A Nugget from New Life Network
Scripture for the Day (November 9, 2017)
And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you. (Ephesians 4:30-32)
Jesus told us that He was going to send us a supernatural helper to come along side of us to guide and assist us. Sadly, most Christians do not have a clue what that means or even who the Holy Spirit is. They do not know the Holy Spirit intimately and therefore they do not know what grieves (distresses, saddens, or sorrows) Him. Many churches do not teach about the Holy Spirit, do not accept or operate in the gifts of the Holy Spirit, and their members are therefore left in the dark. How sad!!!
Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. (John 16:13)
I recently read an article by, and an interview of, R. T. Kendall, Sr. that was very enlightening. For you that do not know R. T. Kendall, Sr. he is one of the most prolific Christian writers of our time with over 60 books published. He was the Senior Minister at London’s Westminster Chapel for 25 years (1977-2002).
He was asked in this interview what was his secret on writing so many great and powerful Christian books like “Total Forgiveness”? The following is his answer: “It is literally practicing what I preach regarding total forgiveness – and not grieving the Holy Spirit by bitterness. These twin teachings – (1) totally forgiving every single person in the world who has not been very nice (2) not grieving the Holy Spirit by bitterness and unforgiveness – are my secret to writing books. Total forgiveness enables the Holy Spirit to flow freely and unhindered in me. The result: thoughts come, words flow, and God opens doors.”
I believe that the number one thing that grieves the Holy Spirit is bitterness and unforgiveness. Have you ever considered the importance of death-bed or dying declarations in the Bible. The last words of those dying are usually considered very important in our world. Those last words usually express something that is very important to the person dying. Consider one of the last things that Jesus said, “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34). Consider the last thing that Stephen said as he was stoned to death, “lay not this sin to their charge” (Acts 7:60).
Obviously, Jesus and Stephen thought it pretty important to forgive before they died. That should tell us that this bitterness and forgiveness stuff is really important! Could it be that revival in our own lives, in our church, and in our country could be linked to our ability not to grieve the Holy Spirit? Could it be that the Holy Spirit is just waiting on us to get it? Could it be that the Holy Spirit is at the door ready to bring revival and all we need to do is open the door by getting rid of all our bitterness and unforgiveness? Could it be that the Holy Spirit is just waiting for us to ask Him into our life, into our church, and into our country? Could it be???
