Fan The Flame

We sit on the front porch with the birds singing and move from small talk into a devotional on 2 Timothy 1:7 and the call to fan the flame. We talk about fear as a thief, how grace shapes our calling, and we close in prayer for boldness, love, and self-discipline. 
• porch conversation with Courtney and the peace of being outside 
• 2 Timothy 1:7 and why God does not give timidity 
• “fan into the flame” as an intentional choice when faith feels dim 
• fear as false evidence appearing real and how it keeps us small 
• power, love, self-discipline, and a sound mind as daily fuel 
• calling and identity rooted in God’s purpose and grace rather than performance 
• reflection questions on fear, gifts, and grace versus task pressure 
• closing prayer to trust God deeply and walk boldly 

Visit my website, www.forchministry.com. 
If you haven't read my book, discernment, I think you might like it if you're listening to the podcast this long, all the way to the end here. 
We've got a Zoom call tomorrow night, and anybody is is more than welcome to join us, just text me 706-267-1467, and just you can simply put Zoom call, and I will send you the link back with the code to get in. 
My website's . 

WWW.TRANONT.COM/BEROB

WWW.FORCHRISTMINISTRY.COM

Transcript

SPEAKER_02 0:13

It's a B Robb. It's the Food for Thought Faced, and I'm sitting here with my wife, Courtney, on this beautiful Sunday morning. It's a little cloudy, so we didn't really get a good sunrise, but um it sure is peaceful out here with the birds. What do you think, Courtney?

SPEAKER_04 0:31

It was really nice. I'm glad we did this. We need to do it more often.

SPEAKER_02 0:36

This is a nice little feathered choir we got going on.

SPEAKER_04 0:43

Oh, it is. I think that's one of the reasons we bought this house.

SPEAKER_02 0:46

And that is the very reason we bought this house because of that nest right there over that door.

SPEAKER_04 0:52

And the one right there in the corner. And the tree in the backyard that ended up being trash!

SPEAKER_02 1:06

But the tree in the front yard is actually really beautiful right now.

SPEAKER_04 1:10

It is gorgeous.

SPEAKER_02 1:13

We didn't get a whole lot of roses this year. We didn't really get a spring. We it went like it went really cold and then it went really hot and dry. So the plants don't know what to do. Like half of them are budded and half of them are dead. Good analogy of life in the United States right now, huh? Half of them are budded and fruits growing and half of them are dead. Don't be dead, especially in Christ. Right, Courtney?

SPEAKER_04 1:50

Absolutely. Absolutely. It's really muggy outside.

SPEAKER_02 1:57

Is it humid? I don't think it feels dry to me. Weird.

SPEAKER_04 2:02

No, I feel really gross sitting on here.

SPEAKER_02 2:06

Because you ain't took no shower yet. Just kidding. We we neither one of us have. And we might not.

SPEAKER_04 2:15

No, we're going to church. Oh, yeah, my bad.

SPEAKER_02 2:18

I forgot it's Sunday. Lord have mercy on our souls. Well, guys, thank you. This is a nice little clip. Thank you, Courtney, for talking.

SPEAKER_04 2:32

I had no choice. You kind of hijacked me. Yeah, you hijacked me.

SPEAKER_00 2:39

Yeah, that's what we do on the Food Fakist.

SPEAKER_01 2:47

This episode is sponsored in part by Courtney Mobile. No excuses. No excuses. If you want real energy and real support for your body, 29 million, no, you must be money.

SPEAKER_03 3:36

So without further ado, here's Big Rap.

Fan The Flame From 2 Timothy

How Fear Shrinks Your Life

Calling And Identity By Grace

Three Questions To Reflect On

Prayer For Boldness And Purpose

Wrap Up From The Front Porch

Website Book And Zoom Invite

Health Story And Trainot Promo

SPEAKER_02 3:49

Hey guys, we are back and um it was it's so beautiful out here that I I just we're gonna do the podcast right here. Right here on what right here on the uh front poach with the birds and the nature. But today we're gonna look at um I just pulled out the verse of the day, the U-verse day, uh U-verse Bible app. Verse of the day, which was 2 Timothy 1.7. Um here's that 1 7 at 17 again. Um funny thing, funny story is uh we picked up Stetson this morning, and I'm like, let's see how much he weighs. So I jumped on the scale 170, which I had lost five pounds. Wow, it's crazy. Um and we found out that uh, you know, if you pick him up and get back on the scale, I was 187. So he was 17 pounds, and this is the second time we've seen 17 today, even though it says 17, still 17, you know, 17. What's the 17th letter the alphabet? That is Q. And um if you know, you know. Uh well today is devotional. We're gonna do uh, we're gonna call this Fan the Flame. Um Second Timothy, if you have your Bibles, 2 Timothy uh chapter 1, verse 7 says, For the Spirit of God gave us, does not make us timid, but gives us power, love, and self-discipline. You see, this is a collection of letters written by Paul from prison. And if you're reading it, you wouldn't think that because he's not, it's not filled with fear. You know, his words are not filled with false evidence appearing real. The fear, um, yeah, no good, no good, no good. They're filled with urgency, they're filled with encouragement, they're filled with faith, you know. Um, Timothy, you see, Timothy was a young leader. He was likely facing all kinds of pressure, insecurity, and probably fear. But you see, Paul reminds him of something here: something powerful. Something if you look at verse 6, back in verse 6, it says, fan into the flame the gift of God. So basically, what I'm saying here, or what not what I'm saying, what I'm reading, um, basically what Paul is saying here is sometimes our faith feels like embers, you know, or you ever cooked on a gas stove or a or a grill that's about to go out, and it's just like barely heating up, just barely going, you know, that gas is just barely seeping out, boom, but that light is still there. Sometimes our life, and especially in these days where the warfare has become physical, well, it was always physical, but it's become really spiritual. That's what I meant to say, not physical. Um, and it's always been there, but it's you can see it even more on the surface. But the reason being, I mean, life is full of doubt, you know, criticism, hardship, and that can cause your flame to dim. That can cause that flame to dim, not having enough gas in that tank. But you see, here Paul says something very important. He doesn't say wait for God to relight it, he says fan it, be intentional, stir it up, lean back in, like crank that thing up, you know, switch out the tank. Let's get it going, right? I mean, he reminds us that we all need, we need that power from the Holy Spirit, because even though that flame may be dim, we're not helpless, we all need love, because sometimes our hearts get hardened, but we're not supposed to be hardened, and a lot of times we need self-discipline and sound mind because if we didn't have self-discipline, sound mind, and obedience to God, we'd be out of control, right? And you've seen what an out of control person looks like. And if you haven't, then I mean, you obviously don't have a Facebook account, or I'm just saying you might have that family member that's out of control, but you've all seen it. That's why we need self-discipline, sound mind, and obedience. You see, fear is the enemy, fear is the thief. Fear will try to convince you to shrink back, stay quiet, or play small in a big game. Fear will convince you to play checkers when everybody else is playing chess. You follow what I'm saying? Fear will say, no, no, I'm not a salesman. I'm gonna continue working this dead-end job when you know well that life is sales. In fact, Jesus commanded us to love each other and to love somebody, you gotta be a salesman. You gotta greet everybody with love in your heart. If your heart is hardened, you're not gonna greet nobody with love in your heart. Look at the time. It's 717. That's the third time today. Man, today has started out amazing. Amazing, amazing, amazing. I love it, I love it, I love it. But just know that fear is the thief. It's false evidence appearing real. And 99% of the things that are in your head holding you back is nothing but fear. And fear never comes true. Fear has no power, fear is just noise. So let's get back. In verse 9, Paul shifts the focus from feelings and fear, which is fake. The three F's feelings, fake, fear, or you know what I'm saying. He shifts those to identity and to calling. In verse 9, it says, He saved us and called us to a holy life, not because of anything we have done. So, see, I want to remind you that your calling's not based on how good you are at something. Your calling is not based on how much you work, your calling is not based on how much money you have. Your calling is not based on how many things you have or nice things you have. You might be popular, you might be the man, you might be the woman, you might be the GQ model, you might be everybody's favorite person, but your calling to God is not based on any of those things. None. It's not based on perfection, it's not based on how well you clean things, it's only based on his purpose and his grace and his love alone. He's already written the book. You can keep prolonging that all you want. You see, a key takeaway from this is that Paul was in prison and he was suffering. And even in suffering, Paul says in verse 12, I know whom I have believed. Not what, not when, but whom. You see, that statement alone is a personal statement. That's a statement of trusting God and God alone. Not what, but whom? So take a moment and ask yourself a couple things. Where in your life has fear been holding you back? Where in your life, what in your life is shrinking because of fear? Because of the things in your head that you think are not real. Because you're supposed to walk in power of the grace of God. So ask yourself, where have you been holding yourself back because you haven't been walking in power by the grace of God? Another question. What calling or gift that God has given you that you are not using and you need to turn it up a notch? You need to turn the volume up on, you need to kick the flame up on, you might need to throw a little gas on it. Those are good questions. Good questions for you to ponder on. Good questions for myself to ponder on. Last question. Am I focused more on my tasks? On my ability to create the task and to perform and complete the tasks? Or am I focused on God's grace? Am I stressing myself out over my abilities and tasks that I have created myself? Or am I focused on God's grace and thanking him for everything that comes into my reality today? Let's go to the Lord and pray. Dear Heavenly Father, we thank you, Lord. We thank you, Papa. We just we come to you today and thank you for this day, this beautiful morning. The beautiful feathered choir you have given us is simply amazing. We thank you for placing purpose in all of us, your children of God, Lord. Lord, please help us stir up the gifts and the calling that you have for us, that you have given us, and Lord, give us the strength to not be silent so that you can allow us to work, so that other people can see you through us, Lord. Lord, help remind us every day that the spirit that you have given us is powerful. It's loving, it's calm, and it's steady. Lord, and we thank you for that. Lord, teach us to trust you deeply, even when things feel crazy, uncertain, when there's a lot of noise, Lord. Lord help us choose to walk boldly in you with your spirit and what you have called us to do. It's in Jesus' holy, heavenly name we pray these things. Amen and hallelujah. Well, guys, that was it. And um man, this has been fun. I might have to do this more often. Now I had to bring the studio outside. Oh no, we got a power cord. I actually have uh a Bose speaker that is wireless that I can record on. Nice. Well, guys, it's been a great day, and Jesus and God has given us this day. So be thankful, man. Spread the gospel, love on somebody so they can see Jesus through you. Visit my website, www.forchministry.com. If you haven't read my book, discernment, I think you might like it if you're listening to the podcast this long, all the way to the end here. I think you might like the book because a lot of it is from my podcast. Um we've got a Zoom call tomorrow night, and anybody is is more than welcome to join us, just text me 706-267-1467, and just you can simply put Zoom call, and I will send you the link back with the code to get in. And Nikita Koloff is going to be on and hosting that. And if you don't know who Nikita is, he is uh a brother in Christ, a mentor, a life coach, and he was an eight-time world champion, heavyweight wrestler, like with Hulk Hogan and all those guys. And he's amazing. He's better than all those guys, actually. Yep, you will know them by their fruit. He is amazing. He is amazing. Um, but guys, it's it's a zoom call. Uh Tranot. My website's www.trainot.com slash b Rob. That's T-R-A-N-O-N-T.com forward slash B-E-R-O-B. Guys, I love you. God loves you. And if you don't have a relationship with Jesus, you better get right. Hey guys, it's B Rob. I grew up on fast processed microwave jumping. At one point in my life, I weighed 265 pounds. That's like a half of a quarter of a ton. Love my sp. Recently, me and my body and my spirit. We have a little set of Jesus meaning, you know what I mean? Because our bodies are the temples of the Holy Spirit we receive from God. Therefore, you should come with your bodies. We might have a spiritual mentor. You know the Russian man. Well, McCabe with a good house in China. For some good advice, amazing help, and great team and community. Your boy B Rob is even number one seven is for the first time in our three years and I feel amazing. When we are working on a project we like to call a provision project, to strike them a body, fund the mission, and build a legacy. More and number more, visit www.trema.com forward slash b Rob. That's trainab.com forward slash B-E-L-O-B.