Rekindle

Well, brethren, growing up in the Spokane area, we had our fair share of winter weather. Remember, as a kid, we got pretty consistent snow in the Spokane area. You know, we'd have a situation where we'd have one to two inches on the ground pretty regularly through the winter months. But, you know, I remember getting older, it was a lot less appreciated. Once you had to start driving in it, once you had to start going through the process of actually being functional within this stuff, it was much less fun. But I remember as a younger kid waking up, you know, at times to these massive, massive snowfalls.

We'd have some overnight snowfalls of eight, ten inches at times. And I remember grab quick breakfast, you know, get the snow stuff on, grab the little plastic disc thing, and I was gone, man, the rest of the day. I was up on the hill behind the house, sledding down the hill, running into bushes, and you know, all kinds of stuff. For those of you that have done hardcore sledding, you understand. You know, you end up with full tilt, what felt like 60 mile an hour right into Blackberry Brambles. It's fantastic. Or if the snow was powdery enough, if the snow was powdery enough, we had a gravel pit just up the street, and the hills there terminated in these like eight to ten foot cliffs.

So you'd get this bunch of air and then land down in the quarry underneath, which is full of rocks, which was generally a bad idea. But if there was enough powder, it was fine. If there wasn't enough powder, it was incredibly painful. And even with a lot of snow that was really wet, it hurt a lot.

But we would spend hours out there in the snow. We would spend absolute hours out in the snow. We would go and we would enjoy it. And when we came home, we would be absolutely soaked to the bone. We'd be freezing. Our cheeks and our noses red from, you know, the cold and just stinging, you know, practically numb at that point. My family had a wood stove. So when we'd come home, you know, just the prescription was a cup of hot chocolate and then sit in front of that wood stove.

Spend some time in the den there soaking up that heat that just warmed you to your core. Just absolutely warmed you to your core. And for those of you that heat with wood, you know there really is not a whole lot out there that heats like wood does. Wood absolutely warms you to the bone. I mean, it goes past the skin, past the muscle, and into the marrow of the bone and warms you from within. During the wintertime, my family kept a fire going pretty regular. We'd have some nights that would dip down into the negatives pretty, you know, pretty commonly at times when I was growing up.

And so we would keep that wood stove going, chock full of wood, pretty regular. We'd damp it down in the evening. We'd fill the firebox up. We'd get it going real good. We'd damp it down. We'd go to bed. And, you know, the next morning you wake up and there's not a lot of logs still burning openly and whatnot. But, you know, just under that layer of ash is a bed of incredibly hot coals. And my job first thing in the morning would be to get up, throw a little bit more kindling on that thing, open up that door, and up goes the fire again out of those coals that were there just waiting.

You know, for a lot of our youth today, you know, here in the United States in particular, wood is not as common with heating. Many of you can remember growing up likely being the ones to cut and split and stack and, you know, do the whole—from log to fireplace, you were the labor most likely. You know, I've heard stories of individuals who their punishment was, you smart it off, go chop a cord of wood. A cord?

Really? Yep, that'll teach you. And give us wood. So, you know, there's a double plus to that.

But we're largely removed from wood heat in society today. We're largely removed from this. We have natural gas, electric, and other forms of energy that are a whole lot more predominant.

But in most of the rest of the world, wood is still used very commonly, primarily for cooking, but also for heat and other things. So while it's not necessarily common to us today, it was common to individuals around the world, and quite honestly, very common to individuals living in the first century at the time of Paul and the time of Timothy and the time of the first century church. So the analogies that we see and the analogies that we see, they get built in Scripture relating to this with regards to God's Holy Spirit, they would have been understood, and they would have been understood very well, because those individuals knew what it meant to stir up the fire. They understood what it meant to stir those coals up and to get that fire going again.

You know, there's an analogy that's built—and the Scripture was referenced today in 2 Timothy. You can go ahead and begin turning over there. But there are echoes of the concept of this throughout other places in Scripture. There are some echoes in other locations here as well, with regards to the need to continually stir up and to continually, you know, fan the flame, so to speak, of the Holy Spirit that dwells in us. So as you're turning to the book of 2 Timothy, just a little bit of background. On the day of Pentecost, in what we believe was 31 A.D., we see this incredible miracle of the pouring out of the Holy Spirit on the early church.

God gave His disciples the instruction. He said after He had appeared to them after the seven weeks post Days of Unleavened Bread, just before He ascended into heaven, He said to go and to tarry in Jerusalem, to go and to stay in Jerusalem until you are ultimately in dude with power from on high. You know, it's hard to know for sure. Did the disciples know exactly what that was going to look like? I don't know that they did. You know, I don't know that they knew exactly what that was going to look like. But they sure recognized it when it happened. They realized what it was when it happened. So they did. They followed the instructions. The day of Pentecost, all these people are gathered together in God works. An incredible, incredible miracle. And we'll hear, I'm sure, more about that miracle today in the in the remaining messages that we'll have today.

But we know that God's Spirit rested on those that were gathered. We know that those individuals were given the ability to hear and to understand what was being said in their own language, regardless of the reason where they had come from. You know, regardless of where they had come from, it was like that universal translator, so to speak, was in their ear. And they were able to hear and to understand what was being said. Peter preached a powerful sermon, no doubt, you know, spurred on by the events of that day. And his conclusion ultimately to this message that their repentance, those that were gathered, and their baptism in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of their sins would result in the receiving of the gift of the Holy Spirit.

And we know that many brethren were added that day. As we go down through the story of the New Testament, we see example after example of the Holy Spirit being provided after baptism through the laying on of hands of the apostles. We follow that practice today, you know, as part of the modern era, we follow that practice because we see the laying on of hands listed as a foundational doctrine of the church in Hebrews 6. And so we continue this process and this, you know, procedure today. In 2 Timothy 1, the Apostle Paul builds this concept and he builds this analogy as he writes to the young pastor that he was mentoring. And we'll pick it up in 2 Timothy 1, and we'll grab it in verse 3. Because again, we want to be able to look at and to consider, you know, Timothy generally as a whole and kind of see the different things that is being told to him here. 2 Timothy 1, and we'll pick it up in verse 3. We'll see Paul write. It says, that's Thessalonians. Sorry. 2 Timothy. It's not what I want there.

1 and verse 3. It says, I thank God, whom I serve with a pure conscience as my forefathers did, as without ceasing I remember you in my prayers night and day. Verse 4, greatly desiring to see you, being mindful of your tears, that I may be filled with joy. Verse 5, when I call to remembrance the genuine faith that is in you, which dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and I am persuaded, Paul says, is in you also. Verse 6, he says, therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands.

For God, and this was the passage, the component of it that was referenced earlier, for God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.

You know, Paul takes a moment to express his thankfulness for Timothy and for his genuine faith. He talks about how that was a faith that was handed down through the generations. It went from his grandmother to his mother and ultimately to Timothy. We know God works in families. God works in generations. God calls children. God calls grandchildren. God provides opportunities for his family to grow in leaps and in bounds through generational opportunity. Many of the folks in this room are multi-generational Christians whose parents or grandparents were in the church. Hopefully still are. Hopefully still are. But Paul expresses his thankfulness. He expresses the genuine faith that he believes is in Timothy, but then he provides Timothy with something to think about. And you guys know I like things to think about. I like things to consider. And what he does is he paints a word picture that I want to explore today in this sermon as we consider the themes and the concepts of the day of Pentecost, particularly God's Spirit. He tells him in verse 6 to stir up, to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands. Paul very clearly here referencing the Holy Spirit. Very clearly here referencing the Holy Spirit. And then he goes on to describe that Spirit in the next section. He says it's not a spirit of fear. It's a spirit of power and of love and of a sound mind.

So the Greek word that's used here in verse 6 is used in one place in Scripture. It's only here.

And the word is anaso pareo, anaso pareo. And what it is, one of the things when you teach science, you learn Greek roots and you learn to understand what the different Greek roots are and how those words connect. This particular word is a compound word. It's made up of three separate Greek roots. One of those roots is ana which means up or again. Zo which references life, particularly that of the animal kingdom. More so just things that are not human, really, when you come down to that. And then lastly pareo which references fire. So anaso pareo essentially means quite literally to stir up a fire to life again. To stir up a fire to life again. Stirring up the coals of the fire to the point that that fire catches and it goes up. And we've all been there. We've sat in front of a campfire that's begun to smolder and you take the big long burning stick or the big long fire stick and you kind of jab at it a little bit and stir the coals around. And sure enough those embers get closer to each other and poof! Up goes the fire. Or you just get that little bit of layer of ash off the top and all of a sudden now there's oxygen to that fire and whoosh!

Up goes the fire. Fire itself is fascinating. I mentioned yesterday in the bible study I'm a little bit of a pyromaniac. As a science teacher that was one of my classifications was pyromaniac.

Responsible for a number of fire alarms throughout the years, but we had a good time doing it.

Fire is a combustion reaction and what that means is that essentially the height that the height, the heat and the light energy that you get from that fire is a result of the combustion of the material that is there, the fuel source that is present. When that fuel burns in combination with oxygen, when there's a source of ignition that's provided and you have fuel and you have oxygen and you have spark, you get a chemical reaction. And that chemical reaction is going to burn and it's going to burn and it's going to burn until one of three things happens. Either the spark goes out completely because you've smothered it, the oxygen goes away and it burns out because there's no more oxygen, or the fuel itself is all burned up. A reduction in any of those things is going to cause the fire to die down and eventually go out. And so when you talk about the context that's implicit in this word, when you talk about the context implicit in the use of this word, the very purposeful, mind you, use of an asapareia by Paul, is that he is specifically referencing a fire which has died down and needs to be fanned back to life. It needs more oxygen to start at a light again. It needs an active process to ultimately reinvigorate this fire.

The title of the message today is rekindle. Rekindle. And with the time that we have left, I'd like to explore this concept as it kind of relates to the gift of the Holy Spirit in each of our lives and ultimately as part of God's plan for mankind as fulfilled in part by this day of Pentecost. You know, contextually, one of the things that we are not partial to in this particular epistle is the specific reason that Paul was exhorting Timothy to fan that flame to life.

We're not certain. We just don't know. And we can speculate. We can speculate on a lot of possibilities and a lot of reasons why very specifically he, you know, wrote him about this particular context. You look at the overall context of the Epistles of Timothy, whether it's the first or the second, and there's a whole lot of issues that Timothy was dealing with in Ephesus.

You had sound doctrine that he was having to fight to maintain. We had, you know, a good fight that he was to fight against the various heresies and the issues that cropped up in the early church.

We know that Paul very specifically gave both him and Titus qualifications for elders and for deacons, so it's possible, you know, it's possible that Timothy needed help. Maybe Timothy needed help. And so Paul was giving him these individuals and what it would take for these individuals to be in these leadership roles. Paul also speaks of this great apostasy that was to come.

Ultimately, he encourages Timothy to be a good servant of Christ, putting his faith in the promise of the life that is to come. But what's interesting to me is that this isn't the only place that he admonishes Timothy about this. Let's go to 1 Timothy 4. 1 Timothy 4.

1 Timothy 4, Paul provides an admonition with regards to Timothy's service. 1 Timothy 4, we'll go ahead and pick it up in verse 12. Verse 12, Timothy 4. 1 Timothy 4, I should say.

1 Timothy 4 reads, Let no one despise your youth. Be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, and in purity. Paul basically tells Timothy, Live this way of life openly. Live this way of life openly. Let your conduct speak for itself, he says. In love, in spirit, in faith, in purity. Verse 13, till I come, give attention to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine. But notice what he says in verse 14. He says, Do not neglect the gift that is in you. Do not neglect the gift that is in you, which was given to you by prophecy, with the laying on of the hands of the eldership.

Verse 15, he says, Meditate on these things. Give yourself entirely to them that your progress may be evident to all. Take heed to yourselves and to doctrine. Continue in them, for in doing this you will save both yourself and those who hear you. Paul exhorts Timothy not to neglect the gift which was given to him. The word neglect means disregard. Some places in Scripture it is translated to make light of. To not take that gift for granted, not to disuse it.

You know, we know God's plan included for the gift of the Holy Spirit after Christ came. We know that he told his disciples that unless he went away, that the gift of the Holy Spirit could not come. God's Spirit would not be able to dwell in them and with them at that time without him moving into the next phase of God's plan. There were certain aspects of that plan which had to take place and that plan had to be done decently and in order. You know, when we commit to God and baptism, when we enter into that baptismal covenant, we accept Christ's blood on our behalf, our God places a piece of himself in us. It's a portion of his essence, so to speak. It is his power. It is his mind. It's his character. It's a down payment toward eternal life. At that point, God resides in us, in us, not just with us, in us. Our body then becomes a temple.

It becomes a physical location where God abides and that seed grows, and as that seed grows, it changes us. Again, as we yield ourselves to it, as was mentioned this morning by Mr. Miller. But the receipt of God's Holy Spirit in our lives, the giving of that gift that God provides to us, it's the spark of that fire. It is the match, so to speak, of that fire. And quite frankly, brethren, how that flame is nurtured going forward, that's entirely up to us. That is entirely up to us. That's up to our choices. That's up to our actions. It's up to what we prioritize in our lives. It's up to whether we're going to put fuel on that fire, whether we're going to feed it, whether we're going to keep that thing stocked with wood or not, whether we're going to tend it, whether we're going to stir up those coals and continue to feed it, or whether we will ultimately quench it, which is what that word, neglect, kind of deals with, putting out or extinguishing, letting that fire die down in our lives to a flicker.

It was Timothy 1 that Paul saw who might be neglecting it in some way. Is that the reason why he reached out in this way? Again, we don't know. It's impossible to know for sure.

More likely, it was a result of what Paul experienced as he went through this region, as he saw new converts, as he saw individuals who were elevated into positions of leadership and the challenges that they faced. You know, it is very likely that he saw these sorts of things happening in these various church congregations and wanted to make sure—because he loved Timothy, like a son—wanted to make sure that Timothy got off on the right foot. But as you look through Timothy and as you read through the first and the second epistle of Timothy, there's some things about Timothy, though, that we might infer based on some of the things that we read. Maybe Timothy was a little bit timid. Maybe there was a timidity there at times. Maybe he struggled to step into that leadership role as a younger man. We know that Paul very specifically wrote to Timothy and said, don't let them despise your youth. Maybe he was concerned about his own ability. Maybe maybe Timothy wasn't so certain he was the right person for the job despite those prophecies that led to his ordination. So maybe he shrunk back. Maybe he, you know, struggled with those things. Paul powerfully reminded Timothy, however, of the calling that he had been given, of the fact that this faith had gone from his grandmother to his mother, and now to him. Paul tells him very plainly in this, regardless of the reasons why he wrote the epistle. Paul tells him very plainly, Timothy, do not be afraid. Do not be afraid. This spirit that is in you, it's not one of fear. It is one of power and of love and of a sound mind. And so Paul says, kindle that fire. Build that flame.

Stir it up and step into what you have been called to be with everything that you are.

Step into that role. You know, it's interesting. In conversations I've had with people over the years, and I've mentioned this before, quite often the one thing that I hear very frequently is people say, why me? Why me? What does God see in me that he would call me to this way of life?

I've heard things like, doesn't he know who I am? Doesn't he know my thoughts, my actions? Doesn't he realize the struggles and the challenges that I face? Because if he truly did, their conclusion is that he would have thrown me away a long time ago.

Brethren, your God knows you better than you know yourself. He knows just how broken you are.

He knows absolutely like, you know, Jamie and Matt's song said today that you can't do this on your own. He knows you're not perfect, and yet he called you anyway. And not only called you, but as a part of his plan, he gave you his spirit. He calls you a first fruit. He calls you a son. He calls you a daughter. He bought you with the precious blood of his son.

So Paul's message to Timothy, as we look at this concept in Scripture, is a message to all of us. It's a message to all of us. Don't neglect the gift that you've been given. Don't let that fire die.

Fan those flames. Stir it up. Become who you were called to become, and go forward in that spirit of power and of love and of a sound mind. You know, one of the things we see when we look at the accounts of the Holy Spirit in the New Testament, one of the things that I think personally stands out in the descriptions of God's Spirit is these accompanying miraculous events that go along with it. You know, you look about, even in the Old Testament, you look about God's Spirit setting upon somebody, and then they run off and they're prophesying, you know, or you see the Spirit come down upon the people at, you know, the at Pentecost in 31 AD, and we see this mighty rushing wind, and we see these tongues of fire. We see the passionate speech of Peter. We see examples of men who prophesy, people who are healed of demons that are cast out. All of these things in accordance with the power of the Spirit of God. We see people brought back to life, brought back to life. And then we see a promise in Mark 16, if you want to turn over there, Mark 16. Mark 16, we'll pick it up in verse 17. Just as Christ is finishing up his conversation with his disciples, you know, this is again at the end of the seven weeks after the Days of Unleavened Bread, after his resurrection, you know, he's come back a few different times, kind of popped up and talked to him a little bit, and then, you know, popped back away for a bit, and then, you know, at one point shows up in the middle of the room, scares everybody half to death, and tells him some other things, and I think he was enjoying himself, to be honest. But in Mark 16, we see, beginning in verse 17, kind of some of the final things that he says here before he ultimately ascends. Mark 16, verse 17, he says, in these signs, speaking of the different, you know, wonders and things that had occurred, it said, in these signs will follow those who believe. In my name they will cast out demons, they'll speak with new tongues, they'll take up serpents, and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them. They'll lay hands on the sick, and they will recover. You know, you look at the time and the gospel going out, you look at the different things that these guys were doing as they went from place to place. Many of these signs, many of these wonders brought many people to the gospel message.

You know, it had Simon so excited he wanted to buy it. Please give me this power. You know, here, I have money. Your money perished with you, they said. These things, these signs, these wonders, these were needed at this point in time to achieve God's purpose in spreading the gospel message far and wide at that point in time. From what we can see in Scripture, there's a time in which these things are coming again, where there'll be visions and miraculous signs and wonders. You know, compared to some of the things that we see in Scripture during the first century as a result of God's Spirit, the Spirit of God in our life today seems kind of kind of demure. But do we recognize and do we acknowledge the incredible miracle that God's Spirit is working today? Do we realize and do we acknowledge the incredible miracle that God's Spirit is working today? Let's go to John 14.

John 14. Kind of pick up the story here after the Passover as Christ is talking with the disciples and as He's taking these final moments to instruct them before He is ultimately betrayed and arrested and crucified. So He's trying to help them understand what it is that's coming, trying to help them understand why what it is that's going to happen has to happen, and as usual with the disciples, at least at this point in their journey, they didn't fully understand. But they would.

Well, they absolutely would. Before the night was over, they would largely understand what had happened. They would still be struggling with it, but they would generally understand that what He was saying was what He was saying. John 14. We'll go ahead and pick it up in verse 11. I'm sorry, verse 14 is where I'd rather be. John 14. No, I want to be in verse 1. I'm so sorry. John 14, verse 1.

I changed my mind. John 14, verse 1, He says, let not your heart be troubled. He says, you believe in God, believe also in Me. Trust Me, He says. In my Father's house are many mansions. If it were not so, I would have told you. He says, I go to prepare a place for you. He says, I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and I prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to myself, that where I am there you may be also.

And where I go you know in the way you know. Of course, Thomas here says, Lord, we don't know where you're going. And how can we know the way? 2. Jesus says to him, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. He says, if you had known Me, you would have known My Father also. And from now on, you know Him and you've seen Him. 3. Philip said to him, Lord, show us the Father, and it's sufficient for us. Just show us the Father. We'll believe you. We absolutely trust you.

4. Jesus said to him, Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip?

He who has seen Me has seen the Father. So how can you say, show us the Father?

Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father in Me? That their Spirit is one and the same in that regard? That that essence is one and the same? That they dwell in one another?

The words that I speak to you, I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in Me does the works. Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me, or else believe Me for the sake of the works themselves. He says, either believe what I tell you or believe what you saw with your own eyes, but believe these things. Verse 12 says, Most assuredly I say to you, He who believes in Me, the works that I do, He will do also, and greater works than these He will do because I go to my Father. You know, Christ tells His disciples that those who believe in Him, they will do the works that He does, and greater than those works, because He goes to His Father.

Look at that statement, I think about it. Greater than Christ. He walked on water. He raised the dead.

He operated in the power of the Spirit. How could we do greater works than that?

God became man so that man could become God. That's pretty incredible.

And Christ said for that process to continue, for it to go to its planned end, the way that God had planned it out, that He had to go for a time so that Helper could come and could dwell with us, so that God's Spirit could be put in us. How could we have greater works than what Christ did?

Brethren, we are all in the process of taking a stubborn, hard-headed, and stiff-necked human with a heart of stone bound in sin, and with the power of God's Holy Spirit, softening that heart to a heart of flesh, circumcising that heart, repenting of that sin, yielding ourselves to God's way of life, and transforming our carnal human nature through our submission to God and His authority in our life into the nature and the characteristics of our God. Look back over the story arc of your life and tell me that is not a miracle. Tell me that is not a miracle. Tell me that God has not begun an incredible work in you that He is going to carry on to completion. Brethren, you are a miracle. You are a miracle.

And it is by the power of God's Spirit that we are here today, that we sit in this room on this day of Pentecost. Each of us different walks of life, individual embers, that, quite frankly, are capable of next to nothing on our own. Each and every one of us, just on our own, capable of next to nothing. You know, it's amazing when you gather those embers together and when you fan those embers and you fan them into flame and that flame catches, we saw it in the book of Acts, it's capable of turning the world upside down.

It's been done before. It can be done again. The Spirit of God is a spirit of power. It's a spirit of power. The Greek word is dunamis, which is where we get the word dynamic. Dynamite. Dynamo. Trying to come up with other dying words and that's where my list ended.

It was a power that was given by God and it was a power that God expected to be used.

It was a power that God expected to be used. Let's go to 1 Corinthians 12. 1 Corinthians 12.

1 Corinthians 12. You know, in the book of 1 Corinthians, Paul is writing this message to the church in Corinth and he's talking about the various gifts, the various, you might say, skill sets, but that's maybe not quite what it is, but the various skill sets that you might say that people kind of receive as a part of their yielding to God's Spirit in their lives. The way in which God's Spirit interfaces within them and prepares them to be more and more like their Creator. 1 Corinthians 12, and we'll go ahead and pick it up in verse 4. 1 Corinthians 12 and verse 4 says, there are diversities of gifts, but the same spirit. There are diversities of gifts, but the same spirit. He says there's differences of ministry, but the same Lord. There's diversities of activities, but it's the same God who works all in all. But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all, for the profit of all, that each person's individual ability, so to speak, their individual gift that they have been given, it benefits the whole. It benefits the whole. Each person is useful. Each person is needed in this process. Verse 6, uh, sorry, we just read that, but the manifestation that we just read that. Number 8, 4 to 1 is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, so some receive wisdom. To others, the word of knowledge through the same spirit. To another faith by the same spirit. To another gifts of healings by the same spirit. To another the working of miracles. To another prophecy. To another discerning of spirits. To another different kinds of tongues. To another the interpretation of tongues. But one in the same spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually, as he wills. We see there's one Spirit, but there is a diversity of gifts.

People have individually different strengths. They have individually different things that they are good at, so to speak, as a result of their, of God's Spirit interfacing in them. He goes on to talk about an analogy that all of us can intuitively understand, because all of us have hands and feet and eyes and, you know, noses and whatever else. 1 Corinthians 12 and verse 12, he says, for as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body being many or one body, so also is Christ. For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, slaves, or free, and have all been made to drink into one Spirit. For in fact, the body is not one member, but many. If the foot should say, because I'm not a hand, I'm not of the body, is it therefore not of the body? And if the ear should say, because I'm not an eye, I'm not of the body, is it therefore not of the body? If the whole body were an eye, you'd look like Mike Wazowski.

No, but if the whole body was an eye, then what would be the, what would be the smelling, or what would be the hearing, sorry, where would be the smelling? But now God, verse 18, has set the members, each one of them in the body. Notice, just as he pleased, just as he pleased. God sets just as he pleases. Verse 19, and if they were all one member, where would the body be? But now, indeed, there are many members yet one body. The eye cannot say to the hand, I have no need of you, nor again the head to the feet, I have no need of you. No, much rather, those members of the body, which seem to be weak are necessary. And those members of the body, which we think to be less honorable on these, we bestow greater honor. And our unpresentable parts have greater modesty, but our presentable parts have no need. But God composed the body, having given greater honor to the part which lacks it. Verse 25, that there should be no schism in the body, but that the members should have the same care for one another. He goes on, and he says, and if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it, or if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it. Now you are the body of Christ, members individually. And God has appointed these in the church. He says, first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, after that miracles and gifts of healing, helps, administrations, varieties of tongues. Verse 29, are all apostles, are all prophets, are all teachers, are all workers of miracles. Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret? He says, but earnestly desire the best gifts, and yet I show you a more excellent way. You know there are times in which we see certain gifts that God's provided, and maybe we kind of desire that ability. We want to serve in that capacity. But Paul's point is, every aspect of this is necessary. Every aspect of this is necessary. Every aspect. We cannot become what we can become as a body without all of these varied gifts, working in concert with one another. So what's your superpower? I kind of asked that somewhat jokingly, but no, really. What's your superpower? Are you an encourager? Are you somebody who's been given wisdom or knowledge? Someone who's been given the gift of discernment? Are you the administrative type? Are you the administrative type? Are you hospitable, incredibly hospitable? Are you merciful? Are you someone who's good at talking about this way of life to others? Talking about the love that you have for your God?

Are you someone who's just got a heart that is brimming full of service?

Ephesians 4, we won't turn there, but you can jot it in your notes, talks about the effective working of these parts. It talks about all these different things. This whole body joined and knit together by whatever joint supplies, causing growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love. And to be quite honest, brethren, over the years, I don't know that we've done this well.

I don't know that we've necessarily empowered the congregation in many ways.

These gifts are critical. These gifts are powerful. These gifts were designed by God to be used.

He designed believers to need community. He designed us to need each other. Because what I have, you may not have. And what you have, I may not have. But between the two of us, we cover both faces. We need one another. We need the community that God has called us to. And by fanning the flames of God's Spirit in our lives, adding oxygen and fuel to that spark that was placed in us at baptism, these gifts can be rekindled. These gifts can be strengthened. These gifts can be seen more clearly. And we can utilize them more effectively in one another's lives.

Verse 31 here of 1 Corinthians 12 told us to seek the greater gifts. And I don't think it's a coincidence that the passage that follows it, 1 Corinthians 13, talks about the greatest gifts.

Talks specifically about the greatest gifts. Love is one of those gifts that is listed, along with faith and with hope. But Paul concludes the greatest of these is love. Notice, it is a spirit of power and of what? Of love and of a sound mind.

Love can be really challenging. I don't have to tell you that. You know love can be challenging.

We've all experienced relationships where we desperately try to love that other person, but as a result of their words or their actions, it can be a very challenging endeavor. But the Apostle Paul, again, he told Timothy in 2 Timothy 1, 6, that the Spirit of God, that Spirit that was poured out on the day of Pentecost and available through baptism and the laying on of hands, was a spirit of love. It was a spirit of agape.

It was a spirit of agape. There's three Greek words, and this is going to be a very oversimplified explanation, so I'm going to apologize beforehand, but there are three Greek words that are used to describe love. We know there's Eros, there's Philaeo, and there's Agape.

Eros is the romantic and sensual love. While Philaeo describes a warm affection, it's between brothers or between friends. It's a love, both of these are a love of the heart.

They're driven emotionally. Agape is a love of the head. Agape is a love of the head.

It's a love of specific choice, because agape, it doesn't come from how we feel about somebody.

It doesn't come about our attraction to them. That's not how it comes.

It comes from our conscious choice to love that person.

And it's Agape, that's described in 1 Corinthians 13, said that it's a love that's profitable above all else. It's a love that's patient. It's a love that's kind.

It's a love that's not envious or boastful. It's not rude. It's not selfish. It's not provoked.

It doesn't assume evil intentions, but instead it believes, it hopes, and it endures all things.

Agape is a love that could be extended to all, even those that persecute you, even those that treat you poorly, might say you're enemies.

Let's go over to Romans 5. Romans 5.

The book of Romans, you know, there's a lot of just incredible, incredible themes in the book of Romans, but in Romans 5, the apostle Paul begins talking about faith, and he begins to discuss faith and the justification that comes from faith. He talks about the peace that we have with God through Jesus Christ. He talks about how the tribulation and the difficulties and the challenges that we experience, how those things produce patience, how that patience produces character, and how that character ultimately produces hope, and that hope is a direct outgrowth of the love which God has poured into our hearts by His Spirit. Talks about that in verse 5. Let's go ahead, though, and let's pick it up in verse 6. Romans 5 and verse 6. Romans 5 and verse 6 says, For when we were still without strength, when we were weak, when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die, yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love towards us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Much more than, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. For if when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son. Much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. And not only that, verse 11, we rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation. We have been provided a ministry of reconciliation, a service of reconciliation, in that we recognize that we have been forgiven. We recognize that there has been reconciliation for the wrongs that we have committed, and therefore, we go forward and we provide that reconciliation to others. God loved us while we were still sinners.

Might say while we were in active rebellion against His way, while we were enemies to Him.

And He chose to love us anyway, and not just a little. He loved us so much that He gave His Son for us. Agape is a love that is unconditional. It's a love that's not dependent on the follow-through or follow-up of the other person. It's not dependent at all upon what words or choices or actions that individual makes. Agape enables us to love even the quote-unquote, and I put this in quotes, unlovable. And I put that word in quotes because that person doesn't actually exist. Someone who is unlovable does not exist. We know that some people try to really, really, try really hard to fit in that category. And I think sometimes it's because of their own feelings of negative self-worth. I think if they can get enough people upset at them and enough people frustrated at them through their words and their actions, then you know what? They will have been right. That they were incapable of being loved. But that's not the truth. The beauty of agape love is that it blows that entire paradigm, that entire concept of unlovable to pieces.

Agape is a verb. It's an outward action. It's a response to a recognition of the love that's been shown to us. In other words, I have been shown love, therefore I must show love. You know? And that's a conscious choice. Again, it's not based on what that other person does. It's not based on what that other person says. And quite frankly, brethren, it's not something that we can do and do well without God's help. You know, our human proclivity is to respond in kind when we're wronged. Somebody slaps us in the face. You know, check that fool. You know, we're going right back at him, right? That's the human proclivity. That's the human proclivity. The human carnal response is that when we're wronged or when we're offended, that we become angry. We become bitter. We become wrathful. And then we're going to ensure that we show the other person just how they made us feel when they were wronged. You know, as we talked in the Bible study yesterday afternoon, we're talking about Smyrna and the brethren in Smyrna that experienced this incredible great deal of persecution. And that persecution came, it seemed like, from all sides. It came at the hands of the Jews. It came from the hands of the Romans. But you know what's amazing is when Christ identified the source of that persecution in Scripture, he leveled it exactly where it belonged. He said it was Satan, the devil, that was persecuting and putting them in prison. It wasn't the instruments that he used. It was Satan himself. Polycarp, we talked about, the story goes, when he was arrested before they drug him into the arena and they set him on fire, fed the soldiers that came to arrest him. He made them a meal and he prayed and then he went with them and was set on fire.

He showed love to those who were set upon doing him harm. You know, as we experience the challenges that we face today, as we experience the different things that we experience, we'd angry at the government, we get angry at all sorts of places. We're upset at society, we're upset at the culture that's moved so far from God's intent, but all too often we don't recognize that the vast majority of these individuals are unwitting pawns in a spiritual battle that has raged since the beginning of time. They are blind. They do not understand what they are doing. Do we show them love?

Despite their position on whatever it might be, do we show them love or do we take the time to say and write hurtful things? We stop to poke fun at them, make them look stupid, so that we can ensure that we show someone else that we're smarter than them or that we're wiser than them or that somehow we're better than them. Brethren, I don't know how else to put it. That's bullying 101.

That's bullying behavior, like 101.

Making others look worse so that we can look better. That's not love. That's not love.

Agape is a choice. Agape is a choice. John 13 verse 35. Again, we all have a choice as to the way that we respond. We all have a choice as to how we operate with this, and God's Spirit that is within us, if it is properly kindled and it is properly a fire, will enable us to respond in love.

It will enable us to respond in a fashion that is Christ-like. Not carnal, not human.

John 13 and verse 35 says, by this, sorry, verse 34, I do that all the time. Don't write it down at first. Some of you have already learned that about me. Don't write the verse down right away. Wait until I've reiterated where I actually want to go. Verse 34, we'll say, 1334, a new commandment I give to you that you love one another, that you love one another, as I have loved you that you also love one another. In other words, that we are willing to sacrifice ourselves as Christ loved us, to sacrifice ourselves for someone else, to give up what we want in order to get what they want, slash need. Verse 35, though, he goes on and he says, by this, all will know that you are my disciples if you have love for one another. You know, that indicates to us that there's some aspect, at least, of this that's seen. Some aspect of this, at least, that is visible, because by this they will know, by what they see, by what they ultimately see, your actions and your attitude. In that sense, again, agape is a verb. It's the outward actions of that love that are what really matter. So we consider what that looks like in our lives. It looks like a selfless attitude. It looks like a humble attitude and a serving, outgoing attitude towards the concern for the welfare of others, whether they're deserving of it or not. Quite frankly, more so if they're not. More so if they're not. And again, if these things aren't evident in our life, it may be a sign that that fire is in need of being rekindled. Maybe there's been neglect. Maybe there's been a challenging season of life that has made it really difficult to yield ourselves to that spirit, but we, rather, need to make the efforts necessary to reestablish that spirit of God in its rightful place. Rightful place for that spirit in our life, as Mr. Miller mentioned, is the model for how we live. It's the example that God has given us. It's the goal that we're seeking. It's for us to become more like Jesus Christ, more like God the Father, by yielding ourselves to their nature and to their characteristics in our life. The reality is, that's our purpose.

That's why we're here. That's the reason for our existence.

The final thing that Paul reminds Timothy of regarding the characteristics of the Spirit of God was that this was a spirit of a sound mind, a spirit of a sound mind. Mr. Kester gave a sermonette not too long back on this concept of self-control and self-discipline. The Greek word in Greek, or the Greek word in Greek, yeah, that's the only thing it would be, the Greek word in, the Greek word in the word in Greek is sophronismos. Sophronismos. And it's a concept that, that kind of encompasses a few different capacities. It encompasses self-discipline, it encompasses moderation, and it encompasses prudence and wisdom. Spirit of God, Paul tells Timothy, is a spirit that provides wisdom. It's a spirit that provides moderation and sensibility, provides self-restraint.

But it only provides those things if we yield ourselves to it. You know, there's this, this thing in Christian music today, and my wife and I were talking about this earlier this week, but there's this thing if you listen to Christian music today, there's this concept of God's Holy Spirit, and the lyric is like, Spirit take me over concept, like take me over and, and you know, almost like possess me. It's not the way God's Spirit operates. God's Spirit is that voice that says this is the way, and it's up to us to hear it. It's up to us to listen. It's up to us to make the right call. It's up to us to yield ourselves to it. A few passages later from where we were earlier on here in 2 Timothy, let's go ahead and turn back to 2 Timothy here, 2 Timothy 3.

2 Timothy 3, and we'll see. Paul provides Timothy with a warning, essentially, of what was to come.

2 Timothy 3, and we'll pick it up in verse 1. 2 Timothy 3 verse 1.

It says, but know this, in the last days, perilous times will come. It says, men will be lovers of themselves. Men will be lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers. Notice, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure, rather than lovers of God. Verse 5, having a form of godliness, but denying its power, denying its dunamis, as we mentioned earlier, the power of that spirit, the transformative power of that spirit. And he says, and from such people, turn away. You know, Paul, the way that he writes this, at least, he insinuates in this passage, at these perilous times, it's not just going to involve society. It's not just going to involve society. He says it's also going to, as many things do, in society, they find their way into the body. Because he says these individuals he's talking about are individuals that have a form or an embodiment, so to speak, of godliness.

But they deny its power. They deny its transformative power, its ability to change them if they would yield to it. And so, as a result of that denial of God's spirit, ultimately, it says they're lovers of themselves. They're lovers of money. They're boasters. They're proud. They're blasphemous. And the list goes on. Paul concludes that statement by telling Timothy to stay away from people such as this, to distance himself from individuals who are in open rebellion against the authority of God's spirit in their life. Those that have a form of godliness, but ultimately, are not allowing its power to work in their life. You know, Titus 2, we can see, I'm just going to reference this, Titus 2, verse 11, we see another young man that Paul was mentoring at that time, and he writes something similar to Titus. Titus 2 in verse 11 says, For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that denying ungodliness and worldly lust, we should live soberly. We should live righteously. We should live godly in this present age, looking for the blessed hope and the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ. That word soberly is a word that comes from the same root as suffer nismos, comes from this concept of self-control, comes from this concept of restraint. It says that we must live soberly. We must live a life of self-control, righteousness, and godliness in this present age, that we need to deny ungodliness. We need to deny worldly lusts. You know, the desires that we see in the world around us, the things that Galatians 5 talks about and describes as the lust of the flesh. You know, there's a laundry list of them there if you want to jot it in your notes. It talks about adultery and fornication. It talks about lewdness and idolatry and sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfishness, dissensions, heresy, envy, murder, drunkenness. Revelries, drinking parties is what revelries means in Greek. Getting smashed.

It says in the like, he says, these are the things that are the lust of the flesh. These are the things that are present, brethren, in a life that's spiraling out of control.

A life in which the Spirit is not leading the way. A life in which a person is not yielding themselves to God. A life in which that fire is dying. Stirring up those flames, fanning that fire brings the fruits that we see described in Galatians 5 of love, of agape, of joy, of peace, of patience, of kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and suffer nismos, self-control. At least the concept here of self-control.

You know, we take a look at and we consider the words that Apostle Paul gave to Timothy. Again, we don't know the specific challenges that Timothy was facing. We don't know exactly what it was that, you know, necessitated Paul writing him in this way. It could very well just be that Paul was seeing these things and felt, you know, Timothy is like a son to me. I need to make sure that he is aware and so he is careful. But it could very well be that there are letters that Timothy sent Paul that we're just not privy to, and some of the challenges that he was facing, and some of the different things that he was experiencing. We don't know that for sure. Purely speculation.

We do know that Paul warned him very, very explicitly not to neglect the gift that he was given.

He told him to stir up and he told him to fan the flames of the Spirit of God within him.

And those words that Paul gave to Timothy, they are as meaningful to us today, they're as pertinent to us today as they were to Timothy then. You know, without the days of Pentecost, without the events that these days picture, you know, the the the spring holy days, and all that goes on into this as we come into God's plan for the the pouring out of God's Spirit upon mankind, without these events of this day, our transformation to become like God, that whole aspect of God becoming man, so man could become God, without the events of this day, that's not possible. Without God's Holy Spirit, this way of life would not be possible. Brethren, we've been given a Spirit of, or we've not been given, rather, a Spirit of fear. We've been given a Spirit of power and of love and of a sound mind. And so stir up that gift. Stir up that gift of God that is in all of us through the laying on of hands, set it aflame in our lives as we come out of these spring holy days this year in 2021.

2021 this year. Go forward in boldness. Go forward in that power using our gifts to serve others, to show God's love to all, and let us preach the gospel of the kingdom of God with a soundness of mind that shows the characteristics of our great God to each and every one we come into contact with. Brethren, I wish you a very, very happy feast of Pentecost.