Fan Into Flame The Gift Of God Series

Fan into flame the gift of God

2 Timothy 13-14

Introduction-

Good morning to you. My prayer this week has been that we would come together desiring that God would speak to the things that keep you up at night. Those things that overwhelm you… those things that appear beyond your control…those things that you have been dealing with and have seen no results.

What would that be for you?

Don’t blurt it out… as if you would- but be thinking of it as we go to the text this morning.

There is a song that just keeps running through my head- it is the song “I know” by Big Daddy Weave. That doesn’t sound like a normal Christian artist but his words have pierced my soul.

You don't answer all my questions

But You hear me when I speak

You don't keep my heart from breakin'

But when it does, You weep with me

You're so close that I can feel You

When I've lost the words to pray

And though my eyes have never seen You

I've seen enough to say

I know that You are good

I know that You are kind

I know that You are so much more

Than what I leave behind

I know that I am loved

I know that I am safe

'Cause even in the fire, to live is Christ, to die is gain

I know that You are good

We have started a new series entitled “Solutions”.

Last week we looked at the power of God to save- A big problem today is people know of Jesus but do not know him as Lord and Savior and their lives are a mess.

They do not know where to turn because they do not have a relationship with the Lord.

We saw that Apostle Paul’s life was changed dramatically when he had a Demascus Road experience and meet Jesus.

He went from asking Jesus “who are you” to fully trusting him and willing to give his life for Jesus.

He went from one extreme to another. He went from the person persecuting the church to the one willing to die for the church and the sake of the gospel.

He went from being ignorant of the things of God to fully serving God because he began searching out the things of God.

His life before Jesus, he was a blasphemer, he persecuted the church and he had no idea that the church was God’s idea not man’s.

The church is to be a place to worship, a place of discipleship and learning, a place of fellowship with people of like-minded faith.

When Paul fully grasped the gospel and his relationship with the Lord, his life changed forever.

You come to church to receive from the Lord and to give back to the Lord.

Daily conversation with the Lord and God’s people.

You cannot undo Jesus. I could not pretend that I never knew Jesus because the Demascus road experience I had was real.

I cannot deny it.

I can however if I am not careful in my walk with Jesus be overwhelmed by dry times, tough times, challenges times that let situations, circumstances, personal hurts, selfishness blind me from my relationship with Jesus.

Let’s pray-

Father, today as we look at the letter of Paul to Timothy, we also should see a letter addressed to each one of us. Apostle Paul’s heart included those that would come after him to realize that the most important decision each one of us would ever make was weather we would accept Jesus as Lord and Savior in our lives. The second most important and I believe is lacking in believers today is to be empowered by the Holy Spirit working in our lives.

Paul has a heart to heart with Timothy and with each of us today as we open this text. Help us Lord to receive it in the love that it was meant to be given. In Jesus Name Amen!

Text- 2 Timothy 1:3-14 NIV

Encouragement is contagious! Once you give some- you want to give some more- once you receive some, it energizes you to get through tough times!

We are going to look at two things we can draw out of these passages from Paul.

Defining sincere faith

Guarding what has been given you from the Holy Spirit.

Everything said here for encouragement hangs on those two observations.

(5) “I have been reminded of your sincere faith.”

He starts by saying that faith was in his grandmother and his mother. That is a good place to start but sincere faith is not what someone else has, it is what you have. He says that he thanks God day and night as he remembers Timothy in prayer.

For a devote Jew, he was saying that from his morning prayer to the evening prayer that he was lifting Timothy before the Lord.