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Fanning the Flame
Good Friday Morning Joes and Janes;
Well it is almost the weekend; I trust you have some rest time and enjoyable things planned. This morning I wanted to share a little out of 2 Timothy. Investing, investments, planning and estates and inheritances; how are yours looking? Theses day’s the financial world looks shaky at best. People, myself included question what the future will bring and if they will have money to retire or not much less what they will leave to their children. Sound monetary policy is lacking in many families as well as the government. In 2 Timothy, Paul writes to Timothy about another kind of investment.
2 Timothy 1:5-10
5 I have been reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also.
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 did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.
8 So do not be ashamed to testify about our Lord, or ashamed of me his prisoner. But join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God,
9 who has saved us and called us to a holy life–not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time,
10 but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.
In verse 5 Paul talks about a ‘sincere faith’ that both Timothy’s mother and grandmother had. Do you suppose that they shared that with him as he was growing up? When we are with our kids and grandkids what do we share? Are we just sharing surface news and feelings or do we talk about what really motivates us? Sharing our spiritual thoughts and feelings, how we solve problems in our lives gives a living inheritance to them that cannot be taken away. They can lose the roof over their heads, jobs, cars, even their lives; but following Christ and living a life based on God’s Word cannot be taken away. It has eternal value beyond measure.
In verse 6 Paul encourages Timothy to ‘fan into flame’ the gift of God. Have you ever started a fire from just a few embers? Maybe a campfire from the night before that appeared like it was completely dead? By finding just a few small embers and blowing on them until they begin to glow, you begin slowly adding a little dry moss, dry pine needles until you get a little flame. Gently protecting the flame from harsh winds and rain you slowly add larger twigs, sticks and as the fire grows eventually larger limbs and even split logs if you have them. Soon you have a roaring fire. This fire will not be affected by wind and rain; in fact a wind blowing on this fire can make it burn hotter and spread. This is the image that Paul wants us to capture in our minds as he talks about a growing spiritual life!
Moving to verse 7 as we mature in our walk with Christ we should become that burning fire, not a timid little flame that wind and rain can extinguish. We should have a ‘spirit of power, love and self-discipline’. In other words we should be a strong fire that burns brightly but in a controlled way.
We should not be ashamed of the Lord, but speak boldly to those around us. We should not be ashamed of those who are in prison because of their testimony for the Lord but be willing to join with them, through God’s strength according to verse 8.
The thought finishes in verse 9 by saying it is God who calls us and saves us because it meets his purpose and grace. Grace; a small 5 letter word that has such huge meaning and implications for our life!
Definition of GRACE From the Merriam-Webster Dictionary
1
a: unmerited divine assistance given humans for their regeneration or sanctification
b: a virtue coming from God
c: a state of sanctification enjoyed through divine grace
We cannot do anything on our own to deserve this gift! This gift was given to us through Christ Jesus; when he died on the cross? No, before the world was created! Before the beginning of the Old Testament; the people of the time before Christ coming to earth looked forward in faith to a time that he would come.
Verse 10 gives us great joy; in that we, starting with Paul’s generation, live with the revealed knowledge of the ‘promised one’, our Savior, Christ Jesus, coming to fulfill prophecy of the Old Testament and destroy death. He has revealed life and immortality through the New Testament. He has revealed his plans for the ‘Last Days’. What are the ‘Last Days’? In my next post I will delve into that subject, but I can tell you that we have the privilege of living in them now!
Become that burning fire, without timidity, that Christ Jesus would have you be today!
Regular Joe
Related articles
- Slavery and God’s Grace (5gsandacupofjoe.net)
- Sermonette: Ashamed of the Gospel (worthyofthegospel.wordpress.com)
Like this:
Do You Like to Have Your Ears Tickled?
In 2 Timothy, Paul is writing to him, (Timothy) and in chapter 4 is encouraging and commissioning him in his ministry. Paul is chained in a cold prison in Rome under the Emperor Nero about 66 or 67 A.D. Almost 2000 years later it sounds like it was written yesterday.
Tradition say that this is the prison in Rome that Paul was in.
2 Timothy 4
1 In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: 2 Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage–with great patience and careful instruction. 3 For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. 4 They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. 5 But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry. 6 For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time has come for my departure. 7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8 Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day–and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.
- I find it interesting that Paul is viewing Christ’s appearing and kingdom as emanate.
- He tells Timothy to preach the Word in season and out of season. I understand this to be whether it is popular or not. I think there is also a reference to whether or not you expect fruit. In talking about the season, depending on the plant, in a certain season you would expect to have fruit. But Timothy is encouraged to teach in season and out of season. Notice also that he specifies what to preach; correction, rebuke, and encouragement. I often am told that we are not to judge others, however it is impossible to talk to someone about correcting there ways without having judged or determined whether they are doing something that needs correction.
- Verses 3 and 4 sound a lot like today. People stay away from church in large numbers in part because they think churches are too judgmental or legalistic. Sure we that are in the church could be better at the sharing in love and teaching “with great patience”, but I believe a lot of people fall in the category of not put up with sound doctrine, wanting to fulfill their own goals. People will fill large auditoriums to hear a “religious teacher” or “spiritual guide” tell them that some myth or other form of self-fulfillment will make them feel better about their life.
- We as disciples of Christ on the other-hand are to be in control in all situations, be willing to endure hardships and share the gospel message every chance we get.
- So what do we get out of all this hard work and suffering? I think Paul sums it up pretty well in the closing verses of this chapter. He was in Nero’s cold dark prison in Rome and knew his days were coming to an end. In verses 6 through 8 he states that his life is being poured out of him. He knows that it is his time to die. Paul compares his life to a runner who has finished a race.
I still remember running track in junior high school and even winning some races. You don’t win races by holding back and taking it easy. You win races by expending every last bit of energy you have. Good runner cross the finish line totally exhausted, sometimes even physically sick, because they have given everything they have to finish the best they are able. Paul does not sound afraid or even sad. He is confident in his future, looking forward to his day of judgment before the Lord knowing that he has done his best.
How are you doing in the race of life?
Are we fighting the good fight or are we just wanting to have our ears tickled? If you lay dying today would you say to those at your side; “I have fought the good fight, finished the race, kept the faith”? Are you confident to stand before the Lord at the judgment knowing your reward?
These are some really personal questions that only you can answer. Jesus Christ can give a peace that surpasses anything man can understand. Peace that allows a man to lay dying in a prison to be happy and free in his spirit. I am not sure that I have that yet.
Regular Joe
Inspiration for Today
If we discover a desire within us that nothing in this world can satisfy, also we should begin to wonder if perhaps we were created for another world. C. S. Lewis (1898 – 1963), Mere Christianity
Related articles
- Ok, Yes, The Church Has Become Effeminate In Some Areas (whythechurchleftjesus.wordpress.com)
- Present Tense Faith (sabbathsermons.com)
