Living in a Spirit of Power, of Love, and of a Sound Mind (Not Fear)
By Daniel L. Switzer, Ed.D.
Pastor, Northgate Community Church
2 Timothy 1:7 says, “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind” (NKJV). With the downturn in the economy, there’s a lot of fear in our world today. Media reports abound regarding the recession, the housing crisis, retailers going out of business, and people losing their jobs. But with all of the reports out there, I want to encourage you as Christians—as Christ-ones—to not feed into the fear, but to live according to the Word of God, to live in the opposite of fear—to live in power, in love, and in a sound mind.
A Spirit of Power
First, as Christ-ones, we have been given a spirit of Power! We who are born again by the Spirit of God, we have Christ—we have power! We have inner might, inner strength, inner courage, inner power!
Psalm 138:3 says, “When I called, you answered me; you made me bold and stouthearted” (NIV). We need to remember to call upon the Lord. When life seems to be conspiring against you, call upon the Lord! When you’re hemmed in from all sides, get out, go on a walk, look up and call upon the Lord. And as this verse tells us, God will make you stouthearted! Sometimes, when we get hit by bad news, our hearts can just sink. It’s like taking a blow to the gut—you bend down and get a sinking feeling. Well, with Christ, we have a spirit of power that overcomes that sinking feeling. The Lord makes us stouthearted—He gives us big hearts to withstand even bad news.
Psalm 138:8 assures us that even in troubled times, “The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me.” I think it’s neat that we serve a God who doesn’t just do things for us! Yes, he gives us the strength, but he doesn’t just do things for us. He’s like a Father who when his child has fallen, he picks him up, brushes him off, and says, “Now you get back out there. Get back out there in the game; get back out there in the neighborhood with your friends, get back out there in the fray, get back out there in the workplace, get back out there in the ministry I’ve called you to.” God involves us in His purpose. He wants to see us develop, to grow, to experience great purpose, great passion, great enthusiasm for life!
The Lord makes us stouthearted; he gives us power for the purpose he’s given us, for the life he’s called us to.
A Spirit of Love
Secondly, we’ve been given a spirit of love. We have been given a spirit of power, but we must use this power in love so as not to run roughshod over people. As we walk in God’s power—living Christ—God enables us to fan into flame the gift of love that He has given us!
I believe an antonym—an opposite of walking in fear—is walking in love! Fear and timidity—how are they different from love? Fear and timidity have to do with an inward focus, drawing into oneself, closing up shop, and closing the doors to one’s life. Walking in fear is not being giving, not being hospitable, hoarding one’s possessions, being greedy, and protecting myself and my possessions.
In the great classic movie “It’s a Wonderful Life,” when the main character George Bailey had just gotten married and was about to go on his honeymoon with his bride, there is a run on the bank during the great stock market crash. George Bailey runs over to the Bailey Building and Loan and feverishly tries to convince the people not to take all of their money out of the bank at once. With the people being filled with fear, he has a hard time convincing them. They wanted their money now. Well, when things looked desperate with no money to dole out, his wife spoke up, with her honeymoon cash in her hand and said, “I’ve got $2,000 dollars here” (the money for their honeymoon). Mr. Bailey and his wife were willing to walk in the gift of love and not be greedy like the Scrooge of the town, Mr. Potter; they were willing to share with others, and the Building and Loan made it through the crisis.
We’ve been given a spirit of love—which is the opposite of fear. Love is an outward focus, thinking of others. It’s giving of oneself and one’s gifts. It’s being hospitable and opening the doors of your life to others. It’s not being overly protective with an attitude of “I got to protect what’s mine” but sharing the gift of love with others. Love is being very generous toward others—knowing that everything we have is from God anyway, and we cannot outgive Him.
In the Bible, the friendship of Jonathan and David illustrates this love. Jonathan, the son of King Saul, could have been very protective of what was his. He was the heir to the throne of his father. He very easily could have seen David as a competitor. He could have been jealous, greedy for what should have been his. But Jonathan didn’t respond that way. He loved David. He didn’t hold back in fear, but gave to David in love. 1 Samuel 20:17 says that Jonathan loved David as he loved himself.
A Spirit of a Sound Mind
Thirdly, God has not given us a spirit of fear, but He’s given us a spirit of a sound mind. As Christ-ones, we have the gift of a sound mind! Walking in fear is the antithesis of walking in a sound mind. A sound mind is the opposite of a mind tormented by fear.
Acts 2 shares how David saw the Lord always before him. Thus, when he faced Goliath he was not shaken by fear; instead, he had a sound mind for the task that lay before him. Likewise, when we are faced with the Goliaths in our life, we need to see the Lord always before us!
Instead of a split mind dominated by fear and worry, we have a whole mind that is sound. As Christ-ones, we have been given a mind that is healthy, at peace, and complete.
A sound mind is very important. We should not underestimate this gift God has given us, and we need to protect it. When people are not of a sound mind, they’re skittish, constantly wondering what’s going to happen to them—living in fear. God doesn’t want that for us. He’s given us a sound mind.
Along with this sound mind comes a spirit of self-discipline. The NIV’s translation of 2 Timothy 1:7 says we’ve been given a spirit “of self-discipline.” There’s a little saying that I kept in my office for many years: “Through discipline comes freedom.” Walking in discipline brings freedom which counteracts the paralysis of fear. Walking in freedom is the antithesis of walking in fear.
Proverbs 21:5 says, “The plans of the diligent lead to profit as surely as haste leads to poverty.”
Self-discipline enables us to take proactive steps to be the person God call us to be—in every area—in the use of our time, with our finances, in our priorities, in growing as a servant of God.
Self-discipline is giving the first fruits of God’s provision in our lives back to Him—it’s trusting God’s economy for our life! The very act of giving that first ten percent to the Lord is a faith-action that builds godly discipline into the rest of our life.
Self-discipline is living within our means financially. I was recently talking with a brother who this past year got completely out of debt. It was cause for rejoicing! That’s freedom. “Through discipline comes freedom!”—and it counteracts fear!
Self-discipline enables us to have a strong work ethic—to get to work on time, to be faithful, and to be a person who works with consistency and is committed to excellence. Proverbs 14:23 says, “All hard work brings a profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty.” Studies show that there is much down time in work settings—the lack of productivity is an issue in the workplace.
Self-discipline enables us to discipline ourselves—to not have to be disciplined by our boss. It enables us to give an honest day’s work and be a valuable team member in our place of employment. It enables us to not be just a “cog in the wheel” so to speak but to be purposeful as ones who add value in working wholeheartedly as unto the Lord. And God, who knows all things, sees our self-discipline and our work ethic. God sees everything, and promotion is from the Lord. And remember, God is always preparing us for our future and that future is one of more influence in the lives of others—an increased opportunity to be an example and share Christ with others!
I want to challenge you to not feed into the fear that is so prevalent in the news lately, but to walk in the opposites of fear—a spirit of power, of love, of a sound mind, and of self-discipline.
You have the power of Christ in you! You have the love of Christ toward others! You have the sound mind of Christ in you! And you have the self-discipline to be what Christ is calling you to be! That’s the Spirit God has given you. And God will bless that kind of life. You have nothing to fear!
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