A LITTLE BIT OF SELFISHNESS

2 Timothy 1:16-18 (KJV)

The Lord give mercy unto the house of Onesiphorus; 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.

The Bible clearly informs me that the Apostle Paul was not a perfect man.

I know that firstly from the theological standpoint.

Romans 3:23 says

For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.

Jesus is an exception. Paul is not

I know that secondly from the standpoint of observation.

Not only was he guilty of terrible crimes before he was saved, but he had a lot of enemies in his life. I don’t think his enemies were right, but the fact that they felt like they could criticize him means that they did not view him as perfect.

I know that finally from the standpoint of Paul’s testimony.

He called himself the chiefest of sinners and admitted he had not attained a state of sinless perfection.

Having said that, I do not believe he made any mistakes in the words he penned in the Bible. God led his hand in writing and it contains no errors in fact, or in spirit.

The reason I say all of that is because the final three verses of 2 Timothy chapter 1 could be viewed as quite selfish.

Paul commends Onesiphorus for being so helpful to him as a person. Remember, not everyone was.

Notice what he says about him:

*I. HE OFT REFRESHED ME

Vs 16

The word refreshed means “to cool off.”

Think of it like Onesiphorus brought him an iced tea, probably with a wedge of lemon and a mint leaf.

Onesiphorus did this, not once but often.

He did what blessed Paul.

·   He ministered to him

·   He met his needs

He cared for him in those small ways that make such a huge difference.

You know what that is like don’t you?

You have had a tough day at work. You come home stressed and uneasy. Then you wife or maybe one of your kids massages your shoulders and neck.

It’s a little thing, but it means so much.

You have some task at home

Maybe the lawn mower is broken and some friend comes mows your lawn for you.

It’s not a huge thing – but it is a HUGE blessing.

But then, they keep mowing your lawn all summer.

·   And they trim the edges

·   And they sweep the sidewalks

·   And they weed your flower bed

·   And they wash your windows

Paul said Onesiphorus oft refreshed him.

Because Paul was in prison likely the refreshment came in the form of:

·   Food

·   Personal hygiene necessities

·   Clothing

·   Blankets

That sort of thing.

Onesiphorus did it frequently, visiting Paul in the prison, risking his own liberties by doing so, and providing those small things that made Paul a bit more comfortable in the jail cell.

Paul goes on to say that Onesiphorus, 

*II. DILIGENTLY SOUGHT TO FIND PAUL

Vs 17

I have only a little bit of experience in this, but enough to get where he was coming from.

When someone is in jail, the jail system isn’t extremely motivated to help you find them to refresh them.

In almost every case where I have gone to visit someone in jail, the jailors have treated me almost like I am a prisoner.

This is not a customer friendly environment.

·   That is in the United States of America where we are supposedly free citizens. and

·   That is in the year 2016, when we are supposed to be relatively civil people.

·   Consider the era in which Paul was imprisoned.

·   Consider the temperament of the Roman government

·   Consider the lack of ethical standards in the treatment of prisoners

And you know that it was no small task for Onesiphorus to search for Paul until he found him.

The very clear message this sent to Paul was just how important he was to Onesiphorus.

He’s just passing through town as it were, but he would not quit looking for Paul until he found him.

And when he found him, he came back to see him and refresh him again and again.

What a great friend!

Thirdly,

*III. HOW MANY THINGS HE MINISTERED

Vs 18

All that before was when he came to see Paul in Rome.

In tis verse Paul goes back to when he was still free and preaching in Ephesus.

He reminded Timothy of how Onesiphorus had ministered to him even while he was there.

He didn’t only minister to Paul while he was “down in his luck” he did the very same while he was in the heyday of his work in Ephesus.

Please allow me then to get just a little bit selfish.

If Paul could commend Onesiphorus for being such a blessing to him, would you permit me to ask you to be like him?

I am not asking it for my sake.

Remember that Paul is writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.

GOD wants you to read this example.

I only know one reason why God would have preserved this passage for 2000 years.

It’s not so you can say in your heart, wow, Onesiphorus was sure nice to Paul.

God preserved it so you would know how to treat your preacher.