1 THESS 5:14 Now we exhort you, brethren, warn those who are unruly, comfort the fainthearted, uphold the weak, be patient with all. 15 See that no one renders evil for evil to anyone, but always pursue what is good both for yourselves and for all. 16 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 19 Do not quench the Spirit. 20 Do not despise prophecies. 21 Test all things; hold fast what is good. 22 Abstain from every form of evil.
There’s a lot of good stuff here, isn’t there? (Recap 14-18) But I’ve always thought about this in vs 19....what exactly is the meaning of "quench"? I used to think that to "quench your thirst" was to satisfy it....that’s why I looked at the definition of the word quench. Here’s what the online dictionary says....1. To put out (a fire, for example); extinguish.2. To suppress; squelch 3. To put an end to; destroy...
The NIV Bible says in vs 19 "Do not put out the Spirit’s fire." Fire seems to be a recourrent theme or way of describing the Holy Spirit of God, and that’s what I want to look at today: Why fire? I believe there are several reason God likens His Spirit to fire.
When I was in High School, I was a volunteer fire-fighter. It was fun, and it sometimes got us out of class if there was an alarm sounded during school. The school was right across the street from the fire dept and whenever the siren would go off, we could just jump up from our classroom and go! It was great! We also were issued "plectrons" for our homes that were like little radios that would go off in our houses. That wasn’t so great whenever they would go off in the middle of the night! Without getting lost too much in the past here, what I wanted to share with you is some things that I learned about fire regarding this experience.
I’m sure most of you have seen a fire. Usually we responded to grass fires and sometimes structural fires, but one thing I noticed pretty quickly....fires spread fast! Also, they CONSUME quickly, devouring everything in their way. One of the things we would learn as we were rolling to the fire (it was fun holding onto the back of that fire truck!) was what condition the fire was in. This would let us know what stage the fire at that time so we would know what to expect.
It could be a code 1 which was not so bad, or a code 2 (a little worse), or what they called "fully involved" which meant that we were going to have our hands full trying to extingush it whenever we got there. One thing I would like for all of us to ask ourselves this morning is what stage are we at in God’s Spirit? Are you a spiritual code 1 or 2 or are you "fully involved’?
First I want to do a little more back ground on fire as it relates to God. MATT 3:11I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance. but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire
This is the first mention of fire in the NT, and it is made by John the Baptist (who wasn’t Pentecostal yet because the day of Pentecost hadn’t happened). But notice something here...he makes a distinction between the Holy Ghost and....fire. Why? Isn’t it the same thing? How do we disinguish between the two? Let’s go on....
In the OT, God is described by fire.....EXODUS 24:17 The sight of the glory of the LORD was like a consuming fire on the top of the mountain in the eyes of the children of Israel. It would seem odd to say that "the glory of the Lord was like the Holy Spirit" on that mountain. Here’s another one...DEUT 4:24For the Lord your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.
The prophet Jeremiah felt the fire when he was trying not to talk about God.....JER 20:9 Then I said, “I will not make mention of Him, Nor speak anymore in His name.” But His word was in my heart like a burning fire Shut up in my bones; I was weary of holding it back, And I could not. You can’t hold a fire back unless you purposely try to extinguish it, and Jeremiah’s fire was so strong that he couldn’t hold it back! Would that we all felt that today! That’s the kind of fire God’s looking for!
We all know about ACTS 2:1 When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. 2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
OK...I’m getting a clearer picture of this. Speaking in tongues is a gift of the Holy Spirit...it is NOT in and of itself the Holy Spirit.....and then I found this scripture in the AMPLIFIED Bible in REV 4:5 Out from the throne came flashes of lightning and rumblings and peals of thunder, and in front of the throne seven blazing torches burned, which are the seven Spirits of God [the sevenfold Holy Spirit];
ISAIAH 11:1And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots: 2And the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD; 3And shall make him of quick under-standing in the fear of the LORD
1. The Spirit of the Lord.
2. The spirit of wisdom.
3. The spirit of understanding.
4. The spirit of counsel.
5. The spirit of might.
6. The spirit of knowledge.
7. The spirit of awe, or the spirit of reverence or the spirit of worship.
Compare this to what we have recently gone thru in our Bible Study on Wed nites! 1 Corinthians 12:8To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, 9to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, 10to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. 11All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to each one, just as he determines.
These gifts are not to be confused with the fruits of the Spirit. These gifts are given for the purpose of our daily sanctification! These are gifts FROM the Holy Spirit of God to help us live a life that is becoming more and more transformed to Christ’s image everyday! So when the Bible tells us to "quench not the Spirit", it’s basically telling us to let His Spirit comsume us in our day to day lives. It’s not just about being here on Sunday and speaking in tongues and prophesying! It’s about being comsumed everyday in order to acheive that to which you were called....the likeness of Christ! Less of you, more of HIM!
So why come to church? Why read the Bible? The disciples talked about this whenever Jesus walked with them after His resurrection....LUKE 24:32And they said one to another, Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures? They were ministered to! And that’s what happens when you go to church and you read your Bible! Your heart BURNS within you!
We all need to be reminded to allow the Spirit to burn within us. It is what changes us. It is what molds us into His image. Even Timothy had to be reminded.Timothy was going thru a rough time in his ministry. He was probably discouraged and ready to quit. As a matter of fact. Paul is trying to encourage young Timothy in in 2 TIM 1:4Recalling your tears, I long to see you, so that I may be filled with joy. 5I have been reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also. 6For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. 7For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.
Notice that Paul says "fan into flame the gift of God". That means that Timothy hadn’t had his fire extinguished, but that it wasn’t burning like it used to. The Bible doesn’t tell us exactly what was bothering Timothy, but we know from this text that he was at a low point. Paul even goes on to exhort Timothy in vs 7....how many times have you heard this...God has not given us a Spirit of fear or timidity.
What Paul is saying is that you don’t have to be down in the dumps. Whenever you feel that way, what you need to do is "fan into flame the gift of God". Remember the gifts? Let’s go over them again....
1. The Spirit of the Lord.
2. The spirit of wisdom.
3. The spirit of understanding.
4. The spirit of counsel.
5. The spirit of might.
6. The spirit of knowledge.
7. The spirit of awe, or the spirit of reverence or the spirit of worship
This is what fuels your fire. Look at this list and see where you need re-fueling. We need God’s Spirit at work in our lives everyday, not just whenever we come to church on Sunday and sing praises and give Him worship. We’re supposed to be doing that anyway! The great thing about all this is that God says if we lack these things, all we have to do is ask of God and He will give it to us freely. All these gifts that fan your fire are availible for you today... this morning if you will but ask!
You may be going thru a dry spell right now. It happens to all of us. You may be discouraged by your condition or circumstances. It happens. Ask Timothy; he cried over it. I don’t know what your condition is, but you and God know. What will it take to fan you flames again? Are you quenching the Spirit by smothering the gifts that God has made availible to you? Come today........fan your flame and be "fully involved" with His Spirit!
