A person’s true character is often revealed by their final words and thoughts and expressions. In her last speech, Rachel talked about the most important things in her life. She spoke about her husband and children, but mostly she talked about Jesus. She spoke about her relationship with Him. She acknowledged her tremendous sadness but also talked about a deep and abiding peace and hope she found in Christ.   She said:

” In His providence, God has used the tough things in my life to draw me closer to Him, to show me His great love, and to teach me many things. I have learned that I am not perfect, and I have the scars to prove it, thirteen of them. They serve as a physical reminder of a spiritual reality that I can never be perfect on my own. I need a savior

I have learned that the greatest evidence of God’s love is seen when I stand at the foot of the cross. He took my shame upon Himself and rescued me. I have learned that being a Christian is not just hope for the future, although it is most definitely that, but that it is the joy of knowing and trusting in a God who is loving and faithful no matter what the circumstances.

When a person is faced with the imminent possibility of death, fake facades begin to melt away. When things begin to go from bad to worse, a person’ true view of God is reveled. Their words are stripped of insincerity. Their real feelings and true beliefs are made crystal clear. They have a laser-focus on the most important things of life and eternity”

Recap

Just like Rachel Barkey, the Apostle Paul had one last opportunity to address the church and his young apprentice Timothy before he died. Throughout 2 Timothy, Paul addresses the most important things to him as he lives out his final days. He pulls off the mask and takes off the gloves as he warns Timothy of the dangerous people who are trying to hurt the young church plant in Ephesus.

The pure gospel was being contaminated in the churches he had planted. Ungodly teachers had found their way into the new Christian church and were distorting the truth so much that some Christians were being led astray. In his first letter to Timothy, Paul said, “Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons…” (1 Timothy 4:1) Some believers had become more interested in following demonic theology, or in pleasing themselves, or in winning the approval of others rather than with honoring God with their lives. This reality tore Paul up.

Paul knew his current imprisonment would likely be his last one. Prisoners were only brought to a facility like the Mamertine Prison in order to wait for their execution date. Unless the Lord supernaturally intervened, his only escape from this dungeon would be his delivery to the executioner. Paul may have had a few days to live….at the most, a few months. Either way, his time was terribly, terribly short.

It was a difficult time for Paul physically. The cell was filthy and cold. He was probably suffering from injuries inflicted by the Roman soldiers. But… Paul does not seem to be overly concerned about his own health in this letter. His mind is consumed with the welfare of the believers in the many churches he planted. He had poured out his heart and risked his life for the spiritual growth of these new believers.

Paul was especially concerned about Timothy. Problems related to false teaching and immoral living were facing the Ephesian church. The Ephesians did not have a powerhouse pastor to replace Paul. Their pastor, Timothy, was faithful, but he was also timid and apprehensive.   How would a man like Timothy face the overwhelming challenges in Ephesus?

Remember that over and over again in his letters to Timothy, we have seen Paul challenge him to have courage, to be consistent and to be faithful. He challenged Timothy to overcome his timidity and stand up to the onslaught of evil and error and false teaching with the power of God’s Word. Remember how 2 Timothy 3:16 was written to remind Timothy that God’s Word is really powerful. It says, “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness…”

Paul was passing on the baton of leadership to Timothy. A sixteenth century theologian put it this way: Paul was “laying down his arms that Timothy might take them up.” Paul was urging Timothy to wield the sword of the Spirit and hold high the banner of the gospel until the day the Lord Jesus took him home.

Paul was at the end of his ministry and in these verses, he is using his own life as an example of how to finish the Christian life well. He wraps up his final letter by explaining to Timothy how his life was like a sacrificial offering to the Lord.

Paul’s entire life was a sacrificial offering

⁶ For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come.

Some translations leave out the word “drink” or the idea of “being poured out” and simply say something like, “I am ready to be offered.” The imagery of a drink offering was significant to the Jewish people and we would miss some of the meaning of what Paul implied if we overlook it.

Every Jewish person would have known what Paul meant by a drink offering. It was an offering that is poured out over an animal sacrifice. In the Old Testament sacrificial system, an animal was ceremonially sacrificed as an atonement for the people’s sins. The sacrificial system existed as a sign. It was a sign that vividly showed God’s people the seriousness of their sins, the death penalty connected to sin and their critical need for a Savior. The sacrificial animal was symbolic of the Messiah who would one day come and offer his own life as a ransom for the sins of God’s people. He would be the ultimate sacrifice. It was this truth that Jesus was referring to when he said, “For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Mark 10:45).

Sometimes there was a little supplement added to the main part of the sacrifice. As the meat of the animal was roasting on the fire, a little oil or a little wine was poured onto the burnt-offering. That little bit of oil or wine would temporarily give off a sweat smell. It was called a drink offering. The drink offering was added to the sacrifice by a person as a demonstration of their thankfulness to God for something He had done in their lives. Numbers 15:7 says a drink offering was “a pleasing aroma to the Lord.” God is pleased when his people say “thank you.” Paul likens his own life and his own death to this drink offering.

When Paul talks of being “poured out as a drink offering,” there is a clear connection to this ceremony in the Jewish mind. In this analogy, Paul would not have said that he is offering his life as a sacrifice because Jesus was the sacrifice. Paul is expressing that his life and his blood is a drink offering poured out on top of Jesus’ great sacrifice for our sins. Paul’s martyrdom was the ultimate expression of gratitude that he could offer for the salvation he found in Jesus. Death as a martyr was a fitting conclusion to a life that was offered daily in the Lord’s service.

Because of his perspective on his life, Paul does not appear very sad as he faced death. He understood that death was not really the end. Death is not dying. He faced it with a certain excitement. He was thankful for the opportunity to give every part his life (and death) in the service of his Lord and Master, Jesus Christ.

He feels like he’s finished and now gets to reap the eternal rewards for his diligent efforts. Skipping ahead to verse 7, Paul gives us three clear descriptions of how he had diligently offered himself to the Lord throughout his entire ministry.

How Paul gave himself as an offering to the Lord during his life:

#1 He fought well

⁷ I have fought the good fight

A faithful and productive Christian life is nothing less than a fierce and relentless struggle. In Ephesians 6:12, Paul says, “¹² For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.”

Through the power of Christ in him, Paul had gone head to head:

• against Satan,
• against demonic forces,
• against world leaders with a evil agendas,
• against corrupt leaders in the Jewish community and
• against the secular, pagan culture.

Inside the church, he had fought:

• Legalism among the Galatians,
• Fanaticism among the Thessalonians,
• Gnosticism among the Colossians and the Ephesians and
• Both fornication & internal legal disputes among the Corinthians.

But that was not all. In addition to the trouble that surrounded both the church and the culture, Paul also struggled personally with his despicable past (as a persecutor of the church) and with the sin that still remained in his own heart.

The fight was difficult, but Paul also called the fight “good.” He says he “fought the good fight.” The cause that Paul fought for was honorable. He was continually calling out other believers to join him in the fight. In Philippians, Paul indicates that he often struggled to find people who understood the value of the Christian’s battle. In Philippians 2, he speaks highly of Timothy, and then says that faithful workers are hard to come by. He complained that some other so-called ministers, “seek their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ.”

This attitude inside the church must have frustrated Paul to no end. If the church really understood who Jesus is and what Jesus offers, then the pursuit of anything else would pale in comparison. Serving Jesus is the highest of callings. It is an honor to count ourselves along with those who “seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness.” (Matt 6:33) Spurgeon once said, ““If God calls you to be a missionary, don’t stoop to be a king”  Christians are not saved simply for their own sakes. Christian are saved for the glory of God and to fulfill a holy calling to be witnesses to an unsaved world. In the beginning of this letter Paul wrote (2 Timothy 1:8-9):

“⁸ Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God, ⁹ 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…”

You and I have been called away from the pursuit of the worthless and into the pursuit of the priceless. Our holy calling demands that we take our eyes off of the temporary things of this world, so we can to focus our attention, our fighting and our energies on God’s eternal Kingdom. Paul encourages you and I to stay on course, just like he did.

#2 He stayed the course

I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race…

It is notable that Paul simply says that he finished the race, not that he won the race. There will be other people who run a better race than you and I do. Your standing before the Lord is not based on what other people do. Your standing before the Lord is determined by your faithfulness in finishing the course God has given you to run. The last few weeks, I have emphasized that the Christian life is not about trying to be more successful than somebody else. Instead, a serious disciple of Jesus is striving to be excellent in everything God has called that person to complete.

We all have a race to run. Hebrews 12 (verses1-2) says, “…since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, ² looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith…” The only protection against the lure and entanglement of sin is “fixing our eyes on Jesus.” You and I can live excellent lives in the midst of this dark world by staying focused on Him. Paul urges us to keep running until the race is completed.

Last week we talked about how enduring a long and difficult race takes mental discipline. Keeping our minds right is a significant part of how we are able finish the race that is set before us. Specifically, you and I keep our minds right and remain in the faith by staying in the Word. Again, Paul is great example of someone who was faithful to the Word.

#3 He guarded the Gospel

⁷ I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.

Paul is referring to all the hard work he had done to protect the church from false teachers throughout his long ministry. Paul saw himself as a guardian of the gospel. He told Timothy to :

• “…guard the deposit entrusted to you.” (1 Timothy 6:20)
• ¹³ Follow the pattern of the sound words that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. (2 Timothy 1:13)

The gospel is a treasure worthy of our careful protection. Every Christian has:

• a fight to endure,
• a race to complete and
• a treasure to guard.

Paul has been a worthy mentor for all of us to emulate in each of these three areas. Now that we have used verse 7 to understand how Paul’s whole life (and now his death) had been a “drink offering,” let’s return to verse 6. In verse 6, Paul says it is time for his departure.

Paul is ready for departure

⁶ For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come.

The Greek word for departure is “analusis.” Analusis has several different uses and implications in the Greek language. It can mean to unyolk an animal from a plow, to unlock handcuffs or to strike camp. Each of these images gives us a vivid picture of the way Paul viewed his last days on earth. But… the best analogy and the picture Paul most likely had in mind was that of “untying a boat.”

Untying a boat

Analusis was the term used for loosening the mooring ropes of a ship. Many times Paul had sailed on the Mediterranean and had felt the ship leave the harbor to set sail for deep waters. Now it was time from him to set sail across the deep waters of death so he could finally arrive at his final eternal home in heaven.

He was concerned about the church, but he wasn’t sad. He was joyful over the thought of sailing to a better place. He previously told the Phillippians (in Philippians 1), “²¹ For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. ²² If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. ²³ I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better.”

This trip across death is over some uncharted water for those of us on this side of eternity. A couple weeks before she died, Rachel Barkey wrote these lines in a letter to her friends and family:

“Dying is hard. I’m not sure what I thought it would be like but I think I hoped it would be easier than this. But, admittedly, I’m not that tough. First of all, I’ve never done it before and there’s no one around who’s done it before to ask how to do it well.”

Jesus is the only one who has ever faced death and then came back again to help us through it. You and I don’t have to sail through these waters alone. Jesus is an experienced navigator and he has a reliable vessel called salvation. Jesus offers safe passage through death for all those who trust in Him as Lord and Savior. Isaiah 43:1-2 says:

“Fear not, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by name, you are mine.
² When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you;
when you walk through fire you shall not be burned,
and the flame shall not consume you.

Life Application: How’s your boat?

Are you relying on Jesus for salvation at your time of departure or are you trusting in your own sinking ship? The end of our lives will be here sooner than we think. Our time of departure is drawing closer with each passing day. You and I make need to make sure that the vessel we are putting our trust in for eternity is seaworthy!

It would be a sad thing for you and me to arrive at the dock, cut the mooring only to discover that we are eternally lost.

• It is possible to attend church for 50 years and still not be saved.
• It is possible to serve Christ for an extended season and even occupy a high position in the church while inwardly being a Judas.
• It is even possible to suffer for Christ, only to discover that your faith is not genuine, like Demas.

Search yourself. Is your life built on Christ? Are you truly an heir of heaven? Your time of departure is near. Are you ready for that journey? What about your family? Husbands, is your wife still unsaved? If so, will you let another night pass without lovingly speaking to her about her soul? What about your children?

You are the missionary in your family. God sent you there to care for their souls. He takes no pleasure in seeing them condemned. Ezekiel 33:11 God says, “I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live…” Wherever God has called you to be a missionary, don’t get distracted and end that race for something as insignificant as money or fame or power. “If God calls you to be a missionary, don’t stoop to be a king.”

There is eternal hope in Christ. Those who are looking to Christ as their source of salvation take great comfort in these words: Death is not dying, it is simply departing.

When we depart from this life, we are with Christ. People who put their hope and trust in Jesus enjoy peace of mind when they think about their final departure. If we really believe what the Bible says about Jesus and about heaven, then departing from this life is a time of celebration, not sadness. That reality led the psalmist to write, “Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints.” (Psalm 116:15)

Why is it precious? Because the end of this life means the beginning of a new life in paradise with our king. The cost of following Jesus is great, but the reward is never ending. 2 Timothy 4:8, Paul urges us to consider the reward for following Jesus:

⁸ Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that Day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing.

If you would like to begin a new relationship with Jesus today, please come forward we’d love to pray with you.

Teaching Outline

Paul’s entire life was a sacrificial offering – v. 6-7, Numbers 15:5-7,

How Paul gave himself as an offering to the Lord during his life:

#1 He fought well – v. 7, Ephesians 6:12, Phillippians 2, Matthew 6:33, 2 Timothy 1:8-9

#2 He stayed the course – v. 7, Hebrews 12:1-2

#3 He guarded the Gospel – v. 7, 1 Timothy 6:20, 2 Timothy 1:13

Paul is ready for departure – v. 6, Phillippians 1:21-23, Isaiah 43:1-2

Application: How’s your boat?

• Search yourself.
• You are the missionary in your family – Ezekiel 33:11
• There is eternal hope in Christ – Psalm 116:15