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It's great to have you back for our second day of looking at Second Timothy,
Second Timothy chapter one, day two, we're going to look at verses three to six
today, and we're talking together about what Paul had to say to Timothy and also
because of the inspiration of the Holy Spirit what he had to say to you and to
me about how to last. And these verses, verses three to six, contain four keys
to lasting in faith, four keys to lasting as a servant. Listen to what Paul
wrote, "I thank God whom I serve as my forefathers did with a clear conscience
as night and day I constantly remember you in my prayers.

Recalling your tears I long to see you so that I may be filled with joy. I have
been reminded of your sincere faith which first lived in your grandmother Lois
and in your mother Eunice and I am persuaded now lives in you also. For this
reason I remind you to fan and deflame the gift of God which is in you through
the laying on of my hands.

" In these verses, very personal words to Timothy, Paul also reveals to you some
ways that you can live a faith that lasts. Four specific things that are a part
of that in these verses. Serving with a clear conscience, praying for people,
longing to see people, and helping people to fan God's gifts into flame.

So you can see from the very beginning even as I go through those four that
lasting in life it can't be all about you, it has to be about other people. But
let's walk through those four things. First of all if I'm going to last in
faith, if I'm going to last as a servant, if it's not going to just be a season
in my life but it's going to be the rest of my life, first of all I have to
serve with a clear conscience.

If my conscience isn't clear, if I feel like I'm trying to serve but there's
guilt in the back of my mind all the time, I'm being worn out physically by
that. The Bible tells us that holding sin in our lives, unconfessed sin, it just
wears you out physically. But also spiritually I feel all the time like I'm not
worthy to do this, I shouldn't be doing this, I haven't dealt with this and
eventually it'll get to you and you will not last.

So Paul served with a clear conscience. Now here's this phrase again that we
talked about, those of you that have gone through first Timothy with us. Paul
talks a lot about a clear conscience and remember a clear conscience is not
about being a perfect person, there's no such thing in this world.

Having a clear conscience means as best as you know how, you've cleared it up
between you and God and you've cleared it up between you and others. There's a
sin that you've committed, you've reminded yourself in prayer that God is a
forgiving God and you've asked him, "God help me to live in a new way, a
different way. " And if you struggle with jealousy 20 times a day, 20 times a
day you go to God and ask for that strength.

If you struggle with lust 50 times a day, 50 times a day you go to God and ask
for that strength. If you struggle with envy a hundred times a day, a hundred
times a day you go to God and say, "God once again I'm coming to you. " Living
with a clear conscience means you're talking to God a lot about your faults but
you're reminding yourself that he is a forgiving God.

So you don't live in a place of guilt. Guilt is just a reminder of the fact that
I need to go to God and recognize his forgiveness in my life. I don't hold on to
guilt, I go to God with my guilt.

That's serving with a clear conscience. Now notice Paul says here, "I do this as
my forefathers did. " You might have a question about what he means there.

What forefathers is he talking about? Well, read the Old Testament. He's talking
about Abraham and Isaac and Jacob.

He's talking about all those in the Old Testament, the prophets in the Old
Testament who served God and they served before God with a clear conscience.
Why? Because just as I just talked to you about, they had a life that was a
constant conversation before God.

It wasn't, "Hey God, I'll touch base with you and now I'll go out and serve you
for six months and then maybe I'll check in again and see how I'm doing. " No,
life was this constant conversation with God, the good and the bad. That's what
gives you a clear conscience before God.

So if you want to last in ministry, life has to be that constant conversation.
You have to serve with a clear conscience. Are you doing that?

Or is there something between you and God that needs to get cleared up right
now? Is there something between you and another person that God's telling you
needs to get cleared up right now? Is there a person as you're serving God you
hope that person never shows up?

You never see that person because you know that you haven't cleared it up yet
with them. Serve God with a clear conscience. The second thing you do to last is
you pray for people.

Paul said, "I serve with a clear conscience as night and day. I constantly
remember you in my prayers. " Now you need to pray about everything.

You need to pray about my worries. I need to pray about my opportunities. I need
to pray about what's happening in my daily life.

You need to pray about my plans. But remember to pray for others. Paul, a
constant part of his life, was praying for others.

It's interesting. I found in my life that I tend to get discouraged if I just
pray for my plans. Just pray for my things.

Because they don't always work out like I want them to work out. Sometimes it
takes longer. Sometimes I have to have patience.

And I found that encouragement comes when I take the time to pray for others.
Now things may not always be working out for them either. But all of a sudden
I've lifted my eyes off of my little life and I'm praying for other people.

I'm recognizing God's work in their life as well. And that balances things out
in a different way. It helps you to last.

You pray for people. A third thing you do, not only do you serve with a clear
conscience and pray for people, but to last, a third thing you do to have
lasting hope, you also long to see people. Paul says in verse four, "I recall
your tears and I long to see you so that I can be filled with joy.

" He wanted to be with people. Now what does he mean by recalling your tears?
He's recalling the last time they had parted.

And Timothy, in his attachment to Paul as a mentor, had cried, "I'm going to
miss you. I'm going to miss being with you. I'm going to miss your leadership.

" So Paul writes and says, "I long to be with you. " Now he couldn't. We're
going to talk about as we go through this book that he's in prison.

So he couldn't get out of that prison to be with Timothy, but he wanted to be
with Timothy. People who last, people who last in faith and in life and in hope
and people who last in serving others, love others, want to be around others. If
life is just all about you or even just all about you and God, me and God and
nobody else, you're not going to last.

God's built me. He's built you to be in relationship with other people. And
Paul, who began his life as a very legalistic, pharisaic kind of guy, a person
who really didn't long to see people, he indicates in some of the other letters
that he wrote, has become this man who is in a place where he has deepened his
relationships with others and he longs to see others.

He longs to be with them. It's all about people. When it's all about tasks, I'm
not going to last.

Now God has some tasks for you to do, no doubt about it, but if that's all that
life is about, I'm just going to get worn out. It's when it's about people, the
people that God has made, the people we're going to be with for all of eternity.
That's how I last.

And maybe you need to get your eyes a little off the task and a little more on
the people. I know I need to do that from time to time. You long to see people.

You pray for people. You serve with a clear conscience and then you do a fourth
thing. You help people to fan God's gifts into flame in their life.

Paul says, "Reminded of your faith, the faith of your grandmother and your mom,
I'm reminded that you have that faith in your life too. " He's encouraging
Timothy here and then he says very specifically, "I want to remind you, I want
to encourage you to fan into flame God's gift in your life. " Paul is saying,
"It's already there.

You've got God's gift in your life. I want you to fan it into flame. " Now as
you read 1 Timothy, you find out that those gifts had to do with Timothy being a
pastor, speaking to people, sharing God's good news to people.

And somehow he was shrinking back from doing that. Maybe because of the false
teachers that were part of the church. Maybe because he was getting too much
criticism.

Maybe because he was beginning to be weary in the ministry. And so Paul says, "I
want you to fan it into flame. You make a choice.

It's God's gift, but you make a choice to fan it into flame. You make the choice
to recognize that gift, to have faith that God wants to use that gift, and to
choose to use it on a daily basis. That is my choice.

That's your choice. The gift isn't yours. It's God's.

But the choice to fan it into flame, that is your choice. " And Paul says, "I
want you to remember it's in you because I laid my hands on you. " So he goes
back to the past.

You might be looking at your life and thinking, "God's gifts aren't in my life.
I don't see them working right now. " Well Paul is reminding us here, it's okay
sometimes to look back on the past.

And if you've ever seen God's gift at work in your life, if you've ever had
somebody lay hands on you and recognize God's gift, which that's what that
means, to lay hands. It's not some magical thing where somehow Paul laid hands
on Timothy and some supernatural power came through Paul and he gave him gifts
he wouldn't have had. No, Paul is saying here, "I laid hands on you, recognizing
you, recognizing God's gift in you, encouraging God's gifts in you, seeing what
God has done.

" If you've ever had anyone do that, ever seen God's gifts at work in your life,
look back to that and realize that was true. That is true. So you fan it, you
fan it into flame.

It's like keeping a fire going. A fire can look like it's dead, but if somebody
can just give it a little bit of oxygen, you just fan it a little bit, all of a
sudden the embers start to glow and then the fire comes back. Right now in your
life, you may feel like the gifts are dead.

The opportunities are dead. They're gone. Fan it into flame.

If it's ever been there, it is still there by the power of God. It's never going
to die. It is God's gift.

So you fan it into flame. It may not be being used as you want it or where you
want it or when you want it, though circumstance might have changed. And that's
disappointing to us as human beings when circumstances change.

But the truth is God wants to use the gifts he's put into your life where you
are right now. Now hear that as a Timothy right now, but also before we end
today, hear that as a Paul. Not only should you fan God's gifts into flame in
your own life, but part of living a lasting life of service is fanning them into
flame in other people's lives.

It's not just about how can I best use God's gifts. One of your greatest
contributions in life is going to be helping other people to see how they can
best use God's gifts. And when somebody's failing, when the gifts aren't being
used, instead of writing them off and thinking, well, they could have done
better, but they didn't.

No, you do what Paul did for Timothy. You encourage them. You say to them, the
gifts are still there.

Fan them into flame and watch what God can do in your life. As we talk to Jesus
for just a moment today, let's thank him. Let us thank him for his gifts.

Jesus, thank you for the gifts that you've given us to serve others. Maybe
speaking gifts or maybe serving gifts or maybe administrative gifts, maybe gifts
of the way that we can encourage, maybe gifts of the way that we can help people
who are hurting. God, thank you for your gifts.

And there are times in our life when we see them fully aflame and we recognize,
wow, God is using me in this moment. Thank you, Jesus, for the gift. When those
times happen, help us to be thankful, to praise you.

There are other times in our lives when it looks like it's dead to us. It's not
at work. Remind us in that moment, in this moment, that the gifts are not dead.

You put them into our lives. The fire is always there. And Lord, help us to see
right now how through the encouragement of your spirit, we can fan into flame
your gift in our lives right now, today.

We ask this, Jesus, in your name. Amen. Tomorrow, we're going to look together
at a very important verse of Scripture, God's answer to our timidity.