TEXT: 2 Timothy 4:16-18 (KJV)
16 At my first answer no man stood with me, but all men forsook me: I pray God that it may not be laid to their charge.
17 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: and I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion.
18 And the Lord shall deliver me from every evil work, and will preserve me unto his heavenly kingdom: to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
ILLUSTRATION:
It seems that forget many of the wise words people say to us. They may offer us much wisdom, love, and other necessary things in their words and sayings to us, but oftentimes, these get forgotten, left by the wayside. However, it seems we are much more apt to remember the last words that people speak to us.
Such was the case with a dear friend of mine. A godly man, and a man that was so close to our family we actually called him our grandfather, in spite of no earthly relation. The man, who had spoken so much wisdom and love to me throughout the course of my life, found himself dying with cancer in a hospital bed. A few days before his passing, the chaplain came in to visit him, and while we were in there, had prayer with him. The last words my grandfather ever spoke, were to this chaplain "i'd like to thank you for this prayer." He never spoke again, and I have never forgotten those words. They were his last words, and I treasure them.
Here in 2 Timothy, we have found ourselves reading the last words of Paul. According to the context of 2 Timothy (2 Timothy 2:9), we know that Paul has been incarcerated for the 2nd time. We also know he was no longer on house arrest, but that he was in a cold, empty cell facing imminent judgment from the Roman government.
Paul knows his time has come according to 2 Timothy 4:6-9 in what is one of the most quoted Scriptures from New Testament preaching. Paul knew he was about to be killed for the faith. He was facing certain execution, and he was lonely.
Friend there are times in this life when the Christian walk gets just a little bit lonely. When we've been deserted by those whom we love. When everyone has turned their back on us and we're left alone to toil in the field. This has happened to Paul as he is sitting in this cold, dark, jail cell. We can imagine that Paul was terribly lonely, being forsaken by so many.
I want you to notice first that "Paul was lonely."
I. PAUL WAS LONELY. (v. 16a)
"At my first answer no man stood with me, but all men forsook me..."
In addition to this verse, if we read the aforementioned verses back to verse ten, we can see that most everyone has abandoned Paul. Demas forsook him and only Luke was with Paul.
Paul comes to verse 16 and states that no one stood with him.
This Greek word refers to a verbal defense used in a court of law. As a Roman citizen, Paul would receive two trials. The Prima Actio and the Secunda Actio. The prima actio is the first charge and it is just to state and establish the charges against Paul. This could be viewed as a western version of the prosecution in a trial. The secunda actio is the second trial, and it states the guilt or innocence of the prosecuted.
Paul says, "at my first answer" that no one was with him. Literally, as he was being prosecuted for whatever crimes they had penned against him, no one stood for him. He didn't have a defense attorney. As Paul was being prosecuted, he found himself alone and without anyone speaking a word on his behalf. He sounds terribly lonely. However, in lieu of the fact that Paul was lonely, we can see certain high points of the text.
II. PAUL WAS LONELY, BUT HE WAS NOT BITTER. (v. 16b)
"At my first answer no man stood with me, but all men forsook me: I pray God that it may not be laid to their charge."
Paul had been abandoned by most everyone, he had been forgotten and neglected but here in the text, he states he was not bitter about it! He prays the forsaking of brothers and sisters would not be "laid to their charge."
Bitterness isn't in the kingdom of God, forgiveness is. There is no room for bitterness in the kingdom of God. Bitterness cannot dwell in our hearts when Christ has encouraged to have forgiving mentalities.
Christ forgave the ones who crucified Him as they did it. Stephen forgave the ones who martyred him in Acts 7. Over and over again in the Scriptures we see a common theme that bitterness cannot be in the kingdom but forgiveness is.
Even in the darkest, most difficult times, when everyone else has forsaken us and rejected us, there is no room for bitterness.
Paul was lonely, but he was not bitter.
III. PAUL WAS LONELY, BUT THE LORD WAS WITH HIM. (v. 17a)
"Notwithstanding the Lord stood with me, and strengthened me"
ILLUSTRATION:
I've been blessed to go to Turkey twice now. On my first trip to Turkey it was also my first time on a plane. Because I had ordered my plane tickets so late, I had to fly separate from the rest of the group, all the way to our final destination in Turkey. Needless to say, I felt lonely and by myself, flying in a foreign country, and navigating a foreign airport with no friends or family members with me.
I could be comforted in the fact that even though I felt lonely and by myself, God was with me!
Paul was all by himself, and felt alone, but he was comforted by the fact that he knew God was with him, and even strengthened him to continue on even when he didn't want to.
Regardless of where everyone else was at or what they were doing, Paul had the Lord with him!
Joshua tells us "haven't I commanded you, be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go." (Joshua 1:8)
As the disciples are toiling and rowing in the middle of the sea of Galilee, after the feeding of the 5,000, they feel quite alone I am sure. But Christ was already on His way to them. We can be comforted in this life, that when we feel alone, God is with us.
IV. PAUL WAS LONELY, BUT HE PREACHED THE WORD. (v.17b)
"...that by me the preaching might be fully known, and that all the Gentiles might hear..."
What a man Paul was! His friends had forsaken him, and he prays that God would forgive them. His enemies persecute him, and yet he looks for opportunities to tell them how to be saved. What a difference it makes when the Holy Spirit controls your life!
Even in Paul's weakest moment, he was still following God's calling upon his life, and preaching to the Gentiles.
You see, it's in our weakest moments that He is stronger. As the Scriptures say, "for when I am weak, He is strong." Therefore there is no boasting or bragging on self, but rather Christ is glorified. God gave Paul strength not just to stand and continue on, but strength to fulfill the calling on his life.
Elijah is another prime example of this. After the great victory on Mt. Carmel in 1 Kings 18, Elijah flees for his life and ends up in a cave because Jezebel threatens to kill him. Oh how the mighty do fall! Elijah had just witnessed fire falling from heaven, and yet he flees for his life and becomes clinically depressed. What does God do? He restores Elijah and tells him to go anoint Hazael king. When Elijah was at his weakest the Lord called upon him to do work.
Just as Paul here is alone, cold, and probably miserably sick and unwell, the Lord uses him to preach the Gospel of Christ. At Paul's defense, he preached the very Word he was going to die for.
V. PAUL WAS LONELY, BUT THE LORD WAS WATCHING HIM (v. 17c-18a)
"...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..."
It's one thing to be with someone, it's another thing to be watching out for them.
ILLUSTRATION:
My wife and I were travelling home after I had finished preaching revival meetings. We were supposed to take a specific exit onto a road we travelled daily. We knew the exit, we knew where it was, but we just passed right over it. We were completely immersed in conversation that we didn't even notice we had passed the exit until we were 30 minutes past it! My wife was with me, but she wasn't watching out for me!
God was not only with Paul, but He was watching out for Him. God does that in our life as well. When we come tot he exits of life, if we pass the wrong exit, God is there, gently telling us "you need to turn around, you're heading the wrong way." If we pass that exit He's faithful to turn us around, or get us to "reroute" and find another way to the destination. The Lord truly is with us, and is watching us, as He was with Paul.
He will preserve us unto His heavenly kingdom. It is a comfort to the believer, to know that God will keep us and sustain us in this life and that we cannot be plucked from His hands. He watches us.
VI. PAUL WAS LONELY, BUT HE PRAISED THE LORD. (v. 18b)
"...to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen."
A true test of a persons character is how their praise life is affected in times of hardships. It is very convenient and even easy to praise the Lord when things are going good. It is an altogether different thing to praise the Lord when we are in pain and the trials of this life.
Paul was lonely, but he praised the Lord. Not just in the good times, but in the bad times as well. As Paul was on trial for his life, about to be executed for the faith, he continued to praise the Lord.
There are a multitude of Scriptures speaking to the praises of God, but one that really sticks out in a scenario such as this is the account of Job. We know very well Job's response when everything had fallen apart and his wife had told him to "curse God and die." Job fell on his face and praised the Lord.
CLOSING:
Just as we feel lonely in this life, and may experience trials and tribulations due to failing relationship, finances, bad marriage, loss of a loved one, etc., we can be comforted in knowing that God will see us through these times.
And if we model Paul's example left for us in 2 Timothy, we can not only make it through the storms of life, we can be victors over the storms of life with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Then we too can say like the apostle Paul "henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness..."
