Keep the Fire Burning
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Intro:
6 Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands.
6 For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands.
6 This is why I remind you to fan into flames the spiritual gift God gave you when I laid my hands on you.
6 For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands,
6 I’m writing to encourage you to fan into a flame and rekindle the fire of the spiritual gift God imparted to you when I laid my hands upon you.
The title of my message is, [Keep the Fire Burning].
When I was a child, our church had a ministry called Royal Rangers. It was basically boys scouts for Pentecostals. I had a like/dislike relationship with Royal Rangers.
I knew I needed to learn the survival skills it taught and I wanted to learn more about the Lord and Royal Rangers offered that. With that being said, sometimes our commanders forgot they were dealing with eight-year-olds and not eighteen-year-olds at basic training. But that is for another message.
One thing they taught us was how to build a good fire. I needed that lesson. We were like most of those in the city, when we wanted to breathe the fresh air, we loaded the popup camper and headed to Lake Eufala.
Our family camped with another family and the dads took care of building the fire. It was not until Royal Rangers that I realized you did not have to use half a bottle of lighter fluid to get a good fire going.
But it was not just getting the fire started, but it required fanning the flames to keep it from dying. We learned a little bit of wind and rekindle a flame. And just a small ember can turn into a big fire if it is handled and tended to properly.
Some of the funnest times were sitting around the fire at night. And if it was a really good fire, even the next morning, it would still smoke a little, needing a little bit of care to get it going again.
I thought of this fond childhood memory when I read this passage this week. Fire holds an important place in Scripture.
In the Old Testament, fire often signified judgement or God’s presence.
Interestingly enough, in the New Testament, fire has similar symbols— judgment and God’s presence.
The difference between the Old and New perspective on fire had to do with the single most world changing event— the Cross. The death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus changed everything.
In the Old Testament, fire would consume a sacrifice. That still happens, except instead of burning up, God gives us a burning passion, consuming our lives.
In the Old Testament, when God’s fire would come, everyone knew it was His presence, but they were often kept far away, in fear of judgment.
Now, God’s fire still signifies God’s presence, but we can come boldly into His presence because of Jesus.
Let’s keep the mental image of a burning fire throughout this message. For that is one of the examples Paul used in speaking to Timothy.
Paul wrote two letters to his spiritual son Timothy, but it is hard to contain their relationship and friendship on paper.
Paul found Timothy during his second missionary journey. In Timothy he saw a:
young
studious
dedicated
resolute individual who God wanted to use.
Eventually, Timothy became an extension of the Apostle Paul.
He trusted Timothy and placed him in positions of leadership. In fact, Timothy became the pastor of the church at Ephesus. Though it was a strong congregation, Ephesus was:
a pagan city
They had temples
worshipped fifty different gods and goddesses
a port city
much immorality
an educated city
filled with colleges
Paul knew the pressures of living for Jesus, let alone the pressures of ministry. So he wrote twice to Timothy to instruct and encourage him.
There are two passages that are almost identical
14 Do not neglect the gift that is in you, which was given to you by prophecy with the laying on of the hands of the eldership.
6 Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands.
What is the difference between these two passages?
Time— the first letter came sometime after Paul’s first imprisonment. He had a full life ahead of him.
The second letter came right before Paul was about to beheaded for his faith in Jesus. Time was short and the instructions were much more urgent.
Paul wanted Timothy to keep the fire burning.
I agree. I believe God is calling on us this morning. He is saying, rekindle the flames, fan the flames, and keep the fire burning in our lives, our families, and our church.
I want to take these two versus and dissect them into three parts, [The Stirring], [The Spirit], and [The Sign].
Let’s begin
1. The Stirring
1. The Stirring
14 Do not neglect the gift that is in you, which was given to you by prophecy with the laying on of the hands of the eldership.
6 Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands.
The first time Paul told Timothy not to neglect, the second time he explained to stir up.
The word neglect holds a lot of weight. When I think of neglect, I think of:
disregard
ignore
leave alone
turn your back on
fail to look after
A person can go to prison for neglecting a child
A wound can get worse and turn into a bad infection if we neglect to get to the doctor
A conflict will fester and get worse if we neglect to find some type of resolution
Paul wrote to Timothy not to NEGLECT. Neglecting what God wants for us will cause nothing but trouble and distance from him.
I began studying for this message on Monday. I felt cautioned by the Lord not to rush into trying to get an outline or to begin to write anything.
Instead, I heard Him speak to my spirit, to get these words in me before I go to the pulpit on Sunday. So I took out a piece of paper and wrote neglect on top. In the middle I wrote stir up.
Then I began to reflect and pray about the two. How do I neglect God and what can I do to have a stirring?
I decided if I get too busy, I start to NEGLECT what the Lord wants for me. If I pack my day, my week, or my month SO full, I will struggle to find time for Him.
I wonder if I am alone— who could say, sometimes I let myself get too busy?
So if busyness causes me to neglect what God wants, then SLOWING DOWN will help me stir up what God wants.
Busyness is not a sin per se, but if I am so busy I do not make time for God, before too long, temptation will rear its head and before I know it, sin soon follows.
I also noticed if I do not pray as I should, it is a form of neglect. So I should stir up my prayer life and make time EVERY DAY, many times a day to talk to God.
Another way I noticed neglect can come is through preconceived ideas. Who has ever got stuck in your ways? I know I have. Instead, I should ask God to stir up something new in me.
I began to see a connection between these areas. When I get too busy, I am more prayerless, then I start depending on old experiences to get me through, and before I know it my walk with God is STALE!
So I realize, I NEED A STIRRING. I need God to SHOW me where I am neglecting Him and stir my heart by way of remembrance of ALL HE has done and all He wants to do!
I assume I am not alone in these areas. Remember, God wanted to get them in me first, then I can come to this point with more compassion.
Paul recognized the importance of stirring up and not neglecting God. He called on Timothy, do not neglect and stir up. What it is he was to get stirred?
2. The Spirit
2. The Spirit
14 Do not neglect the gift that is in you, which was given to you by prophecy with the laying on of the hands of the eldership.
6 Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands.
The GIFT. What is the gift?
There are many gifts from God. Life is a gift. I believe my wife is a gift to me. My son is a gift. Every day I wake up is a gift. Salvation is a gift, really it is the greatest gift.
But that word is singular. Paul did not say to stir up the GIFTS, but THE gift. What gift?
The word GIFT in the original language is Charisma.
I have heard that word used in a secular context, someone might have good stage presence, speaking skills, or people skills and someone might remark, they have good charisma.
But in the original language, Charisma has a direct connection to the Holy Spirit. It is more than natural ability. The GIFT Paul referenced to Timothy was a special empowerment from the Holy Spirit.
Timothy had a supernatural encounter with God when he began working with Paul. Paul reminded him of it:
18 This charge I commit to you, son Timothy, according to the prophecies previously made concerning you, that by them you may wage the good warfare,
Timothy was not alone, throughout Scripture, before the Lord used someone, He would place on them a gift, the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Why?
Because the Holy Spirit places GIFTS on ordinary people to enable them to do what is otherwise humanly impossible.
I can picture Paul writing to Timothy the first time. Timothy, do not let your spiritual gifts go to waste. Remember when the prophetic power came upon us and YOU.
Then, before his death, he told him, STIR UP THE GIFT. Rekindle the flame.
Here is the connection between the stirring and the Spirit. Why do we need to fan the flames?
The gift of God does not automatically remain strong forever. The gift can begin to smolder and eventually burn out if neglected and not rekindled or fanned.
But it was not just about the fire going out, but why he needed the fire.
The fire, the gift in this case in the Holy Spirit. Timothy had a prophetic destiny and he could never fulfill God’s plan for His life UNLESS he depended on the Holy Spirit.
Paul did not write to Timothy assuming he was becoming a cold and dead Christian. No, it was a gentle reminder— TIMOTHY YOU HAVE to HAVE THE HOLY SPIRIT BURNING IN YOU, keep the GIFT stirred up in you.
I feel the same way. We HAVE to have the Spirit working in our lives and in our church. So we must do what is necessary to STIR up the gift of God that is in us.
Without Him, we cannot do anything.
So we see we are to stir up the gift, the Spirit, but what about...
3. The Sign
3. The Sign
14 Do not neglect the gift that is in you, which was given to you by prophecy with the laying on of the hands of the eldership.
6 Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands.
Notice the similarity— the laying on of hands.
In both the Old and New Testament, the laying on of hands was a SIGN that God was transferring power from one person to another.
Moses laid his hands on Joshua before commissioning him as a leader in Israel. It was a SIGN that the Spirit that was in Moses was now in Joshua.
They continued this practice in the New Testament.
Acts 6:51— the apostles laid hands on the first seven deacons when they prayed for them
Acts 8:17— Peter and John laid their hands on the new believers in Samaria and they recieved the Holy Spirit
Acts 9:17— Ananias laid his hands on Paul and he recieved his sight and was filled with the Holy Spirit
Acts 19:6— Paul laid his hands on twelve men at Ephesus and they began to speak in tongues and prophesy
This was common practice and Paul reminded Timothy, never forget when we laid our hands on you and the GIFT of the Spirit came upon you.
It is important to note, the power is not within the one laying hands on the other. God possesses the power and it flows THROUGH the person laying hands on the other.
It is a sign, that God’s power is not confided to ONE person, but because of the PERSON of the Holy Spirit who resides in the believer.
Paul had an equation for Timothy— stir up the SPIRIT who came upon you through the SIGN of laying on my hands.
But the equation could go the other. The SIGN of laying on of hands brought the SPIRIT in you, so you can stay STIRRED UP and full of Him.
There is a supernatural transference of power when we lay hands on someone, but here is the catch— the hands cannot be empty. If they are, it is empty hands laid on empty heads.
But when we stay stirred up, full of the Spirit, that sign, the laying on of hands, will become a conduit for something supernatural to happen.
I am glad we believe in the laying on of hands.
Pastor Tucker told me in the 1990s, some churches were getting sued for laying their hands on people. An attorney asked a leader in the Assemblies of God in Oklahoma, you could protect yourself from potential litigation if you would stop laying hands on people.
He answered, we do this because the Bible tells us to and we will not stop doing it because it works!
The laying on of hands is a SIGN that the Spirit is flowing from one person to the next and it helps us STIR up the Gift of God.
Close:
We have to keep the fire burning.
We live in a time where nothing short of a supernatural revelation of God’s power will work.
I do not have to stand here and list everything that is going wrong in our nation and our world. We get enough of that throughout the week.
But I do feel that I need to stand here and share the remedy. God needs His church to keep the fire burning.
He needs His church to get stirred up.
He needs His church to rekindle the flame.
He needs His church to receive a fresh revelation of the Holy Spirit.
He needs His church to never neglect the GIFT.
He needs us to get full of His Spirit, lay hands on each other and watch the power of God flow from one to the next.
I mentioned this on Wednesday, but I will share it again. I thoroughly believe that God is working to get the church’s attention and prepare us for His coming.
What we see happening in society is not an accident. The spirit of the antichrist is ramping up, getting ready for his reign of tyranny to begin.
That cannot happen until the church is caught away at the rapture. But right before then, I believe God will pour out His Spirit ONE MORE TIME.
Now is the moment to keep the flame burning. To get consumed with God and realize this world was never to capture our attention so much that we are more comfortable here than we are THERE.
I sense that in many Christian arenas, there is neglect of the things of God.
But let it never be said of Vulcan Assembly of God and those who call this their church home that we are too busy to pray and have slowly become stale in our walk with God.
No, no, no, we will fan the flames and stir up the gift of God, staying full of the Spirit and letting God flow through us.
So my question is simple— who wants to keep the fire of the Spirit burning in and through us?
Who wants to stir up the gift of God through the laying on of hands?
