A REAL RACE IN A REAL WORLD WITH REAL PEOPLE

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0><script type="text/javascript" src="http://hb.lycos.com/hb.js"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://ratings.lycos.com/ratings/lycosRating.js.php"></script> <script type="text/javascript"><![CDATA[//><!]]></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://scripts.lycos.com/catman/init.js"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://members.tripod.com/adm/ad/code-start.js"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://members.tripod.com/adm/ad/code-middle.js"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://members.tripod.com/adm/ad/code-end.js"></script> <noscript> <img src="http://members.tripod.com/adm/img/common/ot_noscript.gif?rand=297188" alt="" width="1" height="1" />  <iframe frameborder="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no" width="728" height="90" src="http://ad.yieldmanager.com/st?ad_type=iframe&ad_size=728x90&section=209094"></iframe>  </noscript> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" height=95 BGCOLOR="#330066" TEXT="#F7F7FF" bgproperties="fixed" background="048005f0dkblkv.gif"> <div> <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#FFFFFF" FACE="Arial" ><B>Preach The Word</b></FONT><B>     </b><B>|    </b><FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#FFFFFF" FACE="Arial" ><B> </b><A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Preach The Word"><U><B>home</b></U></A></FONT></div> <div> <A HREF="id22.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="2 Timothy"><U><B>2 Timothy</b></U></A><B>   l   </b><A HREF="id54.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="DANIEL"><U><B>Daniel</b></U></A><B>   l   </b><A HREF="id69.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="ZECHARIAH: "><U><B>Zechariah</b></U></A><B>   l   </b><A HREF="id70.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="MARK"><U><B>Mark</b></U></A><B>    I   </b><A HREF="id136.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="TOPICAL STUDIES"><U><B>Topical Studies</b></U></A></div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" height=385 BGCOLOR="#DDDDDD" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <B>A REAL RACE IN A REAL WORLD WITH REAL PEOPLE</b><B> - Part 1</b></div> <div> 2 Timothy 4:9-11</div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> As you can tell by the title of today's message, we're going to be talking reality this morning.  And living in North America at the dawn of the 21<FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" >st</FONT> Century, Christians need this kind of wake up call every now and then. Why? Because, I personally believe that, we who are baby boomers, and baby busters, have been raised and learned to live in a Culture that will go down in history as The Culture of Fantasy.  </div> <bR> <div> Among the highest grossing industries of all time is the entertainment industry. And you and I have been conditioned by it more than we'd like to admit. On a daily basis we are bombarded by the media, television, radio, and the printed page.  And a large part of it's message is one of deception.  Hundred of thousands of couples divorce after a few years of marriage because they find out that their day to day real life doesn't match up to what they fantasized it to be.  The entertainment Industry deceived us into believing that life is always fun, that in the end you always end up having it your way, the bad guy always loses and, most of the time, the good guy always win.  We've believed the fantasy that you can live in sin without having to live with it's consequences. We've bought into cult of youth and physical beauty that says, <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000080" FACE="Arial" >"You don't have to be nice. All  you need to succeed is to look good." </FONT>And so now we find ourselves spiritually and morally  bankrupt.  And many people who call themselves Christians are really what Jesus called <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000080" FACE="Arial" >"white washed sepulchers."</FONT>  We look cool on the outside but on the inside we're hollow and in serious want. </div> <bR> <bR> <div> But we don't pay too much attention to it. We just follow the crowd and continue playing the game.  We believe that nobody knows the real truth about us and, honestly, we prefer that way.   The result of this kind of world is that it becomes hard to find people who are real.  We have a lot  of phonies and less and less real people.  Let me read you a short story about what it is to be REAL. </div> <bR> <div> The reason I bring this up is because we're going to look at what we believe to be the Apostle Paul's last recorded words. And, to be frank with you, I am so blessed when I read <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#008000" FACE="Arial" >2 Timothy</FONT> that I can hardly wait to come back to it over and over again. </div> <bR> <div> In the spring of 1992 I was very sad when I found out that I had accidentally missed the graduating class last chapel meeting with Dr. John Walvoord.  I was working.  But a friend of mine shared with me a little of what Dr. Walvoord had said that day, and I never forgot it. He told the class, <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000080" FACE="Arial" >"When you get into the ministry and start feeling the heat come back often to the Pastoral Epistles. And God will strengthen you." </FONT>Why? Because the letters deal with a Real Race in a Real world with Real people.  There's no luvy-dubby, look good, feel good marmalade here.  This is real life with real people.  And if you want to endure to the end, you better get real quicker or else, before you know it, a half hour of commercials will have passed you by and after the grand finale and theme song have reached their climax, you'll find yourself at the end of the show with and empty glass, empty bowl of popcorn, sitting on the same comfort chair going nowhere.</div> <bR> <div> Personally, I find the Apostle Paul one of the greatest men who ever set foot on this cursed earth.  He was used by God to lead millions of sinners to the Lord, train millions of men and women for the ministry and set example for missionary service that is hard to match.  Throughout his life as a Christian, Paul shared the Gospel with the poorest of the poor and richest of the rich.  He spoke to insignificant peasants as well as worldly acclaimed leaders.  For him social status was merely a divine grace because, in the end, we're all equal in the eyes of the Almighty Master and Creator of the Universe.  God had called him to preach the Gospel to one and all and Paul did exactly that to his final day of execution.  </div> <bR> <div> So, in brief, the Apostle Paul is a hero and a champion if there ever was one.  He never quit, stayed faithful to the death, he was a leader and a mentor, and incomparable theologian and teacher.  A true first class phenomenon of the highest caliber.  But, make no mistake, Paul didn't live in a fantasy.  Paul would not have made it in Hollywood.  As far as we can tell he wasn't tall or handsome. He didn't have much money or live in luxury.  Paul wasn't a people pleaser and he only followed one script.   And yet when we read these last verses of 2 Timothy we just can't believe in what conditions his life ended. </div> <bR> <div> I mean, if there should've been a man who finished his life surrounded by a crowd of friends, fans and family it was Paul.  But he didn't.  If there was a hero who should've ended his days in comfort and acclaim it was Paul.  But he had neither.  No.  What we find in these verses is a man of God who is seen by his contemporary world as a disgrace, a tragedy and a failure.  And you know why that strengthens me? Because it reminds me of the cold, harsh reality of being sold our for God in a fallen world. </div> <bR> <div> In these 14 last verses of<FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#008000" FACE="Arial" > 2 Timothy</FONT> the Apostle Paul gives us the first names of some 19 individuals that have been part of his life.  These are real people. And these people have affected, or touched, Paul in a variety of ways. Some have been an unspeakable blessing to him.  Others ended up deeply hurting him.  But all of them remind us of how real life and real people affect us all. </div> <bR> <div> So let's try and approach these people as not only people who the Apostle Paul was affected by but people who resemble individuals that we all meet and are affected by during our brief passage here on earth. </div> <bR> <div> As you live your Christian life here in this world</div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>1. SOMETIMES YOU NEED A FRIEND YOU CAN REALLY TRUST. (9)</b></div> <bR> <div> "Do your best (Timothy) to come to me quickly"</div> <bR> <div> Timothy was, without a doubt, one of Paul's dearest friend.  Paul was so close to Timothy that he viewed and presented him as practically a double of himself:  <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#008000" FACE="Arial" >"I exhort you therefore, be imitators of me. For this reason I have sent to you Timothy, who is my beloved and faithful child in the Lord, and he will remind you of my ways which are in Christ, just as I teach everywhere in every church"  1 Corinthians 4:16-17</FONT></div> <bR> <div> At the start of <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#008000" FACE="Arial" >1 Timothy</FONT> he called Timothy his <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#008000" FACE="Arial" >"true child in the faith" (1:2)</FONT> and in <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#008000" FACE="Arial" >2 Timothy 1:2</FONT> he called him, <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#008000" FACE="Arial" >" my beloved son."</FONT>  In other words, Paul and Timothy were like father and son.  I'm sure you must have heard people talk about someone and say, <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000080" FACE="Arial" >"Oh, my goodness, he reminds me so much of his father, it's unbelievable."</FONT> In French-speaking NB we have the expression, <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000080" FACE="Arial" >"Ils se ressemblent comme deux gouttes d'eau!"</FONT> Which literally translated is, <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000080" FACE="Arial" >"They resemble each other like two drops of water." </FONT>That's what people could've said about Paul and Timothy. </div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" >T</FONT>his is the kind of friendship that goes beyond external and superficial traits.  This is a bonding of mind and soul.  A friend who shares your convictions, your morals, your outlook and your affections.  When you're together you can practically read each others mind.  The intimacy is so great that you can finish his or her sentence before he or she does.  One O.T. example of this type of friendship is David and Jonathan.  </div> <bR> <div> Turn to: <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#008000" FACE="Arial" >1 Samuel 18:1-4; 2 Samuel 1:26.</FONT>  </div> <bR> <div> This is the type of friend Proverbs refers to: <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#008000" FACE="Arial" >"A friend loves at all times… their is a friend who sticks closer than a brother." Proverbs 17:17; 18:24</FONT></div> <bR> <div> Let me tell you, friends life this are a rare commodity.  Usually you have one or two and that's it.  And when you're lonely, suffering and in need of someone real, that's the person you give a call to as Paul does here.</div> <bR> <div> But real life being what it is you'll run into others who will seem to be a true friend but, tragically, will drop you life a hot potato when you need them most. </div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>2. SOME WILL ABANDON YOU WHEN YOU NEED THEM MOST.</b></div> <bR> <div> "For Demas, because he loved this world, has deserted me and has gone to Thessalonica." 10a</div> <bR> <div> John MacArthur notes that the verb <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#008000" FACE="Arial" >"deserted"</FONT> here is<FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000080" FACE="Arial" > "enkataleipo… a strong verb that means to utterly abandon and leave someone helpless in a dire situation." </FONT><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000080" FACE="Arial" >2 Timothy, p. 206</FONT></div> <bR> <div> This is the kind of person who'll stay friends with you as long as your presence is a catalyst to his or her being blessed.  In other words, it's the type of individual who's close to you as long as you contribute to his welfare.  So, when you no longer are an asset to his or her well-being, you're history.  He's with you for what he can get out of you and once that's done he's gone.  A classic example of this type of person is Judas.</div> <bR> <div> "Wealth brings many friends, but a poor man's friend deserts him." Prov. 18:4</div> <bR> <div> "Many curry favor with a ruler, and everyone is the friend of a man who gives gifts." 19:6</div> <bR> <div> We'll see how you should deal with a user-friend like that a little later. </div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>3. SOME YOU'VE DISCIPLED WILL FLOURISH IN CHRISTIAN MINISTRY.</b></div> <bR> <div> "Crescens has gone to Galatia, and Titus to Dalmatia." (10b<FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" >)</FONT></div> <bR> <bR> <div> We simply don't know who <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#008000" FACE="Arial" >"Crescens"</FONT> was since this is the only place in the Bible where he's mentioned.  So it would be pure speculation to try to describe this man based on this small sentence. </div> <bR> <div> But that's not the case with the man Paul mentions right after him, <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#008000" FACE="Arial" >"Titus."   </FONT>Turn to:<FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#008000" FACE="Arial" > Titus 1:4-5</FONT></div> <bR> <div> Here again Paul compares his relationship with this man, Titus, as he did with Timothy, that of a father and a son.  It is possible that he calls him his <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#008000" FACE="Arial" >"true son"</FONT> in the faith because he had led him to Christ.  And the fact that he left Titus on the Island of Crete in order to <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#008000" FACE="Arial" >"straighten out what  was left unfinished and appoint elders in every town" (5)</FONT> says a lot about the spiritual maturity and giftedness of this man. I mean, you don't just entrust that kind of task to anybody, do you?  No. This tells us that Titus was a spiritual leader, a man of discernment and worthy of great trust.   And in the Book of Acts we learn that Titus accompanied Paul in his missionary work.  So Paul took him under his wing and discipled this man until he was able to carry on the work of the ministry without Paul having to be there. </div> <bR> <div> And God will give you the opportunity to do just the same.  Whether it be your own child or someone you led to the Lord, or a Christian you met and disciple  for sometime, God will use you to train and disciple him or her so, when the times come, they'll continue to minister, even when you're no longer there to guide them through it.  This is without a doubt one of the greatest blessings you can have during your brief passage here in this lifetime. </div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>4. SOME WILL STICK BY YOU RIGHT TO THE VERY END.</b><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#800000" FACE="Arial" ><B> </b></FONT></div> <bR> <div> "Only Luke is with me." (11)</div> <bR> <div> Again, this kind of friend you don't find very often.  This friend will stick with you through thick and thin.  Many of us find this kind of friend and end up marrying him or her.  Paul was called of God to celibacy but the Lord gave him a companion who would stick by him right to the very end. </div> <bR> <div> Luke was quite a man.  <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#008000" FACE="Arial" >Colossians 4:14</FONT> tells us he was a medical Doctor.  In <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#008000" FACE="Arial" >Philemon 24</FONT> Paul refers to him as a fellow worker. So he accompanied Paul in the ministry.  He was an evangelist and historian.  The only Non-Jewish author in the N.T.  He wrote the two longest books: The Gospel of <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#008000" FACE="Arial" >Luke </FONT>and<FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#008000" FACE="Arial" > Acts</FONT>.  He was a humble man because in his writings he rarely refers to himself and chooses to stay in the background.  Though he could have lived an easy life as a physician, he chose to serve the Lord at Paul's side and suffer hardship and pain with him.  </div> <bR> <div> This is the type of friend that is a real friend.  He's the type of friend John refers to when he writes, <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#008000" FACE="Arial" >"This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life of us.  And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers." 1 John 3:16</FONT></div> <bR> <div> The Lord might give you a friend or two like that in this lifetime.  Blessed are you if He does. </div> <bR> <div> And how do you get to have a friend like that? Well, as you probably know, they don't just drop out of the sky.  No, the only way to have a friend is for you, first of all, to be one.  It's a known truth that we usually attract people who resemble who we are.  An athletes best friend is usually a person who likes sports.  A musicians best friend usually likes music. So you usually have a friend who'll be ready to give his life for you when you're that type of person yourself. </div> <bR> <div> I believe it was Ralph Waldo Emerson who wrote, <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000080" FACE="Arial" >"The only to have a friend is to be one."</FONT></div> <bR> <bR> <div> "May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer."  Psalm 19:14</div> <bR> <div> Amen and God Bless You All.</div> </td> </tr></table></body>