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TITLE: A THEOLOGIANS LAST WISH

SCRIPTURE: II Tim 4:9-13

An ancestor of David Livingstone named David Livingstone said in Power magazine in Sept. of 1996 that his philosophy at one time was to live fast, die early and be a good-looking corpse.

"A young news reporter once visited an elderly man on his 99th birthday to interview him about his longevity. The interview over, the reporter said to the elderly man, as he was about to leave 'I hope to see you again, sir, on your 100th birthday.' The old gentleman carefully looked the young reporter over and then said, 'I can't see any reason why you shouldn't, young man, you look healthy enough to me.'" (Pulpit Helps Magazine/may 89)

The widow of the man that started the Winchester rifle company became concerned about dying. She became so concerned that she contacted a spiritist to see what he could tell her. The spiritualist told her that as long as she was working on the house she was in the process of building, she would not die.

She proceeded to build a mansion containing 13 bathrooms, 2000 doors, 47 fireplaces and 10,000 windows. She spent over 5 million dollars on her house in a day when laborers worked for 50 cents a day.

This information came from a devotional I read many years ago. The devotional was to encourage the believer as they face death as opposed to this futile attempt to avoid death on the part of a non believer.

Dr. Grounds ends his devotional with this paragraph. "Because Jesus died for us and rose from the grave, our fear of death can be changed to hope. That happens when we receive Him as our personal Savior. That's the best way to face our inevitable appointment with death."

Even in this paragraph designed to encourage the reader, I am not sure that the author has really done a good job of dispelling the fear of the onslaught of death.

I would like to consider the saint that must look forward to eventual death. Yes, I realize that the Lord may well come before that time in our lives, but as a person ages, that hope becomes more of a hope, but less of a probability.

In this study we will be concentrating on the person that knows death is coming, yet we need to realize that we may not have this privilege. Death can come at anytime. This was seared into my mind one day years ago when I read an account in the newspaper. In 1992 ( Oklahoma ) a funeral procession was proceeding to the cemetery to bury a man. The car in which the widow and other relatives were riding was hit by a pickup. The widow of the man and other relatives were killed in the crash. Now, who would expect to be killed on the way to a cemetery in a funeral procession? There doesn't seem to be a less likely place to die than that. We know not when we will be called upon to breathe our last.

This study is for the person that has time to contemplate his coming death. Even young people can gain insight into death and how older people react to it from this study.

SETTING OF THE TEXT:

Paul is in prison in Rome for the second time. Most agree that he felt his death was coming in the near future. He mentions in 4.6, "For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand." He could have sensed impending death from the government, or He may have had physical problems that he was knowledgeable of (Dr. Luke was with him). The term offered would indicate he may have been under sentence of death from the Roman government.

From the Daily Bread: "The apostle Paul sat alone in a Roman prison facing his final weeks on earth. The wet cold of the dungeon must have pierced his bones as he penned a letter to his young friend Timothy, urging him to come before winter. (4.21)"

The urging to come before winter probably relates to his feeling that he was soon to die. Winter would probably have meant delay in travel. The fact that the prison was probably cold may relate to the urgency as well. I suspect that the Romans weren't supplying many electric blankets to their prisoners.

The Peoples New Testament states, "Second Timothy, being written after he had again been confined at Rome and shortly before his death. It was somewhere about A.D. 66-68 that his busy career ended, and that he received the crown of martyrdom in Rome .

DETAILS OF THE TEXT:

CLOAK: Paul requests his cloak. The cloak seems to be an outer garment of some sort, surmised by most to be to help him keep warm in the prison.

The specifics of the cloak are not clear. This is the only appearance of this Greek term (phelones). Easton 's dictionary has some detail relating to the garment. "was the Roman paenula, a thick upper garment used chiefly in traveling as a protection from the weather. Some, however, have supposed that what Paul meant was a traveling-bag. In the Syriac version the word used means a bookcase." This is also mentioned by Chrysostom.

Vine suggests that it is an outer garment for protection against the weather, but he also suggests it may have been a light dust cover or carrying case for the books and parchments.

My thought is that if a man is looking toward death he probably wouldn't be that concerned about protecting the books. Also if there was a cover for his books and parchments anyone that had known him would know that they were carried that way and would naturally bring it with the books - there would be no need to mention it separately.

CARPUS: Carpus may have been Paul's host when at Troas . He is mentioned no other time in the Bible. His name means fruit.

TROAS : " Troas a city on the coast of Mysia in the north-west of Asia Minor ," ( Easton 's dictionary) The city was named after the destroyed city of Troy which was a few miles north of Troas .

Now, I want to take a side trail here for a moment. Here we sit nearing the turn of the millennium, with computers, modems, satellite dishes, automated sewing machines, cars that are being developed to drive themselves and we read of the apostle Paul when he asks for books and parchments.

I don't think that we really comprehend the differences between Paul and Us.

As I was preparing this sermon, I started my computer, I double clicked on the Bible icon and my Bible opened up. Within a couple of hours I had checked two or three Bible dictionaries, a couple lexicons, two or three commentaries, an illustration database I have developed, a couple of encyclopedias AND I HAVEN'T GOTTEN OUT OF MY CHAIR OR LEFT MY COMPUTER, NOR HAVE I TURNED A PAGE. Not only had I done all of this I had the bare bones and most of the thoughts to fully develop this sermon.

Now, let’s imagine Paul preparing for a sermon. He would see if he could find something to write with, something to write on, then hope that the light was bright enough to see. He would probably have to get up and move around a little to warm up enough to get to work. I do that in the winter myself - some things never change. Then he would sit down and recollect the best he could what Isaiah or Jeremiah had said, then begin to develop thoughts for his message. No Bible dictionaries, no lexicons (of course he knew the original languages so he had one advantage over me), no illustration listings, no encyclopedias, and worst of all he would have to sit there and try to write with those miserable quills or whatever they used. And finally he would only set down the bare elements because he only had two pieces of parchment.

Can you now get the picture of why he wanted his parchments and books? No matter what they were, they were very important to him for his life's work.

BOOKS: biblion = normally translated book = probably a scroll - written document. What the books were is purely speculation, yet some suggestions might give some idea of their content. Robert's Word Pictures mentions the possibility that they were his own writings or possibly just books that he liked to read and use. He also mentions the possibilities that they contained the writings of Luke or others relating to the words of Christ (Lu 1.1-4).

PARCHMENTS: membrana = only occurrence = made of dressed skins. The parchment material was more expensive than papyrus, so would have contained something more important probably. The usual thought is that they were copies of portions of the Old Testament.

Easton 's mentions of pergamum , "Parchment was first made here, and was called by the Greeks pergamene, from the name of the city."

Vine mentions, "The writing material was prepared from the skin of the sheep or goat. The skins were first soaked in lime for the purpose of removing the hair, and then shaved, washed, dried, stretched and ground or smoothed with fine chalk or lime and pumice-stone. The finest kind is called vellum, and is made from the skins of calves or kids."

It has been suggested that the parchments were Old Testament portions. The fact that II Timothy is lacking in Old Testament quotes when compared to Paul's other writings may suggest that this is true.

In this study I would like to look at the following items:

I. THE DIGNITY OF THE BELIEVER FACING DEATH

II. THE CONSISTENCY OF THE BELIEVER FACING DEATH

III. THE ENCOURAGEMENT OF THE BELIEVER FACING DEATH

I. THE DIGNITY OF THE BELIEVER FACING DEATH: Attachment to material items at the ending of ones life is not uncommon as we know if we know anything of dying people. This is not unnatural I don't believe. The material things that we have acquired are things that we like and have been with for many years. Our homes actually depict a little bit about who we are and we feel VERY VERY COMFORTABLE at home. I do not think this is abnormal.

Now, if you are like one of Faith's relatives that wanted an asbestos coffin so he could take it with him, I think you are a little too attached to your material possessions.

In the apostle Paul it is of great interest to me to see what was important to him. He was a man that took everything that he had in this world with him wherever he went, yet he is interested in a cloak and some writings.

My brother had very little in the last years of his life. He moved a couple of times and did it in a sea bag, duffle bag and two cardboard boxes. HE WAS HAPPY! Basically all he had was clothes, a small tape player, a nice camera with lots of pictures and a Bible.

By way of application from Paul's desires, can we not suggest that the people we know facing death should be given as much of their familiar - material surroundings as possible? Most people that I have known that were dying wanted to be at home as much as possible. This is normal and we should do what we can to accommodate them. It is not possible in some cases and we should not feel guilty for not doing what was impossible!

I may upset some with the following statement, but I feel that it is true and I feel that many believers are living with a false image of facing death.

The normal opinion is usually that the believer is to face death with poise, confidence, peace and all other items that one can imagine when thinking of a tranquil transition from life to death.

This concept is normally based on the fact that the believer is to be looking forward to being with the Lord, that the believer is to live in the fruit of the Spirit one of which is peace, and that the believer is to submit to the Will of the Father.

NOW! All of these things are true and I accept these, yet there is also a built in aspect to our nature to oppose change, to oppose leaving people we love, oppose leaving responsibilities undone and oppose quitting, AND MOST IMPORTANTLY FACING THINGS WE'VE NEVER FACED BEFORE - YOU KNOW LIKE DYING!

For Paul to have requested books and parchments as well as personal company, one must assume that he was not ready to die. He had things he wanted to do, things he wanted to read and things he wanted to write. The very fact that he wrote II Timothy shows that he was continuing on doing as he always had done.

To die in complete peace is fine for some people, but don't be entirely surprised if you run across a believer that struggles to hang onto life as hard as they can. It is not that they are unspiritual, it is not that they are refusing God's will, and it is not that they are inferior.

One other aspect of this is the fact that death is an enemy according to Paul. In I Cor. 15.26 he mentions, "The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death." This is in the context of Christ putting all things to a final conclusion at the end of this age. Death is an enemy even unto the end of time - God will have to bring it to its knees before the eternal state can begin.

Not all people can face an enemy with peace and tranquility. What soldier would be held in high esteem if he lay down peacefully in front of his enemy to be killed?

II. THE CONSISTENCY OF THE BELIEVER FACING DEATH: A further application is the fact that believers follow through with their beliefs - even unto the end. If those beliefs are real and true to the believer, then the coming death of the person will not change any aspect of the life of belief.

Matthew Henry follows this thought when he states, "As this was a private epistle written to St. Paul's most intimate friend, under the miseries of imprisonment, and in the near prospect of death, it shows the temper and character of the apostle, and contains convincing proofs that he sincerely believed the doctrines he preached."

A number of years ago when my wife's father was terminally ill, I was interested in observing his reaction to his situation. In life he had become somewhat cold to spiritual things for many reasons. Upon hearing that he was in serious condition his spiritual eyes were readjusted almost immediately. He talked many times of the different people that he had not taken time to witness to.

He fought death. He tried every option to beat the cancer. His time fighting cancer was also a time of fighting his enemy, the devil. He took every opportunity to talk to people about the spiritual lives. He had opportunity to witness to people as they came to visit him in the hospital.

Faith and I were considering going with a mission in Colorado that he was very interested in. As we discussed it one evening Paul told me, "Stan if you and Faith decide to go with the mission Esther and I will support you X$ per month. He had every intention of continuing to live for some time, even though he knew that wasn't probable.

His reaction at near death was to hold onto life - personally I think part of that drive was the hope of being able to tell others of His Lord.

As the apostle Paul continued on with the ministry as is shown by his desire for Mark to come and to have the books and parchments to assist him, so we as we face death should desire to continue on serving God in our lives until the end is met.

III. THE ENCOURAGEMENT OF THE BELIEVER FACING DEATH: There seems a distinct possibility that some of these books were just plain books of interest to Paul - indeed, I would assume from his life they would be theological in nature. The Daily Bread had a quote that I would like to share with you. "A famous French author has written, 'The wise men who have written before our time are travelers who have preceded us in the paths of misfortune, and who reach out to us their hands to invite us to join their society when all others have abandoned us. A good book is a good friend.'"

I personally feel that the men that have written in the past often have a lot to say to us in this time. Yes, they are out of date at times, yet they are right on target at times.

I have been greatly encouraged to see that there were many in the past that felt the same frustrations with their age as I have suffered with mine. They see the worldliness and sin around them and wonder if it can get worse.

Yep, it can and most assuredly has.

Yep, it can and most likely will.

It is most likely that some of these items were copies of the Scriptures as well. The longing of the apostle for these is probably a universal desire of believers as they face the final enemy - death.

When discouraged with situation or life most believers will turn to the Word for some note of encouragement. I personally quite often turn to the Psalms and am encouraged by the positive aspect of what I have read or the knowledge that David or one of the other Psalmists have faced the same trouble I am then facing.

The believer can find encouragement, the believer can find strength and the believer can find guidance in the Word as they face death.

Even when a person is alone, there is a closeness that can be gained by reading the Word. It brings the believer closer to the Lord and supplies spiritual nourishment and encouragement.

Just a bit of a side light - this is one of the purposes of the church - encouraging those that are in need of encouragement.

IIII. SO WHAT?

In my theology classes I often would lecture and then stop, pause, and say SO WHAT? What can we use all that knowledge for.

There is a fourth point this morning that I would like to add by way of application.

When you find you are going to die, know that it is God's will and that you are satisfying His will in the most complete way.

This quote is from Spurgeon's devotional Morning and Evening.

The devotional is based on John 17.24 "Father, I will that they also, whom Thou hast given Me, be with Me where I am."

"Death! why dost thou touch the tree beneath whose spreading branches weariness hath rest? Why dost thou snatch away the excellent of the earth, in whom is all our delight? If thou must use thine axe, use it upon the trees which yield no fruit; thou mightst be thanked then. But why wilt thou fell the goodly cedars of Lebanon? O stay thine axe, and spare the righteous. But no, it must not be; death smites the goodliest of our friends; the most generous, the most prayerful, the most holy, the most devoted must die. And why? It is through Jesus' prevailing prayer -- 'Father, I will that they also, whom Thou hast given Me, be with Me where I am.' It is that which bears them on eagle's wings to heaven. Every time a believer mounts from this earth to paradise, it is an answer to Christ's prayer. A good old divine remarks, 'Many times Jesus and His people pull against one another in prayer. You bend your knee in prayer and say, 'Father, I will that Thy saints be with me where I am;' Christ says,'Father, I will that they also, whom Thou hast given Me, be with Me where I am.'' Thus the disciple is at cross purposes with his Lord. The soul cannot be in both places: the beloved one cannot be with Christ and with you too. Now, which pleader shall win the day? If you had your choice; if the King should step from His throne, and say, 'Here are two supplicants praying in opposition to one another, which shall be answered?' Oh! I am sure, though it were agony, you would start from your feet, and say, 'Jesus, not my will, but Thine be done.' You would give up your prayer for your loved one's life, if you could realize the thought that Christ is praying in the opposite direction -- 'Father, I will that they also, whom Thou hast given Me, be with Me where I am.' Lord, Thou shalt have them. By faith we let them go."

Spurgeon said, "By faith we let them go."

I think we could also say, "By faith be ready to go."

Enjoy your material surrounding, but continue on serving Him as best you can until the end.