Be Strong

I want to ask you this question: Do you think there is a word from God for the fearful, for the timid? We are studying, if you like, two Timothy over a couple of Sundays in a row, and I'm trying to pick out some themes that I think are important to us to know about. Do you think there is a word of God for the fearful? You might be in the situation where you just feel like you're out of your depth, where you are called upon to do something and you're just sort of like, "I can't do this." You're just too uncomfortable. You just want to retreat into yourself. Perhaps you're just tired from a long 2025. Maybe you're weary from too many end of year parties. You could be sad and suffering. You could be bereaved. You could just be feeling flat. I met with a group of pastors during the week, and when I walked away I was struck by a couple of things.

I was struck by number one, how warmly they spoke about their people. You know, you often get the idea that pastors just complained. Not one word of it—just warmth to the people they were serving. They spoke warmly about their savior, but you know what? They were all just a bit flat. Some of us are shy by nature, and there seems to be a lot of really confident people around us. Well, they seem confident anyway. Is there a word from God for someone like you? Maybe worry too much about what other people think of you. We want to be liked. That's a normal human response. We don't especially like being thought badly of or looked down upon, or we don't like being badmouthed. And at its worst, that attitude can be really crippling, or at least a major disincentive to just keep putting yourself out there. It's easy simply to pull back into a safe space and keep to yourself. Is there a word from God for the timid?

Now, we are in Paul's letter to Timothy, which is all about ministry. And you might think to yourself, "What's that got to do with me? Isn't that got to do with the ministers?" But we actually live in the days of ministry. So at the beginning of that passage, it said it spoke about the last days. And the last days is technically the term for what we might call the days of ministry: the days between Jesus died and rose and the end. It's the time for that. That's why we support missions. That's why we carry the good news of Christ. That's why we welcome visitors. That's why we support each other and support the growth of each other. That's the reason we build up. That's the reason we have home groups and things like that. It shapes everything we do. And isn't it not true that we could get this wrong and think that really ministry is all about me and what I like? And could we end up as just a group of people that just promotes love of self and love of self-interest and love of pleasure and love of ease rather than service, which is what ministry is about? Service now, glory later. Is it possible we could go glory now, glory later?

And how will you know what to pray for your leaders unless you know what Paul's saying here to Timothy? One of the things I said last week was I said, Paul's injunction to Timothy was, "Do the work of an evangelist.". Bishop Chris Edwards is someone that we pray for from time to time, pretty regularly actually, in a service. What could you pray for him? Well, every Sunday, every Sunday pretty much, he's at church Sunday morning and Sunday evening, and he's preaching at baptism services and confirmation services. It strikes me that he is maybe the most prominent evangelist in the northern region. It's the bishop. What an opportunity. What an opportunity to pray for him: that God would strengthen him, that God would help him to do the work of an evangelist, that God might help him to fan into flame the gift that he's been given, to take a line out of Timothy.

Now the background to this is there's an older man, Paul, and he's mentoring this younger man called Timothy. He's not inexperienced though. I am suggesting to you that Timothy is facing some pretty tough decisions. Will he embrace hardship or will he go for something easier? Will he follow Paul's pattern or something else? Will he follow the pattern of Jesus or something else? Paul was Jewish. He's become a Christian. He's become a most significant Christian leader. Paul is probably in a Roman prison. He probably knows that he's facing execution. It's almost like you can hear the sword being sharpened in the background. And Paul is writing this letter to Timothy, urging him to choose wisely. Paul has even sent for him to come to him. And he says to Timothy, chapter 2:1, "You then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.". That was our verse for the day: Be strong in the grace that's in Christ Jesus.

He needs to be strong. Why does he need to be strong? Because chapter 3:1: "there will be terrible times.". Literally in the original it means times of stress or perilous seasons that will be hard or difficult to bear or to cope with. There'll be persecution. He says in chapter 3:12 he says, "Endure hardship.". Chapter 4:5 Paul says, "I'm under an evil attack.". Chapter 4:8 Paul describes life as like a fight or a race, Chapter 4:7. And therefore you need to continue. Don't give up. Therefore, he needs strength. Be strong.

But is this just like strength, like willpower or, you know, the sort of strength that gets talked about in Instagram memes? Like this one: "I just want you to know I'm thinking of you. You're brave, strong, and courageous too. I don't always know the right thing to say, but I'm always here when skies are gray." I kind of like that. Or what about this one: "You got this. One day you'll wake up and all the weight of the last few days, weeks, months, or even years will lift. You can't control when that day will come. All you can do is stay strong and trust that day is coming.". Or this one: "Stay strong. Keep going. Keep striving. Always remember the greatest achievements often come after the greatest challenges.".

Is that what Paul is telling Timothy? Just stay strong? Just sort of like willpower? No. This is founded on the news of the grace of God. So, for example, chapter 1:10: our savior Jesus Christ, who has destroyed death and brought life and immortality to life through the gospel. It's easy to forget that this is all about life. Paul's there in jail and he's facing death, and that's depressing. But this is all about life and immortality that God has brought to light through the gospel, the good news. It's the gift of life. It's grace. It's not about what you've done, but what Christ has done.

And that's why he can say in chapter 1:3, "I serve God with a clear conscience.". What a wonderful thing to be. To know you have a clear conscience. John Laws, who has now gone from this world, once quipped, "The only exercise I get is wrestling with my conscience." Paul says, "I serve God with a clear conscience." Why? He serves a God with a clear conscience because of the gospel, because he knows the forgiveness that gives one a clear conscience.

So, in the face of that, is there something that Timothy can know that's going to be of real practical use to him? And I want to suggest to you that chapter 1 verse 7 is a great thing to know. It's strange, isn't it, that just knowing something can make you strong? But have a look at chapter 1 verse 7. He says to Timothy, "God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and self-discipline.".

It's hard to know Timothy's personality from this, but let's say, as some have suggested, that he was timid by nature. Let's say, as some have suggested, that he was possibly an introvert. He possibly suffered from poor health. Perhaps people looked down on him. Perhaps people dismissed him. But more than that, maybe he dismissed himself. But Paul says God has not given us a spirit of timidity, of living with that nagging uncertainty: What if things just don't work out? What if I take this course of action and it doesn't work out? What if I put myself out there and make a fool of myself? What if I do this and this, and then if I do this and this, what if this happens, and then what if, and what if? And it's just a habitual series of what ifs, and it can become paralyzing.

God does not want us to be that way. It means you don't need to live your life governed by fear: fear of failure, fear of success, fear of other people, fear of what other people think of you. Someone once said, "We would worry less about what other people thought of us if we realized how little they did.". When God calls a person, it's not to a life that's always on the defensive. It's always reacting to what comes our way. God has given us a life where He intends us to have courage and passion and conviction and clarity and purpose and vision. And it's built on this knowledge of what God has done for us through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, through the gospel. And sometimes we're just too afraid: afraid of conflict, afraid of loneliness, afraid of success, afraid of failure.

But God did not give us that spirit. Rather, He gave us a spirit of power. So when Paul's telling Timothy to be strong, it's not just willpower. He's saying God has actually given you a spirit of power. Now, if you're a Jedi and inhabit the Star Wars universe, you would know there is an all powerful force that can be with you. Or if you happen to inhabit the Marvel Cinematic Universe, you might have special powers. Every Marvel superhero has one. But better than that, the other night I watched that cult classic film The Blues Brothers, where Jake and Elwood survive bombings and police chases and car crashes and even a mysterious assailant, Jake's ex, just because they're on a mission from God. No one can stop them. And if what I've just said for the last minute makes no sense to you at all, let me tell you that Timothy is being told that there is a God who carries weight. This God who carries weight has poured out his spirit. It is a spirit of power.

Have you ever thought that knowing God might give you power, more than a goal, more than just positive thinking, but ability? Have you ever thought of that? He's given us a spirit of power, and He's given us a spirit of love. Now, there is a word, isn't it so overused these days—a spirit of love. But love is simply to seek the best for another. Not to get all bitter and twisted and self-absorbed, but to say, "No, I'll put myself out for you. Maybe I'll make myself uncomfortable for your sake. I will take a risk for your sake. I'm willing to be vulnerable for your sake.". So if this promise from God is yours, you have this spirit of love. And so you need to tell yourself, "I do not need to act selfishly here in this situation. Hang on a minute, he did that and she said that and he and he, and I don't have to do that and I don't have to be the victim. I don't have to say it's somebody else's problem," because God has given me his spirit of power and love.

And not just a spirit of power and love, but a power of self-discipline. What do you do when you can do whatever you want? That's not a bad question to ask yourself from time to time. What do I do when I've got, when I can just do whatever I want? What do I do? And for me, it's usually eat steak and watch Netflix. If I can do whatever I want, that's probably what I'll do. And that's all good and well, I'm doing what I feel like doing. Self-discipline will cause me to do something else. Self-discipline is a really undervalued quality in our world. Quite frankly, we don't train for self-discipline. For many of us, life is just not very focused, not very purposeful, not very intentioned. I don't think how I spend my money, I just spend my money. I don't think how I spend my time, I just spend my time. I don't think about what I eat, I just eat. This is life as just a reaction to what is round.

But Paul says God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and self-discipline. And then Paul says, verse 8, "Don't be ashamed.". And again in verse 12, "Don't be ashamed.". And shamed is a funny kind of word. It's a word for being exposed. It's kind of one of those primal feelings. We just don't like that feeling at all. Sometimes it's got to do with failure in our behavior and the embarrassment or humiliation of being a bit of a hypocrite. You know, the person who says, "Jesus is a game changer, and He's changed me," but other people say, "I don't see any change in you at all. You seem like the same person you've always been.". That can be very paralyzing, and that can make you kind of keep quiet.

Timothy could have felt ashamed. He put his faith in a dead Messiah, a crucified Messiah. You can imagine Timothy's mates in some pub in downtown Ephesus saying, "You've heard about Timothy's Messiah? They hung him up on a cross.". And so Timothy could well be feeling the pressure to cave in or to pull out. And Paul says, "Don't be ashamed.".

And how hard would it have been for Paul here? He is in jail, and the guard comes in, and Paul says, "Hey, I want to talk to you about Jesus. He loves you. He gives power and love and self-discipline. He'll change your life like he changed mine. What a sales pitch.". You can imagine the guard sitting there sharpening his sword saying, "Really? I'll take two of that. That is such a great deal. Jesus is going to change my life like it's changed yours? I don't think so. I don't think I want to have a death sentence over my head in some Roman jail.". And it's easy to be ashamed. But God did not give us that spirit. He did not give us a spirit of timidity.

God who gives us life also gives us assistance to live this life by giving us his spirit, the spirit of God. So, is the stuff about God and about Jesus, is it just good for the future, that would be good when I come to my deathbed to have at my side the savior who binds up the brokenhearted, the savior who is the good shepherd? That would be amazing. But He gives you something now. He gives his spirit now, so we might rise above our weaknesses, to live beyond the ordinary capability of other human people, to make us supernatural people. So we can handle the hurts like we never thought we could. So we can love like we never thought we could. That we can give ourselves in service like we never thought we could. So we can forgive more than we ever thought we could. That we might have grace for service: spirit of power, love, and self-control.

LeBron James is maybe the greatest NBA player ever. He's won four NBA championships. He's the all-time leading scorer in the NBA. And he has a quote from Theodore Roosevelt on his shoe. And it must be a big shoe because it's a long quote. This is what he says:

"It's not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbled, or when the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who's actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes short again and again. Who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions and spends himself in a worthy cause. Who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement and who at the first if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory or defeat.".

Much more wonderfully though, is not God saying to us today, "Be strong," because God has not given us a spirit of timidity but a spirit of love?

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