Fanning the Flame
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Fanning the Flame
Fanning the Flame
2 Timothy
6 Therefore, I remind you to keep ablaze the gift of God that is in you through the laying on of my hands.
7 For God has not given us a spirit of fearfulness, but one of power, love, and sound judgment.
8 So don’t be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, or of me His prisoner. Instead, share in suffering for the gospel, relying on the power of God.
9 He 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.
10 This has now been made evident through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who has abolished death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.
11 For this gospel I was appointed a herald, apostle, and teacher,
12 and that is why I suffer these things. But I am not ashamed, because I know the One I have believed in and am persuaded that He is able to guard what has been entrusted to me until that day.
13 Hold on to the pattern of sound teaching that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.
14 Guard, through the Holy Spirit who lives in us, that good thing entrusted to you.
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,
The commitment we are given here is to expository preaching and teaching God’s word week in and week out — to explain the meaning and this morning we come to the book of 2 Timothy in our series of Bible Surveys of each and every book of the Bible. One message of each book each week, from Genesis to Revelation.
Around AD 64, Nero began aggressively persecuting believers in which Paul was found and thrown into Mamortine Prison in Rome. Mamortine was literally a dungeon in the ground. It was a circular pit of 30 feet in diameter with a hole at the top a little larger than a manhole in the street. 30 to 35 prisoners were placed in hole. They were there for execution. In order to make room for the next group of prisoners, the door would be pulled open and the dungeon would fill with the sewage that drowned all the prisoners.
When you think about the life of Paul, a life or self-sacrifice on behalf of spreading the Gospel, so that men might know joy and grace and mercy and forgiveness of sin and peace with God, it’s tragic to think that Paul is in the Mamortine Prison. And fearful of their own persecution, nearly all those close to Paul had abandoned him.
15 This you know: All those in Asia have turned away from me, including Phygelus and Hermogenes.
Facing imminent execution, Paul wrote Timothy, urging him to hurry to Rome for one last visit.
9 Make every effort to come to me soon,
2 Timothy
We don’t know that Timothy every made it to see Paul. But he remained in the prison until he was executed.
It was at this time that Paul chose to write to Timothy. He wrote as it was his last will and testament. Concerned that Timothy was becoming intimidated by the severe persecution and the great difficulties that he faced pastoring the Church at Ephesus, Paul wrote to Timothy to encourage him to Fan the Flame — Fan the Flame of the Gift of God that is in you.
And so, in a personal letter of instruction Paul gives encouragement to young Timothy to use the resources God has given to him in verse 7:
7 For God has not given us a spirit of fearfulness, but one of power, love, and sound judgment.
And you will notice throughout the letter Paul gives command after command after command. He commands based on his authority. He begins like this in verse 1 establishing that authority.
1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by God’s will, for the promise of life in Christ Jesus: 2 To Timothy, my dearly loved son. Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.
He gives him his credentials and appeals to Timothy as his “dearly loved son.” There is a very simple and basic axiom here — And this is the basis of Paul’s letter — and it’s this: Intimacy never precludes authority. And we can think about this as a Father. Try dealing with your children strictly on a friendship basis and not authority. It doesn’t work. Try running your business with your employees strictly on the basis of friendship and not authority. It doesn’t work. Intimacy, friendship, fellowship, love bond, all of that never precludes authority.
So, Paul begins with authority, continues with authority throughout the letter, and ends it with authority, as we’ll see. And so all throughout the epistle it is command after command.
So, with that in mind let me summarize this epistle of commands as Paul looks to motivate and encourage Timothy with these 5 Command: Be not Ashamed; Be Strong; Be Diligent; Be Aware; and Preach the Word.
Be not Ashamed
Be Strong
Be Strong
Be Diligent
Be Aware
Preach the Word
Be Diligent
Be not Ashamed
Be Aware
Be Strong
Preach the Word
Be Diligent
Be Aware
Be Aware
Preach the Word
Preach the Word
Let’s begin with — Be not Ashamed.
I. Be not Ashamed
I. Be not Ashamed
So don’t be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, or of me His prisoner. Instead, share in suffering for the gospel, relying on the power of God.
Be not Ashamed.
This is two-fold: Be not Ashamed of Christ or Christ’s servant, specifically here — Paul.
Do not be ashamed of Christ — Guard against being ashamed of Christ. The command that Paul gives Timothy is to prepare himself for misunderstanding, animosity — even outright rejection because those things are going to come.
I want you to notice the word Therefore at the beginning of verse 8. Therefore refers back to the divinely bestowed gift and resources mentioned in verses 6-7.
The Gift is Preaching the Word. We’ll say more about this when we get down to chapter 4. But it’s that spiritual gift of preaching which Timothy received through laying on of Paul’s hands. Now, don’t misunderstand, this gift of Preaching the Word comes from the Lord. It’s God’s Word, it’s God’s call to Timothy to Preach. But the issue of Laying on of Hands by the Elders of the Church is important because it demonstrates that God’s people, led by the Elders, God’s appointed leaders, recognize God’s calling on the man. Let me put it this way. No man is outside of the authority of the local church. Every man has to be submissive to authority — authority of men. No man is unto himself. Many seminaries recognize this and some won’t allow a man to continue studies and preparation at the seminary without the full support of the man’s local church to assure that man’s growth in submission. You cannot submit to God when you won’t submit to men. That’s the Gift — Preaching the Word.
The Resources are Power, Love, and Sound Judgment (or Discipline).
Power denotes the great force or energy — that is the effective, productive energy. This is not unhinged, raw, unbridled energy. God provides us with His Power in order for us to be effective in His service.
Love is the Divine Love — the love that is volitional and selfless love that desires and works for the best interests of the one loved. Think about God’s love. It is constant, not ebbing and flowing — but constant, consistent. It’s the sincere love for the brethren, the fervently love from the heart for one another Peter talks about in . It’s the love we are willing to expend ourselves for others. You think again about where Paul is. And it’s really a sad time. He has come to the end of his ministry, the end of his life. And we read in 4:10, “Demas…has deserted me.” And what’s Paul’s concern — Timothy and through Timothy — the church at Ephesus, and the furtherance of the Gospel! And you can see it in the way Paul speaks to Timothy.
2 To Timothy, my dearly loved son. Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.
Remembering your tears, I long to see you so that I may be filled with joy,
Sound Judgment — This is literally a secure and sound mind, but we can understand this more as Discipline — discipline of self-control, properly prioritized mind. God give us the resource of controlling every element of our lives — but it is enacted in Discipline. To live with Sound Judgment is to live a Divinely Disciplined life, Divinely ordered, with Godly Wisdom applied in every situation. In other words, it means our priorities are place in the right order.
This is how we can live our lives and Not be ashamed of our Lord and His servants. This is how we can actually suffer for the Gospel.
How could Paul suffer what he has and be so concerned for Timothy and the church at Ephesus?
It’s because he is not ashamed of the testimony of the Lord.
And this lives out in the suffering because Paul has such a trust in the Lord and what He’s doing in Paul’s life as he sits in this jail awaiting execution.
12 and that is why I suffer these things. But I am not ashamed, because I know the One I have believed in and am persuaded that He is able to guard what has been entrusted to me until that day.
2 Timothy
So, Paul instructs Timothy to:
Hold on to the pattern of sound teaching, in verse 13, which he heard Paul teach. AND
Guard the Good Thing (the Treasure) — This is the Word, which is the sound teaching, the Truth, Doctrine.
Do you have a full confidence in God’s Word?
There are those who don’t — Phygelus and Hermogenes.
But you, Timothy — Hold on to it — Guard it.
Be not Ashamed AND Be Strong.
II. Be Strong
II. Be Strong
You, therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.
Be Strong.
This is another imperative, a command. And yet, Paul tempers the command with — “my son.” The tenderness of Paul’s heart is like the tenderness of God’s heart.
Be Strong — The effectiveness of Timothy’s ministry depended not merely in having the call and the resources BUT in his faithfully using them in God’s power and to God’s glory.
Be Strong is passive, indicating the source of Timothy’s strength was not in himself, but “in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.”
We must never think of God’s grace as only in operation in justification. God’s grace continues throughout the lives of believers in sanctification, in forgiveness, in holiness, in service to God. The same grace that forgives us and makes us holy empowers us.
Paul then gives Timothy Four Vivid Analogies, four Metaphors of a Strong life in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.
The Teacher who teaches others to teach, who then teach others to teach and it goes on and on and on.
The Soldier who does not simply do the minimum duty for his Lord, but serves Him with everything he is and has.
The Athlete who competes, contends, wrestles, and struggles with great determination to win.
And Finally, the hard-working Farmer who works hard planting, cultivating, and harvesting to gain the crop.
Paul say,
7 Consider what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything.
2 Timothy 2:
This is so Timothy will be wise, spiritually discerning, and thereby Strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.
Be not Ashamed, Be Strong, AND Be Diligent.
III. Be Diligent
Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who doesn’t need to be ashamed, correctly teaching the word of truth.
2 Timothy 2;
Be Diligent.
To be diligent is to have a zealous persistence to accomplish a particular objective. And here Paul is speaking of being a diligent teacher — giving the maximum effort to impart God’s truth as completely, accurately, clearly, and as unambiguously as possible. It is to have an unreserved commitment to excellence in examining, interpreting, explaining, and applying God’s Word. This is why Paul previously told Timothy
17 The elders who are good leaders should be considered worthy of an ample honorarium, especially those who work hard at preaching and teaching.
The purpose of this diligence is not to please others, or to feel good about yourself, but — to present yourself approved to God.
To Present yourself approved to God, literally means to stand alongside of. The idea is to stand alongside of or before God — for the purpose of inspection for approval. To be approved means to pass careful inspection or scrutiny — and thereby be counted worthy.
The Supreme Purpose of Diligence to the Word of God is to please God. Every teacher and preacher who does this is one who is a workman who does not “need to be ashamed.”
And notice, that diligence to present yourself approved to God is not only in accurately “handling the word of truth.” But it is also in:
Verse 15 — “not fighting about words” that’s not profitable in any way, but leads to the ruin of the hearers. This speaks over making secondary things first things. This kind of thing ruins the church.
Verse 16 — “avoid irreverent, empty speech” this produces nothing but greater godlessness. Like Paul tells Titus, “avoid foolish debates, genealogies, quarrels, and disputes about the law, for they are unprofitable and worthless.” This is destructive heresy that perverts divine truth and leads to further ungodliness. This was the kind of thing Hymenaeus and Philetus were doing.
Also, verse 22 — “Flee from youthful passions.” This word Flee speaks of being like a fugitive who is continually on the run from sinful passions that started when they were young. Timothy is still young. These things may include sinful lusts, but there is also included craving for worldly things, inordinate ambitions. How many are not settled, always looking for something new? This is a characteristic of youthful passions. This is a huge lack of maturity. There is also jealousy, envy, being argumentative. But also included in this is Pride. This is huge. There is no humility, no sense of love for others, only love of self. What is the command from our Lord, Humble ourselves? Isn’t it interesting that We are commanded to do this, to Humble Ourselves. This is to bow before others. To put ourselves in submission to. Listen — You are not submissive to God, if you are not submissive to others in the church. Look at the lesson Christ taught His Apostles in the Upper Room by washing their feet.
9 But avoid foolish debates, genealogies, quarrels, and disputes about the law, for they are unprofitable and worthless.
“Be Diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed...”
Be not Ashamed, Be Strong, Be Diligent, AND Be Aware.
IV. Be Aware
But know this: Difficult times will come in the last days.
Be Aware.
“Difficult times will come.” Just the concept that times will be difficult.
What makes the times difficult?
People do not like God’s Word. We do not like the full counsel of God. It’s generally displeasing, unacceptable, and repugnant to us. It has been that way since the fall. This makes the times difficult. Men always want to substitute God’s truth for their own ideas. And the times, can be considered epochs of time. Let me run you through just some major epochs in Church history.
Under sacramentalism, the church replaced God.
Under rationalism, reason was god.
Under orthodoxism, god was sterile.
Under politicism, god was the state.
Under ecumenism, god was uncritical fellowship — cooperation among nominal Christians.
Under experimentalism, god became personal experience.
Under subjectivism, which still reigns today, self became god.
That has been the difficult times that God’s faithful pastors have had to endure as they preached and taught the Word of God.
2 Timothy: The MacArthur New Testament Commentary Difficult Times
Under sacramentalism, the church replaced God; under rationalism, reason was god; under orthodoxism, god was sterile, impersonal orthodoxy; under politicism, god was the state; under ecumenism, god was uncritical fellowship and cooperation among nominal Christians; under experientialism, god became personal experience; and under subjectivism, which still reigns in much of Christendom, self has become god.
And this will cause great and significant suffering for those who are aware of the difficult times. And Paul assures Timothy in verse 12:
12 In fact, all those who want to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.
There will be those in the church who will be like Jannes and Jambres who opposed Moses, who opposed the truth. Be Aware of all this Timothy and continue in what you learned from me — be convinced of it, stand in it.
14 But as for you, continue in what you have learned and firmly believed. You know those who taught you, 15 and you know that from childhood you have known the sacred Scriptures, which are able to give you wisdom for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16 All Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for teaching, for rebuking, for correcting, for training in righteousness, 17 so that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.
Notice the confidence Paul has of God’s Word. It’s inspired of God and profitable — and it works in men to make them complete!
:14-17
Be Aware of Difficult Times.
Be not Ashamed, Be Strong, Be Diligent, Be Aware, AND Finally, Preach the Word.
V. Preach the Word
Proclaim the message; persist in it whether convenient or not; rebuke, correct, and encourage with great patience and teaching.
Preach the Word.
Paul gives Timothy the seriousness of the commission. “I solemnly charge you” — which carries the idea of a forceful directive.
What makes it a solemn charge is that it is tied to the awesome majesty of the One who commissions men to divine service of preaching and teaching God’s Word.
Notice that Paul sets the charge before God and Christ Jesus. This makes it especially fearsome that the charge be carried out rightly. We’re talking about the One who is going to judge the living and the dead.
Preach the Word. This is to publicly proclaim. In the NT times, the herald was an imperial messenger who would go through the streets of a city and announce special events or proclamations of the emperor. It really matters not the inadequacies the Preacher may feel, he goes with the full authority of the One who judges the living and the dead.
So, Paul begins and ends with this issue of Authority — the Authority of God’s Calling and the Authority of God’s Word.
And don’t overlook what he’s to preach — it’s the Word. Doubtlessly Paul means the entire written Word of God, His completely revealed truth. And since it is the entire written word of God, the most reliable and effective way to proclaim all of God’s Word is to preach it expositorially. This let’s God speak rather than man. It gives those who are listening direct contact with the mind of the Holy Spirit, the very author of Scripture. It forces the preacher to proclaim all of God’s revelation, including that which many may find hard to learn or accept. It promotes biblical literacy in a congregation. It carries ultimate authority. It transforms the pastor and congregation under the full weight of the Scripture.
And for that Paul says, “Timothy, you must be ready in season and out of season.” That means to be consistent and persistent in preaching God’s Word, when it’s convenient or not, when it’s immediately satisfying and when it’s not. God’s Word must not be dictated by popular culture, by tradition, or held in high esteem by the community — but solely by the mandate of the Lord.
It’s to be preached in such a way as to
Rebuke
Correct
Encourage and
Teach
Paul calls Timothy to preach the Word with urgency because there is coming a time when men will not tolerate the strong doctrine.
Conclusion
5 But as for you, be serious about everything, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.
2 Timothy 4:
Be serious — Be Sober — literally be free of toxins. Metaphorically it means to be level-headed, well-balanced, and in control. Don’t be unwavering, but steadfast. This will be his mode regardless of the hardships.
And Paul says, “I’m already at the end, about to be poured out as a “drink offering” Meaning, he is about to die.
7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.
So the point is. Timothy be like me — Fight the good fight, Finish the race, Keep the Faith. And from here take up the charge.
Be not Ashamed, Be Strong, Be Diligent, Be Aware, and, Preach the Word.
This is an incredible book. It’s personal in nature to motivate and encourage Timothy to fan the flame, stir it up the gift of God. Don’t be timid — but live in the power, love and discipline — the resources God has provided for you to persevere, to fulfill your calling. Fan the Flame!
This not only is the calling for Timothy, but it’s the calling on each of your lives. So, as we think about all these things — Fan the Flame.
Let’s pray.
Father, may these things fully influence us to fulfill the call of Discipleship. May we live lives in full flame as we invest the Gospel in people’s lives. Give us young men and women of the next generation in whom we can invest our lives. Help us to make every investment in the generation to come that they may know the truth, live the truth and guard it for the Savior’s sake. Amen.