Don't Quench the Spirit in 2019, WALK IN STEP WITH HIM
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Dear Congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ,
As we begin a new year together, we have paused in the old year to get perespective that we are actually on an Exodus journey - gives direction and purpose. SO helpful to look back and see we have a starting point - life begins at the Cross, and we have a finish line - a goal - which is actulaly the begnining of life in fullness. So helpful to gain that perspective like Moses and so look back you see that God has a plan and provides for all the tiwsts and turns. But for this New Years Day, I want you to put yourself in the shoes of the younger Joshua; It wasn’t his time to say Good Bye to this world, leave God’s peole and their kingdom half completed. No, it was Joshua’s lot to plunge whole heartedly into the wildblue younder, to get across that Jordan and to serve God’s people to move iwth them together - and he could not nkow what blessings, what trials awaited him on the otherside. That’s you and me standing before this New Year. And you can imagine how overwhelmed this Joshua felt, he knew the struggle the trials of the way, and now a new chapter without the humblest of men, without the One who interceded with God and saved the poeole without the one whom
And there has not arisen a prophet since in Israel like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face,
And we too may feel this way, as we launch the canoe, the humble bark of our lives out onto the waters of a new year. And it seems we don’t have Jesus our mediator, the One who knows God face to face and makes him known with us. And for some of us like Joshua himself, we’re not all that young anymore - already given service for the genreation of the wilderness journey. And we may feel how can I go into this new chapter! But God has equipped us not only with a new perspective that Exodus life perspective to keep on going with confidence and expectation, but He has equipped us with his very Spirit for a new year.
Just like the forgiveness of Jesus that we saw in the Christmas sotry, Jesus didn’t come to bring a one-and-done kind of forgiveness. Even though once and for all won on the Crosss, - we are to live before Him - with ongoing forgiveness. New cleansing when sin darkens but never ends our relationship with God. And even more - as we seek to offer our good works, our lives of service to the Lord, there is not a one work we can point to that isn’t tainted by sin by selfishness - and we are to be living in the ongoing forgiveness of Jesus that covers and perects even our good works - That’s the ongoing gift of forgiveness.
Well int he same way as we stand before an other year, the greatest resource you have for facing this New Year with hope and confidence, and expectation is the ongoing presence and power and equipping o the Holy Spirit. If you are a Christian, once and for all you recieved the Spirit when you were born again, in God’s ac of regeneration. Your faith your repentance is evdience of that gift from God in your life! But many Christian’s instead of relying on the Holy Spirit in an ongoing way, also receive it as a on-and done gift. But listen to how Joshua was equipped for the next chapter, even though he had been serving the LORD and with the Spirit of the Lord for many years: a
And Joshua the son of Nun was full of the spirit of wisdom, for Moses had laid his hands on him. So the people of Israel obeyed him and did as the Lord had commanded Moses.
So much like Elisha receiving a double portion of Elijah’s spirit to equip for contniued ministry in God’s kingdom. And this is of course, like Jesus brething His Spiriti ofn the apstoles when he rose from the dead but would lveave, charging them contnue my mnistiry for my kingdom in th power of my Spirit. The same thing happens to every believer on that day of Pentecost - as evey believer indwelt by the Spirit is launched together in kingdom work in the NT church.
That was the prophesy for the Exodus journey that people of God’s lives are on earth.
Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.
Rivers in the desert, for a new Exodus. When was that fulfilled?
On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’ ” Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.
Now I’ve got to tell you, a person out in the wilderness won’t last long wihtout living water. Middle East very limited sources of living water, some rainful, some even snow - waddee wash into Lake Galilee only fresh water lake. And tehn down the Jordan - in wilderness parts of Middle East, only limtited rainful, Waddees - Bedonhuion why pilgrims dind[‘t die, wells, fed by these waseeess, Still shepherd in that area. Wihtout wtare dead. Why they are guides. Should have seen the huge water tanks built in fortresses, every drop of rain caught, divreted to cisterns. Jesus message is that you need a cistern of livign wtaer, and that you have that. Our text from speaks of a great resourece lookat in terms of prayer - very human breathe of the Christian - can’t live without - ; evening services. Remember earliest of letters, basic discipleship , basic Christia living, fored away from young converts how can they face the struggles, grow the church - how comforted in lossess and crosses - how evangelize - answer is prayer!
Rejoice always, pray without ceasing,
Rejoice always, pray without ceasing,
But in the very next verse a less human gift, purely didvine gift that all Chrsitiqan have received but all aren’t employing look at our text:
But in the very next verse a less human gift, purely didvine gift that all Chrsitiqan have received but all aren’t employing look at our text:
Do not quench the Spirit.
At the beginning of this year, I want you to consider how in 2019 you won’t put a lid on the work of the HOly Spirit in your life and how instead you will walk in step with the Spirit. Have you ever seen not a potatoe sack race, but tie inner legs of two people together - and then they have to wlak totally in step. That is our calling with th Holy Spirit , we have all received Him but our calling now is to be filled with the Spirit and then to walk in step with HIm and his program for our lives. Stride into the new year like - Joshua, Elihsa, our early church!
A. Don’t Put a Lid on the Spirit in Your Life or in Christ’s Church
The first thing you must be sure of in startin ghtis new year, as it was the last thing to be sure of in ending a year, is that you do indeed have the Spirit, that you have experienced conversion. Quenching the Spirit is not about losing the Spirit once you have been saved, nor is it about the idea that we all have a bit of the Spirit in us, and its up to us whether we keep it or not. No listen to how Paul describes these Christains in
And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you received the word in much affliction, with the joy of the Holy Spirit,
You read this leeter and there is no evidence that Paul is worried that they have lost there salvation. But like with the greatest of God’s servants, there is the possiblity and probablity that we do grieve Gods Spirit. The word doesn’t mean extinguish, but it means to stifle. To suprress. The word used in the LXX when a bucnh of priest put out the lamps in the temple in Judah. And King Hezekiah has to rebuike them. Don’t do that to the Spirit influence in your life, ou the temple of the Holy Spirit. Its the word used in when Satan launches into believers lives, trials, tempations and even troubles - and Paul says, you have a shield of faith to to what Extinguish, to render harmless the devils flaming arrows.
In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one;
The closest use to match this context is
and Paul says, you have a shield of faith to to what Extinguish, to render harmless the devils flaming arrows. The closest use to match this context is
In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one;
The closest use to match this context is
Many waters cannot quench love, neither can floods drown it. If a man offered for love all the wealth of his house, he would be utterly despised.
Now these Thessalonican Xns like you and me are people who are already drinking from the water of life Jesus gives, but are in danger of stiffling His influence in our lives.
HOw might that happen? One way would be to deaden the influence of the Holy Spirit within you emotinoally!
We read in
For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.
In the Old Testament God also warned Israel don’t deaden the influences of the Holy Spirit within you - by drinking not of the Spirit but of the waters of the kingdoms of this earth:
for my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water.
When we gather for worship or when we in our homes turn to the LORD in worship - we are drinking from the fountain - and no matter how flat, depressed, despairing, in pain we are - find a cordial - find righteosuness and peace and joy in the LORD - ministry of the Holy Spirit. It is so interesting that all the great cities of the ancient world built on rivers or bodies of water. But not Jersusalem. And yet prophetically
There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy habitation of the Most High.
The prophet Ezekiel says when the New Temple is built - river flowing from it to the nations - a river of grace! Spieaking not of some physical temple in the end times in Jerusalem, but of Jesus - and Jesus people and the gift of the Spirit. And we are to be that people of joy even in sorrwoing times. Biggest oxymoron - joyless Chrstian - didn’t say a suffering, despairing Christian but a joyless one. Like Nehemiah in the midst JOy of the Lord is our strength!
The NT is slo clear we are not only that temple, but we are city! Not just a group of individuals lumped togethe, but a poeopl which are tied together with a charter, a constitution antional character, given structure and a program. And we are never sap that joy!
The NT describes how if we lie to the Holy Spirit, can grieve the HOl y Spirit. If instead of living out of this joy, we let the root of bitterness go underground, let the sun go down on our anger - also grieve the Spirt. tells us that to walk by the desires of the flesh - grives and fights the Spirit - this year don’t be led by sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolary socery, enmity, strife, jealosuy, fits of anger, rivalires, dissessions, divisiosn, drunkeness ordies - you know when desires led astray - quenching the Spirti’s work in you!
But from our text the hint of what is a the bottom of a life or a year that quenches the Spiri tin our midst is the very next verse:
But from our text the hint of what is a the bottom of a life or a year that quenches the Spiri tin our midst is the very next verse:
Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies,
The source of all true prophesy is the Holy Spirit, and when you disregard, ignore, lay aside God’s Holy Word in your life, in your family, in this church family. When we neglect Bible Study, when sleep spiritually through God’s Word proclaimed and explained and applied, when we don’t hunger for the comfort the promise, don’t pray for direction in our lives through this light. We are throwing contempt on the Holy Spirit of God. Perhaps the most common way we would do this in 2019 individually is live lives so busy and stuffed with other things. Need to understand that Christ is in heaven, and its his presence and grace and forgiveness and direction that we need - but also promised to be with us daily and delegated that work to the Holy Spirit - and the Holy Spirit is to work with you and me - not willy-nilly but with the Spirit! Listen to Jesus - The Spirit will take what is mine, give it to you make it known to you - Sanctify them Father, your word is truth. Word and Spirit - in our homes, friendships, in church service. Not all light but no heat, nor all heat but no light. But together light to direct and transform our lives and heat to warm them. The Word without the Spirit dries, up. Spirit without the Word blows up. But Spirit with the Word grow up - think of God’s Word and His Spirit directing your desires but also your relationships this year!
And that leads us to the second point positively how are we to filled with the Spirit and walk in step with Him in 2019?
B. Being Full of the Spirit is about Active Corporate Worship & Loving Personal Relationship
We can see the worship part of this when the main command is given to the Ephesian Xns, but then tacked on to the main command are 5 results connected to the Spirit’s influence in our lives: The contrast is in giving yourself over to the sin of drunkenness - to lose contrl and give it over to influence of wine. Do not be filled with wine. but
And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,
addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,
And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,
addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,
No one here is drunk with that influence in their body right now. But we are also not live just with our own influence in our lives. Rather in a myserious way - when the Holy Spirit is the great influencer in our lives look what the 5 results are : we are litterlaly speaking to other people - in corporate worship in personal dialogue with these Psalms, three categories psalm, hymns, spiritual songs; what else happens when Spirit fills you - not just voice lifted up here, but melody in heart to the LORD, what else - I love how early churchin Corinth described, they came witha thanksgiving to share - Eyes open to what God is at work doing, how he has provided just who he is - I thank the LORD. addressing, singing, making melody in the heart, giving thanks. That ought obe a descriptio of activity of our corporate worship!
Someone who’s inside leg tied to the Hly Spirit, walk in these ways , experience fulness, fuelded for whatever 2019 has in store for us, challenges and the service. Worship is the fuel of our service! Weak in worship, weak love for the lost, eak love for the suffering - But experience this joy in the lord in worksho, experience power of God’s word addressing each other - guicid gdirecting encouraging - full of the Spirit! No wonder Hebrews instruct us Don’t give up meeting together … when God meeting with His peope in manfies special way - ought to be our desire to be there in the mix, actiely participating!
But look how else the fulness of teh Spiri is described: You have the five activities of the Spirit filled person and then this sixth activeity closes the sentence description!
And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,
And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.
submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ. Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord.
It is not just worship, but it is people demonstrating loving service in their home in their church, in their friendships, and neighbourhoods. This is how the outward empoweing of the fullness of the Spirit in someones life is described! It is really simple the fulness of the Spirit manifests itself in love to God in worship where God’s truth is also edifying the others we are worshipping with, and the fulness of the Spirit is also manifested in a willingness like Christ to put yourself below other people, not to be served by them, but out of reverence for How Christ seved you, you want to come langside them as servant - have a mission to bring blessing into their lives. Do you see how that is just the opposite of being full of desires of the fles in our relationships. You feel it when not in step iwth the Spirit when instead in step with conceit, provoking others, envying others - but here Spirit ours a love into ou heart and we dare act on that love!
Not rocket science, not going to do it perfectly until heaven, but hving receive d th Spirit let’s keep in step with the Spirit, let’s protect ourseles and our families and this church from Satan getting a foothold, let’s not quench the Spirit, but let’s fan into flame these to basic activiites that will helpus meet 2019’ challenges and opportunities with grace! Let’s build on the coroprate and persoanl worship in our lives, and let’s build on the service we give in submission to others out of reverence for Christ.
Very practically I challenge you to jot down, a few ways you may struggle with grieving the Spirit and quenching His work - spend some time in prayer about what you should do about that; but then also take the second half of the sheet - in what ways can you prioritize growth in your worship? In what relationships are you are you called to a godly comiong alongside and even serving under for Christ’s mission?
We’ve got some wilderness to traverse in 2019 , as individuals , church, as nation - challenges opportuniteis, In 2019, we’ve also got relationships to do - It is by being full of the Spirit that we can meet but as the church of Jesus Christ we have the Spirit of Holiness to - fill us with joy for the Journey!