Never Quench The Spirit Series

1. 1 Thessalonians 5.16-24

16 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 19 Do not quench the Spirit. 20 Do not despise prophecies, 21 but test everything; hold fast what is good. 22 Abstain from every form of evil. 23 Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 24 He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it.

2. Fire is a good picture of God and particularly the HS as in Acts 2

3. In dry Oklahoma we have seen wildfires burn hundreds of acers; California has been devastated by fires – firemen are sent out to extinguish or put out the fire; i.e., “quench” the fire

4. What does Paul mean by, “Do not quench the Spirit”?

Not to fear HS – God (Jesus) in Spirit form

Jesus = God in the flesh – one place at a time

When Jesus was leaving – good for them – HS to come – all places at all times doing all the things God does

I. Understand Who the Spirit Is

John 14.15-17

15 “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, 17 even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.

14.25-27

25 “These things I have spoken to you while I am still with you. 26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you

16.7-12

7 Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. 8 And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: 9 concerning sin, because they do not believe in me; 10 concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer; 11 concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.

Convict = convince; persuade (Acts 2.37)

Leads to new birth – born of Spirit – John 3

16.12-15

12 “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. 13 When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. 14 He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you. 15 All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.

Paraclete

A bit of Greek will help us understand how to comfort and encourage others. Begin with the word used by Jesus to describe the Holy Spirit: parakaleo. Para means “alongside,” while kaleo means “to call.” So parakaleo means to come alongside another. That’s how Jesus described the ministry of the Holy Spirit (parakletos)—one who would come alongside believers after Jesus departed earth to be with the Father (John 14:16, 26; 15:26; 16:7). By looking at the way various English versions translate parakletos we get an idea of the ministry of the Spirit: Helper (NKJV, NASB, ESV), Counselor (HCSB), Advocate (NIV, NLT), and Friend (MSG). It can also mean Comforter, Intercessor, Strengthener, or Standby (AMP).

That’s what the Holy Spirit does for us: He helps, counsels, advocates, befriends, comforts, intercedes, strengthens, and stands by us. That’s what it means to be an encourager in all its various forms. And we can do the same for others. We can give them courage the same way the Holy Spirit encourages us.

HS does what GOD/Jesus does – not to be feared

II. Understand What the Spirit Does

A. Indwells us – his new tabernacle/temple – never leave us or forsake us

B. Teaches and Guides into All Truth

[Bedoin have been known to take a homing pigeon, tie a long string to its foot and send it into the sky when dust storms occur.the bird will lead the Bedoin home. So also the HS for us as God’s dove.

Either we guide our lives or God guides our lives

Disaster – seems right – leads to death and destruction