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
Walk by Spirit – guidance by word and leading – and will not fulfill lust of flesh – Galatians 5.16
But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.
C. Empower Us
Ezekiel 36.27 27 And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.
• Hurt by someone – “Forgive” – [servant owed master 10K talents = 150K years of wages; forgave; another servant owed that servant – 1 denarius = 1 day’s wage . . .]
• Can’t forgive on our own – need God to help us via HS within us
• HS empowers us to do what God does b/c he is God in us (Immanuel) – Galatians 2.20
III. Understand the Warning About the Spirit – Do Not Quench HS
A. Quench = put out/extinguish –
1. Fire and wind = images of HS (wind empowers/moves us)
2. Things of HS are not natural to us – when he moves, don’t quench
B. Why give this warning?
1. HS leads us into places we naturally would not go – we would be fearful and stop;
2. God can accomplish great things; but if quench, stop his movement in life/family/church/community
3. Israel’s first attempt to enter Canaan was quenched by the 10 spies in spite of all they had seen
4. Joshua would lead them in by faith in God
5. Apostles could have quenched the HS if they had stayed in the upper room, even in prayer, when the HS moved in Acts 2
C. Further explanation
1. When we fail to rejoice always; pray without ceasing; and give unceasing thanks we quench the Spirit in our lives
2. When We Despise the Word of God we Quench the Spirit – 1 Thessalonians 5.20-21
20 Do not despise prophecies, 21 but test everything; hold fast what is good.
a. Making it of no value in our lives
b. Ignore what is said
c. Treat flippantly – do not pay attention to God’s words [sins of tongue
d. We can hear but not “hear”
3. Examine things that are said – Bereans more noble than Thessalonians; how to test
a. Is it biblical? “God told me to divorce. . .” No, other spirits may be speaking; bible clearly teaches not to throw away the covenant of marriage;
b. Is it consistent with God’s nature and ways?
c. (Subjective) Is it confirmed by godly leaders? [Spirit of prophets subject to prophets
4. Allowing Sin In – 5.22 22 Abstain from every form of evil.
How to Quench the Spirit in Summary
• Fail to cooperate with God’s activity/movement
Hear the message of God’s word, convicted, but fail to make changes in lives
• Treat lightly what God treats deeply
• Hate what God loves and love what he hates Isaiah 5.20 Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!
• Don’t follow his direction by word or providence
HS leads to usefulness, fruitfulness, NOT detrimental things – let him lead!
SY 1.21.18
