Hello, John and Doves,Great teaching, Bruce!"Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might."I love the way you gently encourage righteousness in your mates at the Five Doves!~Blessings,Mike C.________________________________________________________Bruce Baber (20 July 2012)
"Samson and the Holy Spirit"
Judges 15
14 When he came to Lehi, the Philistines came shouting against him. Then the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon him; and the ropes that were on his arms became like flax that is burned with fire, and his bonds broke loose from his hands. 15 He found a fresh jawbone of a donkey, reached out his hand and took it, and killed a thousand men with it.
Samson became exceedingly strong when the Spirit of the Lord came upon him. In other words, Samson wasn't supernaturally strong all the time.
A mighty indwelling of the Holy Spirit enabled Samson to do miraculous feats of strength. It came whenever Samson needed It. (Up until Samson had his hair cut off). The Holy Spirit has a will of Its own. We can't command It. Rather we should be subject to it.
It seems to me that the Holy Spirit isn't ours to command like some mythological genie. It comes to help us when It is needed. However, we can do things that can hinder the Holy Spirit. Sin does that.
Everyday we should pray and invite the Holy Spirit to fill us up. Jesus gave us the parable of the 10 virgins. Five of them had enough of the Holy Spirit to make the journey with the bridegroom. Five didn't.
YBIC
Bruce Baber