Stirup The Gift

United Faith Christian Fellowship Bishop A. Stephon Hogan, Sr. Sermon: Stir Up the Gift Scripture: 2 Tim. 1:5-7 5 When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice; and I am persuaded that in thee also. 6 Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands. 7 For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. PRAY I am glad to the in the House of the Lord where everybody is somebody and Jesus is Lord of us all. I would like to use the subject from which to attempt to teach, "Stir Up The Gift". I chose this subject title because we are living in a time where adults are condemning children because of their social background. We are condemning our future just because of who their parents are. We are condemning our children because of where they live. We are condemning our children just because they don't have enough money. I stand before you today to bare witness that none of that even matters in the eyes of God. I stand before you today, to let you know that it does not matter where you come form or who your parents are or where you live or how much money you have. All that matters is this one simple thing, God gave you a gift and now it is time to stir it up. As we take a look at our text today we see that the Apostle Paul is giving Timothy a heartfelt greeting that quickly turns in to concern. We see that in the greeting that Paul is giving to Timothy is that of what seems to be a longing father looking after his son. Paul's heart is heavy with the memories of the days of old. His heart longs for Timothy to have unmovable faith. Paul prays that Timothy does not for get his roots, that he does not forget where he came from. Paul also wants Timothy to know that the same faith that he came from, that the same faith that raised him, that the same faith the saved him, that the same faith that brought him through, was the same faith that lives inside of him. I stopped by here to let you know that there is a faith that is inside of us that is ready to come out. I am reminded of a message by Bishop Marvin L. Winans. He was preaching at a mens conference and he was talking about men empowering one another. Bishop Winans said that the God in me should draw the God out of you. He went on to say that if we are of the same spirit, we should empower each other through the Word of God. Amen somebody. So I came all this way to say that it is time to stir up the gift. There is something down inside of you trying to to make its out. I can remember that old song, "I got something on the inside, working on the outside. Oh what change in my life." I stand before you as a messenger from GOD to encourage you, stand for what is right and join in the Christian Fight. Just like Paul said in 2 Tim. 1:5-10. I need you to know that there is an unfeigned faith in you. This faith goes back a long time. I know that that is was said by them of old time, remove not the old landmarks for they are there for our learning. I need you to understand that it is with the seasoned saints that your people find courage, it is with seasoned saints that young people find strength, it is with the seasoned saints that young people find correction and guidance. If the gift of God was stirred up in you after all the things that you did down through the years, the gift of God can be stirred up in the young people today. If there ever was at time that we need to stir up the gift of God, the time is now. If there ever was a time that we need our seasoned saints, that time is now. If there ever was a time that we needed to look where we came from and look at were we are going and make a change, the time is now. Now is the time for love. Now is the time for peace. Now is the time for encouragement. Now is the time for support. Now is the time to rebuild. Now is the time to gather together. Now is the time to embrace. Now is the time to plant. Now is the time heal. Now is the time to dance now is the time mend. NOW IS THE TIME. FOR GOD HAS NOT GIVEN US THE SPIRIT OF FEAR; BUT OF POWER, AND OF LOVE, AND OF A SOUND MIND. DONT BE ASHAMED OF YOUR TESTIMONY OF THE OUR LORD, BUT BE A PARTAKER OF THE AFFLICTIONS OF THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO THE POWER OF GOD. THROUGH THIS POWER HE SAVED US WITH A HOLY CALLING. NOT BECAUSE OF US BUT BECAUSE HE IS THAT GOOD. LET US STAND TOGETHER AS THE CHILDREN OF GOD AND STIR UP THE GIFT. Amen