Stir Up the Gift of God
"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" (2 Tim.1:6)
Embodied in the words of our text is a charge which
I hope will arrest the attention of every reader whose
fire has burned low, and whose gift needs stirring.
Our text is taken from a letter originally written by the
apostle Paul to the young minister Timothy. What a
drastic change would take place in the church if the
words "Stir up the gift of God" were put into action
by every Spirit-filled believer! Paul was an example of
his teaching, continually stirring the gift of the holy
Ghost which he received on Straight Street in
Damascus, when Ananias laid hands on him. Stirring
the gift of God, or rekindling the divine life we have
received from God, provides the believer with the most
powerful form of energy. By fanning the gift of God
into a blaze, we gain strength sufficient to overcome
the world.
Paul's words to Timothy were intended to keep the
young evangelist from becoming sluggish in the service
of God. The chilling spirits of fear and shame, mentioned here by Paul, are
more easily felt when the fire of God burns low on the altar of our heart.
Many once-happy saints, neglecting the fire and
power of God, have grown cold in spirit. Child of
God, does your fire need stirring? Are you as happy
as you once were? If not, then your fire needs to be
stirred. Do you know how to "stir up" this gift of God
(holy Ghost and fire) that is in you? How to let the
power of God be manifested through you? How to
regain that kind and friendly disposition that you once
possessed? How to feel the love of God flowing
through your being one more time? What would you
give to feel now as you did when God filled you with
the blessed holy Ghost and fire? Do you remember
how you felt toward everybody? Oh, the joy that you
expressed as the Spirit spoke through you and
demonstrated the power of God on your body! Now,
if you are anxious to "stir up" the gift of God which is
in you, recover your lost fellowship with God, read this
remedy:, "Remember from whence thou art fallen, and
repent, and do the first works. . . ." And again, "He that
overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment,
and I will not blot out his name out of the Book of Life".
My brother, do you want your name to remain in
the Book of Life? If so, then you had better "stir up"
the fire which is in you and let it burn the dross out of
your life. We begin to regain the fire of the Spirit by
praying until we attain to a willing mind. Beloved, if
you have lost the spirit of prayer, go down upon your
knees and "pray without ceasing" until you are
restored. Living in the spirit of prayer is the only way
to serve God. Prayer is the paddle we use to "stir up"
the gift of God.
I remember that on one occasion, soon after I was
converted, I lost the spirit of prayer, and it seemed as
if I just couldn't pray. Of course, I could say prayers
as thousands are doing daily, but I wanted to pray and
feel the effects of it. So I went into the woods and fell
upon my knees and began telling God that I couldn't
pray. I repeated these words over and over, "Lord, I
can't pray." Soon I felt tears streaming down my
cheeks; then the "little foxes" and "no-harms" began
rolling up in front of me. At last, I saw my trouble
and began confessing to God, with a promise to watch
and pray and to be more careful in the future. When
I finished making this promise, I had not only prayed
but I had also repented. Repented of what?
Repented of my inactiveness toward God and His
kingdom; repented of not keeping in the spirit of
prayer; repented of foolish talking and jesting, and of
speaking words about saints and sinners in their
absence that I wouldn't speak in their presence;
repented of grumbling and finding fault with others.
Now, dear reader, are you free of these things? If
not, just repent and pray through, and let's get in a
condition to serve God and gain eternal life. If you
are not living according to this standard, you are not
meeting the requirements to enter the new, heavenly
Jerusalem.
Brother, sister, what will it profit you to gain the
whole world but lose your soul? Remember Paul's
exhortation: "The night is far spent; the day is at
hand. Let us therefore put on the
armor of light. Let us walk hon
estly, as in the day, not in rioting
and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife
and envying. But put ye on the
Lord Jesus Christ, and make no
provision for the flesh, to fulfill the
lusts thereof. . . . But let us," he said, "who are of the
day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love,
and for a helmet, the hope of
salvation. For God hath not
appointed us to wrath, but to
obtain salvation by our Lord
Jesus Christ."
Now, dear children of God, let us press on and "redeem the
time", because "the days are evil", and many
are turning back to "the elements of this world". Let
us not be of those who "draw back", but of those who
press on "to the saving of the soul". "Let no corrupt
communication proceed out of your mouth," as Paul
warns you in Ephesians 4:29-32, "but that which is good
to the use of edifying, that it might minister grace unto
the hearers. And grieve not the holy Spirit of God,
whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. Let
all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamor, and evil
speaking, be put away from you, with all malice. And be
ye kind one to another, tender-hearted, forgiving one
another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven
you."
"Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord," Paul
further exhorts, "and in the power of his might. Put on
the whole armor of God that ye may be able to stand
against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against
flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers,
against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against
spiritual wickedness in high places."
If we are to wrestle successfully against such powers
of Satan, we must have the Spirit of God stirred and
His fire blazing in our soul. One cannot hope to grow
strong in faith without regularly setting in motion this
free gift from above. Doing so intensifies our thoughts
and feelings concerning our responsibility to God.
After telling Timothy to "stir up the gift of God", Paul
exhorted him to "endure hardness, as a good soldier of
Jesus Christ" (2Tim.2:3). Paul knew that the strength
to endure hard trials comes only through the Spirit of
God. We are strengthened when we learn to stir this
holy fire within us, for its warmth keeps us spiritually
in motion, active and moving for God, letting us know
that He still abides.
Failing to arouse this bestowed gift is the chief cause
of spiritual leanness among believers. To neglect the
stirring of this heavenly gift is to starve the soul.
Sadly, many children of God are physically and
spiritually weak and afflicted because of a failure to
keep the gift of God stirred and burning within the
soul. As followers of Christ, we have the privilege of
stirring God's gift until it burns out of our lives even
the most perplexing problems and weaknesses, making
us firebrands for God.
Reader, do you know that joy makes us strong, and
that this joy comes only to those who have the gift of
God? Then for you to retain this joy, your gift must
be kept continually in motion. To see this, look back
to the time when God's Spirit came into your life, the
hour you were baptized with the blessed holy Spirit
and began to speak with other tongues. You
remember that great joy
which flooded your
soul, don't you? Can
you not recall the
strength that this joy
gave you? Of course
you can. Now, listen,
that same joy can
come
streaming back into
your weak, frail body this very moment, if you will only
stir, or rekindle, this precious gift of God which is still
in you, but which for some time has been neglected.
Oh, to learn the precious lesson of renewing our
strength by stirring God's gift! But as we look to God
for strength through the rekindling of His gift to us, let
us remember that it is His strength we receive. We
are "without strength"; however, in our weakness His
strength is made perfect in us as we learn to rely upon
Him. Thus could Paul say, "For when I am weak, then
am I strong."
As we see the multiplied thousands today whose fire
has burned low and whose gift lies hidden in the
smoldering ashes of sin and rebellion, we are reminded
of Israel, who believed God's word and sang His
praises, but "forgot His works and waited not for His
counsel." We are told that God "gave them their
request, but sent leanness into their souls"
(Ps.106:13,15). What a picture of many today! "We
want" or "we are going", and God is left out - unless
He desires to do His will in their way. As a result,
many who could stir their gift and be used of God are
victims of lean and self-willed souls. They are blind to
their leanness and satisfied with their accomplishments, believing they are
living in the realm of God's
best. How they must grieve their Father!
Now is the time to stir God's gift in us. Mighty
things are being wrought by a few who have already
stirred their gift for this end-time revival. By their
ministry, thousands are being healed and being filled
with the Spirit of God. Indeed, there is a cleaning of
God's house being made, and nothing can prepare one
for it but a stirring of the gift of God. The wrath and
delusive power of Satan are so greatly stirred because
of the work which God is now doing, that we can only
save ourselves by an early stirring of that which God
has given us, even His Spirit. Oh, how we need to stir
this gift, which is our only hope in Christ, both as
individuals and as a church!
The secret of the power of God lies in this gift of
His, which dwells in the hearts of all believers, warning
them to "quench not the Spirit" and "neglect
not the
gift that is in thee" (1Thess.5:19; 1Tim.4:14). Stirring
the gift of God is a righteous act, from which we may
richly profit. Oh, to learn the precious lesson of
renewing our strength by stirring this gift.
Dear soul, are you now ready to start stirring? Are
you ready to begin praying for spiritual strength? We
feel the need to do so when we understand that the
saints of God are in grave danger of being deceived by
the merchants of Spiritless religion. The alluring ways
of vain religion have led many already to "forsake the
right way". Yes, children of God, these are "perilous
times" and every one of you should be diligent to "try
the spirits" now abroad in the earth lest you be "led
away with the error of the wicked", and thus "fall from
your own steadfastness".
May God put it upon you to "stir up" the fire on
your altar, that you may possess your soul, for there
shall come "a falling away" before the coming of our
Lord. Listen to the counsel of the Lord: "Let no man
deceive you by any means." How can you avoid being
deceived? By keeping the gift of God stirred in you.
No one whose gift is greatly stirred can believe a lie;
darkness finds no place in a purified heart. We may
"rejoice evermore", even in view of the widespread
disregard for godly living, if our fire is stirred. Many
ministers, through covetousness and "with feigned
words", are "making merchandise" of those who are
failing to keep the spirit of prayer stirred in them; but,
the day is evidently not far distant when "no man
buyeth their merchandise any more." Come on,
friends of God, let's hasten that day!
No combination of evils can defeat those who keep
God's "unspeakable gift" stirred and burning. It is our
privilege and duty to stand against the sweeping tides
of evil. We know we have found a peace of which this
world is greatly in need. So why not then abandon the
dead forms of Christianity and stir up this good and
perfect gift which God has sent us? Do you fear being
put out of men's company if you do? Stir up the gift,
and you'll lose that fear. When this gift is thoroughly
stirred in our hearts, pride and selfish desires must go,
leaving in their place a humility which makes us willing
to go God's way.
Having become tired of being mocked and criticized
for his prophecies, Jeremiah once declared, "I will not
make mention of Him nor speak any more in His name."
Was Jeremiah able to retain this attitude? No, thank
God! The gift of God was soon stirred within him and
he cried out, "His word was in mine heart as a burning
fire shut up in my bones, and I could not stay." Thank
God for everyone who, like Jeremiah, cannot stay
satisfied unless the gift of God is burning in his soul
and his heart is stirred to a surging passion to make
known the gospel of Christ.
Satan is seeking to rob us of our desire to "stir up"
the gift of God. But when we become so desperately
in earnest about stirring this gift that we are willing to
"go the second mile" for the good of others, and that
we are willing to bear any burden or make any sacrifice, our joy and peace
will be restored by "the God that answereth by fire." Oh, brethren, "Did not
our hearts burn within us, while he talked with us by the way,
and while he opened to us the Scriptures?" Yes, indeed
they did, and they will start burning again when we
Stir Up! Stir Up! Stir Up!
The Gift of God!
Oh, Lord, put the "Go ye" spirit into everyone who
hears this message, until the fire is kindled and the
gift of God is STIRRED, STIRRED, STIRRED,
and he becomes a "burning bush" for God! When
one becomes a "burning bush", many will turn aside
to see a great sight - a bush burning and yet not
consumed! Amen!
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