Do not grieve the Holy Spirit

15 August 2012

Opening Prayer/Worship

Song:

Holy Spirit, be our Comforter,

Holy Spirit, take control,

As we’re walking along the way, the road is so narrow,

Holy Spirit, lead us home (2X)

Theme: Be filled with the Holy Spirit

Topic: Do not grieve the Holy Spirit

Reading: Ephesians 4:25-32, 5:1-2

So then, putting away falsehood, let all of us speak the truth to our neighbours, for we are members of one another. ²⁶Be angry but do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, ²⁷and do not make room for the devil. ²⁸Thieves must give up stealing; rather let them labour and work honestly with their own hands, so as to have something to share with the needy. ²⁹Let no evil talk come out of your mouths, but only what is useful for building up,^* as there is need, so that your words may give grace to those who hear. ³⁰And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with which you were marked with a seal for the day of redemption. ³¹Put away from you all bitterness and wrath and anger and wrangling and slander, together with all malice, ³²and be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven you.^* 5¹Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children, ²and live in love, as Christ loved us^* and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

Introduction

The Holy Spirit is the power behind Christian living. Without the Spirit of Christ dwelling within us, we cannot please God. When we are not filled with the Holy Spirit, we can hardly pray or know what to ask for when we pray. He is our Advocate, Counselor, Guide and Guard; He is gentle and quiet, gives us life, helps our weaknesses and is the Spirit of Truth, bringing the teachings of Christ to our remembrance. The Holy Spirit is the believer’s closest aid, friend and associate. Living without Him is like going on a very long voyage without compass, food, water, clothing and other items/material necessary for the trip. No wonder the Scripture warns us not to grieve the Holy Spirit. We are on the same team with Him and He alone knows the way. To grieve the Holy Spirit implies displeasing Him and by so doing, we risk losing His companionship and guidance. In this study, we will discuss how to avoid grieving the Spirit of God in our lives.

Questions/Discussion

1. What does it mean to grieve the Holy Spirit?

Matthew 12:22-32

Then they brought to him a demoniac who was blind and mute; and he cured him, so that the one who had been mute could speak and see. ²³All the crowds were amazed and said, ‘Can this be the Son of David?’ ²⁴But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, ‘It is only by Beelzebul, the ruler of the demons, that this fellow casts out the demons.’ ²⁵He knew what they were thinking and said to them, ‘Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and no city or house divided against itself will stand. ²⁶If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself; how then will his kingdom stand? ²⁷If I cast out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your own exorcists^* cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges. ²⁸But if it is by the Spirit of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come to you. ²⁹Or how can one enter a strong man’s house and plunder his property, without first tying up the strong man? Then indeed the house can be plundered. ³⁰Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters. ³¹Therefore I tell you, people will be forgiven for every sin and blasphemy, but blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. ³²Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.

Acts 5:1-11

But a man named Ananias, with the consent of his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property; ²with his wife’s knowledge, he kept back some of the proceeds, and brought only a part and laid it at the apostles’ feet. ³‘Ananias,’ Peter asked, ‘why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back part of the proceeds of the land? ⁴While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, were not the proceeds at your disposal? How is it that you have contrived this deed in your heart? You did not lie to us^* but to God!’ ⁵Now when Ananias heard these words, he fell down and died. And great fear seized all who heard of it. ⁶The young men came and wrapped up his body,^* then carried him out and buried him. ⁷ After an interval of about three hours his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. ⁸Peter said to her, ‘Tell me whether you and your husband sold the land for such and such a price.’ And she said, ‘Yes, that was the price.’ ⁹Then Peter said to her, ‘How is it that you have agreed together to put the Spirit of the Lord to the test? Look, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out.’ ¹⁰Immediately she fell down at his feet and died. When the young men came in they found her dead, so they carried her out and buried her beside her husband. ¹¹And great fear seized the whole church and all who heard of these things.

Ephesians 4:30

And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with which you were marked with a seal for the day of redemption.

1 Thessalonians 5:19

Do not quench the Spirit.

2. Is it possible for us to know when we grieve the Holy Spirit? How do we make amends?

1 Samuel 2:27-34

A man of God came to Eli and said to him, ‘Thus the Lord has said, “I revealed^* myself to the family of your ancestor in Egypt when they were slaves^* to the house of Pharaoh. ²⁸I chose him out of all the tribes of Israel to be my priest, to go up to my altar, to offer incense, to wear an ephod before me; and I gave to the family of your ancestor all my offerings by fire from the people of Israel. ²⁹Why then look with greedy eye^* at my sacrifices and my offerings that I commanded, and honour your sons more than me by fattening yourselves on the choicest parts of every offering of my people Israel?” ³⁰Therefore the Lord the God of Israel declares: “I promised that your family and the family of your ancestor should go in and out before me for ever”; but now the Lord declares: “Far be it from me; for those who honour me I will honour, and those who despise me shall be treated with contempt. ³¹See, a time is coming when I will cut off your strength and the strength of your ancestor’s family, so that no one in your family will live to old age. ³²Then in distress you will look with greedy eye^* on all the prosperity that shall be bestowed upon Israel; and no one in your family shall ever live to old age. ³³The only one of you whom I shall not cut off from my altar shall be spared to weep out his^* eyes and grieve his^* heart; all the members of your household shall die by the sword.^{* 34}The fate of your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, shall be the sign to you—both of them shall die on the same day.

1 Samuel 4:12-21

A man of Benjamin ran from the battle line, and came to Shiloh the same day, with his clothes torn and with earth upon his head. ¹³When he arrived, Eli was sitting upon his seat by the road watching, for his heart trembled for the ark of God. When the man came into the city and told the news, all the city cried out. ¹⁴When Eli heard the sound of the outcry, he said, ‘What is this uproar?’ Then the man came quickly and told Eli. ¹⁵Now Eli was ninety-eight years old and his eyes were set, so that he could not see. ¹⁶The man said to Eli, ‘I have just come from the battle; I fled from the battle today.’ He said, ‘How did it go, my son?’ ¹⁷The messenger replied, ‘Israel has fled before the Philistines, and there has also been a great slaughter among the troops; your two sons also, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead, and the ark of God has been captured.’ ¹⁸When he mentioned the ark of God, Eli^* fell over backwards from his seat by the side of the gate; and his neck was broken and he died, for he was an old man, and heavy. He had judged Israel for forty years. ¹⁹ Now his daughter-in-law, the wife of Phinehas, was pregnant, about to give birth. When she heard the news that the ark of God was captured, and that her father-in-law and her husband were dead, she bowed and gave birth; for her labour pains overwhelmed her. ²⁰As she was about to die, the women attending her said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, for you have borne a son.’ But she did not answer or give heed. ²¹She named the child Ichabod, meaning, ‘The glory has departed from Israel’, because the ark of God had been captured and because of her father-in-law and her husband.

John 14:15-30

‘If you love me, you will keep^* my commandments. ¹⁶And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate,^* to be with you for ever. ¹⁷This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, because he abides with you, and he will be in^* you. ¹⁸ ‘I will not leave you orphaned; I am coming to you. ¹⁹In a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me; because I live, you also will live. ²⁰On that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. ²¹They who have my commandments and keep them are those who love me; and those who love me will be loved by my Father, and I will love them and reveal myself to them.’ ²²Judas (not Iscariot) said to him, ‘Lord, how is it that you will reveal yourself to us, and not to the world?’ ²³Jesus answered him, ‘Those who love me will keep my word, and my Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. ²⁴Whoever does not love me does not keep my words; and the word that you hear is not mine, but is from the Father who sent me. ₂₅ ‘I have said these things to you while I am still with you. ²⁶But the Advocate,^* the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you. ²⁷Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid. ²⁸You heard me say to you, “I am going away, and I am coming to you.” If you loved me, you would rejoice that I am going to the Father, because the Father is greater than I. ²⁹And now I have told you this before it occurs, so that when it does occur, you may believe. ³⁰I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming. He has no power over me;

3. How do we avoid displeasing the Spirit of God in our lives?

Psalm 119:9-16

⁹     How can young people keep their way pure?
      By guarding it according to your word. ¹⁰    With my whole heart I seek you;
      do not let me stray from your commandments. ¹¹    I treasure your word in my heart,
      so that I may not sin against you. ¹²    Blessed are you, O Lord;
      teach me your statutes. ¹³    With my lips I declare
      all the ordinances of your mouth. ¹⁴    I delight in the way of your decrees
      as much as in all riches. ¹⁵    I will meditate on your precepts,
      and fix my eyes on your ways. ¹⁶    I will delight in your statutes;
      I will not forget your word.

Romans 8:1-17

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. ²For the law of the Spirit^* of life in Christ Jesus has set you^* free from the law of sin and of death. ³For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do: by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and to deal with sin,^* he condemned sin in the flesh, ⁴so that the just requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.^{* 5}For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit^* set their minds on the things of the Spirit.^{* 6}To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit^* is life and peace. ⁷For this reason the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law—indeed it cannot, ⁸and those who are in the flesh cannot please God. ⁹ But you are not in the flesh; you are in the Spirit,^* since the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. ¹⁰But if Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit^* is life because of righteousness. ¹¹If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ^* from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through^* his Spirit that dwells in you. ¹² So then, brothers and sisters,^* we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh— ¹³for if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. ¹⁴For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. ¹⁵For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received a spirit of adoption. When we cry, ‘Abba!^* Father!’ ¹⁶it is that very Spirit bearing witness^* with our spirit that we are children of God, ¹⁷and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ—if, in fact, we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him.

Galatians 5:16-26

Live by the Spirit, I say, and do not gratify the desires of the flesh. ¹⁷For what the flesh desires is opposed to the Spirit, and what the Spirit desires is opposed to the flesh; for these are opposed to each other, to prevent you from doing what you want. ¹⁸But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not subject to the law. ¹⁹Now the works of the flesh are obvious: fornication, impurity, licentiousness, ²⁰idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, anger, quarrels, dissensions, factions, ²¹envy,^* drunkenness, carousing, and things like these. I am warning you, as I warned you before: those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. ²² By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, ²³gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things. ²⁴And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. ²⁵If we live by the Spirit, let us also be guided by the Spirit. ²⁶Let us not become conceited, competing against one another, envying one another.

1 Thessalonians 4:1-8

Finally, brothers and sisters,^* we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus that, as you learned from us how you ought to live and to please God (as, in fact, you are doing), you should do so more and more. ²For you know what instructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus. ³For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from fornication; ⁴that each one of you knows how to control your own body^* in holiness and honour, ⁵not with lustful passion, like the Gentiles who do not know God; ⁶that no one wrongs or exploits a brother or sister^* in this matter, because the Lord is an avenger in all these things, just as we have already told you beforehand and solemnly warned you. ⁷For God did not call us to impurity but in holiness. ⁸Therefore whoever rejects this rejects not human authority but God, who also gives his Holy Spirit to you.

Intercession/Worship

Conclusion

The Lord is our present help in the time of trouble and His Spirit is always at work in us and for us. May we be willing to follow His counsel at all times, for He alone knows the way.

Closing Prayer

We are eternally grateful Lord for the gift of Your Holy Spirit who guides and comforts us. Grant us the desire to please You always by following His leading everyday of our lives. We ask this through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. Amen.