God Stands With Us

0:33For Demis, in love with this present world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica. Cresens has gone to Galatia, Titus to Dalmatia. Luke alone is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is very useful to me for ministry. Tychicus, I have sent to Ephesus. When you come, bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at Troaz. Also, the books, and above all, the parchments. Alexander the copper smith did me great harm. The Lord will repay him according to his deeds. Beware of him yourself, for he strongly opposed our message.

1:13At my first offense, no one came to stand by me, but all deserted me. May it not be charged against them. 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. So I was rescued from the lion's mouth. The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed and bring me safely into his heavenly kingdom. To him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

1:44Greet Prisca and Aquila and the household of Onicephorus. Erastus remained at Corinth, and I left Trophimus, who was ill at Miletus. Do your best to come before winter. Eubulus sends greetings to you, as do Pudens and Linus, and Claudia and all the brothers. The Lord be with your spirit. Grace be with you. This is God's Word. You may be seated. Richard Wormbrand was born in Romania in 1919. And as a teenager, he was sent to Moscow to study Marxism. And within a few years, he was serving as a communist informant. In 1938, two years after marrying his wife Sabina, they both became Christians, and Wirmbrand began a ministry, mainly with the underground church there, to his countrymen and then also to Soviet soldiers who were occupying the country. But sadly, after 10 years, he was arrested by communist secret agents on his way to worship. He spent 14 total years in prison, the first three of which he spent entirely in solitary confinement.

2:57His cell was 12 feet underground. It had no windows and no light. He was subjected to all kinds of torture, both mental and physical, the worst of which came from soldiers beating the soles of his feet until the flesh was torn off, and then the next day beating his feet again to the bone. He was never able to walk normally again after that. However, Wirnbrand experienced the love of God in a profound way during those years of his imprisonment. He learned to pray for his family. He learned to pray for other Christians. He learned even to pray for those who persecuted and tormented him. And Wirnbrand would say later on that God was with him during all of those years. God was standing by him, strengthening him to proclaim the gospel even to his persecutors. And then for four decades after he was released, he started the international ministry Voice of the Martyrs, which speaks on behalf of persecuted Christians all around the world. And he passed away in 2001. Well, friends, today we come to the final section of Paul's second letter to Timothy. And in this final section of the letter, we're reading his last words that are known on this earth. He penned these, of course, from prison awaiting his persecution or his execution rather, and was in a lonely, difficult place.

4:20And while many of us can't relate to that level of persecution, that level of difficulty that Paul was experiencing, all of us can relate on some level to the loneliness that he felt. Felt at this point, to the trials that he was suffering and the difficulties that he was enduring at different levels. And the thing that he's going to help Timothy understand in this passage and to help us understand as well is that in difficult times, God stands with us and strengthens us to proclaim the gospel. So let's look now at the text, beginning here in verse 9.

4:57He says, Do your best to come to me soon. This final section has Paul pleading with Timothy to come soon, as we'll see later on in the text, to come before winter. And there's several reasons that he wanted Timothy to come to him quickly. First, Paul knows that he doesn't have much time left. Literally, at any moment, Roman soldiers could walk into his cell and lead him away to his execution. He knows that he doesn't have much time, and so if Timothy doesn't come quickly, he may never see him again.

5:32But secondly, Paul wants Timothy to come quickly because he's lonely. You know, God is all you need is a common expression that we hear in the church today, especially in our Western individualistic culture. God is all you need. Well, the problem with that phrase is that that idea doesn't come from Scripture. It was God Himself who said in Genesis chapter 2 that it is not good for man to be alone. So, depending on how we mean and how we understand that phrase, it's an unbiblical phrase. God is not all we need. We have other needs too, a need for human companionship and relationship. We need to be in community. We have physical needs, air and water and food. We have many needs. And so, Paul finds himself all alone and very lonely.

6:23And the first reason that he's all alone is because some of his co-workers had deserted him. Look at verse 10: For Demas, in love with this present world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica. Now, desertion, of course, is a military term where soldiers abandon their post and then leave their comrades in a compromised position. And Demas, who is mentioned in Colossians 4, chapter, or verse 14, rather, and then Philemon 24, is called one of Paul's fellow workers. He's a guy that Paul counted on to do ministry alongside and with.

7:08And so, this was very painful for Paul, who may have led Demas to faith, but who certainly discipled him and who worked alongside him for many years. And this man has now deserted him, has abandoned his post and left Paul in a compromised position. Now, why did Demas desert Paul? It says right here, because he loved. This present world. His heart, his affections were not primarily set on the Lord or the things of the Lord or the Lord's people, the Lord's mission, but rather on the things of this world, the material possessions or the experiences or even the people of this world. His heart and his affections were set on those things more than on God.

7:56And Jesus, of course, himself prepared us for these kinds of eventualities. When he's talking about the parable of the four soils, look at what he says in Matthew chapter 13. As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. This is what happened to Demas. He heard the word, but eventually the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choked it out. He loved this world more than he loved God and what God was doing in the world through his people. And we want to be really careful not to judge Demas too harshly. I mean, Demas started well. He ran further than many people run in the race, but the problem, of course, is that Demas did not finish the race. He started well, but he did not finish the race. He loved the fleeting pleasures of sin too much. And so Paul is lonely, first of all, because some of his co-workers had deserted him. But secondly, he's lonely, even though most of his co-workers didn't desert him. Look at verse 10 again. Cressens has gone to Galatia, Titus to Dalmatia. Look down at verse 12. Tychicus I have sent to Ephesus. Go all the way down to verse 20 at the bottom. Erastus remained at Corinth, and I left Trophimus, who was ill at Miletus.

9:28These men were working hard for the Lord elsewhere, or in the case of Trophimus, were unable to travel. They weren't absent from Paul for bad reasons, but for good reasons, or at least acceptable reasons. But the end result was the same. They weren't there with him. So Paul was still all alone, which was very hard for him. And I think to some degree, all of us understand what it's like to feel lonely. We've all been in places in our life where we just felt lonely. We felt abandoned, forgotten by people in our lives, maybe even by the Lord.

10:06And I think particularly doing ministry in a university context and in the town that we're in, this is something that we've all been through. Those of us who have been here for a number of years have experienced over and over again. In the nine years of our church's existence, we have sent out some 500 members of our church. Not attendees, people. Who are members here, 500 people have left. We've sent out five families in the next year. We plan to send out three to five more family units, singles and couples and families, to the mission field.

10:45And so, on the one hand, it's been a great joy to do all of this, to see these men and women and children going to other cities in our country, going to other cities around the world, going to the mission field. That's been a great joy for us. Because the gospel is going forth and it's spreading, and people who have learned to be healthy, maturing Christians and healthy church members here are now going and doing that elsewhere. That's a wonderful thing. But on the other hand, it's been very hard to watch our mentors and our friends, people that we've led to faith in Christ and discipled, to watch them leave again and again.

11:26Just the other week were celebrating our nine-year anniversary as a church, and so one of the things that we did is in front of that ridiculous cake that we had, we decided we would take a group photo of everybody who was here at the very beginning. And so you're like, are we going to need the iPhone 10 to really get that panoramic? No, there's about 15 people. It's about 15 people that were here from the very beginning who are still here now.

11:53And so you see how we've experienced this loss over and over again. And I'm not trying to pretend our situation is. The same as Paul's situation, who's chained up in prison and who's awaiting his execution. But it is to say that just because our situation is not as hard as Paul's situation does not mean that it's not hard. And it has been hard for us. And that's why it's so critical for us to continue to encourage one another to go forward with the mission that God has given us. to preserve and proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ to make mature disciples of all nations for the glory of God. We have to encourage one another because if we don't encourage each other, then what tends to happen is that we see people leave time and time again, and then you get hesitant to invest in people, you get hesitant to disciple people and mentor people, and you start retreating further and further back into yourself.

12:50And that's not a good or godly response. It involves us doing the hard thing of saying again and again, I will choose to love again. I will choose to invest again. I will choose to do that hard work of making disciples again. And so Paul is alone because he's got co-workers who are going all over the world doing good work. But thankfully, we aren't all alone, and Paul wasn't all alone either. Look at verse 11. He says, Luke alone is with me, the beloved physician. Luke had been with Paul since he ministered. Ephesus, and what a blessing that he must have been. This constant companion, a doctor, a careful historian who wrote a gospel account in the history of the early church in the book of Acts. This was a wonderful man, a wonderful companion, and Luke is with Paul. And Paul held out hope that Timothy was going to come soon. And there's this amazing phrase in here in verse 11. He says, Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is very useful to me for ministry.

14:03Well, now, if you've ever read the book of Acts before, and we studied it a couple years ago as a church, you know that in Acts chapter 13, Mark deserted Paul and Barnabas and went home. He left them on the mission field. And so as they were getting ready, Paul and Barnabas, to go out on their second missionary journey, well, Barnabas wanted to give Mark another chance. He wanted to bring Mark with them, but Paul strongly disagreed. He thought it was unwise to bring Mark since he deserted them on the first journey. And the disagreement was so intense that Paul said, if he's coming, I'm not going with you. I mean, just let that sink in for a second. Paul said, if he's coming, I'm not going with you. And so Barnabas ended up taking Mark with him, and Saul, or Paul rather ended up taking Silas with him, and they split up to do ministry in two different areas. And maybe Mark was wrong to leave. Maybe he did leave for the wrong motivation.

15:01Or maybe Paul was wrong about his character and his commitments. But either way, at this point, all these years later, Paul affirms that Mark, who for sure was a deserter in his mind earlier, was not at all like Demas, but he was faithful and useful to him in ministry. And friends, that is an incredible story of redemption. I don't know your story, but maybe at one point in your life, you walked away from the church. You walked away from serving the Lord entirely, perhaps. And Mark is a reminder to you and to me that God can restore you. God can still use you in powerful ways for ministry, even if you walked away from it at one point, even if you deserted at one point. Your story does not have to be Demas' story. Your story can be Mark's story, where you are restored and considered valuable to many people in your life as someone who is useful for ministry. And so I don't want you to think that if you've blown it in the past, that there's no hope for you in the future. There is. There was hope for Mark, too.

16:15And so Paul wants Timothy to come soon because he doesn't know how much time he has and because he's lonely. But then he also lists this third and final reason. He wants Timothy to come soon because he has practical needs that have to be met. Look at verse 13. He says, When you come, bring the cloak that I left with Karpus at Troas, also the books, and above all, the parchments. Well, a cloak is this loose-fitting garment that doubles as a coat and as a blanket when it gets cold outside at night and in winter. And it's likely that what happened is that Paul was arrested without warning in Troas when he was at Karpus' house, and so he didn't have time to gather his belongings. So Karpus isn't that friend that borrows your favorite hoodie, doesn't give it back. You've probably all had that happen. You know, I remember in college, like, my roommate walks in. I'm like, that's my hoodie. You know, he's like, yeah, it was cold. I'm like, I know, I was looking for it. You know, he doesn't seem to be that guy. It seems like he got arrested so quickly that he didn't even have time to gather his things. And so he says, bring that cloak. It's cold. I need it. Then he also tells him, bring the books. These are scrolls that are made of parchment. So it's what you would picture the copies of the scripture printed on. May have also included writing materials, official documents like Paul's Roman citizenship that he would need for his trial, maybe his personal correspondence. And he says, bring above all the parchments. So these are vellum sheets that are made of animal skins. They're very durable. And this was probably Paul's Greek Old Testament.

17:59So This is a big ask. I want you to go to this place. Troas, I want you to get the cloak and the books and the parchments. He can't send these things FedEx or UPS. He just has to carry all of these really heavy things with him to go and serve Paul, who has these practical needs like all of us. He's in this cold dungeon. He needs a jacket. He needs books to study to engage his heart and his mind and his spirit. And so he asks for these things.

18:26And so Paul wants Timothy to come soon for all of these reasons. But Timothy was going to have to be careful because difficult times were already underway, as Paul was experiencing. Look now at verse 14. Alexander the coppersmith did me great harm. The Lord will repay him according to his deeds. Beware of him yourself, for he strongly opposed our message. We don't know for sure who Alexander the coppersmith was, but this man caused Paul a lot of trouble. It's possible that he may be the same guy that Paul mentions in 1 Timothy 1, verse 20, whom the church excommunicated. And if he's that same Alexander, then this guy is probably still causing problems in Ephesus, where Timothy is pastoring, because that's what he was referring to in 1 Timothy 1:20. But it's also possible that he may be part of a known guild of coppersmiths. In the city of Troas. And there's some historians who believe that he was actually the informer who led to Paul's arrest at Carpus' house.

19:42And then he went and testified against him in his formal trial. But what's significant here is that Paul is not plotting revenge against this man who caused him so much grief. He says, the Lord will repay him according to his deeds. The Lord will repay him according to his deeds. See, opposition from evil men like Alexander is discouraging. That's a really sad thing. But Paul knew that he was going to face opposition for preaching the gospel, so he was prepared to suffer. This wasn't for Paul a surprise that people were standing against him. He knew to expect this. What's really sad is what we read in verse 16.

20:28At my first defense, no one came to stand by me, but all deserted me. His first defense probably refers to his preliminary hearing before Caesar, the hearing that would have preceded the formal trial. So in the United States, we do the same thing. We have preliminary hearings to make sure that there's enough evidence to actually warrant a formal trial. And so that's probably what Paul is referring to. And he says, at this preliminary hearing, at my first defense, No one came to stand by me. I mean, think about that. Think about all that Paul has done, both for people inside the church and outside of the church. And at his first defense, none of his friends, no other Christians, not even other Christian leaders, nobody came to speak in his defense. Nobody even showed up to show support to this man who had done so much for them.

21:29And that's hard to imagine, but at the same time, we have to just put ourselves in these people's places. To even associate yourself with Paul was to risk being thrown into prison and to risk being executed along with him. So there was a high cost to pay. We can't forget the disciples did the very same thing to Jesus. They said, we will never leave you. We will even go to death with you. And then, as soon as they came to arrest him, what did they do? They all ran away. So I think sometimes we think, I just would not do something like that. And yet, for Jesus, the Lord and Savior, his closest friends did this to him. For Paul, the greatest apostle and missionary of all time, his closest friends did this to him. And so let's not think for a moment that we would not do the same. But look at how Paul prays. May it not be charged against them.

22:24He's praying for his Christian brothers and sisters at this point. He's not praying for those. Who are putting him on trial, those who are sentencing him, he's saying, May it not be charged against my brothers and sisters. This reminds us of Jesus praying for both those who were crucifying him and for his own disciples. Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. No doubt, Paul is also thinking of Stephen, the first Christian martyr, who was dragged before authorities and then stoned to death, with Paul standing by, giving his approval, holding the cloaks of those who threw the stones at him to kill him. And Stephen cries out, Lord, do not hold this sin against them.

23:13So if Jesus and Stephen can forgive those who persecuted them, then Paul is thinking, no doubt, I must forgive my brothers and sisters in Christ who deserted me. That's the least that I can do. And friends, that's such a challenge to us, especially to those of us who are struggling to forgive a fellow Christian, perhaps in particular, a Christian who's a part of our church. When we fail to forgive those who have sinned against us, we've just lost sight of all that we have been forgiven in Christ, all that He has forgiven in us for our sin and rebellion against Him.

23:57Paul is able to look back on Jesus. Savior and Stephen, that first martyr, we're able to look back on all of those people and see them pray, may it not be charged against them. Lord, do not hold this sin against them. And we're challenged to forgive, to let go of bitterness and hatred toward our brothers and sisters in Christ who have, yes, wronged us and failed us and sinned against us in many ways. But that's a gospel response to being sinned against.

24:28So no one came to stand by Paul. At least no human being came to stand by Paul. Look at verse 17. 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. Although every other Christian had deserted him, God stood by him. God didn't leave him or forsake him, just as he promised in his word. And more than that, God gave him courage to boldly proclaim the gospel.

25:08He stood before Caesar, who was worshipped as a God. He stood before Caesar's court, who all worshipped him as a God. And he testified, Jesus of Nazareth is the Son of God. He is God. He lived sinlessly and miraculously. He died. He was put to death. And on the third day, he rose from the grave, victorious over sin and death. Paul stands in Caesar's court amidst all of the idol worshipers and in front of the emperor himself, and he testifies of the gospel of Jesus Christ boldly and courageously.

25:49And that testimony, in a sense, was the fulfillment of Paul's entire ministry. Look at the screen at Acts 9, 15, and 16. This is what God says to Ananias about Saul, who would become the apostle Paul. Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel. For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name. And it becomes so clear through the book of Acts that Paul is God's chosen apostle to the Gentiles. He is the one that God has chosen to carry that mission and that ministry to those people. And his mission and ministry expanded westward and more westward until it finally reached Rome, the center of the empire.

26:43And when Paul stood before Caesar and his court with all of the Gentiles, with the king there, he proclaimed the good news of Jesus. He carried the name before Gentiles and kings. And the whole reason that he could do that. Is because God stood by him and strengthened him to proclaim the gospel. Friends, Paul was not some fearless superhero, as we often picture him. Look at what he says about himself in 1 Corinthians 2. And I was with you. This is not before Caesar and his court. This is just these Corinthian citizens. And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling. And my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith may not rest in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.

27:43You see, friends, Paul was a human being who is tempted just like we are, who, in the face of these ordinary people in Corinth, was with them in weakness and fear and much trembling. And so, how do you suppose that he approached Caesar himself and these highest officials in all of the Roman Empire? There's no doubt he was with them in weakness and fear and much trembling. But God stood by him and God strengthened him to proclaim the gospel. He fulfilled his promise to Paul and the same promise that's made to all of us. Look at the promise that Jesus makes in Mark 13. And when they bring you to trial and deliver you over, do not be anxious beforehand what you are to say. But say, whatever is given you in that hour, for it is not you who speak, but the Holy Spirit.

28:40There have probably been so many times that you've thought to yourself, I just don't know what I would say if somebody in my company or somebody in my class or one of my family members asked me why I'm a Christian, why I believe in Jesus. And Jesus says to you, Don't be anxious about what you're going to say. The Holy Spirit will empower you, will give you the words to speak. I mean, can you imagine a more encouraging promise that God promises to stand with you and strengthen you to proclaim the gospel of Jesus in difficult times?

29:26And friends, maybe if we really believed that promise, we would be more faithful to pray for gospel opportunities. Could it be the reason that we don't pray for opportunities to share the gospel as we go into the office each day, as we go onto campus each day, is because we're scared that God is going to answer that prayer? We're scared that we're actually going to have an opportunity and that we'll have to open our mouths and give an answer?

29:56I think maybe that's the reality: we don't ask for opportunities because we're. Afraid that God will give them to us. And we don't think that we'll have the right words. Let me just put your fears aside. You will not have the right words. I have never once shared the gospel with someone and felt that went well. And I have a degree in this stuff. Every single time I think to myself, how in the world? Like, I speak English. Why is this so hard?

30:30But every single time it seems that way. And so the Lord says to us, don't be anxious about what you're going to say. God will give you the words. So Paul boldly proclaims the gospel in Caesar's court and before all of these people. And he probably could have been sent to his execution right then and there. But look at what he says. God rescued him from the lion's mouth. And more than that, Paul is confident the Lord God would rescue him from every evil deed and bring him safely into his heavenly kingdom.

31:04Now, clearly, Paul did not expect God to deliver him from every trial, from every difficult circumstance, or even his eventual death. Don't forget that just earlier in the previous section, he said, I know that the time of my departure has come. So Paul is not like so many cult leaders today who think that God is going to preserve them forever, that they're not going to be killed. I mean, David Koresh was telling his followers in the Branch Davidian compound in Waco that same thing to the very last minute. He said, God is going to fight for us, is what he was telling the members of his cult.

31:42Paul didn't have that view. He said, I know that the time of my departure has come. I know I'm going to die. But he also knew that ultimately there was nothing that man could do to him because God was going to keep his soul safe and his eternity safe. They were secure in Christ. If they killed him, it just meant that he would be with his Lord and Savior and friend, Jesus, sooner. That's all that it meant. And so that knowledge led him to worship. He says, to him be the glory forever and ever.

32:18And as I was reading this passage this week, I was thinking about how hard of a time we have with trials and with suffering. And I was wondering, you know, is it the case that we have such a hard time with trials and with suffering? Because we don't really believe that God is going to ultimately bring us safely into his heavenly kingdom. That we think, you know, this world is all that there is, and so maybe we're a lot more like demas than we'd previously realized. Maybe we really do love this world too much.

32:52And so the thought of having the things of this world or being taken out of this world is just so much for us. Bear. Maybe that's why we have such a hard time with suffering. See, Paul knew from experience that in difficult times God stands with us and He strengthens us to proclaim the gospel. And I think if we all knew it like Paul knew it, then our reactions to suffering, our reactions to trials and disappointments of every kind would be a lot different. Because we're looking not to a kingdom on this earth, but to a heavenly kingdom that God has prepared for us.

33:32And so he wraps up this final letter with these words that we see at the very bottom in verse 22: The Lord be with your spirit. Grace be with you. Now it's significant, this word that is translated your is singular. So he is praying for Timothy in particular. He says, The Lord be with your, Timothy, your spirit. But the word that's translated you is plural. He says, grace be with you all. And so it becomes clear that Paul intended these words not just for Timothy, but for Christians everywhere. Grace be with you.

34:25He intended these words, all of the encouragements, all of the challenges. About fighting the good fight of faith. He intended these not just for Timothy, but for all of us. And I don't know about you, but sometimes I get the impression that many Christians believe that the greatest days of the church are actually behind us. You seem to hear a lot of that rhetoric in our country in particular. If we could only go back to 1950, everything would be okay.

34:59The greatest days of the church are behind us. You know, God did some amazing things through the early church and the book of Acts and through the Apostle Paul, but those days are over. And so our job is really just to kind of like hunker down and wait for Jesus to come back. But friends, you cannot read the New Testament and come to that conclusion that the greatest days of the church are behind us. That's not the message of the New Testament at all. The Lord Jesus, through the presence and power of the Holy Spirit, is with us. His grace is with us.

35:39And yes, times are hard. There is opposition to the gospel from people in our lives and from politicians and from the media and from your coworkers. But friends, that's just the way that it's always been. And so what we need as a church, what we need as Christians, is for God to give us the same vision that He has given us. Gave to Paul. A vision to fan into flame the gifts that he gave us for ministry. A vision to be good soldiers in the Lord's army, who entrust these things to faithful men and women who will be able to teach others also.

36:20A vision to endure every trial, every bit of suffering for the sake of God's elect, and a vision to hold fast to the Word of God and to proclaim it in and out of season. That's what we need. We need this vision that God gave to Paul. And if we really believe that God will ultimately rescue us from every evil deed and bring us safely into his heavenly kingdom, then that's going to change the way that we live our lives.

36:55Friends, you can listen to all the preaching in the world about fighting the good fight of faith, but if you don't really believe that in the end, God is delivering us out of the broken kingdom of this world and into his heavenly kingdom secure in Christ, you're never going to put on the gloves and enter into the ring in the first place. We need that vision that God gave to Paul. And I believe that God is working just as powerfully through his church, through our church today, as he was in the first century. And I believe God is a powerful work. Wants to do just as much or more through the church today than he was doing in the first century. And so, yes, times are difficult, and there's no indication that they're going to get any easier here in our community or elsewhere around the world.

37:46But the good news is that in difficult times, God stands with us and strengthens us to proclaim the gospel. Let's pray. God, we pray for that same vision that you gave to the Apostle Paul, where he set his eyes on eternity and not on his circumstances. And he trusted that you ultimately were going to deliver him from every evil deed and bring him into your heavenly kingdom secure forever in Christ. God, I think that every one of us probably looks at his or her life and sees evidence of love for the world.

38:45There seemingly is so much in this world to love, God. Every day we're told that products and experiences and People can meet our greatest expectations, our greatest hopes, our greatest desires. And yet, no matter if we have much or little of all of those things, we've all lived enough life to know that no product, no experience, no person is going to be able to satisfy us forever. Only you can. And so, God, I pray for us that we would not be like Demas, those who start the race well, but who fail to finish the race, because the things that you have spoken to us get choked out by the riches and pleasures and cares of this world.

39:46God, we pray this morning that we would be aware that in all times, in all difficulties, you are standing with us and you are strengthening us to proclaim the gospel. Forgive us for the many times we've acted as though that's not true. Forgive us for not praying for gospel opportunities every single day. Forgive us for not taking advantage of the ones that you've provided for us. Men and women and children all around us are under your divine wrath and headed for an eternity in hell.

40:28I pray that our hearts would break. Break as Paul's broke, and that it would move us to share the gospel joyfully and urgently and honestly with them. God, we are so thankful that you called us to yourself and that there has never been a time, never been a day that you were not with us. You are with us to the very end, Jesus. And I pray that our hearts are encouraged this morning by that reminder. Thank you, God, for your word to us, and thank you for your church. In Christ's name, we pray all these things. Amen.