Greetings, radio friends, in the ever-precious name of the Lord Jesus. Once again we invite you to pay attention to the Word of God and listen with rapt attention to the teaching of the precious book that is a book above all others, even the Bible. We continue our meditation in the second epistle of Timothy. I would like to read from verse fifteen of chapter one to the end of the chapter. Paul writing by the Spirit and reminding Timothy, saying, This thou knowest, that all they which be in Asia be turned away from me, of whom are five jealous and homogenes. The Lord give mercy under the house of Ornusiferus, for he oft refreshed me, and was not ashamed of my chain, but when he was in Rome, He sought me out very diligently and found me. The Lord grant unto him that he may find mercy of the Lord in that day. And in how many things he ministered unto me at Ephesus, thou knowest very well. We come to the closing part of chapter one, where the emphasis of the whole chapter in relation to the truth of God, in days of spiritual peril and apostasy, The injunction is given to us to hold to the truth, be faithful to the truth of God. In our closing verses of the chapter, Paul reveals that even in his life history, he lived long enough to see men turn away from his teachings. In fact, the very churches, which he himself in company with his fellow laborers had established, were turning away from Paul. For he says, This thou knowest that all they which are in Asia be turned away from me. One servant of God wrote long ago that God often permits his trusted servants to live long enough to have men turn away from their teachings. How sad is this commentary? But it certainly magnifies the solemn fact that men do not keep the truth as they should. My beloved believer, may I remind you as well as my known heart, it is very easy to drift away from the truth. Now the truth of God will never drift away from us. But the guilt is upon our side. We drift away from the truth. And I would like to strike a note of warning and earnest admonition to my fellow Christians that the exhortation to hold the truth of God can never be overemphasized. We are all in the danger of neglecting that truth. or drifting away from that truth, not necessarily desiring to, but being caught in the drift and the pressure of the stream of time to such a degree that instead of resisting that drift and that tide, we drift along with it, to the extent that we drift away from the truth of God. I am positive there are many believers who never intended to drift away from the truth of God. But because of not giving attention diligently to their soul's condition and to the dangers and the perils they face, they have found themselves caught in the whirlpool of a post of condition that have caused them to drift away from the precious truth. Paul lived to see it. Even all them that were in Asia, the very churches, numerous churches that he had established, they turned away from Paul, their beloved and their faithful teacher. Two men are specifically mentioned. The specific reason for their mention perhaps is obvious. They were outstanding teachers of the Word of God. But they too, Phygellus and Amogonese, had turned away from the beloved apostle Paul. My fellow Christian, may I say, don't test any man's ministry by just what he says. Test every man's ministry by the Word of God itself. And I have no hesitance in believing these two teachers of the Word of God had no right to turn away from the faithful teaching of Paul. We read in the twelfth verse of this same chapter that Paul, who had been appointed a preacher as well as an apostle, as well as a teacher of the nations, was fully persuaded that he was willing to leave in the hands of his Savior not only the committal of his soul, but the committal of all the ministry that he had performed in the teaching of the Word of God. And he was waiting for that day the coming of our Saviour to thus vindicate his faithfulness to the truth of God. Now if Paul thus speaks concerning the many that have turned away from him and the ministry of God's word which he taught, he mentions one specific character who is of definite encouragement, of whom he speaks well when he says in verse sixteen the Lord give mercy unto the house of Onesiferus. For he oft refreshed me, and was not ashamed of my chain, but when he was in Rome, he sought me out very diligently until he found me. The Lord grant unto him that he may find mercy of the Lord in that day, and in how many things he ministered unto me at Ephesus thou knowest very well. One wonders if this character, or Luciferus, was perhaps an exception. One thing is certainly true, the exceptional ministry of this child of God. For according to the statement of the apostle, this saint of God, says Paul, he oft refreshed me, and was not ashamed of my change. There is no question of doubt that many of the Christians of that day were ashamed of Paul because he was in prison. And they possibly upgraded him because he had permitted himself to be so caught as well as to be so imprisoned and put out of circulation. My beloved, the beloved apostle Paul was in prison because he preached the truth and taught the truth of God. And it was for the truth's sake that he was in chains. But here was a Christian who refreshed the beloved Apostle. The expression in the Greek text is beautiful. He oft refreshed me, suggesting that in the heat of the day, then the heat of a trial, as a cool, refreshing breeze, Onesiferous came in and brought spiritual reviving, refreshment that was sweet. As a cool breeze would be so refreshing, in the heat of the day, and brought confident encouragement to even the great Apostle Paul. And one thing is definitely sure the Apostle says, He not only oft refreshed me, but He was not ashamed of my chains. And though the Apostle was a prisoner bound by Rome, He was a Christian who was not ashamed of Paul. May I remind you that in the early part of the chapter, in verse eleven, I believe it is. No, it's earlier than that. In verse eight, Paul says, To Timothy, Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner. For men were not only ashamed of the Lord's testimony, they were also showing shame because of the apostle being in prison. Not onesiferous. He was not ashamed of my change. But when he was in Rome, Onesipharus did not follow what is the usual custom, which has often been said in the vernacular, when in Rome, do as the Romans do. Not Onesipharus. When he was in Rome, he sought me out very diligently, and he found me. Now may I remind my listeners, that the great metropolis of Rome in that day of Paul was the largest city, perhaps upon the earth. And that great city, somewhere within it, Onesiphorus knew, bound by chains and a prisoner, was the beloved Apostle Paul. Now the public transportation of that day was perhaps very crude. And Onesiphorus may have walked and walked and walked, day after day, seeking... to locate the beloved apostle. And thank God he sought him out very diligently and found him. Oh, the comfort it must have meant to Paul to have a godly saint in love and appreciation for his ministry of divine truth. Seek him out and find him. No wonder Paul says, when the Lord comes in that day, May the Lord grant unto him that he may find mercy of the Lord. And may I point out this is the second repetition of that expression, which we shall see again in our epistle. Of that day, Paul mentions it in verse twelve, when he declares that he had committed all things to the Saviour. Paul that day, and here he speaks of that future day, when we shall stand as believers before the Lord Jesus, to be judged for our labor and our love and our service for him below. May he find mercy of the Lord in that day. Now I want to ask a question. My beloved Christian, what will that day mean to you and me? For after all, this day doesn't tell the final story and the final analysis of our testimony will be declared, not today, but in that day when we stand face to face before our Lord Jesus Christ, the judge. Paul writes of all Luciferus, saying, In how many things he ministered unto me at Ephesus, thou knowest very well. Now, beloved, I want to climax the chapter that we have studied by this statement. Timothy was enjoined not to be ashamed of the testimony of the Lord, nor of Paul the prisoner of the Lord. Second, Onesiferous was a person who neither was ashamed of the testimony of the Lord, nor the beloved apostle Paul, who was the prisoner of the Lord. Can this be said of you and me? We're living in days, I say it again without apology, when Pauline teaching is unpopular, and the truth of the church, as Paul reveals it by the Spirit, is virtually unwanted. My fellow believer, will you and I be like Timothy as he was encouraged? And will we be like all Ephesus, and thus be faithful, and not be ashamed of the testimony of the Lord, but hold to the truth as God has given it. God grant that we shall, for his name's sake, shall we pray? Father, into thy hands and to the Holy Spirit, sovereign in his person and in his power, we entrust the results of the ministry of thy words of admonition in Jesus' name for his glory. Amen.