I invite you to turn in your Bibles to 2 Timothy. If you are new, we are finishing our series on 2 Timothy. My name is Ricky and I'm one of the pastors here at the church. Recently my wife and I got one of those maps of the national parks. You guys know what I'm talking about, where it has, like, if you. You can see, like, all the national parks and you can put stickers or scratch off the parks you go to. And what I've realized in the last couple of years is that there's a whole community of people that will just try to hit all the national parks they can in their lifetime, which I think is super fun. And you can always tell some of them because they've got all the stickers from all the parks on the back of their, you know, like, Jeep or whatever. And we have decided we're going to do it. We're going to be one of those families. So we got a national park this summer. We're going to try to hit on the east Coast. And here's what I want to encourage you with. We are finishing second Timothy, and I think Christians should approach learning books of the Bible like the national parks. Each one has new wonders, new amazing things, new details. Some are strange, some are far off, some are pretty close, but all of them add something to our understanding of who the Lord is and who we are as Christians. And so I don't know if you can make your own books of the Bible national parks tour, and after this Sunday, you'll be able to put a sticker on second Timothy, which I just love. And if you stick with us, I did the math for you. If you stick with us and you've been here. Who's been here since I have been at the church as a pastor. Anybody since like 2010, something like that. Okay, great. I've got great news for you. We only have 22 more years left until we finish all the books of the Bible. So if you just hang in for 22 more years, you'll be great.
This is the word of the Lord and Father. I pray that you would open our eyes and ears this morning. In the name of Jesus, Amen.
Well, a number of years ago, I decided to start running. I had never run before, never been a good runner. I had one disastrous year year trying to run track in my teenage years. And when I would try to run, I would get discouraged because here's what my expectations were. I would start running, and then I would run as fast as I could, and then I would stop it when I got to the right, you know, mileage. And I just kept failing. I would try every year, you know, once a year, every couple years. And finally I discovered something that made all the difference. I discovered a running app with run coaching. So suddenly I was running, but was running with a voice in my ear telling me what to expect as I ran. So, for example, they would say things like, at the beginning of the run, okay, expect to not run as fast as you could. Your muscles are warming up. You can't just start sprinting. You got to warm up your muscles. And I thought, oh, that's helpful. And then they would say, okay, at this point, if you've never run a 5k, here is where you start to fatigue. But if you push through this point, you'll start to feel more energy. And it was true. I knew what to expect. I began to feel the energy. So I kept going. I kept going all the way up to a half marathon. And the running coaching became absolutely critical because they would say, okay, at this part of, you know, at mile five, here's what you're feeling. At mile eight, here's what you're probably feeling. Here's when to get. Here's when you're tired. Here's when to back off. Here's when to push ahead. And finally I arrived at that last mile, and the coaching for that last mile was critical because basically everything that I was thinking, like, I can't do this. This is too far. Maybe I should give up. He was saying, here's what you're probably thinking. It's too far. You're gonna give up. And I was like, that's exactly what I'm thinking. And he would say, okay, so here's what you need to remember. And finally, I made it through the last mile of the half marathon. And the only way I did it is I had a voice in my ear telling me what to expect.
And I began to think, man, I wish I had something like this for. For all of life. Like, this would be great for marriage, you know, have a voice in my ear. Here's what to expect. The first week was great. By month one, you'll have had your first major conflict. Like, oh, that would be good to know, you know, year one, here's what you're supposed to expect. Or parents, how about this? Three months in, wouldn't it be great? In the middle of the night thinking, I can't do this. This is insane. How do people have more than one child? If you had a voice in your ear going, I bet you're thinking, how can people do this? How do they have Right? And I wish I had that.
Well, here's the good news. Our passage today is that for our Christian lives. Paul the apostle is helping Timothy see, this is what it's going to be like to finish the race, Timothy. Here's what to expect. I'm running the last mile, but I'm going to tell you not just what to expect in the last mile, but. But all the miles leading up to this. Used to, I'm finishing my race, Timothy, but you have miles left to go. So here's what to expect. So here's the headline. Here's what to expect. For not just Timothy, but for all of us in the long road of life have realistic expectations of others and great expectations of God.
So, first section, expectations of others. Here's what to expect. First.
6 · The pastor introduces the first expectation directly from the text — that some will desert — and reads the text about Demas leaving Paul to return to Thessalonica out of love for the present world
Expect that some will desert. Look at this. For Demas, in love with this present world has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica.
7 · The pastor brings in Kent Hughes's commentary to establish the gravity of Demas's desertion — he wasn't a weak Christian but a man who had been in Paul's inner circle and had endured much
Kent Hughes gives some commentary and some context here. He says, in Paul's earlier letter to Philemon, Paul honored Demas by referring to him as a fellow worker with the likes of Mark and Luke. He was part of an inner circle in close communion with the other greats in the New Testament. Demas was a man of spiritual substance. He greets him in the letter to The Colossians. Demas wasn't a lightweight, and he had been with Paul through many ups and downs. But this time the situation in Rome was apparently too much for him. Paul was not under house arrest as before, but was in the infamous marmurtine prison on his way to assure death for sedition.
8 · The pastor brings in Calvin's nuanced reading of Demas's desertion — not apostasy but prioritizing personal safety over Paul's life
John Calvin says this of him. We are not to suppose that he completely denied Christ and gave himself over to ungodliness or the allurements of the world. But listen to this. But only that he cared more for his own convenience and safety than for the life of Paul. So this isn't a. I'm denying the faith. This is just. I can't do it anymore, Paul. It's too dangerous. It's too hard. I can't do this. I've got to go home. I can't bear this. What if this happens? What if that happens and he runs back to Thessalonica?
9 · The pastor directly applies the Demas desertion to the congregation's expectations — they must expect some to fall back or out of the race, and when it happens, they should not be shaken or question God or their own faith
Here's why this is helpful. We must brothers and sisters, we must expect that in the long road of Christian life, some. Some will fall back in the race. Some may fall out of the race altogether. Some, it may be temporary and they rally. Some, it may be permanent. But it will happen. It will happen. And when it happens, Paul wants us to know. The voice in our ear wants us to know. We should not be shaken up. We should not question God. We should not question our own race. We should say, such is life in a fallen world. This is what you expect.
10 · The pastor distinguishes Crescens and Titus's departures from Demas's desertion — these men left for legitimate ministry reasons in God's sovereignty
Second, expect that, dear friends will be called elsewhere. Crescens has gone to Galatia, Titus to Dalmatia. Now, these two were gone for entirely different reasons. They've been sent to opposite points on the compass because they are doing ministry in those areas. Not because they wanted, like to take a vacation, but because Paul likely has sent them to these areas. And. And here is the reality. When we are in the midst of the Christian life, we will have people that we wish we could keep near us forever. And the Lord calls them elsewhere. And that is hard, but we must expect it. The Lord has a race for each person, and their race may be alongside us for a season, but it may not always be us. We must then command them to where the Lord is sending him. Notice that Paul doesn't insert any unfavorable comments about them questions. Has gone to Galatia, Titus to Dalmatia. Those losers. I'm by myself, you know, like he doesn't. He just says, no, this is what. In a sense, he's going. This is what the Lord's done. They had to Go there, they had to go there. Such as the Lord's will.
11 · The pastor shifts into personal testimony about the specific challenge of transient relationships in El Paso's borderland context
One of the great challenges I have found there's a number of particular challenges to ministry in El Paso into. In the borderland, in La Frontera. And one of the challenges is that El Paso lives up to its name. El Paso del Norte is the pass of the north, and it is a pass for many. Many pass through. Some are in the military, some are doing federal work. Some are students. Some go away to college and do not return. Some move up in their job and are moved to a corporate headquarters. And in some ways, I think the reality is you have to kind of fight to stay in El Paso. If you believe the Lord has called you here. Right? That's the reality. And I believe the Lord has called many of us here. But it will be a challenge because the Lord may call others elsewhere. I have found then that as a result, I am tempted. This is just me. I am tempted to either protect myself by not trying to be friends with anybody or be friends with a lot of people and then just be devastated when they leave. So either hold my heart back or give my heart over and then just constantly go another one, another person. You know, I think of specific people. I'm gonna try not to mention anybody in particular, but. But there are people I've loved and cared about and have been brothers in the faith, fathers in the faith. And then the Lord calls them elsewhere. Not because of sin, not because they're weak. That's just the Lord's race for them.
12 · The pastor identifies Paul's third way — neither withdrawal nor devastation but keeping one's heart in the mission with the confidence that Christian goodbyes are temporary
And notice what Paul does. Paul models a third option to this for us. Paul's heart is not shaken up. It's not devastated, because his heart is in the mission. His heart is in the mission. He knows that life is brief. He sees that real clearly at the end of his life. He knows that. Therefore, for the Christians, goodbyes are temporary. And in the meantime, there is much work to be done. We in this manuscript. My dad left a comment because all the elders look at my manuscripts or our manuscripts before we teach. And he just said, man, this truth, this is my dad speaking. This truth has helped your mom and me as we have had to see our closest friends move to other places for the sake of the gospel. Brothers and sisters, we should not be devastated or dissuaded. Expect that the Lord will call others elsewhere in their race.
13 · The pastor introduces the third expectation — God provides tough friends for tough times — and expounds on Luke's faithfulness to Paul in the brutal Roman dungeon
Third, you ready for some good news? Because you're like, great. Expect the people will desert and then expect that some good people will just leave. Do you have anything positive here, Paul? Yes. Number three Expect that God will give tough friends for tough times. Look at verse 11. Luke alone is with me. He is not alone. He could be alone, but Luke is with him. And this is the kind of Roman prison where. Where Paul would have nothing provided for him. This isn't like an American prison. This is a brutal Roman dungeon. There would be almost no food provided, no medical care, as we see, no blankets provided, no pillows provided. And so Luke is there, functioning part partly as Paul's doctor, partly as his caregiver, partly as his secretary and scribe, writing these down, partly just as a friend and encourager. And to do this, it meant this, that Luke would wake up every day, not in the dungeon, and walk his way down into the dungeon to be with Paul. Don't you think Luke at a certain point would go, do I want to go today? Maybe I'll just call in sick. You know, maybe I could just not visit Paul today. Nope. Every day he is with Paul. Kent Hughes calls Luke a tough friend for a tough time. And this is what God does. God provides brothers and sisters, tough friends for tough times. We are to expect that God will give us not only what we need in Matthew 6. Not Matthew 6 refers to God giving us what we need in clothing and in food. But we see here God also gives what we need in relationships. God gives us the friends we need for the seasons we need them. Sometimes they are lifelong friends. Sometimes the friends appear out of nowhere, but we are to value them. Do you see Paul's gratefulness? I've read one of the commentaries that Luke is likely writing this for Paul as Paul is dictating it to him on the other side of the bars, Paul smiling at Luke and saying, luke alone is with me, and giving Luke a nod. And they keep writing, Luke is there. Expect that God will give you the relationships you need, the friends you need. But you won't find them if your heart's all closed off right. You won't find them if you're bitter. You got to look up and look out and see who the Lord has provided.
14 · The pastor expands the scope of Paul's relational support beyond Luke to show the network of friends across the Mediterranean — some physically present in Rome, some scattered geographically but connected in prayer and love
And you see, not only is Luke with him, there's a whole. I'm going to bring in verse 19 because there's a whole host of friends all over the Mediterranean that the Lord has provided as well. Verse 19. Greet Prisa and Aquila and the household of oneness. Of course, Erastus remained at Corinth. I left Trophimus, who was ill, at Miletus. Do your best to come before winter. Eubulus sends greetings to you as do Pudens and Linus and Claudia and all the brothers. Meaning that there are. Luke alone is in the dungeon with him. Luke alone is with him, probably in the court. But there are people in Rome that love Paul. There are people scattered across the Mediterranean. Those relationships are giving Paul life. In the middle of this last mile.
15 · The pastor uses a cultural reference to a war film to illustrate the power of physical reassurance in combat — the tap on the shoulder that says 'I'm here with you
Expositor's commentary says this helpfully. At some point, we all find out that life does not always go well for us. We fall ill. We lose a spouse, we mourn. We are betrayed by friends and loved ones, and our heart really breaks. We grieve and have real tears streaming down our face. In such moments, some will feel a temptation to pull away and isolate themselves. That is not what Paul models here. In his most desperate moment, he reaches not in for help, but out. He does not draw away from the fellowship of the saints. He presses in. I love this. Recently I saw this. This very realistic war movie about a group of Marines under fire in. In Iraq. And. And one of the things is it just kind of sits with the Marines, and you watch the Marines kind of try to fight for their lives. And one of the things I noticed just watching the Marines, and what's great is the movie doesn't explain anything to you. Like, if you're not in the military, you're like, I. I don't understand half of what they're saying, which is great. But one of the things you notice that stood out to me is as these guys are moving from place to place, as these guys are doing stuff, they're always tapping each other. If you're in the military or in law enforcement, you know this to basically say, I'm here behind you. Okay, you go now. I'm here behind you now. You go now. And there's just all this tapping, right? Guys are in close proximity, they're tapping one another. Stay, go. And I realized when you're. And I thought, okay, how must this feel in the middle of the firefight? You think, I might die at any moment. And then you feel a tap on your shoulder. I'm here. I'm behind you. And then you've gotta go. And you feel another tap, like, he's with me now. They do it for a variety of reasons, but I just thought, man, can you feel the effect of that? When in the middle of the Christian life, you're like, man, everything is a war landscape around me in my life right now. And to have somebody touch your arm behind you and say, I'm with you, brother. We're moving together. Let's go. Together. That is what Paul is modeling at the end of his life. He may. He knows this may be the last letter, but he is greeting people, he is tapping people. He is saying, we're in this together. Stay strong, brothers. Expect that the Lord will give you those kinds of friends. And when you get them, hold on to them, treasure them, thank God for them. Don't withdraw from them. That's third.
16 · The pastor expounds Paul's request for Mark by recounting their broken history — Mark's abandonment of the missionary journey, Paul's refusal to give him a second chance, the split with Barnabas — to show the magnitude of the restoration
Fourth, Expect. This is another piece of good news. Expect unexpected restoration. Paul says, get Mark and bring him with you, for he is very useful to me for ministry. Now, you may not know Paul's history with Mark. Paul and Mark have a complicated history. Mark was brought along in Paul's missionary band and began to go visit cities and plant churches with them. But he abandoned the group in the middle of the journey. He was like, it's just too much. I can't do it. And he left. And so then later, Barnabas wants to bring him and give him a second chance. And Paul says, no, no way, bro. He left us in the middle of nowhere, in the middle of a journey. I am not going to do this. And Barnabas goes, I feel faith for him. And Paul's like, I do not feel faith for him. And so that's why they split. So you think, if anything, he's going to say, get Mark and bring him with you. For I have a sharp slap across the face from that for that coward. You know, I got some things to say to that dude before I die. Bring that guy with you. No, but look what he says, get Mark and bring him with you, for he is very useful to me for ministry here at the end of the life, of his life. We don't know how, we don't know when, but evidently he had been restored in relationship to Mark. And not just. No, you can be restored to be in the same room with one another. This is not that. This restoration is. Paul is telling Timothy he is one of the last people I want to see on this earth, and he is my fellow worker. Bring him with you. Kent Hughes says this. What profound encouragement we find in the life of John Mark. Past failure, even rejection, does not prevent present usability. You can come back from disgrace. Not only that, you can become immensely useful to Christ. Even a shirker can become a major worker in the gospel enterprise, the kind of man or woman the apostle would call for.
17 · The pastor applies the Mark restoration in two directions: first to those who feel their story is over due to past failure (receive hope that God can write a better ending), and second to the congregation's posture toward others who have left or disappointed (do not write anyone off since God is still writing their stories)
Look, brothers, first of all, just receive this if that's you today. If you're a John Mark, if you got something in your past and you're like, that's it that's the end of my story. I messed up or I was rejected, or I failed. It does not have to be the end of your story. In the gospel, God can write a better ending to your story. Don't close the chapter. Don't close the book. Rather, where God has closed the chapter, it may be that chapter is over. But the Lord has a story for your life. And as we minister with one another, we got to keep this in mind about other people, the demises, right? The people that leave, the people that things are difficult with. Do not write anyone off. Do not think, okay, well, they went to another church or they didn't like this or whatever. We should not write off those who. The Lord is still writing their story, the middle of it. We should pray and see if the Lord would restore us to them. We should pray and ask that the Lord restore them to usefulness and expect unexpected restorations.
18 · The pastor introduces the fifth expectation — harmful treatment and opposition — by exposing Alexander the Coppersmith who did Paul great harm, possibly by informing on him
Fifth, you feel great. Okay, good. Expect harmful treatment and opposition. And we're back. Verse 14. Alexander the Coppersmith did me great harm. The Lord will repay him according to his. To his deeds. Beware of him yourself, for he strongly opposed our message. Right. Paul is warning Timothy, evidently, about this man because he, he likely is in Rome. Some commentators speculate that he may have been the guy that informed on Paul, the guy that got him arrested in the first place. That said, here's what he's saying, here's what he's doing. Don't you want to arrest him? Great harm. We must expect that on the long road of life there will be opposition. The Lord's work is always opposed. Okay, Hear me when I say that the Lord's work, if you're doing the Lord's work, is always opposed by the world, the flesh and the devil. And so I think sometimes as Christians, we just have unrealistic, unrealistic expectations, like, why doesn't everyone love me? I'm following Jesus. We got a whole bunch of people that don't love you if you're following Jesus. I'm trying to follow the Lord. And life seems harder. Yes, right. The world, the flesh and the devil, they hate that. They're going to oppose that.
19 · The pastor applies Paul's warning about Alexander not as a reason to withdraw but as a call to vigilance and courage
But we should not cower in fear. Paul does not tell Timothy, don't come, it's too dangerous. He says, come on, just watch out. Right? He doesn't say, okay, just, you know. And listen, we gotta remember this about Timothy. From what we've learned, Timothy's not an especially bold guy by temperament. He's like, what? There's a guy, a coppersmith he's probably ripped, right? Those dudes are big guys. And Paul doesn't say stay away. He says just watch out. Just keep your eyes up, okay? Come on. Anyway, we should not be surprised. Steel your nerves, brothers and sisters. You will be opposed. We will be opposed.
20 · The pastor synthesizes all the relational expectations (desertion, departure, provision, restoration, opposition) under the ultimate theological claim: God reigns over all relationships
And last expectation. Expect that God will reign over our relationships. Expect that he will reign. Notice this little phrase that Paul inserts that actually gives us a window in his worldview. The Lord will repay Alexander according to his evil deeds. The Lord will repay. Look, here's the reality. Life relationally feels chaotic. Some people are deserting, some people are pressing in, some are attacking, some are restoring. It feels unstable. It feels like I don't know which way to go, which way to turn. But Paul's worldview shines through here. In saying that God will restore, that will repay rather this Alexander for his evil, Paul is actually saying something incredibly profound. Paul is saying that over all the relational ups and downs, all the relational chaos of our lives, the Lord still reigns. The Lord reigns over it all. The Lord has a ledger, he has an account. And Alexander, he's got. Well, he's got some things coming to him. And notice this. The Lord is not running back and forth in a panic over this. The Lord is working. He is noting, he is observing, he is planning, he is advancing and he is reigning. This is what we should expect then, brothers and sisters. We see in part relationally, but the Lord sees the whole. Our plans might be frustrated and opposed, but his plans never fail. We cannot see the end of anyone's story, but the Lord directs our steps.
21 · The pastor signals the major structural pivot from horizontal expectations of others to vertical expectations of God
That's what to expect, but not all to expect. Second section, and more briefly, expectations of God. Oh, my goodness. First thing. So it's almost like we've looked at horizontally our relational landscape, but now Paul looks vertically at his relationship with the Lord.
22 · The pastor expounds the first expectation of God — that the Lord stands by his people — by painting the scene of Paul's complete abandonment in the Roman courtroom followed by the Lord's presence
Number one, expect the Lord to stand by. Look, there's been a bunch of verses for second Timothy that I have found. Like, man, this is a life verse. I want to hold on to this verse. This one man, this one I think may have worked on me more than every other verse. Notice just this phrase. The setup is in verse 16. At my first defense, no one came to stand by me, but all deserted me. Meaning this. Paul is in the Roman court. He's being drug in shackles before some corrupt Roman official with a bunch of angry kind of former friends in the Pharisee movement or, or in. In the Jewish sort of elite, making accusations, other Romans making accusations. Paul is scanning the crowd for his friends, for people who are there to support him? He sees no one. He is alone in this courtroom. And look at verse 17. But the Lord stood by me and strengthened me. Isn't that good news? Paul looks out, he sees no one. And Paul goes, it's okay. The Lord stood by me and strengthened me. The language here is amazing because the language, I think, echoes a story from the book of Daniel that you will remember from a previous series where Daniel's three friends are cast into a fire because they will not bow down before an idol. You remember what happened to these friends. In the midst of them, there appeared another man, the Lord Himself standing by them. They are not burned. They are not scorched. They are safe as long as the Lord stands by them. And think also of Paul's life, of his first encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus. I mean, he is writing to persecute these people that are called Christians. And on the road, the risen Jesus stops him. And it is that same risen Jesus. Paul looks to his right and sees, tapping his shoulder, the risen Christ. The Lord stood by me.
23 · The pastor applies the doctrine of God's standing by directly to the congregation's present circumstances, asking them to identify where they feel alone and to receive the truth that the Lord stands by them as he stood by Paul
Friend, here's your expectations of life. It's going to be chaotic. It's going to be crazy. What would change in your life if you believed the Lord truly, truly, truly was standing by you? Where is that place in your life? You feel alone, you feel deserted. You feel like no one's there, no one sees, no one's around. Hear the encouragement of verse 17. It is not just true for Paul. It is true for every single son and daughter of God. The Lord, brother or sister, stands by you, and that is good news.
24 · The pastor expounds the second clause of verse 17 — 'and strengthened me' — to show that God's presence is not merely passive companionship but active empowerment
And not only that, okay, it could just end there, but the Lord stood by me and we're like, done close the Bible, we're good. Let's. Let's go. But the Lord adds a second encouragement here. Paul adds a second encouragement. The Lord stood by me and strengthened me with that tap on our shoulder. The Lord is not just reminding us that he is next to us. Rather, he is filling us with his strength. When you think, okay, he's standing next to me, but my knees are still knocking, I still lack the words. I still can't keep moving forward. The Lord not only stands next to us, he infuses us with his strength. The spirit of the living God who dwells in us is an endless reserve of the power of God. So you might think, okay, I'm out of power. I'm out of faith. I'm out of abilities. I'm out of skills, I'm out of gifts. Not a problem. The Lord strengthens. And you're like, okay, my cupboard is bare. The Lord's is not. I got nothing left. The Lord's not out. The Lord stands by and strengthens.
25 · The pastor creates a moment of congregational reflection, inviting listeners to identify specific areas where they need strength and to apply the truth of God's strengthening presence directly to those situations
I just want you to sit in that for a minute. Where in your life do you need strength? Is it a battle with sin? Is it a fight for your marriage? Is it a fight for your kids? Is it a. An ability to endure in a difficult job? Is it something external that is coming to you? Is it a. Is it a diagnosis in your life? Where is it? And right now, apply brother or sister, apply the truth of this verse to it. The Lord is next to you. He stands by you, and he will strengthen you. Right now, in the name of Jesus Christ, by the power of the Spirit, the Lord stands by second.
26 · The pastor expounds the purpose of God's strengthening — meaningful work
Second thing, expect meaningful work until the end. Verse 17. But the Lord stood by me and strengthened me. Why? So that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and the Gentiles might hear it, while everyone else might see this courtroom as a bunch of scary people opposed to him. Paul goes, awesome, an audience. Let's go. One more chance to preach the gospel to the elite Romans. One more chance to preach the gospel to everyone in this courtroom. Let's go. The Lord stands by me. I am full of strength and I have work to do. And not just there. Look at verse 13. He tells Timothy, look, man, I don't know what you'd be calling for at the end of your life, but this is probably not my list. He says, when you come, first thing, understandable. Bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at tr. I just love this. He's just a. I love that. Paul is just so human. He's like, man, you know what I really regret? I really regret now forgetting that cloak. If somebody could get that for me, that would be lovely. Amazing. Thank you. And then he goes, and also, what? The books and above all the parchments. And you think, what, bro? You're on death's row. Okay? You're on death row right now. Just at this, I think you're done. Paul's like, I'm not done. If you can get here with those parchments and the books, I can do more work before glory. Bring the stuff.
27 · The pastor applies the doctrine of meaningful work until the end by challenging the congregation never to retire from ministry and encouraging those who feel useless
This is brothers and sister. This is profoundly challenging and encouraging. It's challenging and encouraging because we must never retire from Christian ministry, right? You might be in a busy season, you might retire from your 9 to 5 job, but you never retire from Christian ministry. You might get busy. You might get hurt, you might get stuck, you might get homebound. But Paul would say that's no excuse to stop ministering. Can you send a text to encourage? Can you pray for somebody? Can you call and infuse courage and strength into somebody you know? Can you. Can you share the gospel with people from a hospital bed that God divinely has in front of you as doctors and nurses and other people that everyone's mean to all day? Yes, it's a challenge, but it's also profoundly encouraging. There are moments for all of us that we feel useless, that we feel like we've been put on the shelf. But let Paul's example encourage you. You are never useless. You can always encourage those around you with the Gospel. You can always pray for others. You can. You can, if you lose your legs, encourage people from a wheelchair. Even if you are going home to glory, you can encourage your family on your deathbed. Dear saint, as long as the Lord has you here, he will have meaningful, eternal work for you.
28 · The pastor expounds Paul's confidence in rescue by tracing the Daniel 6 lion's mouth imagery and distinguishing temporal rescue from ultimate eternal rescue
And third and last, expect rescue. He says of the trial, So I was rescued from the lion's mouth. The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed and bring me safely into his heavenly kingdom. To him be the glory forever and ever. Amen. Now, does that language sound familiar at all? The language of being rescued from the lion's mouth again? I think Paul is taking a ton of encouragement from the Book of Daniel. I like to think maybe Daniel is one of the parchments that he wanted. He's like, man, I gotta get the Book of Daniel. I need this book. I need to see it again. Rescued from the lion's mouth where? Where Daniel is thrown into this pit with a lot. With lions, plural. And all night he sleeps and the Lord preserves him and he's brought out of it. Now, you might think, okay, well, that's true. The Lord gave Paul basically an extension of life in that courtroom. But he's still on death row. He's still going to go at some point. But Paul is utterly confident. He says, look at his language. The Lord, he doesn't say, might rescue me. The Lord could rescue me. He says, the Lord will rescue me. Now, you think that doesn't make sense because we, 2000 years ago, looking back, know that he died. We know that whether it was this week or the next month or the next year, Paul found the end of his life at a. At a Roman ax in a public execution. We know that. So how can Paul say, the Lord will rescue me? The language there is not just referring to temporal rescue. Then but eternal rescue. Paul, through his whole life was. Was rescued and then thrown back into danger. Rescued and then threatened again. Rescued and then thrown back into danger. But he is confident that the Lord will bring about in his timing, one final rescue from forever. A rescue not from Romans or. Or angry Jewish mobs, but a rescue from sin, a rescue from death, a rescue from Satan, a rescue from all earthly powers. And he is confident that the Lord will rescue.
29 · The pastor applies the doctrine of rescue by contrasting false sources of ultimate safety (insurance, health strategies, military, etc
Look, in this life, safety is never guaranteed. If we seek safety from insurance or you know, ult. If we seek ultimate safety rather in insurance or vitamins or diets or retirement accounts or our military or home defense strategies, we will find, unfortunately, there is no ultimate safety. But this verse is true for the Christian. The Lord will rescue you. He will bring you safely into where? Into his heavenly kingdom. Oh friends, it's not just a temporary rescue. It's not just a reprieve. It's not just at this point, you know, this, this financial calamities pushed back a bit. Your health diagnosis is pushed back a bit. This challenge is pushed back a bit. No. There will come for the Christian one final forever rescue. And then rest. Oh, such good news.
30 · The pastor expounds Paul's final words to Timothy — 'The Lord be with your spirit
And then finally, now we arrive at the very end of the letter. Look at verse 22. The Lord be with your spirit. Grace be with you. This may well be Paul's final sentence to his son in the faith, Timothy. It is no mere sign off, no mere sincerely Paul. It is Paul dictating perhaps his last words to his son. And look at what they are. The Lord be with your spirit. Paul knows that very soon he will not be there for Timothy anymore. Paul is finishing his race. And so Paul commends Timothy to the Lord. When Paul is no longer there, Jesus will be there. When Paul cannot help Timothy in his hardships, Jesus will be there. When Paul cannot rejoice at Timothy's successes, Jesus will be there in loss and in gain, in discouragement, in consolation. Paul commends Timothy to the Lord and the Lord to Timothy. And then perhaps the great theme of Paul's ministry has been the grace of God, the grace that saves, the grace that sent Christ Jesus to the earth, the grace present on the cross where he suffered for sinners, the grace of his resurrection where he brought us with him to new life. The grace that sanctifies, the grace that perseveres, reveres, the grace that sustains. And now his final words are grace be with you. The gift of God's unmerited favor that has changed Paul's life, that has changed his trajectory. That has changed everything about him, that has carried him up to this last moment he now says is Timothy's hope for his race. Paul is saying, I have run my race by the grace of God. It has been my theme, it has been my song. It has been my hope. Now may you run this way as well. May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ sustain, help you persevere until you too are rescued and brought safely home.
31 · The pastor issues an evangelistic invitation to non-Christians, offering Paul's steadiness in the face of death as available through the grace of God
And if you're not a Christian today, I just want to invite you. You may be perplexed, you may be frustrated in life. In fact, I know you are apart from Christ. But this confidence, this ability to look death in the face and not flinch could be yours. This steadiness, this steel in your spine that Paul models, it is not just him. It is available to every single Christian. How? Because of the grace of God and Paul. Look at the way Paul was changed is he did not go. Okay, I'm gonna do a hundred step process to be super godly. No, he was knocked off his horse, saw his need, saw that he was a sinner, believed in the Lord Jesus Christ as his Savior and Lord and was never the same. And from that moment on, had the eternal confidence that he would be rescued and brought safely home. You too can have that. Maybe today. This is your knocked off the horse moment. You see the way you're living your life, you're like, it is not working. The Lord says, see your need. Respond to him as Savior and Lord. And this can be your ending as well.
32 · The pastor traces the chain of gospel transmission from Paul to Timothy to John to Polycarp to Irenaeus to Europe to El Paso in a sweeping narrative that places the congregation in the 2000-year story of gospel faithfulness
All right, last thing, because I got to take two minutes to do this because I just think it's a beautiful connection to us. So for all of us, I want you to see something. Paul, who has been coaching Timothy, he signs off. And Timothy, what we know from church history is he pastors faithfully in the city of Ephesus. And for a great season, it becomes a strong, vibrant church that trains and helps and encourages many faithful Gospel preachers. In fact, the Apostle John later found a safe harbor at this church in Ephesus as the last remaining apostle and ministered there from this platform. And John in his ministry chained a young man named Polycarp. Polycarp grew and was a powerful preacher of the Gospel until he was martyred for the faith. And his faith set ablaze, and his martyrdom really set ablaze the faith of the church. And this Polycarp trained a young, another young man named Irenaeus. Irenaeus was later used by God to defend the church powerfully from heresy. Irenaeus was used by God to actually spread the faith of Christianity out into Europe. And it was in that era that the four Gospels were codified and defended, and core truths like the Trinity and the Incarnation were codified and defended and the faith, in a sense, stabilized, preserved, and handed off to the Church for the next centuries. And from those councils and writings, the Church advanced in Europe and beyond, century after century after century, and so on and so on, until the faith arrived in El Paso, Texas.
33 · The pastor concludes by synthesizing the sermon's entire argument — Paul's coaching has been validated across 2000 years of church history, and the congregation now enters that story
And here's the point. The voice in our ear is right, and it has been right for 2000 years. Paul is right. In every age, people have been deserted and people have been attacked. But in every age, God has raised up tough friends for tough times. And in every age, without exception, the Lord has stood by his people, and the Lord has strengthened his people. And the Lord has been with his people until so many centuries later. A church in El Paso takes the name Cross of Grace, the grace preserved for all saints, and we enter the story. So then, brothers and sisters, let us run our course faithfully until he brings us safely into his heavenly kingdom. Amen.
34 · The closing prayer intercedes specifically for single parents who feel the absence of a spouse and more broadly for all who feel alone or surrounded by relational chaos
Would you stand? Let's pray. Lord, I pray that you would minister today, Lord, especially feel a burden for those who need someone to stand by them today, Lord, even just have this specific sense to pray for the single parents in our congregation who through loss or separation or some other variety of factors, find themselves alone trying to parent as best they can, feeling the constant absence of a spouse standing next to them. Lord, we pray over them as a congregation right now. Lord, would you stand by them? Lord, we know that you stand by them. Would they feel that you stand by them today? Would you strengthen them for their work today? In the name of Jesus Christ and Lord, I pray for all those beyond that specific group that just feel the absence. They feel the chaos, Lord, remind them of these truths, that you reign over all these relationships and you will stand by and you will encourage and you have work.