Feed the Fire
Pastor Glenn Newton
May 22, 2005
5 I have been reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also. 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. 7 For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.
2TI 1:8 So do not be ashamed to testify about our Lord, or ashamed of me his prisoner. But join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God, 9 who has saved us and called us to a holy life--not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time, 10 but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. 11 And of this gospel I was appointed a herald and an apostle and a teacher. 12 That is why I am suffering as I am. Yet I am not ashamed, because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him for that day. 1Tim. 1:5-12
A couple of weeks ago, Nola and I took the girls to Piney bay and set up our tent, which hadn’t been used in a while, and we camped overnight. We had a good time… I took the girls to the swimming beach, and we froze in the water for about an hour, then we went back to camp and started the Fire so we could roast our Hot Dogs and eat dinner. After swimming in that freezing water, that fire felt good.
We ate our hot dogs, we made smores, and then the best time of camping… we just sat around and watched the fire…. Is it just me or is that fun? I love to watch the fire burn.. It’s almost like a magnetic pull, you have to watch. The fire burned all night, mainly because I got up at 3am and added our remaining two logs to the coals, and when we got up in the morning we still had a hot fire burning.
Throughout Scripture, Fire represents the presence and the Holiness of God… His Spirit. Last week we celebrated Pentecost Sunday, where after ascending to Heaven to be with the Father, Jesus sent the Promised Gift, the Holy Spirit to those disciples as they waited in that upper room…. Remember the description? Acts 2:2 says this, “2 Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.
God sent the Holy Spirit, and His Spirit is represented by Fire…. As a Christian you have been offered this awesome gift.. The infilling of the very Spirit of God…. The Fire of God. You need to seek this infilling experience… to live as God wants us to live in this world, we must have the power of the Holy Spirit evident in our Christian walk… or we will find ourselves fighting a battle without being at full strength.
So my question for you this morning is this… Are you filled with the Spirit? And if you have been filled with the Spirit, what are you doing to Feed the Fire? Or another way of asking this same question, as our Scripture puts it…. Are you fanning into flame this great gift of God?
This morning I want to share a couple of ideas with you about how to Feed the Fire… How to keep your walk with the Holy Spirit alive and healthy…
1. Live with Sincere Faith The apostle Paul is writing to his young brother in Christ, this young pastor who is faced with some daunting tasks as he is teaching and preaching Christ… listen to what Paul says…. “ 5 I have been reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also. 6 For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God,”
RO 5:1 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.
Without Faith, we cannot be saved… and if we don’t continue to live in sincere faith we will be unable to live the spirit led life.
How are you living with Sincere Faith today?
Are you practicing what you believe in? Are you trusting God to meet your needs? Let me remind you what Faith is: Heb. 11:1 says, “HEB 11:1 Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.
Friends we need to live our Christian lives with a confidence that God is in control… and that He has called you for a reason. If you believe that He has called you to live for Him, and to serve Him… Don’t you think He will take care of you? Why all the worry then?
We need take our Faith in God, and stretch it… step out and live lives that trust God, knowing that He will provide for us. How do we do this?
For some of you who are new Christians, stepping out in Faith may be telling your friends about what Christ has done for you…. Really tell them how your life has been changed for the better. Don’t be ashamed of the Gospel… the apostle Paul says this over and over again even in our passage this morning… look at verse 8, “2TI 1:8 So do not be ashamed to testify about our Lord, or ashamed of me his prisoner. But join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God,”
Many times stepping out on faith means doing something we are not comfortable with… that’s why it takes faith!
Another practical way to step out on Faith, doing something that you know the Bible teaches us to do… Tithing. It takes faith on your part to trust God with your finances…
You may be like… God… I have trouble paying my bills right now and I don’t hardly give very much to the church… How in the world will I make it if I give 10% tithe to the church….. How will you make it? Faith. Listen to what God says about tithe, listen to his promise to you if you will take this step of faith..
MAL 3:8 "Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me. "But you ask, `How do we rob you?’
"In tithes and offerings. 9 You are under a curse--the whole nation of you--because you are robbing me. 10 Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this," says the LORD Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.”
You know what I have found in my ministry, and in my personal spiritual walk? God loves to reward those who will step out in Faith and live a life that Trusts Him completely. In Hebrews, God devotes a whole chapter to those who are in the Faith hall of fame…. God honors those who live by faith.
What are some other ways we can express our sincere faith?
We have been talking about this word a lot lately, because it’s so important to growing as a Christian, but it’s also important if our Faith will grow.. Obedience. When I obey God and do what I know He wants me to do, even when I feel unable to do it… that’s a great testimony of Faith… that kind of faith will propel you in your spiritual growth… you will grow by leaps and bounds when you decide to obey God, even when it seems too hard, too difficult to do… God loves that!
Has He asked you to do something… Has He asked you to give something up? Has He called you to a specific ministry? Has He asked you to forgive someone? What Has God been talking to you about? If you will be obedient…. You will Feed the Fire… and your Faith will grow and you will feel empowered to do even more for God.
The second idea I want to share with you this morning that will help you Feed the Fire
2. Live with Boldness… Remember who you are. 7 For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.
Have you found that we live in a world that doesn’t really agree with our way of thinking very much? Have you noticed that the Christian way of thinking goes upstream from the mainstream?
Do you want to fan into flame the passion and the power of the Holy Spirit in your life…. Be a radical… Be a Jesus Freak… don’t be ashamed of who you are… Don’t be ashamed to believe the truth! Why should we be ashamed of the Truth? Why should we be ashamed of who we are and what we are?
Do you realize that we have some Jesus Freaks in our church? Some of you are here today because we have some people who are not ashamed of their God and what He has done for them… they don’t fear what people think, because they know what they have is right, it’s true, it’s what were here to do.. Get radical for Jesus.
7 For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline. 2 Tim. 1:7
We need to memorize this scripture and remind ourselves of how God wants us to live our lives… not in fear… not hunkered down in the corner praying that no one will notice us… God does not want us to lower our standards, or excuse ourselves from the society that we live in… In fact… God calls us to action.. He calls to to penetrate our world, to be light and salt… to shine the light in the darkness.
If there’s anything we need in our world today, it’s Christians who will stand up and fight for the truth.. When I say fight… I don’t mean literally fight… what I mean is that we will stand up and speak the truth in love, we will be like Jesus who stood up to those who were teaching false religion, He had a problem with those who lorded it over the helpless and the ignorant… he stood up for those who couldn’t stand up for themselves…..
We have a lost world of people, many who are just being swept away with the current… there eyes have been blinded by the world and by sin… they don’t even know they are on their way to eternal destruction… Somebody needs to have the courage, the Faith, the Fire in their belly to get involved in their lives and help them see the truth.
Will you be a life saver? Will you be willing to take your stand in our community? Who’s going to get involved if we don’t?
Who’s going to fight for morality in our community if we don’t?
Who’s going to stand up and fight for the sanctity of life, if we don’t/
Who’s going to stand up and fight for the sanctity of marriage if Christians don’t?
Who’s going to fight for our families, if we don’t?
Who’s going to have a Christian influence in our schools if we don’t stay involved?
Who’s going to make a difference for Christ in Clarksville if we don’t?
Who’s going to win the lost in our community if were too scared, to intimidated, to fearful?
How important is it to Feed the Fire? It means life and death for those who are perishing. You can’t make a difference in your world without the Power and presence of the Holy Spirit in your life…. Live with Sincere Faith…. Live with boldness… Let God have His way with you… You can make a difference!
