Conversations with Paul: You Gotta Have Faith: Sermon 2 Timothy 1:1-14

Gracious God, give us humble, teachable, and obedient hearts, that we may receive what you have revealed, and do what you have commanded. Amen.

The walls of the prison cell closed in around him. The putrid air was filled with the dank, foul odor of mold, rotting food, and rotting people. The walls dripped with water which caused sickness to be a constant. The chains that wrapped around his wrists and ankles were so tight that they dug into the skin. There was no sunlight except for a small window near the ceiling that was so high no one could look out of it. The guards were savage and often kicked or hit the prisoners just to break the monotony of the day. There was Paul, imprisoned for spreading the truth that he had found on the Damascus Road. He was utterly alone; his only companions were the Roman guards who kept watch over him night and day. Paul had been imprisoned before, but somehow he felt that this time was different and that he would not return home alive. They did allow Paul a pen and some paper so that he might write his friends on the outside. Paul wrote to some of the churches that he had helped to found and he wrote to some of his colleagues in ministry. When he wrote his second letter to Timothy, I believe he understood that this would be his last and that he must encourage his only remaining friend because his other friends and colleagues had abandoned him. This month of October we are going to look into this final letter from Paul to Timothy and we will see how Paul’s parting wisdom to Timothy can help us today almost 2,000 years later.

Paul was worried about Timothy. Paul knew that Timothy’s personal faith was strong and ran deep within him, but Paul also knew that Timothy had a tendency to be shy and found it difficult to talk to strangers. Timothy’s weakness was his willingness to move forward for the Gospel and be willing to take a risk for Christ. We all have felt that before I am sure. So Paul, in these opening lines, attempts to stir up Timothy and remind him of the strength that lies within him. In our verse this morning, Paul tells Timothy three things and these three things are as important now as they were back then. First, he tells Timothy to remember his ancestors, his family that had come before him. Remember their boldness and excitement for the gospel. He tells Timothy to rekindle his connection to the Holy Spirit and not to let his fire for Christ go out. Finally, he tells Timothy not to be ashamed of Paul and his present condition and especially not of the gospel of Christ. Don’t be ashamed to spread the truth. Let us take a closer look at these three pieces of advice that Paul gives to Timothy and to us.

Paul reminds Timothy of his faith; faith that did not come out of thin air, but was planted as a seed and nurtured by those around him, especially his grandmother Lois and his mother Eunice. Paul knew that Timothy was greatly influenced by the faith he had seen working in his mother and grandmother. Paul reminds Timothy and us that faith is in part a family affair. Can some of us relate to Timothy? Were their people in our lives that nurtured our faith? It might have been a grandmother or mother; it might have been a father or an uncle. It might have been a neighbor or even a Sunday school teacher. For most of us, in some way or another, our faith was cared for by a mentor, someone whose wisdom and experience aided us in our journey.

We had examples of faithful living. We looked up to these people and now we try to live by their examples. Some of you remember coming to this very church as children. Some of you grew up here looking up to those who were older and wiser than you were. Sometimes they had to drag you kicking and screaming to church, you would have rather slept in or played outside, but they showed you that a vital part of the Christian life is being faithful in church attendance. They also showed you that Christian living does not end when we walk out of these doors, but it extends to every aspect of our lives. We remember our family members sitting, perhaps at the kitchen table, with their Bibles open reading and studying the word of God. This taught us that Bible study is an important part of the Christian life. They also showed us that helping our neighbors is more important than helping ourselves. We saw their faith in action and I am sure we can all tell stories about the faith of our ancestors. Perhaps the most important thing that they did for us was something that we could not see. They prayed for us, everyday and every night they prayed for us. They prayed that we might grow strong in our faith and that God might touch our lives in some way.

We must also understand this; we are the examples to the next generation. We are the examples of faith to our children, grandchildren, nieces, and nephews. We have to be the ones to show them the way. We have to set them down on good paths and teach them how to face a harsh world with a strong faith. Fifty years from now someone else will be at this pulpit, perhaps preaching from this same Scripture and he or she will ask the question, “who influenced your faith?” Will your name be one of the ones spoken?

Paul goes on to tell Timothy to rekindle his gift from God or he could have said rekindle your connection to the Holy Spirit. Paul understood this connection is of vital importance, because this connection is our connection to God. Paul tells Timothy to guard this treasure and not to let anything destroy it. Rekindle your fire, Paul might have said, not that Timothy’s fire had gone completely out. All it takes is an ember. Those of us who have gone camping know that all it takes is one little ember and if it is nurtured and handled just right it can become a roaring fire again. How do we do this? If our fires have died down, how can we build them up again?

We must be active in our faith. Faith is like a muscle, if you want to build your muscle you go to the gym and exercise that muscle by lifting weights or by running on the treadmill and so it is with our faith. We have to exercise it in order for it to grow. Prayer is the treadmill for the soul. It keeps us fit and able to walk the long path of life. Daily Bible study is like the weight bench it builds up our faith and makes it stronger. So does being active in the church not just coming here for an hour on Sunday, but being active in the ministries of the church. We build up our faith when we take risks for the gospel. We take risks by going out and talking to people. We’ve talked about this in the last few weeks. How many of you have talked to someone about faith or about God?

Paul tells Timothy that the Spirit is one of power, love, and self-discipline. Paul could have also said boldness. We have to be bold in our faith and be willing to step, with power, out of our comfort zones. The Holy Spirit is a spirit of power and not of cowardice. Paul is telling Timothy, not to be held back by his shyness, but by the power of the Holy Spirit to step out in boldness and spread the gospel he loved so much. This is how we grow in our faith and this is how the Church grows with us.

Paul tells Timothy not to be ashamed of the Gospel or of Paul and his present condition. Paul tells Timothy that working for God is not always sunshine and daisies, it is not always a smooth ride. Paul himself is in prison awaiting his eventual execution. Most of the original disciples have already been martyred. Paul tells Timothy not be ashamed that he is prison but to join him by taking a risk. We do not always know or even understand what God has in store for us, but we do know that God is always with us. Today we do not have to worry about being executed for our faith, at least not in the United States. However, our pride might be on the line. We might become embarrassed to share our faith. We might be made fun of, called a zealot, a religious nut job, or we might just get laughed at. Paul says in another letter he wrote that he is glad to be a fool for Christ, meaning that he is willing to take that risk because there might be that one person who is willing to listen.

Has your faith waned? Has your fire died out with only embers remaining? Now if the time to fan those embers and get your fire roaring again and all it takes is that ember. Remember that Jesus said that all it takes is a seed, a small seed, to grow a faith large and strong enough to support the weight of this world. We have to be active in our faith, always moving forward. Remember those who came before us and how they were active in the church and in the community. Remember also, that we are being watched by the younger generation who look to us as an example. The Holy Spirit is full of power and strength. It is like the American Express card, don’t leave home without it. Let us be strong and grow together.

Let us pray…

Grant, O Lord,

That what has been said with our lips we may believe in our hearts,

And that what we believe in our hearts we may practice in our lives;

Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.