STOP GRIEVING THE HOLY SPIRIT......For without Him you cannot manifest the fruit!

You Need the Holy Spirit

People in darkness seek power because they know that if they have dark power, they can control people who have money and influence, even to the level of Presidents of nations.  And here we are believers grieving the Holy Spirit, our source of power.

The Christian life is a life of Warfare, where you do not need to offend anyone before they attack you.  We are in a battle where the devil could use your own relative to hurt you or even kill a person.  In a life of warfare, no christian should be ignorant or complacent for the devil goes about like a roaring Lion, looking for who he might destroy. 

We are called to be good soldiers of the Lord Jesus Christ and "to war a good warfare." so believers should should know the devices of the devil, a merciless foe, wicked and terrible.  The bible warns us to be sober and vigilant so we can discern when the devil is trying to deceive us - 1 Peter 5:8

Our Enemy

Satan is called "the prince of the power of the air" because he and his fallen angels now inhabit the atmosphere above the earth.  We may not see him with our physical eyes, but they are there causing pains, frustration and failure in the lives of people. 

He causes fear on every side.  He uses people close to us to attack us, so we think it is the relative, NO.  It is the devil himself.  For this reason the bible warned us that it is not flesh and blood we are fighting, but the devil with his host of demons. Ephesians 6:12   Though he uses your relative, the real enemy is the devil.  This is why you must be wise to resist anyone the devil is using against you.  Remember that Jesus resisted Peter, when the devil entered Peter and spoke through him.

His  Works

1. Satan deceives people by making them think that every one is living in sin

2. Satan's object is to destroy people. The Lord Jesus said that he was "a murderer from the beginning." Satan has many ways of destroying people, but his main weapons are deceit and lies, therefore  have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness.- Ephesians 5:11

3. Satan hinders the work of God. When the gospel is preached, Satan is there to spread doubt and unbelief in the minds of those who hear it.

4. Satan tempts Christians to commit terrible sins and feel undisturbed. He uses money and pleasure in the world to turn peoples' heart away from God and from doing His will. He deceives many with lies and keep them away from seeking to live holy and righteous before the Lord.  Many are born again, but they do everything the unbelievers are doing without any sense of guilt...the devil is wicked!

Why We Need the Holy Ghost

Satan is an adversary, who is clever, crafty, deceptive and merciless (1 Pet. 5:8). Satan knows our weakness and exploits them against us. He is an expert in playing back past events to keep people in bondage of what they did in the past.  The bible may be silent about his power, it did mention his craftiness, subtlety and deception. The devil uses clever designs and subtle ways to deceive people and lead them away from Christ.

The agents of darkness worship Satan and seek power from him to manipulate and influence more people into perdition, wrong doing and destruction, which is the ultimate purpose of Satan.  They know that almost everyone love success, good life and pleasure, but not everyone can afford what they desire, so they use money as a tool of mass destruction in cunning ways.

Some years back, I was discussing with a close relative in the village about a matter.  This old man immediately fell into a trance and after a while, he opened his eyes and told me that what I told him was true.  He confirmed what the Lord had shown me in Abuja.  Believer must rise up and seek the power of God, which is the Holy Ghost, who ironically lives in us as believers, but we grieve Him with our weaknesses, anger, bitterness, unforgiveness, prayerlessness and unbelief.  

The idea that Satan has no power is a demonic deception 
The devil has cleverly brought into the church to limit peoples quest for spiritual gifts and power. That is why in many places, people leave the church to visit a herbalist seeking for help. They feel hopeless about the troubles they are facing and how to go about it. It is for this same reason that people are today turning Prophets to tin gods, thereby reducing their power and grace when they continue to praise them, instead of hailing the Master Jesus Christ.  

If this generation will turn to Jesus Christ en-mass, they must see the manifestation of His glory.  That is what I stand for and will continue to work for. I stand for healing, deliverance, restoration for people in Prison, people under the bondage of Satan.  I believe in miracles and will continue to witness miracles in my life and ministry till our Lord Jesus Christ returns.

Believers must stop grieving the Holy Spirit, who is our source of power. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Christ, the Commander of God's Army, our guidance and source of spiritual gifts and power.  Why should we seek the power of God, or better put why should we live right?.

We need the power of God for so many things, including:

1. To live a righteous and holy life of Christ.

2. To do miracles, signs and wonders in the name of Jesus Christ

3. To teach and preach the Word and for soul winning 

4. To contend with the devil and destroy his works

5. To end your christian journey well.

The devil cannot touch you
If a believer is living right, the devil and his agents cannot harm you. If you live according to the word of God, in obedience to the Word, you come under the power and authority of heaven.  It means you have submitted yourself to the authority of God and the bible says when you submit yourself unto God, you can resist the devil and he will flee.  Without obedience to the Word and submission, no devil will flee at your command.

The devil is only restrained by
The presence of God in our life is a retraining force, which the agents of darkness cannot over-look.  When we live by the word, we are filled by the same word and power of God.  This is why we say that without Jesus in a life, such a life cannot stand the power of darkness for one minute.   The people preaching that the devil has no power forgot the ordeal of JOB in the hand of Satan, the moment God allowed the devil to test Job. The devil immediately invoked all kinds of disaster and mishap on Job and within the same day, he lost all he had - all his children, cattle and investments, all was gone in a day.

The truth is that Satan has power that cannot stand the name of Jesus Christ. God knows all these and that's why He gave us spiritual weapons to counter the arrows of the enemy.  Because the weapons of spiritual warfare is available to all of us, whosoever the devil attacks and he refuses to fight back, sorry such a person could be killed by the enemy,  

Spiritual battles are fought and won for us through the help of the Holy Spirit.  He opens our eyes of faith to see the plans and agenda of the enemy and gives us instruction on how to overcome the enemy and have victory.  It is therefore, very counter productive for a believer to grieve the Holy Spirit, our comforter, Helper and Commander. 

Attitudes that Grief the Holy Spirit
Here are some of the behaviour and conducts of believers that grieve the Holy Spirit and hinder their walking in power.

1. Sin. When we habitually sin, we come under Satan's authority, and he has legal rights over us until we repent. That is why Jesus said, "'The ruler of this world is coming, and has nothing on Me'" (John 14:30). Jesus was without sin, so the devil could not get a foothold in His life.  Sin puts man in bondage, but the devil will cleverly speak to people mind not to worry, as everybody does the same thing.  This is the clever device of the devil to keep people in bondage of such sin as they will see themselves committing the same sin again and again, the moment they accept that lies.

2. Prayerlessness.  Jesus, our Master is an example of a prayerful christian. He prayed all the time and at time isolate himself in a mountain to pray unto God and in James 5:16, the bible declares, "The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.".  His prayer were fervent and effective and He succeed in His assignment and today, we are blessed because of His success.

Prayerlessness grieves the Spirit of God because many things the Lord has ordained for us, may not reach the hands of many who cannot pray. In Luke 18:1, Jesus told His disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up and in  Ephesians 6:18, we are admonished to pray in the Spirit all the time. Prayer must be to God in the name of Jesus Christ. Prayer should be fervent - daily and without season.  

The effectual and fervent prayer of the saints availing much means that the saints - You and me cannot afford not to pray - for in our prayer, we exercise some authority to bring things to pass. So, if the righteous does not pray fervently, many of his needs will not be met., God is no respecter of persons.

3. Disobedience to the Word of God -  This is the same as rebellion. Rebellion grieves the Holy Spirit because when you do not obey and do the Word of God, you are not under the authority of heaven, rather that person comes under the authority of Satan, the enemy. If we are rebellious toward our parents or the authority of our church, we won't have much authority over the evil one as rebellious children.  

Many who walk in rebellion are children of the devil, though they go to church, should they die, the devil will claim their spirit, God forbid!. But, when we obey the word of God and do what the word says, we are blessed above our imaginations. The promises in the word and all the blessings becomes our. When we obey the word of God, we come under the  authority heaven and when we are under authority, we can resist the devil effectively.

4. Telling Lies. This is sin and I decided to mention it separately because the bible says all liers are sons and daughters of the devil. In Psalms 101:7 the Lord says that he that telleth lies shall not tarry in my presence. Lies can disqualify all your good works in the kingdom. The devil deceive people to tell lies easily without knowing the consequences of lies - It turns you to the devil, separates you from God's presence and authority and with that, the devil can easily devour such one.

5. Carnality.  This can simply be described as walking in the flesh and obeying the laws of the flesh which is pleasure seeking, pride, quest for money and fame and all the sundry vices like drunkenness, fornication and adultery, anger, stealing, cheating etc. 2 Corinthians 10:3-5, 

As long as you are walking in the flesh, you cannot command anything to happen.  You can speak, but you can be sure nothing will happen because you are in rebellion, the powers of darkness will not answer to you.  A canal believer is powerless.

6. Unbelief. Unbelief is a serious sin. It is a sign of lack of faith and the bible says in Romans 14:23 that whatever is not of faith is sin. The book of Hebrews also calls unbelief sinful: "See to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God" (3:12). Unbelief is so serious that Jesus could not do many miracles because of the people's lack of faith (see Matt. 13:58).

Unbelief is faithlessness.  It is simply a tragedy for a believer, son/daughters of God not to believe God.  Without faith, we cannot please God and we cannot receive from Him. The worse part of unbelief is that without faith in God, there is fear on all sides.  A believer without faith is full of fear of sickness, failure and rejection, fear paralyzes us and keeps us from receiving all that God has in stock for us.

A New Leaf of Life - Living in Obedience

Obedience is an important virtue for a christian to cultivate.  For those who wish to go far with the Lord, obedience is almost like a command and from Genesis to Revelation, the Bible kept emphasizing on obedience to the word and voice of the Lord.

Deuteronomy 11:26-28 sums it up like this: "Obey and you will be blessed. Disobey and you will be cursed." In the New Testament, we learn through the example of Jesus Christ that believers are called to a life of obedience.

The general concept of obedience both in the Old and New Testament relates to hearing or hearkening to the voice of God. Obedience is the easiest thing for children to do because they depend on their parents for practically everything. Any child of God, who depend on Him for his existence will have no problem obeying the Word of God.

It is the same with born again Christians, when they encounter the word of God, instructions from God, they are inspired and without wasting time, they obey.  

The Lord Comforts obedient children and Jesus said their angel is continually before God Almighty. As it is for children, so it is for adult sons and daughters of God. Obedience establishes your inheritance in Christ.

Why is Obedience important to Spiritual growth

Our Saviour was obedient

In Jesus Christ we find the perfect model of obedience. As his disciples, we follow Christ's example as well as his commands. Our motivation for obedience is love. If you love me, you will keep my commandments. John 14:15

Obedience leads to worship

While the Bible places strong emphasis on obedience, it's critical to remember that believers are not justified (made righteous) by our obedience, but by faith in the Lord. Salvation is a free gift of God, and we can do nothing to merit it. True Christian obedience flows from a heart of gratitude for the grace we have received from the Lord:

And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable...which is your worship. This is truly the way to worship him. (Romans 12:1, NLT)

God rewards Obedience

We become whatever we may become with God through obedience. Our father of faith, Abraham became the father of many nations through obedience.  There are scriptures that declared specific blessings due to obedience. Deuteronomy 28:1-14 refers.

There is Genesis 22:18, which says: "And through your descendants all the nations of the earth will be blessed—all because you have obeyed me." 

Exodus 19:5 also, says: Now if you will obey me and keep my covenant, you will be my own special treasure from among all the peoples on earth; for all the earth belongs to me. 

Jesus replied, "But even more blessed are all who hear the word of God and put it into practice." - Luke 11:28.  So, the obligation of man is to obey God’s word and do what it says, otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves.  For such people, Apostle James says they are like someone looking at his natural face in the mirror and after wards walks away, and forget what manner of man he is. James 1:22-24

Obedience to God Proves Our Love

The books of 1 John and 2 John clearly explain that obedience to God demonstrates love for God. Loving God implies following his commands:

By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. (1 John 5:2–3)

Love means doing what God has commanded us, and he has commanded us to love one another, in the household of faith and do same to our neighbours.

Obedience to God affirms our faith in Him

When we obey God, we affirm our faith and trust in Him And we can be sure that we know him if we obey his commandments. If someone claims, "I know God," but doesn't obey God's commandments, that person is a liar and is not living in the truth. But those who obey God's word show their love for Him.

God values Obedience better Than Sacrifice

The phrase "obedience is better than sacrifice," can be explained within the old Testament perspective.  The law required the Israelite people to offer sacrifices to God, but those sacrifices and offerings were never intended to take the place of obedience.

That was why Samuel replied King Saul saying: "What is more pleasing to the LORD: your burnt offerings and sacrifices or your obedience to his voice?.  Obedience is better than sacrifice, and submission is better than offering the fat of rams. Rebellion is as sinful as witchcraft, and stubbornness as bad as worshiping idols. So because you have rejected the command of the LORD, he has rejected you as king." 1 Samuel 15:22–23.

Disobedience Leads to Sin and Death

The disobedience of Adam brought sin and death into the world. This is the basis of the term "original sin." But Christ's perfect obedience restores fellowship with God for everyone who believes in him: For as by the one man's Adam's disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man's Christ's obedience the many will be made righteous- Romans 5:19. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. 1 Corinthians 15:22.

Obedience leads to Sanctification

Only Jesus Christ is perfect, therefore, only he could walk in sinless, perfect obedience. But as we allow the Holy Spirit to transform us from within, we grow in holiness. This is known as the process of sanctification, which can also be described as spiritual growth. The more we read God's Word, spend time with Jesus, and allow the Holy Spirit to change us from within, the more we grow in obedience and holiness as Christians.

Blessings of Obedience

At times, obedience to God feels mostly like sacrifice, but there are blessings and rewards when we obey the voice of the Lord and submit to his will. When we are obedient, we are certainly in God's will. When we’re in his will, we are sure to experience even more of God's blessings. In this way, we are living as he intended for us to live.

Conclusion

Children of God, let us all make a vow to live right, no matter the situation we face and to remember to love the Lord and our neighbours.  I don't know where you are today. I don't know the challenges you are battling, remember we are in transit on earth, ambassadors on earth and that heaven is our home.  

Remember, there will be another fellowship in heaven and I want to see you there.  Obey the word of God and be guided by the Holy Spirit and your life will glorify Him, Jesus Christ our Saviour.  

FIRE...