The Fight & Finish of Faith

We are looking at the last of Paul's words in the book of Second Timothy as he gives his final exhortations and encouragement to Timothy, but also to us. So, open with me to Second Timothy, chapter 4.

Oh man, I love that song! It's good stuff. Would you mind standing with me? If you have your Bible, you can open it up to the book of Second Timothy, chapter 4, verse 6. If you don't have a Bible, you can raise your hand, and one of our ushers will bring you one. Second Timothy is right near the end of your Bible. Open to the very last book, the book of Revelation, and turn to the left. You will find First and Second Timothy as we finish up our sermon series in this book.

In chapter 4, verse 6, we read: "For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give to me on that day, and not to me only, but also to all who have loved His appearing."

Be diligent to come to me quickly, for Demas has forsaken me, having loved this present world, and he has departed for Thessalonica. Crescens for Galatia, Titus for Dalmatia. Only Luke is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is useful to me for ministry. Tychicus I have sent to Ephesus.

Bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at Troas when you come, and the books, especially the parchments. Alexander the coppersmith did me much harm. May the Lord repay him according to his works. You also must beware of him, for he has greatly resisted our words.

Father, these are...

Sobering final words. I pray, God, that you would open our hearts to receive whatever it is You want to speak to us today by Your Spirit. We trust that, as we've seen in this text, all this is inspired and given for doctrine, sometimes for reproof in our lives, correction, instruction, and righteousness, so that we would be thoroughly equipped for every good work. Our lives would show forth what is Your good and perfect will in this world.

I pray that our time here this morning, in some part—maybe a small part, maybe a big way—would be used to bring about transformation, that we would be made more like You. That's our hope; that's our prayer. So, God, work in us by Your Word and by the working of Your Spirit. We ask this in Jesus' name. And all those who agreed said, "Amen." You may be seated.

I've made the point many times over the last several weeks, as we've been in Second Timothy, that these are the last words of a father to a son. They are the last words of a spiritual father to a spiritual son. There is no biological connection between Timothy and Paul, but the lack of biological connection hardly lessens the weight or the impact of these words.

As Paul looks at the circumstances he is in at this moment and thinks back to the previous three decades or so of his life and ministry, he realizes, looking at what's happening, that as he says in the opening verse, verse six, "The time of my departure is at hand." He understands that, in all likelihood, he is not going to make it out of this situation. He has been in other pressing, difficult situations that God brought him through and delivered him from, but something about the situation he is in at this moment makes him say, "The time of my departure is at hand. This is it."

I wonder, in thinking about what he was facing as he sat in a Roman prison awaiting his day of execution, having already had a trial before Caesar, where our minds might be if we were in similar circumstances. There are a number of different ways we might think about what we were going through if we were facing what Paul is facing.

Facing this situation, maybe we would be in a place of apologetic regret, looking back and thinking about what we did in the past, what we said in the past, or maybe what we didn't do in the past, what we didn't say. This really impacts the last scene of Steven Spielberg's movie, Schindler's List. Maybe you've seen it; it's a long movie, but in the last scene, it's very powerful.

As Oscar Schindler is preparing to flee, as the Second World War is over, thank God, he knows that he is now a hunted man. Even though he was a member of the Nazi Party and was protecting people throughout the war, he and his wife are preparing to escape. They come out to a waiting car, which is surrounded by 1,100 men, women, and children that he had rescued. They have a letter that they've all signed to give to him, and they present him with a ring.

As he looks at everything going on, his thoughts are filled with overwhelming regret. He thinks, "I've wasted so much money; I could have done so much more." He looks at the car waiting for him and says, "This car could have saved ten more people." He reflects on the pen he is wearing, realizing, "I could have gotten two more people saved with this."

So, he is in this place, weighing everything before him, filled with regret. Maybe that's where we would be, or perhaps you would find yourself in a place of nostalgia. You might look at the situation and write to Timothy, saying, "Gosh, Timothy, remember that time in Philippi? Or remember that time that Titus almost got me killed in Jerusalem?"

Alternatively, you might find yourself in a place of hopeful, wishful optimism, burying your head in the sand, thinking everything is going to be just fine and that we are going to be okay. But that's not Paul. He is not in a place of regret; he is not waxing nostalgic; he is not filled with empty optimism. He looks at the situation and says, "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith." Oh, would to God that each of us could say that: "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith." This was Paul's example in his life.

Life, I have fought the good fight. It was not only his example, as we see in this passage, but also his exhortation. This is what he taught; he challenged Timothy to do. You're in Second Timothy, so just turn to the left to First Timothy.

In his opening words at his last letter to Timothy, we read this in First Timothy, chapter 1, verse 18: "This charge I commit to you, son Timothy, according to the prophecies previously made concerning you, that by them you wage the good warfare. I charge you to wage the good warfare, having faith and a good conscience, which some have rejected concerning the faith and have suffered shipwreck."

At the opening of his last letter, he says, "Timothy, you're my son. I charge you to wage the good warfare." But not just at the start of his letter; these are his last words. Look at First Timothy, chapter 6, the very last words of his last letter. First Timothy, chapter 6, verse 12 states: "Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life to which you also were called and have confessed a good confession in the presence of many witnesses."

Wage the good warfare; fight the good fight of faith. Now, words like these can be challenging for us because we could be in danger of framing them or visualizing these words as an exhortation to physical violence. We always need to be very careful when we come across the metaphors of Scripture like this that speak of waging the good warfare and fighting the good fight. We must understand what Paul is saying and what he is not saying.

He is not encouraging physical violence. Jesus stood before the one who had condemned him to die, Pontius Pilate, and he said, "If my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight; but my kingdom is not of this world."

So, we need to be careful every time we come to an exhortation to fight the good fight and wage the good warfare that we do not think of it in terms of physical violence. Paul, in his letter to the church at Ephesus, in Ephesians, chapter 6, verse 10, says, "Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil, for we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against..."

Principalities against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in heavenly places. We are not in a physical battle; we are in a spiritual battle. To which Paul says, "I have fought the good fight," and you need to wage a good warfare and fight the good fight.

How do we do that? That's an honest and good question. How do we wage a good warfare in this battle? I think part of the answer is given in Paul's letter to the Corinthians. In 2 Corinthians chapter 10, verse 3, he says, "For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but they are mighty in God for the tearing down of strongholds, casting down arguments of every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ."

So, Paul says we are in a war, but we do not fight with physical weapons. We fight with spiritual weapons that are mighty in God for the tearing down of strongholds. Well, what are those spiritual weapons? Most notably, when we get to Ephesians chapter 6, right after he says we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, he says that we need to put on the armor of God: the helmet of salvation, the breastplate of righteousness, the belt of truth, and to shod our feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace. Then he mentions taking up the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God, and praying always.

So, we have defensive armor and we have offensive weapons in this battle, notably the Word of God and prayer. The weapons of our warfare are mighty in God—the Word of God and prayer. It is important to always remember that these allusions, these metaphors for waging the good war and fighting the good fight, are not a call to physical violence.

I say this as all of us saw the news while I was studying and writing this. The news was coming in from Christchurch, New Zealand, of the horrendous acts where 49 people were killed at a mosque as they were there for Friday prayers. We must recognize that this is in no way in line with the nature or teaching of God. In no way. The weapons of our warfare are not carnal; they are the Word of God, they are prayer, and they are mighty in God for the tearing down of strongholds.

Now, unfortunately, in light of this horrific act, as people in public spheres feel the need to say something, an individual in the...

The United States Congress tweeted, "What good are your thoughts and prayers when they don't even keep the pews safe?" I suggest that is the wrong response. Prayer is mighty for the tearing down of strongholds. For somewhere around 30 years, Paul had fought the good fight, spiritually bombarding the gates of Hell with prayer and with the preaching of the Gospel. For his part, that battle was soon to be done. This did not mean that the spiritual war would be over, but his part in the battle would soon be finished.

The time of my departure is at hand. His exhortation in Second Timothy, chapter 2, verse 3 states, "You therefore must endure hardship, Timothy, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No one engaged in warfare entangles himself in the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier."

Point number one on your outline: we are engaged in a very real spiritual battle. This is a point that we need to hold on to as Christians living in a highly materialistically oriented culture—a culture that does not believe in a spiritual battle and does not acknowledge a spiritual realm. In fact, it probably thinks that you are rather foolish for doing so.

However, I would suggest that every act of violence and every act of conflict that we see in this world is the manifestation of a spiritual battle. What happened in Christchurch, New Zealand, this last week is a manifestation of a spiritual battle, where there is a very real spiritual realm that desires to steal, kill, and destroy. Christ came to give life and that more abundantly to all people, including Muslims. The enemy has come to steal, to kill, and to destroy, and we see the activity of the enemy in the world all around us.

Anytime you see suffering, violence, or conflict, it is a manifestation of a spiritual battle. We can war in the spiritual realm through prayer, and we ought to. When we see this exhortation from Paul and this example of Paul—"I have fought the good fight"—we need to wage the good warfare. When we see this, we have to ask the question.

How are we faring in this warfare? How are we doing in it? Are we engaged for the one who has enlisted us as soldiers in this spiritual battle? It's a question to wrestle with. I've certainly been thinking about it myself over the last few days.

Paul continues, "I have fought the good fight; I have finished the race." Paul loved these metaphors and used them repeatedly in the New Testament. He spoke of fighting the good fight of faith and competing in athletics. It is important to understand why he does this. Some scholars make a big deal about the fact that the teaching of Jesus never uses these kinds of metaphors. Jesus used different illustrations to convey the principles of the Gospel than Paul did.

Why did they do that? I suggest to you it is a very simple, practical reason. Jesus was ministering among Jews in Judea and Galilee, who were primarily farmers, so he used farming illustrations. Paul, on the other hand, was ministering in a Greco-Roman world that highly valued military might and athletics. For a thousand years, the Roman military was the most dominant force on the face of the planet. At the time Paul wrote these things, they were incredibly strong, at one of the heights of the Empire, and they took great pride in their military might, especially the citizens of Rome.

They also highly valued athletics. It is a lot like America in the 21st century. The Roman world of the first century is nearly identical in worldview and philosophy to America today. Every four years, just like here, the Olympic Games would come around—the original ancient Olympic Games. But it wasn't just the Olympic Games; on the odd years, every two years in between, you had the Isthmian Games in Corinth. The people highly valued athletics, and Paul would return to these metaphors constantly, picking up on this high value among the Greco-Roman world in which he was ministering.

He wrote to the Corinthians in 1 Corinthians chapter 9, verse 19: "For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a servant of all that I might win the more. To the Jews, I became a Jew, that I might win Jews; and to those who were under the law, as under the law, that I might win those who are under the law."

Without the law, as without the law, not being without law toward God, but under law toward Christ, that I might win those who are without the law. I became weak to the weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all men, that I might by all means save some.

Recognize what he does. Five times in those verses, he says, "I want to win." It sounds like a good American sentiment: I want to win. But by winning, what does he mean? Winning to Paul was the salvation of the lost. He says we win when people are saved. I have become all things to all men, that I might by all means save some. Now this I do for the Gospel's sake, that I may be a partaker with you.

In 1 Corinthians chapter 9, verse 24, it says, "Do you not know that all those who run in the race, they all run, but only one receives the prize? So run in a way so that you may obtain it." Christian, we are running in a race, and we want to win. Winning looks like people coming to Jesus. So run in a way, live this life in a way that people would come to Jesus. That's what he's saying: run in such a way that you may obtain the prize.

Everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we an imperishable crown. Therefore, I run thus, not with uncertainty. Thus, I fight, not as one who beats the air, but I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest when I have preached to others, I myself should be disqualified.

Paul lived his life with the total commitment of an elite athlete, everything given to this cause: to run the race, to win the prize, to see the salvation of the lost. He says, "Listen, people are running, living this life for all kinds of things, but all of them are living for a temporary, perishable crown. We are running for an imperishable crown."

What's that? When people come to Jesus, they step into an eternity with us in the future. That's imperishable; that's not temporary. There are a lot of people in this world, in this room, pursuing things with their lives, and 99.9% of the things that we dedicate a ton of our time and energy to are perishable and temporary. So he says, "I want to encourage you to run for something that's imperishable." He lived his life like an athlete, totally committed to the sport. Now, it may be hard for us to comprehend that because...

Maybe you played sports when you were a kid or in high school, and after that was done, it was just something you did in life. You haven't lived like that from that point. I watched a documentary with my oldest son last week called "Free Solo." If you haven't seen it and you're afraid of heights, don't watch it. It's about a guy, Alex Honnold, who climbed El Capitan in Yosemite with no ropes—3,200 feet of sheer rock. He's holding onto things that are incredibly small, and you're just watching this, knowing he’s still alive. He doesn’t die, but I was watching it, thinking, "What are you doing? No, don't reach for that!" Both my son and I were sitting there, and my wife came in with her hands sweating, asking, "What is going on with this guy?"

You might think he's just kind of half-committed to this, like it's something he does in his spare time. No, this guy is wholly committed to this. It’s a documentary with National Geographic, and that’s it.

In the Bible, Paul talks about a perishable crown. He runs the race with uncertainty, fighting not as one who beats the air. Even in the face of extreme trial, tribulation, and trouble, Paul was finishing up his third missionary journey. He was on his way to Jerusalem, knowing that when he got there, things were going to go south. He knew this because everywhere he went, brothers and sisters in Christ were saying, "Don't go to Jerusalem; bad things await you."

He says this, which is recorded in Acts 20:22: "And see, now I go bound in the spirit to Jerusalem, not knowing what things will happen to me there, except that the Holy Spirit testifies in every city, saying that chains and tribulations await me. But none of these things move me, nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus to testify of the gospel of grace."

To Paul, the race was the ministry that he had received from the Lord to testify of the gospel of grace.

Being such a key principle in Paul's teaching, it's no wonder that the author of Hebrews, who I am absolutely convinced was Timothy, wrote in Hebrews chapter 12, verse 1: "Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight and the sin that does so easily ensnare us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us."

Point number two: run your leg of the race with endurance and zero restraint—nothing holding you back. A simple question we should consider is, what is holding us back from engaging in the race, which is a race to preach the gospel and win the salvation of other people? What is restraining us from running this race?

Maybe for you today, it's fear of what people might think. Perhaps it's the anxiety of embarrassment or the thought that you don't know what you did in the past and that you can't possibly be a minister of the gospel now. No! Lay aside every weight and the sin that does so easily ensnare us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.

Paul the Apostle says, "I leave all of that stuff behind; I press on and lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has laid hold of me." This one thing I do: forgetting what is behind and pressing on to run. (Philippians chapter 3).

So, this exhortation is to run your leg of the race with endurance and zero restraint. There are things that can hold on to us—there are weights, there are sins—and we should set those aside so that we may obtain the prize. You say there's a prize? Yes, there's a prize. We'll get to that in the next verse in a moment.

"I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith." Paul's very last word to Timothy in 1 Timothy chapter 6, verse 20, was, "O Timothy, guard what is committed to your trust." What has been committed to our trust? Jesus said, "All authority is given to me in heaven and on earth. Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit."

The Holy Spirit teaches us to observe all things that I have commanded you. And lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. We have been given an authority, a delegated authority from God. We have been given His word, which is living and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword. It is inspired and useful for doctrine, reproof, correction, instruction, and righteousness. He says to guard what has been committed to you.

Paul kept guard of the faith throughout this fight and throughout this race. Others had strayed concerning the faith, as noted in 1 Timothy chapter 6, verse 21. Some had suffered shipwreck, as mentioned in 1 Timothy chapter 1, verse 19. However, Paul gives an exhortation that we should follow his example.

Point number three on your outline is to guard and keep the faith with all faithfulness. This is the calling to which all of us have been called. This is not just the calling for Paul, Timothy, Pastor Mark, Pastor Myles, Pastor Garrett, or Pastor Anthony. This is a call that is corporately given to all of us to guard what has been committed to us and to run the race.

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us run the race with endurance, laying aside anything that hinders us from doing so, so that we might obtain the prize. It is not an easy calling; it is not a calling that lacks hardship. It requires effort, endurance, determination, and commitment. We are promised in this work the enabling power of the Holy Spirit, and we are promised a reward.

In 2 Timothy chapter 4, verse 8, it states, "Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give to me on that day." What day? Well, either the day when Paul steps out of this life and into the next, 2,000 years ago, or corporately when we are all gathered to the Lord and we stand before Him one day at His Bema seat, the judgment seat. There is a reward, and Paul says, "Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord is going to give to me."

Now, you might say, "Well, of course the Lord's going to give it to Paul; I've read his books." But that's Paul; he's an apostle. However, look at what he says: "And not to me only, but also to all who have loved His appearing."

Loved His appearing. All who have loved His appearing have a reward awaiting them. I think that's a challenging thing because there are some Christians who are not entirely loving the appearing of the Lord. What do I mean? They're thinking, "Wait, you mean I'm going to have to stand before Him one day? I don't know about that. I'm not looking forward to that."

Then you have others, like Paul, who says, "To live is Christ and to die is gain." Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which sits there for all of those who love His appearing. Over the last few weeks, I've been talking about this reality that we will give an account to God. We will stand before Him regarding our stewardship of the time we have, the resources, the abilities, and the gifts and talents we possess.

I've had a few people come and talk to me over the last few weeks. Some of them have texted me, saying, "Hey, this is challenging. I am not looking forward to the concept of standing before the Lord. What does that exactly mean?" Well, I can't tell you every detail of it, but I can tell you that the Scriptures say one day we will stand before the Lord.

We are saved by grace through faith, and that not of ourselves, not of works, lest anyone should boast. But we are saved for good works. God saved you by grace and set you upon the solid rock, this foundation that is Jesus Christ and His finished work on the cross. Paul talks about this in First Corinthians. He says, "Watch out how you build now that you're on this solid rock foundation of the finished work of Jesus. Make sure that you build with gold, silver, and precious stones, not wood, hay, and stubble."

Paul warns the Corinthians that there will come a time when the fire of God's purging judgment will consume everything, and all that wood, hay, and stubble will smoke away. What will be left is a sobering thought. It is true that all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution, as stated in Second Timothy 3:12. It's not easy. Paul's life is an example of the difficulty of seeking to live righteously before God.

It's not always easy; those who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution. But it is also equally true that all who endure...

The race will be rewarded. That's such good news; that's good, joyful news. We have the example of Paul and his exhortation for us to fight the good fight, finish the race, and keep the faith. In contrast to Paul's faithfulness in this fight, we read this in 2 Timothy 4:9: "Be diligent, Timothy, to come to me quickly. Why? For Demas has forsaken me, having loved this present world, and he has departed for Thessalonica. Crescens has left for Galatia, Titus for Dalmatia. Only Luke is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is useful to me for the ministry. Tychicus I have sent to Ephesus."

Demas has forsaken me, having loved this present world. Those are very sobering words. He has forsaken me, having loved this present world. It reveals that not all who begin the race run it faithfully until the end. I think that reality is one of the more challenging aspects of the Christian walk: not all those who begin the race finish it faithfully until the end.

I say this having been utterly shocked in late November when I found out that someone who, twenty years ago, had great influence in my life as a Christian leader was arrested and indicted for murder and sexual assault. I started getting text messages from people asking, "Have you seen this? Have you seen this?" I'm reminded that not all those who begin the race faithfully finish it until the end.

A few years before Paul wrote 2 Timothy, he wrote a letter to a church in a city called Colossae, addressed to a man who was a leader in that church named Philemon. In that letter, and in both of those letters, he mentions a guy.

By the name of Dennis, who undoubtedly is the same Dimas mentioned in Colossians 4:14, Paul says to the church at Colossae, "Luke, the beloved physician, and Dimas greet you." Dimas was with Paul during his first imprisonment in Rome. At that time, Dimas was there with Luke. Later, Paul writes to Philemon, a leader at the church in Colossae, saying, "Epaphras, my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, greets you, as do Mark, Aristarchus, Dimas, and Luke, my fellow laborers."

Dimas was with Paul and is listed as a co-laborer with him a few years before this point. However, now we read that Dimas has forsaken Paul, having loved this present world. There are other people mentioned in this passage who departed from Paul, but the wording is not the same. When we read that Dimas has forsaken Paul, the word literally means he is a deserter. The others, like Titus and Tychicus, have departed, but the idea is that Paul has sent them to do the work. Dimas, on the other hand, has deserted.

Paul also has a rather negative word for Alexander the coppersmith in verse 14: "Did me much harm. May the Lord pay him according to his works. You also must beware of him, for he has greatly resisted our words." These are sobering and important words in this letter. The words of Paul about Alexander the coppersmith are somewhat similar to what we read in the Psalms. If you've ever read through the Psalms, you may have come across the imprecatory psalms, where the psalmist prays for judgment upon people. You might wonder if you can really pray that. I would suggest it is better to pray for God to judge than to take judgment into your own hands.

Let me tell you, I think it could almost be, actually I must say it is, more effective to say, "Alexander the coppersmith, may God deal with you." I want to beat you up, but I'm going to let God deal with you, and that's basically what Paul does here. Dimas has forsaken me, having loved this present world. Those are hard words.

Now, I don't want to end on that depressing note, so I am really grateful for what we read in verse 11: "Only Luke is with me." I love...

Luke is the author of the Gospel of Luke and the book of Acts. From pretty much everything we can tell, after Paul planted a church in a city called Philippi, Luke became the pastor of the Philippian Church. This church is noted in the scriptures as one of the most important, well-taken-care-of, and committed groups of Christians. Before Cross-Connection Church, Luke was the pastor of that church.

Luke was with Paul during his first imprisonment, and here he is with Paul in this second imprisonment. Only Luke is with me. Bring Mark with you, for he is useful to me for ministry. You may recognize that name, Mark, because there is a Gospel called the Gospel according to Mark. Pretty much all scholars agree this is probably the same Mark, but that's not the whole story.

When Paul was at the very beginning of his ministry, when he was still called Saul, he and a guy named Barnabas went out on a missionary journey together. That was their first missionary journey, which is recorded in Acts chapter 13. When they left, they had a guy with them named John Mark, who is the nephew, or possibly the cousin, but probably the nephew of Barnabas. Barnabas said, "Hey, Saul, let's go to this work and bring Mark with us." So they went.

However, that's all we really know until Paul and Barnabas finish up this journey and get ready to go on a second journey. This is recorded in the next chapter, Acts 15. In Acts 15, verse 37, we read that Barnabas was determined to take with them John called Mark for journey number two. But Paul insisted that they should not take with them the one who had deserted, departed, or forsaken them from Pamphylia, as he had not gone with them in the work.

What happened was that apparently, Saul, Barnabas, and John Mark went on the first missionary journey, and John Mark bailed out really early on. If you look at the map of Paul's journey, Pamphylia was only about a quarter of the way into the work.

He bailed. We don't know why. Maybe he got sick, or perhaps he was homesick. Who knows? We don't know why, but Mark left. Paul didn't stand for that kind of stuff. He insisted that they would not take this deserter with them.

Then, in Acts 15:39, the contention became so sharp that Barnabas and Paul departed from one another. This great partnership in the ministry was broken apart over this guy, Mark. Barnabas took Mark and sailed for Cyprus, while Paul took Silas and departed, being commended by the brethren to the grace of God.

Praise God, that's not the last word on Mark, and it's not the last word on Mark not because of Paul, but because of the grace of Barnabas. I suggest to you that Paul was wrong. Sometimes you might wonder how I could say that. Listen, he's just a guy; he's a sinner like us. I have to be honest: I sometimes identify more with the sternness of Paul than the grace of Barnabas. However, I'm so grateful for the grace of Barnabas.

Why? Well, there's this gospel called the Gospel of Mark, and that's one reason. Here we are, years later. Paul is at the end of his life. Demas has forsaken him, having loved this present world. A former deserter, Paul says, "Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is useful to me for ministry."

When you consider that and look at Paul's words here, it teaches us this very important point: a stumble at the start is not always a fatal fall. You know what that is? That's called the gospel, and it's really good news for maybe some of you here today. You might feel like you've been a deserter in the past. Perhaps you think you've done so many things that you can't be used by the Lord today.

Some of my favorite words in the gospel come after Jesus raises from the dead. The first people who come to the tomb are a group of His women followers. He tells them to go tell the disciples and Peter that He goes before them in Galilee. Why is that important? Because the day that Jesus would be betrayed by...

Judas Peter said they would all betray Jesus, but he declared, "I will never betray you. I will die with you." Jesus responded, "Listen, before the sun comes up tomorrow, you will deny me three times." Peter insisted, "I would never deny you." Yet, the next morning, he denied knowing Jesus three times, swearing it, and then he fled, crying.

Jesus instructed, "Go tell the disciples and Peter that I go before them into Galilee." Some of you really need to know today that a stumble at the start is not always a fatal fall because the Lord is gracious. It’s not how you start the race; it’s how you finish. The finish is more important than the start. Demas and Mark illustrate this point perhaps more than anyone else in Scripture.

Demas sounds like a powerful individual. He was a co-laborer with me; he was there when I was in prison. However, Demas has forsaken me, having loved this present world. The Greek word for love here is the strongest word for love, agapao, which signifies a dying devotion to the world. He has forsaken me, but bring Mark; he is useful for the ministry. I would suggest that so are you.

Would you stand with me as we close in prayer? Father God, we thank you for your Word. It is living and powerful; it does cut deep. It shines a light into the areas of our hearts where we see that we can so often be like Demas or Mark, who fail and fall. But, Lord, we thank you that you are gracious, patient, and long-suffering, and that you desire for us to turn to you in repentance. When we come to you in confession, you are faithful to forgive and to cleanse us of all unrighteousness. You pour out your grace on us so that we can pour out your grace to others.

So, God, we thank you for your grace today. It may be that as we stand here at this moment, you feel like you are like Mark version 1.0.

And you would say, "I need God's grace today," maybe for the first time or maybe for the nine-hundredth time. If that's you and you want to receive afresh and anew the grace of God today, I want to lead you in a simple prayer, just asking for His grace.

So, if that's you, while we are in an attitude of prayer, lift up your hand. Is there anyone here today? Lift your hand up if you need God's grace today. Praise the Lord! Lots of you—maybe all of us—need to pray this prayer. Just pray it with me.

Dear Jesus, we need Your grace. Would You pour it out upon us, Lord? We fail in so many ways, and You know our frame and our weakness, and You still love us. Would You pour out Your grace and fill us to overflowing, so we would spill it out to others?