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October 14, 2007
Pentecost 20
2 Timothy 1:3-7
Pastor Ben Berger

A Reminder from Paul

Do you ever use sticky notes as reminders? When I was younger, my mom would leave notes for my sister and me. “Do the dishes. Dust and vacuum. Be nice to each other.” Maybe you use sticky notes to remind yourself of things you have to do at work or home, of upcoming events or of people to call. I even know people who put notes on the bathroom mirror to remind them of dreams and goals. Have you ever used a sticky note to remind yourself of spiritual things? “Remember to pray. Thank God for the day. Look for opportunities to share your faith.” Today the apostle Paul writes us a sticky-note, a reminder. He wants us to remember to things. 1) Remember your faith and 2) Remember your spiritual gifts.

Paul wrote this sticky note while he was thinking of Timothy. He was probably in a hole in the ground at the time, a form of Roman prison. Paul was on trial for proclaiming Jesus as the Messiah. He doesn’t expect to get out; he expects to die. He had prepared young Timothy to pastor some of the congregations he began on his missionary journeys. His thoughts turn toward Timothy. He needs the company. He longs to see his friend one more time before he dies.

As Paul thinks of Timothy, he can’t help but thank God for faith. Paul first mentions his own faith. He learned the promises of the Savior from his forefathers. The promises to Abraham had been passed down from generation to generation. Paul must also have thought about Jesus’ appearance to him on the road to Damascus, revealing himself as the fulfillment of the promised Savior.

Paul also thanked God for Timothy’s faith. Paul prays for Timothy day and night, asking God to strengthen his faith. He calls Timothy’s faith sincere. Timothy doesn’t just go through the motions of worshipping God; he shows his love for God with passion and willingness to serve. Like Paul, Timothy received his faith from his ancestors. Both his mother Eunice and his grandmother Lois taught him the promises of God. They pointed to Jesus as Savior and modeled a life of faith and love for young Timothy. What joy Paul found in his hole in the ground just thinking of Timothy’s faith and giving thanks to God for it.

Who passed on the faith to you? Was it your parents or grandparents like Timothy? Has God’s word been part of your family for generations like Paul? Maybe it was a more distant relative or a close friend? In any case, we have reason to give thanks to God for our faith. Have you ever taken the time to just sit back and consider the miracle of your faith?

We’re more likely to take our faith for granted. Most of us received faith as an infant at baptism. We don’t remember a miraculous conversion like Paul. Our faith has just always been there. If anything, as we get older we tend to question our faith. High school and college can be times of testing what we learned from our parents. Our faith isn’t yet sincere; we’re still going through the motions. Our unimpressed attitudes can even lead to losing our faith and rejecting God, which then leads to damnation and hell.

With a sticky note, Paul reminds us today to remember our faith. Take a moment to realize the miracle God performed when he turned our dead hearts of unbelief into living hearts of sincere faith. Thank God for the people he used to teach us about Jesus as our Savior. Ask God to continue strengthening your faith through Word and Sacrament.

One other way to thank God for your own faith is to pass it on to others. The most obvious place to start is with your family. Don’t just teach them the motions of faith. Teach them the promises of forgiveness, life and salvation through Jesus. Start by coming to worship and Sunday study every week with your family. When you go home, spend time talking about the word your heard and studied. Ask each member of the family to share one thought they remember from the sermon or Sunday school. Create a habit of family time around God’s word every day or night. And then live your faith. Show each other the passion and love you have for God. Use kind words with each other. Show patience. Offer forgiveness. Look for family opportunities to serve others. And then pray. Pray that God would strengthen your faith and the faith of your family. Pray constantly, day and night, asking God to remember your faith.

Then, one day when you’re nearing death, you can think about your faith and the faith you passed on to others. And like Paul, you can give thanks to God as you remember your faith. The other reminder Paul gives on his sticky note is to remember your spiritual gifts.

Paul told Timothy, “For this reason I remind you to fan into flames the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands” (6). For this reason, because you have faith, you also have a spiritual gift from God. Paul wanted Timothy, and now wants us, to realize that with faith come spiritual gifts. To everyone whom God has given faith he has also given spiritual gifts. That means that each of you has at least one spiritual gift, most likely more. God had given young Timothy a gift for public ministry, to be a pastor. Your gifts match your calling or vocation. God has given you gifts to fill your roles in your family, at work or school and in your church.

God gave and continues to give you gifts through the laying on of hands. Let me explain. We often lay on hands to convey God’s blessings. Paul would have laid his hands on Timothy when he commissioned him to serve as pastor. A pastor laid hands on you first at your baptism. As he spoke God’s word, he gave you the Holy Spirit. With the Spirit came faith and spiritual gifts. He laid hands on you again at confirmation as he spoke God’s word over you. If you got married in church, he laid hands on you as he spoke the marriage blessing. And, we lay hands on you every week as we speak the blessing at the end of worship. You can lay hands on each other as you speak God’s word and blessing to one another. It’s not really the hands that do the work; it’s God’s word. God’s word fills us with faith and spiritual gifts.

Because you have faith, fan into flames the gift of God that is in you. God gave us those spiritual gifts to use, not to hide. Paul was afraid that Timothy might hide his gifts. They lived in tough times. Imagine the feelings of a young pastor after watching his mentor die for preaching. How eager to you think he was to preach himself? Paul knew Timothy’s fear. So he encouraged him, “For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline” (7). Paul told Timothy not to be ashamed of Christ or of suffering for Christ. Rather, recognize the spirit God gave him, a spirit of power. God’s word has power to overcome any obstacle. A spirit of love, love for God and love for others. A spirit of self-discipline, knowing when and how to speak up and proclaim Jesus as Savior.

God has given us the same spirit. Too often we live by the spirit of fear. We’re afraid of what others think. We’re afraid of saying the wrong thing. We’re afraid to get out of the comfort zone. We often live without passion. We don’t show any enthusiasm or energy for our salvation. Therefore, we live without action. We take the easy route, saying and doing nothing. NO! God has given us a spirit of power, love and self-discipline. Fan those gifts into flame. Get on fire for Jesus. He’s forgiven all your sins. He promises you eternal life in heaven. What’s more exciting than that?

Remember your gifts. Keep fanning them into flames. What are those gifts? I don’t know. You’ve got to discover them by getting out there and trying something new. Can you teach? Can you encourage? Can you pray? Can you fix things? Can you work with children? Can you visit shut-ins? Can you serve coffee? Can you give generously? Can you plan? Can you fold bulletins? What can you do? You can do something for God’s kingdom because he’s given you his Spirit. Discover your gifts. And then put them to use. Don’t hide them in a jar somewhere or bury them under your mattress. And don’t always wait for someone to ask. Just find something and do it. Then pray for more gifts. Keep trying new things and keep asking God to bless you with more opportunities. I’m sure he’ll be happy to fill you with many more spiritual gifts.