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  (WALKING IN THE SPIRIT) 14. HINDERING THE HOLY SPIRIT
  by A.B. Simpson
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"Grieve not the Holy Spirit of God." Eph. 4: 30.

"Ye do always resist the Holy Ghost." Acts 7: 51.

"Quench not the Spirit." 1 Thess. 5: 19. It is very touching and solemn
that while the Holy Ghost might, in the exercise of His omnipotence,
coerce our will, and compel us to submit to His authority, yet He
approaches us with the most deferential regard for our feelings and
independence, even suffering us to resist and disobey Him, and bearing
long with our willfulness and waywardness.

There are several terms used in the Scriptures to denote the manner in
which we may sin against the Holy Spirit.

I. We May Quench the Spirit.

This has reference, perhaps, mainly to the hindrance we offer to His
work in others, rather than to our resistance of His personal dealings
with our own souls.

Among the various hindrances which we may offer to the Holy Spirit may
be mentioned such as these:

1. We may refuse to obey His impulses in us when He bids us speak or act
for Him. We may be conscious of a distinct impression of the Spirit of
God bidding us to testify for Christ, and by disobedience, or timidity,
or procrastination, we may quench His working, both in our own soul and
in the heart of another.

2. We may suppress His voice in others, either by using our authority to
restrain His messages, when He speaks through His servants or refusing
to allow the liberty of testimony. Many hold the reins of ecclesiastical
authority unduly, and thus lose the free and effectual working of the
Holy Ghost in their churches and in their work.

There is a less direct way, however, of politely silencing Him by
forcing Him out, and so filling the atmosphere with the spirit of
stiffness, criticism, and a certain air of respectability and rigidness
that He gently withdraws from the uncongenial scene, and refuses to
thrust His messages upon unwilling hearts.

3. The Spirit may be grieved by the method of public worship in a
congregation.

It may be either so stiff and formal that there is no room for His
spontaneous working, or so full of worldly and unscriptural elements as
to repel and offend Him from taking any part in a pompous ritual. An
operatic choir and a ritualistic service will effectually quench all the
fire of God\

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Source: https://sermonindex.net/speakers/ab-simpson/walking-in-the-spirit-14-hindering-the-holy-spirit/
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