How The Holy Spirit Can Be Affected As A Person

1. The Holy Spirit can be grieved in a way that He feels intense disappointment. Isaiah wrote, "Yet they rebelled and grieved the Holy Spirit. So he turned and became their enemy and he himself fought against them." (Isa. 63:10) Ask the Lord to help you to avoid grieving the Spirit in anyway so as to avoid being in opposition to God.

2. The Holy Spirit can be hurt by believers' bitterness, anger, slander, fighting and malice. Paul wrote, "Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption." (Eph. 4:30,31) Ask the Lord to keep you mindful of all the ways that you consciously or unconsciously are hurting the Spirit's feelings.

3. The Holy Spirit can be blasphemed. Jesus said, "Every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven (Refusing to trust Christ as one's Savior). (Matt. 12:31) Ask the Lord to help you courageously warn as many people as possible against the only unforgiveable sin.

4. The Holy Spirit can be insulted. The writer of Hebrews wrote, "How much more severely do you think a man deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God under foot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified him, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace?" (Heb. 10:29) Ask the Lord to help you avoid any sins of omission, commission, disposition or wrong assumptions about the Lord & His will.

5. The Holy Spirit can be lied to. Dr. Luke wrote, "Then Peter said,

'Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land? Didn't it belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, wasn't the money at your disposal? what made you think of doing such a thing? You have not lied to men but to God!" (Acts 5:3,4) Ask the Lord to help you be totally honest in all of your personal, cultural and ministry interactions.

6. The Holy Spirit can be obeyed. Dr. Luke wrote, "While Peter was still thinking about the vision, the Spirit said to him, 'Simon, three men are looking for you. So get up and go downstairs. Do not hesitate to go with them, for I have sent them.' Peter went down and said to the men, 'I'm the one you're looking for. Why have you come?" (Acts 10:19-21) Ask the Lord to help you to always be sensitive to the leading of the Spirit at all times.

7. The Holy Spirit can be quenched. Paul wrote, "Do not put out the Spirit's fire..." (I Thes. 5:19) Ask the Lord to help you continously be filled with the Spirit's joy, hope, love and enthusiasm.

8. The Holy Spirit can be resisted. Dr. Luke wrote, "Stephen said, ' You stiff necked people, with uncircumcised hearts and ears! You are just like your fathers: You always resist the Holy Spirit! (Acts 7:51) Ask the Lord to have the courage to change what you can change, the serenity to accept the things you cannot change, and the wisdom to know how to distinguish between the two situations and responses.

9. The Holy Spirit can be tested. Dr. Luke wrote, Peter said to her, 'How could you agree to test the Spirit of the Lord? Look! The feet of the men who buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out also." (Acts 5:9) Ask the Lord to help you to repent and submit to the leading of the Spirit before it is too late.

10. The Holy Spirit can be mistaken for deceiving spirits by gullible people. Paul wrote, " The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron." (I Tim. 4:1,2) Ask the Lord to help you confront such false teachers and gullible people who mistakenly are duped by counterfeit spirits.

11. The Holy Spirit can feel hurt when fellowship is broken. Paul wrote, "Since you have fellowship with the Spirit." (Phil. 2:1) Ask the Lord to help you confess any of your sins enabling you to immediately restore any broken fellowship with the Spirit.

12. The Holy Spirit can be hindered from producing spiritual fruit in the life of a carnal believer. Paul wrote, "For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want." (Gal 5:17)