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How to Silence the Holy Spirit’s Voice
Think about a new believer, they usually are “on fire”, right? They are usually so full of joy and passion, they can’t help but share the gospel everywhere they go. Often, their lives will take a dramatic 180 as they reject their previous sinful lifestyle and seek to honor the Lord. The fruit of the Spirit starts showing in their lives. THIS is what the Christian should look like all the time. This is not a phase, a camp high, etc. This is living in the power of the Holy Spirit.
Fast forward a few months to a year though. Once someone is saved they plug into the church. Most of the time, the more they attend church, the more the fire and passion of their love for the Lord dies. Some even slip back into old patterns, others end up walking away from “organized religion”. Most settle into the status quo complacent Christianity of their chosen church. What happened?
While some of those people (such as the ones who walk away) may have not genuinely been saved, in the majority of those cases, the Holy Spirit got silenced and suppressed. So instead of living the joyful, passionate, “radical”, changed life they first experienced when they were saved, they live a life of religion, ritual, and comfort.
Here’s the deal. Once someone becomes a Christian, they receive the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is God’s Spirit, and He dwells in each believer, speaking to, teaching, and sanctifying them. The Holy Spirit is the seal, the confirmation that we have been saved, and therefore you cannot “lose” Him or “kick Him out”. HOWEVER you CAN silence or suppress Him.
1 Thessalonians 5:19 says
“Do not quench, stifle, extinguish, turn away from, restrain, put out the fire of the Holy Spirit”
If the Bible says NOT to, logically it’s safe to assume that we are capable of doing that thing.
This leads to the natural question, of HOW would one suppress the Holy Spirit so that we can avoid falling into that trap. There are three key things we can do. We can grieve him, resist him, or ignore him.
One or all of these things, practiced consistently will lead to the Holy Spirit’s voice being silenced in your life. Doesn’t mean He’s not speaking, it just means you can’t hear Him as well or at all anymore
Hope: Silencing the Holy Spirit is reversible.
Acknowledge that you have suppressed Him
Repent
Be specific: HOW did you suppress Him.
Turn from the sin and start acting in obedience
The more you walk in obedience and surrender to the Holy Spirit, the louder and stronger you will be able to hear His voice and sense His promptings.
Thought/Heart Attitude to hold: NOTHING is as fun, feels as good, tastes as good, is better than (etc, whatever is relevant to the issue at hand) hearing from and sensing the Lord’s promptings. Intimacy with God is better than ANY earthly pleasure.
If you prefer to WATCH rather than listen, click here to watch on Youtube.
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By Amanda StoutThink about a new believer, they usually are “on fire”, right? They are usually so full of joy and passion, they can’t help but share the gospel everywhere they go. Often, their lives will take a dramatic 180 as they reject their previous sinful lifestyle and seek to honor the Lord. The fruit of the Spirit starts showing in their lives. THIS is what the Christian should look like all the time. This is not a phase, a camp high, etc. This is living in the power of the Holy Spirit.
Fast forward a few months to a year though. Once someone is saved they plug into the church. Most of the time, the more they attend church, the more the fire and passion of their love for the Lord dies. Some even slip back into old patterns, others end up walking away from “organized religion”. Most settle into the status quo complacent Christianity of their chosen church. What happened?
While some of those people (such as the ones who walk away) may have not genuinely been saved, in the majority of those cases, the Holy Spirit got silenced and suppressed. So instead of living the joyful, passionate, “radical”, changed life they first experienced when they were saved, they live a life of religion, ritual, and comfort.
Here’s the deal. Once someone becomes a Christian, they receive the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is God’s Spirit, and He dwells in each believer, speaking to, teaching, and sanctifying them. The Holy Spirit is the seal, the confirmation that we have been saved, and therefore you cannot “lose” Him or “kick Him out”. HOWEVER you CAN silence or suppress Him.
1 Thessalonians 5:19 says
“Do not quench, stifle, extinguish, turn away from, restrain, put out the fire of the Holy Spirit”
If the Bible says NOT to, logically it’s safe to assume that we are capable of doing that thing.
This leads to the natural question, of HOW would one suppress the Holy Spirit so that we can avoid falling into that trap. There are three key things we can do. We can grieve him, resist him, or ignore him.
One or all of these things, practiced consistently will lead to the Holy Spirit’s voice being silenced in your life. Doesn’t mean He’s not speaking, it just means you can’t hear Him as well or at all anymore
Hope: Silencing the Holy Spirit is reversible.
Acknowledge that you have suppressed Him
Repent
Be specific: HOW did you suppress Him.
Turn from the sin and start acting in obedience
The more you walk in obedience and surrender to the Holy Spirit, the louder and stronger you will be able to hear His voice and sense His promptings.
Thought/Heart Attitude to hold: NOTHING is as fun, feels as good, tastes as good, is better than (etc, whatever is relevant to the issue at hand) hearing from and sensing the Lord’s promptings. Intimacy with God is better than ANY earthly pleasure.
If you prefer to WATCH rather than listen, click here to watch on Youtube.