Synopsis of sermon 12/17/23

Delivered by Bishop Joseph W. Walker, III

2 Timothy 1:5-6 NKJV
when I call to remembrance the genuine faith that is in you, which dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and I am persuaded is in you also. 6 Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands.

       I.            INTRODUCTION 

1. God created us with intentionality. He created us to solve problems. To solve these problems, God gives us tools to use.
   1. Many will never tap into the gifts they have been given. One of the reasons we experience attacks, is because of the gifts that God has placed inside of us. If you get paralyzed in pain, the enemy will stop your gifts from coming forward. There’s no telling how many people went to the Pen or to the grave, without ever tapping into their gifts.
   2. Many gifts have been stifled by Satan. God is calling your gift forward. There is so much that needs to be done, and what’s inside of you is of value. Somebody’s blessing is dependent on your willingness to allow your gifts to come forward.
   3. Things are aligning now. The nudge you have been feeling in your spirit is God stirring up your gift. You are not leaving here today, without that gift being stirred up!
2. The 1st book of Timothy gives us understanding of early doctrine.
   1. It is a book that reminds the church of how to act and it reminds them of their how they should keep their character in check.
   2. When Paul knew his death was coming soon, he wanted to make sure Timothy was ready to serve. In this book, you see Paul speaking to Timothy who is his
   3. Paul writes from prison, and he reminds Timothy about his Mother and his Grandmother and the things they had passed down to him. There is something to about passing down things to the next generation.
   4. Like Timothy, there is purpose on your life. It might be scary, but remember that 2 Timothy 1:7 NKJV says 7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.
   5. 2 Timothy 2:15 NKJV says 15 Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
   6. Paul tells Timothy that there will be those who will question the Word of God and say that it is a man-made document. 2 Timothy 3:16 NKJV says 16 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for [a]instruction in righteousness,
   7. 2 Timothy 4:8 NKJV says 8 Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing.
   8. Finally, Paul says that Timothy has gifts, and he wants to awaken those gifts in him.
3. How do we stir up our gifts?

     II.            YOU HAVE A STANDARD GENERATIONALLY 

• Paul tells Timothy that the faith of his Mother and Grandmother was a spirit of excellence. We have to thank God that we had parents and grandparents to give us guidance. What they did was set generational standards in our lives.

A.     Our Spiritual Decisions Have Generational Implications 

1. Many times, we don’t understand our spiritual decisions have a direct impact on our children and our children’s children. You have to be intentional about the decisions we make.
   1. Don’t let storms get your children wet. Our decisions impact the next generation.
2. It’s about your perspective.
   1. Perspective– What you see is based on what you’ve gone through throughout your life. We will quit coming to church, because somebody hurt us. We really shouldn’t call it a church hurt, because it’s really a people hurt. The church didn’t hurt us. It was someone inside the church that actually hurt us.
      1. We don’t stop going to a club when somebody hurts us. We don’t stop going to a game, because people hurt us. We don’t stop going to work, because somebody hurts us. It’s only Church that we will quit coming to!
      2. Bishop explains how his Dad received a tremendous church hurt. He thought sure they would never go back to the Church, but on the next Sunday, they did.

• He further explains that if his Dad had not have gone back to church, Bishop’s whole life would have been different. The enemy is not just after you, but also your children and your children’s children.

1. Passion– We are passionate about other things, but not church. We will say, “I’ll just stream church today”, but why won’t we stream the game? We won’t steam the game, because we want to get the score in real time? God has been good to us, so why don’t we want to receive His word in real time?
2. Priorities– It’s all about putting God first.

B.     Thank God for Faithful Examples 

1. Some of us would not be who we are today, if not for the examples that have been in our lives. Remember the term, “I was raised this way”?
2. Our examples:
   1. It Shapes Our Values– Our values are different because of the examples that were in our lives.
   2. It Sharpens Our Vision– Our vision is different because of some of the examples that we had in our lives.
   3. He Assures Our Victories– You’ve seen God do stuff in your life before and you know if he did it before, he can do it again.

  III.            YOU HAVE TO SEE YOUR OWN GREATNESS 

A.     You Are Carrying Something Bigger Than You 

1. It’s one thing for others to see your greatness, but you need to see it too. You are carrying something bigger than yourself. Timothy has to realize that he is carrying something transformational.
2. Many of you do not know what you are carrying. That’s why you are mishandling it.
3. We must realize that:
   1. You Are Carrying His Word– When you sit under a word, you begin carrying His word.
   2. You Are Carrying His Will– The purposes and plans of God are at motion in your life.
   3. You Are Carrying a Witness– When you show up, you are a witness of what His word can be and what it can do. The enemy tries to kill the evidence!

B.      Don’t Let Your Destiny Lie Dormant 

1. When you realize what you carrying, you will decide not let your gift lay dormant another day!
2. The devil wants to keep you from discovering your greatness. When you discover the greatness inside of you, you realize that there is something inside of you that will change the world and break generational curses.

   IV.            YOU HAVE TO STIR UP YOUR GIFT 

• My gift is stirred up by my mindset and being motivated. If you allow your gift to set there, it will go bad.
• What does it mean to stir up the gift? What does God do to stir up the gift?

1. God Will Agitate You to Activate You 
2. God specializes in making you purposely uncomfortable until you activate your gift.
   1. In the middle of the washer is an agitator. Who would have thought this would revolutionize washing? All you have to do is just drop the clothes in there, the agitator does all the work. It knocks against the clothes and removes all the dirt. It replaces all the old labor that used to go into washing.
      1. God is trying to tell you not to carry it by yourself. He is telling us to drop our load here. Nobody likes to wash the clothes, but they enjoy wearing clean clothes! Think about those moments you thought of as being agitating. Boy isn’t it worth it now?
      2. Deuteronomy 32:11NKJV 11As an eagle stirs up its nest, Hovers over its young, Spreading out its wings, taking them up, Carrying them on its wings, –
         1. When a mother eagle gives birth to eaglets, she puts them in a nest. She covers that nest with feathers and leaves so that the eaglets can have a comfortable place in the nest. This is what every responsible mother would do for their children. The mothers feed the eaglets. They eat and grow up but they don’t want to leave the nest. Kids don’t want to leave nests. They are too comfortable.
         2. What an eagle does is fly over the nest and spread its wings to create a wind where all the feathers and leaves will fly out. This leaves the eaglets poked by sharp thorns. The eaglets start to cry out and the mother takes them up on her wings and begins to fly.
         3. What the mother eagle does next is drop the eaglet. However, the eagle flies faster than the eaglet can fall and as the eaglet falls close to the ground, the mother eagle swoops down, catches its young, and flies up with it. The mother eagle then repeats this process again and again.
         4. The goal is not to punish the young but to activate their wings. Eagles are not created to live in a nest; they are created to live in the sky.
         5. Like an eagle that stirs her nest. What the eagle does is recognize there are things in the nest that are supposed to make the nest uncomfortable. In like manner, God is agitating you and pushing you to the edge of your nest and asking you to fly or die. Stop giving the devil credit for your agitating.

1. Wherever There Is Purpose, There Is Passion 
2. The worst thing that could happen is walking in regularity with no passion. When you are called to something transformational or you realize something is coming that is bigger than you, this is your purpose.
3. Stirring up your gift releases your passion. God is about to awaken your gift.

     V.            YOU HAVE BEEN SPIRITUALLY GRACED 

• There is something on you. Paul said by the laying of his hands, the gifts of Paul were transferred to Timothy.
• Being able to walk into what he was in charge of was the transference of grace.
• When we bless children (by having your Pastor pray blessings over them), it is a transfer of gifts. Make sure your children are covered under the grace of God.

A.     When God Calls You, He Confirms You 

1. Gifted people are not always accepted. Even Jesus wasn’t accepted. He was the stone that the builders rejected.
2. Remind yourself that:
   1. He Chose Me for This – You are a chosen generation. You belong to God. In Exodus, God spoke to his people. He told Moses to go tell Pharaoh to let his people go.
   2. He Covers Me in This– I’m still here because God can fight my battles. Go to bed and sleep well. Let God fight your battles.
   3. He Brings Change Through This– God is going to use you as a change agent. Remember that you are anointed for this.

B.      Remember You’re Anointed For This 

1. Gifting and talents are not anointing. When operating in the anointing, people see God, not you and not the talent. Anointing is knowing when to get out the way and let God have his way.
2. When the gift of God is in your life, the anointing of God is on your life. David had gifts in his life that had to be released. Then he was anointed!
   1. Luke 4:18 NKJV says “The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, 
      Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor; 
      He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives And recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed; – The name Christ means the anointed one. If we are Christlike, then we are gifted and anointed!
3. When you are gifted, this means God has placed something inside you that was lying dormant. It was awakened and it came forward. Often our fear and uncertainty can block our gifts. As that gift is coming forth, God will remind you that He anointed it. God will place his super on your natural, so when it comes forth, people can’t believe how you do what you do. You do what you do under the supernatural.
4. If God anointed you for this, no one can copy what you do.
5. When God anoints you for it:
   1. It Makes Me Relevant – Every time you turn around, you keep going higher and higher, no matter what happens.
   2. It Makes Me Resilient– You can withstand anything that comes after you.
   3. It Makes Me Rejoice– It makes you rejoice, because you realize without the Lord, you couldn’t do what you do.