The Gift of the Spirit – EP80 (Eph. 4:30)
Ephesians 4:30
And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.
Hello and welcome to the One Thing podcast. I would like to share with you a verse from the book of Ephesians. It’s Ephesians chapter 4 verse 30 and it says, “And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.”
"What a wonderful gift God has given us - the Holy Spirit."As I read these words and this verse, my heart leaps to think of the Holy Spirit of God. The gift that God has given. The gift of God, the Spirit of God who draws us near to Him. The Spirit of God who creates a communion between us and the Father in Heaven. A communion with the Lord Jesus Christ as He brings Him into our spirit, into our soul. I think of the Holy Spirit who empowers us to do God's work and will. This Spirit of comfort, the Holy Spirit, which is the gift of God to allow us to do all that God has called us to do on this Earth. What a wonderful gift God has given us - the Holy Spirit.
Furthermore, Paul says here that He is the Spirit of God who is our seal, who has sealed us for the day of redemption. Now what does that mean? In simple words, He is our seal. He is the proof in our lives that we belong to God. That's right, those who belong to God have the Spirit of God. When we carry His presence, when we walk in the Spirit’s power, it is proof, a seal that we belong to the Lord. It is a proof that we hold onto in faith knowing that one day, we will see our God face to face.
"what have we withheld from the Spirit of God?"Furthermore, Paul now gives a command and he says, “Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God.” Now we can talk a lot about how often we grieve Him by the things that we do but what I want to focus on just for a moment here is not only the things that we do that grieve the Holy Spirit but I ask, what are the things that we don't do that grieve the Spirit? That's right, what have we withheld from the Spirit of God?
Is it our ears? Where our ears have not been attuned to His voice? Where we like to maybe hear certain things but then we don't want to hear other things that God wants to speak? Maybe we withhold our listening heart, our listening ear because we're a little too busy and we're listening to everything else that is happening. Have we grieved Him by withholding our eyes and looking at this world and looking at the things that we possess as more real than the Spirit's power, more real than God, more real than the Scriptures?
Today, maybe if we find that our ears have not been open, that we have grieved the Spirit, then today may we turn to repent and ask the Lord that He would open our ears to the Spirit. No longer to grieve Him but now satisfy as those who are available, who are ready to hear and to listen and to respond. If we find that our eyes have grieved the Spirit by looking to everything else and keeping focus on everything else but His word and His truth and what He is calling us to do, then may we turn this day and fix our eyes, asking the Spirit to fix our eyes upon Jesus. To fix our eyes upon what matters in this life. To fix our eyes not on the temporal things that will one day pass away but to fix our eyes on the work of God, which is an eternal work that will last forever.
"Do not withhold what God has called us to give, which is truly our lives to Him."Do not grieve the Holy Spirit. Do not withhold what God has called us to give, which is truly our lives to Him. I know some of you are hearing and listening right now and maybe your heart is leaping just as mine is and I pray that it is leaping to know that we can now turn to God in a deeper way. To turn to God to be used and to be filled with the Spirit, no longer to grieve Him but to truly satisfy Him. To satisfy Him through the power of the gospel through the power of Jesus in our lives.
I'm praying today that we would no longer grieve the Spirit but we would truly walk in the Spirit. That we would take that seal, that proofing that God has offered and given and walk in faith and true power that God has called us to live and to demonstrate.
I'm thankful today for the Spirit of God. May we stop and begin to thank God for the working of the Spirit in our lives. The Spirit who even causes repentance. The Spirit who causes us to grow closer to God, to hear, to see and to be able to respond and walk with Him. To have a communion with God that God has intended from the beginning of time.
I pray today Holy Spirit, that You would move in this Word. I'm praying that You would move in those who are Yours, God. That You would move in Your people and I thank You and bless You. In Jesus’ name, amen.