Greene County herald. (Leakesville, Miss.) 1898-current, 1921-12-16

A<1SJOAf Ill AkAr 1se~Ar
GOLDEN TEXT have fought good
tight. have finished my course. have
kept the faith.-II Tim a..
REFERENCE MATERIAL-Rom. e:57-
.; Cor 1851: Rev. s:21.
PRIMARY ToPIC-Last Words From
Paul.
JUNIOR ToPIC-The Close Of victe-
rieas Life.
INTERMEDIATE AND SENIOR TOPIC
--Paul's Final Triumph.
YOUNG PEOPLE AND ADULT TOPIC
Lessons for Today From the IAfs Of
Paul.
1. PauI's View Of Death ". g..
Set forth in two metaphors:
1. An Offering ". 81. Il am ready
to be offered" This specifically
meant a drink offerings libation.
The shedding Of his blood was to be
an Offering poured out upon the sacred
altar as an act Of worship. Death can
only be an Offering to God when tho
life has been wholly yielded to the do
ing Of Gods will. This was preemi-
nently true of Paul, for he could say,
"For to me to live is Christ" (Phil-
1:21).
2. A Departure ". 81. "The time
of my departure Is al hand" The
same idea is expressed in Philippians
] :23. Departure" is nautical term
which signifies the loosIng Of ship
from its moorings, in order to enter
upon its voyage. 1t is not the end Of
the voyage, but It's beginning.
n. Paul's Backward Glance at Life
". u.
This backward look is presented in
three figures:
/. II have fought good fight"
The figure here is that Of q soidier.
The Christian life Is q warfare Of diff
ficulties, conflicts. dangers and tempta-
tions. As a soldier, the Christian must
fight and overcome all these.
2. II have finished my course" Tho
figure is that of an athlete who setS
out to win q race. The Christian life
is race to be run; we must not only
begin the race. but persistently run
to the end.
8. II have kept the faith" The fig-
ure is that Of husbandman to whom
had been entrusted treasure. This
treasure was the Christian faith. He
was conscious of having been faithful
to the trust committed. He had many
temptations to give 1t up. but to the
end maintained his fidelity Of his VOW
to Christ.
III. PauI's Forward Look to the Fu-
ture ". 81.
This is a beautiful picture of calm
confidence at the end Of period Of
faithful service Though knowing that
death was awaiting him, there was no
dark cloud before him. because the
glory Of completed task rested upon
him.
!. He saw before him life with
God. Fellowship with God Is priis
greatly to be desired.
q A prize laid up-A crown Of
righteousness. This award viii be
given at the coming Of the Lord to all
who love His appearing.
w. PauPs Associates (vv. 9-12).
/. Demas. the renegade ". 10).
Demas has become immortalized as
one who was religious, but because Of
the attractions of the world he went
after 1t. The love Of the world caused
him to turn his back upon principle.
friendship. honor and dufy.
2. Luke, the faithful ". III. Per-
haps he was the best fitted of all to
minister unto Paul. Luke was faith
ful whether in shipwreck. imprison-
ment, journeying by land and sea.
3. Mark, the restored runaway ".
III. Mark had gone back. but he was
restored. Though we have failed. we
can redeem ourselves and become
trustworthy.
v. Personal Matters (vv. 1879.
!. Bring the cloak. books and parch-
ments ". 13). In the Jail the cloak
would be needed for his comfort. The
books and parchments would be
needed for his study and writing.
2. Alexander, the coppersmith (vv.
IA, 15). We have no way Of deter
mining when this deed was cor,mitted
| It was given as a warning to Timothy.
8. Defended by the Lord though for
| saken by men (vv. 1919. Paul In his
| last trying hours was much like his
Lord-left alone. He says. "AlI men
sxorsook me-" It was said Of Christ.
SThey all forsook Him and fed" Paul
manifests . like spirit. Il pray God
| that 1t might not be laid to their
| charge" Christ said, Father forgive
| them for they know not what they
do Though II was wrong for them
| to leave Him alone. He not only for
gave them. but prayed that the Lord
| might forgive them. Paul had 80 COM
! pletely lived for Christ. and his fsl-