“Come before Winter”
2nd Timothy 4:9-22
The Bible has a lot to say about time. The most important thing it says is something you and I already know - - - -and it is this ----- our time here on Earth is limited. Time is like a coin - you can spend it, but you can only spend it once. How many times have you missed something someone said in a movie so you rewind and so you can hear it again? It would be nice If we could do that in life. We say something, we do something, we do something that is a complete waste of time - - and we wish we had a do over - - but we don’t. Time is like a coin, you can spend it, but you can only spend it once. Time matters because we have a very limited supply. The most famous passage in the Bible about the topic of time is found in the Old Testament – and is given to us by Solomon who is considered to be the wisest man who ever lived. Here are those verses: Ecclesiastes 4 1 – 4.
So, this is what this wise man tells us. We have plenty of time to do everything we need to do. And all of our time belongs to God and therefore how I spend my days is a sacred issue. Time matters because time is the stuff of life and when time is gone so is life. So, what we do with the moments of life we have, the people we talk to, the path we follow, the opportunities we take - - all of it matters because sooner or later it will all be gone. Here is a fact….
• All of us are slaves to time more than we would like to admit. I have had lunch or meetings with people on more than one occasion when they are holding it, just in case there was a text or a call that came through that so that they could answer. We can be glued to our cell phones, checking social media so much to the point that we communicate much more on the phone than we do in person and to make time and to save time we have changed the ways we communicate.
• If you’re over 50 you might use email.
• If you’re 40 or under, you are likely to text.
• If you’re under 30 you probably use Facebook.
• If you’re really into it, you use Tik Tok or you use X; also known as Twitter.
For many of us, time matters more than money. So, here’s a question for all of us. How much time do we have left? Well, we don’t know for sure. All of us have known at least one person who has heard the words I’m afraid your cancer is at stage 4 and you have 2 or 3 months to live. The Bible reminds us to redeem the time. Ephesians 5: 16. One translation of this verse says this… Make every minute count. Spend it wisely. Make the most of every opportunity. All of us know we’re going to die someday but none of us think it will be any time soon. 😊
The Apostle Paul was a mentor to a young man named Timothy. As Paul was nearing death – he wrote a letter to Timothy and as it turns out, it would be the last one he would ever write. We believe that not long after he wrote those last verses he was beheaded in Rome – Nero ordered it. So, we must ask, what was on his mind at the end of his life? Well, his last recorded words are mostly about people. In this brief passage Paul mentions 18 different people by name. Here’s the passage on the screen. He mentions Titus and others who were serving in other places. He mentions Luke who comforted him while he was in prison. He mentions Alexander who did everything he could to stop Paul. In all he mentions 18 people who in one way or another had made a mark on his life. Paul has people on his mind. More than anything, he wanted Timothy to come and visit him in prison before he died. Paul is in Rome; Timothy is in Ephesus. Here’s the map. We don’t know how Timothy would have traveled but we assume it would be by sea. All he knew was that his time was short and one thing he desired was to see his friend Timothy before he died. Listen to some of his words….
• V. 9. Do your best to come quickly.
• V. 11. Bring Mark with you.
• V. 12. Bring my coat. Also bring my scrolls.
• V. 21. Do your best to get here before winter.
Come before winter. Timothy, if you’re going to come at all, come now. Don’t wait! I won’t be here much longer so come before winter is here. When Martin Luther King gave his famous speech “I have a dream”, now 60 years ago, he stood on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial and said, “we have come to this hallowed spot to remind people of the fierce urgency of now.” There are some things that simply must be done now. There are at least 3 questions this raises for me….
First, why should he arrive before winter? Why was this so urgent? The simple answer is winter means the weather and traveling by sea would be almost impossible. If Timothy delayed at all he would not be there until spring and Paul would likely be dead. Some things must be done before winter, some things must be done now, or they will not be done at all. All of us have doors that will open for us this next year but if we do not take advantage of them before next winter those doors will be forever shut. Listen, we cannot wait forever to respond to things that really matter. We must act now, answer now, respond now, no waiting. No delays.
James 4: 13 – 14. As much as we don’t like it our lives are a mist, a vapor, like the grass of the field – here today and gone tomorrow. Stephen Curtis Chapman, a Christian singer who has sold over 17 million albums and won 5 grammy awards……. has literally touched millions of people – his 17 year old son was pulling into the driveway and their five year old daughter was playing near the driveway …. no one saw her and she was suddenly dead.
Coach Tony Dungy, formerly the coach of the Tampa Bay Bucs, received a call that his son aged 18 had committed suicide. No matter who you are you’re never ready for something like that. It is a deep pain that just never goes away. Dungy spoke at his son’s funeral service, and this was his advice. “Hug your kids every chance you get. Love them every chance you get. You don’t know when it’s going to be the last time.
The 2nd question for me is this …. Did Timothy go? Did he do what he was asked to do? The truth is we don’t know. There is discussion on both sides of this, but we really do not know. But just think about it, what if he planned to go but put it off too long? Then the trip would be impossible. Procrastination destroys a lot of good intentions.
• You didn’t get round to it.
• You didn’t have time.
• You just didn’t feel like it.
• I meant to call earlier.
• I intended to read my Bible.
• I meant to share Christ with my neighbor but now it’s too late.
All of us have dreams for our lives. We have dreams for our kids and our grandkids but at some point, it’s too late. Because we waited. Paul says come before winter. Serve God now. If you have thought about doing anything for God -– do not wait-- do it now. The story is told of three apprentice demons who were coming to Earth for their first assignment. They met with Satan who asked them what strategy they planned to follow. The first one said, I will tell people that there is no God. Satan said, that will not work, because in their hearts they know there really is a God. The second one said, “I will tell them there is no hell.” Satan replied “that won’t work because there’s so much evil on Earth people know there must be a hell.” The 3rd one thought for a moment and then he said I will tell them there’s plenty of time. And Satan said go, tell them that and you will ruin them by the thousands.
The third question is, would you have gone? In other words, if a friend was dying and he urged you to do something, would you? All of us have good intentions. We would do it but when the opportunity presents itself – we can’t seem to find time. We meant to do it – we meant for things to be different. But the opportunity is today, not tomorrow. Think about it …. what does God want you to do – you know beyond a shadow of a doubt he wants you to, yet you haven’t. What will you do with the New Year in front of us? Who in your life needs to know Jesus and you need to tell them, but you keep putting it off. Whatever it is, do it before winter. Do it now. The opportunity will not always be there. This quote is over 200 years old, but it still speaks volumes. “I expect to pass through this world but once. Any good therefore that I can do or any kindness I can show to any fellow creature, let me do it now. Let me not defer or neglect it for I shall not pass this way again.”
Let me ask you - - if you knew today was the last day of your life, what would you do? Who would you call? And what would you say? Is there a relationship you would try to mend? For most of us it’s hard to answer because it doesn’t seem real; it doesn’t seem possible that this could be our final day. We tend to think it may happen to someone else, but not to us or a loved ……. A simple phone call and life will never be the same again.
For some of us there are some things we need to say to some people right now.
• I love you.
• I’m sorry.
• Forgive me.
• I miss you.
• Or something happened and we say I wanted to see them one more time.
• I wanted to give them a hug.
• I wanted to see your beautiful face.
• I Wanted to hear you laugh one more time.
And of course, there are some of us who need to get serious about our relationship with Jesus. Because we say things like,
• Someday I’m going to serve the Lord.
• Someday I’ll change my ways.
• Someday I will …. You fill in the blank.
If you’re going to serve him someday, why not start today? What do we gain by putting things off? If you’re really going to serve the Lord --- why not now? Revelation 3: 20. Jesus says come unto me. Now. Don’t put it off. Paul said “today is the day of salvation.” Tomorrow may never come. One phrase you will never find in the Bible is “come to Jesus tomorrow.” The Bible says do it today. Jesus his is standing at the very door of your heart, knocking, knocking, knocking. Why not open the door?
Holman Hunt completed the famous painting called Light of the World in the 1850’s. It is one of the most traveled paintings of all time … in 1904 it was taken on a world tour and was viewed by millions …. It became known the “sermon in a frame.”
Hunt started the painting at the age of 21 and finished it when he was 29. The painting illustrates the biblical passage in Revelation 3:20: “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, [then] I will enter his house and dine with him, and he with me.” You can see Jesus, carrying a lantern, and He is depicted knocking at a door with no handle on the outside. The door is overgrown with weeds, and the nails and hinges are rusted, it makes you think “that door has never been opened.” The message is simple …. it is up to the person on the other side of the door to let Jesus in. The door opens from the inside.
