A Relationship with God the Holy Spirit is Heavenly

Daily writing prompt

What relationships have a positive impact on you?

How to Wake Up to Christ’s Presence

Where Christ’s presence is being ignored, God the Holy Spirit is being quenched. (Luke 10:38-42) Both individuals and churches can quench the Spirit. However, the Bible plainly says not to quench the Spirit (1 Thessalonians 5:19) and not to make Him sad. (Ephesians 4:30) So how do Christians and churches quench and grieve the Spirit?

The Holy Spirit is quenched and grieved wherever:

* There’s anxiety or worry. (Philippians 4:6-7)
* Christians are lukewarm. (Revelation 3:16)
* Seeking the inner government (kingdom) of God isn’t the first priority. (Matthew 6:33)
* There’s little hunger or thirst for righteousness. (Matthew 5:6)
* Religion has become formalized and powerless. (2 Timothy 3:5)
* Audience-making is more important than disciple-making. (Matthew 28:19)
* The gifts of the Spirit are seldom experienced. (Corinthians 12:4-11)
* Pride is prevalent. (James 4:6)
* Sin is approved. (Matthew 4:17)
* Christians avoid, ignore or reject God’s inner promptings. (Galatians 5;16)
* Christians are trained and conditioned to be passive. (James 1:22)
* The fruit of the Spirit isn’t abundantly flourishing. (Galatians 5:22-23)
* Love is lacking.
* Joy is rare.
* Peace has been replaced with worry and conflict.
* Patience has been exchanged for impatience.
* Kindness has been set aside for unkindness.
* Goodness is uncommon
* Faithfulness has vanished.
* Gentleness is seen as weakness.
* Self-control is lost.

To avoid quenching the Spirit, Christians need practical hands-on interactive training and discipleship in actually doing what the Bible says. Neverending one-man teaching offers Christians lots of Biblical information (2 Timothy 3:7) but it doesn’t train them to stop grieving and quenching God the Holy Spirit. It doesn’t help them become active doers of the word rather than passive hearers. (Luke 6:46-49)

If you can’t find a church that offers hands-on training in obeying and being led by the Spirit, (Romans 8:14) God the Holy Spirit Himself is ready and eager to train you throughout each day. (1 John 2:27) Begin to consistently listen to and obey His inner promptings. (Revelation 3:22)

Quiz: Contemporary churches train Christians to be . . .
_____ Hot,
_____ Cold,
_____ Lukewarm.
(Revelation 3:16)

About Steve Simms

I like to look and think outside the box. In college I encountered Jesus Christ and I have been passionate about trying to get to know Him better ever since. My wife and I long to see the power and passion of the first Christ-followers come to life in our time. I have written a book about our experiences in non-traditional church, called, "Beyond Church: An Invitation To Experience The Lost Word Of The Bible--Ekklesia." If you need encouragement, search for: Elephants Encouraging The Room and/or check out my Amazon author page. Thank you!

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