DO THIS! (PART 10)

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Do not quench the Spirit.

1 Thessalonians 5:19

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

How do you feel every day to be alive in the Lord?

I pray that each day is one filled with joy and excitement, one that leads to an evident enthusiasm that others can see in the way you live and interact with them and others.

Those who choose to live this way have often been labeled as being “on fire” for the Lord and when we look to the scriptures, we see how this “fire” is produced by the Holy Spirit welling up inside the believer. Consider these passages:

You may remember that John the Baptist was talking to his followers about baptism and said this:

“I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me comes one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.” Matthew 3:11

Of course, John was referring to Jesus here but note how a Christian is baptized by the Holy Spirit and fire when they choose to believe in Jesus as Savior.

Before He ascended, Jesus commanded His disciples to go into Jerusalem and refrain from beginning the ministry He called them to until they received the Holy Spirit. When that happened on the day we refer to as Pentecost, here’s what happened:

When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. Acts 2:1-4

On that amazing day, Jesus’ disciples were baptized with fire and the Holy Spirit. And empowered by this, Peter stands with his fellow disciples and addresses the crowd with the good news of the Gospel. On fire with the Holy Spirit, Peter’s words led to 3,000 people believing in Jesus and finding salvation (Acts 2:14-41).

What a way to kick off Jesus’ Great Commission!

Friends, the good news for us today is that we have also been baptized by fire and the Holy Spirit by believing in Jesus. We all have the same power and potential within us as Peter...and I place an emphasis on potential.

I say this because I am afraid today that too many Christians hold back the fire of the Holy Spirit that is within them. Perhaps they allow worldly things to hold a greater priority but no matter the reason, most believers underachieve in their Gospel sharing responsibilities and this isn’t just a modern day problem.

For as we look at the tenth “Do This!” command in this continuing series, we find five words regarding how we are to treat our special Holy Spirit baptism:

Do not quench the Spirit. 1 Thessalonians 5:19

Now, this is the NIV translation of this verse and we can get a deeper understanding of what the Lord is telling us to do by looking at other renderings of this same verse. When we do, here’s what we find:

Do not stifle the Holy Spirit. NLT, HCSB

Don't turn away God's Spirit. CEV

Do not restrain the Holy Spirit. GNT

Don’t suppress the Spirit. The Voice

The Bible may tell you to contain and control certain negative behaviors like lust or anger or misusing the tongue but here we find there are to be no restrictions on allowing the Holy Spirit to dictate all that we do as Christians. And perhaps the other nine “Do This” commands could be better fulfilled by simply adhering to this tenth one.

Friends, the Lord has placed His Spirit within you and He wants you to allow it to run free every day that He blesses you with. It’s the only way that we can ensure that everything we do is in step with His will and way and word.

So don’t quench the Holy Spirit within you and, like Peter and the other disciples, you might be left amazed by the results.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to Gods4all@aol.com