I want to say thanks be to God, that there is still near the sheep a house of mercy, and grace and a pool that supplies every need, like Grace: which keeping from what I don’t deserve and Mercy which allows me to get what I do deserve.
When we look at John 5, we see that there was a multitude of impotent folks, feeble with sick diseases, without any strength. They were blind, halted and withered. And my brothers and sisters it’s no different today, even in our own churches today across the land, there are a multitude of impotent folk, weak, sickly, diseased, powerless people.
Some are sick physically, some spiritually, some emotionally, some have sickness or weakness in their marriage, some are weak and feeble in their finances, some live on an emotional roller coaster, some are sick with fear and worry and anxieties. And most of them have the hope that one of these days, somehow, someway, God is going to move on their behalf, and it will all turn things around miraculously. And there are many who are still waiting for the moving of the water today. There are a multitude of people who are waiting, they are waiting for the next great revival, The next great move of God. They are waiting for God to do something. But the fact of the matter is that sometimes, in your waiting that you have to stir the water for yourself, while we’re waiting on the water to stir, God is waiting on us to stir the water.
2nd Tim 1:6 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. Sometimes you have to stir it up, get it moving, agitate things a little bit; we need to stir up the anointing, stir up our faith. What God is looking for is some good old, old fashion, Holy Ghost agitators.
For those of you who knows how to bar-b-que, you know that when it seems like your fire is about to go out, you can stir it up and find some hot coals or embers underneath the ashes, and when the air comes across those embers they come alive again and rekindle your fire.
And somebody this morning needs is a fresh wind from heaven, the wind of the Holy Ghost to blow over our souls again. And you got to know that wind and the fire always go together.
To prove my argument, in Acts 2:1-3 And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. 2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. 3 And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. So, first, the wind filled the house, and then the cloven tongues of fire, and then they were all filled with the Holy Ghost. Tell your neighbor. It’s time to wake up, shake up, whip up, and stir up the anointing.
The word Stir means to agitate, disturb, disrupt move, and shift. The words stir up, also means to keep blazing and to keep the flame of the fire burning. But it can also mean to rekindle and to re-stir the flame, which indicate that the flame was about to go out, which is what is meant here. Because as we look here we see that there was no doubt Timothy facing what we sometimes face: he was facing times when he needed to be re-stirred, restored and rekindled. He was facing some disappointments, he was facing some sorrows, he was facing some depression, heartaches, let downs, some regrets, troubles, grief and some pains. But I want to share with you that in your adversity that there are a few things that I want to suggest to you that will keep your fire burning.
The first thing you need to do is, stir up the gift of God in you. What is the gift of God? Your spiritual gifts, your natural gifts, which the Holy Spirit gives to every believer to equip them and to help them to be able to minister to others.
In other words, even though you are facing trails and
tribulations, the gift that is down on the inside of you will still have enough left to help you minister to someone else.
In our lesson Paul was facing death; he was about to be executed. And in his departing, He he’s still give charge after charge to Timothy. He told him that one of the very first things Timothy needed to do was to keep his spiritual gifts blazing and burning to the hottest point possible. He shares with him that he needs to keep on stirring up his gift, and never letting its flame lose any of its intensity. He needs to use his gift to minister and never slack up or losing his zeal.
The second thing that he did was he encourages him not to fear, because God has not given us the spirit of fear. Too often we as believers, laymen and ministers fear using our gifts. We fear speaking up for Christ and the gospel. We fear the ridicule, the criticism, we fear the mockery and the embarrassment, and the opposition of the Gospel, but as he is encouraging him this morning, I want to encourage you by saying don’t be fearful. Even thou they might make say all manner of evil against you, you’ve got to have the courage to not be fearful. So what they say that you can’t sing, so what they say your prayers are not eloquent, so what they mock the way you shout, don’t be fearful to use the gifts that God has placed in you.
The third that I want to suggest to you is, don’t be ashamed of the gospel. I know that sometimes the gospel might seems to be unpopular, and it seems unacceptable, but I here to tell you this morning that you don’t have to be ashamed, because one of these old days when it’s all over down here, the Lord will tell you my good and faithful servant, you have faithful over the little, now come up a little higher and I’m going to make you ruler over much. Don’t be ashamed, wear it on your tee shirt, get you a coffee mug with the gospel on it. You wear all manner of other logos; you wear your Polo, your Ralph Lauren, Gucci, Prada, Louis Vuitton, and Ferragamo, then you ought to wear your logo of Jesus and the gospel on you. Don’t be ashamed to wear the Lord logo on you, because he is the one that saved you, raise you and healed you.
And the last thing that I want to share with you is this morning and that is to hang on in there. You been fasting and praying, and seeking God’s face, so I want to tell you to hang on in there. When it seems like all hope has failed you, hang on in there. When your peace seems like it has been sapped out of you, hang on in there. Begin to pray and allow God to stir up the gifts that are in you.
For somebody here today, I know what you need. After all hope seems to be gone. I know what you need, after everything seems so hopeless, I know what you need. I can hear you saying what do I need pastor? All you need is a good old stirring. But for somebody else, you need more than just a stirring you need a good shaking.
That’s why Judges 16:20 helps us out when it says that I will go out as at other times before and shake myself. So, when we look at others in the Word of God according to the scripture, from last week Word, Samson did something to activate the power of God on his life, (he shook himself). We’re waiting on the moving of the water, and for the Holy Ghost to get a hold of us and shake us, but we need to sometimes shake ourselves.
Shake off some stuff, shake off the indifference, shake off the pride, shake off the selfishness, the worldliness, the fear, the doubt and discouragement, shake off the self-righteousness and hypocrisy, shake off that lying spirit, that bitterness, and the unforgiveness, shake off that dead religious formalism.
(Just shake yourself) 3X’s
Some of us today need to get to shaking: The old devil is trying to get a hold on you, a spirit of luke warmness and indifference is trying to fasten itself to you,
You need to shake it loose. Somebody needs to shake off the spirit of poverty, the spirit of fear and unbelief, worry and anxiety.
Some of us have some things in our life that are draining the spirit out of us, it’s draining the joy out of our life. We need to shake it loose.
And now it time to Stir It Up. What does stirring do? Well, stirring bring the things that are on the bottom to the top,
We need turn those ashes over and let the wind of heaven fan them into a flame again.
Stir up that Anointing, stir up that calling, stir up that faith, stir up that love, and stir up that joy. Stir it up, stir it up.
Turn over that fallow ground, don’t let anything be hidden in your heart, get it out and let the fire of God burn it up.
I said it’s time to stir it up and shake it loose:
I know that sometimes things get a little rusty, and you have to shake it a little bit to get it broken and loose again.
Stir it up and shake it loose.
Sometime when an old gate gets stuck, you have to shake it loose.
I know that sometimes our praise gets a little rusty and we ain’t praising God like we used to, we’re not praying like we used to, we’re not singing like we used to.
It isn’t that we don’t love God, it’s just that we need a good shaking to get everything back in perspective.
I’m reminded of a story about an old preacher that was once holding a revival in an old tent. One night a man walked in with an old shirt on, and some cut off overalls. When the alter call was given, he walked down the aisle and got saved.
After he finished praying, the preacher asked him, sir what was it that I said in my message that caused you to come and get saved? The man looked at the preacher and said, I hope you’re not offended at me for saying this but I really don’t remember a word you said. The preacher then asked him, why did you get saved then? The man began to tell his story.
When I was young, I left home when I was 17 years old. I had a Christian mother, and as I was preparing and getting ready to leave, my mother took a piece of paper and wrote on that paper. She wrote son wherever you may go, and whatever you do just remember mother is praying for you and remember this song. I didn’t notice the note I closed my suitcase, and I went to Chicago.
But the first thing I saw when I opened my suitcase was that note from my mother. It made me mad to think that my mother was doing all the praying for me and leaving the lyrics to a song for me. When I was at my lowest God was really dealing with me. So, I took a pencil and beneath her words I wrote, may God curse your prayers and curse this song. My mother died 9 years ago, and later on I moved back to Oklahoma. I was setting on my porch with no thought of God whatsoever. And as you all revival started, I started to hear you sing. All of a sudden, those words of my mother, who has been gone for so long now, begin to ring in my ear. "Son wherever you may go, remember that mother is praying for you and remember this song. I got up and begin to walk toward the tent so I could hear what you were you singing. You were singing, "What can wash away my sins, nothing but the Blood of Jesus. What can make me whole again, nothing but the Blood of Jesus! Ol precious is the flow, that makes me white as snow, no other fountain I know, nothing but the Blood of Jesus, and something on the inside started stirring up.
For someone in here maybe a song will stir something up in you. It just might be, I've had many tears and sorrows,
I've had questions for tomorrow, there's been times I didn't know right from wrong. But in every situation, God gave me blessed consolation that my trials come to only make me strong. Through it all, through it all I’ve learn to trust in Jesus, I’ve learnedto trust in God. Lord stir up the gift. Stir it up, stir it up.
