Rancho Bernardo Community Presbyterian Church

Eph 4:14-16, 1 Thess. 5:16-22

Lt. Col. Jeff Patton flew an F-15 in Desert Storm. On the first night of the war, flying in total darkness, his jet was "locked on" by Iraqi surface-to-air missile radar. He had to violently maneuver his aircraft in order to evade the missile. By the time he broke away from the radar, his inner ear was out of balance. His instruments indicated that he was in a dive toward the ground but his feelings told him he was in a climb. While his mind told him to correct the plane one direction, his instruments told him to do the exact opposite. He decided to trust his instruments and pulled the wings up, narrowly escaping a crash into a mountain. If he had delayed a few more seconds he would have been killed. I want to amend something I said in the first message about the Holy Spirit. I explained that the Holy Spirit is not an impersonal force, like the one that guides Luke Skywalker when he piloted his aircraft in the Star Wars movie. We do not use the Holy Spirit as Luke used the force. In fact, I encouraged us to move away from impersonal images and use language that reminds us that we are in a relationship with the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is a person, not simply a force.

But there are times when it is helpful to use images other than personality and relationships to describe the Holy Spirit. The power of other images is that they allow us to recognize some specific aspect of God's character. For instance, we could say that the Holy Spirit is like a pilot's navigational equipment. This reminds us that when there is a conflict between our inner feelings and the voice of the Holy Spirit, we must learn to trust God's voice, even over our feelings.

It sounds easy to teach a pilot that the instruments are more accurate than the internal feelings. Yet, even after extensive training in the use of navigational equipment, it can be difficult to trust the instruments when everything inside is screaming to do the opposite. In fact, the sad truth is that most of us either have never taken the time to learn the guidance system of the Holy Spirit or have refused to heed the navigational guidance of God. Since our feelings tend so strongly in a different direction, we decide that the Holy Spirit must be wrong.

Last week we recalled that our feelings can be undependable. We may know what the Bible clearly declares as true and yet feel that we are the exception to the rule. To quote Debbie Boone's popular song from some years ago, "It can't be wrong when it feels so right." Yes, it is still wrong even though it feels right.

Whenever we choose to go with our feelings against the voice of God, we are doing something that the Bible calls, "quenching the Holy Spirit" (1 Thessalonians 5:19). The Holy Spirit is compared here to a fire that can be extinguished. How is the Holy Spirit like a fire in our lives?

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise the words of prophets, but test everything; hold fast to what is good; abstain from every form of evil.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-22

A fire was burning out of control in the forest. It was time for some select firefighters to parachute to the edge of the blaze. The firefighter jumped from the plane and counted the correct number of seconds, then pulled his ripcord. Nothing happened. He began to panic, then remembered the back-up ripcord. He pulled it, but still nothing happened. He was falling faster and faster toward the ground when an astonishing thing happened.

To his amazement the firefighter saw a man coming in the air toward him. The other man was not falling but was rising from the ground. The two were going to pass each other in the air. As they drew near, the firefighter called out to the other man, "Do you know how to open a parachute?" The other man, flying from the ground into the air called back, "No! Do you know how to light a gas stove?"

Fire can destroy. It is dangerous when blazing out of control. It can be explosive and burn a house down. Yet, as dangerous as it is, fire is a wonderful tool. We cook and sterilize with fire. We enjoy its warmth in the winter months. Fire, when properly respected and cared for, brings great blessing. However, the flame must be nurtured and protected or it can flicker and go out. We can fan the flame or quench the fire.

How do we extinguish the Holy Spirit? The same way we quench any flame. Putting out any fire basically comes down to the removal of one of the key ingredients necessary for a flame. Whether we remove the fuel or the oxygen, the flame will die. How do we do this with the Holy Spirit?

Noel Borja would have become the Philippines' youngest multi-millionaire. He was the heir to his grandfather's fortune. However, he missed inheriting the $116 million. How did it happen?

When Noel Borja moved from his place in Manila he forgot to fill out the forwarding address information. Without a forwarding address the authorities were unable to locate him in time for the inheritance. By the time he learned what had happened and appealed to the court it was too late. His own negligence was to blame for missing the blessing.

Could it be that we neglect the little daily disciplines that keep us in touch with God? We wonder why God isn't talking with us, yet our Bible sits dusty on the shelf. We feel as though God is distant, but we haven't prayed in days. We get out of the habit of weekly worship so that a month goes by or a year. Neglecting the ordinary disciplines of Christianity can extinguish the Spirit.

Anne Graham Lotz, Billy Graham's daughter, wrote a book about knowing God and finding meaning in our lives. In the prologue she discusses the importance of a relationship with the Holy Spirit. She asks her reader this question; "Do you have a screen-door relationship with the Holy Spirit?"

She proceeds to explain that some people never enter fully into a relationship with the Holy Spirit because they never let the Holy Spirit through the front door. A "screen-door relationship with the Holy Spirit" is like the relationship we have with some neighbors. We visit with them through the screen door. We like them enough to be friendly. We talk about common interests. We may exchange a laugh or a recipe, but we never invite them into the house. She writes this penetrating question, have we kept the Holy Spirit "standing outside your life because you have been unwilling to repent of your sin and have never invited Him to come inside?"

Paul warns us to not extinguish the Spirit. His context was a discussion about the church. Is it possible that an entire congregation could extinguish the Spirit in their midst? How does a church quench the Spirit?

Jim Cymbala pastors a dynamic congregation in Brooklyn. The Brooklyn Tabernacle has seen explosive growth over the last twenty years. One of the things I find intriguing about their success is what he does when new members join the church. Along with the traditional charges given to new members Jim adds comments to this effect. If any of the new members hears an unkind word criticizing someone else in the church they are to immediately take the critic by the hand and direct that person to speak face-to-face to the other person. Whether it is a criticism of an usher or pastor, choir member or money counter, there is no room for backbiting among God's people.

Why does he do this? Let me quote his reasons, "I know what most easily destroys churches. It is not crack cocaine. It is not government oppression. It is not even lack of funds. Rather, it is gossip and slander that grieves the Holy Spirit."

Notice the biblical language used by Pastor Jim Cymbala. He speaks of grieving the Holy Spirit. "Do not grieve the Holy Spirit" (Ephesians 4:30). Here we are back to personality and relationship language again.

Paul wrote the letter of 1 Thessalonians early in his ministry, ten years before he wrote the letter to the Ephesians. In Ephesians we read the language of grieving in place of the Thessalonians reference to extinguishing. What is the difference between extinguishing the Spirit and grieving the Spirit?

A plane's guidance system does not grieve when ignored. Grieving is not something that a flame of fire does. Grief is the response of a personality that can feel. Only someone who loves can grieve. We can hurt the feelings of the Holy Spirit.

Paul is talking about a relationship that is intended to be loving and kind but sometimes can be hurtful. How did Paul move from flames to love? Love is often described with the imagery of flames. In wedding ceremonies many couples light a unity candle to symbolize their new relationship. Candlelight is considered romantic Why is candlelight considered romantic? I think it is because love, like a flame, is very fragile. Just as a flame is tenuous and can be extinguished, so love is delicate and easily wounded.

This is what we mean when we say that we can grieve the Holy Spirit. We are trying to describe the amazing risk God takes by inviting us into a relationship of intimacy and love. God asks to enter our hearts and whisper loving words to us. However, God takes the risk that we will turn away. God risks feeling hurt. We can do worse than quench the Spirit: we can grieve the Holy Spirit.

This is where the impersonal image of a plane's navigation equipment fails to communicate the full truth about God's Spirit. The Holy Spirit loves us. However, there is another sense in which the navigational instruments differ from the Holy Spirit. The pilot's instruments simply state what is true and lets us decide what to do with the information. The options are all or nothing. Right or wrong. If we choose to disobey the instruments, the pieces of the plane are cleaned up later and someone checks the black box to see what happened. It is do or die. People who disregard the instrument panel end up in a pine box.

God's Spirit is not like this. The Spirit speaks to us, lets us choose, and then responds to our choices. When we refuse to listen, we can wound the Holy Spirit, but there is still room for reconciliation. When we have quenched the flame of love, we can re-ignite it. In other words, our God is a God of second chances.

Have we wounded the Holy Spirit? Do we need to apologize for something we have or have not done that hurt our relationship? I am reminded of the old Cherokee grandfather who was explaining to his grandson about life. "My son," he said, "the battle in each person is really the battle between two wolves. One wolf is evil. It is greed and jealousy, arrogance and guilt, resentment and anger. The other wolf is good. It is joy, love, peace, patience, kindness and self-control." The old man waited for his grandson to consider the implications.

After a few moments, the boy asked, "Which wolf wins?"

The grandfather responded, "The one you feed."

Are we feeding our relationship with the Holy Spirit?

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

What is the biggest challenge to you in establishing a daily time with God? What strategy could address that?

What area of your life would you like to "screen" off from God?

How does the image of a flame inform you about the Holy Spirit?

What is the greatest impediment for you in growing in your relationship with God?