A Cloak & Some Books | Pastor Daniel Batarseh

Well, we have arrived to the last portion of second Timothy together, and we trust that the Lord will help us see Christ even in these final verses and as we celebrate this week concerning his passion. So meet me in the book of second Timothy In chapter four beginning in verse 19, here's what Paul says by the spirit. Greet Prisca and Aquila and the household of Onesiphorus. Erastus remained at Corinth, and I left Trophimus, who was ill at Miletus. Do your best to come before winter.

Eubilis sends greetings to you, as do Putins and Linus and Claudia and all the brothers. The Lord be with your spirit. Grace be with you. Heavenly father, help us. Help us with these verses.

By the spirit, lord, help us see the value. Help us see the richness of even a text like this. And we pray, lord, that you would fill us afresh with the revelation of your wisdom and goodness, and that it would transform us. Lord, even with these verses, exalt Christ through them. Let no human words interfere with the interpretation and your intent with these scriptures.

Oh, be glorified. We long for you to be blessed and pleased with what you hear, and more importantly, what you see as we apply it to our lives. We ask these things in Jesus' name. Amen. If we have not yet grasped the love that the apostle Paul and the special interest that he had for other people, fellow believers.

Hopefully, these concluding verses in this letter will confirm that truth. Truth that isn't given to us just for mere admiration, by the way. It's it's a truth that should cause us to be inspired. These verses are for inspiration. Nine other names, nine additional names are mentioned in these verses as this martyr to be is ready to sign off.

As he's ready to go home to be with his Lord. And it shows us really just how much the Apostle Paul was in tune with other people. It shows us just how much he cared. Whether it was a desire to make people feel like they were known by his greetings. He wanted to make sure that they were comforted because he was thinking of them or updating Timothy with the state of affairs of ministers that they both knew.

This, this saint really cared for people. He deeply cared for the children of God. And every letter that he wrote really oozes out that kind of love that he had for those who belong to God. And And as you look at this, you might think, well, how can someone who is ready to die be so concerned about greeting people? Or about translating or about giving information to another person.

I mean, you're about to be executed. And it is no secret. It is not, it is not some foreign idea to the Bible. Paul himself even tells us why he is so attentive. Why he is so deeply aware.

Why he actually cares for the littlest things in other people's lives. And I want you to see it. So go to Philippians chapter one very quickly and look at verse eight. Just backtrack a few books. And when you go to chapter one, you will see the secret to this man's sentiment.

You will see the motivation that he had for people. It's one simple verse in verse eight. Paul says to the Philippian Christians, for God is my witness. How I yearn for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus. Paul did not express a human fondness for believers.

He communicated a love that came from God himself. Even called God to be witness to what was in his bosom. How he had an actual compassion. How he actually had this concern for others and it could be paralleled. Imagine that.

It actually reflects the care that Jesus Christ himself has for his own. He can call God to bear witness that what he had in his heart for the people of God is what Jesus himself has in his heart for those that he has redeemed. And I read a verse like this and you cannot help but realize the implications of it. This is very exciting. This is glorious because a fallen human being like Paul has learned a love that was untainted by selfish ambition.

He had a love living inside of him that excited him to joyful, sacrificial living. There was a love that did not fluctuate based on somebody else's failures. It was the love of Jesus Christ running through the veins of this vessel, this instrument for the gospel of Jesus Christ. And we would be rightly called foolish for looking at a verse like this and just smiling at it while we study it. Shouldn't that cause us to seek the one who inspired this attitude in Paul to inspire us as well?

Can I ask you a very simple question today as we reflect on the love of Christ this week? What would your marriage look like, husband? What would your marriage look like, wife, if you both share the affection of Christ Jesus for one another? What would our friendships feel like? What would they be like if we all mutually share the master's tenderness?

What kind of aroma would this church create if every single one of us in this place had Christ's mercy beating in each of our hearts? When you look at a verse like this, it is not just for mere observation. It is not even for admiration. It is for imitation. God Almighty, if you did it with that former terrorist, surely you can do it in me.

Oh, would you not want to know what it feels like to have the actual affection of Jesus Christ living inside of you? It can happen. And there's no doubt that Paul echoed what the psalmist said in Psalm sixteen three when he said, concerning the saints of the land, they are the excellent ones in whom is all my delight. But as much as this man was compelled to supervise and supply the emotional, physical, and spiritual needs of others, can I tell you something? He was a human still, and Paul himself had personal wishes.

He had desires. He had needs. He had wants. And tucked in beautifully between these names in the final verses of our book here, he has a request. Did you see it?

Look again. He says here in second Timothy, when he looks forward to his departure to be with Christ, verse 21, do your best to come before winter. Do your best to come before winter. And all this really is is an echo of two other similar cries in the same book. Do you remember what he says here in chapter one verse four?

I long to see you, Timothy. I long to see you. And in chapter four, he says even earlier in verse nine, Do your best to come to me soon. But in this final request, though it sounds similar, there is an additional there's an additional demand, and that is for him to come at a precise time. Timothy, I need you to get here before winter.

I need you to get here before it gets cold. I need you to get here before the air gets chilly. The question is, why? Let's ask another question. Why does it really matter?

Well, you'll find out in a moment. The first reason I believe why Paul was so urgent with his appeal was because travel was much more difficult in the winter seasons. All you have to do is read the final chapters of the book of Acts to see the great struggles that Paul had to endure as he was sailing to Rome. And so he calls his young disciple and he gives him wisdom to say, for you to have a more graceful journey, would you get here before winter? I need you to arrive here for your sake, yes, and for mine.

Because secondly, Paul here has already communicated that his departure is near. That he is going to be with Christ, and it's coming very soon. And so he makes this call. He makes this urgent appeal to Timothy. Get here as quick as possible.

And for Timothy, if he didn't come before winter, it was either before winter or never. You need to arrive here. There is a certain timeline that you're working with. Timothy, you can't just leave at your own convenience. You can't just delay.

You must come as soon as possible. Before going to the final point, which will be the focus of our time together, I cannot help but think that this is, this is a worthy place to pause and to consider a principle that applies to all men. Yes, that small instruction, that urgent call has something to say about God's urgency for men today. What do I mean? In our brief lives, there are many things that present themselves to us that cannot be delayed to be acted upon, lest we forfeit the opportunity altogether.

In our brief lives, the mist that it is, there are certain things that present themselves as certain times that demands that demands an urgent response, less we lose that opportunity and it evaporates never to return again. And I believe the principle one, the universal one, is the call to salvation. If Paul here makes an appeal to Timothy to make sure that he comes before winter lest he risks uncertainty, how much more is it urgent for man to respond to the call of Christ to be saved? That invitation, that command to be saved, to put your faith and trust in Jesus Christ, listen, it is always always coupled with an immediate response. There is no place in the scripture where the Spirit of God encourages a postponed repentance.

There is no place in the Bible where you see even a suggestion that there should be a stalled surrender to his lordship. You will never see the Lord Jesus Christ preaching. You will never see the apostles preaching and saying, Repent and believe tomorrow. Today is the day of salvation. You must respond now.

You are held accountable with the news that you have received this glorious good news of his love. And you even think about Jesus Christ who was approached by different men who expressed a desire to follow him, but they had their own terms of timing, remember? Let me bury my father. And each of those individuals, Christ did not even take them seriously because they failed to realize just how much of a priority it is to deal with that information when it is given to you. I'm not saying that man should not pause and consider the cost of discipleship.

You should, but you shouldn't wait too long. Because tomorrow is not promised. And if today you're in this place, maybe you've heard the gospel a thousand times, maybe this is your first time, whether it's a thousand times or the first time, you have to make a decision as soon as possible. You have to come to Jesus before winter. Not literally, of course, but the principle of it.

Before your time runs out, you must say yes to him, lest you forfeit the opportunity altogether. But what about if you have said yes to Jesus? What if you're a believer in this place where you said, I have responded to that wonderful call. I did not delay. I have been living for him.

Does this concept of taking advantage of the opportune time still apply to the redeemed? Yes. And in many ways. And I cannot help but think when I look at the urgent appeal here for Timothy of the wise words of King Solomon, when he spoke in that glorious book of Ecclesiastes that really sobers you in how you view this world. And he says it there in Ecclesiastes twelve one, does he not?

Remember also your creator in the days of your youth before. Paul said to Timothy, come before winter. And here's Solomon by the spirit saying to the young reader, remember your creator in the days of your youth, not before winter, but before the days, the evil days come and the years draw near, which you will say, I have no pleasure in them. I have no pleasure in them. The Holy Spirit turns his attention to the young reader, and he calls him to remember God in his youth.

Why? Because young people often fail to consider God in their thinking and in their planning. It It is usually those who are seasoned in life. It is usually those who've experienced the disappointments of life and are approaching death where they contemplate God and eternity. And so there is a call here that in the prime of your life, don't think that you have so much opportunity ahead of you.

Don't think that there is so much for you yet to experience. I could tell you this, that the youth are arguably one of the most difficult demographics to convince that this life is transient and that the things that this world offers are meaningless. And the Holy Spirit knows that. That's why he says, you young people in that season of strength remember your creator before, before what? The sun of your strength sets.

Before you have to face the various difficulties of a limited body. Before you have to experience the struggles of your schedule being filled because of growing responsibilities that come with life. The world is fully aware of the young and the potential that they have. And even good hearted people try to disciple their children. Teachers, well nowadays you question their integrity, most of them.

But good hearted teachers, God fearing teachers also, will look at the young and they will say, use this time to study. Use this time to travel. Use this time to invest. Use this time to do things, even take risks if you need to. But I wonder how many parents, how many teachers look at their children, look at their teens and say, remember God.

Serve God. Give them all that you have now. It only gets harder and harder as you grow in age. Reserve these seasons. Reserve this time and give it to him before winter.

Before winter. Oh, I'm trying to show you today how God encourages the believer to consider every season of life and to ask ask him to maximize the opportunities in every single one before winter comes, before he comes. But we look here in Paul's urgent call for Timothy to come before winter and there is one other reason I believe among many, and it is the reason that you and I will focus today. It is connected to verse 13. He says come before winter because in verse 13 he says, when you come, bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at Troas, also the books and above all the parchments.

Seems trivial, doesn't it? I don't think I've met somebody who says, you know, I was meditating on that verse where Paul said, bring me my cloak, and bring me my books, and don't forget the parchments. You won't really find a verse like that in your devotional three six five, day and night. Maybe you will, if it's Spurgeon. What does this have to do with us?

What does this personal request have to do with my life? What does this transitional verse have to offer me in my walk with the Lord? Well, as Spurgeon said, let this cloak warm you today. As you and I consider how these things, these items, these these personal belongings to a man who lived thousands of years ago, hundreds of years ago, has something to do with you and I today. So let us consider thoughts from Paul's cloak.

I believe when you see this, you see this request, you see a sad thing. You see a sad thing here because last week we learned that no one attended Paul at his first defense. Nobody came to his hearing and that news was especially sorrowful because it is believed that Paul was imprisoned in Rome. It is believed that he wrote this letter in that great city. And you know that there was an entire glorious epistle, a theological masterpiece that was delivered to Christians who are already in Rome that were not a result of Paul's evangelistic efforts.

It's most likely that these Roman Christians were saved at the day of Pentecost because there are Romans who were there in Jerusalem. And so Paul, as you see in chapter one, he longs to see them face to face, and he gives this awesome piece of work. Where were they? Not one could have showed up to his hearing? Not one out of those band of people that he mentions in chapter 16 of Romans could have come to at least be an encouraging presence?

I want I want you to see the enthusiasm that these Romans believer had when Paul first arrived at Rome in Acts. So turn there quickly in Acts 28 verse 14. I just want you to see the contrast how what we've been hearing week after week is so true that men change. People change. Christ doesn't.

Acts 28 verse 14. Luke writes, there we found brothers and were invited to stay with them for seven days. And so we came to Rome. There it is. They arrived to Rome.

Here's the chronological recording of it. And what happens when they come to Rome? Verse 15. And the brothers there, when they heard about us, came as far as the form of Apias and three taverns to meet us. On seeing them, Paul thanked God and took courage.

So these men heard that this Paul who wrote this letter to them years before perhaps has now arrived into their land. And so they come to meet him as he comes. And they escort him into the city like royalty. They robed him with honor and dignity. And this man who went through a hell of a ride through the sea was was thanking God and he took courage.

I have brothers with me in Rome. Oh, they heard, and it says even here that they came as far, they traveled long and far to make sure that Paul would not arrive without people who were ready to host him and love him and lead him into this new land. And as Paul arrived to Rome, there was that great eagerness. And as Paul was ready to depart out of Rome into glory, they're not there. Where are they?

Where is that enthusiasm? Where is that excitement? Where is that great sacrifice? You were willing to walk and travel so far to make sure that he was greeted. What about now as he lays in a cold, stinking dungeon?

You and I thought it was heartbreaking to see that nobody came to his first defense. Let me add something to it. Nobody thought, as the seasons were transitioning, maybe Paul is cold in that cell. We should clothe him appropriately. Nobody thought maybe we should cover his bruised and scarred back with a layer of clothing so that he can endure.

We may not be able to get him out, maybe we did skip his first hearing, but let's at least drop off some articles of clothing. Nobody even thought that this man perhaps just needed something warm to sleep with. This old saint, as he sat in the cold, dark, whole awaiting his execution, did not have any visitation, did not have anybody who cared for him to bring a cloak. And so what does he have to do? He has to send a letter to ask for that cloak that was hidden away by a trustworthy disciple named Karpus.

So out of reach, so far. And we don't know why, we don't know why it was left behind in trials, but it really spoke about the kind of life he lived. Does it does it not? The quality of life. This man's life was so unpredictable.

Filled with suspense. He's here, then he's there, then he goes back here. I mean, there was no permanent place for him to reside. It was too dangerous. And so that saintly head laid on on various types of materials, and I can tell you most of them were not comfortable.

And his possessions went with him. One day they're here, one day they're there. He did not know the comfort that you, my, and I know with a routine in life, with a permanent residential place that you can call home. This man was just on the go. His service to the Lord Jesus Christ caused him to live with such suspense.

And we think to himself, to ourselves, is that the kind of life I'm willing to live for my Lord? I look at a verse like that where he asks for his cloak miles away and I think, Lord, how can I complain? This man served you and he did not waste one portion of his letter to murmur about his material lack. He did not try to receive pity. He was very simple and very quiet.

A true bond slave of Jesus Christ with every meaning. The sense of the meaning. And like any earthly slave would would tell you, there was very little possessions that Paul could claim exclusively for himself. In fact, the longer he served Jesus, the more he seemed to have lost in this life. Don't you forget who this apostle was.

This was the great revered honored Saul of Tarsus. The man who had a reputation that commanded respect from every sphere of society. The man who had an entourage when he was traveling to Damascus. The man who had a very important vote, a vote that can that can actually make you either dead or alive. And that same Saul of Tarsus now is alone, old, shriveling, shaking and asking for a cloak.

With all that he had owned, including that wonderful reputation, it was all given away. And to the person who does not have the eyes of faith, they might look at Paul in his condition now and feel sad for him. But Paul, again, would not demand such pity because the same man who demanded a cloak knew that very, very soon he was going to be robed with eternal comfort. And he was gonna be crowned. And he was going to be given treasures that would put all the earthly accolades to shame.

Paul had a perspective that many Christians do not have. And so he did not look here for some kind of pat on the back. He was very, very in control. Paul was a tough man. I'm telling you today, many Christians have a low tolerance and suffering.

A very low tolerance. They're willing to serve the Lord, but the moment things get difficult, they squeal. Oh, this man, you could not beat the courage out of him. You could not freeze him into surrender. All he did was request for a cloak.

And that comes to the second point regarding this garment. The first one was the fact that he was forgotten by those that he remembered every detail about. And secondly, this this call for his cloak reminds us that servants of God are not spared from natural courses of action in life. You and I will be sadly mistaken and greatly disappointed if we think to ourselves that as we follow Jesus Christ that there will never be moments of waiting. That as we pursue our desires, hopefully they're righteous, that they will be void of disruptions.

It is a very detrimental frame of mind to think that if I choose to give myself to God and I choose to understand his promise of provision, that includes the exemption of common challenges, discomforts, and delays. This man, this man here who is an instrument of mighty miracles, who is revered even by demons, is sending a letter for a jacket? Sounds very human because he is. And that should help us as we look at these giants in the faith to realize that they were not exempt from normal procedures in life, like making appointments and making requests and sending things and waiting for things. Paul was normal.

Paul was human. Paul did not receive special treatment. And if Paul didn't receive special treatment, what makes you think that you and I will go through this life without things that will cause us to wonder, Lord, are you with me? Could not have God materialized a jacket out of thin air for Paul? Could he have not just woven the rags that he was wearing there?

Could not have God done a miraculous work in his body where his his his heat arose and regulated though the dungeon itself was freezing? Could not have God appeared to a saint in Rome like he did with Ananias after Paul's conversion and command him? Go and see that man and provide him a cloak. Of course God could have. He's God.

But like with many things, God doesn't always implement his supernatural means for his servants. Just like God can heal every disease, but oftentimes he doesn't in supernatural fashion. Look at verse 20. Do you see it? In second Timothy four.

I left Trophimus who was ill at Miletus. Why? Paul, you have apostolic authority. You've raised the dead. You've healed so many.

In fact, you were so anointed by the power of God at one point that they didn't even need you to come to the location. They just wanted your handkerchief. And they laid it on the sick, and they were delivered, and demons were cast out. And Paul, you're telling me the man that I saw and was inspired by throughout that book of Acts left his friends sick at Miletus? Why didn't you command for his well-being?

Why didn't you command for his healing? Why didn't you put an end to his suffering once and for all? Because as much as authority Paul had, he was still surrendered to a sovereign God who knows what is best. And there are times in which God, in order to prove his power and his love, will heal instantly. Like he saw Eutychus raised from the dead after he fell asleep in a church service.

And God's miraculous power is so creative that it's not limited to your body. It's even. It's even applied, if he wills, to the very thing that covers your body. Do you remember the Israelites who were wandering in the wilderness for forty years? Do you know what Deuteronomy twenty nine five says?

Let me read it to you. God says, I have led you forty years in the wilderness. Your clothes your clothes have not worn out on you and your sandals have not worn off your feet. When we think of the miracles in that journey, we think about the manna from heaven, the water coming from the rock, the sea splitting. Have you ever considered the fact that they wore the same shoes for forty years and it didn't have any mark?

They wore the same outfit and it was in perfect condition as though they had just bought it. And there are times in which God has proven that he can heal, he can raise the dead, he can even command your shirt to stay the same. But there are also times in which sickness seems to stay. Like his friend here, Myletus. And there are times in which even the most faithful of God's servants need a cloak and it's not at their disposal.

I'm sure Paul made a request for God to perform the same miracle for the raiments of those Israelites. But no. He also knew that God works through human procedure and means and providence. And so he does what you and I would do, send a letter for a friend to bring a jacket. I also see with this request for a cloak the contentment of Paul.

The contentment. Don't you see how concrete it is? Do you see how this man is so humble, so simple? He lived his life with such ease. Why?

Because when he says, make sure that you bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at Troyes, he didn't say bring me a new one. Hey, on your way to to Rome, would you stop by the store and get me a brand new cloak? He didn't make unrealistic demands for certain goods and services. Paul was so, so, so easy to please. He didn't struggle with that that poison of covetousness.

He did not live his life always wanting. He was not high maintenance. Paul was so calm because there is a calmness that you and I inherit when we are satisfied in Jesus Christ. I wanna tell you that this grace, this grace where Paul just says, can you bring what I already have, please? Just just make sure you don't forget it.

That that quietness, that that simple attitude is learned. Even this giant had to learn it. Because he says in Philippians, does he not? In Philippians four eleven, I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I've learned that.

That's not intrinsic. That's not something that you and I have automatically. That's something that we are discipled into. That's something that the Holy Spirit teaches us over time, and Paul had it in every situation. I'm to be content.

My requests are very minimal. I I enjoy whatever God has determined for my life at whatever season I'm in. And I look at this man and I think to myself, oh, to be so calm in such confining circumstances, with the authority that he had, he could have made demands on people. He could have exercised pride. He could have acted like many people do today in ministry.

Putting demands for high honorariums on people. Putting a number on their service for Christ as preachers. I could not even fathom the thought. Jeremiah Burrows, who was a Puritan, wrote in the rare jewel of Christian contentment. Listen carefully.

Quote, contentment is not by addition, but by subtraction. Seeking to add a thing will not bring contentment. Instead subtracting from your desires until you are satisfied only with Christ brings contentment. He goes on to say, my brethren, the reason why you have not gotten contentment in the things of the world is not because you have not enough of them. That is not the reason.

But the reason is because they are not things proportionable to that immortal soul of yours that is capable of God himself. You will never be content in adding more because what only can fill that void is the one who made it. And Paul learned that more and more and more. If you are not growing in the years with a knowledge of how Christ satisfies, you and I are not doing it right. If we started out in our walk with the Lord, greatly satisfies and you know that if you've truly been born again.

Nothing else seems to have mattered at that season. Right? But if you've left that and now you're you're starting to get edgy and and becoming ungrateful. Something happened along the way because Paul learned it as he went on. Paul grew in greater contentment.

And if as Christians we're growing in greater discontentment, then we are not knowing satisfaction in Christ. We have to go back to the basics. Bring me my cloak. Who would have thought that would have meant so much? But what about the books?

What about the parchments? What were on those books? What what what did they carry? What kind of information? You can imagine it's not told, so there's great speculation about it.

Some would say that when Paul requested for the books, what he was asking for was blank material so that he could write more letters before his departure. Some would say that it included some of his already writings and he wanted to preserve them and pass them on. And some would even suggest, no, no, no. Paul was a learned man. He was aware of his culture.

He He was aware of philosophies and poets, and so he just wanted different genres so that he can educate himself. That is up for debate, but one thing that there is a general consensus on is the parchments. The parchments. He says, oh, would you make sure especially that you bring the parchments? Why?

Well, the books were papyrus. They're they're more readily available, but the parchments were much more expensive. The material was made out of animal skin. And that understanding helps people realize that what he's probably asking for most likely were the Hebrew scriptures. And perhaps some recordings of the words of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Bring me the scriptures. I wanna hold them in my hand. I need them. You see, when he required the cloak, that would preserve and protect his body. But when he asked for the parchments, those would be the means to warm his soul.

Are we all that surprised that Paul, in these dire conditions, in the midst of such tense circumstances, wants to study the bible? Wants to read and meditate and grow in the knowledge of God and his word. Oh, although this man felt a chilling breeze because of the absence of his friends, he knew that there would be a fellowship that would come from the living word of God. Bring the parchments to me. Because the word of God is a primary means in which God consoles your soul, my brother.

The word of God is God's primary means for you to have the the armor necessary for a spiritual battle. It is the window in which you and I look through this world and see Christ and fellowship with him, and him fellowshipping with us. I've heard from some people that they can't get themselves to read the Bible because they're not much readers themselves. And so I can't read the Bible because they're not much readers. And so I can't read the Bible because they're not much readers.

And so I can't read the Bible because I don't read. I'm not much of a reader. And some of those people, if they're honest, who say they can't read the Bible, they can't get themselves to focus, seem to do just fine with news articles. And memor and memorizing sports stats. For some reason, when it comes to the Bible, they can't give ten minutes of attention to it.

If that is you, if you're a person who says, you know, I just I don't know why. Doesn't really draw me in, let me just ask one simple question. Just one very simple question. If God in his heavenly wisdom has ordained that his means of communicating with this world would be through a book, even though there are other means and even though there will be developing technologies to come, if God has determined for all of time that my will, my person, my character, my nature, my person would be known through a book, wouldn't that be enough for you to say, let me read it? Wouldn't that be enough for you to say, I will honor his method and I will read him and know him?

Think about it. If it is true that the parchments were the scriptures, this is a very powerful statement Paul is making. You know why? Because before he makes that request, he emphasizes the parchments. He said, especially the parchments, Which means in the Greek, chiefly, most of all, above all.

You see Timothy, he could have forgotten the cloak. He could have left behind the books. But there is one thing he could not fail to bring and those were the parchments. If Timothy only had limited space and he had to choose out of all the items one, Paul would be satisfied if he only came with those parchments. Paul was willing to endure the winter season without a cloak as long as he had the book.

When I think about that, I wonder, these past few weeks, I've been challenged by the love of Paul for people. But would you open your heart to another love that he had? And it was a love for the written word of God. Bring me the parchments. As we close this book, as we put an end to this series in second Timothy, what visual are we left with?

You know what you and I are left with? A lonely worn out man, shivering in a dungeon, awaiting his unjust execution, eagerly expecting the speedy arrival of one of his most faithful disciples to hopefully bring a jacket, a few books, and portions of the scriptures. And to the unbelieving mind or to the spiritually immature, they would look at this and they would see something that is quite disheartening and sad. Paul, you could have become someone as a Pharisee of the Pharisees, man. You had such an advantage unlike very few in Israel, You could have really, really made it.

The connections, the resources, the respect that you had, and you threw it all the way for what? To be in this? This is what serving an invisible Messiah gets you? That is the world's perspective. That is the carnal understanding.

Heaven has a completely different idea of what we see here with Paul, and it is found in our final text this afternoon in Hebrews chapter 11. Hebrews 11 teaches us what faith lives like, what it looks like, what it does. And in Hebrews eleven thirty six, about those who have lived a life of faith in Christ, you know what it says? Others suffered mocking and flogging and even chains and imprisonment. They were stoned.

They were sawn in two. They were killed with the sword. They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated. Pause there. This material is not speaking about luxurious clothing.

Speaks about miserable conditions like Paul. This is what faith will get you. Yes, sometimes you will be able to close the mouths of lions and you will see great armies flee, but the Bible is very honest. You wanna live for Christ? This is how it can end up for you.

And then look what it says in verse 38, of whom the world was not worthy. Of whom the world was not worthy. Wandering about in deserts and mountains and in dens and caves of the earth. It's as though the Holy Spirit is trying to say something. As you're reading this list of things that nobody would dare to volunteer to endure, God wants to make sure that these who have experienced this outcome of their faith, the world is not worthy of them.

The world would scorn them. The world would shrink from them. But from heaven's perspective, Christ and all his angels looked down and say, they do not understand who is walking in their midst. They do not understand the honor that they will have when they come into my presence. They do not understand how they will be esteemed for all of eternity.

The world is not worthy of such men. Of such who? Of a man stuck in a jail cell, forgotten and abandoned? Yes. The world is not worthy.

And you and I as we close this book have to consider that the end of this thing for you may be very similar. And if it is, remember that you can know contentment, you can know a concrete comfort from Christ. And though the world may see you as a waste, as a loss of potential, Christ through his word says, they are not worthy. They are not worthy. They do not realize who is among them.

Lord, we thank you for your word. We thank you for the mention of the cloak, the books, and the parchments. We thank you that there is so much for us to consider our own lives through them. Lord, with this time together, through stammering lips and a limited vocabulary, Lord, we trust that your word would have its effect in our hearts. Lord, we worship you.

That there is not one detail of your word that is without purpose. You speak to us in all things. And we pray that you would open our eyes to see these things in your word. Lord, we thank you for our time in second Timothy together. Thank you for all that you've taught us.

And Lord, we just pray that as we as a church move forward to another book, you would lead us perfectly into that book. Whatever it is that you long to teach us as your people, please lead us perfectly in it. But, Lord, before then, we worship you for what you've given us now. We worship you for the past few weeks and months how you've spoken to us through this precious epistle, and we give you all the glory. Lord, we magnify your name as we worship you today.

In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Let's stand and worship the Lord, shall we?