Last words of Paul

In 2nd Timothy chapter 4 verse 6, For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day, and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearance.

Do thy diligence to come shortly unto me." And you notice that he repeats that as he thinks of wanting Timothy. In verse 13, The cloak that I left at Troas, with carpets when thou comest, bring with thee, and the books, especially the parchments. He adds it again down, Do thy diligence, verse 21, to come before winter.

So he was a practical man, lying in a prison, and he was thinking of comfort physically, but he has this burden, e'er he knows he's soon going to depart. Now, Paul the Apostle, I think it's generally thought that he spent approximately 30 years serving the Lord Jesus in his earthly journey. Now, it's in this letter that it's Philemon's that he wrote to, he mentions, Paul the aged.

Whatever that age was, some have thought maybe in the sixties or so. When I think of him, he wrote possibly a third of the New Testament, and we realize that God picked and used different writers, all scriptures given by inspiration of God, holy men of God spoke or wrote as God gave them to write. One of the first letters that came to him from his pen is likely 1 Thessalonians, and we've been pondering those words from our brother Fraser in chapter 2, but he mentions in chapter 1, as he thinks of the saints that he had dear and special interest in, because Acts 17, he goes to Thessalonica with a gospel in a second missionary journey.

There he says in chapter 1, knowing your work of faith, your labor of love, and your patience of hope. A few years later, according to dates in certain of your Bibles in the margin, he writes to the Corinthian believers. He says, we walk by faith and not by sight.

So there he's speaking of the walk of faith. As he comes to the letter that he wrote, the two of them personally to Timothy, in chapter 6 of the first epistle, he says, fight the good fight of faith, and here he says in his last epistle to Timothy, the fourth chapter, I have kept the faith. Now, what that in my thinking is this, it's all involved in simply, we could say, Christian experience.

As he thinks of the Thessalonians, how they turned to God, to Midas, to serve the living and the true God, and to wait for his son from heaven. He's rejoicing as to what God has done in the lives of those people, through the gospel which he and others shared with them, and as the effect of that change in life, first being brought to know God in the person of his son, turning to God from idols, to serve the living and the true God, and then to wait for his son from heaven. And of course, he's known as a deliverer from the wrath to come, which his second Thessalonians seems to embrace the thought, this is even carried in their understanding that they'll be not found in the tribulation period, the wrath to come.

But he's turning our thoughts, and that epistle especially, the Lord is going to return. This coming again of the Lord Jesus is in all five chapters, as we think of the rapture. And now we think of him lying in a prison, and he says in this first chapter, this second epistle, mindful of thy tears.

Timothy, wherever he may be, the note in the bottom of my Bible here at the end is not inspired, but it says he was at Ephesus, but be as it may, I could visualize Timothy having tears for his father in the faith, lying in a cold prison. Paul confirms the fact the Lord is with me. But he's longing to see his face again.

And yet he knows this, verse 6, for I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. We understand according to history and so on, and what it would indicate, Paul became a martyr for the Lord Jesus. But he's thinking of higher than that.

He's thinking of a departure. And he says, I'm ready to be offered. Paul is the one that wrote Philippians 2, that one of our brethren was quoting this morning during the remembrance meeting, thinking of our blessed Lord Jesus Christ.

Though he thought it not robbery to be equal with God, he made himself of no reputation, took upon himself a form of a servant, and in the fashion of man, the likeness of man, he humbled himself, he was obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Our Lord Jesus Christ emptied himself as far as his downward comings from the throne above to the depths of Calvary, even unto death. But Paul is thinking he's going to depart himself.

The Lord is risen, and he has that truth before him. I have finished my course. You know, when you think of the course being finished, I thought of the late Mr. Lewis Brand.

I think I heard this statement made at an Akron conference over in Ohio. He probably was his grandson, Larry, can correct me, but I think it was about 90 years of age at the time. He says, I can count on the fingers of my hand the number of times I've missed the Lord's Supper since I've been in the fellowship.

Now, they obviously live close to the hall because you can get a snowstorm in Iowa, and you can't always attend the meeting, get there. But I thought how remarkable, you know, unless, and God knows health reasons and other circumstances, but when there's a time to gather, how sweet to be able to be there. His last few years, of course, were at Lynn Manor.

But we acknowledged, and another, talking about keeping letters, he wrote me in a little note one time, the Lord saved you and I for nothing, the price he paid to redeem us. But a reward is for everything we do for him. So, Paul is thinking, I have finished my course.

He had exhorted others to the work of faith been done in you. You appreciated you're my crown of rejoicing at the Bema. He exhorted the Corinthian believers in this fifth chapter, the second epistle, we walk by faith, not by sight, but we're all going to appear at the judgment seat of Christ and give an account of the things that we have done in our bodies.

That which pleasing to him we've been reminded, not only inwardly as to keeping in fellowship and communion with God, but brethren and sisters alike, our adornment makes marks with people. I was opening the door yesterday morning, coming into the building and there was a lady there and she had a young boy in her hand and she says, what are all these people doing here dressed up? There's a swimming meet over here and you're not going swimming, I'm sure of that. Well, I says, there's a Bible conference in the auditorium and believers are coming to listen to the Word.

Oh, I understand. Observation, they're watching us. He says, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith.

You know, he said in the Philippian letter, is it not, that he might finish his course with joy, with anticipation. So, here he says to Timothy, verse 8, henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day. At that day, he gave us the truth of the judgment seat of Christ, and not to me only, but unto all them that love his appearing.

There's a dear brother, he's not here today, he was here yesterday. As you know, he says, we're looking for the Lord to come, but I think of even loved ones by ties of nature and they're still not saved. And of course, we all understand, we have them too.

But God is going to complete his work. He wrote the apostle to those Philippian believers, the work which God hath begun in you. He's going to finish that work when we are spirit, soul, and body in his presence.

The glory of the rapture. You know, as we think of it, here he is in a dungeon, and he's in prison, and in this last chapter especially, all the names that come before him. As you make note of them, some have been a disappointment, others have been a cheer, and others have been a help, an encouragement.

And so he says, as he thinks of that day, unto all them that love his appearing, there'll be a glorious moment. Changed with a glorified body, he's still waiting for his. A body like unto the Lord Jesus as far as no infirmities.

He alone will bear the marks of having suffered at the cross for us when we view him in all his glory. But the very fact of waiting for that event to love his appearing. What a privilege to be embraced by that blessed hope.

It was read this morning, telecom, this doing remembrance of me, telecom. How wonderful as we think of it. He's soon going to be here.

And yet as he thinks of, and no doubt the parchments are some of the epistles that he may have written, the cloak that he left at Troas, he says, bring it along. He was longing to see Timothy again face to face. They're all long gone, the first century of Christian experience as to the church age.

But as we think of, this hope is now we soon rise and will be making our several ways. And the gospel as it will be proclaimed here and there this evening hour. Thank God until our Lord comes, we can go on, press on for his pleasure, for his glory, for our joy, our encouragement, and to recognize that until the Lord comes, the door of mercy is open for those that are not saved.

Would not be the first ministry meeting that people, persons have trusted Christ right while the Christians were listening to the Holy Scriptures. We thank God for all that we've had before us relative to the ministry of God in these two days. And might the conference even be crowned with souls trusting Christ.

And we all go away with anticipation, perhaps today, perhaps tonight, if not perhaps tomorrow, there's a moment coming when we will not but go by the way of death that Paul faced. The late Oliver Smith, the last time he spoke in public, none of us thought he hadn't been feeling good. He was on a cemetery at Webster City, Iowa, west of Applington, probably 60 miles.

And he looked over at the two undertakers, he said, I don't want to offend you men, but I'm not looking for undertakers, I'm looking for an uppertaker. Now he didn't imply whether he thought the undertakers were not Christians, he didn't mean that. He says, I'm looking far beyond.

I'm waiting for an uppertaker. He went by way of earth, but the uppertaker took him home to heaven. We may not have to pass by way of death.

Thank God for a blessed hope. Lord, keep us in the joy of his salvation for his namesake.