“Quench not the Spirit” is one of the most disobeyed scriptures in the New Testament. So how do we quench the Spirit. Here are the Top Ten ways.
10) We teach people that God isn’t speaking to human beings nowadays.
9) We freely indulge our desires to the point that our heart gets so hard that we no longer hear what God is saying to us.
8) We tell the Holy Spirit that we will do what He wants later, or when we are older.
7) We intentionally disobey the direct commands of Scripture.
6) When we are with believers, we pretend that we are better Christians than we really are.
5) We ignore the guidance of that our conscience gives us.
4) We care more about what other people think about us than we care what God thinks about us.
3) We believe that because of grace it doesn’t matter if we obey God or not.
2) We let our pride keep us from doing anything that we consider to be humbling.
1) We force people to quench the Spirit by programming church meetings to the point that no one but the preacher or someone on the program is expected or allowed to initiate anything in the meeting.
Here’s a quote from C.T. Studd: “How little chance the Holy Spirit has nowadays. The churches and missionary societies have so bound Him in red tape that they practically ask Him to sit in a corner while they do the work themselves.”
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couldn’t agree more Steve! good stuff man…
Thanks, David!
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I totally agree with you. I had to step back from the church for a while, and during that time, I felt like I was in solitude daily with God, as He ministered to me. I felt like I was in divine consecration with Him, as I was being awakened every day, all day, higher and higher in the spirit realm. The church truly, and actually had quenched my spirit. I had stumbling blocks throwed in my way as I restored my membership and went through orientation, and was very eager to work in the church. I couldn’t believe it. Then, I realized how they weren’t really spiritually minded or spiritually discerned.
I agree, people run to the church to hear one person preached to them–some solely depending on that preacher to get them into heaven. Sadly, our people perish for lack of knowledge. I was led by the Spirit to study the Word of God for myself. I decided to follow God, not man. I sowed a seed into the Word of God and received prosperity, wisdom and understanding. And I’m still on my spiritual journey, going to new dimensions in the spirit realm. I’m blessed!.
That’s the key: be willing to follow God instead of man.
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Found this blog on a link on a recent blog you posted to Godinterest.
Excellent points! I’m probably guilty of some of these… okay, I confess, I know I have done some of them. Though I’d be curious to know your thoughts, related to point 1. I am the worship band coordinator (not the leader, more a secretary and facilitator) for my church. We try our best to cater for all tastes and do the job as best as we can, but we have one lovely member of our church who often just launches into a song during prayer, out of key and in awful time, while we have to get into gear and find the key and join in. Many cannot really sing if the key is way off. Now he would claim that he was ‘led by the Spirit’ but I know that the Holy Spirit is not the author of confusion, as our pastor often states (he too can launch into songs that very few even know, but that’s ANOTHER story!).
Where do you think the line can be drawn between ‘allowing the Spirit to flow’ and ‘letting anyone just do what they feel they can’? Try to keep it short, if you can, but I understand that’s a right task. Forgive me for any headache you might get!
Grace be with you.
Great question. The”line” is not in the natural such as whether singing is in key. Sometimes the Spirit uses the foolish things to confound the wise. The “line” is in discernment. Not, do you ears approve, but does it touch your heart. If leadership discerns that something is not prompted by the Spirit, they should lovingly thank the person and allow someone else to speak out as prompted by the Spirit. A few thoughts. Hope they help.
This skipped past me in my full inbox. Thanks for your thoughts, great point, though I’m going to be the true overthinker myself, since I know for sure that worship music is subjective i.e. “that song may be bliss to him, but it’s cat’s claws on a blackboard to me!”
Really hard to discern if my heart is NOT responding to something that is ultimately carnal, or I myself am just ‘blocking the flow’ of the Spirit. I respect the leadership of our church but I know he’s not perfect (I have to work with him lol!), so when he goes off into that song that I am utterly tired of and cannot fully engage in, is either of us in the wrong? Our natural selves play such a part in this. Still, more thoughts for my book. Thanks again.
Sometimes lovingly thanking a person doesn’t work and to me, if this type of thing happens in church it can crush the spirit of others while you don’t want to crush the spirit of the person either.
I know a lot of people who love to be heard and they don’t have the slightest idea that they sing off key or they don’t care.
The bible tells us, that in everything we should pray. I have come across such cases many times and I have learned to pray and leave it with God.
So many churches are now trying to reach out to the people through spontaneity but it usually works in this manner where it is all haphazard.
There is a time and place for everything and as is cautioned on those who speak in tongues.
Thanks for your comment. However, something prompted by the Spirit is definitely not “haphazard” but rather Spirit-led.
Thanks for the comment. I’ve never experienced a Spirit-led meeting that “usually works in this manner where it is all haphazard.” I’ve been a part of hundreds of sermon-free, Spirit-led meetings, and I have never experienced even one that was “all haphazard.” In fact, every one I have experienced has been amazingly orchestrated by the Holy Spirit.
Reblogged this on All Things are Yours and commented:
Great list, I think.
Amen! No more wet blankets on the Fire of The Holy Spirit!
Great points, Sir. I’m. Almost done with my degree in Christian Ministry and Psychology; after this semester I will have four more classes,then I’ll be graduating 🎓. I am currently writing a two papers (1 for each class of Systematic Theology 2 and Church History 2). One of my topics is about how to or what is the differences of quenching or blaspheming the H.S. as part of the God head within the Worldly, OT and NT. Would you have any academic or scholarly free articles, pamphlets, editorials, etc. I would be able to use for this project or my other topic (What is and is it nessarcy for us (as in Christians) to be Scriptura Soca only, or is something of the past?). Thanks for some great ideas in this article anyways
Thank you so much. Search my blog for the Holy Spirit and you will find quite a bit.
they are quite intuitive and challenging and we need as much as possible power from on high to help live not to quench the Holy Spirit.
if there is any bordering question, I will not hesitate to ask for clarification. thanks.