Do Not Grieve the Holy Spirit
ICS Daily Devotions

Ephesians 4:30-31 (NKJV) Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.

As Christians, we must have the mind of Christ to be open to His counsel, wisdom, and leading.

After we are born again, our conscience becomes very sensitive because the blood of Jesus has washed us clean. Our spirit man is a new creation, and God will speak to us through the conscience, which is found in our heart or the spirit being. We are created in true holiness and righteousness in the new creation. Love is part of the new creation. Therefore, we can love, be kind, gentle, self-controlled, and live Spirit-controlled lives.

The Holy Spirit will prompt us to be kind with our words and actions whenever we face a situation where we are tempted to react in the flesh. There is always a choice whenever we experience a struggle between the flesh and the Spirit-controlled life. We should yield to the Holy Spirit to keep quiet, walk away, or communicate in a way that will not hurt the other person. The more we practise yielding to the Holy Spirit, the sharper we will get at hearing His voice. However, if we disregard His voice to love, forgive, and extend grace but yield to the flesh and speak corrupt words, lash out in anger, and speak evil, we will sense a grieving in our hearts. This is the Holy Spirit’s feeling in our hearts as a result of our disobedience.

1 Thessalonians 5:19-20 (NKJV) Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies.

The Holy Spirit also wishes to edify, comfort, and exhort His people and the church periodically as He wills. Therefore, He will prompt those in the meeting to release a word of prophecy. There will be prophetic utterances to encourage both the individual and the church, provided they are open to the operation of the gifts of the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit will prompt individuals with the gift of prophecy to release the Word or to minister in any of the nine gifts. However, if we refuse to yield to His prompting as He wills, we will quench the Holy Spirit. Prophecy is subject to the person whom the Holy Spirit impresses upon to release the Word because the Holy Spirit will not overcome our will. They can choose to yield to the Holy Spirit or to quench Him.

The person of the Holy Spirit is just as real as a friend. Although we cannot see Him, we can know Him deeply, understand how He speaks to us, and know His voice or prompting in our hearts. However, the Holy Spirit has feelings which we can sense in our hearts. Therefore, we need to yield to Him to keep ourselves sharp or sensitive to Him, so that we will know when He reveals things to us, speaks to and prompts us. Hearing from God is not a formula but about a close relationship.

Sermon Series: Are you connected with the Almighty Intelligence (AI)?