The Need For Church Revival: Recover

First, we were encouraged to “remember”. Last time we were encouraged to “repent”. Many of us came to the front of the church to confess our sins to God and to forsake them.

That was a good thing. That was a liberating thing. But, according to Jesus in Revelation chapter two, “remembering and repenting” is not enough. Jesus goes on to tell the believers at Ephesus to do the works that they did at first.

To help us to understand what one of the “first things” is, we turn to 2 Timothy chapter one where Paul writes to Timothy, a pastor at the church of Ephesus. In 1st Timothy Paul instructs Timothy on how he needed to lead as a pastor and what he needed to teach at that church.

I believed that Timothy followed Paul’s instructions and the believers at Ephesus followed this teaching…for a while…until they drifted and “left their first love.”

2nd Timothy has been called Paul’s “swan song”. In 2nd Timothy, Paul not only writes as one who is approaching the end of his ministry; he is also writes as one who seems to be anticipating the end of his life (2 Timothy 4:6–8).

2 Timothy 1:1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God according to the promise of the life that is in Christ Jesus,

Paul begins this letter letting Timothy know that he didn’t up and decide he was going to be an apostle to the church by himself; he wasn’t called by men; he was called, sent and qualified by God.

It works the same way today. You and I don’t up and decide to become a Christian. Preachers don’t up and decide that they are going to preach. We are called, sent and qualified by God.

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Furthermore, Paul wasn’t called, sent and qualified so that he could get a good job, have a wife and kids, amass a great fortune, live comfortably and cultivate a good reputation; he was called “according to the promise of life that is in Christ Jesus”.

That means that Paul’s whole life revolved around the grace of God that was given to him to preach and to teach the Gospel. It was the grace of God that carried with it the promise of eternal life and salvation in Jesus Christ.

Paul was called to minister the Gospel. In Ephesians 6 Paul says, “pray for me…that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak.” (vs. 19-20)

So Paul begins his letter letting Timothy know that he was called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God; it was not his choice. He didn’t decide like some choose our career path—“I think I’ll be a doctor” or “I’m going to school so that can become a criminologist.” God called Paul to become an apostle, even hand-picking him on the Damascus Road.

Some of us need to be reminded that you have been called by God to His kingdom work in the local church. Serving as a minister in the kingdom work of reaching the lost for Christ is not your career-path—you cannot switch majors. You can switch ministries in this work but your major remains the same—“Make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:19-20).

Verses 2-4 let us know that Timothy was more than a man that Paul mentored. Timothy was like a “son” to Paul. In fact, he was Paul’s spiritual son, someone that Paul in all likelihood led to know the Lord Jesus Christ. Timothy loved Paul and, according to verse 4, shed tears for him when he was afflicted with suffering because of the Gospel.

Timothy was raised to know Christ at an early age by his mother and grandmother (vs. 5 and 2 Tim. 3:15). Timothy’s father was probably an unbeliever…this shows you the power of a mother and grandmother who make their primary occupation the rearing of their children in the faith.

In verse 6-7 Paul writes, “For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands, for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.”

The church at Ephesus had its challenges and so Paul encouraged Timothy to double-down on His devotion to the Lord and to ignite the use of his spiritual gifts and to not be fearful.

Paul encourages Timothy to lean-in on the power, love and self-control that God made available to him. In verse eight Paul then says, “on that basis, do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord.”