The Lutheran Hour
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"Spiritual Toughness"
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Text: 2 Timothy 1:3-7
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I doubt anyone would argue that we live in tough times today. Well-worn sayings like, “When the going gets tough, the tough get going!” do little to inspire us. If ever there was a time when we could use strong, salient words of encouragement, it would be now. And if ever there was a man who could do that, it would be the Apostle Paul, particularly as he writes to a young man named Timothy who is facing some severe challenges. What Paul tells Timothy in his second letter is that an absolutely vital element to Christian living is spiritual toughness.
When you think of toughness, what picture comes to your mind? Perhaps it’s a picture of an athlete like Red Sox pitcher, Curt Schilling standing on the pitchers mound during the 2004 American League Championship series with his right sock stained with his own blood from a patch job on his tendon, or perhaps it’s a 33-year-old sergeant first class “Mikey” Fairfax, who, when his name is called, walks with a slight limp to accept his certificate as he becomes the first amputee to graduate from an Army Jumpmaster Course at Fort Bragg, N.C., or perhaps when you think of toughness, you think of any number of fictional characters played by actors like John Wayne or Clint Eastwood. We all can come up with our own standard, our own definition of what tough is. Often we narrow it down to something physical.
Leonard Sweet tells the story of Mike Ditka, former coach of the Chicago Bears and one of the NFL’s living legends. Throughout his career, both as player and coach, Ditka demonstrated great physical toughness. Once, when the Bears were losing a game at half-time, Coach Ditka went all-out to inspire his team to do better – to play tougher. Standing before his men in the locker room, he reached down into a large bucket. Then, when he removed his hand, there was a snapping turtle clamped tightly to it. With his face registering severe pain and the snapping turtle hanging onto his bleeding hand, Ditka lectured his astonished men on their need to play tougher in the pursuit of victory. Finally, holding his wounded hand up high, he said, “Any one of you can do the same thing if you are really as determined as I am. Are there any volunteers?” he asked.
Whereupon, William Perry, the 350-pound defensive lineman, nicknamed “The Refrigerator,” spoke up. “I’ll do it coach,” he said. Ditka praised him for his willingness to demonstrate that toughness, then told him to wait until the snapping turtle was pried loose from his hand. “No need to remove the turtle,” said The Refrigerator, just stick out your other hand and I’ll bite that one instead.” Obviously, Mr. Perry was not up to the invitation to be tough like his coach.
What is toughness, really? And what about mental, emotional, or spiritual toughness? How are these things measured? What is Paul telling young Timothy about toughness as the apostle himself sits in a dank, dark prison writing to his dear friend and fellow servant of the Gospel?Today we celebrate Armed Forces Sunday. As we reflect on the many sacrifices of our military men and women, we want to ask our Lord to continue to give our warriors resilience and toughness, the toughness they need to accomplish their mission. But not only physical endurance, but spiritual toughness as well. We also ask God to give every one of us the same toughness to stand firm in the face of all enemies that we may face that seek to destroy our faith. In this day and age the church especially needs toughness. Paul tells Timothy…and you and me, there are three keys to toughening your faith. We find them in the text.
Paul tells us first of all; draw on your past experience to hold you firm. Secondly, develop the gifts God has given you, and finally, exercise a living faith to keep it strong.
Timothy had a wonderful heritage. His past is recalled by Paul in verse 5. “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.” You see, more was passed on to young Timothy than genetic characteristics, more than traits, personality, looks, or temperament. Lois, his grandmother, and Eunice, his mother, passed on to Timothy the Gospel, namely that Christ Jesus went to the cross, that hope and life and forgiveness were all restored through Jesus Christ. Timothy knew from his past, that nothing could separate him from the love of God in Christ Jesus. Paul encourages, and reminds, and urges Timothy to draw on that heritage. Essentially, Paul tells Timothy that his past is an anchor that will hold him steady in any storm in life.
You have a heritage, as well. When you consider your journey of faith, ask yourself, “How is it that I got to this place in my life, right now?” Is there someone, in your history, that passed God’s word on to you? Who in your history was your rock? Your strength? Was it your parents? Grandparents? Friends? Most people can point to a significant man or woman of faith. Now imagine that nobody, in all your life, nurtured, encouraged, or presented the Good News of God’s grace to you…that you knew nothing of the forgiveness of sins and hope of eternal life in Jesus…that you had never had any spiritual feeding. How would your life be different? It’s kind of hard to imagine, perhaps. But someone did. Your faith is there because our Lord put someone there in your life. Someone undoubtedly who is spiritually tough.
Now, consider this — you may very well be someone’s heritage, someone’s strength, someone’s anchor. The truth is, that is what we are called to do by Christ, to build up the body of Christ, to strengthen one another. A wise seminary professor once reminded us, “We are always, in statu confessionis, Latin for “in a state of confessing.”. And we are. People, friends, co-workers, relatives, neighbors are watching us as we live out our faith. Our past is our foundation – our strength.
The second key to toughness, according to Paul, is to develop the gifts God has given you. He exhorts Timothy to “fan into flame the gifts of God.” Literally, to “fire up” the gifts God has given you. I distinctly remember seeing the large “fire code” charts near Chippewa and Superior forest areas in Minnesota. Huge charts that had a code: green was for low, blue was for moderate, yellow was for high, orange was for very high, and red was for extreme risk of fire. Paul wants Timothy to be extreme – color code Red. He wants Timothy to develop his gifts; to fan the flame to the point where the Gospel spreads furiously, like a wild fire, where the least little spark will set the world ablaze. Paul laid his hands on Timothy so as to signal a transfer of responsibility and of blessing and of the Spirit’s power to stand firm. Why? Because the Apostle Paul knew hardship, harsh conditions, and he knew that Christ Jesus Himself was the source of all spiritual strength and toughness. Christ, who suffered, died, and rose for us gives us all His strength.
As he did to Timothy, God’s Holy Spirit has given you gifts as well. The Bible lists things like wisdom, knowledge, teaching, healing, and preaching as spiritual gifts. And we find fruits of the spirit, like love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. By the way, the Army’s core values remind our Soldiers of loyalty, duty, respect, selfless service, honor, integrity, and personal courage. Though these are not listed in Scripture as spiritual gifts, such things are Spirit-induced and Spirit-directed.
You have these as well. And not just one or two of them. God gives them freely through His Spirit. Today, we are encouraged to fire them up, to rekindle them, to develop these gifts and fine tune them.
The final thing Paul encourages Timothy to do to build his toughness is to exercise his faith. What are we without exercise? By drawing on his spiritual heritage, by developing his gifts, now he is ready to exercise a living faith. Paul now charges him to show his new spirit. He says in verse 7…”For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-control. ”
Instead of a spirit of timidity, we all are given a spirit of power. Over the years, there have been some interesting studies on that whole concept of power. Business have talked about
* Coercive Power
* Reward Power
* Legitimate Power
* Referent Power
* Expert Power
* Informational PowerBut, Paul is not talking about any of these. Rather God’s power. Earlier he reminds Timothy, “Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity.” God has given every believer a spirit of love, again, not love by the world’s definition, but by God’s definition. In order to exercise such power, Timothy, and, in fact, all of us need a spirit of self-control – in order to fully use these gifts, Timothy is going to have to show restraint and control while still stoking the fire of the Gospel.
One of my heroes of faith is Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a German Lutheran pastor who was arrested for conspiring against Hitler in WWII. On a memorial stone in Flossenberg Prison Camp, where Bonhoeffer was executed, is the simple inscription 2 Tim. 1:7. These words Bonhoeffer knew very well. In German they read, “Denn Gott hat uns nicht einen Geist der Furchtsamkeit gegeben, sondern der Kraft und der Liebe und der Zucht.” “But God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-control. On April 9, 1945, days before the Allies liberated the camp, Bonhoeffer was executed. He knew spiritual toughness.
So that we might exercise a living faith, God has given us not a spirit of timidity…but rather a spirit of power, of love, and self-control. As we draw on our past, develop our gifts and demonstrate our living faith, we will make a difference.
Gerald Kennedy wrote a book titled For Preachers and Other Sinners. One story was of a parishioner talking about a young man’s suitability for the pastoral ministry. She says, “Oh, he would make a fine minister since he is a right harmless lad.”
I can think of no more devastating thing that could be said of anyone in the ministry of Christ’s church. Can you? The ministry needs tough people. God has blessed his church for over 2,000 years with men and women who have been spiritually tough. Not someone who will stick their hand in a bucket with a snapping turtle in it, but courageous men and women who exercise a living faith with courage. God has promised to give all of us spiritual toughness in Christ Jesus and — to give you — a spirit of power, of love, and of self-control.
Prayer – Lord, on this Armed Forces Sunday, we remember in prayer all the men and women of our military who face difficult and oftentimes dangerous missions. We also ask you to watch over their family members who faithfully keep homes intact and strong. Grant all our Nation’s leaders, our military members, and their families toughness…physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual toughness through Christ our living Lord. Amen.
LUTHERAN HOUR MAILBOX (Questions & Answers) for May 24, 2009
Topic: Unbelievers’ Prayers – Part 1ANNOUNCER: Now, Pastor Ken Klaus responds to a question that comes to us from a Sunday School class in Texas. I’m Mark Eischer. These young people want to know, “Does the Lord hear the prayers of unbelievers?”
KLAUS: That’s to the point.
ANNOUNCER: I guess it is, but there’s also another part to the question–if you get through the first section soon enough.
KLAUS: Do I get to hear the second part?
ANNOUNCER: Not yet. This is what we call “incentive.” So, first things first: does the Lord hear the prayers of unbelievers?
KLAUS: An interesting question. My first reaction would be: why would an unbeliever pray? I mean if you don’t believe in God, why would you come to Him with a petition?
ANNOUNCER: That’s your first reaction. What is your second?
KLAUS: My second reaction is to forget the first. Although they absolutely hate to admit it, unbelievers are praying all the time.
ANNOUNCER: That surprises me. Could you explain?
KLAUS: Be glad to. You’ve probably heard the old infantry expression: “There are no atheists in a fox hole.” When people face death, when they’re afraid, it’s quite natural, even for an unbeliever to pray.
If you doubt me, and I’ve referred to this before, look at Reader’s Digest. Almost every issue has an article about a person who thought he or she was going to die. Almost every one of those articles has a paragraph which read, “Although I wasn’t a person of faith”; or “Although I hadn’t prayed since I was six-years-old”, or “Although I had always thought my father was silly for praying, at that moment, when I was facing”… the bear, the sinking ship, the terrorist, the robber, the rabid hyena… whatever… at that moment I began to pray.
Nope, there are no atheists in a foxhole.
ANNOUNCER: Although you know you’re going to get 100 letters from atheists who will say they were in foxholes and they’re still atheists.
KLAUS: Yup, but that’s what they say now.
ANNOUNCER: So, I think we have established the fact that in extreme circumstances unbelievers may say prayers, although they fall back into their unbelieving ways after the danger passes.
KLAUS: Right. That’s what we’ve established. Now the question is, “Does God hear those prayers?”
ANNOUNCER: Psalm 34: 15-17 says, “The eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous and his ears toward their cry. The face of the Lord is against those who do evil, to cut off the memory of them from the earth. When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles.” That would imply that God doesn’t hear those other prayers.
KLAUS: Fair enough. I don’t know if I agree. Let me try to explain. First, because of His omniscience, the Lord knows everything. “Everything” is pretty inclusive. If God knows everything, He would also know the prayers of those who aren’t Christian. Now, He doesn’t necessarily answer those prayers, but He always hears them.
ANNOUNCER: So what’s the difference between the prayers of a believer and an unbeliever?
KLAUS: Mark, you’re a father. Would you say you listened to the petitions of your son and daughters the same way you might listen to the request of a child you’d never seen before?
ANNOUNCER: I’d listen to my children first.
KLAUS: Why?
ANNOUNCER: Because they’re family. They’re my flesh and blood.
KLAUS: Good. The Father listens to our prayer because we, through the life, suffering, death and resurrection of the Savior, through the faith placed in our hearts by the Holy Spirit, are made part of God’s adopted and redeemed family.
Now let me ask–even though your children were family, did you give them everything they asked for?ANNOUNCER: Of course not. I don’t know any good father who would always give in to his children.
KLAUS: Why not?
ANNOUNCER: Because a father has to make some decisions. He has to decide what is best for his children. He, not they, is supposed to be the wise one.
KLAUS: Which may also be what God does?
ANNOUNCER: I suppose so.
KLAUS: So how would an unbeliever construe God not answering his prayer the way he would like?
ANNOUNCER: I’d think he would really dig in and say, “God isn’t there” or “God doesn’t’ care.”
KLAUS: And what would be the difference for a Christian when God says no or not yet or not this way?
ANNOUNCER: Hopefully he would say, “Father knows best.” Pastor, we’ve run out of time. Can we finish this up next week? We’ve still got that second part of our question.
KLAUS: Let’s do that.
ANNOUNCER: This has been a presentation of Lutheran Hour Ministries.
Music selection for this program:
“A Mighty Fortress” arranged by John Leavitt. Concordia Publishing House/SESAC
“Praise the Name of the Lord” by Jeff Shanks. From Living as God’s Children by Songs for the Masses (© 2001 Takestone Music) Mass Voice Music/BMI
“Oh, For a Faith That Will Not Shrink” sung by the Kammerchor, Concordia University-Wisconsin. Used by permission.
“My Faith Looks Up to Thee” arr. Henry Gerike. Used by permission.
“On What Has Now Been Sown” From Every Voice a Song (© Concordia Publishing House)
“How Can I Keep From Singing?” by Robert A. Hobby. From Thine Is the Glory (© 1997 MorningStar Music Publishers)