28 March 2010
I. Introduction
-- turn in Bibles to 2 Timothy 1
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.
-- as you all know, I tend to watch a lot of TV and movies as a means to let go of stress after a long day -- one of our favorite shows that we never miss is "House" -- it's a medical mystery show about a genius diagnostician -- Dr. Gregory House -- who has to come up with the answers to the most difficult medical problems in order to save someone's life every week
-- we were watching the show not long ago and something different happened -- Dr. House finally figured out what was making this person sick, but unlike all the episodes before, he could not save them -- there was no cure for their disease -- there was no happy ending to this episode -- Dr. House had to go to the patient and tell them that they only had days to live -- and the show ended with the death of the patient
-- Kim and I talked about that after the show -- what would we do if we were given a diagnosis like that? -- how would we react? -- what would we change in our lives? -- what would we do in the short time that we had left?
-- evidently a lot of people have had similar thoughts in their lives -- I learned yesterday about a national movement called "One Month to Live" -- it is a 30-day challenge for individuals and churches and communities where the participants pledge to live those 30 days as if they were their last days on earth -- not that they are really going to die but just to get them to thinking about what they would do if this was the case
-- the reason this pastor started the movement was to encourage people to think about what was truly important in their lives and to get them to start living for and focusing on that rather than racing through life like so many of us do now -- on their web page they state, "We believe that if you live this month as if it's your last, at the end of the 30 days you will be more alive than you've ever been"
-- all of you would have to agree that we tend to speed through life now a days -- we spend a lot of time in our lives chasing after and focusing on things that are simply not that important -- we spend time working ourselves to death so that we and our families can have the finer things in life -- the new cars -- the new toys -- the new gadgets
-- we run from one activity to another at such break-neck speed that we rarely take time to stop and just enjoy life -- we rarely take time to stop and enjoy each other -- we may be together, but our focus is not on each other but rather on what it is that we are doing at that moment
-- we find ourselves increasingly isolated from other people and from the world itself with all of our technology from i-pods and i-phones to the internet and all the social networking sites -- many of you know that I've recently joined on with Face Book -- and while I really enjoy the site and the way I can reconnect with all my old friends, it occurred to me that what this social network does is take our relationships and make them just like CNN headline news -- rather than sitting down and spending time with my friends, now I catch up just by reading their short updates posted online
-- it's like we're going through life and just catch updates on our family and friends by reading the headlines that stream across the bottom of the TV screens on the news channels -- you know, I'm waiting for someone to invent that -- that way, we don't even have to take time to get on the computer -- we can just watch TV and see what is going on in our friend's lives by reading the crawler at the bottom
-- even our churches and our religious lives are not immune from this race through life and this focus on the temporal -- our religious lives are like a whirlwind of activities and programs and services -- something always going on -- and we stay so busy doing life and doing church that we rarely take the time to truly enjoy life or to enjoy being with our family and our friends and our God
-- this is not what God wanted for us -- this is not the way He intended for us to live -- as Jesus said in John 10:10, "I have come that you may have life, abundant life -- life to the full" -- not life lived in a rat race -- not life lived trying to keep up with the Joneses -- not life lived that rushes headlong after the latest fad and that focuses on the here-and-now and what is going on in this particular moment -- but a life lived that makes a difference
-- that's the whole purpose of that "One Month to Live" Challenge -- to get people to take 30 days to stop and think about what is truly important -- to think about what they should be spending their time and energy on -- to think about what they are here for and what they want to leave behind when they go
-- let's just take a moment and consider that -- what are you spending your time and energy on right now? -- what is taking up your days? -- and how would that change if you only had one month left to live? [take 15 second pause]
-- it's easy for us to get caught up in the affairs of this world -- to waste away our days worrying about things that don't really matter -- to speed through life seeking things that won't last -- certainly others before us have had the same problems
-- just think about the disciples and what they lived and hoped for when Jesus was around -- today is Palm Sunday -- it's the start of Holy Week -- this is the day that Jesus rode into Jerusalem on the back of a donkey to the shouts of "Hosannah" and "Hallelujah"
-- and while the Bible tells us that Jesus went to Jerusalem with a steadfast goal -- that He went to fulfill a divine purpose and calling in His life that would have eternal significance for all of us -- His disciples weren't the same
-- they came into Jerusalem that week focused on themselves and what they were going to get when Jesus was swept into power -- they weren't looking at eternity -- they were looking at who was going to be first and who was going to sit by Jesus and who was going to be in charge of the others
-- their focus was wrong -- their focus was on themselves and what they were going to get in the immediate future -- they missed the big picture because they were too busy trying to fulfill their petty hopes and dreams -- they were just like us
-- but after the cross -- after the empty tomb -- after they were in the presence of the risen Lord -- they changed -- there was no more racing after life -- there was no more arguing about money and who was first and who would sit where in eternity -- their life had been rearranged -- and now they went forth with a new mission and a new purpose -- an eternal mission and an eternal purpose
-- as Christians, we are called to do the same -- we are reminded in scripture that we are strangers and aliens in this land -- we are not of this world and we are not to be conformed to the pattern of this world -- but we are to be transformed by the renewing of our minds -- by the renewing of our lives -- so that we might live lives that make a difference -- so that we might live lives that are focused on what is truly important and not on the things the world worries about
-- that is the message that Paul is leaving with Timothy here in this passage -- most scholars agree that this is probably the last letter that Paul wrote, right before he was executed by Nero -- and as Paul knows that he has a short left time, he looks back on his life in this letter and sees that he has fought the good fight -- he has finished the race -- he has stood strong for God to the very end -- as he says in verse 3, his conscience is clear because his life was spent on the things that were important and not the frivolous ways of the world
-- and now, Paul makes this charge to Timothy to encourage him as he picks up the standard of faith and goes forth to minister in Christ's name -- follow my example -- don't be ashamed -- don't be timid -- but press on and do that for which you were called -- focus on what is important and not the temporal affairs of this earth
-- let's pick up Paul's letter here in Chapter 1, verse 6 again and see what we can learn from his final instructions to his son in the faith
-- verse 6
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.
-- Paul tells Timothy to fan into flame the gift of God that was in his life -- this is a reminder to us that as Christians, all of us have been gifted and called by God to participate in His divine mission -- we are here for a purpose -- but, as I've pointed out, far too often we get caught up in the ways of this world and fail to fulfill the true purpose and meaning for our lives
-- Paul wanted Timothy to remember who he was and who God called him to be -- Timothy had the spark of the divine within him -- he had the spark of purpose and meaning from God -- but it wasn't a raging fire -- it wasn't what was driving him -- it wasn't what he was living for
-- evidently Timothy's problem was that of fear -- he was timid and fearful of trying to live life out loud -- to live life for God in the face of a world that demanded his attention -- so Paul says, "Fan into flame this gift -- focus on God -- use His power and His strength -- use His grace -- to move forward in your life and to do what is important"
-- don't be ashamed to be different -- don't be ashamed to be who God called you to be -- don't be ashamed that you aren't chasing after the wind like the rest of the world -- but tell the world about Jesus -- tell them what He has done -- and show them in your life what it means to live for something that is eternal and that has meaning beyond the moment
-- look back at the second part of verse 8
8b. 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.
-- Paul reminds Timothy that we have been saved and called to a different life -- we have been saved and called to a "holy" life -- that word "holy" means "set apart" or "sanctified" for a purpose
-- as Christians, we are supposed to live holy lives -- lives that are set apart from those around us -- lives that are lived for a different purpose and a different focus -- lives that have meaning apart from this world
-- have you ever stopped to wonder why people live like they do? -- why are they so consumed with chasing after the things of this world? -- why are they so consumed with beauty and health and taking care of themselves and their bodies? -- it's because they are denying the future -- they are denying their own mortality -- they fear that after all is done -- when death is knocking on their door -- they will have nothing to show for it
-- by chasing after life they think they can postpone the inevitable -- they think they can put off eternity -- but Paul reminds us here that Christians don't live that way because we have no fear of death -- we have no fear of the future
-- Jesus destroyed the power of death on the cross and brought life and immortality through the gospel -- in other words, we can live without fear of the future because we know what our future is -- we can live lives of meaning and purpose because we know what is truly important -- we know what matters in eternity
-- verse 11
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.
-- Paul knew who he was -- he knew why God had called him -- he knew what his purpose in life was to be -- Paul had been converted on the road to Damascus and called to be a herald and an apostle and a teacher -- he had been called to tell others about Jesus and to show them the way of the eternal rather than the way of the world
-- we may not all have been called to be pastors or teachers -- but we have all been called to the same mission -- we are called to tell others about Jesus with our words and with our lives -- we are called to show them the way by living different from the world -- we are called to show them how to focus their lives on what is truly important rather than chasing after what the world has to offer
-- Paul looks back on his life and says, "I am not ashamed of the way I have lived -- I have done what God has called me to do -- I have lived as God has called me to live -- and I will trust in Him until I take my final breath"
-- verse 13
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.
-- Paul closes this passage by challenging Timothy to live life as he had lived life -- to follow the pattern of Paul -- to follow the path of Christ -- and to live a life of faith and love through Jesus
-- this challenge from Paul to Timothy is a challenge for all of us -- how are we living our lives now? -- how should we be living our lives? -- are we doing what God has called us to do -- are we living for Him or are we living for the world?
-- living for God leads to fulfillment -- living for the world just leads to heart-ache and weariness
-- I want to close by leaving you with a true story that was written by David Cerqueira, a pediatrician
-- David's wife was a children's Sunday School teacher in their local church -- and one Sunday she had prepared a lesson on being useful to God -- on living lives that had meaning and purpose
-- one little girl named Sarah spoke up -- "Teacher, what can I do? -- I don't know how to do many useful things." -- David's wife quickly looked around and spotted an empty flower vase on the windowsill near the pulpit -- she told her, "Sarah, you can bring in a flower and put it in the vase. That would be a useful thing." -- Sarah frowned. "But that's not important." -- "It is," replied David's wife, "if you are helping brighten someone's day with that flower"
-- so the next Sunday, Sarah brought in a dandelion and put it in the vase -- she kept doing this week after week -- one Sunday, the pastor used that flower in the vase and Sarah's faithfulness as an example of what it meant to serve others -- of what it meant to live a life of purpose
-- later that week, Sarah's mother brought her by to see David at his office – Sarah had been losing weight and had less energy than usual and just didn't seem right -- David did some tests and came back with the tragic news -- Sarah had leukemia and there wasn't anything they could do for her -- it was just a matter of time
-- a few months after the diagnosis, Sarah had gotten so weak that she couldn't leave home -- she couldn't do anything -- one day, when she was at her weakest point, she asked to go to church so she could bring her flower
-- as the pastor finished the sermon, Sarah came in the back door, bundled up in a blanket, walked to the front and put a dandelion in the vase and left a piece of paper beside it -- she died four days later
-- after the funeral, the pastor gave David the note that Sarah had left by the vase -- in pink crayon, it read, "Dear God, This vase has been the biggest honor of my life. Love, Sarah."
-- What makes a life worth living? -- What gives our lives purpose and meaning?
-- I asked you at the start of this message to reflect for a moment on the questions asked by the "One Month to Live" Challenge -- if you had just 30 days to live, what changes would you make in your life? -- How would you live?
-- Paul -- in chains in a Roman prison at the end of his life -- waiting for the executioner to come -- was able to look back on the life that he had lived and to say that it was a life lived well -- that it was a life lived with meaning and purpose -- that it was a life lived for Jesus and not for the world -- and to encourage Timothy to do the same
-- at the end of your life, will you be able to look back and say the same as Paul? -- at the end of your life, will you be able to say that you made a difference on earth -- that you made a difference with your family and friends -- that you made a difference for Jesus?
-- as I close, I want to encourage you to really take a moment during this Holy Week to reflect on what the death and resurrection of Jesus means to us and how we should be living our lives in light of that message
-- if you need to make changes in your life -- if you need to slow down or to give up something in order to go with God, then I want to encourage you to do so right now -- respond to God's word as you feel led and live for Him today and tomorrow and all the days of your life
-- let us pray
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