The Gifts of the Spirit - Part 3: Quenching the Holy Spirit

REVIEW
So, let’s quickly recap what we have covered thus far. We have spent the first couple of weeks in this series laying a foundation that will, prayerfully, lead us into more of the manifestation of the gifts of the Holy Spirit.
In part one of this series, we looked at the fact that they are called “gifts” for a reason—and that is because they are not earned or to be worked for. Yes, they are gifts of God’s grace in our lives—meaning, they don’t come as a result of works, but by His grace. Therefore, we learned that if the Holy Spirit lives within us, then all of the gifts He provides are already inside of us as well. Amen. So, we need to stop trying to get something that God has already given us. That’s right: we already have the gifts! They are already in us! We have “charisma!” 
Then last week, in part two of this series, we learned what our responsibility is, if we already have the gifts inside of us.  We looked at the Great Commission where the Lord told us to— “Go, therefore, … into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature!” We saw from this that it is not a question of if we should go somewhere and minister to someone; it’s a matter of how we should do it. In other words, since we have all been commissioned to go everywhere and minister to everybody, the question is not whether or not we are to do this. We need to be ready and willing at all times to do this.
So, as it pertains to the gifts of the Spirit, we need to always be ready and willing to let the gifts flow out of us. And we do this by putting ourselves in the position for the Holy Spirit to use us through practicing on people and simply being aware of what He is showing us when we are around others—first in our “Jerusalem,” then in our “Judea’s & Samaria’s,” and all the way to the ends of the earth. Practice makes perfect, church! So, you are going to have to step out in faith on these things—trusting that the Holy Spirit will use you and I when we put ourselves in position to be used. It is a truth that “we are experiencing as much of God right now that we want to." This is true because we will move to make happen what we REALLY want. If we want it, we have to get out there and start doing it. God says, “I will bless the WORK of your hands.” If we aren't working at something, God has nothing to bless.
MORE GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS ON SPIRITUAL GIFTS
So, let’s begin this week, by looking back over at First Corinthians chapter 12: We saw in verse one, that the apostle Paul expresses his desire for us not to be ignorant in these spiritual things. Then, in verse two, he describes our former state when we were Gentiles and were driven by the wrong spirits. So, in verse three, he goes on to say, “Therefore I make known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God calls Jesus accursed, and no one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit.”
Now when Paul says here— “Therefore I make known to you…” what he was saying is, “So, because I do not want you to be ignorant concerning spiritual things, this is what you need to know.” And then he goes to say that no one speaking by the Holy Spirit will call Jesus accursed, nor will anyone say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Ghost.
Now in both of these completely contrary examples, the apostle Paul was not saying that someone cannot call Jesus “accursed” by mistake. Nor was he saying that it is absolutely impossible for one to simply utter the phrase “Jesus is Lord” unless they are saying it by the Holy Spirit. No, the fact is—we could pull someone off the street and pay them $100 to stand here and say, “Jesus is Lord” and they could do it. What Paul was referring to is if someone is claiming to be speaking by inspiration of the Spirit of God—either claiming to be prophesying or giving an interpretation of tongues—they will always glorify Jesus and never will defame Him or His work on the Cross.
And, church, that is one of the tell-tell signs that validate these manifestations of the Spirit of God in our lives—it is that the Holy Spirit’s ministry is to always glorify Jesus (see John 15:26). So, if you ever hear any kind of utterance that takes any glory away from Jesus—referring to Him and His work on the Cross as common or even takes any glory away from His place as the Second Person of the Trinity and being the way, the truth, and the life—then you can be assured that that was not the Spirit of God. Saints, the Holy Spirit always points to Jesus—His Lordship and His finished work!
Now, of course, many Spirit-inspired utterances do not make reference to Jesus one way or another, so how do you judge these supernatural signs that are given to the Body? By obeying First Thessalonians 5:21— “Test all things; hold fast what is good.” You test all things! The Scripture teaches us to judge all prophecies—to judge them, first of all, by “Do they glorify the deity and authority of our Lord and do they glorify the finished work of our Savior?” Then, if they pass that test, you hold fast to that which “seems good”—meaning holding fast to the things which bear witness to your heart and you have peace with. Is that fire burning within you? Is the Spirit bearing witness inside of you? Does it seem good? If it does—hold fast to it! Don’t let go of the Word of Lord and it shall surely come to pass!
Now notice that in the following 3 verses, the 3 members of the Godhead are referred to—each having their own personal role in regards to the manifestation of the gifts:
Verses 4-6 say, “There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are differences of ministries, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who works all in all.”
First, you have the “same Spirit” working in the distribution and manifestation of the diversities of gifts. This means that the Holy Spirit’s role is to distribute and manifest the different modes of gifts. This is why they are called the gifts of the Spirit. (We will move into this next time)
Second, you have the “same Lord”— Lord, always being a reference to God the Son, Jesus Christ (who is the same as the Spirit of the Godhead Three in One) working in the distribution of the different ministries of the body. These are the fivefold ministry offices as well as the other office gifts such as administrations, helps, giving, etc.
Thirdly, you have the “same God”— God always being a reference to the Father, Yahweh and Jehovah—who is working behind the scenes in all of it empowering, energizing, and effecting all the things being done. For the increase comes from God (First Corinthians 3:6).
Let’s look at the operation of all three members of the Godhead in more detail, beginning with God the Father: 
Again, Paul says, “And there are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who works all in all.” Although there are different gifts given to us by the Holy Spirit and different ministries given to us by the Lord Jesus, God is the One who is at work in and through all of these gifts and ministries! He works in them all! He works through them all! And He works above them all! (see Ephesians 4:6) This means that He is the power, grace, and energy working behind all of these gifts and ministries! He works all [the gifts of the Spirit] in all [the ministries of the Lord]. He is the engine that empowers and energizes all of these things. We must never forget this because understanding that God is our source for everything and in Him is the grace for everything good and profitable that we are able to do for the Lord, is the key to being strong in that grace. He upholds all things by the Word of His power! He is our all in all—holding everything together in our lives just as He holds everything together in the universe! Do you know what keeps that shirt your wearing together? Do you know what keeps your flesh on your bones? Do you know what keeps that chair your sitting in together? The answer is God, God, God—the Godhead Three in One!
But this verse literally says that there are differences of the ways God works in these things—meaning that there are different ways that God works these different gifts and ministries. This is so important to understand as well because countless Christians look at certain ministers, and when they feel called to the same ministry, they try and emulate what that other minister does or how they minister. Don’t ever do that. You are unique and an individual. You are different. So even if you have the same ministry as someone, that doesn’t mean you are going to operate in it like they do. For instance, I have the same gifting as my friend and mentor, Andrew Wommack, has—to be a teacher in the Body of Christ. But that doesn’t mean that I am going to teach like him. I don’t prepare like he does and I don’t carry myself like he does. We are different. And that’s alright! It doesn’t mean one is better than the other and it doesn’t mean someone needs to become more like the other. There are different ways in which God works through us but it’s the same God doing the work. Say, you have the gift of leadership. Well, there are different ways to lead. God might work through you to lead with a different personality and with different methods than He works through someone else. But the bottom line is God works these gifts and ministries through different individuals in different ways. There is no cookie cutter ministry or gift out there. Amen? Therefore, there are different activities—or different ways that various gifts of the Body act and operate—but God is working in and through them.
And do you recall that this was an issue in the Corinthian Church? They were divided—one saying they were of Apollos (the pastor there), and others saying they were of Paul (their apostle). And I can guarantee you that they were doing what so many still do today: they were incorrectly viewing their gifting and anointing as the way God works. This is wrong. God flows through our personalities and the things that make us unique. He doesn’t have just one way of using us.
Next, Paul says that there are diversities of “ministries” (i.e. administrations), but the same Lord. Now, we learned already that “Lord” is a reference to the Master, Jesus Christ. So, we see here that God the Son is at work in the distribution of the different ministries in the body. Now when we hear of this word “ministry” we think of pastoring, evangelism, teachers, etc. but did you know that we all have a “ministry”? We all have been called into the ministry! Paul referred to all who have been made new creations in Christ as “ministers of reconciliation.” It is much easier to swallow this when you consider the literal definition of “minister” or “ministries.” It just literally means to serve. Every one of us are called to serve in some degree or another. Those we consider to be “ministers” are simply called to serve others through spending time in the Word and then offering it to the people. For example, the pastors are simply called to tend to their flocks—serving them with their time and gifts. So, we are all called and gifted with a specific ministry in the Body of Christ to serve others with. While some have been given the ministry of being an apostle, prophet, or teacher, others have been given the ministry of helps or administrations (see First Corinthians 12:28). These are two of those overlooked and disesteemed gifts to the body (which Paul just referenced in 1 Corinthians 12:13-27) but they are just as vital as any other ministry. For example, I, being called into the fivefold ministry as a pastor and teacher, cannot do everything I am called to do unless I have the ministries of helps and administrations joining together with me. A pastor cannot do everything! He cannot run the sound, the equipment, usher, greet, sweep, mop, etc. all by himself. He needs the ministry of helps. Moses needed those two to help hold up his arms—which is a perfect picture of the ministry of helps. He didn’t have the ability to hold up his arms on his own. He needed help! Likewise, everyone with a “pulpit ministry” needs help. But they also need the ministry of administration as well. These are those who are gifted to give guidance and direction and assistance behind the scenes. There are also those who have the gift of wise decision-making. They know how to administer the finances of a ministry. They are leaders—not necessarily with the vocal gift. And there are other gifts (or ministries) as well such as the ministry of exhortation, giving, leadership, and mercy (see Romans 12). Many different worship leaders have the ministry of exhortation and leadership. We put them in the ministry of “worship leader” but the Bible actually does not use this title. What they oftentimes have is the ministry of exhortation and leadership. Missionaries are a good example of this as well. We don’t see a reference to “missionary” in the Bible but since an apostle literally is a “sent one” that means that some missionaries that are sent out to start, establish, and build up churches could be “apostles.” However, some missionaries have the gift of mercy—which is a heartfelt desire to go and meet the natural as well as spiritual needs of a people on foreign soil. But the ministry of exhortation, for instance, is oftentimes sitting in the pews. We have those who have this gift because of their knack for pinpointing someone to encourage and they speak words to lift up and edify people. There are those who have the gift of giving—that is, they first of all have a mind for making money and God has given them this ability because they are called unto the “gospel of entrepreneurship” to help finance other ministries to do what they do. For instance, I have friends who have a strong desire for God to pour wealth into them so that they can pour it out into God’s church. My wife has a wonderful gift of mercy and can go and sit with someone who is hurting and listen to them all day long. So, these are ministries just as much as an evangelist is a minister.
But the bottom line is, the Lord has given us all these different ministries we have in the body and none of them are any less significant than the others. Ephesians 4:7-12 describes when Jesus administered these different ministries—after He was raised up from the dead and He was ascending to heaven. It says that when He ascended on high, He gave gifts unto men. And verse 11 says that it was “He, Himself” (meaning, Jesus Himself) who gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers.”
You see, Jesus is the One who gave you your ministry and it doesn’t matter whether you can put your finger on what it is or not—just follow the desires of your heart to serve and combine that together with your area of expertise, and you will find your ministry. But if you want to know what it is, just go and ask Him what He gave you! And then, don’t go and look for a title—just look for an opportunity to serve! Selah!
And, last but definitely not least, Paul said in verse 4—“There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit.” And these gifts of the Spirit are what we are going to begin to cover over our next few weeks. We are going to be talking about the nine gifts of the Spirit which can easily be broken down into 3 groups of 3: The vocal gifts—prophecy, tongues, and interpretation of tongues. The revelation gifts—word of knowledge, word of wisdom, and discerning of spirits. And the power gifts—working of miracles, gifts of healings, and special faith. 
QUENCHING THE HOLY SPIRIT
As for this week’s message, I want us to talk about one more very significant key to seeing these gifts of the Holy Spirit active and operational in our lives:
Now I assume that we all want to see more of the gifts of the Spirit manifested in both our own individual lives and in our corporate gatherings, correct? Well, did you know that this is exactly how we will see more of a manifestation of them? No, it will not be through us jumping through this hoop or that one. The gifts of the Spirit come to the soul that desires them.
We see this principle throughout God’s Word: Jesus said in the Beatitudes that those who hunger and thirst for righteousness shall be filled (Matthew 5:6). The prophet Jeremiah taught us that when we seek Him with all our heart, we will find Him (Jeremiah 29:13). So, since this is a principle found throughout the Scriptures, then we can assume that it works this way with the things of the Spirit.   Yes, to those who seek the Holy Spirit and His gifts with all their heart, they will find Him and them. This is how things work in the kingdom of God, and therefore, how they also work with spiritual gifts.
Now most of us are familiar with the phrase “do not quench the Spirit.” It comes from that same portion of Scripture that we just looked at in First Thessalonians chapter 5. And in the middle of some quick, points of instruction for a local church, Paul says in verses 16-22, “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies. Test all things; hold fast what is good. Abstain from every form of evil.”
Now I don’t know if the apostle Paul was running out of ink here or if time was of the essence, but he seemed to break away from his traditional writing style to give these shorter, bullet points of how to live the Christian life. And in the midst of these instructions, he told the Church of Thessalonica in verse 19 to not quench the Holy Spirit. But I want you to notice the theme both before verse 19 and after it:
Verses 16-18 contain God’s will for us in Christ Jesus—to always rejoice, pray and give thanks (Notice the reoccurring theme of “always, without ceasing, and in everything”). Church, what prefaces a life that doesn’t quench the Spirit is a consistent, unwavering and unceasing praise & prayer life! If we want to both stay full of the Holy Spirit and have Him flow through us like constant rivers of living water, then letting thanksgiving, praise & worship being continually in our mouth and having an unceasing prayer life is required.  
However, in the verses that follow verse 19 (verses 20-22), Paul seemed to stay on the point of testing prophecies (one of the nine gifts of the Spirit)—holding fast to the good and throwing out the evil.
So how does verse 19— “Do not quench the Spirit”— fit into all of this. Well, I believe it ties into verses 20-22 regarding testing prophecies.   
Now how many of you have heard messages on quenching the Spirit? And in these messages, have you heard that it is our sin that quenches the Spirit? Well, I am here to tell you that our sin, shortcomings, and faults are absolutely, positively not what quenches the Spirit in our lives! For if problems in the Lord’s church are what quenches the Spirit, then what about the church of Corinth? Paul said that this church was full of divisions, strife, and carnality! They had one of their members who was having an affair with his mother in law! They even used the Lord’s Supper as an occasion for the flesh!  Let me tell you—this church was full of sin, yet they had so many manifestations of the Spirit in their gatherings that the apostle Paul had to tell them to do all things decently and in order! So evidently sin was and is not what quenches the manifestations of the Spirit in our churches, meetings, and our own lives or He would have certainly been quenched in the Church of Corinth.  
Now the apostle Paul also speaks of “grieving” the Holy Spirit in Ephesians 4:30 and, in context, makes reference to various sins such as lying, stealing, anger, bitterness, wrath, unforgiveness etc. So, yes, there are things we do that grieve Him (i.e. break His heart, violate His confidence, etc.) and this is also echoed in James 4:5 when he says that the Holy Spirit yearns jealously over us, but these need to be understood as the Holy Spirit having an intimate relationship with us and how it hurts him when we are unfaithful to Him. However, there is a difference between grieving Him and quenching Him or else the one who wrote both of these books of the Bible would have not needed to use different terms. Amen?
So, what did Paul mean when he exhorted New Testament believers to not quench the Spirit? Well, to find the answer to this question, we must first define the word “quench”: The word “quench” means to dampen a flame or to pour water on a fire of some sort. The Greek word sbennymi literally means to “extinguish, or snuff out.” In fact, in Mark chapter 9 Jesus uses this same word several times in reference to the fire that is not quenched. In other words, a fire is what is being quenched.
This is important to understand because time and time again in the Scriptures the Holy Spirit is typified as fire. (We saw this as we studied the types of the Holy Spirit, right?)
Didn’t John the Baptist, in referring to Jesus, say that He would baptize us in the Holy Spirit and in fire (see Matthew 3:11)? When the Holy Spirit invaded the upper room in Acts chapter 2, didn’t the Holy Spirit appear to them as tongues of fire over their heads? Yes, friends, the Holy Spirit is compared to fire time and time again in the Scriptures.
But what do you never see the Holy Spirit likened to? Ice! You never see the Holy Spirit referred to as giving anyone chills! And why? It is because He stays on fire—meaning He is a zealous God, full of fervency and passion! He wants to burn bright in our gatherings—manifesting Himself in different ways to bring passion, zeal, and excitement in His people!
I can assure you, my friends, if your meetings are dry and cold, then the Holy Spirit is not being manifested in those meetings! Why? Because He is likened to fire and water, the exact opposite of the atmosphere of many churches—cold and dry! When He is present, there is life, excitement, and a refreshing that is experienced!
Even in the Old Testament, when the hand of the Lord came upon them (symbolic of the Holy Spirit), things happened! They shouted! They danced! They defeated troops! They leaped over walls! They outran king’s chariots! Hallelujah! 
But someone will invariably say, “Well Trey, I don’t agree with all of that wild-fire!” Well, I think we should have order and do everything decently too, but not at the risk of having no manifestations of the Spirit of God! As Brother Kenneth E. Hagin used to say, “I’d rather have a little wild-fire than no fire at all!”—to which I give a hearty AMEN!
But my point is that the Holy Spirit is likened to fire repeatedly in the Scriptures, so when Paul says to not quench the Spirit, he is referring to pouring water on or snuffing out the flame of the Holy Spirit.
HOW DO WE QUENCH THE HOLY SPIRIT?
So, how do we do this? I mean, we want to learn how this is done so we won’t do it, amen? Well, just look at the following verses where the apostle of faith continues on with the same thought. Again, in these verses, Paul is calling the church to test all prophecies given and to hold fast to the good ones and abstaining from the evil. However, he says something in verse 20 that I believe gives us a clue to what quenching the Spirit entails: “Do not despise prophecies.”  
Friends, by the context here, the way that God’s people dampen that flame of the Holy Spirit is when they choose to despise any of the gifts of the Spirit such as prophecy! In other words, God’s church quenches the Holy Spirit when they despise the manifestations of the Holy Spirit (i.e. they put the fire out). You could even flip this statement around and say that when we quench the gifts of the Spirit—by putting no value on them, etc.—we are despising the Holy Spirit Himself. Now that brings this to a new light, doesn’t it?
It would be like me, Shannon, and Levi knocking on your front door and you saying, “Trey, you can come in, but I don’t want her or that boy of yours in my house.” Friend, if you were to despise the presence of my wife and son, then you just despised me! And you certainly will not experience my presence in your home!
Likewise, many churches and believers out there think they can just pick and choose what manifestations of the Spirit they want. They think that they can say, “Well, Holy Spirit we want you here, but you leave that tongues stuff and those healings on the front porch.” Well, it just does not work that way! You receive His manifestations or you reject Him!
Now thank God the Holy Spirit is not easily offended or vindictive! He is not, as so many in the church today believe, quick to fly away if anyone makes a false move. No, that is not His nature! And you better hope not, because we are out of luck then. Because the arrogant person who thinks that way doesn’t have all their ducks in row like they think they do. Therefore, they wouldn’t be entertaining the Holy Spirit either if He was as touchy and easily offended as they think He is.
No, the Holy Spirit will manifest in our lives and churches to the degree that we invite Him to. He is not looking for reasons to not manifest Himself; He is looking for every way to manifest Himself! And if that means, He is invited to work only during the altar call for salvation, He is happy to oblige. But those churches are not receiving the myriad of benefits that He has to offer, I can assure you! 
So, how do we do this? How do we stir up that fire of the Spirit in us as Paul exhorted Timothy to do in Second Timothy 1:6? Well, it stands to reason that if we quench the Holy Spirit when we despise His gifts and manifestations, then don’t you think we can do the opposite and see that fire burn brighter? Yes, if despising the manifestations of the Holy Spirit results in quenching the Holy Spirit, then honoring the manifestations of the Holy Spirit will result in fanning the flame of the Holy Spirit. Amen?
Let’s look over at First Samuel 2:30 and see this principle further described: Now the context of this verse is when the man of God spoke to Eli concerning his sons whom he had failed to rebuke when he was privy of their sinful acts. And in verse 30 the Lord said to Eli, “I said indeed that your house and the house of your father would walk before Me forever. But now the Lord says: ‘Far be it from Me; for those who honor Me I will honor, and those who despise Me shall be lightly esteemed.” My brothers and sisters, this is a powerful verse!
Notice, first of all, how the Lord said to this man that those who honor Him, He will honor. In other words, what the Lord was saying was that when God’s people choose to honor Him, honor will be returned unto them (like in this case when the opposite occurred—Eli choosing to keep his sons in their position knowing that they were dishonoring the people of God and their sacrifices and therefore was honoring his sons more than the Lord).
Now honor is a lost art in today’s society. We live in a world where honoring others like our spouses, parents, employers, and other authority figures is not held in as high regard as it once was. But that does not mean that God has changed. Honor is still very high on His priority list—an undying virtue that should still be present in our lives. And as we see in this verse, this “honor” is to first be directed at the Lord.  
So, what does it mean to “honor?” The word “honor” means to place value on something or someone. It means to esteem, respect, and to have high regard for that person or thing. So, when it comes to honoring the Lord, it means that we value and esteem Him above anything or anyone else. Which is exactly what Eli did not do:
This man obviously valued his boys more than he did his God. And many people, if they were honest, would have to say they do the same. But this is not okay with God. He expects to be honored by us more than anything or anyone else. 
But now notice the second half of this statement by the Lord to Eli because it teaches us something very important. He went on to say, “those who despise Me shall be lightly esteemed.”
Now let me take a commercial here for a minute and say that when we think of despising something, we usually think of being consciously and even aggressively against it. In other words, we think of “despising” something as hating it, but I want you to open your mind up to another way of looking at this word. From God’s perspective, He does not look at despising Him as only being actively against Him; He looks at it as simply lightly esteeming Him. Let me explain:
You see, if in First Samuel 2:30 the Lord said that those who honor Him, He will honor—meaning that what one does positively towards Him, He will return it in like manner—then doesn’t it stand to reason that when the next statement says that those who despise Him shall be lightly esteemed that those are also synonymous verbs? In other words, shouldn’t we also conclude that despising something is to lightly esteem it? It would violate the laws of Scriptural interpretation to think otherwise.
So, in God’s eyes, could “despising” something really be as casual as “lightly esteeming” it? Sure! In fact, we see in Genesis 25:34 that Esau despised his birthright. Again, that doesn’t mean that he hated his birthright and wanted no part of it. No, what really occurred was he lightly esteemed his birthright, which caused him to choose a bowl of soup over his birthright. In other words, he simply esteemed at that moment a physical meal more than he did his spiritual inheritance. Again, he did not hate his birthright; he simply did not value it to the degree that he should have—as more precious than that measly meal!
Now let’s look at this from the perspective of First Thessalonians 5:19-20: So, when one “despises prophecies” this does not just refer to those who hate the manifestations of the Spirit and are actively against the gifts of the Spirit; this can also refer to those who just simply lightly esteem the gifts and manifestations of the Holy Spirit. Wow! Now that just added a lot more of the church to the pool, didn’t it?
Saints, I can assure you that the reason that the Holy Spirit is quenched in the many different churches, gatherings, and Christian homes is because these believers are lightly esteeming the way that He manifests! In other words, they are not placing value upon and honoring Him—particularly the ways in which He manifests in our midst! We need to honor Him—not just in respecting Him, but in actively and aggressively seeking Him! We need to be more like Jacob where He was hungry for the blessing and birthright and less like Esau where he was hungry for the things of the world. Church, I can assure you that when we get as hungry for the gifts as we do for our next meal, we will be filled with them!  
This is why the Apostle Paul exhorted the church of Corinth twice in First Corinthians to “earnestly desire the best gifts” and to “desire” that they may prophecy. (see First Corinthians 12:31 & 14:1)! In fact, the terms used in these two verses describe to burn with zeal, to be heated or to boil with desire. Notice all of the terms there that are associated with fire. So, it is obvious that in order to experience more of the fire, we are going to have to be on fire ourselves.
So, “earnestly desiring” the gifts of the Spirit apparently makes a difference—for why would he tell us to desire them if in the desire was not found more of the manifestation of them?
Church, this is the key to seeing more of the gifts of the Spirit manifested in our churches, gatherings, meeting, and in our everyday life also. Yes, this desire for the gifts is like the gasoline that will cause the fire of the Holy Spirit to burn brighter in our lives! So, it is simply in getting hungry for the gifts like Esau was hungry for that food! To earnestly desire them like we hunger for our next meal! To seek them as for precious jewels! For when we seek for the things of the Spirit with our whole heart, we will find them!
Let’s get hungry for the Holy Spirit! Let’s not let a day go by where we do not say, “Welcome Holy Spirit!”—and not just welcoming Him, but welcoming the wife and kids as well (i.e. His gifts and His fruit!). And then let’s get off of our hands and start putting our hands on people!
Holy Spirit, you are welcome in my life and ministry! And, by all means, bring the whole kit and caboodle with you! Bring the whole family! I am hungry to not just experience communion with you but also to experience communion with the gifts and with the fruit! I want it all! Amen!