Quench Not the Holy Spirit
Notes
Transcript
Handout
1 Thessalonians 5:19
As we have looked at this series on living The Great Life we have seen that God has made man a Spiritual Being.
But because of the fall of man, our spirit died.
This is the state of all man who are unsaved - the Natural Man.
When we accepted Christ as our Savior, he brought that spirit inside us come back to life.
If, from that point we yield to the Holy Spirit we are what the Bible calls a Spiritual Man.
If we yield to the flesh instead of the Holy Spirit, we are what the Bible calls the Carnal Man.
As we live our lives, there will be times when we will sin.
If we confess that sin He is quick to forgive us and cleanse us from all unrighteousness…and we can go forward living for the Lord with the fruit of the Spirit.
If we do not confess our sin, we grieve the Holy Spirit within us, and He must change His ministry to us from filling, to convicting.
Pretty soon, without the filling of the Spirit, we fell the pressures of this life in forms of anxiety, depression, fear, doubt, and many other things that the Lord desires to use to grab our attention.
The backslidden Christian is the the most miserable person in the world.
Just like the command to Grieve not the Spirit, there is another explicit command to the believer concerning his relationship with the Holy Spirit who indwells Him.
19 Quench not the Spirit.
The Greek word quenched means to “hinder, repress, as in preventing the Holy Spirit from exerting His full influence”
This is what happens when you quench the Spirit.
It doesn’t mean that He goes away.
It just means you are preventing the Holy Spirit from having full influence on your life.
So how is the Spirit quenched in our lives?
The Spirit is quenched by any unyieldness to the revealed will of God.
It is simply saying no to God.
Again the crucial word when talking about the believers responsibility in being the Spiritual man is YIELD.
13 Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.
To live a life yielded to God is the life of those who are living as they are alive from the dead.
Which they are, if they are saved.
Any other attitude is rebellion.
God always knows what is best for us and our situations.
He will never ask of us anything that is not the best for us.
So there is no reason to say no to God.
If we were to perfectly yield to God in every area of our life from this point forward we would see the Great Life…or we could say...
I. The Perfect Life
I. The Perfect Life
It is that life that is fully yielded to the One that knows everything about us and our lives from birth to death.
11 In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:
We cannot possibly be able to know what is best for ourselves with the limited knowledge we have of what is going to happen in our lives.
23 O Lord, I know that the way of man is not in himself: It is not in man that walketh to direct his steps.
It was God’s plan all along to walk with man.
The fall caused us to become independent of God.
But we truly need to be dependent upon Him once again.
We need to yield to Him...
A. Our Will
A. Our Will
Instead of being self-directional we need to be directed by God and His Holy Spirit.
When we yield our will to God’s Will...”not my will by thine be done”…we put our dependence upon Him.
The fact that this is hard for us shows us how far we have fallen as man from God’s design for us.
But the good news is, God doesn’t leave it to us to handle on our own.
13 For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.
He works in us to desire to do His will and gives us the power to do it as well!
All we have to do is Yield to Him Our Will
But yielding to Him our will will not by itself yield a perfect life...
We must also Yield to Him
B. Our Bodies
B. Our Bodies
1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
It is reasonable for God to expect this.
Romans is a great book.
The first eight chapters are one great big doctrinal statement of the work of God in us for our salvation.
Then chapters 9-11 is a parenthetical portion about Israel
Then in Chapter 12 Paul begins a very practical portion of his letter.
And the opening statement to this section of the book of Romans is this verse.
He beseeches the Romans (and thereby us) by the very mercies of God…to present (the same word as yield in Romans 6:13 …yield our members..) to yield our bodies as a living sacrifice, holy , acceptable to God.
The words, “I beseech you” is not a command.
It is a pleading for the Christians to become what God intended for them.
The Great Life - “You don’t know what you are missing! I beseech you to yield your bodies to God!”
Having yielded your will to God’s Will…now Yield your body to God as well to be used as instruments in His mighty hands.
There is no specific mention of some particular service that we are to do…it is just an act of self-dedication to whatever God may choose for us, now or in the future.
Have you dedicated your life to follow and obey Christ?
You will never experience and live the Great Life until you do!
After this point in Romans there is much teaching about how and what to yield to God…but until there is a willingness to yield both your will and your body to Christ…there is no point in going any further!
This Perfect Life - this Great Life is available to us!
But how do we do this?
Well God sent His own Son to show us.
He is ...
II. The Perfect Example
II. The Perfect Example
Jesus was the perfect example of how to be yielded to God.
His example is written all over the Bible.
5 Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me:
6 In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hast had no pleasure.
7 Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God.
He was yielded to His Father’s Will.
Even His own body.
When He was nearing the cross His hearts cry was, “Nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.”
And so He did the will of God as Philippians 2:8 tells us
8 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.
So we are told to follow His example.
5 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:
He says Let this mind be in you - Let - Yield!
It is not us doing what Christ has done…it is Letting Christ do through us what He wants done.
20 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.
It is Christ that liveth in me!
Follow Christ’s perfect example and Let the Holy Spirit do His work in us!
What was His example?
A. Go Where His Father Chose
A. Go Where His Father Chose
Christ was home in heaven.
But God so loved the World that he gave His only Begotten Son.
So Christ went where the Father wanted Him to go.
He came into this world as a foreign missionary.
He lived out the words of that old Hymn: I’ll go where you want me to go, dear Lord.
We sing the song, but how many have never surrendered their will to God, and truly lived the song.
And he lived it throughout His life.
He was led of the Spirit to go to the wilderness to be tempted.
He was led to the places He needed to go to meet the blind, the deaf, the lame, the demon possessed.
He went where His Father wanted Him to go.
Secondly,
B. Be What His Father Chose
B. Be What His Father Chose
Jesus made Himself of no reputation.
He was not only willing to veil His glory while He walked on this earth, but he was willing to made nothing.
To be spit upon
To be crucified.
He was willing to be whatever His Father wanted Him to be.
Are we willing to be what God wants us to be?
Are we willing to follow Christ’s perfect example and be nothing so that God may receive the glory that is due Him?
We see power, and honor and prestige and recognition as the natural man, or a carnal man.
But the Spiritual Man is willing to be nothing, if that is what the Father chooses.
But Jesus as our perfect example was willing also to ...
C. Do What His Father Chose
C. Do What His Father Chose
He became obedient unto death.
He was willing to do whatever was asked of Him
Nevertheless, Not my will but thine be done.
Are we willing to follow that example?
Are we willing to drink from that cup?
You might think, “I don’t have the strength to do that!”
That’s OK, remember it is God who does it!
13 For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.
This Perfect Life is presented - the Great Life
Does that mean everything will be just the way we want it?
You are missing the whole point!
It is not about what I want…it is following the Perfect Example and doing, and going and being what God wants!
The result…the effects of this Perfect Life, following this Perfect Example is seen in
III. The Perfect Effects
III. The Perfect Effects
Jesus on His last day with His disciples, His last moments in fact, is walking toward the Garden of Gethsemane.
I imagine in my mind that on their way they pass a vineyard, and Jesus reaches over and begins to use the grape vine as an object lesson to His disciples about abiding in Him.
John 15:1-17 records this teaching.
He picks up a branch of the vine and shows it to the disciples and says:
1 I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.
2 Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.
3 Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.
4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.
5 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.
6 If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.
7 If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.
8 Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.
9 As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love.
10 If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love.
11 These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.
12 This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.
13 Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.
14 Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.
15 Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you.
16 Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.
17 These things I command you, that ye love one another.
And in my imagination, He turns and continues His walk toward the Garden as He continues teaching.
But don’t miss three very important things that Jesus says in this teaching about abiding in Him.
By the way abiding in Him is being yielded to the Spirit.
It is saying yes to Him, it is staying with Him, and in Him…it is Abiding in Him.
One Bible dictionary says this word Abide means - to be and remain united with him, one with him in heart, mind, and will.
So it is this Yielding our Will and our Bodies - Abiding in Him.
Jesus tells His disciples here if you abide in me there will be three perfect effects:
A. Your Prayer Is Effectual
A. Your Prayer Is Effectual
7 If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.
If you abide in me - You remain united with Him…yielded to His mind, heart and will...
And my words abide in you - You are walking with Him in His Words - you are following His will.
What does He say will happen?
“Ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.”
That’s a bold claim.
But Jesus has no fear of making this claim…because he knows that if you are abiding in Him…if you have yielded your will to God’s will…you will not be asking for what you shouldn’t.
The Christian who does not see answers to their prayer is the Christian who is not yielded to God’s Will.
3 Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.
But if we are truly yielded to God’s will (abiding in Him)…we will ask what He wants for us.
Therefore your prayer is effectual.
But not only that…Jesus said that...
B. Your Joy Is Habitual
B. Your Joy Is Habitual
11 These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.
When we abide in Christ we will have true Joy…and it will remain in you…and it will be full of Joy.
No matter what comes, the joy remains if we will abide in Christ!
If we will yield to the Holy Spirit of Christ…the fruit of the spirit filled life will come out in our lives…Joy!
This will just be the standard for our life…it will be our habit in life - to live with joy.
I have met and watched many Christians go through some of the most difficult things a person can go through.
I have seen them as their bodies are eaten away by cancer.
I have seen them as they have lost the dearest person to them.
I have watched them as they go through financial ruin.
I have seen Christians experience the loss of a child, a parent, a job, a home.
And I have seen Christians in each of these situations who were yielded to the Holy Spirit - and abiding in Christ…and even in their darkest moments they had Joy.
A Joy that no one could take away.
But I have seen others, who have not had that joy.
They have not yielded their will to God’s so when God allows that which they love so much to be taken away…they become bitter and depressed.
It is truly up to you!
Do you want to have your prayers answered?
Yield to God - do not grieve Him by saying no.
Do you want to have joy in your heart again?
Yield to God - do not grieve Him by saying no! Abide in Him!
Then the Lord makes a third promise.
When you abide in Him he says that...
C. Your Fruit Is Perpetual
C. Your Fruit Is Perpetual
16 Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.
When we are yielded to what God desires…yielded to what God has ordained in us…we will bring forth fruit.
And our fruit will not wither away, it will not go in and out of season…it will remain.
In fact he reiterates his promised effect from before… “whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.”
Conclusion
Conclusion
What a life!
A Great Life is promised to us.
It is a life yielded to God as a rule of life.
It is not a matter of, If God reveals something for me to do, then I will determine whether I will do it.
It is a covenant relationship of trust in which you have decided already, without reservation, that you will do His will.
You will yield to His Holy Spirit, and you will not quench His power in your life by saying “no.”
What do you have to fear?
Is he a hard task-master?
Does He as of us more than He can do through us?
No, of course not.
Is there any hope that we might be wise enough to choose what is best for our own lives?
No, of course not - He know everything from the beginning to the end.
We are not vowing to never sin again, or even to never violate His will again.
We just say I am willing to be made willing to do His will.
It is not the question of doing the will of God in the abstract - in the unknown..it is having the assurance that God will work in us that which is pleasing in His sight.
Choosing to follow Him in that will.
When He directs- we Go
When He commands - we Do
When He Molds - We yield, and become what he wants for us.
Can you remember a particular time and place, or at least an instance in your life where you dedicated your life to do Christ?
I’m not talking about salvation - it is a declaration, “Lord I’ll be what you want me to be, I’ll Go where you want me to go, I’ll do what you want me to do!”
If you have never said that to God - Dedicate your life to His will now!
Perhaps you do remember a time in your life when you have done this, but perhaps you have taken back the reigns from Him - perhaps you need to rededicate your life to Him today.
I’d like to ask for every head to be bowed and every eye closed - no one looking around
1. Do you know for sure if you were to die today that you would go to heaven?
How many would say with your hand lifted high, “Pastor Jeremy, I know that…that I know that I am saved, I am going to heaven when I die.”
How many today say, “I couldn’t raise my hand just now. I do not know if I am saved.” With no one looking around, who will say that today? Raise your hand.
2. Have you ever dedicated your life to Christ?
How many will say by raising their hand today, “God that’s me, I will go where you want me to go, I will be what you want me to be, I will do what you want me to do. I may have done it before, or this may be my first time…but I yield my will and my body to you right now.”