2 Timothy 1:1-14
“I Know Whom I Have Believed”
A couple of months ago, Clair, Mary Ellen and I decided we would have a cookout at Coolidge Park.
So we went to the store, bought hamburgers and hot dogs, filled the cooler, purchased charcoal and…
…because I was completely convinced that it would be difficult to start the fire…
…lighter fluid.
But when we got there, I realized I didn’t even need a match!
I saw that the coals in the park grill were still glowing.
So I placed the new charcoal on top, blew on it just a bit…
…and the coals glowed brighter and brighter until suddenly the coals burst into flame!
Never mind that it started to rain…really, really rain within about 5 minutes…
…but even that didn’t stop the fire.
I’m reminded of this when I read Paul urging his young friend, Timothy, to rekindle God’s gift, to bring it back into a blazing fire!
Something is glowing there, deep down inside, and Timothy must blow gently to get it back into flame.
In Paul’s first letter to Timothy he warned Timothy not to let other people look down on him because he was young.
In another letter, Paul urged the Corinthians not to regard Timothy as a junior and inferior.
Now Paul is telling Timothy that the Spirit which is at work within him, God’s Spirit given to him to equip him for service is not a spirit of fearfulness or timidity, but a Spirit of power, love and self-discipline.
Timothy has been saved by God Who has a grand purpose for his life.
Paul writes, “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.”
Timothy was blessed to have been raised in a Christian household.
He is, our first second generation Christian written about in the Bible.
He was brought up in the faith.
He was taught about Jesus.
He was shown the love of Christ.
And as he grew older, he accepted that love for himself!
This alone, should shock us into knowing how important it is to bring our children up in church, and make sure they attend Sunday school and Youth group.
Without this initial flame…
…their lives will be much, much harder.
And the darkness and temptations of the world will be much more difficult to resist.
I thank God I was brought up in church.
At the time, like many other youngsters, I would have rather “slept in” on Sunday mornings.
But the love I experienced, and the stories the faith which I learned turned out to be invaluable as a child and then as an adult!
Much to my surprise, I already knew a lot about Jesus before I ever committed my life to Him.
A friend of mine and I would spend hours talking about God and the meaning of life, until I finally became convinced that I needed to make a decision.
And when the decision was made, the coals caught on fire!
And I have been able to withstand so many pressures of this life due to the One in Whom I have believed!!!
For total trust in God, is total freedom!
In Christ, we truly are given the power and the love and the assurance that no matter what may happen—everything is in God’s hands...
…and because of that, it will be alright.
A prayer which has been especially helpful to me is found in our hymnals on page 607.
It’s called A Covenant Prayer in the Wesleyan Tradition.
It is one of the hardest prayers to pray with complete honesty, therefore it must be prayed again, and again and again until it becomes your prayer—my prayer!
And when that happens, there is nothing on this earth, nor under this earth which can put out the flames of our faith.
There is nothing in this world which can keep us down.
There is no knock-out-blow!!!
If you have not done so already, it would be good to start learning this prayer now.
I carry a copy of it in my wallet.
There have been times, very trying times when I have prayed this prayer several times a day…
…and it has literally saved and in many ways changed my life.
It goes like this:
“I am no longer my own, but thine.
Put me to what thou wilt, rank me with whom thou wilt.
Put me to doing, put me to suffering.
Let me be employed by thee or laid aside for thee.
Let me be full, let me be empty.
Let me have all things, let me have nothing.
I freely and heartily yield all things to thy pleasure and disposal.
And now, O glorious and blessed God,
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, thou art mine, and I am thine. So be it.
And the covenant which I have made on earth, let it be ratified in heaven. Amen.”
This prayer and our faith free us from ourselves and our fears!!!
Trust in God enables us to accomplish anything, and endure all persecutions and hardships!
When it seems there is no light at the end of the tunnel, when you feel that you have sunk to rock bottom—pray this prayer!
And know that Jesus is there with you.
You can trust in Him!
And nothing can separate you from His love.
In our Scripture Lesson, Paul is preparing Timothy to take over Paul’s ministry.
And Paul knows what Timothy will have to endure.
So Paul goes on to write, “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, 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.”
In Paul’s world, as in ours, there was a carefully graded system of social power and prestige.
And those who were associated with, or friends of, those who had this power could hold their heads up and expect preferential treatment in the shops, in the marketplace and on the streets of the town.
Those who were, well, out of favor with the mainstream could expect to be sneered at by the ordinary folk.
No prizes, then, for guessing where Paul came within these social scales!
He was in prison!
That spoke for itself.
And the reason Paul was in prison was that what he’d been doing and saying was seen as a threat to the people in power.
Paul was announcing a message that butted heads with the royal message on which the Roman Empire was built: The announcement that Caesar was lord.
There was a lot of pressure to give in to the powers of the day, just as there is a lot of pressure for us to “just go along with the status quo.”
To hide in the crowd.
To keep our mouths shut!
And Paul knew that even Timothy might be tempted to give in to this pressure.
But, if Timothy is able to understand the true nature of God’s power, he will learn to trust in God, and be “convinced that” God “is able to guard what” Timothy has entrusted to God.
As Christians, we commit ourselves to God, like someone putting their most precious possession into safe keeping in a bank or vault.
And God commits something to us: a most important calling, a new set of responsibilities, and new life itself!!!!
This turns our entire world of values upside down!
We are ashamed of some of the things we used to be proud of, and proud of some things that used to make us ashamed.
It’s a total reversal!!!
It’s kind of like “growing up,” but much, much deeper than that.
Because God’s power overrides, by far, all earthly power.
It transforms lives in such mighty, mighty ways!
And instead of getting “caught up” in the unforgiving, fickle and fair weathered fashions, politics, and popular opinions of this world—we are safe and secure in knowing that we are part of a community of faith where those things don’t matter one bit!!!
What does matter is service, love, helping those in need, looking out for the interests of others, selflessness, humility, kindness…against which—Satan and the world have no power!!!
There is nothing more important, more rewarding, nor more powerful than burning bright with the Love and Power of God!!!
We are to give everything, our whole selves to Christ, and in doing so—nothing…
…no tragedy, no threats, no taunts, no losses can take away our most precious possession!
For God is in control, and if God is in control we have nothing to fear nor worry about.
So be sure to, daily, “fan into flame the gift of God which is in you” through the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ!
And never be ashamed of the Gospel nor afraid of what this world can do to you.
For at the heart of the matter is the question I am going to ask you…
Do you know Whom you have believed, and are you convinced that He is able to guard that which you have entrusted to Him, until Christ comes in Final Victory and we feast at His Heavenly Banquet?
Let’s now turn in our hymnals to page 607 as we pray together, A Covenant Prayer in the Wesleyan Tradition.
