Don’t Quench The Spirit
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1 Thessalonians 5:16-22
Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. Do not quench the Spirit. Do not treat prophecies with contempt but test them all; hold on to what is good, reject every kind of evil.
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This Sunday, Pastor John continued our sermon series in First Thessalonians. This series is about how the Thessalonian church practiced their faith while under intense persecution by their community.
John said, “As a believer, you decide to allow or stop the Holy Spirit’s activity in your life.”
The Holy Spirit is who draws us to Jesus.He also illuminates Scripture (‘illuminate’ just means He shows us how to properly apply it). The Holy Spirit is to be the provider of the filter we use to discern correct, good prophecy from incorrect and misleading prophecy. The filter we use, that’s powered by the Holy Spirit, is Scripture.
“If Scripture says something is sin, our opinion doesn't matter.”
We must practice the 4 R's that John talked about:
-Recognize the Holy Spirit's power
-Repent for when we've quenched the Spirit
-Ask the Father to re-fill us with the Spirit
-Ask Jesus to remind us daily to invite the Spirit empower us
SPIRITUAL PRACTICES
Read Scripture:
Read: Romans Chapter 8.
How would your life look if you lived powered by the Holy Spirit?
Memorize Scripture:
Together we are memorizing 1 Thessalonians 5:8
Here are a few wallpapers for this series.
Here's a helpful guide we put together for memorizing Scripture: https://faithe.org/memorize/
DISCUSSION GUIDE
Questions:
1) What is one word or phrase that they Holy Spirit highlighted for you during this teaching? Why?
Journal your thoughts and/or share this with someone else.
2) When is the last time you quenched the Holy Spirit?
Confess this to God. Ask for forgiveness. Ask God to remind you to live life powered by His Spirit.
3) “Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances”, these three attributes are to be a common and constant part of a believer’s life. Examine your day, were they a constant part of your life? Commit to doing these three things more and more. They are God’s will (His plan) for your life.
Prayer:
God, forgive me for not relying on you, not trusting you. Help me to live with the reality of your presence always before me. You guide me. You empower me. Apart from you I can do nothing. Help me make joy, prayer, and gratitude a regular part of my life.
Amen.
