Finishing Strong – The Apostle Paul

Below is an excerpt of the sermon...

Let’s open our Bibles, if you would please, to the book of a 2 Timothy 4. And we’ll look down in a passage here, and we’ve been talking about great finishers, people who finish strong. And so, we have another character tonight. It’ll be this week and then I think we finish up next week on one other character.

I don’t know if you’re like me, I like to be around finishers. There’re too many quitters. People start and they quit, they start and they quit, they start and they quit. Quitters never build anything, quitters never get the prize, they never get the gold medal, they never get the Super Bowl ring. You gotta finish. And it’s just so easy to quit. So much discouragement. But you want to be a finisher.

I got this wonderful text last week on Easter from one of our members that moved many years ago to Tennessee. He’s a scientist, he’s an inventor, and his name’s Lou Jones. Some of you remember Brother Jones, Lou jones. He sent me a text Saturday. He said, “We’re gathering (you know, three hours difference) We’re gathering a whole bunch of people in our living room, full of unsaved friends and coworkers to watch the Easter Sunday sermon. And so, he texted me after church last week. He said, “We have a 72-inch television.” I said, “Is that all?” And so, he texted me and said, “We had two saved in our living room last Sunday watching the Napa Easter service.” So I was really excited about that. So if you’re listening tonight, Lou, great job! Well, it’s probably 10:30 your time or whatever time, but great job.

2 Timothy. Let’s look down for a moment in chapter 4. We taught some of this in our adult class this morning, and so, if you’re listening online, this will be a little repetitious. But these are the last words of the apostle Paul. He is writing to Timothy, his son in the ministry, Paul realizes he calls himself Paul the aged. Not only is he getting older, but his life is at stake. He’s in a Roman prison, he has already seen Stephen stoned, John, the Baptist has been killed, Jesus was crucified and then Paul has brought many Christians to prison himself. So, he knows that the guillotine, if you will, is being sharpened. The executioner’s axe is being sharpened. He has little time left. And so, these are his last words.

So, 2 Timothy 4. Let’s just read some of this. If you would, 2 Timothy 4:1 (he is speaking to Timothy. These were his last words) “I charge thee therefore…” And that word “charge” means right before they’re heading out to battle. It’s the last words. It’s the drill sergeant saying some last words. It’s the coach right before the Super Bowl starts. Right now. Here’s the words. It’s that parent saying to their child heading off to college about to catch a plane—that one last statement to tell you. So, here’s Paul in 2 Timothy 4:1–3: “I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom; 2. Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. 3. For the time will come [in 2021!] when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;”

I had compliment from one of our new men today from the Baxters, him and his family. They’re a sweet, sweet family, three kids. He was heading to the car, I said, “We’re going to have you all over in about two weeks. My wife’s been a little sick, nut we’re gonna have you all over to the house.” He said, “Pastor, (and they’ve been coming almost a year. Got saved at their house passed) the reason we come is because we hear the Word of God preached.” He said, “It wasn’t like that in the churches we were raised in, but we love to hear this Book preached, and that’s why we come.” I said, “Wow, I like that a lot.”

And then Paul says a little further in 2 Timothy 4:5, “But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions…” It’s gonna be some tough days. And folks, I just want to make this public statement. We don’t know where it’s all going, this political scene right now. I’m not going to be the gloom and doom prophet and be constantly saying it’s bad, it’s bad. You can watch the news and get depressed. You come to church to be encouraged, but we don’t know where it’s all going to go. But why should we think we ought to live on easy street as Christians when our forefathers were beheaded, there were jailed for what they said and what they preached and they were ridiculed. It may come one day when the Christians are the minute minority here and are persecuted. I don’t know. I don’t know where it’s all going to go. But if so, endure hardness, endure hardness. So that’s those church people, they must believe this, and they put us all in one lump sum. If you’re a Christian, you must have voted this way. You must believe this about the vaccine. You believe this about the math, and it’s this whole ball of wax. It’s a strange day.

So, Paul says, “Timothy, hey endure afflictions.” And then Paul says—this is his final words—2 Timothy 4:6: “For I am now ready to be offered…” He says, I’m like a sacrifice, I’m ready to crawl upon the altar. He said, I’m ready. This is it. And then he says, “…and the time of my departure is at hand.” You study that word out. It refers to pulling up the stakes.