Seek First: The Kingdom has a Helper (2)
John14:15 The kingdom rule of King Jesus starts with love.
Verse 16 Jesus promises the Holy Spirit, referred to here as the Counselor.
• Do you see how much this stands in contrast to the way earthly leaders rule?
o Earthly leaders surround themselves with counselors. But Jesus sends His counselor to us.
• Unlike earthly leaders who rule from a distance holdup in a palace somewhere.
o King Jesus comes to us, to dwell and rule with us, where we are.
Verse 17 Jesus gives another name for the Holy Spirit, it again represents another role of the Holy Spirit.
• Unlike earthly leaders who may only say what is in their own best interest.
o The Holy Spirit can only speak the truth, because He is truth.
• Seeking First the Kingdom for us then is to “see” and know the Spirit.
• Here is where it gets really good. Jesus says that if we know Him, the Spirit the Counselor will be in us.
• The Spirit comes to remind us of the ways of the King.
But of course, there is a catch: There are several passages that warn us against working against the Spirit.
• This is where the idea of Seeking first really comes into play.
James 4:5 God is jealous for the Spirit that he placed in us.
• If I offend the Spirit in me, God the Father will defend His Spirit in me.
Resisting the Spirit Acts 7:51 The word used here literally means to fight against.
• To seek first the Kingdom, we make sure we work with the Spirit, not fight against or reject the Spirit
Grieving the Spirit Eph 4:30 The context for this is for the believer who has accepted Jesus and the HS.
• The verb here means to pain, grieve or injure.
• So how do we grieve the Spirit? The whole context here is sin, our behavior
Verse 29 If I speak something that is “unwholesome” towards another person, I grieve the Spirt that is in them.
o Because that’s the same spirit that’s in me.
Verse 31 Any of these attitudes or behaviors grieve the Holy Spirit
• This should be really sobering if our desire is to have the Spirit live in us.
Verse 32 Lack of kindness and compassion on our part also grieves the Holy Spirit.
• Lack of forgiveness will also grieve the Spirit.
Quenching the Spirit 1 Thes 5:19
• The word translated here as “put out,” or “quench” means: to extinguish or quench as in a fire.
• Grieving is related to my sin and ungodly behavior.
o Quenching is contempt or dumping water on the work of the spirit
o Having contempt for any of the things of the Spirit will quench it.
• To Seek First the Kingdom then is to look for and embrace the work of the Holy Spirit.
Seek First: The Kingdom has a Helper
