God Did Not Give Us a Spirit of Fear
Fearless and Faithful: Forward in Faith, Not Back Into Fear • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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· 11 viewsAs we start a new year and consider all the unknowns that lie ahead, it’s natural to feel afraid or anxious. We might even be tempted to begin the year timidly. However, in 2 Timothy 1 Paul encouraged Timothy to be fearless and faithful, embracing the spirit of love and self-control that has been given to all of us by Christ. Like Timothy, we need to be reminded of who we are and what we have in Christ. Our Savior, King Jesus, has “abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.” What could we accomplish this year—or even this week—if we believed that truth?
Notes
Transcript
Fearless and Faithful
Fearless and Faithful
Have you ever sat in this room and decided something…
You need to forgive someone
Ask someone to forgive you
Break a bad habit
Start a good habit
But, you left and
never followed through?
started but got stuck?
something is holding you back from BEING and DOING
This year we are going to
confront the things that are holding us back
push forward in faith
One of the best books to help you do that is 2 Timothy…
The Background of 2 Timothy
The Background of 2 Timothy
Paul was in a Roman prison, awaiting execution
Many of Paul’s friends had caved to social pressure and deserted him
Timothy was in Ephesus
False Teachers
Easily deceived church members
Unbelieving and hostile community
Shame from inside and outside the church
How do you face challenges like these?
How do you face challenges like these?
First, in that context?
If you’re Paul…
If you’re Timothy…
If you’re a member of the Ephesian church?
But also in YOUR context
YOU are facing challenges
this week
this year
How SHOULD you face the challenges you face?
as a follower of Jesus
not as the world faces these challenges
How should WE face OUR challenges together as a congregation?
Let’s jump into 2 Timothy…
1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God according to the promise of the life that is in Christ Jesus, 2 To Timothy, my beloved child: Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.
3 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. 4 As I remember your tears, I long to see you, that I may be filled with joy.
Paul did not see himself as a CONVERT
from one religion to another
he was a Jew and now he is a Christian
He saw loyalty to KING JESUS
as the faithful continuation
of the faith of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, David, etc.
Paul faced a lot of social pressure
trying to shame him into compromise
“Your grandfather would be so disappointed in you”
“You’ve turned your back on your people”
“You’re a traitor”
Timothy was also faithfully carrying on the family legacy
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.
Timothy had a Jewish
mother
grandmother
But a Greek father
so he faced a unique set of challenges
social pressure from various groups
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 gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.
“fan into flame”
one word in Greek
rekindle
fire starts to die down and he has to be rekindled, re-excited
“gift of God”
gift of the Spirit (prophecy)
the Spirit himself
the Spirit could have been given to Timothy through Paul’s laying on of hands
Not of fear
Fear warns us that something can be lost and
life
family
money
dignity / respect
status
God makes us FEARLESS by PROTECTING the things we’re afraid of losing
Power
Strength
Capability
Ability to do what needs to be done
LOVE
Self-giving
Self-preservation prevents us from LOVING like JESUS
protecting our pride
protecting our money
protecting our lives
Self-Control
Making good, moral decisions
Restraining your sinful impulses
What does this have to do with FEAR, fear of missing out (FOMO).
Followers of Jesus need all three:
Power without love is tyranny
Love without power is sentimentality
Power and love without self-control is immorality
8 Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God, 9 who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began,
10 and which now has been manifested through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, 11 for which I was appointed a preacher and apostle and teacher,
12 which is why I suffer as I do. But I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that he is able to guard until that day what has been entrusted to me.
So many people in Paul’s life
had caved due to the social pressure of shame
Paul refused to be shamed into giving up
He was able to continue in…
POWER
LOVE
SELF-CONTROL
Right up to the very end
Because he trusted God’s ability to GUARD what Paul held most dear
What if we really trusted God to guard what he has entrusted to us
Instead of living in fear
what’s holding us back? what are we afraid of? whatever it is…
We could face our challenges with more POWER, LOVE, and SELF-CONTROL if we learned to say, “I don’t fear _____, because Christ has given me his _____.”
We could face our challenges with more POWER, LOVE, and SELF-CONTROL if we learned to say, “I don’t fear _____, because Christ has given me his _____.”
shame…glory
I don’t NEED your GLORY
HONOR
ATTENTION
RESPECT
uncertainty…assurances
I don’t need your assurances
I don’t need stability
failure…victory
I don’t have to “win”
I don’t have to be “successful” by your standards
poverty…riches
I don’t need the world’s riches
the world’s luxuries
suffering…comfort
Paul would soon be executed
History says Timothy would eventually be martyred as well
death…immortality
I don’t need safety
I don’t need security
the question is, what are you allowing to govern your fears?
Whatever governs your fears, governs your life.
Whatever governs your fears, governs your life.
Whatever governs your fears…
What are you afraid of?
Who told you to be afraid of that?
What do you do with those fears?
What’s an appropriate way to respond to those fears?
If cable news (CNN, Fox News, MSNBC)
governs your fears
then it governs it life
If the opinions of your friends
govern your fears
then they govern your life
If the economy
governs your fears
then it governs your life
BUT if the promises of God
govern your fears
then they will govern your life
You can live with
POWER
LOVE
SELF-CONTROL this week
When you live fearlessly and faithfully
The key is simply… FEAR LESS and TRUST MORE
