The Power of the Spirit
II Timothy 1:7; Philippians 3:13-14; Hebrews 12:1-3
A Grade VI boy handed over his report card to his father. He noticed his father’s face turn red. Most of his grades were failing or very poor. Before Dad could speak, he asked, “Dad, what do you think is my problem, heredity or environment?” (Pause)
Congratulations! Good News is you have overcome your problems of heredity and environment.
You have made it through 4 or 5 years of college, overcome some very real challenges. Now, the Bad News is, are you ready for more? Are you ready for more challenges to overcome? Global recession. Steep competition for jobs here and abroad. Changing environments and technologies. Moral ambiguities.
It is said that
Rome remained great as long as it was challenged by definite enemies, who forced her to unify, to cling to a vision and to be challenged by acts of heroism. When she had overcome all enemies, she flourished for a while, and began to die.
The wonderful thing about confronting new challenges is that we can face them with some victories already under our belt. Just think of all your previous successes. You graduated from the womb and successfully came out to the world. You graduated from infancy and successfully passed kindergarten. You graduated from high school and successfully navigated those teen years. Now you have graduated from college. Are you ready for the challenge of building a life career?
If it is any comfort, everyone has gone through what you are going through. Your heart beats rapidly’ you have short breath. Difficulty swallowing. Your knees are weak. Your hands are cold, and you’ve never been so hot in your life. What I’m describing are some of the physiological reactions that you will experience when being interviewed for a job placement for the first time.
One of the greatest hurdles to success is fear. While not all fear is bad, everyone knows what its like to be afraid. When fear immobilizes us and keeps us from doing that which we are called to do, we are dominated by a “spirit of fear.” Paul advises:
I. Face Your Fears (II Timothy 1:7 “For God did not give us a spirit of timidity but a spirit of power, of love and self discipline.”
I like this verse because it was written to a young person, like you. Timothy was a young pastor at the church of Ephesus, and the Apostle Paul was his mentor. Paul encouraged Timothy not to be intimidated by others because of his young age. Timothy felt inadequate. He lacked self-confidence. Paul reminds Timothy that any cowardice in his life did not come from God’s Spirit. For God did not give us a spirit of fear but a spirit of power and love and self-control.
When we trust Jesus as Savior, the Holy Spirit takes up residence in our life and provides the comfort that we need to eliminate our fears. With God in control we can face our fears. He gives us the ability to do what life demands, and to be under control when others throw restraint to the winds.
Being alone can be fearful at times. Going in for a job interview can be traumatic. Not having any friends who care about you can be devastating. But God has not given you a “spirit of fear.” It is God’s will to move you from fear to confidence. God can and will use your life, but you must be willing to face your fears.
Saying “Yes” to a godly lifestyle in a difficult job environment takes courage.. You may be ridiculed saying “No” to drugs and the parties that you are invited to. You face the fear of being alone. Saying “Yes” to honesty and integrity in the work environment is a courageous thing to do when you are alone. One of the biggest battles you’ll face is the battle for honesty.
A friend in govt office told me: I’m disturbed by corruption in the office.
What’s happening I asked? …Well, opposing parties are campaigning to get our support for their pet projects.
So? …They are giving us gifts.
What gifts? …Cakes, snacks, Gift certificates, and free movie tickets. Inviting us to birthday parties. Envelopes with money.
So did you take them? …Honestly? Everyone does. Our bosses receive cars. So yes. I received money.
In exchange for what? …For my vote of course and my promise I will not use my position to discredit their party. I did the same to the other party.
You mean you took money from both parties?… I didn’t tell them of course.
But who will you vote for if you received gifts from both sides? …None of them. I figure this is my money anyway. I deserve this money. I am only getting what they stole from the public.
The workplace is full of moral ambiguity, fear and dishonesty .
Ambiguity is the norm today. It takes courage to say no, to be honest in your job. You are asked to make choices. Are you with us or not? Face your fear of losing a job or of losing profit if necessary, knowing that God has promised power and love and self-control. What does it profit you to gain a house for your son…if you lose your soul?
Many say that the cause of today’s financial crisis, is dishonesty and greed. The credit crunch was caused by companies encouraging people to spend money they had not earned, and by companies who had no accountability. Dishonesty here is prompted by greed for money. When everyone is living on credit, being honest and living within your means, takes a lot of courage. But many fear — honesty does not work.
There was a test conducted by a university. Ten students were placed in a room. Three lines of varying lengths were drawn on a card. The students were told to raise their hands when the instructor pointed to the longest line. But 9 of the students had been instructed beforehand to raise their hands when the instructor pointed to the second longest line. One student was the stooge. The test showed that the stooge would raise his hand up, look around, and realizing he was all alone, pull it back down. This happened 75% of the time, with students from high school. The researchers concluded that many would rather stand with the majority than risk being right and alone. Now is the time when you will have to face some of your fears squarely with a firm confidence in God. Never, take your cues from the crowd…
II. After fear, the second challenge is can you handle failure?
“Not that I have already attained this—or am already perfect; but I press on to make it my own. Brethren, I do not consider that I have made it my own; but one thing I do, forgetting what lies behind, and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 3:12-14)
Paul does 3 things here. 1. He refuses to allow failures to destroy his life. 2. He refuses to allow failures to burden his journey to his goal. 3. Implied, learn from your failures. The secret? He put his past behind him and determined to have a positive mental attitude in life. Forget your failures. No one is perfect and the only ones who never fail, are the ones who never do anything.
You have failed many times, although you may not remember. You fell down the first time you tried to walk. You bumped the tree the first time you rode a bicycle. You almost drowned the first time you tried to swim. Your first true love, went away.
Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall. Confucius.
III. Follow Your Faith (Hebrews 12:1-3)
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, we must get rid of every weight and sin that clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race set out for us, keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith who for the joy set out for him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God. Think of him who endured such opposition against himself by sinners, so that you may not grow weary in your souls and give up.
Following your faith is not a game of hit and miss. A lot of consistency is required. The Hebrew writer establishes that all runners need a reference point in running a race. People in a spiritual race also need a reference point. If a Muslim is in the middle of the desert and has no idea where he is, for example, the first thing he does is to face the East to Mecca. Christians, look to the Southern cross. When you know the South then the opposite direction is North. Once we know where true north is, we can navigate from there. The cross is our reference point for our mission — “Fix your eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith”
For Christians our reference point is the cross. You can be flexible on many things in life, and you should be. But when it comes to True North, the Lord is your reference point, don’t budge.
CONCLUSION: Face your fears. Forget your failures. Follow your faith. This is important. I invite you to make sure everything is where it needs to be between you and the Lord as you move through your journey from here on. And may God go with you.
Sermon for Baccalaureate Service, March 22, 2009
