preacher

2 TIMOTHY 4:9-18 “BREAKING THE HEART OF A PREACHER”

A) I want to bring a message today about a great man of God that was

very strong, and finally he cried for help from a brother in Christ.

* It was very unusual for Paul to cry out, “Please come to me quickly.”

B) Then he goes on and tells us why he is calling for help.

* This got my attention when I thought of all that happened to Paul, and never

did he cry for help from someone else.

* v.9 “Hurry, come to me, I need your help.”

C) I wonder how the people that knew Paul so well must’ve felt when

they got the message?

* They knew some of the things that Paul had already went through.

* Never before had they heard such a message come from this great

man of God.

D) v.10, he tells why he is calling.

* This broke his heart ... This was more than he could stand.

E) The same thing that happened to Paul happens to every preacher.

* If there’s anything that weakens preachers is to see what Paul seen here.

* A man that promised to stand by him, and help him and support him,

is gone – v.10 .......

PAUL HAD FOUGHT BATTLES

AND THE DEVIL HAD ATTACKED IN VARIOUS WAYS

A) Paul was a pulpit master ... He was no weakling.

* He was not lacking in power or in the anointing of God ... He was not lacking in

education, or in his vocabulary, or in the ability to preach, instruct, and counsel.

* He could make decisions and carry them through ... He could speak several

different languages.

LET’S CONSIDER THE CHANGE IN PAUL’S LIFE – Acts 9

A) Acts 9 talks of his conversion – His life changed ... If a person’s life

hasn’t changed, he hasn’t been changed on the inside.

* Your vocabulary will change – The places you go will change – The way

you act will change.

B) All of this will be spiritually transformed ... If your life hasn’t changed,

your heart hasn’t been changed.

* 2 Cor. 5:17 “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new ......”

C) After Paul had become a Christian, he was persecuted more than any

other Christian that I’ve ever read about.

* He was in a lot of perils, which is the Greek word “kindunos” (kin’-doo-nos)

and means, “danger; risk of damage, injury, or loss.”

* And he lists all of those perils in 2 Corinthians 11:23-28 ........

D) Here’s the list: Five times he was beaten with thirty nine stripes.

* Three times he was beaten with rods – Once he was stoned and left for dead.

* Three times he suffered shipwreck, even spent a night and a day in the deep

ocean, and he survived all this.

E) He was in dangers [among] false brethren.

* He was thrown in dungeons, and he made no special cry for help.

* He could’ve become a martyr way back in his Christian life ... But he never

cried for help.

F) In all of this I don’t find one time Paul cried for someone to come

to him and help him.

* I don’t believe there’s a person in this building would’ve went through what

Paul did, but that we would’ve called for someone to help us.

IN PRISON AT PHILIPPI

A) When he was in prison at Philippi, he never asked anybody for

a bondsman ... He never cried for help.

* You know what he did? ... He and Silas prayed and sang praises to God.

B) Jesus looked at some angels and said, “Shhh, listen to that.”

* He said, “Let’s go down there and join them.” – And they came down to the

jailhouse, and when they walked in, the jailhouse rocked.

C) PIC – The cell doors opened up and every prisoner’s chains were loosed.

* The prisoners walked out of their cells and looked around and wondered,

“What in the world just happened?”

* The jailor woke up and saw the cell doors opened and prisoners standing around

and thought some of them had escaped, and he would’ve killed himself.

D) But Paul cried with a loud voice and said, “Don’t harm yourself, we’re

all still here – No one has escaped!”

* The jailer called for lights and ran to the dungeon and fell down trembling before

Paul and Silas.

E) Then he brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”

* And they said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be .......”

* And then Paul and Silas spoke to him the Word of the Lord.

F) The jailor believed and got saved and then took Paul and Silas to his house