2 Timothy 3:11
11 Persecutions, [diogmos] afflictions, [pathema]
which [hoios] came [ginomai] unto me [moi] at [en] Antioch, [Antiocheia] at [en] Iconium, [Ikonion] at [en] Lystra; [Lustra] what [hoios] persecutions [diogmos] I
endured: [hupophero] but [kai] out of [ek] them all [pas] the Lord [kurios] delivered
[rhoumai] me. [me] KJV-Interlinear
11
persecutions, and sufferings, such as happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium and
at Lystra; what persecutions I endured, and out of them all the Lord delivered
me! NASB
Persecutions, ‘diogmos,’
means to put to flight, to pursue, to persecute relentlessly.
Affliction, ‘pathema,’;
means hardships, something undergone, pain, suffering.
These three cities,
Antioch, Iconium, and Lystra, are all in the province of Galatia and are part
of Timothy’s home turf. No doubt,
Timothy having been with Paul for many years, witnessed all of the opposition
and persecutions that were inflicted on Paul.
And Timothy having been associated with Paul, also shared in those
pressures.
But in our study for
today, the key phrase in the last of the verse, ‘out of them all, the Lord
delivered.’
Despite all of the
hardships placed on Paul, he remained in this life for as long as the Lord
required of him. He has a mission, and
that mission was not only to preach and teach, but to write for the benefit of
many generations yet to come. That
includes you and me.
When you are born into
this world you cannot possibly take care of yourself. You had someone else take care of and raise
you, for many years, until you were then able to take care of yourself. For most folks that is anywhere from eight to
twenty years, give or take.
And if you have any age
of significance, perhaps in your latter years from forty to a hundred (that should
cover most older folks), then you can look back and perhaps see that it was not
you who preserved yourself in this world, but things beyond you, namely God.
We all have to face the
stress of the world, sooner or later.
For some the stresses come and go, for many the stresses seem to be
constant. None of it is fair, but this
is the devils world. And where Satan is,
trouble is also. There will never be any
such thing as a perfect world until the next universe comes into existence.
We will always in this
life, have the poor, we will always have death and sickness and bills and
social problems and so forth. And if you
look at it all with negativity, because you want better and better just does
not seem to be anywhere near, then you will only compound the problems you have
on yourself.
But then, if you look
at life as your own personal preparation for the next life, which it really is,
then you have an objective and a goal, and certainly something that you can
look to with a light at the end of your personal tunnel.
There are two types of suffering
in this life for believers. He first is
discipline for correction and the second is suffering for blessing.
In the first, you are spiritually
out of line and need a nudge, either gentle of forceful, to get you back on
track. Unfortunately too many folks need
to be prodded over and over with greater force, and they still do not get
it. For some, the gentle nudge gets them
back with their daily studies.
In the second, for
believers that are advancing in their spiritual life, the suffering helps to keep
their eyes on God and His purpose, and helps them to build up their faith and commitment
in doctrine. This produces an even more accelerated
spiritual growth for the individual.
How can you tell which applies
to your life? Well, what is the typical
daily pattern of your life? What is your
routine? What do you do each and every day
with respect to doctrine, or what don’t you do?
Are you consistently in fellowship or out?
And that should answer
your question.
Being a believer does
not exempt you from the troubles of this world.
Being a mature believer will not exempt you from the troubles of this
world. No one can judge you based on the
difficulties you have in life. Wealth and
poverty, sickness and health come to everyone regardless of their spiritual
status. They are not measures of ones
spiritual growth.
In Noah’s day, all of
the good believers died prior to the flood, leaving only Noah and his family to
board the ark. In Elijah’s day, believers
were persecuted until there were few remaining.
At the end of our own dispensation, the attitude toward Christ will
dwindle, meaning that faithful believers may very well be gone from this world,
even though many believers will be here for the Rapture, but they will be
negative and stagnated in their spiritual lives.
You cannot look at someone's
appearance or checkbook and determine their level of spiritual growth. Gods purposes for us all are many and varied.
But as for you, your
goal is or should be, spiritual maturity, in preparation for you turn before
the Judgment Seat of Christ, and your evaluation, and then eternity beyond
that.
Look to that goal, and
that will help you get through anything that this world can throw at you.
And remember one more
very important principle. God has a
purpose for your life, and as long as you are advancing toward that objective,
nothing and no one can take you out of this life until God Himself is ready.
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