Never Stand Alone

Hey everyone.

As I have continued my study of II Timothy, I wanted to share something with you from chapter 3.  In the first 9 verses of II Timothy 3 Paul has painted a picture of some unholy men who may appear godly but deny the power of God.  They are the kind of men who try to take advantage of people, and Paul likens them to Pharaoh's magicians back in Exodus.  He tells Timothy to have nothing to do with such men. 

Then starting in v. 10-11 he draws a comparison between these unspiritual men and himself.  he tells Timothy that he knows all about Paul's way of life, purpose, faith, love and the like.  Paul then talks about how Timothy knew of the persecution Paul endured in the cities of Antioch, Iconium and Lystra and how God rescued him from all of those troubles. 

So to better understand what Paul was talking about, I went back to the book of Acts to see what type of persecution he endured.  So here is what happens:

In Antioch (Acts 13:13 - 52) - Paul and Barnabas teach in the synagogue and people like their message, until a number of the Jews see the crowd that Paul is getting, become jealous and start stirring up trouble, and Paul and Barnabas are expelled from the region.  In spite of their expulsion, the word of the Lord spread (13:49) and the disciples were filled with the Spirit. (13:52)

In Iconium (Acts 14:1--7) - Paul goes next to Iconium, where he and Barnabas go to the synagogue to teach, but those who rejected their message stirred up trouble for them and there was a plot to stone them.  The plot was revealed and Paul and Barnabas fled the city.

In Lystra (Acts 14:8-20) - They go next to Lystra where the people think that they are gods and try to worship them.  Those that had created trouble for Paul and Barnabas in Antioch and Iconium came to Lystra and stirred up trouble for them.  The people of Lystra dragged Paul out of the city, stoned him and left him for dead.  Acts 14:20 says however that after the disciples gathered around him, he got up and went back into the city, then left for Derbe.

So back in II Timothy, Paul refers to these three cities where Paul was kicked out, threatened, stoned and left for dead.  His response to this was that the Lord rescued him from all of this.  (Acts 14:21 says that after teaching in Derbe he returned to those three cities to encourage the disciples there to remain faithful.)  Paul was an amazing guy.  No matter what the situation he really relied on God.  His persecution, make my troubles seem so small.  No one has ever thrown a rock at me because of my faith. 

Later in II Timothy 4:16-17, Paul says that at his first defense, no one came to his support.  It seems so sad, that Paul had no one with him at his trial, but his says in v. 17, "But the Lord stood by my side."  No matter what Paul just looked to God, and that was enough.

Tom