Well, beloved, please turn with me in your Bibles to Paul's second epistle to Timothy. And we are coming to the end of this precious little epistle. And I want us to commence our reading this morning from chapter four of 2 Timothy, from verse 9 through to verse 15. Please follow along with me. I'm reading from the New King James. Be diligent to come to me quickly. For Demas has forsaken me, having loved this present world, and has departed for Thessalonica, Crescens for Galatia, Titus for Dalmatia. Verse 11. Only Luke is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is useful to me for my ministry. Antiochus I have sent to Ephesus. Bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at Troas when you come, and the books, especially the parchments. Alexander the coppersmith did me much harm. May the Lord repay him according to his work. You also must beware of him, for he has greatly resisted our words. Let's pray. Father, we pray for the help of your spirit this morning. We pray that our hearts and our minds would be united. And we pray that our lives would be transformed under the preaching of your word, not because of your instrument, but because of your power and for the glory of your name. We ask it in the name of Jesus. Amen. Well, I've entitled my message this morning, Beloved, Faithful Friends for Trying Times. Faithful Friends for Trying Times. When you think of the Apostle Paul's situation, it is especially important for us to realize how important it was for the apostle to have faithful men standing with him. He was enduring a great trial. These were the last days of his life on earth, and he was facing many onslaughts, many attacks from various places. Many had abandoned him. Many had proved themselves faithless. Many had sought to do him harm. Paul understood how important it was to have faithful men around him. He understood the value of real, genuine Christian fellowship. In fact, a couple of years earlier, while he was ministering in Macedonia, He had become so exhausted by external conflicts. The super apostles were causing him all kinds of problems. He was struggling with inner fears about the work and about the relentless fact that his body had no rest, that the text in 2 Corinthians tells us he became downcast. 2 Corinthians 7, verse 6. In fact, I think the NASB translates it, he became depressed. Times were tough, and his discouragement was substantial. And God, in his kindness, sent to Paul a blessed and encouraging friend, a man by the name of Titus. In fact, we read in chapter 7, verse 6, that Titus came to him and comforted him. And it really was the kindness The loving encouragement of a trusted friend that really was a great blessing to the Apostle Paul that enabled him to continue in his ministry. God used that. The effect on Paul was priceless and precious. And Titus relayed the affirmation of other men who loved the Apostle Paul. And so Paul actually says in 2 Corinthians 7, verse 7, my joy was greater than ever. Titus really was someone who modeled a ministry that God's people need today. It's easy to get discouraged, isn't it, friends? It's easy to become weary in the warp and the woof of life. and even the temptations and the struggles. And God knows that even the most mature of us need men, need God's servants to come alongside us. Here in 2 Timothy, Paul had already mentioned a particular man who was a great blessing to him. You remember who the man was way back in chapter one? His name was Onesipus, and his name literally meant refreshment. And in fact, Paul had spoken about him in verse 16 to 18 of chapter one. After Paul's arrest, most of the believers in the province of Asia either were missing in action or had actually literally turned away. This is where Timothy was located in Ephesus. These men had deserted him. They were men like Phygelus and Homogenes, no doubt men in the church who had some prominent role, but they had deserted him. But this man, Onesiphorus, Oh, what a blessing he was. He was excellent. He came and refreshed Paul. He searched for Paul. Paul was in that dreadful prison, the Mamertine prison, and he treaded the back alleys of Rome, putting his own life at risk, knocking on doors and asking very, very dangerous questions. He found Paul. And Paul tells us that he came and he ministered repeatedly. No matter what the condition, he came and he was a blessing to this apostle. Well, now we come to chapter four and Paul is in this dungeon and it's an awful dungeon. But we have no evidence in this epistle that Paul is discouraged, that Paul is downcast or depressed. He may have been discouraged by those who fell away and hurt by that, but he wasn't depressed. In fact, exactly the opposite. If you look at the preceding paragraph that we looked at last week, you'll see that Paul speaks triumphantly. He gives this wonderful declaration. I have fought the fight. I have finished the race. Now laid up for me is a crown. crown of righteousness. And so, as Paul was in this mud hole in the Mammothine prison, looking through perhaps was a very small hole in the ground, instead of looking at the mud and thinking of the awful surroundings, Paul, with eyes of faith in his heart, saw the glory of Christ right before him. And yet, beloved, even though this was his disposition, God still sent men to encourage the Apostle. We see here the challenging times that Paul was facing, perhaps his toughest, but God was faithful in putting men around him. Now there was a point at which Paul said, nobody stood with me except the Lord. And even then the Lord sustained him, but it's encouraging to see in this passage how God did bring faithful men and surrounded him with these faithful men. And folks, the importance we need to see here is that how valuable Christian friendships are, how valuable it is to have faithful people around us, not only to sustain us and encourage us, but also for continuance, also for continued faithfulness, and so much more for the Apostle Paul. Now you look at this passage, and you see that Paul, almost in a sense, with such urgency, there's an urgency in what he writes here. He becomes pretty intense, and he issues these directives. They're in the imperative. He wants Timothy to come to him. He says, be diligent to come to me quickly. Paul had a burden on his heart. He wanted these men to come. He needed their fellowship. He wanted them to comfort him. But he also had things that he wanted to give to them and share with them. And so he gives four explicit orders. They're in the imperative. The first thing I want you to notice here is how he says in verse 9 through to verse 11. He says, be diligent to come to me quickly. Timothy, drop everything in Ephesus. Come immediately to Rome. Be diligent to come to me quickly, for Demas has loved this present world and has deserted me and has gone to Thessalonica. Crescens. for Galatia, and Titus for Dalmatia, only Luke is with me." Now, as we look at this, we have to ask ourselves the question, why was Paul writing with such urgency? Well, his motivations are, there are several motivations. First of all, Paul loves Timothy. That's the first thing I want us to see. He loves Timothy. This is his first expression. Timothy, come to me quickly. And he loves Timothy and he wants Timothy to be with him. You see, Paul had a very unique relationship with Timothy. Timothy was like a son to Paul. In fact, if you think back to chapter one, Paul actually began the letter by calling Timothy, my dear son. And then it was followed on by an emotional reflection. He said, I remember your tears. And I long to see you that I may be filled with joy. And so the memory of Timothy's tearful love made this soon-to-be-executed apostle, it made his heart ache for his presence. This was Paul's soul son, so to speak. And when Paul says, Timothy, I want you to come quickly, Folks, there's an urgency, and let me tell you, this was quite a demanding request. This was quite a demanding request. But for the love and the bond that Timothy and Paul had, nothing was too demanding. And I say it was demanding because If Timothy was in Ephesus, a journey for Timothy would take anywhere between four to six months over land and sea, and mostly by land, by the way of Troas in verse 13, and Philippi, and the great Ignatian road to Dyrrachum, and across the Brandisms on to Rome. So it was quite a travel that Timothy had to make. Paul was counting on the slow, moving, or grinding pace of Roman justice, trusting and praying that Timothy would be able to make it to him, to get there before his execution. And the journey would have been made as quickly as possible, despite the very inherent dangers that Timothy faced. Now you think about this for a moment, beloved. Paul asking Timothy to come to him. And there's dangers that Timothy would have to face. Are you tempted to think that Paul was being selfish? Some of us tend to think, isn't this a selfish thing? Isn't Paul putting his own needs above that of the church? Especially the troubled Ephesian church. I mean, we know Timothy was facing difficulty in the church in Ephesus. Wasn't it a selfish thing to pull him away? from that situation? Well, I think if you think that way, you don't understand the relationship between these two men. You don't understand the depth of the relationship between them. Nor do you understand, beloved, the fact that Paul had important truths. Paul had important things to say to Timothy about the church moving forward and growing. and it could only be communicated in a give and take, an extended personal exchange, not only to mention the fellowship, the deep fellowship they had to encourage one another. Paul needed to impart essential truths to this young man, and so it was very necessary that Timothy come. In fact, before we think that Paul is being selfish, we've got to remember that Paul had sent Tachikos to relieve Timothy. He was sending Tachikos and so no doubt Tachikos would come and fool the pulpit or be there to minister to the church while Timothy was gone. But I want you to notice next, not only does Paul talk about his love for Timothy, but now he also talks about a disappointment, a sadness that he faced. A man by the name of Demas. Again, if we think that Paul is being selfish by calling Timothy to come and join him, we don't understand and recognize the depth of the Apostles' isolation. We don't understand the need of faithful brothers in these trying times. And in fact, if we look at the words, take a look at verse 10, we see that need expressed. He says, for Demas has forsaken me, having loved this present world and has departed for Thessalonica. Now, what do we know about Demas, friends? Well, let me say to you, Demas had great potential. In Paul's earlier prison epistle to Philemon, Paul actually spoke in glowing terms of Demas, and he referred to him as a fellow worker. In Philemon verse 24, he says he's a fellow worker along with the likes of Mark and Luke. Demas wasn't an outsider. Demas wasn't just the new kid on the block. Demas was part of the inner circle, the close communion with those other mature godly men. In fact, you could say as you look to Demas from what Paul says, even before you get to this section, you could say Demas was probably a man of spiritual substance. In Paul's letter to the Colossians, he includes the name of Demas and he says this when he sends greetings, our dear friend, Luke, the doctor and Demas send greetings, Colossians 4.14. And so Demas wasn't just someone who was a young upstart, no, he had been with Paul, he had been through some thick and some difficult times with Paul. But something happened to Demas, friends. Something happened to Demas. Apparently, the difficulties and the challenges he faced in Rome were too much for him, and he caved. He compromised. He drifted away. You see, no longer was Paul under house arrest. Now, he was in this dreaded prison cell. People who ended up there were executed. People who ended up there were guilty by the state of sedition. And so Demas left for Thessalonica. Now I want you to understand, beloved, and we need to be careful not to go beyond what scripture says. Because there's no suggestion here that Demas had denied the faith in the sense of becoming an outright heretic or an apostate. But he did turn away. And he turned away to the world. Calvin writes this, he says, we are not to suppose that he completely denied Christ and gave himself over again to ungodliness or the allurement of the world, but only that he cared more for his own convenience and safety than for the life of Paul. He could not stay with Paul without involving himself in many troubles and many vexations and a real risk to his life. He was exposed to many reproaches. He was laid open to many insults. He was forced to give up caring for his own concerns, and in the circumstances, he was overcome by his dislike for the cross, and he decided to look to his own interests. He had forsaken Paul for his love for the world. No doubt he probably still thought himself a Christian. In fact, he went to Thessalonica. There was a church there. So there was a healthy body of believers there. And maybe he was just hoping to come and be part of that church and fade into the background. But folks, I want us to consider carefully this morning, Paul's assessment of this man. Look at the words that he says, he loved this present world. He loved this present world. It doesn't make him a devil, but merely a man who, instead of living by faith, had turned to live by the flesh. And really, friends, if you think about it, this stripes pretty close to home, doesn't it? He's a man just like us. and he came into disgrace by a well-worn path, and he just faded and he drifted away. He just drifted away. Demas still wanted his profession, didn't want to lose his Christianity, but it hurt to keep it. And love for the world or this present age, as the Greek literally reads, takes many shapes depending on who we are, and where we are. It could be shaped by things like comfort. It could take on the form of wealth. It could come in the shape of fame. It could come in the advantage or the love of specific things. It could come in the fact that we're just bored with Christianity and we like the things of this world. Our Lord Jesus himself warned us, friends. He warned us, he said, that the love of man will grow cold. The love of many will grow cold. And he warned in his parable that the weeds of this world, the cares, the worries, and the pleasures of this world will choke out our faith. And should we forget what James says when James says, If we love the world, we make ourselves an enemy of God. We make ourselves an enemy of God. I don't know, friends, exactly what led to what Demas did, but I can imagine that a lot of it had to do with the fact that it was a scandal to be associated with the apostle. That's why right in chapter one, he begins by saying, don't be ashamed, Timothy, don't be ashamed. Phygelus and Homogenes had been ashamed. Demas, I believe, had become ashamed and for self-preservation turned away because the road was too hard. Maybe he didn't understand that when we come to Christ, we will face troubles because we will always be on a collision course with this world. You see, friends, we can't have the world and Christ. We must let go one of those two things. Either we will have Christ and we will turn away from the world and we will see the world for what it is and we will see it for the hatred that it is. You know, Paul says this. In 1 Corinthians, he tells us that the Romans and the Greeks, with all of their wisdom, with all of their superior legal system, you know what the pinnacle expression of their wisdom was? They crucified the Son of Glory. That's the wisdom of the world, friends. It will always lead you away from Christ. And it appeals to the flesh. It appeals to the flesh, doesn't it? One man wrote this. He says, the years have a way of taking our ideals away, of making us satisfied with less and less, of lowering our standards. There's no threat so dangerous and so insidious as the threat of years to a man's ideals. We start off with passion. We start off with zeal. We want to serve the Lord. But ah, gradually, gradually, gradually, we find more interest in the things of the world. We find that we're more at home in the comforts and the accolades and the acceptance of the world. And we blend right in and we drift away from this. And before long, we fall away. Is this not appropriate for you and I to hear this morning? There's not a single soul that is not swayed by the lure of comfort. The older we get, the more alluring the siren songs are, the distractions, the frivolous activities that we give ourselves to. We spend hours watching junk, reading junk, doing junk, and our hearts grow cold. And this is the short-sighted temptation to love the present world instead of Christ appearing. And yet, beloved, every one of us are in danger of it, especially as we live in our materialistic and we live in our hedonistic society. There's no doubt that Demas' departure broke Paul's heart. Of course it did. This man was close to Paul. And really, only those who are close to you can break your heart, can cause you so much sadness. And so Paul was discouraged by this. This was a deep disappointment. It was a bitter pill for Paul. And I want to say, beloved, I can testify. I haven't been in the ministry as long as others have. I still consider myself as only being in the ministry for a short period of time. But I can say this, I can bear witness to this, that the greatest heartbreaks have not come from enemies outside, but it has come from people who I really believed, loved the Lord, and yet turned away. People who I could see had great potential, but rather than carry on with Christ, decided to love themselves and serve their own needs. In fact, the mention of Demas reminded Paul of two other departures, but these are not negative departures. Paul doesn't mention that they're negative. He speaks of Crescens for Galatia and Titus for Dalmatia. I think that both of those had likely gone out to missions. Dalmatia was across the Adriatic Sea and Galatia across the Aegean. Titus was the one who had ministered to Paul in Macedonia and whom Paul came to call my true son in the faith. And so it was good and it was right that these two men had gone out, but their absence heightened Paul's need for Timothy. Brother, come. I urge you to come quickly. Paul also speaks about Luke. He says in verse 11, only Luke is with me. Luke was the very opposite of Demas. He too had been with Demas during Paul's first imprisonment. In Philemon verse 24, and He too was included in the greetings to the Colossians. And Paul gives this beautiful description of Luke. He says, he calls him the beloved physician. Colossians 4 verse 40. Luke was a faithful friend in trying times. He was with Paul in prison from the first to the very last. He was Paul's biographer. In fact, if you look at the passages in the Book of Acts, the wee passages, he speaks of the fact that we were with Paul in his enduring times of afflictions. Luke was there, friends. Luke was with Paul. Luke saw him get stoned and regarded as dead. Maybe Luke witnessed the resurrection. We don't know. But Luke saw Paul first hand. Luke was his biographer. And Luke was not only a faithful friend, he was also Paul's traveling physician. He tended to Paul when Paul was broken and bruised. When you think of what Paul says in Galatians, in the book of Galatians, I bear in my body the the scars of Christ. Imagine how many times this man had been beaten, how many times he had been stoned. how much his body, how much affliction his body had been through. Luke was there. Luke cared for him. And Luke was a cultured Greek. He had a cultured Greek style. He wrote the book of Acts. And then he gave us one of the most detailed, detailed accounts of the gospel in the gospel of Luke, when he writes to Theophilus. Perhaps as Paul wrote his final epistle, he was concerned for Luke. who had to shoulder not only the care for Paul, but many other details while in Rome. I think it's very likely that Paul was, that Luke was Paul's emmanuensis. In other words, he was Paul's secretary. He was probably writing down what Paul was saying. Maybe even looked up with a wry smile when Paul wrote, Luke, only Luke is with me. But beloved, Paul is so intensely directive here. He says to Timothy, make haste, make haste from Asia. Make haste. Your arrival will be a blessing. I have much to say to you. I have much to share with you. There are many things that you still need to hear from my lips, young Timothy. And I think it's important to see that as Paul draws near to the end of his life, He knows what his needs are and he's not afraid to express them, is he? Well, let's move on. Paul also mentions Mark. Second, he says, bring Mark. Look at verse 11b. Get Mark and bring him with you for he is useful to me for ministry. As we think about Mark, friends, this is one of those characters in the New Testament that is so interesting. Mark was a privileged young man. He was privileged. His mother's home had been one of the centers of the Jerusalem church. Mark had been there with Christ. His mother's home was the home to which Peter came after the angel delivered him from prison, Acts 12.12. And John Mark had known all the apostles since boyhood. And so when Paul embarked on his first missionary trip, John Mark came with him. That would be the obvious choice. Let me take John Mark with me. And he wanted John Mark to be a helper on the campaign through Cyprus. And we don't know why, friends, but for some unknown, inexplicable reason, we know that John Mark left Paul in Pamphylia and he went home. Acts 13, verse 5 and verse 13. Paul was deeply, deeply disappointed with that. He regarded that as nothing less than desertion. And later, when Barnabas wanted to let John Mark accompany them on a subsequent journey, Paul would have none of it. In fact, they had such a sharp dispute that Paul and Barnabas separated. Paul went his way, and Barnabas took Mark and went the other way, Acts chapter 15. Now, we don't know what happened to Mark afterwards, but something happened. Something happened in the time that he spent with Barnabas, and it was a time, perhaps, of repenting, because we find Mark, he surfaces again during Paul's first imprisonment in Rome, in Colossians 4, verse 10. This is what Paul says, my fellow prisoner, Aristarchus, sends you his greetings, as does Mark, the cousin of Barnabas. And so, something had happened. Philemon, verse 24, Paul refers to Mark as a fellow laborer. And significantly, when you go to the other epistles, like you look at Peter's epistle, you find out that John Mark had become like a son or like a close brother, someone valuable to Peter. And so something had happened. Some repentance had taken place, some restoration. And now, in Paul's greatest time of need. Now you can imagine it, friends. You're about to die. You don't just want anyone there. You want special people. You want people who you have deep affection with there. Here, in his deepest need, Paul says this. Bring him with you. Bring John Mark with you. Because he is useful to me for my ministry. In other words, I need him as I Give my last directives to you for the spreading of the gospel." No doubt he was personally helpful to Paul for other reasons as well. But the point is this, friends. Mark had moved from uselessness to usefulness. And here is this beautiful fact, John Mark, we could literally call him the missionary dropout, became what we've come to know as Saint Mark, the writer of the great action gospel. The gospel that emphasizes the servant, the Lord Jesus Christ. In fact, Mark was just the right man to write it. Friends, what a profound encouragement we find in the life of John Locke. I hope you're encouraged when you hear of this man, when you read of this man. He failed. He blew it. He messed up. But even past failure, even rejection, doesn't prevent present usability. This is a wonderful picture that you can come back from disgrace. And friends, it's not so much how you begin, but where you are now and how you will end. Many of us will stumble and fall. But God is in the process of taking that broken clay, the same lump, and fashioning it into a useful vessel. He does not discard us, friends. And John Mark is a powerful example. You can become immensely useful to Christ, even as this man became. You may have been a shirker, you may have been someone who's been cowardly, but as you turn to the Lord, and you look to the Lord, and you trust the Lord, you can become a great blessing, a great source of encouragement, You can become the kind of person that the Apostle Paul himself would call for. Ah, he's a faithful man. He walks with a limp, like Jacob. He walks with a limp. But that limp, those scars, those wounds, are the very testimony of God's dealings with him. The psalmist says this. Before I was afflicted, I went astray, but now I keep your commandments. Well, in a few months, Luke, Mark, and Timothy are all going to be gathered together for Paul's departure. Look at verse 13 as we work through this text. Bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at Troas when you come, and the books, especially the parchments. Paul requested these items he considered as necessities. He had probably been forced to part with his cloak and trousse after his arrest. Think about it, folks. Here he is in this muddy prison. It's getting cold and colder, and he doesn't even have a cloak. He's shivering. He's amongst a group of thugs and murderers. He's going to get no sympathy from them, and he's shivering. And he says, in fact, in verse 21, he says, do your utmost to come before winter. This epistle just puts such a human face on the apostle Paul, doesn't it? He was struggling. And then he says, bring the parchments. What was a parchment? It really was an animal skin, precious vellum codices. It was documents he especially wanted. We don't know what they were. Could have been the Old Testament scriptures, possibly was. But it also could have been some books with his own notes on them. Maybe it was even something of the accounts of the life of Christ. We don't know, friends. But what's important for us is to see that Paul wanted them. He wanted them. He wanted to read. He wanted to think. He wanted to meditate on the glories that were awaiting him. Move on. Look at verse 14 and 15. Alexander the coppersmith did me much harm. May the Lord repay him according to his work. You also must be aware of him, beware of him, for he has greatly resisted our words. So we have this picture of these three men coming along to the Apostle Paul, making this arduous, lengthy journey. They're making their way to Rome. Hopefully, they'll arrive on the same day. We don't know. Whatever the case was, Paul says, brethren, as you come, I want you to be aware that there's danger. I want you to be aware that there's danger. And so he gives this final directive, and it's a warning. Be careful of Alexander the coppersmith. Now, we don't know exactly what it is, but the harm likely came from Alexander's informing on Paul. Probably he was the one who turned Paul in. The Greeks suggest that Alexander, in fact, may have been the direct cause of his arrest. And so Timothy and Mark must be careful. Perhaps maybe they had thought he was a brother. Maybe they thought They would seek him out, and Paul warns, no brethren, be careful of that man. He was the one who did much harm to me. It is clear what Paul was up to in giving such explicit directives, friends. He wanted these men to come, and he wanted them, he wanted to share with them his final words, encouragements, perhaps, directors. Maybe he wanted to strategize with them. Maybe he wanted them, as they came to him, to know, hey, Timothy, as you pastor and shepherd the church there in Ephesus, be careful of this. Do this. This is how you deal with that challenging situation. Whatever the case is, these men coming together must have been a great time of fellowship and encouragement and meditating and focusing on the things of God. Beloved, as I close, I want us to consider these men that Paul sets before us. And one of the things I want us to understand is how diverse the church is. I want us to recognize how these men encouraged the Apostle. There was Timothy, a young son in the faith, a beloved brother of the Apostle Paul, a young man enduring great endurance, great temptations, great challenges in the church. And his heart was knitted together with the Apostle Paul in the Lord, deep fellowship. And then there was Demas. Demas was a man who started out well. Demas was a man who had all the pedigree of being a faithful minister, but Demas departed, loving the present world. Beloved, we think of Luke, a faithful man, who ministered to the needs of the Apostle Paul. And as we think of these men, we realize how important it is for us to be the very people that Paul is talking about here. Are we going to be a Timothy who loves the Lord, who, as we meet with one another, is going to encourage us in faith, someone who our hearts are knitted to in the love of the Lord? Or are we going to be a Demas, a man or a woman who Who, when things get challenging and get hard, we fall away because we love the things of this world. Are we going to be a Luke? Faithful. Faithful to the end. A faithful minister of Christ's words. These verses, friends, show us how important it is, how important our relationships are with one another. Either we can serve to be a great encouragement to one another to be a means of strengthening, or we can serve to be a means of great discouragement to one another. But one thing is for sure, as we see with the Apostle Paul, we need each other. We need each other. And we need to be faithful to one another in the gospel. And not only do we need to be faithful to one another in the gospel, but we need to pray for one another. that we would be able to minister the gospel to one another and that we would not be led astray and fall away and bring great shame on the world. And so I encourage you, as you look at these final words of the Apostle Paul, Ask yourself, who am I? Where do I fit in this picture? Am I one of these men who were faithful? Would I be characterized as someone who loves the Lord, who's someone who's ministering to the needs of those who might be in desperate need, a blessing to a brother or a sister in great discouragement? Or am I a demon, loving myself, seeking my own needs, ultimately drifting away? into the world. Beloved, we belong to one another. And Paul needed fellowship. Even the great apostle Paul, he needed fellowship. He needed faithful men. And when things got rough, there were very, very few of them around. We need one another. We need to be faithful so that we can be an encouragement to one another. And let me just say to you, as I close this I want to remind you of how Paul was willing to face death. The only reason why Paul was willing to face death and full of joy and full of hope is because he trusted Christ. If you are not trusting Christ, you have nothing to look forward to when death comes. And you will die and God will cast you into hell. You need Christ Jesus. You need to be able To say, as the Apostle Paul, I have fought the good fight. I have finished the race. I have kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give to me on that day. And listen to this. And not only, not to me only, but also to all who have loved His appearing. I urge you to come to Christ and to trust Him. Thank you.