Am I ashamed of Jesus Christ
Two weeks ago, we addressed the question, Am I ashamed of Jesus Christ? Meanning, as a Christian, am I ashamed
to connect my name and my life to the Person of Jesus Christ?
Last week, we discussed the first step in the process of being bold for Jesus. We referenced 2 Timothy 1:6, where
Paul exhorts Timothy to remember and stir up the Gift of God within him.
Every true believer has been given a spiritual gift at the moment of their salvation. It was freely given by the Holy
Spirit, It is a gift of God's Grace to you and it will not be revealed to you until you begin to minister within the church
body. So discoverning your God Given Gift is the beginning of your Christian walk for Jesus.
Today, as we continue with this series, I want us to look at 2 Timothy 1:7. (read)
So, we find here in this text the second step in the process of NOT being Ashamed of Jesus Christ, which is Consider Your Resources.
Many Christians today lack courage and boldness to minister for Christ because they don't understand their divine
resources. See, notice what Paul says in that verse, God hath not given us the spirit of fear. That word fear in the
Greek is deilia, Which means timid, cowardice, fearfulness, embarassment, shame, weakness or frailty.
God's Word here is saying, Christian, God gave you a wonderful gift, a tool to advance His kingdom here on earth,
And if you are timid, fearful, embarassed, shameful, weak or a coward, that will negate that gift.
Instead, God gave us Power, Love and a sound mind there means Discipline. When we are weak or fearful, in
our Christian lives, we are not making full use of our spiritual resources.
WE said last week, many things happened at the moment of your salvation. And here we see something else
occured, God deposited power, love and discipline into your spiritual bank account.
As a new believer, you received the Holy Spirit, who is the source of supernatural power. In Acts 1:8, Jesus said
You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you. So the Holy Spirit is our power.
The Holy Spirit is also the source of our supernatural love. Romans 5:5 says The Love of God has been poured
out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.
And thirdly, you received the gift of discipline. In Galatians 5:22-23, we will read, that one of the fruits of the Spirit
is self control or discipline.
Every believer possesses, POWER, LOVE and DISCIPLINE. So if we as believers are timid, ineffective or weak
in our ministries, or if we lack courage or boldness to speak for Christ, it is not because we lack divine resources.
It's probably due to our own sin, maybe unconfessed sin in your life, maybe an on going sin in your life, maybe it's
the sin of worrying, and the list could go on and on, but often times, it is the sin in our lives that causes us to be
ineffective for The Lord. God is never to blame, God doesn't play favorites, God has equipped every
believer with the same resources. Not the Same Gifts, But the same resources.
Paul, Peter, John The Baptist, Moses, Elijah, Abraham, King David, Dwight L. Moody, Charles Spurgeon, Billy
Graham, whomever, God did not give them any more power, love or discipline than He gave to you at the moment
of your salvation. You posses the same Holy Spirit that they did and still do.
And here's why, I believe Christians struggle in today's society. We as a group, simply do not understand the
power that we truly posses, therefore many of us stand idle. Many of us have convinced ourselves that we are just
not capable to accomplish anything for God.
So to understand all of this better, let's learn something here this morning together. Let's take a closer look at
these resources, that God has given to every true blood washed child of His.
1. Supernatural Power
The Greek word here for power is dunamis which means might or a DYNAMIC POWER. It's where we get our
word dynamite or dynamic. God's Word says here in our text, that every believer possesses a dynamic spiritual
energy that produces results.
And the source of that power that is within us, is God Almighty. Now, if you don't hear anything else I say today,
at least hear this and let this take root into your heart and life. Child of God, You posses a super natural power,
who's source is God Almighty. Therefore in your life, it doesn't matter what the opposition is or how
powerful the adversary is, the power of God is within you and if God be with you, who can stand against
you.
In Ephesians 1:18-21 Paul prayed that we, believers would understand that the power at work within us, is the
SAME power that overcame death and every other power through Christ's resurrection and ascension.
God told Zechariah in chapter 4:6 , Not by might nor by power, BUT by MY SPIRIT. God was telling Zechariah
that only the Holy Spirit could produce the power to complete the OT temple. And in like manner, today, it is that same
Holy Spirit, that can produce the necessary power to accomplish God's purposes in your life as a believer.
When you operate outside of the spiritual realm, and start operating and living in your flesh, which simply means,
when you start living your every day life without including God, skipping Bible reading, skipping prayer time, skipping
church services, When you start living in that manner, you are limited to your natural abilities.
In contrast, when you operate within the spiritual realm, you operate on a supernatural power that produces results
that otherwise could never be accomplished.
Eph. 3:20 says, God is able to do exceeding abundantly beyond all that we ask or think according to the POWER
that works within us. Child of God, You have 24/7 access to that power but many of us fail to access it because
you must first yield to the Spirit's control in your life. Let God have your life and He'll let you access His power, through
faith and prayer. Jesus says, We do not have, because we do not ask. Ask God in faith, let Him control your life, and
witness true power in your life.
Next let's look closer at the next resource that God has given His children, Supernatural Love
As we said earlier, the source of this supernatural love is the Holy Spirit according to Romans 5:5.
One characteristic of God's Love is that it surpasses knowledge. In Ephesians 3:17-19 Paul prayed that the
Ephesian Christians, , "rooted and grounded in love, would be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the
breadth and length and height and depth, and...know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge.
God's Love doesn't discriminate. Whoever receives your ministry, should also receive your love. I love to hear
a Christian tell another person, saved or unsaved, I Love YOU. Because in essence, you're telling that other person,
Jesus Love You.
God's Love makes Sacrifices. God so LOVED the world that HE gave His only Begotten Son to die for the sins of
the world.
God's Love forgives others. 1 Peter 4:8 says Love forgives or overlooks a multitude of sins.
God's Love overcomes fear. 1John 4:18 says, There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear.
That verse means, you are to love God so much, that you lose all desire for self preservation.
Let me illustrate like this, If your child was drowning in the ocean, Parent, you love them so much, you would jump
right into the water and attempt to save them, not thinking about your own safety first. That is the type of love you
should have for God and His Church.
Whatever you love controls your actions. IF you love the Lord, you will work for Him regardless of the outcome
And in contrast, if you predominantly love yourself, you will do everything possible to preserve your own lifestyle,
comfort, success and reputation, which normally means, Doing nothing for the Lord.
So how do we love like that? The answer is simple, The supernatural resource is already within you. It is present
within your being. Again, you must yield to the Spirit, Quit trying to run and control your own life and let God have it.
Thirdly and Lastly
Let's look at the other resource that God has given every child of His, Supernatural Discipline.
Here in vs. 7 or 2 Timothy, the KJV uses the phrase, a sound mind. In the Greek that speaks of one who is free
from the influence of demonic forces. A person that can think, evaluate and respond appropriately in any
circumstance. This resource places you and me at the top of the food chain.
One aspect of that is to prioritize things in your life. In 1 Cor 9:26 Paul warns us to box in such a way, as not
beating the air. Paul is saying, don't waste your life shadow boxing. Take everything, every opportunity that presents
itself in your life and use it for the kingdom's sake.
Think about the priorities in your life. Are you serving The Lord effectively in your life, Is that a priority of yours?
Many Christians get too busy with worldly affairs and simply squeeze God in when it's convenient. But that is not
being of sound mind here in our verse. That is not prioritizing.
Matt. 6:33 says to seek ye the Kingdom of God FIRST. And that is to be our priority. Are you doing that? Maybe
you struggle with prioritizing. And that is a result of NOT yielding to the Spirit. See, the Holy Spirit is the divine
organizer in your life. Organization in your life does not depend on day planners and I phones, it has everything to do'
with HOW MUCH you are yielding to the Spirit that is within you. Only He can establish and maintain the proper
priorities in our hearts, which will be about doing the will of our heavenly father.
In closing, God has equipped every believer with the power necessary to do God's will, The Holy Spirit,
The Love that we need to minister to others with sensitivity and compassion.
And the discipline we need to bring every aspect of life to bear on advancing the kingdom.
And understand, That Kind of Love and that kind of Discipline are not found in your flesh. Paul says, that type
of love and discipline are divine. This is a love, you'll never obtain in your flesh, This is a discipline that you'll
never reach in your flesh.
For you and me to be effective workers down here for God, WE must yield to the HOly Spirit's leading in our lives.
And in return,, we will experience a love and a discipline that the natural person will never taste until they find Jesus.
This is the abundant life that Jesus spoke about in John 10:10. Jesus said you can live life, or if you chose to
yield to the Spirit of God, you can live an Abundant Life. Living for God. Which are you doing, here this morning,
Are you simply living life? or are you living life abundantly? Have you truly given your life over to Jesus?
In our text Paul knew that if Timothy was to maintain courage and boldness in his ministry, he would have to renew
his spiritual gift and then, get a firm grip on his supernatural resources.
And it's no different for you sitting here this morning. God put this letter to Timothy in the bible for you and me,
sitting here this morning as well. God also knows that if we do not discover our spiritual gift and then if we do not
get a firm grip on His supernatural resources and power, We will never be effective for Him. Timothy's job and our job
are no different. You may not be called to be a pastor, but you still have the same responsibilities and that is to help in
the process of advancing God's Kingdom down here on earth.
Yield to Him today, if you haven't already. Give God control of your life and tap into His supernatural resources.
This is second essential step in the process , if you are going to be able
to look people in the eye and say, 'I am NOT Ashamed of Jesus Christ."
Let's Pray.
