Fan Into Flame Your Gifts - Tim Conway

You can stir gifts up.

Now it may be true

that you've only got a certain amount,

but let me tell you this,

Scripture says, "For this
reason I remind you..." -

this is Paul speaking to Timothy -

"fan into flame the gift of God

which is in you through
the laying on of hands."

This is a picture of fire.

Fan into flame - literally.

Listen, we've all been camping.

We've been around a bonfire somewhere.

You know what happens.

This is a picture of a fire

that begins to go low.

I grew up with a fireplace.

I grew up camping.

We all know.

Listen, somebody comes along to a fire

and pours a cold bucket of water on it.

Yeah, that is bad for a fire.

And we know that the devil -

he labors to quench all
that is of God that's in us.

But I'll tell you, there's another
way to let a fire go out.

Just don't do anything.

Just ignore it.

Just don't tend to it.

Think about it. You've got a fire.

What does it need?

Typically - I grew up with a fireplace -

we had a shovel.

We had a poker.

We had a brush.

Why? What were those things for?

Well, to get the ashes out.

Stir it around.

It's like what Christ has done

is He's given you this burning hot coal.

It's for us to make fire rage.

You've seen the fire

where there's embers down there.

Yeah, there's heat.

There's energy.

But there is a place to fan it.

There's a place to blow on it.

We had bellows.

You could blow on it, but for some reason

somebody gave us bellows.

You get air on there.

You need kindling.

You know what you
want to do with that coal

(incomplete thought)

You know where the kindling is.
It's found in people.

Go around and touch it on people.

Go try to be a help to people.

Go try to be an encouragement to people.

Go serve people.

Give to people. Pray for people.

Try to use whatever it is in your capacity

to build up other people,

to strengthen other people,

to help the health of our church,

to make people more Christlike,

to encourage people in their worship,

to encourage people's faith,

to stir up one another to love.

Go do that.

To try to stir up people's
passion for missions

or try to stir up people's passions

for souls through evangelism.

Do those things!

Touch people with that
ember that you have.

See if it won't ignite.

Sometimes when a fire's going down,

what it needs is you know you've got

pieces of the log that
are outside the fire

that if you just kicked
them over into the fire,

the thing would stir up.

Is the fire going out?

Well, stir it around. Change some things.

Make some effort here. Blow on it.

Get rid of the ashes.

That's why we have the shovel.

You've let the ashes build up too high.

Get them out!

Leave it where it's just the hot coals

and the logs that are on fire.

Take away the things that
tend to put the fire out,

that tend to cause this
thing to dampen down

and diminish in light and heat.

Get rid of it.

Listen, you want to exercise gifts?

Be where God's people are.

Be in the prayer meeting.

Be in the small groups.

Be in each other's lives
throughout the week.

Brethren, one of the things
you don't want to do is say,

well, we go to church on Wednesday.

We go to church on Sunday's.

That's not the life of the church.

That's not the life of the church that
you'll find in the book of Acts.

We want the life of the church
that's found in Scripture -

not traditional Christianity
in the United States.

If you have a gift, there's no reason

that you only should be using the gift

on Wednesday and Sunday.

You need to be using that
gift all through the week

in whatever way possible.

I know you work, school, all these things.

Everyone of us has to sort this out.

But you want to know one of the ways

to get the fire burning

and to fan into flame
the gift that you have

is to get out there and seek to use it.

It's kind of like a lawn mower.

Have you ever noticed if
you don't use your lawn mower,

then when you finally want
to go use it, it doesn't start?

One of the best ways to keep
your lawn mower operating

is to keep using it.

Same with cars. We tend to
use our cars all the time,

so we don't really think about it,

but just let a car sit for too long.

You're going to come back probably

the same thing will
happen. It won't start.

There's lots of things that
the more you use them,

the more it keeps them usable.

Be intentional.

Listen, this grace is real
that Christ has given to you.

Don't despise that.

You say, if Christ has given me a grace,

well, then, I'm going to use it.

And I'm going to fan it into
flame as much as I possibly can.

And look, you only get to live once.

Why in the world if some thirty-fold,

some sixty-fold, some a hundred-fold,

why are you going to
settle for thirty-fold?

Oh, because I want to watch the TV.

I want to watch that show.

Okay... We all have to make decisions,

and I'm not saying there's
not a time to relax;

there's not a time that
we need some R&R;

there's not a time to
get to the mountain

and get away.

I recognize there's a need for that.

But brethren, if such
things exist in Scripture

that some are thirty-fold

and some are a hundred-fold,

why would you not press
to be a hundred-fold?

You only get to live once.

Our works follow us Scripture says.

Why settle for minimal realities

with regards to this usefulness?

Christ has given you something.

Use it.

Be faithful.

Be faithful.

Don't grow weary in well-doing.

You only get to live once.

And we don't have a
whole lot longer to go.

Here we're at another year,

another mile marker.

You don't have centuries
and centuries to live.

And even if you did, you shouldn't
be squandering the time.

Your time is going fast.

You only have one life to live.

And if you're Christian,

you've been given a grace.

And you're expected to use it.

Common good.

And when you don't,

you damage all of us.

It's a very selfish thing
when you don't do it.

I know some are shy.
Some are uncomfortable.

Some are socially backward.

So what?

Even if you're socially backward,

you could pray for this church.

You could pray. You could pray.

Some have a gift of faith

that causes them to lay hold on God

and pray all the more.

Some can give

and it's not really in
the limelight at all.

It's all done very secretly.

But whatever your gift is

pour yourself into it.

Pour yourself out for one another.

Grace is given to each one of us

according to the measure of Christ's gift.

Use it, brethren.

Use it to equip this church.

Use it to build up this church.

Use it for the common good of this church.

Father, I pray You'd help us

as we launch out into this new year.

Make us ever more fruitful.

Lord, give us many who on that day

will shine, Lord, like the sun

in the very firmament,

in the kingdom of our Father

who will have, Lord,

they'll have borne a hundred-fold.

Give us many like that.

Hundred-fold Christians.

Lord, please don't let this American life,

don't let the riches,

don't let the comforts,

don't let the wealth make us all

into ten-fold Christians

when hundred-fold could be a reality.

Oh, we would have
rather been born in India

if that's what this culture will do to us.

Help us, Lord.

Help us with all of our riches

to be rich in good works

towards the poor across this world.

I pray this in Christ's name, Amen.