Ben Carbone: Do Not Quench the Spirit | 01:02:26

Good morning everyone.

>> How you all doing?

Enjoying the cool change. Got some sleep

last night. Yes, it's amazing. Just felt

like just with the sense of what's

happening in the meeting this morning

that I should just share the word right

now. um because it just flows with what

we've been talking about lately,

preparing ourselves for the year and and

getting ready for what God is doing and

drawing close to him. As you would be

aware, last Sunday we uh prayed for

Hamish as he starts his new role as the

youth pastor here at the church. And I

shared a scripture with him if you

remember, if you were here. If you

weren't, that's okay. But I shared a

scripture from 1 John 4:4. And this is

1 John 4:4

from the New Living Translation and it

says, "But you belong to God, my dear

children. You have already won a victory

over those people because the spirit who

lives in you is greater than the spirit

who lives in the world." Now what John

is doing, he's writing to the church at

that time and they were under a lot of

persecution. There was all sorts of

things happening in their world. They

were under the dominion of the Roman

Empire and there's a lot of pressures on

the church and he's reminding them

that the spirit in them and this is the

thing he's not talking about their

spirit like their ability to have spirit

and go and whatever he's talking about

the holy spirit in them is greater

than the spirit who lives in the world.

All those things that would try to

dominate and rule and and dominate our

minds, God's spirit in us is greater.

And this is the thing as I shared that

passage with Hamish,

the thing that's been crazy is it hasn't

left me all weak. And uh and I just felt

really strongly that it was more than

just something to encourage Hamish. So,

I believe it's something to encourage

all of us here in the church, especially

as we embark on 2026.

So, let's just pray and then we'll get

straight into his word.

Lord God, we thank you. We thank you of

your presence in this place

that you are here amongst us, but even

more importantly, you are in us.

I pray that as we share today, as I

share, that you would speak deeply into

our very being and bring change and

transformation in Jesus' name. Amen.

See, I believe God wants to remind us

that he has given us his Holy Spirit.

He's given us his Holy Spirit to help us

live the life

of a follower of Jesus.

As you all would know, but let's remind

ourselves of this is that when we the

Bible tells us that when we confess with

our mouths and believe in our heart that

Jesus is God,

says that we will be saved, that we will

become children of God. And what that

means that when we're saved is in that

moment when we declare that we want God

to sit on the throne of our lives and we

want him to be Lord and he is God and we

give him our lives. It says that the

spirit of God we receive the Holy Spirit

and that he comes and lives in us to

help us live as Jesus lived. Another way

the Bible describes this is that we are

the temple of the Holy Spirit.

God doesn't dwell in buildings anymore

or in tabernacles. He dwells in us.

And I believe God wants to remind us of

that this morning.

And as we embark on this year that we

carry the presence of God in us. In John

3, Jesus described this as being born

again. And he says in John 3:es 5-7 he

says very truly I tell you he's talking

to Nicodemus here no one can enter the

kingdom of God unless they are born of

water which we all have been and the

spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh but

the spirit gives birth to spirit. You

should not be surprised at my saying you

must be born again. This is God's

encouragement to us that we need to be

born again.

God's spirit connects with our spirit to

make us alive again in God to be a part

of his kingdom. There's many verses

where this is confirmed.

Romans 8:11 it says, "And if the spirit

Romans 8:11

of him who raised Christ from the dead

is living in you, he who was raised, he

who raised Christ from the dead will

also give life to your mortal bodies

because of his spirit who lives in you."

Did you hear that?

God's spirit lives in you.

Romans 8:15-16 says, "The spirit you

Romans 8:15–16

received does not make you slaves so

that you live in fear again. Rather, the

spirit you received when you became a

Christian brought you brought about your

adoption to sunship. And by him we cry,

Abba, Father, the Spirit himself

testifies with our spirit that we are

God's children."

Think about that for a moment. You and I

are God's children.

That means we receive

all the benefits of being God's

children. Anyone who's a parent here,

your children receive all the benefits

of being your children.

Think about that for a moment.

Maybe if you're not a parent, but you

think about to when you were living in

your parents' home and all the benefits

that came from living in your parents'

home.

Ephesians 1:3-13-14

Ephesians 1:3–13

says, "In him you also, when you heard

the word of truth, the gospel of your

salvation, and believed in him, were

sealed with the promised Holy Spirit,

who is the guarantee of our inheritance

until we acquire possession of it to the

praise of his glory." What does that

mean? It means if we're God's children,

we inherit everything God has for us.

One of those things is eternal life. But

even more than that, it's a relationship

with God and all the benefits that has.

In John 4:23-

John 4:23–24

24, Jesus is talking to the woman at the

well, and he says, "Yet a time is coming

and has now come when the true

worshippers will worship the father in

the spirit and in truth. For they are

the kind of worshippers the father

seeks. God is spirit, and his

worshippers must worship in spirit and

in truth." What that's telling us is God

no longer wants to dwell in buildings

or temples or altars. He wants to dwell

in us. We are his temple now and he

wants to dwell in us. Let's dig into

this a little bit deeper because in John

John 14:25–27

14 verse 25-27, Jesus explained that

once he died and went to be with the

father again, we don't need to be

troubled

because he would send a helper to

continue his legacy. Whoops, lost that

one. says, "All I have spoken while

still with you." All this I have spoken

while still with you. That's right,

Jackie. Finish that page.

And he says there 26, "But the advocate,

the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will

send in my name, will teach you all

things and will remind you of everything

I have said. Peace I leave with you. My

peace I give you. I do not give you as

the world gives. Do not let your hearts

be troubled and do not be afraid. And

then in John 16, a couple of chapters

later, he says these words,

"Nevertheless, I tell you the truth. It

is to your advantage that I go away. For

if I do not go go away, the helper will

not come to you. But if I go, I will

send him to you. And when he comes, he

will convict the world concerning sin

and righteousness and judgment. See, in

all these passages I've just shared, we

learn that the role of the Holy Spirit

is very, very clear.

He confirms who we are as children of

God. He It confirms that we have been

adopted into God's family. How good is

that, church?

>> Are you excited about that? That is

something to be excited about. But he

also convicts us of sin as Jesus says,

which is very interesting fact because

we like to convict other people of sin,

don't we? We like to tell them all the

things they're doing wrong. But the

Bible teaches us that it is the Holy

Spirit who truly convicts us of sin and

knows that reminds us of when we are

going the wrong direction.

He leads us into all truth. The Bible

teaches us. He leads us to what is true

and right. He leads us into how we

should live our life in his

righteousness. He leads us into the

truth that we know that everything I

have is only possible because of what

God has done for me. And it is God's

incredible gift to us. All I need to do

is come to him. and I receive all that

he has. The Holy Spirit also exists to

reveal Jesus to us. In that passage, in

the first passage, it says, "We'll teach

you all things and remind you of

everything I have said to you." One of

the roles of the Holy Spirit is to

reveal Jesus to us, to remind us of what

Jesus has taught us, to remind us of

what Jesus has given us.

Even this morning as as we were

worshiping, Linda came up and shared

something that came into her heart to

remind us that Jesus is our healer and

that in him we can find wholeness and

healing in every aspect of our life.

And finally, the Holy Spirit empowers us

to walk the Christian walk.

The names that Jesus gives the Holy

Spirit are names like comforter,

encourager,

advocate. What's an advocate? Someone

who stands by you and supports you

through all things that you're going

through.

And this is the incredible gift that God

has given us, his spirit in us. And I I

really sense that God wants to remind us

of this truth. We are not doing this on

our own.

God is with us. He is in us and he wants

to empower us. He wants to strengthen

us. But most importantly, he wants to

lead us.

Galatians 5 explains this how this

relationship with the Holy Spirit w

works. Says, "So I say, walk by the

spirit," talking about the Holy Spirit,

"and you will not gratify the desires of

the flesh. For the flesh desires what is

contrary to the spirit and the spirit

what is contrary to the flesh. They are

in conflict with each other so that you

are not to do whatever you want. But it

says then but if you are led by the

spirit you are not under the law.

Basically he's talking about the law

that the Jews were called to follow.

that no longer that when we choose to be

led by God's spirit

and we allow God's spirit to guide us

and lead us and we walk with the spirit

and by the spirit walk in step the

spirit we ask the holy spirit to lead us

and guide us and help us live this life

we don't come under any law then because

we are under the law of Christ and if we

are under the law of Christ then any law

of the land doesn't affect us. That

doesn't mean you go breaking the law

like start speeding down the road. No,

you obey the law because you know it's

the right thing to do because you're

allowing the Holy Spirit to lead and

guide guide you. You know that when you

think, "Oh, I'm going to lie to my

boss." No, I shouldn't lie to my boss

about why I took yesterday off.

But we live to learn in honesty and

openness. We come under his law. And if

you read on in Galatians 5, he says,

"The fruit of walking by the spirit is

love, joy, patience, kindness." You

remember them. Come back to Sunday

school. Goodness.

Oh, come on. Come on. Grace,

don't forget.

>> Gentle.

>> That's the best one. Self-control. Who

needs self-control?

If you want self-control,

you realize number one, first thing to

you need to realize is the Holy Spirit's

in you.

And then the next step is to say, "Holy

Spirit, lead me.

Holy Spirit, come and take control. Holy

Spirit, guide me where you want me to go

and make sure help me to not go where

you don't want me to go. give me

self-control to choose you be before

other things. You see this idea and it's

important for us to understand the Bible

teaches us that the Holy Spirit is a

person.

We are created in his image. So just

like we are people, he is a person like

we are a person. That doesn't mean he

has flesh and all of that. He but in his

nature he operates in the same way as

us.

So think about that means we can have a

relationship with him but to have a

relationship both sides have to give

don't they? And so the simple idea is

that

as I lay my life down and say God follow

lead me follow me he has done everything

to make that possible. You see, God has

done everything required for us to have

a relationship with him. Jesus came to

earth, died on a cross, and rose again

so that we could have a relationship

with God again. And so God has done

everything. And so now our

responsibility is to seek after him,

to desire him, to to ask him to lead the

way and show us where we should go.

There's a really interesting passage in

1 Thessalonians

um

5:17 and 19

which uh if we read it, it says,

"Rejoice always." Talking to us as

Christians, "Rejoice always. Pray

continually. Give thanks in all

circumstances." This is what it's

telling us to do. For this is God's will

for you in Christ Jesus.

Who wants to know God's will for your

life?

Here it is.

God wants you to rejoice

always. What's that mean? It means have

joy in your life. Be excited about your

life because why? Because you have the

Holy Spirit in you. Have joy in your

life because God has given you grace and

Jesus has come died on a cross so that

you don't have to face the penalty of

sin which is death. You can have eternal

life. Anyone excited about that?

>> Anyone happy?

>> Be excited that the fact rejoice always

because of what God has done for you.

This is what is Paul is encouraging the

church of his day to do. He says, "Pray

continually."

We'll talk about this a little bit more

in just a moment, but prayer is all

about

desiring and following after God, being

God conscious. How do you pray

continually? you if you think prayer is

just words then you can't pray

continually.

But if you understand prayer is an

attitude and a mindset and a God

consciousness

being aware of God in your life and

watching for God. You know, one of the

reasons I knew this God wanted me to

preach this sermon this week is because

early in the week, I was looking at my

verse of the day, and I'll share it a

little bit later, but it is exactly

about what I wanted to preach about

today. So, I was watchful and wanting to

know what God was saying and doing

because the Bible teaches us that God is

always at work. He is always working. He

is always moving. He's always acting.

We have to get in the position to be

watchful and ready. And that's what

praying continuously is all about. Being

watchful and ready to see what God is

doing. And then the last one is give

thanks in all circumstances, which is

basically the idea of keeping a grateful

heart no matter what is going on in your

life. That I have God with me. So

greater is he that is in me than

anything that the world can throw at me.

Isn't that right? But there's a really

interesting part because that's what

Paul is saying God's will is that we

live in this space in this attitude in

this mindset. But then he says these

really significant words straight after

this and do not quench the spirit

talking about the Holy Spirit. It's as

if Paul is reminding us that the only

way we can do God's will in our lives

is with the help of the Holy Spirit.

If you want to be able to

pray continuously, rejoice always, and

give thanks in all things, you need the

Holy Spirit to help you do that. So,

don't quench the Holy Spirit.

If you read it in the amplified, it says

these words, "Do not quench,

subdue, or be unresponsive to the

working and guidance of the Holy

Spirit."

Let's read that again. Do not quench,

subdue, or be responsive to the working

and guidance of the Holy Spirit. Now to

fully understand this text, as I read a

few commentaries, it talked about the

fact that we need to understand that

Paul is talking as a Jew in relation to

the law. A and the idea of the law and

sacrifices. And this idea of quenching a

fire because the Holy Spirit is

described as a fire can directly be

associated with a verse in Leviticus

concerning instructions they gave God

gave to priests about presenting

suitable sacrifices. It's in Leviticus

Leviticus 6:12–13

6:12-13.

And it says this,

"The fire on the altar, the altar that

they've brought their sacrifices to must

keep burning. It must not go out. Every

morning the priest is to add firewood

and arrange the burnt offering on the

fire and the and burn the fat of the

fellowship offerings on it. The fire

must keep burning, must be kept burning

on the altar continuously.

It must not go out.

Interestingly, Matt just shared before I

came up to preach that we are a

priesthood of believers.

So it's no longer the responsibility of

one person to keep the fire burning in

this church family.

It's each of our individual

responsibilities to keep the fire

burning in our heart. You see the fire

represents the Holy Spirit.

We have chosen and and declared that we

want the God to be Lord of our life. Now

it's our responsibility

to keep that fire burning.

You know, so often when I've read the

passage

uh in Thessalonians

that says, "Do not quench the Holy

Spirit." I've focused on the thought

that I must not do anything to pour

water

on the fire by committing sins and doing

things wrong.

But as I've understood that it's related

to this verse in Leviticus and that I

have a responsibility to keep the fire

of the Holy Spirit in my life burning,

I've come to understand that the biggest

threat to that fire in my life is not

the sin in my life. It's actually

inattention.

We go trying to work on getting rid of

sin in our life so much as we can

that we forget to actually go to the

Holy Spirit to help us with it.

Or we get distracted by everything

that's going on in our world and then

all of a sudden we find things going on

in our life and things going wrong and

things going difficult.

It's because we've failed to pay

attention

to the fire that is within us.

We've gotten distracted by the things

around us. We've gotten distracted

distracted by the size of our bills.

We've gotten distracted by that habit

that doesn't seem to want to break, that

we can't get loose of. And so we get

trying to work on ways to get rid of

that. And we fail

to go to the one who can actually set us

free from the habit by paying attention

to the fire of the Holy Spirit within

us.

Are you hearing what I'm saying, church?

When I'm not paying attention to the

Holy Spirit in my life, that is when I'm

more likely to fall into problems and

traps and even sins that so easily

entangle.

Those things that would quench his

influence on my life. That's why

Galatians 5 is so important. When we

walk with the spirit, when we walk by

the spirit, when we make this walking

with God our first and most important

priority, as Emily shared last week,

that's what sets us free

from things that hold us in bondage.

God will lead us to where we need to go.

God will guide us to those things that

need to be dealt with. But we must pay

attention to this fire that is within

us.

We must not we must do everything we can

to not let it go out.

So you may ask, well, so how do I pay

attention? I want to share with you just

two very simple things in closing. And I

in in a little while when I preach

again, I'll I'll go into them a bit more

deeply. But I just want to leave it at

this space right now. Introduce them to

them to you because it's something that

I learned when I was very young as a

Christian. And the the reason I learned

it was because of the house I lived in

and the example my mom showed me as she

raised us as kids. But the first thing

that is absolutely critical is prayer.

Your prayer life is vital.

And now, and as I said earlier, this is

not about

words. I've shared this before and I'll

share it again. The most common word for

prayer in the New Testament is pro. The

Greek word prose. It is actually the

same word that is used for this passage

where it says pray continuously.

This is the word that it use. And the

word simply means by definition a

fervent desire to draw near as you would

in an intimate relationship or a vowed

relationship.

We are in a vowed relationship with God.

A covenant relationship it's called

where he has paid the price for us to

have a relationship with him.

And this is the most critical aspect of

this type of prayer is a fervent desire

to draw near to God.

This is the critical part. This this

starts before any words are spoken. It's

a an an understanding and a knowledge

that everything I need to survive and

live this life is found in God. So my

desire is to include him in everything I

do in my life.

This is the type of prayer I'm talking

about.

It's not bringing your shopping list of

what I need today. It's God, I'm

starting today. I'm getting out of bed

and I cannot get out of bed unless I

know you're with me.

>> You're with me. I know you're with me.

You're in me. Help me be aware of you in

everything I do. Help me be watchful of

you. Help lead me to where I should go

and don't lead me anywhere I shouldn't

go. My life is in your hands.

That's how we pay attention to the fire

that's in us. That's how we stop it

going out. Being watchful to see and

conscious of what God is doing. And the

second part is simply to obey what he is

asking us to do. Prayer and obedience.

Prayer and obedience. You know, one of

the other roles I said earlier, one of

the roles of the Holy Spirit is to equip

us and enable us, empower us to do

the Christian life. And the Bible, I'll

talk about this more later, but the

Bible teaches us that he gives gifts,

the gifts of the spirit. It's what Linda

did this morning. She gave a gift, a a

word of encouragement to us to to seek

God, to see healing in our lives.

And this is the thing that in the Holy

Spirit, he has all these things that he

wants to impart to us and give to us.

But if we're not putting ourselves in a

position where we can

receive them, then we'll never know the

benefit of those.

But the the incredible thing, great

example, Linda this morning coming up to

share that that would have taken a lot

of guts and bravery to do that. But it

ultimately she knew she needed to be

obedient to what God was showing her.

And that's that's one example. But

that's that's our example in life. So

tomorrow when you get up and go to work,

you say, "Holy Spirit, I put my life in

your hands. I lead I I know you are

within me and you lead me and guide me.

Help me to w be watchful and knowing

what you want me to do."

And then your boss gives you a hard time

at work, then the challenge is how do I

respond?

Do I get angry? Do I get mad? Maybe.

Maybe you do. But at the end of the day,

you go, well, God talks to us in the

Bible about the fact that we are to obey

our bosses and to live at peace with

them and and to do what they ask us to

do. So, I will do as long as it's

nothing contrary to God, I would do what

they're asking me to do with a a good

heart.

Sure, they might have said it to me in

the wrong way, but I'll still choose to

honor God by the way I respond. That's

obedience.

This is the obedience that Jesus

demonstrated to us when he walked this

earth. He said, "I will do nothing other

than what I see the father doing."

And this is our challenge, church. I'll

finish

with this passage which says it really

well in Ephesians 4:30. And do not bring

Ephesians 4:30

sorrow to God's Holy Spirit by the way

you live. Remember, he has identified

you as his own. Guarantee you will be

saved on the day of redemption.

So is what did I say earlier? The Holy

Spirit is a person.

So guess what? We can bring sorrow to

the Holy Spirit. Another translation

says, "Do not grieve the Holy Spirit.

He has feelings."

And so do not bring sorrow to the Holy

Spirit by the way you live. And then

further on it says, "Get rid of all

bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words,

and slander, as well as all types of

evil behavior. Instead, be kind to each

other, tender-hearted, forgiving one

another, just as God through Christ has

forgiven you."

Very simple illustration of obedience.

What's our

our act of obedience?

Steer clear of rage. Steer clear of

anger. Steer clear of harsh words. Steer

clear of slander as well as any kind of

evil behavior. This is this is but

remember you'll never be able to do that

without the Holy Spirit's help. So how

do you get the Holy Spirit's help? By

keeping the fire burning

by being conscious of him. Prayer and

obedience.

Prayer. So when you pray and you draw

near to him, he's going to lead you and

guide you. There's going to be things

that come across your path that you then

need to choose to obey.

This is our challenge for the year,

church, and beyond that. But we have the

Holy Spirit in us. So, let's be aware of

him by drawing near to him, by paying

attention to him. And then when he

guides us and leads us, let's be

obedient to all that he asks of us. And

that's in the things that he asks us to

do, but also in the things that he asks

us not to do. This is our challenge.

Let's pay attention to the fire that God

has given us. Let's keep it burning.

Let's do all that it takes to keep it

burning.

I want to share with you just in closing

the scripture that God gave me this week

to confirm that I should preach this

message. And it's actually in the Old

Testament.

It's not in the New Testament. It's in

the Old Testament. So it's that idea

that God was speaking long before

he came to become one of us and to be a

part of us. Long before he saved us and

redeemed us, he was speaking into this

space to let us know this is what my

plan is for you.

And we're going to close with this in

Psalm 143:10. David,

Psalms 143:10

David,

King David, someone who was well aware

of the lack of his humanness and to what

happens when you don't pay attention to

the fire. We know the story of King

David that when he was not paying

attention to the fire, when he should

have been out on the battlefield, he was

home, he fell into sin, committed

adultery. that then led to murder.

So he knows full well what happens when

you don't pay attention to that fire. He

wrote these words. Teach me to do your

will for you are my God.

First step, God, you are God. I am your

creation.

I am your child. Teach me your ways.

And then he says these words, "May your

gracious spirit lead me forward on firm

footing."

Let's close our eyes

for a moment and just reflect on what

that's saying.

Think about what it's saying to you.

Teach me to do your will, for you are my

God. This morning, right now, may be an

opportunity for you to declare in your

prayer right now to declare, "God, I put

you back on the throne of my life. I've

let things distract me and get caught up

in stuff that's going on in my life, and

I've forgotten that you've given me your

Holy Spirit. I've forgotten that you are

God, and I am your creation. So I I

acknowledge you again aresh that you are

God of my life.

And then the second prayer is our

invitation to him.

May your gracious spirit lead me forward

on firm footing.

So right now it may be your opportunity

to say, "Holy Spirit, lead me.

Lead me where you want me to go. Help

me find firm ground.

I know I can't do it in my own strength.

I need your help. So I ask you for help

right now. So right now in this place,

just ask him. Ask him to lead you.

Commit to walking with him.

This is our prayer this morning, Lord. A

reminder

to not quench the spirit in our lives

by inattention.

But God, we put our full attention on

you now and commit to keep our eyes

fixed on you.

to pray continuously by always desiring

and wanting your will in our lives, not

our own.

Holy Spirit, come and renew the fire

within each of us.

Rekindle the flame.

Let your wind

blow on it and cause it to rise up like

never before in our lives.

in Jesus name. Amen.