God's Got Us
Introduction
Until 1973, when a drunk driver hit and destroyed it, in the middle of the Sahara desert, there stood a solitary acacia tree, named Tree of Ténéré.
This solitary tree had roots that stretched down 130 feet to a water supply deep under the desert floor. It was a wonder, a miracle in the desert. Long after desertification had taken all of its fellow trees, this lone tree held on and grew deep. It was considered sacred by all those who passed by because of its ability to live where no other trees did. Its roots kept it.
Redwoods are found growing together unlike the lone acacia tree. The redwoods' roots are usually only about five or six feet deep, but their roots do something that the solitary acacia could not do. Their roots intertwine and they share the sunlight and the nutrients with one another. Those who study trees have come to realize that in networks like these, even tree stumps continue to live and contribute because of this interconnected web of life. Like trees, we need one another.
John Donne wrote in his Devotions on Emergent Occassions the memorable lines:
"No man is an island, Entire of itself; Every man is a piece of the continent, A part of the main. If a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less, As well as if a promontory were: As well as if a manor of thy friend's Or of thine own were. Any man's death diminishes me, Because I am involved in mankind. And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; It tolls for thee."
The writer of Ecclesiastes (4:9-12 NKJV) said, "Two are better than one, Because they have a good reward for their labor. For if they fall, one will lift up his companion. But woe to him who is alone when he falls,For he has no one to help him up. Again, if two lie down together, they will keep warm; But how can one be warm alone? Though one may be overpowered by another, two can withstand him. And a threefold cord is not quickly broken."
There is a oneness of humanity that the longer we live with one another, the more our root systems become intertwined, we find ourselves shaping one another's lives in ways that we do not expect.
We hear this knitting together of two individual human lives and generations of Christians' lives in the opening verses of Paul's letter to a young pastor named Timothy:
TEXT:2 Timothy 1:1-12 (NRSV)
To Timothy, my beloved child: Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. I am grateful to God—whom I worship with a clear conscience, as my ancestors did—when I remember you constantly in my prayers night and day. 4 Recalling your tears, I long to see you so that I may be filled with joy. 5 I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that lived first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, lives in you. For this reason I remind you to rekindle the GIFT of God that is within you through the laying on of my hands; 7 for God did not give us a spirit of cowardice, but rather a SPIRIT of power and of love and of self-discipline. 8 Do not be ashamed, then, of the testimony about our Lord or of me his prisoner, but join with me in suffering for the gospel, relying on the power of God, 9 who saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works but according to his own purpose and grace. This grace was given to us in Christ Jesus before the ages began, 10 but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. 11 For this gospel I was appointed a herald and an apostle and a teacher, 12 and for this reason I suffer as I do. But I am not ashamed, for I know the one in whom I have put my trust, and I am sure that he is able to guard until that day what I have entrusted to him.
Tender and encouraging words from the apostle that remind young Timothy and us what God has not given us, what He has, and what God does with what we give in trust to him. Paul realizes he is not alone and wants Timothy and us to realize the same.
"I got you" is a phrase that is often used to mean "I understand" or "I've got it covered." It is often used to reassure someone that a situation or problem has been taken care of, or to indicate that someone has a firm grasp on what is being discussed or done. (https://search.yahoo.com/search?fr=mcafee&type=E211US1441G0&p=I%27ve+got+you+meaning)
Timothy is one of Paul's favorites. They have a relationship that connects them through the grace, mercy, and peace of God through Christ. Paul and Timothy's roots run backward in history to their ancestors in the faith, to David and Abraham and Enoch and Abel. Paul loves Timothy so much that he lives in a place of constant prayer for him. Timothy loves Paul so much that he weeps, missing him. When they get together there is joy.
This letter gives us insight into the relationship between Paul and Timothy. Underneath the surface of the letter we hear Timothy's tendency to be timid and Paul's gentle care in encouraging him to be brave.
When we read the biographies of the great figures of Scripture and history one thing that is constant is that each faced moments of self-doubt. Whether it is Abraham of Ur or Abraham Lincoln, Mother Sarah, or Mother Teresa, each had moments when fear was overwhelming and darkness shrouded their lives. Paul writes to reassure Timothy.
Relationships are important in the church. Encouraging one another is the reason we get together week after week. Transmitting faith from one generation to the next is important. What we do in family devotions, Sunday School and Bible Quizzing are important if we are going to see our children walk in the faith as they grow up. I'm not sure what Timothy was crying about. It is possible it was because Paul was imprisoned and forsaken by everyone. When we see those we admire and care about going through trials, it is hard for us to accept. When we see the frailty of our heroes it can do one of two things. It can encourage or dishearten.
In this final letter in the Pauline body of writings, Paul is in prison (1:8; 2:9), probably in Rome (1:16-17; cf. Acts 28:16), abandoned by all but a few of his friends (4:9-16) and facing imminent death (4:6-8). This letter assumes many of the aspects of a final testament in which a patriarch exhorts and blesses a faithful child and warns him of problems to come. Paul does not spend much time on things like church order, rather he encourages Timothy to look at his example of endurance in the face of suffering and be encouraged to do the same.
Paul's life was knit into Timothy's life. When you sincerely pray for someone and do life with them you begin to love them and your lives begin to be so knit together that there is a oneness that takes place.
The letter begins with a reminder to a young pastor of what he has and words of encouragement not to allow the uncertainties of life to be the directing force in his life.
When things are not going our way or look different from what we imagine they should, the fire of God's life and calling in us can be quenched. Paul focuses in on three things:
1. What God Didn't Give Us
2 Timothy 1:7a
"...for God did not give us a spirit of cowardice..."
This is a Scripture that we often quote and share. We go to it when we are afraid. Like the psalmist, we are attempting to live out the reality, "What time I am afraid I will trust in thee!" (Psalm 56:3).
We are such a privileged generation. The readers of Scripture in the first century did not have Bibles as we do. We can read Scripture alone at the house, or on our phones at work. They had letters and scrolls that were mostly kept in central locations. When they read Scripture they read it together. Most of the places in the NT where it addresses "you" it is addressing "you all."
In this favorite verse, Paul tells Timothy what God gives, and doesn't give "us." Being in communion with the saints affords us all of the benefits of everything that God has given everyone! The gift of discerning spirits has been likened to the sense of smell. Trees send out pheromones to other trees when there is danger. Paul was picking up on Timothy's fear and he knew that it had not come from God. It came from the world, the flesh, and the devil, and Paul was having none of it!
The "spirit of fear" can be translated "a spirit of cowardice." Anxiety is the spirit of the age. It is the overarching atmosphere of the world in which we live. And it can lead us to cowardice. But, God did not give that to us. We are sentinels. Guardians of the faith and.
shame -- "ashamed" - to experience a painful feeling or sense of loss of status because of some particular event or activity, be ashamed. The enemy wants to make you feel less than.
The world tries to intimidate us.
a spirit of cowardice -- lack of mental or moral strength
2. What God Did Give Us
...but of power and love and a sound mind...
sincere faith (1:5) - He has made a deposit of faith in us. The truths that He has placed in our care. We must keep them and not be intimidated by the suffering that may result.
Because we are connected, the faith of the saints that have preceded us is just as potent as it was then.
grace for salvation - God called us before the world began by His Grace and He is not surprised by our suffering. The Cross was not an afterthought. What we are facing, will we face it with faith?
grace to preach the gospel to others
1 John 4:4, "Little children, you are from God, and have conquered them; for the one who is in you (you all) is greater than the one who is in the world."
a Spirit of
Power - This contrasts with a Spirit of power, "potential for functioning in some way, power, might, strength, force, capability" Fear and cowardice say, "I can't!" But, when we turn our faith towards Jesus he takes the "t" shaped like a cross and we are left with "I can!" I can do all things through Christ Who strengthens me! The reason Paul could keep going when all had forsaken him was because he was plugged into the power-source!
Love - the most powerful force in the world is love. Love changes everything.
A Sound Mind (self-discipline) - this was the highest virtue in the world in which Paul lived. "The ancient Greek word here had the idea of a calm, self-controlled mind, in contrast to the panic and confusion that comes in a fearful situation" (Enduring Word Commentary). It was a virtue that said, I will not be controlled by my circumstances! I will not cave in to the pressures of the world upon my mind. No matter what it looks like, "If God be for us, who can be against us?!" (Rom
Timothy had allowed the things that God had given him to become dormant. Perhaps he was experiencing the paralysis of analysis. There are times when we allow what is going on in our heads to keep us from the will and purpose of God. Mark Twain said, "I have suffered many things in life, some of which actually happened."
We have to get out of our heads. The difference between being a worrier and a warrior is one letter!
What we see and what we hear can stir us and rekindle THE GIFT.
Paul is encouraging young Timothy to move from being a worrier to a warrior.
What we have in the HOLY SPIRIT is enough!!! Rekindle it!
David was stirred up when he heard about Mephibosheth. Compassion can stir up the gift.
Jacob was stirred up when he saw the wagons.
Paul reminds him to rekindle the Gift of God. How do we rekindle The Gift? To cause to begin again. The embers are there.
3. What God Does With What We Give Him
2 Tim 1:12b
"...for I know the one in whom I have put my trust, and I am sure that he is able to guard until that day what I have entrusted to him."
That which we guard, the LORD guards. That which we care for, the LORD cares for. We can trust Him. We can deposit it into HIs safe-keeping knowing that He will keep it!
The word translated deposit is used by the writers contemporary with Paul to refer to their human soul. Paul may be saying that he has entrusted his life completely to the Lord.
Along with this is the idea that what matters to us matters to God. 1 Samuel 18:1 says that David's soul was knit to the soul of Jonathan and he loved him as his own soul. The life of Jacob was “Now therefore, when I come to your servant my father, and the lad is not with us, since his life is bound up in the lad’s life" Genesis 44:30.
to carry out sentinel functions, watch, guard,
each time this word for entrust is found in the NT it is coupled with the word for guard. The word guard is a sentry -- a sentinel -- a soldier whose function is to protect the entryway. Nothing is going to get in to destroy or corrupt what God has given! Nothing is going to enter in and destroy what I have given to God! God's got us! He's got us covered!
In Jesus's prayer for his disciples and all those who would believe in him through their words, He prayed, "That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me" (John 17:21-23).
