Ron Sawka Ministries
May 22, 2024; Iyar 14, 5784
“Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands” (2 Tim. 1:6).
“For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory” (2 Cor. 4:17).
Deep calls unto deep at the noise of Your waterfalls; All Your waves and billows have gone over me.” (Ps. 42:7).
Stirring Up the Fire and Seeing the Glory of God
May 19 was Pentecost Sunday* (see note below). My good friend and leader of Catch The Fire, Duncan Smith, shared that as he was preaching this past Sunday morning, a weighty glory of the Lord fell on him. He couldn’t stand, but fell to the floor. He asked some young men to help him stand up so he could continue to preach. As he continued speaking, the weight of the glory of the Lord increased, and the young men struggled to keep him standing. Afterward, one of them, a weight lifter who bench pressed 350 kilograms (771 lbs.) the day before, said that Duncan probably weighed about 800 pounds (362 kg.).
They then ministered to all by a “fire tunnel,” and amazing miracles happened. One woman who needed two canes to walk was healed and threw her canes away. (That was my favorite story because at present I still require a cane when I walk.)
We all thank the Lord for that amazing blessing and those stories, and wish we could have been there. But the good news is we don’t have to actually physically be in attendance—we can do what Paul told Timothy to do. Paul said, “Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands” (2 Tim. 1:6).
Like Timothy, most of us are already baptized in the Holy Spirit. It seems Paul laid his hands on Timothy, prayed, and Timothy was baptized in the Holy Spirit. Reading between the lines, at times it seemed that Timothy’s zeal and passion waned. This is not unlike many Christians today. Because of daily pressures or any number of reasons, they can feel empty.
How do you fix that? It’s simple:
1. Remember you already have the gift of the Holy Spirit and His Fire.
2. Begin to pray—either in tongues, or in understanding—and make declarations of the goodness and power of God.
3. Don’t do this coldly or passively, but do it with zeal.
4. As you begin to do this in zeal, you will feel that fire of God begin to rise up in you. As you continue, it will get stronger and stronger. It may even feel as if something is exploding inside of you. I think you will be amazed.
5. You will realize that as soon as you began “praying in the Spirit,” the Lord was already there. In fact, you will see it was the Lord calling, drawing on you. Psalm 42:7 states, “Deep calls unto deep.”
6. Meditate on the context of 2 Timothy 1:5–6, which states, “When I call to remembrance the genuine faith that is in you … Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God.” Paul can ask Timothy to do this because he knows Timothy has genuine faith.
This is like most of us, isn’t? We already have the faith. We already have the baptism of the Holy Spirit and fire. Let’s just be sure to stir it up and always keep it stirred. I believe the more we do this, then we will begin to see and experience the weight of the glory of God as well.
*Note: The traditional day of Pentecost is fifty days after Easter, which was March 31 this year. The Hebrew calendar has Pentecost (Shavuot) on June 11–13 (Sivan 5–7), fifty days after Passover (April 22). Yes, if you wish, we get to celebrate Pentecost twice. But just remember what Paul said. Don’t let anyone judge you about which day (see Colossians 2:16), and whichever day you celebrate is unto the Lord (see Romans 4:5–6).
Thanks for praying.
Ron and Teddy
Praying for One Nation Every Day (from now until Passover next Year)
Recently, I shared about an amazing prayer strategy from Apostle Karen Dey (New Zealand/Sri Lanka). I wrote:
“She saw hosts of angels—some were worshiping and some blowing trumpets; others were warring angels. Then she was impressed by the Lord to ask people to get a world map and to pray each day for a different nation. From this year’s Passover until next year’s Passover—365 days of praying for the nations!”
I urge everyone to do this. Your prayers will turn desolate places into “camps of God.” Please refer to the update from May 8.
Click here to read Apostle Karen Dey’s document.
Comments