בס”ד

G-d expects His people to serve Him faithfully. This truth refers not only to a dedication and devotion, but also to degree of success. That is, believers are expected to carry out the will of G-d in an obedience that leads to the will of G-d being fulfilled. HaShem knows that, left to our own abilities and knowledge, we could never accomplish this. Therefore Yeshua, shortly before He ascended into the heavens forty days after His resurrection, instructed His talmidim (disciples),

“Behold I am sending to you the One whom My Father promised, you must stay in the city Jerusalem until you are clothed with power from on high.” Luke 24:49

Obviously Yeshua is referring to the Holy Spirit, as it was on the Festival of Shavuot (Weeks) that He (the Holy Spirit) was given to believers. It is most significant that the Holy Spirit is described as power from on high. He is the One that G-d supplies in the believer’s life in order to supply him or her with what is necessary to fulfill the will of G-d in one’s life. Although every believer, the moment he believes, is a recipient of the Holy Spirit, the question is are we allowing Him to function properly? Many times in the Scripture the believer is warned not to quench, hinder, or grieve the Holy Spirit. What causes this to occur? The cause is when the believer begins listening and paying more attention to his carnal nature, rather that submitting to the counsel of the Spirit.

It is in Ephesians 4:30 that Paul warns us not to grieve the Holy Spirit. The word for grieve is λυπέω. If one studies its use from the New Covenant, it means to “make sorrowful”, “to affect with sadness”, or “to offend”. This reveals a personal quality about the Holy Spirit. Therefore one should not think of Him as a “force” or refer to Him with the word “it”. He is a personal power that will bless the believer with the ability to serve G-d successfully; supplying all one needs to obey the will of HaShem. Here the key: the degree of help that you are going to receive from Whom the Bible calls the “helper” is dependent upon the status of your relationship with Him.

Remember that Paul warns not to offend Him. One needs to know that there is a most jealous quality to the Holy Spirit. Usually jealousy is seen as a negative quality, but not in this case. The Holy Spirit is jealous for the things of G-d in your life. He has been sent in order to maintain and grow you in Messiah. When you offend Him by hindering His work in your life, by being more interested in the things of the flesh, He begins the process of withdrawing from you. Be careful! The Holy Spirit will never depart from you, but He can become very distant from you.

Where is He in your life? Do you have an intimate knowledge of Him and is He functioning well in your life on a daily basis? Or are you grieving, hindering, and offending Him so that His work is all but quenched in your life? Shavuot is upon us. This year, 5769, it falls on May 29th. There is a wonderful tradition in Judaism to remain awake all night on Shavuot studying the Word of G-d. Why not do just that and use your Biblical concordance and read all the verses that relate to the Holy Spirit. If you do, I promise that you will have a most blessed Yom Tov (Holiday).

חג שמח