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I’ve
recently been reading this book called
*The 3 Most Important Things In Your Life* by Mike Murdock. According
to Mr. Murdock, those things are (1) the Holy Spirit, (2) the assignment,
the problem God created you to solve, and (3) the seed, anything
you possess, know, or do that could help another. I’m not
finished with the book yet, but so far, it’s been very good,
and I would recommend it. One particular chapter about offending
the Holy Spirit really got my attention. In this chapter, the author
points out that the Holy Spirit is holy. His very essence is holiness,
and He is easily grieved by our wrong conversation and conduct.
The Apostle Paul understood this and warned, “Let no corrupt
communication proceed out of you mouth, but that which is good to
the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.
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 clamor, and all evil speaking be put away from you, with all
malice: And be ye kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving
one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you,”
(Ephesians 4:29-32).
In this chapter,
the author relates a story that happened to him in Washington,
DC: “I came down from my hotel room full of joy and enthusiasm.
I had been praying in the Spirit throughout the day. I could not
remember happier hours or days in my life. When I sat down to
eat, the name of someone came up. I was talking with two of my
staff members. When this name came out, I made a statement: ‘I
like him, but he is rather lazy.’ The conversation continued.
After about an hour, I returned to my hotel room again. But something
was wrong. Something had changed since I had gone to supper! As
I began to lift my hands and sing to the Holy Spirit, a cloud
of heaviness and a shadow on my heart appeared. Something was
out of order. So not really knowing yet what was wrong, I simply
began to sing louder and became more aggressive in my worship.
Yet, the heaviness continued.
Suddenly,
the Holy Spirit spoke to my heart:
‘Why did you tell them that this young man was lazy?’
I stopped.
Then I replied
almost defiantly to the Holy Spirit -
‘Well, because he is lazy.’
‘You
have offended me,’
the Holy Spirit spoke into my heart.
I thought
for a moment. Then I replied:
‘Well, he did not hear me anyway. He is over 1,000 miles
away!’
‘I heard
you, and you offended Me.’
I tried another
approach. ‘Well, Lord, it is true that
he is lazy, and I would tell him to his face!’
Suddenly, the Holy Spirit stopped me.
He brought my mind back to Philippians 4:8 where He gave us the
criteria and guidelines for proper conversation…. Picture
a mother showing you a photograph of her baby. Can you imagine
her response to you if you began to sneer and make fun of her
child? ‘What an ugly child. I despise that child!’
That mother would withdraw from you instantly. Yet, it happens
in your own life every day. The moment you begin to discuss the
flaws of those not present, the Holy Spirit withdraws.”
When the
Holy Spirit has been grieved or offended, He withdraws His manifest
Presence - “I will go and return to My place, until they
acknowledge their offense, and seek My face: in their affliction
they will seek Me early,” (Hosea 5:15). That’s a terrifying
scripture, and I had never heard it before I read this book. In
the end, we’ve all done far worse things to grieve the Holy
Spirit than calling someone lazy, and when He brings those things
to our mind, we should repent immediately. But imagine what might
happen if we focused on refining our conversation and conduct.
If for one month, we avoided saying or doing anything that would
offend the Holy Spirit. If instead of putting people down and
discussing their flaws
behind their back, we edified them and spoke words of encouragement.
If we limited our conversation to “…whatever is true,
whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever
is lovely, whatever is of good report, if there be any virtue,
and if there be any praise, let your mind think on these things.”
(Philippians 4:8 NASB)
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