Rev. David Holwick ZF 2 Timothy series
First Baptist Church
Ledgewood, New Jersey
October 3, 2010
2 Timothy 4:9-22
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I. Reaching rock bottom.
A. You never expect to be shot down.
Operation "Rolling Thunder," the beginning of sustaining bombing
of North Vietnam.
November 28, 1965.
Captain Howard Rutledge guided his jet toward the Thanh Hoa
Bridge in North Vietnam.
It was a main target of American bombers, with over 800 missions
aimed against it.
At six hundred miles an hour, Rutledge broke through the clouds
and dropped a pair of 2000-pound bombs on the target.
In over 200 missions in Korea and Vietnam he had never been hit
- until today.
An anti-aircraft shell exploded in the rear of his jet and it
dived out of control.
Captain Rutledge ejected just in time to see his plane
disintegrate in a fireball beneath him.
His troubles were just beginning because his parachute was
taking him straight for a large North Vietnamese village.
Rutledge managed to steer his chute toward a nearby rice field,
but he was still surrounded in only two minutes.
For seven long years this American pilot became a prisoner of
war.
Five of these years were spent in complete isolation in the
Hanoi Hilton.
Even his family back home didn't know if he was dead or alive.
In his imprisonment, through torture and starvation, Captain
Rutledge clung to the one thing that sustained him - his
faith in God.
He had never been a strong Christian, and for many years he had
drifted away from his Southern Baptist upbringing.
But in his time of need, God was there for him.
It is this kind of experience that makes a person realize what
holds you together and what doesn't.
#28967
B. Paul writes 2 Timothy under the same circumstances.
1) For some time he had been held in a prison in Rome.
a) The prison itself wasn't the worst part.
2) People had failed him. Especially Christians.
3) His personal needs were rather pathetic.
a) Scrolls and parchments.
b) Cloak (or poncho). Winter was coming.
C. The Christian life is not always triumphant and glorious.
1) We must sometimes endure pain and hardship.
2) At times we will be lonely.
3) Is your relationship with God enough to see you through
a winter of the soul?
II. Paul's friends were few.
A. There were less of them.
1) His listing of friends in Rome is a shorter list than the
extensive one at the end of the book of Romans.
a) 29 in Romans, only 5 in 2 Timothy.
2) Where was everyone else?
B. Most of the friends he had were far away.
1) Tychicus was in Ephesus (Turkey), as was Timothy.
a) His good friends Priscilla and Aquila were also there.
b) Crescens was nearby in Galatia.
c) Trophimus was also in Turkey, but he was sick.
d) Titus was in what is today called Croatia.
2) Erastus was in Corinth, Greece.
a) He must have been rather important there, because
an inscription has been found that calls him the
director of public works.
3) Christians were few in number and spread out, but they
still kept in touch.
C. Paul's best friend was Luke.
1) They had gone on many mission trips together.
2) They had been in prison together.
3) And now Luke was one of the only ones left.
D. How many friends do you have?
1) You don't need a lot, but you need some.
2) Keep them as close as you can, because difficult times are
coming.
III. Some had hurt him.
A. At his trial he had been all alone. 4:16
1) We don't know why this happened, or who he is speaking of.
a) It almost sounds like Jesus, abandoned by his disciples.
2) "May it not be held against them" - reflects Jesus on cross,
Stephen at his stoning.
B. Demas had deserted him. 4:10
1) Paul says he "loved the world."
a) Demas had been a long-time helper of Paul and is
mentioned in two other letters, Colossians and Philemon.
b) The betrayal must have been bitter for Paul.
2) On an encouraging note, Mark was back on his side. 4:11
a) In the book of Acts, Mark had joined Paul and Barnabas
on their first missionary journey.
b) However, he had deserted them before the trip was over.
c) Later on, Barnabas wanted to take him on a different
mission but Paul vetoed it. Acts 15:37-38
1> Mark's appearance in this final letter shows the
power of redemption.
2> Failure doesn't have to be permanent.
C. Alexander the metalworker was an enemy. 4:14
1) Is he the one who got Paul arrested? We don't know.
2) Paul has confidence in God's payback.
a) Why does he want Alexander punished while he lets others
off the hook?
b) In both cases, Paul is reflecting Christian ethics.
1> We can forgive our enemies.
2> However, God will still call us all to account.
3> It is up to us to let God dish out his judgment,
instead of us. "Vengeance is God's."
D. Betrayal is painful.
1) People will fail you.
a) Christians you looked up to, and depended on, will have
feet of clay.
b) It may make you doubt everything you believed.
2) Our faith must be in God, not humans.
a) Only God won't fail us.
IV. Paul wanted a few things.
A. Besides the presence of a few friends, he had simple requests.
1) He wanted a warm coat.
2) He wanted some books (i.e., scrolls).
a) The parchments ones would have been valuable writings.
b) Most likely they were books of the Bible, much like the
Dead Sea Scrolls.
c) Perhaps they included some of the early Christian
gospels.
d) His soul was in distress, so he had to feed it.
B. What would you do if your Bible was taken away from you?
Vietnam pilot Howard Rutledge found out.
His Southern Baptist church had drummed the Bible into him
but it didn't sink in.
As he lay on his concrete floor he wracked his mind to recall
the smallest snatches of Scripture.
In time they started coming back to him.
After seven years, he had over one hundred passages of
Scripture and Christian hymns which he recited each day.
In his prison cell he made two solemn vows.
The first was that he would never be without a Bible again.
NEVER.
V. God gave Paul strength. 4:17-18
A. In his prison cell, Paul knew he was not alone.
1) God was there to strengthen him.
2) Perhaps you also know what it is to feel God's strength
when everyone else fails you.
B. He had been delivered from trouble.
1) The "lion's mouth" is probably not literal, though soon
after this, Christians were indeed thrown to lions.
2) Somehow his first defense had not ended with his execution.
3) He lived, and was witnessing to more people.
I had mentioned that Captain Rutledge had made two vows.
The second vow was that the first Sunday after his release
he would take his family to church.
And he would go to the front and give a testimony.
He did just that.
C. Paul knows he will always be rescued.
1) Ironically, most scholars believe Paul was executed soon
after this.
2) Paul himself seems to anticipate this in his letter.
3) Obviously he did not limit the "rescue" to earthly
situations.
a) Paul is reflecting the teaching of Jesus: Don't be
afraid of those who can only affect your body,
but of him who controls your soul - God.
b) If you are truly saved, no one can take that away
from you.
D. Do you have this strength?
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SOURCE FOR ILLUSTRATION USED IN THIS SERMON:
#28967 "One Thing Sustained Him In the Hanoi Hilton," by David Holwick,
from his Kerux sermon #20290, "When No One Stands By You, But
God." Primary source is unknown, but probably derived from
Howard Rutledge's book In The Presence Of Mine Enemies.
This and 35,000 others are part of the Kerux database that can be
downloaded, absolutely free, at http://www.holwick.com/database.html
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Copyright © 2024 by Rev. David Holwick
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