The Loyalty of God
2 Tim 4:16… But the Lord stood with me and gave me strength,
NLT
Joke… Day care Lessons … In the Busy Bee Day Care the teachers would often sing actions songs with the children. Two of the songs were the Hokey Pokey and the B.I.B.L.E.
One day a four year old named Claire began singing the BIBLE. As she came to the end, she combined the Hokey Pokey.
Here is what she sang. "I stand alone on the word of God, that’s what it’s all about."
There are many different occasions when we will have a need for strength, whether it is physical, mental or emotional. We need strength to:
• Accomplish a specific task.
• Overcome an addiction.
• Cope with the death of a loved one.
• To get up and go to work tomorrow
Joke… Husbands Funeral…
There is a huge rivalry in college basketball between the University of Louisville and the University of Kentucky.
The story is told that at one of the games between the two schools, an elderly woman was sitting alone with an empty seat next to her.
Someone approached her and said, "Ma’am, I have rarely seen an empty seat in this Arena, let alone at a game between these two teams. Whose seat is this?"
The woman responded that she and her late husband had been season-ticket holders for 28 years, and the seat had belonged to him.
"Well, couldn’t you find a friend or relative to come to the game with you?" the observer asked.
"Are you kidding?" she replied. "They’re all at my husband’s funeral."
Paul mentions two occasions:
When friends desert you:
Friends play a vital role in making up our lives. They make our lives more enjoyable and exciting. However, man is not always dependable:
Isa 40:29-31… He gives power to those who are tired and worn out; he offers strength to the weak. Even youths will become exhausted, and young men will give up. But those who wait on the LORD will find new strength. They will fly high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint. NLT
1. Man may fail us because he lacks the power or strength to help us.
2. Man may fail us because he lacks the will or devotion to help us.
ILL… The wealthy, eccentric Howard Hughes, at the time had a wealth amassed of over four billion dollars said, “I’d give it all for one good friend.”
It is very painful when our friends turn away from us. Look what Paul was facing.
2 Tim 4:9-12…Please come as soon as you can. 10 Demas has deserted me because he loves the things of this life and has gone to Thessalonica. Crescens has gone to Galatia, and Titus has gone to Dalmatia. 11 Only Luke is with me. Bring Mark with you when you come, for he will be helpful to me. 12 I sent Tychicus to Ephesus. NLT
2 Tim 4:16…. The first time I was brought before the judge, no one was with me. Everyone had abandoned me. I hope it will not be counted against them. NLT
Joke… Another Dog… As his UCLA football team suffered through a poor season in the early 1970’s, head coach Pepper Rodgers came under intense criticism and pressure from alumni and fans. Things became so bad, he remembers that friends were hard to find. “My dog was my only true friend,” Rodgers said of that year. “I told my wife that every man needs at least two good friends- and she bought me another dog.”
2 Cor 12:9…Each time he said, "My gracious favor is all you need. My power works best in your weakness." So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may work through me. NLT
Joke … “Top 3 Signs You Have No Friends”.
3. You are one of the five best solitaire players in the world.
2. You go to a video store and say out loud to yourself, “Well, what do you want to rent tonight?”
1. No calls from salespeople pushing MCI’s “Friends and Family” plan.
It is extremely disheartening to have your friends desert you and feel like you do not have a friend in the world. You will need God’s strength to continue.
Matt 22:29… Jesus replied, "Your problem is that you don’t know the Scriptures, and you don’t know the power of God.
NLT
Quote…Mother Teresa… “the poorest of the poor are those who feel that they are unloved.”
Ill… Jesus himself knows what it’s like firsthand to have his friends desert him. Jesus was arrested, set up by one of his own disciples Judas. As Jesus is being taken away, we read in Matthew 26:56, “Then all the disciples deserted him and fled.”
Paul also talks about when:
Foes oppose you.
Listen to how Paul describes what has happened to him.
2 Tim 4:14-15…Alexander the coppersmith has done me much harm, but the Lord will judge him for what he has done. Be careful of him, for he fought against everything we said. NLT
Not only were Paul’s friends deserting him, but his enemies were rising up against him. We are not immune from having enemies.
We all share a common enemy, the devil, who is opposing you with every breath you take. You need strength to overcome all enemies you face.
Enemies of Jesus:
Matt 12:13-14… Then the Pharisees called a meeting and discussed plans for killing Jesus. NLT Jesus had just healed a man with a shriveled hand on the Sabbath.
The Pharisees as always were looking for a way to trap Jesus in his own teachings or actions. Jesus’ healing of this man and his rebuke of the Pharisees only added to their fierceness in opposing him.
The Source Of Strength.
Paul’s argument is that the source of our strength is not from exercise, food or drug; but from the Lord himself.
Deut 31:6… Be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid of them! The LORD your God will go ahead of you. He will neither fail you nor forsake you." NLT
Paul details three different ways in which the Lord is our source of strength.
A. The Lord stands with you.
Paul writes in II Timothy 4:17, “But the Lord stood at my side…” God loves you and will stand by you. You are His child. He will not leave you.
When God and man stand together, great things result:
"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." Philippians 4:13.
ILL… Had the Lord not stood with them….
1. Moses could not have stood before Pharaoh and declare God’s message.
2. Neither could he have led the Israelites through the Red Sea.
3. Gideon could not have defeated the vast army of the Midianites with just 300 men.
4. David could have never faced and slew Goliath.
5. The prophet Nathan could not have been able to rebuke King David for his great sin.
6. Elijah could not have defied Jezebel and slay the prophets of Baal.
7. Stephen, while he was being stoned to death, could not have been able to lift his eyes toward heaven and pray: "Lord, do not charge them with this sin." Acts 7:60.
B. The Lord gives you strength through the Holy Spirit.
Luke 24:49…"And now I will send the Holy Spirit, just as my Father promised. But stay here in the city until the Holy Spirit comes and fills you with power from heaven." NLT
Acts 2:2-4… Suddenly, there was a sound from heaven like the roaring of a mighty windstorm in the skies above them, and it filled the house where they were meeting. Then, what looked like flames or tongues of fire appeared and settled on each of them. And everyone present was filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking in other languages, as the Holy Spirit gave them this ability. NLT
The Lord is our source of strength not only as He stands with us, but also as He gives strength to us.
II Timothy 4:17, “…and gave me strength, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it.”
The Lord gives you strength. He is your source of strength.
C. The Lord rescues you.
God dispenses His strength to us by rescuing us from dangers and bad situations.
II Timothy 4:18, “The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and will bring me safely to his heavenly kingdom.”
ILL… Rescue… A newspaper ran this story several years ago. One evening a woman was driving home when she noticed a huge truck behind her that was driving so close behind her that it made her uncomfortable. She tried to speed up, but the truck sped up. She got off the freeway and turned onto main streets trying to lose the truck. But the truck ran a red light to stay behind her. Finally, the woman whipped her car into a service station and bolted out of the car screaming for help. The truck driver also sprung out of his truck and ran toward the woman’s car. He yanked the back door open and pulled out a man hidden in the back seat. From his higher vantage point in his truck, the truck driver had spotted a would be rapist in the woman’s car. The truck driver was not chasing the woman to harm her but to rescue her.
God is able and willing to rescue you and make you strong in your time of weakness. He alone is our source of strength.
Conclusion
When life is tough, we need to know where to look to find strength.
ILL… Carol Schuller… Who walks with you.. daughter of evangelist Robert Schuller was involved in a serious motorcycle accident when she was a teenager that left her with only one leg. When she was eighteen, she went on a cruise with her parents. She made no effort to conceal her artificial leg wearing shorts and going swimming. She noticed people staring and could see the curiosity in people’s eyes. In response to the looks she had been getting, she decided to volunteer for the ship’s talent show. When she walked up to the microphone she said this: “If I have one talent, it is this: I can tell you that during that time (after her accident) my faith became very real to me. I look at you girls who walk without a limp, and I whish I could walk that way. I can’t but this is what I’ve learned, and I want to leave it with you: It’s not how you walk that counts, but who walks with you and whom you walk with.”
Eph 1:19-20.. I pray that you will begin to understand the incredible greatness of his power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power 20 that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms. NLT
ILL…. We need to be like the 84 year old grandmother who fiercely maintained her independence and lived alone in the old family home. Her 4 children lived n the same town, but she rarely called them except in emergencies. It was with some apprehension, therefore, that one of her sons drove to her house one morning in answer to her phone call. When he arrived she said she suspected that there was a burglar in her bedroom closet, since she had heard noises in there the night before.
“Why didn’t you call me last night?” he exclaimed.
“Well,” she replied, it was late and I hated to bother you, so I just nailed the closet shut and went to bed.”
That’s the kind of attitude a Christian can have when faced with the impossible. Nail the door of fear shut and go to bed in calm assurance.
2 Tim 4:16… But the Lord stood with me and gave me strength,
Is He your strength? Are you trying to walk alone?
I challenge you to let God be your strength. Let Him take over the load in your life. Trust Him to stand with you today!
