Open Heavens - Sunday April 16, 2017; Topic: Grieve not the Holy Spirit

Memory verse:
Ephesians 4:30

And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption

Read: Acts 5:1-6
1But a man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property,
2and kept back some of the price for himself, with his wife’s full knowledge, and bringing a portion of it, he laid it at the apostles’ feet.
3But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back some of the price of the land?
4“While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not under your control? Why is it that you have conceived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God.”
5And as he heard these words, Ananias fell down and breathed his last; and great fear came over all who heard of it.
6The young men got up and covered him up, and after carrying him out, they buried him.

Bible in one year: (click on each scripture to read)
Numbers 3, Jeremiah 14:13-22

Hymn: The Comforter has come

Message:
One of the attributes of the Holy Spirit that confirms to us that He is a person is that He can be grieved. Indeed, the Holy Spirit can be abused to the point of being grieved. At this point, He can decide to show His almightiness like the other two personalities of the God head.
This is the reason why Apostle Paul admonished us not to grieve the Holy Spirit of God (Ephesians 4:20)

New International Version
That, however, is not the way of life you learned

There are many reasons why it is dangerous to grieve the Holy Spirit. One of such reasons is located in today’s memory verse. We are sealed as a covering that shields us from the activities of Satan and his cohorts. If you make your Covering annoyed to the extent that He deserts you, in that case, you will be left without a shield protecting you against evil spirits. This is very dangerous because we cannot pass through this world of evil as pilgrims without the assistance of the Holy Spirit.
Another reason why it is dangerous to grieve the Holy Spirit is that His wrath could be very devastating. The story in today’s Bible text confirms that no man can withstand His wrath.
Ananias and Sapphira his wife grieved the Holy Spirit and they were punished by death. What did they do to grieve the Holy Spirit?
They lied to Him. Many so-called believers would regard this as a “simple lie”, but it was enough to grieve the Holy Spirit, and He struck them dead. Cooperating with a liar can also grieve the Holy Spirit as in the case of Sapphira, Ananias’ wife.
It is dangerous to keep company with liars because the same punishment is meted out to the original liar would be received by the accomplice.
In time past, Christians used to be persecuted in various establishments because they would not cooperate with liars who would get to work at 10 a.m. but register 7 a.m. as the resumption time.
Today, some Christians are doing worse, even in church offices.
Rebelling against the Lordship of the Holy Spirit over your life is another way through which He can be grieved. When you get to a point where you refuse to take instructions from the voice of the Holy Spirit within you, then you rebelled against His Lordship.
The bible in Isaiah 63:10 says;

“but they rebelled, and vexed His Holy Spirit: therefore He was turned to be their enemy and He fought them.”

Beloved, let us heed the admonition of Paul and desist from grieving the Holy Spirit by all means.

Prayer Point:
Father, please pardon me in any way I have grieved Your Holy Spirit, and give me the grace never to do so again until I see You in glory.