Please turn with me to 2 Timothy 4, verse 9-15. That's page 1197.
2 Timothy 4, verse 9-15, page 1197 in the Church Bible.
2 Timothy 4, verse 9-15.
But I think, more than maybe any sermon that we have done throughout this entire series,
that there is something in these verses for everyone in the room today.
See, it doesn't matter where you are on the spectrum of faith, you've been a believer for a while,
or you're coming into church for the very first time.
I believe that you will be able to identify with one person in this message today.
So let's go ahead and dive in.
Today we're going to look at two categories that Paul lists in this passage.
Adversaries and allies.
And see, Paul lists two adversaries.
These are people that were opposed to the gospel being spread in this passage.
We will call them Demas the deserter and Alexander the antagonist.
See, and Demas, we'll start with him.
He is called the deserter because, well, he deserts Paul.
And I think it's important for us to look at this and understand this.
He is not just called the deserter because he leaves.
There are many people that we will look at later in the sermon today that leave.
But see, Demas is a deserter because if you look at verse 10 of what it says there.
See, it says that Demas loved this world.
Demas was no ordinary Roman.
This was not a guy that Paul had just met on the street and become friends with.
No, Demas was important to Paul.
In Philemon 24, Paul says that Demas is a gospel worker with him.
Twice in the New Testament, Demas is listed in the same breath as Luke,
the gospel writer of Luke, and the book of Acts.
See, through many trials, Demas has been with Paul.
He has experienced the highs of ministry.
He has fought through lows.
But in the end, when Paul is desperate,
when he needs somebody to be by his side,
Demas deserted him.
And I wonder if there is anyone in the room today that can relate to this.
See, on the outside, you look like a Christian.
You would be able to pass the test if there was one.
You go to church.
You do the golden rule.
Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.
You will like that rule.
You know the Bible stories.
If there was a quiz, you would pass it.
But on the inside, your heart does not belong to God.
Instead, it is in love with the world like Demas.
See, you put more stock in what the world says than what the Bible says.
Maybe that looks like relationships.
We say, I said what the Bible said about relationships 2,000 years ago.
That is great.
But that has no pertaining on what I do today.
See, I don't have to listen to what it says.
I need to have sex before marriage now.
Because, hey, the standards that the Bible puts in there, that's just not realistic anymore.
I mean, we got to make sure we're compatible, right?
Would you drive a car without taking it for a test drive first?
Or maybe it's not relationships.
But maybe it's time.
So you chase success at the expense of time with God.
You bargain with God and say, Lord, if there is any time left in the rest of the day, I will give it to you.
But every time it comes to the end of the day, you end up not having any time for the Lord.
And see, maybe it's not even your time, but maybe it is your family.
So the work-life shambles in your life may be, or the work-life balance in your life may be in shambles.
You would look and define success, how the world defines success.
And you would define yourself more by what your boss thinks of you than your son.
See, when push comes to shove in your life and a crisis comes, and trust me, there will be a crisis in life.
What is going to come out of you, Christ or the world?
See, we are all like sponges.
We soak up what is around us.
It may just be a 30-minute show here that we know we shouldn't watch, but it's just 30 minutes.
Or maybe 15 minutes of a website we know we shouldn't visit, but hey, it's just 15 minutes.
Or maybe we participate in a conversation that we know we shouldn't participate in.
It's like, hey, I won't participate in the gossip part.
I'll just listen.
But like a sponge, we are soaking up what is around us.
And so when we are squeezed, what comes out has occupied our heart.
See, I'm going to make an assumption here about the passage.
See, I don't think Demas meant to be a deserter.
See, we have another category that we're going to talk about here in just one second of a person that is openly hostile to the gospel.
So I don't think that's what Demas wanted to be.
I don't think, was he running with Paul earlier throughout his ministry?
He's going, ah, Paul, just you wait.
Just you wait until you trust me.
And then when you least expect it, when you need me the most, I'm going to stab you right in the back.
I don't think that's what Demas wanted to do.
And yet, is that not exactly what happens?
So we have to ask the question, why?
Why did this happen to Demas?
It goes to the illustration that we were talking about.
You can skip to the next slide.
Because we're soaking up what is around us.
See, Demas was surrounded by Paul.
But instead of soaking up the rich doctrine that Paul was teaching,
instead he was mesmerized by the ways of the world.
And when things got tough and persecution started to happen,
Demas did what made sense to him.
And he ran.
So the question, friends, in the room today, what are we soaking up?
Are we going to be defined by the world's definition of success,
and what the world wants to push on us?
Or are we going to be defined by what Jesus says about us?
So that's the first category of adversary.
Let's move now to the second category.
And that's Alexander the Antagonist.
See, unlike Demas, who is with Paul and he turns his back on Paul,
Alexander is an open enemy of Paul's preaching.
We don't know a lot about Alexander.
Unfortunately, it was a really common name back 2,000 years ago.
But we do know that Alexander was doing everything that he possibly could
to make sure that the mission of God was not accomplished through Paul.
See, so much so that Paul, even in his letter to his young protege, Timothy,
has to say,
Hey, Timothy, watch out for this guy.
He is not good.
Do not trust him.
He is a snake.
He wants nothing more than to see you fail.
And once again, I would ask the question,
Is this someone in the room today?
Maybe you're here just because a parent dragged you here.
Maybe you're here because a co-worker invited you.
Or maybe curiosity just got the better of you
and you had to come in and see what it's all about.
Can I say two things to you if you're in the room today?
And that is you.
Number one, welcome.
Genuinely.
The church for centuries has been a place where people come to find answers.
West Kilburn, this church, wants to be that place in this community.
So welcome in.
And the second thing I want to ask is,
How's it going?
And not the how's it going that you say when you meet somebody,
Hey, how's it going?
You really don't care what their answer is.
But the genuine, soul-searching question of how is it going in your life?
See, the writer of this letter, Paul,
he would have an answer to that question.
And his answer would be,
It's not going very well.
See, Paul, just in the message prior to this,
in the few verses prior,
he said, Hey, my time is near.
I've been beaten.
I've been jailed.
And I am about to die for the faith.
He knows this.
And yet, Paul's story makes even less sense
when you realize that Paul went from a persecutor of the church
to the position that he is in now.
See, Paul is in the same shoes as Alexander is in this passage.
He was in the same shoes as Alexander is in this passage.
And if you are an antagonist of the gospel,
he was in the same shoes as you are today.
So what changed?
How did a persecutor of the faith become one of the faith's greatest martyrs?
Paul met Jesus.
On the road to Damascus, the Lord changed Paul's life,
and he could no longer live for himself
because he found something greater to live for.
And it changed everything.
And now, when he is faced with the reality of death,
Paul does not shrink back and hide,
but instead he can sit there and proclaim the good news
because it has changed his life,
and he believes it can change yours too.
See, if you look at the end of verse 14,
the start of verse 14 there,
see, Paul does not take retribution for Alexander into his own hands.
See, he knows that God is the ruler of all things
and that he has power over all things.
And so, he says,
Alexander, you are going to get what you deserve
either in this life or the next.
It does not matter to me.
But there is one who is all-powerful
who will take care of it all.
And this begs the question,
what would happen if we got what we deserved?
If you want to answer that question today
with the hope and assurance that Paul does,
then you have to meet the same person that Paul met,
and that's Jesus.
So that the next time someone asks you the question,
how's it going,
you can say,
well, it doesn't matter my circumstances.
They could be really great.
They could be really bad.
But it doesn't matter
because my hope is not in them.
Instead,
it is in the God
that created the universe
and changed Paul
and then indeed changed me.
So now we've looked at the adversaries.
We've looked at the bad guys.
Let's turn our attention now to the good guys
because every good story ends with the good guys winning, right?
Let's take a look.
Let's read starting at the end of verse 10.
Back at the verse.
So there's a few guys that are listed here
in the end of Paul's letter to 2 Timothy.
So we're going to go through them
and kind of get a better understanding of who they are.
The first person is Crescens.
And, well, sorry,
we don't know a lot about him.
So we're just going to have to skip right over Crescens.
But the next three,
the next person listed is Titus.
And Titus is a part of a group
that I will call T, TLC.
Titus, Tychicus, Luke, and Carpus.
And yes, these guys did indeed go chasing waterfalls
instead of sticking to the lakes
and the rivers that they're used to.
But see, if you look at the credentials of these guys,
you realize that they are just ordinary people.
These guys were not Jews.
They did not grow up studying under rabbis.
But instead, they were just out in the world
and started following Jesus.
Through different circumstances.
None of them would look exceptional
in the eyes of the world.
But yet, if you look at their resumes
after the fact,
you see that they had a huge impact for the gospel.
All right, so out of T, T, L, and C,
Carpus, again, is one of those guys
that we just don't know a lot about.
He's not mentioned anywhere else in the Bible.
But the other three, Titus, Tychicus, and Luke,
their legacies continue to this day.
So let's start with Titus.
Titus wasn't Paul's protege.
He did not get that title.
Instead, when you look at where Paul sends him
instead of where he sends Timothy,
you kind of think, Titus,
you kind of got the bad end of the deal here.
See, Timothy gets to go to this global city of Ephesus.
And while it did have some of its problems,
Ephesus is known as a place
where some of the titans of the faith came from.
Titus.
Titus was sent as a messenger to the Corinthians.
And if you've ever read 1 and 2 Corinthians,
you know they had some problems.
On top of that,
Titus goes on a missionary journey with Paul to Crete.
And Paul's like, great, I'm going to continue on.
Titus, you stay here in Crete.
The problem is the people in Crete,
they were described as liars, lazy gluttons, and evil beasts.
Not a great missionary assignment, huh?
And then even in 2 Timothy here,
while Paul is writing this letter,
Titus is in modern-day Serbia,
ministering and spreading the gospel to the people there.
He never had a position of grandeur.
He was just an ordinary guy following the Lord
and obeying Paul when he told him to go.
What about Luke?
Luke has kind of the same story.
He's a Gentile doctor.
He accompanies Paul on his second missionary journey,
and Paul leaves him behind in Philippi.
And then Paul continues on throughout all of his journeys,
doing all the great things that are written about in the gospel of Luke.
You know where Luke is?
Philippi.
Paul doesn't come back and pick him up
until his third missionary journey.
Luke is just there.
And then, you know what we hear about Luke after that?
Not a lot.
He just accompanies Paul.
Luke is a trained doctor turned sojourner,
and now, by all accounts in the world,
he would look kind of like a failure, right?
And then that comes to Tychicus.
Tychicus is basically Paul's royal male.
He takes a gift from the Corinthian church,
takes it over to the Jerusalem church.
He delivered various letters to various different churches.
He helped unite a former slave to his former master.
And then Tychicus is the one who gives Titus a break on Crete.
And again, I ask the same question over again on purpose.
I wonder, as we look here at this passage,
as any one of us in the room can relate.
See, we would just be going through life
and feel very ordinary.
Maybe it's a middling career.
Life not quite going how we expected it when we were 25.
Maybe, in all the accounts of the world,
we would be considered a failure.
These men that we read about here,
by the accounts of the world,
the world would say the same things.
And yet, they are responsible for us being able to read
approximately a third of the New Testament.
See, because of Luke's proximity to Paul,
he's able to write the Gospel of Luke in Acts.
Because of Titus' obedience to the Lord,
he's able to get a letter,
while he was on that island of Crete,
that we can read to this day,
called Titus.
And Tychicus.
You don't have a book of Tychicus, do we?
No, but Tychicus is responsible for delivering
the letters of Ephesians,
Colossians,
and more than likely this letter here to Timothy.
Because of their obedience in the drudgery of life,
we have the beautiful language of Jesus' birth
in the Gospel of Luke.
We have the rich theology of Christ,
which can be found in Ephesians.
And we can have a better understanding of eldership
because of Paul's letter to Titus.
None of this is possible without their obedience.
Christian,
in the room today,
if you feel like you are suffering
in the drudgery of life,
take heart.
Look around.
There's a Canadian pastor,
his name is Henry Blackaby,
and he says,
he's famous for saying this,
watch to see where God is working
and join him in his work.
If you are stuck
or feel like you are stuck
in the Christian life,
just going through the ordinary,
stop.
Look around.
See where God is working around you
and join him in that work.
If nothing has come to mind right now
as we've been saying this,
can I show you a few avenues
where God is working right here
underneath our noses in this church?
See,
just yesterday,
Andrew went out with a group of people
from this church
to meet our neighbors.
They had conversations with people
and were able to invite them to church.
And people have come to church
because of those conversations.
Friends,
join them in that work.
What about this?
You want something to be excited about?
Okay,
apparently not.
We can skip that part.
Do you want something
to be excited about, church?
There it is.
Do you know that we,
the Sunday school
happening right back here,
do we have,
no,
we have more kids
back there
than truthfully
we know what to do with?
Join them
in that work.
Where you are sitting
right now,
we have over,
about 10 to 20 moms and nannies
that come every Friday
and hear the gospel
in our time for tots.
Join them
in that work.
Or,
just take a look around.
Take a look around
at who is here
in the building today.
We have more people
coming regularly
to Sunday mornings
here at West Kilburn
than in recent memory.
But this is not
an opportunity
for us to pat ourselves
on the back
and say,
hey, look at us.
We did a good job,
didn't we?
But instead,
this should spur us
to look around the room,
see that we don't know
everybody in the room,
and get to know people.
We should join
community groups
with the idea
of getting to know people.
We should invite
other people
out to lunch
because we don't know
everyone here.
We should just
try to make friends.
A weird concept
I know,
and hard sometimes
as an adult.
But important,
right?
See,
church should never
just be a service
you attend,
but it should be
a family
that you are a part of.
There are plenty
of spaces
where God
is working
in this church
alone.
Join him
in that work.
All right,
as we move
to a close,
I want to talk
about one more
person in this
passage.
Unfortunately,
I don't have
enough time
to talk about
Morphing Mark,
who's kind of
got the opposite
story of Demas,
but instead,
we're going to
talk about the
writer of this
letter.
We'll call him
Persevering Paul.
And see,
last week,
if you were here,
we got to
understand Paul's
mindset in this
moment as he's
writing this letter.
See,
Paul knows
that his life
is about to be
over.
He knows
he has just
days or weeks
left until his
race is finished.
Just before this,
if you look in
verse 6,
it says,
For I am already
being poured out
like a drink
offering,
and the time
for my departure
is near.
See,
Paul experienced
a lot while he
was on earth.
On top of his
redemption arc
of going from
an enemy of the
church to one
of the church's
biggest champions,
he also suffered
greatly for the
gospel.
Earlier in his
letter to Timothy,
he writes,
You know all
about my
endurance,
persecutions,
sufferings.
Paul gives us
a snapshot of
those sufferings
in another letter
where he says,
I have been
whipped five
times.
That's 39
times.
Times five.
Not going to do
that quick maths.
He's been
beating with
rods three
times.
He's been
stoned,
shipwrecked
three times,
not getting on
a boat with
Paul,
and on and
on and on
it goes.
If there's
anybody in
the world
that could have
mailed it in
in the last
few weeks,
it should have
been Paul,
right?
He is in a
dark,
damp cell.
He is cold.
He is alone.
Gotta say,
Paul, my
guy, call
it a day.
Just relax
a bit.
You said so
yourself.
You have
fought the
fight.
You have
finished the
race.
That's past
tense.
Just phone
it in.
What does
it matter?
But what
does Paul
do?
In the
last few
weeks of
his life,
Paul is
embodying
what he
said earlier
to Timothy
in 2
Timothy 2.
Entrust
this good
news.
entrust
this gospel
to reliable
people so
they can
go and
teach
others.
In his
last few
weeks,
Paul is
sending
missionaries,
arranging
visits,
and pastoring
Timothy,
all in this
letter here.
If you
remember back
when we even
started this
series in 2
Timothy,
we said one
of the
major things
that is
going to
carry
throughout
this entire
book is
perseverance.
Paul is
modeling that
for us
right here.
If life
was a
marathon,
Paul is
not limping
towards the
finish line
saying,
oh,
please get
me out
of this.
Instead,
he is
pushing to
the last
mile,
giving
everything
he has
until he
breaks the
tape trying
to get
his best
time.
See,
if you
were here
last week,
we talked
about keep
the faith,
which is the
verses prior to
what we just
read.
And by
keep the
faith,
we were
talking about
that Paul
means to
pass it
on to the
next
generation.
Steve,
the pastor
of this
church,
he encouraged
older members
of the
church to
pass the
torch,
to empower
the next
generation,
and I
completely
agree.
I think
that's
exactly what
Paul shows
us in
those verses.
But if you
are an
older saint
in this
room,
can I
encourage you
with this?
See,
just because
you have
passed the
faith on,
that doesn't
mean that you
are no
longer a
part of
the team.
That doesn't
mean that you
get to sit
in the stands
and watch
as a fan
and then
collect your
pension and
say,
woo,
good job.
God calls
the church
a body,
and if we
are going
to operate
to the
best of
our ability,
we need
every member
to operate
so that we
can operate
at our
best.
So yes,
we've got to
let young
leaders lead.
That is
absolutely
true.
But are we
doing that
from the
sidelines
while we
are critiquing
every single
move that
they make,
criticizing
every mistake
that they
do,
or are we
trying to
get involved
with them?
Are we
actively
seeking to
disciple these
young leaders
and carry out
their vision
like you wish
somebody would
have carried
out yours when
you were in
their place?
And younger
people in
the room,
you don't
get off the
hook.
Don't you
dare for
one second
think that
these older
Christians have
nothing to
offer for you.
When they
speak,
listen.
Get to
know them.
Ask
insightful
questions.
It's
important.
what Paul
is kind
of pointing
us towards
here.
Let's wrap
it up with
this.
When people
ask me the
question,
how has it
gone when
you have
been merging
churches,
I tell them
the truth.
I know,
slightly
dangerous,
right?
But I
genuinely say
the truth.
I say it
has been
hard.
There have
been more
challenges,
honestly,
than I
thought.
But more
than anything,
it is a
blessing.
Because now,
more than
ever in
this community,
we look
like the
family of
God.
See,
if someone
was to
sit across
Carlton
Vale at
the bus
stop out
there at
11,
1107
a.m.
and see
the people
that are
coming in,
they would
see young
and old,
rich and
poor,
black and
white,
and everywhere
in between,
gathering as
one family
of God.
You have
to ask the
question why.
To which we
get to answer
because we
worship a
Savior that
died for
all people,
was resurrected
for all
people,
and loves
all people.
people.
So this
is the
question
before us
today,
church.
We look
the part
of a
family.
Are we
going to
act the
part?
See,
we look
like a
family now,
but are we
going to
do the
hard work
required to
keep us
a family?
Are we
going to
look to
see where
God is
working and
join him
in that
work,
spreading the
gospel to
our neighbors
outside,
and getting
to know the
people inside
this building,
are we
going to
put our
desires above
the Lord's?
See,
Paul,
he knew
the church
would be
flawed.
Read any
of his
letters,
you can get
that pretty
quick.
He knew
the church
would be
full of
sinners that
make mistakes.
Anyone want
to raise
their hand
on that
one?
But he
also knew
that the
church was
God's
plan A
for
reaching
the
lost
and
discipling
saints.
And so,
when it
came to
the end
of his
life,
he knew
that the
best thing
for him
to do
and to
give his
life to
was the
church,
and he
did it
until he
was completely
poured
out.
God.
So what
are we
pouring
ourselves
out for?
A better
flat on
the property
ladder?
Maybe it's
the approval
of our
family.
Maybe we're
pouring ourselves
out for a
better retirement
plan.
Or are we
pouring ourselves
out to
further the
kingdom that
will last
forever?
Titus,
Tychicus,
Luke,
Carpus,
Timothy,
Paul.
They had
their answer.
What's
yours?
Let's
pray.
Father in
heaven,
thank you.
Thank you
for your
word,
Lord,
that doesn't
return void.
Thank you
for your
son.
who gave
the ultimate
sacrifice so
that even in
this moment
we know
that if we
just ask,
Lord,
we can come
to faith in
him.
Lord,
I pray for
us as a
church that
this would
not be the
greatest moment
that our
church has
had.
That we
would not
look back
at this
past year,
six months,
and say,
hey,
these are
going to be
the highlights
that people
will remember
and talk
about as
the quote
unquote
good old
days.
But instead,
I pray that
we will
continue to
work together
as one
family,
move together
as one
body,
spreading your
word,
Lord,
until we
are a light
among the
darkness
here in
Kilburn and
Queens Park.
Lord,
help us to
get to know
each other.
Help us to
step out of
our comfort
zones.
And help
us,
more than
anything,
to praise
you.
Pray this
in your name.
Amen.
Yes.
Thank you.