Timothy: Faith Keeps God First

(2 Tim. 1:3-8, 13-14; 2:1-7)

Believers need to constantly renew their faith & commitment to God and to His
Kingdom purposes.

Living by faith is a day-to-day challenge and it is easy to become discouraged or

distracted.

We are to have unfeigned faith.

Unfeigned: anupokritos {an-oo-pok'-ree-tos}Gk. Real, sincere,

without hypocrisy. Literally translated: “Sun-tested”, as for pottery
to check for hidden cracks that may have been covered over with
wax.

We should not get “entangled in the concerns of everyday life.” (2 Tim.

2:4)

Like married couples sometimes renew their vows to each other, we need to
renew are “vows” to God.

Do you remember what it was like when you first believed and first
committed yourself to Christ?

Remembering special moments or events can sometimes help

sustain or even rekindle our faith, joy and passion.

But we should not sit back an rest on our laurels, content with what Kingdom
service we have demonstrated in the past.

Like the Italian Race Car Driver said as he tossed the rearview mirror out
the window, “Whatsa behind me doesn’ta matter.”

God has an individual mission for each believer, and as a part of the “body” of
Christ, it is important that we all do are part to promote Kingdom interests.

We each need to “keep ablaze” the gift of God that is in us (2 Tim. 1:6)

In addition to that mentioned above, we can also do this by:

Regularly confessing and repenting of our sins

constantly praying for others (2 Tim. 1:3)

 drawing closer together to support and encourage/exhort one
another (“coals’)

reaching out to bring in new believers to the body (“fresh fuel”)

God has not given us a spirit of fearfulness, but of:

Power: dunamis {doo'-nam-is} Gk. miraculous strength or ability, moral

excellence and authority, influence, wealth, great force as of a large army, that
comes from God (2 Tim. 1:8). Same root from which we get the words dynamo,
dynamite or dynamic.

• Love: agape {ag-ah'-pay} Gk. an active and beneficent interest in, and concern
for, the well-being of another. It is given unconditionally and unselfishly. It
involves a clear determination of will and judgment (i.e. a responsible choice). A
loving person, honestly (Rom. 12:9) gives respect and demonstrates compassion.
Demonstrating such love often requires courage. The source of such love comes
“from above” (James 1:17). The New Testament uses this term nearly 150 times.

and Sound Judgment: sophronismos {so-fron-is-mos'} Gk. soundness of mind,

self-control, moderation. Which helps us to hold on to “sound” hugiaino {hoog-
ee-ah'-ee-no} Gk. whole, clean, healthy, correct, and based on God’s grace;
“teaching” logos {log'-os} Gk. divine wisdom or reason, the utterances of the
“Living God”. Also refers to the person of Jesus (John 1:1) (2 Tim. 1:13)

We should hold to a hupotuposis {hoop-ot-oop'-o-sis} Gk. pattern, habit,

sketch, plan of sound judgment, which can serve as an example for others,
like our children, other family, friends and neighbors.

Perhaps it was the pattern of his mother, grandmother and Paul that so
influenced Timothy.

Abraham Lincoln, looking back on his life, said, "All that I am, I owe to
my angel mother."

We must be unashamed of the Gospel

If we are ashamed of something, we do not want to talk about it; in fact, we may
want to avoid it. However, if we are proud of something, we want to share it.

We have been called (Rom. 1:6) to share the “good news”, with all (Rom.1:14), to
help bring about obedience to God based on faith (Rom. 1:5; Matt. 28:19-20)

We should be bold (Acts 9:29; 14:3; 18:26; 19:8; Eph. 6:19-20 in doing this and
not ashamed (Rom. 1:16; Jer.1:7-8; Ps. 107:2; 1 Cor. 2:1-5)
 Because it is “the power of God unto salvation to every one that believes” (Rom.
1:16)

Also remember that Jesus warned: “For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words
in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of
him when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.”(Mark 8:38).

Why are people sometimes ashamed?

Lack of knowledge, own sinfulness/poor witness, etc.

Fear of making a mistake

“Profiting from failure.” Illustrations Unlimited. P. 185. “A young man of

32 had been appointed president of the bank. He’d never dreamed he’d be
president, much less at such a young age. So he approached the venerable
chairman of the board and said, “You know, I’ve just been appointed
president. I was wondering if you could give me some advice.” The old
man came back, “Make right decisions!” The young man had hoped for a
bit more than this, so he said, “That’s helpful, and I appreciate it, but can
you be more specific? How do I make right decisions?” The wise old mans
simply responded, “Experience.” The young man said, “Well that’s just the
point of my being here. I don’t have the kind of experience I need. How
do I get it?” Came the terse reply, “Wrong decisions.”

What can help overcome this?

Reliance on the help of God’s Holy Spirit (Luke 12:11-12; Acts

4:1-20)

The Hardworking Farmer

Paul used the analogy of the farmer to show that the one who works hard has the
first claim on the fruits of the work. The Greek word for hardworking, kopiao
{kop-ee-ah'-o} means to become weary, to work hard, toil, strive, struggle. Paul
frequently used this verb to describe the work of ministry [Rom. 16:6,12; 1 Cor.
15:10; Gal. 4:11].