Word of Salvation – Vol. 30 No. 18 – May 1985

 

Firefighters

 

Sermon by Rev. P. H. Pellicaan on 1Thess.5:19

P.H. 83:1,2,3,4 (to tune 479)

Confession of sin (If used for morning worship) H.116:2

Declaration of grace: Ps.65:1-4

Ps. 116:3 (Bow)

Law: 1Thess. 5:1-24

H.801:1,2,3 (Bow)

Prayer

H.10 (Bow)

Scripture reading: 1Cor.12:1-12

 

Brothers & Sisters in Christ,

When the Holy Spirit dwells in us, sanctifying us, we become a new person.  He overpowers us and as a result we move in a different direction.  We turn our back on many things we used to like, and receive a new vision of things we never looked at before.

But that does not mean that we lose our responsibility.  Scripture speaks about the irresistible working of the Holy Spirit, and yet maintains equally strongly that we are called to liberty.  So we read for instance that the Spirit testifies with our spirit that we are children of God.  And the Spirit and the Bride say: “Come, Lord Jesus”.  There is a vital contact between the Holy Spirit and our personality, but the two have to be distinguished.  We are not going to offer an explanation for that.  How could we?  The work of the Spirit is always a mystery, a miracle.

Our text stresses the fact that we keep our personal responsibility in relation to the Holy Spirit.  We can obstruct the Holy Spirit, we can grieve Him, we can lie to Him, we can even quench Him, as our text reads literally.  It’s a disturbing word.  Of course if can’t refer to the person of the Holy Spirit.  Who could quench Him?  The New International Version translates: “Do not put out the fire of the Spirit”.  It is more an explanation than a translation, but it gives a good explanation.  When we speak of quenching, or putting out, we have the image of fire, of a flame.  In Scripture there is very often a connection between fire and the Holy Spirit.  One of the signs of it appeared on the disciples on the day of Pentecost was something like a flame.  When the fire of the Holy Spirit illumines us it dispels the darkness, it warms and activates us.  It sets us aflame.  Moreover: fire cleanses, purifies, as gold is purified in a melting-pot.  The Holy Spirit is burning in us, burning away what is sinful.  He so purifies us that one day we will be presented as a bride without spot or wrinkle.  About that work of the Spirit our text is speaking.

One more introductory remark we have to make: there are certain workings of the Holy Spirit that cannot be stopped, or put out.  His saving work is irresistible.  When the Holy Spirit gives us faith, that faith will stay.  It may sometimes be at a low ebb, it may even seem to have vanished completely, but it will always be revived.  We believe in the perseverance of the saints, which is not based on the faithfulness of the believers, but on the indestructible work of the Spirit.  Scripture is very clear on this point: God’s calling and His election are without repentance; that means that God will not change His mind about it.  And that narrows the field of the Spirit’s work our text speaks about.  The Spirit gives faith, but apart from that He gives many other gifts.  The book of the Acts is full of it; so are the epistles of Paul.  Not every believer shared in these gifts in the same measure.  They were wonderful and there was a great variety of them.  It is Paul’s concern in our text that we do not put out the fire of the Spirit.

Immediately after this word we read: “Do not treat prophecies with contempt”, which was one of the special gifts.  Apart from prophecy there was the gift of tongues, of explanation, of wisdom, knowledge, healing and so on.  Paul deals with these gifts in the first epistle to the Corinthians.

But whereas he warns in that epistle against an over-estimation of the gifts, in our text he does the opposite: “Do not quench them”, do not extinguish them.

So there were two extremes.  There was a danger in Corinth that the gifts were treasured above everything else.  If people had some gift, they became proud and boasted about it.  They looked down on anyone who did not have such gifts.  People without “extra’s” were regarded as second class Christians.

But in Thessalonica we find the other extreme: they were sceptical, critical as far as these gifts were concerned.  They may have called specially gifted church members: over-spiritual.  It was something that was frowned upon.  They wanted to be sensible and sober and disliked anything that was extra-ordinary.

Over against these people Paul has a different approach: the Thessalonians were over-doing what Paul had recommended to the Corinthians.  They put the value of spiritual gifts too low; if they had any value at all.  They looked upon them in a disapproving way and discouraged every manifestation of them.  “Be careful”, Paul said, “it is so easily done: to quench the Spirit, to put out its fire.”  You can kill enthusiasm, spontaneity, every expression of exuberant joy by raising your eyebrows or by shrugging your shoulders.  That will have the effect of cold water coming down on people who feel that they must in one way or another show their love, their happiness, their trust.  It will kill their spontaneity very effectively.  You can do that in the church by little indications, just by looking, by smiling, by questioning.  If you do that, do you realize what you are doing?

You quench the Spirit!

One sarcastic remark can spoil the atmosphere in a meeting, or after church in your living-room.

That which can make church life so warm, vibrant and joyful can wither and die under a cold stare.

That is what Paul means and we have to learn a lot from this word.

I don’t believe that we are in great danger to fall in the extreme of the Corinthians.  We are not known for our warm spirituality, our vital witness, for exclamations of joy, for public expressions of love to the Lord or to one another.  I do not say that these things are non-existent in our church, but they don’t come in the open as rule.  We are too ‘sober-minded’ for that.  Yes, that’s a nice way to say it.  You could also say: we are too cold, too intellectual too dogmatic.

The danger of the attitude of the Thessalonians is very much present with us!

Where is the fire of the Spirit?

There are many things we insist on in our church life.

We want order; we want the reformed traditions maintained, especially the purity of doctrine.  We are prepared to support the church financially, we give generously for mission and world diaconate.  We like solid instruction.  And that’s fine.  We have no quarrel with all that.  Neither you can be sure of that – would Paul.

BUT IS THAT ALL?

Is that everything you can say about the church?

WHERE IS THE FIRE?

We agree that we should not try to artificially revive all the gifts that occurred in the early church.  In that kind of “revival” a heavy and nearly exclusive emphasis is laid on the one gift of glossolalia, the speaking in tongues, a gift which Paul puts at the bottom of the list when he mentions all the gifts.  THAT manifestation ceased when the New Testament was written, when the church had settled down having received the foundation of the apostles in their writings.

But that did not mean that after that there was no fire left in the early Church!  If there is none left, then the church is dead!

A church can be very orthodox and as dead as a nail at the same time.

Where the Holy Spirit is, there is fire, activity, warmth, zeal, joy, peace, love, assurance of faith, spontaneous witness, a cheerful giving account of the hope that is in us.  Joyful singing (not only in the church), bursts of prayer.

That is the beauty, the light-giving splendour of the Christian Church where the Spirit is not quenched, where the fire has not been put out.  It is lighting up in the night of this world.

Often we are concerned and even worried that our church has no outreach.  How come that sects make converts and we – with such a wonderful message – go unnoticed.  You can’t blame the Holy Spirit for that.  He is willing, even eager to give His gifts and to give them liberally, to set us aflame, to set the whole church aflame.

About the early church we read that they had favour with all the people.  They were noticed!  People envied them.

The Spirit is still with us, and the gifts are there.  So what is the reason that we are so cold, so un-envied, so un-noticed?

It could be that we are scared of the gifts.

We are afraid to seem silly.  The Spirit wants to bring fire in the church, in your personal life, but we have our fire-extinguishers at hand to put the fire out as soon as it appears.  We have, by manner of speaking, a lightning-conductor on top of our church so it cannot be set afire.

There is the story of a stranger who attended a Reformed Church service.  The message given was beautiful, so at one time he could not restrain himself and called out: “Praise the Lord!”, when a Reformed brother tapped him on the shoulder and said: “We don’t do that in this church.”

And why would we be scared of that fire?  Well, one silly reason is as good as another.  We may be too fond of our rest and tranquillity.  If you admit the Holy Spirit into your life you may no longer be able to sit home all night, lazing around.  You may not be able to maintain your attitude of neutrality in your dealing with your colleagues and workmates:

The Holy Spirit may urge you to make it up with people you are in trouble with.  Of course: you are in the right and the other is in the wrong, but that does not matter.  In any case the Spirit wants you to be humble about it.

But what if you don’t want that?  That means that you refuse Him, quench Him, grieve Him.  He is with us in order to GIVE.  He wants to give to everybody.  Not all will receive the same gift, but no one will be passed by.  There IS power, and it is supposed to be at work in you.  And what are you doing with it?  Do you leave it un-used?  Then the Spirit is grieved and may withdraw His gifts altogether.  Then you will become poorer and poorer.  Then there is no joy anymore in churchgoing.  Your prayer becomes a daily obligation, till it stops completely.  Your witness is silenced.  Your gifts are given grudgingly.

And even that is not all.

You can quench the Spirit in yourself, but also in others.  And again: it is so easy.  If people want to talk to you about their faith, or about the gospel, just change the subject.  That’s all!  On a home visit you can steer the elders away from personal contact.  You CAN do that!  If your children have problems, worries, just tell them: “I have no time now”.  They may never come back.  Do you know how you can put out the fire of the Spirit?  Be dogmatic, hack your opponent to pieces.  Never tell him of your joy, your love for Christ.

This seems to be a rather negative text.  But it isn’t.  It is part of the epistle to the Thessalonians.  A letter that deals with the second coming of Christ.  To expect Him joyfully we need the Holy Spirit who will pray in us and with us: “Come, Lord Jesus”.  The Spirit will not rest till every knee shall bow and every tongue confess.

We are expected to long for that day and to work toward it.  But then we should let the fire of the Spirit burn in us and in our church.  To use an expression of our Heidelberg Catechism: we let the Spirit work in us.  Then our hearts will be flooded by love.  Love for God, and love for our neighbours.  And you won’t look silly if you joyfully witness, if you sing with gladness, if you speak to your neighbour to bring him to Christ.

That is what the Spirit will do in you.

There is a wonderful promise of the Saviour, in John 14.  He said to His disciples: “Anyone who has faith in Me will do what I have been doing.  He will do even greater things.”

If only the fire of the Spirit is not put out!

Amen.

Payer and thanksgiving.

Congr. singing Ps.H.278.