The
apostle Paul tells his young disciple:
Fan
into flame the GIFT of God, which is in you
Through
the laying on of my hands.
For
God did not give us a Spirit of Timidity,
But
a Spirit of Power, of Love and of Self-control.
So
do not be Ashamed to Testify about out Lord,
Or
Ashamed of me His Prisoner.
But
Join with me in Suffering for the Gospel,
By
the Power of God,
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,”
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.
And
of this Gospel I was Appointed a Herald
And
an Apostle and a Teacher.
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.
What
you have heard from me,
Keep
as the Pattern of Sound Teaching,
With
Faith and Love in Christ Jesus.
Guard
the Good DEPOSIT that was Entrusted to you--
Guard
it with HELP of the Holy Spirit
Who
lives in us. (2 Timothy 1:6-14)
If
you have come to Faith in Christ Jesus;
If
He is your Savior and Lord;
If
you have Received the GIFT of God,
The
Baptism, the Immersion, in the Holy Spirit.
THEN
YOUR MUST FAN INTO FLAME
This
most precious of GIFTS.
Listen
to what Christ Jesus COMMANDED His disciples
After
His resurrection:
Do
not leave Jerusalem,
But
Wait for the GIFT My Father Promised,
Which
you have heard Me speak about.
For
John baptized you with water,
But
in a few days you will be Baptized
With
the Holy Spirit. (Acts 1:4-5)
You
will Receive POWER when the Holy Spirit comes on you;
And
you will be My witnesses
In
Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria,
And
to the Ends of the Earth. (Acts 1:8)
Understand
that this GIFT has a Volitional aspect to it;
It
is up to you to Fan IT Into FLAME; No one can do this for you,
It
is your personal responsibility before God and Christ.
It
does help if you are around those who are like “GIFTED” and
minded.
Then
you help keep each other “in the Faith,” and in the FLAME of
Christ,
Where
the ZEAL for your Father's House Consumes you. (John 2:17)
Then
you will not be Ashamed to be a WITNESS for Christ
Wherever
you are
And
even though it will Inevitably bring Suffering and Persecution.
You
will not be Timid because the Spirit of Christ is not Timid.
The
LIFE of Christ was a LIFE of Power as He witnesses for His Father.
As
the Father sent Christ Jesus so Christ Jesus sends each of us.
(John
17:18)
The
ULTIMATE Goal of this LIFE for each of us
Is
to fulfill God's Plan and Purpose for our lives.
This
can only be done through the Spirit of God;
Christ
living IN and THROUGH us, our Hope of Glory. (Colossians1:27)
Our Message Is the same as that of Christ Jesus,
It
is a Message of LIFE or DEATH;
LIFE
in Christ or Eternal DEATH without Him.
In
our Humanness it is all too easy to become Lukewarm.
Unless
we Continually Fan into Flame the GIFT of God in us
We
will become Lukewarm and useless to ourselves and to God.
It
can get to the point where He may have to Spit us out of His mouth.
We
have the same POWER that Christ Jesus had,
The
POWER of the Holy Spirit.
Christ
Jesus said that we would do the things that He did
And
even greater things than these. (John 14:12)
For
some, the only Witness they will see or hear,
Is
your witness for Christ.
This
is the POWER of LIFE and DEATH for them.
Because
of this and for our own sake
We
have the Tremendous Responsibility
To
be All that Christ has Called us to be; to be like Him;
To
give the Message and the Witness of His Glory,
As
He gave the Message and Witness of the Glory of His Father.
To
do this we must GUARD the GOOD DEPOSIT we have been given;
We
must use our TALENT and give it back to Christ with Interest.
We
must never be Ashamed of the Gospel of Christ,
It
is the POWER of God unto SALVATION [Romans 1:16];
SALVATION
being the WHOLE PURPOSE of this life.
Christ Jesus warned us:
Be
always on the Watch,
And pray that you
will be able to Escape All that is about to happen,
And that you may be
able TO STAND before the Son of Man.
(Luke 21:36)
Today,
the World is Raging Against God, Rushing toward Oblivion. (Psalm 2)
This
World in it's Present Form is Passing Away. (1 Corinthians 7:31)
America
is being Ground to Powder because of her SIN against God.
Save
yourself from this Corrupt Generation! (Acts 2:40)
As
God has written, so shall it be! Hallelujah! Maranatha!
Father,
Your Kingdom come, Your will be done, on Earth as in Heaven!
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