2nd Timothy chapter 1. Our text
today will be verse 6. But let's begin reading in verse
1. Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ,
by the will of God, according to the promise of life which
is in Christ Jesus, To Timothy, my dearly beloved son, grace,
mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. I thank God whom I serve from
my forefathers with pure conscience that without ceasing I have remembrance
of thee in my prayers night and day. Greatly desiring to see
thee, being mindful of thy tears, that I may be filled with joy,
when I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee,
which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice,
and I am persuaded that in thee also. Verse six says, wherefore
I put thee in remembrance, that thou stir up the gift of God
which is in thee by the putting on of my hands." Paul said, Timothy,
I want to put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of
God which is in thee by the putting
on of my hands. I want us to study this verse
for a minute. I believe there's some things
in here that would be very good if we could understand the truth
of what's being said. I want us to look at what it
means to stir up. What does that mean? He said,
stir up. What does that mean? I want us
to find out what the gift of God is. Stir up the gift of God. What is the gift of God? And I want us to find out what
he means by putting on of his hands. And I want to look at
those in backwards order. That's how I want us to see this
verse and study this verse in backwards order. We're going
to start at the end of the verse and work our way to the beginning.
So what does he mean by the putting on of my hands? We see that often
in the scriptures. You'll see it say putting on
of hands, laying hands on men. That term laying hands is mentioned
three different ways in the scripture. It's talking about three different
things. When you see those words mentioned,
number one, it mentions Laying hands, meaning doing harm to
somebody. Hurting, beating, capturing,
to kill or to put in prison. They laid hands on our Lord. And that's what they were doing.
They laid hands on the apostles. That's the first way it's mentioned,
okay? The second way it's mentioned is in the performing of special
miracles that the Lord gave to the apostles to confirm the word
as being the word of God himself. The Lord gave the apostles special
abilities to perform special miracles and that no one could
deny this is of God. These words and commandments
are of God. And we now have God's word. We have the canon that God has
been pleased to give through those apostles. And there is
no other word or no new word that is going to be given from
God. So there are no more apostles. Even though there are still men
today who claim to be They're a scam. There are no more apostles
and therefore there are no more miracles and there's no more
need for miracles. And therefore there is no more
laying on of hands in that way. Our adversary still has his delusions
in false religion. You know that people go to false
religions so they can be healed and they have all this laying
on of hands. I think half of that's fake and I think half
of that people really are getting healed. I believe the Lord is
allowing strong delusions by these evil spirits and you may
see somebody get out of a wheelchair. I don't know. You know Moses
went and performed his miracles to Pharaoh and Pharaoh's sorcerers,
they could do a few things too. There is no more confirming of
God's Word with miracles in that way. So, number one, the scripture
talks about laying hands on somebody in the form of beating them,
hurting them. Number two, it talks about laying
hands on somebody in the form of healing somebody. And number three, and this is
the one that Paul is talking about in our text, it's talking
about calling a man into the work of the ministry. Asking a man to take part in
the work of the ministry. Look at 1 Timothy 4, turn back
a page to 1 Timothy 4. Paul is instructing Timothy here
in the work of the ministry. Timothy was called, he was ordained,
and what that means is he was acknowledged. That's all it means.
If a man is ordained into the ministry, he's just acknowledged
by the brethren, by the other pastors. He was acknowledged
by the apostles as being the pastor of Ephesus. That's where
Timothy pastored. And Paul is instructing Timothy
in the work of the ministry. Look at verse 12. He said, let
no man despise thy youth. Timothy was a young man when
he was called. But be thou an example of the believers in word,
in conversation, in charity or love, in spirit, in faith, in
purity, till I come give attendance to reading, reading the word
of God, to exhortation, that means preaching, to doctrine,
that means teaching. Neglect not the gift that is
in thee which was given thee by prophecy with the laying on
of the hands of the Presbytery. He said, neglect not the gift
which is in you, this gift of understanding the gospel, this
gift of the revelation of the gospel, which was given thee
by prophecy, was given to you by preaching. Faith comes by
hearing, by hearing the word of God. It pleased the Lord by
the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. So
verse 14, neglect not the gift that is in thee which was given
thee by prophecy with the laying on of the hands of the presbytery,
the laying on of the hands, the acknowledging, the asking, the
calling into the work of the ministry by those pastors who
were already in the ministry. He's saying, Timothy, this is
a serious calling. This is a serious work. So verse 15, he said, meditate
upon these things, give thyself wholly to them. You're going
to go into the ministry, go into the ministry, give yourself to
these things, wholly to these things that the profiting may
appear to all. take heed unto thyself and unto
the doctrine, continue in them for in doing this, thou shalt
both save thyself and them that hear thee. This calling to this work, it's
so serious. This calling to this work of
the ministry, it is so serious. Paul told Timothy in chapter
five, first Timothy five, look at verse 22. is so serious, he
said in verse 22, lay hands suddenly on no man. He's not saying don't
beat people. He's not saying that. And he's
also not saying don't heal people. He's not saying that he's saying,
don't call a man into the work of the ministry too soon, no
matter who it is. It's too serious. There are too
many dangers that could come that everyone involved. Paul
is the one who laid hands on Timothy, calling him physically
into the ministry. God is the one who lays hands
and calls men spiritually. If it's a true calling, it's
of God. But he lays it on the hearts
of men to call physically. He lays it on the hearts of his
people to know, I think that this man ought to preach. I believe
the Lord has his hand on him. That's what we say. And Paul is the man who called
Timothy physically when Timothy was a young man. But Paul acknowledged
that Timothy knew the truth of God's word from a child. He'd
been taught the gospel from a child. Paul acknowledged that God revealed
his gospel to Timothy's grandmother, and Timothy's mother, and Timothy
also from a child. And Paul knew that even as a
young man, Timothy was not a novice in these things. So he laid hands
on him and he asked him to enter the ministry and travel with
him, preach the gospel with him. Timothy felt led to do that.
So back in 2 Timothy 1, turn with me back over there. Verse six, Paul said, wherefore
I put thee in remembrance, that thou stir up the gift of God
which is in thee by the putting on of my hands. Now what does he mean by the
gift of God? Stir up the gift of God. What is the gift of God? Well, in Matthew 8 and in Matthew
23, a sacrifice is called the gift. In John 4, Christ is called
the gift. In Acts 2, the Holy Spirit is
called the gift. In Romans 5, righteousness is
called the gift. In Romans 6, eternal life is
called the gift. In 1 Corinthians 13, preaching
is called the gift. In 2 Corinthians 9, the cross
of Christ is called the gift, the death of Christ is called
the gift. In Ephesians 2, faith is called
the gift. By grace are you saved through
faith, that not of yourselves, it's the gift. Ephesians 3, grace
is called the gift. Ephesians 4, again, Christ is
called the gift. 1 Timothy 4, where we just were,
the ministry is called the gift. So everything that pertains to
Christ and salvation and the gospel, all of it is the gift. All of it is the gift. Turn over
to 1 Peter chapter 4. First Peter 4 verse 10 says, as every man hath received the
gift, the gift of Christ, the gift of salvation, the gift of
the gospel, the gift of the ministry, as every man hath received the
gift, even so minister the same one to another. as good stewards
of the manifold grace of God. Minister in the ministry. Everyone who has received the
gift, minister the gift. So with Paul having laid hands
on Timothy for the work of the gift, The work of the ministry
of Christ and his gospel, this was Paul's exhortation to Timothy.
It's the same exhortation to us. Go with me back to 2 Timothy
1. Verse six, wherefore I put thee in remembrance
that thou stir up. the gift of God, which is in
thee by the putting on of my hands. Stir up the gift. And again, what is the gift?
It's everything that pertains to Christ, salvation, the gospel,
every grace from God, every good and perfect gift. Stir up the
gift. He said, you've been called to
it. You have been given it, so stir
it up. Stir it up. What does that mean?
That means don't neglect it. That's what it means. Don't neglect
it. Don't neglect it. It literally
translates strengthen it. Promote the life of it. Kindle it. That's what it means.
Like when you kindle a fire. Kindle it. Every good and perfect
gift is from God. It's of God, by God, through
God, to God. He gets all the glory for every
gift that He's given to us. We get none of the glory. None
of the glory. It's all a gift. He gets all the glory and the
credit for all of it, start to finish. It's not that He starts
the work and we need to finish it. Okay, you're stirring it
up. You're going to have to stir
it up now. That's not it. It's not that He gives the grace,
but we need to perfect it. Oh, no. He's the giver. He's the performer. He's the perfecter. He does it
all. He does it all. And He gets the
glory for it all. But He, and this is important
to know, He moves and operates in His people. He does. He moves
and operates in His people through the instruction and the conviction
of His Word. It pleased Him to call a man
to be a preacher and say, Thus saith the Lord. And then all
of His people, starting with the preacher, are convicted.
That's not me. I don't do what He's saying.
I fall short. I fail. And through that we cry,
Lord, help us, have mercy on us, teach us, conform us. Let me be one of your disciples.
Let me be one of your followers. Conform me more to the image
of Christ. This is how it has pleased him
to operate. He moves, he instructs through
the conviction of his word. And then he gives us a heart
to heed his word. He gives us a heart to heed his
instruction and this is his instruction to us. Stir up the gift that
has been placed inside you. Stir up the gift that has been
placed inside you. Look at first Timothy four again.
We were just there back a page. First Timothy 4 verse 14 says,
neglect not the gift that is in thee. Don't neglect it, strengthen
it, promote the life of it, candle it. When you go camping and you
build a fire, everything needed to build that
fire comes from God. The wood does, the oxygen does,
the molecules that heat up and create a spark, it all comes
from God. All of it. But with those gifts
from God, we slowly feed and nurture that spark and we attend
to the things that will cause it to grow. And God is saying to us through
the Apostle Paul, That's what we need to do with the gifts
of grace that have been given to us. The gift of the gospel,
do we realize, and I know we don't, because I don't. Do we
realize what we've been given? Boy, you talk about take something
for granted. The true gospel of God Almighty. The saving gospel concerning
Jesus Christ. We have no idea what a rare gift
that is, the gospel, the ministry of the gospel. That God would
raise up a place where he would be pleased to put his name there
and gather his sheep together to worship him, to preach him,
to believe on him, to promote his message. What a gift, what a blessing. Faith. How many people have you
shown this to and they say, I don't believe that. We wouldn't either,
but for the gift of God. Just the fact that we believe
it. We think what's wrong with you? Why don't we believe it?
What's wrong with them? They're dead in trespasses and
sins. As were we, and such were some
of you. Hope. If I didn't have hope in
Christ, I couldn't make it through another day on this earth. I
didn't have hope in His sovereignty, faith in His sovereignty, hope
in the fact that this is not my home. Whatever happens here,
so be it. I'm looking for a city that has
foundations, whose builder and maker is God. Love, the love of God towards
sinners. Preaching, what a gift preaching
is. What a gift hearing is. What
a gift believing this is. Stir it up. Stir it up. Nurture it. Strengthen it. Candle it. Don't neglect it. Don't neglect it. I'm telling
you, if I ever have felt like a portion of scripture is to
me, this is it. Don't neglect it. Look with me
at 1 Thessalonians 5. 1 Thessalonians 5 verse 19. It says, quench not the Spirit. Can a child of God really do
that? Can a child of God really do
that? According to God's Word we can. According to God's Word we can.
We can quench the Spirit. Look with me at Ephesians 4. Ephesians 4 verse 30 it says, Grieve not the Holy Spirit of
God. Grieve not the, quench not the
Spirit. Grieve not the Holy Spirit of
God. Wait a minute, are you saying
that we can lose our salvation? No. Verse 30 goes on to say,
whereby you are sealed unto the day of redemption. Aren't you
so glad that's how the verse ends? But even though we're sealed,
the last thing we want to do is grieve and quench our relationship
with the one who sealed us. It's just like a marriage. It's
just like a marriage. Two people can remain married
and sealed in a covenant union and either have a living, strengthened,
kindled relationship or a dead, quenched, neglected relationship. Which one would we rather have? Every soul in here would say,
I'd rather have a living, strengthened, kindled relationship. Okay? Then stir it up. Stir it up. How? Be with each
other. For starters. Be with each other. Spend time with each other. Refer
each other. Everybody has something they
prefer. I mean on all things. You can
walk up to a dessert tray and you're gonna have something on
there you prefer. Prefer each other. Acknowledge each other. Respect each other. Care for
each other. Put each other first. First in
priority. Have a spirit of humility toward
each other, not pride. The moment that conflict comes,
humble down. Create an environment of peace. Do the things that promote peace. What would cause the most peace
in this home? What would cause the most happiness
here? Do the things that promote happiness for each other. How
could my wife or my husband be most happy in this outcome? Don't let your love be in word
only. Show it. Show it. All right, the same thing applies
in our relationship with our Lord. The same thing applies
in our relationship with His word, His message, His gospel.
How can I kindle and strengthen this relationship with Him? All
right, let me start with this. I'm gonna say it again. I'm not
gonna do anything. I'm not gonna do anything. He's
gonna do it. But he will put a desire in me. Lord, give me this desire to kindle my relationship with
you. He will put the desire in me
to be with him. to be with Him where He said
He would be and gather with His people. He will put a desire
in me to spend time with Him in prayer and in His Word. You
know that when you pray, generally you first feel convicted thinking,
how long has it been since I've prayed to Him? And how deep and
sincere is my prayer to Him? And the fact that you feel convicted
means you want more. Oh, I wish I prayed to you more.
I wish it wasn't so much lip service while my mind is over
here doing who knows what. Let me come to you. Let me think
on you. Let me be with you in spirit
and heart and mind and shut all these other things out. And let
you have first preeminence in me. Isn't that our desire? If He does this, He'll put a
desire for Him to be first, and His worship to be first. And He'll put a spirit of humility
in me. He'll put a spirit of humility
in His house, among His people. Not pride. False religion is
so full of pride. Not God's house. It's full of beautiful humility. He will put in us a desire for
the things that promote peace. Isn't that what we want? We want
peace. Thank God we have it at the moment. Let's stir that up and ask the
Lord to keep it here. Peace in his house, peace among
his people. He'll put a desire in us to not
let our love to Him be in word only, but to show it. Lord, I want to show it in bodily
presence. I want to show it in heart, in
speech, in every way it can be shown. If God will give us a
heart to draw nigh to Him, He will draw nigh to us. And I want
that. I do. I want that. I know that
you want that. May God teach us what it means
And may He give us the heart and the ability to stir up His
wonderful gift to us. Please don't let me neglect you. If I don't neglect you, you're
the one doing it. You're the one keeping me. You're
the one who gets the glory. You're the one who gets the credit.
But please, please give me that ability. May he give us all the
ability to stir up this wonderful gift that he's given to us. For
Christ's sake, amen. All right, you're dismissed.