Glorious Way Church
Glorious Way Church equips believers for the work of the ministry and stands for God’s truth in our culture. We serve as a regional center, where people from all backgrounds find refreshing worship and true communion of the saints.
Glorious Way Church
Stirred To Do Exploits
Are you feeling unmotivated or uncertain about the gifts God has placed within you? In our latest episode, we passionately explore what it means to stir up these gifts and live boldly in faith. As we delve into the message from 2 Timothy 1, we uncover how Paul encourages Timothy to push through his fears and embrace the spirit of power and love given to him. The episode isn't just for Timothy; it's a timely reminder for all of us about not letting fear extinguish the flame of our faith.
All right, praise God, did you bring your Bibles tonight? All right, you don't have to stand back up, but let's just pick them up and wave them around, make Jesus glad, the devil mad. And let's say this together say, heavenly Father, what a blessing it is tonight to be here. I'm so glad you moved in our presence. And so now we want that Word too. It's the spirit and the word. Word and the spirit. I need both. I need both to succeed and I intend to succeed in this life. I intend to enforce my victory in every place that I'm walking and I give you the praise tonight in Jesus' name. Let's look at 2 Timothy 1. And I've got a 2 Timothy chapter 1, starting with verse 1.
Speaker 1:Paul's writing to his son in the faith. Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ, by the will of God, according to the promise of life which is in Christ Jesus. To Timothy, my dearly beloved sons, grace, mercy and peace, god the Father and Lord. Christ Jesus, our Lord. I thank God, whom I serve from my forefathers. Christ Jesus, our Lord. I thank God, whom I serve from my forefathers, with pure conscience that, without ceasing, I have remembrance of thee in my prayers, night and day, greatly desiring to see thee being mindful of thy tears, that I may be filled with joy. And I see he's writing to his son, who's sad, he's crying. I'm mindful of your tears. So he's writing in response to Timothy's distress, okay, and he's praying for Timothy.
Speaker 1:And he had to sit down and write him a second letter. He already wrote him one letter. Now he's writing him a second letter. And he said that I might be filled with joy when I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith which is in thee, which dwelt first in your grandmother, lois, and thy mother, eunice, and I am persuaded that in thee also. Therefore, I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God.
Speaker 1:Everybody shout, stir up, stir up the gift of God which is in thee by the putting on or the laying on of my hands, for God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and love and a sound mind. Be not thou, therefore, ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me, his prisoner, but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel, according to the power of God, who hath saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began for is not, but is now made manifest by the appearing of our Savior, jesus Christ, who hath abolished death and have brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, and immortality to light through the gospel, whereunto I am appointed a preacher and an apostle and a teacher of the Gentiles, for the which cause I also suffer these things. Nevertheless, I'm not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him. Against that day, hold fast the form of sound words which thou hast heard of me, in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus, that good thing which was committed unto thee, keep by the Holy Ghost which dwelleth in us. And so verse seven in the Amplified God has not given us a spirit of cowardice, of timidity, of craving and cringing and fawning fear, but he has given us the spirit of power and love and of a calm and well-balanced mind and discipline and self-control.
Speaker 1:So tonight I have a message entitled Stirred to do Exploits. Stirred to do Expl exploits. Stirred to do exploits. In other words, he's talking to his son. He said don't be afraid.
Speaker 1:And another version of fear is being ashamed. Ashamed. I mean ashamed is fearing what people think of you or fearing what people think of your father in the faith, who is a prisoner. Obviously he's had tears and the Holy Ghost is showing his father in the faith. You know his biggest need is to get over worrying about what people say and think and all that. You know he's a young apostle. You know his biggest need is to get over worrying about what people say and think and all that. You know he's a young apostle. You know Timothy's an apostle, but he's young and he has a lot of persecution because of his age. Because you know, people didn't respect him because he's young and all that. They don't recognize the anointing on his life. They just find fault with him that he's young and don't necessarily want to listen to him. So he has that to think about.
Speaker 1:And then, of course, now that Paul is, his father in faith has been arrested, now he's got more persecution coming his way and he's got the temptation to be ashamed. And so you know Paul has got to head that off. He cares about his son in the faith and he wants him to have the right thinking, has the right perspective. So don't fear or be ashamed before man. Don't fear or be ashamed of man, but fear God. The fear of man brings a snare. The Bible says the fear of man brings a snare.
Speaker 1:The fear of man will do damage to you and especially if you're a leader and I count all of you leaders you wouldn't be living in this last days if God didn't count you in the army of God. He would not have allowed you to live at the epitome and the and the absolute crescendo, I guess I would say, of the of the end times. I mean, god said just a couple of weeks ago in that prophetic word you know we're, we're living in the beginning of the end time, revival. That's where we're at. This is thing is about to wind up and we're here, but we're leaders. Everybody here is a leader. You might not look at yourself that way, but God does, and my job is to develop you that way, or part of it. So he's encouraging here in verse eight don't be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me, his prisoner.
Speaker 1:You know you just comes with a territory, son, not everybody's gonna like you, not everybody's gonna be for you, not everybody's gonna speak well of you. You gotta get over it. Don't be ashamed. Don't be ashamed. Don't be afraid. Don't be a coward. Don't be cringing and fawning at people's opinions. I mean, you know, we live in a society and there's a big slice of these people. They cannot accept our opinion about anything. They have to go the extreme and call all kind of horrible names. I mean, they just call us, they're nuts, they're demonized.
Speaker 1:I was asking the Lord what in the world he said. The truth isn't in them. So all they've got is lies. It's like they're father of the devil. All they can do is lie. They can't tell the truth. There's no when we keep I keep laughing all these, but why can't they see that the transgender thing is an 80-20? You know, I don't believe that. I believe it's 99% against it. It's just that people are afraid to say anything. They're afraid to be labeled. I'm not afraid of their labels. I don't care what they say about me. My job is to tell the truth and say it in love. How does it help these people to agree that they're walking in reality when they're not? There's no science behind what their position is. It's all a lie of the devil. It's a demon. Power is what they've accepted. Are y'all with me now?
Speaker 1:He said in verse five. He said now, I want you to remember the faith of your former generations. I mean you come from a line of believers, your grandmother and your mother. It's in you, son. I want you to stir that gift up. That's in you. I'm persuaded it's in you. You know he's saying it nice, but he's saying you're not walking like you've got any faith. He didn't say it that way, he said it in a sweet way. He said it in a sweet way, he said it in an encouraging way. But the fact is that when Timothy allowed himself to have a pity party over this whole thing, that's what he's doing. He's giving in to fear, he's giving in to shame, he's giving in to cowardice, you know, and he doesn't like the labels that people are hanging on his neck. Are you with me now? I'm talking about stirred to do exploits. So in. And he says you know, you got to remember that that, this gift, you have this gift.
Speaker 1:In verse six, I want you to stir up the gift of God which is in you by the putting on of my hands, the putting on of my hands, everybody say impartation, see. That's why you ought to be careful who lays hands on you. I just don't let people lay hands on you Just anybody in the world, I mean because some people have bad stuff to give you. But on the other hand, I can tell you, when I lay my hands on you, there's gifting that comes into you besides what it is that you come up for. I mean there's a value, there is an anointing that comes in you, it changes you, it changes your makeup. If you start thinking about it like that, you're not just coming up for healing. When hands are laid on you, there's gifts coming out because I am a gift to you.
Speaker 1:Ephesians, chapter four. God gave some apostles and prophets and evangelists, pastors and teachers for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry. And so that word gift there is the is the Hebrew, the Greek word doma, which means present, I'm a present. The Hebrew, the Greek word doma, which means present, I'm a present. And everybody that's in this church, it comes in here. That, uh, that when we, when we bring people in, I don't bring anybody in. That's not a present to you.
Speaker 1:And when they lay hands on you, you get more than what you came up for you get. You get an impartation that I'm telling you, it adds to your arsenal. Are y'all with me now? So stir it up, see, stir to do exploits. And so he said in the Amplified verse 6, stir up means to rekindle the embers. The Amplified Bible Fan the flames, keep burning, keep a white hot heat. It's another meaning, boy, white hot is hot. You know, flies can't light on a hot stove. You get yourself stirred up enough. I mean, you don't have to worry too much about demons coming around. Oh, they'll try, but they don't like hot, they sure don't like white hot. So he said stir up, keep burning, rekindle the embers. And it takes time and effort to stir up the gift.
Speaker 1:And the reason I want to talk about the gifts is you've got to recognize there is one, there is one that you receive. You receive it on a constant basis. You're always receiving spiritual gifts, spiritual gift upon spiritual gift, grace this is the year of grace upon grace, favor upon favor, spiritual blessing upon heaped upon spiritual blessing, blessing heaped upon blessing, something like that. I forgot to amplify it, but you get the idea. So why do I say that? Because we're living in the end times and God has got to get the church to arise in its full capacity to rule and reign with him.
Speaker 1:I remember years ago, the 80s I think, probably early 80s Billy Brim used to come to Lakewood and they had those old barracks out back that Rachel's grandfather built and supplied the lumber from Economy Lumber, a lot of it and helped build those buildings and she would come and stay and they'd have women's meetings because she was, you know, I don't know Brother Holstein, was he liked Billie, but she never got to preach in the church for the longest time. She would just come for the women and Gladys went to some of those meetings and she was sharing with the ladies. One time about a dream she had, and it was Christmas time, and all these big, beautiful wrapped gifts were under the tree, you know, and she was Christmas time and and, uh, all these big, beautiful wrapped gifts were under the tree, you know, and she was in this dream and she was, you know, unwrapping these gifts and she woke up. God said what. She said God, what does that dream mean? He said I'm, I'm about to release giftings into the body of Christ and they're going to be unwrapped. They're going to be unwrapped, be unwrapped and displayed in the end times. I see that's where we're living right now. I said that's where we're living right now. Some of you have been receiving these impartations and gifts and God's about to unwrap them and display them. Come on, lift your hands right now. Glory to God that's not in my notes, by the way. That's a prophetic word in the, in the, in the, while I'm preaching Hallelujah. He's going to put the church on display. He's going to put the church on display.
Speaker 1:So it takes time and effort and faith. You've got to know the possibility and it's easy to cool off, it's easy to draw back. You know, it's easy just to kind of get under a load, like some of you came up. You're weighed down with weights and stuff. When you're, when you have that, it's pretty hard to think about your gifting. It's hard to think about stirring up the gift that's on the inside. You're weighed down with something that's making your life miserable. Well, thank God you're free Now. Let's stir up the gift, let's stir it up and let's get full of the Holy Ghost, amen.
Speaker 1:And then verse 9, he's talking about God, who has saved us and called us with a holy calling. Now notice, he's talking to his son in the faith. You know he knows that, but he's got to be reminded. It's easy to forget that. You know, we didn't call ourselves.
Speaker 1:God called us with a holy calling. He called us with a holy calling Not according to our works, not according to what we think is our resume, not according to our natural personalities or giftings or anything else, or talents no, that had nothing to do with it. But he called us according to his own purpose. He called us to his own purpose and grace, which was given unto us in Christ Jesus. Before the world began, paul said God called me from my mother's womb. Well, yeah, he did. I mean it's in the bible, he actually he called all of us before we were even imagined. He called us before the world began, because god doesn't live in time, he lives in eternity. He saw you way before anybody else saw you and he called you. And he didn't call you because of anything that has to do with you. He called you according to his own purpose, which lets me say to you that God doesn't call the qualified, he qualifies the call. He doesn't call the qualified the. The calling doesn't mean you're qualified. The calling means he has a purpose for you. And now you've got to get up to speed. Now you've got to do your side, you've got to become qualified Before you'll ever be released and he can ever display this gift that he wants to display. Are y'all with me now Talking about stirred to do exploits?
Speaker 1:That's what we. You know we're not just sitting here playing church and fiddling around, and you know we're called to do exploits. We are called to do exploits. Let's look at 1 Corinthians, 4. Verse 7. I'm going to read it in the King James and then I'm going to read it in the Amplified Verse 7. I'm going to read it in the King James and then I'm going to read it in the Amplified Verse 7.
Speaker 1:He's talking to the Corinthian church. You know, the Corinthian church was carnal. They had a lot of sin in the camp. They had gifts. They had the gifts of the Spirit. They came out of the occult. The Corinthians were very witchcraft and spirit oriented, had a lot of that demonic activity, and so they were familiar with the spirit realm. But they allowed those spirits to hang around sometimes. And so they you know Paul had to write two letters of correction, you know, and get them on the, get them on the right track.
Speaker 1:First, corinthians, chapter four, verse seven, for who maketh thee to differ from another. Remember they were saying I'm of Paul and I'm Apollos. They were, they were just so, they were bragging on themselves. Yeah, you know, paul baptized. He said I didn't baptize. I might have baptized one family, but God didn't send me to baptize. God sent me to preach the gospel. What difference does it make who baptized? You See, they're always trying to find something to brag on.
Speaker 1:Who maketh thee to differ from another? And what have you that you did not receive? Now, if you did receive it, why do you glory as if you hadn't received? Now you were full. Now you were rich. You have reigned as kings without us and I would to God that you did reign, that we also might reign with you. Now he's kind of being sarcastic there. Now let me read it to you in the Amplified. It's a lot clearer. It's more words, but it's a lot clearer. Let me read it to you. And boy, you talk about a stiff rebuke. This is pretty heavy. I mean, I imagine they were looking for some buckets of water to put out the fire For.
Speaker 1:Who separates you from the others as a faction leader? Who makes you superior and sets you apart from another, giving you the preeminence? What have you that was not given to you? If, then, you received it from someone, why do you boast as if you didn't receive it but had gained it by your own efforts? I've met people like that More than a few. A lot of people just think they're a legend in their own mind. A lot of people just think they're a legend in their own mind.
Speaker 1:You behave as if you're already filled and think you have enough. You are full and content, feeling no need of anything more. Already, you have become rich in spiritual gifts and graces without any counsel or instruction from us. In your conceit, you have ascended your thrones and come into your kingdom without including us. And would that you were, that it were true and that you did reign so that we might be sharing the kingdom with you? In other words, it isn't true. You just think you're reigning, but you really ain't.
Speaker 1:Ooh, man, I mean that was whoo. I mean that epistle had some fire on it. Man, I mean glory to God. I just remind myself and the Lord and the devil all the time I don't have anything that I earned. I have zero. He gave everything I have to me. How dare I hide it and act like I don't have it. I say what I have, not to say that I earned it, but to say that God gave it. And I recognize that.
Speaker 1:I mean that's false humility for God to have given you something and you say, oh no, when God gives it, you didn't earn it, you got it from him. Or you got it through someone else that laid hands on you and imparted it still came from God. If it came through another vessel, he didn't get it by himself, he got it from God to give to you. Come on, lift your hands right now. Thank God, you got something. You've got something supernatural that ought to be stirred up. You've got to stir it up. You can't just let it sit there and lay there. And part of stirring it up is recognizing that you have it. You know, once you really own it and you realize you've got something real, then you know, now you're starting to admit that you've got a responsibility now to operate in that when God allows you to Get anything out of this.
Speaker 1:So he called us to his own, according to his own purpose. We, you know, we don't have anything of ourselves. No, a thousand times no. It doesn't belong to us because of us. He had a purpose, so we have to keep stirring ourselves up as believers because we're under pressure, we're under assault, our minds are under assault, our bodies are under assault, our finances are under assault, everything's under assault. We're living in the last of the last days. The devil knows his time is short.
Speaker 1:So in Mark 16, it says Jesus is talking about so going to all the world. Say we've got, we've got, we're supposed to go into all the world. We are, each of us individually. He's talking to believers there. He said going to all the world. Preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved. He that believeth not shall be be damned. These signs shall follow them that believe. So he's talking to believers. He's not just talking to the 12., he's talking to us. He's talking to every disciple. The sign shall follow in my name. They shall. That's the strongest language in the Greek. It's not there's, no, it's not nebulous, it's not maybe. It's that this is shall happen, this shall happen. So there then we. It's incumbent upon us.
Speaker 1:I got this all these years ago and I just started. I mean, I was a baby Christian, but I started laying hands on people. I started sitting in the witness chair. I started, I mean, you know, I went to the job I was a home builder and I had these, uh, these guys, they were my framing carpenters. None of them spoke English. I mean, they spoke a little, but they, they understood more than they spoke. They could understand. They couldn't speak it. And so I thought, you know, I'm going to witness these guys. And so I got there at lunchtime and they've got, they've got their tacos in the wrapped in tinfoil, and they started a fire in the front yard. You know, back then you could burn, nobody bothered. You burn it. You put two befores and light, scrap, lumber, and they'd they'd be heating up their lunch, you know, and I wait till they got it in a circle and they unwrapped their tacos and they're just get and I start preaching to them, and they're just getting, and I'd start preaching to them and they'd look at me. It's a great, I sat in the witness. I didn't have any invites to preach, I just made my own opportunities.
Speaker 1:I'd ordered shingles one time and back then we were using wood shingles, and wood shingles I mean they would walk off, I mean. But I mean what I mean is they get stolen. If you ordered, if you ordered, an entire house full of shingles. 40 squares of shingles. I mean that's a lot of money. And they dumped 40 squares of shingles off at your job site. I guarantee you half of them would be gone the next. The next morning you walked out there. I mean it's somebody come in and throw them in the back of a big old truck and haul them off, you know. And so I would order, and the lumberyard didn't like me because you know I'd just order a few. I'd order 10 square. If I needed 40, I'd order 10. And then I'd make them get it. Put it up on the roof right away. As soon as they're ordered, you get them up on the roof, don't you leave them in the yard.
Speaker 1:Well, they came late in the afternoon. The roofer was nowhere to be found. So I went over there with my bottle of oil and I anointed my shingles with oil and they were in the back of the house. I told them don't you dare deliver them to the front yard, you go, pull around to the back, and there was room to where they could do that kind of hide them a little bit. But the house, the framing carpenters were working. A couple of gringos, you know. They're working there, you know, and they see me drive up and they're kind of looking at me and I'm just kind of waiting for them not to just be staring at me. But I mean, you know, finally I just had to go ahead and do what I was going to do.
Speaker 1:And so I took this bottle of oil and I prayed over it. You know, I said make this like the blood of Jesus. And I just started sprinkling, and I couldn't sprinkle the front of the shingles. It's going to stain the shingles and make them ugly. So I have to anoint them. You know, on the, on the paper and the where it's hidden. And so it took me a little while to anoint these shingles. And and I turned around and one of them was looking right at me and he's what are you doing? I said I'm protecting my shingles from theft. What I said? I'm anointing them with oil in the name of Jesus, and these shingles will be here tomorrow when you come back, because no thief is going to steal these shingles. I'm marking them. He said well, you know I'm Baptist but I've never heard anything like this Stirred to do exploits.
Speaker 1:I mean, hey, we're supposed to go in our world, make a difference. Acts 1.8. You shall receive power after the Holy Ghost comes upon you and you shall be witnesses with evidence, witnesses with evidence. Have you got some evidence? Yes, you do. You have evidence. You'll never know until you get out of your comfort zone and begin to stir yourself up to do exploits. Where do you get that? Daniel 11, 32. Let's go back there, daniel. He's speaking about the end times he's talking about in Daniel. He talks about the devil knows his time is short. All of that, daniel 11, 32. He's talking about in Daniel. He talks about the devil knows his time is short. All of that, daniel 11, 32. Those that do know their God, last part of 32. But people that do know their God shall be strong and do exploits.
Speaker 1:Now, the word exploits is in italics, so it doesn't appear in the Hebrew. It says those who do know their God shall be strong and do, they will do Exploits is understood. But when you look up the Hebrew word word can that's, that's uh translated do, it just means to bring to pass. It means, it means a variety of things. It means to shake. You get stirred up to shake your world. For god, I'm telling you when you, when you walk in your gifting, I'm telling you and you stir that gifting up, you're going to make some waves. People are going to be attracted to what you have and need what you've got to offer. Are you with me now? I mean witnesses. That's what we are. We're witnesses with evidence. We do exploits, we go out. I mean every day is an adventure. Now, ephesians 4.11, we quoted that verse.
Speaker 1:You know, god gave some apostles and prophets, bishops, pastors, teachers, and so these impartations have been made in us because we've endeavored over 30 years To bring the five fold ministry Into this church to minister. I mean, we've had apostles, we've had prophets, we've had evangelists, we've had. You know, I don't ask pastors to come very much Because pastors cover. I'm not against it. We had Nancy. She's kind of really more of a Bible teacher, nancy Dufres. Nancy, she's kind of really more of a Bible teacher. Nancy Dufresne, I understand somebody told me that she had handed her church off to one of her sons. I'm not sure, but anyway, that's great. I mean, she's an awesome teacher. She taught.
Speaker 1:We invited her to come back 2006, I think it was and Ed came with her. It was quite a week, but in order to have her we couldn't have her on a Sunday. We had to have her during the week. Anybody remember those meetings, man? We had church every night. Like you know, it was real unusual.
Speaker 1:We made an investment. Well, why? Well, because there's an anointing, there's an impartation that I wanted this church to get. But it has to be stirred up. Ephesians 5, 18,.
Speaker 1:You know, be not drunk with wine where there's an excess, but be filled with the Spirit. Be being filled, be continually and habitually filled with the Holy Ghost. When you're filled with the Holy Ghost, you're stirring up the gift. It just comes with the territory. When you're filled with the Holy Ghost, you're stirring up the gift that's on the inside that you've received through impartation. Hallelujah.
Speaker 1:But fear is the water that extinguishes the flame. That's why, you know, he told, he told his son. He said, man, you, you know, god didn't give you fear, he didn't give you timidity, he didn't give you embarrassment, he didn't give you shame, quit. You know he didn't say quit it. But I mean he, just you know he, just you know he, just you know he, he. He did a great job of respecting his son without demoralizing him. His son is mature. He read that letter and received strength from it. He quit being ashamed. He quit. He quit letting his mind be so big.
Speaker 1:He started looking down on the inside and stirring up that supernatural. There's nothing supernatural in your brain, there's only supernatural down in your spirit. That's the only place there's anything supernatural is right down in here, and when you stir it up, it starts coming out. Glory to God, come on, lift your hands. Right now I'm starting it up to bring it out. Now he goes in verse 12.
Speaker 1:Now he starts talking about something else. Let's go back to how many of you willing to do some exploits, or your leaders. I mean, god chose you. You didn't choose yourself. You didn't call yourself. You've been called with a holy calling and it's not according to your resume, it's not according to your personality or anything that you decided on. It was his purpose and it was before the world began. So you know, it kind of takes us out of it. We don't have anything. He didn't give us. It's valuable, everything that we have, it's valuable. He gave it, alright. So he starts talking here uh, in verse 12. Are you getting anything out of this? Well, it's unusual message, but it's meat. So he starts talking.
Speaker 1:Verse 11, where unto I'm appointed a preacher and an apostle and a teacher of the Gentiles. He left out prophet, but he was a prophet. He was a prophet before he was an apostle. He was a prophet. He left prophet out. I don't really know why, but anyway he did.
Speaker 1:I don't like to leave it out because I know that God allows me to walk in the office of the prophet from time to time, so I'm not going to leave it out. If I have it, I'm going to say I have it. I didn't get it because of me, I got it because that's what he wanted me to have it. I didn't get it because of me, I got it because that's what he wanted me to have. And, of course, apostle and an apostle usually gets to occupy all five full ministry slots. I mean, they're anointed to pastor, they're anointed to evangelize.
Speaker 1:I've done that. I've done the work of an evangelist. He told Timothy do the work of an evangelist. I've done the work of an evangelist. He told Timothy do the work of an evangelist. I've done the work of an evangelist on occasion, but anyway, regardless, he said I've. Where were we? Verse 11.
Speaker 1:I'm appointed a preacher, an apostle and a teacher of the Gentiles, for the which cause I also suffer these things, in other words, being arrested. Just think about Paul. He came off the field ministry. He's doing all kinds of wonderful things. He's preaching all over Asia Minor. He's preaching. He's got all these churches that look into him. And God allowed him to come off of the field, had him arrested and sent him to witness to Caesar, and the end of his life was all about witness being a witness to Caesar, and there's no record that Caesar got saved.
Speaker 1:So you want to talk about God's economy, you want to talk about God's plans and God. God chooses to do things, certain things, I mean. You know, listen, god is God. If that Pope dies, I sure hope the Catholics choose a better Pope next time. All right, so he says here for the which cause? I also suffer these things. Verse 12,.
Speaker 1:Nevertheless, I'm not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, I know whom I have loved and am persuaded that he is able to keep. Everybody shout keep. He is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day. He's able to keep. And what is that? That he's keeping, that fire, that gift, that flame, that inner fire that you've kept, stirred up you, what you commit it to God to keep it. Now, later on.
Speaker 1:He talks about, he keeps. There's two ways. You know, we keep it and God keeps it. So let's talk about the part where he says God's keeping this fire and what puts the fire out? Fear. Fear is the water that puts out the flame. I mean, if you're going to commit something to God, then you're going to have to do it by faith because fear. You know, god can't keep something that's wet, you can't keep something that's been extinguished.
Speaker 1:So he said I've committed this fire, essentially this gifting, unto him against that day. God is safeguarding that fire, he's protecting it. He's protecting that gifting that God gave you for the end times. If you commit it to him, and how do you do it? By faith, by faith, you commit it to God. And how do you do it? By faith, by faith, you commit it to God.
Speaker 1:So the Godward side of the keeping is activated by our faith in God's care and ability. I mean, he cares about this gifting. He's the one that gave it to you, he's the one that's going to roll it out and display it at the time that he wants it done. So he's well able to keep it. Why does he need to keep it? Because you're under assault. I mean, I'm telling you, the devil's not going to lay down and let you manifest what it is that you have. He's going to come against you all the time. Let's not be amazed at what he does, but let's commit that fire and say God, you keep this now, against that day when it's time for me to have it. I want to be able to reach out there and just go whoop and give it away, manifest it.
Speaker 1:So the manward side is to commit, to trust and to deposit the fire with God. He's the depository of that fire. And then so he keeps reading here hold fast to form sound words which you've heard of me, in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus. Now don't forget what I've taught you. Verse 14, now here, that good thing which was committed unto thee, keep by the Holy ghost which dwelleth in us. So now the keeping is on your side. See, there's two, two sides to the keeping the Godward side to keep it and the manward side to keep it. You've got to keep it too. You don't just release it, you don't just. I mean, you commit it to God, all right. But yet now he says you've got to commit that thing that God gave you. You've got to keep it by the Holy Ghost. You've got to keep it by the Holy Ghost.
Speaker 1:What does that mean? Well, it means that your anointing can be affected by pressures that you give into, like Timothy, I mean, he's in danger. He's in danger of losing the anointing because he's not keeping it properly. He's letting fear, he's letting cowardice, timidity, embarrassment, shame, he's letting that affect his ministry and he's not keeping the gift. Paul said hey, that gift you got, stir it up. God didn't give you fear. Fear is water that puts out the flame. He didn't say that, but I'm saying that Amen, are you with it? Are you with me now? Oh, I tell you, we got to be bold.
Speaker 1:And so the manward side is we have to guard and protect and isolate that which God has entrusted us. He's entrusted this gift to you and you've got to guard it. God trusted you with it. Now you've got to keep it. And then you know God, I'm going to do everything I can, by the Holy Ghost, to keep this and I'm keeping it. But also, I want a double insurance policy. I want you keeping. The same time, I want you to keep it too. Are you getting anything out of this tonight? And it's because of this dual keeping I told you it's meat tonight. I mean you got to chew on this a little while. I mean you got to chew on this a little while.
Speaker 1:Because of this dual keeping, there's always fire to stir up. I mean you know your fire. I mean it can always be stirred up. It just naturally dies back down, like any fire does. Fire doesn't just sit there and burn all the time, it just starts to go down as it consumes the fuel. The fuel is like if it's wood, it starts to consume the wood and it starts to get lower and it gets lower. And, like you know, if you're on a camping trip and you start a fire and the next morning, well, there ain't no fire, all you got left is smoldering. But it doesn't take long to get that thing, man. I mean you just stir it up a little bit, add a little more fuel and and fan it a little bit and you got a roaring fire, just like that.
Speaker 1:I used to have a wood burning stove in my house. It was a fireplace. It was a fireplace. It was a wood-burning that was designed a fireplace inserted, just inserted into my firebox. I had a wood-burning fireplace. It wasn't a gas log fireplace. It was a wood-burning fireplace, masonry and I bought a buck stove and it's fit right into the hole and I would build a big roaring fire in there about 11 o'clock at night.
Speaker 1:I lived in a two-story house and it had a thermostatically controlled blower on the bottom of it. So here I'm just really upsetting the power in here and the power we're having of power. Are you getting nervous about what I'm preaching? So I mean I'd set it about 11 o'clock. I just man, I'd build a roaring fire in there and I mean it was hot and that blower would come on. And we had a two-story house and the blower blew the hot air right up the stairway to the bedrooms upstairs we had. All our bedrooms were upstairs and the heater would not kick on until like 5 o'clock in the morning. I mean that wood took care of my house and the gas never kicked on until about 5 o'clock in the morning. I'd go back down there If I woke up, I'd go down there and I'd open it up and it wouldn't take anything at all to get that thing roaring again. I mean I'd just stir it up a little bit, put some more fuel in there, shut it and then by the time we eat breakfast, man, it's hot and warm and toasty downstairs and pretty good upstairs, amen.
Speaker 1:So you know, you've got to stir that gift up. You've got to keep it stirred up, amen. And that's why we're stirred to do exploits. It takes the anointing to do these mighty things that God wants to see. He wants to see people healed. He wants to see people delivered. He wants to see your world impacted by the gifting that he's given you. Come on, lift your hands, stir to do exploits. Hallelujah, glory to God. Thank you Lord, thank God, we're living in the last of the last days. Praise God, praise God. Did you get the last of the last days? Praise God, praise God. Did you get anything out of this tonight? Well, let's thank God for it then. Hallelujah, thank you Lord, amen.