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Sermon Notes for January 14, 2007
Dealing With Difficult Emotions
Sermon Series
“Discouragement”
II Timothy 4:9-18
Introduction
A. We Continue Our Sermon Series On DEALING WITH DIFFICULT EMOTIONS.
1. BECAUSE EVERYBODY HAS THEM . . . INCLUDING CHRISTIANS!
a. why do we think that because we are Christians we will not have emotions?
b. as I said last week, most Christians that I have dealt with don’t handle their emotions very well
1. it is as if we believe that we don’t have any
2. because most Christians believe that they should always be
happy, always be at peace, always be calm
3. well . . . I have some news for you, THAT IS SIMPLY NOT
THE CASE!
4. Pastor Melvin Newland – “Christians get cancer. Christians die of heart attacks. Christians have automobile accidents. Christians lose jobs & go broke. Christians die young. Christians experience heartache - just like everybody else. There is no immunity.”
2. My goal in this sermon series is this:
a. one – to identify some of the emotions that we all struggle with
b. two – to help us all learn to deal with these emotions
B. We Continue Our Sermon Series by LOOKING AT THE EMOTION OF DISCOURAGEMENT.
1. Of all of the emotions, discouragement may be the most “universal” emotion that we all have.
a. I am convinced that this is the emotion that Satan uses the most to tear down Christians; would you not agree?
b. Some time ago I heard a story about Satan's garage sale. On display stood many large, shiny, complicated tools. Each was labeled with a tag such as: MURDER, ADULTERY, HATE, STRIFE. Yet in one corner sat a tiny, dull, simple tool with a very high price attached. When asked why that worn out tool was so expensive, Satan replied smugly, "That one is called DISCOURAGEMENT. I can use that one on everybody."
c. without a doubt, that is one of the ways that Satan has attacked me over the years
1. in my other ministeries
a. as a youth Pastor
b. as a small town Pastor
2. here in Knoxville
a. 10 years meeting in a school
b. one summer losing our air conditioning
c. we couldn’t build our first building because it was so
expensive. We had to start all over.
2. After all, look at how discouragement has affected believers throughout the ages:
a. Old Testament Saints
1. Adam and Eve – fall into sin
2. Noah – building the ark
3. Moses – being sent from Egypt
4. Abraham – having no children
5. David – falling into sin
6. Solomon (Song of Solomon)
7. Job – suffering by losing all of his family and possessions
8. Jeremiah (Lamentations)
b. New Testament Saints
1. The Twelve Disciples – losing Jesus by the cross
2. Timothy – being overwhelmed with fear of failure
3. Paul
c. Saints throughout history
1. Charles Spurgeon
a. perhaps the greatest preacher who ever lived, struggled
with discouragement:
1. on October 19, 1856, at the age of 22, Spurgeon
was preaching to 10,000 people at the Music
Hall in Royal Surrey Gardens in London.
Someone shouted “fire,” and people began to
panic. Seven people were killed and at least one
hundred injured. This event haunted his
ministry.
2. Spurgeon’s wife Susannah bore him two
children, twin sons, born the day after the
calamity. After these births, Susannah
was unable to have any more children. Nine
years later, Susannah became a virtual invalid
and seldom heard her husband preach for the
next 27 years until his death.
3. Spurgeon suffered from gout, rheumatism and
kidney disease. One third of his last twenty-
two years of his ministry, were spent out of the
pulpit because of his dealing with gout.
4. Spurgeon was constantly attacked with ridicule
and slander. One said of Spurgeon – “He is a
nine days’ wonder – a comet that has
suddenly shot across the religious
atmosphere. He has gone up like a rocket and
ere long will come down like a stick.”
b. Spurgeon also struggled with depression throughout his ministry
2. the Apostle Paul
a. we will look today at the Apostle Paul, a man “who
should have been discouraged” because of what he went
through
b. but let’s see what Paul did with his discouragement and
how we can learn from him in our time of
discouragement
I. The DILEMMA Of Paul.
A. The PROBLEM Of Paul.
1. Paul was in jail.
a. this was not just “any jail”
1. this was the Mamertine prison in Rome
2. a place where criminals were taken just before they were to be
executed
3. as one has said, “The prison was constructed in the 7th
Century B.C. and consisted of a vast network of dungeons
under the city’s main sewer.”
4. Paul was chained to two Roman guards to prevent him from
going anywhere
b. this would be Paul’s “last home”
1. tradition says that Paul would eventually be beheaded
2. so, essentially, Paul was awaiting his death; he was on “death
row”
3. in fact, Paul essentially has said in his letter to Timothy that he
is going to die
a. Vs. 6 – “For I am already being poured out like a drink
offering.”
1. a Jewish custom was to pour out a drink offering
at the base of the altar at the Temple when you
were making a sacrifice
2. Paul has “already” been poured out
b. Vs. 6 – “the time has come for my departure”
1. the Greek word for departure was used to
describe:
a. to unyolk an animal
b. to loose the ropes of a sling to set sail
c. to loosen the ropes of a tent
2. according to Paul, he was about to be set free by
his death
2. Paul was in jail for something that he did not do.
B. The PAIN Of Paul.
1. DO NOT GLOSS OVER PAUL’S SITUATION!
a. Paul is probably sitting all day, every day for perhaps months or even
years in the bowels of Rome
b. he cannot get up and take care of his personal needs
c. he is chained to two Roman soldiers
d. and he knows that he will never leave this prison alive
2. How bad was it?
a. well, it was not only physically bad
b. but it was also, emotionally and spiritually bad, as we shall see
c. you would certainly “expect” Paul to be discouraged, wouldn’t you?
II. The DISCOURAGEMENT Of Paul.
A. The DESERTION Of Paul.
1. The desertion of Demas.
Vs. 9-10 – “Do your best to come to me quickly, for Demas, because he loved this world, has deserted me and has gone to Thessalonica.”
a. the past of Demas
1. Demas was a co-worker in ministry with Paul –
Colossians 4:16 – “Our dear friend Luke, the doctor, and
Demas send greetings.”
2. apparently Demas and Paul served Christ together for some
time
b. the panic of Demas
1. it is very tough to lose a member of your church
2. but it is especially difficult to lose a fellow Pastor, one with
whom you have served Christ
3. and notice the reason that Paul gives for Demas’ departure
“because he loved this world”
a. we don’t know if Demas’ “love of the world” meant that
he abandoned Christ
1. Paul simply says that Demas loved the world
more than he loved serving Christ
2. perhaps Demas simply could not take the heat of
ministry – he could not stand to see Paul suffer
b. perhaps Demas simply returned to the church at
Thessalonica
2. The desertion of everyone else.
a. the importance of their departure
Vs. 16a – “at my first defense, no one came to my support”
1. the Romans generally had two days in court for the accused:
a. the first day in court: the primo actio
1. here the court would hear the charge against the
accused
2. on this day, the primo actio, anyone who wanted
to defend the accused could speak on their behalf
3. you can imagine the impact that would be made
if no one showed up to defend you
b. the second day in court: the secunda actio
1. this would be the court date to hear
and judge the case
2. then the sentencing would follow
2. on the first day in court, the primo actio, the day that you
needed to hear someone testify on your behalf as NO ONE
SHOWED UP TO DEFEND PAUL! NO ONE!
a. Paul had done nothing wrong in the first place. Thus, he
would not be “hard” to defend.
b. he had served all of the Christians in Rome for years
through his prayers and support
c. and now Paul finds himself standing before this pagan
Roman court with NO ONE to defend him – thus saying
to the Roman Court that he must be guilty
b. the impact of their departure
Vs. 16 – “everyone deserted me”
1. can you feel the pathos in that statement?
a. you would expect a few to desert Paul, BUT NOT
EVERYONE!
b. and note this . . . THIS WAS THE CHURCH AT
ROME!
1. to whom Paul wrote the greatest book in the
New Testament
2. a church that should have been theologically
sound!
3. a church that should have rushed to Paul’s side!
2. look at what Paul had done for them, and WHAT DID THEY
DO FOR PAUL!
3. The duty of Luke.
Vs. 11 – “only Luke is with me”
a. you must understand the total sadness of this verse to get its full impact
1. Paul referred to Luke in Colossians 4:14 as “our dear friend
Luke, the Doctor.”
2. Luke was a medical Doctor!
a. in the book of II Corinthians, Paul mentioned a “thorn in
his side” that he asked God to deliver him from
b. many think that Paul may have been partially blind
1. Galatians 4:15 – “What has happened to all
your joy? I can testify that, if you could have
done so, you would have torn out your eyes
and given them to me.”
2. Galatians 6:11 – “See what large letters I use
as I write to you with my own hand!”
c. Dr. Luke seemed to travel with Paul on his journeys to
take care of his physical needs
d. and now, . . . the ONLY one who was still with Paul was
Luke, the Doctor
1. as if Dr. Luke didn’t count because he was there
to medically serve Paul
2. would Luke have been there if he were not
needed medically?
b. the entire text screams at the loneliness of Paul
B. The DAMAGE To Paul.
1. As if it were not enough for EVERYONE to desert Paul in his hour of need, there was yet another reason for Paul to be discouraged
2. Someone also attacked Paul in his hour of need –
Vs. 14 – “Alexander the metalworker did me a great deal of harm. The Lord will repay him for what he has done.”
a. we really don’t know who Alexander the metalworker was
1. perhaps he was a maker of gods prevalent in Rome and resented
Paul’s teaching against Roman gods
2. perhaps he was the man who Paul mentioned in
I Timothy 1:20 – “Among them are Hymenaeus and
Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan to be taught
not to blaspheme.”
b. whoever it was, this man Alexander did harm to Paul
1. the Greek word for “did me a great deal of harm,” means:
a. the Greek word did is the word for:
1. to show; to demonstrate; to prove; to lay
information against another
2. in other words, Alexander wanted to make
absolutely SURE that he harmed Paul
b.a great deal of harm means:
1. to do much, great, “over the top” harm
2. to be wicked
3. to be injurious; to inflict pain
2. the Greek tense also suggests something that happened to Paul
in the past and was still affecting him negatively as he sat in the
Mamertine prison
3. perhaps this is what Paul meant; not only did no one come to
his defense in the courtroom, Alexander actually testified
AGAINST Paul on that first day in court
C. The DANGER To Paul.
1. How easy it would have been for Paul to get discouraged:
a. one - Paul had done nothing wrong, certainly nothing that would warrant his death
b. two - he is “under the jail,” in the bowels of Rome; chained to two uncaring, uninterested Roman guards
c. three - he has been absolutely abandoned by everyone in Rome, despite a life of service and ministry to them
d. four - he has been attacked, having things being said about him that are totally untrue
e. five - the only one left there is a medical Doctor, who is merely making him comfortable during his last days on death row
2. Would you blame Paul if he were a little discouraged . . .
a. how did Paul handle such obstacles?
b. let us see how he did it
III. The DIFFERENTIATION Of Paul.
A. The FORGIVENESS Of Paul.
1. The forgiveness of his accuser; “Alexander.”
Vs. 14 – “Alexander the metalworker did me a great deal of harm. The Lord will repay him for what he has done.”
a. regarding Alexander, Paul knew that it was not his place “to get even” with Alexander
b. after all, what had Paul written before in the book of Romans 12:19 - Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: "It is mine to avenge; I will repay," says the Lord.