ALONE, BUT NOT LONELY

Photo taken from B Smith's kitchen window

299 - 2 ALONE, BUT NOT LONELY

June 27, 1976

Pastor Henry F. Kulp

II Timothy 4: 9 -  22 Do thy diligence to come shortly unto me: For Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world, and is departed unto Thessalonica; Crescens to Galatia, Titus unto Dalmatia. Only Luke is with me. Take Mark, and bring him with thee: for he is profitable to me for the ministry. And Tychicus have I sent to Ephesus. The cloke that I left at Troas with Carpus, when thou comest, bring with thee, and the books, but especially the parchments. Alexander the coppersmith did me much evil: the Lord reward him according to his works: Of shot be thou ware also; for he hath greatly withstood our words. At my first answer no man stood with me, but all men forsook: I pray God that it may not be laid to their charge. Notwithstanding the Lord stood with me, and strengthened me; that by me the preaching might be fully known, and that all the Gentiles might hear: and I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion. and the Lord shall deliver me from every evil work, and will preserve me unto his heavenly kingdom: to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen. Salute Prisca and Aquila, and the household of Onesiphorus. Erastus abode at Corinth: but Trophies have I left at Miletum sick. Do they diligence to come before winter. Eubulus greeteth thee, and Pudens, and Linus, and Claudia, and all the brethren. The Lord Jesus Christ be with thy spirit. Grace be with you. Amen.

Paul is now an old man. He has been preaching the gospel for over 30 – 35 years. He has been confined to a prison for some months, in a prison called the Mamertine Prison in Rome. There were no windows in that prison where he could get a whiff of fresh air, and the air was stale, and he could not see a beautiful scene. All that greeted his eyes was a dirty cell that he was in.

1/  There was a hole in the roof through which they dropped whatever food they cared to give him, and through which water was lowered to him. A terrible place to be. 

2/  He is a forsaken man, as we shall see, He says, only Luke is with me in Verses 11 - 16. Only Luke is with me. Take Mark, and bring him with thee: for he is profitable to me for the ministry. And Tychicus have I sent to Ephesus. The cloke that I left at Troas with Carpus, when thou comest, bring with thee, and the books, but especially the parchments. Alexander the coppersmith did me much evil: the Lord reward him according to his works: Of shot be thou ware also; for he hath greatly withstood our words. At my first answer no man stood with me, but all men forsook: I pray God that it may not be laid to their charge.

3/  Under these circumstances I am sure you could forgive a man if he were discouraged and disheartened. He could look back over the years of service and suffering and he could feel that God did not fully appreciate all he had done. Letting him come to this horrible end.

4/  Paul entertained no such thoughts as these. He was alone alright, but not lonely. He was the most joyful man that ever lived. But right now we must see that he craved companionship Verse 9  He wanted Timothy to come to him and right away. Our Lord also craved company Matthew 26: 38 - 40 Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me. And he went a little farther, and fell on his fave, and prayed, saying, O my father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt. And he cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter, What, could you not watch with me one hour?

In the Garden of Gethsemane, He desired His disciples to watch and pray with Him. We all crave companionship. Let me show you a very beautiful verse—one that always stands out in my mind. II Timothy 4: 17 Notwithstanding the Lord stood with me, and strengthened me; that by me the preaching might be fully known, and that all the Gentiles might hear: and I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion. 

The Lord stood with me and strengthened me. He was ever conscious of the Lord’s presence, never was he alone, for the Lord was with him.

5/  Verse 4: 11 Only Luke is with me. 

I wonder if you remember when Luke first joined the Gospel team? It was in Troas. That Doctor Luke had a general practice, and I wonder if you will let me use my sanctified imagination. One day, he was called to see a patient—amazing but true, he made house calls. For he was to see a visitor in town who had been taken ill. That man was Paul. When the doctor got to the house, he found the man was feverish and very ill. He found Paul had malaria. Very difficult for the restless Paul to be bed ridden, but

Romans 8: 28 fits in here beautifully. And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

6/  Difficult for Paul, but good for Doctor Luke, for God used Paul’s sickness to bring Doctor Luke to the Lord Jesus Christ. You see, Paul witnessed to everyone he came in contact with. Doctor Luke became the first missionary doctor. He joined the Gospel team and God used him to keep Paul on the move. Possibly, he prolonged Paul's life. He scarcely left the side of Paul after that.

7/  Acts 16: 10 And after he had seen the vision, immediately we endeavored to go into Macedonia, assuredly gathering that the Lord had called us for to preach the gospel unto them.

Notice the word  we  the writer had become a fellow-traveler and he was called by Paul. Colossians 4: 14 Luke, the beloved physician, and Demas, greet you. THE BELOVED PHYSICIAN Luke was no fair-weathered friend, he stuck with Paul right to the end.

8/  II Timothy 4: 10 For Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world, and is separated into Thessalonica; Crescens to Galatia, Titus unto Dalmatia.

Here we have another man who is mentioned—a real contrast to Doctor Luke. This man was guilty of desertion. He could not be counted upon. He was a fair-weathered friend. He deserted the field of battle.

9/  Let us notice three things about this man:

1/  His high position.  There is no question of his salvation, and no question that

  he was used of God. Philemon 24 He had been a companion of Paul, he saw

scores come to Christ, he led many to Christ, he could never question at this time

his salvation or his sincerity.

2/  His desertion. Why did he desert Paul? Because he fell in love with this

  present world. You see, he was love-sick, and his love made him a coward. His

  love for the world, caused him to shirk his duty, he didn’t want to suffer

  persecution. BUT WHEN A MAN GROWS IN GRACE, HE GROWS IN

  COURAGE, AS HE GETS CLOSER TO THE LORD HE BECOMES MORE

WILLING TO SUFFER FOR THE LORD.

a. Think what this did to Paul, a true pastor- teacher missionary. There is

  no greater sorrow for a man like Paul than to see a saint of God, used of

  God, lose his zeal and turn to the world. On the other hand, he has no

  greater joy than to see those saints serving the Lord, grow spiritually. Let

me show you this principle, II John 4 I rejoiced greatly that I found of

  they children walking in truth, as we have received a commandment

  from the Father. Paul had entertained high hopes for Demas, now those 

  hopes are dashed to the ground.

3/  How He helps us. We should learn from the weakness of others. Paul was not

above his Lord and this happened to the Lord. Mark 14: 50 And they all

  forsook him, and fled. When our Lord was arrested and mistreated, He found

  himself forsaken by His disciples, they all fled. I believe from time to time, every

man of God faces this situation.

a.  God help us not to be a Demas. He did not want to be persecuted. Full

  surrender cost entirely too much.

b.  This did not come all at once. It is a process of stepping down. 

Colossians 4: 14 Luke, the beloved physician, and Demas, greet you. Here

  Demas is no longer a fellow-worker. All we have is just his name.

c.  What does it mean to love this present world? It probably included money of

  which Paul had none, and it probably included pleasure, and popularity.

  Popularity can be a big snare. One becomes afraid of losing his popularity so he

  compromises this truth

d.  I Corinthians 4: 18 Now some are puffed up, as though I would not come

        to you. He looked at this present world at things seen rather than unseen.

10/  JOHN MARK is an interesting person. His mother had a cottage prayer meeting in his home the night Peter was released from prison in a miraculous way.

a.  He went out with Paul and Barnabas on the first missionary journey, but he

  left the team at Perga in Pamphylia and returned to his home in Jerusalem. He

  evidently was a mama’s boy. He was tied to her apron strings. He was a failure, a

deserter, the same as Demas. Later on, Barnabas wanted to take him on another

journey with Paul, but Paul rightly refused. To Paul a missionary journey was no

  pleasure excursion. He wanted a man that could suffer hardship and danger and

  not go running home, so he told Barnabas, No, Mark will not go with us.

  Barnabas insisted, he was closely related to Mark. He pleaded for another

  chance for Mark. So Paul and Barnabas separated, and it was not a happy

  separation, feelings ran high, Mark and Barnabas went to Cyprus, and Paul took

  Silas with him.

11/  You say, my, what a terrible situation, two godly men arguing, disagreeing. But 

Romans 8: 28 works here as well. And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

God used this difference. For John Mark proved himself, where he had been a failure he became a success, so it teaches us not to give up on folks. Though they fail once, that does not mean that they will remain a failure. My mind goes back to Jonah. He, too, at first was a failure, and ran away from God.

12/  When one runs from God, God runs after him. Notice how warmly and lovingly Paul speaks of John Mark – bring him with thee, for he is profitable to me and to the ministry. WE CAN NEVER TELL WHAT GOD HAS FOR THE BACKSLIDER.

AMEN

Ref: 06/27/76 / 299-2 ALONE, BUT NOT LONELY / 2020