One can learn a great deal about a man of God when he comes to moments of crisis or a time of decision or change. God puts him through things then that bring out what is in him. He does the same thing for every one of you. He puts you under pressure at a moment of crisis and then you understand what is in you. It’s a blessing when that discovery is a happy one, for few of us really understand what God has wrought in us. But it’s a sad and dismal affair when that moment reveals things that are not good, and you realize you’ve been engaged in self-deception and you don’t have what you thought you had.
One of the things that is a blessing is to study the reactions of men under fire. I take a great deal of strength and inspiration from those moments. George Washington’s farewell speech to his troops is a classic. Hardly anything equals Moses’ last words to Israel before he went up on the mountain Nebo and died in the arms of God. We are inspired by the zeal in Joshua, even as an old and a feeble man, making his farewell message when he was under fire and knew what was coming. We read Peter’s farewell thoughts in his second epistle, “As long as I am in this tabernacle” (one translation reads, “Before I fold up my tent,”) “I want to put you in mind of certain things..” (II Peter 1:13). Those are moments that are very important.
When Paul spoke a brief farewell to the church at Ephesus—a church that probably met in a thousand homes—he called the elders, and by revelation told them of the things that were going to happen to them after his departure. When the moment came for him to say good-bye and return to the ship that would take him to years of imprisonment and death, they knelt down together with Paul. They wept and embraced him, “knowing that they would see his face no more.” (Acts 20:38). The words that men in the Scripture speak in moments like that are a great encouragement.
This epistle was written by a man in prison who had been through so much and suffered so much. He was a man in his fifties who called himself “Paul the aged.” He was delivered out of the mouth of the lion, though we don’t know how. When he said, “Henceforth let no man trouble me; I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus,” I always imagined that he referred to the scars of the whips and beatings he had received, the near misses of assassins that had left their scars. But it was a little more than that. There was evidently a disfigurement of face and body caused by lions’ claws. It meant something to be an apostle in those days—it does at any time.
In this passage, he is writing to an intense young man who had watched him being stoned at Lystra, up in Galatia (now called Turkey). He had watched while Paul’s enemies threw huge rocks at him to crush his skull, and then left him for dead. Afterwards the Lord gave him life, and he came forth to fulfill his ministry.
A short time later, Paul took this young man with him and he became an apostle. He was not too well in body, with oft infirmities, and so young that people tended to despise his youth, but Paul loved him and was very close to him. Although he was a shy young man, he had a way of being there when he was needed. When Paul was in prison, facing death, he wrote a farewell word to young Timothy, recorded in II Timothy 3:10–4:18.
But thou didst follow my teaching, conduct, purpose, faith, longsuffering, love, patience, persecutions, sufferings; what things befell me, at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra; what persecutions I endured: and out of them all the Lord delivered me. Yea, and all that would live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. But evil men and imposters shall wax worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived. But abide thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them; and that from a babe thou hast known the sacred writings which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. Every scripture inspired of God is also profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for instruction which is in righteousness: that the man of God may be complete, furnished completely unto every good work. I charge thee in the sight of God, and of Christ Jesus, who shall judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: preach the word; be urgent in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching. For the time will come when they will not endure the sound doctrine;
Paul the aged, in the prison darkness, perhaps on a bed of straw, with rats running around, was looking beyond and seeing the time that was to come, and he said, “The time will come, Timothy, when they will not endure sound doctrine;” but, having itching ears, will heap to themselves teachers after their own lusts; and will turn away their ears from the truth, and turn aside unto fables. Out of his prison Paul saw the day and hour in which we are living. But be thou sober in all things, suffer hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfil thy ministry. For I am already being offered, and the time of my departure is come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith: henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give to me at that day; and not to me only, but also to all them that have loved his appearing. Give diligence to come shortly unto me: for Demas forsook me, having loved this present world, and went to Thessalonica; Crescens to Galatia, Titus to Dalmatia. Only Luke is with me. Take Mark, and bring him with thee; for he is useful to me for ministering. But Tychicus I sent to Ephesus. The cloak that I left at Troas with Carpus, bring when thou comest, and the books, especially the parchments. It was going to be a long cold winter in that prison.
Alexander the coppersmith did me much evil: the Lord will render to him according to his works: of whom do thou also beware; for he greatly withstood our words. At my first defence no one took my part, but all forsook me: may it not be laid to their account. Where were all the other apostles and prophets? Where were the Christians? But the Lord stood by me, and strengthened me; that through me the message might be fully proclaimed, and that all the Gentiles might hear:
One lonely little man—bald headed and very homely—stands there, his words ringing out, the strange new words of the Kingdom, the message of the Lord. I wish I could have been there at his side. I would like to have heard his words ringing through that great corridor, wouldn’t you? and I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion. How did it happen? Your mind can picture it as well as mine. He had probably come to the end of a triumphant message, declaring that the blessed Lord Jesus is alive forevermore as Lord, the only Lord, and all authority in heaven and earth is in His hand. The stupid Romans were probably laughing as they carried him off and threw him to the lions. How did he escape? The Lord will deliver me from every evil work, and will save me unto his heavenly kingdom: to whom be the glory for ever and ever. Amen.
You can tell how a man has lived by the way he dies, can’t you? Some of us will die in this walk. Listen carefully. Can you hear a song coming? You’ll hear it before the Kingdom comes. It will be a triumphant sound, and we’ll die by it and suffer by it. We’ll walk through pain and fatigue, hunger and thirst; and a glory will be upon us. We can’t quite make out the words, but it’s a song of glory. It seems almost like Paul was singing it way back then.
A new song is coming that Isaiah said would be heard to the ends of the earth. He heard it before they put him in a hollow tree and sawed him asunder.
When Peter was talking in the last hours of his life, he said, “We are eye-witnesses of His glory and of His kingdom.” He saw it. It’s coming again. We’re going to hear it. It has a rhythm to it, a challenge to it. It doesn’t make much difference whether some of us drop out dying, one by one shot down or tortured. Already the first one is gone, who was shot for refusing to give up this walk. But there will be more of us. We’re going to walk this walk. We are fighting a good fight. We’re finishing the course. We’re keeping the faith.
A beautiful day is coming that’s real. It’s a great day, something beyond what any of you know and understand. Walk in it, love it. Don’t ever get your eyes too much on any one person or group of people. Keep your eyes on the Lord.
Accept the ministries and the authority that He gives. They are not infallible, but God has put a lot in them. If they make mistakes, they will answer to the Lord—not you. You don’t have to play God with them. Just be submissive. Tomorrow will be beautiful. Get up and do what Revelation said: “Anoint your eyes with eye salve that you may see” (Revelation 3:18). And if you go into the closet, where everything is shut out, you’ll see clear into the Kingdom. Amen.