FAN THE FLAME 2 Timothy 1:1-7

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1 January 12, 2014 Providence FAN THE FLAME 2 Timothy 1:1-7 INTRODUCTION: When the storm system rolled through the state yesterday, only the unwise paid no attention! Those who have seen the devastation of a tornado do not need to be warned twice when a warning has been issued! Bad weather often threatens to throw our lives out of control. Whether the warnings are about tornadoes or hurricanes or ice storms or frigid weather a word to the wise is sufficient! In the Christian life, storms come around all the time! Tough times in our lives threaten to overwhelm us even when we know that Jesus Christ has the power to overcome whatever this world throws at us. So we need to be reminded and to recall, remember, who He is, what He has done and how perfectly sufficient His grace is to face anything that comes our way. Paul knew tough times in fact, he wrote this letter to Timothy from prison in Rome, awaiting his execution. But Paul also knew that life had been particularly difficult for Timothy and the church in Ephesus lately and they needed to be encouraged. So just as he wrote the first letter to Timothy to instruct him in how to lead the church, he now writes this second letter to encourage him in how to face the cold winds of controversy and division threatening him and the people he loved in Ephesus. His encouragement? Keep the fire hot, my beloved son! Let fire fall from heaven on your life and ministry and all will be well! I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God THESIS: Fires that go untended inevitably lose their heat and their light, but flames that are fanned and fueled burn bright and hot just as we should for God s glory! Look with me and see how Paul s words to Timothy give courage! I. LOVE REMAINS, EVEN WHEN LIFE GROWS HARDER --Events in the lives of Paul and Timothy have taken a dramatic turn since Paul wrote his first letter to his young protégé in ministry. --At that time, the church was making progress under Timothy s leadership and Paul was giving practical counsel in how the church needed to function as the body of Christ. --Now, Paul is at the bottom of a hole in a jail cell in Rome, waiting to be executed for his faith in Christ Timothy is fighting for his pastoral life and in a fire storm of opposition from the very people he had loved and served so faithfully. --Yet, instead of this letter being filled with angry words, marked by frustration, saturated with harsh indictments of God and man, the tone is very personal and warm, fatherly and friendly! --The love between these two warms the heart as you read it and makes you want to be a better friend a more faithful encourager a more consistent prayer supporter. A. IN THE STORMS OF CHANGE --Their love remains life has gotten much harder for both of them, but neither appears to harbor resentment, but looks to express love. --The difference in the circumstances of these two letters is seen in the purposes of each: 1. Letter One: That the Church Know What to Do

2 1Tim. 3:14-15 I hope to come to you soon, but I am writing these things to you so that, 15 if I delay, you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, a pillar and buttress of the truth. --In more fruitful and happy times, Paul wrote to help Timothy lead the church well how they should function together as the people of the living God. 2. Letter Two: That the Pastor Know How to Make it Through --But now, the wheels have fallen off at the Ephesian church just as Paul predicted they would in his time with them at Miletus. Acts 20:29-30 I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; 30 and from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them. --Now Timothy has his hands full and some of the initial joy of ministry has been lost as he has faced the fierce wolves and seen many deceived and his own confidence shaken. 2Tim. 1:6-7 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 gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control. B. THROUGH PAUL S CONSTANT PRAYERS ----How reassuring it must have been for Timothy to hear Paul say that he was constantly praying for him day and night, each time he thought of him, lifting him up in prayer (1:3). --The depth of his love for Timothy and the breadth of his commitment to unceasing prayer kept Paul on his knees for his younger brother in the faith. NOTE: Is there anyone in your life who gets that kind of attention in your prayers? Anyone the Lord calls to your mind because of the great love He has given you for them? What an honor to be trusted with that kind of relationship! --But the Lord had stirred things up in Paul to make this kind of commitment to the one who addresses in 1:2 as my beloved son. C. WITH TIMOTHY S LOVING HEART --For Paul, there was something special about Timothy that had captured his heart. 1. Paul remembers his tears 2 Tim. 1:4 As I remember your tears, I long to see you, that I may be filled with joy. --There could be many reasons for those tears: Weeping over Paul s imprisonment and impending execution Crying out in agony and with great heartache over the sad, divided state of the church Or even the parting at Miletus when many of the elders wept together over Paul s departure --Whatever caused the tears, Paul remembers them as evidence of the tender heart of his son in the faith. ILLUS: Still today I remember the tears of two men who prayed together with me in the early years of Providence! One a Presbyterian pastor and another a Nazarene pastor who honored me by allowing me as a

3 young pastor to join them in prayer every week or so. Seeing the wet seat of the chair where we knelt as their tears soaked the fabric did more to fan the flame of my passion for prayer and ministry than any book ever could! God often uses our tears to soften the ground in which He wants to plant the seed of the gospel. Paul remembered the tender tears of Timothy! 2. Paul reminded of his sincere faith --I cannot imagine Paul being tolerant of insincerity and hypocrisy in those he poured his life into. 2Tim. 1:5 I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells in you as well. --What Timothy understood and believed, he did so with complete sincerity and without doubts casting shadows on his faith. --Paul had taught him well and he remained steadfastly loyal to sound doctrine and sincere application of that truth in the way he lived and lead! 3. Paul recalls his spiritual heritage --Paul even takes time to mention that this faith had been lived out before Timothy by his own mother and grandmother Jewish believers who had found Jesus to be their Messiah (even as his father was an unbelieving, unconvinced Gentile Acts 16:1). --So the spiritual heritage of a Jewish background in the Scriptures and a deep affection for his mother and grandmother influencing him to embrace the reality of faith he had witnessed firsthand in them, and time spent traveling and being discipled by Paul as they traveled on their mission trip all these things made Paul confident of the steady faith of this young pastor. --So, with all that as background, Paul now gets right to the point: --Because I love you and want the best for you --Because I trust you and see God s gifts in you --Because I long for you to see God s power through you For this reason II. FIRES BURN HOTTEST WHEN GOD FANS THE FLAME OF THE SPIRIT 2Tim. 1:6-7 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 gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control. ILLUS. When the temperature plunged into single digits last week, the pastors were away at our winter planning retreat. As the cold plummeted downward, the logs stacked by the fireplace grew upward! We stoked that fire for three days to keep warm! Once in a while if the fire died down, we had to add on more fuel, fan the flames and build it back up to get the maximum heat we could from it. God wants us to live at a white-hot passion in the way we love and serve him. Untended fires go out become cold, worthless ashes. So we must regularly be reminded, as Paul did here for Timothy, to stir up the fire, fan the flames, kindle the blaze afresh! A. GOD HAS GIVEN YOU HIS SPIRIT --Although it may appear that Paul is referring to the ministry gifts of Timothy as a pastor, the wording of the text lends itself to the understanding that Paul has something broader in mind.

4 --When he speaks of the gift of God, it can be understood to mean the specific pastoral gifts Timothy exercises teaching, preaching, evangelizing, shepherding the flock, overseeing the church. --But the broader sense of the gift of the Spirit seems to make more sense in the context as Paul anchors these words of encouragement to Timothy s spiritual heritage by grace through Jesus Christ. --But the meaning stays the same The new life in us is because we have been born of the Spirit and His life fills us so that we become like Christ The Holy Spirit in us also fills us and shapes us so that we conform to the image of Christ --Paul tells Timothy that the life of the Spirit must be fanned into flame, kindled afresh (NASB), kept ablaze (HCSB) or stirred up (KJV). --From elsewhere in Scripture, here are a few ideas of how to fan into flame the fiery presence of the Spirit in our lives. 1. Joyless ingratitude will quench the fire of the Spirit 1Th. 5:16-19 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 19 Do not quench the Spirit. 2. Unworthy living will grieve the Spirit Eph. 4:30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 3. Cutting off the fuel of the Word will starve the fire Col. 3:16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. 4. Choking out the breath of prayer will suffocate the fire (John 3:8) John 3:8 The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit. --So Paul now instructs Timothy with the same emphasis to allow the Spirit to inflame his heart in prayer letting the breath of the Spirit blow where it must across the coals of his heart to set them ablaze. Eph. 6:18 praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, --You cannot expect the flames to be fanned into brilliant fire if you shut of the oxygen supply which prayer alone can provide the breath of the Spirit, the wind of God blowing across the coals in prayer! B. YOU ARE EQUIPPED TO STAND WITH COURAGE --No matter what you face who your adversaries are what the challenges appear to be because God burns in your heart and His Spirit abides in you, never lose heart!! --You have been equipped to be courageous so be encouraged, stand firm, and remember 1. God has not called you and equipped you to be afraid, or to act like a coward. 2Tim. 1:7 for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.

5 --The word here translated as fear is also translated as timidity a retiring, bashful, faint-hearted, reluctant spirit OR as cowardice a spirit that allows fear to control and prevent us from doing what must be done. --No, instead of hesitation and a faint of heart attitude, God s Spirit gives you everything you need to unleash the fires of a burning passion for the glory of Jesus Christ! --By most accounts, Timothy was somewhat shy and his leadership tended to be far less bold and courageous than Paul s. --But instead of that disqualifying him to lead courageously, it set him up perfectly to be the kind of man God loves to use the weak become strong when they refuse to depend upon their own strenth and rely entirely on the Spirit! 2 Cor. 12:9-10 But he said to me, My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong. --To Timothy, as well as to each of us, the Lord speaks through Paul s words and tells us that we are never in a better state to see the power of God than when we are at our weakest and least confident state. 2. God has given you the perfect combination to succeed gloriously in the work He gives. --If God does not give a spirit of timidity or cowardice to us, what does He give? a. Spirit Clothes us with His Power --Feeling impotent, powerless, weak? Timothy certainly did, but God s Spirit in him was all the power he would ever need to accomplish what He called him to do or be. b. Spirit Pours Out His Love --The love the Spirit gives, as we have seen before, is poured out in full measure not as a feeling to be held closely, but as an action to be demonstrated broadly. --He pours out His love so that it overflows onto others through us. c. Spirit Establishes His Self-control (self discipline/ sound judgment) --As the last of these three, Paul encourages Timothy to stand firm and tall in the face of all that is being thrown at him by keeping his wits remembering what is real mastering his thoughts and emotions. --The life controlled by the indwelling Spirit does not fly off the handle, lose its grip, or go haywire. --God has given us the spirit of self-control, self-discipline and sound judgment so that we can assess what any given situation is with the mind of Christ and respond accordingly! CONCLUSION: Life can bring some harsh storms our way. Both in the physical realm and the spiritual realm, we may just want to give up! Sometimes it is wise to go hide in a safe place (like in a tornado warning). But other times call on us to be courageous, not cowardly. In our spiritual lives and in the church, we face tough days. Our message and our beliefs are anchored securely in God s Word, but that will not keep us from finding ourselves under attack both from within and from the outside, just as was the case for Timothy in Ephesus. Roman culture opposed the church and government powers threatened to take the life of his dear brother Paul. In the church, false teachers and unloving elements threatened the unity of the body and were damaging the powerful witness of the gospel.

6 So Paul recognized that the time was right send a word of encouragement to take courage for such as time as this! And to remind Timothy that everything he needed he already had!! Take aways: 1. Feed the fire with the fuel of God s Word every day we must ready, study and meditate on its eternal truth. 2. Never allow your fears to conquer you you are no longer to be conquered by fear but courageous by the Spirit. 3. Think well with the mind of Christ as one who has the sound judgment not to over-react when life gets hard. No one who wants to live for Christ and make his life count can afford to leave the fires of his heart untended. God calls us to fan the flames, pour on the fuel of His Word and let the winds of prayer blow the coals into a white-hot flame for His glory. We may need the fires stoked to take on some new challenge the Lord has put before us or to stand with courage against some battle we face or simply to grow deeper in the burning love we have for our Savior. Fan the flame God will keep the fire burning when we trust Him and have the courage to stand up for our faith in Christ! January 12, 2014 Providence Baptist Church David Horner, 2014 Sermon outlines are copyrighted in the event of future publication. They may be used for preaching and teaching purposes but may not be published or sold.