A Servant Gripped by the Gospel

Providence Baptist Church

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Proclaimed through song, as we sang, you know, we serve a holy

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God. We serve a holy God and we are an unholy people. We are unrighteous.

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We deserve His wrath to be poured out upon us for all of eternity. Yet, those sinners who come to Him, who repent of their sins and trust in Him, they've been met.

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They are met with grace and peace and love and mercy. The Gospel has been proclaimed through song this morning.

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Lord willing, we'll hear it again in the sermon, but I'm so thankful for the Gospel this morning.

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I'm thankful for... I don't have a Father's Day themed sermon this morning, but I am thankful for...

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I do want to say I'm thankful for Christian fathers. I'm thankful for the Christian fathers in here. I'm thankful for my

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Christian father. I get to be in service with him. And with my mom on this

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Lord's Day, I'm very thankful for that. I'm thankful for a Christian father who shared the Gospel with me, who took me to church.

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I'm thankful to be a father. That God has allowed me to be a father. My challenge to the fathers in here is...

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You've heard the Gospel this morning. Teach it to your children. Teach it diligently to your children.

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Daily, over and over. And never get to a point where you think they've heard it enough. Teach it to them again.

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Teach them the whole counsel of God. Lead your family. Well, you will fail. There's not a perfect father in here.

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We've all failed. And we need much grace. But we have a responsibility as fathers and as husbands.

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So, lead your family in the Word. Lead your family according to the

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Lord in obedience to Him. This morning we'll be in 2 Timothy. 2

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Timothy 1. I know I've been preaching through 2

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Timothy for a while. I've taken breaks here and there. You may have thought

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I forgot about it. I haven't. Lord willing, we will get through. 2

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Timothy, we'll take detours here and there as the Lord wills. But we're going to finish out the first chapter of 2

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Timothy this morning. We're going to read 2 Timothy. We're going to read v. 8 -18 just to kind of give some context.

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We're going to focus on v. 15 -18. If you'd please stand in reverence to the reading of God's Holy Word.

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2 Timothy 1. We're going to read v. 8 -18.

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Therefore, do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me,

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His prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God Who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works, but because of His own purpose and grace, which

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He has gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began, which now has been manifested through the appearing of our

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Savior Christ Jesus, Who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, for which

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I was appointed a preacher and apostle and teacher, which is why I suffer as I do.

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But I am not ashamed, for I know Whom I have believed. And I am convinced that He is able to guard until that day what has been entrusted to me.

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Follow the pattern of sound words that you have heard from me in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.

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By the Holy Spirit Who dwells within us, guard the good deposit entrusted to you.

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You are aware all who are in Asia turned away from me, among whom are

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Fidelis and Hermogenes. May the Lord grant mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, for he has refreshed me and was not ashamed of my chains.

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But when he arrived in Rome, he searched for me earnestly and found me. May the Lord grant him to find mercy from the

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Lord on that day. And you well know all the service he rendered at Ephesus.

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Let us pray. Father God, we are thankful this morning for Your Gospel.

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Lord, we have heard it saying this morning, Lord, may it never lose...

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Lord, we know it will never lose its power. But may it never lose its effect on us.

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May we never grow cold to hearing Your Gospel. May we proclaim it daily.

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May we love Your Gospel. May all the more, every time we hear it, may it grow that much sweeter to our ears.

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Father, we are hopeless without the Gospel of Christ. Lord, this morning as we study

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Your Word, as we study Paul's writing to Timothy, I pray,

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Father, that You would help me to preach it rightly. Lord, that You would show me grace. Lord, that You would guide my thoughts, my words.

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I pray, Lord, that as Your Word says, that when Your Word is proclaimed, that it would not return void.

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So I pray that this morning, I pray, Lord, that it would have the effect that You desire for it to have.

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Lord, we are thankful for Christ. And it is in His name that we pray. Amen. So to kind of introduce the text this morning,

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I told you our focus is going to be on verses 15 -18. But to kind of get some context, and I did preach verses 8 -14 here, so hopefully they're somewhat familiar to you.

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I know that was a few months ago. But verses 8 -14 really highlight the power of the

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Gospel of Christ. It is the Gospel, it is a Gospel that is more powerful than, if you look at verse 8, when

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He says, do not be ashamed. It is a Gospel that is more powerful than our shame. Verse 12,

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He says, this is why I suffer as I do. It is a Gospel that is more powerful than our suffering.

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Verse 9, He talks about God who saved us and called us.

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He saved us in Christ Jesus. The Gospel is more powerful than our sin. Verse 13,

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He says, follow the pattern of sound words that you have heard from Me in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.

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The Gospel is more powerful than our strain. And then verse 14, He tells

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Timothy, guard the good deposit entrusted to you. The Gospel is more powerful than our slackness.

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It's more powerful than our desire at times to surrender. And Paul, he's writing to Timothy.

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He's telling Timothy, he's saying, Timothy, don't give up. Hold fast to Christ.

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Hold fast to the Gospel. Christ is worthy. Be strong in the face of suffering.

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And this morning, we get to our text in verses 15 -18. And there's much that we as Christians and we as church members can learn from these few verses looking at the lives of three men mentioned.

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Our text starts in verse 15 with the desertion of Paul. He writes, you're aware that all who are in Asia turned away from Me, among whom are

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Phagellites and Hermogenes. All who are in Asia, he says, all who are in Asia turned from Me.

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And we shouldn't take Paul to mean that every single believer in Asia had turned away, but rather it was a great number.

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We also shouldn't write Paul off here as exaggerating and being emotional because a great number had turned away from Paul.

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A great number who had faithfully served or so had thought faithfully served next to Paul had turned away from him.

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When we see Paul, you know, I'm reminded of Elijah and 1 Kings when he felt like that all had bowed the knee to Baal.

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That all had turned. God shows him that thousands have not bowed the knee to Baal.

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Thousands are still faithfully serving. But a great majority had turned away.

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A great majority in Asia had turned away. And among whom he specifically mentions

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Phagellites and Hermogenes. They deserted Paul. They left.

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They turned away from Paul. Most believe that this happened upon Paul's second arrest here in Rome.

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This is his second arrest. We know that he does not become a free man.

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After this, he is going to be killed. And we must understand that the charges against Paul were serious.

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They had to be. Now we know Paul was guilty. All he was guilty of was preaching the

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Gospel of Christ. But those were not the only charges they had against him.

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A lot of times, they would make up other charges. Many Christians were killed in Rome for simply being a

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Christian and proclaiming the Gospel. They used to come with the territory.

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If you were a Christian, you spread the Gospel. Nowadays, there are many that proclaim and be a

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Christian that don't spread the Gospel, but as it should be back in these days, if you were a

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Christian, you more than likely in some form or fashion spread the Gospel. And they were killed in Rome for this.

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Paul was going to be killed in Rome. And a lot of times, they would add false charges. Some commentators note they would add things like sedition or endangering the peace.

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But what we really need to understand is to be associated with Paul at this time was dangerous.

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And a purging was happening here. A purging of Paul's friends to see who was truly in the faith.

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Who truly supported Paul in his preaching of the Gospel. Some left out of fear.

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Some left because a hard life like this was not what they had envisioned.

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The life of Paul to be stoned, to be shipwrecked, to be snakebitten, to be arrested multiple times, to be soon to be executed.

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That wasn't what I signed up for. I signed up for a more prosperous life. We see this in our day.

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We see those that may proclaim to be in the faith, but when they experience persecution as we have been promised that we will, when they experience persecution, they turn away.

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Because they thought it was a prosperous life on earth that they were coming to live. But this desertion of Paul, it was painful.

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It was painful for Paul. He obviously cared deeply for these that deserted him.

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And they hurt him. And you can tell by the way he's writing that he was hurt in a specific way. And the specific mentioning of these,

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Fidelis and Hermogenes, shows that they were more than just mere acquaintances.

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Paul had no doubt ministered with these men. And he's telling Timothy. He's saying,

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Timothy, don't be like these men. Fidelis and Hermogenes, they have departed.

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They have deserted me. Don't be like these men. Avoid this. Stand upon the truth with me.

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Don't be ashamed of the Gospel of Christ, nor of me, his prisoner. These were.

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These were ashamed. Don't be. Not only ashamed of the messenger, but they were ashamed of the message.

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They didn't guard the good deposit that he mentions in verse 14. Don't be like these.

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But there is another. Onesiphorus. Onesiphorus.

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His name means bringing profit. I think I pronounced it different earlier. Onesiphorus. Onesiphorus.

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His name means bringing profit. I don't know if you want to... I know

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Alex and Cheyenne, if you have a baby boy, Onesiphorus. Bringing profit. It may be a while before he knows how to spell it.

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But Onesiphorus. So he highlights, he starts, all these have deserted me, among whom are

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Fidelis and Hermogenes, but one he mentions did not. Look with me.

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Verse 16. May the Lord grant mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, for he often refreshed me and was not ashamed of my chains.

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Paul gives examples of those not to imitate.

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Don't imitate these. But then he gives an example of Onesiphorus. This is the fourth example that Paul's given.

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He's given himself as an example for Timothy to follow. He's given Eunice and Lois, his mother and grandmother.

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And now Onesiphorus. Onesiphorus who didn't leave. Onesiphorus who remained when others departed.

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What was the difference? What was the difference between Onesiphorus and all these others that departed?

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Why did he stay when others departed? One, Onesiphorus was a believer.

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I'm not saying that all those who departed couldn't possibly be true believers.

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It's unlikely. But it's possible. You might wonder what evidence they had of their faith. But Onesiphorus, he had evidence of his faith that we're going to spend some time looking at today.

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Onesiphorus was a believer. That's extremely important. By taking this further,

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Onesiphorus was gripped. Onesiphorus was gripped. You may ask what?

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By what? By what was he gripped? Was it Paul's character or success? No. No doubt

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Paul was a man of character. But it was much more than that. Paul was someone to emulate.

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Absolutely. We have those in Scripture. We have those in church history. We have those in our lives that we emulate and rightly so.

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We don't hold them as perfect. Only Christ was perfect. But Paul even said, he said, follow me or imitate me as I follow or imitate

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Christ. That's not putting Paul or other Christians on the same level as Christ.

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But there are many things from many believers that are good for us to emulate. And we'll read some things in Onesiphorus' life that we should emulate.

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But Paul's character wasn't what he was gripped by that made him stay when others departed.

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Paul's ministry was a success. But it was more than that for Onesiphorus. Many had come to repentance, true repentance, under the ministry of Paul.

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And I don't know one person in the ministry that doesn't pray for that kind of success that Paul had.

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But that wasn't what made Onesiphorus stay. Well, if it wasn't his character, it wasn't his success, maybe it was his status.

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No, Paul had very little status, especially at this time. He was imprisoned in Rome as a criminal.

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So what was it? That he was so gripped by that led him to remain when others departed.

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Not Paul's character. Not his success, not his status. But rather, he was gripped by the message that Paul had preached.

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The message that Paul was reminding Timothy of in verses 9 and 10. Look at it.

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Who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works, but because of his own purpose and grace which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began, which now has been manifested through the appearing of our

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Savior Christ Jesus who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.

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That's what had gripped Onesiphorus. He was gripped by the gospel. The faith was more than just a check of the box part of his life.

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It was more than just come and sing songs and listen to somebody preach once a week.

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It was more than even just a lifestyle. It was his life. He had been supernaturally changed by the

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Spirit. He had been saved from the pits of hell, from the slavery of sin.

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He was no longer dead in his trespasses and sins. He no longer had a heart of stone within him.

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You may say, how do you know all this about him? We know very little. Well, we know that he was most likely a believer.

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And everything that we know about him was through the work of Christ. His perfect life, death, and resurrection.

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His righteousness accounted in the place of the unrighteousness of Onesiphorus. This gospel, the true gospel, had gripped

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Onesiphorus. But it didn't just happen to him and it stopped there. Regeneration doesn't just happen and that's it.

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That's all the working of the Holy Spirit in the life of a believer. Change continues.

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Sanctification progresses. His being gripped wasn't in word only by just saying, hey,

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I'm gripped by the gospel. It was lived out and it was evident in his life.

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The gospel is evident in the life of believers. It should be evident in the life of believers.

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Are you a believer? Are you a believer? Have you been gripped by the gospel of Christ or are you playing games?

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Think about it. Are you gripped by this? You claim Christ. I proclaim

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Christ. I'm a believer. I've been saved. Are you gripped by his gospel or are you playing games?

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Are you being sanctified? Are you someone else when you're not in this place?

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Is there evidence in your life that you have been gripped by the gospel? We have evidence here in our text.

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Five evidences that I want to point out of Onesiphorus' faith as well as these are not only five evidences that Onesiphorus was a believer, but they're also evidences that he had been gripped by the message.

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He had been gripped by the gospel. The first one comes in verse 15. You're aware that all who are in Asia turned away from me among whom are

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Phygelus and Hermogenes. When all these others departed, he remained.

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He was steadfast. He was steadfast. His steadfastness, some ways that it was evident was through his steadfastness.

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Here's the truth, church. There will be many who depart.

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Sadly, I have seen this in my life. I have preached with men that I thought to be brothers who have departed.

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I think of Demas. He's mentioned in Philemon. He's mentioned in Colossians where Paul is writing and he's saying, hey,

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Demas, he sends you. He greets you. He mentions him twice, but then in 2

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Timothy at the end of this book, he writes for Demas, in love with this present world, had just deserted me and gone to Thessalonica.

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I've spent hours in the Word with men and I thought, wow,

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I am seeing sanctification in real time. I'm seeing it.

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Only to have them to depart and to this day have not returned. There may be some in this room who will depart.

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There may be some who have heard this gospel, maybe even professed belief in the gospel, been baptized and joined the church, who will one day depart.

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Will you remain? Even if everyone else departs, even if it costs you your family and your closest friends, we need to examine this because many will leave.

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You say, how? How can this happen? Because they were never changed.

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They were never changed. They had a form of godliness, but denied the power thereof.

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We firmly believe in the keeping of the saints by the working of the Holy Spirit. And we believe this is evidenced in their lives.

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We believe this is evidenced in the lives of believers. We don't believe you can profess Christ and then continually live a lifestyle that shows no obedience to His Word.

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Do we still sin? And is it possible to fall into sin for a period of time? Yes. But to depart highlights a problem addressed several times in Scripture.

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The problem is that they were never saved. 1 John 2 .19,

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John writes, they went out from us, but they were not of us. For if they had been of us, they would have continued with us.

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But they went out that it might become plain that they all are not of us.

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What are you trusting in this morning? Are you trusting in your work? Are you trusting in your righteousness?

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Are you trusting in your ability to recite Scripture? Christians ought to recite

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Scripture. Are you trusting in your coming in to this church this morning?

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Christians ought to come to church. But are you trusting in these things as I am righteous because I did this, this, or this?

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Because if you're trusting in your righteousness, if you're trusting in your works, then you're sadly mistaken.

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And you will depart. But if you're trusting in the work of Christ, the finished work of Christ, you will fail.

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You will still sin, but you will remain steadfast. When others depart, you will remain.

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Onesiphorus remained because he had been changed by this Gospel and he was gripped by it.

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The Holy Spirit was at work in his life and it produced steadfastness. Maybe you've struggled in this area.

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Been quick to depart instead of staying. Maybe this morning, you're on the verge of saying it's too much.

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If you've departed when you should have stayed, repent and run to Christ.

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And if you're on the verge of saying I just can't go on any longer, let me offer you this encouragement.

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Stay. There is victory in Christ. 1 Corinthians 15 .50

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I tell you this, brothers, flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.

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Behold, I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed.

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In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet, for the trumpet will sound and the dead will be raised imperishable and we shall be changed.

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For this perishable body must put on the imperishable and this mortal body must put on immortality.

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When the perishable puts on the imperishable and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written, death is swallowed up in victory.

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O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting? The sting of death is sin and the power of sin is the law.

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But thanks be to God who gives us victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

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Therefore, He gives this truth and He says, Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the

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Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain. When others are departing, when they're departing, when others are turning from this

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Gospel to lies and false Gospels, stay. Stay.

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Remain steadfast. But not only stay, stay and strengthen.

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You can't do this alone and neither can others. God never designed it that way.

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He designed local churches that have real people that really stay and not just stay, but strengthen one another.

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We see where Onesiphorus, not only did he stay, but he strengthened.

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Verse 16, May the Lord grant mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, for he often refreshed me and was not ashamed of my chains.

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He often refreshed Paul. Often. It was not just a one -time thing.

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It was more than just a, hey, I really encouraged Paul that time. He won't need that again. Timothy comes to Onesiphorus and he says, hey, brother,

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I want you to go to Rome and encourage Paul. And he's like, no, I've already done that. How many times does this guy need refreshed?

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How many times does this guy need encouraged? No. He didn't have to be told. Others only looked out for themselves.

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We've got to understand, Paul was not in a three -hots -in -a -cot prison. He was not in, hey,

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I'm going to go, they're going to feed me. And that's not to negate that prisons are horrible today. But if you think prisons are horrible today, do some study of Rome.

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In Roman prisons, him eating and being sustained often relied upon others coming and bringing him the things he needed to live.

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Let me ask you a question, Christian. Are you a strengthener? Are you someone who doesn't have to be told to encourage your brother and sister in Christ?

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Are you someone who does this at all? Do you strengthen at all?

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Maybe you say no, and I don't have to. It's not my calling. That's for people that are called to do that.

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There are people that are called to be strengtheners. That's not me.

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Let's look at Scripture. What does Scripture say? Galatians 6, verse 1 -2 Brothers, if anyone is caught in a transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness.

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Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.

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Now the greatest burden that we have to bear is sin. But we ought to bear one another's burdens.

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Hebrews 3, verses 12 -14 Pastor Quattro and I, you probably have heard this 50 times in the last 6 months

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I feel like. Hebrews 3, verses 12 -14 Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart leading you to fall away from the living

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God. But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called today.

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How often is that? That none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin, for we have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end.

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God has designed us as a means of help for one another. He strengthened

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Paul. He refreshed Paul. And he did this no matter what it may cost him.

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He did this even when it was inconvenient. This is hard work.

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But Onesiphorus had experienced something that made it worth it. He saw this as greater than any achievement the world had to offer.

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But church, this is hard. This is hard work. It's hard to be the true church and to bear one another's burdens, to strengthen one another.

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But church, it is worth it. And we need it. But someone that is steadfast

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Be someone that is steadfast and refreshes other believers and don't be ashamed of it.

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Verse 16, he says, Onesiphorus often refreshed me and was not ashamed of my chains.

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Not ashamed of Paul as a criminal. Associating with Paul at this time could potentially mean the same fate as Paul.

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And no doubt, many had turned away from Paul for this very reason. Onesiphorus had known that people might see him.

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He had to have known. Somebody's going to see you going and talking to Paul. But he didn't care.

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He was loyal to his brother in Christ. Even if the world looked down on him, even if it cost him his life, he was loyal to his brother in Christ.

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This is hard too. To stand with the church and for Christ when it's not popular in this godless culture in this sinsick age.

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To stand and remain faithful. But church, we must stand. And we ought not be ashamed of it.

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There are some of you that are ashamed to be this kind of Christian. There are some of you that are ashamed to be this kind of church member.

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You may say that you aren't, and you may speak boldly and act boldly when it's easy, but when the rubber meets the road, you cower.

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When someone is street preaching or evangelizing, when you're talking to them, you're all about it.

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Yeah, go get them! You're all about it. But when pressed by others, you don't defend these faithful brothers and sisters.

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You become fearful. And either join in on their reviling or you keep quiet.

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No doubt many did that with Paul. Oh yeah, he's just way too extreme for us too.

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He should just preach the gospel with his life, not his words. He should really talk more about self -help and love than calling people to repent.

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They should tone it down just a little bit. Man, we love his sermons, but he should really keep quiet when he's in public.

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We must repent of this. If this is true of us, we must repent of this and we must not only stand with those that are out spreading the gospel, but we must join them and go and proclaim and go and have conversations.

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Go and say, well, you know, I can't preach. I'm not supposed to preach. You can talk.

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You can have conversations. You can hand out tracts. Onesiphorus wasn't ashamed of Paul and his chains.

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We shouldn't be afraid or ashamed of brothers who go and proclaim the gospel. And we should stand with our sisters who take stands against the godless culture that we live in.

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Onesiphorus wasn't ashamed of Paul, but more importantly, he wasn't ashamed of the message Paul preached. He wasn't ashamed of the gospel.

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If he were ashamed of the gospel, he would have been ashamed of Paul and his chains. When we are ashamed of faithful brothers and sisters faithfully serving, when we are ashamed of churches who take the

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Bible, Christianity, the glory of God, and the church seriously, even in the face of ridicule and persecution, when we are ashamed of these things, we are actually ashamed of Christ as well.

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Others were ashamed. Why wasn't Onesiphorus? For the same reason

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Paul wasn't in v. 12. Look at v. 12. It's not part of our text, but we can look at it. Which is why

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I suffer as I do, but Paul was not ashamed. Why? For I know whom

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I have believed. And I am convinced that he is able to guard until that day what has been entrusted unto me.

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Onesiphorus, like Paul, knew in whom he had believed. By God's grace, he had fanned the flame of the gospel.

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The gospel that doesn't give a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of self -control.

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Don't be ashamed of the gospel. Don't be ashamed to stay. Don't be ashamed to remain steadfast, but rather be earnest in it.

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Look at v. 17. But when he arrived in Rome, he searched for me earnestly and found me.

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Not only was he not ashamed of Paul, he sought for him earnestly. He wasn't just sitting back.

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He didn't believe in the whole thing. It's just the thought that counts. How many

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Christians give that line? Well, my heart was with Paul. My heart was with him. Apparently not, if it didn't drive them to action.

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He had an excuse. He had an easy way out. Quit taking the easy way out.

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We should always... I want to preface this by saying we always should pray about everything.

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But if you are using the excuse of I'm just going to pray when you have been commanded to both pray and go, you are in sin.

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He was ready to go forward. He went and searched for him. And his searching, no doubt, drew the disgust of many.

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But he realized something. He realized, I've been given a deposit.

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I've been entrusted with a deposit. The same deposit Paul had been given and that Timothy had been given.

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And he's telling Timothy, be like Onesiphorus. He guarded the good deposit.

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Verse 14. He guarded the good deposit. How? By the working of the Holy Spirit. He went to Paul and he didn't give up when he couldn't find

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Paul. And we see in chapter 2 that the life of a Christian is not the life of a sluggard.

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And in chapter 2 we see that it is the life of a soldier and an athlete and a farmer. And there is great work for the

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Christian to do. Not salvific work. That is a gift from God. But rather works driven by the

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Holy Spirit at work in the believer. We ought to be earnest about our duty to God and working according to His Word.

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By the grace of God, Onesiphorus stayed. He was unashamed of Paul and more importantly the

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Gospel. He strengthened Paul and he was earnest in this. Onesiphorus embodied what it meant to be a servant.

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He was a servant to Paul. But more than anything, a servant to Christ. No doubt

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Paul had modeled it before him, but none modeled it in the way that our

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Lord Jesus Christ did. For He modeled being a servant perfectly. We know very little about Onesiphorus.

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We know he was a servant. Verse 18 May the Lord grant him to find mercy from the

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Lord on that day as you well know all the service he rendered me at Ephesus. He was not a big name.

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And his faithful service indicates he was okay with that. But he wanted to serve regardless.

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We live in a day and age of Christian celebrities. Many of these are faithful.

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Many of these I'm thankful for. You think of Baptists such as MacArthur, Lawson, Washer, Bauckham, I'm talking about in our day.

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And non -Baptists like Sproul who has passed on in Beaky. They've done a great service and they still do a great service.

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But so does the pastor in nowhere Arkansas that is faithfully shepherding 30 people or 20 people or 10 people.

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So does the man who faithfully teaches Sunday school or leads songs or plays the guitar or the piano during service.

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So does the mother who teaches the little children and wrangles her own during worship. So does the man who makes sure that everything needs to be taken care of at the church.

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So does the widow. So does the old man and woman faithfully serving. So does the young man and woman faithfully serving.

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If you are serving Christ according to His word in obedience to it then it is not a small service.

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The greatest service we as Christians do is spreading the gospel. The same gospel

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Paul was preaching. The same gospel that had gripped Onesiphorus.

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Service to Christ and His church is the greatest form of service. We serve, many of us, in different capacities.

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But if you are faithfully serving you need not take it for granted or belittle that service.

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For it is service to the King. And it is worth all the pain and heartache and trials that might come.

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Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 4 So we do not lose heart though our outer self is wasting away our inner self is being renewed day by day for this light momentary affliction is preparing us for an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen for the things that are seen are transient but the things that are unseen are eternal.

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Because here's the truth. One day we will all stand before God the righteous judge.

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Matthew 25 says the King will say to those on his right come you are blessed by my

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Father inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world for I was hungry and you gave me food

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I was thirsty and you gave me drink I was a stranger and you welcomed me I was naked and you clothed me

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I was sick and you visited me I was in prison and you came to me And the righteous will answer him saying Lord, when did we see you and feed you or thirsty and gave you drink and when did we see you a stranger and welcome you or naked and clothed you and when did we see you sick and in prison and visit you and the

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King will answer them truly I say to you as you did to one of the least of these my brothers you did to me.

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This passage could very well describe Onesiphorus. Does it describe you?

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Who do you serve? How do you serve?

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Is it a short -term or a part -time service? This isn't that.

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This isn't a short -term or part -time service. This is a life given to Christ.

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Paul gave a warning to Timothy. He said, Timothy, don't be like the world. Don't be like Phagellus and Hermogenes because if we continue on in Matthew 25 he says, the

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King says, hey I was hungry and you didn't give me any food I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink

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I was a stranger and you didn't welcome me I was naked and you didn't clothe me I was sick and you didn't visit me

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I was in prison and you didn't come to me and they'll say, when? When did we see you? And he'll say, what you didn't do to the least of these my brothers you didn't do to me.

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Phagellus and Hermogenes he's saying, Timothy, don't be like these. Don't be like the world.

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Paul naming these two men meant likely that Timothy knew these men.

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One possibility of mentioning these is because their departure was surprising. Like at some time

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Paul probably served with Phagellus and Hermogenes and said, these brothers are with me till the end.

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And he was surprised when they departed. May that not be said of you. I have a tendency to want to be like Phagellus and Hermogenes.

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To want to depart. You have that tendency as well maybe. But I exhort you church keep your hand to the plow.

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Keep pressing forward. Be like Onesiphorus. He was merciful to Paul.

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Blessed are the merciful for they shall be shown mercy. Christian, this is an example to emulate.

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If you have failed in these areas run to Christ. Repent and trust all the more in Christ.

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But unbeliever you can emulate these things all you want and it will be of no good.

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Apart from Christ these things are of no use to your soul. They won't save you.

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And you stand condemned by a holy and righteous God. And your so called good works are unrighteousness.

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They are unrighteousness. And they will get you nowhere. But there's good news.

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If you repent and trust in Christ you are saved by His good works.

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And He was perfect in every way. He was the perfect servant. He was the perfect savior. He was the perfect prophet.

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He was the perfect priest. He was the perfect king. Repent of your sins today and trust in Christ.

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Serve Christ. Christ is worthy. He is perfect.