So the verse that I'm going to be focusing on tonight is 2 Timothy chapter 1 verse 7. God gave us not a spirit of caritas, but of power, of love, and of self-control. That is, or can be translated of a sound mind. And you notice from the title, of this evening's message, how I tried to, as succinctly as I could, to include the gist of the verse. The cross, which is the power and the love and self-control that God has given to us, and the collapse of cowardice, cannot stand before the cross of Christ, the gospel of our Savior. I'd like to begin by just bringing to your attention five points before I get into the actual words of the text. The first is that I just want to remind you of the Sunday school class previous to the one we have now. Jerry taught that class. The title of the class was the last words and he was referring to the last words of Paul and Peter and was talking to him prior to him teaching the class. And he told me that he came up with this idea because in his reading he noticed that both of these men knew that they were going to die. And so what would an apostle who knew he was going to die do? desire to do. And that would be to make sure that those who are coming behind them would continue on in the faith. Hence the last words. This is one of the last words chapter and how important it is because the Apostle Paul, he's speaking to Timothy, the Apostle Paul, a seasoned, mature, uh, pastor and apostle. speaking to Timothy, not quite seasoned in the ministry of the gospel. But he wants to inform Timothy. He wants to make sure that Timothy knows of what is going to be taking place and the attacks against the Word of God. He wants Timothy, above all, to know that his life and ministry must be based on the apostolic word of God. And why is this? I think of a quote from Charles Spurgeon. He said, when there's mist in the pulpit, you could be sure there's fog in the congregation. And so there has to be a clear understanding of the word of God, and that needs to be perpetuated. You notice Timothy can't turn to the apostle Paul and say, Paul, well, the cowardly stuff, the timidity, the reticence that you're speaking of, that's my personality. You see, the structure of the text won't allow it. In fact, if he were to say something like that to the Apostle Paul, what Paul would say in return is, well, it's because of your personality, that tendency for you to be fearful or timid or cowardly that I want you to be on your guard. Thirdly, the context clearly makes a distinction between the specific and the general. So the specific is a reference to the fact that Christ has poured out gifts upon his church. And you see how Timothy refers specifically to the laying on of hands and the gifts that Timothy received. And so that would be the specific emphasis of the passage. But there's a general, and that's the verse that we're looking at tonight. He gave us a spirit, not of cowardice, but of power, of love, and of self-control. And what I mean by that is that text about not giving us a spirit of cowardice, but of power, love, and self-control is given to the church. It is something that we all possess. So while Paul is certainly speaking to Timothy on that pastoral level, he is using as his foundation, as his basis, the very truth that what Christ has accomplished and given to the church. And so our text this evening is very relevant to all of us present this evening. Fourthly, I want to just read a passage that really just exemplifies or with a megaphone shouts out what this passage this text is telling us Hebrews chapter 2 verses 14 and 15 since therefore the children share in flesh and blood he that is Christ himself likewise partook of the same things that through death and he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery." And so you see that the liberating aspect of this verse, the freedom that you and I have in Christ Jesus. Fifthly, to be a help to Timothy, Paul must address his internal life. And so he says God did not give a spirit of cowardice, but a spirit of power and love and self-control. And you need to use the context every time you see that word, which is translated spirit, to understand what is being referred to. And here, the reference is to the life which one gets in fellowship with Christ. That is the reference. And so you could see how Paul is speaking of his inner life and saying, cowardice is not numbered among those qualities which God has given. So let's begin, let's look first at what God did not give us, and here you'll understand why I favor the word cowardice in the translation. And then secondly, we'll look at what God has given, what God did give us, and then we'll just make some comments of application. So first, what God did not give us, and that is cowardice, that internal acceptance of or surrender to a culturally driven ideology that may even dress up and present itself as a virtue rather than a vice. It's a vice. Fear, timidity, cowardice. You really want to understand what I'm getting at here, just think of The Wizard of Oz. All right? And so Dorothy goes to the Wizard of Oz with her three friends. And they're all in need of something, right? And so the focus now, obviously, is going to be on who? The cowardly lion. The cowardly lion really does help us understand the nature of the problem here. There's something fundamentally wrong with saying cowardly lion. Why? Well, because lions are not cowardly. A cowardly Christian? There's a problem. Because Christians are not cowardly. And if you are, and I am, Call it what it is, so that we can deal with the problem, address the problem. We don't want to soften the meaning of the words here, so let's look at the actual word, the nature of cowardice, and then the cause and effect or the cause and damage of cowardice. Both are opposed to what God has given us. So as you look at the text, you've In Greek, you'll realize that the word that is used is Delia and its root, Delos. It tells us the nature of the problem. Number one, there's excessive fear. And number two, there's excessive self-concern. Excessive fear and excessive self-concern. The excessive fear is that you're driven by fear. It's dreadful. In other words, you're full of dread. It's describing a person who loses their moral gumption or their fortitude that is needed to follow the Lord. And then, so important to the reason why I would prefer the word coward is because of the second reason, the excessive self-concern. Fearful of losses. It refers to an excessive fear, a dread of losing. causing someone to be fainthearted or cowardly, hence to fall short in following Christ as Lord. And then we see, secondly, the cause and effect or the cause and damage of cowardice. And we see that here too. It's opposed to what God has given us. And it tells us the severity of the problem. So there's two elements that we need to look at. First, a temporary, and second, a permanent. A temporary cause and effect and a permanent cause and effect. A temporary cause and effect of faithlessness. And we all, at various times in our lives, experience this. We go through these times of faithlessness. And the cause is, you know, your God is too small. That's certainly apropos. Think of Mark, chapter 4, verses 37 to 40. And here is where we're going to find that word, delos, the word that is interpreted cowardly. And this is when Jesus was in the boat with the disciples and a great windstorm arose. And waves were breaking into the boat so that the boat was already filling. But he was in the stern, asleep on a cushion. And they woke up and said to him, teacher, do you not care that we are perishing? And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, peace, be still. And the wind ceased and there was a great calm. He said to them, why are you so afraid? That's the word. Why are you so cowardly? Why is there cowardice welling up within you? Have you still no faith? And they were filled with great fear and said to one another, who then is this that even the wind and the sea obey him? The point that Jesus is making here is that they should have had confidence in him, not in themselves. I mean, they're accomplished men, most of them fishermen by trade. They've been on the sea all their lives. And it's certainly not the point that Jesus is making. They should have had confidence in him and in the one who sent him. They should have exercised a faith, grabbed hold of that fact that they know that he is near, and that he is almighty, and he is for us, not against us. That brings us to the second cause and effect, which is permanent. It's the cause and effect of apostasy, and you can see the damage Yes, there's damage with the first, but through repentance, we return to the Lord, right? Apostasy is a permanent, a refusal to repent, and the damage is of an eternal nature. Revelation chapter 21, verses seven to eight, is a reference of Christians who, through cowardice, give way under persecution and apostatize. So the one who conquers, the Lord says, I will be his God and he will be my son. But as for the cowardly, and I don't even have to give you a word that's there, that's in the translation. Delos, cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death. That's the final place of all unrepentant sinners. I love with this one counseling agency, Red River Counseling, they came up with this great definition of cowardice, which is very, very helpful. Cowardice can be defined as a trait wherein fear and excessive self-concern override doing or saying what is right, good, and of help to others or oneself in a time of need. It overrides it. It is the opposite of courage. And this particular author for this agency said also, there is no trait that is more incompatible with the call to follow Christ than cowardice. And so again, I want to remind you that Paul is addressing the Christians, Timothy's internal life God gave us a spirit not of this, but of that, not of cowardice, but of power, of love, and of self-control, or a sound mind. What Paul says to Timothy principally is what Jesus says to his followers and us. Luke chapter nine, verses 23 to 26. And he said to all, if anyone would come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross daily, it's important, and follow me. Because it's not a one-time thing. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits, loses himself. For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed when he comes in his glory and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels." As often as you continue in this lifestyle, This lifestyle of the cross, not the lifestyle of the rich and famous or whatever. The lifestyle of the cross. You deny yourself, take up your cross and follow me. Cowardice collapses. Because it's nothing in comparison. to the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ and what he has done for us, what he has given us. Cowardice is not a part of my life, the Lord Jesus Christ says. It is not a part of the life I gave you. And so Paul calls on this, I would call them character witnesses. Power, love, and self-control. presents these internal character witnesses that sit in counsel against fear, against timidity, against reticence, against cowardice. Each one speaks presenting evidence of the Lord's glory in you, encouraging you, strengthening you, comforting you, convicting you, correcting you. What God gave us, he says, or power, love, and self-control, or a sound mind, divine traits of courage, Christ-secured, life-transforming. Having been transferred into the kingdom of Christ, Colossians 1, 13 to 14, and created anew in Jesus Christ, Ephesians 2, 10, So too, you have been granted access to the throne of grace, that you might receive grace to help you in your time of need, Hebrews chapter four, verse 16. And so unlike the fanciful journey of the Wizard of Oz, the journey to the Wizard of Oz, This is not a fanciful God promising to give what he cannot deliver. Do you believe who God is and that this is what he has done for you? Do you find your identity in who he has sent, the Lord Jesus Christ, and what Jesus Christ has done for you by laying his life down as that atoning sacrifice for sin? Not only is cowardice not a part of the equation, but as I already alluded, it collapses as you apply it. Take up your cross daily, right? A daily activity. Daily, we are to apply. what God has given us, that power, love, and self-control. There are great spiritual provisions that he has given us as he condescends to us in Christ to help you live the victorious life. And I'm not, and I phrased it that way because I don't want you to think that it was only one time that God condescended to minister to us, he does it again and again. When we cry out for help in our time of need, he condescends to us in Christ to help us to live the victorious life. So this cast of characters whose divine traits we are given in Christ, what are they? The power of God, right? The dunamis, the love of God, the agape, and then a little more complicated, needs a little bit of explaining, is this idea of the sound mind that we have in Christ, the self-control that we exhibit. So let's look at these character witnesses. The first one is the power of God, which breaks that hold that cowardice so often has on us, that debilitating fear that we sometimes experience. We know that the promise is given, 1 John chapter four, verse four, greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world, and certainly that's applicable to our text this evening. See, God's power is needed in every scene of life in order to really grow in sanctification and to prepare us for heaven, for glorification. The Lord says to us through this character, I created you. I sustained you. I redeemed you, and I have broken the power of sin, of death, and the devil." 2 Corinthians 12, verse 9. I love this passage. I love this passage so much. Paul delights in this response that Jesus gives him, because he's got this problem, and he keeps going to the Lord and saying, God, please, take it away. And Jesus says to him, my grace is sufficient for you. My power is made perfect in weakness. That's for you. That's for me. It really is. This word, made perfect, is the idea of telos, the reaching the end. And I love how in the definition they actually gave this illustration of the old pirate's telescope, how it unfolds. And each time it unfolds, it becomes more strong, right? It goes to full strength capacity. And so, and this is the idea here, that as we cry out to the Lord, the Lord is displaying his power in us, despite our weaknesses, right? And then, Paul reasons this way. Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me." And that idea of resting upon is literally the word to tent upon, to abide. That is so beautiful. We heard in the Sunday school class today, Lane Tipton's class, how that God created the highest heavens as a tent to abide in, that we might worship him. Same concept, except that now we're talking about it abiding in you and in me. Okay, it's speaking of the resurrection power of Christ descending upon you, working within you, and giving you help. How beautiful, how beautiful that is. And then the second character witness, the love of God, and that is to dispel the lie that the cowardice deceives you with. And how does that work? Well, self-preservation over the preservation of the truth. And always, it's going to hit us in that way. But listen to what John says in 1 John 4, verse 18. Perfect love casts out fear. And so, this is agape love, right? The father shows how much he loves us by sending his one and only son into the world. John 3, 16. The son shows us his love by laying down his life. Greater love has no man than this, that one lays down his life for his friends. John 15, 13. By the presence of the Holy Spirit, they have, father and son, taken up residency in our hearts as their home. perfect love, strong arms, the excessive self-concern component of cowardice in our hearts and cast it out. So the vicious cycle of failing to stand your ground and failing to be the one that can be counted on, yes, can be broken. Notice how Jesus summarizes the law, even, in Mark chapter 12, verses 30 and following, where he says, the law is made of two parts, right? Loving God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, and loving your neighbor as yourself. So we are enabled to love in that way. And then, thirdly, the self-control, the sound mind that God has given us to mitigate the irrational lies of cowardice. So how do we understand this? It's kind of hard to understand self-control and even a sound mind. They're both helpful, but We need to see it as living in God's defined balance, God's defined balance, where there is an inward mindset that regulates outward behavior. moving in the bigger picture. And as we do that, there is a transforming action taking place within us so that we are radically balanced according to God's will. And so the verse Romans chapter 12 verse 2, be transformed by the renewing of your minds, I think is a perfect verse to fully understand what the Apostle Paul is speaking of in using this word. So we stay the course. We trust in the Lord in all situations which are changing day to day. We don't know what to do at one moment. We need to cry out to the Lord for his help. The mind of Christ will guide us as we submit to him. You notice, As we read the passage in Hebrews, right, that Christ had to be made like us in every way. So too, these three words really speak to each element of our humanity. So the power of God enables and empowers our wills to do that which is right, do that which is good. and not cave in, right, to cowardice. The love of God speaks to our emotions and it inflames our hearts so that we're not so easily dissuaded from obeying the Lord. Because of our self-concern, right? And then that sober-mindedness or that self-control speaks to our minds. It enlightens our minds in what we are required to do, what God wants us to do, what the will of the Lord is, that good and perfect and pleasing will. So what is your response to be? Well, I'd like to give one response that I think would work for all of us. And that is, you know, when the individual came to the disciples, they couldn't help and Jesus asks, do you believe? And what was the cry? What was the cry? Lord, I believe. Help my unbelief. And I think if we can contextualize it to our verse, I will live courageously. Help. my cowardliness. I think that works because we all experience this fear, this timidity at times, and this cowardice that needs to be repented of. Martin Luther certainly had reason to be full of dread and fear of losing many different things in January. 1521, Luther, who denounced indulgences as a means of salvation and denied the papal foundations of the church, claiming rather faith in Christ as the foundation, had to face a papal decree declaring him a heretic, for which he was excommunicated. Several months later, in April, he had to face the imperial diet, of the Holy Roman Empire led by the Emperor Charles V. But Luther stood brave and steadfast against the charges and he made his famous reply, unless I am convinced by the scripture and plain reason I do not accept the authority of popes and councils, for they have contradicted each other. My conscience is captive to the word of God. I cannot recant, and I will not recant anything, for to go against conscience is neither right nor safe. Here I stand. I cannot do otherwise. God help me. Amen. And I think the most telling phrase in that entire quote is, God, help me. Lord, I believe, help my unbelief. Lord, I will live courageously, help my cowardliness. But he stood, and he's a good example, a good model for us, just as the Apostle Paul was for Timothy. I'd like to look at, given that expression, five applications. Do you believe this? Once a coward, always a coward? True or false, right? Well, we know it's not true because we understand that repentance brings us back into fellowship with God. Peter is a good example of someone who showed cowardice or enslavement to fear. He denies the Lord in Luke 22. He is restored. And then again, after the pouring out of the Holy Spirit, Galatians chapter 2, verses 11 to 13, for fear of the circumcision party, he refused to sit and eat with the Gentiles. And Paul just had to take him to task. You're not in step with the truth of the gospel. He had to do it openly because Peter openly displayed this cowardice. before all. Secondly, standing before your Lord is such a comforting thought. Romans chapter 14, verse 4. And yes, it's in the context of the weaker brother. Don't judge your weaker brother. He's standing before his own master. But that's a principle. That's a principle for all of us. Whether we're struggling with a a particular weakness or not, we're standing or falling before our Master. If I'm going to fall, I want to fall there. What a comfort to know that even if I do succumb to weakness and I fall, I fall before Him and He is able to restore me, right? Thirdly, think of the incremental progress that needs to be made. Always think about taking the next step. learning from your failures. What did Jesus say to Peter? When you're restored, strengthen your brothers. You are learning not only from our failures, but learning from others. So it was in a Russian gulag, Joseph Stalin's corrective labor camps, where Alexander Solzhenitsyn was transformed by the cross of Jesus Christ, and where God gave him a spirit of power, of love, and of a sound mind. It was there where he learned that, and I quote, the line separating good and evil passes not through states, nor between classes, nor between political parties either, but right through every heart. And he, Alexander, learned to say, I quote, bless you prison. I have served enough time there. I have nourished my soul there. And I say without hesitation, bless you prison for having been in my life. And after learning of the sufferings of Alexander, all the sufferings that he endured and the sanctifying effect that it had on him, John Piper writes, all that I would be done with murmuring against my tiny prisons Lord, grant me greater faith to live in the coming day when I will say, bless you, all hardship and pain. You have cut me off from the death of prosperous idolatry again and again. Thank you, God, for the life and work of Alexander Solzhenitsyn. I'll get that right. But there's a quote, and our brother Aaron has this on his email, all right, on his closing comments, a quote from Alexander. And here it's to encourage us, right? The next step, a simple step. The simple step of a courageous individual is not to take part in the lie. One word of truth outweighs the world. Fourthly, do you see the connection between daily life and spirituality? You see, the new life in Christ can't be compartmentalized. Ah, that is so deadly. Christ is in us. We take it wherever we go, right? And we apply it. Dietrich Bonhoeffer was in a very complex situation where he had to address civil matters because as a Lutheran pastor he was living during the rise of Nazism and he in fact was executed for his opposition to Hitler. He courageously spoke against the persecution of the Jews. And when Hitler demanded a church that swore allegiance or loyalty to him, he helped create the Confessing Church, which declared that its head was Christ, not the Führer. But here's a quote that really helps us understand this dynamic, that we cannot compartmentalize that life, that new life in Christ, where we have the power, the love, sound mind that God has given to us. Your yes to God demands your no to all injustice, to all evil, to all lies, to all oppression and violation of the weak and the poor, to all godlessness and mocking of the holy. Your yes to God demands a brave no to everything that will hinder you from serving God alone. whether it be your profession, your property, your house, your honor before the world. Fifthly, and lastly, do you find reasons to capitulate? to excuse your cowardliness, your cowardly behavior, I should say? Or do you stand firm in the power and the love and self-control of the Lord, consciously leaving the results in God's hands? So John Bunyan, what was his crime? He was thrown into prison. He was a tinker in England. And he preached without a license. That was it. And they threw him in prison. And he is quoted as having said, when the authorities came to pick him up from his house, where, yeah, he spent 12 years in that prison away from his wife and four children. Had I been minded to play the coward, I could have escaped. But he didn't. And we have a wonderful blessing to the Church of Jesus Christ in the allegory, Pilgrim's Progress. Let me just read a couple of things that are very helpful, because the Pilgrim's Progress operates on two levels. On one level, the book is a storehouse of Puritan theology, the Westminster confession of faith with people in it, as someone once said. On another level, however, it is an enthralling adventure story, a journey of life and death from the city of destruction to the celestial city. The poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge would later write, I could not have believed beforehand that Calvinism could be painted in such exquisitely delightful colors. That was by Scott Hubbard. Let us never be minded to play the coward because the cross and the collapse of cowardice is a reality. It's an eternal truth. As we anticipate sitting at the Lord's Supper, let us thank him for the power and the love and the sound mind that he has given us in Christ Jesus. And let us leave the results to him as we commit ourselves to doing that which is right, that which is true, that which is good, that which is holy. Let's bow together in prayer. Gracious Heavenly Father, we pray that you would use this particular text of your word to empower us, to encourage us, to bring us to our senses if we are out of step with you. We pray, Lord, that you would Apply the word with great power and that you would make us all, each and every one of us, courageous Christians who want to do the Lord's bidding. We ask these things in the precious name of Jesus Christ. Amen.