Friends, we need to stir up the spirit within us. Let me explain. We have a body with its needs for food, drink, warmth, cleansing, and the like. We have a mind, our soul, emotions and thoughts to reason, think, and meditate as we choose to make decisions such as, “I will or I will not.” 

We have to protect our minds from being captured by thinking on lies and fear. This thinking leads to worry, which leads to dis-ease. Rather than meditating on fear we need to think on and meditate on the positive, hope-filled promises of God. Fear or faith are powers unleashed through meditation.

But there is another power that is for the born again person whose spirit has been made alive by the reception of Jesus as one’s Saviour and Lord. Jesus imparts the Holy Spirit of Truth to all who receive Him. 

It is through the Holy Spirit living in our human spirit that we can become spirit-led rather than simply being led by our body and mind. The scripture teaches that the born again person needs to have their minds renewed, transformed and saved. 

Friends… this takes work! This renewal, transformation and salvation of the mind comes from heeding and responding to the Holy Spirit. St. Paul the Apostle told Timothy to stir the spirit within him. 

“Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands”

(2 Timothy 1:6, NKJV). 

Stir up the gift appears in the King James Version of this verse, but other translations read “fan into flames the gift” (ESV, NIV, NLT), “keep ablaze the gift” (HCSB), and “rekindle the gift” (CSB, NRSV).

As the Bishop of The Arctic I teach people how to walk as Jesus’ disciples, and at times I lay hands on people in Confirmation. We pray for the impartation of God the Holy Spirit so that these people who willing reject Satan and declare their willingness to obey and follow Jesus will enter the school of ministry. 

I know that each of us need the Holy Spirit. We need the Holy Spirit to help us understand the scriptures, and we need the Holy Spirit to empower us to grow in faith. We need the Holy Spirit if we are to be bold witnesses of Jesus and the be able to counter Satan’s attacks upon our mind with his lies and accusations. God always directs us to seek Him, to love, serve and obey Him. We can only do this by developing our human spirit so that we become spiritually alive. 

So how do we develop our human spirit? Pray. Ask the Holy Spirit to constantly fill you and to help you understand scripture. Read the Bible – slowly – and ask the Holy Spirit to guide you into all truth. Attend church services and go prayerfully expecting God to speak to you through the prayers, through the hymns, through the sermon, through someone’s sharing. Also go to church expecting to share a good word of encouragement with someone. This will help us develop our human spirit. 

We will also develop our human spirit by being part of a home discipleship group, a bible study group, attending Alpha, Celebrate Recovery, a Christian youth group, a Christian men’s group, a Christian women’s group. God is relational and being part of a Christian group in addition to a weekly worship service will help each of us and our family be part of a healthy growing church family. 

Our spirit will especially grow as God intended, as we seek to share the love and life that we have found in Jesus. We do this by sharing this love and life of Jesus with nonbelievers. Therefore ask God the Holy Spirit to lead you to those who God the Father is already preparing to meet His Son Jesus. 

Every Christian is called to serve. Our service is called ministry and so every Christian is called to ministry. God knows we may feel nervous, shy our inadequate and this is why we need the power of the Holy Spirit to give us the teaching, understanding and boldness with genuine gentle compassion, to share the good news of Jesus with others. 

Jesus said you shall receive power… listen to Acts1:8!

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” 

Acts 1:8  

This isn’t just a story about long ago! To me, this meant Jesus was filling me with the Holy Spirit to give me the ability to speak with my family, friends, neighbours and with the people from all over the world. So, I began to speak.

Often people would ask me to pray for them and so I would pray then and there a short simple prayer. Later in time I began to hear that many of those people experienced answers to those prayers. I remembered that in Mark 16:15 we are told that Jesus said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation” and then in Mark 16:20 it says “And they went out and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the message by accompanying signs.”

Friends, it has been my experience that Jesus confirms with signs following. So I have realized when I do my part God does His part. 

God does all this by first drawing us to Himself, and as we draw near, He introduces us to Jesus, and then after we receive Him as our Saviour and Lord, Jesus prays for the Father to send the Holy Spirit to fill us.  We are filled with the Holy Spirit so that we are renewed in body, soul and spirit. When our human spirits are led by the Holy Spirit, we become partners with Holy God in His redemptive ministry of reconciliation as ambassadors of Jesus Christ. 

Friends, my brothers and sisters, lets stir our spirit to fellowship with God, with each other, and by the grace we have receive, bring Jesus the Gift of God to this world which He loves.