19 Quench not the Spirit.

20 Despise not prophesyings.

21 Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.

I Thessalonians 5:19-21 (KJV)

Without getting too technical, the Greek verbs in verses 19 and 20 are not merely warnings against some possible future action, but are commands to stop doing something that has already begun. The verbs in verse 21 should be understood as indicating continuous action. Kenneth S. Wuest renders these verses as follows:

“Stop stifling and suppressing the Spirit. Stop counting as nothing divine revelations given in the local assembly by the one who receives them, but be putting all things to the test for the purpose of approving them, and finding that they meet the requirements, put your approval upon them.”

You see, there was a temptation then, even as there is today, for pastors and local church leadership to stifle and suppress the manifestations of the Holy Spirit in the assembly of the saints. Admittedly, in some circles, the precious manifestation gifts of the Holy Spirit have been misused and even abused by those who were simply ignorant of their proper operation, or who desired to “prostitute” them for the purposes of control, manipulation or financial gain. Evidently there were abuses in the first-century Church as well, and some in leadership at Thessalonica felt it would make things “easier” to simply “shut-down” certain operations of the Spirit altogether. Paul exhorts the Church to not fall into the trap of merely doing what is “comfortable” or “convenient.” While we must operate spiritually according to Scriptural “order,” and while abuses must be addressed and corrected, we cannot afford to “legislate away” the supernatural demonstrations of the Holy Spirit because they sometimes appear “messy.” We must not, as one preacher cautioned, “throw out the baby with the bath water.” Remember that Proverbs 14:4 says, “Where no oxen are, the crib is clean: but much increase is by the strength of the ox.” The only way to be sure you will never have to clean up “ox poop” is to simply refuse to have an ox. Yet, there is much increase and blessing, in an agrarian society, from owning and maintaining an ox. Likewise, certain aspects of “revival,” especially if the Holy Spirit is moving in multi-faceted ways, are often “messy.” Yet, we cannot, we MUST not become so comfortable in our own human imposed “order” that we neglect Scriptural “order,” which allows for dynamic manifestations of the Holy Spirit. I don’t know about you, but I absolutely cannot do without the Power and Presence of the Holy Ghost! And if that means that I must occasionally clean up somebody’s “mess,” then so be it! In the long run, it is most definitely worth it where God’s Kingdom Purpose is concerned.

In these articles, I will be dealing with the public manifestation of Gifts of the Holy Spirit and how to “pastor” them in the context of the local church. Although I certainly do not know it all, and there are many other great resources on the topic I could recommend as well, I have been involved in Pentecostal/Charismatic ministry for well over three decades, most of that time as pastor of a local congregation. Perhaps I have learned a little something that might be of help to some other pastor somewhere who desires a greater flow of the Holy Spirit in his or her worship gatherings.

Let me encourage you to continue to hunger and thirst for God’s Manifested Presence. Stay firmly within the parameters of Scripture, and be open to everything that the Holy Spirit might want to do in your midst. Be Blessed!