Ultimate Security: Finding a Refuge in Difficult Times (16 page)

The fact that
“all authority”
has been given to Jesus as the King of Kings and Lord of Lords is not only the basis of His commission, but it is also the source of the disciples’ security. Exactly the same promise is given to you and me—if we go in obedience to Jesus’ commission, setting our faces to do the will of God. When we do so, we will not focus on self-protection or self-preservation. We will not be afraid. We will not retreat.

Joshua’s assignment was to lead the Israelites into the Promised Land; our assignment is to take the gospel of the kingdom to all nations of the world. Undergirding us is the authority of Jesus Himself. From His heavenly throne, He overshadows us, protects us, and provides for us. He has promised to walk with us, making us irresistible, if we go in obedience to His commission.

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SECURITY IN ADVERSITY

In this final chapter, we will explore the principle of irresistibility as it was demonstrated in the life and ministry of a great servant of God in the New Testament—the apostle Paul. We will observe how he withstood adversity. We will examine what Paul experienced toward the end of his life, at a time when, in the natural, everything had gone wrong—people had deserted and opposed him, and he was lacking items that were very precious to him.

Without seeming pessimistic, I want to tell you that, sooner or later, you are going to find yourself in a situation of adversity. It may not be exactly the same kind of situation that Paul faced. But, at one time or another, you are going to be confronted with trials. And, when adversity comes, you must be sure to have the kind of security that does not desert you in the midst of your troubles—a security that sees you through the lonely place, the difficult place, the hard place.

Paul’s Adversity

Let us look at the portrait of Paul found in his second letter to his disciple Timothy. From a human perspective, it seems that at this point in the apostle’s life, everything was against him. He was in a Roman jail awaiting trial by one of the most wicked and corrupt rulers in human history—the emperor Nero. Paul was almost certain that he would be condemned to execution. He was now an elderly man, and perhaps his strength was failing. It was cold in the jail, and he did not have adequate clothing. Just about everything that could be against a person was against Paul. Beyond these adversities, he was left alone without his fellow workers. Here is what he wrote to Timothy from prison:

Do your best to come to me quickly, for Demas, because he loved this world, has deserted me and has gone to Thessalonica. Crescens has gone to Galatia, and Titus to Dalmatia. Only Luke is with me.…Erastus stayed in Corinth, and I left Trophimus sick in Miletus. (2 Timothy 4:9–11, 20)

Abandoned and Opposed

In his letter, Paul stated that Demas, one of Paul’s closest friends and trusted associates, had gone back on his commitment—not only to Paul but also to Christ. Then Paul listed others who were no longer there to encourage him: Crescens, Titus, and Erastus. Finally, he wrote that he had to leave Trophimus sick in Miletus, which was another bitter disappointment to him. Even the great apostle Paul apparently did not get his prayers answered for Trophimus, and he ended up having to leave his fellow worker in the care of others.

In addition, Paul had been harmed by his enemies. He seems not to have harbored any bitterness against them, but the experience was nonetheless an objective reality for him. He wrote,

Alexander the metalworker did me a great deal of harm. The Lord will repay him for what he has done. You too should be on your guard against him, because he strongly opposed our message. At my first defense, no one came to my support, but everyone deserted me. May it not be held against them. (2 Timothy 4:14–16)

It will do us well to note again that this passage contains no vindictiveness or bitterness toward his enemies; Paul left his situation in the Lord’s hands. And, beyond the opposition of his enemies, he said of his friends,
“Everyone deserted me.”

Facing Physical Discomfort

In addition, as I wrote earlier, Paul was without adequate clothing—and equipment. He wrote to Timothy,
“When you come, bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at Troas, and my scrolls, especially the parchments”
(2 Timothy 4:13).

When I read the words
“bring the cloak,”
I see Paul in that stone dungeon with winter coming on and no warm clothing at hand. He was human like the rest of us and susceptible to physical discomfort. Personally, one of the weather conditions that is most difficult for me to endure is cold. When I read in 2 Corinthians 11:27 that Paul suffered cold and nakedness, I shudder inside. But there he was in that prison cell without sufficient clothing or provision for the cold, with winter approaching.

Why did Paul want the scrolls,
“especially the parchments”
? I believe he wanted to write letters, and he did not have the material to do so. I do not think he intended to write letters to complain about his situation. Rather than being focused on himself, I think he was concerned for the Christian churches and the disciples he knew in various parts of the ancient world. He longed to comfort and encourage them.

Finishing His Course

So, the above is our picture of Paul at the end of his life in a situation of extreme adversity. What was Paul’s attitude in the midst of this circumstance? He stated it himself:

I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time has come for my departure. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. (2 Timothy 4:6–7)

We need to understand the image Paul used here. In the Old Testament, with every animal that was offered in sacrifice, a drink offering of wine was also offered. The sacrifice of the animal was not complete without the drink offering. Paul was saying, “I have offered to the Lord the sacrifice of my labors—the disciples I have made, the churches I have founded—but to make that sacrifice complete, my own life is being poured out like a drink offering.”

I have found from personal experience that if you are going to keep the faith, you have to fight the fight. Faith is a fight. It takes courage. It takes determination. It takes commitment. In spite of the adversity, Paul said, “
‘I have finished the race’
; I have done all that was allotted to me to do.”

Then Paul looked forward—out of time and into eternity. It was as if a window opened in that cell, and he looked beyond those gray stone walls into a different scene.

Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing. (2 Timothy 4:8)

This statement always touches me, because Paul knew he was soon going to stand before an unrighteous earthly judge who would pronounce an unrighteous sentence against him—a death sentence. In light of what he was facing, he confessed, “This is not the final judgment. There’s another one lying ahead. In eternity, I’m going to stand before an absolutely righteous Judge, and He will give me the due reward for all that I have done in His service.”

Faith is a fight. It takes courage.
It takes determination. It takes commitment.

Serenity and Security

Paul had such serene confidence. He knew that everything was under God’s control; therefore, he had no bitterness and no regrets. What was the secret to Paul’s attitude? I believe it was stated beautifully a little earlier in 2 Timothy where, speaking about all that he had been through, Paul said,

Yet I am not ashamed, because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him for that day. (2 Timothy 1:12)

Two key phrases in Paul’s statement are the secret to all serenity and security in the face of any situation of adversity.

First,
“I know whom I have believed.”
Please note that Paul did not say, “I know
what
I have believed.” His security was not a doctrine. It was a Person—the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is not enough to believe in a doctrine. That doctrine has to take you to the person of the Savior, to the Lord Jesus. Do you know
in
whom
you have believed?

The second key phrase is,
“I…am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him.”
The King James Version reads,
“…that which I have committed unto him.”
That is the secret to true security. It is total commitment to God and to His will. When you have committed your life—all that you have, all that you are, and all that you are ever going to be—into the hands of God, you can be absolutely sure that He is able to guard what you have entrusted to Him.

Let us end this book with that commitment, which we have identified as the secret to true security. Will you pray with me?

Dear Lord, I praise You and thank You for being the only real Source of security in this life and for eternity. I affirm this truth by totally committing my life to You now. All that I have, all that I am, and all that I will ever be, I place in Your hands, knowing and proclaiming that You alone are able to guard and keep everything I am entrusting to You.

Lord, I again acknowledge that You alone are my total security in this life and the next, and I surrender myself completely into Your hands. Amen.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

D
erek Prince (1915–2003) was born in Bangalore, India, into a British military family. He was educated as a scholar of classical languages at Eton College and Cambridge University in England and later at Hebrew University, Israel. As a student, he was a philosopher and self-proclaimed agnostic.

While in the British Medical Corps during World War II, Prince began to study the Bible as a philosophical work. Converted through a powerful encounter with Jesus Christ, he was baptized in the Holy Spirit a few days later. This life-changing experience altered the whole course of his life, which he thereafter devoted to studying and teaching the Bible as the Word of God.

Internationally recognized as a Bible scholar and spiritual patriarch, Derek Prince taught and ministered on six continents for more than sixty years. Until a few years before his death at the age of eighty-eight, he traveled the world, imparting God’s revealed truth, praying for the sick and afflicted, and sharing his prophetic insights into world events in the light of Scripture. He wrote over fifty books, which have been translated into over one hundred languages and distributed worldwide. He pioneered teaching on such groundbreaking themes as generational curses, the biblical significance of Israel, and demonology.

Derek Prince Ministries, with its international headquarters in Charlotte, North Carolina, continues to distribute his teachings and to train missionaries, church leaders, and congregations through its worldwide national offices. It is estimated that Derek Prince’s clear teaching of the Bible has reached more than half the globe through his books, tapes, and daily radio program, which is now known as
Derek Prince Legacy Radio
. In 2002, he said, “It is my desire—and I believe the Lord’s desire—that this ministry continue the work which God began through me over sixty years ago, until Jesus returns.”