Message Notes: 2 Timothy 1: 1-7
by Scott Hamilton on Tuesday, 29th April 2014
Discouraged, despairing, depressed? It helps to review what is true. We get frustrated & fearful b/c we fill our minds with stuff that is false.
We feel threatened because we lose sight of God on his throne, fearful because we ignore that God is faithful, worried because we convince ourselves that God won’t work something out.
God has provided all you need for life. Grace for the things that grieve you, mercy for the things you mess up and peace for the things that pose a problem to you or cause panic to rise in you.
If you are not fixed on Jesus then you will be prone to being tricked into trusting other things than Jesus. That’s where discouragement, despair & disappointment comes from.
Thankfulness is grabbing hold of the goodness of God, holding onto Him in the midst of whatever I am going through.
In God’s plan for the world it is usual for news of transformation to transfer from one person to another. That is the privilege He offers us… the opportunity to share the words of life with those who are lost.
4 things that can cause our passion for the Lord to be extinguished- Complacency: Under valuing Jesus. Conflict: Unhealthy community. Confusion: Unclear teaching. Constancy: unceasing activity.
God’s promises remembered breathes life into struggling spiritual embers.
Do the things that will spark your walk with Jesus into life, surround yourself with people who will get you fired up again for living your life for the One who died on a cross for you.
When I forget God’s work in me it produces fear where God looks to provoke faith
God did not call you a son so that you would live your life scared. He does not welcome you as a daughter for you to live your life in dread and despair. God, who created the universe is your father so you need not fear any frightening thing.
Don’t look at your circumstances and retreat into panic, look at your circumstances and remember God’s promises. That is a life fuelled not by fear but by faith.
Make no mistake: the choices you make have capacity 2 change lives… and not just your own. Choosing to live for Jesus will challenge others to look to Jesus