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How would you describe where your spiritual life and ministry is at today? Is it in pause mode? Is it in hibernate mode? Locked down mode? Is it in TV static mode? Jerky. 4-cylinder engine with 2 pistons running? Are you fed up with being at that mode?
It is time to fan aflame any flickering embers, or stuttering pistons in our journey of faith. 2 Timothy is a letter from apostle Paul to his disciple Timothy who had been sent to Ephesus to help sort out some challenging issues in the churches there. Paul had been imprisoned for preaching the Gospel and this letter is written near the end of his life under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.
We will learn some ingredients that will help us fan aflame our spiritual life from 2 Timothy 1:1-7. Which I will call the 3 S.
2 Timothy 1:1-7 (ESV) 1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God according to the promise of the life that is in Christ Jesus, 2 To Timothy, my beloved child: Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. 3 I thank God whom I serve, as did my ancestors, with a clear conscience, as I remember you constantly in my prayers night and day. 4 As I remember your tears, I long to see you, that I may be filled with joy. 5 I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells in you as well. 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 God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.
SINCERE FAITH IS FOUNDATIONAL
2 Timothy 1:5 (ESV) “I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells in you as well.”
Paul saw sincere faith in both Timothy’s mother and grandmother. Possibly because he either personally led them to Christ in Lystra when he planted a church there in Acts 14, or because he got to know them during his trips to Lystra (also in Acts 16). Paul pointed out that he saw the same sincere faith in Timothy. He then wrote, “For this reason...”. It was upon that premise that he began to challenge Timothy to fan the gift of God. This tells us that a sincere faith is foundational for fanning aflame the gift of God. It is the starting point. Some important questions to ask ourselves:
What is sincere faith?
Basically, it means a genuine, authentic faith. No hypocrisy. The real stuff. To get to the real stuff, we have to strip away all our outer layer of Christianese. We may not realise it but sometimes the layer can be pretty thick in our lives.
Many years ago, I was involved in a scientific project at Argyle Diamond Mine in Western Australia, which was then the world’s largest producer of diamonds by volume. For every single tonne of ore processed, they get 0.5g of diamond or 2.5 carats. Size for a nice engagement ring. They have to strip away all the layers of rock to find the little diamonds. It was literally finding the proverbial needle in the haystack.
What faith will we find under the layers of Christian façade?
What faith will we find under the layers of Christian façade? For sincere faith is not based on how well we have perfected our Christian lingo. Such as “Praise the Lord, Hallelujah, God bless you brother”, etc! It is not how conservatively well behaved we are. It is not even whether we listen to good Christian music and have nice safe Christian tastes in clothes and accessories. It is not even measured by whether we have a deep grasp of theology and have great apologetics on why we believe and what we believe. It is not even how much we have achieved in our ministry. Now, there is nothing wrong with any of the above. In fact, it would be great if you have all the above.
The sincerity of our faith is measured by the commitment we have in our hearts to Christ.
But these are not the true measure of the sincerity of our faith, though they may provide some indicators. The sincerity of our faith is measured by the commitment we have in our hearts to Christ.
My mother had gone to the Methodist Church since she was a toddler. In fact, most of her relatives go to church, going back generations. Some of her relatives were very prominent in the church. I just found out a few months ago that if we trace on her side of the family, from her grandfather all the way down to my generation, there are some 24 pastors, not even counting me and Lai Ling. My mother would piously go to church and pray every night! Almost 30 years ago, I asked her how certain she was that she would go to heaven. I asked her whether she trusted in Christ to save her. She did not know, she could not tell. And she had been going to church for almost 60 years then. I had the privilege of leading her to Christ a few days later. And what a difference it made to her faith until the day she went to be with the Lord.
God is very concerned about the sincerity of our faith. Hebrews 10:22 (ESV) let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.
That brings us to the next question:
How sincere is our faith?
Once we remove all the layers, it all boils down to our relationship with God. What is God to us and what is our commitment to Him? I have been a Christian for over 40 years now. I accepted Christ in 1983. And in that time, I learnt a lot of Christianese. You got to know a lot of these if you are going to be a pastor. And when it comes to Christian ministry, I think I’ve got quite a lot of brownie points.
But you know what? At the end of the day, when I come before Christ, it is about the sincerity of my faith. Sometimes I forget, and God will remind me! Its like God will give me a slap in the face to wake me up from getting caught up in my own achievements.
In God’s eyes, sincerity comes before success.
In God’s eyes, sincerity comes before success. Luke 10:17–20 (ESV) 17 The seventy-two returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name!” 20 Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”
How sincere is our faith in Christ? What is our heart commitment to Him? Our heart commitment can be illustrated by us letting Christ drive our car while we sit beside Him. Now how many of us have ever let someone else drive our car, we sit beside them and we discover they don’t drive it like we prefer? We have this urge to take the car keys from then and take over the driving?
Have you ever found yourself edging Jesus out of the driver’s seat? Time to let Him back in!
How sincere is your faith? Perhaps it is time to take stock! And fan it aflame!
Are we sincere enough to ask God - what would you like me to be? And to move towards it?
Are we sincere enough to ask God – what would you like me to do? And to do it?
Sincere faith is foundational to having God’s gift fan aflame in our life.
Sincere faith is foundational to having God’s gift fan aflame in our life. Get that right, and the rest comes much easier.
STIR THE GIFTEDNESS FROM GOD
2 Timothy 1:6 (ESV) “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…”
Paul challenged Timothy to fan aflame the gift God had given to him. Perhaps under the pressures he faced in the Ephesian church, he had been less than aflame. What we can learn from this is:
God gives us giftedness.
God gives us natural gifts which we have to develop in our lifetime. It may be a giftedness in music, or writing, or in speaking, analysing, in leading, etc. God also gives spiritual gifts when we first come to Christ. These often add upon our natural giftedness. God gives gifts along the way through prayer or impartation. 1 Timothy 4:14 (ESV) Do not neglect the gift you have, which was given you by prophecy when the council of elders laid their hands on you.
Timothy received certain spiritual gifts as a result of the elders praying over him. Possibly this is what Paul was referring to in v6. Paul was probably part of that eldership that prayed over him. God gives to every believer giftedness, so that we may effectively serve the church. To serve together. To serve with your leaders.
There is a minimum of one key spiritual giftedness that God has given you.
One of the keys is to recognise what God has gifted you. It can cause a real excitement to rise up in your hearts. There is something exciting about discovering what God has gifted you! Something special that God has especially gifted you for. There is a minimum of one key spiritual giftedness that God has given you. I encourage you to seek to discover it.
How do you discover it? Perhaps God may tell us. Sometimes you discover it as you try different things or others may discern it. There are some assessments that help unearth it too. In our church we encourage every member to get involved in at least one ministry. Give it a go and you may discover your gifting.
Our responsibility is to stir it.
Romans 12:6–8 (ESV) 6 Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; 7 if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; 8 the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.
God will provide us gifts, but it is our responsibility to stir it aflame.
God will provide us gifts, but it is our responsibility to stir it aflame. To bring it to its appropriate fruition. God gives but we need to apply it. To start using it faithfully, to learn how to use it wisely and more effectively. To activate this giftedness, it usually requires us to apply faith. It requires some courage, self-discipline and so forth. Sometimes we get stuck precisely because we seem to lack some of these things. I believe God has given me a call to lead and pastor the church. But to do so, I had to step out in faith.
Some of you may be gifted by God to be evangelist, but if you lack the boldness to step out in the first place, your giftedness is not going to develop much. If God has given you the gift of healing, you need to step out in faith to exercise it. Even when you don’t immediately see the results. John Wimber shared how he felt convicted to believe for the power of supernatural healing. He started praying for lots of people. But nothing happened for a long time. He was so discouraged that he almost gave up. But he persisted until finally he saw the first miraculous healing. That finally started his healing ministry that became one of the hallmarks of his ministry.
God has given creative gifts to you. Use it for God’s glory. Leaders, it is crucial that you learn to spot and discern giftedness and help them draw it out! Let’s fan aflame our giftedness!
Sometimes we might find it challenging when we face difficulties, but God has provided us the answer. God has provided His Holy Spirit.
SPIRIT TO OVERCOME CHALLENGES
2 Timothy 1:7 (ESV) “… for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.”
Sometimes as we step out to serve God, we can face obstacles. Discouragement. Disillusionment may arise. It is not easy. I have had to face many challenges in my own ministry yet by the power of the Holy Spirit in me, it has helped me gain victory.
God did not give unto us a timid Holy Spirit who simply retreats into a safe shell. No! God’s spirit in us helps us, empowers us to overcome the challenges that we face. In v7 alone, we discover that it is a:
When we allow the Spirit of God to stir faith in our hearts, courage begins to arise.
Spirit of courage. When we allow the Spirit of God to stir faith in our hearts, courage begins to arise. Courage to stand tall because you have the conviction that God is backing you up. Those who know me, know that I am generally a cautious person. But when I am certain that God has spoken, I begin to step out with much greater boldness. Something stirs in my heart, and I am able to say, “Let’s do it!” Planting our church in Brisbane was very much such a courageous step of faith, birthed out of the Holy Spirit’s leading.
Spirit of power. The Holy Spirit brings spiritual authority and power. You may look at yourself and think that you have no power, nor authority to get things moving. But the Holy Spirit has all the power and authority to get His agenda moving. You just have to flow with Him.
Spirit of love. Love is the highest and purest level of motivation. 1 Corinthians 13:1 - 3 (NIV) 1 If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.
God desires love as a key motivation. Sometimes we struggle with our motivation. Let God get involved in your motivation. Let Him transform our heart motivations. I discovered from my own experience, that I need go to God every so often and ask Him to adjust my heart.
Spirit of self-control. Galatians 5:22–24 (ESV) 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. 24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
It is when we walk more and more with the Holy Spirit, that we will find more and more of His fruit will become evident in our lives, including self-control. The self-control we need to harness the gifts God gives and to develop in it.
The above is not a comprehensive list but to point to fact that God has actually given us what we already need to stir the gifts in our lives. The Holy Spirit in us. Remember how the Holy Spirit came upon Gideon in power and a nobody turned into a somebody!
That is why we need to be empowered by the Holy Spirit. A major area of empowerment is to be baptised by the Holy Spirit. Another way the Holy Spirit empowers us is through spiritual people who are available to encourage us. Therefore, step out to support one another! Step out to help shoulder burdens. Let’s fan aflame together!
CONCLUSIONS
Don’t get fed up with a lack of progress in your spiritual journey but get fired-up. Let’s make sure we have a sincere faith, looking beyond the fluff in our lives into the core of the matter. How sincere is our heart-commitment to Christ?
Realise that God has already given you gifts, but you have to discover it and activate it by applying those gifts with faith. That will help fan aflame your spiritual life. Recognise also that the Holy Spirit is able to provide all you need to fan aflame the gift of God. Get together and support one another in your church, encourage one another forward in God. A good spiritual community can help fan the flames.
Copyright©️2025 by Wilson Lim. All rights reserved. Materials are free to be distributed in whole or part as long as proper acknowledgement is given to the author and not sold for profit.
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