Fan into Flames sermon 2 Timothy 1

Today is a Next Steps Sunday… we do these once a year as an opportunity to think through our involvement here at church, how we might grow as disciples…

• And how we might play our part in the Manly Life family…
• So at the end of the service all of us are going to fill in our forms and bring them to the front… 
• And in one sense it is our way of saying yes to God, and yes to being a committed member of this church community!
• So what is your next step? Join a Life Group, get baptised? Use your gifts to serve in the church? Prophetic quilt making? Interpretive dance… 
• Who knows… 

Alright, I want to read 2 Timothy 1:3-8

 I constantly remember you in my prayers. Recalling your tears, I long to see you, so that I may be filled with joy. I am 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.

⁶ 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. ⁷ For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline. ⁸ So do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord or of me his prisoner. 

Well this is one of my favourite passages in the bible…

• With its beautiful pastoral tone, prayers and tears and Pauls longing to see his young friend and disciple Timothy.
• And this reminder that although faith may have been passed down through the generations (and gosh don’t we all hope for that)
• But that we need to fan into flames the gift of God which is in all of us…
• And that we have the Holy Spirit in us, enabling power, love and self discipline.
• All of this emboldening our witness about Jesus Christ, our Lord and saviour!

You see, you and I, we’ve been given gifts from God… ways to serve and encourage others… ways to make a difference. 

• So don’t pull back… don’t waver… don’t be half committed or apathetic… hello?
• But with the Holy Spirit fully alive in you… go for this new life of power, love and self control… 
• Go for the new life made possible through the Spirit of Jesus, alive in you! 
• Amen? Fan it into flames!

Last weekend we had a family BBQ at our place and a spontaneous fire pit for Luca and his cousin Floyd. Many marshmallows were consumed!

• But it was all a bit last minute, I grabbed the fire pit bowl, got the boys to grab some wood, and quickly filled it with a bunch of twigs and wood. Lots of fun!
• But I noticed it kind of went through 3 stages…

Firstly… due to a fair bit of, lets call it “flammable liquid”, the fire initially raged! Knuckle hairs were burnt… eyebrows came close to disappearing…

• Lots of flames and a fair bit of smoke… and a lot of the light stuff providing for lots of heat.
• But then there is a second stage where that burns off and it kind of comes close to going out.
• And you yell at the kids to go and get more sticks and as the Dad it’s your responsibility to get way too close to the fire and blow on it…
• Right – what is initially going well, all of a sudden take fanning into flames and more material to get it going again…
• And then finally, the fire has been going for long enough that there is this bed of coals… and it just kind of burns easily, nice and hot!

Now I wonder if Paul had something similar in mind when it comes to our faith and this fanning into flames?

• We often start out so enthusiastic… literally on fire for Jesus…
• We are captivated by him and his Kingdom!
• I remember when I first had faith for myself, I would call all my friends inviting them to church and was so keen to have a go at ministry…
• I naturally wanted to talk about Jesus and loved the church community.

But I wonder as we go on, if that flame can start to go out…

• Maybe there is some disappointment with God or with church?
• Maybe you just get distracted as Jesus said in the parable of the sower by “the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth.” (that is such a gut punch of a line)… repeat…
• Either way, our red hot faith cools down… and if you are not careful it can go out!

I wonder if that was Timothy’s story? 

• He heard, through his family about Jesus, after all this news about Jesus, his death and resurrection was spreading through the ancient world like a wildfire
• And he was probably sharing that good news and seeing people get saved… and enjoying the life and life to the full that Jesus promised!
• But then he needs this encouragement… don’t forget what the Holy Spirit enables in you… 
• Don’t fall back into timidity…
• But fan into flames the gifts God has given you and operate in power, love and self discipline!

So, the Spirit of God is given as a gift to all those who trust in in his Son Jesus and confess him as Lord.

• And we live in the age of the abundance of the Spirit. 
• You can read about this in Acts 2 and the day of Pentecost. Jesus is going to fulfil this mission of good news going to the whole world…
• And it is going to happen through his Spirit filling disciples as they bring the message and miracles of Jesus to whole world.

Right? And because as DL Moody said, we are leaky vessels…

• We need to ongoingly be filled and refreshed by the presence of God… or as it says here… fan into flames this gift of God… 
• And the Spirit of God in us is going to enable all kinds of things…
• We get the assurance of adoption into the family of God – you will know you are loved. 
• The Spirit in us illuminates the word and gives us revelation so we can understand his will.
• The Spirit produces Fruit in our lives – changing your character… making you more loving and joyful and peaceful… 
• And the Spirit gives us gifts for service in the church and mission – His presence alive in you, makes you useful for great purposes.

So Paul charges Timothy to not let the flame go out!

• You haven’t received the promised Holy Spirit to turn you all timid. 
• You’ve received the Holy Spirit to be empowered, to have the fruit of love and to be faithful through self control. 
• And why does he pray for him, why does he long to see him, why does he bother to write to his young disciple to keep encouraging him?
• Well the answer is love! Paul loves and cares about him…

Verse 3-4 I constantly remember you in my prayers. Recalling your tears, I long to see you, so that I may be filled with joy. 

• Do you sense the love and care… 
• That’s the church friends… 
• An intergenerational family which loves one another.

I have had the joy the last few weeks to take a bunch of weddings… and they are all amazing…

• But I particularly think of Hope and Dennis getting married a week and a half ago
• I still remember the first week they walked into church. Pretty sheepishly… Hope having been away from church a fair while, and Dennis brand new…
• And this wonderful couple came to church here and found faith and found friends and found their part in God’s church!
• And they have come alive, and they have been the heart and soul of the church and Hope has led worship with incredible heart and soul!
• And there she is, standing with her Dad at the top of the aisle, ready to walk down and get married!
• And in a super undignified way… along with Dennis, tears just filled my eyes!

Why? Because we are a family… and I love every single one of you… just like I know you love each other so much… and we get to do life together.

• Not perfectly and not always easily…
• But day to day, and in these big markers of life like a wedding, you just feel that love so deeply!
• So to be honest its devastating when someone drifts off or disengages from faith. 
• When the flame goes out… when we disconnect or disengage… 
• So hear Paul’s heart… he just wants the absolute best for Timothy… he wants the absolute best for Christ’s church as we face all that we face…
• So what does he exhort Timothy to do?
• “Fan into flame the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of hands.”

Now just something quick on the laying on of hands…

• If you are new to church you may be wondering what this language is all about…
• And no it doesn’t refer to the Bon Jovi song “lay your hands on me”
• I think that might be about something else? Haha…
• But what we find here and in Paul’s letter in 1 Timothy 4:14 is this reminder about how the gift of the Holy Spirit was received by Timothy.
• And it came by the laying on of hands… when he was set apart for his role in ministry, the elders and Paul laid hands on him and he had leadership and gifts to serve imparted into him. 

And here is the thing… just like faith is often caught and not just taught…

• So the Holy Spirit is something that is often caught by the laying on of hands… rather than by simply being taught about…
• And we see this in the Book of Acts too…
• The Holy Spirit is often imparted from one believer to a new one by the laying on of hands. It’s almost like its contagious… 
• And this is called impartation. 
• On this I would simply say, it’s biblical… and if you see something of God in someone that you desire… then this kind of impartation through the laying on of hands is key!

So if I want to see faithfulness in my life and my marriage and my relationships… find people who demonstrate this and get them to pray for you? Get an impartation. 

• Right? If you want to be bolder in sharing your faith or living a beautiful, holy life… find people who have this gift and get them to pray for you with the laying on of hands…
• If you want more of the gift of the Holy Spirit, you can find a Spirit filled believer and get them to pray for you!
• That’s why I’d encourage you on a regular basis to come for prayer ministry at the end of our services.
• You never know what you will catch? Haha… hopefully not Covid…
• But seriously, there is power in receiving more of the Holy Spirit through the laying on of hands. 

Nicky Gumbel, the leader of the global Alpha Course recently retired in London. Wonderful ministry… 

• Alpha has been done by well over 30 million people, and many can trace coming to follow Jesus through Alpha and his ministry!
• And I knew him a little bit when I lived in London, and he is a very shy and introverted guy.
• Not who you would expect to be probably the most effective evangelist in the world in the last few decades…

Anyhow he was a Barrister working in London and attending an Anglican church called HTB when John Wimber and a team from California came and ministered at HTB in the 1980’s.

• Well they invited the Holy Spirit to come and laid hands on people who came forward…
• And Nicky powerfully received the Holy Spirit… 
• Well he must have been making quite a commotion, as John Wimber said, “get that guy out of here” 
• Asking him to be taken to a side room for more ministry… and as he was being carried out John Wimber said “evangelism…” that man will be a great evangelist” 
• So that is impartation… the gift of evangelism through the laying on of hands!

So what Paul had, imparted into him by Jesus, he has now imparted into Timothy by the laying on of hands…

• And so he says… this will have the opposite effect of making you fearful or timid…
• But this gift of the Holy Spirit is what is going to make you powerful, loving and self controlled!
• It is the Holy Spirit that will keep you in the game and give you longevity in following Jesus Christ.
• Like Nicky who from that moment went on to decades of faithful and fruitful ministry!
• Amen?

So let’s just finish with these three things. Power. Love. Self discipline.

• So firstly, let us never forget that the Christian faith is a Holy Spirit empowered life. 
• The Greek word for power used is du-na-moss from which we get the word dynamite!
• There is power in the name of Jesus. And there is power available from the Holy Spirit alive in you!
• Paul will say in Romans 1 “I am not ashamed of the gospel because it is the power of God that brings salvation.”
• In 1 Corinthians 4 he will say the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk, but power.
• In Romans 15 he talks about overflowing with hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.
• In 1 Corinthians 2 he says “My preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power,
• In Ephesians 1 Paul prays we may be enlightened to know “his incomparably great power for us who believe.”

Secondly, the fruit of the Holy Spirit in you is love! 

• Now having power is often a trainwreck in people’s lives.
• But the Holy Spirit’s power leads us to love… to give ourselves away for others. 
• Love is the fruit of God’s Holy Spirit at work in you. 
• That is why Paul is in tears remembering the faith and life of Timothy… he cares deeply about the bloke! He has love!
• The impartation of the Spirit, is an impartation to love deeply!
• If your faith is not leading you to love others more deeply… you’re doing it wrong!
• That is part of calling all of us to serving in the church…. That is an act of love towards others who come… 

And then finally the Spirit imparted into us makes us self disciplined!

• And we see that in the list of the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5:23 don’t we?
• So I’ve been thinking about this one all week… and wondering why when Paul explains the effects of the Holy Spirit in your life, why does this get in his top 3 here?
• And I think it comes down to longevity…
• Self discipline, or sound mindedness as it is sometimes translated points us to what keeps us faithful
• Not just in big flashy moments… but in what Eugene Peterson calls “the long obedience in the same direction.”
• This is about character formation… 

The Spirit helps you not just through days and weeks with self control to overcome temptation…

• But will give you the self discipline to walk faithfully for the decades of your Christian life. 
• I love the older guys at our church. I think of people like Steve and Mary…  
• And I want the same Spirit imparted into them that they have activated through the decades of their lives to see them through with wisdom and faithfulness

Well what has all this got to do with it being our Next Steps Sunday?

• Well my hope and prayer is that you will “fan into flames, the gift of God which is in you.”
• Church is so boring if it is one or two people doing all the stuff while everyone else watches on…
• It is about every single one of us getting to play our part in making this local church all that God wants it to be… 
• Empowered by the Spirit to serve and use the gifts that God has given you!
• Same with giving and generosity… every single one of us regularly committing to support the life and ministry of this church!

So in a minute I am going to give you an opportunity to fill in your forms and then when the band comes up and plays, we are all going to come forward and put our forms in the basket here at the front!

• Tips: Don’t do so much that you burn yourself out…
• But don’t do so little that you will never grow or really live in service of others…
• There are opportunities to say you want to get baptised, or do Alpha or join a Life Group…
• And then there are ways to serve and give and to get involved!
• Some things will be your passions and your purposes… while for all of us there are also ways just to help out and make this church hum!
• Go through form…

So don’t pull back, don’t let the flame go out, and don’t be afraid… 

Amen… lets do our forms…

The Holy Spirit given as a gift to you makes you powerful, loving and self controlled.

It makes all of us useful in the kingdom of God, as his church is established…

And allows for decades of faithfulness and service that will see you to the end!