I am Convinced
Some people have the gift of encouragement, but it seems some have the gift of discouragement. This life is rough enough without all the various discouragements that come our way. What we all really need is more encouragers! So today, I want to focus on the words of one who truly had the gift of encouragement. I want to look at some words written by the Apostle Paul to his young apprentice Timothy. I want to look at 2 Timothy 1:3-12 (NIV)...
I thank God, whom I serve, as my forefathers did, with a clear conscience, as night and day I constantly remember you in my prayers. (4) Recalling your tears, I long to see you, so that I may be filled with joy. (5) I have been reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also. (6) For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands.
(7) For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline. (8) So do not be ashamed to testify about our Lord, or ashamed of me his prisoner. But join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God, (9) who has saved us and called us to a holy life - not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time,
(10) but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. (11) And of this gospel I was appointed a herald and an apostle and a teacher. (12) That is why I am suffering as I am. 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.
When Paul wrote these words, he was in prison - he had been abandoned by many of his friends and he was awaiting execution. There were also difficulties arising in the Church where Timothy was serving and things were looking pretty bleak. Paul wanted to encourage Timothy. Paul knew that things looked bad, but the advancement of God's Kingdom was far from over! Paul wanted to challenge Timothy to give everything he had, just as Paul had done.
He started by reminding Timothy of the faith that had brought him this far and then asked him to do something with the gift which he had been given. And I want to highlight the words…
I. Fan into flame
Paul asked Timothy to 'fan into flame the gift of God' that he had been given. Timothy had been given the gift of the Holy Spirit. And he had also been given different gifts, different talents from God.
Each of us has been given the gift of God's spirit – it's promised to us when we're baptized into Jesus. We're also given different gifts or abilities for God's purposes. Paul was challenging Timothy, it's not enough to just have these gifts – we need to fan them into flames, we need to use them for them to do any good.
Timothy was challenged to continue to use what God had given Him and let its effect spread like wildfire. We're to do the same thing – use what God has given us, fan it into flames so it can make a difference. Paul goes on to talk about the Spirit that Timothy had been given. It's a…
A. A Spirit of power
I think we underestimate the power of God's Spirit in us. I think we may take it for granted. I know I'm guilty of that sometimes. But again, Paul said...
2 Timothy 1:7 (NIV)
For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.
Do others see the power of God's Spirit in you? Is that something you think about on a regular basis? Perhaps, when you sang this morning, 'pour out your power and love as we sing holy, holy, holy', or 'How Great is our God', 'Name above all names', 'Worthy of all praise'..? Would anyone be convinced by my life, by the way that I live that those truths are real?
Paul also wrote in Romans 15:18-19 (NIV)...
I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me in leading the Gentiles to obey God by what I have said and done - (19) by the power of signs and miracles, through the power of the Spirit. So from Jerusalem all the way around to Illyricum, I have fully proclaimed the gospel of Christ.
Paul knew the power of God's Spirit! He had experienced that power on a daily basis and knew it was the only way he was accomplishing any good at all! And God has given us that same Spirit of power – but we all need to start living like it. And Paul didn't stop there; we see he also wrote - it is a Spirit of power but balanced…
B. With love
Let's go back to that first passage again from 2 Timothy 1:7 (NIV)...
For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.
It's not about being on the right side of an argument or beating people up with the Bible, but boldly loving people enough to do what it takes to spread the Good News of the Gospel message. We know that, but I've seen some very educated Christians who know the Bible backwards and forwards, who can make powerful arguments for God but lack somewhat in the 'love' department. Paul talked about this idea in 1 Corinthians 8:1-3 (NIV)...
Now about food sacrificed to idols: We know that we all possess knowledge. Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up. (2) The man who thinks he knows something does not yet know as he ought to know. (3) But the man who loves God is known by God.
If people outside of the Church only see us displaying a spirit of power without the love and self discipline - that message won't draw anyone to Jesus. And I know it's difficult, because even when we correctly balance power, love and self discipline - many will still reject us and label us all sorts of awful things. But that's why Paul told Timothy "join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God." It doesn't matter how loving you are - if you speak God's truth - some will still hate you.
But Paul reminded Timothy of the source of His power and the love and self discipline that should guide his use of that power, and then Paul encouraged him further to…
II. Not be ashamed
Timothy was already a preacher. He was ministering to people all the time. Why did Paul have to encourage him to 'not be ashamed'? -Because Paul knew the opposition that Timothy would face from unbelievers - and also from inside the Church. It's hard to deal with pressure from non-believers; those who don't want to hear about Heaven and Hell or sin, or even the name of Jesus. However, I've never known a preacher who left the ministry because of those outside the Church.
That's kind of a sad truth there. Come to think of it - most people who leave the Church don't leave because of those outside the Church. It's usually because of conflicts with brothers and sisters in Christ. Sometimes we can do more damage in the Church than the devil does - and that stops us from reaching out to those who need us.
Paul was challenging Timothy to boldly preach the truth of the Gospel no matter who or what opposed him. We're to speak about Jesus and His truth whether it's comfortable, popular, or even offensive to some. We live in a culture where simply saying the name Jesus offends some people. We live in a country where speaking of the 'sanctity of marriage' or the 'sanctity of life' falls into the category of 'hate speech'.
There are many who would like to prohibit public prayer or even the mention of the name 'Jesus' anywhere other than inside a Church building. Some in government have actually even discussed legislation on whether or not there should be limitations placed on what is said in the pulpit by a preacher. We can't allow anyone to shame or intimidate us into being silent about Jesus Christ or the teachings of the Bible.
Paul said, going back to our first passage again… "But join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God, who has saved us and called us to a holy life - not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and..."
A. Grace
Grace makes all the difference. Without grace, people will feel judged and condemned when facing the truth of the Gospel. Without grace - they will see it as bigoted and mean spirited. With grace, God's grace, we are all given hope!
Because of the grace found only in Jesus, we can escape the garbage of this world – we can escape the certainty of Hell because Jesus destroyed death! Folks, most of us are well aware that the Bible says 'the wages of sin is death'. Not to cast any stones, but it's accurate to say that we are a congregation of sinners. - Some of us here, if we haven't spent any time in jail – it's only because we didn't get caught. We may laugh, but it's true.
If we were to be judged simply by our actions and the stupid things we've done in our past – we'd be found to be pretty bad people. The wages of sin is death – we deserve death. - But, if we look back to a prophecy from the Old Testament, showing that it was God's plan all along, we see this in the book of Isaiah 25:7-8 (NIV)...
On this mountain he will destroy the shroud that enfolds all peoples, the sheet that covers all nations; (8) he will swallow up death forever. The Sovereign LORD will wipe away the tears from all faces; he will remove the disgrace of his people from all the earth. The LORD has spoken.
Paul was well aware of that prophecy that he saw fulfilled in Jesus when he wrote…
1 Corinthians 15:54-57 (NIV)
When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: "Death has been swallowed up in victory." (55) "Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?" (56) The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. (57) But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
My father has had quadruple bypass surgery and survived cancer twice - and he's still here. However, despite God's watch care and mercy - as much as I don't like it, at some point in the future, he will die. At some point in the future, I will die – unless, of course, Jesus comes back before then. - But preacher, you just said 'Jesus destroyed death'? You've heard me say it many times before – Christians don't stay dead!
We deserve death, but by the grace of God in Christ Jesus we will be given new life, eternal life! That's the message of hope of which we are not ashamed! Sure, I'm ashamed of all the sins that I've committed and continue to commit – but those sins are forgiven through the blood of Jesus Christ! That's the hope that we're to boldly take to our friends and family members and neighbors by the power of God's Holy Spirit!
How can we be so sure of this future that sounds so unbelievable? It's not that I can attain this life after death on my own, but…
B. He is able
Anyone here ever had an EMG test – an 'electromyogram'? For those who have not had the pleasure - an EMG measures nerve and muscle conductivity. They hook you up with wires and monitors and then repeatedly poke big needles in you and shoot electricity through the area they're testing. It's not overly fun. I had an EMG a few years back. As they were jabbing the needles in and turning up the current, my arm and hand were twitching and contracting with increasing pressure and pain.
After they finished, I commented to the nurse that I was pretty sure that my nerves were definitely able to carry the current. And I remember how she responded, "We weren't checking to see if they were able to carry it, just how able."
When Paul says that 'God is able' – there's no question of 'how able'. Paul isn't using the term 'able' as a minimum quality – He's saying that whatever happens – God is able! Paul's using it as the ultimate measurement – whatever comes, God can and will handle it without breaking a sweat, and His eternal purposes will prevail!
And I say that, but many times when we're faced with difficult situations, we respond, 'I know God is able, but...' - No! God is able, no matter what! We need to 'get rid of our buts'! - And yes, I know what I said, and I'll say it again, we need to' get rid of our buts'! We need to reject any excuse to linger in our doubts! Yes, discouragements will come - and we may want to say, 'yes, but...' - we have to move past that!
Paul knew that even though he was in jail and facing death – God was in control and even able to bring him back to life when Jesus returned. If all they could do to him was kill him – he wasn't worried. That's the kind of faith that Paul wanted to encourage in Timothy and that we can have in Jesus!
1 Peter 1:3-5 (NIV)
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, (4) and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade - kept in heaven for you, (5) who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.
So What?
As your preacher, part of my job is to study the Bible. I work at a Church; I'm surrounded by Christians all the time. I'm doing "Church things" all week. Despite all that, I still struggle and need to be reminded, just as Timothy was, of God's grace and challenged to boldly proclaim the message of Jesus Christ!
Not that I'm putting myself on a pedestal – far from it, but if I'm surrounded by all things Christian most of the time and I still struggle – how can you expect to make a difference for the Kingdom if you only spend time with God on a Sunday morning?
If you aren't praying daily, if you aren't personally reading God's Word on a regular basis, if you aren't committed to serving God in any way other than showing up on a Sunday morning – there's no way you'll be able to 'fan into flame' the gifts that God has given you!
The people in this congregation that encourage me are the ones who are devoted to being used by God each day. They're the ones reading scripture on their own. They're the ones who have suffered for the sake of the Gospel and continue to sacrifice for God's purposes.
How was Paul so convinced that God was able to completely save him? How could Paul suffer as he did and still trust God? Paul knew Jesus. He didn't simply know about Him – he lived with Him, he studied His Word, he sacrificed for Him, he served Him – Paul knew Jesus! Do you know Jesus in that way?
If you can't answer with a wholehearted 'yes' - we need to change that... Let's pray!