Don’t Put Out The Spirit’s Fire!

Quench not the Spirit.
— 1 Thessalonians 5:19

Have you ever sensed the Holy Spirit leading you to do something, but because of fear you were afraid to do it? Even though you were sure it was God’s Spirit who was speaking to you, did you grit your teeth, dig in your heels, and decide that you would not do what He was leading you to do or say?

If the answer is yes, it’s time for you to stop doing that! The Holy Spirit is trying to use you to help someone or to accomplish some feat according to His plans and purposes. Don’t let the devil or a spirit of fear talk you out of experiencing the joy of being used by the Holy Spirit. This is exactly why Paul admonished us, “Quench not the Spirit” (1 Thessalonians 5:19).

The word “quench” in this verse is taken from the Greek word sbennumi. The word sbennumi means to extinguish, smother, suppress, douse, put out, snuff out, or to quell. It most often means to extinguish a fire by dousing it with water. In some places, it means to evaporate or to dry up.

There’s no doubt about what Paul is trying to tell us. If we ignore the Holy Spirit’s voice long enough and often enough, eventually we will become spiritually hardened and will no longer be able to hear Him when He does try to speak to us. It will be like His voice evaporates or dries up, and we will hear it no more.

You need to know that your own actions, fears, insecurities, and disobedience to the voice of the Holy Spirit can thwart the plan of God for your life! The Holy Spirit is willing and ready to give you a divine assignment, but you hinder His wonderful plans by ignoring and denying His right to use you time and time again.

If you’ve ever seen a campfire, you know that its flames can burn very bright and hot. But what happens if someone keeps throwing water on the coals? Initially it will only dampen the heat of the flames. But if the person continues to throw water on the flames, eventually that water will quench, smother, or put out the fire altogether.

Has the Holy Spirit been speaking to your heart, tenderly directing you to do something? Have you obeyed Him and done what He has prompted you to do — or have you turned a deaf ear to His voice? Let me encourage you:

• Don’t ignore the Holy Spirit’s leading!
• Don’t disregard His voice!
• Don’t close your ears when He is speaking to you!
• Don’t pass up an opportunity for the Holy Spirit to use you!
• Don’t avoid moments when God wants to pour His power through you! Don’t throw water on the flames until you quench the Spirit!

Instead of continually shutting your ears to the Holy Spirit’s voice and dousing the flames of the Spirit in your heart, it’s time for you to say, “Yes, Lord, I’ll do what You say. I’ll go where You send me. I’ll obey what You tell me to do!” When you adopt this attitude, you start putting fuel back on the fire again! Every time you say, “Yes, Lord,” and follow through with obedience, you stoke the coals and cause the Holy Spirit’s fire to burn more brightly in your life.

The primary reason we don’t obey the prompting of the Holy Spirit is that we are afraid of what may or may not happen if we step out in faith to do what He has asked us to do. But we need to learn to trust the Holy Spirit. He will never lead us to do something that is wrong or harmful; He will never fail us or let us down.
     
Determine in your heart today to obey whatever the Spirit of God tells you to do. As you stay true to that decision, you’ll see God do marvelous things through you. He will use you to set people free from whatever holds them in bondage — all because you determined to do what the Holy Spirit led you to do!

Lord, help me to quickly obey when the Spirit of God prompts me to do something. The last thing I want to do is throw water on the flames of the Spirit in my heart. Forgive me for suffocating the life of the Holy Spirit in me by refusing to do what He tells me to do. From this point onward, I make the choice to quickly obey, but I need Your strength to do this. So today I am asking You to fill me anew with brand-new courage to step out in faith, to quickly obey, and to leave the results with You!

I pray this in Jesus’ name!

I confess that I am quick to obey the voice of the Holy Spirit. When He tugs at my heart, pointing me in a specific direction or leading me to minister to a certain person, I do not hold back, hesitate, or resist. Instead, I say, “Lord, I’ll do whatever You want me to do!” I then step out in faith and watch as His power is demonstrated to me and through me!

I declare this by faith in Jesus’ name!

1. Can you think of a time when the Spirit of God prompted you to do something, but you dug in your heels and refused to do it?
2. How did you feel afterwards, knowing that you had resisted the voice of the Holy Spirit?
3. How will you respond the next time the Holy Spirit tells you to do something?

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. . . Source: Sparkling Gems From The Greek Vol. 1: 365 Greek Word Studies For Every Day Of The Year To Sharpen Your Understanding Of God's Word | Rick Renner