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"For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, and of love, and of self-discipline." 2 Tim 1:7
Words of St Paul written to young Timothy.
Stirring words. Inspiring words.
But let's just think a moment about the circumstances in which Paul wrote these words.
He was in Rome, and he was in prison for the second time.
The first time was really a house arrest.
But this time he was in prison proper - he was chained, in a dungeon, awaiting almost certain execution.
And he was desperately lonely.
All his friends, with the exception of Luke, had deserted him.
Onesiphorus had visited him, and had had great difficulty even finding him in the maze of dungeons (1:17)
He felt lost and abandoned.
And all because of his faith and his preaching.
And it was from this place of incarceration and despair that he could write:
"God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, and of love, and of self-discipline."
"Timidity"
Timothy was young, and we gather from other references to him that he lacked self-confidence.
Timidity can mean just that - a lack of confidence, shyness, a tendency to withdraw.
That is, for many people, a natural characteristic.
They are shy, rather private.
And that may lead to them keeping their Christian faith very private.
"It's just something between me and God", they will say.
"Something I don't talk about."
And so they don't get involved in church, with the rest of the Body of Christ.
They keep themselves to themselves, and their faith to themselves.
They may not even attend church, or feel any need to do so.
That is not how the Christian faith is meant to be.
As Christians we are part of the Body of Christ, and members of one another.
Shy or not shy, God intends us to come out of our private world, and to relate to our brothers and sisters in Christ, and to be open - perhaps in a very quiet way - but to be open about our faith.
"God did not give us a spirit of timidity."
1) "But a spirit of power."
What is this power?
We live in a power-hungry world.
Politicians seek power.
Businessmen seek power - and use their wealth to buy it.
We have seen this recently on the island of Sark, where the wealthy Barclay brothers are using their wealth to force through changes in Sark's ancient constitution.
They want Sark to be changed to their liking, and they are using their wealth to gain power.
In every walk of life, including church life, men and women seek power, so that they can have their way, their wishes.
So is this the sort of power that Paul is writing about?
No - in fact the very opposite.
V8 He says "Join with me in suffering for the Gospel by the power of God."
Not "ruling" by power,
But "suffering" by power!
The sort of power that Paul is talking about is the power
- not to be timid about our faith,
- not to be reticent to talk about Jesus,
- the power to speak out.
In v8 he says: "Do not be ashamed to testify about our Lord."
The power to speak out, and then to bear the consequences.
In other words he is talking, not about a kind of power over other people,
But a kind of power that gives you courage in the face of other people.
Not to be ashamed of, or embarrassed about, our faith.
In the past 200 years or more, in this country, Christians haven't really had a problem.
It has been normal, acceptable, culturally OK, even respectable, to be a church-goer, with Christian values.
Being "C of E" has been right and proper, the norm.
But increasingly this is no longer so.
Increasingly our society is, at the same time, secular and multi-faith.
Christian values are no longer necessarily the accepted and politically correct values.
Increasingly we need power from God to give us the courage and the resolve to stand up, and to stand out, as Christians, and not to be ashamed.
Paul, chained up in a dark dungeon, abandoned and helpless, and, from the human point of view, powerless,
could not only talk about, but also experience, power.
We, with all our reticence and uncertainties, can equally experience the gift of God's power.
"My power," says God, in 2 Cor 12:9 "is made perfect …
- not in wealth
- not in strong personalities
- not in people with great confidence and certainty
No! "My power", says God "Is made perfect in weakness."
So that means that perhaps you and I - certainly I - are the perfect vessels, the ideal containers, for God's power.
Power in weakness.
Paul speaks in v6 of Timothy "fanning into flame" the smouldering faith that is within him.
"Fanning" - so that smouldering ashes burst into blaze.
May God fan into flame the faith in us, and in our church.
May we experience His power in a new way, and the right way.
"Power"
2) Then Love.
"God has given us a spirit of power, and of love …"
Think again of the circumstances in which Paul was writing this.
He had every reason to write with anger, hate, bitterness.
He was chained up in a dungeon for no good reason, the victim of injustice and intolerance.
But he doesn't speak of anger.
He speaks of love.
He thought constantly of Timothy with love - every day, night and day, as he lay in his cold dungeon, he constantly remembered him in prayer, and longed to see him.
Even those that had deserted him, he asked that it would not be held against them.
Christian love is a funny thing.
It is not love because of …
but love in spite of …
And it's not about "niceness".
Christians may indeed be "nice" people, but that is not what Paul is talking about.
The love he is talking about is something much deeper and stronger than niceness.
It's not a soft love, a fluffy love, that avoids issues and confrontation.
It may involve reprimanding people.
At the end of this letter to Timothy Paul strongly condemns Alexander, who has opposed and undermined his ministry.
People who oppose and undermine Christian ministry nowadays, including in this church, need to be reprimanded in the strongest terms.
It is unacceptable.
But that's not lack of love.
It's just plain honesty and realism, and concern for God's kingdom.
But for most of the time, and in the case of most people, it is love that should flow between us.
If there is an issue about which we disagree - such as styles of worship, or times of services,
or just personality differences,
then let's discuss it, let's express our opinions, but in love.
There is no need for rudeness, or hostility.
Let's talk in love, and listen to one another with respect.
After all, we are brothers and sisters, we're family, and all our business should be conducted in a loving way.
And then let that love, which God pours into our hearts, flow out into the world,
not just loving nice, lovable people - that's easy - but
loving unlovely people,
loving those with awkward, angular natures,
loving the needy
loving the marginalised,
loving all whom Jesus loves.
"God has poured into our hearts a spirit of power, and of love, and of self-discipline."
3) Self-discipline
This isn't about punishing ourselves.
It's not necessarily about sackcloth and ashes and fasting.
It's about subjecting self to God
- subjecting our desires and wishes and preferences and lifestyles to Him.
"Thy way, not mine, O Lord,
However dark it be .."
Remember those lovely words of John the Baptist about Jesus:
"He must become greater; I must become less."
Or, in the AV:
"He must increase and I must decrease."
So much of modern life is centred on self.
It encourages self-esteem, self-awareness, self-expression, self-advancement, self-aggrandisment.
It's about rights - my rights.
Now, this isn't all bad.
Self-esteem, self-expression, human rights, are good.
But we need to keep them in the right perspective.
It seems ironical for Paul - in a dungeon, in chains, utterly humiliated and helpless, at the bottom of the pit - to be talking about the need for self-discipline!
How much more "disciplined" can you get?
But he's talking about a mental and spiritual attitude.
"He must increase and I must decrease."
There is no place for arrogance in the Christian life.
It is arrogance which stands in judgement on others, and it is an ugly thing.
Self-discipline means subjecting oneself to the will and the word of God.
It is having the mind of Jesus, Who prayed:
"Not my will, but yours be done."
Jesus, "Who made Himself nothing, and humbled Himself,
and became obedient to death - even death on a cross."
Jesus, the Servant King, teaches us to have servant hearts.
As He says, at the end of our Gospel reading (Luke 17:10): "So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, 'We are unworthy servants. We have only done our duty.'"
When you and I have strong personal views,
when we find ourselves pontificating about something,
or being a bit self-righteous or self-opinionated,
when we are making decisions about our life-style, or how we spend our money,
then we need to ask God to give us a spirit of self-discipline,
to climb off our pedestals, to shut our mouths, and to make ourselves nothing,
and to subject ourselves to the word and the will of God.
And, believe me, I'm speaking to myself as much as to anyone else.
So, what does God want of us?
What does He want of us in respect of this our church?
What does He want of us in respect of our life-styles, our lives and our future?
What does He want of us, day by day, as we live out our faith in this messy world?
"God did not give us a spirit of timidity,
but a spirit of power, and of love, and of self-discipline."
David Webster
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