We are continuing our study into the books of Timothy. We finished the first book last week, and we’re starting the second today. So if you have your Bibles, please turn with me to 2 Tim. 1, and we’ll read verses 6-8. Like last week, I had a hard time trying to decide which part of this chapter to focus on. So as you’re turning there, before we read verses 6-8, let me briefly read to you the other scripture verses I debated on and almost used as our sermon today, and give you just a brief mini-sermon–you can call it our “opening act” for today.
This is from 2 Timothy 1:15-18: 15 You know that everyone in the province of Asia has deserted me, including Phygelus and Hermogenes. 16 May the Lord show mercy to the household of Onesiphorus [On-a-si-for-us], because he often refreshed me and was not ashamed of my chains. 17 On the contrary, when he was in Rome, he searched hard for me until he found me. 18 May the Lord grant that he will find mercy from the Lord on that day! You know very well, in how many ways he helped me in Ephesus.
So I’ll try to keep this brief. Paul says everyone in the province of Asia–so by the use of the word, ‘province’ he means an area of what is now Turkey that was called Asia, which was a Roman province at that time–and everyone deserted him, then he goes on to mention two specific people by name whom he and Timothy probably did not expect would leave him. But then he says another specific name, Onisephorus, in a positive way, “because he often refreshed me and was not ashamed of my chains.”
So here, a lot of the people who deserted Paul probably did so because either they did not want to be imprisoned themselves, or they did not want to be associated with someone who was. It kind of reminds me of when Jesus healed the 10 lepers, and only one “–and he was a Samaritan” came back to thank him.
But in this instance, Paul makes mention that Onisephorus was in Rome and searched for Paul in Asia. So if you were to draw a straight line from Rome to the Asia province, it would be somewhere around 700 miles. But most likely, Onisephorus did not travel a straight line, though maybe he did. But if he didn’t, then it could have been more like 1,000 miles that he traveled to find Paul.
The point I want to make is this–Jesus said: “to go the extra mile.” When Jesus said that, he was teaching about how to treat the Romans who oppressed the Jews–turn the other cheek when they strike you; give them an extra tunic when they take one of yours; and go an extra mile than required when they force you to carry their heavy load.
But here was a man who literally went the extra mile to visit and take care of Paul in prison. Folks, we are to do the same, and I’m pointing at myself here. Onesiphorus is a prime example of what it means to love one another. Paul said to the Roman church, “Love one another with brotherly affection. [and as the English Standard Version puts it] Outdo one another in showing honor…Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.” So as much as I often talk about using our gifts of love and hospitality to shine in an evangelical sense to those who are not Christians; fellow brothers and sisters in Christ greatly need our love and hospitality as well. So, let me give you that charge today. You don’t have to be Onesiphorus, but take the time when you can to call or visit someone in need and greatly bless them with your kindness and your gentleness and your smile and laughter.
Remember the TV show, MASH? Do you remember what MASH stands for? Mobile Army Surgical Hospital. If you can’t remember, that’s okay. I had to look it up, myself.
As people of God who have the grace, love, and power of The Holy Spirit within us–which is what today’s main sermon topic is about–we can be a spiritual MASH unit for God.
So as we go to our main scripture this morning, you’ll see how what we just read segues into what we are about to read and how it ties in together. So let’s take a look now at 2 Tim. 1:6-8.
Scripture: 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 the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline. 8 So do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord or of me as his prisoner. Rather, join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God.
If this sounds familiar, I did reference this just recently in a sermon from 1 Timothy, but I’m going to delve into it more today. And here, you can see in verse 6, Paul talks about the gift of God. So think about what we just read with Onesiphorus. In order to do what he did, he had to fan into flame his gift of hospitality.
But notice how Paul doesn’t say just to use or keep on using the gift that God has given you, he says, “fan it into flame.” So if we were to take the example of hospitality again, it can be draining, especially if you’re introverted like me. I have learned firsthand that God calls introverted people to do extroverted things so that He can be glorified, not us. And He shows off and shows us that we can’t do the things he has called us to do within our own strength.
I have to admit, some days, I just don’t want to show hospitality in my work vehicle. I mean, I always want to be kind, and an efficient driver for everyone. But hospitable? In the Biblical sense? It gets draining for those of us who are introverted. For those who are extroverted, it’s just the opposite–human interaction recharges them. But for us, it drains our energy.
So Paul has to remind Timothy to, “fan into flame.” That means, take note when your fire starts to dwindle, and do something about it.
Biblesforamerica.org gave this illustration: To make a fire, first you lay down some dry twigs as kindling, followed by layers of small branches and logs. Then you light a match and set the kindling a fire. The flames spread, and you soon have a nice fire. Warmed by the fire in the cold night air, you eventually fall asleep.
Later, you awaken to find you no longer have a fire burning. But you do have some live embers. You realize you don’t need another match to relight your fire; you just need to get down close to blow on the embers and then fan them. With the increased oxygen, they become even hotter. You add small branches and keep fanning until they’re set aflame. Then you add logs, and soon you have a roaring fire again.
After we’ve been saved for a while, we may no longer be “burning.” Our need is not to “relight” our spirit by getting saved all over again. In fact, this is impossible; once we’re saved, we’re saved forever. Even when we aren’t burning, our spirit is still a “glowing ember” that was ignited with the fire of the Holy Spirit already. We simply need to fan our spirit to give it more “oxygen” until it’s burning once more.
And what is that oxygen? The Holy Spirit. Like I said about using introverted people to do extroverted ministry, we all need the power of The Holy Spirit in our lives to fulfill the call of God on our lives, because there’s no way we can do it on our own.
Back in the late 90s, DC Talk had a song called, “Consume Me,” and the lyrics said, “You consume me, Like a burning flame running through my veins.”
Yes, we do have that flame running through our veins but we need to fan that flame with oxygen to keep the flame burning. The video for that song is in this black and white/blue hue, and it gives the impression that it takes place in some Orwellian dystopian future where everyone is walking around in the same direction, sort of mindlessly and without expression, and they are all wearing oxygen masks.
And then there is this one man who walks in the opposite direction and takes his mask off, and others see him and begin to take their masks off as well, and then they all begin to breathe fresh air, and suddenly there’s this burst of freedom.
The Holy Spirit is like that burst of fresh air and freedom. As we consume Him, He consumes us, like oxygen that we breathe in and envelopes our bodies.
And what does Paul then say about the Holy Spirit? Verse 7 says, “For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love, and self-discipline.”
I talked a moment ago about being introverted, and earlier in the day that I started writing this sermon, I was reminded of something that someone said to me one time, that I should not be bothered with my softer, gentler, introverted, quiet, contemplative personality. But to remember that’s the way God intentionally made me.
Now, when you’re a guy, and you live in Dansville, and you’re not one to get your hands dirty, but instead, you’re a little artsy and bookish, you’re like a fish out of water. Especially when your wife and inlaws are constantly hammering something and your neighbors are tinkering around on some lawnmower or snowblower or some contraption. At the church we went to in Wayland, everyone wanted to talk about football, trucks, hunting, or NASCAR. And I’m here like, “Yeah, movies? Music? Art? Theology? Apologetics? Politics? Bueller…Bueller?”
The reason why I say that is, that there’s a meekness in introversion. That’s not a bad thing, in fact, meekness is Biblical. Synonyms for meekness are: long-suffering, peaceful, and humble. But timid often has the same synonyms–plus fearful, shy, and apprehensive. Yeah, I’m all those. So for God to call someone who is not only introverted but also timid such as I to do the number one thing people are most afraid of–which is stand up and speak in front of others–it’s got to be The Holy Spirit that gives me this power to not only stand up here comfortably, but to do so with power and love.
This world is heading headlong into a very strange, dark, and mysterious future. To a degree, it’s known, because we know how it ends, but what will happen in the interim? What is going to happen in the near future? If you don’t have God, I don’t know what you have. We’ve got a presidential election coming up in just a few weeks. And I’m the most fearful that I have ever been during any presidential election season. If the wrong person gets elected, we may just pass the point of no return, and the end will be just within reach.
On one hand, it’s a scary thing to consider; but on the other hand, if we’re open to the move of The Holy Spirit fanning the flame in our lives, it could also be a very adventurous time. I read to you some synonyms for timid and meek, here are some synonyms for just the opposite–adventurous:
- Daring
- Bold
- Courageous
- Fearless
Fearless, by the way, is the name of another DC Talk song from the same album that “Consume Me” is on. God calls us to be meek, yet fearless. Think about that. Daring, bold, courageous, fearless; and yet long-suffering, peaceful, and humble.
Eric Metaxas, who is a Christian author, speaker, and conservative radio host wrote a bestselling book about Dietrich Bonhoeffer, one of the very few German pastors who tried to ignite the church to stand up to Hitler, and of course, he lost his life doing so. But what gave Bonhoeffer this power and courage to stand up to Hitler when no other pastor did? The Holy Spirit.
Metaxas said that like Bonhoeffer, today’s Church should be involved in the culture around us for God’s purposes. Not just to come into a building once a week, have a nice service, do our duty by throwing some money in the offering plate, and then go home. He said that “Bonhoeffer saw that the only institution in Germany that could stand against the Nazis was the Church. And he knew that the Church was the conscience of the state.”
Without going further into it, the concept of “separation of church and state” is actually intended for the state to not interfere with the duties of the church, not the other way around; and our founding fathers did want the church to influence and be the conscience of the state.
Like Bonhoeffer, Eric Metaxas is trying to ignite the Church, to fan it into flame, to be bold for Christ in the world in which we live. I would recommend following him on YouTube, he has a couple of great interviews that he did with Jack Hibbs called “Letter to the American Church,” very much worth watching. And Jack Hibbs is a pastor in Chino Hills, Calif. Who is also trying to fan that same flame of the church influencing our culture as well.
And it’s easy to hear these pastors and speakers, yet sit back and not know exactly what we can do here in Watkins Glen; and even if we did know what to do, we can be too timid to fight the good fight. Again, it’s only through the power of The Holy Spirit, and our willingness to allow The Holy Spirit to bring us that oxygen needed for the flame to rise. And through Him, verse 7 says we will have a holy power (the word for power is the same Greek root word for dynamic and dynamite), love (there’s that meekness again), and self-discipline. Some Bibles, instead of self-discipline in verse 7, say “a sound mind.”
A sound mind in the world we live in today is rare and crucial and could get us into trouble. I posted a short video from Turning Point USA, where a guy is on the street asking a woman who looked like a man with a Lord of the Rings -style haircut, bare-chested–of course, it was censored so you couldn’t see, and the interviewer asked her, “What is a woman?” Silence for several seconds, then the person–I’m assuming this person identifies as a person–asks a little contemptuously, “Can you tell me what a woman is, because clearly you’re really confused, and that’s okay. It’s okay to be confused.”
The interviewer then asked, pretending, “Yeah, I’m really confused. Can you define it?” Silence again, then the person says, “I’m really sorry for the loss of your brain cells.”
The interviewer replied, “You can’t even define what a woman is, and you say I’ve lost brain cells?”
“You’re the one asking.” Then she or he or it or they or them or whatever, storms off.
This is what happens in a world run amok, left to its own devices. But the Spirit of God gives us a sound mind. Precept Austin says that self-discipline describes a person who is sensibly minded and balanced, and who has his life under control. The Amplified Version reads, “calm and well-balanced mind and discipline and self-control.
If we go back to verse 8 it says, “So do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord or of me his prisoner. Rather, join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God.”
Now that’s a crazy thing to say. Paul gives Timothy an invitation to, “join with me in suffering.” Goes against a lot of what you hear from today’s TV preachers, doesn’t it? They’ll say God wants you to be healthy, wealthy, and wise. Those things aren’t bad, but how often do they invite you to “join with me in suffering?”
How many of those TV preachers are suffering? They’ve got a lot of money, and they live in ivory towers. I don’t think they’re suffering a whole lot. But Paul, as we read earlier, lost all his missionary companions because, if you read between the lines, they would not join him in his suffering. They were ashamed of his suffering.
But notice how Paul strings this together. He gives Timothy the reminder in verse 6, to fan into flame the gift of God… (and therefore be encouraged because this gift that) the Spirit of God gives us does not make us timid [shy, embarrassed or weak], but gives us [dynamic] power, an [unconditional, sacrificial love that God is] and a calm, well-balanced mind with discipline and self-control. Therefore, you can move on in your call in full confidence, not fearing what may come–including persecution. So I invite you, Timothy, and First Baptist Church of Watkins Glen, to “join with me in suffering for the gospel–and remember the only way we can do this is not through our own strength like Phygelus and Hermogenes, but by the [dynamic] power of the Holy Spirit.”
Paul said to the Roman church that, this Spirit of God, is the same Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead, and He lives in you. Talk about power. Here are a few more synonyms, these are for the word, dynamic: active, powerful, fiery, passionate, sparky, and high-octane. How many of you have personally experienced The Holy Spirit as all those things and more?
Christianpost.com reminds us that in Acts 1:8-9, Jesus tells the apostles that the [dynamic] power of the Holy Spirit will come upon them so they could be His witnesses in cities and regions. What ensued was so dynamic that the unbelievers described the apostles as those who turned the world upside down (Acts 17:6).
Let me read to you the words of Billy Graham:
Because the disciples dared to buck the tide of public opinion and be different, because they dared to believe when other people doubted, because they were willing to risk their lives for what they stood for, because they chose death rather than to live an empty life, the world took notice of what motivated these men and women. In due time, they turned the philosophical and religious world upside down.
The Apostle Paul told Christ’s followers not to conform to the world (Romans 12:2) and these words still have a tremendous and significant meaning for believers today. These words cut like a sharp sword across our way of life. They are not comfortable words. They have the tone of the battle call in them. They separate the weak from the strong. But they are words of inspiration and conviction, and we need to hear them today—and heed them.
We must not be conformed to this world mentally. The world by its advertisements, conversation, and philosophy is engaged in a gigantic brainwashing task. Christians must not allow the world’s sewage system to contaminate the Christian mind. We also must not conform to the world physically. Our bodies are meant to be the temple of the Spirit of God that abides in us. Nor should we conform to the world socially. The world attempts to absorb us into its secular society and to conform us to its earthly image, but Christ tells us not to conform: “They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world” (John 17:16). The disciples turned the world’s ways upside down by the power of the Word of God.
As we close, I believe each one of us can be and should be, in some way, bold for Christ. Maybe God is calling you to do something, and maybe that something has you a little scared. Maybe you’re a little timid to take that leap of faith. But if God is calling you, then He will empower you to boldly fulfill His call on your life. That boldness that we need to step out in faith does not come from inside us like Hollywood tells us, it comes from a supernatural indwelling of The Holy Spirit. So the only way we can possess God’s boldness is to pray for that boldness and be open to The Holy Spirit fanning that flame so that the dynamic ‘oxygen of God’ will consume us as we say yes to fulfilling God’s bold call on our lives.
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