Saying NO


Paul is closing out his letter to the church in Thessalonica, leaving them this "Do not quench the Spirit."

‭‭1 Thessalonians‬ ‭5:19‬ ‭ESV‬

To quench something is to put it out in a deliberate way. Paul uses the image of a fire, "Do not quench the fire of the Spirit in your lives"; in your coming together as a church, do not quench the Spirit; amid persecution and suffering, don't put out that fire, keep it burning.

There are several ways you can put out a fire, one by loads of water poured over it or just letting it die out by not adding fuel. 

So how do we quench the Spirit in our lives? Again like a fire in any number of ways. It can be an unconfessed sin in our lives, a critical spirit, or how we treat someone wrong and refuse to put all those things right. I believe a big one we so often overlook is that of saying NO to God.  
How does this work? Maybe God prompted you to do something, go somewhere, and you said, "Not now, maybe later, that's for someone else; it wasn't the right time or place". 
I've seen the thing as a follower of Jesus over the years. Jesus not only says, "follow me", but he also has a way of placing us in situations and places where we feel out of our depth and have a sense of inadequacy. Why? To take us to a new level of trust and dependence in Him and stretch us.  

I'm reminded of the worship song Oceans when it says 

"You call me out upon the waters

The great unknown where feet may fail

And there I find You in the mystery

In oceans deep

My faith will stand"

As someone who likes to be in a level of control, the unknown frightens me, but it's there oceans deep He is with us.
Jesus asked Peter three times, Do you love me? Do you really love me? Peter, how much do you really love me? Peter got the point. If that love for Jesus is there, the answer every time is like Isaiah's "Here am I Lord" or Samuel's "speak Lord for your servant hears". There is nowhere He can not take you if that love for him is there. He will take you beyond what you can imagine if you lay it down on the altar again and say, "Yes, Lord, as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord". 

Draw that line in the sand today.  
"Do not quench the Spirit." 

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