"Listening to the Holy Spirit"

Grieving the Holy Spirit

The Holy Spirit can be grieved, which means he can be hurt and disappointed with your behavior. Both your thoughts and words can potentially grieve the Holy Spirit. You always have the gift of free will and your actions may cause the Holy Spirit to be grieved.Grieving the Holy Spirit must be avoided at all costs. He will soon withdraw if you don't control your sinful behavior. The Bible clearly instructs you to take care, that you do not grieve the Spirit of God. When you grieve the Holy Spirit you may not physically or emotionally feel anything but its very important to remember that you are hurting God.

Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption- Ephesians 4:30

All sin grieves the Holy Spirit but these issues are specifically mentioned by the Apostle Paul in his various epistles as things which grieve the Holy Spirit.
Don't lie, be brutally honest. Half truths are lies !! Stop withholding bits of information or trying to manipulate matters.
Do not steal, work for and earn your daily bread.­ Be charitable and generous with what you earn, despise greed and selfishness.
Tame your tongue, don't use foul language and stop speaking idle words. Only say what you mean and don't say things if they are not motivated by love.
Shun bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor (rioting in groups) and gossip. God hates anyone who sows discord among brothers (slanderers).
Also when you give into your carnal nature and live by the flesh, you are going against the Holy Spirit. The following scripture gives you a list of behavior that characterizes the flesh

"Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God."-Galatians 5:19-21

BIBLICAL INSPIRATION

The Apostles led the early Christian church with much love and tenderness, the whole congregation lived as brothers and sisters and people freely shared between themselves whatever they had. They also at times sold their possessions and shared the profits amongst themselves and with the poor and needy. The whole church was motivated by love rather than by force or compulsion.
About this time a shocking incident occurred which is very rare in the Bible. A couple by the names of Ananias and his wife Sapphira sold their property and secretly decided that they will keep a portion for themselves and only give the remaining to the church. There was no need for them to do this, they could have kept the whole money or not sold the land at all. Their motives are not clearly explained, they probably did it to show off to the whole community their generosity. They planned and tried to deceive the Apostles.Ananias takes the money, goes to the church and gives it to Peter, who instantly knows that there is deception in this man. He charges Ananias with letting satan pollute his heart. Peter says while there was no need for him to do what he did, he did so anyway and by doing this Ananias did not sin against men but against the Holy Spirit. Ananias falls dead instantly, the young men in the church quickly bury him.
A while later his wife comes in looking for her husband. Peter and the whole church know the truth, he still gives Sapphira a chance to repent, he asks her "Is this all the money you got by selling the land?". Unfortunately Sapphira does not repent, she repeats the lie of her husband and she too instantly falls dead and is buried.
This is one of the rare cases of where the exemplary judgement of God was instant. He has great patience and mercy, but it is possible for us as humans to test His limits. God hates lying and hypocrisy, these were Spirit filled believers who took advantage of the goodness of God with serious consequences.

LIFE APPLICATION

*Identify areas or weaknesses in your life where you potentially hurt the Holy Spirit
*Constantly try to improve and keep asking God to help you overcome these weaknesses
*When you sin or grieve the Holy Spirit, quickly acknowledge your mistake, ask Him to forgive you and consciously try not to repeat it again.