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1 Thessalonians 5:19 “Quench not the Spirit.” (KJV, ASV)
“Do not quench the Spirit.” (NKJV, NASB, RSV)
“Do not smother the Holy Spirit.” (TLB)
“Do not put out the Spirit’s fire.” (NIV)
The image I get when you use the word “quench” is like the photo you see above. I have worked out in enough heat to know what it means to really be thirsty when I came inside. As a teenage cross country runner, I remember many times after a good three or five mile run, coming inside the house, standing directly over the air conditioning register in the kitchen and drinking some of mom’s ice cold tea that seemed to always be over-saturated with lots of sugar. Now, that was quenching!
Now, imagine the scene two thousand years ago where the Holy Spirit fell on hundreds with the power of Pentecost, causing some to speak with foreign tongues, and visually seeing the evidence of the presence of the Holy Spirit like tongues of fire sitting on the heads of the apostles. If you have ever had that experience, you know that the last thing you want to happen is for someone to quench that thirst. Now, imagine the scribes and Pharisees running around with bottles of water like the one you see above, dousing out as many of those tongues of fire as they could get to. The Apostle Peter would surely tell them, “Don’t do that! Don’t quench that Spirit. Don’t put out the Spirit’s fire.”
As seemingly far-fetched as that example might seem, it isn’t beyond our imagination to remember a time in our past where the enthusiasm of a new thing that the Holy Spirit might be doing among our teens might have been easily “smothered” because it was too far “out of place” for the decorum of the church environment.
Here’s another example. At my age, I don’t really care for the recent wave of Praise and Worship songs the church has latched onto. They tend to be pretty narrow in doctrine, the range of music tends to be out of reach of most, the sound board guy always has a terrible balance between the voices and the instruments and the overall level of volume is high enough that it registers on the decibel meter on my cell phone as “very dangerous.”
I have led P&W myself and this isn’t the way it should be done. I know the leaders are being blessed, but if you look around among the congregation, no one else is. And worst of all, they never ask me to help lead any more. Come on, Holy Spirit, why can’t you move among us like you used to?
If I really asked the Lord why His Spirit isn’t moving among our midst, I’m afraid He might point to me and say, “You are quenching it!” Like the doctor to whom we explain that it hurts when we “do this”, Jesus might also tell us, “then, don’t do that!”
Simply, do not quench the Spirit. And, notice that the reference here isn’t just the spirit of enthusiasm, the spirit of the gathering, the excitement of the crowd. The reference here is our ability to actually quench Him, the Holy Spirit Himself in what He is trying to do. Imagine how we might feel if it actually was revealed to us that the reason someone did not come to give their life to the Lord was because the action of our smothering His work in their hearts kept them from Him!
We really need to be careful when we start telling everyone to curb their enthusiasm. We need to let the Lord tell us when our attitudes become too overwhelming that even He cannot do what He wants to do in our midst.
In Mark 10:13, “They brought young children to Him, that He might touch them; but the disciples rebuked those who brought them. But when Jesus saw it, He was greatly displeased and said to them, ‘Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God. Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it.’ And He took them up in His arms, put His hands on them, and blessed them.”
Be careful saint. I know you have been around a long time and I know things don’t always go the way you like them to go. But the Spirit moves in many different ways. And if we aren’t careful, we can not only grumble and complain about what we don’t like, but we can actually hinder and restrain the Lord and what He wants to do among us and maybe even what He wants to do for us personally.
Don’t do that! Don’t quench the Spirit. We probably don’t know everything He wants to do all the time. Maybe the better approach would be to watch, listen, see beyond the immediate surface appearance of what seems to be going on and adjust our spiritual eyes so we can see what He really is trying to do. He might actually be trying to do something in or for me! Don’t smother that. Don’t put that fire out, even if it only comes across as a little ember. Don’t quench the Spirit.
Questions to ponder: The illustration used here was our corporate meetings together as the body of Christ. Are there other areas where we can quench the Spirit? How would you like to see worship go? What songs do you miss singing? Why does loud volumed music offend you or hurt your ears? When was the last time you actually examined the words of music that you don’t like to see what we are actually singing? Take some time to read about the history of the church and how singing/hymns/music has evolved through the centuries. How much of our praise and worship should be a reflection of our culture? Is there one specific, proper method of worshiping in spirit and truth? How will we worship in heaven?
Other texts/Scriptures to examine on the topic: Isaiah 63:10, “…they rebelled and vexed his Holy Spirit.”; Eph 4:30, “…and grieve not the Holy Spirit.”; Eph 6:16, “…wherewith you shall be able to quench the fiery darts of the wicked.”; Mark 10:13, “…receive the kingdom of God as a little child…”; 1 Thess 5:21, “Prove all things…”
A song to remember: Just one more verse of me singing: Quench not the Spirit:
http://www.daveweb1a.com/hide/Quench.m4a
 
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