Were going to put some names on the wall here, some very familiar Bible names. Were in the series, Come Before Winter. Were talking about the winters of our lives, the times when our lives are a little bit colder and darker-some of the emotions and the circumstances we deal with in the winter experiences of life. The names were about to look at here, Job, David, Jeremiah, Elijah, and Jonah, what did they all have in common? Some of you might say, Well, theyre all from the Old Testament. That is true, but they all struggled at times with depression. All of them had times in their lives where they went through some dark winter times. They really questioned God; they really struggled with their faith and became disheartened. The point Im trying to make with that is if these folks who loved the Lord and were used by God could struggle with these things, so can we. Its part of the human experience from time to time to get the blues. Im not going to be talking this morning about clinical depression. I dont pretend that I can give you a half of an hour sermon and were going to cure clinical depression. That kind of depression is long-term. It affects every facet of your life. Many times when you have clinical depression, you withdraw from relationships. You have a hard time functioning on a job. When you have clinical depression, you often hear the affected one say, I dont even feel like Im myself anymore. Thats something they cant break through, so it becomes this chronic long-term condition and often requires the help of medications and so forth. Were really dealing more with beating the blues today. Not that that kind of depression isnt significant. When we have the blues, it just taints our world. We work through it eventually, but I want to try to give you some tools this morning that will help you to work through it when youre in the midst of it. One of the most detrimental things you can do when youre having the blues is to continue dwelling on your problems. All of these negative thoughts and meditation [on those tribulations] are going to make matters more difficult. There is a more positive thing we can do with our thoughts. There is a more positive exercise that we can have when were going through these periods of our lives, so thats what Im going to try to help you with today. One of the things we notice about Paul, even though hes in these adverse circumstances, is unless hes not being forthright with us, he did not go through depression in the midst of these depressing circumstances. Lets remind ourselves of what Pauls circumstances are. We know that right now he is in his second Roman imprisonment, and it is nothing like the first. The first he was on house arrest in Rome, and he was free to move about. The second time he is in shackles. He is in chains, and he is in a dungeon. Hes in a pit in the ground thats 12 feet deep, and its cold. It was a prison that was well-known for just being a terrible place to be-the stench, the darkness, the coldness. There is a picture of a Mamertine prison that you can see (To view a picture of the Mamertine Prison, click here: http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.scholarscorner.com/images/Mamertine.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.scholarscorner.com/museums/mamertin.htm&usg=__y9QUkUR4qZ6O4iKcy5jIneEss5U=&h=392&w=580&sz=40&hl=en&start=0&zoom=1&tbnid=KckmgLhjunEMWM:&tbnh=142&tbnw=189&ei=KvNbTZnFOo7QgAeMgeHlDQ&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dmamertine%2Bprison%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DX%26rlz%3D1T4DKUS_enUS280US280%26biw%3D1003%26bih%3D481%26tbs%3Disch:1%26prmd%3Divns0%2C151&itbs=1&iact=hc&vpx=125&vpy=141&dur=2460&hovh=184&hovw=273&tx=140&ty=98&oei=KvNbTZnFOo7QgAeMgeHlDQ&page=1&ndsp=8&ved=1t:429,r:4,s:0&biw=1003&bih=481 ). I dont know if the floor looked like that at that time, but the walls certainly looked the same. The shape of the room was the same. Now there is an altar there now because there are services from time to time. That, of course, wouldnt have been there; but on the altar, you can see the cross that is upside down. Thats to signify the death that Peter died when he was taken from this prison to be executed. There is a bus of Paul and Peter there. To the left of the altar, there was an area where Paul was chained, so this is the place where he was kept. Imagine this place without the altar. The well still would have been there, but a different floor [would have been there]-possibly a dirt floor or even a concrete floor, Im not sure which is better-but imagine this small room full of convicted criminals, many who are sick and dying. Most of them were sentenced to death. Imagine the food, what it would have been like to sleep there. Imagine the danger because you were in with hardened criminals. You didnt have your own cell. You were just thrown in this pit for this indefinite period of time. Imagine the fear, the sickness, and the danger as you were put in with these hardened criminals. Is it a wonder that Paul writes the letter of 2 Timothy, his last letter he would ever write, that he is optimistic at all? Isnt that a wonder? The tone of optimism in this letter is astonishing when you consider his circumstances. He knows hes facing death. He knows that this crazy dictator, this Nero, hates Christians, and hes killing them. He knows hes on Neros hit list because he is one of the ringleaders of this movement called Christianity, this new movement that is only some three decades old now. Facing these prospects, how is it possible that Paul was able to maintain an optimistic tone? How is it that he didnt fall into the depths of depression? Some of you say, Well, you know, thats the Apostle Paul. Its not fair to make a comparison between the Apostle Paul and myself. Im just me. He was the Apostle Paul. Ive seen the portraits. Didnt he have like a halo over his head or something? Wasnt he a saint or something like that? Well, yes, Paul was an Apostle. Yes, he did receive revelation from Christ on the road to Damascus, experience that you and I will never have. We also see in the Scripture that Paul was very much human. In Romans 7, we see how he struggles with the sin nature. We see how he struggles with sin and temptation, just like the rest of us. We see in the Book of Acts when hes shipwrecked that he deals with fear. Youd think, Well, the Apostle Paul, he doesnt deal with fear. Hes the Apostle Paul. Well, the angel comes to Paul, and he says to Paul on the ship, Dont be afraid. Why do you say to somebody, Dont be afraid? They are…afraid. So Paul dealt with fear. We see Paul become impatient in his prayer life. It says in 2 Corinthians 12, Three times, I asked the Lord to remove this thorn in the flesh. Three times! He kept coming back. That wasnt exactly showing patience. He became very irritated that God was not responding to his request to remove this thorn in the flesh. We see him use poor judgment and judge someone in the Book of Acts. He says to Barnabas, If John and Mark come with us; were going to have to part ways. Hes failed us once, and I dont think he should be with us this time. Barnabas says, You know what? I believe in him. He loves the Lord. Hed be an asset to our team, and I guess were going to have to part ways because Im going to stand by him. Later on in this Book, he says, Bring Mark to me. He is useful in my ministry. He was wrong about him. He made a wrong judgment. So we know that Paul is far from perfect. We know that he dealt with many of the same things-all the same things-that you and I deal with. We cant say for certain he always beat the blues. I dont know that, but certainly in his letters, he writes in adverse conditions; and hes having victory. I think one thing were going to talk about and one concept I want to introduce to you is spiritual perspective. I want to show you a text that really gives us an understanding of Pauls philosophy of ministry. How did he approach life? How did he approach ministry? How did he process the events in his life and in his ministry? Here he is in 2 Corinthians 4 in the prime of his ministry. As were looking here, hes enduring hardship. In 2 Corinthians 4:7 (page 1144 of pew Bibles), he says, But we have this treasure, the Gospel, in jars of clay, human beings, to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed… We have all these pressures, but were not caving into the pressures; were not giving in. …perplexed, but not in despair… Paul says, Sometimes I have questions. Sometimes Im confused. I dont understand why certain things happen or dont happen. Im perplexed, but Im not in despair. I know Gods in control. …persecuted, but not abandoned… Just because Im persecuted does not mean God has abandoned me. Christ Himself was persecuted. Why should I expect that I wouldnt be? …struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus sake, so that His life may be revealed in our mortal body. So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you. Skip to Verse 16, Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. So theres the key. Paul says, Heres how I do it. Heres my secret. I fix my eyes-I focus my attention on what is eternal, not what is temporal-on what is unseen, not what is seen. That is the spiritual perspective that Paul has. Now, were going to flip back to our main text, this text that were going to be on for a period of four weeks altogether. This is our second week. Were examining it from different angles and perspectives. Were going to see four focuses in this spiritual perspective. If youre going to have a spiritual perspective, you must focus in these four ways. Even if you dont normally take notes, itd be good to scratch these down because this is an exercise, so when you have the blues, Im literally asking you to work through this exercise. You literally get out a piece of paper and do a spot check on these four perspectives. [You can then say], Am I focusing on these four? Then you can see what a difference it can make. Im not saying its going to be a panacea. Im not saying if you do this exercise, all of the sudden you never have a problem in the world. But I bet you, I just bet you, that many of you will start to feel better right away and that God can speak to you through this exercise. These are the four focuses that Paul had, and I think that were integral in helping him beat the blues. Now, again, this is another reason why it wont work for clinical depression because if you have clinical depression, its constant. When I say take out a piece of paper and write these four things down, youre going to say, I dont want to. I dont feel like it. That doesnt sound good to me. For those of us who are just dealing with boy, theres something that really has me down. This could be a worthwhile exercise, its because youre putting your mind to work. Youre giving your mind an assignment. Its taking it off the problems and focusing it on a solution; and I think in that sense, its very beneficial. Its not a panacea, but it certainly beats the alternative, which is wallowing. Lets read the text, and then well come back and talk. [We pick up in 2 Timothy 4:6, page 1180 of pew Bibles], Paul writes and says, For 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. 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. Lets continue with Verse 16, At my first defense, no one came to my support, but everyone deserted me. May it not be held against them. But the Lord stood at my side and gave me strength, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. And I was delivered from the lions mouth. The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and will bring me safely to His Heavenly kingdom. To Him be the glory for ever and ever. Amen. Lets go back for focus number one in Verse 6 where he talks about being a drink offering and the time of his departure coming. He talked about finishing the race. Then he talked about Heaven, and he said, …in store for me is the crown of righteousness which the Lord will reward me on that day. Paul focused on Gods promise. He said, What am I facing? What is my circumstance? My circumstance is death is imminent. So Paul asks, What does that mean? Im going to focus on the promise of God, and the promise of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus. The promise of God is that death is not the end. The promise of God is that Christ has been raised, so I shall be raised. I will go and be with Him in His presence. That is His promise to me, and He is a God who does not lie. Paul says rather than focusing on His death-the means of his death, the certainty of his death-Im focusing on the certainty of Gods promise. So thats what you do. When you are going through the blues, number one, I write this down: What is Gods specific promise in these circumstances? Thats right. You have to do some work in this exercise because Im not going to go through every conceivable scenario of problems you might face that could cause the blues and every conceivable Scripture that could speak to that. You have to do a little homework; you have to do a little studying, and that's part of the learning process. I literally start to write down those promises. I write down the Scripture; I read it; I meditate on it. I pray over that Scripture, Lord, thank You for this promise that addresses this circumstance that Im finding myself in right now. Spend some time thinking on that promise and focusing on that promise rather than on the circumstances or on your feelings. Focus on what God has said; focus on that which is eternal rather than that which is temporal. Secondly, lets turn to Verse 16. He says, At my first defense, no one came to my support, but everyone deserted me. May it not be held against them. But the Lord stood at my side and gave me strength. What does he mean, The Lord stood at my side? Does he mean that in the courtroom Jesus was literally there, that he could turn to them and say, This is my friend, Jesus, whom I am on trial for? No, hes speaking spiritually, isnt he? Its like how Jesus might come by our side. He is focusing on Gods presence, and thats really important. Number two, write down on your piece of paper, God is with me. I will never leave you nor forsake you. Even when you dont feel His presence, He is there. It doesnt change the reality of His Word. Focus on the fact that God is with me. If Paul could do that in his prison, you can do that in your circumstance. Look at Verse 1 of this Chapter. He writes this charge to Timothy, In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, I give you this charge. Where is he? He says, As Im writing you, Im in the presence of God and Christ Jesus. Where was he? He was in that dirty dungeon. He was in that stinky, dark, cold, depressing dungeon; and Paul writes and says, Im writing in the presence of God, and I give you this charge. Wow! If he could acknowledge the presence of God in chains, you can acknowledge the presence of God in your situation. Though I do not feel Him right now, he is here. Remind yourself of that. Maybe meditate on some of the Scriptures that talk about the all presence of God. Paul is mindful, even in this adversity, that God is present with him. He said, But the Lord stood by my side and gave me strength, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. His third focus was on his purpose. What was Gods purpose for me? Paul says, The reason Im in this prison is because Im here to preach the Gospel. Legion has it that as he was chained to that area of the prison, he led many prisoners and guards to Christ from that spot. He even talks about it in the Bible where he said, Though I am chained, my message is not. He even talks about it in his Book. I am chained, but the message isnt chained. Even though he is chained, he said, I am reaching the Praetorian guard for Christ. He is saying, Even in this adversity, I can still accomplish my mission. My mission is to reach the Gentiles specifically. There are a lot of Gentiles in this Roman prison. All the guards here are Gentiles, and guess what? I am accomplishing my purpose. When I go to prison, I am able to accomplish my purpose because I am sharing Christ with those who will judge me. I am sharing Christ to kings and governors and those in authority. Theyre hearing my testimony, so even though I am in chains, my message-my purpose-is still being accomplished through my negative circumstances. Friends, number three, you write down on your paper, Focus on Gods purpose, and I say, How can I accomplish Gods purpose in this adversity I find myself in? Here in this dark period, this winter period of my life, how can Gods purposes still be accomplished in me? What is He trying to teach me? What is He trying to show me? What is He seeking to demonstrate to me? What can I learn? How can I grow? How can I use what Ive learned for Him in this winter period of my life? Again, this requires work and effort, but Im putting my thoughts on a solution rather than just saying, Boo hoo, poor me. I have work to do. What is Gods purpose? What is He teaching me? So that is focus number three, and Paul obviously did this. He obviously did this. He was aware of Gods promises. He focused on Gods presence, and he focused on Gods purpose which had not changed though his circumstances had changed. You could think he would focus on the fact, I wish I were free. I am sad Im in jail. Paul enjoyed his freedom as much as you and I would. There was no pleasure in being in chains. It says, But as long as I find myself in chains, Im going to make the best of it by focusing on accomplishing Gods mission still, in spite of these chains. He wrote some of his best epistles in jail, didnt he? The prison epistles are some of the best that Paul ever wrote. Lets look at the fourth purpose (2 Timothy 4:16), And I was delivered from the lions mouth. The Lord will rescue me… Notice the confidence there-not might rescue me, not could rescue me, The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack. How many? Every one of them. …and will bring me… again, confidence, …will bring me safely to His Heavenly kingdom. To Him be the glory for ever and ever. Amen. Why was Paul so confident of this? Because he understood that God was greater than any situation or adversity that he faced, anything the enemy could throw his way; so Paul focused on Gods power. [Paul says], There is nothing that the enemy can send my way that God is not greater than-even death. Even if I face death, I am still the victor because I am going to go into His presence. Whatever the evil attack, whatever temptation he throws my way, whatever enemy he throws my way, Paul says, God is greater than. Paul says, Im not afraid of Rome. Im not afraid of the emperor. Im not afraid of the executioner. Im not afraid of death because God is greater than all. We dont even know if Timothy gets there in time. We dont know if he brought his cloak in time, his parchments in time, if he was able to fellowship with Paul one more time. We dont know the outcome of that, but we do know shortly after this letter is written-probably within a year-Paul is beheaded. Paul is executed for his faith. Paul did that as an offering. He gave up his life. Paul says, I am focusing on the fact that God will rescue me. I may not escape death, but their goal is to end my life. Well, they wont end my life. My life will continue and be even greater. Their goal is to end the Gospel and the church. Well, they arent going to do that either because the church is Gods, and they cant execute Him. They cant diminish and execute His promises. They cant snuff out His presence. They arent going to be able to defeat His purpose. Paul said, I am victorious in Christ. Friends, when we are in those situations, we remind ourselves of the power of God. To say your situation is going to triumph is to say your situation or your circumstances are greater than God. Focus on the power of God. If youll go through this exercise, I think its going to make a difference in how you feel. I think it might make a difference right away. It might make a difference in how long you stay in the doldrums. Im trying in this exercise to be intensely practical with you because I think that Pauls writing here is intensely practical; yet, its spiritual. [Unfortunately, due to technical problems, the audio was cut off here.] http://www.sermonspice.com/product/17388/scott-rigsby-fighting-depression