Stirring Up The Gift

Pick your bibles up and lift them up and wave them around, make Jesus glad the devil may not get into the word with you tonight and see what the Holy Ghost has got to say through the word.

You know, think about what I tell people.

Then they're considering where to plant themselves, you know, and a local church, whether to become a member or not.

And I just encourage them give me a year of your life.

Sometimes you don't know.

You know there's so many churches to choose from, so much confusion, you don't know what you end is up.

It took me years to appreciate the word of faith and know the difference between what I believe and what most other churches preach.

And you know, I, just, I, just I tell you, I just thank God for the heritage of the word of faith, and the word and the spirit that does all the work is sitting in that, in that atmosphere of the word and the spirit.

See now, word only you'll dry up, the spirit only you'll blow up.

But if you've got the word and the spirit, praise God, you'll go up, you'll grow up, you'll glow up, you'll show up.

This way those Bibles are in say have a day, father.

I'm glad to be here on Sunday night.

Thank God for the word and the spirit.

Tonight I'll receive revelation that I will receive in my spirit and my my spirit will be fed nourishment and my mind will be renewed and refreshed to your way of thinking, and I will grow.

I will grow in the knowledge of my God and my savior and my Lord and my intimate companion, the Holy Ghost, in Jesus' name, amen.

Let's look at second Timothy, chapter one, and we'll start reading the very first verse.

This is Paul writing to his son, in the faith.

Timothy Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ, by the will of God, according to the promise of life which is in Christ Jesus, to Timothy, my dearly beloved son, grace, mercy and peace from God, the Father, and Christ Jesus, our Lord.

I thank God, whom I serve for my forefathers, with pure conscience that, without ceasing, I have remembrance of thee in my prayers, night and day, greatly desiring to see thee being mindful of thy tears.

That I may be filled with joy when I called a remembrance the unfaith faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in my grandmother Lois and my mother Eunice, and I am persuaded that in thee also, wherefore I put thee in remembrance, that thou stir up the gift of God.

Everybody shout, stir up.

Stir up the gift of God which is in thee, by the putting on or the laying on of my hands, for God has not given us the spirit of fear, but of power and love and of a sound mind, and I like amplified there.

In verse six, I remind you to stir up, to rekindle the embers, to fan the flame and keep burning.

The gracious gift of God, the inner fire that is in you by means of the laying on of my hands, isn't that good.

That's the amplified Bible, and so that's what I want to talk about tonight stirring up the gift, stirring up the gift.

Now Paul is writing to Timothy, his son in the faith.

Timothy is a young man.

He happened to be an apostle.

I mean, he was a bona fide apostle.

He wasn't just a, you know, a firebrand, a preacher.

He had a heritage from his grandparents, mother and his grand, his grandmother and his mother, and uh.

And so Paul mentions that, and uh, but notice, he had the power to be a apostle, but notice, he had to remind him to stir that gift up.

Stir it up, I mean his.

This is a young man that's got a lot of the ball.

He started churches.

Like I say he's, he's working in the app.

The apostle means a sent one, so an apostle would be going to a region and pastor the church for a year or two, establish it, find the gifts that were there and install a pastor.

At first they didn't have pastors.

Pastors was the last of the five full ministries to be developed, because the pastor is married.

You know you have the five full ministry.

You had the, the, uh, the apostle.

You know, without the apostle you can't get a grip.

Try gripping without a thumb.

You know you've got the.

The profit is the index finger points the way, the evangelist at the middle finger.

It reaches the furthest, it's reaches out there farther, and then you've got the little finger.

It goes in the ear.

That's the teacher, whereas the pastor well, the pastor is the ring finger.

The pastor is married to the saints.

The pastor stays there.

The pastor is not traveling, he's not looking for his next gig, which is what you have in a lot of denominational churches.

You know you're, you're there.

I mean, I've been here.

This next year will be my 30th year of pastor of this church.

I'm not looking for another gig, I'm not looking for another place to be.

This is it, and so that's a pastor and so, um, so this apostle, you know, then he would move on.

After he was satisfied the church had a good, solid, uh footing, that he would move on and be sent to the next region.

That's how the church grew and and of course, it goes on to this modern day.

I mean, there's modern day apostles, there's modern day uh prophets and uh, they are.

They are real and they're not fake and and and the devil only counterfeits the real, you know, and ever see a counterfeit.

You don't ever see a counterfeit $3 bill because there's no such thing.

You don't usually see a counterfeit $1 bill because it's not worth all the trouble.

It's just as easy to counterfeit a hundred dollar bill, which is what you have to watch for If you're, if you're taking in cash.

I was in a where is the walnut cafe the other day.

We're a cashless, you know establishment.

I started laughing.

They don't take cash.

I mean, how?

When is that going to be all over?

When will it take the mark of the beast to get your hamburger?

Yes, I've got the mark of the beast, it's right here, click.

I just started laughing, right there.

I don't mind credit cards, I don't like carrying cash around either, especially when people are trying to hijack you for the cash.

But anyway, all right.

So, uh, he had to remind this young man hey, you need to stir up the gift.

Uh, you've been crying.

Why are you crying?

See, I mean, he didn't, he didn't, he didn't, he didn't cry.

See, I mean he didn't, he didn't rebuke him, he just kind of just real gentle, you know, I want to come see you, I want to.

What's all these?

What's tears about?

You know?

And he's been crying and he's been fainting a little bit.

I mean, even even a mature Christian, even a mature man of God like this, even though he's young, he's still mature in the faith and he's having a battle.

And really, when you keep reading there, it's because of the chain, it's because of Paul's trouble, his father in the faith, whom he greatly esteems and greatly honors and greatly connected to.

And he's he.

He doesn't see the big picture, he doesn't understand the big picture that God is willing for him to be a prisoner, god is willing to shut him up and send him to Caesar, just so Caesar gets a witness.

That's how important the witnesses.

It never said that Caesar got saved, by the way.

You know you can work a long time in the ministry and really you know God can put you in people's places, people's purview, their sphere.

And it looks like you failed.

No, you didn't fail.

If you gave them a witness, that's all that God wanted.

They will be without excuse.

I learned that from Oral Roberts.

I mean, I just never picked that up.

I never picked it up that God is all about the witness.

It's not about the results, folks, it's about the witness.

And so he reminded him of his heritage of faith and then in the Amplified, the verse 7 says God did not give us a spirit of timidity, of cowardice, of craven, cringing, fawning fear.

See, I was.

Another element of the tears is because he was afraid.

There's a lot of preachers that are afraid.

They're afraid to say anything about politics because they're afraid they'll lose their 501c3 designation, which is a joke.

Anyway, I don't give a rip about the 501c3 designation.

We were a church for three years before I ever even applied for it, and once I found out that it was almost worthless, I kind of was sorry that I did it.

To be honest with you About, the only advantage is that if you go to buy a computer from Apple, they have to not charge you the tax on it.

That's about it.

You get a little bit of a break if you go somewhere.

We went last week to Alexandria State and the hotel Well, you don't get much of a break.

Louisiana is a different state than Texas, so you really still pay all the taxes.

I can't get exempt from all the taxes in Louisiana.

I can get exempt from state tax in Texas because we're a Texas corporation.

Well, you know, it's not even worth it almost.

I just rather just tell them to you know, here, here's your 501c3, rip it up and throw it in their face, get out of my business.

Of course they never have been in my business because I won't let them get in our business, amen.

But there's a lot of fear in the church, and so he just said he said God didn't give you the spirit of timidity, cowardice, even cringing, fawning fear, but he gave you the spirit of power and love and of a calm and well balanced mind and discipline and self control.

And so then you keep on reading here in a.

This is second Timothy, so this is the second letter that Paul has written to his son in the faith, and there's a few hints that there's some things that he know, he you know in all the you know he gives him some good advice in here but there's a little hell of element of exhortation and maybe a little correction.

So you hold your place there and go back to 1st Timothy, chapter four and verse 14.

He says neglect not the gift, null, neglect not the gift that is in thee, which was given thee by prophecy with the laying on of the hands of the Presbytery.

So in chapter four, the previous letter, he told him don't neglect the gift.

And in second Timothy he said stir up the gift.

See there's, there's some things that Timothy has let slip and his father in the faith is calling on him to change.

See his accountability there.

Some of you are getting this.

But you know this really.

I mean you know you're getting this.

You need to be accountable someplace.

I mean that's why it's dangerous just to float around.

You're not being held accountable to a life until you're under a pastor, and a pastor and his staff and his and his volunteer base and his disciples that he's discipled can be around you and they can hold you to a standard and this.

And so here's a father and a son and the father is holding the son accountable in a sweet way.

He never condemned him, he just said hey, don't neglect the gift that's in you.

And then the other, the other, the other time.

He says okay, well, stir up the gift.

You've let the, you've let the fire die down.

You let the fire die down, so.

And so it was really because in verse eight, let's look.

But go back to second Timothy now, verse uh, verse, chapter one, verse eight.

Be not thou, therefore, ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor nor of me, his prisoner, but be that partaker of the afflictions of the gospel, according to the power of God.

See, don't, don't be, don't be ashamed of me, the prisoner.

Don't be ashamed.

See, that's timidity.

You're letting the devil accuse you.

Well, nobody's going to listen to you.

Your father in the faith is a jailbird.

Now keep reading here.

In chapter one you go on down to uh, verse 16, the Lord, give mercy under the house of Anisephorus, for he often refreshed me and was not ashamed of my chain.

So now he's pointing to another preacher that he knows and says you know, he's not ashamed of my chain.

So so are y'all getting this?

Now, see, he's being held accountable to stir up the gift.

That's what we're talking about tonight stirring up the gift, thank God for the gift, amen.

And so the word stir up there, and you're looking up in the fairs Bible dictionary, it means to rekindle, to inflame one's mind, one's strength, to inflame one's zeal.

Zeal, be zealous, be, be on fire.

It won't happen automatically, it doesn't happen just without you doing anything.

I mean you can walk around and finally the fire dies out.

I mean, if you ever, if you've ever been camping, you ever build a campfire, man, you know, if you don't do anything, a thing just burns down and by the morning it's over with.

You might have some, you know some coals down in there, but it's almost.

You know it's hard to get it started back up.

What do you have to do?

Well, you've got to kind of keep stirring it and you've got to keep adding some fuel to it.

You know, if you want the fire to burn all night long and keep the coyotes out of your campground, well, you know you need, or the bears or whatever, better, have some fire, amen.

So it takes, it takes effort, interesting places.

Let's hold our place and go run back to Psalm 78.

Talk about stirring up and I noticed here in Psalm 78, verse 38, talking about God and Israel and the wilderness.

Psalms 78:38

He said but he, god, being full of compassion, forgave their iniquity and destroyed them not.

And so there were 10 sins that they committed in the wilderness.

I mean, you know, he got pretty fed up with Israel, he got angry, and it's talking about that.

It says he forgave their iniquity and destroyed them not.

Yea, many a time turned he his anger away and did not stir up all his wrath.

You know, it tells me that God could have stirred up his wrath and destroyed Israel before they ever got very far.

I mean, that's how aggravated he was.

You know, faith always, the lack of faith, always aggravates God.

It makes God is not neutral about a lack of faith.

He doesn't expect you to have faith.

When you're a baby you had faith to get saved.

That's all he expects.

But at some point in time we've got to live.

The just shall live by their faith.

You've got to live by faith.

That means you've got to live independent of what it looks like, feels like, seems like.

Well, you know, it just seems like everybody's again.

Well, quit living by, seems like, because that's not what you're called to do.

You're called to live by faith, which calls the things that be, not as though they were.

You don't make emotional decisions, so he did not stir up all these wrath.

That tells me that wrath can be stirred up.

In fact, proverbs 15, one grievous word stir up anger.

I know none of you have ever argued at home with your wife or husband, but suppose you did.

Well, it's easy to far strive to get in there, because one word leads to another word.

Next thing, you know, is kind of heated and wrath is stirred up.

Where strife is.

There's confusion in every evil work.

You know, strife needs to be avoided at all costs, especially in your home, because once you stir up your wrath, stir it up, stir it up.

Well, you know, what that tells me is that wrath and negative things can be stirred up.

How much more can the Holy Ghost be stirred up?

How much more can the fire of God be stirred up?

Hallelujah, come on, lift your hands right now.

Ha, ha, ha, ha.

Oh, so you can stir up the gift of God.

That's my point.

And what is the gift of God?

It's the Holy Ghost.

He lives in there, but he can be stirred up and he lives in there as a fire.

He lives in there as an unction.

He lives in there as a beacon, a searchlight man.

I mean, you ever get one of these little tiny flashlights?

You know it's about a quarter of an inch in diameter.

We're gonna turn that on.

You can't see much of anything.

You can see a little tiny bit, but you can't and it won't illuminate.

But boy, you get a.

I used to have an equal to an aircraft landing light, that thing you talk about light.

It blinds you to look at it.

You can dare look at it.

I had it on the deer leash cause I'd shine it out there at night and see all the eyes looking back at me.

I was amazed how many eyes were looking back at me.

You see these big old bucks out there and they're looking at you and they think, oh, I hope he doesn't see me.

Well, I'm seeing you right now I'm not gonna shoot you, but I see you.

It's illegal to shoot him, all right.

So so he's in there as a beacon.

He's in there to light your path.

So if you can stir up negative like anger and sadness, I mean you can stir sadness up.

All you gotta do is just watch one of these old movies, you know, or listen to some old crying.

I call them crying your beer songs.

Some of them are played on Christian radio.

Just a bunch of baloney.

It doesn't glorify God.

Just a bunch of sad old.

Woe is me, sad is me.

Oh you, you helped me when I was broken.

I was well.

You're not broken anymore.

You're born again.

You got the Holy Ghost.

Why don't you stir up the good gift of God?

Quit blubbering.

That's basically what he's saying in a nicer way to Timothy.

So in Romans 12, two it says you know, be transformed by the renewing of your mind.

See, you're in charge of your mind.

You can.

You can choose to think on certain things or you can choose not to certain things that you start thinking about.

You know, you're just almost involuntary, you don't try to think them.

But the devil is out there.

He can't read your mind, but he can throw a thought at your mind and see what happens and he can judge whether it registered.

Because if you start thinking that way, pretty soon you're gonna start acting that way, you're gonna start speaking that way, you're gonna start going in a direction.

It lets his demons know that you know what that thought registered and they didn't do anything about it.

So let's throw another couple of thoughts at them.

And you know before you know what.

You know you're telling people.

You know I've just really been depressed lately.

Well, you know that's a lie, you're not depressed, you're a.

You know you haven't been using the divine equipment that God gave you, amen.

So you have charge of your mind.

You can decide to think that way or not, or you can think the thoughts that God tells you to think.

What sort of things are pure?

What sort of things are lovely?

What sort of things are virtuous?

Whatever's a good report?

Whatever's a good report?

They're being a virtue, they're being a praise.

Think on these things.

You don't think on the negative of life.

You don't meditate on the fact you've been mistreated.

You know you're at the bottom of the heap at work.

Nobody likes you.

Your boss doesn't like.

See, you're gonna think that way all the time.

You're gonna wear it on your face and nobody's gonna be attracted to that kind of count the same man, in fact.

They're gonna look at you as oh, let me go the other way here.

Sad sack is coming in here.

Let's go the other direction.

So Ephesians 4, 23 says to be renewed in the spirit of your mind.

In other words, your mind can be spiritually charged.

It's not a spiritual mind as your mind, but your mind can think spiritually.

Your mind can think the thoughts of God.

So be renewed, in other words, be refreshed in that thinking.

When you get these negative thoughts coming to you, you say I'm not thinking that, I'm gonna think this other.

You start thinking about that.

The Holy Ghost, the greater one, lives on the inside of you and then you start well, thank God, greater is he that's in me than he that's in the world, hallelujah.

And you start saying that and you just give yourself about 15 or 20 seconds if you're not able to run all those negative thoughts and negative emotions away from you.

I'm talking about stirring up the gift.

Everybody say I'm stirring up the gift, I'm rekindling the fire, amen.

Let's look at Hebrews 13, verse seven.

Remember them which have the rule over you.

My margin says remember them who are the guides.

Literally, it's the spiritual guides.

In other words, remember your pastor, remember the people that are in charge of your spiritual life.

Remember them which have the rule over you, who have spoken under you the word of God.

So then there it is right.

There, that's your pastor, that's his pastor and his delegated leadership.

We have leadership in this church beyond me.

I can't do everything, but my family does a lot of things.

They preach but they also talk to people on the phone praying.

Well, I staff praise the people on the phone, gifts people, counsel.

I mean it's an amazing ministry.

It didn't happen overnight.

It took a.

You know again, this next year will be our 20th year, so it's taking a while.

But you can rely when you call this number, you're gonna get the right kind of information, you're gonna get the right kind of counsel, you're gonna get the right kind of prayer if you need prayer.

So it says remember them, remember, don't forget.

Remember who have spoken under you the Word of God, whose faith.

Follow the word.

Follow there means imitate, and one reason why it takes a long time to develop a pastor is because a pastor stands in a supernatural office, it has supernatural gifts.

But the other part of that is that that pastor's life is an example to the sheep, or it should be, and then you can safely follow that life.

You can safely follow the faith that is exhibited in that man or woman of God or family of God or whatever, in this case a family.

It's a big responsibility.

Are we perfect?

Well, of course not.

Nobody's perfect.

Jesus is the only perfect one.

But where the Bible says you can follow the faith of those, you ought to remember that.

See, that's why it's important where you go to church.

I don't think I'd go to church if the guy up there is just so casual and he cares more about his golf game, more about his whatever, just carnal.

I know them.

They're really what they are.

They're not really pastors at all.

They're businessmen who decided to go in the church business.

They're builders.

I was a builder, but listen, I was a pastor for a long time before I got out of the building business.

I mean, I was both for a long time until God said hey, you're a minister of the sanctuary.

He didn't talk to me about my building business.

I was crying about my unsold house and he was saying the problem is you're doing the wrong thing.

I've called you to be a minister.

You're a minister of the sanctuary.

You've been messing around with the unholy things.

Get out of the unholy business, get over in the holy things.

That was the birth of this church, and when I found out who I was, then I knew what to do.

So your spiritual leaders imitate their faith, imitate their lives.

Now, I didn't have this heritage like Timothy.

He talked about his grandmother and his mother, my grandmother.

Neither one of them were spiritual.

I mean, they went to church but they weren't really a spiritual influence in my life.

My mother didn't get saved until she was 70.

My father became a Catholic at age of in his 50s, which meant that he had a change and I wasn't sure he was saved.

I wasn't sure he had the right words.

They don't teach born again in the Catholic church.

But he did turn to God and I know he said words, that.

But I just I didn't assume he was in hell, I just couldn't assume he was in heaven.

I just didn't know.

Till one day I was walking right over there praying one day during the week, just coming to sanctuary, and all of a sudden, after I was praying in tongues for about 30 minutes, the Holy Ghost just spoke to me and says you know, your dad's really enjoying seeing the people that are coming up here, that have been impacted by your ministry.

It really gives him a lot of comfort.

And I thought, man, yeah, now I know he's up there, god telling me he's enjoying my.

You know he's enjoying hearing about me.

Just think about your loved ones.

They're enjoying hearing about you.

But anyway, I had another heritage.

I, just when I first got saved, I listened to KJOJ 107.5 on the radio every day and I'd get up in the morning and read my Bible, I'd pray and then about nine, nine and 30, I'd get in my van and I'd head to spring to the spring post office, check my post office box and on the way I'd start listening.

You know around about that time came on four radio programs and I don't remember the exact order, but you had RW Shambach, derek Prince Charles Caps and Kenneth Hagen.

Those four in a row.

I'd listen to all four of them in a row.

That's 15 minutes a piece, so that's an hour.

I'd give an hour listening to the radio every day, in addition to going to Lakewood and listening to John Osteen.

He was always my favorite pastor.

I mean I listened to a lot of people, but he was my pastor.

I paid a lot of attention when he was speaking and of course, dodie.

And then Brother Hagen would come to Lakewood from time to time and I'd always take off time and sit at his feet.

And and Oral Roberts a couple of times and TL Osborne, many times Brother Norval Hayes, and so I had a rich spiritual and for you know, even today I just give thanks for that spiritual heritage.

I feel like my spirit I could, I could stack.

I'm not trying to do that, but I'm just saying when I read about Timothy's heritage you know I've had a pretty good heritage myself I mean it's amazing what I was able to get offloaded into my spirit from these wonderful men and women of God.

So, stir up the gift.

You've got something.

You've got something.

And I preached recently on the laying on of hands.

I mean that's why we do it here.

It's, it's the, it's the law of contact and transmission, the anointing.

The gift is transferred.

Sometimes spiritual gifts are transferred.

I remember a few weeks ago I manifested the discerning of spirits and then casting out a particular demon by the gift of tongues and interpretation, naming the spirit name.

Well, that came from a prophet that laid hands on me and it spent time in my house, that I spent a lot of time with, got to know very well and traveled with him, went places with him, ministered side by side with him.

You know, you get things by association.

You get things, spiritual things that are real, you can get the negative.

You got to be careful who you hang out with.

You got to be careful.

Anybody laying their hands on you.

You got to be, you got to be unavailable just to anybody.

You want to make sure that, whoever it is, you you know.

You know that it's right.

Are y'all with me now?

Stir up the gift.

So I have four things here.

So stir up the gift.

By my way of remembrance, look at 2 Peter.

2 Peter is an end time book.

He's writing to Christians and he, very similar to Paul, he said you know, paul was telling Timothy to remember.

Say you got to remember, don't forget, remember some things.

And here he says in 2 Peter 1, 13,.

Yeah, I think it meet as long as I'm in this tabernacle to stir you up by putting you in remembrance, Knowing that shortly I must put off.

In other words, he's going to die and you know Peter died a martyr's death.

He died.

He would not.

They wanted to crucify him.

The Romans killed him.

They wanted to crucify him and he would not count himself worthy to be crucified the same way Jesus was.

So he told him I'll only be crucified if I'm not in the same place.

He told him, I'll only be crucified upside down.

So they crucified him upside down, man.

But he's stirring them up.

I think it's right, I think it's meat, as long as I'm alive, as long as I'm in this body, to stir you up by putting you in remembrance, knowing that shortly I must put off this, my tabernacle or my body, even as the Lord Jesus Christ has showed me, and have these things always in remembrance.

In other words.

So he's talking about, he's preaching to them about the end days, and he wants to put them in remembrance.

Chapter three, verse one, this second epistle, beloved, I now write unto you in both, which I stir up your pure minds by way of remembrance that you may be mindful of the words that were spoken before by the Holy Prophet.

So he constantly kept his spiritual heritage to remind them to stay in the faith, the faith.

There's only one faith, one faith, one God, one baptism, one church.

And so we're to remember God and his power.

It's stirred up by remembering Israel, psalm 78, israel for God.

And they limited God.

They forgot all of his miracles in Egypt.

What does it mean?

They forgot, they had amnesia.

No, they knew them, they remembered them as far as their brain was concerned, but it didn't matter to them, it didn't affect their decisions.

Remember is more than just remember is a covenant term.

Remember is not just oh, I remember.

No, remember is a covenant term, is tied to the blood.

I've been teaching this on the last couple of Sunday mornings, so if you hadn't been here, be sure and get the media All right.

So stir up the gift by remembering God and his power and his love.

Don't forget.

And then, number two, stir up the name of Jesus man.

We have been given the exclusive right to use that name.

The world uses it as a cuss word.

I wonder if they even know that it's a cuss word.

I mean, you know they just use that name, although they don't ever say Mohammed, oh, mohammed.

Well, confucius.

No, they use Jesus.

Well, let's use His name in the positive.

Let's stir ourselves up to use the name of Jesus.

You've been named with His name.

Wonderful counselor, mighty God, prince of Peace, everlasting Father, king of glory, king of kings and Lord of lords, soon coming king, the Lord of the armies of heaven.

Praise God, listen, his name is to be magnified.

Praise God.

Stir up the name of Jesus, stir up the Word of God, going back to 2 Timothy again in verse 13,.

He said whole fast, the sound words that you have heard, whole fast, the sound words Paul poured in His revelation into Timothy, his Son.

They spent a lot of time together, they traveled together.

He poured in His wisdom and he said whole fast to the sound words that you have heard of me.

So important to have a father son relationship in the ministry.

I had that when Brother Osteen went to heaven.

I had heard from a preacher friend of mine I knew from Lakewood days and he said well, john, who you know, who's who you're going to go to to be your father?

I said I have a father.

He went to heaven.

I can't go get another father.

Well, who are you going to get hooked up?

I said I'm just going to step to the plate and be one.

Been around long enough and I've got enough to offer, and that's up to God, whoever he wants to bring me.

And of course I'm a father, first of all to my kids and then, you know, and to my grandkids, and I'm a father to many of you and I've had others that have come to me and said that to me.

So that's fine.

I mean praise God.

But I didn't, you know I'm going to go to so and so.

Well, I like him, but he's not my daddy.

He didn't beget me.

He's not on this list.

He's not on this list of people that I just read.

I mean, I like him, I don't have any problem with him.

I'm not going to name the name because it's irrelevant, but I mean it's just kind of curious to me.

I mean it made me, it made me.

It kind of rocked me back and I thought, well, some people are going around looking for daddy.

I mean, you know who's your daddy?

Well, my daddy's in heaven.

And he poured.

I'm holding fast.

I'm holding fast to the sound words that he gave me, amen.

I mean, we did a lot of talking on those trips, hours.

He shared his heart, he gave me lots of advice that I utilized this very day.

So I don't need another daddy.

I have relationships.

I have supernatural relationships.

So when we go to Mark Hankins meetings and most of the guys in there and gals in there or look to him as their father, well, that's fine, but I'm, he's not my dad.

So this last trip I got to make a presentation on my God votes.

James came behind me and I got to say to that group of mostly Ramah.

They're all out of the Ramah club, all out of the Ramah stream, and most of them went to Ramah and if they didn't, well, they're very heavily influenced that way and of course their mark many of they mark comes and preaches and some of their churches not all of them, but some of them and they looked to him as their dad.

So I got to go up and say, well, you know, my spiritual father is John Osteen and you know, and he had a favorite saying the light that shines further shines brightest at home.

And a few years ago God gave me that to America.

It's not that your missions programs aren't worthy, they're worthy but America is about to go down the tubes and missions across the entire world are going to be affected negatively if we don't do something.

We're going to have to do something.

The church is going to have to rise up and occupy where it needs to occupy.

So I was able to say that and I was able to say something about my father and it opened up all kinds of conversations after that.

I mean, I had a lot of people.

I had one couple that just sat there and listened and listened to every John Osteen story.

I could tell they were just so hungry to know more about Brother Osteen because he preached at all of Ramah camp meetings, you know, and he was well known and a lot of people followed him because he was a pastor and and is.

Praise God.

So stir up the word of God.

Hold fast to sound words.

You know what are you saying on a regular basis.

Have you adopted a systematic discourse of God's word?

You know that's called a confession, but it's more than that.

It's just a way of speaking.

I mean, I just speak and when I pray I do more of confessing than I do praying.

I just I just decree things.

Do I need to ask for things?

Well, sometimes I ask God for things.

It's usually for other people or something.

I'll pray the word, though I've just trained myself to get over this baby way of praying.

God, give me this, give me that.

God, give me the other.

Oh God, I need to now give me this and give me, you know, all of that junk.

It's just.

Let's grow into holding fast that word of God.

Stir up the word of God.

I was years ago.

I had decided to have been attracted to getting back in the home-building business.

I'd gotten out because I couldn't keep competing.

I didn't go bankrupt because I didn't have anything to protect in bankruptcy.

You know I didn't own anything enough to go through the trouble.

The bank took my cars, they took my, made it impossible for me to sell my house, put a lien on my house, which is illegal.

You can't do that in the state of Texas.

You can't put a lien on a homestead.

They did it.

They clouded the title and I couldn't sell it.

And plus, the interest rate was 14 and 3 quarter percent.

At that time Nothing was selling.

So the bank foreclosed on my mortgage and I just, you know, had to live with my sister.

You know that was not fun.

But then I went to work in a remodeling firm and I did that for about a year and the guy laid me off because he wasn't making any money.

And so now I'm without a job.

I have no money, I have nothing.

But I had been praying about getting back in the home building business.

And so Gladys and I we agreed that we were gonna sow our last bit of seed in the bank at $35 in the bank.

We're gonna sow $25 of the $35 in the bank that we had in the offering on Wednesday night and we're gonna believe.

You know, a hundred fold is not gonna be a good for me.

I need a thousand fold return.

The Lord make you a thousand times more numerous than he has this day.

Deuteronomy, chapter 30.

Deuteronomy 30 · chapter mention

That's Moses prayer over Israel.

That's where I got my thousand fold return from Pastor.

That's a stretch.

I said well, you know, whatever, that's what I did.

And cause I mean, you know you're at the end of your rope.

You know, so to speak, there's no job, there's no money coming in, there's $35 to your name, you're living in your sister's house and what else is there left?

God's gotta show up, and I knew he would.

I mean, he'd put that in my heart, I knew that I was on the right.

And so I just sat down at my kitchen table and I figured out what would it take for me to get into some kind of business where I can get myself back in the home building business.

And I won't go into all the detail, but I figured the 25K.

If I had 25K it'd get me in, get me started, I could get that rolling and I could get myself back in the business.

And so we gave the money that night and I don't know why the bank didn't close the account.

It did $10.

$10 in it.

And then I said okay, god, I've given the money.

Now what's next?

What do you want me to do?

He said well, he said I want you to call three people at Lakewood that you know and get them to agree with you for the $25,000.

I said now, god, they're gonna think that I want them to give me the money.

No, don't, leave that to me.

I'm gonna give you the names.

You go to them and tell them.

You just want them.

You make it clear you're not asking them for anything except agreement, that's all.

And that I told you that they wouldn't be intimidated by believing with you for $25,000 cash.

That God told you that they could believe that, which I did.

And, man, I'm blessed to each, all three of them you mean God told you that.

I said, yeah, he did.

And so all three of them agreed with me in $25,000.

And the third one that I called.

He said well, yeah, man, I want you to come over to my house.

You know my wife and I will agree with you, but I want you to come to my house.

I said, well, okay, I'll go to your house.

So I drive to Kingwood and go to King's Forest section of Kingwood and he lives in an 11,000 square foot house.

I've been there, I've been to his house and we go in the music room.

I don't know about you, but I don't have a music room in my house.

He had a music room and we stood in the music room and he and his wife grabbed hands with me and prayed and I mean they both cried, he was sobbing, the only goes came in that room so strong I said, wow, praise God, it's done.

And so you know, thanked him, left.

He calls me about a week later.

John, can we go to lunch today?

He said I can't, man, I can't get you out of my mind.

I just, every time I think about, I just think about you all the time.

I think we're supposed to be in business together and I thought, uh well, I really wasn't looking for a partner.

All I'm looking for is $25,000.

And I'm not asking you for the money, but I don't want a partner.

I don't need a partner.

I know what I'm doing.

I've you know.

I just want the money.

I've got a plan.

I don't know.

I just can't get you off of my thinking.

Can we have lunch?

I said sure, yeah, absolutely.

So.

After church we went to somewhere.

Lubies, I think, sat across the table and he said, john, I woke up this morning.

And I woke up and I wasn't quite woke, I just kind of right between sleep and wake, and I heard this loud voice, like the voice of many waters, and it said prosper.

And he said that across the table and it kind of got loud and people started looking at him and his breath hit me in the chest.

You know, prosper.

And I said that was a command.

I said that was a command and his eyes got big and he said that's what brother Osteen said.

And he said, well, I still think we're supposed to be in business.

I think we should form a company.

I think you know, I think I, you know, thought of it.

I said, well, I'll pray about it.

I just you know.

I just say again, that's not what I had in mind, but I'll pray.

Talking about stirring up the gift, stirring up the word, you know, one of the words that I had in those days was in the Bible.

These were the words that I had in those days Was in Isaiah 45, chapters one through three.

Fact is worth looking at, stirring up the word.

And I tell you, I walked up and down and I quoted these verses.

I mean they were mine and I put my name in them Isaiah 45.

Thus saith the Lord to his anointed, john Griner.

It says Cyrus in my Bible, but I said John Griner because it was mine.

Thus saith the Lord to John Griner, mine anointed, whose right hand I have strengthened, holding means strengthened to subdue nations before him, and I will loose the lords of kings to open before him the two-leave gates.

And the gates shall not be shut and I will go before they and make the crooked places straight and breaking pieces the gates of brass and cut us under the bars of iron, and I will give thee the treasures of darkness, the hidden riches of secret places, so that you, so that I, the Lord which called thee by thy name, and the God of John Griner, so that you will know that the Lord that calls you by the name of your God.

So I would just poke that verse up and down.

I stirred myself up with that word.

I stirred myself up, I stirred my gift up, I stirred my anointing up when I felt pressure, when I felt like things were hopeless, when I felt like things couldn't possibly work with $10 left in the bank and time is clicking down.

I mean, we talked in the restaurant.

It's a whole week is gone by and all my bills are coming due and I hadn't heard anything from this guy that wants to be in business with me.

But I finally got peace about saying yes to that situation.

I finally I got peace about it.

Took me a while to get peace about it.

I had to get my thinking out of it and get God's thinking in place, and so I finally chased him down.

I knew he'd gone out of town.

Finally, kind of it was supposed to be back, but he wasn't back, and so I called him.

He got it.

He said I said, yeah, I'm just checking in with you.

Where are you on this deal that you've suggested?

He said I'm gonna have to back out.

I just don't.

I don't think I can do it.

And I said, oh, okay, well, you know I wasn't really looking for a partner.

But I prayed about it all this time till last 10 days since you and I met at the cafeteria and I had peace about it.

So, okay, and I hung the phone up and, I'll be honest, I was ready to throw the phone across the room.

I was so mad, I was angry.

You know I didn't want a partner.

And then you say you're gonna be my partner and now you don't wanna do any of it.

You know, and all this time has gone by, what if I missed waiting on you?

You, you know you get.

So I stopped myself.

I said God, didn't you say to me you're anointed that you would hold my hand and strengthen it to subdue nations before me?

Didn't you say and I just started quoting didn't you say didn't you say you'd loose the loans of kings to open before me the two-leaf gates, and the gates shall not be shut.

And I'm taking a breath to say the next thing and I'm wound up and I'm not sweet.

I'm talking to God and I'm saying I want answers right now.

I don't have time to be nice.

I mean this is covenant.

And when I'm taking a breath to say my next statement, he says where do kings live?

Where do kings live, and all, and so I said it out loud.

Gladys is right there listening to the whole thing when do kings live?

They live in Kingwood, they live in King's forest, they live behind two-leaf gates.

He had two-leaf gates on his driveway.

I said okay, so he's busted.

What do you want me to do about it?

Okay, he missed God.

What do you call him and tell him?

I said God, I can't do that.

Brother Hagin just says don't ever listen to somebody's prophesied money out of your pocket.

He said you're not listening.

He said you're not doing that, you're giving him the word.

I gave you the word to give him.

I'm the one that told you to call him originally.

You call him back and tell him what I said.

You're not telling him to do anything, you're just giving him what I said and I did.

And he bawled and squalled and come to find out he was under pressure from the IRS.

They were coming after him for millions of dollars and he had gotten the letters and it was weighing on him and this was just a way, and so we were partners.

We did three houses together Before the IRS shut him down and took everything he owned, and not just the IRS, but the, the FERC, the Federal Energy Regulatory Corporation, and the DOE, the Department of Energy three letter agencies that back in the 80s were weaponized against law-abiding citizens and they Made what he did to make his fortune in oil trading retroactively illegal.

How would you like you to make your fortune?

And you did it legally.

And then some letter agency says, oh, but by the way, we made that illegal retroactive and so you're no longer all that money you got to give us back, plus all the Stuff with it.

That's what they did to him.

They shut him completely down.

But see, stirrup, see, I had to stir up the word.

This is helping anybody.

I hadn't told this story in a long time.

Come on, lift your hands right now.

Yeah, we need stir up the word of God.

The word of God I'm telling the word of God.

Put you over for it.

He's a good man, you know he's.

He's doing well today.

It didn't ruin him.

He's a good man.

All right, the last one stir up, build yourself up.

Stir up by.

Stir yourself up by praying much in the Holy Ghost.

Jude, verse 20, building up yourself on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost.

You can stir yourself up praying in the Holy Ghost.

You can stir yourself up by 1st Corinthians 14, for he that prays in an unknown tongue edifies or recharges himself.

And when you pray in tongues, you become more God inside-minded.

The greater one, greater is he that's in you, then he that's in the world.

And when I think about the pressure I was under during that time when I got laid off with nothing and ten dollars left in the bank, going through all of this, you know a thing about a partner and what to do.

I mean you know.

To make a long story short, later that week we met.

He wrote a check, not for 25,000, he wrote a check for a hundred thousand dollars.

We put it in the bank and we started our building business and we, you know, we got a house under construction in West University Place, which is where I.

I didn't think I could make it there Right away.

I thought it would take me several years to build myself.

But God had a different plan, because I stirred myself up in the Holy Ghost, I stirred myself up in the Word, in the name of Jesus, and I remembered God and what all he had done for me.

Come on, lift your hands tonight, stir yourself up.

Hallelujah.

Glory to God.

I'm not gonna let the fire go out.

Let's all say it.

I'm not letting the fire go out.

I'm stirring the fire, rekindling the embers and and stirring up the gracious gift of God that is in me.

Glory to God, hallelujah, thank you, lord.

Wonderful Jesus, pray.

Thank you, lord.

How many of us?

You heard something that was absolutely straight at you that you are almost shocked.

That happens quite often, by the way.

Now everybody I'm you can say, oh man, I really got a lot of this.

Okay, that's good.

But I mean this message really bam, it really hits you and you really really needed it.

In fact, you just lift your hand.

Amen, a bunch of you, father.

You see these hands lifted in Lord.

Now they've got the way out.

They know what to do in the situation there in.

There's nothing too hard for the Lord.

He's El Shaddai, he's the God.

That's more than enough.

If he said it, he will do it.

If he spoke it, he will make it good.

Glory to God, hallelujah.

Y'all could be happier.

Praise God.

You could be happy that you're not me.

I mean just be happy, be happy.

Oh, glory to God.

Thank you Lord.

Praise God.

Thank you Jesus.