A sermon delivered on
Friday evening, July 14, 1850 by the REV. C. G. FINNEY (of the Collegiate
Institute, America) at the Tabernacle, Moorfields
Translated and Modernized
by Cliff Collins
“Quench
not the Spirit.” (I Thess 5:19)
“And
do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of
redemption.” (Eph 4:30)
The
Holy Spirit is the author of spiritual life itself, of all its heat and warmth
in us, of all those states of mind that result from His influences. He is the author of all spiritual joy and
peace in our soul; that is, His influences are exerted in creating that life
and heat which belong to spiritual religion.
He also works to produce that joy and peace of mind that are peculiar to
Christians. To "quench" Him
is to extinguish His light and heat, that peculiar light which He brings to our
mind, and the heat that naturally results from it. The language here is figurative, of course. The Holy Spirit is said to be like a refiner's
fire. To “quench” Him, therefore, would
be to put out that fire.
To
"grieve" him is to destroy that spiritual peace of mind of which He
is the author. When this is destroyed
by anything we do, the Spirit of God is spoken of as being grieved. His work is resisted and therefore He is
represented as being grieved. There is
a sense in which the Spirit of God is grieved.
He is a moral agent. He can and does
feel. I have, however, something else
on my mind right now. In talking about
my text, I shall consider:
I.
What is implied in the injunctions contained in these verses?
II.
How the Spirit may be grieved or quenched.
III.
The fearful consequences of quenching the Spirit.
I.
Things implied in these verses.
The
injunction not to quench the Spirit clearly implies that it can be done, and
that there is a probability that it will be done. If such an act were impossible or improbable, we would not find
such an injunction in the Scriptures.
It implies not only a danger that it will be done, but also that it is
wicked to do it.
The
Holy Spirit is represented in the Bible as being a moral agent. Feelings that are peculiar to a moral agent
are attributed to Him. He is also
represented as being infinitely interested in giving Himself up to the great
work of saving us from sin and death.
He is infinitely holy, and therefore opposed to sin in every form or
degree. His influences are represented
as teaching and enlightening, but not physically, in the sense that He
overrules our free will. He enlightens,
warns, and sanctifies us through the truth.
He operates by presenting those things to us that have the best chance
of being accepted. This must be the way
He operates to produce holiness in our lives.
Holiness in substance, therefore, cannot be created by any physical
creative power. Holiness is love. His influence, therefore, must be truth, and
truth does not prevail by setting aside our free will, but by teaching us how
to use our will properly, and by presenting considerations that will encourage
us to make the right decisions. This is
done, not physically by force, but through persuading and enlightening.
II. How may the spirit be quenched or
grieved?
The
Spirit of God is always grieved and quenched where the mind is not willing to
see the truth on any subject. Often,
individuals are not willing to be convinced on certain points, and will not
open up to receive the light. They
avoid coming under the pressure of the truth on certain given points, and
wherever this is done the Spirit of God is resisted, quenched, and grieved.
The
Spirit of God is grieved whenever the mind is so satisfied that it admits the
truth, and yet unbelief prevails. There
are many who confuse truth with faith, and don't know any better than to think
that when they are convinced of the truth they have faith. There is no greater error in existence. Simply knowing the truth of a statement is
infinitely far from faith. Faith is a
voluntary step that is taken after our mind sees what the Spirit of God
convinces us of.
Unbelief
is rejecting what the Spirit presents to our minds, refusing to commit to it,
take it home, and obey it. Now faith is
committing our mind to the truth that we receive from God. God urges us to commit our mind to the
truth. Sinners under conviction are
convinced of God's claims and character, of the necessity and sufficiency of
the atonement of Christ, and many other things; yet he holds back because he is
unwilling to give up his sin, and to become a Christian one must give up his
sin. But because he will not do it, he
will not receive Christ, he will not take the truth home into his own mind and
rest everything he has in and upon it.
Wherever the truth is thus presented and yet resisted, there is
unbelief, and wherever unbelief prevails there the Spirit of God is grieved,
resisted, and quenched.
The
Spirit is grieved, resisted, and quenched by all evasions of the truth on
questions of reform that involves self-denial in order to receive those
truths. There are a great many truths
that call for self-denial. Breaking old
habits that we indulge in is one example.
Suppose, when the question of the moral character of slave owners is
brought up, one particular slaveholder, who has never heard the arguments of
his opponents, will not read, talk, or even listen to anyone on that
subject. Suppose also that when he
finally reads or listens to a discussion on the subject, he will still not
yield to the truth that is presented.
That slaveholder resists the Spirit.
It
is remarkable to see how much this has been manifested in the United
States. Then there are those whose
business is to sell alcohol. Dealers in
alcohol wrestle with the same questions as slaveholders do; they selfishly
maintain their position and will not give up peddling their poison. Well now, on any question of reform calling
for self-denial, whenever the mind resists, whenever the mind is not candid in
receiving and obeying the truth, the Spirit of God is quenched. There are a great many customs popular in
society today which the gospel utterly condemns, and whenever these questions
come up, and the mind will not receive the truth and make the necessary
sacrifices, who does not see that this is quenching and grieving the Spirit who
is trying to lead them away from all such practices?
Indulging
in resentful or otherwise hostile feelings towards anyone is sure to quench and
grieve the Spirit, especially when people persist in such feelings. Many have known what it’s like to indulge in
such feelings until finally they cease to fellowship with their God.
To indulge in a censoring spirit, finding fault, and being negative about everything, is another way of transgressing the law laid down in our text. Sometimes you will see an individual who turns something positive into something negative, giving the impression that certain individuals have wrong motives, or bad dispositions; even though, for all they know, their motives may be good. Conduct such as this no doubt grieves and quenches the Spirit of God.
Any
unnecessary, unloving, un-brotherly publication of the real failings of
individuals is another way in which this sin may be committed. People may commit this crime by telling the
truth unnecessarily, and thus severely injuring the person. You have no right to speak of the faults of
others unnecessarily; nor will you do so if you are as careful of his secrets,
as you wish him to be of yours. “Love
your neighbors as yourselves.” If this
is true, you should be as careful of what you say about your neighbors, as they
should be about you. Whenever you treat
your brother or neighbor in a manner different from that in which you desire to
be treated yourself, the Spirit of God is undoubtedly grieved. Never do or withhold that which you would
not like done to or withheld from yourself.
This
sin is committed where people make self-justifying, God-condemning excuses for
their sins. Thus, some grope on in
darkness, error, and distress of mind from year to year, because, instead of
taking the blame of sin themselves, they make excuses that virtually throw the
blame on God. This is grieving the
Spirit. Everyone who is determined to
promote his own interests instead of promoting God's glory grieves the Spirit
of God. Such an act is a virtual apostasy
from God. They claim that they have
committed themselves to God, and have no right to do anything for anyone else
but Him. A man can never enjoy
communion with God while in pursuit of any selfish ends, while he seeks things
merely for his own pleasure, and not for God.
If you do this, you virtually take back your consecration to God, and
devote yourself to your own interests.
It does not matter how you excuse your actions; you have no excuse; and
this is especially true where light has been poured out on the subject. Now, who can believe that in the days of the
slave trade, that such a man as John Newton could, even for a while, continue
in the slave trade without some compunctions of conscience? But, suppose he should have no access to a
Bible, and ask, “Weren’t there slaves in New Testament days? Why didn't Christ denounce it? Slavery was known to the Apostles, why
didn't they denounce it, if it was so wicked?”
This
can be easily answered. But suppose men
try to justify their slave trade with these arguments? This was very common in the Southern States
of America. They forgot that Christ had
a previous question to settle before He could make any direct attack on the
specific types of sin. When Christ came
into the world, instead of acknowledging His mission, they debated every inch
of ground with Him. His divinity and
divine mission demanded primary attention; it was necessary that the world
should first recognize His authority to lay down regulations, and prohibit
practices. It would have been
completely out of place for Him to attempt to set right social questions before
He established His authority to interfere with such matters. The Apostles did not denounce slavery
either. They also had a great question
that demanded their first attention.
They had to establish the fact of Christ's resurrection, divinity, and
messiah ship, and establish the divine authority of their own commission. Once this was done, they would present the
Scriptures of truth to the world, and let them tell what things are right and
what is wrong. Now, who does not see
that for a slaveholder to make such excuses he had to selfishly evade the
truth? It would have been absurd for
Him to denounce specific sins without establishing His authority to denounce
sin at all.
If
a man in this country should attempt to justify slavery with such arguments;
you should not follow with him. When
light is poured on this question, slavery of any kind becomes a heinous offense,
and no man can pursue it without forfeiting his right to be called or treated
as a Christian. I can remember the time
when we all thought the use of alcoholic beverages was necessary. We all thought no one could do without
them. As time went on, the question was
taken up. Many resisted. It was the rising or falling of many in
Israel. Many rose up in resistance, and
sin quenched the Holy Ghost. Where are
they today? Many churches have become
spiritually desolate because they have taken the wrong position on this
question.
But
let me say again: if any person allows himself to pursue any branch of business
which is a great evil to society, he is guilty of the sin spoken here. Suppose he prides himself on his intention
to make good use of his money; suppose a pirate were to plead that he was going
to give his money to the Bible Society, would that justify his crime? Certainly not! There was a rich man in my country, who professed to be
converted, and said that he made up his mind to give up everything he had to
the Lord. I didn’t see him for a time,
but after several years, he stopped by our house for a visit, and we had a long
conversation. I learned that he had
left his former place of residence, and was moving to another part of the
country. I asked him where he was going
to, and he replied that he was going west; in fact, he was going to St.
Louis. He had failed in business.
“Failed
in business?” I exclaimed, “How did
that happen?”
He
said that he had been speculating in the provision line in order to get money
to send out evangelists. In order to do
this, he bought up all the provisions along a certain road, put a high price on
them, and thus gleaned money from the poor that traveled along that great
thoroughfare. He had, according to his
notions, been speculating for God. I
asked him what right did he have to do such a thing as that; and informed him
that I was not the least surprised that he had failed. Did God want him to punish the poor in order
that he might spread the gospel?
Definitely not!
Then
there is the liquor trade. There are
many people who will resist light on this subject, and talk like men determined
not to forsake a business that they know is an abomination to the world and a
curse to society. Yes! If all the tears could be collected that the
liquor business has caused, they could swim in them. It has broken hearts, ruined families, dethroned reason, cost
friends, jobs, and even lives.
Everything in its path is laid waste.
All this, and more than this, has resulted from the sale of these deadly
drinks. Some say it is necessary. For the sake of argument I will admit that
it may be necessary in certain circumstances; but listen, isn't it safe to
assume that the consumption of alcohol will be abused? That many more will be abused than is
necessary? Is not the public sale of
alcohol, therefore, undesirable at all?
Suppose no more alcohol is consumed than the small amount that is
actually necessary. Suppose it were not
abused, and that there was no probability that it would be abused, how many
liquor dealers, do you think, would there be left in London? How many of them would think of making living
in the liquor business if they knew that no more would be consumed than
absolutely necessary? Now it is the
assumption that it will be abused that renders it so desirable an object to
sell. Every man engaged in the sale of
liquor assumes this, or he would not sell the product. Who, then, can pursue such a trade as this,
and enjoy communion with the Holy Ghost at the same time?
There
was a time when good men drank liquor it because they thought they needed it;
but now the frightful extent of its awful ruin has been shown. Drinking, and slavery, and every similar
habit and addiction might continue, without anybody thinking that it is wicked;
but when light is poured on the subject, and men still refuse to see, it
becomes utterly inexcusable.
When
ministers have been shown the sinfulness of their position, and fail to do
anything about it. I have seen their
ministry wither. This has been
particularly noticeable among those who have continued to buckle to the
powerful slave movement after seeing the sinfulness of that traffic. The frown of God has been on them as clearly
as it could be. They have quenched the
Spirit.
It
would be impossible to calculate the good that has been brought about when holy
men of God in the ministry have taken the lead in these reforms.
There
are many dealings in business and ways of doing business that grieves the
Spirit of God. For example, when their
error is seen, and yet their will continues to struggle with the Spirit of
God. Many men are uneasy and restless
because of their resistance to the Spirit of God in such matters. There is some
lack of honesty, and as a result, their spirit becomes bound. There is strife; their soul is in agony. They know there is something wrong. They do not have the joy and peace that belongs
to a Christian. The fact is that they
are engaged in a struggle with their Maker, quenching and grieving His Spirit
in the presentation of the truth on some question that has come before them. Liquor dealers, and all who use those
drinks, are in danger of falling into this state.
I
would not apply my remarks so generally in this country as I would in America,
because public opinion is not as advanced here as it is there. I would not, therefore, say that none of you
who use these drinks enjoy communion with God.
Even Newton, Whitfield, and the Countess of Huntingdon were
slaveholders; but if they were now alive would they still be slaveholders? No, indeed!
God is moving to reform mankind on these points; it is time for the
world to address these issues. God is
turning the attention both the church and the world to these great evils. Light is blazing forth on every hand and now
will anyone pretend to say that Whitfield, or Lady Huntingdon, would be
slaveholders if they were alive now?
It
is the duty of every Christian in the world to take up whatever self-denial
these reforms require. I have known
many men who have poured their liquor out onto the street; and who, when urged
to dispose of it for chemical purposes, have replied, “No, we will touch not, taste not, handle not the unclean thing”.
When
the resulting evils are so great, and there is no way to counteract them but by
washing their hands of them, let me say that all jealousy, envying, and
divisive feeling, will quickly quench and grieve the Spirit of God. I have seen the piety of many great churches
decline rapidly and fearfully because of this, and yet they could not
understand why. But if you were to
question them individually, you will find many of them with such an attitude
towards one another, that the Holy Spirit, who loves them both, must, in some
measure, withdraw His influence.
Who,
in this day and age, thinks about preaching against gluttony? Yet, it is one of the commonest forms of
sin. An individual once confessed to me
that he had for years been unable to properly attend to his spiritual
responsibilities because he was overeating on a regular basis; but during the
entire time he was engaging in gluttony, he never once heard gluttony preached
against, or condemned from the pulpit as sinful. Now I suppose it may perhaps be different in this country; but I
think that a great deal needs to be said everywhere, even to Christian people,
on the subject of excessive eating.
The
same may be said about drinking and other evil indulgences, such as the use of
tobacco in its various forms. How few
like to look at this in its proper light.
They surely cannot plead that they smoke, snuff, or chew to the glory of
God. In a few diseases, perhaps about
one in five thousand, tobacco may have some benefit. If professors of religion allow themselves to indulge in such
habits, how can they expect to enjoy communion with God? Is it not unreasonable for people to use
such articles, wasting God's money on them, to the point where they smell so
bad, it turns other people away? I was
astonished the other day to fellowship with a minister, whose hands, and the
edges of his pockets, were considerably smeared with snuff. He talked of religion as if he never thought
of this; but most men know that all such habits are contrary to the duty of the
Christian. I have known some who, when
told that such habits were wrong, would get up and leave the house. They were unwilling to be shown the real
nature and tendency of these things, but if they are unwilling at least to
listen and honestly investigate it, whether such things are right or wrong,
they will quench the Spirit. There is
no way in which we can keep a clear path open between our hearts and God without
weighing all our habits in the balances of the Bible. If we want to have the fruits of the Spirit, love, joy, peace,
and so on, we must listen to reproof, and honestly apply every principle of the
gospel to all our life, and to everything we do.
I
used to smoke, even after I was converted.
A brother talked with me on the subject. I thought that it was beneficial to me for certain reasons. “Brother,” he said to me, “do you still
think that it is right?” I thought for
a moment. He made a suggestion or two
on the subject. I then put my hand into
my pocket, and got out my tobacco.
“There,” I said, “take it.” I
saw him some years after, but I never smoked again, and I have never felt
inclined to smoke since.
I
am not boasting, but I have become quite afraid of doing anything that would
tend to quench the Spirit. I’ve always
tried to do this. If anything gets
between my soul and God, I say, “O Lord, tell me what's the matter! What am I doing? What stands in the way?”
We should act in such a way as if Jesus was with us and saw everything,
just as He saw that the disciples were doing when He was with them. Let that be the rule. Let no man do or say anything that might
cause Jesus to say. “I am sorry to see
you doing or omitting to do that”, or I am sorry to see you engaged in such and
such a business.” Let your activities
be of such a nature that you can say, “O Lord, are You sorry to see me do
this? Does it grieve You? Does Your heart approve of my doing it?”
Now,
do you for one moment believe that a slaveholder, for instance, could do this,
and continue believing that God would have him continue his atrocious
traffic? And do you believe that men engaged
in business of other kinds, which are harmful to society, the liquor trade, for
instance, can go and say, “Lord, is this for Your glory? Will You approve, and add Your
blessing?” Can they say, "Help me,
O Lord, to sell as much liquor today as I can?
Help me to sell as much alcohol in all the forms in which I can get
people to buy it?" Can they pray
like this? No man has any right to
engage in any business on which he cannot ask the blessing of God. In these days, who would think of praying
that way? Who would think of praying
that multitudes of evils that now exist may be put away, while they themselves
are among the very people who do these things?
Now,
brothers and sisters, so many of you are strangers to me, that I don't know if
there is anyone in this house who is actually guilty of this, but if there is,
I wish to warn you in love. I ask you,
are you doing these things with the idea that you are honoring God? Can you say, when you go to your bar, “O
God, bless me in this business, help me to be prosperous in my business, and
thereby glorify You?”
But
let me say again: Refusing to receive a brother who calls for self-denial is
grieving and quenching the Holy Ghost and refusing to sympathize with Christ in
His self-denying efforts to do good to the world. He has led the way by showing what He is willing to do to save
mankind. Now those who hold back, unwilling
to unite with Him on the same principles on which He acted, resist and grieve
the Spirit.
Not
long ago an individual was talking to his pastor about the propriety of setting
an example to his flock by abstaining himself if only for the sake of
others. The pastor said, “Their abuse
is no reason for your abstinence. They
abuse many other things as well as that.”
Now, was this the principle on which Paul acted? No indeed, Paul was ready to give up meat sacrificed
to idols as long as the world lasted.
On the same principle, Christ could say, “I don't see why I should
suffer because mankind has abused the government of my Father by making a bad
use of their moral agency.” Christ
acted on the principle of saving those who had no excuse for their sins, not
the unfortunate, but the wicked. Thus,
it is that missionaries and other Christians deny themselves so that even
though the good to them is less, they instantly reach out and forego their own
good because the result is that so much more good will result to others. But when we take the same ground as in the
case of this minister we just mentioned, what can we expect but darkness of
mind and fruitlessness of life? In order
to have the Spirit of God, we must yield to Him, and if we do not go from one
degree of self-denial to another, we resist the Spirit who is trying to lead us
up to higher ground. The church has
never been on a ground so high that she could give herself entirely up to
reform the world; but the Spirit is pressing her up and up in that
direction. Her business, therefore, is
to prepare to go to any length to reform herself, and those around her, and
prepare for any degree of self-denial that may be required in order to
accomplish this. But if anyone insists
on not giving up this and that, although he knows that the good to be obtained
and the evil to be shunned will far outweigh all that can be gained from
indulging, what would become of the church and the world if they imitate him?
Suppose,
for instance, we admit that alcoholic drinks are, in some cases, useful. Who believes that the use of them is as
great a good as the evil of their abuse?
The same cannot be said of food and drink because they are necessaries
of life, and cannot be done without.
Things indispensable to life cannot be done without. Therefore, we are not called on, under any
circumstances, to give them up. But
there are drinks and other things which can do great harm to society, and which
has been demonstrated repeatedly that they may safely be dispensed with. Everybody will admit that the injury that
results to mankind bears no comparison to the doubtful benefit that is derived
by us individually. Therefore, it is
clear that we ought to give them up.
What was the principle on which Christ acted? Why, he said, “because of my relation and character, it is better
that there should be this suffering on My part, than that the entire human race
should suffer eternal death!”
If
the suffering He endured had been greater than the
suffering He prevented, the course He took would have been neither wise nor
benevolent. Christ gained for the
universe an unspeakable benefit, and prevented an inconceivable injury. His rule should be our guide. Self-denial does us good. Shall we offer the Lord only what costs us
nothing? Shall we say that as long as
we benefit from something we cannot give it up? Why not? If giving it up
will avoid a greater evil, and gain a greater good, we must to give it up, if
we are committed to true Christian love at all. If we will not sacrifice a small good to ourselves for the sake
of a great good to others, what kind of a Christians are we? We walk in the opposite direction from the
Spirit of Christ and the Apostles. Now
if we are trying to justify those things we indulge in, if we don’t see why we
should give up this, that, or some other thing, who can expect us to have a
face so clear that we can look up to God and say, “You know, O Lord, that I
would rather die than scatter evil around me in everything I do!” Volumes could be spoken on this
subject. Now, who does not see that
waffling like this is grieves the Spirit?
Some of you are aware of the great and
powerful revivals which swept through America, and that when the slavery
question came up, the ministers of the North and South were united in one great
ecclesiastical connection; they cried out across the country, that we should
not stir up any controversy on this issue.
The North ignored the truth concerning the South, and even many Northern
ministers would not allow notices of anti-slavery meetings to be announced from
their pulpits, not even anti-slavery prayer meetings. But, they treated the matter just as many ministers in this
country treated the temperance question.
They refused to speak out and denounce the sin of slavery. The result was, that the blight of the
Almighty came on the churches, revivals disappeared, the churches were grieved,
and the Spirit was grieved! The very
same course was pursued with regard to temperance; and here let me say, if I am
not mistaken, you have some difficult lessons to learn on this subject in
England. I wish that every minister in
England were here tonight! But some of
them will not listen to us. They are
unwilling to discuss it, and refuse to allow their churches to discuss it! What will become of them and their
churches? We shall see! If their churches must be shut to these subjects,
if this question is resisted, you will experience a similar suffering to that
which afflicted the American churches.
There are many woeful tales to tell about slavery. These things must be eliminated. The chains of the slaves must be broken;
intemperance must be swept away; God will have it so. The cars are coming! The
train approaches! Off the track! Off the track!
Let
no man argue with God on these issues.
These great evils must be removed from the face of society. The poor must no longer be permitted to run
to the taverns; they must be reasoned with, and withdraw. Consider!
You do not need it. You are
better off without it. Do not go!
I
wish I had time to tell you some touching stories of Christians reaching into
the gutter and pulling the drunken men out, treating them kindly, and giving
him a loving, living example of a life with Christ and free from alcohol. How many tears have been wiped away by these
Christians manifesting sacrificial love?
How many hearts have thus been surrounded with joyous smiles where
desolation once prevailed? There is
much to be done; do not resist these movements. Do not stand in the way lest you grieve the Spirit of God. However, please do not condemn. There was a time when there was as much
darkness in America on this subject as there is here in England. I would say to you, “Be willing to practice
what you know, and remain open to further conviction.” Don’t hold back. Say, “I will not sit with the wicked. I will wash my hands in innocence; So I will go about Your altar,
O Lord, that I may proclaim with the voice of thanksgiving, And tell of all
Your wondrous works.” (Psalms
26:5-7) If time would permit, I would
say much more about this; but I must now just mention some of the consequences
of quenching the Spirit.
Great blindness of mind us a result of
quenching the Spirit. You are probably
aware that some men have been so blind, that they have used passages from the
Bible to prove that slavery is a Divine institution! It begins when they refuse to see or hear the truth. This produces a cold, unreasonable mind and
a hard heart. Then, their whole being
is brought under the dominion of their lusts; they are chained and bound in the
fetters of their sin and they grow worse and worse, becoming more and more
confirmed in sins which I don’t have time to talk about.
Instead
of experiencing a universal reformation, with everybody denying themselves and
setting examples, and the church taking the lead, what are they doing? They fall back, shrinking from their
work. Avoiding the work God has for
them often results in a breakdown of ministerial character. There cannot be much prevailing prayer where
there is so much quenching of the Spirit, where so few of the fruits of the
Spirit are manifested, and where men engage in self-indulgent habits and God dishonoring
practices.
You
can see from the remarks I have made that many of you are tempting God by
praying for the Holy Spirit while, at the same time, you are quenching that
same Spirit. There is a great danger of
the Spirit leaving you. Many years ago
a minister about forty years of age came to me after service and said, “Brother
Finney, I am in a terrible state of mind.
I must abandon the ministry.
When at the Theological Seminary, I took the wrong side in a discussion;
but after I committed myself, from that time on I defended my false position
contrary to my convictions. I soon lost
the spirit of prayer, and was almost afraid to enter the ministry. The curse of God has been on me ever since. I have been in the ministry for many years,
yet I do not know that I have been instrumental in converting a single
soul. What shall I do? My fruitless vine is dry and withered!”
He
told me many similar things; but his case was not new to me. I have seen instances of individuals having
taken the wrong side, and of God holding them up as a warning to others, lest
they fall under the same condemnation.
And now, let me ask you, are you prepared to go all the way to do what you think Christ would ask you to do if you should meet Him? If you are not prepared to do this, you are resisting the Spirit. You are quenching the Holy Ghost. Are you holding back? What are you doing? Will you continue with your life while you die spiritually, or will you be filled with the Spirit? Do not quench the Spirit. Resist and grieve Him no longer. Give up all your life, heart, and soul, and rely on Him. If you do this, the fruits of the Spirit will abound in you. Those around you will notice you, because indeed, you will exhibit the fruits of the Spirit of Christ.