 |
||
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
|
 |
Tune
in to Grace Radio 24 hours a day!
2 Timothy 1 "On
Fire For Christ"
Between the time of Paul's first and second
letter to Timothy it became clear that he would not be coming back soon,
because by this time he was in prison. There were many who were afraid
to be associated with Paul because of this, and there were some who
used it as an opportunity to attack him. It seemed that Paul was getting
the worst of things and his enemies were on top. Whole areas were turning
away from Paul because they were afraid of what might happen.
Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, according to
the promise of life which is in Christ Jesus, to Timothy, a beloved
son: Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our
Lord. 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,
greatly desiring to see you, being mindful of your tears, that I may
be filled with joy, 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. Therefore I remind you to
stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my
hands. For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of
love and of a sound mind. (2 Tim 1:1-7)
Paul writes his letter to Timothy to encourage him to be bold. I have noticed something very interesting during my time as a missionary here in Japan. Many times we have visitors from other countries who come as short-term Christian workers. I have noticed that these short-termers can be incredibly bold with the gospel, walking up to people on the train, or singing praise songs in the street. The same person would never dream of doing the same thing back in their hometown. You see it is easy to be bold when there is no risk. Here in a foreign country where noone knows them and which they will leave behind two weeks later it is easy to make a fool of oneself. But what about when the stakes are high, when the risk is real? Will it be as easy for you to be a fool for Christ then?
Jesus told his disciples to be "as wise as serpents and gentle as doves." He does not want us to be simple fools, but to be bold in preaching the wisdom of God, which seems foolish to the world. Let's look first at what Paul is asking Timothy to do. Paul's starting point is the genuineness of Timothy's faith. This is important, because remember there were other men that Paul had counted on, who were falling away. Remember that it is impossible for us to look into the depths of a man's heart and know if his faith is real. But Paul reminded himself of Timothy's godly heritage, the faith of his mother and grandmother. His faith was not just a quick decision, but the fruit of the faithful teaching that he got from these two godly women. While others were deserting their faith when things got difficult, Timothy held fast to what he believed. Faith is the foundation that everything else we will say today rests on. You cannot even begin to be bold without it.
Paul goes on to remind Timothy about the gift of God that was given to him. We learned in 1 Timothy that this was a spiritual gift of teaching and exhortation. I do not think that God wants all of us to go go into the prisons and preach the gospel to the inmates. I do not think that God wants all of us to smuggle Bibles into China. I do not think that God wants all of us to witness to muslims in closed countries. And yet He has surely gifted some to these dangerous missions. The Bible teaches that the Holy Spirit gives spiritual gifts to each one of us. He has gifted me in preaching and teaching and so I must use this gift. But there are times when even though I know that the Holy Spirit is working through me, and I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me, that I still hesitate. This is why Paul says to Timothy to "stir up" the gift. The word means to stir the coals of the fire so that it bursts into flame again.
One Sunday I was handing out tracts for Ai No Kesshin in Shibuya with some other brothers in the church. It just so happened that I also had with me that day some flyers for a gospel meeting that a group of former Yakuza who became Christians were holding. As I walked through the plaza in front of Hachiko there was a huge black truck with loudspeakers parked on the corner. On top of it was a man speaking and standing down below were a few dozen of his supporters cheering him on. I walked past them quickly listening to the man on the truck talking about how foreigners were the cause of all of Japan's problems and that Japan should drive the foreigners out and reclaim its empire. I walked up the road to a different area to hand out the tracts, but something stopped me and told me to go back to the plaza. I could not believe what I was doing but before I knew it, I was surrounded by about 20 large men who looked like they took fashion cues from Japanese action movies. I gave them all my flyers for the gospel meeting and explained to them how these men had given their lives for Christ. A few of them commented, "Yeah I've heard about these guys." and then one of the leaders took me aside. At first he was belligerent and asked me if I was against the emperor, looking for a reason to get more angry. But I simply explained why I was there to help young women who were in trouble and share the love of God for all people. Again I could hardly believe it when this tough guy wishes me good luck and lets me go.
Fear will act like a blanket over our faith. It will smother the flames so that they cannot burn. But Christ has not called us to be a space heater, with a tiny controlled flame that only keeps ourselves warm. Instead, He wants us to burn brightly shining His light into the darkness of this world. He wants us to burn like a wildfire, so that our faith will catch others on fire for Christ. Stir up the flame in your heart. God has designed it so that each one of us Christians is to provide light and heat for many, many others. We are not to be lamps that are placed under a basket. Instead we should have the kind of fire burning in our hearts that if anything is placed over it to hide it, that fire would just burn right through. Man, if you put a basket over this fire, you are just putting fuel on the fire, I am going to burn it up and shine brighter.
When you stir up the coals of a campfire, you are exposing those coals to oxygen. Sometimes when I am making the fire I will blow on the coals to give it more oxygen so that the flames will flare up. When we stir up the gift that is in us we are exposing the coals of our faith to the pure oxygen of the Holy Spirit. "We have not been given a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind." Fear would smother the fire that is within us, telling us to keep our head down, mind our own business, leave things alone so that we don't get hurt. Let me show you how the Holy Spirit blows away the stagnant gasses of fear. The Holy Spirit is a spirit of power. So we may boldly say: "The LORD [is] my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?" (Heb 13:6) During the time of the prophet Elisha, the Syrians were raiding Israel, but Elisha prophesied and warned the king again and again when and where the Syrians would strike. Finally the Syrian king out of frustration decided to kill Elisha and sent an army to surround the city that he was in. When Elisha and his servant woke up the next morning and came out of the city there was a whole army waiting there to arrest him. And his servant said to him, "Alas, my master! What shall we do?" So he answered, "Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them." And Elisha prayed, and said, "LORD, I pray, open his eyes that he may see." Then the LORD opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw. And behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. (2 Kings 6:15-17) We have been given a spirit of power.
We have also been given a spirit of love. Fear is poisonous, not only does it shrink our faith, but it also causes us to build walls around ourselves to protect us from others. Fear is the quickest way to isolation and then curiously enough, also aggression. There is much debate going on currently about Communist China. Everyone seems certain that China will be the economic power of the next century, but what they are worried about is whether China will convert that economic muscle into military power as well. Some point to the huge percent of their GNP that is devoted already to the military. It would seem that with the rate that both the economy and the military is growing in China that there is sure to be trouble soon. But, I heard a very insightful comment the other day. A China expert pointed out that the Chinese have never fought a war of aggression in which they were trying to take over new territory. Rather they have always fought against outside invaders, barbarians. And this man said that the real force behind the Chinese military build-up is fear. When I visited Vladisvostok, Russia last spring we walked by the building that houses the Pacific naval headquarters of the Russian fleet. It looked like a large office building that could use some new paint. This is what we were afraid of for so many years in the United States? Fear not only isolates us from others but it leads to hate and the strategy that the best defense is a good offense. But the spirit that we have been given is one of love. Fear is thinking that someone will come and take away what I have, love is giving away freely what I have for someone else. We are afraid that someone might hurt us, but love willingly accepts pain and suffering so that others might be helped. The success of the movie "Titanic" is in its true portrayal of love. Not in the romantic costumes or music or love scenes, but in the final act when the hero gives up his own life so that his love might live. This is true love. Fear would keep us from using our gifts, but love would press on even though it means sacrifice and pain. We have been given a Spirit of love.
Finally we have been given the spirit of a sound mind. Having our hearts on fire for Jesus Christ doesn't mean that we throw away all reason, in fact just the opposite is what is required. You see in a time of risk, when the pressure is intense, when fear would strike, it is vital that we keep control over our minds. You see when we are afraid we suddenly forget that we have the Lord on our side, and that the Spirit is working through us to do far more than we could think of ourselves. We forget all of our advantages, the cold chill runs down our backs and the fire within us barely keeps ourselves warm. The key is to allow yourself to be controlled by your mind, rather than by the emotion of fear. The Holy Spirit is not just another emotion battling with the emotion of fear. Some people think that to be on fire for Christ means that you are excited about Jesus. They think that if the Holy Spirit is working in you, its an emotional thing. But emotions are very fleeting, they do not last. I have sung a beautiful praise song and felt very wonderful and excited to worship God, and then turned around and felt angry with someone for coming in late all in less than a minute. Being on fire for Jesus Christ is more than just feeling excited. It is being bold. Bold because the very Spirit of God is working for His purpose within us. Bold because we have the power of Almighty God backing us up. Bold because the love of Christ is our motivation and we are willing to sacrifice ourselves so that others might have eternal life. Bold because we are not controlled by fear or any other emotion but by the truth of Jesus Christ we have been set free.
| I have a question... | I want to receive Jesus Christ! | I want to confess sin... |
| I need prayer... | I want to come to church... | I want to be a prayer partner |