Essentials for Security - 2 Tim. 1:7
Illustrations:
God our Father has made all things depend on faith so that whoever has faith will have everything, and whoever does not have faith will have nothing.
Martin Luther.
Definition of God’s sufficiency:arkeo
To have enough, to be content with, to raise up a banner against all attackers. To have sufficient strength to accomplish God’s will. To give one all that is necessary for life and godliness in Christ. (2 Pet. 1:3,4; 2 Cor. 12:9,10)
Faith in God makes great optimists. Over in Burma, Judson was lying in a foul jail with 32 lbs. of chains on his ankles, his feet bound to a bamboo pole. A fellow prisoner said, "Dr. Judson, what about the prospect of the conversion of the heathen?", with a sneer on his face. His instant reply was, "The prospects are just as bright as the promises of God."
The Presbyterian Advance.
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Faith for my deliverance is not faith in God. Faith means, whether I am visibly delivered or not, I will stick to my belief that God is love. There are some things only learned in a fiery furnace.
Oswald Chambers in Run Today’s Race.
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When I was research head of General Motors and wanted a problem solved, I’d place a table outside the meeting room with a sign: Leave slide rules here. If I didn’t do that, I’d find someone reaching for his slide rule. Then he’d be on his feet saying, "Boss, you can’t do it."
Charles F. Kettering in Bits & Pieces, Dec, 1991, p. 24.
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A man lives by believing something, not by debating and arguing about many things.
Thomas Carlyle.
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Faith understands that God intervenes in the natural course of events; on the other hand, if the natural course of events should happen to answer prayer--that which we call a coincidence--faith still believes God is present.
Brett Blair.
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David, a 2-year old with leukemia, was taken by his mother, Deborah, to Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, to see Dr. John Truman who specializes in treating children with cancer and various blood diseases. Dr. Truman’s prognosis was devastating: "He has a 50-50 chance." The countless clinic visits, the blood tests, the intravenous drugs, the fear and pain--the mother’s ordeal can be almost as bad as the child’s because she must stand by, unable to bear the pain herself. David never cried in the waiting room, and although his friends in the clinic had to hurt him and stick needles in him, he hustled in ahead of his mother with a smile, sure of the welcome he always got. When he was three, David had to have a spinal tap--a painful procedure at any age. It was explained to him that, because he was sick, Dr. Truman had to do something to make him better. "If it hurts, remember it’s because he loves you," Deborah said. The procedure was horrendous. It took three nurses to hold David still, while he yelled and sobbed and struggled. When it was almost over, the tiny boy, soaked in sweat and tears, looked up at the doctor and gasped, "Thank you, Dr. Tooman, for my hurting."
The majority of Americans spend much of their lives working to build security. People spend billions of dollars on medical, home-owners and life insurance to assure their families of provisions for any eventuality. However, the Bible teaches us that ultimate security is in the Lord and His word. People who look to God for their safety, help and security can live in His impregnable fortress. David wrote, "The Lord is my refuge and strength, a very present help in the time of trouble. Therefore, I will not fear, though the earth give way.. There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the most High dwells." (Psa 46:1-4) God is our river of life that provides us with all we need to feel secure. He supplies us with His all sufficient grace that helps replace our fear with His power, love and self-discipline. (2 Tim. 1:7)The Spirit of God must be in total control of all facets of our life if we are to be truly secure. When we learn to appropriate the rich resources we have in the Holy Spirit we are able to replace all feelings of insecurity with His security. Let us look at how He gives us greater security, assurance and confidence in His reliability when we are facing feelings of trouble.
Illustration: A famous Methodist evangelist named Peter Cartwright was known for his uncompromising preaching. However, one day when the President of the United States, Andrew Jackson, "Old rough and ready," came to Cartwright’s church, the elders warned the Pastor not to offend the President. In those days, the President had great power to influence a denomination for good or bad. Content, that their Pastor would not say anything to discredit their church, the elders retired to the back of the sanctuary. When Cartwright got up to speak, the first words out of his mouth were, "I understand that President Andrew Jackson is here this morning. I have been requested to be very guarded in my remarks. Let me say this: "Andrew Jackson will go to hell if doesn’t repent of his sin!" The entire congregation gasped with shock at Cartwright’s boldness. How could this young preacher dare to offend the tough old general in public, they wondered. After the service, everyone wondered how the President would respond to Cartwright. When Andrew Jackson met the preacher at the door he looked at him in the eye and said, "Sir, If I had a regiment of men like you, I could conquer the world!" When we appreciate the power of the word of God and the Holy Spirit speaking from the lips of people with conviction we will make eternal differences.
1. Praise Him for His wonderful attributes of power, love and stability. The person who worships the Lord is able to draw strength from His characteristics of faithfulness despite the circumstances we are struggling with. (Psa 103:1) Bless the Lord and do not forget any of His benefits.
2. Take an inventory of all the security you have in Christ, His word and in His Holy Spirit. "I will never leave you or forsake you so that you can confidently say, the Lord is my helper, what can man do to me." (Heb. 13:5,6)
3. Thank God that even though conditions seem most tenuous, God is able to take you through whatever dark valley you are passing through. David wrote, "The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want... Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will not fear any evil for you are with me. Your rod and staff they comfort me." (Psa. 23:1,4) God has the provisions to protect, guide and navigate through any predicament. Trust Him to shepherd you through even the worst of times as He who believes in Him will never be disappointed. (Rom. 5:1-7)
4. Encourage others with the security of the God’s promises as you share 2 Timothy 1:7 with others. Tell others how the Lord assures your heart with His power, love and self-discipline that calms your emotions in times of distress. All the promises in Christ are Yes and Amen to the glory of God the Father. (2 Cor. 1:20) In your conversations share with others how much the assurances of God’s promises provide security for your future.
5. Recount the ways that the Lord has provided for in little ways and big ways. Jesus said, "Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things will be added to you as well." (Matt 6:33,34) I thank God that He has provided all that I need in the past and even in to the future as I’ve followed Him for thirty years and now I can count on Him for greater gifts for retirements years despite the anxieties that others may vocalize. Ask the Lord to help you to make a list of the many ways that remind you of His faithful provision for all that you need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. (Phil. 4:19)
6. Teach others that there are many false securities that will not provide ultimate satisfaction. The world, the flesh and the devil tries to convince people that counterfeit securities like big bank accounts will provide us with a secure future. Jesus once told a rich man not to build bigger barns but to lay up for ourselves treasures in heaven where there is real security. Let us trust the Lord to help us live with an eternal perspective more than an earthly one. Paul wrote, "Set your minds on things above and not on things of the earth where your life is hidden in Christ." (Col. 3:1-3)
7. Serve others in a way that you can help them draw more confidently from the well of Christ’s power, love and self-discipline. People begin to experience problems when they start to rely more on their own resources that Christ’s rich reservoir of all sufficient grace. That is why we can grow stronger when we are facing insults, crisis or hardships because when we are weak He can become stronger in us. (2 Cor. 12:9,10)
8. Pray about all of your feelings of insecurity. We should not feel anxious about anything but pray about everything with thanksgiving. (Phil. 4:6-8) People who are guided by their feelings of insecurity tend to live more by fear than by faith. Paul said, "We walk by faith and not by sight." Prayerful people are those who ask others to pray for them but make time throughout the day to turn down the noise of the world and say Lord, "Help me to not be overcome by my feelings of insecurity but to overcome them with your power, love and self-discipline.
9. Ask the Spirit of God to fill you with His security so that you can say like David, "The Lord is strength and shield. My heart trusts in Him and I am helped. Therefore, I will leap for joy and give thanks to Him in song." (Psa. 28:7) Sing to the Lord reminding yourself of the wonderful assurance that are supplied moment by moment through the one who gives you strength to do everything God asks you to do with the help of Christ who gives you the strength and power.
10. Fear the Lord and you will gain a greater intimacy with the source of total security. People who fail to fear God are often prone to fear man, circumstances or feelings of inadequacy. Solomon wrote, "He who fears the Lord has a secure fortress." (Prov. 14:26) To those who fear Him there is no want, the young lions lack and suffer hunger, but they who seek the Lord will lack no good thing.
11. Rest in the Lord with at least fifteen minutes of time alone with God in His word every morning. David wrote, "I have set the Lord always before me. Because he is at my right hand. I will not be shaken. Therefore, my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest secure... You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand." (Psa. 16:8-11) Let the Lord build up your emotional, mental and spiritual security to overcome all the insecurities that you will face everyday.
Illustration: - David wrote, "The Lord is my refuge and strength and fortress. A very present help in the time of trouble. Therefore I will not fear though the mountains give way and fall into the heart of the sea. There is a river that makes glad the city of our God." (Psa 46:1,2) That was the basis of Martin Luther’s famous hymn,
A mighty fortress is our God, a bulwark never failing. Our helper He amidst the flood of mortal ills prevailing.
