Why It's Vital Not to Grieve the Spirit of God

To grieve the Holy Spirit is like letting corrosion build up on a battery so that the power of the battery cannot be accessed. In the life of a Christian, when the Holy Spirit is grieved, the charge and power available declines or is lost.¹ Grieving the Holy Spirit. What is that? It’s obviously not good. But how bad is it? How can we avoid it in our everyday life? These questions and more are our focus in today’s podcast. Why It’s Vital Not to Grieve the Spirit of God all on this week’s Light on Life.

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#S4-034: Why You Can Absolutely Expect Powerful Healing Moves of God [Podcast]

[Tweet “Do not let corrupt communication come out of your mouth because if you do, you will grieve the Spirit of God.”

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Each week’s podcast contains a call to action. The Word of God will not produce in your life unless you put it into operation.
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Keeping a sensitive heart and being quick to repent are both excellent ways of keeping ourselves in a place where we never grieve the Spirit of God

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Testimony is vital to a believer’s life. We overcome by it (Rev. 12:11). Each week’s podcast also contains a question designed to encourage testimony.
This week’s question is:

This week’s question is simple:

Now that you know what it means to grieve the Holy Spirit, what impact does this have on your life?

Episode Resources

1. We are currently teaching in the book of Ephesians. You can click on the links below to listen to some of these podcasts.

About Emery

Emery committed his life to the Lord Jesus Christ over 40 years ago and has served as both a full-time pastor and an itinerant minister. Both he and his wife Sharon of 35 years emphasize personal growth and development through the Word of God. The ministry of the Holy Spirit is their mission’s focus and the hallmark. Read more about them here.

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If you enjoyed the podcast, please rate it on Stitcher Radio and leave a review. If you have a suggestion for a Bible topic you would like to see taught, or if you have a question, please e-mail me at emery@emeryhorvath.com.

Podcast Notes

Review: What’s Your Next Move

In previous podcasts, we looked at four ‘next moves’ that you should make now that you have put on Christ.
Move number one was putting away lying.
- That’s Ephesians 4:25

Ephesians 4:25 (ESV) — 25 Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another.

The next move you should make now that you have come to Jesus. — put away anger.
That’s Ephesians 4:26.

Ephesians 4:26 (ESV) — 26 Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger,

Next up in the list of moves you should make now that you have put off the old man is to give the devil no place.

Ephesians 4:27 (NKJV) — 27 nor give place to the devil.

We saw that it means to give the devil no opportunity or don’t give him any ground.
Your next move is about theft or stealing.

Ephesians 4:28 (ESV) — 28 Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need.

And yes, apparently, in the face of the Ten Commandments, you have to talk to Christians about stealing.
Paul talked to the Ephesians about it right here.
So, we need to put away stealing.
But that’s not all the moves that we should make.
Do you mean there’s more?
Yes, there are.

Ephesians 4:29 (ESV) — 29 Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.

What is corrupt communication?
Well, it’s cursing for sure, but it is not just cursing.
Communication should be good for building up.
If the words of your mouth tear down a person’s dignity, then that is corrupt communication.
Your words should give grace, God’s grace, to those who hear it, and if it doesn’t, then it is corrupt, rotten, worn out, unfit for use, worthless, or bad.
Cursing surely fits this definition, but other forms of corrupt communication exist.
Try verbal abuse, for one; that also fits the bill.
Slander and demeaning a person’s character is totally unfit speech.
And we covered that in a previous podcast.
One last thing about corrupt speech covers the area of speaking to one another and the words we use when speaking to God.
God is a faith God, so when we speak to God, we should speak in faith.

James 1:5–6 (ESV) — 5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. 6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind.

Faith is the language of heaven.
When you pray, you pray in faith.
When you address the Lord, you address Him in faith.
It’s not something you think about because you understand faith; you know that faith calls things that be not as though they were.
Faith-filled words are your tools of choice – words found in the Bible.
We speak the Word — we speak God talk.
You can’t say a thing better than God said it.
Unbelief is not in our vocabulary.
We understand that doubt constitutes corrupt communication.
Speak your faith and doubt your doubts.
If God promised us peace, we shouldn’t talk fear.
If He promised us provision, we shouldn’t talk lack.
If God promised us health, we shouldn’t talk sickness.
If He promised us long life, we should plan for it and allow it to be our constant conversation.
Anything other than that falls into the realm of corrupt communication.

Grieve Not the Holy Spirit

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

The next move is not to grieve the Holy Spirit.
This is not a general stand-alone admonition.
All the previous ‘next moves’ were stand-alone warnings: don’t lie, don’t steal, give the devil no ground, etc.
Paul makes no direct connection between these.
They are simple ‘don’t do these things.’
But here, grieving the Holy Spirit is connected to the previous admonition not to allow corrupt communication to come out of your mouth.
So, the way you read this is, ‘Do not let corrupt communication come out of your mouth because if you do, you will grieve the Spirit of God.
And with that thought, here’s the Quote of the Day.

The utterance of evil or worthless words is repugnant to the holiness of the Spirit, and is to be refrained from as calculated to grieve Him.[Kenneth S. Wuest, Wuest’s Word Studies from the Greek New Testament: For the English Reader, vol. 4 (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1997), 116.]

What is Grieving the Holy Spirit?

The Greek word grieve means to sadden to cause to feel sorrow or unhappiness.
Try these words: “to grieve, wound, cause pain, produce remorse, insult.” ²
Grieving the Holy Spirit is simple – don’t insult Him — don’t cause Him pain.

Genesis 6:6 (ESV) — 6 And the Lord regretted that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart.

The Hebrew word for grieve here in Genesis 6:6 means to be hurt, pained, saddened, angry, or vexed.
Similar language to what we see in Greek.
So, what resulted from the Lord being hurt, pained, saddened, angry, and vexed over man’s actions?
What happened after this?
The Flood came!
So, I want you to see that grieving the Holy Spirit is a cataclysmic-ly bad thing that you absolutely want to distance yourself from.
Now it’s not an accidental something — it’s not an incidental something.
The Lord is of long patience.

Numbers 14:18 (ESV) — 18 ‘The Lord is slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, forgiving iniquity and transgression, but he will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, to the third and the fourth generation.’

So it’s not like you have to be cowering thinking, ‘I have to watch my mouth’ because if I don’t, God will get me.’
You must get past Numbers 14:18 before you ever get to grieving Him.
You must get on the other side of the Lord is slow to anger.
And once you get past that, you must get past God’s abounding in steadfast love toward you.
You must get on the other side of forgiving iniquity and transgression before you ever grieve Him.
But here’s the thing, some people do it.
That’s what happened in Genesis six.
That’s what happened in Israel.
Israel grieved the Spirit of God in a big way.

Isaiah 63:7–10 (ESV) — 7 I will recount the steadfast love of the Lord, the praises of the Lord, according to all that the Lord has granted us, and the great goodness to the house of Israel that he has granted them according to his compassion, according to the abundance of his steadfast love. 8 For he said, “Surely they are my people, children who will not deal falsely.” And he became their Savior. 9 In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them; in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; he lifted them up and carried them all the days of old. 10 But they rebelled and grieved his Holy Spirit; therefore he turned to be their enemy, and himself fought against them.

Now, can you see how the Holy Spirit was grieved by reading this passage?
The Lord loved His people with steadfast love.
The Hebrew word for steadfast love is hesed.
Hesed is defined as loyal love, an unfailing kind of love, kindness, or goodness; often used of God’s love that is related to faithfulness to his covenant.
Hesed is covenant love, and covenant love is loyal love.
God loved Israel with this kind of extraordinary love.
He loves you with this kind of love.
Why did Isaiah say that he would recount God’s, unfailing love? — because of all that the Lord had granted them and, secondly, because of God’s great goodness to the house of Israel.
God had blessed them, delivered them; God had given them a land flowing with milk and honey.
He delivered them from their enemies and turned them from common slaves into a great nation of kings and priests.
He did this all through His compassion, a deep awareness of and sympathy for Israel’s suffering.
God is a good God, and good things, plans, and blessings flow from his heart.
And the Lord was confident concerning Israel — He said of them, “surely they are my people, children who will not deal falsely.”
Because of this confidence, He became their Savior.
The Hebrew word savior means deliverer.
It’s a person who delivers others from pain, suffering, hardship, or death.
Verse nine is so telling; listen to it.

in all their affliction he was afflicted,

Implying what?
God felt all of His people’s pains because he was so connected to them.
Just like a caring and nurturing mother feels every pain of her newborn child, so the Lord identified with all of Israel’s afflictions.
He hasn’t changed.

Hebrews 4:15 (KJV 1900) — 15 For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.

The feeling of our infirmities touches him.
‘Touched with the feeling of’ is all one word in Greek, and it shows that God sympathizes and shares your feelings and understands your sentiments and struggles.
So, His insides yearn for you.
His compassion abounds toward you.
You are not just a number and nameless face to Him.
And God wasn’t that way with Israel.
That’s what Isaiah is saying.
But there’s more.
God didn’t just sympathize with Israel — He wasn’t just afflicted with their afflictions — he went a step beyond that.
He sent the Angel of His Presence to deliver His people.
He didn’t just feel — he did something about it.
The Angel of His Presence is unique in the Old Testament.
It refers to a messenger who stands in the place of God.³
Literally, the Angel of His Presence is the angel of His face.
That’s what the word presence means — it means His face.
This angel was in God’s very face — that’s pretty close to the glory and splendor of Almighty God.
This Angel was so close to God that He could withstand the heaviness of His glory.
This Angel is Jesus.
I’m telling you, God did the same for you.
When you were lost in sin, He nailed the Angel of His Presence to a tree so that you might be set right with God.
The Blood of the Angel of His Presence was shed so that you might be free.
God made provision for you when you were afflicted with sickness and disease.
Blood was shed — Jesus was beaten, and by His stripes, you are healed.
He sympathized with you and sent a deliverer, a Savior, a Healer, a baptizer in the Holy Ghost.
He sent Him for you!
He didn’t just say, ‘Oh you poor dear — I’m sorry you’re not doing well, I’m sorry you were abused — I’m sorry you were orphaned — I’m sorry that you were mugged — I’m sorry that cancer depleted you — No, He sent a Savior!

in his pity he redeemed them; he lifted them up and carried them all the days of old.

That’s verse nine of Isaiah 63.
Now with all that goodness and mercy flooding into the children of Abraham, what did they do?
Did they rejoice?
Did they swear allegiance to the King of Kings?
Did they thank God every day for His great blessings to them?
No!
This is what they did.

10 But they rebelled…

They rebelled? What?
Yes, they rebelled against this goodness and said by their actions we don’t want it — we don’t appreciate it.
The Hebrew word rebelled means to defy God.
‘What,’ said the Lord, you defy — I give simple commands designed to keep you safe, and you want to go whoring after wickedness?

10 But they rebelled and grieved his Holy Spirit; therefore he turned to be their enemy, and himself fought against them.

Who turned and became their enemy? — The Father God.

Psalm 78:40 (ESV) — 40 How often they rebelled against him in the wilderness and grieved him in the desert!

How often did they rebel against the Lord?
The scripture said — ten times — we will read it here.
The very last time, the tenth time, God was ready to rise in judgment against them.
He had instructed Israel to send spies into the land of Cannan.
The spies brought back a report that the land was flowing with milk and honey — they brought back some of the fruit — but there was a but.
A but? Yes, a confession that we can’t do it.
“We can’t take the land. We can’t do it — there are too many obstacles, too many problems, too many difficulties, and too many giants. We can’t do it. We know that the Lord brought us out of the land of Egypt. We understand that God wiped out the most powerful nation on planet earth engram and washed their cherry wheels away. We know that, but we saw these giants, and they’re big boys, and we’re telling you that we can’t do it. God brought us out here to wipe us out.

Numbers 13:31–33 (ESV) — 31 Then the men who had gone up with him said, “We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we are.” 32 So they brought to the people of Israel a bad report of the land that they had spied out, saying, “The land, through which we have gone to spy it out, is a land that devours its inhabitants, and all the people that we saw in it are of great height. 33 And there we saw the Nephilim (the sons of Anak, who come from the Nephilim), and we seemed to ourselves like grasshoppers, and so we seemed to them.”

Ten spies brought back this kind of report, and the people sided with the ten and listen to it here in the word of God.

Numbers 14:1–4 (ESV) — 1 Then all the congregation raised a loud cry, and the people wept that night. 2 And all the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron. The whole congregation said to them, “Would that we had died in the land of Egypt! Or would that we had died in this wilderness! 3 Why is the Lord bringing us into this land to fall by the sword? Our wives and our little ones will become prey. Would it not be better for us to go back to Egypt?” 4 And they said to one another, “Let us choose a leader and go back to Egypt.”

As soon as Moses and Aaron heard it, they fell on their faces before God, and they started crying out to him, and they rose from that prayer, encouraging the people and said, look, don’t do this; don’t rebel against the Lord.
But the people got angry, and they picked up stones to stone them, and God responded when they did.
The glory of the Lord appeared, and the Lord said to Moses.

Numbers 14:11–12 (ESV) — 11 And the Lord said to Moses, “How long will this people despise me? And how long will they not believe in me, in spite of all the signs that I have done among them? 12 I will strike them with the pestilence and disinherit them, and I will make of you a nation greater and mightier than they.”

Then Moses got to praying and interceding for the people.

Numbers 14:19–24 Please pardon the iniquity of this people, according to the greatness of your steadfast love, just as you have forgiven this people, from Egypt until now.” 20 Then the Lord said, “I have pardoned, according to your word. 21 But truly, as I live, and as all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord, 22 none of the men who have seen my glory and my signs that I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and yet have put me to the test these ten times and have not obeyed my voice, 23 shall see the land that I swore to give to their fathers. And none of those who despised me shall see it. 24 But my servant Caleb, because he has a different spirit and has followed me fully, I will bring into the land into which he went, and his descendants shall possess it.

What got Israel into trouble? — Words corrupt communication.
Corrupt communication is not just cursing.
Corrupt communication is not just slander.
Corrupt communication is also speaking of doubt and unbelief.
And when they spoke these kinds of words, that’s what grieved the Holy Spirit.
Israel deliberately disobeyed the God who rescued them from slavery in Egypt⁴
How did all of this make the Lord feel?

Isaiah 54:6 (ESV) — 6 For the Lord has called you like a wife deserted and grieved in spirit, like a wife of youth when she is cast off, says your God.

Like a wife deserted.
And with that thought, here is the Illustration of the Day.

Sharon was just talking to me yesterday and sharing this story with me. She had gone to one of the places that we frequent to buy food and there’s a gentleman in that store who distributes samples. He gives out samples of the product that he’s trying to sell and and so, when we go shopping and we see him, we go by and and we get a sample. But yesterday, he got to sharing with Sharon about how he had been married for 30 years and his wife just up and left him and he never saw it coming. He talked about the struggles the six month struggle that he went through — a dark period trying to make sense of all of it.

I’m talking about a wife deserted, a husband deserted.
How does one feel when something like this happens?
Well, you can only imagine if you’ve never been through it, but some of you have been through it, and you know exactly what that feels like.
That’s how God felt when Israel deserted him.
That’s the feeling that He had to deal with on the inside of Him.
He was grieved.
He was in pain — He was hurt, and when you get on the other side of this compassion into this area, it’s a really, really bad thing.
God turns and becomes an enemy instead of a deliverer.
But you know God is something else.
Listen to this.

Isaiah 54:6–7 (ESV) — 6 For the Lord has called you like a wife deserted and grieved in spirit, like a wife of youth when she is cast off, says your God. 7 For a brief moment I deserted you, but with great compassion I will gather you.

God is awesome.
Despite the continual rejection, He yet, in His compassion, gathered His people back up again.
For a brief moment, I deserted you, but with great compassion, I will gather you.
Now, He is the same God today as He was then.
By the Spirit of God, Paul says don’t grieve Him.
Don’t do it.

Hebrews 4:1–2 (ESV) — 1 Therefore, while the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us fear lest any of you should seem to have failed to reach it. 2 For good news came to us just as to them, but the message they heard did not benefit them because they were not united by faith with those who listened.

Now Father God, in the precious Name of Jesus, I pray for the people right now. I ask you to help us all. Grant unto us a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of you and your ways. Help us not to grieve your Spirit. Help us to respond in faith. Help us respond rightly even when we don’t understand. The Lord is good and His mercy endures forever.

You guys have a great God week in Jesus’ Name, Amen.

How the Holy Spirit of God Moves In Your Heart

__________
References:

Tony Evans, Tony Evans’ Book of Illustrations: Stories, Quotes, and Anecdotes from More than 30 Years of Preaching and Public Speaking (Chicago, IL: Moody Publishers, 2009), 151. ↩
Eldon Woodcock, “The Filling of the Holy Spirit,” Bibliotheca Sacra 157 (2000): 84. ↩
Graham S. Ogden and Jan Sterk, A Handbook on Isaiah, ed. Paul Clarke et al., vol. 1 & 2, United Bible Societies’ Handbooks (Reading, UK: United Bible Societies, 2011), 1767. ↩
United Bible Societies’ Handbooks (Reading, UK: United Bible Societies, 2011), 1768–1769. ↩

emeryhorvath.com

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Why It’s Vital Not to Grieve the Spirit of God

Podcast: Light on Life Season 9 Episode 38

by Emery Horvath

Listen to the Audio

Click Play to Listen | Right Click to Download | Subscribe in Stitcher Radio

Read the Notes

Accept the Challenge

Join the Conversation

This week’s question is simple:

Episode Resources

We are currently teaching in the book of Ephesians. You can click on the links below to listen to some of these podcasts.

About Emery

Subscribe to the Podcast

Stitcher Radio Google Play

iTunes

Podcast Notes

Review: What’s Your Next Move

Grieve Not the Holy Spirit

What is Grieving the Holy Spirit?

Listen to the Audio

Click Play to Listen | Right Click to Download | Subscribe in Stitcher Radio

Read the Notes

Accept the Challenge

Join the Conversation

This week’s question is simple:

Episode Resources

We are currently teaching in the book of Ephesians. You can click on the links below to listen to some of these podcasts.

About Emery

Subscribe to the Podcast

Stitcher Radio Google Play

iTunes

Podcast Notes

Review: What’s Your Next Move

Grieve Not the Holy Spirit

What is Grieving the Holy Spirit?

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