Fan the fire of God's gift

I invite you to open your Bibles to 2 Timothy, chapter 1. In the Bible study tonight; 2 Timothy, chapter 1, perhaps a text that we already know. Praise the Lord. How good it is to know that we have been in the presence of the Lord! We serve a God who attends to our cries, loves us...

Let's read verse 6 and verse 7. Amen. In the name of the Father, of the Son, of the Holy Spirit. With which I advise you to fan the fire of the gift of God that is in you. We go back to verse 6. 2 Timothy, chapter 1, verse 6. “Therefore I advise you to fan into fire the gift of God that is in you. By the laying on of my hands, because God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and self-control."

Lord, thank you for this word, thank you for this opportunity to scrutinize your word and be scrutinized by it, and I invite the Spirit of God to breathe on this word and give it life. In the name of Jesus. Amen. This word tonight was inspired by a conversation I had with a brother that I love very much and who is growing in the Lord and we had a conversation all of a sudden. And I say this with all due respect, because I am very certain that he is listening tonight. But we were talking; he stopped by the office, what's more, it was perhaps my last conversation last week.

In the middle of this conversation, he asked me this question, he said: “Pastor, I would like the Lord to give me a gift. May the Lord…” more or less were his words, “give me a gift – pour out his gifts on me.” And he shared with me in the way that he would want to see the Lord use him. He shared with me how he wanted to see himself used by the Lord. And at that moment I answered him… all this – none of this, we didn't even have an appointment, this is pure work of the Spirit… hot bread that the Lord was giving us in this conversation, and I answered him, “well, my brother, Look – good news, you don't have to ask the Lord for a gift, the Lord has already given it to you. You have a gift from God, powerful. God has already taken care of giving you a gift. What you have to do is walk in that gift. What you have to do is develop that gift. What's more, what the word says is that, 'that you fan the fire of the gift that is already in you – that you fan the fire of the gift of God that is already in you.'”

And not satisfied with that, he tells me –he asks me–, “How do you do that?”

And how is that done? And I say, Wow! Good Lord, thank you for putting me in trouble and let's see, Lord, how... what do we do? And to myself I thought, good question and how... how do you do that? How is the gift of God that is in us revived? And, first of all, my brothers, what I shared with that brother is universal. Do you know what applies to you? Do you know that you have a gift? That God before you were born, you were born precisely to exercise the gift of God on this earth. And exercise the gift of God on this earth, because He has the purpose for his church, you are part of it, and He wants to bless this world through your life and through the gift that He placed upon you.

And, perhaps, that gift – all your life, perhaps, it was inert until the moment you came to the Lord. This doesn't just apply to Timothy, this is not merely speaking… I – reading this, I don't think this is limited to merely laying hands on ministers, ordaining them, although that is true. But in an ordination, look, what is being done is acknowledging the gifts that the Lord is already operating on the life of this being that a people is setting aside for the level of ministry that they are already exercising.

By the way, the laying on of hands that is spoken of here, I think is something else. I think it is much simpler, simpler and more universal. At the moment that you said, Lord, I want to be your disciple, I want to walk close to you. I want to be part of the Kingdom of God. And maybe at that moment you walked down the aisle, for sure, and maybe at that moment someone laid hands on you. A life quickened by the power of God laying hands on another life, wanting to be quickened by the power of God. And like a spiritual resurrection, that burning ember passes... transmits the fire of God on this cold and inert ember.

And at the moment a flame jumps out of that passing life. That is one of the most magical and precious things that is done in the Church of Jesus Christ. From ember to ember the fire of God is lit in your life. And that gift, which was potential, now by imposition of hands, the Holy Spirit now dwelling in you, because you are already a temple of the Holy Spirit covered by the blood of the lamb; now the Lord can put that gift into action and operate.

And, my brethren, let me tell you, like never before, this church – the Lion of Judah Congregation, based in the South End of Boston… Yes, the Church of Jesus Christ, but I speak to you and to this Church, like never before, is it needs you, and you, and you and everyone here in the Lord, has called this body, to walk in your gifts and operate in your gifts. And let it be what Pastor Gregory was preaching last Sunday; this idea of Pastor Roberto passing on his apostolic gift and his pastoral gift, and the Lord gave this message to Gregory long before that phone call on Sunday, letting us know, reminding us, “note that our Pastor is made of flesh and bones and is human, and has the right to get sick and tired.”

And, you know? The Lord does not expect him to do everything and that is why the Lord has surrounded him with a church and has populated this story of mined beings with gifts, treasures that the Lord wants to sprout. You have a gift, and that gift is needed now more than ever. May the Lord impose this gift on you. It is a fact that you stir up the gift of God that is in you. Light again the flames of that ember that one day jumped into life by the laying on of hands.

Well, how do you do that? And, brethren, I wish I could give you a deep revelation tonight. But what I am going to share with you is so basic, it is so elemental – perhaps, for many of you, boring. That in truth I am going to cover these points because I assure you, my brothers, you have heard all this already. And, well, if you have heard it already, glory to God. How nice it would be if all of us practiced it!

If we practiced it, this place would be a furnace of burning coals working on his gifts, beginning with me. Super basic steps, embarrassingly basic. Because?

By the way, this is much more, and at the same time I tell you, it is much more complex than merely saying, well, use your gift. If it is prophecy, prophesy; If it's leadership, go manage, be a leading leader. Amen. That's what the word says. I also say it, but the detail is this: they are gifts of the Holy Spirit. And without the Holy Spirit operating in your life, your gift or the exercise of your gift, or your intention to use your gift, will do more harm than good. It would be more – even in the exercise of the gift of God – without the anointing of the gift of God, it is a recipe for failure.

My brothers, let only the wind of the Spirit of God can fan that ember. Only the breath of the Spirit of God can draw a flame from a cold ember – the fire comes from Him.

How is the gift of God revived? My brothers, perhaps, others can give you a more interesting recipe. Here I offer you a warm, spiritual oatmeal, but I think it will be very healthy and if we manage to do it, the Lord will bless us.

First, a daily search for God. I mean, daily. By the way, if you haven't taken the discipleship classes, start – or if you have, download your manual from level three, open lesson number three. And if you have it, glory to God, blessed and if you already have the message, even more than what I was going to share. All this is there and more. First, a daily search for God.

What in level three and other levels is spoken of the appointment with God. Brethren, we are speaking merely of good spiritual hygiene. In other words, get to a point and if you're there, praise God. If not, brother, tomorrow is not too late to start.

We – get to the point that just as it is unthinkable to go outside, without bathing, without a shower or without brushing your teeth, or without that first cup of coffee. Getting to the point where it is unthinkable to go out into the street without having a moment alone with the word of the Lord and with the Lord. Take advantage of that time – in those moments, be it 20 minutes, be it half an hour. If the Lord can give you half an hour in the morning, fabulous, where the word is declared. You are meditating on the word in a systematic way, studying it, and leaving it, as I heard a theologian say to a group of pastors, this is not the time to study the word, this is the time to let the word study you and that at that moment we measure our lives against it.

And if there is an imbalance, knowing that the problem is not with the word but with you and that we have to balance our lives against the word. I know this is not fun. who wants to do this every morning? Who wants?

But, look, if our kids don't brush their teeth, don't we tell them, do it if you're not going to stay… before you graduate from fourth grade, right? Doing things for discipline, even if they don't seem right to us or seem boring. Sins, in those moments, are compensated and dealt with and forgiven. Petitions are declared. We give the Lord thanksgiving for things we overlook. If you manage to do all that, in those 15, 30 minutes that you are before the Lord, my brothers, do not underestimate the value of this time.

Don't underestimate it. Because? Because do not think that every time you are before the Lord, in these times, alone with the Lord, you are going to receive an emotional or spiritual reaction. Yes, there will be mornings when the Spirit of the Lord will visit you, there will be tears. The Lord will burn in you, maybe you will hear the voice of the Lord in a powerful way, but maybe not. What's more, most of the time, no. I would say 80-90% of the time you are alone with the Lord will be pure routine, apparently. A routine.

Read the word of the Lord. Samuel, what do you learn from this? What does the Lord say to you about this? Where do you have to grow? What do you have to say amen to? If there is a promise from the Lord that I need for that day, Glory to God! I put it in my pocket, I appropriate it. If there is a place where I have to grow, Lord, I apply the blood of the lamb, I recognize that this is an area of weakness. Spirit of God, I learn this lesson. Thank you! And there make sure that your requests are before the Lord.

Brothers, if truly... How can you get bored? How many requests can you really bring to the Lord in one hour? How many sins can we confess in one hour? For how many things can we not give thanks to the Lord in one hour? And in that time, my brothers, as boring as it may seem, the embers are kept burning. You are more sensitive to the voice of the spirit, you are less exposed to the traps of the enemy. You will not feel this river of living water, perhaps, but your soul is 100% better prepared for this day.

One, don't ignore your daily pursuit of God. Two, excuse me.

Forgive. A practice, a lifestyle of forgiving. Jesus declared, because if you forgive men their offenses, your Heavenly Father will also forgive you. Matthew 6:14. The 15th, but if you do not forgive men their offenses, neither will your Father forgive your offenses. We do not flow in the gifts effectively, my brothers, many times due to roots of bitterness that obstruct the channel and contaminate the dituri that the Lord has given us to operate in circles, extremely holy.

Brothers, when we forgive, we are exercising – the Lord, in his wisdom knows, that this is the way in which we learn principles that are far beyond our gifts. About which, without it, the gift has no context as grace and mercy, because, isn't that way –in that environment– that the Lord treats us? And, my brothers, I do not overlook the fact that many of us, perhaps many of us, are struggling with something much more serious than the little sister who lied to you.

Or the little brother who brought a slander against you. Or the lady at the supermarket who charged you more than she should have and then questioned her integrity. Much more serious things. I know... scratches to the heart.

There are things that maybe you can forgive in a second. There are others that are heroic projects of forgiveness. Projects, and I would say, divine forgiveness that will be the source of liberation. But you have to start somewhere. By merely beginning to overlook more things. By giving people a little more benefit of the doubt. To shut up more when we have the right to say two or three things well said to someone. Increase our ability to forgive and you will be surprised when you enter this project.

What's more, when you start you're going to find it fun. Who else can I forgive today? Because you win. You will see that it is like a mirror, that in the moment, for more and more you forgive, more and more and more you receive grace. You receive mercy. You receive favor. You're seeing open doors ahead of you, and you don't even know why. It is because a divine law is being obeyed in your life, in your heart. Invisible laws to which our lives are subject.

This divine law, if you forgive, I will forgive you. If you exercise grace, I will also be graceful with you. And I will increase grace to you, before men and before God. That is the promise. And the moment you exercise that gift in an environment of forgiveness, you're not going to see the person you're praying about or the person you're leading or the person… Because forgiveness is not in an empty context.

The gift needs you to do it in a community, full of imperfect people and instead of seeing that person as a doll inertly receiving his gift, you see a soul with weaknesses. You see a life equally or perhaps more fired than you. You will see a fountain of mercy and this being will receive not merely your gift, but will receive the posture of love and mercy with which you extend that gift – that gift. It is a law – the more we exercise forgiveness and mercy, the more effective we will be as servants of God, because people know when we love them, he heard. They know when they are loved.

People know when they are loved. And that brings us to the third point, super obvious extra, Samuel. My brothers, get involved in a small spiritual community. Get involved in a small group, a family group of some kind. And in this church there are hundreds of opportunities. There are cells scattered throughout the city, of 10, 15, 20 souls that you can join. There are the groups of discipleship classes. Discipleship classes are both a lesson in divine character that you are sharing with a handful of people, sharing the same journey. There is the men's ministry which is now growing in a fabulous way.

But also the Lazarus Group, that is, on purpose looking for a place where people know you by name. Where your faults are exposed and open to the whole world, and where you are growing together with other people. This, my brothers, this is essential. And, my brothers, why is this so important? Because, brothers, your gift needs a context.

I have heard, how many people have heard this, "I don't need a church." "God is wherever he wants, I can praise the Lord, here in my house." It sounds very nice, the only problem with that is that it is not true. It's half a truth, and half a truth is a complete lie. Is not true. It is a lie from Satan. Because? And, my brother, the one who listens to me on the Internet, with much love I write to you too. We love you and thank you for tuning into the website of the Congregation of León de Judá, but there where you are, very close to you, there is a church where you can go and grow.

An imperfect church. imperfect. And that is the point. That is the point. In those places, your gift will have a context. But also in those places we learn – those places, be it a cell, be it a discipleship class, wherever it is. Whatever the group of men, whatever it is… there is someone in authority who is not the senior pastor. And he's probably not an associate pastor. And we learn in those places to submit to the authorities that God has placed and to flourish – to see our gifts flourish in the context of the body of Christ and we grow together.

And, my brother, on the Internet you will say, “Ouch! But if the Lion of Judah were here." Why not plant a Lion of Judah here in Lima, Peru? Why not? Why don't they plant a Lion of Judah in this bay in the corner of the moon where I'm reading this message, why not? My sister, be careful what you ask for, León de Judá is a beautiful church, they don't move me from here, but it is also imperfect. I know, I come here. If I am here, it is imperfect. OK? Raise me!

The mere fact that I am worshiping the Lord here guarantees that it is imperfect. But, my brothers, even these brothers from León de Judá began their journey in a more or less imperfect church. Maybe a legalistic environment. Also – perhaps, an environment where they don't worship the Lord as fervently as they do here. It was missing one thing or the other, but that's where we started. There it was – although it was crawling, but that's where we started. There the mercy of God reached us. There we learned – we survived. And up to here the Lord brought us and do not be surprised, my brothers, I do not want to lose anyone, but perhaps on your journey the Lord will move you from here in the Lion of Judah to a place, perhaps more appropriate, to where the Lord He will use you with even more power.

Does matters? The Kingdom of God wins. What matters is that you stir up the gift of God that is in you. Amen. Let's stand up.

Glory to God! I don't know if Pastor Omar, or whoever is among the musicians can join us at this time to conclude. But, brother, let me pray for you in the name of Jesus.

Lord, you see better than me and at this moment you see what I cannot see, you see what perhaps even Pastor Roberto, with all his discernment, cannot see. You can see what maybe my brother and sister can't see. A gift, a hidden treasure in each brother who is here. An ember, and Lord, we are living in times when every ember is needed. In which each ember is needed.

Sir, we want you to light up New England. We want you to light every corner where you have assigned my brother. The teachers here, I want you to light up that classroom. I want you to light that school. To the dealers, I want you to light up that winery. I want you to light, Lord, the corner where they minister.

Father, the doctors and the nurses, we want your anointing, Lord, we want to see the flames rising from the Spirit. Going up from the hospitals to where they minister. Thank my Lord. Because even at the hospital where the Pastor is, your saints appeared; God's servants working there appeared. You have your people anywhere. Now, I ask, Spirit of God, revive the gifts that are here.

Now, Spirit of God, blow on the gifts that are here. Lord, let the one who prophesies prophesy with authority and with divine anointing. Father, may he who teaches teach with authority and with divine anointing. Let the one who administers administer under authority and with divine anointing. Father, may he who has the gift of mercy lay his hands and may they be Your hands and may it be You transmitting his power.

I declare, Lord, that Satan cannot stop these gifts from flowing because you have already implanted him there. The work is done, you already did it. Before we are born, but the Spirit of God blows, because You, You have a purpose. You have a plan. Until here You have brought us.

Thank you, Lord, for the gift and apostolic anointing on Pastor Miranda. Now pour out, transmit, unleash that anointing. Water it, Lord. Over every soul, over every cell, over every discipleship class, over every social ministry, Lord, light Your church in Your flames. We ask you in the name of Jesus. Amen.