2 Timothy 1:1-7 - Fan the Flame
Notes
Transcript
Handout
Introduction:
There is something captivating about fire. I, personally have always been amazed by the power of fire.
In fact, although I was a fairly obedient child growing up, one of the few times I got in trouble involved fire. Luckily, I didn’t cause any damage - and as a disclaimer - kids don’t play with fire!
However, when I come to a section of Scripture like this, it resonates with me. Fire is powerful. It is used to refine metals. It is used to warm homes. It can be used as a signal to help find someone who is lost. It is used to cook food. The amount of uses of fire is incredible.
However, there is one thing that is important to know about fire - it is difficult to conceal. It gives off light, it gives off heat, and it gives off smoke.
Just like when I was a child and got in trouble because of the conspicuousness of some residual smoke, fire cannot be hidden.
The flames of a fire are visible from quite a while away - especially when it is dark.
According to an article in physicsworld, in the right darkness conditions, a human eye can see a candle light from approximately 1.6 miles away (1).
That is incredible to consider.
Today, we are going to see fire used as a metaphor for a spiritual gift imparted to Timothy. Paul is going to urge him to fan into flame this gift that has been given to him by God.
Each of us have been given spiritual gifts, and we, like Timothy, are called to fan into flame our gifts as well.
However, there is one issue that comes up as we seek to fan this gift into flame. Others will notice it. We live in a dark world that will notice the flame. And this can be fear-inducing to us. We must move forward, however, serving the Lord through His empowerment and take courage in Him alone. Only then can we truly fan the flame and glorify God.
Let’s jump into our Scripture for today…
Read Full Scripture:
Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God according to the promise of the life that is in Christ Jesus, To Timothy, my beloved child: Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. I thank God whom I serve, as did my ancestors, with a clear conscience, as I remember you constantly in my prayers night and day.
As I remember your tears, I long to see you, that I may be filled with joy. 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. 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, for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.
Prayer
Today we will see three ways that we can confidently fan the flame of our spiritual gifts. The first is…
I. We Can Confidently Fan the Flame by the Power of Our Heavenly Father (1-3)
I. We Can Confidently Fan the Flame by the Power of Our Heavenly Father (1-3)
Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God according to the promise of the life that is in Christ Jesus,
Paul starts his letter off as he normally does with stating his name and authority. He is an apostle of Christ Jesus. But he wants to clarify why he is an apostle. This wasn’t a job that he applied for. We actually learn in the book of Acts that Paul was actively persecuting the church when he was called by the will of God.
Paul was bent on opposing Christianity (Acts 6-7). Yet, God sovereignly called Paul to this ministry of Apostleship (Acts 9).
Paul says this for a couple of reasons. First, it shows that his authority is not his own - it is God’s. And second, we see that he has no secondary gain in this ministry. He was wealthy and powerful and influential before he was called by Christ. He had an extremely promising career as a Pharisee. He had trained under one of the most respected Jewish leaders - Gamaliel (Acts 22:3).
But he gave up all of that to follow Christ. And following Christ had led him into much persecution and pain.
To put this in context, he is writing this letter from his final imprisonment. This is, in fact, the final letter that we have from Paul. And this is the worst of his imprisonments. Although he had some freedoms when imprisoned the first two times, it is believed that he may have been in the dreaded Mamertine Prison in Rome. This was an underground chamber with only a single hole in the ceiling for light and air. He writes this letter as he is chained and awaiting his final sentencing.
Paul had a rough final decade of his life. He was imprisoned in Caesarea in AD 57 and then appealed to Caesar and was sent to Rome in AD 60. He was there until AD 62 in which he was released for a few years. In AD 66, he was imprisoned for the final time under Nero and was eventually beheaded in AD 67.
To understand the bleakness of Paul’s situation even further, we learn in chapter 4 of this letter that Paul is likely all alone at this point. 2 Timothy 4:16-17 asserts that he had been deserted because of the persecution.
With seeing this overarching pain and loneliness, Paul says something very interesting in verse 1. He mentions the promise of life that is in Christ Jesus.
Instead of considering his looming martyrdom and his loneliness, he is thinking about eternal life with Christ Jesus.
He knows where he is going. We have heard this during his first imprisonment in Rome as well from his prison epistle of Philippians.
He had stated that it would better to depart and be with Christ (Phil 1:23). And he states in Philippians 1:21 the following:
For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.
He had an eternal perspective.
If we are honest, at this point in the letter, most of us would go right into a pity party for ourselves. We would want people to feel sorry for us. Yet, listen to Paul’s selfless introduction here…
To Timothy, my beloved child: Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. I thank God whom I serve, as did my ancestors, with a clear conscience, as I remember you constantly in my prayers night and day.
We now see the personal side of this letter. It is addressed to Timothy who Paul calls his beloved child. Paul was never married and did not have children. However, Timothy was a spiritual son to Paul.
Paul prays that grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord be upon him. Paul will come back to this selfless love for Timothy at the end of verse 3, but he spends a little time in thankfulness to God for his salvation and forgiveness.
Paul, reflecting on his life now, sees himself as one of the prophets of old - one of his ancestors. He knows that he will be going to his death like many of them did.
Maybe he considered Zechariah the son of Jehoiada the priest who was killed at the command of King Joash in 2 Chronicles 24:20-22.
Or maybe Isaiah, who according to tradition was sawn in two under the reign of Manasseh (Hebrews 11:37).
Or he could have considered Jeremiah, who according to tradition was stoned to death by his own people in Egypt.
Or maybe more contemporary to him, John the Baptist who was killed by Herod (Mark 6:17-29).
Or maybe even more personal to him, the stoning of Stephen who was the first Christian martyr as seen in Acts 7:54-60 - a stoning that Paul gave his approval of and witnessed firsthand.
Although Paul had sinned mightily and considered himself the foremost of sinners (1 Timothy 1:15) - we also see the beauty of the Gospel at work in his life. He serves with a clear conscience. Despite his sinful past, he knows that he has been washed clean by the blood of Christ. This is the same man who wrote Romans 8:1:
There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
Maybe you need to hear that today. Maybe you are weighed down by your past and don’t feel good enough to serve Jesus.
Here’s the truth - none of us are good enough to serve Jesus!
Yet, Jesus is so good and His goodness so much better than our badness that His righteousness overwhelms our sin. His goodness took our sin on the cross. His righteousness overcame sin and death and the grave.
If we will only repent of our sins and trust in Jesus Christ alone for salvation, then His righteousness will be imputed to us - or placed upon us. We will be a new creation. And like Paul, we can live with a clear conscience - knowing that His finished work on the cross has been applied to our lives. We have been forgiven and eternity with Him in heaven is ours.
… as I remember you constantly in my prayers night and day.
Getting back to the end of verse 3, Paul moves forward to let Timothy know about his constant prayers for him day and night. We need to take note of the selflessness of Paul displayed here as well. Instead of spending his time considering his own plight, he considers Timothy. Instead of being self-focused - he is others focused. As he lay on the stone-cold ground of a terrible prison cell, chained and bound, he lifts up others.
May we strive, through the power of of our Heavenly Father to fan the flame like Paul did here. He allowed the Holy Spirit to fan to flame his gift of encouragement and pastoral leadership even in a place where it seemed like the fire would surely diminish. He writes this final and amazing letter at the lowest point of his life - all by the power of His Heavenly Father.
Next we see that…
Scripture References: Acts 6-7, Acts 9, Acts 22:3, 2 Timothy 4:16-17, Philippians 1:23, Philippians 1:21, 2 Chronicles 24:20-22, Hebrews 11:37, Mark 6:17-29, Acts 7:54-60, 1 Timothy 1:15, Romans 8:1
II. We Can Confidently Fan the Flame by Our Sincere Faith (4-5)
II. We Can Confidently Fan the Flame by Our Sincere Faith (4-5)
As I remember your tears, I long to see you, that I may be filled with joy.
The mutual love of this spiritual father and his son are clearly seen in this verse. Timothy, saddened by Paul’s departure to Rome, obviously showed his emotion through tears. We do not know when they last saw one another. Perhaps this was just prior to Paul’s arrest and transport to Rome. We will see Paul return to this desire to see Timothy in 2 Timothy 4:9 toward the end of the letter yet again.
See the selfless love of Paul here as well. He longs to see Timothy - but one of the greatest joys for Paul would be able to see Timothy yet again for even Timothy’s sake as well. Their last farewell was difficult on Timothy and Paul would have been overjoyed to see Timothy again to encourage him. He knows that his clock is ticking. His appointment with death is not far away.
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.
In reflecting on Timothy, he states that he is reminded of his sincere faith. This Greek word translated sincere here means completely genuine, without deceit, and authentic.
Paul saw Timothy’s faith as no less than his own. He saw Timothy as a worker completely dedicated to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Next, after remembering the sincere faith of Timothy, Paul considers Timothy’s mother and grandmother. These two women loved the Lord and passed on their faith to Timothy.
It is likely that Lois, Timothy’s grandmother, and Eunice, his mother, were converted during Paul’s first missionary journey - somewhere around AD 46-48. It is clear that these converted women then shared their faith with Timothy who came to a saving knowledge of Christ.
By Paul’s second missionary journey which took place from AD 49-52, it had become obvious that Timothy showed theological promise as a young man (Acts 16:1-3). The brothers, or other believers in the area of Lystra and Iconium, spoke well of young Timothy. Paul specifically chose Timothy and took him along with him for the remainder of his second missionary journey.
It seems that despite Timothy having a Greek father who does not appear to have been a believer, his mother and grandmother did a great job of passing on the truth of the Gospel to him.
I don’t think that it is coincidental that this sermon comes the week after Mother’s Day.
Take a second and really reflect on the high calling of motherhood.
This grandmother and mother were instrumental in the development of this young man of God. Our culture often diminishes the amazing call of motherhood. But as we see here, the call of motherhood is vitally important to the upbringing of godly offspring. We were blessed to dedicate six children last week during our service. As I looked at the four couples representing these 6 children along with the others in these families that had already been dedicated - totaling 11 children if you were counting - I saw the importance of not only godly fathers, but also godly mothers. These mothers spend countless hours with their children day after day. And their spiritual impact on these children cannot be overstated.
I know that last Sunday was Mother’s Day - but I pray that all of the children and husbands spend some time today thanking the mothers and grandmothers in their families who have provided a spiritual heritage to their families.
Though one’s Christian heritage is a beautiful thing to celebrate, it is necessary to understand that mothers, fathers, grandmothers, or grandfathers cannot save anyone. One is not saved because one comes from a Christian family. One is not saved because he has a godly mother or grandmother.
We must all come to a personal saving knowledge of Christ through faith in Him and repentance of our sins.
However, as we saw last week during our child dedications, those who are blessed to be born in Christian families do have a great blessing of being taught the faith from an early age. The work of these mothers, grandmothers, and other godly influences on the lives of little ones is invaluable.
I also pray that this section of Scripture is encouraging to believing mothers who are married to an unbeliever. Though the Scriptures are clear that we are not to unequally yoked to an unbeliever (2 Corinthians 6:14), some women find themselves in a difficult situation like this.
Although this is a much harder situation and much less ideal situation, take heart in knowing that God can still do amazing work through you, mom. Keep teaching and modeling the Gospel and Word of God to your children and grandchildren. Hold fast to the hope that the Lord offers here.
So far we have seen that we can confidently fan the flame by the power of our Heavenly Father, by our sincere faith, and finally…
Scripture References: 1 Timothy 4:9, Acts 16:1-3, 2 Corinthians 6:14
III. We Can Confidently Fan the Flame by Conquering Our Fear (6-7)
III. We Can Confidently Fan the Flame by Conquering Our Fear (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,
Paul ends these two last verses with a couple of charges.
His first charge is for Timothy to fan into flame the gift of God that was given to him. The Holy Spirit had equipped Timothy - symbolically through the laying on of hands from Paul - to be a minister of the Gospel.
This wonderful calling came with a need to fan the gift into flame.
As a pastor and elder, Timothy would need to practice this gift in order to keep the fire alive. He would need to be preaching and teaching and ministering in order for the flame to grow higher and hotter.
For all of those who follow Christ, we have all been given spiritual gifts.
Not all have been called to pastoral or elder ministry. Not all are called to be deacons. But all are called to a ministry of some sort for Christ. He has gifted each of us with gifts - whether it is hospitality and serving, generosity, administration, evangelism, teaching, encouraging, leadership, mercy, faith, discernment, among others. We see these gifts of the Spirit found in Romans 12:6-8, 1 Corinthians 12:4-11, 1 Corinthians 12:28, and even Ephesians 4:11. Many believers shine in many of the spiritual gifts listed in the Bible.
Why do we each have gifts like these? To serve the body of believers.
As 1 Corinthians 12:12-17 teaches, we are one body and many parts. And these parts work together to serve one another in the Church. Each part of the body is necessary for the body to work correctly. And the entire body is directed by the head - namely Christ.
Unfortunately, many today don’t fan into flame their gifts from the Lord. Although gifted by the Holy Spirit in ways unique to them, they refuse to allow the glowing embers to burn bright.
Is that you? Are you refusing to fan to flame the spiritual gift that God has given you?
Are you afraid of how it might change your life? Are you afraid of what type of commitment that it might entail? Are you afraid of what others might think of you?
There are likely countless believers who are not fanning their spiritual gifts into flame like they should. This is the problem with our church in America. Many refuse to take the steps needed to serve the Lord with everything they have.
If I might be so bold here… don’t be satisfied by the light of a few embers when you the Lord wants to see a bonfire.
The embers provide a small amount of heat. It’s not that there isn’t some effectiveness. However, that effectiveness pales in comparison to a bonfire that provides light and heat to a much greater area.
This type of transformation is only possible through the power of the Holy Spirit which brings us to verse 7…
for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.
Paul’s final charge in this initial introduction is to not be fearful.
The word spirit here likely refers to Timothy’s spirit empowered by the Holy Spirit. Timothy has been born again. He is a new creation. His soul went from being dead in sin to alive in Christ.
His saved spirit should not give into the fleshly temptation of fear. Instead, he should be empowered by the Holy Spirit to do the will of God which is to fan the flame of the gifts he has been given.
Some theologians debate on whether Timothy naturally battled fear. It seems likely that he did - especially in this letter. Although he seems to have persevered and did amazing things in the early church, it appears that he had to battle through this fleshly struggle of fear. Paul gives him many admonishments in this letter alone that urge him to be strong, persevere, and stand firm.
Timothy is a reminder to us all that God can do amazing things through imperfect people.
We, like Timothy, must not let our fleshly struggles such as fear, anxiety, or even physical handicaps keep us from doing what Christ has called us to do.
God will most certainly call you do things that you cannot do without His supernatural work in and through you.
Allow the Holy Spirit to work in and through you to fan the flame of your gifts for the glory of God.
Unfortunately, one of the greatest sins that prevents people from following Christ in complete obedience is fear.
Sadly, fear even prevents many from coming to Christ at all. They fear what they might have to give up. They fear losing control over their own lives.
Revelation 21:8 lists a group of those who will undergo the second death - namely eternity in hell. The list includes many sins that we would expect - detestable, murderers, idolaters, sexually immoral, and lairs. But guess what heads off this list? Those who are cowards and the faithless.
Fear is the opposite of faith. Faithlessness is almost a synonym to fear in the Bible.
Listen to Jesus teach this concept as He calms the storm:
And he said to them, “Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?” Then he rose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm.
Here we see Jesus teach that faithlessness and fear are hand in hand.
As believers, we are called to be faithful and courageous. And we can do this because of the Holy Spirit.
Paul tells us that God has given us a spirit of:
1) Power
2) Love
3) Self-Control
1) Power
This power is found in Christ alone. It is not found in ourselves. This world likes to puff us up and tell us that we have power within ourselves. We can become someone great if we just look deep inside. Yet, the Scriptures teach us that our flesh is weak (Matthew 26:41). We can only find true power to overcome persecution and hardship in Christ. He will equip us for each battle.
The Greek word for power here is where we get our word for dynamite. God gives believers incredible power to accomplish His will.
Next, we are told that God equips us with…
2) Love
We are able to agape - or sacrificially love - because of the Holy Spirit’s work in our lives. This is the first of the fruit of the Holy Spirit as found in Galatians 5:22-23.
This prime fruit of the Spirit and gift given to believers helps us persevere when things are tough. This love for God and love for others helps us push forward despite opposition. As we see in 1 John 4:18 - perfect love casts out fear.
Finally, God equips us with…
3) Self-Control
This is the only instance of this Greek word in the entire New Testament. It means of a sound mind and reasonableness or to be self-disciplined.
Although this is a different word than what is used for self-control as the final fruit of the Holy Spirit found in Galatians 5:22-23, these words overlap significantly in meaning.
This word describes one who is steady and balanced and not affected by the winds of change in this world. It describes one who is reliably consistent.
Remaining steadfast and unmoveable in a world full of compromise is difficult. Again, it is only possible by the power of the Holy Spirit working in and through the believer.
Scripture References: Romans 12:6-8, 1 Corinthians 12:4-11, 1 Corinthians 12:28, Ephesians 4:11, 1 Corinthians 12:12-17, Revelation 21:8, Matthew 8:26, Matthew 26:41, Galatians 5:22-23, 1 John 4:18
Conclusion
As we come to a close, we have seen three ways we are to fan the flame of our spiritual gifts within us.
We must do this through the power of the Heavenly Father, we must do this based on a sincere and saving faith, and we must do it by conquering our fear by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Before we finish today, I want each of us to take some time in reflection. We are going to have an instrumental to the end the service as we have some time of reflection and prayer with the Lord - one-on-one.
I want you to ask the Lord if there is an area of your life that you have neglected to fan into flame.
Is there a gift that you have that you haven’t been exercising well? Is there a giftedness in you that you have let fade into embers instead of burning bright like a bright bonfire?
Repent today and ask the Lord to fan into flame the gift or gifts that He has given you. Don’t give into fear and doubt. Through His power, may you walk in faith and courage.
