Pastoral Support Part 2

know what they do." See, Paul imitated or imitates our Lord. And this is a call for all of us. When you're in that position where everything seems like no one is supporting you, you're walking alone, remember that the Lord is with you and you ought to respond in forgiveness in in forgiveness. So the application here is even faithful servants may feel unseen or unsupported. Ladies and gentlemen, let me remind you that God sees and God rewards. Like Paul, we must guard our hearts from resentment and choose forgiveness. I have to tell you from my own personal experience, that is not an easy thing to do.

You actually need the power of the Lord in your heart. the love of our God. So when human support is nowhere to be found, something better appears. And and that's the presence of the Lord. And this is the second point that I want to share with you tonight. The faithful presence of the Lord. The faithful presence of the Lord. And from here on out, you're going to see that I'm I'm breaking down verse 17 of our passage in three different ways. Okay? So the first part notwithstanding the Lord stood with me and strengthened me in contrast with the absence of the of the support of the human hands. The faithful presence of the Lord never fails.

Never fails. As we consider Paul's life, I had to look up in scripture how the Lord repeatedly repeatedly stood with Paul in Corenth for example when Paul left felt discouraged the Lord appeared and and encouraged him. And you can find that in Acts 98 9-11. And in Jerusalem after his arrest, the Lord came with a word of encouragement. That's Acts 23:11. Remember at sea during the violent storm, the Lord strengthened him again. Acts 27:22-2. And finally in prison, in the darkness of this Roman dungeon, this Roman cell, Paul experienced the Lord's sustaining presence. The same Lord who promised this, I will never leave thee nor forsake thee.

Hebrew 13:5. So, as we consider this, let's let's look at some of the things that are I call them the truths within this section. When people fell, God stands. When people fell, God stands. Though no no man stood with Paul, the Lord stood with him. See, human presence is helpful, but the divine presence is sufficient. All we need is the the presence of our Lord. That should be sufficient. God provides strength that human support cannot supply. People can encourage, let me say it again. People can encourage, but only God strengthens the soul from the inside. Only God. You know when you look at all the pastor here, all the pastors and and staff and even the ministry leaders, I have to say that pastoral endurance flows not from human applause but from divine presence.

From divine presence. God holds his servants steady when everything else collapses around them. In Joshua 15, the Bible says, "As I was with Moses, so so I will be with thee. I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee." It's so comforting that we know that we can take up and and trust the Lord because he will always be with us. He will never forsake us. And in in uh Psalms 27:10, the Bible says, "When my father and my mother forsake me, then the Lord will take me up." Even our own family. Sometimes we won't be able to depend on them, but the Lord is there for us. So when human support fades, divine support grows stronger and God stands where others step away.

But you know what? God's presence is not just comfort. Sometimes we we think of God's pre pres uh presence as comforting, which it is, but it's not just comfort. It is power for a purpose. God's presence is power for a purpose. And that brings me to the third point. God strengthens us for our assignment. God uh uh strengthens us for our assignment. In the middle part of verse 17, our in our passage, the Bible said that by me the preaching might be fully known and that all the Gentiles might hear. See, God never strengthens us merely to feel strong. He strengthens us to fulfill our calling. I got to tell you this, as I'm preparing this, when I was reading this, I'm saying, "Huh, maybe I should pray that the Lord will strengthen me in my preaching tonight."

There are so many things that we can go through that we can know and understand that the Lord will stand with us. He strengthens us for our calling, our assignment. God strengthened Paul so that he could boldly bear witness to the gospel even in the highest human court of the empire of that time. I didn't realize this perspective until I started studying this this message, this passage. See, the word preaching here means the proclamation of the gospel. And the phrase fully known means fully proclaimed openly without hindrance, without compromise. Even though every human helper failed, our Lord enabled Paul to deliver a complete message, fearless gospel testimony before Rome's authorities of that time.

Paul sees his trial not as a setback, but as a divinely arranged pulpit. The Lord arranged all of this. And the phrase and that all that the Gentiles might hear does not mean that every Gentile on earth will personally hear Paul. But his testimony at Rome puts the gospel before the gentile world in a unprecedented way. His bold declaration in a Roman court meant that his message could reach Roman officials, soldiers of that time, bureaucrats, citizens for all of the all over the empire there. See, at that time, Rome was the center of the ent uh the gentile world. To preach there was to preach before nations.

Paul recognized that God uses suffering as a megaphone for the gospel. What an opportunity. Some key truths in this section. God's strength is given for mission, not just comfort. He gives us his strength to carry out our calling with the Lord. Paul wasn't strengthened to escape suffering, but to continue preaching. Support enables proclamation, not self-preservation. God lifts us up so we can in turn honor and glorify Christ in our calling. Paul's seemingly lonely moment becomes a platform for wider ministry impact. So when you have difficult times in your own lives, pay attention as what's h what's happening because the Lord may use your experience as a platform to reach others through your experience that Paul's defense people from across the empire heard the gospel.

People who might never have heard it because they never enter into the church. They went to that court and they heard his testimony. Sometimes I I go to local stores every so often. Uh Don Kyote is one. I remember Don Kyote in Pearl City. Uh I would see these um preachers just stand there and preach the gospel. That takes some courage. In Jeremiah 29, the Bible says, "And I said, I will not make mention of him, nor speak any more of his name, but his word in his mind in in mine heart is burning as uh burning fire set up in my bones, and I was weary with forebearing and could not stay." See, God's word burned like a fire in Jeremiah's bones.

That was his calling. I know some of these terms are very descriptive, but how are you feeling in your own ministries, your own areas? Are you on fire for the Lord? Are you excited about what you're doing? It's very easy to stay off track. In Acts 18:9 9-10 the Bible says be not afraid for I am with thee. God strengthens s his servants to keep proclaiming despite opposition. Despite opposition your hardest moments may become God's greatest platforms. Pay attention. The gospel spreads not because things are easy, but because God empowers his servants over and over and over again, I see that in my own personal life and the people that I know.

So, as we obey, we discover that God both delivers and preserves. Which brings me to point number four, deliverance, preservation, and assurance. In the last part of verse 17 and verse 18, the Bible says, "I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion. And the Lord shall deliver me with every evil work from every evil work and will preserve me unto his heavenly kingdom." Let's deal with this a little bit. Let's break it down. Let's deal with save from the lion's mouth. That was a common expression meaning to be delivered from great danger in Psalms 22:21. Save me from the lion's mouth. In this context, the phrase is best understood figuratively.

Scripture portrays Satan as a roaring lion who seeks to devour. So Paul is likely referring to a particular attack. We don't know exactly or a scheme of of Satan, but the Lord's deliverance preserved both his servant Paul and the ongoing work of the gospel. But you know what's interesting for Christians there are more d there are dangers that are far greater than suffering or even death far greater. Chief among them is sin. Sin. This is Paul's concern in verse 18. He expresses confidence that the Lord will deliver him from every evil work, preserving him from anything that would lead him into the sin into sin or hinder his faithfulness.

As we look at this these verses, Paul moves from past deliverance to future assurance. God not only delivered Paul, he promises continued deliverance. I was delivered and the Lord shall deliver me. Past, present, and future. God preserves his servants until their work is finished. See, what God has done becomes the foundation of what God will do. Paul knows that his death is coming, but he also knows that God will preserve him all the way to heaven. In Daniel 6:22, the Bible says, "My God has sent his angel and had shut the lion's mouth." God, pay attention. Ga God God closes the mouths of danger literally and spiritually.

In Psalms 121-7 and 8, the Bible says, "The Lord shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth and even forever more." See, God's preservation covers every step of his servants journey. every step. He doesn't abandon you sometimes. He's always there. He's always protecting. He's always standing with you. He's always showing you the way. So God delivers from danger. He preserve through hardship and ushers his servants safely home. Understanding that, let me tell you a truth that maybe you haven't realized yet. But your story, your life story is not over until God says it's over.

Your life story is not over until God says it is over. When he takes you home. So many times we say, "Okay, our our service to the Lord ends when we leave these doors and we start back up the next Sunday." It's ongoing and we keep going and we keep going until the Lord says that our journey is over. So God delivers from danger. He preserves through hardship and he ushers uh his servants safely home. So what does that mean? What did I say mean to to the people of God and for the way we support those who serve? I I've covered so many little uh points, but what does that mean really? That brings me to point number five, the application.

What pastoral support means for the church. When I say pastoral support, that could also include you. People may fail you, but God never will. That's comforting. Human loyalty waiverss, but divine faithfulness is unchanging. Unchanging. True support includes forgiveness, not resentment. Paul forgave those who failed him. So must we. So must we. God's strength is sufficient even when human support is lacking. I'm so glad that we have a God that we can rely on. we can count on that. He's going to be there for us. He empowers us. Ministry continues because God empowers it, not because people applaud.

The applause of heaven matters more than the applause of people. Don't put too much weight on what people think, what people say. Consider what the applause is from heaven. is are is he applauding for your work because that's more important. God preserves his servants until their earthly assignment is is complete. He delivers, sustains, protects, guides until the work is done. And we have a God that does that. Never abandons us. So I I I know I've said a lot. So, let's let's tie this back to Timothy and to us today. What does that really what does that look like? Well, we know that not only Timothy, but us, we should expect seasons when no man stands with you and I or with Timothy.

But trust that the Lord will always always stand with us. We should draw courage from Christ's presence, not from his from human presence. Let let past deliverances fuel present obedience and future future confidence. Look at what the Lord has done in your life because most likely he will continue to do that successfully. So let me close with this. When human voices go silent, the Lord speaks courage. When human hands let go, the Lord holds fast. And when the path grows lonely, I love this one. And when the path grows lonely, the Lord walks besides his servants. You ever see pastor walking around talking?

Sometimes it looks crazy. He's talking when he's talking to the Lord through his prayers. The Lord is walking with him. Perhaps he's walking with you as well, strengthening him, strengthening us when he walks to keep proclaiming Christ. And he brings all of his servants home. So finally at the end of verse 18, this is what the Bible says. To whom be glory forever and ever. Amen. Very short three verse passage but very powerful very powerful when we read and we study and we understand. And I'm thankful I'm so thankful for the opportunity to be able to study and share from the word of God. That is something that we all don't take lightly from Pastor Service all the way, Pastor John and Pastor Ener, Pastor Andy.

And I hope that this has been helpful to you as we look at how we can serve the Lord through understanding this passage. Let's close in prayer. Father Lord, thank you so much again for your holy word. I pray now, Lord, that you would grant us your wisdom to know that you are always here with us. That you will always hold us up when everything else is down. We thank you so much for being such a loving and powerful mighty God. And Father, I pray that you will be with us as we leave your house today. In Christ's name we pray. Amen. Now I believe we have some questions as normally on on Sunday nights we break up into groups and we have discussion questions. If you if you have to go, we understand.