A Letter Before Death - Pastor Daniel Batarseh

[Music] if you remember over the past few weeks and months as a church we've been exploring the book of first timothy and our prayer is that through that book we would have had a greater understanding of god's purpose for the local church what his dna his blueprint for the church is not what tradition says not what modern church growth movements promote but what god's word says and with the interaction between paul and timothy and paul's writings and instructions still fresh in our minds i think it seems appropriate that we would only continue as a church to go through the book of second to timothy and that's exactly what we're going to be doing throughout the next few weeks so please turn with me to the book of second timothy chapter one and as you turn there we're going to pray one more time and ask the lord to help us with these two verses that we have today pray with me please father in heaven we come before you again lord your word says that your house shall be called the house of prayer we pray we seek your face lord we come with empty hands we come with hearts that are in need of you minds that are in need of you bodies that are in need of you lord our souls are in need of you we ask lord that this morning you would sanctify us you would wash us afresh in the revelation of your goodness we pray lord that you would destroy every work of satan every work of the flesh we pray lord that the holy spirit would do miracles in this place and lord as you fell in the household of cornelius to those who heard the word would you do the same in this place fall upon us as we hear your word and change us from the inside out lord we long to partner with your purpose and your purpose is to transform us into the image of your son brand us lord with christ rewire renew our thinking lord i pray lord with my brothers and sisters that in this place you would show us how we can change show us how we can understand you show us how we can reflect you this is our desire lord may the ministry of the lord be assisted by the empowerment of the holy spirit now we can't do this without you we can't preach it without you we can't receive it without you we humble ourselves in the name of christ we pray amen read with me please ii timothy chapter one verse one and two paul an apostle of christ jesus by the will of god according to the promise of the life that is in christ jesus to timothy my beloved child mercy and peace from god the father and christ jesus our lord the book of second timothy is unique for two main reasons and i'm sure you can come up with one or two other ones firstly ii timothy is one of paul's most intimate and personal letters paul here is not addressing an entire congregation as he does other books nor is he unfolding a theological masterpiece like he does with the book of romans for example paul here is speaking to an individual and not just a random individual he's speaking to his protege he's speaking to his spiritual son his co-worker in the gospel that meant so much to him because paul had seen many disappointments throughout his ministries some people starting out with zeal some people coming in and out some people walking out in the ministry but with timothy there was something special he was sold out to christ and paul had a special affection for him in the spirit and this letter gives us a glimpse into one of the most intimate and transparent moments in the life of the apostle paul he is sharing his his thoughts yes and he's sharing truths but he is also showing us by the spirit a special bond that he has with another co-laborer in christ and i believe that as you read ii timothy if you read it with that kind of a lens it would challenge you and i to reflect on our own relationships with others in comparison and see what really binds us to other people you read about paul and timothy and you know that what they shared was this a dedication to the gospel a love for christ they lived for no other thing and this is why they had such an intimate relationship it may challenge us to reflect what we do with our relationships what connects us to others and even the language of paul here in this personal letter should stir us as christians to know how we should encourage one another build up one another stir up one another as we seek to serve the lord together but this letter is even more unique because of the timing it is paul's final letter it's his concluding letter this letter invites us to the brink of a man's martyrdom as you and i read this we know that in second timothy look at chapter four verse six with me quickly we are aware that paul is in prison but we know more he says for i am already being poured out as a drink offering and the time of my departure has come when you read paul's other prison epistles he often shares his hope that he will be released he has this faith that he's going to come out of it he knows that it's just a temporary moment it's just a season but in this letter he shares no hope he knows that this is the final end of the road his departure has come history tells us that while paul wrote this letter nero the roman emperor broke out in mass persecution against the christians and he was hunting them down and he was causing society to turn on believers and paul here is a victim of that persecution and here he is in prison and he knows full well that at any moment a roman official will come into his dungeon and call his name to lead him to his final exit and so you and i before us with these words have the preserved words of the holy spirit of a man who is facing death of a man who is about to enter into glory and that is special for us for many reasons because the reality is from time to time facing death has a purifying effect on what we prioritize in life ecclesiastes 7 2 says it is better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting for this is the end of all mankind and the living will lay it to heart it is better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting for this is the end of all mankind and the living will lay it to heart you know most people dodge the discussion about death and more than that they avoid the thought of it at all costs and this verse here in ecclesiastes doesn't teach us to be morbid and to be preoccupied with dying no it's giving us an insight it's showing us that in the house of mourning provides some kind of a wisdom that the distractions of the house of feasting cannot provide and even if you come to the place where you behold death for a moment you can learn much about how to navigate through life it is the brevity of our lives that makes us more thoughtful with our days than careless with our hours and i believe that second timothy if we read it with that kind of a lens will provoke us provoke us because we see here a man who has burned out for christ and was finished well you know showed us what it really means to live a full life a joyful life a meaningful life and we praise god for such a letter as this because we know that we can draw some encouragement from it and i believe from the first two verses alone we can pull out some insight i want us to wring out every single verse from this book it's not a very long book so we should draw every drop of truth that we can and we will do that in verse 1 alone we can see three truths three truths of this man who is in such a dire situation remember he's not in the american version of what prison looks like he's in a cold damp stinking cell left to himself abandoned by his friends his partners in ministry and knowing that at any moment the cold breath of the grave will call for his head but notice here that as this man is writing his final letter before his own death the call of god paul an apostle of christ jesus by the will of god now that's interesting the apostle paul is writing to timothy timothy knows paul timothy understands paul's spiritual authority why would paul go out of his way to reintroduce himself as an apostle we know that timothy surely understands that but he's saying it i'm an apostle this is an intimate letter is that necessary paul well it is necessary when timothy himself is a target of persecution he is going through difficult circumstances himself you read this and you know he needs encouragement he needs to be built up and paul wants to make sure that he understands the words you're about to read come from god i am commissioned by the lord as an apostle i've been called out to be a channel for divine revelation and i'm bringing that revelation to you i want you to know timothy that what you're about to see and read and understand comes from the heart of your master of your lord which tells us the very simple truth that the greatest encouragement that you and i can receive are the truths from the almighty unchanging god and that's what he wants to provide him my words are authoritative my words come from him and they are for you but paul mentioning his apostleship goes beyond just the authority of what he's about to say i believe that what paul is saying here is highlighting how he personally lived on this earth for the glory of god i'm an apostle by the will of god in other words one of the greatest comforts that you can have in this life other than having the assurance of salvation is to know that you lived your calling is that you understood your purpose for god and you lived it out for god and i think that paul is saying something of the sort here i'm an apostle by the will of god i have performed the will of god in my final letter i want to let you know that and i am reflecting on that myself i stumbled across a song not too long ago it's an old song and it intrigued me the lyrics intrigued me so i looked into it and i realized that it is one of the most popular funeral songs and it's not for christian funerals of course but generally speaking it's one of the most used songs for people to cope with death and it's one of the most used songs for people to request at their burial you've probably heard it it's been made popularized by frank sinatra my way you heard it well here's some lyrics to consider from that song listen and now the end is near and so i face that final curtain my friend i'll make it clear i'll state my case of which i'm certain i've lived a life that's full i traveled each and every highway and more much more i did it i did it my way if somebody would have sung that at the apostle paul's funeral i'm sure he would have resurrected just to rebuke the guy i did it my way i did it my way no paul would never say such a thing he would say i obeyed the heavenly vision that i've received from him i obeyed the will of god for my life he called me to be an apostle so that's what i honored him with to be an apostle and you're going to see later on that paul will expand on his joy of how he fulfilled his purpose on the earth for god and it's no wonder because he is reflecting the attitude of his lord our lord jesus christ when he said these words near the end of his own life in john 17 4 i glorified you on earth having accomplished the work that you gave me to do i read that last night and it moved me to tears jesus saying to the father i glorified you on earth i did what you called me to do i prayed that you would be able to say those words if you know your death is coming you would confidently be able to say before god i glorified you i didn't do it my way i didn't live life to my understanding of what it means to live life to the full no i glorified you what's amazing about the life of jesus is that it wasn't a long life but it was a full life if somebody died at the age of 33 today even a christian most people would think what a what a loss he's gone too soon and the human sense that that may be true but then jesus would have gone too soon according to that understanding do we believe that no see that's old covenant thinking because in the old covenant the emphasis of blessing one of them is a long life many many years being lived and we can equate that today as well as a blessing but there's a different emphasis in the new covenant and that is exemplified by christ it's not about the amount of years it's what you do with those years it's the fullness of life and jesus christ the earliest recorded words of him in the gospels is found in luke at the age of what 12 years old those are the first words uttered from the son of god in his pre-teen years and you know what that sentence was that came from those holy lips even at that point of his life and luke 2 49 when his parents were looking from his earthly parents he said to them why were you looking for me did you not know that i must be in my father's house other translations did you not know that i must be about my father's business and so even at 12 years old christ consecrated himself the revelation of who he was was blossoming and these are the earliest recorded words of who he was and what he lived for and as he approached the finality of his life he could say i glorified you on the earth i'm about my father's business i'm here to fulfill his will and it's amazing in verse 50 they did not understand the saying that he spoke to them they didn't understand it you're 12 years old you're about your father's business seeing that time for jewish culture when you were 12 13 you would you would begin to learn your father's trade and jesus here is doing that he's at the right point of life but he is imitating his heavenly father he's saying i'm here to preach the word because he was teaching in the temple this is what i've came to do to show the truth to declare the truth and even after that they said well you're still our son so he had to submit to them and listen that was still the will of god see you might be wondering what is it that i must be doing to to go about my father's business and you have all these radical amazing plans that rush through your mind but in this case at this point in jesus life yeah he was teaching but that was only for a moment he submitted to his parents and he was equally fulfilling the will of god he was obeying and we see here that paul is saying i am an apostle by the will of god and i've been doing it up to this very moment he reflected on the call of god but him mentioning his apostleship goes even deeper than that because it is not just him reflecting about his faithfulness to the mission that god had ordained for his life it's also a recollection of the wonderful mercies of the master what do i mean by that you and i have every reason to believe that whenever paul mentioned his apostleship those who read it were alarmed by the authority this is an apostle while at the same time paul would be lavished by a fresh sense of the grace of god because every time he knew that he was an apostle and he declared that he was an apostle he knew that he didn't deserve to be an apostle first corinthians 15 he tells it very plain and clear in verse 9 for i am the least of the apostles i am the least of the apostles unworthy to be called an apostle because i persecuted the church of god you have many people that discourage christians from reflecting on their past and i would discourage you of reflecting on your past if all it brings about is guilt and shame i would but this man didn't forget his past he reflected he understood it was ever before him but it only provoked worship it provoked an understanding of the grace of god it magnified the lord and his affections and his adoration and so here he says i know what i did i killed christians but oh here's the grace of god here's the mercy of god here's the wonderful tender kindness and compassion of god i am not worthy to be called an apostle do you think any time he said in one of his introductions i am an apostle that he said it with pride with arrogance with his nose lifted up no he understood full well that what i was able to do on the earth was simply by the mercy and grace of god i'm an apostle timothy paul was a preacher of grace and oftentimes the grace that was connected to the cross of christ but that's not only the grace that he preached about there was a grace for service not just salvation that he declared yes christ called me to to be in his kingdom though i persecuted his own body but christ also elevated me and called me to be one of his ambassadors and here's the beauty about that you and i not only have the invitation to know the comfort of salvation and the grace of god in that if you're humble and hungry enough you can know a lifelong experience of different series of his grace by him letting you use you for his glory many christians don't know those graces because they're not hungry enough they want to do it frank sinatra's way i'm saved thank god i got my ticket to heaven but i'm going to do it my way do it my way and you waste a grace that god longs to fill your life with it's a grace that you might know and that he uses you for something and you say i'm not worthy to be used in this way he uses you to touch somebody else's life he uses you to do something wonderful out of the ordinary oftentimes it's the grace that you feel with the strength that you're able to endure knowing that in a natural you would throw in the towel it's a grace to love the unlovable to forgive the unforgivable to give what you would not give if you did not have christ reigning in your heart wonderful graces are waiting for you to experience but you have to be like this man who says i count my life i have no value unless i fulfill the call of god on my life and this man was an apostle and he understood that he was an apostle because of god's grace and i guarantee you if you set your life apart for the glory of god at the end of the road you will look back and all you will see is his grace grace upon grace upon grace this man was be he was able to identify his grace in absolutely everything look what he says here in first corinthians 15 10 but by the grace of god i am what i am and his grace toward me was not in vain on the contrary i worked harder than any of them oh paul don't be so proud you worked harder than any of them if we heard somebody say that today we'd say this guy needs a spiritual shower who says i work harder than any of them well finish though it was not i but the grace of god that is in me grace not just for salvation not just to be called into service but grace for the strength to endure to be faithful to be fruitful grace everywhere and here as he writes this to timothy he goes i'm an apostle of christ jesus by the will of god and you can write in parentheses by the grace of god there he is sitting in that dark room reflecting on the fact that he lived his life in such a manner and it was only because god was merciful toward him oh you and i have the opportunity to know that same grace but we have to be hungry to do his will but it goes beyond that paul an apostle of christ jesus by the will of god according to the promise of the life that is in christ jesus see what he's saying yeah i i am an apostle i obeyed his will that's all by the grace of god but now i'm looking forward to a promise that has my name on it according to the promise of the life that is where only in christ jesus and paul love to use those words in christ jesus and this promise of the life that is in christ jesus is a two-fold promise it's a promise that's connected to what he said i lived the will of god see there's only true life in christ jesus and he experienced that side of the promise i know this life that abundant life that amazing life that wonderful life i often say this you you cannot even measure up if you had all the resources in the world all the options all the opportunities to do what you want it would not even come close to the will of god for your life and this man knew that the promise of life that is in christ jesus i experienced that but there's another side of the promise it's the life to come it's a life that he will experience very shortly it's a life that is eternal and what's amazing is that it's a promise that he was holding on to this is not a phrase that paul often uses in his introductions in his letter but it was appropriate here i'm reflecting right away and i want to comfort you timothy right away i'm not going to see you most likely unless you hurry up and get here and he says that later on but i'm clinging to a promise a promise that will help me endure these change that will help me endure beheading and here's what i want to say to you this morning jesus christ has made you a personal promise listen now forget everybody else in this room just for a moment and hear my words toward you okay jesus christ has made a personal promise to you now that might not mean much to you especially in a day where people say yes and no and break those promises but let me remind you what titus 1 tells us about this god in verse 2 listen carefully it says in hope of eternal life of god who never lies promise before the ages began in hope of eternal life in which god listen who never lies promised before the ages began we were talking about a god who can't lie he can't and he made you a promise this morning and that promise was found in john 11 25 and 26 jesus said to martha i am the resurrection and the life i am the resurrection and the life whoever believes in me though he die yet shall he live whoever whoever and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die and here's the question for you this morning do you believe this do you believe this whoever believes in me does it matter great or small rich or poor whoever believes in me will never die you know that truth if you really believe it will help you interpret what job calls the king of terrors which is death in a whole new light one of my favorite books thus far is a book by john flavell or flaval called facing grief and i would actually recommend that book from the pulpit to you because it deals with an ancient writer who had lost many people in his life to death including a child and three different wives i believe imagine that you married one died the second one died third one died and i think the fourth one survived or the third one survived and this man from that pain received an authority to speak on grief and it's no wonder because when you read that book you come into insights that will blow you away and one of the things that touched my heart is from one of the chapters in which he encourages christians who have experienced loss and i want you to hear these words listen carefully john flavel says that is listen look not upon the debt as a lost generation think not that death has annihilated and utterly destroyed them oh no they are not dead but only sleep and if they sleep they shall awake again you do not use to make outcries and lamentations for your children and friends when you find them asleep upon their beds why death is but a longer sleep out of which they shall surely awake as ever they did in the morning in this world you see what he's saying you never came after a late night into your home and saw your children sleeping in bed and ripped your garments and put ashes on your head because they're asleep you never stumbled upon your spouse on the couch after a long afternoon taking a nap and wept your eyes out because they were asleep why because you know that they're going to wake up any moment and what he's saying here is that in christ death is just about a longer sleep one day they're gonna wake up and that's the hope that you and i have that's the promise and here's the thing it's gonna be the best beauty sleep they've ever had you know why because they're gonna wake up glorified in splendor and majesty and you're going to be amazed at the promise that is in christ jesus fulfilled in those that you love and fulfilled in you when you are in christ it's just longer sleep what this promise does it surges such a grace and strength for you to not only interpret death in such a way but even if you like paul stare death in the eyes you can know a certain grace because why this timothy this timothy that's receiving this letter is being encouraged you read on as we're going to discover and he's actually getting weak in the faith he's letting his spiritual gifts sit aside and paul's like no fan it into flame put things in order don't lose your seal suffer for christ i mean if there's anybody that needs encouragement from a letter it's paul you're the one in the prison you're the one that's about to be executed where are the letters coming in no he's sending letters out why because he has a promise with his name on it and it's so powerful it's so profound that it even gave him the energy to motivate someone else that is not in the same predicament as him that's what faith can do that's what faith can do it frames thing in such a way where you know supernatural compassion even in the midst of your own sorrows and paul is doing that and that's why he says in verse 2 to timothy my beloved child what tenderness and compassion what comforting words i love you i want to show you how much i love you i'm going to instruct you as a father now as this man has rats running around his feet small rations of food living with any human with the anxiety of one day i'm gonna leave never to return again because he had a promise and this is what he says grace mercy and peace from god the father again he's reflecting christ didn't christ hang there on the cross having the whole weight of the sin of the world upon his shoulders and he looks down and he sees his mother and he assigns a caretaker for her while he is suffering and paul is doing the same to some degree he's tapped into a grace because of a promise of life that is in christ jesus and here's where we're going to do something a little interesting because i've never done this in a message i've never gone through books this fast but i want to show you something he says grace mercy and peace no word is by accident in the holy bible no word is my accident and i want to prove that to you do you have your bibles with you this morning i hope so go to the book of romans i want you to see and compare every other introduction that paul gives in his letters and we're going to do this by just skipping stones over the surface of these books romans chapter 1 verse 7. you ready to all those in rome who are loved by god and called to be saints grace to you and peace from god our father and the lord jesus christ is there right let's go to first corinthians 1. verse 3 grace to you and peace from god our father and the lord jesus christ you see it second corinthians verse one rather verse two chapter one this is going to be worth it i promise okay grace to you in peace from god our father in the lord jesus christ galatians 1 verse 3 grace to you and peace from god our father and the lord jesus christ ephesians 1 verse 2. maybe some of you are getting it already grace to you and priests peace from god our father and the lord jesus christ now skip over to philippians 1 verse 2. just a few pages grace to you and peace from god our father and the lord jesus christ colossians 1 verse 2 to the saints and faithful brothers in christ at colossae grace to you and pre peace from god our father first thessalonians 1 verse 2 verse 1 rather paul solvanus and timothy to the church of thessalonians and god the father and the lord jesus christ grace to you and peace second thessalonians 1 we're almost there verse 2 grace to you and peace from god our father and the lord jesus christ and finally skip over a few books and the short letter to philemon sure enough in verse 3 grace to you and peace from god our father and the lord jesus christ grace to you and peace grace to you and peace grace to you and peace grace to you and peace grace to you and peace grace to you and peace and then you go to first timothy what do you read in verse two of chapter one to timothy my true child in the faith grace what's that word say mercy and peace from god the father in christ jesus our lord second timothy you read it now you will only see this unfortunately the esv does a disservice to this you'll only see this if you have a king james and new king james but go to the book of titus verse 1 chapter 1 rather verse 4 to titus mine own son after the common faith grace mercy and peace from god the father and the lord jesus christ our savior three out of all those letters paul includes the word mercy and he reserves using that word in ten of them when he uses the word mercy do you know where he uses them when he uses them why he uses them every time the word mercy was used it was in the pastoral letters in other words he used the word mercy when he was directing his letter to a full-time minister that's significant because it shows that paul didn't add words or subtract words randomly it wasn't just such a general salutation no it was calculated and here's the understanding it's not that people who are not ministers don't need mercy it's that ministers who serve full time are in need of extra mercy and he knew that very well as a minister himself and so he says mercy i call upon god to give you mercy timothy and titus mercy can be understood as a kindness and a compassion that is shown towards somebody who offends and you know this very well that when a spiritual leader offends there is greater weight and consequence to it causing greater mercy to be needed for the shortcomings and the blunders and the the failure to be an example paul says timothy i'm asking god that you would experience a greater mercy because you're going to need it and i'm going to give you mercy through my compassion in this letter you know what i learned from that here's how i'm challenged his greetings alone display his thoughtfulness for each and every single one of the believers that he knew he was in general he wasn't just throwing words for the sake of saying certain things no he understood the particular needs of every individual and he translated his prayers and he translated his words and his encouragement to cater to those specific needs timothy and titus needed mercy so i'm asking god to give you mercy that's how much love this man had and we dare not think for a moment that his love is greater than the love of jesus christ it's a particular singular unique love that he has for each and every single one of us in this place by name by name i hope you would believe that this morning that paul here is concerned about timothy's condition and titus condition and he knows how to deal with the romans and the galatians do you not think that your master cares about you with your particular situation and circumstance do you not believe that he will provide the exact grace and mercy and peace for you and supply in another way for somebody else he knows how to walk with us individually see it's one thing to know jesus christ loves the world well praise god jesus christ loves his church hallelujah but how much do you rehearse over your soul that jesus christ loves me loves me personally me and if we think that's a stretch and if we think that's too much and if we think that that's something that we shouldn't do because it glorifies self well then you have problems with the love of christ in john 11 when lazarus was sick we are told by the holy spirit in verse 5 now jesus loved martha and her sister and lazarus jesus loved martha and her sister and lazarus individually with a particular love a special love do you think martha mary and lazarus were all the same do you think they had the same personalities do you think they had the same spiritual disciplines you read about martha she was the one running around working and getting distracted and mary was there sitting sitting at jesus field and lazarus was just quiet i don't know where he was they're different different temperaments different challenges different failures different pros and cons and yet christ equal love equal love for each of them and that's what we have to understand here is that the love of christ can so fill us that we look at every single person around us and we are magnetized to catering to their specific needs and their cares and their weaknesses and like christ we manifest exactly what it is that they need in our tenderness like paul does with timothy here you're in need of mercy right now timothy and i'm asking god that you would know that mercy that's the power of understanding this promise that is in christ jesus of life and in this short introduction this morning i want us to prepare for what we are about to read because it's about to encourage us to live a life that knows the life that is in christ jesus it's a radical life it's a life of surrender it's a life that will demand obedience but it is a life that will know joy and pleasure and bless others i look at this man again and in conclusion i say this my faith can be so in tune with the power of god that i can be at the brink of my own martyrdom and in my thinking care about a discouraged brother who's in his house say i must reach out to him before i don't have the chance to do so anymore i know we all have weaknesses i know we all have discouraging moments i know we have bad days but i want to encourage you with one point one driving point as a result of this sunday morning service we can know such a relationship with christ that self is eliminated that self is eliminated and we are so preoccupied with the needs and the brokenness of others and i don't want to be a christian that's so caught up in my own desires and wishes and longings that i forget to know that there is a grace that i can experience that helps me look outward and not inward all the time and i pray that that would be our desire in this place grace mercy and peace to you timothy and we're going to prepare ourselves in the weeks ahead for what he's going to say let's pray together father we thank you for the promise of life that is in christ jesus thank you that you are the resurrection the life and that whoever believes in you even though he dies yet shall he live lord we pray that we would know that life that promise that would so strengthen us that it would help us strengthen others lord in this place we pray that every person in here would know the will of god for their lives and that no matter what success you bring through them what opportunities open for them they would never fail to realize that it is by the grace of god by the grace of god i am what i am and lord in these two verses we receive much and we ask you to help us be like this man paul who is able to think of another even as he faced death surely this is by the power of the holy spirit surely this is something that is unleased when truth is really trusted in and we pray now lord that we would feel that grace that makes us feel undefeated that the king of terrors according to job is incapable of intimidating us to sorrow to fear to guilt and that even in our last moments we can be a blessing to others lord what an amazing truth help us arrive there god please help us arrive there lord we worship you for this promise and we glorify you in this house in jesus name we pray amen amen

Channel: UE Church - Chicago

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Keywords: daniel batarseh, ue church, bible study, sermon, church, new testament, old testament, teaching, preaching, building, encouraging, christ, jesus, christian, how to, god, lord, where, when, how, bible, christain, christianity, encouragement, what, Letter, death, message, end, life, dead, die, gone, went, live, change, desire, righteous

Id: XY8fDVnv-pY

Length: 42min 6sec (2526 seconds)

Published: Fri Jul 30 2021