Travels of Paul

Well, good afternoon again, brethren. It's always wonderful to be able to see you. We can appreciate God designing the Sabbath and bringing us together to be able to learn more about Him and more about His Word. I appreciate what Cleo covered in the sermonette. Glad to see that He's at least following whatever we've been going over here the last several weeks. I do want to continue in that vein. We'll eventually get done.

Studying the Apostle Paul and his life, his work, is really a marvelous part of the Bible. It's not, of course, all the Bible, but it's a pretty good size, a part of the New Testament because He contributed to the writing of 14 different letters or books, as we know them today, here in the New Testament.

And, of course, much of the book of Acts involves the travels and the work that Paul did on behalf of Jesus Christ. I won't take time to go through rehearsing what we've already covered, but I do want to get to the last couple of chapters of the book of Acts, Acts 27 and 28, and at least in part mention those.

But beyond that, I really want to cover about seven other books, so we may be here a while. I'm going to do that quickly. I'm going to do that briefly. But, as you know, last week we talked about how Paul defended Christianity. Last weekend we discussed how he appeared before the Jews.

He appeared before several levels of Roman rulers. A commander, later the judge, or let's see, Felix, was the governor. Festus was the governor. Agrippa was the king. This was kind of going up in authority. Ultimately, he was going to be sent to Rome, sent to Caesar, because he had appealed to Caesar. This was by God's design. What we find in chapter 27 and 28, which is kind of where we left off last time, is his trip. His trip as a captive, as a prisoner. His trip through the Mediterranean Sea and up to the city of Rome.

Now, I know it's easy for you, and you could go back and read through that if you'd like. It wouldn't take very long. I'm not planning to go through all of that right now. Needless to say, he had a perilous trip. It was a trip, and I will only mention a few verses here, because they really stand out. There was some kind of a typhoon or some type of a hurricane that happened that the ship itself was caught up in.

They were not able to harbor easily. They were sailing at a bad time. Let's see if we can pick this up in chapter 27. In chapter 27, starting in verse 7, we sailed slowly for a number of days and arrived with difficulty off Snidus. As the wind was against us, we sailed under the lee of Crete off Salome, sailing past it with difficulty.

We came to a place called Fair Havens near the city of LaSia. Verse 9 gives us a time frame. When was this actually happening? Actually, you find that Paul had advised, this is not really a good time for us to be sailing. Being a prisoner, they really didn't pay attention to what he had to say, but they would have been better off if they had paid attention to what he had to say.

But in verse 9, you see a reference. Since much time had been lost and sailing was now dangerous. So this was again at that time, it was difficult. It wasn't like it is today with the type of boats they have today, type of ships that would travel the globe. They were on a ship that was a cargo ship and carried a number of prisoners or passengers at least.

And yet, they were sailing here toward the latter part of the year, almost the latter October and into November and December. Not a good time to be traveling on the sea there on the Mediterranean. Verse 9, since much time had been lost and sailing was now dangerous because even the fast had already gone by. And Paul advised them. So this was after the Day of Atonement. The Day of Atonement is going to be in September, more than likely, or maybe even October if it's real late. But it's already beyond that time whenever they are on this trip.

And he said to them in verse 10, Sir, I see that the voyage will be with danger and much heavy loss, not only of the cargo and ship, but also of our lives. But the centurion paid more attention to the pilot and the owner of the boat than what Paul said. And so they didn't pay attention to Paul. They should have, but they didn't. And what they find was that they certainly were in a tempest, they were in a violent wind, they were blown in many different directions.

And if you kind of look on the map that we passed out several weeks ago, you can see that their voyage certainly looked haphazard throughout the middle of the Mediterranean Sea. And ultimately, they're going to get to land, but it's going to be a very rough landing. What I would like to point out is over in verse 22, Paul said, I urge you now to keep up your courage, for there will be no loss of life among you, but only of the ship.

And here is why, and Cleo mentioned this in the sermonette, here is why Paul could be so confident, even though he had gone through many difficulties, and though he was distressed even by the fact that they didn't pay attention, I'm pretty sure. It says, in verse 23, last night there stood by me an angel of the Lord, an angel of God, to whom the God to whom I belong, and the God whom I worship, or whom I serve. This was a description of how it was that Paul looked to the Father. He looked to the Father and he looked to Jesus Christ at His right hand as I belonged to them.

I have been bought and paid for. The blood of the Lamb of God has been shed for me, and I am a servant and messenger of God. He said, don't be afraid. This is what Paul relayed. He was told, don't be afraid, Paul. You must stand before the Emperor. And indeed, God has granted safety to all those who are sailing with you, so keep up your courage, men. Paul was telling the crew, for I have faith in God.

It will be exactly as I have told you, but we will have to run aground on some island. So again, you can read the difficulties that they struggled with and how they ultimately got onto Malta. They were there for a while. They would later then sail off that coast and up to the west of Italy and into the Turanian Sea and eventually hit land south of Rome and then be escorted up to Rome. So that's how they ultimately would get to Rome. What I do want to point out, though, is that Paul had earlier, I believe on his second trip, he had written a book, a book that was referred to earlier, the Book of Romans.

He wrote that book to a church that he had never visited, one that he had a great deal of love for or concern for, but one he had never seen. And so now, as he is heading into Italy, he's excited. Here in chapter 28, it says they landed in verse 13 at Petula, verse 14, there we found brethren. We found believers and we were invited to stay with them for seven days, and so we came to Rome.

Verse 15, the believers are brethren from Rome. When they heard of us came as far as the Forum of Apias and three taverns to meet us, and on seeing them, Paul thanked God and took courage. See, this was exciting, for Paul to be able to begin to get acquainted with the brethren from Rome. He had written them earlier. He had told them he wanted to come see them, but now that was being fulfilled. God was actually bringing him, certainly not in the way he may have thought, but he's bringing him to be, in a sense, on trial there in Rome.

But what we're going to find is that as they meet those brethren, that's an exciting thing for Paul. But what I do want us to focus on, when they got to Rome in verse 16, Paul was allowed to live by himself with a soldier who was guarding him.

See, what we find about Paul's captivity or his imprisonment in Rome is that it's a very loose situation. It's almost like a house arrest. He has some kind of monitor, or at least he has a soldier that's keeping track of him, but he's really able to do a great deal of work.

And that is what I want to point out, that Paul was imprisoned. He was a captive, and he was awaiting a trial there in Rome, but he was going to do a great deal of work. He was going to do a great deal of work. Specifically, he was going to be writing at least four, and then a little bit later, three more. So he was yet to write seven books, letters that are going to be making up a part of the New Testament.

And so during this time of his captivity, he's allowed to write, he's allowed to visit people, he's allowed to discuss. We drop down to verse 28. Let it be known to you then that this salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles because they will listen, and he lived there for two whole years at his own expense, and he welcomed all who came to him. And he was proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness and without hindrance. See, in many ways, you could say Paul was there, he was in prison, but he certainly wasn't contained.

It doesn't sound like he had a lot of restriction. And actually what we find is that he had many of the brethren, many of his friends, many of his co-workers, many other ministers who would come and go during that time. It was at least two years. At least two years would probably be the minimum trying to get there and some of the delays and then time afterwards. It could have been even a little longer than that.

But Paul had a lot of interaction with different names of individuals that we're going to see here as we get into these other books. Particularly, he had a lot of contact with Timothy. Timothy was from Lystra. Timothy had been with him over some of his other travels. But Timothy now was able to come to Rome. He was able to go back and forth.

He was able to be sent by Paul in different places. And you even see in these books or letters that Paul was writing that became what we know of as books of the Bible, Timothy is in essence co-author. It says Paul and Timothy. Sometimes he even mentioned Silas. But many times, several times, in Philemon and in Philippians and Colossians, he says Paul and Timothy are writing this letter to you.

And so he had a lot of interaction with Timothy. I'd like us to focus on the first book here of Philemon. Philemon is a book that Paul would write at this time when he was in prison. And what is the book of Philemon about? Well, this book is about the type of love, the type of care, and the type of wisdom, the type of tact that Paul would use in dealing with other brethren.

In this case, it appears Philemon was a member of the church. I believe he was probably in the area of Asia or in Turkey. He may have been in Ephesus. And he had a former servant or former slave named Onesimus who had run off from him. And what Paul is writing about, what he is writing about in this little letter, a short letter, 25 verses, he is showing him tactfully, but in an encouraging and uplifting way, he is showing him that he wants Philemon to accept Onesimus back, to actually free him, to let him go so that he can serve Paul and serve the church.

Here in Philemon, in verse 8, for this reason, though I am bold enough in Christ to command you, I am bold enough in Christ to command you to do your duty, yet I would rather simply appeal to you on the basis of love. And I, Paul, do this as an old man and now also as a prisoner of Jesus Christ. He was writing this letter to Philemon as he was imprisoned. He was in captivity when he wrote this to me. He says in verse 10, I am appealing to you for my child, Onesimus, whose father I had become during my imprisonment. Formerly he was useless to you, again he was a runaway slave. Formerly he was useless to you, but now he is indeed useful both to you and to me.

And I am sending him, that is my own heart, I am sending him back to you. So what had happened? Onesimus has somehow ended up in Rome. He had heard the Gospel. He had become a part of the Church. He was useful to Paul. And here Paul is sending this letter. He's sending this little personal letter to Philemon by Onesimus. Onesimus is carrying the letter.

And it says, Paul says in verse 12, I am sending him, that is my own heart, back to you. I really wanted to keep him with me so that he might be of service to you in your place during my imprisonment for the Gospel. But I preferred to do nothing without your consent in order that your good deed might be voluntary and not something that is forced. He says, I am writing this and telling you, Onesimus has become a part of the Church. He is a service to me and a servant to me.

He is able to help me. I would like for you to release him and to free him and to not hold it against him that he ran off as he did. He goes on in verse 15, perhaps this is a reason he was separated from you for a while so that you might have him back forever. No longer as a slave, but more than a slave, a beloved brother, especially to me, but much more to you, both in the flesh and in the Lord. So he says, if you consider verse 17, me, your partner, welcome him as you would welcome me. If he has wronged you in any way, if he owes you anything, then charge it to my account. He says, I'll pay for it. If he ran off, however that happened, if he took a number of things whenever he left, I don't care. He's a brother in Christ now, and I want you to receive him. And what you can see, Paul is very tactfully and wisely, but in an encouraging way, not wanting to command Philemon to do what he says, he says, I could do that, but I'm not wanting to do that. I'm wanting to encourage you, appeal to you, to do the right thing. And so, amazingly, you find a very personable, a very personal, I guess it should be, letter that Paul is writing that he's even sending by the hand of Onesimus to Philemon. And even in verse 22, it says one more thing, prepare a guest room for me, for I'm hoping through your prayers to be restored to you. I hope that I'm able to be able to come and see you. I hope I'm able to be released. And so, he has quite a bit of promise and a lot of hope that he puts into this letter. But this is one of the letters that Paul would write that, you know, he would. It would appear that Onesimus was from Colossae, and maybe Philemon from there. I thought maybe of his Ephesus, but it may have been from Colossae as well.

So let's go to the book of Colossians, which again was another letter that Paul was writing while he was imprisoned in Rome. In Colossians, again, we think of these books, we study these books usually kind of as a whole. We study them as a letter, or we study it as a book, and we see what directives are given to us as Christians, and it makes up the doctrinal teaching that we use as a part of the Church of God. That obviously is the reason that we have these together.

But it's interesting to see how that Paul was writing these letters in prison, and then he is in essence receiving information from Timothy or from others about what's happening back in these churches. And he is hearing from Colossae that there is a heretical notion that you don't need to obey God, that you don't need to follow God or His law or His holy days, called the Colossian heresy. It was something that Paul was writing against whenever you read the book of Colossians. And what he's telling them is that you must focus on Jesus Christ. He's the one who stabilizes us. He's the one who gives us life. So when you read through the book of Colossians, you find this. You also see, if we go over to Colossians, we see that Paul mentions a number of his companions.

And again, these can be names that we read about in the Bible. That's all they are, sometimes. Because if we don't have any background on them, if we don't know anything about them, then it can not have as much meaning. But here in Colossians chapter 1, you see Paul talking about Epiphras. That's one of the names that is mentioned here, mentioned in several of his other writings. In verse 3, he says of chapter 1 of Colossians, in our prayers for you, we always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. For we have heard of your faith in Jesus Christ, and of the love that you have for all the saints, because of the hope laid up for you in heaven.

Here Paul is writing this to the church in Colossae. He's writing it and he's saying, we've heard about what's going on there. We've heard about how you are being stabilized in the church, or at least you have faith and stability in the church. And he goes on to say, because of the hope laid up for you in heaven, you have heard of this hope before in the word of truth, the gospel that has come to you just as it is bearing fruit and growing in the whole world.

So it is also, it is bearing fruit among you from the day you heard it and truly comprehended the grace of God. He says in verse 7, this you learned from Epiphras. See, Epiphras was one of the ministers who had brought the gospel to Colossae. And so he was not only from there, but he had been sharing the gospel. He says, this you learned from Epiphras, our beloved fellow servant. He is a faithful minister of Jesus Christ on your behalf, and he has made known to us your love in the spirit. So Epiphras had come to Rome. He was talking to Paul and Timothy and others. He was sharing the information, how the congregation was doing. If we drop on down to chapter 4 here, you see Epiphras mentioned in verse 12. He says, Epiphras, in verse 12 of chapter 4, who is one of you, a servant of Jesus Christ, greets you. He is always wrestling in his prayers on your behalf so that you might stand firm or mature and fully assured in everything that God wills. For I testify for him that he has worked hard for you and for those in Laodicea and Hierapolis. See, Paul had a close working relationship with Epiphras, and he was hearing information from him. He was also going to be sending information back to the people at Colossae.

If we jump up to verse 7, we see who he was sending it by. Chapter 4, verse 7, says, Tychicus will tell you all the news about me. So he was technically sending Tychicus with this letter to the Colossians, sending it to them. He says, Tychicus will tell you all the news about me, for he as well as a beloved brother, a faithful minister, a fellow servant, and the Lord.

I have sent him to you for this very purpose so that you may know how we are and that he may encourage your hearts. And he is coming with Onesimus, a faithful and beloved brother who is one of you. And they will tell you about everything here. Here Paul is explaining, I'm sending this letter to you through Tychicus. He and Onesimus are going to be traveling back. They're going to come to Colossae. They're going to share this letter. He also says down in verse 16, when this letter has been read among you, then read it also in the church of Laodicea and see that you also read the letter from Laodicea. Although we don't see that as a book in the Bible, you see John having at least a message to Laodicea that Jesus gave and that John recorded in the book of Revelation. So you find that Paul wrote not only Philemon but also Colossians. And he was sending that back by Tychicus. Let's turn to the book of Ephesians, because Ephesians and Philippians are also books of the Bible that he's writing during this imprisonment.

Now Ephesians is a church that Paul is very familiar with. He had lived there for three years.

During his third journey, it was essentially his base of operation. He had been in Ephesus. He was familiar with the church. He knew the people. He knew many of the leaders. He even also had spoken to those elders in Myletus, and he had told them, you know, I want you to be careful. I want you to be faithful to Jesus Christ. I want you to know and warn you that, you know, you need to be close to God. You need to be close to Jesus Christ. So his writing, the things that Paul has to say to the people of Ephesus, I think you could say, you know, when you read the book of Ephesus, you find that it's one of the most uplifting, perhaps meaningful, maybe encouraging books that we have in the Bible. Because the things that Paul writes about in the book of Ephesus are just remarkable. He talks about our calling, calling that each of us have to Jesus Christ. He talks about us being drawn out of the world, out of the effects of the prince, the power of the air, who's now working, the children of disobedience. He says all of us were in that same condition, but God has been merciful to us in bringing us out. He talks about unity. Ephesians 4 talks about unity in the body. He talks about how the whole body needs to be building itself up in love.

He talks about our new life in Christ. He talks about Christian marriage, Christian household, husbands and wives, and how we should. You know, these are all things that Paul is writing to the church in Ephesus, but they're pretty familiar information to us today because we've read Ephesians a great deal. He finally, in chapter 6, talks about how we're fighting a spiritual battle and that we need, in order to be successful in that spiritual battle, we're going to have to be close to God. We need to be putting on the whole armor of God. You know, the whole section that you have in Ephesians 6 is about putting on the armor of God. So there's a great deal of information here in the book of Ephesians. And I want to point out that Paul is sending, if we go to the book of Ephesians, he is sending this letter again from having been imprisoned or having been in captivity.

Let's see, in chapter 6, verse 18, let's start there. This is toward the end where he is concluding this letter. He says, pray in the Spirit at all times in every prayer and supplication to that end. Keep alert and persevere in supplication for the saints. And pray for me so that when I speak a message may be given to me to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare the gospel boldly as I must speak.

So he was implying that I'm in captivity or I'm imprisoned, but the message is not imprisoned. I can send letters, I can send messengers, I can send... it continues to go out and the churches continue to be nurtured. You find in chapter 6, verse 21, he goes on and follows this up by saying, So that you also may know how I am doing and what I am doing. Tychicus, again, the same man who had taken the letter to the Colossians, Tychicus will tell you everything. See, again, Tychicus was able to go back and forth. He was able to bring these letters from Paul to these churches. He says, he is a dear brother, he is a faithful minister in the Lord. I'm sending him to you. So for this very purpose, to let you know how we are and to encourage your hearts. See, this is what Paul wanted to share. Whenever we go over in our announcements or at other times, news of the work, things that are happening, things we'd like to have everyone pray about or be aware of, that's exactly what Paul was sharing. He was sharing how are things going with me and how are things going in other parts of the world as he would be aware of them. And yet, this is exactly what he was doing here in the book of Ephesians.

The next book he was writing as well was a book that would be taken to the church at Philippi.

It would be taken by Epaphroditus. And again, you find much of this from just the internal evidence that you read in each one of these books because Paul had not written these books earlier.

He had written 1 and 2 Thessalonians. He had written 1 and 2 Corinthians. And he had written Romans and Galatians. Those were all during the time when he was traveling. Now he's in prison.

Now he is limited as far as physically. And so here in Philippians chapter 4, Paul was writing to a church that was very stable. It seemed to be very solid, very sound.

It was a very generous congregation. Philippians, if you think about it, Philippians is one of the most uplifting, one of the most encouraging books you can read because he certainly had very complimentary things to say about the people in Philippi. But here in chapter 4, in verse 15, he says, "...you Philippians indeed know that in the early days of the gospel, when I left Macedonia, no church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving except you alone." Now Philippi is in Macedonia. He was actually leaving Macedonia and going down to Achaia. He's going down to Corinth where he would go to Athens. He would go to Corinth. But Macedonia was north of there. He was able to communicate with them. He speaks of their generosity toward him. And in verse 16 it says, "...even when I was in Thessalonica, you sent me help for my needs more than once. And it's not that I seek the gift, but I seek the prophet that accumulates to your account." He said, "...it's not that I want you to send things, and sometimes I do need them, and I very much appreciate them. But more than that, your attitude of giving and caring and sharing and love for me and for the brethren, God will bless." He will follow up with that type of supporter attitude that they had. And to go on in verse 18, "...I have been paid in full, and I have more than enough. I am fully satisfied now that I have received from Epaphiditis the gifts that you sent, a fragrant offering, a sacrifice acceptable and pleasing to God." See, Epaphiditis had brought from Philippi to Paul and Rome some type of gift, some kind of things that he would need. Maybe he brought a sunshine box. I don't know. And anyway, I mean, that's what Paul is saying here in the latter part of this letter, that he's going to send back to the Church of Philippi through Epaphiditis. If we go back to chapter 1, chapter 1, Paul mentions again how he is in prison. Chapter 1, verse 6, of course, is a verse we're familiar with, that God has begun a good work in us and he'll complete it. He will finish it. We need to remain faithful to him. In verse 7, it's right for me to think this way about all of you, because you hold me in your hearts. For all of you share in God's grace with me, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the Gospel. For God is my witness how I long for all of you with compassion of Jesus Christ. And so he mentions being in prison. He mentions how that is not impeding the Gospel. Verse 12, I want you to know, brethren, that what has happened to me, what has happened to me, the way I was treated in Jerusalem, the way I was imprisoned in Caesarea, the way I had a hazardous trip even to get here to Rome, the fact that I'm now in captivity, I want you to know, brethren, that that has all happened to me.

It has actually helped to spread the Gospel. That's one way God did it. It may be not the way he had planned, Paul had planned, but nonetheless, he says, I want you to know that it has actually helped to spread the Gospel so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to everyone else that my imprisonment is for Jesus Christ. And the most of the brethren have been made confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, and they dare to speak the word with greater boldness and without fear. So he says this is empowering the Church to realize that an Apostle, God has given a mission and a commission, is contained, but that Gospel is not contained. So over in chapter 2, you see that this book is written as well from Paul and Timothy, and he's wanting to tell the people in Philippi that Timothy, chapter 2, verse 9, I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon.

See, Timothy had been with Paul coming and going. He had been with him at Rome. He'd been interacting with him. Paul was saying, I hope to send Timothy to you so that I may be cheered by news of you.

Now, what did he expect Timothy to do? Well, he was going to be going there, and then he was going to be traveling back. He was going to bring Paul a message about how that Church is doing.

And he says, I have no one like Timothy who will be genuinely concerned for your welfare, and all of them are seeking their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ. But Timothy's worth you know how that like a son of the Father, he has served with me in the work of the Gospel.

Timothy had been a very faithful and loyal younger minister that had served with Paul.

And if we drop on down to verse 25, we'll see how that Epaphroditus is the one who's going to bring this message to them. Still, in verse 25, I think in necessaries, it's, send to you Epaphroditus.

Now, Epaphroditus is going to be the messenger or the one who will bring this letter to the Philippians. And he had suffered a good amount. He had suffered a good amount as far as having been sick. You know, sometimes we may think that we have actually numerous prayer requests, and we have different individuals who are sick from now and then. And yet, that's not unlike what we read Paul writing about. Here, he says, I really think it's good for me to send to you Epaphroditus, my brother, my coworker, my fellow soldier, your messenger and minister to my need. For he has been longing for all of you, and he has been distressed because you heard he was ill. And sure enough, he was. Indeed, he was so ill, he almost died. But God had mercy on him, and not only on him, but on me as well, that I would not have one sorrow after another. I am, in verse 28, more eager to send him therefore, in order that you may receive or you may rejoice at seeing him again, and that I may be less anxious.

Because I'm going to send him. I know he'll eventually come back. He'll give me a report. I'm wanting to send this letter to you with him, and he is actually well loved by the people in Philippi. And so in verse 29, welcome him then in the Lord with all joy and honor such people, because he came close to death for the work of Christ, risking his life to make up for those services that you could not give me. The Epaphroditus had been a faithful servant, had been a giving serving minister in serving Paul, and helping him. And he was going to be the messenger through whom Paul would send this letter back to the church in Philippi. So we've mentioned several letters by Leman, Colossians, Ephesians, Philippians, and it appears that during this too or a little longer period of time that Paul is captivity, that he's been pretty active.

He's been, you know, it doesn't say, and we don't have in the book of Acts or in any of these other records of how he appeared before Caesar or how he was to come to Caesar. But we do at least see, mentioning some of Caesar's household that he was interacting with and who were becoming brethren.

You see that mentioned. And so it appears that after a while, even in this light captivity, Paul was released and able to travel to some of these same places that he had been sending these messengers to. And you find these references in 1 Timothy and in Titus, and then finally in 2 Timothy. Those obviously are not letters to churches, but to ministers, to the pastoral letters.

1 Timothy, Titus, and then 2 Timothy. And of course, what he is telling Timothy and Titus is how to conduct themselves in the Church of God. How to organize the Church, how to look for elders to pass on the correct information that I have passed on to you, and how it is that you should conduct yourself. How it is you need to guard against false teaching and false teachers. So I want to look at a few of these references you have in, let's start in 1 Timothy, 1 Timothy chapter 1. 1 Timothy chapter 1 verse 1, Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God and our Savior and of Jesus Christ our hope, to Timothy, my loyal child in the faith. He says in verse 3, I urge you, Timothy, as I did when I was on my way to Macedonia, I urge you to remain in Ephesus so that you may instruct certain people not to teach any different doctrine and not to accompany or excuse me occupy themselves with myths and endless genealogies that promote speculation rather than the divine training that is known by faith.

For the aim of that instruction is love that comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and sincere faith. And so clearly he's telling Timothy, you know, I want you to be stable. I want you to be sound in the Word of God. But he says, as I was going to Macedonia on my way, I have sent you to Ephesus and I want you to remain there and I want you to conduct a certain level of the work.

He talks about that if we go over to chapter 3.

First Timothy chapter 3 in verse 14. He says, I hope to come to you soon. So he was telling Timothy who he was sending to Ephesus, I hope to come to Ephesus. I want to come there. I want to be there. But I am writing these instructions to you so that if I'm delayed, you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the Church of the Living God. See, that was, you know, what he wanted to instruct Timothy in doing. And it seemed that at this point, Paul had been given ability to travel about. He had been going to Macedonia, which would be where Philippi and Thessalonica and Berea are. He hoped he could come over to Ephesus here in Titus.

Titus chapter 1, Paul, a servant of God and apostle of Jesus Christ. Verse 4 to Titus, my loyal child in the faith we share. He says in verse 5, as he writes this letter to Titus, I have left you behind in Crete. See, he in Titus had been in Crete. He had been there with him. And it doesn't say as far as when that was. It doesn't say what other traveling he was able to do. But he says, I've left you behind in Crete for this reason so that you should put in order what remains to be done and without or should appoint elders in every town in the world.

As I have directed you. And so he gives instructions about how to go about doing that and about what to guard against. But I'm pointing out just where it was that it seems that Paul was able to go.

You find more of this in 2 Timothy chapter 4. He says in verse 11, only Luke is with me. Actually, we might bump up to verse 9.

He's telling Timothy in the very latter part of this 2 Timothy, Do your best to come to me soon. For Demas, in love with this present world, has deserted me.

And he's gone to Thessalonica. See, that was, I'm sure, a distressing to Paul to see someone turn from the faith and then go and perhaps try to affect the church that he very much loved in Thessalonica. He says, Cresson says, gone to Galatia and Titus to Dalmatia, but only Luke is with me. But get Mark and bring him with you, for he is useful in my ministry. Here you see Paul writing this, having been, it seems, released for a while and able to travel around in different places, but seeing that several others had left him. And he says, Mark is able to help in our ministry. In verse 12, I have sent Tychicus to Ephesus.

So this is maybe something he would refer to earlier. But when you come, Timothy, in verse 13, bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at Troas. And so, apparently, he had been at Troas.

He had left some kind of a garment or a coat or maybe a cover for some type of books.

And he also said, bring the books and bring above all the parchments.

He says, Alexander the coppersmith has done me great harm, and the Lord will repay him for his deeds.

You should be aware of him. In verse 16, of my first defense, no one came to my support.

So here he's actually looking back on when he was first imprisoned. He says, at my first defense, no one came to my support, but all deserted me. May it not be counted against them, but the Lord stood by me. He gave me strength 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 attack and will save me for his heavenly kingdom and to him be glory forever and ever.

Paul had a lot to say to Timothy, but he mentions different locations. And I'd like for us to drop back over on my Bible. It's the same page here in Titus because in the closing statements to Titus, in this letter he would send to Titus, he says, when I send Artemis to you, verse 12 of chapter 3, Titus 3, 12, when I send Artemis to you or Tychicus, do your best to come to me at Nycopolis. And so he's telling Titus, I left you in Crete, I'm moving about.

Perhaps he was in a sense moving from one place to the next, trying to keep from being captive again.

But what he says is, do your best to come to me at Nycopolis, for I have decided to spend the winter there, make every effort to send Zenas and Apollos on their way and see that they lack nothing. And so he has moved in different areas and he is now, it appears, in Nycopolis here in Titus 3 verse 12. And some of the commentaries, Coney Bear particularly, writes about thinking that Paul was arrested in Nycopolis and then sent back to Rome, which would be a second time that he was being imprisoned. And many believe that at that time, again in the mid-60s, Nero sought to implicate Christians in the burning of Rome and the arrest of key leaders would be the result.

You know, Peter was also taken to Rome at that time. Paul was taken to Rome. And actually, you see Paul writing about this more so in 2 Timothy, which ends up being a final book, in a sense, a latest book or last book that he would write that we have recorded, that would give us a little understanding of what it was that he ultimately would then endure. He had been in Nycopolis. He told Titus, come, spend the winter with me. I want to see you. I want to be able to continue to teach you or to train or mentor you. Here in 2 Timothy, it says in chapter 2, verse 8, He says, Remember Jesus Christ, who was raised from the dead, a descendant of David, and that is my gospel, the gospel for which I suffer hardship, even to the point of being chained like a criminal. Paul is now talking about an imprisonment that's far different from kind of the luxury captivity that he had earlier, where he could come and go and he could talk to people, he could meet people, he could greet, he could write, he could send. Here he's now imprisoned. Here he now is chained as a criminal. He's being accused of turning the world upside down, which certainly Christianity should do because of the fabulous message that we teach.

But he says, Remember Jesus Christ, that is my gospel, for which I suffer hardship, even to the point of being chained like a criminal. But he adds in verse 9, But the word of God cannot be chained. It doesn't matter if I'm chained. The word of God cannot be chained. Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, so that they may also obtain the salvation that is in Jesus Christ with eternal glory. He says, I'm going through what you may expect to go through. He was telling Timothy this, because again, Timothy being a younger minister, needing instruction, needing direction. Paul is describing a certain level of suffering that he was doing in chapter 1.

Second Timothy 1 verse 8, He encourages Timothy, Don't be ashamed then of the testimony about our Lord or of me as prisoner, but join with me in suffering for the gospel. So it appears, he's writing under quite a bit more duress than he had been with first Timothy or even the book to Titus. He says, Don't be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord or in prisoner, but join with me in suffering for the gospel, relying on the power of God, who saved us and who called us with a holy calling, and not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace. See, that's exactly how we all are made a part of the church of God, not because of us, not because of our obedience or our works, and simply because of God's grace and His purpose that He has revealed to us. And so in chapter 2 verse 1, he tells Timothy, You then, Timothy, my child, be strong in the grace that is in Jesus Christ. And what you have heard from me through many witnesses and trusted faithful people who will be able to teach others as well, share in suffering like a good soldier of Jesus Christ. Again, was he in duress? It certainly appears that that was the case. I think he was not only in duress. He could see what was happening around Rome. He could see, as he's going to say a little bit later in this letter, I'm about to die. I'm not going to be here much longer. But he says, I want you to be supper. Verse 3, share in suffering like a good soldier of Jesus Christ. And he says in chapter 1, again, these are somewhat familiar verses that we read often, kind of pulling them out of, you know, read and make some kind of message out of each one of these verses. But this is what Paul was directing Timothy. He says, you need not be ashamed of the gospel. You need to be willing to suffer for Jesus Christ. You need in chapter 1, verse 6, for this reason I remind you, Timothy, to stir up the gift of God that is within you through the laying on of hands, the laying on of my hands.

For God has not given us the spirit of fear, but of power and love and the sound mind.

See, again, that's applicable to us, brethren. But it was, I'm sure, an encouraging note that Paul could pass on to Timothy. And when Timothy would realize probably what's going to happen here with Paul, you know, he would be reminded of what is written down here and how it was he was to bring bring Mark, but bring the parchments, bring the books, bring bring the cloak, whatever that might have been, and whatever it could have contained that might have been Paul's writings that would have later become a part of the New Testament. But he knew that he was about to die. And this is what he's stating here in chapter 4. You know, he had been doing a job for at least 20 years, 20 to 30 years, and he had been in numerous places. Each one of his earlier tours may have been two to four years. He had been imprisoned in Caesarea for two years. He was imprisoned at least in Rome for two years. He had been released, and now he's imprisoned again, close to what would be the mid-60s or a little bit later 60s. And he says in chapter 4, the presence of God in verse 1 and of Jesus Christ, who is able to judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing in his kingdom, I urge you to proclaim the message.

Be persistent whether the time is favorable or not. Convince and rebuke and encourage with the utmost patience in teaching. He says that time will come. And of course, this would be not only in Paul's life or in Timothy's life, but in our lives. Time will come. Time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. But having itching ears, they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own desires and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander away to myths. So as for you, Timothy, be sober and endure suffering and do the work of an evangelist and carry out your ministry fully. And he says in verse 6, as for me, I'm already being poured out as a libation. He says, I see my life coming to an end.

And the time of my departure has come. But in verse 7, he points out three things. He says, I've fought the good fight. He had been diligent in his not only proclamation of the gospel and service to the brethren, but in his writing and his nurturing for the church. He says, I have fought the good fight. I have finished the race. So again, he knew his life was coming to an end and I have kept the faith. We all want to be able to say that toward the end of our lives. If we see that that's where we are, we want to be able to say, I have diligently done what I can. Now, clearly, God is the one who has the gifts. He has the gifts of the Spirit. He has the gifts of eternal life that he extends to us. But we want to do, you know, we want to be able to say, like Paul, that I am keeping the faith. And from now on, he says in verse 8, there is reserved for me a crown of righteousness. It's the Lord the righteous judge will give me on that day, and not only to me also to all of those who long for his appearing. That's why we in this day and age, and certainly far closer and almost on the verge of Christ intervening in world affairs, you know, we want to be praying, thy kingdom come. And certainly, Paul is an excellent example.

And I hope that in going through this, it enables us to have a little more context for the books. We've covered seven today, and we covered about six or seven before. The book of Hebrews is also a book that Paul, I believe, wrote, or it's likely that he wrote.

I'm not sure exactly the timing of that. It would seem that it could have been even before he started on into his traveling into the Gentile world and ultimately to Rome. But you find this example that Paul sets, you know, that is, you know, Cleo mentioned earlier that, you know, well, I'm no Paul. Well, I don't guess any of us could say we've gone through the experiences that Paul went through. But we are individuals that God is working with.

We are individuals that he wants us to be reading the Bible and absorbing the information and being led by the Spirit and being moldable by him to be his servants in this age.

And so here in 1 Timothy 1, I want to conclude with a record that Paul gave to Timothy. It seems like it's somewhat of a Benedictary statement. It's not at the end of the book, but it clearly does show why and how Paul was able to achieve what he did.

As was mentioned in the sermonette, you know, Paul was optimistic. He was very positive. He was able to overcome all kinds of obstacles. He was always looking to God. He knew God was with him. He knew he belonged to God. He knew that he served the God who had called him. But he says here in 1 Timothy 1, verse 12, I am grateful. In a sense, that kind of says why it was that Paul was able to do what he did. I am grateful. I am grateful in verse 2 to Jesus Christ, our Lord, who has strengthened me because he judged me faithful and he appointed me to his service.

Even though I was formerly a blasphemer and a persecutor in a man of violence.

See, he hadn't forgotten his past, but he certainly didn't allow that past to minimize his service as he went forward. He says, even though I was a blasphemer and persecutor in a man of violence, but I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief. See, he looked at his past prior to realizing who Jesus was on the road to Damascus. He viewed his past as something that was not going to affect him. He says, I was in ignorance. I was brought to the truth. I was brought to an understanding of God's purpose for me and to the Savior Jesus. And he says, I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that is in Jesus Christ. And the saying is sure and worthy of full acceptance that Jesus Christ gave in the world to save sinners of whom I am the foremost. See, he fully realized that I've been granted an exceptional privilege and blessing from God to be a part of God's purpose and plan, a part of his church. But he says, in verse 16, for that very reason I received mercy, so that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display the utmost patience, making me an example to those who would come to believe in him for eternal life. He says he realized that his life had turned out quite differently than he thought it might. But he understood that he had been granted the mercy and grace from God that enabled him to know the truth and that he had in his consistency in proclaiming that truth, he had set an example that could serve so many others. And so truly, Paul was used by God to serve in extraordinary ways, but clearly he remained humble and a true servant. However he needed to interact, he did. And he proclaimed the gospel and the message that God had given him and certainly set an example that all of us can follow.