God provides whatever divine enablements we need for the service to which He appoints us. (Google image, Gifts of the Holy Spirit)
The Holy Spirit Himself is God's great gift to us (Acts 2:38) but He bestows grace-gifts (charismata) providing divine endowment and enablement for serving God and the body of Christ.
"Fan the flame the gift of God which is in you," Paul urged Timothy (2 Tim. 1:6). Notice the gift was "in" him. The Holy Spirit primarily works from within, not upon in some external sense. He does not manipulate us, He enables by His indwelling presence and power.
God never appoints or guides you to do a service without being available to endow and empower you with all you need to do His will. But there is a cooperating role for you to play.
You must kindle anew, or fan into full flame the divine endowment. God's gifts are given to be cherished and used. To fail to use them as God desires is to fail God and people. We develop them by use. As we use God's endowment, the Spirit enables us, guides us, and makes us fruitful.
The constant tendency of fire is to go out. The Spirit does not waste divine energy. If we do not obey and use the grace God provides, He ceases to bestow. The Greek tense of the verb emphasizes the continuous rekindling of the flame.
The spiritual biography of many a Christian leader is "once ablaze." Was there a time when you were more ablaze for God than you are today?
Praise God, a flickering flame that is almost gone can be fanned into brilliant fire again. That fanning must be a continuous process.
Five times in Leviticus 6 God instructed that the fire on the altar of burnt offering was never to go out.
He had initially given that fire from heaven (Lev. 9:24; 2 Chron. 7:11). God supplies the fire, but we must keep it burning. We constantly need the Spirit's fire, symbolizing the divine presence within us, and we constantly need the touch of God's grace provided through the atonement upon us.
Our consecration to God should never lapse and His presence and power in and upon us should never diminish. God has created our spirits flammable. We are spiritually combustible.
Our nature is created to be set ablaze by the Spirit. We are spiritually most blessed, most victorious, most usable when we are ablaze. We are most Godlike when we glow with holy flame—the flame of the indwelling Spirit.
The fire of God gives an unforgettable attraction to the personality of God's messenger and to the content of His message. It imparts a sacred authority that cannot be counterfeited by human efforts.
It so seals with the mark of God that others are unable to ignore it. It gives a holy authenticity and assures of integrity. It impresses with the obvious involvement and partnership of God.
Whatever the cost, we must keep the flame of the Spirit burning on the altar of our hearts. The Greek word in "fan into flame" in 2 Timothy 1:6 refers to the use of a bellows to cause a smoldering fire to flame up.
This takes effort. Timothy was to do all in his power to intensify the manifestation of the flame of the Spirit. Our cooperation with the Spirit is essential to consistency of flowing ardor, spiritual radiance, and flaming zeal.
God gives us capacity and the Spirit wants to imbue our whole being with His reality, making us His channels of expression that His holy fire may be constantly visible in us. We must choose whether we will neglect the Spirit, quench the Spirit, or fan into flame the Spirit's presence.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Used by permission of the author and Duewel Literature Trust, Inc., Greenwood, Indiana. Creative reading style by Jean.
Ablaze for God
#5 He Provides You Gifts
by Dr. Wesley L. Duewel
(pp. 25-26) ZondervanPublishingHouse
Prayer-
Father, thank You for the spiritual gifts You give each of us in our lives, to honor You, and to accomplish Your planned will for us.
Because you don't appoint or guide us to do a service without being available to help us with the power of Your Spirit, help us realize that there needs to be cooperation with Him on our part to get the most out of what we're asked to do.
When we understand that we were created to be ablaze by Your Spirit, we can be the most blessed and victorious and aglow with holy flame—the flame of the indwelling Spirit.
We ask to be made channels of Your holy fire, and to become visible expressions of Your ability to help us. May we choose to fan into flame Your Spirit's presence and power.
I ask this in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Because you don't appoint or guide us to do a service without being available to help us with the power of Your Spirit, help us realize that there needs to be cooperation with Him on our part to get the most out of what we're asked to do.
When we understand that we were created to be ablaze by Your Spirit, we can be the most blessed and victorious and aglow with holy flame—the flame of the indwelling Spirit.
We ask to be made channels of Your holy fire, and to become visible expressions of Your ability to help us. May we choose to fan into flame Your Spirit's presence and power.
I ask this in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Today's Bible verses-
united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any
common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and
compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-
minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and
of one mind" (Philippians 2:1-2).
"There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called
to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith
one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all
and through all and in all" (Ephesians 4:4-6).
"Walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and
gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and
sacrifice to God" (Ephesians 5:2).
Today's quotes-
~ "It is the Holy Spirit who plays a critical role in the unification of believers because we have the one Spirit dwelling in each of us. So just as all believers have one Spirit, we should also have one mind - Christ's -- and loving others as Jesus loved us will help us to be of one mind. Love and fellowship of the Spirit are constantly working together, and through this process, we ultimately discover that our ability to participate in the fellowship of the Holy Spirit with other believers gives us great reason to rejoice! (The Pocket Testament League All Scriptures above were from this message, 10/25/17).
~ Franklin Graham- "We overcome the harsh suffering and evil of this world by placing our faith in the sovereign, loving and wise hands of our heavenly Father. That is truly the one safe place to be, with our sins forgiven, our hearts transformed, and our sure and steadfast hope that one day we will rest securely forever in the presence of Almighty God." (Taken from pg. 3 of DECISION, November 2017)
Today's special link: https://youtu.be/KOUTQtsETD4 Check this out to see what happened at a ladies jewelry party! The power of the name of Jesus still works!
Today's question-
Do you believe God will move on your behalf when you're in trouble?
The above link proves the power of using Jesus' name! We need to be ready to plead for God's help at a moment's notice to then experience His protection, provision and blessing. The Holy Spirit will tell us exactly what to do. We're to walk out our faith so in our challenges, our faith can be strengthen. Believe that God will use you and speak up!
Upcoming posts-
#6 Wanted: A Burning Heart!
2nd-Thursday's post by Dr. Wesley L. Duewel
Jesus . . . Your Rescuer
4th- Saturday's post by Ernie Miller
#7 Do You Long for Power?
7th- Tuesday's post by Dr. Wesley L. Duewel
#8 The "UPON"ness of the Spirit
9th- Thursday's post by Dr. Wesley L. Duewel
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Jean's blog
(Click to see snippets of the 7 recent posts)
(Click to see snippets of the 7 recent posts)
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