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Apples of Gold
Radio Script for August 31, 2010
“Make Your Christian Life Come Alive”
Hello, I’m Doug Apple…with Apples of Gold.
“Don’t scare the dove away!”
That was the lighthearted banter around our dinner table.
Yesterday I talked about how the Holy Spirit is pictured like a dove in the Bible, and I quoted Ephesians 4:30 which says, “…do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God.”
Just as a grieving person withdraws, I picture the Holy Spirit withdrawing when we grieve Him.
So back to our dinner table – if someone said something harsh or off-kilter, someone else would say, “Don’t scare the dove away!”
That’s not theologically sound, but what we’re saying is, “Don’t grieve the Holy Spirit.”
If you are a true Christian, the Holy Spirit dwells inside of you. First Corinthians 6:19 says, “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God?”
God’s Holy Spirit lives inside of us.
When we were saved, God sent us a teacher, a mentor, a guide – the Holy Spirit. Yes, I realize some nuts out there have hijacked the phrase “spirit guide,” but in essence, that’s what we have, a spirit guide, as in the Holy Spirit of God.
We are to walk in step with the Spirit and bear the fruit of the Spirit.
How does that happen, by magic?
No, it happens as our mentor, the Holy Spirit, leads us and we follow. He speaks to us and we listen.
In John 14 Jesus called the Holy Spirit the Counselor or the Helper, and described Him as a teacher.
In John 16 Jesus described the Holy Spirit as one who convicts and one who speaks.
Second Corinthians 13 talks about the fellowship and the communion of the Holy Spirit.
Galatians five talks about being led by the Spirit, and verse 16 says, “…live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature.”
So how do we “live by the Spirit”? This is a super important question because if we do so, we can avoid the traps of sin.
The key is to hear or to sense the voice of the Holy Spirit inside of us.
“Now hold your horses, Doug. If everyone just starts listening to the voices in their head, we’re going to go off the deep end real quick.”
Very true. Not every thing inside your head is the Holy Spirit, just like not every report on the internet is true.
I went to college to be a news reporter, and one thing we were taught is crosschecking. You crosscheck your facts. You don’t just believe one source; you see if the same thing comes from two or three sources.
So, for example, you try to hear the Holy Spirit inside of you, and you crosscheck that with the Bible, and with some Godly wise counsel, such as your pastor.
This is the great thing about having a real, living God. This is not some made up religion. He is alive and His Spirit is inside of us to guide us!
Now back to what we talked about yesterday. If we grieve the Holy Spirit and He withdraws in some way, then how can we hear Him?
We joked about the dove flying away because of some off-kilter comment, but what if there is some truth to that? What if the Holy Spirit is deeply sensitive and easily grieved by sins and offenses and anything tainted?
It makes sense, doesn’t it, that if anyone is easily grieved by such things it would be the Holy Spirit, right?
So what if we made it our goal to not grieve the Holy Spirit? We won’t say anything that grieves Him. We won’t do anything that grieves Him. We won’t participate in anything that grieves Him. We will walk away, we will leave the room.
This is not a rock solid analogy, but what if your sister had just lost a child, and anytime she saw children she was extremely grieved. If you walked in a room with your sister and she suddenly saw children and wanted to leave, wouldn’t you leave?
In the same way, when we encounter something that grieves the Holy Spirit, shouldn’t we leave? Even if it’s in our own thoughts, shouldn’t we leave that thought? If it’s something we see, shouldn’t we turn away?
What if we made a super-conscious effort to avoid anything that grieves the Holy Spirit? Would we suddenly have a much deeper fellowship and communion with God? Would we sense His presence in much greater ways? Would we start to experience all the joys we read about in the Bible?
Could it all come down to the fact that we have been grieving the Holy Spirit?
So why not do this? Pray and make a commitment for a certain time, maybe a day, maybe a week, but for a certain time you commit to not be part of anything that grieves the Holy Spirit. Then listen for His voice, be sensitive to His prompting, His nudging.
And every time you think the Spirit might be grieved, make a move. Get away from it or stop doing it.
For a set time, avoid anything that grieves the Holy Spirit, and I suspect that your Christian life will come alive like it’s never come alive before.
Comments?
E-mail me: dougapple@wave94.com.
May God bless you today! With Apples of Gold…I’m Doug Apple.
* The thought occurred to me that this would be like integrity on steroids! – avoiding everything that grieved the Holy Spirit.
© 2010 The Arrow’s Tip
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(Proverbs 25:11 – “A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver.”)
Why “The Arrow’s Tip”? Each morning, after diligently seeking the Lord, I write Apples of Gold. Then before I release it to the public I pray one final prayer, “Lord, send forth your arrows.” I envision Apples of Gold as arrows, tips dipped in the river of the water of life that flows from the throne of God (Rev. 22:1), sailing toward the hearts and minds of men and women around the world.
Doug Apple
General Manager - Wave 94
Christian Radio for Tallahassee
PO Box 4105
Tallahassee, FL 32315
(850) 926-8000
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