Fire analogy -Fire: life, light, warmth, beauty when used responsibly...yet people behaving irresponsibly around it can cause great harm. So the obvious choice for the safety conscious is put the fire out...i think this is why we have a specific directive "do not quench the spirit"

1. 1. 1. “19. Do not quench the Spirit. 20. Do not despise prophecies, 21. but test everything; hold fast what is good.” (1Th 5:19-21, ESV2011)
      2. “29. Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others weigh what is said.” (1 Cor 14:29 ESV)
      3. It’s clear putting out the fire is not supposed to be the answer.  Banning prophecy is not the answer.  We are prescribed the better, harder road of learning to be responsible with fire and patiently leading others to do the same.

• *Transition*: In today’s teaching we will focus on those directives for us to “weigh” and ”test” with spiritual discernment.  We’ll begin by looking at an example from the life of Paul. . .