"come Before Winter"

“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.