2023 Insight for Living Ministries. So, come before winter because its getting long out here. Thats my first point, that ministry is relationally hard. Augustus, like Caesar, was a title given to a number of Roman emperors. Tomorrow may never come. Did the Apostle Paul, as a Pharisee, believe in disembodied spirits? Paul reminds Timothy of his roots: I have been reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also. Paul wants Timothy to continue in this same path. Today is Valentines Day. terrifying appearance, according to Roman historian Sallust. Numerous later sources are even more explicit in speaking of Pauls death under Nero. And think of the crippled man that Paul healed. Sometimes seasonal changes make the aloneness all the more difficult. I just want you to walk in with your eyes open, wide open, and to know hell be there for you. If he was, in fact, arrested soon after he arrived at Nicopolis as winter was setting in, this would explain how Paul found himself in prison in winter in Rome (. It is surmised that his accusers from Judea never showed up to press their case, so the charges were dropped. All his companions had forsaken him except Dr. Luke. Sometimes sickness interrupts partnership in ministry. When your first priority is Jesus Christ, true wisdom follows. Three men from Chicago were on Roosevelt Road in south Oak Park, evidently planning to go to a neighboring town to commit a crime. In other words, there would be no difference between saying Paul appealed to Augustus vs Paul appealed to Caesar vs Paul appealed to the emperor. As we talked, I shared with him my own observations about Calvary at this crucial moment in time. He blogs at www.DerrickJeter.com. If the dates ascribed to the events in Acts Chapter 27 are correct, then Paul came before Nero. For the first time I picked up the Bible and read it cover to cover, by Christmas Eve 2002. Vitellius was next, but was executed in Rome by Vespasian's soldiers on 22 December 69. Jack Zavada is a writer who covers the Bible, theology, and other Christianity topics. Get the resources and go back to them and forgive them. One legend asserts that he was clubbed to death by a mob for protesting against the orgiastic worship of the goddess Artemis. Some of us have to take a long journey in the wrong direction before we finally respond. Sooner or later, we will all die, and the day may come sooner than we think. So I would want to read a sermon from this man who has ministered to my soul like nobody else has ministered to my soul as I get ready to meet my Jesus. Eusebius notes that Paul and Peter were executed during the same Neronian persecution, though Peter was crucified upside down, as he requested. Why didn't Paul and Silas declare their citizenship before they were punished in Act 16:23? But the Lord stood by me and strengthened me, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. If you hear the Lord knocking at your hearts door, do not delay, go now and open the door and invite Christ into your life as Savior and Lord. Has God placed a young believer in your life to encourage and guide as Paul mentored Timothy? Theres a lot of pain in these verses. Joseph languished in He then looked for a scapegoat. Mark had redeemed himself. Edit: When Paul wrote to the Christians in Rome from Corinth (Greece) during his third missionary journey (cf. Copy. If Timothy delayed at all, he would not come to Rome until the spring. What we know is hes a man who is enjoying sweet, close fellowship with Jesus. You pick your own favorite helper. Zavada, Jack. This text raises three questions for us to consider: The answer to that question is practical and simple. Dont delay. Many years later he met a woman, they got married, and he and his wife began church hopping. Come quickly, my friend. Much of the Pauline chronology is relativewe know about how many years between this event and that event, but there are only a handful of points where we can nail down when an event in Pauls life took place in conjunction with an event that can be firmly dated on the Julian calendar. He had been arrested for can you imagine? Does this mean Augustus Caesar? veneration or reverence which was due to the rank of emperor. Paul urged him in 1 Timothy 4:12: "Don't let anyone think less of you because you are young. We must not say, Tomorrow is another day. This week the transcripts of messages to and from the Port Authority of New York on September 11, 2001 were released. Jesus had been executed as an enemy of the Empire, and Paul seemed headed for that, too. That is why I am suffering as I am. It so moved the congregation that the session asked him to preach it again. Philemon 1:1. Paul does this a lot right? Death was not the problem. You either have to leave the Christian ministry because you love the world so much, or you have to change the ministry to be worldly enough to survive in it because you love the world. The Lord delivered him from the mouth of the lion, and will continue to deliver him so that he has complete confidence that he will one day enter the heavenly kingdom. He then was under house arrest in Rome for two years (28:30), awaiting an appearance before Nero. A survey released this week shows that 80% of Americans believe that terrorists are in this country and are ready to launch an attack at any time. He built the church on them. Planned Maintenance scheduled March 2nd, 2023 at 01:00 AM UTC (March 1st, We've added a "Necessary cookies only" option to the cookie consent popup, Time of the events described in Acts 11:28. In 1 Corinthians 4:17, Paul refers to Timothy as my beloved and faithful child in the Lord. Paul saw Timothys potential as a great spiritual leader and subsequently invested his whole heart in helping Timothy develop into the fullness of his calling. Learn Religions. This week I had lunch with a good friend, someone who was here the day I came to Calvary and has been here through all these years and is still here today. Some have been confused by the statement in Acts 25:21, 25, indicating that Paul appealed to Augustus. What happened next has been debated for 2,000 years, but it seems most likely that very soon he was beheaded by Nero. Remember that Timothy is probably in Ephesus, hundreds of miles away, and it would take several months for him to come to Rome. And since two of the districts untouched by The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed and bring me safely into his heavenly kingdom. He could have been sick, really. He just wanted to go home. When Clarence McCartney was a young man, he was called as pastor of the First Presbyterian Church of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. "Equipping and encouraging people to keep believing in Jesus", Copyright 2020 Keep Believing Ministries. Acts 16:1, 17:14-15, 18:5, 19:22, 20:4; Romans 16:21; 1 Corinithians 4:17, 16:10; 2 Corinthians 1:1, 1:19, Philemon 1:1, 2:19, 22; Colossians 1:1; 1 Thessalonians 1:1, 3:2, 6; 2 Thessalonians 1:1; 1 Timothy; 2 Timothy; Hebrews 13:23. Can Luke's use of be taken as his way of acknowledging someone who held the office of High Priest? You going to see him face to face. Thats what I would ask. Yes, of course we would have gone. What is it that God is calling you to do? He writes his last letter to the man who had worked with him the longest. Since God gives us what we need, do not be ashamed to testify about our Lord, or ashamed of me his prisoner. Most people would be ashamed: Paul was on death row for telling people that Jesus, not Nero, was Lord and King. Timothy was a young man who began traveling with Paul and Silas when they visited Lystra during the second missionary journey ( Acts 16:1 ). Get Mark and bring him with you (v. 11). If your heart is in love with the world, you just love what unbelievers love. We truly meant well, we meant for things to be different. Paul, a prisoner of Jesus Christ, and Timothy our brother, to Philemon our dearly beloved, and fellow laborer, Nave's Topical Index. We were in a hurry, on our way to or from Dallas, it was late in the day, but I thought to myself, I should stop and see him or at least stop and call. Marlene even said, We can stop if you want to. But I did neither, and we drove on, and he died a few days later. For more, visit the Good Book Blog, a seminary faculty blog from Talbot School of Theology. The joy of a Christ-centered friendship is meant to magnify the worth of Christ as the common treasure of the friendship, and this deepens the sweetness of the friendship. So, I want to give you a warning. Do you best to come to me soon (2 Timothy 4:9). I think Paul wants Timothy not only to feel the force of this, but to be warned himself about why Demas left the ministry, about why he forsook the team. It could not be an emperor later than Nero. Bring the books, and bring the parchments. 1 Peter 2:19 uses it in that sense, referring to a person who is conscious of God aware of his existence. So we might need to pray for strength, or love, or self-discipline. into a cistern, the purpose was to kill him, not imprison him See Roman History 60.6.6-7. Another way to put it is, when Christ died so that you would enjoy him supremely, he did not nullify the enjoyment of other Christians. What bad habit must be broken? He mentions his clear conscience something he wants Timothy to have, too. Above everything else, he wanted Timothy to come see him in prison before he died. Article Images Copyright 2023 Getty Images unless otherwise indicated. 1 Acts 28:30,31. Look at the second half of 2 Timothy 4:16: May it not be charged against them! Thats amazing. . The theme of passing the torch is very relevant to our current situation. The order, however, is somewhat uncertain. 2 Timothy 4:1415: Alexander the coppersmith did me great harm . The future belongs to the young. What is true of life in general is true of the church as well. Paul can say, The Lord stood by me. Amen. When you come, bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at Troas, also the books, and above all the parchments (v. 13). Do it now. One of the most heartrending calls came from the assistant manager of the Windows on the World restaurant on top of one of the towers. . But all human efforts, all the lavish gifts of the emperor, and the Some old friends gave lots of support, Jack Daniels, Jim Beam, Bud Weiser. He served in the military in various hot spots around the worldSaudi Arabia, Somalia, South Koreagetting drunk every chance he had. I am no longer young, no matter what people may think. We dont know. Its relationally hard. All too often we end up with the ifs and buts of life. Then well look at some of the most beautiful and some of the saddest words in the Bible that are intended, I think, to establish you in your mission or your ministry. Well-grounded in Paul's teachings, Timothy was a reliable evangelist skilled at presenting the gospel. Timothy means "honoring God.". It is generally conceded that during this time-frame the apostle penned four epistles: Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon, though not necessarily in this sequence. Humans, they let you down, but Ive got my Jesus, and I dont need anybody else.. This speaks well for our future. Finally he comes to the home of Claudia or Pudens or Linus (names mentioned in II Timothy 4) and they recognize him: Arent you Timothy? While they were talking, another man from Chicago drove by and opened fire. 5 Things You Should Know about the ESV Bible Translation. In the end, it is Christ who calls to us. Guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us. The good deposit is the message of salvation, and it is preserved with the help of Gods Spirit. Accordingly, an arrest was first made of all who pleaded guilty [of Thats a challenge to our unity and to our willingness to stretch, but it is also a gift from God. 40-43). 1:10-11; 15:22ff). It's believed that Paul wrote the letter to the early Christian church in Rome at the same time Nero was in rule. If the order of events after Crete are moved around on the timeline above (and even the placement of Crete on the timeline is not certain), Paul could have been arrested in any of the following: Ephesus, Troas, one of the cities of Macedonia, or Nicopolis. WebTimothy, in which, after many words of advice and exhortation, he urges his friend with repeated eagerness to come, to come at once, to come before winter, to come before it Timothy met and scolded them for their idolatry. (God had promised Paul in a vision in, Paul was released by Nero. Please note, our website requires JavaScript to be supported. Your friends who let you down can still be your friends. governors Felix and Festus (Acts 2426). You can see it in every service, but especially in the 10:30 and 11:45 a.m. services. Thereafter he travelled to Spain (some say he managed to get to Britain). First of all, look at 2 Timothy 4:11: Luke alone is with me. Nobody, nobody on the planet gets me more in touch with Jesus outside of the Bible than Jonathan Edwards. Amen. One part of seeking Gods kingdom means laying up treasures in heaven by investing our earthly money in Gods work. Claudius expulsion of the Jews from Rome, And found a certain Jew named Aquila, born in Pontus, lately come from More people leave Christ, more people leave the church, more people leave ministry, and more people leave the hope of heaven out of love for the world than anything else. Know you that our brother Timothy is set at liberty; with whom, if he come shortly, I will see you. Biblical Hermeneutics Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for professors, theologians, and those interested in exegetical analysis of biblical texts. Three thingsapparently unrelatedhave come together in my mind as I have prepared this message. Or maybe it was just comfortably distant from Paul. The job is larger than anyone can do, so part of the job is recruiting, training, and passing it along to others. He could have been on a trip somewhere else in Italy, but nobody showed up, including Luke. You cant wait forever to respond to things that are important. tradition, in the Mamertine Prison. Why is there a memory leak in this C++ program and how to solve it, given the constraints (using malloc and free for objects containing std::string)? Interested in joining the Ligonier team? 4:11). Now, if thats all we had, wed say, See, Jesus is a faithful friend. Third, this is the final message in the series on II Timothy. Hebrews 13:23. Dont wait. If you can find one place where the Bible says, Come to Christ tomorrow, then I will come down from the pulpit and never preach again. Acts 20:2; Rom. Lets read 2 Timothy 4:922. What step of faith? I mean, I can name people close to me. When Paul departed Crete, he left Titus to appoint elders in the cities that held believing communities, some of which were probably planted by Paul and Titus (, The order of events after this gets increasingly difficult. Sometimes we feel like we cant make it without our friends to help us out. The title "Caesar" was given to a number of Roman rulers. Nero was succeeded by Galba, from 68 to 69, the first emperor in the Year of the Four Emperors. He has authored or coauthored more than twenty-five books. He writes his last letter to the man who had worked with Was Timothy timid? He didnt want to die alone. Paul was rearrested at some point and placed, according to church Then, as now, it took time for the wheels of justice to turn, as evidenced by Pauls earlier, two-year-long imprisonment described in Acts 28. First, Paul had been a resident of Jerusalem as a child ( Acts 22:3) and was also there years later to approve of Stephens stoning ( Acts 8:1 ). 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