Sermon Tone Analysis

Text: 1 Thessalonians 5:19

Theme: When he tells the Thessalonian Christians to not quench the Spirit, he is warning them — and us — not to dampen the effective working of the Holy Spirit in our lives and our congregation.

Date: 05/15/2022 File: Final_Instructions_04.wpd

File #: NT13-05

In both Old and New Testaments fire is a metaphor used by biblical authors to describe the nature and work of the Holy Spirit.

Fire speaks of purity, power, light, warmth, and on occasion, destruction.

When the Holy Spirit is at work in our lives and churches, we have a warmth of love in our hearts, the light of truth for our minds, the power of will to resist temptation and sin, and a purity of soul that makes us pleasing to the Father.

When he tells the Thessalonian Christians to not quench the Spirit, he is warning them — and us — not to dampen the effective working of the Holy Spirit in our lives and our congregation.

As we look at our text this morning, I’d like for you to understand ...

• The Essence of the Holy Spirit

• The Enthusiasm of the Holy Spirt

• Some Application

I. THE ESSENCE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

1. when the Apostle commands believers to Stop quenching the Spirit, he is referring to suppressing the work of the Holy Spirit in our personal lives and also in the church

a. before I talk to you about quenching the Holy Spirit, let me give you some Holy Spirit 101

b. before we can talk about quenching the Spirit we need an understanding of what the Spirit is

The Holy Spirit is the Third Person of God

The Holy Spirit is the Power of God

The Holy Spirit is the Presence of God

A. THE HOLY SPIRIT IS THE THIRD PERSON OF GOD

1. when we speak of the essence of an object or a person, we’re referring to the core nature or most important qualities of a person or thing

a. if one’s essence refers to one’s core nature, then the core nature of the Holy Spirit is deity

b.

God the Holy Spirit is as divine as is God the Father, and God the Son — after attribute we ascribe to the Father can also be ascribed to the Holy Spirit

1) the Holy Spirit is not an impersonal force, though He is all-powerful

2) the Holy Spirit is not a prize given to the super spiritual Christian, though He is the gift of God to believers

3) the Holy Spirit is not Jiminy Cricket sitting our your shoulder debating the devil, though He will always lead you into truth

4) the Holy Spirit is not a silent partner waiting patiently for the believer to invoke His power on command, though He is always present in our lives

2. the doctrine of the Trinity is complex

a. from the beginning of creation in Genesis to the end of time in Revelation, God refers to Himself as "us" or "our"

1) the Doctrine of the Trinity is one of the reasons the Jewish people have rejected and continue to reject Jesus as God’s Anointed One

2) the Doctrine of the Trinity is also the Christian doctrine out of which so much heresy has arisen

b. it’s hard to explain and it’s hard to wrap our minds around a God whose essence is that He is One God and not a plurality of gods, but who at the same time has revealed Himself as Father, Son and Holy Spirit

ILLUS.

Dr. James White, one of my favorite theologians has said, “The doctrine of the Trinity must be true because no mere mortal mind could ever think this doctrine up!”

B. THE HOLY SPIRIT IS THE POWER OF GOD

“but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.””

(Acts 1:8, NASB95)

1. because the power of the Holy Spirit is literally the power of God, His ability to act and influence is infinite, unlimited, and eternal

a. this mean that the power of the Holy Spirit is different from any other kind of power

2. 1st, the power of the Holy Spirit is witnessed as He goes forth to create and sustain the universe

a. all the way back in Genesis 1:2 we find the Spirit of God brooding over the primordial world ready to take the spoken word of the Father, and instantaneously transform it into the physical

1) don’t think that takes pronominal cosmic power?

— go ahead; give it a try ... speak something into existence ... I’ll wait!

3. 2nd, the power of the Holy Spirit is witnessed by influencing the behavior of others and the course of events

“Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers.

And the Spirit of the Lord rushed upon David from that day forward.”

(1 Samuel 16:13, ESV)

a. although the Spirit did not permanently indwell God's people in the Old Testament, He worked through them and gave them power to achieve things they would not have been able to accomplish on their own

b.

during his earthly life it was the Holy Spirit the led Jesus out into the wilderness to be tempted of the Devil

4. 3rd, the power of the Holy Spirit is witnessed when he convicts the world of sin, judgement and righteousness

“And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: 9 concerning sin, because they do not believe in me; 10 concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer; 11 concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.”

(John 16:8-11, ESV)

a. one of the reasons why unregenerate men hate the Confessing Church, and hate the preaching of the Gospel is because the Holy Spirit uses them to convict the lost of their sin and depravity

ILLUS.

Folks, you need to understand that the abortion debate in this nation is not about one political view verses another political view where the majority win the debate.

It is a battle between light and dark.

It is a battle between evil masquerading as good, and good being vilified as evil.

If you’re pro-life this morning, many in our culture will accuse you of being on the wrong side of history.

Just smile and say, “True, but I’m on the right side of eternity.”

1) the spirit of this world says “anything goes” and “nothing is a sin” whereas the Spirit of the Lord says “the soul that sins, it shall perish”

2) the rage you see in the pro-abortion supporters is due, in part, to the convicting power of the Holy Spirit who reveals the truth which is being rebelled against — In Romans 1 Paul writes that men are very good at suppressing the truth

ILLUS.

In his 1985 book The Holiness of God, R.C. Sproul writes that the Holy Spirit often uses the sanctified lives of the believer's life to make non-Christians uncomfortable.

Sproul then tells the story of a well-known professional golfer who was invited to play in a celebrity golf tournament.

His foursome included President Gerald Ford, fellow pro Jack Nicklaus, and Billy Graham.

After the round was over, one of the other golf pros in the tournament asked, "Hey, what was it like playing with the President and Billy Graham?"

The pro unleashed a torrent of profanities, and said with disgust, "I don't need Billy Graham stuffing religion down my throat!"

With that he headed for the practice tees.

His friend followed, and after the golfer had pounded out his fury on a bucket of golf balls, he asked, "Was Billy a little rough on you out there?"

The pro sighed and said with embarrassment, "No, he didn't even mention religion."

Sproul writes, "Astonishingly, Billy Graham had said nothing about God, Jesus, or religion, yet the pro stomped away after the game accusing Billy of trying to ram religion down his throat."

What had happened?

Simply this: The evangelist’s life reflected Christlikeness and the Holy Spirit used that to convict the conscience of the golfer.

5. 4th,the power of the Holy Spirit is witnessed when He regenerates a dead soul and gives new birth to a sinner

““Do not be amazed that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’

8 “The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit.””

(John 3:7–8, NASB95)

a. it is the Spirit who comes upon the lost sinner, opening his mind, softening his heart, and subduing his stubborn will to give the gifts of repentance and faith whereby the sinner comes to the Savior freely, and is made a new creation in Christ

b.

Jesus called this the new birth, and it is the powerful, supernatural work of the Holy Spirit because the unregenerate man is dead in trespasses and sin, and it is the Holy Spirit who gives spiritual life to the spiritually dead

1) it will also take the phenomenal cosmic power of the Holy Spirit to resurrect the physically dead at the end of the age ... but because the Holy Spirit is God He is up to the task!

C. THE HOLY SPIRIT IS THE PRESENCE OF GOD

1. having trouble wrapping your mind around the doctrine of the Trinity?

a. try wrapping your mind around this — God in you

“Jesus answered him, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.”

(John 14:23, ESV)

1) only Christianity teaches that God lives in us

ILLUS.

The Buddha does not claim to live in Buddhists.

Mohammad never claimed that he would dwell in the lives of those who practice Islam.

Neither Abraham or Moses enter into the lives of Jews.

Zhuang Zhou does not take up residence in Taoists.

But Jesus did say that he would send his spirit to live in us.

“And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, 17 even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him.

You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.”

(John 14:16–17, ESV)

2. what does the presence of the Holy Spirit accomplish in the believer’s life?

a. because of the Holy Spirit’s presence in God’s Elect, we will experience the Fruit of the Spirit — love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control