An outline from the book The Bumps Are What You Climb On "Three Important Looks" by Warren Wiersbe pg 17 1980
THREE IMPORTANT LOOKS OR PAUL'S LAST TESTIMONY
INTRODUCTION: Just looking in department stores. Often looking with no purpose.
II Timothy 4:6-8 Paul was looking with a definite purpose.
6 For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand.
7 I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith:
8 Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.
As Paul awaited execution, he wrote a farewell letter to his dear comrade in service, Timothy. He knows he faces death, but this does not frighten him. He knows that his work is almost over, but this does not discourage him. His words come with courage and calmness, and in this statement of faith, Paul looks in three directions and bears witness to his confidence in the Lord. Pg 17
I. PAUL LOOKS AROUND AND BEARS WITNESS THAT HE IS READY
A. Phil 1:23-25 (60-64 A.D.) Abiding not departing --> needful for you
23 For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better: 24 Nevertheless to abide in the flesh is more needful for you.
25 And having this confidence, I know that I shall abide and continue with you all for your furtherance and joy of faith;
II Tim 4:6 (66 A.D.) Departing not abiding --> far better for me
6 For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand.
B. Not a prisoner being executed, but a sacrifice being offered Phil 2:17.
17 Yea, and if I be offered upon the sacrifice and service of your faith, I joy, and rejoice with you all.
Eph 5:2 Christ a sacrifice to God for Paul. Paul a sacrifice to God because of Christ.
2 And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour.
C. Paul's life is not being taken, but offered to the Lord.
John 10:15 Jesus --> I lay down my life for the sheep.
15 As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life
for the sheep. Paul now lays down his life for the Shepherd.
Jim Elliot, one of the martyred missionaries of Ecuador, wrote in his journal: "He is no fool to give what he cannot keep, to gain what he cannot lose."
D. Departing Not Dying
1. Means to take down your tent and move on, the way a soldier would
do when the army strikes camp.
II Cor. 5:1 Earthly tabernacle dissolved--> a house „³eternal in heavens
1 For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.
2. Means to loose a boat and set sail
II Cor 5:8 Absent from body, present with Lord
8 We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.
Use Spurgeon Morning and Evening Illustration pg 222
O child of God, death has lost its sting, because the devil's power over it is destroyed. then cease to fear dying. Ask grace from God the Holy Ghost, that by an intimate knowledge and a firm belief of thy Redeemer's death, thou mayst be strengthened for that dread hour. Living near the cross of Calvary thou mayst think of death with pleasure, and welcome it when it comes with intense delight. It is sweet to die in the Lord: it is a covenant-blessing to sleep in Jesus. Death is no longer banishment, it is a return from exile, a going home to the many mansions where the loved ones already dwell. The distance between glorified spirits in heaven and militant saints on earth seems great; but it is not so. We are not far from home--a moment will bring us there. The sail is spread: the soul is launched upon the deep. How long will be its voyage? How many wearying winds must beat upon the sail ere it shall be reefed in the port of peace? How long shall that soul be tossed upon the waves before it comes to that sea which knows no storm? Listen to the answer, "Absent from the body, present with the Lord." Yon ship has just departed, but it is already at its haven. It did but spread its sail and it was there. Like that ship of old, upon the Lake of Galilee, a storm had tossed it, but Jesus said, "Peace, be still," and immediately it came to land. Think not that a long period intervenes between the instant of death and the eternity of glory. When the eyes close on earth they open in heaven. The horses of fire are not an instant on the road. Then, O child of God, what is there for thee to fear in death, seeing that through the death of thy Lord its curse and sting are destroyed? and now it is but a Jacob's ladder whose foot is in the dark grave, but its top reaches to glory everlasting.
E. Are You Ready?
If you have trusted Christ as your Savior, then you are ready.
II. PAUL LOOKED BACK
Paul could look around without fear, and he could look back without regrets.
A. Not to sin or failures. (There is a wrong way to look back.) He had forgotten
those in Phil 3:13
13 Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,
B. Not with regrets, but with delight
C. Paul had fought --> the task of faith in persevering amid temptation and
opposition. It came also to mean to take pains, to wrestle as in a prize contest, straining every nerve to the uttermost towards the goal.
With a Purpose:
1. I Cor. 9:26 "so fight I, not as one that beateth the air"
26 I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air:
Phil 3:14 "I press toward the mark"
14 I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
2. Against
a. World I john 2:15-17 "Love not the world"
world --> order opposed to God
15 Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. 17 And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.
Even though Demas forsook him for the world II Tim. 4:10
10 For Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world, and is departed unto Thessalonica; Crescens to Galatia, Titus unto Dalmatia.
b. Flesh I Cor 9:27 But I keep under my body --> the lust of the flesh
27 But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.
c. The Devil Eph 6:12 "wrestling against"
12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
3. A good fight --> fighting for the right
I Tim 6:12 "Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life"
12 Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses.
Jude v.3 "contend for the faith"
3 Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.
D. Paul Had Finished His Course
1. Course marked by God Acts 9:15-16
15 But the Lord said unto him, Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel:
16 For I will shew him how great things he must suffer for my name's sake.
2. With a Purpose I Cor 9:26 " I therefore run, not as uncertainty"
26 I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air:
3. Run not with them I Peter 4:4 Running with the right crowd
4 Wherein they think it strange that ye run not with them to the same excess of riot, speaking evil of you:
4. Run with Patience Heb 12:1
1 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,
5. Run to Obtain I Cor 9:24 "So run that ye may obtain"
24 Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain.
6. Finish with joy Acts 20:24
24 But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God.
E. Paul Kept the Faith
1. Some shall depart I Tim 4:1
1 Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;
2. Some have shipwrecked I Tim 1:19
19 Holding faith, and a good conscience; which some having put away concerning faith have made shipwreck:
3. Until Death Rev 2:10
10 Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.
F. Look Back
1. Have you fought a good fight?
2. Are you a victor or a victim?
3. Are you in the battle or a casualty on the field?
4. Have you finished your course?
5. Have you kept the faith?
III. PAUL LOOKED AHEAD
A. Not afraid of the future-->He knew what lay just up ahead present with the Lord II Cor 5:8
8 We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.
B. Without Doubt --> II Cor 5:8
C. To a Crown
1. Incorruptible I Cor 9:25
25 And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible.
2. Of Righteousness II Tim 4:8
8 Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.
3. Of Life James 1:12
12 Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him
4. Of Glory I Peter 5:4 "that fadeth not away"
4 And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away.
D. Well Done
IV. WHAT ABOUT YOU?
A. Are you afraid to look ahead?
B. There is an appointment with death. Heb 9:27 "As it is appointed unto men
once to die"
C. There is a judgment --> but after this is the judgment.
27 And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:
One day life is going to end for you and me. None of us knows the day or the hour, and for some it may be sooner that expected. Our going home may be sudden; or we may have time to contemplate life.
Which way will you look?
Yield your heart and life to Jesus Christ. Be faithful to Him, no matter what
men may do.
Rev. 3:11 "Behold, I come quickly: hold fast which thou hast, that no man take
thy crown."
