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

The surest way to avoid the enemy’s mark is to be sealed by the Lord. As long as there’s a question about whose you are spiritually, you are vulnerable. You and I cannot afford to wonder whether or not we are sealed. The Bride of Christ must wear the Groom’s ring!

We have already seen that the Holy Spirit is the seal of God in the heart of every believer (Ep 1:13; 2 Cor. 1:22). That is the sign that tells all and sundry that we are taken. It says there’s no vacancy here–no devil can dare possess (own) us. Oh how I love You, Holy Spirit!

“The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God” (Rom 8:16). The Spirit affirms our new identity by calling out to the Father from within our hearts: “And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father (Gal 4:6).

Beloved, what is the cry of your heart today? What longings preoccupy your life today? Can you say with the psalmist, “As the deer pants for the water, so my soul longs for You, O God” (Psalm 42:1)? It’s the Holy Spirit who enables us to do that.

Can you see why grieving the Holy Spirit is so dangerous? Can you see why quenching the Spirit is a huge risk? We cannot afford to neglect, stifle or grieve the Holy Spirit in our hearts and lives, beloved!

How do we avoid grieving the Spirit? The Word of God spells it out, “Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you” (Ep 4:31-32).

Pastor Josh