Gtcotr/ss0522514
A
little history and some reasonable dates for those of us who like such:
·
The
Apostle Paul was most likely born around the year AD5
·
He
became a believer in Jesus as Messiah at about 26 or 27 years old when he had
his Damascus Road conversion experience.
·
Near
35 years later Paul is in prison in Rome and knowing he is about to be martyred
writes a last letter to his spiritual son, Timothy.
·
About
AD 67 Paul is beheaded by order of Nero, Emperor of Rome.
·
The
Book of 2 Timothy contains the last words God spoke to us through the Apostle
Paul. Each word of the Bible is sacred, holy, powerful and true. However, last
words seem to hold added weight.
2 Timothy 1 NKJV
6 Therefore I remind you to
stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands.
7 For God has not given us a
spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.
8 Therefore do not be ashamed
of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me His prisoner, but share with me in the
sufferings for the gospel according to the power of God,
9 who has saved us and called
us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His
own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began.
This
morning God is encouraging us to have and hold on to our confidence in Him and
His plan for all mankind. Life does not unfold nor are we rewarded according to
our own works but rather according to God’s own purpose and grace which was
given to us in Christ Jesus before time began. You can afford to be confident
because it is God who works in you.
Seeing
that we have such a purposeful God who has saved us and called us with a holy
calling let us hold fast to the faith we place in Him. Trust the Lord in all
things and remember that:
God
has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound
mind. These things combat and overcome fear.
If
a messenger from heaven miraculously appeared to us right now with all of his
splendor and glory, shinning with the brightness of God’s eternal light, most
likely the first thing he would say to us would be: “Fear
Not!”
When
God looked for a man whom He could anoint to be King of all Israel he found a
young boy named David. The Bible records God accounting that He found a man
after His own heart. David wrote a Psalm concerning the trust and confidence he
had in God. In all of Psalms 91 David encourages us to put our trust in God. He
testified:
·
God
will be with you in trouble
·
God
will give His angels charge over you
·
God
will hear you when you call
·
God
will deliver you and cover you
·
God
will satisfy you with long life
·
God
will show you His salvation
·
If
you will simply love and trust Him …
Let
me ask you right now:
1.
Do you love Him?
a. The scriptures tell
us that we love Him because He first loved us.
b. God so loved the
world that He gave His only begotten Son and whosoever believes in Him shall
never perish but shall have eternal life.
c. Perhaps that’s the
long life King David was referring to in Psalm 91. Only eternal life can fully
satisfy the soul of man.
d. God is willing to
show you His salvation right now through Jesus Christ, His Son.
e. Jesus said:
i. “If any man thirst
let him come to Me and drink.”
ii. “If any man comes
unto Me I will in no wise cast him out.”
iii. “If you love Me you
will obey Me.”
f. The first question:
Do you love Him this morning?
2.
The
second question: Will you trust Him?
God
has not given you a spirit of fear, but of power, love and a sound mind
