The Reality of Christian Relationships | Pastor Daniel Batarseh

Second Timothy chapter four. Second Timothy chapter four beginning in verse nine. Second Timothy four nine reads, do your best to come to me soon. For Demas, in love with this present world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica. Crescens has gone to Galatia.

Titus to Dalmatia. Luke alone is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you for he is very useful to me for ministry. Tychicus I have sent to Ephesus. When you come, bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at Troas, also the books and above all the parchments.

Alexander the coppersmith did me great harm. The Lord will repay him according to his deeds. Beware of him yourself for he strongly opposed our message. Left to our own understanding, we might think that there would be no need for Paul to add anything else to this letter, especially after such powerful, comforting, and assuring words concerning his own death and the death of the righteous altogether. I mean, how can you top verse eight?

Henceforth, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day. And not only to me, but also to all who have loved his appearing. Just end it there. What a crescendo. What a way to conclude.

What a way to land this thing. What a way to leave us in awe and empowered. And yet, the Holy Spirit, and perhaps to the surprise of the first time reader, leaves us with 13 verses. What else needs to be said? What else does he long to teach us?

Why add to something that we just read here in verse eight? Oh indeed, he is wise. Indeed there is great wisdom for us today. Indeed there is great great application in something as insignificant as details, random names and random requests. If If you just get a quick glance of what we just read, you'll realize that God is apparently interested in us understanding Paul's dynamic relationship with others.

Paul loved God. And because Paul loved God, he also cherished people. I mean, read his letters and you'll realize that he was an expert at remembering names. And not only that, he was keenly aware of the individuals that he has encountered or ministered with or served and, and the circumstances that they were enduring at a specific time. He really treasured people and he cared for them.

And here we are in what we would later realize as the last letter of Paul, The man can't help but mention names. He has to. And yes, the spirit is moving him, but there is still an element of his personality tied into these verses. But for what purpose? How does this benefit us?

Demas, Tychicus, Dalmatia, Mark, Carpus. So what? Well, I believe upon meditation that wonderful promise that we are given that if we think over these things the Lord will give us understanding. I believe the main point out of these verses is that in order to understand a genuine or the genuine Christian life, from beginning to end, it is definitely experienced with and defined by the intricacy of relationships. The genuine Christian life is experienced with and defined by the intricacy of relationships with others.

It is impossible to say that you serve God without having to also open your heart and invite people into your world. To serve God means you will serve people. And that way of life introduces soaring joys, as well as some of the most aching things that your soul can touch and taste. You see, what many people think about Christian relationship with other Christians is that it is nothing more than an unofficial agreement to check up on one another once a week. That is not what this is about.

That is not what this is about. It is much more devoted than that. It is deeper than that. It is more serious than that. And when you really take on what it means to be a community, to have people in your life that you run this race with, you are in for a roller coaster of highs and lows.

You will know an eruption of praise for an extended period of time and you will also know eruptions of pain. Relationships can be extremely rewarding and at the same time very upsetting. And Paul's network read in these verses proves just that. I cannot help but think that the reason why God has placed these scriptures here for us is that the apostle's account of his acquaintances and friendships and ministry partners is somewhat of a model of what you and I can expect as we do life with others in Christ. The attitudes and the actions that he brings up about certain individuals that he served and he served with are extremely important for us to understand.

You know why? Because it will put a realistic lens on our relationships with people. Now what I'm about to present to you today will not mean very much if you have a shallow participation in a local church. It won't. In fact, it will sound strange, and it might even sound silly.

But what I'm about to bring to you today will be extremely beneficial if you are those who are rooted in a place, committed to a group of people. This will all make sense and this will greatly help you. Because what you have to understand that there are many believers who innocently believe, innocently believe that just because you have a circle of friends who are apparently saved and just because you're a part of a community of people who profess a love for Jesus Christ means that we are perfectly going to share grace and extend forgiveness and love and loyalty hand in hand from the moment we meet until we skip into heaven. And you have other believers who believe that absolutely everybody who walks through these front doors and even signs up for membership and even serves in wonderful ways will, will be permanent pillars of the ministry. Paul and servants of God throughout history, their testimonies would say otherwise.

It's much more complicated than that. It's complex. It's really complex. And it's important to be clear sighted about these things because it will help us know how to respond to the complexity of relationships with other believers. You will know how to respond to the good, prayerfully.

You will be able to react to the not so good and you will be ready to stand firm with the ugly. Because there is the good, there is a not so good, and there is horrific things when we commit ourselves to other people. And if we do not prepare ourselves, if we do not have a biblical perspective on what people are capable of, then you just might be setting yourself up to be shaken, to be shaken for your love in Christ and for Christ and to even be shaken in your service to the Lord himself. Some of us are more prone to under appreciate those who are clearly blessings to us. Whereas there are others who are swimming in dangerous waters because they are overly dependent upon other Christians.

We want to be exactly in the center of God's wisdom and how we how we do this. How we walk this walk. How we endure this race with others who are running in the same lane as us. So with that being said, I want to present to you six six there was gonna be seven, but we'll leave number seven for next week. Six realistic relational facets that every believer can potentially encounter, and we're gonna use Paul's writings here as a case study.

Paul's personal relational history to understand what can come about in our lives as we are a church. And the first category of believers that we can forecast to engage with are found in verse nine. Those who bring us great joy and comfort. Paul says, do your best to come to me soon. In this one short verse, you know what you have?

You have a man who clearly believes that you can know deep, deep delight in another Christian. That the presence of another believer can be an extension of God's goodness. That a friend or friends that have been providentially brought about into your life can genuinely bring relief to your soul, can rescue you from despair, can awaken a joy in Christ, and can be a form of shelter as you weather winter storms. Timothy was that to Paul. The guy was his mentor.

Sure. He encouraged him to continue faith. Absolutely. But Paul himself drew some sweetness from his relationship with Timothy. He actually felt it.

It wasn't like, okay, you're a Christian. I'm supposed to, you know, walk this walk and hear you out and pray with you and lay my hand on your shoulder and you cry and I'll try to cry with you. It wasn't that. Go back to chapter one of the same book in verse four. Look what he says about Timothy.

Paul says in second Timothy one four, as I remember your tears, I long to see you. I long to see you that I may be filled with joy. Hold on for a second. Paul is making a connection between the presence of Timothy and being filled with genuine, sensational, tangible joy. You know what you have some good hearted Christians who might say of that?

That sounds like idolatry. That sounds like you're making much, too much of a person, Paul. That sounds like you are elevating a man to where only God should be. And yet the scriptures would say otherwise. Yes, we are supposed to love God supremely, but I believe the reason why Paul is saying these things and he is perfectly righteous and holy in doing so is because Paul knew, Paul did not forget that whatever he enjoyed from Timothy was ultimately sourced from God himself.

Timothy, who brought this joy in his life, was the reason why we read this in verse four. Go to verse three and what does he say? He says, I thank God whom I serve. I thank God for whom I serve and then he tells to me that because I remember you, your faith, and I long to see you man. Like come over.

It's been too long. We need to hang out. That's the simplified version of it. I wanna see you. And I moved in my heart and I longed for you to be close to me.

And God has always introduced men and women in the lives of his servants who have the ability to make your days lighter and brighter. And you have every right to feel great joy about people or about a person. And it's often the mix of their personality. It's definitely the shared love for Christ that you have, I hope. And something about their gentleness and their patience towards you.

Maybe it can be as simple, I know this sounds crazy, the way they laugh and make you laugh. That causes you to feel a great love for that person or people. And guess what? That's not just okay, that's something to worship God about. If King David were to hear and he were to sit in the service, he would totally be able to echo the sentiments of Paul because he had a friend just like that.

We touched on it last week briefly, but I wanna turn your attention there in second Samuel, in the Old Testament, chapter one. This is a memoir of Saul and Jonathan who died in battle. David heard it. He was grieved. He wrote a song about it.

And he says something inspired by the spirit in verse 26 of second Samuel chapter one. Jonathan, and this is verse 25, how the mighty have fallen in the midst of the battle. Jonathan lies slain on your high places. Now look what he says about his friend. I am distressed for you.

My brother Jonathan, very pleasant have you been to me. Your love to me was extraordinary, surpassing the love of woman? Surpassing the love of woman. So the same psalmist who wrote, in your, speaking to God, in your presence is the fullness of joy, could also say of another fallen human being who loved God and walked according to his ways, you are very pleasant to me. You could say both.

You could say both. And what's so encouraging here is that he actually goes on to even say that the love of this man was so extraordinary it surpassed the love of women. Now David didn't have the best, marriage history. The ability to relate to one woman was not the most praiseworthy. But nonetheless, there's something to be said here and unfortunately, you have men and you have people of a certain community who would try to justify how God how God permits for homosexual relationships and would use this as a proof text.

And saying, look, he clearly is saying that the love of another man is greater than the love of woman, and that is just one sliver of evidence of how perverted man can be. You know why? I'll tell you why. Because it's a commentary on how this generation doesn't understand true love. Is it not a sad thing to know that there are people who can't grasp the idea of deep love without sexualizing it?

If it, if it has to be deep love like this, then it has to be sexual. Well, you don't know what love is. You don't. And this man here is expressing a friendship love, a committed love, a loyal love. And that he can say is even greater than that of the relationships he's had with women.

There's something so powerful about this. And the point is that a passage like this shows us that God bestows upon us graces through others who touch our hearts in a special way. And guess what? You can expect that in your Christian life. You can expect that in your Christian life.

That person could be a friend like Jonathan that came at an early point in your walk with the Lord like David who was freshly anointed and God brought a supporter at the right time. That person could be your spouse and I hope it is. That person could be a mentor like Paul was to Timothy. That person could just be somebody that that you've just connected with on a certain Sunday afternoon and your lives are conjoined in a special way. But no matter what, no matter what someone offers you, whatever comfort, whatever whatever warmth, whatever spring of of joy and delight, it is ultimately God who has fashioned that person and provided that person for you.

Don't you forget to thank him for it. Oh, it's not just Timothy though. Come back to second Timothy four. Look at this mention. We would, we would skip over a verse like this.

This would seem trivial. This would seem so unimportant. But look at verse 13, what he says. When you come, bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at Troas, also the books and above all the parchments. I was tempted.

I wanna preach just on that verse. Just on verse 13, the the cloak, the books, the parchment, there's so much there. So much there. For the sake of the theme of what we're trying to communicate today, consider this, that Paul requests his personable and valuable items from a man named Carpus, an unsung hero. Never hear of him again or before this.

Timothy, before you come and visit me, go to Carpus' house. I've left my prized possessions with him. Telling me what? Paul trusted Karpus. He really did.

He can leave some cash at his house and not worry that a dollar would be taken. Karpus could ask for his car keys and and Paul would be okay with that. And so there are there are there are wonderful things that await us. Wonderful people that will become family to us that we can trust and we can enjoy and we can receive so much from. Oh, it was Timothy, always Karpis.

I'm sure there were others. But realize this again, let me say it, that those people have been given by God. Even the name Jonathan means God has given. God has given. And God will give to you and I, believe it, and rejoice at those treasures because Jesus Christ paid a price to purchase friendships like that.

Christ paid a price so that he can so transform hearts in which though you have different backgrounds and personalities and histories, there can be a connection that is deeper than blood. And that is the Holy Spirit living in you and living in them. Christ paid a price for such relationships. So if you are enjoying them, if you are relishing in them, if you are making memories with them, don't forget to thank God. First thing that you and I can expect in this Christian walk with other Christians are people who will bring us great comfort and joy.

But secondly, you can expect those who might walk away from the cause of Christ. Verse 10, for Demas in love with this present world has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica. If Timothy is an example of the deep joys you can know in Christian relationships, then Demas is an illustration of the great risks that you can expect in choosing to serve alongside other people. Demas was not an acquaintance merely. He was more than that.

He was a traveling ministry partner with Paul. He's mentioned in Philemon, where there he is called a fellow worker. He's mentioned in the book of Colossians. But Demas, although he was a fruitful servant at one point, is the embodiment of something that Jesus taught. One of the three conditions, the unfortunate conditions of the soul that respond to the word of God in the wrong way.

Demas had a heart that was rocky. So at one point, he received the gospel in such a way that it jolted him to serve alongside with a renowned apostle. And he apparently had some kind of fruit there. He was a worker. He contributed to a certain extent.

He was an asset to Paul's ministry endeavors. But just as Christ taught about the rocky soil, Demas endured for a while. For a while. And then when there was a price to this thing, when it became costly, when he saw Paul getting arrested and persecuted, when he saw how Christians were being targeted by the government, Demas pulls out not just because of a fear of that, but because of a love for the present world. You know what I find so interesting about verse 10?

When Paul describes his desertion, he doesn't say he left Christ. Though that was his ultimate crime. He says he left me. He left me. Why is Paul making this personal?

It's very simple. Because he himself felt the sting. He himself experienced a a sorrow when this man that he served with chose to walk away from the narrow path and straying into the world. That brought pain to the man. It hurts.

And how could it not when you are considering the faithfulness of Demas? How can Paul not be not be hurt? I wonder if he remembered the times where he saw Demas witnessing to people. I wonder if if after he learned where he went into the world, he reflected upon the times of intercession while they traveled into unknown territory, not knowing where to go next. I wonder what it was that flooded his mind for him to make this so personal.

Demas heard him. And I want to tell you today, I want to be very realistic because the Bible is very realistic. You better be ready for the possibility of people walking away from Christ that once walked with you in the name of Christ. It can happen. It can happen very easily.

And perhaps some of you in here can even testify, especially you saints who have walked longer in this faith, that you go on social media one day and somebody that used to hold bible studies that you benefited from much or somebody that you once evangelized on the streets or did ministry with at a certain local church for a season of your life is now clearly in the world. And it hurts you. It stings. It brings pain. And I think that's important for us to know because we need to be prepared for it.

I remember going to a conference when I first got saved, maybe a year in, and I was in Canada, we came to The United States in great zeal, we hopped in a car and we drove 24 with a group of friends to go to a specific conference. It was a young adults conference, and so before every service there would be line ups, Line ups of young people, and they're getting them all pumped up and and all these things. And as you're standing in line, you would meet different people. And so I remember meeting a specific young man who was a youth pastor in the city of Boston. And he just opened himself up, he was so he was just bubbling with joy.

I mean, the guy was almost gonna fly waiting for the service to to begin. And he introduced himself and he asked what we did and who we were and then we exchanged social media, you you know, accounts so that we can follow-up with one another. And we saw him periodically throughout that conference. It was a large one still. Nice guy.

Friendly guy. I in that setting, I thought this guy was not just he he was on fire for God. Years go by. Never seen him ever since. Years go by.

But you know how social media has the ability to keep you connected to people even from decades ago. One day, to my surprise, after years, I sign on, I go onto social media and I see the same person post a picture and he is marching in the gay pride parade of his city, dressed in a way that I cannot even describe to you without blushing. And so I clicked on his profile and I looked through his time and I realized that he's in a relationship with a man. He walked away from the ministry. And guess what?

I had no more of a ten minute conversation with that person, that might be even in his exaggeration, and I still felt pain. And I couldn't help but think of his students. I couldn't help but think of the ministry that hired him. Couldn't help but think of the times that people listen to this man preach to them, these these high school kids. What are they feeling?

You wanna walk this walk? Expect people to walk out on Christ. God forbid, but don't be surprised if it happens. But thirdly, we read of another group of people, another category, and it's found here in verse 10. In the second part, he says, Crescens has gone to Galatia.

Titus to Dalmatia. Now look at verse look at verse 12. Tychicus I have sent to Ephesus. The next group here are just, again, it seems like insignificant details of men and names going to certain places, but it is extremely important to grasp because they will help us greatly. This point actually might be the most relatable point to a lot of you in this place.

So pay attention. This actually might heal you. We are told of these names of a brother here in Galatia, another brother here, another brother that was commissioned by Paul himself to go to Tychicus. We can't place these men in the same category as Demas. Demas abandoned Paul.

He was operating out of selfishness. He was operating out of unbelief. He was an apostate. These men, we are told, though are not in close proximity to Paul, and he's communicating that. They're not with me.

They're somewhere else. He doesn't condemn them for such actions. He doesn't blame them for unfaithfulness. He remains silent and that silence is important. Why?

Why are we being told Again, Christians has gone to Galatia. Okay? Titus to Dalmatia. Alright. Tychicus I've sent to Ephesus.

That makes more sense. He's probably sending Tychicus to Ephesus so that he can take care of the congregation so that Timothy can come and visit him. That makes sense. But what about the other two? Again upon meditation, upon looking at this, I believe the main reason why Paul is mentioning this to Timothy is so that Timothy can know that these people had to leave.

It was out of necessity, not out of apostasy. Their absence could be felt. It contributed to the need for Timothy to be there with him, but they had to be there. They had to be away causing separation between the parties, maybe for a long amount of time and maybe even permanently. Here's what I'm trying to say to you today.

Throughout the course of your life, there will be those that you have richly invested your time and energy for. There will be those that you have shared so much with. There will be those that you perhaps you have made unspoken promises because of the richness of your relationship that you would never, never part ways. And then one day, they move. And then one day, you get the news that your friend that you have known for so long, that would bring a smile to your face as you would walk into this room, is not gonna be there anymore.

That's just the reality of the Christian journey. Listen, please listen to me. People come and go. People come and go and it's not because they fell in love with the world. Truth be told, some Christians handle this kind of transition in life more easily than others.

And again, as I said, if you have a shallow participation in your church, if if you're not rooted in, if you're just a sermon listener and not a committed member at a specific place whether it's here or elsewhere, this might not hold any weight. But some of you know the sadness of somebody leaving, somebody moving on. And that sadness is a testament that grief is an indication of your love for that person. But I wanna say this and it's so important to understand. Although that grief is totally normal and it's even to be expected if you really care for somebody, please pay attention.

Please pay attention. Some of you need to really really really really hear this. That sadness can easily make you selfish. Can make you and I selfish. Saying what do you mean?

Here's what I mean. That over the years, as people come and go, you have those who, in order to protect themselves from that pain, in order to avoid that strange sensation that even though you are still going to the same place, there are some people who are not there and that there's a feeling of something's missing here. In order to avoid all of that, you crawl into a shell and you refuse to open your heart up to other people that God is bringing into your life. I I wanna be very pastoral now. I wanna speak to a specific thing that many Christians deal with, and it is dangerous.

Because perhaps you have said something along these lines, perhaps you have entertained it, perhaps you even communicated it to others. I don't know, man. Things are not the way they used to be. It's just not the same. So and so is not here anymore.

It's just different. I'm not sure if I like it. I remember we used to have this, and we used to do that, and and I'm just I'm not seeing it now. That's dangerous. That's really dangerous.

Because the Bible warns against that kind of thinking. In Ecclesiastes seven verse 10, we are told, say not, why were the former days better than these? For it is not from wisdom that you ask this. Say not why were the former days better than these. That's not wisdom.

What's the opposite of wisdom? You know the answer. And you know why? Do you know why it is not wise to think like that, to say that to people, to say that to yourself, to believe that? It kills faith.

It assassinates faith. And it, listen, goes beyond that. It discredits God who has a plan for every season. And sometimes that includes new people and sometimes that means people will move on. This comparison to the former to the present is a temptation among all of God's people.

And it was a a temptation to God's people in the old covenant. And I want you to go to the book of Haggai to see an example of this. So go to Haggai. In your bibles you have your bibles. Right?

If you don't have a Bible, come see the leadership and we will get you a Bible. You need a Bible. Haggai chapter two. What's happening here? The people of Israel have returned from Babylonian exile.

They've now returned to the promised land. What's happening in the promised land? They're rebuilding. They're rebuilding the walls and they're rebuilding the temple because it was destroyed because of their disobedience. And they lay the foundation.

They're in the process of renewing the place where they worship God. And then God speaks through the prophet Haggai. Why? Because he made an observation about the people and how they responded to this new temple. Look at verse three here.

Who is left among you who saw this house in its former glory? How do you see it now? Is it nothing, as nothing in your eyes? This is God speaking to his people and he's specifically speaking to the older generation because this older generation knew the glories of the Temple Of Solomon. They saw how Solomon's temple was adorned.

Perhaps they were there on that day where the glory of God filled the temple. They saw the amount of sacrifices, the the the wealth, the prosperity. They go into exile. They come back. It's in ruins.

They build it up and they're looking at it like, what? This is this is it? And not only that, you don't have to turn there, but when you go to Ezra where it gives the details account of them building the temple again, it says that you had some people shouting with joy when the foundation was laid, yet at the same time, it was mixed with, and it says specifically, those who were older who were weeping. They were weeping because they, they, they made a comparison. They contrasted.

And those tears came through eyes who could not see by faith what God was trying to do in the present. And so they lived in the past and that's never really a good thing. Even in ministry, even in church life, it's not good. And so God speaks through a Haggai. He says, do you see this as nothing?

Do you think this is insignificant? Do you think I was doing things in the past that were greater and now I just kind of cooled off a little bit and you're just gonna have to endure this because you're a Christian and you should go to church and you should be accountable to people? Do you think that that's what I'm like? You got it wrong. Because in the same chapter you come down to verse nine and what do you read?

The same Lord speaks to the same people about the same house that they were comparing. The latter glory of this house shall be greater than the former. Says the Lord of hosts, and in this place I will give peace, declares the Lord of hosts. That was ultimately fulfilled in the person of Jesus Christ who is the glory of God. He walked into the same temple that would later be adorned by Herod.

But the glory was not what Herod did, it was Christ the incarnate son of God who stepped into that place, who taught, who cleansed, who healed. It was fulfilled in Christ. But the practical implications are still true. They're still true when we, when we see it in this way. God has a purpose for every age, every season, every rebuilding process, every transition.

And if you're not careful to see that, you may fail to see the value of what God is doing now. If you are so attached to someone or some people or certain memories, you may just be drained of enthusiasm and hope and your efforts will not be as they should and you're gonna miss out. I wanna be transparent with you. When I was living in Canada, 20, 21, 22 years old, so active, group of friends, some of them may even be watching. I don't know.

We would do evangelism on the streets, worship nights, prayer, we traveled to conferences together. And you know what I really believed at twenty twenty one, 22? This is the group of people that I'm gonna be with for the rest of my life. Like, this is it. I can't see it getting any better than this.

And then one conference happened. And that conference changed my world. Literally, you wanna know how much it changed my world? I there was nothing attractive about moving out of the place I was living in in Canada, and I did not wanna come to America. That was never even a thought, never even a I never even entertained it.

And within two, three weeks, I moved. What am I trying to say? God changed the script. A script that I really loved and enjoyed, and he'll do that to you too if you walk with him. He'll change it in some way because he's doing something.

He's constantly writing something. And God promises those who walk in obedience that as they behold the glory of the Lord, they will be transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. So no matter what changes, know this, that that change will bring about a greater glory in you if you just respond well, if you just trust him. So what should you do about the past? What should you do about people who who move in and out?

Because guess what? People get married, guys. They do. And that marriage calls them to a different state. What are you gonna do?

Ministry opportunities are gonna we're gonna open up, and God is gonna call certain people that you've loved and served with and and laughed with and prayed with and counseled and received counsel from, and God is gonna use them somewhere else. Schooling opportunities, fill in the blank. What are you gonna do? It's not the same anymore. That that is not Christian attitude.

That is not Christ like attitude. That is not faith filled. It's immature. And it can be detrimental to your relationship to the Lord and it can close you off to the people that God wants to bring into your life now. And just in case none of that motivates you, guess what?

There's gonna be a heavenly reunion and all of them are gonna be there at the same time forever and ever and ever. Right? Cheer up. Just cheer up and serve the people that God has brought to you now. And then one day we're all gonna be there.

It'll be a short while. There will be those that God will lead to move on and you might feel like you're left behind, but you're not. You're exactly where God wants you to be, whether it's here or elsewhere. Let's move on. There's another group of people, and it's those who will stick with us until the end.

Verse 11. Luke alone is with me. That's it. Luke alone is with me. While others went like Demas because they loved the world.

And others had to go because God called them somewhere else. God in his providence can sometimes allow those who have been with us to stay with us. To stay with you. Luke is also mentioned in Philemon and Colossians, and it is believed that he was a convert to Paul's preaching. And it is believed that he joined Paul's traveling ministry at the time stamp of Acts chapter 16.

But what's so significant here is that Luke stuck with Paul until the end. That doesn't make Luke any better than Tychicus or Crescens or Titus, but it does say something about his character. You see, Luke symbolizes a type of believer who stands by those when life and ministry is not easy. When we are enduring humble beginnings and hardships. This man here was loyal.

He, again, he, he had a choice. I could go or I could stay. And he chose to stay through success and through suffering. He chose to remain in crisis, not when things were always comfortable. And this was a loyal man locked in.

If God has brought me to Paul to serve alongside with him, then I will until God calls me elsewhere or tells me to do something else. And here's the thing that I want to bring up to you, that in ministry as you serve the Lord, and some of you have experienced this recently, there will be shakings in your life. Shakings to your world. Shakings to your ministry. And in those shakings, God allows it to happen to reveal a love.

A reveal a reliability of others. And it is in those moments where we give thanks to God. Paul said that about Titus at one point. God comforted me through the coming of Titus. Through the coming of Titus.

And so when we in life, when we serve God and things are flipped upside down and crazy things happen, know that in those moments, you will you will know a type of joy because you will see, you will see people who will lock arms. Maybe as you're suffering through your marriage. Maybe as you're enduring persecution. You know, Paul was being slandered here. Paul was highly unpopular.

To be associated with him was dangerous. And yet he says, Luke is still with me. And the Bible highlights that. I want you to know that although there are turmoils with relationships, there are also great reasons to thank God for people like Luke. Expect the same, prayfully.

There are more to say about that, but I wanna move on here to another group of people. Not just those who will stick with us at the end, but there will be those who will disappoint us at times. Look here again in verse 11. Luke alone was with me. Get Mark.

Get Mark and bring him with you for he is very useful to me for ministry. Now this won't this won't really make sense until you understand the history that Paul had with Mark. Most of you I'm sure know this. Mark was the man in Acts 13 that was joining Paul and Barnabas in their missionary journey and at one point jumped ship. He pulled away.

No reason given, but according to Paul, it was inexcusable. It was a harm to the ministry. It was a hindrance. And and this is not to say that Mark was like Demas. He wasn't like Demas.

Mark was a genuine follower of Christ who's clearly gifted or as Paul wouldn't have recruited him in the first place. And yet this highly gifted lover of Jesus Christ in a moment of weakness caved. And he caved in such a way where he didn't carry his load and it frustrated those who trusted him including Paul. What am I trying to say? Serve God in one place long enough with the same people long enough and someone just may mess up.

Do you know what you can expect in your Christian relationships with others? Disappointment in others. Believe it. Believe it. Maybe some of you are holding back many amens as I say it.

It's just true. There will people there will be people who have at one point been committed and at some point over time showed disinterest to the thing that they said they would be committed to. There will be some people who will not be as present, who will be absent, who will be a long stretch of the time coming in and out for immature reasons, And it will it will annoy us. It will hurt us even. What do we do about that?

Well, the same mark that Paul was very frustrated with is the same mark that he says now bring him to me because he's very useful to me in ministry. The failures of those that we live for Christ with should not be write offs to them completely. Please hear me. Friendships, people are fickle. They're not like Jesus.

Right? Paul talks about Jesus and we're gonna talk about that next week. They're not like him, though they love him and represent him as as they can. But I want you to say to your own heart, don't write off people who might have let me down. Don't write off people because they failed to stand firm or or be who they were called to be due to fear or due to selfishness.

Listen, what I've learned about churchgoers over the years is that many people want to drink all the grace that they can get, and they don't want to give a sip to anybody else. I mean, it's okay for you to fail, you know, from time to time and Jesus to forgive you, but, oh, if you fail, it was nice knowing you. Do you really expect to do life with people who are on the same path of progress as you are to not, to not make mistake? And yet all it takes for some people in the same church is for one person to mess up one time and they'll never be here again. They'll never show up again.

What is that? That is the opposite of the attitude of this man who said, follow me as I follow Christ. Because that kind of, hardening of the heart, that stubbornness can bar you from knowing blessings like Mark was to Paul. He learned that this man was useful. He just messed up at one point.

So I wanna tell you today, be ready to be let down. It's gonna happen. But at the same time, be ready to believe that that same person who might have failed in a certain way, God can transform and renew and teach to a degree where they will be a blessing beyond your own understanding. And so, Mark symbolizes those that will disappoint us. I come to the last point, it will be very brief.

We heard those who will bring us great joy and comfort. I hope you have those people in your life. You heard of those who might walk away from the cause of Christ at one point. God forbid. You heard about those who will be sent by God elsewhere.

I'm sure all of us have experienced that, but if you're living still in a dark cloud because of it, shake out of it. There will be those who will stick with us until the end, and we should celebrate God for that. And there will be those who will disappoint us at times, and don't give up on them because God hasn't given up on you. And lastly, there will be those who are dangerous. Who are dangerous.

Verse 14. Alexander the coppersmith did me great harm. The Lord will repay him according to his deeds. Beware of him yourself for he strongly opposed our message. Paul named names publicly.

That might make us feel very uncomfortable, but if if if a leadership is truly God fearing and they love the people, they will warn people of other people. And not just from a leadership standpoint. There are people that you have to warn other people about. You have to. This is not gossip here.

This is not slander. This is love. This is love. And and this is very straightforward. You know, we just finished saying give people a chance.

That's true. We have to be forgiving. We have to extend grace, especially when people repent. I don't think Paul brought Mark back in, without any sign of repentance or change. I believe that's actually the opposite.

I believe Mark did learn at some point. He was close with Peter. Barnabas took him in and it just makes you wonder if he matured over time and Paul observed that and he brought him in. But when it comes to people like Alexander who show no repentance, who who who have an appearance of godliness, You have to understand my fellow brother and sister, you've heard it before so I'm not gonna stay here too long, there will be those who will come in to do damage. Damage to unity, damage to doctrine, damage to you, damage to your purity, damage to your finances.

There are people who will, who will come after you because God is working in your life. And God is working in your local church. And the same way that Christ has ambassadors, so does the devil. And so you and I have to be ready. Be ready because look what Paul said, Alexander the Copernicus did me not just harm, great harm.

Do you see, as you zoom out and as you consider these thoughts, do you see how this is just so complex? You got some people who love you, some people who stick with you, some people who walk away because they have to and it still hurts, but you have to be okay with it. There's some people who walk away because they love the world. And there's some people who come into your life that just want to make your life a living hell. How do you respond to that?

I'm sure each of us know how to respond to all of these, but up to this point, we are told very clearly how to respond to this kind of thing. It says here that the Lord will repay him according to his deeds. You and I, if we're gonna survive, if we're gonna survive on this journey, on this course for Christ, have to know how to leave vengeance to God. And let Lord the Lord deal with people himself and you do not participate in that act of retribution. And you leave it to God.

Leave it to God, and you move on. Alexander the coppersmith did me great harm, and then he tells Timothy, beware of him yourself. And I tell you today, beware. Be discerning. Don't be over simplistic.

Pray. Ask questions. Be careful. And God will guide you. But even if you do all of that, sometimes God in his providence will allow someone to hurt and to harm.

And sometimes in those moments, we learn great things about God, and sometimes in those moments like God, what he loves to do to get faith out of us, will try to get faith out of you in that way, to say, are you gonna trust me with that person or are you gonna deal with it yourself? Be careful of asking God for more faith. Be careful, because it looks like many things. And what Paul is doing here is an act of faith and there is no doubt that it pleased God. Oh, so many things to say.

And there is a seventh, relationships, but it's not it's not a human, though he is fully man. He's also truly God. And I believe he is worthy of an entire message for himself. But there is a relationship that you and I should understand, that you and I should consider, that you and I should know about as we deal with relationships with other people in this world. Lord, we thank you for the wisdom of these verses.

And Lord, we are better prepared and we are ready to know how to righteously react and respond to the good and to the bad. Thank you, oh Lord, that the things that we are experiencing, you have already predicted. And Lord, that that pain and also the great pleasure that we know in others is something that Paul himself knew. And you've provided us this this table of insights for us to digest for ourselves. And so Lord, we thank you that you care about how we experience relationships, and we ask that you would help us obey and to apply all that we've heard today.

But we thank you for the past. We thank you for the memories. We thank you for the people that you've allowed us to know in a chapter or two of our lives. We thank you for those who have been with us longer than the average person perhaps. And we cherish them until you call us home or until you call them or call us elsewhere.

But Lord help us, help us not go off course in our emotions, in our thinking. With all that we've heard, Lord, we wanna be in the center of your will and how we how we relate to one another. We give you praise and we worship you for your goodness in this. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.

Let's stand together.