Quench not the Holy Spirit

Based on Thomas Boston’s sermon on 1 Thessalonians 5:19, with modernized language and spiritual application by Pastor Peter

Thirdly, Once the Holy  Spirit is quenched, we can’t just start it up again ourselves. We don’t control the Spirit—it comes and goes as it wills, like the wind, and we can’t command it. If we had started the fire (like lighting a campfire with a match), then we could also restart it if it went out. That would mean spiritual fire was under human control. 

But this fire — the fire of the Holy Spirit — is “from heaven.” It doesn’t come from us. Since we don’t hold the match, we cannot spark it on our own. It’s entirely a gift from God.  If someone refuses to sail when the wind and tide are in their favor, they’ll be stuck waiting—maybe forever. 

One of the most sobering parts of the command, ‘Do not quench the Spirit,’ is this: we cannot create the fire, yet tragically, we can extinguish it. We cannot open the door to the Holy Spirit, yet we can shut it. 

To grasp this sobering truth, think about how it works in ordinary life. When you invite someone to do something important and they keep ignoring you, how many times do you keep asking? Most of us don’t try endlessly. In some cultures, maybe you extend the invitation two or three times—but not more. And here in America, if someone says “no” once, people usually stop pressing altogether. 

If we, as imperfect people, eventually stop urging someone who refuses to respond, should we be surprised that God also sets limits? His Spirit will not always keep striving with us. That’s why we cannot keep putting Him off, thinking there will always be another chance. 

We should be aware of the truth that we are not the initiators of spiritual awakening—God is. The Holy Spirit is believed to move freely and sovereignly; we don’t summon or control it. Like a wind (cf. John 3:8: "The wind blows where it wills..."), the Spirit comes unbidden and according to divine timing. We cannot force, manipulate, or manufacture true spiritual experience or transformation. 

There are many who speak foolishly and presume upon God’s mercy, saying they will turn to Christ with full repentance a few months before they die. But what ground have they for such confidence? What assurance do they have that the Holy Spirit will be present then to awaken them, when they have long resisted Him? Do they not understand that the Spirit remembers every time He has already stirred their conscience, pressed them with holy convictions, and kindled desires for repentance — only to be ignored, resisted, or extinguished? To presume He will come at the end, when all His earlier motions were despised, is to mock His grace. Remember the apostle’s solemn warning: “Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts, as in the rebellion” (Heb. 3:15). The Holy Spirit’s slightest operation is a mercy not to be trifled with; to neglect it is to risk being left to hardness of heart when the hour of death comes. 

Finally, when we put out the fire of the Spirit, we open the door to another fire—a destructive one that consumes the soul. In the Christian life there is no such thing as maintaining neutral ground; you are always moving one way or the other. 

Thus when we quench the fire of the Holy Spirit, we make way for another fire—one that destroys the soul. This is the fire of our own corruption. When the Holy Spirit left king Saul, he turned to the devil. Some people only sink to the deepest level of sin  after the Spirit has stirred them—and they’ve shut Him out. As Jesus said, when an unclean spirit leaves someone, it wanders, looking for rest. If it finds none, it returns to the person it left—now spiritually empty and vulnerable—and brings back seven even worse spirits. The person ends up in a far worse state than before. Luke 11:24–26 

“When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, but finds none. Then it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when it comes, it finds the house empty, swept, and put in order. Then it goes and brings with it seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and dwell there, and the last state of that person is worse than the first. So also will it be with this evil generation”. 

This isn't just inner ruin. It's also the fire of God’s judgment from the outside. As Scripture says, they rebelled and grieved His Holy Spirit, so He turned against them and fought them. In resisting the Holy Spirit, people make themselves enemies of God—challenging the One who is a consuming fire. 

Let me show how the Holy Spirit can be quenched in your own soul. There are many ways this can happen, and you must be on guard against them all. I’ll touch on just a few key points. 

1. By lack of watchfulness. 

That is why Scripture exhorts us: “Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die.” Rev. 3:2. The risen Christ gave this rebuke to the church in Sardis, whose spiritual life was almost snuffed out. 

The holy fire will go out if it is not carefully tended. A careless spirit quickly leads to an empty soul. If we remember that our hearts are like damp wood—poor at holding fire—and that temptations fall on us like constant rain, it becomes clear that the flame cannot be kept alive unless we stay watchful. 

2. Neglect Quenches the Spirit. 

The heart, once touched by God, is like an old watch—without regular winding, it stops. Spiritually, the same is true. Reading the Bible once a week can’t replace five minutes daily. Add five minutes of prayer, and you’ll feel the change. These small daily moments feed the flame of the Spirit. Without them, that flame may fade, and rekindling it becomes hard. 

If we stop feeding our spirits through God-given practices, how can we expect to grow? Even a day without prayer can quench the Spirit. A single act of neglect can open the door for spiritual coldness to creep in. 

3. To resist or ignore the holy stirrings awakened by the Spirit in the heart is to grieve Him and to hinder His gracious operation.  King David understood this well. That’s why he responded, “When You said, ‘Seek my face,’ my heart said to You, ‘Your face, Lord, I will seek’” (Psalm 27:8). 

It is dangerous to remain idle when the Lord is secretly stirring the soul to act.  

Psalm 27:8 speaks directly to the danger of resisting or ignoring the Spirit’s stirrings. Let’s connect it carefully. 

God calls: “Seek my face.”  David responds immediately and inwardly: “Your face, LORD, I will seek.”    This is an example of not resisting, but yielding to the Spirit’s holy stirring. 

1)The Spirit’s Stirrings:  When you suddenly feel a nudge in your heart to pray, to read the Bible, to turn from sin, or to draw near to God, that’s the Spirit gently whispering inside you: “Come closer to Me. Look for Me. Seek Me.”  These are gentle but holy motions of grace, often quiet, sometimes fleeting. 

2)The Danger of Resisting or Ignoring the Spirit: Resisting the Spirit is feeling His pull but turning away—choosing distraction over obedience. Ignoring Him is sensing His nudge but doing nothing. Both smother the flame within. That’s what it means to quench the Spirit (1 Thess. 5:19). 

3)David’s Example,’ “When You said, ‘Seek my face,’ my heart said to You, ‘Your face, Lord, I will seek’”. David shows us the better way. Instead of ignoring or pushing away God’s call, he answers right away: “Yes, Lord, I’m seeking You.” His example teaches that when the Spirit nudges your heart, the best response is to act at once in obedience. 

Thus to delay obedience while the Holy Spirit is urging us forward is risky. Many have suffered for this very thing. They refused to move when wind and tide were in their favor, and later, when they wanted to go, the wind no longer served. The Spirit of the Lord, like a guest kept waiting too long at the door, is grieved and departs—so that when at last the door is opened, He is no longer there.  

Lastly, holding on to even one cherished sin or hidden lust will quench the Spirit. Scripture says, “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me.[Ps 66:18-WeathSpoon]” . Samson lost his strength and the Lord’s presence while he rested in Delilah’s lap. A fly circling a candle will eventually burn its wings. In the same way, clinging to one unmortified idol[lust] often builds a wall of separation between the soul and God. 

In today’s industrial and suburban world, comfort, consumerism, and so-called “respectable” sins are treated as normal. Let me talk about the phrase, ‘respectable sins”. 

“Respectable sins” is a phrase used to describe sins that people tolerate, excuse, or overlook because they seem minor, socially acceptable, or less scandalous than “big” sins. These are things like comfort-seeking, materialism, selfishness, envy, gossip, pride, or lack of self-control may not shock anyone, but they still dishonor God. They are “respectable” in the sense that people don’t see them as very serious, or they even appear acceptable in polite society. 

Many Christians live with a divided faith—faithful at church on Sunday, but during the week quietly bowing to idols of money, entertainment, or career. We often excuse it by pointing to the busyness of life: “I have to pay the mortgage, pick up the kids, finish the project—just trying to survive financially.” And in that mindset, those so-called “respectable sins” get buried, ignored, and eventually accepted as just part of the culture. 

You remember the well-known saying about the faithfulness of Christ—“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” One of the hardest realities in dealing with the God of Christianity is His absolute holiness. That holiness does not bend to our excuses. We may be tempted to justify what people call “respectable sins,” but let us pause and ask instead: What does the Holy God say about them? Will He excuse them because in our time housing costs are soaring, because we must labor endlessly to provide for our families, or because we happen to live in an industrialized generation? Will He lower the bar to His kingdom for our situation? The answer is clear—His holiness does not change. 

But in our generation when someone preaches about wholehearted devotion, it often feels tough for people to hear—it goes directly against the modern assumption that God is okay with divided hearts.  But the biblical witness is consistent: God calls for the whole heart (Deut. 6:5; James 4:4–8). ‘You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.’ 

II. Understand how we can tend, nourish, and keep alive this holy fire. 

1. Be diligent in duties: -Stick with your responsibilities and give them your best effort.  What is our chief duty each day? Of course, you might think of many outward responsibilities—whether as a student, a researcher, or a parent. But have you considered your inward duty toward God the Father and your Redeemer, Christ? Is God truly alive and real? If you answer yes, then your daily duty is plain: you must speak with Him. This is what Scripture and the church have long called communion with God. 

The Puritan divine John Owen wrote extensively on this very theme in his classic work, Communion with God. In it, he unfolds the believer’s fellowship with each Person of the Trinity: communion with the Father, communion with the Son, and communion with the Holy Spirit. 

So, what is your daily calling? It’s to have communion with God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. How do you do that? Through prayer and meditation. 

In prayer, you come before the living God and speak with Him. This is the core of the Christian life—not cold, empty religion, but real fellowship with a living God. You’re alive. He’s alive. So your relationship with Him must be alive—active, personal, ongoing.  This kind of communion isn’t about Bible knowledge or outward performance. It’s about your soul connecting deeply with the living God within you. That takes real faith—faith that God is truly alive and present. 

And this isn’t optional. It’s your daily duty. No matter the cost, no matter what it takes, you must learn to commune with your God—because this is what life in Christ truly is. 

And yet, how often do we neglect this? Not because we lack time, but because, at root, we lack faith. We struggle to commune with God because our hearts are weighed down and occupied with the things of this world. 

Let me close today’s sermon with this final thought. 

“Do not quench the Holy Spirit. Do not grieve the Holy Spirit”. These commands exist for a reason—because believers do quench and grieve Him. 

We need to fully believe that the Holy Spirit enters our inner being, deposits something of His will, and stirs us to respond or act according to what He desires. Scripture backs this up, showing that such experiences have happened throughout Christian history. And it makes sense—because the Holy Spirit is a Person, fully God, with the power to enter and move in anyone, especially His children. 

That’s why we need to develop a faith that can recognize and discern the inner stirrings of the Spirit. Just like in the days of the Apostle Paul—and still today—believers often get distracted from the Spirit’s inner leading and instead follow their own thoughts and assumptions. 

Sometimes you'll hear a Christian say, “I truly believe this is God’s will. I know He’s pleased with what I’m doing.” At that point, there’s little you can say, because that person is fully convinced. Hopefully, they are following God’s will. But in reality, there’s a long history—even now—of people doing damage in the name of God, convinced they’re serving Him, while actually acting in ways that harm others. And all of it done with firm faith that they’re doing what God wants. 

There are many sincer Christians who are familar with the warnigns of Holy Spiri,t ‘ do not quecnth the Spirit, do not greive the Sorit, but they do still quench the Spirit and grieve the Spirit.  What do you think this strange thing happen?  It is simple reason for that. The main reason is that they’re caught up in their own desires. When the heart is preoccupied with personal wants, it's hard to notice—let alone respond to—the inner prompting of the Spirit. 

That’s why Jesus gave such a direct and uncompromising command to anyone who wants to follow Him: self-denial is essential to truly hear and respond to the Holy Spirit. He said, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.” 

What’s the point of the Holy Spirit continuously stirring your heart with His will, if your heart is already filled with desires that oppose Him? Imagine the path your life takes when you consistently follow your own thoughts instead of the Spirit’s leading. It’s a dangerous road—and eventually, it leads to spiritual ruin. 

Since Jesus tied self-denial to true discipleship—and true salvation—it means we must regularly train our minds to reject whatever is occupying our hearts that resists God’s will. We need to make space for the Holy Spirit’s impulses. That’s how we avoid quenching Him. 

Friends, the Holy Spirit is alive. He moves in ways we can’t predict or fully understand—like the wind: invisible, without form, hard to grasp. But just because it’s hard doesn’t mean we can ignore it. If we lose sight of His movement, we risk everything. Staying attentive to Him is not optional—it’s how we survive spiritually. Amen.  

Youtube link:https://youtu.be/37zO0th3BiA