Why We Must Keep the Fire Burning - 2 Timothy Start
2 Timothy 1:6 For this reason I remind you nto fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands, 7 for God gave us oa spirit not of fear but pof power and love and self-control.
Timothy was a pastor with a lot of issues. He was also a Pastor in a very large and influential church.
And so it is for good reason Paul tells Timothy to keep the fire burning within him. He has a high calling and a heavy responsibility. He has a great spiritual heritage with is mother and grandmother. He has a friendship/mentorship with the great Apostle Paul. He needs to stay hot!
The natural tendency for many of us is to let the fire diminish over time. We all can lose our passion and zeal for the Lord. Why? It is because we forget the importance of our calling! We forget that what we do for the Lord has impact beyond our own generation. Timothy needed to remember who invested in him with their faith so that he would pass it down to those under his pastoral care.
We need the fire of God because important people are counting on us. We may not have John the Apostle as one of our constituents, but we may have a future Pastor, missionary, or world-class Christian businessman who will fund the salvation of 1000s because of his generosity.
It is not time for Pastors to be weak and watered down. It is not time for Pastors to be timid and shy about what we proclaim. The work of God in the Church is the biggest and most important work in human history. Let us fan our gift so that we might keep the fire of the Holy Spirit moving through the church, touching and changing lives for eternity.
You see, there's one disadvantage Timothy had to us. He knew the importance and work of the people sitting in his church. We don't know this. We may have important people in our lives who we like but those we influence for the Gospel - who knows what work they will produce. Its something we'll only know fully in heaven.
My prayer for me and anyone reading this is to keep the fire burning - so that those within our sphere of influence might catch it and go in the power of the Lord for life! How many destinies could be changed if we stay hot for the Lord's work!
PRAYER
Father, keep me burning. I pray you bring me to remembrance of this important reality daily. I want to be more in love with you and more passionate for your work today than ever before. I ask you to keep the fire alive. I pray for a fresh wind of the Holy Spirit to ignite me for the Church of your Son! In Jesus Name! AMEN.
The natural tendency for many of us is to let the fire diminish over time. We all can lose our passion and zeal for the Lord. Why? It is because we forget the importance of our calling! We forget that what we do for the Lord has impact beyond our own generation. Timothy needed to remember who invested in him with their faith so that he would pass it down to those under his pastoral care.
History tells us John the Aposle and possibly Mary, the mother of Jesus were in Ephesus while Timothy was Pastor. Wow! That's a heavy responsibility. No wonder Timothy had stomach issues!!! Who wouldn't if you were Jesus' Mother's Pastor!
We need the fire of God because important people are counting on us. We may not have John the Apostle as one of our constituents, but we may have a future Pastor, missionary, or world-class Christian businessman who will fund the salvation of 1000s because of his generosity.
It is not time for Pastors to be weak and watered down. It is not time for Pastors to be timid and shy about what we proclaim. The work of God in the Church is the biggest and most important work in human history. Let us fan our gift so that we might keep the fire of the Holy Spirit moving through the church, touching and changing lives for eternity.
You see, there's one disadvantage Timothy had to us. He knew the importance and work of the people sitting in his church. We don't know this. We may have important people in our lives who we like but those we influence for the Gospel - who knows what work they will produce. Its something we'll only know fully in heaven.
My prayer for me and anyone reading this is to keep the fire burning - so that those within our sphere of influence might catch it and go in the power of the Lord for life! How many destinies could be changed if we stay hot for the Lord's work!
PRAYER
Father, keep me burning. I pray you bring me to remembrance of this important reality daily. I want to be more in love with you and more passionate for your work today than ever before. I ask you to keep the fire alive. I pray for a fresh wind of the Holy Spirit to ignite me for the Church of your Son! In Jesus Name! AMEN.
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