Stir it Up!

March 13, 2010
Called to the Ministry? - It Is Time To Stir It Up!
 
If you are called to the Gospel ministry, it is time to Stir it up.
If you are called to the Gospel ministry, your life can no longer remain the same.
If you are called to the Gospel ministry, it is time now to Stir it up a notch.
 
“Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou Stir Up the gift of God, which is in thee…” 2 Tim 1:6
 
Stir Up Your:
  1. Time with God
  2. Separation from the World
  3. Sanctification and Cleansing
  4. Trust in God’s Purpose for You
  5. Press Toward Your Calling
  6. Resolve Regarding Relationships
  7. Trust in the Plan of God
 
  1. Stir Up Your Time With God: Your time on this earth is a treasure – a valuable possession. How you use your time is an indicator of your interests. Jesus said that whatever you treasure will draw your heart after it (Matt 6:21 and Luke 12:34). Therefore, the interests of your heart are a natural indicator of what you treasure. With a natural treasure such as time – we can determine where our hearts truly are, by how we use our time. Take an honest look at how you use the time that is made available to you.
    1. Make it a priority to spend time with God? Worship is an entire lifestyle, not just a slow song sung in church. Increase your personal worship and esteem of God by:
                                                              i.      Purposely spending more time in personal and private worship.
                                                            ii.      Privately praying to God about all of your affairs.
                                                          iii.      Increasing your praying in tongues for direct communication with God.
                                                           iv.      Increasing the time you spend in the reading and study of the Word of God.
                                                             v.      Increasing the time you spend before God simply listening to Him.
 
Learning to practice classical Spiritual Disciplines such as Solitude, Meditation, Prayer, Abiding in Christ, Worship, Praise, Fasting and Study, etc will turn your heart toward God and increase your ability to discern His voice above all other voices that are speaking (1 Cor 14:10). Stir Up Your Time With God!
 
  1. Stir Up Your Separation from the World: Your ministry call is a call to holiness and purity and is in essence a call to break away from the things of this world. In order to move into the things of God we must move away from the things of the world. Allow the presence of God and the things of God to become a regular and all-day part of your life. You will find it helpful to forgo such worldly pleasures as movies, television, magazines, etc. You will find it helpful to immerse yourself deeply into the things of God.  As you practice choosing God, over the allurements of the world, you will soon come to prefer His presence. Stir Up Your Separation from the World!
 
  1. Stir Up Your Sanctification and Cleansing: With such a calling and with such promises that God gives to those who are called, we must cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of flesh and spirit and we must practice and perfect a life of holiness and reverence for God (2 Cor 7:1). This is a high and holy calling and we must reach for it with personal diligence and expectancy that God is going to work a work in us to prepare us for His Kingdom work (Phil 2:12-13). Cleansing ourselves of all filthiness of flesh and spirit means that we must ensure that we are clean from all defilements.
Many of us have emotional and spiritual hurts, pains, injuries and wounds from our past sins, generational sins and from our family situations and/or relationships. This sets us up for bitterness, anger, unforgiveness and many additional sorrows. We must be clean of these things in order to be faithful ministers of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and to lead others to wholeness.
Therefore, we must not hide anything, but dig deep and bring everything that has been hidden in our hearts to God and trust Him to forgive us and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness, by His blood (1 John 1:9). We must trust God to give us the ability to forgive those who have hurt and wounded us. We also must take responsibility to cleanse our lives from the defilements passing down from the prior generations. Stir Up Your Sanctification and Cleansing!
 
  1. Stir Up Your Trust in God’s Purpose for You: God has a plan and purpose for you but you must learn to trust in God while His plan and purpose are in development. No one but you can divert you from God’s plan and purpose. If God has called you to ministry it does not matter if someone will not let you do something or speaks against your calling in any way. That is not relevant. What is more relevant is how to you react when you are mistreated or disallowed?
Joseph is a perfect example of faith, diligence, integrity, patience, etc, etc – even when he was being mistreated and nothing seemed to be going right. Joseph had a dream and he never let go of that dream. That word from God did not leave him even though he was put down in a pit, was taken down to Egypt, and was put down in a dungeon. In fact this downward spiral lead to his finally becoming the one in charge of all of the riches of the then known world. What kept Joseph was his faith in God’s purposes and plans and his integrity to live a godly life, no matter what the circumstances.  Stir Up Your Trust in God’s Purpose for You!
 
  1. Stir Up Your Press Toward Your Calling: You must go after that Spirit of God which is calling you into the Gospel ministry. You must press toward your calling in Christ – (Phil 3:12-14). Although you believe that you have received a calling into the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, you must press for it. Circumstances will come against you. People will not understand or agree. Family members and those who really know you may find reasons why you should not be eligible for such a call. However, God does not think as man thinks (Is 55:8-9) and only God truly knows the heart (1 Sam 16:7). If you truly feel that God is calling you to Gospel ministry, then do not give up because circumstances seem not to agree with what God has said to you. Trust in God – not in circumstances. Stir Up Your Press Toward Your Calling!
 
  1. Stir Up Your Resolve Regarding Relationships: Make sure that all of your relationships and activities are firmly about honesty, integrity and Christian living. Move yourself immediately out of unhealthy, ungodly and defiling relationships. MOVE OUT NOW! At the same time, move into and make it a habit of seeking and preferring godly, edifying relationships that strengthen you and encourage you to righteousness. We are God’s children and we must be about living for God. If we are to be God’s workers, then let us live lives of purity and holiness and as examples of the One God and Father that we love and serve. We must practice and pursue peace with all people (Ps 34:14; 1 Pet 3:11). This includes some of those relationships that we may have to bring to a peaceful end. The work of the ministry requires holiness and any relationship that compromises our peace with the holiness of God is a relationship that we choose to do with out. The friendship of the world is enmity with God (James 4:4). Stir Up Your Resolve Regarding Relationships!
 
  1. Stir Up Your Trust in the Plan of God: The Lord tells us in Jer. 29:11-13 that He has a plan for our lives, but that we will find Him and His plan only when we seek Him and search for Him with all of our hearts. He says in verse 14 “And I will be found of you…” God is saying that if we truly trust Him, then we will go all out after Him and His plan by seeking and searching for a relationship with Him.
 
By studying His Word; by spending time in prayer and meditation; by separating ourselves from unrighteousness; by cleansing our hearts from all unrighteousness; by pressing into the things of God; by resolving to maintain godly relationships, we will soon learn to believe God and trust Him as we hear His voice and discern His guidance for our journey. Stir Up Your Trust in the Plan of God!