Fanning the Flames

1 timothy 3:1-7
Background
This letter was written by Paul to Timothy only a few months before Pauls execution under the emperor Nero.
a. Paul anticipates his coming death.
2 timothy 4.6-8, For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time has come for my departure. I
have fought a good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is laid up for me the crown of
righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day and not only to me, but also to all
who have longed for his appearing.
b. Paul also anticipates that the persecution of the Christians in Rome will spread to other areas of the empire and to
Asia as well where Timothy is in charge of the churches.
c. The death of Paul will leave a leadership vacuum at just the time when leadership will be most needed in the churches.
Paul has trained and expects Timothy to take over that leadership in the churches.
d. Timothy is about to suffer a deep loss in the death of Paul and is going to be called to a trying position of leadership
under growing persecution.
e. Paul is writing this letter to encourage Timothy to be strong in the Lord and to continue in his service to the churches that
God has called him to.
Timothy is prone to discouragement and cowardice and will be strongly tempted to pull back and to protect
himself when the leadership responsibilities and persecution fully come upon him.
Introduction

I want us to think together on how we can fan the flame that is in us to accomplish Gods purposes for us and to bring Glory
to God in all our circumstances.
Fan into flame translates the Greek word anazopurein.
Anazopurein is made up of three Greek words,
ana which means again or up,
zoe which means life or alive,
pur which means fire, coal, ember.
So this verb means to make the fire alive again or to bring up the life of the fire.
Many of us have read these verses and thought that Timothy has backslidden and given in to fear and shame, and that Paul is
calling Timothy to renew his faith, but that is not what the grammar in this verse tells us. The verb, fan into flame is in
the present tense which calls for a continuing action to take place.
Translated as keep fanning into flame. Knowing the grief and the increased leadership burdens that Timothy is about to
encounter, Paul is reminding Timothy to keep fanning the flame of Gods gift in him.
More than ever Timothy is going to have to be strong in the Lord and will have to take courage and stand in Gods call upon
his life and trust in Gods power.
Gift of GOD
-This gift of God is the indwelling Holy Spirit Who plants in our spirit the flame of Gods eternal life.
a. Feed that life.
b. To work that life out in his own life and ministry and
c. Not to neglect the outworking and application of the Spirits life because of fear and shame.
Timothy is to feed himself spiritually and then work out Gods plan for him through obedience. Timothy is to let the life
of the Holy Spirit rule his life, and he is not to let his emotions, fears, desires and the judgments of men rule him.
-Paul taught the same thing to the Philippians (2.12-13) when he wrote to them, Continue to work out your salvation with fear and
trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to His good purpose.
3 DIFFERENT TYPES OF FAITH
Sincere Faith

v.5, Paul tells Timothy that he is persuaded of Timothys sincere faith. Paul had this sincere faith, and so did Timothys mother and
grandmother.

What Paul means by a sincere faith is not an I believe in God or I am religious faith. Many sincere people will not make it to heaven
because they are sincerely believing in lies and not in the truth of God.
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 A sincere faith means real faith, genuine faith, the kind of faith the Bible teaches that all of us need and should have.

False Faith

False faith puts its trust in devotion to religion, or in a sense of personal goodness, or in doing good works, or in a false belief that a
loving God would not send anyone to hell.

This is not a faith that will bring a person into relationship with God and into heaven, no matter how sincere.

Genuine Faith

Recognizes that we are separated from GOD because of sin

A genuine faith begins when a person recognizes that they are separated from God because of their sin and are under the
condemnation of God because of sin. They recognize that if they died in that condition they would certainly go to hell.

Recognizes that the death of JESUS CHRIST paid the penalty for sin, once and for all.

Genuine faith also recognizes that the death of Jesus on the Christ paid the penalty for sin, and trusts God for the just payment of
sin in the death of Christ

The result of this genuine faith is the filling of the Holy Spirit

In response to genuine faith the Holy Spirit comes to dwell in the new believer and renews the believers dead spirit, giving the
believer a desire for the things of God and the assurance of eternal life in Christ.

2 stages of fanning the flame of the gift of GOD

I. Feeding the flame to keep my passion for Christ burning strong, and to keep my determination to bring Glory to God foremost in my
thinking.

o The first stage is putting a log on the fire to keep it burning bright

o The first stage is making sure the flashlight is charged

o the first stage is supplying the flame to keep the flame of faith burning bright

II. Following the flame by walking in the Spirit and living by the power of God in obedience to the commands of God.

o the second stage is warming others with the heat of the fire.

o the second stage is using the flashlight to guide the path of others.

o the second stage is serving God from the burning flame.

What hinders fanning the flame GOD has put within us?

1. What we allow to compete with the flame of the gift of God that is within us. In other words what we allow to dampen the flame, to
snuff out the flame, to compromise the flame.

-2 timothy 4:9-10, about Demas who allowed his flame to burn down because of his love for this world, Do your best to
come to me quickly, for Demas, because he loved this world, has deserted me and has gone to Thessalonica.

There are things that we allow to compete with the flame of Gods Spirit within us that dampen and even seem to put out the
flame of the gift of God within us.

2. Things we neglect to do that would feed the Spirit of God within us. We do not provide fuel to the fire and we allow the fire to burn
down.

1 timothy 4:13-16 we read Pauls warning to Timothy not to neglect fanning this flame. Until I come, devote yourself to the
public reading of Scripture, to preaching, and to teaching. Do not neglect your gift, which was given you through a prophetic
message when the body of elders laid their hands on you. Be diligent in these matters; give yourself wholly to them, so
that everyone may see your progress. Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will
save yourself and your hearers.

We need to devote ourselves to God and His service and not neglect our calling. We need to be diligent and to watch and
persevere in certain disciplines to keep the flame burning hot.

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What might be competing with the flame in my life?

-Take some time today or this week and ask yourself what might be competing with fanning the flame in my life?

1. Are you so busy with the daily activities of life that your flame is quietly burning out?

Too many of us Christians, know we have the Holy Spirit living within us, but we continue to live, not in the power of the Holy
Spirit and by faith, but by our old powerless, faithless, self-directed, self-energized, anxiety filled, careful, calculated, old, comfortable
ways.

Paul is reminding Timothy that having the Holy Spirit in him should make a difference in his attitudes and actions. A choice to
obey God at any cost to self and a choice to abandon his life to the control and care of God as he follows the leading of
the Holy Spirit.

For us the hindrance to fanning the flame of Gods Spirit within us might be giving in to lust, ambition, anger, pride,
stubbornness, greed, and busyness, pressure from another person, a relationship, entertainment, TV, and any number of
other competitors for the priority of the Spirit of God within us.

2. Or maybe you are bitter and angry at someone or even at God. That will certainly compete with fanning the flame of the gift
of God in you. Time to forgive the other person and accept the Sovereign rule of God over your life and to forgive yourself and
get on with fanning the flame of the Spirit.

Solution?

-Ask God to show you any competitors that interfere with fanning the flame of the gift of God within you. God will gladly show you those
competitors if you are willing to put them aside to fan the flame of God within you.

I will always remind you of these things, even though you know them and are firmly established in the truth you now have. I
think it is right to refresh your memory as long as I live in the tent of this body, because I know that I will soon put it aside, as
our Lord Jesus Christ has made clear to me. And I will make every effort to see that after my departure you will always be able
to remember these things. (2 Peter 1.12-15)
Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from
that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. (Galatians 6.9)
We must pay more careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away. (Hebrews 2.1)
How to fan a dying flame or to keep the blazing fire of faith.
1. Pray without ceasing... I Thess. 5:17(KJV)
The first step to fanning the flame is to pray. Prayer is our communication with the Father and his communication with us.
In order to maintain an active and growing relationship with someone, you must communicate with them.
Many marriages are in trouble or have completely failed from a lack of communication.
2. Study to show thyself approved... II Tim. 2:15(KJV)
Failing to study scripture is one of the main reasons that people leave the faith. The reason for this is that the sacred scriptures define
for us who God is, who we are, who Jesus is, and what our relationship is to all three.
II Tim 3:16,17(RSV) Paul tells Timothy, "all scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction,
and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work."
If we desire to know who God is and what our relationship to him is, then we need to study the scriptures. Furthermore, the scriptures
give us a detailed description of how to maintain our walk with Christ.
3. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit
of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the day drawing near. Heb. 10:24-25(RSV)
The third key principle is to draw support from fellow believers.
The first of which is corporate worship or church services. The next way to draw support from you fellow believers is to join
and accountability group.
James urges the church to, "confess your sins to one another, and to pray for one another, that you may be healed... James
5:16(RSV).
There are times in every Christian's life when they feel as though they have extinguished the flame of faith in their lives. Close
introspection would reveal that they had forsaken the principles of prayer, scripture study and meeting with other believers. These three
things are the key elements to maintaining the fire and "running the race set before us.
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