Pastoral Letter 136
Dear Members of St. Andrew’s Uniting Church, Friends and Adherents,
Grace and peace to you all.
As you know, I will be on my annua leave from Tuesday 4 October to Thursday 27 October. Dee and I will fly to New Jersey/New Yok, USA, to attend the Armenian Missionary Association of America’s Annual Meeting and participate in the related programs, as well as visit friends and relatives in Montreal, Canada. During our stay we will visit our daughter Lori, celebrate birthdays and anniversaries with the family, as well as to conduct my nephew’s daughter and niece’s son’s Baptisms. In my absence, our friend, Bob Minton will take the services for three Sundays and all is set well. Thanks, Bob, for taking the services.
On 30 October will have the special John Flynn Service, as we have done in the last several years. This year will have visiting guest speakers, Howard and Mary Jones.
Be safe and well, continue to pray, remembering those who need care, support and love and let me know if any member of the congregation that you know of needs our help and prayers.
If you will not be able to join us at our face-to-face service, you can worship with us at home. Please light a candle, have a small roll of bread, small cup of wine or juice and follow the attached Order of Service.
Please note that in the next three weeks, you will not receive the Pastoral Letter, with written sermon messages, Orders of Service and Hymns as usual.
Here are some prayer points for this week:
- Pray for and with the Sydney Central Coast Presbytery as it charters through challenging times.
- Pray for Armenia as the situation still tense and dangerous.
- Pray for Joanna and Nick, children of Pauline Reed, and their families, as they grieve the loss of their beloved mother, grandmother and great grandmother Pauline at the age of 94.
- Pray for the poor, the sick, the vulnerable, the struggling and the stressed.
- Pray for those who are unwell and struggling with different kinds of medical issues.
- Pray for world peace and ask for God’s blessings.
Please let me know if you or anyone else has prayer points.
Best Regards,
Krikor
MESSAGE
Fan into Flame the Gift of God
2 Timothy 1: 1-14
In our text this morning, the Apostle Paul is writing to Timothy. It’s his second letter to a young man he thinks of as a son.
Timothy was a teenager when he met Paul. His family lived in Lystra, so he was a Galatian. His father was a Greek man; we know nothing of his faith. But Timothy’s mother and grandmother were faithful Jewish women who taught the Old Testament scriptures to this boy they loved so much (Acts 16:1; 2 Tim. 1:5). As the women heard Paul preach, they believed in Jesus, and so did Timothy. Timothy may have seen Paul heal a lame man in his town. That would have been exciting! He may also have watched as an angry mob threw stones at Paul and left him to die (Acts 14:8-20). Yet, he also knew Paul survived. When Paul came back to Lystra a couple of years later on his second journey, Paul invited Timothy to travel with him.
Timothy helped Paul establish churches in Philippi, Thessalonica, and Berea. Later he would be the Senior Minister in Ephesus. When Paul writes this second letter to his “dear son” from the prison in Rome. It’s an intimate letter where he says: “I constantly remember you in my prayers. Recalling your tears, I long to see you, so that I may be filled with joy” (vs. 3-4).
He recalls Timothy’s decision to follow Christ; how this faith was shared with him by his mother Eunice and grandmother Lois. Paul remembers putting his hands on Timothy’s shoulder as he’s set apart for ministry. He felt these thoughts would help him if he will be in prison at some stage for preaching Jesus Christ.
Paul’s heart is about making disciples; preparing others for ministry; even while in jail. So, he tells this young man he continues to mentor: “For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God” (vs. 6).
If we are to live a life of faith over fear, this is essential advice:
1. Keep the fire burning bright
There are some things that are not very helpful when it comes to keeping a campfire lit; wind, rain, being too tired to stay awake. And Paul’s concern for Timothy ought to be the same concern we have for other believers. Don’t let your fire die, keep it burning bright. Don’t forget your calling. Remember why you were saved. Fan the flame!
But that’s not easy. We live in a world that tries to blow it out. When life becomes a rainstorm, it’s hard to keep the fire burning. Satan, the god of the dark and the god of this world, would much rather wants us to return to a place of fear than live in the victorious light of Faith.
Jesus made an amazing promise to His followers. In fact, it’s a two-part promise. He said: “I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble but take heart I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)
The two promises:
1. If you are living in this world, bad things will happen in your life and
2. I am bigger than those bad things. Have courage.
Real Christianity is knowing by experience that life in this sinful fallen world is tough, but trusting Jesus in faith, is nonetheless essential. We gather in worship with others. We pray believing, we encourage others who are in trouble. We read God’s promises. We shine like stars in the darkness.
This doesn’t mean we don’t feel fear. It means we choose faith when we do!
And we have the most amazing gift that helps remind us to do so.
2. God’s Spirit makes us victors nor cowards
“The spirit God gave us does not make us timid.” Meaning fearful, hesitant and shy.
The Greek word used for timid her is “Dellias” and it literally means “cowardice.” In no way is Paul calling Timothy a coward or bashful. Timothy is a courageous servant of God that has faced trials beyond description.
Paul’s point is: “How can you tell what spirit lives in a man or woman?”
The god of this world gives us a spirit of fear, selfishness, pride and it’s focused on the temporary. But when God gives us His spirit, it’s a spirit of faith, power, love, self-discipline and it’s focused on the eternal.
Here’s the most difficult concept for us to grasp for living in faith over fear. God’s spirit lives in our flesh; and there will be a constant battle over whether we submit to God’s spirit or our flesh.
The Apostle Paul knew it. He said this about himself (Rom. 7:18): “I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is in my sinful nature. I have the desire to do what is good but cannot carry it out.” He even cries out: “What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death” (v. 24).
He answers that question about who rescues us from the flesh, our sinful self: “Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord” (v. 25).
Not one of us can be good, left to our own ways. Not one of us can be righteous living in this body of death, unless Jesus delivers us, saves us, transforms us. His Spirit given to us as we repent and are baptised is the gift of God’s goodness.
We all need this truth engraved in our hearts. “Not because of anything we have done but because of His own purpose and grace.”
He is the shepherd that came looking for His lost sheep, not the other way around. That’s grace. It helps us love as victors not victims. It replaces the fear of punishment with a life lived by faith and trust.
What is that purpose of God? What is it we do in faith for God’s glory?
3. We share unashamed our testimony about our Lord
It’s hard to understand people who come to church, but never invite a friend, or seem to care about the spiritual condition of their friends and family. Or express their concern and care for the community they live in. These people never really do anything for the Kingdom. They never really show any passion about God’s kingdom and whether the fire’s gone out or whether it was never really lit in the first place.
Instead, the least they can do is to be a beacon of light to their surroundings and neighbours, who live in darkness. They can live their life being an example.
Our sign board this week reads: “The Good Example is the Best Sermon”. A life of faith has power, love and self-discipline because of the influence of Jesus living in us through His spirit.
Christians become ashamed of Jesus when their lives do not match up with their beliefs. Church attenders become ashamed of God when God stops being their priority.
When Paul says: “Don’t be ashamed of me, his prisoner. But rather join me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God” (vs. 8). He knows that people who are living unconcerned lives without faith tend to attack those who are.
If your testimony for Jesus was a signal fire for lost people, how bright is it burning?
Is it roaring bright in the night sky, sparks going everywhere?
Are you waving around burning palm branches excitably?
Or is it a tiny spark that’s about to go out unless you do something about it?
Would you say that your life story is one of faith, power, love and self-discipline, driven by God’s spirit and God’s purpose. If someone asks you if you’re a Christian, would you say, yes you are?
The children of God are filled with the spirit of God. He is a consuming fire. His fire cannot inhabit our souls and it is not evident. Yes, we can let the sparks die; yes, we can slip back into the world and become ashamed of the one that saved us, but if that is happening, it is time to wake up.
As the Word says: “Wake up sleeper, rise from the dead and let Christ shine”.
Fan the flame before it goes out!
Amen!