Do Not Quench the Holy Spirit!

One of the favorite tactics of the enemy of our souls is to get a minority group in the Church to abuse the ministry of the Holy Spirit so that the majority will refuse His work out of fear of excesses. If there is a single word for us as a local church it is, “Don’t be afraid of the Holy Spirit!” The blessed Heavenly Paraclete, the Comforter – the precious heavenly Guest, who makes our hearts His home, loves us so tenderly, cares for us so personally, works in us so patiently, and longs to work through us so powerfully – requires us to be ever so sensitive to his usually still small voice; ever so willing to obey, even when it may make us look foolish. Failure to do so results in a quenching of the Holy Spirit’s purposes and a grieving of His heart.

What Does it Mean to Quench the Spirit?

The idea behind the meaning of the word is to put out the fire. The Berkeley’s translation reads, “Don’t extinguish the Spirit’s fire.” The NIV says, “Do not put out the Spirit’s fire”.   

There is the old story of a church building that caught on fire and everyone was rushing to the church to help put the fire out, even the town atheist. The pastor said to him, "I have never seen you at church before." The atheist replied, "Preacher, I have never seen the church on fire before."

Fire is one of the most frequent biblical images for God’s presence with his people. The connection is made in such passages as Exodus 3:1-5 (Moses and the burning bush), Exodus 13:21 (the pillar of fire), Leviticus 9:24 (fire from the Lord consuming the burnt offering), I Kings 18:24 ("The god who answers by fire—he is God."), Isaiah 6:1-8 (coals of fire from the altar in heaven), Matthew 3:11 ("He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire."), Acts 2:3 ("They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire.") and Hebrews 12:29 ("Our God is a consuming fire.").

Fire represents several things with reference to the Holy Spirit. First, it represents God’s presence with His people. Second, it represents God’s protection of His people. Third, it represents God’s cleansing of His people. Fourth, it represents God’s judgment of His people. Fifth, it represents God’s divine enablement of His people. Sixth, it represents God’s gracious activity in the assembly of His people.

The Holy Spirit is a divine Person who takes up residence in the heart of every person who receives Christ, and His primary role is to ignite within our hearts love for God, zeal to be like Christ, and power to do His will. Therefore, the Christian life is not about self-generating these things; it is about not quenching the Spirit’s “fire.”

John Wesley said, "Catch on fire with enthusiasm and people will come for miles to watch you burn." The disciples said after spending time with Jesus, "Did not our hearts burn within us" (Luke 24:32).

We are told in Hebrews 12:29, that our “God is a consuming fire.” John the Baptist said that Jesus would baptize with the Holy Spirit and with fire. On the day of Pentecost, one of the signs of the Spirit’s presence was cloven tongues of fire. Christianity is a religion of fire. The baptism of the Spirit at Pentecost charged, saturated and enveloped the 120 disciples in the fire of the Holy Spirit. The passion of God possessed them with the intensity of fire. They became burning and shining lights. Samuel Chadwick said, “They were as intense as they were breezy, as fiery as they were jubilant, as impassioned as they were daring. They  receive, realize and reproduce the heart, mind and life of Christ.”

We often use the expression "being on fire for God." Believers need a holy fire burning in their hearts. However, the fire that I speak of is not worked up enthusiasm. It is a fire created in our heart by the Holy Spirit.

How do We Quench or Put Out the Fire of the Holy Spirit?

1. By Despising Prophecies – 1 Thess. 5:20-21 –

Professor Kenneth Wuest translates 5:20-21 as saying, “Stop stifling and suppressing the Spirit. Stop counting as nothing divine revelations given in the local assembly by the one who receives them, but be putting all things to the test for the purpose of approving them, and finding that they meet the requirements, put your approval upon them.”

“Here’s an amazing reality, God has granted to Christians the ability either to restrict or release what the Spirit does in the life of the local church. The Spirit comes to us as a fire, either to be fanned into full flame and given the freedom to accomplish his will, or to be doused and extinguished by the water of human fear, control, and flawed theology.

“The Holy Spirit wants to intensify the heat of his presence among us, to inflame our hearts and fill us with the warmth of his indwelling power. And Paul’s exhortation is a warning to all of us lest we become part of the contemporary bucket brigade that stands ready to douse his activity with the water of legalism, fear, and a flawed theology that, without biblical warrant, claims that his gifts have ceased and been withdrawn” (Sam Storms).

What is meant by “prophecies”? A “prophecy” is not primarily a prediction of the future, but rather a message from God that has pointed personal relevance and application.

One of the clearest definitions of prophesying is given in 1Cors. 14:3 : "He who prophesies speaks edification and exhortation and comfort to men." It seems likely that prophecies were spontaneous utterances in the gatherings of the congregation in which the Holy Spirit was regarded as addressing the believers through the one speaking. The emphasis was not upon prophecy in the sense of predicting the future, but rather in the sense of a word of exhortation or encouragement.

No matter how badly people may have abused the gift of prophecy, it is disobedient to Scripture - in other words, a sin - to despise prophetic utterances. God commands us not to treat prophecy with contempt, as if it were unimportant.

Rather than quenching the Holy Spirit by despising prophetic utterances, Paul tells us in 5:21 to “test everything” - meaning examine or judge all prophecies. Paul doesn’t correct the abuse of this gift by commanding disuse (as is the practice of many today). His remedy is biblically informed discernment and only “holding fast what is good” (5:21). Such discernment should be applied to all spiritual gifts.

One other thought about prophecies: we are not to be indifferent about this gift of the Spirit and its use. Paul commanded in 1Cors. 14:1, “Pursue love, and earnestly desire the spiritual gifts, especially that you may prophesy.”

We quench the Holy Spirit:

2. By Attempting to Substitute the Water of Church Activity for the Fuel of Holy Spirit Ministry.  When you remove the fuel the fire goes out.

By attempting to contain the Spirit’s work within the old wineskins of past experiences: Trying to explain, contain, and maintain the Spirit’s work. He is neither tameable nor explainable.

Sam Storms notes how so much of our praying today reflects an "old wineskin" attitude: "Sadly, we pray, “Come Holy Spirit ... but only if you promise in advance to do things the way we have always done them in our church. 

Or we pray, “Come Holy Spirit ... but only if I have some sort of prior guarantee that when you show up you won’t embarrass me.”

Or again, we pray, “Come Holy Spirit ... but only if your work of revival is one that I can still control, one that preserves intact the traditions with which I am comfortable.”

“Come Holy Spirit ... but only if your work of revival is neat and tidy and dignified and understandable and above all else socially acceptable.”

“Come Holy Spirit ... but only if you plan to change others; only if you make them to be like me; only if you convict their hearts so they will live and dress and talk like I do.”

“Come Holy Spirit ... but only if you let us preserve our distinctives and retain our differences from others whom we find offensive.” 

Typical phrases that reveal a church's attempts at containing the Spirit's work in the old wineskins of past experiences sound like this:

1. We’ve never done it that way before.
2. We’re not ready for that.
3. We’re doing alright without it.
4. We tried that once before.
5. That’s not our responsibility.
6. It costs too much.
7. It just won’t work.

The largest wineskins have names: "Traditionalism, ritualism, sentimentalism, denominationalism."

In Jesus' day, the Pharisees were the "old wineskin" traditionalists who had attempted to box God into acting and working by their perverted additions and dilutions of His Word.

It’s so easy to get in a comfortable groove, but grooves often lead to graves!

We quench the Holy Spirit:

3. By Stiff-arming the Spirit’s Promptings Because it Involves Risk!

It may involve the risk of embarrassment because of looking foolish or failing, the risk of rejection, the risk of being inconvenienced.

The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of love. He is regularly urging us to move closer to God’s love, and to extend God’s love to others. He will prompt us to take specific steps in this direction. But His promptings often feel scary because they run contrary to our self-centered and/or self-protective inclinations.

For example, the Holy Spirit urges me to speak up about my faith to someone who doesn’t know Christ, but I feel afraid of their criticism or rejection.

The Holy Spirit urges me to confess a sin to someone, but I feel afraid of embarrassment or being judged.

The Holy Spirit urges me to make a change of ministry, of jobs, of locations, etc.

The Holy Spirit urges me to address a problem with someone close to me, but I feel afraid of not knowing what to do if they react poorly or unexpectedly.

The Holy Spirit urges me to lay hands on the sick, to confront demons in someone, to prophecy, etc.

We quench the Holy Spirit:

4. By Mocking Genuine Enthusiasm for God.

2 Samuel 6:12-23 narrates a chilling example of this. King David and the people of Israel are bringing back the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem. The ark of the covenant represented God’s presence and faithfulness, so David was so filled with gladness that he broke out in a dance. 2 Sam. 6:14, “And David danced before the LORD with all his might. And David was wearing a linen ephod.”

In 2 Sam. 6:16, we are told that his wife, Michal, looked through a window and saw him dressed in an ephod, acting in a manner which she considered unworthy of a king. When he returned home, she falsely accused him of indecently dancing in public. ("Uncovering" in verse 20 must be understood in the light of verse 14.) He answered that his dancing was an expression of his joy in the Lord and intimated that he did not intend to stifle his enthusiasm for the things of God. He would let himself be even more despised by men and humble in his own sight, but he would be held in honor by the "slave girls" Michal had spoken of. Because of her critical attitude, Michal suffered the reproach of bearing no children to the day of her death. This is a needed reminder that a critical spirit stifles fruitfulness.

We are guilty of quenching the Holy Spirit whenever we suppress or legislate against or instill fear in the hearts of people regarding the legitimate experience of heart-felt emotions and affections in worship.

John Piper said that “quenching the Spirit means shutting down your emotions when joyful, spiritual expressions are called for. Ephesians 5:18-19, ‘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.’” Piper went on to say, “the vibrant fullness of the Spirit overflows in appropriate expressions like singing and making melody from the heart to the Lord. And if you don’t like those expressions and you resist it, fold your arms - ‘I am not going to do that sort of thing; I am not going to sing’ - you are quenching the Holy Spirit.”

No one wants emotion for its own sake. But when the Spirit ignites our passion for the Son of God and fills us with joy inexpressible and full of glory, it is hard to sit quietly and feel nothing. To do so, I suggest, may at times be a way in which the Spirit is being quenched. To that end, may I simply remind you that Jesus himself is described as having “rejoiced in the Holy Spirit” (Luke 10:21).

We quench the Holy Spirit:

5. By Neglecting the Gifts of the Spirit and Rejecting the Manifestations of the Spirit. 2 Tim 1:6-7

“For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands, for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.” 

Some of the purposes of the manifestations of the Spirit: (1) To demonstrate His power through signs and wonders; (2) to deepen experiential intimacy with God; (3) to deliver from inner and demonic bondages; (4) to disclose future plans.

"The miracle of Pentecost kindled the fires of Christ's soul in the souls of men. They receive, realize, and reproduce His mind, His heart, His life. His zeal becomes the all-pervasive character of their lives. They manifest His fervent devotion to the will of the Father, His holy passion for reality and righteousness, His consuming zeal for the salvation of the lost. It kindles a fervent devotion to God, a passion for righteousness, and a consuming desire to seek and save the lost. Religion at flame-heat illumines the mind, energizes every faculty, and impassions every element of compassion. Fire does not mean rant, or noise, or ruthless self-will. It acts differently on different material and in different people, but in all it burns, kindles, and glows. It is religion at white-heat" (Samuel Chadwick.

One final thought - although we may effectively put a fire out by dousing it, we cannot make it burn again simply by stopping pouring water on it. We must re-light it! Likewise, when the Holy Spirit has been quenched, His flame stifled, suppressed, suffocated, it is beyond our control to undo the damage and re-light the fire again.

We must cry out: O Lord please light the fire, that once burned bright and clear, replace the lamp of thy first love that burns with holy fear.