Well good morning to everyone. Good to see you all here this morning to come together to worship and for the Word. We have a text all about people today—people, real people, real ministry. Paul's closing words, and I was just thinking this morning what a privilege it is to have this place, to have you as a church family and the fellowship we have. What we're doing here is so vital and important.

You know, it's always a bit of a sad thing for me to come to the end of a book because it's so encouraging to really dig in and study and immerse yourself in a letter, a book of the Bible. I feel as though I live it as I’m going through and studying it. I'm trying to really understand the author and his intent, the audience, the purpose, and what result is desired by hearing, by receiving the words. 

This is such a powerful epistle because it's Paul's last words—the last words of the great apostle to the Gentiles. And not only his last words, but his last words to Timothy, his protege in the ministry, the one he hoped would carry the torch, carry on the ministry, and keep the believers' minds straight concerning truth, concerning the Word in the gospel. 

As we come to the end, we see the typical closing remarks—those list of names and greetings. It's sometimes our tendency to skip over these things, not really considering them part of the “meat” of the book. But I've always found these closing words to be intensely practical because they bring us back to the practical side of ministry where ministry really lives. 

There's a great statement of Paul in 1 Thessalonians 3:5: "For this reason when I could no longer endure it, I sent to know your faith, lest by some means the tempter had tempted you and our labor might be in vain." But now that Timothy has come to us from you and brought us good news of your faith and love, and that you always have good remembrance of us, greatly desiring to see us as we also to see you. Therefore, brethren, in all our affliction and distress, we were comforted concerning you by your faith. 

Listen to what he says in verse 8: "For now we live if you stand in the Lord." We often talk about doctrine, we talk about fellowship and teaching, and not forsaking the assembling together of ourselves for worship in the Word. We talk about prayer and keeping our focus on Christ, abiding in Him, seeking opportunities and seizing those opportunities when they come to witness. 

All of these things are the fundamentals, the disciplines of the Christian life. But what is their purpose? They are the means; they are God's way for us to live a life that brings Him glory by which He accomplishes His purposes. But you see, it's the fruit, the end, the result that really matters. We do all these things, we emphasize all these things not as the end, but as a means to the end, and it is the end that matters—the fruit, the manifestation of God's will and work in our lives—because real ministry is about real people. 

Paul says, "We live if you stand." Everything he did, he did for the sake of the gospel—the salvation of lost souls, the glory of God. The means to that end was the encouraging of the believers, the teaching of the truth, the exhortation to reckon these things to be so and for believers to trust in Jesus and to walk worthy of their calling. What he is saying is that his ministry is fulfilled when his children walk in the truth. This is his great joy because it is the purpose of the ministry that God gave him, and it accomplishes the will of God in their lives. 

Conversely, when believers are led astray, when they're taken captive by false teachers, false doctrine, led into all kinds of distractions leading to fruitlessness, then Paul is crushed. Paul is discouraged because he knows where these things lead. So his fighting against error and false teachers was always for the sake of the end—the fruit, the standing of the believers. 

In his letter to Thessalonica, he said, "When we could no longer endure it…" We see similar statements in Corinthians. He could not go and see them for various reasons, but he had to know their state. It was eating him alive. He was suffering because of his daily concern for all the churches. They would often send Titus or Timothy or some other disciple to go to the churches to learn their state, to encourage and correct them, but most of all to bring news to Paul as to whether they stand in the truth. 

It was always such an encouragement to him to hear that they were faithful in this. He lived, he said. Think of all the trouble in the church in Corinth. That first letter laid out so many serious problems in practice and how they lived. A second letter, which Paul calls a severe letter, one we don't have in the Scriptures, was written. Then in 2 Corinthians, which will be the third letter, I want you to listen to what he says when he finds out their state—how they stand—by the coming of Titus: 

2 Corinthians 7:3: "I do not say this to condemn, for I have said before that you are in our hearts to die together and to live together. Great is my boldness of speech toward you, great is my boasting on your behalf. I am filled with comfort, I am exceedingly joyful in all our tribulation. For indeed when we came to Macedonia our bodies had no rest, but we were troubled on every side: outside were conflicts, inside were fears. Nevertheless, God who comforts the downcast comforted us by the coming of Titus. And not only by his coming, but also by the consolation with which he was comforted in you when he told us of your earnest desire, your mourning, your zeal for me. So that I rejoiced even more."

In verse 11, he says, "To observe this very thing: that you sorrowed in a godly manner." See, Paul had written them a severe letter chastening them, and they had responded rightly, they'd started in a godly manner. "What diligence it produced in you! What clearing of yourselves! What indignation! What fear! What vehement desire! What zeal! What vindication! In all things you proved yourselves to be clear in this matter."

For Paul, it was all about fruit. He understood the means to the end. He trusted God's way. You know, many times people will come to me and they'll have some sin issue in their life or something they've done, and they're always, I think, reserved or full of trepidation that I'm going to think bad of them. I never think bad of anybody, any believer. It's always about getting back on the right track, right? It's not about how we've fallen; it's about turning back to Christ and repenting and moving in the right direction so we can all come together and be fruitful for His cause. 

Think about Corinth. Paul wasn't disappointed in them in the sense that he was angry or thought ill of them; he just wanted them to get to the right doctrine, to get into the right way of thinking, begin to produce the fruit that was consistent with who they were. It was all about fruit, and he understood. He trusted God. Thus, his ministry, as we've seen in these pastoral epistles, was all about doctrine—all about the Word, about preaching truth and exhorting the believers to obey it. 

This was all about the ends—all about the fruit. That is what Paul so desperately desired to see from his ministry in the churches. When the severely troubled church in Corinth turns a corner, responds rightly to Paul's rebuke in the severe letter, he has tremendous joy, tremendous encouragement, because when they stand, he lives. His life, his ministry is fulfilled. 

My friends, this is the simplicity of Christ. This is the simplicity of ministry and church—and all that we do here. All that we must do, all that we do must contribute to the goal of God. He takes care of the details, He takes care of the fruit, He takes care of the ends. It's up to us to trust Him in the means that He has prescribed—that He's given us. 

There's a key phrase in our text this morning that I want to highlight in verse 17: Paul said, "But the Lord stood with me and strengthened me so that the message might be preached fully through me." Even at the end of his life in ministry, even at his trial before Nero, even though no one stood with Paul and they all had deserted him, even then in the most dire of circumstances, the harshest of places to preach the gospel, Paul says, "The Lord stood with me and strengthened me." Why? "So that the message might be fully preached." 

Even at this point, all alone before the Emperor at his trial, the only thing Paul cared about was preaching the gospel, preaching Christ. The reason was because he knew that this is the means by which God produces fruit. Real ministry is about real people, and real people are saved when the message is fully preached.

What I want you to see in this closing text, in this swan song of Paul in 2 Timothy this morning, is that all these fundamentals—all these disciplines of the Christian faith that we emphasize, that the word emphasizes continually, are not an end in themselves. We're not in this for academic study, right? But a means to the end—to the fruit that God desires to produce in the lives of real people for their salvation, for their fruitfulness as believers, and for His glory. 

Let's look at our text in verse 9. 2 Timothy 4:9: "Paul writing to Timothy says, 'Be diligent to come to me quickly, for Demas has forsaken me, having loved this present world and has departed for Thessalonica. Crescens for Galatia, Titus for Dalmatia. Only Luke is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is useful to me for ministry, and Tychicus I have sent to Ephesus. Bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at Troas when you come, and the books, especially the parchments. Alexander the coppersmith did me much harm; may the Lord repay him according to his works. You also must beware of him, for he has greatly resisted our words. At my first defense no one stood with me, but all forsook me. May it not be charged against them. But the Lord stood with me and strengthened me so that the message might be fully preached through me and that all the Gentiles might hear. Also, I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion, and the Lord will deliver me from every evil work and preserve me for His heavenly kingdom. To Him be glory forever and ever. Amen.' 

Greet Priscilla and Aquila and the household of Onesiphorus. Erastus stayed in Corinth, but Trophimus I have left in Miletus sick. Do your utmost to come before winter. Eubulus greets you, as well as Pudens, Linus, Claudia, and all the brethren. The Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit; grace be with you. Amen."

Well, there are four points on your outline this morning. First, we see Paul's protege; second, Paul's people; third, Paul's purpose; and fourth, Paul's promise. 

The words before us are Paul's last recorded words in Scripture. He's awaiting martyrdom in that Mamertine prison in Rome, and he's appealing to Timothy, his protege, to come to him. We've seen through these two epistles, and especially in this second letter, a consistent plea and exhortation from Paul to Timothy to hold fast to doctrine, to preach the Word, to focus on the truth, to take heed to himself. It's a simple message, a simple plan—it's the plan of God.

I'm amazed at how many times people comment to me or email me or send a card and consistently say we are so thankful for a clear message—for preaching the Word; we don't hear this anywhere else. I'm amazed because I don't understand what else there is to do—what other possible way we could come up with but to simply strive to say what God says as we go through the Word, verse by verse, book by book. I don't feel like we're doing anything special here, anything super creative; we're just anxious to know what God says, to study His Word, to hear Him.

If that's unique in the church today, then that's a sad commentary. But this was the fervent appeal of Paul to Timothy. I think it's worth our time to go back and take a tour through these epistles because I want to drive home this clear emphasis of Paul in writing to Timothy and how he should conduct himself in the house of God and what he should be doing. 

You can follow along if you like or just listen. 1 Timothy 1:3: "As I urged you when I went into Macedonia, remain in Ephesus that you may charge some that they teach no other doctrine—teach no other doctrine than the gospel. This is what you're to be doing." 

Chapter 2, verse 3: "For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior who desires all men to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth. For there's one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself a ransom for all to be testified in due time for which I was appointed a preacher and an apostle; I am speaking the truth in Christ and not lying, a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.”

1 Timothy 3:1: "This is a faithful saying: if a man desires the position of a bishop, he desires a good work. A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, temperate, sober-minded, of good behavior, hospitable." Then he says, "able to teach." 

Verse 14: "These things I write to you, though I hope to come to you shortly. But if I’m delayed, I write so that you may know how you ought to conduct yourself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth." 

Chapter 4, verse 6: "If you instruct the brethren in these things, you will be a good minister of Jesus Christ, in the words of faith and of the good doctrine which you have carefully followed. But reject profane and old wives' fables and exercise yourself toward godliness. This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, for to this end we both labor and suffer reproach because we trust in the living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially those who believe. These things command and teach."

4:13: "'Till I come, give attention to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine. Do not neglect the gift that is in you which was given to you by prophecy with the laying on of hands of the eldership. Meditate on these things," listen, "'give yourself entirely to them that your progress may be evident to all. Take heed to yourself and to the doctrine. Continue in them, for in doing this you will save both yourself and those who hear you.'" 

Chapter 6, verse 20: "'O Timothy, guard what was committed to your trust. Avoid profane and idle babblings and contradictions of what is falsely called knowledge.'"

2 Timothy 1:7: "'For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of sound mind. Therefore, do not be ashamed of the testimony of the Lord, nor of me as prisoner, but share with me in the sufferings for the gospel according to the power of God who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began. But now has been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ, who has abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. You, therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. And the things which you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.'" 

Sounds like a good plan, doesn't it? Evil men and imposters, chapter 3, will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived, but you must continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of—scriptures you’d known since you were a child. 

Chapter 4: "'I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ who will judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom, preach the word. Be ready in season and out of season.'" If they want to hear it, if they don't want to hear it, you preach it. "'Convince, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and teaching.'"

It'd be difficult to miss the message of the letters of Timothy. And remember the purpose of these epistles: to encourage and to exhort Timothy, to instruct him and us in how we should conduct ourselves in the house of God. This is what we are supposed to be doing.

Now if these letters are meant to give final, succinct, and particular instructions to Timothy as a pastor, as to how he should do church, then shouldn't we pay attention to this central message—to preach the word, to take heed to the doctrine, to teach the truth, and exhort men to believe it? This is the job of the pastor—to teach and preach the word. This is the job of the church—to hear and receive and believe the Word of God, to reckon it to be so, and to live in light of it. 

So we learn a very important truth, perhaps a central truth, as to how we should conduct ourselves in the house of God. This is the message of Paul to Timothy, his protege. 

Now at the end of the letter, in his closing remarks, Paul is asking his good friend Timothy to come to him. Here we see that Timothy was much more than Paul's protege; he was Paul's beloved son in the faith, he was his friend, he was his encourager. He was one of Paul's people. This is what we see in the last part of the last chapter—the truth that the ministry is all about people, and that people, beloved brothers and sisters, are necessary for support, for encouragement, for doing their part according to their gifts to move the gospel forward. And Paul had those people.

Timothy was perhaps first and foremost, and Paul wanted him to come to him—to comfort him, to bring him his cloak for winter, his parchments, and the books. Paul was in that dark, dank dungeon, but he didn't know for how long. Winter was coming. He needed that heavy wool garment that would serve him as a coat, as a blanket, to keep him warm. And he needed his parchments to warm his soul, to keep his mind focused on Christ and His promises—to encourage him to the end, to the time when he would depart to be with Jesus.

Real people, real ministry. Look at verse 9 again: "Be diligent to come to me quickly, for Demas has forsaken me, having loved this world and has departed for Thessalonica. Crescens for Galatia, Titus for Dalmatia. Only Luke is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, for he's useful to me for ministry, and Tychicus I have sent to Ephesus. Bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at Troas when you come, and the books, especially the parchments. Alexander, the coppersmith, did me much harm. May the Lord repay him according to his works. You also must beware of him, for he has greatly resisted our words. 

At my first defense no one stood with me, but all forsook me. May it not be charged against them." 

Be diligent to come to me quickly. We see in Timothy a great friend, a brother, a fellow worker, and how important Timothy was to Paul. Now he wanted him to come to him. My friends, we need close brothers and sisters. We need each other. Paul was a real person, a real man, who had endured so much in his ministry. He needed his friend. 

That's a lesson for us in the life of Paul, even here at the end. We have real friends in the faith; God gives them to us to make us productive—fruitful in the ministry. We need them. But there are others in real ministry with real people as well. 

Demas was a fellow worker of Paul. He had been useful to him and was apparently a true believer. But this was a hard time. There was a lot of persecution. Paul was in prison, close to martyrdom. Nero was on a rampage against the Christians, and Demas decided he couldn't take the heat. He had to distance himself from Paul. Paul says he chose to love the world, losing his focus on the coming of Christ, on the faithfulness of Jesus, and of His promises. 

This happens with real believers in real ministry in our lives as well, and perhaps more so if we see hard times coming. I was reading some tweets from the democratic leaders of our country yesterday, and they were talking about keeping a list of those who had supported President Trump so that there might be retribution—some accountability for their actions. They've actually developed something called the Trump Accountability Project, which is a list of his supporters and donors, and they're considering the model used in South Africa called the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, whereby there can be appropriate restitution made for having been a conservative. 

My friends, the greatest dividing point in our world is not politics. The greatest dividing point is the gospel. We talk about the possibility of persecution in America, and if you stand for the truth, for biblical truth, and the Jesus of the Bible, then there may be a price to pay. Demas is an important lesson about real people in real ministry too. I don't want to be a Demas. I want to be a Timothy, right? I want to be a Paul. 

Crescens and Titus had apparently gone to do other Christian work; Paul had sent them. There's no suggestion of anything negative here, but this shows us that sometimes our brothers and sisters have to go elsewhere to serve the Lord, and we miss them. Paul was left alone with Luke. Luke was the beloved physician, Paul's constant companion. He was like a personal assistant and historian, as we see in the book of Acts and the gospel of Luke. And he was also Paul's own personal physician, which was necessary for Paul. He needed that a lot, and what a blessing Luke was to Paul. 

But Paul needed more help—help for the ministry of the gospel which continued, and this is really an amazing point if you think about it. Imagine Paul's circumstances: He's in that Mamertine prison, he's chained up, he's awaiting martyrdom, he knows he's going to die—he's ready to be poured out as a drink offering. And he's not sitting back saying, "You know, it's been a good run, done a lot of good things, had an incredible ministry, praise the Lord." 

No, Paul says, "We're still working here; we're still preaching the gospel." He wants to keep preaching, keep teaching until he has no more breath. So he tells Timothy in verse 11, "Get Mark, get Mark and bring him with you, for he's useful to me for ministry." What an encouragement this is. 

In Acts 12:25 we meet John Mark. It says, "Barnabas and Saul returned from Jerusalem when they had fulfilled their ministry, and they also took with them John, whose surname was Mark." You'll remember that Mark did not continue on the missionary journey with them, but left Paul and Barnabas. 

We see this in Acts 15. Turn over to Acts 15 with me at verse 36, please. 

Acts 15:36: "Then after some days Paul said to Barnabas, 'Let us now go back and visit our brethren in every city where we have preached the word of the Lord and see how they are doing.' Now Barnabas was determined to take with them John called Mark. But Paul insisted that they should not take with them the one who had departed from them in Pamphylia and had not gone with them to the work. Then the contention became so sharp that they parted from one another. So Barnabas took Mark and sailed to Cyprus, but Paul chose Silas and departed, being commended by the brethren to the grace of God." 

This was an amazing event, and this John Mark was at the center of it. Paul was in no way in favor of Mark at this time. But look here in our text, Paul says, "Bring Mark with you; he is useful to me for ministry." Mark had been restored and become useful to Paul. 

Because in real ministry with real people, there's conflict, there's trouble. Even as we saw between Paul and Barnabas—so deep a divide that they parted ways. But in real ministry with real people, there's also restoration. This is the grace of God. And regardless of circumstances, sin, or various conflicts between individuals, there is grace for restoration—not only to the relationship, but to the usefulness in ministry. John Mark became useful to Paul, and he went on to write the Gospel of Mark. 

This is a very important lesson for each of us as believers involved in the Gospel ministry. Tychicus went to Ephesus. It's likely that Paul sent him to Ephesus to be a replacement for Timothy while he traveled to Rome to be with Paul. It's likely that he carried this letter to Timothy, as he had carried letters before. He was a messenger for Paul. He was very useful in Paul's ministry of the Gospel. 

So many believers were his co-workers, his friends, his help in all that he did—everyone doing their part, like 1 Corinthians 12, and the body contributing, Ephesians 4. But there were also those who were not with Paul but against him. 

Look at verse 14. "Alexander the coppersmith did me much harm; may the Lord repay him according to his works. You also must beware of him, for he has greatly resisted our words." 

I want you to notice the salient truth of the opposition of Alexander to Paul. It's at the end of verse 15: "He has greatly resisted our words." This is always the truth, my friends. They greatly resist the Word, the Gospel, the truth of who Jesus is and what He has done. They hate the truth; they hate Jesus, and therefore they hate those who preach and teach the Word of God and believe the Gospel. 

He had done Paul much harm. I wonder what that consisted of. Paul didn't speak lightly to these things, but he greatly resisted our words. There are those who are against us in real ministry—real people who are the sons of Satan, as Jesus called them, who are against the Gospel. Again, an important truth for us to understand.

And so in Rome, at his first defense, before Nero, Paul stood alone. But watch this: verse 16, "At my first defense, no one stood with me, but all forsook me. May it not be charged against them. But the Lord stood with me and strengthened me so that the message might be fully preached through me, and that all the Gentiles might hear. Also, I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion, and the Lord will deliver me from every evil work and preserve me for His heavenly kingdom. To Him be glory forever and ever. Amen."

It's been said that with the Lord, even one is a majority. If God be for us, who can be against us? Nothing can separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Paul stood alone before the great Nero. Think about all the people he had invested his life in, that he had given himself so sacrificially to, and what happened? They all deserted him in his time of need. He stood alone, but the Lord stood with him, and He strengthened him for the very purpose that he had Paul here. 

This is so profound! Even if we are all alone in our ministry, even if we must stand by ourselves, we must not forget the strength of the Lord, the presence of the Lord—that He lives in us, that He never leaves us, He never forsakes us. We must not forget our purpose. 

What was Paul's purpose? To fully preach the message of the gospel of Jesus Christ. The Lord stands with us; He lives in us; He encourages us and strengthens us for an express purpose—His purpose. 

What an amazing, stunning example here at the end of the life of Paul! He preached the gospel to Nero. He was chained, persecuted, abused, dragged before the emperor, and what does he do? He clearly, fully preaches the message of Christ—the gospel of salvation. And this is his purpose! 

Everything must work toward, must contribute to the purpose of the gospel. Paul's faith was not in slick methods; it was not in fancy oratory; not even in people, not even the believers around him. Paul's faith was in Jesus—in the Lord of all, who would preserve him, who would keep him, who would use him for his purposes on this earth until the moment He would deliver him from this world and take him to be with Him forever. 

This is the witness of the life of Paul to us, and this is the promise that Paul held for himself—the great promise of eternal life—our hope, our confidence, his glorious appearing. 

Our brothers and sisters, do you see the simple, clear, and compelling message of the life of Paul, of real ministry with real people? His teaching, his exhortation was to put your whole faith and trust in Jesus—just to preach the Word, to declare the gospel. No matter where you were, it didn't matter what your circumstances were, he preached before Agrippa when he was arrested the first time; he preached before Felix; he preached before everyone he came to—the message fully preached. Put your faith in Jesus. Trust Jesus for the fruit. 

And this was not only his words; it was also his witness. It was the essence of his life—an example to Timothy and to us—an example of real life ministry with real people, with a clear purpose to fully preach the gospel of Jesus Christ. 

Sometimes we don't know what to do in this world. Sometimes we don't know what's going to happen. Sometimes we just plain have a hard time dealing with what we know is going to happen. But as the pastor said this morning, be thankful. Be thankful every day to Jesus Christ for your salvation. 

And be thankful for the privilege to have the opportunity to bring a good news message to the world—a lost, dying, hopeless world. To bring them the message and fully preach Jesus Christ—that they might believe and be saved. 

Let's close in prayer. 

Father, we're so thankful for Paul's example to us. Thank you for these letters to Timothy that you've preserved for us to read, to study, to be encouraged by, and be focused by. Help us to follow the example of Paul—the simplicity of Christ, trusting him, preaching him—just one day at a time. 

And knowing that when time has come, You're going to take us to be with You forever—that promise of eternal life. Thank you for that promise, Lord. Where would we be without Jesus in this world? In His name we pray. Amen.