Grieving the Spirit

Who can tell me, how does one grieve the Spirit (of God)?

Also, tell me what does grieve the Spirit of God?

If your father sent you to do something and you rebelled against him, what do you think your father would feel?

Pamela wrote:If your father sent you to do something and you rebelled against him, what do you think your father would feel?

My father was hardly ever around, and I did not know what I was doing was wrong that I was often punished for a different offense.

Is this how God is?

(I believe he is not that way)

I believe that you can greave the spirit. This is don't be the out right rebaling against what He is trying to get you to do. I don't mean the miss ups, or missunderstanding him, but the out right, I'm going to do it my way thing. The out right disrespacting him. Mocking. It would be like having him move on me, knowing Who he is and seeing what he can do, and than turning an making fun of, or mocking what he is and does in us or others. I seen long time ago, a person on my husbands side of the family that through himself on his nees in drama, mocking the anointing see on others be acting it out himself and saying it is of the devil.

Greaving, and blasfeming the spirit are deliberately done. Not something that is done unknowingly. When I seen that I couldn't go around him, just like I can bring myself to watch movies were others seem to be mocking G-d in anyways. Now, I not to long ago, was sent back to a yound boy on another forum that ran his mouth off saying lies about G-d, I was mad at him for doing so, and didn't want to talk to him again, but the Lord showed me that he didn't know fully what he was doing, and to go back. So I did, I still don't see the good that sometimes what we are sent back to do, but G-d sees the end of it, so that is good enough for me.

So, Bob, what has happend for you to ask this? I went through a time when I was thinking, "did I do this?" Well, like I said, if we don't get what we are doing than, G-d takes and helps us get back into control of ourselves. Thanks for that, Father.....I need all the help I can get!

Bob wrote:

Pamela wrote:If your father sent you to do something and you rebelled against him, what do you think your father would feel?

My father was hardly ever around, and I did not know what I was doing was wrong that I was often punished for a different offense.

Is this how God is?

(I believe he is not that way)

What happened to the Israelites when they murmered and complained in the wilderness? They wandered in the desert... It got to a point Moses had to interceed that God didn't take them out....

What happened to the sinful cities of S & G? They were completely destroyed...Do you not think they grieved the Spirit so much that God anger boiled to stike them down in death...You don't believe He is this way?

God is love, but this same God does pass down judgment upon His people...Does it not start with the church first? 1 Peter 4:17 For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God?

Thanks Hardy, Pamela for responding.

Okay, how does one grieve God's Spirit? (your answer: disobedience)

But, how do I know if I grieve the Spirit?

How do you know if you grieve God's Spirit? How do you know?

I complain, I complain a lot (I'm not happy about it but that is who I am).

So, should I know I grieve God's Spirit when I complain? When I see someone interceding on my behalf when I complain excessively?

Is that when I say "Ah! I'm grieving God's Spirit, because here is someone who has just interceded on my behalf"

When? When

Another thing to ponder, who is that intecessor?

Bob, we can grieve the Spirit of the LORD by our disobedience to HIS WORD...by allowing sin to come into our lives.

I think your question has to do with these verses:

Ephesians 4:29 Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers. 30 And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. 31 Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: 32 And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.

It has to do with us dying daily in the flesh as the scriptures that surround the verse about Grieving the Spirit, imply...


JESUS is our intercessor, and it is HIS HOLY SPIRIT that indwells us, and intercedes on our behalf. JESUS tells us that HE would send us another, and that was the HOLY SPIRIT to indwell us. So, even when we are in complaint mode, and don't really know it, the HOLY SPIRIT is interceding on our behalf.

At least, this is the way I understand it.

Here are some scriptures:

John 14:17 Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.

John 15:26 But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me:

Romans 8:26 Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. 27 And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.

Galatians 4:6 And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.

Ephesians 1:12 That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ. 13 In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, 14 Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.


I hope that this helps you.

Bob wrote:Thanks Hardy, Pamela for responding.

Okay, how does one grieve God's Spirit? (your answer: disobedience)

But, how do I know if I grieve the Spirit?

How do you know if you grieve God's Spirit? How do you know?

I complain, I complain a lot (I'm not happy about it but that is who I am).

So, should I know I grieve God's Spirit when I complain? When I see someone interceding on my behalf when I complain excessively?

Is that when I say "Ah! I'm grieving God's Spirit, because here is someone who has just interceded on my behalf"

When? When

Another thing to ponder, who is that intecessor?

HB your not looking into what I am pointing out....I am trying to get you to look into it and seek it out...I am pointing "REJECTION" of the Holy Spirit....Those lives that reject....

I think Susan has posted what you need to seek in the Word...

Who? Do you not know your body is temple, the vessel in which the Holy SPirit dwells? Our mouth opens and the intercession comes through via the Holy SPirit...It is all thing of God that guides the believer HB....

HB here is an article I pulled up...Read through it and study it...It gives a great explanation of what you are seeking..

http://www.jesusplusnothing.com/studies/online/grievingtheholyspirit.htm

Thanks Pamela, Susan. A very good study in the article you had posted.

Grieving the Spirit of God = to hold bitterness and anger, wrath, etc...

Who has never been angry, bitter or wrathful? (not I)

Who still experiences anger or bitterness or wrath?

Who can say that they still have them?

I can.

What does that mean?

I'll tell you a story. It happened today. I went out to lunch with a friend and she was indecisive about where to go, so I choosed for her by picking out a local place. Her first repsonse was she wasn't sure if she would like the food. Next when we went in there was a long line so she was worried we wouldn't make it back to work in time. Then the lunch she had ordered was expensive.

Well, the place had chicken for a salad she wanted, which is one of her favorite foods. The line moved very quickly and it did not slow us down. And I paid for her lunch.

After we had finished I commented it was pretty good. She didn't say anything. So I wondered. Everything she had concerned herself with was really nothing to be concerned about. Was she greatful?

Anyway, I believe to grieve the Spirit of God is to insist that God is wrong even though there was nothing to show that God is wrong. That for every complaint, shown to be unsubstantial by God's good actions, goes unrepented.

I have half of it right in my life, if anyone wants to know. I regret and admit my faults, confessing my wrongful complaints of God to him. But, I have not held up his goodness in heart-felt thanks and praise. I wait for him to deliver first before I praise the Lord. I wait for the pain to subside before I thank him.


Now read this part to yourself, aloud

This is about me

well, is it?

HB SAID:
Who has never been angry, bitter or wrathful? (not I)

Who still experiences anger or bitterness or wrath?

Who can say that they still have them?

I can.

What does that mean?

If one can remain angry enough for a certain amount of "unhealthy" time, it will grow into bitterness and then that bitterness if feed long enough will grow into wrath...It is a cycle HB...

I can say I do get angry from time to time, but in my walk with the LORD I don't let it get to bitterness...We are all human HB, not robots to where once we choose Christ, all things come to a halt...I think the MOST IMPORTANT thing to know and learn is that over time God uses the Holy Spirit to transform us all through out our walk with HIM...We go through trials and tribulations to purge the world and it values out of us...If one just sits on the pew so to speak and never does the seeking and searching, they will never develope the trust and faith in the LORD and thus I truly believe causes one to harbor "rotten fruits" for longer periods and over time keeps them with worldly values and thoughts...

I have not been in a bitter or wrathful state of my own making in years HB...I am currently doing some work on the anger concerning my injury...It's time I let it go, accept what I have to accept and move on..There is no one to forgive but myself since I hurt myself by accident...If I choose to I could let this anger sit and stew into bitterness, let it begin to affect my family, and allow the soon to come wrath rip everything the LORD has built apart...What would be the point? I am trusting God that HE will provide all my needs and take care of me and one day heal my completely if He chooses to...I think bitterness and wrath is a sign that there is still work to be done...We must move forward in the LORD...

HB SAID:
Was she greatful?

Who knows what was truly going through her thought process...Though by the sound of it she may be a bit on the stressed out side and a little overly worried...For example: I was talking to someone one day and happen to notice the time...I said, "OH MY GOD! I am going to be late picking up Steven!" This person asked me, "What would happen if you were late? Would he be harmed, would he freak out?" I said, "No, none of that, I just like to be on time..." But I was so overly stressed and out of balance in my worry that being a little late picking up my son from school was really not that big a deal and he would not freak out or get harmed...

When ever I do something such as you did, take someone to lunch and pay or some other gesture, I don't expect anything in return, not even a thank you...I have learned over time that people can only give what they can and people can only do what they know....What we can do and what we know if different from each other...We are all different with different value and belief systems...We are all just different in some degrees...

HB SAID:
I believe to grieve the Spirit of God is to insist that God is wrong even though there was nothing to show that God is wrong.

I would certainly agree that the Spirit of God would be grieved if one insisted that HE was wrong...I for one would never attempt that...I would say the person who insisted this was filled not with the Holy Spirit but an anti-christ spirit....

HB SAID:
I have half of it right in my life, if anyone wants to know. I regret and admit my faults, confessing my wrongful complaints of God to him. But, I have not held up his goodness in heart-felt thanks and praise. I wait for him to deliver first before I praise the Lord. I wait for the pain to subside before I thank him.

HB we all have faults, regrets, complaints...It what we do with those things that make the difference....A lot of people wait for God to deliver before they praise Him...This is nothing new..But one day I would hope that you begin to praise Him before He delivers, by goodness, what would happen if you do? Have you given thought that maybe praising Him through the pain gets the moutain into the sea quicker?

After reading your post, I asked myself "Is this about me?" My answer would be no. I have past this point in my walk with the LORD...My understanding of HIM is more than it was say 5 years ago....He has transformed parts of me that I cannot back out now...He placed me in a wilderness so large that I felt the valley floor crushing me, but at the last moment HE pulled me out! I can remember that day too! I hang on to the Hope that HE is...I don't need a sign or something for Him to deliver to me first....I used to, but not anymore....He has taken me through that already...BUT the most important thing is that I was willing to take the journey with HIM....I will say this, I am a bit more hesitant on praying these words, "What ever it takes LORD, what ever it takes." If I would have known then what I know now, I would have kept my mouth shut! But seriously HB, it's the maturity of one's walk and I do believe all of us are on different maturity levels of understanding the LORD and how He manifasts Himself to us and how He works through us and how He brings us through...

I quote this verse, what does it say to you HB?

Exodus 14:11-15 Then they said to Moses, “Because there were no graves in Egypt, have you taken us away to die in the wilderness? Why have you so dealt with us, to bring us up out of Egypt? “Is this not the word that we told you in Egypt, saying, ‘Let us alone that we may serve the Egyptians?’ For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than that we should die in the wilderness.” And Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which He will accomplish for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall see again no more forever. “The Lord will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace.”

If one can remain angry enough for a certain amount of "unhealthy" time, it will grow into bitterness and then that bitterness if feed long enough will grow into wrath...It is a cycle HB...

I agree. But it's not the hanging on to bitterness or anger that gets me in trouble, it's the simple part of just asking God to have me let go the bitterness and anger. I can't let these thing go on my own, I don't know how. Only Christ can takes them away from me, but I must want him to.

I don't let it get to bitterness...

For me it's not about NOT letting it get to bitterness. If I NOT let it get to bitterness it would be like bottling it up inside and stowing it away. Perhaps I put a cork on it and it's not growing, but deep somewhere is that bottle of bitterness. It does'nt have to to be a big bottle either but just there. So I let the bitterness be, and it hurts, but I tell God I don't want it.

Who knows what was truly going through her thought process...

the story about my friend was more of an anecdote for me, when I complain or worry and God provides everything for me despite my worries or complaints. I learn about what God is going through or feels when the tables are turned on me. When in this instance I was the provider for her needs, and in my thoughts was "trust me, it's going to be fine," but she complained anyway. And when everything did go well, there was no gratitude. I shared this story with you, not for me to pass judgement on her (I don't expect to know what her thought process was), but I wanted to share the story as a learning experience I had.

When ever I do something such as you did, take someone to lunch and pay or some other gesture,

That is a tremendous blessing for you, Pamela. :D It means God shall not hold you accountable for everything he has done for you.

HB we all have faults, regrets, complaints...

I don't know about the other's faults or about your faults, Pamela. I only know my faults and I post them here for other Christians to read, to share my authenticity and my love with the others. I believe this serves as support to others who believe in Christ, because it dispells the stereotype of the Christian, a perfect Christian, the Bible immersed, ashamed to admit, "all you others that are sinners, this is the way to do it" Christian.

After reading your post, I asked myself "Is this about me?" My answer would be no.

My answer would be yes because I am still alive and breathing and because of that God is still working on me. He will be finished with me on my day of judgement. My question about me that I offer others to ask about themselves here is meant to take a look at the whole picture, from (your) birth to death.

So it is about me, and that everything I want to change in me I must want from Christ, because I don't change myself. I don't have that power, I don't know how. I am weak. I don't send a spirit to come and go as I please, be it a spirit of rebellion or anger (The story of King Saul show that). And, what I realize is there are things about me that I think are fine when God painfully points out "No, they are not." So, I end up learning how to want to get that changed from him for him.

Again, I don't get into trouble for hanging onto bitterness alone for a long time. It's when I don't learn to want God to change that in me.

I quote this verse, what does it say to you HB?

Exodus 14:11-15

I will answer because you asked me. I must die in the wilderness. Moses did not say anything about the Israelies NOT dying. He said to trust God for their salvation, and to die in the wilderness IS part of that salvation.

The Israelies chief complaint was that they did not want to change and would have rather stayed in Egypt, for had they known it meant to die in the wilderness they would have stayed in Egypt and kept their mouths shut.

So, if I complain the Lord will take me out of the wilderness, but it's should not be with what I want but with what God wants. To me this parallels what Christ had experienced, when he could have had the cup of suffering taken away, but instead he wanted what God wanted for him to do, so he received the cup of suffering, he stayed in the wilderness and he died, while trusting God.

In many cultures death and dying means change.

I hope the lesson in all this stays with me. Thanks Pamela.