May 1, 2009

• Excerpt from Lloyd-Jones on "Grieving the Spirit" - How may we grieve the Holy Spirit of God?

  A few days ago I encouraged you to listen to a two-part message by Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones on "Grieving the Spirit." Again I strongly encourage you to download his message for free here.

  (Please note: oneplace.com only keeps these messages up for about six weeks and the first part was put up on April 5, so I would encourage you to check it out ASAP.)
  Dr. Lloyd-Jones' text was:

  And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. Ephesians 4:30.
  

  Here's an excerpt from part 2 of the message (boldface, mine):

  The only one who can grieve is the one who belongs to the family. He is one who is in this personal relationship. Now you see what the apostle is teaching. This is the way to look at sanctification: not simply in terms of particular actions, or what happens to me, or my experiences. No, no, let's forget all that as it were, and realize that He is in me and He's always with me and that my every action is known to Him and it is possible for me to grieve Him, to disappoint Him, to sadden Him. That's the meaning of this word "grieve."
  
  Very well then, that leads to our next point which follows in its logical sequence which is this: How then do we or may we grieve the Holy Spirit of God? And the answer is plain before us. Anything we do which is not holy is grieving to Him. Grieve not the Spirit, the Holy Spirit of God. Now this must be interpreted in its fullest sense. Obviously the things the apostle has been detailing grieve the Spirit [see the verses before this in Ephesians 4]. Anything, I say, which belongs to the flesh grieves the Spirit. Take the list he gives in Galatians 5. "Now the works of the flesh," he says, "are manifest, which are these; adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, 21 Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like. Those are the works of the flesh – and they grieve the Holy Spirit of God.
  
  Yes, but let's remember we not grieve him not only in actual deeds or practices. We've been reminded already that we can grieve him with our words. He's always with us. He hears everything we say. Let no evil communication proceed out of your mouth therefore. He's grieved by it. And all these things he's [Paul's] going on to mention.
  
  Ah, but we must go a stage further. You can grieve Him by your thoughts. He's in you. He is within you. How often has the devil tripped us all at this point. You said, "But I didn't do that thing." No, no, I know you didn't do and you may not have done it because you're a coward, but you thought it and you enjoyed it and you played with it in your imagination. And you thought all was well because you hadn't done it. No, no. You've GRIEVED Him!  An unworthy or an impure thought, a thought of anger, of jealousy or envy – It GRIEVES Him, it hurts Him as much as the action. Everything is known to Him. The innermost recesses of your heart and mind and soul and being – He knows it all. The world doesn't know it. Your own thoughts. You know them. He knows them. He is as grieved by unworthy thoughts as He is by unworthy actions. But that's not the only way in which we grieve Him.
  
  There is something which I think is even worse. That is our failure to realize His presence within us. Our failure to honor Him as we ought. Our failure to realize He is ever always with us. Is there anything more insulting than that? Can another person insult you or hurt you more grievously than by just going on as if you're not there? By behaving and conducting him or herself as if you are not in the room. Is there anything more humiliating?
  
  Well, Christian people, the Holy Spirit of God is IN you. Do you always remember Him? Do you honor Him? To fail to do so, I say, is to grieve Him.
  
  And then another way in which we do it of course is this: our failure to respond to his promptings and his leadings and his influences and all that he does in us and to us and upon us in order to further the work of sanctification within us. The Holy Spirit is given to apply the redemption that has been purchased and worked out for us by the blessed Son of God. And the Holy Spirit has been sent and given to us in order that all this may be applied, in order that it may be worked out within us.
  
  "It is He that worketh in us both to will and to do," says Paul, "of His good pleasure." That's what we are working out – what He works in. Now the Spirit is here constantly and doing that. The flesh lusteth against the Spirit and the Spirit against the flesh. He's within us in order to do that.
  
  And, of course, we are aware of this. He prompts us, He leads us. He creates desires within us. You suddenly find yourself desiring to read the Word–that's the Spirit. He suddenly will stimulate you perhaps to prayer, or to meditation. He'll repel you to leave something and to do something. It's all the Spirit. It's all a part of His great work of sanctification. Now I say, not to respond or to postpone or to say, "Well, I can't do that now, I'm doing something else. Or to fail to give yourself or to be led by Him – oh, these are the ways in which we grieve Him. "As many as are led by the Spirit of God," says Paul to the Romans, "they are the sons of God." Well, if you don't follow His leadings or you try to thwart them or if you try to postpone them, it's all grieving...

  

  Our Father, we are Your children.
  You have given us Your Holy Spirit.
  We are to be holy as You are holy.
  We confess we grieve Your Holy Spirit.
  Show us how grievous it is to You when we grieve Your Holy Spirit.
  Forgive us that we have grieved Your Holy Spirit.

  You have given us Your Holy Spirit to make us holy.
  Anything we do that is not holy grieves You.
  Anything that is of the flesh grieves You.
  Show us how we are grieving You.
  Forgive us that we grieve You.

  By the blood of Jesus Christ
  Purify us and cleanse us from all our sin.
  By the resurrection power of Your Holy Spirit,
  make us holy as You are holy,
  work in us to will and to do of Your good pleasure,
  so all our lives might be wholly rendered to You,
  so we might be holiness to the LORD.
  so we might not grieve Your Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit of God.

  Related posts:

  • Fourth Sunday of Advent: Are you preparing Him room?
  • Bible Reading: Job 2:1 - "Again" (To press on we must always be mortifying sin | John Owen)
  • Encouragements to press on in battling sin, # 1: Not in our own strength | Gerson
  • Encouragements to press on in battling sin, # 2: moving beyond despondency | Scougal

  • 4:45 PM
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