Hello
Friends!
Welcome back! As we learned and discussed in our prior
studies of The Holy Spirit: His Work & Ministry
we considered GRIEVING
the Holy Spirit according to God’s wonderful Word…
Therefore,
let’s now consider the SIXTH critical concern regarding this
important subject matter surrounding the third PERSON
of the thrice Holy Trinity within the Godhead – QUENCHING the Holy Spirit!
The Holy Spirit: His Work & Ministry (Part 6)
QUENCHING the
Holy Spirit!
OPENING POINTS TO PONDER: As a sincere “Christian” and FOLLOWER
of “Jesus Christ” our Lord, do you ever struggle
with the pressures of on-going “sin”
issues in your life? And as a result, do you ever doubt that God is
actually PLEASED with your “life” even though the Bible states otherwise?
If we’re honest with God and ourselves, we ALL
feel this way from time to time – Our Sanctification
Struggle!
QUIZZING QUESTION: Perhaps
YOU have “quenched” the “Holy
Spirit” Himself. But, HOW do we know WHEN and IF we
have – QUENCHED the Holy Spirit?
Quench not the Spirit – 1
Thessalonians 5:19
What does this mean? We can also “quench” the “Holy Spirit”
of God. The full context of the Apostle Paul’s
admonition gives us a further clue to its meaning
and application:
Despise
not prophesyings. Prove all things; hold
fast that which is good. Abstain from all appearance of evil – 1 Thessalonians 5:20-22
POIGNANT POINT: Here Paul further expands
his commands
as the “Holy Spirit” speaks to “us” through His wonderful Word! These
particular “prophesyings”
refer to “prophetic utterances” and
has the idea of “speaking forth” the “Word” of God. Therefore, one is “quenching” the “Holy
Spirit” when he RESISTS
the “preaching” of God’s Word, when he MOCKS the “teaching”
of God’s Word, when he CRITICIZES
the humble “preacher” of whom is doing
his very best to accurately and faithfully
expound upon the Biblical text. And although “we”
are commanded
to “test” the “preaching”
and “teaching” of every “man”
with the “sound doctrine” of the
Scriptures, to WILLFULLY go on
rejecting, mocking or criticizing
the TRUE Biblical “preaching”
and “teaching” simply because you do
not like the particular delivery style is also
another matter indeed – Very serious!
To
not “hold fast” onto the “good”
Word of God, to DISOBEY the clear “exhortation” to reject every kind
of “evil” within the Biblical text being
taught, is to “quench” the “Holy Spirit” of God. The “Holy Spirit” is seeking to work IN and THROUGH
the “preacher” to promote God’s “holiness” fully IN
you! Therefore, taking lightly the “speaking forth” of God’s Word is to “throw
water” on the refining FIRE
that the “Holy Spirit” is seeking to BURN within you – Praise
the Lord!
Here
are a FEW more poignant
passages from the “Apostle Paul” that addresses
the issue of “quenching” the “Holy Spirit” of God:
I
therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the
vocation wherewith ye are called, With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing
one another in love; Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the
bond of peace. There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope
of your calling; One Lord, one faith, one baptism,
One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all,
and in you all – Ephesians 4:1-6
Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness,
inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry: For which things' sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience:
In the which ye also walked some time, when ye lived in them. But now ye also put
off all these; anger,
wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth.
Lie not
one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds; And have put on
the new man, which is renewed
in knowledge after the image of him that created him – Colossians 3:5-10
And I,
brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ. I have fed you
with milk, and not
with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able. For ye are yet carnal:
for whereas there is among
you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?
For while one saith, I am of Paul; and another, I am of
Apollos; are ye not carnal?
Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers by whom ye
believed, even as the Lord gave to every man? I have
planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. So
then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God
that giveth the increase. Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one:
and every man shall
receive his own reward according to his own labour. For we are labourers
together with God: ye are God's husbandry, ye are God's building. According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise
masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how
he buildeth thereupon. For other foundation can no
man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now
if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble;
Every man's work
shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and
the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is. If
any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward.
If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by
fire – 1 Corinthians 3:1-15
THEOLOGICAL THOUGHTS: Although the true “Christian” will continue to “sin”
in the fallen “flesh” throughout God’s “sanctifying” work of “grace” in their life, they will not remain
in habitual willful “sin” the way they did prior to their SALVATION
in Jesus Christ. WHY? Because of the CONVICTING power and presence of the “Holy Spirit” within the “believer’s” heart. The LIFE of a true
“Christian” will be marked by a deep DESIRE to PURSUE personal
“holiness” by “walking” in “obedience” to God's Word – We DIED
to SIN!
Beloved,
there is a BIG difference between stumbling
into “sin” and willful defiant DISOBEDIENCE unto God – Jumping into SIN
with both feet!
REAL REFLECTIONS: Our “walk” with the Lord is NOT one of PERFECTION but one of DIRECTION!
There is a distinct
difference concerning
our eternal RELATIONSHIP with God verses our earthly FELLOWSHIP with Him. There are MANY FILLINGS received FROM
the “Holy
Spirit” in your
“sanctification” and YOU have ALL of HIM at
the MOMENT of your “salvation”
in “Jesus Christ” alone – HOWEVER… Does HE have ALL of
YOU?
Don’t miss our next exciting study – “The Holy Spirit: His Work &
Ministry”
We are not guaranteed tomorrow – tomorrow may be too late! If you haven't yet made that most important decision of your life, won't you make Jesus Christ your personal Lord and Savior today - before it's too late? Today is the day of Salvation!
If you have been blessed by this message or have a specific question, prayer request or testimony, please send me a note to: encouragingconcepts@live.com
I love hearing from you. Keep reading Encouraging Concepts!
Blessings!
Shane K. Morin <><
Encouraging Concepts
Truth for Today
"Living Life From a Biblical Worldview"Lighthouse Publications <><
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