Ephesians 4: 29 Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.30 And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.
This is simple and straight forward resulting from other exhortations in the Bible concerning how we treat the Lord. Do we stop and consider in our daily life how we are treating the Lord? We tell him he’s not keeping his promises. It’s easy to blame God for things. It’s easy to listen to Satan and say ‘what’s the matter with God today.’ The answer is nothing is wrong with him! He treats us better than we need to be treated.
We’ve been saved by grace. We’re subject to the limitations of the flesh but we have a new beginning and the possibility to live different than before we were saved. If we make it, it is 100% by the Lord and 100% by our surrender to the Lord in our heart. Jeremiah reminded us to give God our heart.
We don’t look forward to going to the dentist. Why do they use those sharp things in our mouth? Sometimes we might think they like doing that to hurt people. You have to go because your teeth need maintenance. Without Jesus and the Holy Spirit in the heart of the believer we would be in trouble. We should have more concern for our spiritual welfare that our physical needs. We need doctors and dentists but there is One we need every day. He’s the third member of the Godhead, the Holy Spirit. In the book of John, Jesus said he had to go away for the Spirit—the Comforter—to come. The disciples had accepted Jesus as the Christ and Messiah. He was not just there for the nation but for the people. He told them not to think that he was too far away. They would still have someone to help.
When parents raise children the correct way, it hurts sometimes. Stop and think about the blessing of a safe and sound home. God has sent us the Holy Spirit. There is God the Father. He is the Son and He is the Holy Spirit. Shame on us if we think they are in heaven, too far away. Jesus would have stayed with us if we would have been alone. BUT WE’RE NOT! Jesus came several times before his birth to the earth. He helped Moses and Joshua. He was the fourth man in the fiery furnace. The Lord was with those Hebrew boys when they refused to bow before they were ever thrown in the furnace. We read in the Old Testament how the Spirit came upon people. They prophesied and were filled. Saul was filled with the Spirit until he grieved him. Pride got in his heart and the Spirit departed. Samson did what can’t be done. He tied fox tails together. How? Only through the Spirit. Only Samson could slay 1,000 Philistines with the jaw bone of a donkey. Only through the Spirit. When he took the Nazarite vow he was not to touch anything dead or cut his hair. It was a symbol of his service to God. He served as a judge to deliver the people. Of all we need today, we need the Comforter. Samson began to think that no matter what he did, it was all right. It is not our success; it’s through the Spirit. Did we help God save us? No. Only he can do that. We surrender to him as Lord of our life through the working of the Trinity—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. You cannot do it on your own. He is never far away. The Comforter is with us as teacher, guide, and helps us fight our battles. Romans chapter 8 tells us we have a Comforter who intercedes for us. How are you treating him?
Without the conviction of the Holy Spirit we would never have been saved. We felt bad for our sins by exposure to the Bible. We saw what we were. Our soul was opened to the fact that God sent Jesus to the world. We accepted him as Savior. We needed someone without sin to save us. Jesus came as the Father commanded. When he left, the Comforter was sent to be with us. Look with your spiritual eyes for help. How are you treating him? Do you ignore him? We’re always capable of sin because we’re in the flesh. John tells us about our advocate—Jesus Christ—he goes before us when we confess our sin. The one who takes us to God is the Holy Spirit, our only protector. We’re convicted and respond. We are born again. Without the Spirit we are none of his. In our flesh we can’t please God. Live and walk in the Spirit. He’s the only way we know we’re saved and is the one who helps us day by day. Conviction. Conversion. Then he sticks with us. Don’t mistreat him.
Do you find yourself not listening to the Holy Spirit? He doesn’t yell at us; he has that still, small voice. If we put him aside, we’d fall apart. Live by the Spirit. Take the sword of the Spirit—the Word of God—and keep the door open to him. We come to church and want to be blessed. Shouting is good. The Bible tells us we are to worship in Spirit and in truth. We need to surrender to him. We can’t walk in the Spirit and straddle the fence. We must live in him, listen to him, and follow him. And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. The one we need to treat best is the Spirit. There is room for only one spirit in our heart. Is the Holy Spirit or you there? The doorknob of your heart is yours. Close it with the Spirit inside. Don’t grieve him. Don’t hurt him. I’ve said things to people that have hurt them. I’ve made people cry with my ignorance. I broke my mom’s heart several times as well as my brother’s. It hurts me to know I did that. They forgave me.
What we have to do if the Spirit is not where he should be is get him there. Don’t cause him to cry. Don’t we all want the Father, Son and Spirit to be happy with us? Open your heart. Surrender. Ask the Spirit to come back where he needs to be. When we treat him right we’ll treat others right and walk in love with one another. This is only done by our surrender to the Spirit. He’ll get us to heaven.
How are you treating him?
Adwolfe Freewill Baptist Church 