Stir It Up: Rekindling Your Inner Fire
This sermon explores how to reignite the passion and potential within us, even when life's challenges have left us feeling discouraged. It offers a powerful message of hope and empowerment, inviting us to look beyond present circumstances to the promises that still burn bright.
This sermon uses the metaphor of stirring embers under ashes to encourage listeners to reignite their dreams, gifts, and passion for life, believing God's plan is still active despite disappointments.
Overview
The sermon opens with the metaphor of a fireplace: even after a fire has died down and only ashes remain, embers still burn underneath. Just as a poker can stir these embers back to life, so too can individuals rekindle the dreams, creativity, and gifts within them, even after experiencing disappointments, delays, or mistakes.
The preacher emphasizes that external challenges like depression, loss, or unfair circumstances cannot extinguish the divine 'fire' God has placed within a person. Rather, it requires personal action to 'stir it up' by dreaming again, seeking opportunities, and praying bold prayers, refusing to live with passivity or a half-hearted spirit.
Biblical examples, such as David stirring himself up in adversity and Abraham and Sarah receiving a child in old age, illustrate the power of maintaining zeal and faith against all odds. The sermon highlights a young lady who overcame homelessness, sickness, and abuse to become a university vice president, demonstrating that potential often lies hidden beneath difficult circumstances.
Finally, the sermon stresses the importance of fervent prayer and choosing to surround oneself with people who inspire rather than discourage. It calls listeners to actively bless the Lord, maintain a passionate attitude, and believe that God's plans for healing, breakthroughs, and destiny are still active and ready to be revealed.
Key points
- The sermon compares human potential, gifts, and dreams to embers burning under ashes, waiting to be stirred up.
- Disappointments, delays, and past mistakes can bury these 'embers,' but cannot extinguish the fire God placed within.
- Listeners are encouraged to actively 'stir up' their passion, enthusiasm, and faith through dreaming, bold prayer, and positive declarations.
- Biblical figures like David, Abraham, and Sarah are presented as examples of people who maintained zeal and saw God's promises fulfilled despite challenging circumstances.
- The sermon highlights that maintaining a 'glow, constantly burning with the spirit' is key to seeing breakthroughs in areas like health, finances, and relationships.
- Fervent, passionate prayer is described as making 'tremendous power available,' in contrast to passive or depressing prayers.
- It is important to distance oneself from negative, visionless people and instead surround oneself with those who help keep one 'stirred up'.
In Joel Osteen's words
“What God put in you didn't go out.”
“The enemy can't put your fire out. Depression can't put your fire out. Loss, loneliness, bad breaks can't put it out.”
“The only one that can stop you is you. If you give up on your dreams, if you live bitter, no passion, thinking you've reached your limits, you will miss the beauty for ashes that God has.”
Outline
- I. The Metaphor of Stirring Up Embers
- A. Fireplace analogy: embers under ashes
- B. Applying the metaphor to life's disappointments and hidden potential
- II. Rekindling Your Inner Fire
- A. What cannot put out your fire: external challenges
- B. Your part: stir it up by dreaming, seeking, praying bold prayers
- C. The danger of half-heartedness and passivity
- III. The Example of David: Stirring Yourself Up in Adversity
- A. Choosing to rejoice despite opposition and slander
- B. Outlasting opposition through zeal
- IV. Stirring Up Specific Areas of Life
- A. Healing: declaring restoration
- B. Finances: believing for increase and abundance
- C. Courage: facing giants boldly like David
- V. Personal Testimony: Stirring Up Courage and Talent
- A. Overcoming fear and doubt in ministry
- B. Discovering dormant gifts and stepping into destiny
- VI. Overcoming Setbacks and Lies
- A. Trying again after failure ("A good person falls seven times...")
- B. God's beauty for ashes after loss or betrayal
- C. The enemy's strategy: deceive you into no passion
- VII. The Importance of Zeal and Fervent Prayer
- A. Paul's command: "Never lag in zeal. Be a glow, constantly burning with the spirit." (Romans)
- B. Staying on fire despite difficult circumstances
- C. David's passionate praise: "Bless the Lord, oh my soul, and all that is within me."
- D. Timothy's instruction: "Stir up the gift of God that is within you." (2 Timothy 1)
- VIII. Unseen Potential and Destiny
- A. The story of a young lady overcoming impossible odds (homelessness, sickness, abuse)
- B. Abraham and Sarah: Kings and nations in you (Genesis 17)
- C. God bringing forth things you never imagined
- IX. The Company You Keep
- A. Avoiding those who throw water on your fire
- B. Seeking people who help you stay stirred up
- X. The Power of Effectual Fervent Prayer
- A. James 5: Fervent prayer makes tremendous power available
- B. Praying with passion, boldness, and faith
- C. Activating God's power through stirred-up prayers
Scripture references
1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, according to the promise of life which is in Christ Jesus,
2 To Timothy, my dearly beloved son: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.
1 And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the Lord appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect.
2 And I will make my covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly.
1 Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you.
2 Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are motheaten.
Insights
Your inner fire cannot be extinguished by external forces.
Underneath life's ashes, some embers still glow.
Passion is a choice that fuels your journey forward.
Questions & answers
What is the core message of the sermon 'Stir It Up'?
The sermon's core message is that everyone has dormant potential, gifts, and dreams, symbolized by embers under ashes. Despite past disappointments or current challenges, these inner resources can be rekindled and brought to life through intentional passion, faith, and action.
What does the preacher mean by 'embers' in our lives?
The preacher uses 'embers' to represent our hidden potential, dreams, creativity, talents, and even healing or abundance, that may be buried under life's disappointments, delays, or mistakes. These embers are still alive and burning, needing only to be 'stirred up' to become a vibrant fire.
How does the sermon suggest we 'stir up' our dreams and gifts?
To 'stir up' means to start dreaming again, look for new opportunities, pray bold prayers, and expect God's favor. It also involves making a decision to be enthusiastic, passionate, and joyful, even when circumstances are challenging.
What biblical examples are used to illustrate stirring up one's faith?
The sermon references David, who stirred himself up by choosing to rejoice despite opposition, and Abraham and Sarah, who, against all odds, conceived a child in old age because God's promise was still active for them. Paul's exhortation to Timothy to 'stir up the gift of God' is also highlighted.
What role does fervent prayer play in stirring up our potential?
The sermon states that 'the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous person makes tremendous power available.' It emphasizes that prayer needs to be passionate, bold, and filled with zeal to activate God's power, rather than being passive or depressing.
Why is it important to 'never lag in zeal'?
According to the sermon, if you 'never lag in zeal' and stay passionate about your dreams and God's promises, then any areas where you currently 'lag,' such as resources, health, or friendships, will eventually turn around. Zeal is presented as a key to staying fired up and seeing God's promises fulfilled.
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