I love a wood-burning fireplace. I love the crackling of
the fire and the slightly smoky fragrance emanating from the hearth. I even love
tending the blaze and keeping it going.
When I was a kid we always had the fireplace burning in
winter. In those days the city I was brought up in (Vancouver, Canada) would
let home owners burn leaves in the street in the late fall and winter. Our lawn
was always covered with leaves and my brother and I loved to rake them into a
big pile in front of our house—and then the fun began! We tried to get slightly
damp leaves to burn in order to keep the fire going. Sometimes this was no easy
task but it was fun and we would work at it. We learned to “fan the flame” so
that it didn’t die out.
In both of Paul’s letters to Timothy, he speaks very
directly to Timothy about his “gifting” from God. In 1 Timothy 4:14, Paul says,
“Do not neglect the gift you have”
and in 2 Timothy 1:6, he says, “I remind
you to fan into flame the gift of God.”
Paul had laid hands on and prayed over Timothy to confirm
to him that he was gifted by God and that the gift was to be used to glorify
the Lord. Paul did not give the gift to Timothy; only God can do that. Paul’s
part was to confirm to Timothy that God had given him a gift and that God
wanted to use him.
Apparently, Paul was concerned that Timothy was allowing
his gift to become dormant through disuse and he was assisting Timothy to get
over his fear and timidity (see 1 Timothy 1:7).
Let me pose two questions to you:
1. What
did Paul mean by “fan into flame the gift of God”? If it was of God, why should
he have to “fan” it?
Paul was not suggesting that Timothy’s faith was dying out
but that he should fan into flame (or make full use of) the gift that God had
given him.
When a fire gets low, one of the ways to get it blazing
again is by the use of wind. We blow on glowing embers and the fresh wind,
filled with oxygen, causes them to burst into flame. Perhaps it’s in this vein
that Paul uses the unusual expression of “fan into flame.”
One of the metaphors used throughout the Bible for the Holy
Spirit is the word wind. Is it possible
that Paul was suggesting that the wind of the Holy Spirit will bring dying
embers to life? If so, how do we bring the wind of the Spirit more fully into
our life and our gifting? Let me suggest several ways.
A. The Word
Don’t ever let the devil tell you that the Word is dry, boring and
out of date. That’s a lie and he knows
it—and so should we.
“For the word of God is living and active” (Hebrews 4:12).
“All Scripture is God-breathed” (2 Timothy 3:16), which means that the Holy Spirit
is in every verse of Scripture.
The wind of the Spirit is blowing through the Word.
B. Worship
It
is in worship, perhaps more than in any other act,
that we continually show our dependency upon Him. By His Spirit, God responds
to the humility that true worship requires and He draws near to the humble.
“But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel” (Psalm 22:3).
The wind of the Spirit blows when worship is taking place.
C. Prayer
“And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests” (Ephesians 6:18).
Like worship, prayer that touches God is honest, confident, humble
and submissive. When we pray honestly, God responds. When we let the Holy
Spirit lead us and pray through us, the wind of the Spirit begins to blow.
2. What
is your gift—or have you even thought about it?
Every believer is “gifted” by God. I call these the
hardwired gifts that were woven into each of us before we were conceived in our
mother’s womb. Romans 12:6-8 teaches us that God has given us different gifts: prophecy,
serving others, teaching, encouraging, giving, leading, showing kindness to
others. Paul says that we can operate in these gifts with excellence; they are
very much a part of who we are.
If you don’t know what your God-given gift is, and many in
the church today do not—and they should—there are some simple tests you can
take that will help you begin to understand. Here is a website where you can
take a free Spiritual Gifts Analysis that will help you understand how God has
gifted you.
But above all, please remember that all of us, no
exclusions, have been gifted by God and have a place of voluntary service in
the body of Christ. It takes effort to “fan” the flame, but it’s worth it
because the result is a blazing fire.
Paul’s word to Timothy to “fan into flame the gift of God”
is also a clear word from the Lord to all of us!
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