Sermon details
- Scripture
- 1 Thessalonians 5:19
- Series
- 1 Thessalonians 5
- Speaker
- Keith Goad
- Date
- 3 August 2022
- Length
- 19 minutes
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Do not quench the spirit
Good evening. We've been walking through first Thessalonians chapter five, looking at, uh, these different commands. Uh, tonight we come to a command short, simple, uh, prohibition really do not quench the spirit. Uh, we see here in first Thessalonians five 19. As we consider this, I just want to walk through what the text is. The word implied, since it is a command, is you. He's speaking to you if you are a spirit sealed believer. If you're not a believer, he's not actually speaking to you because you cannot quench the spirit if you do not have the spirit. God generously gives us his spirit only when we have faith in Christ. So if you're not a believer this evening, The real thing we want to talk to you about afterwards is your need to confess your sins and believe in Jesus Christ who died for your sins and rose again. This verse is specifically for Christians who can begin to ignore or hear quench the things of God after a profession of faith. If you are a believer, if you are sealed by the Holy Spirit, this is for us. There's a way in which, yes, we have received the Spirit. There's a way in which we are sealed with the Spirit, and there's a warning that we can quench the spirit. There's actually a command, do not quench the spirit. So it's us believers. What does it mean to quench? Well, there's a negative, do not quench. It's helpful when God gives us these kind of prohibitions because it tells us the things that are out of bounds. A lot is affirmed with these kinds of negations. Uh, do not murder. That's a certain way we do not treat people. And then we see the love your neighbor. Uh, there's, there's a way in which we have directive. We have boundaries and directive here.
Do not quench the spirit.
What does it mean to quit something? Well, we use this word often with thirst, especially if you have seen a Sprite commercial at some point. Right? They command you, quench your thirst. And I don't really think Sprite quenches your thirst, but that's for another time, another place. But the whole idea is it's ending it. Right? There's the idea that it's extinguishing. The verb here, the action, is oftentimes associated with fire. Extinguish. Put out. Interestingly, we also see the spirit likened or appearing as fire. So quenching is ending something, extinguishing it, putting it out. All right, so what does it mean to quench the spirit? We need to go back and think through what we know of the Holy Spirit. We know from John 14, 16, Jesus promised his disciples that he will send another helper, another one like him, another divine helper, a counselor. The Holy Spirit is also called the Spirit of God, Spirit of Truth, Spirit of Christ, Spirit of Adoption. The Holy Spirit is the third person of the Trinity. The Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father through the Son. If you're thinking who the Holy Spirit is, the Father sent the Son to accomplish salvation for us. And the Father sends the Holy Spirit through the Son to apply everything the Son accomplished. The Holy Spirit indwells believers, providing internally, giving us internally all the things that Christ accomplished for us. Interestingly, if we go to John 16, Jesus tells the disciples ahead of time, it's to your advantage that I go away. Because if I go away, The Father will send the Spirit, and he won't walk alongside of you like Jesus does. The Holy Spirit will actually come inside of you. Jesus himself is telling the disciples, us, the church, it's actually an advantage at Pentecost that the Holy Spirit indwells us. So we ask some questions. Where is the Father? He's high and exalted in the heavens. Right now, where's the Son? at the right hand of the Father. Where is the Holy Spirit? In dwelling believers. When we think about those very important locations, the Son has ascended back to the right hand of the Father, accomplishing the work of salvation, and therefore the Father has sent the Spirit through Him to apply it. As we think about this verse, with that in mind, this verse is about quenching, it's about God, our relationship with Him, and our sanctification. One more thing we need to see, quenching the spirit, that's suppressing, extinguishing. We see elsewhere it's, I believe, the same activities described as grieving the spirit. And the opposite of quenching would be being filled with. We're commanded to be filled with the spirit. We're prohibited from quenching the spirit. So what would it mean to quench the spirit? Well, if you think of this word as oftentimes associated with fire, how do you quench a fire? You starve it. You stop giving it fuel and oxygen. Well, how would you quench the Spirit? You would stop giving it fuel and oxygen. Here we want to think through what does it mean to quench? The Holy Spirit, when He seals us, With Holy Spirit, when the Spirit seals us, he's there to do a great work. Let's look at the different works of the Spirit to consider what this means. One of the major works of the Spirit is to promote godliness within us. We could go elsewhere and see that there's two selves in a believer. You've got the old self, that is your sinful flesh, that promotes sinful desires and sinful thoughts. And you have the new self, That's actually what the Holy Spirit has produced, a new heart, a regeneration. There's a reality. You cannot entertain both. You're quenching one and growing the other. That's fundamental to this passage. You can't be enjoying the things of the flesh and not simultaneously quenching the Spirit. We have to see that if we think about these two selves, the way to quench the Spirit would be to grumble. The way to be filled with the Spirit would be to have gratitude for all the good gifts. The way to quench the Spirit would be to pursue sin and selfishness. The way to be filled with the Spirit would be to pursue godliness. If we want to know what this means, because it can be kind of abstract, the Holy Spirit, He's not the most mysterious member of the Trinity. He's actually the Spirit who's doing the very work of God that's already been accomplished and seen in Christ. If you want to know what it means to be filled with the Spirit, to not quench the Spirit, do the will of God. Look at the verse right before.
Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks to God in all circumstances, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
Anytime you see this is the will of God, you really want to highlight that. That's God being very generous. This is my will. If you wanna know how to please God, look at the verses that says, this is my will. If you wanna know how to fill the Spirit, look at the verses that say, this is my will. If you wanna quench the Spirit, ignore everything about God's will. The Holy Spirit, the same Spirit that gave us these words, the will of God, is the same Spirit who calls us and gives us the power of obedience And the way to quench that spirit is disobeying the will of God. The second thing the spirit does, we know the spirit illuminates our hearts and minds. The first, the Holy Spirit promotes godliness within. Secondly, the Holy Spirit illuminates our hearts and our minds. Holy Spirit allows us to know the mind of Christ according to first Corinthians two. But we should be pursuing more and more understanding and knowledge of Jesus Christ. At least Martin Louis Jones, who was the first to describe the Holy Spirit as a spotlight. The Holy Spirit's ministry is to shine further light on who Jesus is so that we can see him more. We have to realize we see him dimly when we are pursuing disobedience. The effect of pursuing disobedience is quenching the spirit, which means the Holy Spirit doesn't shine that light so bright. It's incredible to think The Holy Spirit is the illuminating power within so that we would see Christ more clearly. We would see him more fully. What a scary thing to be denied the kind of understanding we're actually gonna look at this coming week. If we refuse the word of God, the Holy Spirit would hide these truths from us. That's a discipline from God we should not dare flirt with. The third work of the Spirit. He gives us access in prayer. We pray to the Father. in the name of the Son by the Spirit. The Spirit inside is really the beginning point of prayer. He lifts us up to be able to pray to the Father in the name of the Son. One of the ways you can quench the Spirit is just refuse to enter boldly. The Spirit is here to help us pray, even when we don't know how to pray. There's actually a warning, I think, as we think about obedience, disobedience, prayer, and the Holy Spirit. 1 Peter 3 is a word and a challenge to husbands. If you don't live with your wife in an understanding way, your prayers will be hindered. The Holy Spirit will hinder your prayers, I believe is another way of looking at this. It's a way in which we would quench the very work of God within us. The fourth work of the Spirit that I think is helpful as we think about this is the Spirit assures us of our salvation. The Holy Spirit is the seal and guarantee of our inheritance. If you wrestle with doubt, if you lack an assurance of salvation, again, having a lot of Lloyd-Jones moments this evening, but I believe it was a good doctor who said the first thing he always wants to ask someone when they're doubting their salvation is ask them,
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what sin did you not repent of?
There's a way in which just refusing to repent of sin and confess sin, that would be a way to quench the spirit and the outcome of that would be a lack of assurance. So we think about the Holy Spirit, that third member of the Trinity, the person who indwells within us, the power to live in godliness, the power of illumination so that we can see God and know him more fully. We quench that work by refusing the will of God, by refusing obedience to God. Finally, let's just say, what are some ways in which you could quench the spirit? Here are the things you could do to actively quench the spirit. One, regularly miss being with God's people to remember God's gospel. Refuse the ordinary means of grace that God has prescribed, the will of God, to really be with God's people, singing God's word, praying God's word, hearing God's word, fellowshiping around God's word. One of the ways to quench the spirit is just to neglect the very gathering of God's people. The second way you can quench the Holy Spirit, be unfaithful to your spouse, according to the instruction of God. For a man, don't love your wife well. Bark orders, demand, refuse to love in a sacrificial way. If you're a wife, be disrespectful. Point out all the things you don't like about them regularly. Number three, third way you can quench the spirit, exasperate your children. Neglect them, be harsh with them, be cruel. Fourth way you can quench the spirit, be lazy and unproductive. Just idly let the days pass. Don't consider time as something that's valuable, worth redeeming. The fifth way you can quench the spirit, look at pornography. Take someone made in the image of God and consider their image as something that you are going to find self-pleasure in. The sixth way to quench the spirit, harbor anger, jealousy, bitterness towards others. Hold on to grudges or just make sure you lock and load the ammunition when you need it. Seventh way, you can quench the spirit. Gossip about others. Participate in slander by listening to it, not correcting it. The eighth way you can quench the spirit. Judge people's motives and dismiss them. Refuse forgiveness. Assume someone's done wrong and not seek reconciliation. And the ninth way you can quench the spirit. Isolate yourself. Distance others. Keep a safe distance for yourself. Those are nine ways I thought of just by looking at the different commands in Scripture. Well, how could you be filled with the Spirit? How are ways you can proactively not quench, but actually be filled with the Spirit? Number one, seek out the many ways in which you can be regularly reminded of God's Word, His truth, and His gospel. That's either by listening to God's Word, reading God's Word, being with God's people, making sure you're letting the ordinary means of grace flow over you. If there's anything God's Spirit is going to to enlighten you with. This is actually God's word being regularly played out in your heart and your mind. Secondly, intentionally give thanks for your spouse and your children. Intentionally give thanks for your spouse and your children and pray for them. Pray for them. Number three, work hard in your vocation. Work is under the Lord. Redeem the time, recognize that what you're doing is as if the Lord is your boss, because that's actually how Paul tells us to work. Number four, protect your innocence and your purity. Do not allow filth into your heart or your mind. Number five, how do we fill the spirit? Meditate on God's forgiveness. Meditate deeply on our sin. what Christ had to accomplish in order to forgive our sin, that Christ in dying for the cross has put an end to our sin, that he has separated from us as far as the east is from the west because he took it upon himself. Meditate deeply on the forgiveness you've received and then practice forgiving others. One of the great ways we can actually practice forgiveness is meditating upon even this coming Sunday, the Lord's Supper, recognizing that we're going to be doing that with the people around us right now on Sunday morning. and realizing that we get to take that together because we're all forgiven by the same Savior. Number six, expect the best of others and seek to promote it. Again, a simple list or just thinking through different commands, even some we've considered already in 1 Thessalonians 5. Do not close the spirit. We can't think this is some mystical, all right? I feel like I'm distant from God. There must be something I'm missing. God isn't mysterious in that way. When God is hiding something, it's simply either a consequence of sin or it's more often a temporary measure. The God who has called you, the God who has sealed you with the spirit, the God who has given you that spirit so that you would know him, he invites you to confess whatever sin you're convicted of. Again, if there's a conviction of sin, do not harbor it, do not hold onto it, confess it. Ask for the grace to repent. The second thing we can do there is meditate upon how good God is, how generous God is and how great God is. We consider here, do not quench the spirit. The spirit is the life source we have that God has given us inside of us to give us the power of sin, to give us better understanding and seeing who God is, to know how to pray with him. The simple measure did not quench the spirit. simply means we're going to seek to be obedient to the many ways the Holy Spirit has given us clarity on what it means to follow Christ. Will you pray with me? Father, we thank you that you have not left us alone, but you've given us your very spirit who gives life, who unites us with one another, who testifies to our hearts that we are adopted children, who belong to you because of Christ, who convicts us of sin, who gives us power over sin, Lord, forgive us for taking these many blessings for granted. Forgive us for the way we neglect the great access we have to you, to enter boldly in the name of your Son, by your Spirit. I pray that we would not treat this as some mystery that we need to figure out what's wrong as to why we might not feel that we're not in the fellowship we desire for you. We thank you that your word tells us very clearly what it means to see our lives according to your word and how we're disobedient, that we can bring these sins to you, we confess them, we can have assurance that you forgive us. Help us, Lord, to know how to live this spirit-filled life that enjoys you, delights in you, and glorifies you. In Jesus' name we pray, amen.
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