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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 the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline. 8 So do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord or of me his prisoner. Rather, join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God. ~ 2 Timothy 1:6-8
The emphasis in this second letter written by Paul to Timothy is remaining faithful to God til the end. When Timothy came to Christ, like all believers, he received the incredible gift of a personal relationship with God through the indwelling Holy Spirit. As we learned in Paul's first letter to Timothy, a prophetic utterance was given that indicated that Timothy was a young man who would be greatly used of God.
Paul wrote,"For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God."
Every Christian does not have the same spiritual gift(s), but every Christian has the gift of the Holy Spirit. When the believer in Christ yields to the Holy Spirit, we make it possible for the Holy Spirit to freely work in and through our lives in such a way that God is glorified. The ultimate purpose of the Holy Spirit is to aid us in knowing God and the advancement of God's kingdom in the sphere wherein we operate. To do this we must fan into flame the gift of God.
The verb “flame” means to get the fire going and keep it blazing. The believer must not put the fire out; we must fan it by feeding the Holy Spirit rather than our flesh. Like getting oxygen into a struggling fire, we feed the Spirit by walking in God's will, by praying, reading His word, and sharing our findings with others. To fan the flame is to practice the presence of God in our lives and to yield to His daily leading.
In v.7 we read, "For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline."
At the time of the writing of this second letter of the Apostle Paul to Timothy, Paul was in a Roman dungeon. This was Paul's last will and testament, so to speak, his final words. That dungeon that he was in was dark and cold, yet, it was a great reminder of the need of a warm flame. Paul's conditions no doubt aided his thoughts as they were penned.
The most often repeated command in the Bible is "Fear not!" When we fan the flame or give freedom to the Holy Spirit to do His work in and through us, we experience His power. Through His power the enemy is broken and God enables us to see the validity and fulfillment of His will in our lives.
The word “power” is the Greek word from which we get our English word dynamite. It means dynamic energy and it doesn’t matter how powerful the adversary is, the power of God will always trump him, and enable us in our yielded state, to accomplish that which God has called us to do.
God's power is released to and in us when we choose to obey God. He does not make us feel powerful, we still struggle with our feelings of weakness, but His strength is imparted to us to see and follow the truth, as we serve Him in this dark and dreadful world. Our courage rises out of a sense of our calling and giftedness. When we know our calling and our giftedness, we will not be ashamed because this is what we are designed to do while we are in this world. This is what the Spirit of God has enabled and empowered us to do, and it is from the Holy Spirit that we gain the motivation to do it.
In addition to providing the power that we need to overcome our fears, the Holy Spirit provides us with God's love to share the truth with others. This is commitment love. It is the highest type of love wherein we volitionally choose to love another.
As we grow in our understanding of God's love for us, we will subsequently see others through His eyes of love and compassion. Nothing gives more proof that a person is filled with the Spirit than when he evidences concern for somebody else's eternity.
In addition to power and love, the Holy Spirit provides the yielded believer self-discipline which means the control of one’s self, no matter the circumstances. This is the only time this Greek word is used in the Bible. It is that sound judgment that takes every feature of life and makes it positive for the advancement of the kingdom of God. It’s more than wisdom. It’s the application of wisdom. And, every believer in Christ has access to this resource.
Finally, in v.8 we read, "So do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord or of me his prisoner. Rather, join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God."
The believer in Christ must be programmed for rejection and the threats from people who say that if we don’t change our message or stop sharing it, they’re going to sue us. Therefore, we must not be reluctant to preach the Gospel of Christ in word and in deed.
I remember a day back in 1983 when I was punched in the face for giving testimony of Christ. I was working in a Pawn Shop in Savannah, Georgia. It was a Saturday morning and I was listening to Charles Stanley on the radio. A man who also worked at the Pawn Shop turned off the radio. At the time, I didn't realize that he had turned it off, so I went over and turned it back on. After that this colleague came over and punched me in the face and said to me, "I do not want to hear that @#&%!"
I was startled, caught between two great emotions: love and anger. I wanted to punch him in his fat gut. I immediately walked away. About fifteen minutes later he came and appologized to me. I will never forget that moment for it was the first time I had ever experienced any type of persecution for the Lord Jesus. And, although it was hard, it felt good. I was happy that I could suffer for the name of Christ. I only hope it aided that man in coming to the Lord Jesus before he entered eternity just a few years later.
