The Lord Stood at My Side

2 Timothy 4:9-22

Key Verse 4:17

As we study this passage we would like to think about four keys to a fruitful life that the Apostle Paul adopted and practiced. 

First, Paul and his message.

In verse 14, the Apostle Paul says, "You too should be on your guard against him, because he strongly opposed our message." Here "our message" refers to the gospel message which both Timothy and Paul believed in. In verse 17, the Apostle Paul also says, "But the Lord stood at my side and gave me strength, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. And I was delivered from the lion's mouth." Here again the Apostle Paul adopts the expression "the message." 

It was because of the gospel message that Paul came to Rome. It was due to the message that Paul came to be in chains. It was for the sake of proclaiming this message that the Lord stood by Paul. Tradition says that it was due to the message that the Apostle Paul suffered martyrdom. Paul lived and died for his message. He gave his life to the message. This is the first key to living a fruitful life. 

Why? It is because it is this message alone that bears good fruit, the fruit that lasts forever. It is this message alone that saves man from the power of sin and death into the kingdom of God. 

We can better understand this truth when we think about what this message is all about. What is it all about? We already know the answer, for the Apostle Paul says, "Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, descended from David. This is my gospel." So "our message" or "the message" refers to Jesus Christ himself - his person and his work, the work which he has already accomplished, and the work he is doing now, and the world he is going to fulfill in the days to come, and all of his work all for and in the life of all who put trust in His name. 

In regard to the work Jesus can do for all who believe, the Apostle Paul had this to say: "Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen” (Eph 3:20).

According to his knowledge of Jesus' mighty power, the Apostle Paul prayed to share the gospel with the Gentiles, with the hope to bring all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith in Jesus. According to his faith in Jesus he wrote the book of Romans. May the Lord bless us to fully proclaim the message of this new life in the Lord beginning in Los Angeles. 

Second, Paul and his hope. 

Another key point that made the Apostle Paul fruitful is his hope in the kingdom of God. In regards to this hope, this passage mentions two different persons working with two different hopes, heading for two different directions: Demas and Paul. Demas left Paul in love of this world. Paul however kept serving the Lord's mission for he had a clear sense of calling from above. Demas had his hope in this world. Paul had his hope in God’s kingdom. Demas had taken root in this world, but Paul had taken root in God's kingdom. Demas went to this world because he was an earthbound man. But Paul did not have his root here. He was not earthbound. He was heaven bound. 

When Jesus came he helped his disciples to live as heavenly men. In John 17 the Lord reminded the disciples of their position in this world, for the Lord said that although the disciples were in this world they were not of this world. This we call dual citizenship. Indeed, believers have dual citizenship: citizenship here in this world, but citizenship in the world to come as well. 

However, to say that we have dual citizenship should not be interpreted to mean that we are to take root in this world. We do not take root here. We take root in God's kingdom. According to the Apostle Peter we are strangers in this world. We have our home in God's kingdom. We have been sent to this world to do God's work. We stay here for a while. While we are in this world, we do the work God has prepared in advance for us. When our work is done, then we leave this world. And leaving this world is going back home. 

When one lives as a heavenly man, he can freely share God's blessings with those who are yet to know the glory of His kingdom. The earthly man is concerned about and is busy with building his life security here on earth. But a heavenly man is busy with the Lord’s concern. He is mindful of Jesus' will – the will to build God's kingdom in the hearts of many.  

Figuratively speaking, a heavenly man is like a man with money sitting in a bank account without a limit. Suppose you have money without a limit. Because you have so much money, no matter how much you are giving, the balance still remains more than full. This is what a heavenly man is like. Because he has God's blessings without a limit, he chooses to share Gods' blessings with many. No wonder that a heavenly man bears lots of good fruit that last forever.  

In verse 18 Paul added: "To him be glory for ever and ever, Amen." This line reflects Paul's intimate knowledge of the glorious God. To Paul, God's glory is everything, but man's glory amounts to nothing. To carnal minds, man's glory looks real, but God's glory seems vague and implausible. In Downey, if you look up to the sky, you can always see some airplanes flying in and out of LAX. In the past, the idea of man flying was unthinkable. But now we fly like birds do. We can travel by air all over the place. How then are we able to fly? Who gave the ability? To carnal minds, it is all by men, of men, through men, and for men. But to those who know God in person, it is Jesus, the Logos, who gave men the ability to fly. But God did not give men the abilities to do everything at will. Man is not omnipotent. Man is limited. God is omnipotent. The great thing is that God who is omnipotent has a plan for men. He knows that the world we live here in a physical body has gone corrupt and therefore is soon to be set aside. It is to be replaced by a new order. This world is subject to the existing order which is an old order. The new world, which Paul calls his heavenly kingdom, is different: it is based on a new order for the Lord God has made everything new. Everything in this world will perish, spoil, and fade away. It is not so with the new order. The new heaven and new earth which God has prepared for his children is infinitely perfect. 

Let us not forget the way God does his business, that is, he makes the end known from the beginning. To our limited minds, the vision of his heavenly kingdom looks like something in the making or something we need to strive to attain. But it is not so with God. The perfected kingdom is already in place, and it is ready to be revealed for those who belong to Christ. Speaking of this concept, the Apostle Paul says in Ephesians 2:6, "God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus..." In the same way the Apostle Peter says, “Praise be to God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance, that can never perish spoil or fade – kept in heaven for you.” 

Look at verse 10a again. "For Demas, because he loved this world, has deserted me and has gone to Thessalonica." Read verse 18 as well. "The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and will bring me safely to his heavenly kingdom..." Which way are you heading? Demas and Paul, which one are you like? 

Third, Paul and his partners

The third reason why Paul was largely successful in serving the Lord was his awareness of the importance of partnership in the Lord. In the passage we find 17 names mentioned. Alexander strongly opposed Paul. Demas deserted Paul making Paul greatly disappointed. Timothy was coming to Paul in Rome, so he could work closely with Paul. Mark was asked to come and join Paul so Mark could work closely with Paul as well. Paul had sent some out to difference mission fields. Some brothers stayed with Paul. People like Priscilla and Aquilla worked closely with Paul providing the flock of God with spiritual and physical environments while Paul was absent. Erastus was the city Treasurer of Corinth and an associate of Paul. Onesiphorus was an Ephesian Christian who showed Paul great kindness by refreshing him with many things. 

God's work is not a one man show. It cannot be done by one man alone. There are a vast number of people to be reached. Everyone is different. So to best serve people with different tastes, likes and dislikes, we need to build a partnership where different people with different talents can pool their resources together and serve many.  

In working for the partnership, three things are worth mentioning: its purpose, recruitment, and co-working. A good partner sets up a purpose. In Paul’s case, the purpose was to fully proclaim the gospel among all the Gentiles so that they could hear the word of God fully. Establishing the purpose is the key to recruiting the members of the partnership. When Paul made his purpose clear, the Lord God started sending him partners. Timothy was one, Priscilla and Aquilla were another. While Paul was in prison, even there the Lord sent him a partner, namely, Philemon. Are you short of coworkers? Check your purpose. If your heart is with the Lord and mean business in serving the Lord’s purpose, the Lord who is the God of provision, will certainly provide you with partners. 

Next is the spirit of team work. God may send many coworkers, but if one does not learn how to work with people who are different than you, eventually people will figure out that you are an authoritarian. Then they will leave you one by one and two by two. In order to prevent this from happening, you need to humble yourself. Humble people learn from others. A proud person thinks that he knows better than others, so he does not learn. A humble person knows his good points and weak points, and he sees great points in a great number of people. Then he is willing to work with them. Jesus is supreme in working with other persons. Unlike all of us, our Lord Jesus is perfect in every way conceivable. Yet, in humility he recognized others greatness. When we think about each of his disciples, they were men of weaknesses and character flaws. Yet, in humility our Lord Jesus bore them all. He saw God's great potentials in each of them. Because he believed in his disciples, the Lord entrusted His work to them. They succeeded the Lord's ministry and worked powerfully bearing fruit all over the world. 

Fourth, Paul’s relationship with the Lord.

Look at verses 16 and 17. "At my first defense, no one came to my support, but everyone deserted me. May it not be held against them. But the Lord stood at my side and gave me strength, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. And I was delivered from the lion's mouth." 

Partners are important, but the reality is that not all of them can be with you all the time. On many occasions, you will have to face trials all by yourself. One Japanese artist, Ayumi Hamasaki, said, "I didn't understand my loneliness until I moved to Tokyo. I moved at 14. I came alone without my mommy. She came later." But even your mommy cannot be with you all the time. Some girls grow up even without a mother. 

It is a terrible thing for one to be alone. Speaking of the same truth, a columnist named Abigail Van Buren said, "Loneliness is ultimate poverty." In this sense, then, we are all born poor, live poor and die poor. 

But thank God. There is someone who can always be with us. Who is this person? Jesus Christ! Unlike our mothers or fathers, Jesus is a forever man. He is the same yesterday, today and forever. While all human beings remain limited and constricted, he is not. For those who have faith in him, he is always willing to be with us, and we can work with him. In Paul’s case, he was already in his sixties. He was a prisoner. A prisoner is stripped of all of his private possessions. He will then have to live on what the government provides. Even though you are a prisoner, if you have family members such as your wife or relatives, they can visit you. But Paul was single. He was in a foreign country. The winter was fast approaching. Government provisions were notoriously poor. And he had to stand trial in a Gentile court all by himself, for everyone around him deserted him. But thank God. The Lord was with Paul. Standing by his side the Lord gave him strength! Look at verse 17 again, "At my first defense, no one came to my support, but everyone deserted me. May it not be held against them. But the Lord stood at my side and gave me strength…” Say, "The Lord stood at my side." 

One may wonder, "Oh, the Lord loved Paul, so the Lord was at Paul's side, but I am not sure whether or not the Lord is with me. Maybe he is somewhere else, spending time with someone better than me." But this is a great mischaracterization of the Lord. The Lord seems far away only because of your heart that is far away from the Lord. One way to overcome this is for us to pray to be by his side, so the Lord would be by our side. In a bid to struggle to be by the Lord’s side, I would like to quote a poem (author unknown) entitled “By His Side,” and finish the message. Here is the quote. 

By His Side

Nothing to cloud my gaze of Him, Nothing to come between

All day long bright morning Star before my eyes to see

No star compares the radiance there

Sun can't cover His blaze

For Jesus my Lord shines brighter each day

As we fix, through His word, our gaze

By my side He's always there

Giving love and daily care

How often I ignore

The great and open Door

Forgive my pride

And keep me near

Always by Your side.

(Author Unknown)

One word: the Lord stood at my side

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