“DO YOUR BEST, COME BEFORE WINTER”
2ND timothy 4: 6-9, 13, 21
HOW MANY FRIENDS DO YOU HAVE?~ That is, how many do you have who will stand by you to the uttermost and to the end? How many will keep on loving you & never let you down, no matter what happens?~ We Sing, “What A friend We Have In Jesus,” but do we have two such friends, as Paul had?~
ONE WAS LUKE, THE BELOVED PHYSICIAN.~ Luke stuck with Paul when all other had forsaken him; “Only Luke is with me”(V.11).~ The other was Timothy, who Paul called “my son in the faith” [1 Tim.1:2].~ Many believe it was Timothy who found Paul after he was stoned outside Lystra – dragged out of the city’s gates & left for dead; who put his arms about his bleeding body, & carried him to safety, & nurtured him back to health.~ Paul never forgot this young man; even referred to him as “my dearly beloved son.”~
FINALLY, THE GREAT APOSTLE HAD ABOUT REACHED HIS END; he was in a cold, humid Roman jail facing execution – his frail & broken body would not last much longer.~ Here Paul wrote two letters to Timothy,~ TAKE A CLOSE LOOK AT 2nd Tim. 4: 6-9, 13 & 21.~ Now look at V. 9, 13, & 21 again.~ DO YOUR BEST, COME BEFORE WINTER.~
ONE PART OF SEEKING GOD’S KINGDOM MEANS laying up treasures
in heaven by investing our earthly money in God’s work.~ And in the final analysis, that means living today by letting go of our need to constantly be in control or to think that the future is in our own hands.~ It’s not.~ It never was.~ And so we who lead must say to the next generation, “We won’t be here forever so you must prepare to lead.”
ABOVE EVERYTHING ELSE, PAUL WANTED TIMOTHY TO COME SEE him in prison before he died.~ Remember that Timothy is probably in Ephesus, hundreds of miles away, and it would take several months for him to come to Rome.~ The aged apostle wanted to see his young friend one final time before he died.~ Listen to
what his says, and how he repeats himself:
“Do your best to come to me quickly”(v. 9). ~ “Get Mark and bring him with you”(v. 11).~ “When you come, bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at Troas, and my scrolls, especially the parchments” (v. 12).~ “Do your best to get here before winter” (v. 21).~ The King James Version translates the last part of verse 21 with three simple words: “Come before winter.”~ “Timothy, if you’re going to come at all, come now.~ Don’t wait.~ Don’t delay.~ I won’t be alive much longer.~ Come quickly, my friend. ~ Come before winter.”~
THERE ARE DOORS OF OPPORTUNITY THAT OPEN BEFORE US TODAY,
but if we do not take advantage of them, by springtime they will be forever shut.~ You can’t wait forever to respond to things that are important.~ Things that seem small today become large tomorrow.~
SOME THINGS MUST BE DONE “before winter” or they will not be done at all.~ There are doors of opportunity that open before us today, but if we do not take advantage of them, by springtime they will be forever shut.~ You can’t wait forever to respond to things that are important.~ Things that seem small today become large tomorrow.~
I WONDER WHAT TIMOTHY DID?~ I want to believe Timothy dropped everything & went.~ But on the other hand he was very busy.~ There was a church to build at Ephesus – some elders to ordain & a series of services scheduled for Miletus [My-lite-us].~
TIMOTHY MIGHT HAVE SAID; “I’ll clear up these pressing matters first, then as soon as spring comes & the boats are running again, I’ll go spend a long time with my friend Paul.~ IF TIMOTHY TOOK THIS COURSE; when he landed in Rome & went rushing to the jail, he found Paul had already been beheaded some month before.~ As he walked down the coders, he ask for you but you didn’t come.~
NOW WE DO NOT KNOW IF IT HAPPENED LIKE THAT OR NOT.~ But this much is certain: Procrastination destroys many good intentions.~ More marriages die because of slow neglect than from deliberate desertion.~ Things essential and basic are neglected every day.~ We mean to say a word of encouragement, but we never get around to it.~ We mean to write a letter, or make a call but it never gets done.~ We mean to share Christ with a neighbor, we intend to get serious in our Christian faith.~ We hope to pray more, we want to read the Bible.~ We have great dreams and high ideals, but time and neglect and the trivia of life sap our strength and divert us until the day comes when our resolve is gone, - our marriage has grown cold - our children have left home - our spiritual life has grown dull.~ Come before winter!~ Yes, come now, do it now, serve God now.~ What you would do for God, you can do, but you must not delay.~
I LIKE TO THINK THAT TIMOTHY DID NOT WAIT ANOTHER SINGLE day after he got the letter from Paul.~ I chose to believe that Timothy did arrive before winter, and walk by his friends side that last morning, down the jail’s corridor.~
THERE ARE SOME THINGS WE HAVE TO DO BEFORE WINTER – some opportunities must be take before winter.~ To put them off is to be to late.~ I Have Conducted Many Funerals and Observed Many floral arrangement, & wished that some had “Come Before Winter.”~
WHY WAIT FOR NICE WORDS UNTIL A FAREWELL PARTY; why wait until they are no more with us?~ QUITE OFTEN I HAVE HEARD: “Oh, he/she was so good – his/her smile made me so happy.~ OR, I appreciated his/her work.”~ “Peter will you pray for me tonight ?”~ My soul is sad, even to death.~ Please watch & pray with me one hour.~ Can’t you watch one hour – when I need you most?~ Peter, James & John were fast asleep.~
WHY COME BEFORE WINTER?~ The answer to that question is practical and simple.~ Some things must be done “before winter” or they will not be done at all.~ There are doors of opportunity that open before us today, but if we do not take advantage of them, by springtime they will be forever shut.~ You can’t wait forever to respond to things that are important. Things that seem small today become large tomorrow.~
DO YOUR BEST, COME BEFORE WINTER.~ Little boys & girls have a way of saying that.~ Every dad plans to be a pal to his children; BUT, I must first get my business established – Sunday is the only day I have to sleep in.~ Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we could put the kids is deep freeze & keep them there until we had time for them?~ But children have a way of Growing up & getting away from us.~ If we love our children, we must “Do Our Best Before Winter” – while they are young; set the example by living it.~
Many years ago Holman Hunt painted a classic picture called, “Christ Standing at the Door.”~ It depicts Jesus at the door of a lovely English cottage.~ Everything seems normal until you study the picture closely and discover that there is no doorknob on the outside.~ Why not?~ Because the door to the heart must be opened from the inside.~ The painting is true to life and true to the Bible.~ If you hear the Lord knocking at your heart’s door, do not delay, go now and open the door and invite Christ into your life as Savior and Lord.~ Don’t wait a second longer.~ Do it now.~