Don't Grieve the Holy Spirit

You know the feeling when someone at home has stopped talking to you. The food is the same, but the silence sits at the table with you. The Holy Spirit is a Person, and He can be grieved like that. This message is about how we hurt Him, what we lose when we do, and how to get right with Him again.

Honoring the Holy Spirit

The Holy Spirit is not a force you use; He is a Person you can hurt, and He is living inside you right now.

Ephesians 4:30-32: “And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.”

God loves you, and He does not want anyone to perish. The Holy Spirit lives inside us, and He is hurt when we deceive, when we smoke, when we speak against our brother and sister. If the Holy Spirit is truly in your life, you will come to every meeting, confess that you are a sinner, and pray and read the Bible even when nobody is asking you to.

You worry about your children all the time. Give them the Word of God. If you pray and read the Bible with your children, God’s Word will go deep into them and God will walk before them. He will not let them perish.

Abraham and Job were rich, but money never took the place of God in their lives. Do not idolise your blessing, your money or your business. God gave Sarah a child in old age to show that nothing is too hard for Him. Season, condition, age, nothing matters to God; if He wants to bless you, He will.

So train your tongue to confess what you believe, not what you feel. Abraham never said, “I will never have a child.” He kept saying, “God will give.” Sarah laughed because she looked at her age; God was looking for her faith. Do not keep announcing, “I am old, I am broken, my business is finished.” Confess what you want to see, not what you fear.

Then Abraham got his son and nearly lost himself in the boy. Are you lost in money, shopping and business? God gave you that scooter and that child to glorify His name. When Isaac asked where the lamb was, Abraham answered, “God himself will provide” (Genesis 22:8). If God asks you for something precious, give it, because God will provide. Can you pray, “Lord, if my business is taking Your place, take the business”?

• No relationship, no work, no money should come before God.
• Do not complain; be thankful. Thankfulness melts the heart of God.
• Confront bad thoughts with the Word of God. A bad thought left alone is like cancer; it kills a person from inside.

When you think more about your job, your situation and your money than about God, it grieves the Holy Spirit. When you complain, fight or argue, He is grieved. How you behave in your bedroom, with your parents, with your spouse, matters to Him. Control your tongue. Watch your thoughts and your actions.

Effects of Grieving the Holy Spirit

When you grieve the Holy Spirit you do not lose Him, but you lose everything He gives.

You are sealed by the Holy Spirit for the day of redemption. John 14:16 says He will be with you forever, and Hebrews 13:5 says He will never leave you nor forsake you. But hear the second half.

You lose His felt presence and His power. The moment you sin, the power goes. You come against the enemy without power and nothing moves. There is a mighty move in the meeting, people are touched all around you, and you feel nothing, because somewhere you are grieving Him.

You lose His leading. You feel irritated and frustrated because nobody is guiding you, and you start making every decision on your own.

You lose His filling. When you do not pray and read the Bible during the week, you grieve Him, and when you come to church on Sunday you cannot feel Him. This is not a one-day relationship; it is everyday fellowship, the way you talk to your spouse every day. Moses understood this. He told God, “If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here” (Exodus 33:15).

You lose spiritual joy. Joy is the fruit of the Spirit, and the joy of the Lord is your strength. When you walk with Him, His joy is yours. Without Him there is no joy and no peace, and a person with no peace inside gives a peaceless life to everyone at home.

You lose power against temptation. Samson killed Philistines one day, and Delilah ended him the next. You become vulnerable and you lose boldness. When the Spirit is with you, you are bold; you say, “God will do it.”

You lose His comfort. Jesus promised to send a Comforter. His job is to lift you up and say, “Do not worry.”

There Are 2 Types of People

In every meeting there are receivers and there is an audience, and only one of them goes home changed.

Receivers open their hearts and receive the Holy Spirit. The audience just watches what God is doing. Everyone around them is revived, touched, reconciled, and nothing touches them, because they have kept a reserve for themselves, a corner of the heart where they plan to go and commit that sin again.

Sin is a weight. When you come to church, give it to God and go home like a free bird. If you hold on to it, you still have Him, but you cannot feel Him, like a wife whose husband is in the house but not speaking.

What Should You Do Now?

Get right with the Holy Spirit today, because He is patient, but grieving Him costs you more than you think.

• Seek out what is grieving Him, and give it up.
• Do not justify your sin; confess it and repent.
• Do not pray like David, “Take not your Holy Spirit from me”; pray instead that you do not fall into temptation.
• Some sin over and over because they do not have the Spirit at all. John 3:6 says flesh gives birth to flesh and the Spirit gives birth to spirit. If you have never been born of the Spirit, start there.

This week

• Each night before sleep, ask the Holy Spirit to show you one thing that grieved Him today, and confess it.
• Read Ephesians 4 with your family one evening and pray together for the children.
• Pick one complaint you keep repeating at home and replace it, out loud, with thanks.

May the Holy Spirit fill your home with His presence, His joy and His peace this week.