Several years ago, I took a survey in all the churches I went to for meetings. I would mention certain things, and if the people had a fear of that particular thing in their life, I asked them to raise their hands.
I was shocked to see so much fear in the Body of Christ: fear of divorce, fear of cancer, fear of AIDS, fear of suicide, fear of insanity, fear of heights, fear of murder, fear of robbers, fear of attack, fear of financial failure, fear of demons, and so on.
Those in the ministry had different fears: fear of rejection, fear of failure, fear of lack of finances, fear of trusting people, fear of being left behind, and even fear of success!
If you don't regularly put God's Word into your mind, some stronghold of fear will get in there, and you will be overwhelmed. You won't even want to get out of bed to face the day.
You'll say, "Quick, someone - give me a sleeping pill!" You'll take it, say "Good night," and as soon as you wake up, you'll reach for the bottle again.
This is why the Word says, "For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind."
Look specifically at that phrase "a sound mind." This is the Greek word sophronismos (so-phro-nis-mos). It is actually a compound word, the first part of the word meaning "salvation" or "deliverance," and the second part meaning "intelligence" or "the mind." When these two words are compounded together, they tell us something very important.
These words tell us what God gave us when we met Jesus Christ: He gave us a new mind! The Greek word for "sound mind" (sophronismos) literally refers to "a mind that is delivered or saved."
I have jokingly called this "saved brains," or "a delivered head." But, in reality, this would be a very good translation.
The mind we receive in the New Birth is supposed to be free from fear! It is "a delivered mind." It is "a saved brain." It should not be affected by fear and circumstances, for it has been delivered from such temporary fears and bondage.
Hebrews 1:15 says that Jesus came "to deliver them who through fear of death were all their life-time subject to fear." This is part of our Christian heritage! Freedom from fear belongs to us! Jesus came to deliver us from fear! Instead, Jesus gave us a sound mind - a mind that shouldn't know how to respond to fear!
Your ability to walk in this sound mind is dependent upon you, just as it was dependent upon Timothy. You can easily submit to fear, or you can take Paul's advice in verse 6: "...stir up the gift of God, which is in thee...." The choice is ours to make!
Are You Fit for the Combat Zone?
In verse 8 Paul says, "Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God."
According to this verse, Timothy is tempted to be ashamed of two things: (1) the testimony of the Lord, and (2) Paul, the prisoner of the Lord.
Why do you suppose Timothy was becoming ashamed of the Lord or Paul? Simple: To maintain a solid, public witness for Jesus Christ was a deadly thing to do in those days.
Because Paul hears fear in Timothy's letter, he encourages him not to defect on Jesus as others had. To make matters worse, Timothy is also tempted to forsake Paul, his own father in the faith. Why?
The great fire of Rome occurred in A.D.64. In A.D.63, one year earlier, Nero had released Paul from his first Roman imprisonment.
When the fire destroyed Rome, Nero proposed this theory: "I bet that fellow Paul was behind this fire! We never had any problems until he was freed. That's it! Paul, the leader of the Christian groups, planned and executed this arson!
The fact that Paul had just been released and was living near Rome made him an easy target. Therefore, they tried to pin the whole mess on Paul, labeling him the chief arsonist of this fire.
Thus, to be identified with Paul was dangerous. to be his friend meant your name would probably be added to his list of accomplices. In light of this, Timothy was beginning to reevaluate his relationship with Paul! So Paul pleads, "Don't be ashamed of me, either!"
Paul had poured his entire life into the Church since his conversion, and now everyone was forsaking him. You talk about feeling rejected! And now Timothy is fearful and is considering abandoning Paul like the others.
Paul says (1) Don't be ashamed of the testimony of the Lord; (2) Don't be ashamed of me; and (3) If you must, be a partaker of the afflictions of the Gospel according to the power of God.
Excerpt permission granted by Albury Publishers
Rick and Denise met while they were each on an individual quest to wholeheartedly follow God's plan for their lives. Rick was a college student, growing in his teaching ministry. Denise was a talented vocalist. She chose not to pursue a course that held the prospect of performing with the Metropolitan Opera so that she could instead pursue a relationship with Rick and fulfill her heart's desire to enter full-time ministry.
