2 Tim.1:3-7
Fear is the mega killer. Fear cripples, paralyses, torments, kills.
Gary Whetstone: False Evidence Appearing Real
Roosevelt: The most fearful thing to fear is fear itself.
Timothy might have been a timid person (1Cor.16:10-11; 1Tim.4:12)
Reasons to be Fearful
1. Background: Acts 16 (Cf. Judges 6. Gideon had the same problem)
2. Age: Timothy was a youth (1Tim.4:12). Such was the problem also of Jeremiah.
3. Loneliness: Timothy was alone in Ephesus. (Cp. Elijah’s loneliness, Moses’ loneliness)
4. Context: Ephesus was a big city. There was the huge Diana’s Temple, one of the Seven Wonders of the world. Timothy was from a small town.
Reasons to be Fearless
1. A Legacy of Faith (2Tim.1:4-5). He had the heritage of saints. He was surrounded by a cloud of witnesses (Heb.12:1).
2. Gift of God Inside (2Tim.1:6).
3. Spirit of Power, Love, and Self-Disciplines (2Tim.1:7).
Enemies of Courage
1. Immediate Perception. What we see, hear, sense. Threat, Panic. (e.g. The Anakites)
Conditional Association. Sensation overtakes and amnesia results. (e.g. Israelites at Red Sea)
2. Imagination. What we visualize. Pictures, images. Worry, Anxiety.
3. Intimidations. Threatening (e.g. Goliath, Rabshekeh..)
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