Where the Daring Begins
2 Timothy 1:7
Series: Daring Discipleship Revisited
April 11. 2010
Morning Service
Introduction
I want to tell you about a young woman whom I found to be absolutely inspiring when I started to study her life. She was born in 1880 and had more than her fair share of setbacks and hardships. In spite of all of her trials, she refused to quit and refused to let any limitation hold her back.
She was accepted into Radcliffe College at the age of sixteen and graduated cum laude. Her single determination was to improve the lives of others and became an advocate for the blind. Her assistance helped the American Association for the blind become an institution. Her speaking skills and gentle spirit won her the admiration of audiences around the globe.
Through sheer determination she wrote four books, two of which become international bestsellers. One is still published today and is in more than fifty languages. There were lesser known works that are now out of print. One such volume was on the issue of faith.
This woman has been honored in a number of significant ways:
* Streets have been named after her in the United States, Spain and Israel
* Hospitals and schools bear her name
* She is one of a few women depicted in the United States capital. He bronze statue graces statuary hall
* Her picture graced the state quarter for Alabama
Her name – Helen Keller
Helen Keller let nothing stand in her way. We need to remember that Helen was born normally but suffered from Scarlet Fever at 19 months. The illness robbed Helen of both her sight and her hearing. Helen excelled at public speaking and became an international celebrity for her intellectual prowess and strong wit. Helen Keller accomplished more than most people who possess their hearing and eyesight.
One question that I have always asked about this remarkable woman: what made her excel? What made her achieve at such a high level?
Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all – Helen Keller
The word daring means to have an adventurous spirit, to live with a fearlessness and a sense of extreme boldness. Daring means to be audacious and stubbornly courageous.
One of the greatest problems in the church today is that Christians have lost their sense of adventure. Christians have settled for a boring life when they are supposed to be living an absolute adventure. We have forgotten that the moment we accepted Christ we started an amazing adventure that leads to Heaven.
Somewhere along the way we traded excitement for monotony. Somewhere along the way we exchanged daring for dullness. Somehow we gave up courage for complacency. Somewhere along the way we gave up the dream. At some point, we stopped living and started existing.
Jesus is looking for those who would be daring on his behalf in this life. He is looking for a few brave hearts who, will stand for God. He is searching for people like you and me who will be daring enough to follow Him
Jesus is searching for people who will take up the call come follow me. Jesus is looking for people who will follow Him with a reckless abandon. He wants people who will throw caution to the wind and embark on the journey called discipleship. Jesus is searching for a few daring hearts who will fully devote themselves to Him.
If you have your Bibles with you this morning, please open them with me to 2 Timothy 1:7
For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline. 2 Timothy 1:7
Throughout the Bible we see characters who lived a life of incredible adventure. These people never lost the sense of daring.
* Moses led people of God through the Wilderness
* Joshua conquered the Promise Land
* John the Baptist proclaimed the way of the Lord
* Paul spent his life planting new churches
The need for daring
Timothy was facing opposition both inside and outside of the church. Timothy was young and lacked experience. He desperately needed a fresh infusion of power and courage. The term that is translated timidity literally means cowardice. This is a fundamental and complete lack of confidence in God. The reason for fear is a failure to believe that God can and will use you and empower you to do His work.
Why do we lose our daring? What drains us of our daring?
1. Fear – loss of courage
Fear is the direct opposite of faith and there is no possible way that the two can mix. The things that create fear in us will always drain faith from us. There are a number of things that Christians are afraid of and we tend to avoid these areas of fear.
There are a number of things that generate fear in people. Even Christians feel these kinds of fears from time to time.
Worry about the future
Fear of the unknown
Insecurity
World centered focus
Misunderstandings
Valor grows by daring, fear by holding back – Publilius Syrus
Trials come, crises arise and challenges abound. It is very easy to allow the situations and circumstances of life to overwhelm you. God never intended for His people to live their lives in fear because he has already given you everything you need to live each and everyday for Him.
2. Apathy – loss of passion
Christians lose their sense of holy adventure when they lose their sense of passion. The moment a Christian loses their passion, they lose their spirit and desire for adventure. Apathy sets into the Christian life when Christians stop caring. Apathy is a long slow spiritual death that comes little by little.
It starts when our sensitivity is slowly ebbed away. We Start neglecting spiritual things like Bible Study and prayer. Apathy is focused on self centered things. It is a spirit of ingratitude and is evidenced in a lack of concern and a lack of action.
3. Compromise – Loss of conviction
Christians lose their battle with compromise one decision at a time. There are small and seemingly insignificant choices that start us down the path toward compromise. Compromise is giving up something that matters in exchange for something that matters less. One of the problems we see happening in the church today is a growing lack of respect for the rights of Christians.
There is an increasing bigotry toward the Christian faith. Comedians target Christians and our faith openly. Commentators and news reporters take every opportunity to bash the faith. Dr. Jim Garlow gave a surprising insight on the liberal movement. He had been speaking with people involved in Hollywood and met a behind the scenes individual and asked about their faith. The man claimed to be a Christian. The technical person stated this: people are not as hostile towards us as I thought but they have absolutely no understanding of us. Result from not sharing the faith and helping people to understand what we believe.
Over a period of time little compromises start to add up and become larger and larger. Many of these small decisions are of little importance but add to a spirit that gives up and gives in at moment’s notice. The time will come when a stand needs to be taken and the compromising Christian remains silent.
4. Failure – loss of confidence
One of the issues that everyone faces in life is failure. The problem with failure is that Christians often connect faith and failure together. The common belief is that if the attempts fail, there is a lack of faith and God is not in the work.
Let me tell you about a Wesleyan Church plant. A young couple moved to the suburbs of a large city and began doing the work of church planters. They started canvassing and gathering a small group of people to start a church with. The core group is formed at about 25 and then the work begins for gathering a larger group to start the actual church.
The telemarketing began and 20,000 phone calls were made. Flyers and mailings were done and 10,000 flyers about the church went out. The day for the church launch came and a theater was rented with 440 seats. There had been 800 people from the calls that promised to come to the opening of the church. The first morning came and instead of 400, the church started with only 66 people.
Critical mass was the goal and the issue is to start with enough people that the church is able to launch and never look back. Critical mass was not achieved that first Sunday. The work had been done and the results did not happen. The second week only half of the original 66 showed up. The church planter was discouraged and felt many times defeated. Many people would have given up at this point and called the attempt a failure.
There is much more to the story and things get much worse for the young pastor trying to start this church.
How do we regain our daring? How can we recapture the spirit of adventure?
1. Tap into power of God
Timothy felt that he was powerless. The situation in Timothy’s church seemed to be beyond his control and above his ability. In reality, it absolutely was above and beyond him Timothy could not do this work on his own. Paul is gently reminding Timothy that God seldom works in us when we do only what we can accomplish on our own. The outpouring of God’s power and resources cannot happen when we are trying to rely on ourselves.
2. Tap into the love of God
Definition: This love rises from God. It is a complete love that includes the mind, reason and will of a person. This type of love is primarily a product of choice
Biblical implication: This term is used in the New Testament to describe God’s love and how Christians are to love one another and others
Love has the power to change even the hardest hearts and love can transform the life of lost people In times of stress and difficulty we run the risk of becoming so focused on our problems that we forget about other people
3. Tap into the mindset of God
Paul tells Timothy to be self disciplined. The term translated self discipline literally means to have a secure and sound mind. Paul is telling Timothy to keep his priorities in line. Timothy was likely ready to either give up or tear someone apart. Paul wants Timothy to remain “level headed” in ministry. The issue is self control. The spiritual reality is that we can never truly be self controlled. Paul is reminding Timothy to be God controlled.
