Welcome back to Tabernacle Tidbits. Today, we are in 2 Timothy 1 and verse 17.
Here in this portion of scripture, the Apostle Paul is writing to Timothy, and he's been talking about the fact that though he is in Rome, this would be for his last letter that he would pen of scripture, and he's talking about the loneliness that he
feels that those that had been his companions, especially those in Asia Minor that had been with him and were helping him while he was in prison, that he felt deserted by them. And he specifically names two individuals that in particular had left him
completely alone. But then he says on the flip side of that, that there was one man from Ephesus, a man named Anessa Forus, that was a particular blessing and encouragement to him, a breath of fresh air as we heard yesterday.
And he closed out verse number 16 by saying, he often refreshed me and was not ashamed of my chains. On the contrary, when he was in Rome, this is now verse 17, when he was in Rome, he diligently searched for me and found me.
And that verse all by itself, when he was in Rome, he diligently searched for me and found me. I'm sure that many of you do not have missionary prisoners that you need to be looking for today.
I think that even as we learned a little bit yesterday, we can find great challenge for our own life in how we love and care for others from this verse.
This word diligently would often be used in scripture to talk about doing something quickly, doing something with special urgency. Sometimes it's the timeline that's in view. He quickly searched for me and found me.
The other way that it is used is of the thoroughness or of the manner in which someone carries out a duty, whether that's diligently, earnestly, zealously, eagerly, would be how it would sometimes be phrased.
He says he had a special urgency and care for his love for me, that he didn't just allow it to be something that he'd meander, he'd take his time, but he placed special importance on finding and caring for the apostle Paul.
I want to make two statements. Number one, and I'll say on the outset, I realize that as a pastor, the circumstance in which this puts me, that I say this, but I think it's valuable. I think it's directly from the passage.
Do you have a care and a love for your spiritual leaders, for your pastors, for your elders, for your deacons? Do you care for them? Do you place any sort of importance or urgency on praying for them, caring for them if they are in need?
As Paul was here, elsewhere, as we would read in Scripture, you can think of David and those of his mighty men that when David needed, when he wanted water from the well at Bethlehem, they endangered their own lives, and they went and they brought it
to him. And David, of course, was very grateful and poured that out for an offering to the Lord out of respect for both those men and what they went through for him.
I can think of what Paul tells the Corinthian Church that as their spiritual leaders were caring for the Corinthians and feeding them spiritual food, Paul says, hey, make sure that they can be fed physically because they are spending so much time on
y'all spiritually. So that would be one aspect of do you have a care and a love and a provision for those that are caring for your life spiritually?
And then secondly, do you care and love for fellow believers, that when they are in need, do you place importance on quickly and thoroughly making sure that they are loved and provided for? I've been so thankful.
So the week that I'm recording this, we had one of our church members, honestly, I think it's been for decades, that she had a loved one that passed. And I fell sick on, actually, the day right before that memorial service.
But because of our church body all gathering together, and because each part of the body is able to make up for when one part isn't able to do its portion, I know that that family was able to experience the love of God, they were able to experience a
good meal, they've been able to experience prayers, and the care of their spiritual brothers and sisters because of the rest of the body. And I am so thankful for that. Thankful for some of those that like cooked and helped out in that.
I'll give a special shout out real quick. I don't know if they listen to this at all. But Teresa and Lori and Roy, I know Shelly and Mary and many, many others often have their hands in helping out.
I think of Judy that often help out with those types of meals and caring for those that have experienced loss. And I am so thankful for you all.
So I want to encourage you today, just as Inessa Forest did for Paul, he diligently searched for and found him, he cared for him. Do you have that same care and love for other people within your local body of believers? Thanks for tuning in.
Tomorrow we're gonna be in verse number 18, closing out the talk about Inessa Forest.
