Fearless Church

2 Timothy 1:6–14 KJV 1900

6 Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands. 7 For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. 8 Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God; 9 Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began, 10 But is now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel: 11 Whereunto I am appointed a preacher, and an apostle, and a teacher of the Gentiles. 12 For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day. 13 Hold fast the form of sound words, which thou hast heard of me, in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus. 14 That good thing which was committed unto thee keep by the Holy Ghost which dwelleth in us.

Timothy is the recipient of a life-changing gift. 6-8

Paul wants him to realize that there is a difference between possessing this gift and using this gift to it’s fullest.

Fear represents a threat to Timothy’s employment of the gift he has received from God.

Fear stems from a perception of danger and risk.

Timothy must have been dealing with feelings of fear in connection to the gift that God had given him.

Paul reminds him that God is not the source of this particular fear.

This does not mean that God is not the author of all fear.

In fact, He actually is the author of certain fears.

God has built certain self-preservation instincts into our person.

When it comes to the gift, though, God has given us a different spirit that is to compel us.

A spirit of power.

A spirit of love.

A spirit of a sound mind.

Fear counteracts all of these benefits that Timothy already possess as recipient of God’s gift.

This is why Paul tells to Timothy to stir up the gift that is in him.

The gift provides a more noble way of life as opposed to a life of fear.

Have you figured out yet, what the gift might be that Timothy has received?

It’s the gospel.

In addition to calling it the gift of God, Paul also calls it...

The testimony of the Lord

The gospel.

The form of sound words.

The good thing.

What about the gospel would cause Timothy to be afraid?

From verse 8, it may be a fear that he would end up like Paul.

Paul is a prisoner at the time of this letter’s writing.

Fear of affliction prevents one from displaying the power, love, and sound thinking that the gospel inherently produces.

Paul does not tell Timothy to eschew fear in his own power.

Instead, he tells him to defeat fear and shame through the same power that saved him.

The power of God in the gospel was sufficient to save Timothy, but it is also powerful enough to embolden Timothy.

To combat fear, Timothy needs to rehearse the power that His God has already displayed. 9-10

God saved Timothy.

Rescued him from the power of sin over his life.

Forgave him of his debt.

God called Timothy.

God place Timothy in the ministry of preaching/pastoring.

Every Christian has a responsibility to represent the gospel to the world.

Neither or these gifts were credited to Timothy’s works.

God supplied Timothy with the grace and purpose to change his life and destiny.

This is the gift that he received.

This is the gift he needed to stir up.

God’s gift to Timothy had been planned since before the world began.

Salvation was not the backup plan, it was always the plan.

God knew that we would need this gift of the gospel.

He determined to offer it to all.

He predetermined to receive whosoever would come to Him in faith.

The gift of salvation was not just a well-intentioned plan.

God followed through when Jesus came to this earth.

Jesus defeated death, every man’s greatest source of fear.

He brought life and immortality to mankind.

He did all of this through the gift of the gospel.

Because of the gospel, Timothy had no cause for fear.

God had proven His power and faithfulness.

Timothy had received the gift.

He had also been given an example to follow.

Paul provided Timothy an example of someone exercising their gift without fear.

Timothy knew Paul’s testimony of how he had received the gift of the gospel.

Timothy had personally benefitted from Paul’s fearless display of God’s gift.

Even many years later, Paul shows Timothy that he remains unashamed of the gospel.

It has legitimately cost him.

The benefits and power of the gospel outweigh the costs.

Paul has entrusted his life and eternity to God.

His confidence has not wavered.

Timothy needs to have the same steadfastness in the gospel.

He needs to remembers the character of his Savior.

He needs to be aware of the examples of others.

The gospel is a good thing, it is not something that produces fear.

Paul gives one last reminder.

The Holy Spirit is with Timothy.

The Holy Spirit is a part of the gospel.

The Holy Spirit dwells within all believers.

When we allow Him, He will strengthen us and give us courage no matter where the gospel takes us.

Paul wanted Timothy to stir up the gift of the gospel within him in order to combat the fear that he was feeling.

The gift of the gospel is still our best weapon to fight fear.

For too many of us it lies dormant.

We possess it.

We need to stir it up.

When you stir something up, it gets distributed throughout the vessel until it affects everything inside.

How do we stir up the gospel in our lives?

We need to be reminded of the essence of the gospel.

The gospel is about God doing for us what we couldn’t do for ourselves.

We express that poverty of spirit in the moment of salvation.

Then we drop it for self-sufficiency in the days that follow.

It’s why we can go days, weeks, months without depending on God.

Whether that dependency is expressed through prayer, going to His word for help, or submitting ourselves to a time spent with our Christian community.

Foregoing these avenues of dependance leaves us more and more reliant upon our own abilities.

Our own abilities are insufficient.

We soon realize that.

We realize that we aren’t smart enough, we aren’t strong enough, we can’t put together a good enough plan for our lives.

So we stress, we grow anxious, we get discouraged about the prospects for the future because it all depends on us.

If I’m going to make it, if I’m going to succeed, If I am going to heal, it all has to come from me.

In reality, as a Christian, we already have what we need to combat this fear.

The gospel is the antidote to self sufficiency.

The gospel is the antidote to fear.

When we stir up the gospel within us we remember what Timothy had to remember.

God had the power to cleanse your sins.

God has the power to give you a heavenly purpose when you had not earned such a position.

God had a plan for our failure before we were even created.

God has introduced life and immortality into your world.

What then do we have to fear?

We can look at other people, like Timothy looked at Paul and see the power, love, and sound thinking that comes from living in the gospel.

Spiritual examples who faced affliction and suffering, but faced them with the gospel.

You learn a lot about what someone believes when they face affliction and suffering.

I’m not sure how I would respond, but I would hope the gospel would help me respond with words like “I am not ashamed (I wouldn’t change a thing) for I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I’ve committed unto him (my soul).”

What will it look like in our lives when we stir up the gospel in our life?

In the absence of fear we have power.

Power that flows from God.

It was God’s power that saved me.

It will be God’s power that works in me.

It enables me to do what I could not do alone.

Victory over sin.

Spiritual warfare.

Ministry to others.

In the gospel I am free from the fear of insufficiency.

I realize it’s not me.

It’s God in me.

In the absence of fear we show love.

Love those that society thinks we should hate.

We can love people who look different than us.

We can love people who sin different than us.

We can love people who hate us and wish us evil.

In the gospel I am free from the fear that my love will not be reciprocated.

Jesus already loves me enough.

I might even have this Christian family that loves me too.

I don’t need you to love me first or even second.

The gospel helps me to love.

In the absence of fear we think clearly.

We need to view our lives from the proper perspectives.

Life is short

Everything good in our life is from God.

Any suffering or affliction that we experience in this life is as nothing compared to the blessings of God.

We are never alone.

We deserve nothing.

We need to think clearly about our holy calling too.

I may exist under a number of different titles, but I have one mission.

Represent the Gospel to the people of this world.

In the gospel I am free from the fear that I am missing out on something.

I know my God is good.

I know God will not betray me.

I know what my purpose is.

We have been given the gift of the gospel.

If we will stir it up in our lives, we can rid ourselves of the fear that prevents us from being who God wants us to be.

Is the gospel stirred up in your life?

How will the spirit of power, love and sound mind manifest in your life this week?