Power
Power That Overcomes Timidity and Fear
Life is hard
Jesus, the disciples
and so many others have proved that
Paul reminded Timothy
of the power God had given him
The Spirit of Power
The Spirit of Love
The Spirit of Self-Discipline
The Spirit of God
that God has given us is powerful
Paul from prison was
still confident that the Spirit of God
Is more powerful than
the chains that hold him
So release the Power
God has put in you
No believer is called
to sit on the sidelines
We are all called to
Power
Power that enables us
to live righteous lives
Power to love the
world and do something about it
Power That Overcomes
Timidity and Fear
Life is hard.
The Apostle Paul wrote to Timothy.
Paul started his letter
with compassion and concern.
Paul had been praying for Timothy and
let him know he remembered his tears.
You could say the ministry
had not been kind to Paul.
Like it was not kind to Jesus.
Hardships, and now Paul was in prison;
As Paul recalled the tears of Timothy.
I believe Paul was referring to his
arrest for preaching the gospel.
The persecution against Christians
was very real and intimidating.
Paul talked about Phygelus and Hermogenes who
deserted him and Onesiphorus who refreshed
him in prison at the end of 2 Timothy, Chapter 1.
We do not know what it was like for
Paul to be torn away from Timothy.
But the impact of those tears shows
both lives were greatly affected.
Paul encouraged Timothy not to be
ashamed of his imprisonment and do
not be ashamed to testify about our Lord.
This was the context we find 2 Timothy 1:7…
For God did not give us a spirit
of timidity,
but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.
Paul reminded Timothy of the
power God had given him.
The Spirit of Power
The Spirit of Love
The Spirit of Self-Discipline
The Spirit of God that God
has given us is powerful.
I remember the night I received the Baptism of
the Holy Spirit I was overwhelmed with love.
The overwhelming feeling of love was
greater that speaking in tongues.
I wanted to go out
and hug everyone.
I was an avid hunter at the time, but
love so overwhelmed me, killing was
too hard for me so I gave up hunting.
This power of love that comes from the
Holy Spirit is a must for every believer.
I now have an understanding of John 3:16
“for God so loved the
world”.
If you don’t have that love, you
need more of the Spirit of God.
It is that love that has caused men and women
like Paul to leave everything so that one
more person might commit their life to Christ.
The Spirit of Self-Discipline
Before Christ, self-discipline, self-control, a sound
mind were all influenced by what you wanted in life.
If you didn’t want to go to jail, you obeyed the law.
If you wanted something from others
you were on your best behavior.
But when the Spirit of God comes into our
lives only one thing matters, “Righteousness”.
The Spirit of God empowers us to say no to sin.
Why? Because we see the only free
way to live, is to do what is right.
Our love of righteousness causes us to cry out
for mercy; not to get away without punishment
but to get another chance to do it right.
Paul told Timothy…
“Guard the good
deposit that was entrusted to you —
guard it with the help
of the Holy Spirit who lives in us.”
Verse 14
Turn to the Holy Spirit to guard the
“good deposit
entrusted to you”.
Remember the gifts God has given you…
Stir them up.
Remember the fruit of your
godly mother and grandmother.
Don’t let anything cause you to be ashamed.
Don’t let anything cause you to be afraid.
Paul told Timothy, and us, why he is strong,
why he was hanging onto the power even though
he had been through hardships and imprisonment…
“But join with me in
suffering for the gospel, by the power of God, 9 who has saved us and called us
to a holy life — not because of anything we have done but because of his own
purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning
of time, 10 but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior,
Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to
light through the gospel. 11 And of this gospel I was appointed a herald and an
apostle and a teacher. 12 That is why I am suffering as I am.
Yet I am not ashamed,
because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard
what I have entrusted to him for that day.”
God is able to guard our eternal salvation.
Power to give you eternal life.
Let the power of God motivate you.
Let the power of the Holy
Spirit make you unstoppable.
No believer is called to sit on the sidelines.
We are all called to Power.
Power that enables us to live righteous lives.
Power to love the world
and do something about it.
Where does that power come from?
The Spirit of God.
Scripture Reading
2 Timothy 1:3-18 NIV
3 I thank God, whom I serve, as my forefathers did, with a
clear conscience, as night and day I constantly remember you in my prayers. 4
Recalling your tears, I long to see you, so that I may be filled with joy. 5 I
have been 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
God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of
self-discipline.
8 So do not be ashamed to testify about our Lord, or ashamed
of me his prisoner. But join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power
of God, 9 who has saved us and called us to a holy life — not because of
anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was
given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time, 10 but it has now been
revealed through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who has destroyed
death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. 11 And
of this gospel I was appointed a herald and an apostle and a teacher. 12 That
is why I am suffering as I am. Yet I am not ashamed, because I know whom I have
believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to
him for that day.
13 What you heard from me, keep as the pattern of sound
teaching, with faith and love in Christ Jesus. 14 Guard the good deposit that
was entrusted to you — guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in
us.
15 You know that everyone in the province of Asia has
deserted me, including Phygelus and Hermogenes.
16 May the Lord show mercy to the household of Onesiphorus,
because he often refreshed me and was not ashamed of my chains. 17 On the
contrary, when he was in Rome, he searched hard for me until he found me. 18
May the Lord grant that he will find mercy from the Lord on that day! You know
very well in how many ways he helped me in Ephesus.
