Scripture: 1 Thessalonians 5 v 14 - 23: "Now we exhort you, brethren, warn them that are unruly, comfort the feebleminded, support the weak, be patient toward all men.
15 See that none render evil for evil unto any man; but ever follow that which is good, both among yourselves, and to all men.
16 Rejoice evermore.
17 Pray without ceasing.
18 In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.
19 Quench not the Spirit.
20 Despise not prophesyings.
21 Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.
22 Abstain from all appearance of evil.
23 And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ."
In order to be a blessing to the Holy Spirit, the above list in Thessalonians gives us a quick run down of do's and don't's. It starts with warn the unruly; don't seek vengeance; quench not the Spirit; despise not prophesying; abstain from all appearance of evil.
Unruly people are disobedient, rebellious, headstrong, proud, arrogant, bullying, loud, hurtful, and hypocritical. We need to warn them to repent of this type of behaviour because it grieves the Holy Spirit. It also reveals that they are not Christians because if they knew Jesus and He was in their hearts, they would be changed into His likeness.
This is seen in the other items on the list. Comfort and support the weak, rather than belittling and making jibes at them. Be patient, kind and loving to all people. Rejoice, pray and give thanks.
Abstain from the appearance of evil. Evil disguises itself in many ways to distract us and lead us into temptation. Learn to recognize the disguise that tripped us before and rather abstain from those things we know the Lord Jesus would frown on.
We can let a bird land in our hair, but don't let it build a nest. Thoughts that encourage us in wrongful activities are not sin. We can shoo those birds from our hair, but if we entertain them they make a nest. This will lead us into sin and become a problem. Rather abstain from things that offend. It's called self-control.
Ephesians 4 v 26 - 32: "Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath:
27 Neither give place to the devil.
28 Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth.
29 Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.
30 And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.
31 Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice:
32 And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you."
Another list, this time in Ephesians, on the good, bad and ugly things that make up our lives.
Grieve not the Holy Spirit of God whereby you are sealed. The Holy Spirit has sealed us in a spiritual cocoon to protect us against the devious plans of Satan. Being bitter, angry and malicious tears away this covering and we end up in self-condemnation and needing to make right with people and God.
Do not give place to the devil. We have full power and authority over him but he tries desperately to keep us ignorant of it. If we wake up to how he manipulates our circumstances then we can contain him. Bind those demons in Jesus' name. Stop them in their tracks. Command them to back off. Guard the family against terror, nightmares, hijackings, theft, rape, kidnapping. Pray for them daily covering them with the Blood of Jesus.
Satan cannot cross the bloodline of Jesus. Just as the Angel of death could not touch the Hebrews homes on the night of the Passover. The blood of lambs was painted on their doors. Every Egyptian lost a firstborn that night. The Israelites lost no one but gained freedom from 400 years of slavery. And were freed to find the Promised Land.
The Blood sets us free. It stops the devil in his tracks. If we are born again we are washed in the Blood. We need to know how strong we are, how protected and safe we are in Jesus Christ.
A few years ago, a man I had been ministering to pitched up at my open front door. His eyes were terrible, a red colour, his face almost unrecognizable. He growled at me that he was a 3000 year old demon come to kill me.
I was very calm and said to this demon - if you can cross the bloodline across my doorway, remove me from the Rock of Ages, strip me of the whole armour of God, you can have me. His girlfriend sitting next to me witnessed it all. He strode into the room with intent, but 3 steps in he faltered and said, I don't feel so good, turned and fled.
A few minutes later we found him passed out in his car, brought him back into my house and cast that demon out of him. There is power and protection in Jesus if we love by His Word and His authority. If we grieve Him by following false doctrines made by men and demons, He will look away when we are under attack.
So lets check our lives today and see if we can improve our faith and our fight against evil. Let's make sure of our salvation and that we are properly born again. Otherwise the Blood of Jesus is ineffective on our behalf. The unsaved do not have divine protection. They are like the ones who missed Noah's Ark. These are the choices free will gives us. Ark or Flood? Which choice would grieve the Holy Spirit? The Ark is still open, don't wait.
The world is in panic today because Covid-19 has attacked many and killed many. It is now in 95 nations or territories and causing millions in Italy to be isolated in quarantine. Venice, Milan, Rome even the Vatican are suffering. The economies of the world are taking a beating, unforeseen a few weeks ago.
Jesus told me at the beginning of November that hard financial times were about to affect us. Living in South Africa it is a reality even back in November, but I had no idea it would hit China first in an epidemic that would go global. I shared it with my intercessory team and we made provision for what may be coming and hopefully we will all make it through.
We must realise that the time of God's judgment is fast approaching. Jesus said there would be wars, plagues, earthquakes, storms, heart failure, fear and great tribulation before He came back. Satan wants to destroy us and this planet before Jesus returns. He knows what awaits him but is trying to put off the inevitable by causing chaos. He continually grieves the Holy Spirit.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, we never want to grieve the Holy Spirit as He is precious to us as Teacher, Comforter, Helper and He brings the anointing on our lives. We know how to please Him and we will do all those things diligently. In Jesus' name. Amen.
