2 Timothy 1:1-9
Notes
Transcript
Sermon Tone Analysis
A
D
F
J
S
Emotion
A
C
T
Language
O
C
E
A
E
Social
2 Timothy 1:1-9
2 Timothy 1:1-9
I don’t know how many of you have ever participated in a school play, or maybe local theater. Our kids weren’t really into that, but a couple of them were really into music and they had different opportunities to use those talents. One performed for the Penobscot Theater for awhile, another played for the junior Bangor Symphony orchestra. For both of those there was a tremendous amount of practice. Once everyone learned their parts, they would then gather together for rehearsals.
Kind of like in athletics... going to practice and double sessions, leading up to the actual season when games are played. But on the stage, whether it be a school play, the theater, a musical, rehearsal and practice leads up to an event known as the dress rehearsal. That is where you get into your costumes, put on the make-up, the hair spray, memorize all your lines, get ready to hit that final note, and go out onto that stage in front of a live audience and do it for real…or almost for real actually.
Tickets are often sold at half price, because the director knows mistakes are going to be made, the wrong thing is going to be said, or maybe the right thing will be said, but at the wrong time…it’s really just the final practice, before the show opens, mistakes are expected, they are often made fun of or joked about, since it’s not really show time. Sadly, I’ve observed that people often treat life as a dress rehearsal. Not as a once and forever, one and only shot.
Will you pray with me this morning? Father, we have gathered together this morning in worship to You. We’ve sang praises to you, we’ve given back, some of what you’ve blessed us with, and now Lord we want to receive. We want to hear from You. We want you to speak to us, to strengthen us, encourage us, and change us in the ways that we need to be changed. Have Your will and Your way in this place, and in our lives, In Jesus name…and they all said Amen. I hope that truly is your prayer this morning.
I don’t know how many of you are participating in our Growth Groups that we have here at Old Town Christian Fellowship, if you haven’t been, I strongly encourage you to join one when the new winter session begins in January. But each week there is always a “Taking it home section.” The intent of that section, and it’s usually just one question, but it is meant to challenge you in a way of personal application. In light of the message of Sunday, or after considering the topics of discussion, what is God telling you to do? What action should you take as a result of who Jesus says you are in Him, that kind of thing.
The question is designed to challenge you and encourage real and raw self evaluation. Usually it isn’t discussed in group, and if it is it done in such a way that the opportunity is simply offered if someone would like to share their response to the challenge. This past week our Taking it home question came out of verse 17 in Colossians 4:17 Are-Key-puss
17 And say to Archippus, “Take heed to the ministry which you have received in the Lord, that you may fulfill it.”
If you remember, Paul is ending this letter with a bunch of final greetings, exhortations, and blessings…and he is naming names. You can imaging as the pastor of the church receiving the letter is standing and reading it, the people are gathered and you might be waiting to see if the Apostle Paul calls you by name, and then you hear it. Are-Key-Puss, but instead of an atta-boy, you get called out in front of everyone. He says you have been given a ministry, a function, a roll, take heed to it so that you may fulfill it…because right now..you’re not doing that.
So our question was…our taking it home to privately consider how this might apply to me, was this. If a letter were sent to our church, that closed with “And say to (your name here) , take heed to the ministry which you have received in the Lord… what would that mean for you? How would you be fulfilling your ministry? It’s a challenging question!
For some, so challenging that you didn’t answer it. Look I know, some of you got weary with the question 1, a,b,c, d, e, f, g. 2. a, b, c…that’s good feedback for your leaders to give back to me, ask them to do that. But I know for some, that’s not why you didn’t answer it. I think some didn’t because maybe they didn’t know how to, they don’t know what their ministry is, what their gift is..., did you all know that if you’re a Christian you have a spiritual gift, at least one. It’s true, this I know, for the Bible tells me so. I’ll show you that in a minute. But Did you know that? That you have at least one spiritual gift? DO you know what that gift is?
So maybe some didn’t answer because they didn’t know how to, some didn’t answer because they didn’t want to, maybe they are in the same spot as Are-Key-puss and it called them out, they’re not fulfilling their ministry, and they didn’t want to admit that, or write it on paper, and others might have been afraid to answer the question.
Now put a finger in 2 Timothy, you guys can find your place there, and we’re just going to look at a handful of verses there, but before we do, I want to lay a foundation in the simplest language I can. I’m going to use a couple of different translations here, actually only one of them is a translation, the other is a paraphrase that gives the sense of the passage, but it’s not a book I would do my study from. I just want to keep this simple here this morning and allow God to do some work in all of us.
I mentioned that we all have at least one spiritual gift. You can look up on the screens, because this is in the NLT…from 1 Corinthians 12:7-9
7 A spiritual gift is given to each of us so we can help each other.
8 To one person the Spirit gives the ability to give wise advice; to another the same Spirit gives a message of special knowledge.
9 The same Spirit gives great faith to another, and to someone else the one Spirit gives the gift of healing.
10 He gives one person the power to perform miracles, and another the ability to prophesy. He gives someone else the ability to discern whether a message is from the Spirit of God or from another spirit. Still another person is given the ability to speak in unknown languages, while another is given the ability to interpret what is being said.
11 It is the one and only Spirit who distributes all these gifts. He alone decides which gift each person should have.
So everyone that is a Christian has at least one spiritual gift so that we can help each other, or minister to one another, and we don’t get to pick the gift, or try out a few and chose the one we’d like, the Holy Spirit of God gets to decide what gifts go where. Are you with me so far?
Now I want you to hear this…and this is from the message paraphrase, and you can look it up in your study bibles later, I just want you to get the sense of this, because most of us wrongly assign values to different gifts. We think that some are better than others, I want this gift, not that gift, ....the bible says love is above all, but other than that…they are all huge and all needed. Check this out from the same chapter 1 Cor 12:12
12 You can easily enough see how this kind of thing works by looking no further than your own body. Your body has many parts—limbs, organs, cells—but no matter how many parts you can name, you’re still one body. It’s exactly the same with Christ.
13 By means of his one Spirit, we all said good-bye to our partial and piecemeal lives. We each used to independently call our own shots, but then we entered into a large and integrated life in which he has the final say in everything. (This is what we proclaimed in word and action when we were baptized.) Each of us is now a part of his resurrection body, refreshed and sustained at one fountain—his Spirit—where we all come to drink. The old labels we once used to identify ourselves—labels like Jew or Greek, slave or free—are no longer useful. We need something larger, more comprehensive.
14 I want you to think about how all this makes you more significant, not less. A body isn’t just a single part blown up into something huge. It’s all the different-but-similar parts arranged and functioning together.
15 If Foot said, “I’m not elegant like Hand, embellished with rings; I guess I don’t belong to this body,” would that make it so?
16 If Ear said, “I’m not beautiful like Eye, limpid and expressive; I don’t deserve a place on the head,” would you want to remove it from the body?
17 If the body was all eye, how could it hear? If all ear, how could it smell?
18 As it is, we see that God has carefully placed each part of the body right where he wanted it.
19 But I also want you to think about how this keeps your significance from getting blown up into self-importance. For no matter how significant you are, it is only because of what you are a part of. An enormous eye or a gigantic hand wouldn’t be a body, but a monster.
20 What we have is one body with many parts, each its proper size and in its proper place. No part is important on its own.
21 Can you imagine Eye telling Hand, “Get lost; I don’t need you”? Or, Head telling Foot, “You’re fired; your job has been phased out”?
22 As a matter of fact, in practice it works the other way—the “lower” the part, the more basic, and therefore necessary. You can live without an eye, for instance, but not without a stomach.
23 When it’s a part of your own body you are concerned with, it makes no difference whether the part is visible or clothed, higher or lower. You give it dignity and honor just as it is, without comparisons.
24 If anything, you have more concern for the lower parts than the higher. If you had to choose, wouldn’t you prefer good digestion to full-bodied hair?
25 The way God designed our bodies is a model for understanding our lives together as a church: every part dependent on every other part, the parts we mention and the parts we don’t,
26 the parts we see and the parts we don’t. If one part hurts, every other part is involved in the hurt, and in the healing. If one part flourishes, every other part enters into the exuberance.
27 You are Christ’s body—that’s who you are! You must never forget this. Only as you accept your part of that body does your “part” mean anything.
That last verse, the idea of our “part” meaning anything…brought me back to that idea of fulfilling our ministries...
Now if you will, turn with me in your Bibles if you aren’t already there to 2 Timothy chapter one.
1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, according to the promise of life which is in Christ Jesus,
2 To Timothy, a beloved son: Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.
Paul begins with the promise of life, which is only in Christ Jesus, people can search to world over, but it is in Jesus alone. Then we see his common greeting of grace and peace, right? But there is something extra here…mercy. Did you know that in all of Paul’s books that he uses this greeting of grace and peace, there are only three exceptions, where he adds the word mercy... that is in his letters to Pastors. 1 & 2 Timothy and Titus. So follow the example of Paul and extend mercy, unmerited, unearned favor to your pastors, they need it. Paul goes on...
3 I thank God, whom I serve with a pure conscience, as my forefathers did, as without ceasing I remember you in my prayers night and day,
4 greatly desiring to see you, being mindful of your tears, that I may be filled with joy,
5 when I call to remembrance the genuine faith that is in you, which dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and I am persuaded is in you also.
Interesting language here in verse 5, Paul mentions the genuine faith that is in Timothy, that was first in his grandmother and then in his mom. In chapter 3 it says that Timothy knew the Holy Scriptures since childhood, and that was because to these two ladies. So mom’s and grand-moms, that wonder if you are making a difference, or having any positive influence when Dad or Granddad either aren’t in the picture, or are not Godly men, keep loving those kids and encouraging them in the Word.
Not forcing and exasperating them, but just loving them and letting them see Jesus in you as the Scriptures pour out of your heart.
SO this faith that is in him, it is not enough that it is in his mom, and grand mom, it has to be in him as well, and then Paul says, I am persuaded is in you also. Now the wording of that threw me a little bit.
Paul is writing this letter from his final imprisonment, Timothy is not a young boy any longer at this point, he has traveled, he has been sent on missions by Paul. He is probably middle aged and he is a pastor, not a baby Christian. David Guzik explains this idea of a genuine faith being within him like this...i. The phrase genuine faith could be literally translated, unhypocritical faith – that is, faith that is not an act. It was for real, not just in appearance. Then he writes, This is a significant theme of the Book of James.
David is probably right, but here is what troubles me, it’s the next verse…Timothy I remember a genuine faith within you, a real faith, not something that’s just in word, or just for show, I’m persuaded, or I really believe that it’s there Timothy, so in light of that…2 Tim 1:6
6 Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands.
Any of you still heat with wood? Well if you live in Maine, you probably have a fire pit or a friend that does. You now those things take some tending. You get the fire going with an old tire or sumpton…no, we don’t do that anymore. Whatever your chosen method of ignition is, you get that thing going, once it’s caught, you build it up till its roaring…but then after it burns for awhile, what happens?
It starts to die down, the flame sometimes goes out and it smolders, usually because the logs have separated some, they’ve drifted apart a bit, some have burned down, or burned out, and it has an effect on the logs around it. So you need to do what? Poke them with a hot iron! No, you need to get in there and stir up those coals, stir those smoldering embers together and they will begin to glow, begin to give off heat again, and re-ignite.
Paul says, I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you. I think there is some application here for us this morning, But there is a qualifier here. Paul says stir up the gift of God that is in you through the laying on of my hands.
So first, I have to ask you if you have anything to stir up? We read earlier that each of us is given at least one gift, by the Holy Spirit. But, actually, that applies to Christians, those that have confessed Jesus Christ as their Savior.
I want to give you all an opportunity this morning, but I don’t want to miss anyone by making assumptions. I’m not going to assume everyone in this room or everyone on line is a Christian this morning. Listen, if you are not yet a Christian, you need to do this. Paul says the promise of life is in Jesus. Jesus says, He is the way, the truth, and the life and that no one comes to the Father except through Him. You don’t go to Heaven without going through Jesus, no matter how sincere you are in your wrong faith.
So it’s life or death, and you need Jesus. You can do that right now. IF you need to do that, you can pray with me right now, right were you are. Pray this or something like it in your own words. “Dear Lord Jesus, I know I am a sinner. I believe You died for my sins. Please forgive me Lord, right now I am turning away from my life of sin and turning to you. You and you alone are my Lord and now my Savior, thank you for forgiving me and saving me Jesus. Amen.”
So there may be some of you that prayed that prayer and don’t have a clue of what your spiritual gift may be, I mean give me a minute right!?! You might not have a clue who the Holy Spirit is, how that all works. AND there are others maybe that haven’t really thought about it, or just don’t know what your spiritual gift is, maybe you took some test or questionnaire to help you figure that out, but never really have, and don’t know what your gift is, or even if you have the Holy Spirit or all that He has chosen to give you. That can be resolved today as well.
You can have all that today, right now! There is a conversation recorded for us in Luke 11 where it says Jesus is talking to His disciples and He reveals the secret on how to do that. Do you know what that is? I’ll show it to you in His words so you know I’m not making it up. Luke 11:10-13
10 For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.
11 If a son asks for bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent instead of a fish?
12 Or if he asks for an egg, will he offer him a scorpion?
13 If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!”
So you have to ask. So if you just got saved, and don’t want to waste a whole lot of time figuring this stuff out. Or maybe you’ve been a Christian for awhile and you just don’t know. Or you don’t know if you have the Holy Spirit, or don’t know if you have all that the Holy Spirit has for you let’s ask. Look, I was saved when I was going to a church that didn’t believe in the gifts of the Spirit, or didn’t believe that most of them were for today. Yet the Bible tells us to walk in the Spirit, not in the flesh…Let me ask you...
How are we going to do a work of the Spirit, or walk in the Spirit in your own flesh without the gifts of the Spirit? That is a road map to discouragement! I’m going to read one more verse to you before we do this, because I’m going to ask you to do something. Let’s see, 2 Timothy 1:7
7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.
God has not given us a spirit of fear, so you don’t have to be afraid to do this. If you are fearful, of doing this, that is not coming from God. So you that just got saved, or you that are saved, but don’t know what your spiritual gift is, don’t know if you have the Holy Spirit, or all that the Holy Spirit has for you... will you be brave and raise your hand. The camera is pointing up here, not on any of you. So, It’s just us in this room.
I’m not going to ask you to do anything else, I’m just going to pray for you and these people are going to pray with us. If you’re not sure of what your spiritual gifts are or if you’ve received one like Paul was talking about with Timothy, lift your hand up so I can see it and we will pray right now. If you’re home, or watching online somewhere, or in the cafe, or outback, and this applies to you raise your hand as a point of faith....Let’s pray.
Now, some of us, some of you watching online, some of you are maybe watching this weeks or months after we’ve gathered, but when you heard those words that Paul wrote to Timothy instructing him to stir up that gift of God that is within him, you thought, man do I need that. Or maybe you didn’t think that. Maybe you haven’t been thinking about God much at all, you’ve lost your first love, or you’ve grown stagnate.
I was showing Myles a trench yesterday that I have in my yard where two culverts come together and they drain down into a little farm pond. Well, they’re supposed to. The water pools up in one area and it grows stagnant. What does stagnant water do if it stays that way? It starts to stink, and it grows mosquitoes, things that irritate others. Does that sound like you? Maybe, maybe not. IF it doesn’t don’t be condemned by this, or get mad at me, show your pastor mercy....but listen, Paul was writing these words to a pastor, this happens to us.
We can grow stagnant. We can get so caught up with the cares of this world, the politics, the people, that we start to treat life like a dress rehearsal. We don’t get another chance! We have one shot at being a mom or grand mom, a Dad, or granddad, a son, a daughter, a friend, a witness for Jesus. Some of us intentionally or unintentionally choose a life of misery. This is not a dress rehearsal, everything we do, every moment of our lives matters greatly.
Maybe we used to really be on fire for the Lord, and maybe we have some really great excuses for it, but we have grown dim, and really need the Lord to stir that back up, because we can’t do it. Our flesh is burnt and weary. IF your’re in that spot and need the gift of God stirred up, what do you do, how do you fix that? You don’t it’s a gift, it’s His work. You repent, admit it, and ask Him to blow on the embers and stir up the flame again.
You that need that this morning, raise your hand so we can pray together....Lord forgive us and stir us up, Lord that the our gifts would be reignited and together Lord we would become an inferno in this community. That we would not have a spirit of fear, but the power that you give us, and the love that you give us, would put all of those fears in perspective in a sound mind, and your power and love would cause us to tell everyone we know about You. That those that we talk to this week, those that we spend Thanksgiving with, would notice change, notice a difference... and would see our love for you and our love for them. In Jesus name we pray, amen.
Listen, Paul goes on two more verses, he says, 2 Tim 1:8-9
8 Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me His prisoner, but share with me in the sufferings for the gospel according to the power of God,
9 who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began,
Grace, Mercy, and Peace