GRIEVE NOT THE HOLY SPIRIT!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

THURSDAY JANUARY 12, 2023.

SUBJECT: GRIEVE NOT THE HOLY SPIRIT!

Memory verse: "And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.” (Ephesians 4 vs 30.) 

READ: Ephesians 4 vs 25 - 32:

4:25: Therefore putting away lying, “Let each one of you speak truth with his neighbor,” For we are members of one another.

4:26: “Be angry, and do not sin”; do not let the sun go down on your wrath,

4:27: nor give place to the devil.

4:28: Let him who stole steal no longer, but rather let him labor, working with his hands what is good, that he may have something to give him who has need.

4:29: Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers.

4:30: And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.

4:31: Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice.

4:32: And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.

INTIMATION:

Grieving the Holy Spirit is willfully thwarting his leading by disobedience or rebellion, tossing aside the gifts the Holy Spirit gives. When you do this, you bring sorrow to the Spirit by the way you live. In our memory verse, the word grieve is used as a verb, meaning: “to cause to feel grief or sorrow.” In other words, the Scripture is exhorting us not to cause the Holy Spirit to feel grief or sorrow as a result of our choices. We grieve the Holy Spirit by not allowing ourselves to be led by Him, but choosing our own ways instead. We grieve the Holy Spirit by not obeying Him.

The Holy Spirit is given to us as our Helper; He is our Leader, Empowerer, Encourager, Advocate, Intercessor, Standby, Strengthener, Counselor, Comforter, Revealer of the truth, and gift-giver. He brings wisdom, understanding, knowledge, and the fear of God (Isaiah 11 vs 2). He also brings abundance (Isaiah 32 vs 15). Therefore, grieving the Holy Spirit puts you at risk of losing His services in the afore-referenced areas.

The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God and knows the things of God; “But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit: for the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. For what man knows the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? Even so no man the knows the things of God except the Spirit of God.” (First Corinthians 2 vs 10 - 11.)

He reveals the deep things of God, and empowers with the knowledge of the things of God, and encourages us to walk in that knowledge with His help. He is our master Counselor, and is on standby; ever ready to assist us if we cooperate with Him. If we grieve Him, He withdraws His assistance, and consequently, we grope in the dark, walking out of the path of life ordained for us, thereby making mistakes and wrong choices that are unpleasant to God.

It is noteworthy that a Christian cannot lead a fulfilling life, pleasing to God, and in accord to His precepts without the help of the Holy Spirit. We cannot overcome sin without the help of the Holy Spirit, therefore, it is very important how you respond when He speaks to you. When you realize that you cannot live a life of overcoming sin. “Victory over sin” means that you do not commit conscious sin—that which you know would be sin at that time when you are tempted. It doesn’t mean that you are without sin, but that temptation is overcome before it can become sin without the help of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, it becomes very important to you how you respond to the Holy Spirit when He speaks to you. 

You  have to listen to His voice! We live in a fast-paced society, and most of us live a fast-paced lifestyle, with fast travel, fast communication, fast access to a wealth of information, etc. If in the middle of this you do not consciously “set your mind on the things of the Spirit,” you will not be able to hear His still, small voice in your heart of hearts. When you do not listen to Him, you end up grieving the Holy Spirit, because He has so much to tell you that will bring you joy and happiness, and lead you to a life of freedom from sin.

Sin is anything that goes against God’s will and His laws. To commit sin is to transgress or disobey these laws. 

The lust to sin dwells in human nature. In other words, it is contaminated and motivated by the sinful tendencies that dwell in all people as a result of the fall into sin and disobedience in the garden of Eden. Jesus called the Holy Spirit “The Helper,” and also said: “When He, the Spirit of truth is come, He will guide you into all truth.” (John 16 vs 13.) All Christians are called to follow in the footsteps of Jesus, He who did no sin. You need to be led step by step because you cannot find the way by yourself. The Spirit will never force you—He wants to lead you into a life of victory, the happiest and most fulfilling life a person can ever live. The Holy Spirit will always lead you on a path of humility because He knows that is the only access road to an overcoming life. 

You grieve the Holy Spirit by not allowing yourself to be led, but choosing your own way instead. God gives His Holy Spirit to those who obey Him. The Bible makes it clear that the Holy Spirit and the flesh—our human nature—are in total opposition to each other. So you cannot live according to your natural inclinations and at the same time obey the Spirit. That is why we read in the passage today, “Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God … let all bitterness, wrath, anger, loud quarrelling, and evil speaking be put away from you with all malice.” You grieve the Holy Spirit by not obeying Him.

The good news is that the Holy Spirit is also the One who gives us power to obey and power to overcome all these tendencies in our nature! When God sees your sincere desire to obey Him, He will send His Holy Spirit to help you do just that. Jesus told His disciples that they would receive power when the Holy Spirit came upon them. Just like a thirsty person in the desert drinks deeply from a spring of fresh water, you must drink deeply of God’s Holy Spirit—be filled with His Spirit—if you want to live an abundant Christian life.

God’s Spirit is in His Word. When you drink deeply of this fountain and of the spirit of faith that is in the Word, you will have power in temptation to overcome sin and do God’s will instead of your own. We grieve the Holy Spirit by wandering around in the desert of our own thoughts and ways, too busy or too lazy to drink from the fountain of faith and power that is in God’s Word.

Therefore, grieving the Holy Spirit is totally unnecessary! He knows that we are weak, and that we don’t even know what to pray for in the right way, but He is there to help us in our need, and to pray for us so that we can find God’s will and do it. (Romans 8 vs 26 - 27.) Then we will truly experience the comfort of the Holy Spirit as well as His power.

Prayer: Abba Father, ever loving and compassionate Father, give me the grace and empowerment never to grieve the Holy Spirit, my great source of help in all things pleasing to God, in Jesus‘ Name I have prayed. Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!