1 Thessalonians 5:19

Main Thought: When we think of something being quenched, it normally is a good thing. We quench our thirst with a cold drink, or when we hear of a fire or blaze being quenched it is something that has preserved property or a home, and perhaps even saved a life. But when we read these words, Paul is not speaking of quenching in a good way. The Holy Spirit has been given to all of us as believers, sealing us to the Father (Eph. 1:13), giving us assurance that we are the children of God (Rom. 8:15-16), equipping us for service in the Church (1 Cor. 12-14) and the displaying in our lives of the fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22-23). These scriptures point to what happens when the Holy Spirit is quenched: we begin to doubt our salvation and lose the assurance of our relationship to Christ, our service to other believers and the church becomes ineffective, and the fruit of the Spirit becomes less evident to the unbelieving world, causing not transforming into the image of Christ, but a conforming to the world and losing our witness for Christ. How do we not quench the Spirit? We continue to do those things that are pleasing to God, that He has commanded us to do in His Word. First of all, we saturate our hearts and minds with His Word (Ps. 1:1-3; 119:9-11). Then, we make daily prayer a priority, confessing our sins and going to His throne for grace and fellowshipping with God in His presence (Heb. 4:14-16). Next, we make sure we are a part of a congregation that makes its focus the glory of God, the preaching of the Word and the Gospel, and Christ-centered living (Heb. 10:24-25). And last, we make sure we are not neglecting the Lord’s Supper, which causes us to examine ourselves and reminds us of the breaking of His body and the shedding of His blood for our sins (1 Cor. 11:23-34). In doing these practical things revealed to us plainly in the scriptures, we are not allowing worldliness and complacency to come in and quench the work and presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives. May each one of us who know Christ be diligent daily in our Christian walk and make not quenching the Spirit a constant priority.