“Who Am I?”

Sunday, March 1, 2009

The Last Will and Testament of any person is a very good indication of the people and things that concern them most. I got to thinking about this is my own life. Vangie and I are in process of reviewing our will to make sure it reflects our present and future desires and complies with all the changes in the law that govern such.  Do you have one?

When Attorney John Sciacca found Christ, it changed the way he did business as a lawyer. I remember him teaching a seminar about Last Wills years ago.  He encouraged believers to leave a tithe (10%) to the church, because it was the last way they could teach their family how important God was to him.  Our Will is our last Testimony to family and friends.

Last words are important, and it looks like the Apostle Paul knew that when he wrote to Timothy the second time. He gives him a list of the people who had played a major role in his life and ministry, and makes some revealing comments.

Remember, Paul is writing from a stinking Roman prison and he knows that his time is short: “The time of my departure has come…I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith…” (4:7). Now, he reflects on his disciples.

In II Timothy. 4:9-21, he lists 17 people, and comments on a few of them. Let me share what he says about a few of them, and then ask yourself, “Which one am I?”  If you were to look in a mirror, which one of the four would you identify with?

DEMAS - Vs. 4:10 “for Demas, having loved this present world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica….”

This is the same Demas who in Colossians 4:14 is mentioned as one of his faithful disciples who stuck with him during his first imprisonment in Rome six years earlier. He had traveled and ministered with Paul for years.  What happened?  Well, maybe he just got tired of all the persecution and deprivation, or maybe he got fearful that he, too, would end up in prison with Paul?

Listen, some of us get fearful, discouraged, tired of the pressure from friends, family, and people who think we are crazy for following Jesus.  But that’s not what Paul says here about Demas: “Demas, having loved this present world, has left me!” (NEB). “His heart was set on this world” (BAS) …“he loved this present life.”

There it is, the #1 cause of rejecting Christ as Savior and Lord, backsliding, drifting away from the Lord, and falling back on one’s testimony and walk with God…..loving the World MORE than loving Christ! Remember Jesus and Peter in John 21, when Jesus asks him, “Peter, do you love me more than these?”

What happened to Demas can happen to Christians in NY, NJ — right here at Gateway. The lure of this present world, earthly things, and lifestyle can pull us away from serving God.

Look in the mirror and ask yourself, “Who am I?” Is there some ‘Demas’ lurking in me?”

ALEXANDER - Vs. 4:14- “Alexander the coppersmith did me much harm; the Lord will repay him according to his deeds. Be on guard against him yourself, for he vigorously opposed our teaching.”

This is the same Alexander who opposed Paul and, along with Hymenaeus, had caused Paul great hardship, not men of good conscience. Paul says, in referring to Alexander in a previous encounter, “Whom I have handed over to Satan so that they may be taught not to blaspheme.” (I Timothy 1:20)

The “Alexander’s” are the people in every church who are enemies of growth, outreach, expansion, change, and often of the pastors! We’ve had our share at Gateway.

I have warned as Paul has — when you get around garbage, you begin to smell like it.  One man told me his wife and family were getting more negative toward the church. I asked him, “Who are your friends? Saved or unsaved, inside the church and outside?”

Evil is more contagious than goodness is for most people, and it is lurking in everyone. In Spiderman III, there is a dramatic moment when Spiderman discovers the potential evil in his own character, and his Spiderman suit turns black! How often does our “suit” turn black, revealing our potential for evil?

I don’t think most Christians have any idea of how dangerous the “Alexander’s” can be in church, family, and business. Romans 15:17 warns us to get away, and stay away from them. Paul goes to the most severe step in church discipline to deal with Alexander and turns his body over the Satan. (I Corinthians 5:5)Even under the judgment of God, he again attacks Paul two years later.  Some people simply have no “fear of the Lord!”

Do you know any “Alexander’s?”  Every pastor alive can name some in their ministries… People who have caused them grief, not joy; heartache, not encouragement; betrayal, not trust; division, not unity.

Look into the mirror of your soul and ask, “Who am I? Am I Alexander?”

MARK - Vs. 4:11 “Pick up Mark and bring him with you, for he is useful to me for service.”

I can just imagine Timothy thinking, “Mark, he’s the one who left you years ago and caused the split with Barnabas.”  Yes, but Paul knows something Timothy probably did not yet know about Mark. He had been restored, forgiven, and was useful again in the ministry!

Hallelujah, there is hope for some of you today who have dropped out of the race, fallen prey to the devices of Satan, messed up. You thought is was all over, that you were in God’s “black book,” but you are “back in the saddle again, back where a friend is a friend…” (to quote Roy Rogers).

Paul put all of Mark’s past failures under the blood of Jesus, and told Timothy to “Go get Mark, because God is using him again.” Yes, God used him to write the Gospel of Mark.  God can do the same for you who feel like you tried to overcome the sin, lust, and temptation and miserably failed.  Don’t stay defeated. (I John 1:9) “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

Is that you today?  You once loved Jesus, drifted away, stepped out of the ministry, the church, away from the Lord?  Well, just look at Mark.  There is forgiveness, hope, restoration, and it can begin today! “Who am I?”  Some can answer, “Mark”

LUKE - Vs. 4:11 - “Only Luke is with me…”

Going to Rome three times, I have visited the place many believe was Paul’s prison in Rome.  What an experience to look up through that hole in the ceiling and think that is where Paul looked up every day and saw Luke ready to serve him in his hour of captivity. Is it any wonder Paul called Luke “the beloved physician”?

Praise God, there are some “Luke’s” who are ever faithful, trustworthy, and steady through the ups and downs. Somehow they can see through the lure of the world that turns the “Demas’” away, and the shallow criticism of the “Alexander’s” that cause strife and division.  Ever faithful! “Sempee Fide!”

Somebody said, “Tough times don’t last, but tough people do!” and “When the going gets tough, the tough get going!”  I call them the “Luke’s.”

Luke 4:19 speaks of Godly women like Priscilla, and her husband Aquila. God has given me dozens of couples like them over the years. Now the Church today needs dozens more.  Are you one?

Well, who are you?

• Demas, the forsaker?
• Alexander, the foe?
• Mark, the forgiven?
• Luke, Priscilla & Aquila, the faithful?

Listen to the prayer of the “Luke’s, Priscilla’s, Aquila’s”……

O Lord, I’m a broom, take me and sweep the world for your
cause;
Lord, I’m a rag, wad me up and use me in clean all the grime
off this earth;
Lord, I’m a car, drive me whenever and whenever you desire;
I’m offering unlimited mileage;
I’m a bandage, apply me to the wounds of hurting people.
Lord, I’m a handkerchief, use me to dry teary eyes;
I’m an umbrella, open me up to keep the cold drenching rain off my
brother;
Lord, I’m a piano, play your tune on my keys;
Lord, I’m money, spend me for anything you desire;
Lord, I’m a brush, paint with me…you choose the color and the
object;
I’m a suitcase, pack me with your cargo and take me anywhere
in this world;
Lord, I’m a sacrifice…lay me on any altar, dead or alive, now or
later…for suffering or both…use me Lord.
I’ve relinquished ALL right of ownership to my life. Please never
give me back to me again.  Make me to be consumed with our
will.” AMEN!”

Look in the mirror again, and ask yourself, “Who am I?”

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