Judges 16:20 And she (Delilah)said, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And he awoke out of his sleep, and said, I will go out as at other times before, and shake myself. And he knew not that the LORD was departed from him.

Samson is a powerful example of a man of God who won his battles over and over again because the Spirit of the Lord came upon him. Yet when he was finally defeated by Delilah’s temptations he didn’t realize that the Lord had left him, because her spell was so effective.

The enemy is subtle and the temptations of the flesh can so quickly quench the presence and power of God’s spirit that we may not even realize it has happened. But this anointing of the Holy Spirit is our Life….and our victory. Opposition can be destroyed and burdens can be lifted when His wonderful Presence fills and rests upon us. Temptations, bad habits, our sinful nature, demonic attacks, all these collaborate to rob us of this holy anointing, our communion with God, and our only real power over every enemy!

Samson’s victories vividly demonstrate the tremendous power of the anointing. His power over the Philistines was legendary and truly heroic. But when he lost his anointing, they nearly destroyed him. How critical it is in these days to keep our lamps burning with the holy “oil” of Yeshua’s (Jesus’) anointing. His goodness will defeat the evils around us…His light will banish darkness…His joy will annihilate our depression…His forgiveness will root out all bitterness…His love will overcome our natural hatred…and every subtle deception will be exposed by His excellent TRUTH! Seek HIS ANOINTING, the fullness of the Holy Spirit — He will equip you to break every yoke of bondage and defeat every internal and external enemy.

And, please don’t find yourself in the condition of Samson, in the arms of his lust, not even realizing that the anointing had left him. The cost was enormous, even though he was restored. Instead, guard yourself against the subtle temptations of this world seeking more and more of His indwelling Presence. That anointing will produce one victory after another.

When I think of the day of Pentecost from the book of Acts, I immediately think of the work and power of the Holy Spirit. Could you imagine the experience those early believers saw and felt when He showed up? He came down like a rushing mighty wind and caught them off guard. He came in power, strength, surprise, and fire. This move of the Spirit set them ablaze and drew the attention of those nearby that began to question what was going on as they heard their native languages being spoken by foreigners. The Holy Spirit gave them power and utterances in new tongues.

Peter, one of Christ’s disciples seizes the moment of questioning to point them to Christ and the work of His Spirit that can save and transform men. 3,000 people hear, repent, and believe from his message.

He makes a statement, “And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams; even on my male servants and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit, and they shall prophesy.”

Our spiritual lives were forever changed from this encounter with the living God. Peter shares, “For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.”

In our relationship to Jesus, he has given us His Spirit in such an incredibly generous way; to know his voice, to follow his promptings, to prophesy, and to impact those around us with our passionate fire.

Our responsibility is to keep in step with the Spirit that is always speaking, moving, and doing.

Pastor and author Mark Batterson wrote a book entitled, Wild Goose Chase. In it he shares that the Celtic Christians had a name for the Holy Spirit. “They called Him An Geadh-Glas, or “the Wild Goose.” The name hints at the mysterious nature of the Holy Spirit. Much like a wild goose, the Spirit of God cannot be tracked or tamed. An element of danger and an air of unpredictability surround Him. And if you chase the wild goose, He will take you places you never could have imagined going by paths you never knew existed.”

Following Him is an adventure and the end result is fulfilling God’s will.

How is your relationship with the Holy Spirit today? What are you doing to follow Him – to keep your fire blazing for Christ with impact and influence?

In life, situations will take place where attitudes, judgments, unkind words, wrong thinking will try to rise up. It is in our human nature to let the ugly show through and react. We then have the Spirit, which desires to guide us into joy, peace, kindness, and love. We walk in struggle sometimes with the Spirit trying to guide us and the flesh wanting to dominate. Ultimately we have a choice to make, do we let the Spirit lead us or let our flesh take over? Of course our answer would be to let the Spirit guide us but it is easier said than done. Daily we need to kill our flesh, our desires, our will, and let the Spirit lead us. If we take our eyes off of ourselves and put them on God it becomes much easier to kill our flesh. Ways we kill our flesh are by building up our Spirit man – we soak up and study God’s word, we pray and intercede. We pray that God’s will be done and not our own. We will always have the flesh trying to break through but it is our choice to feed it or kill it.

We need to learn to walk by the spirit. “The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing.” (John 6: 63a)

“Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires.” (Romans 8: 5)

So let’s walk in the Spirit and stop gratifying the desires of the flesh. As Paul goes on to say to the Galatians “Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.” (Galatians 5:24-25)

Pride has been falling:
One quote I read was from Frank Bartleman, who recalled  that ”Brother Seymour(one of the leaders) generally sat behind two empty shoe boxes, one on top of the other.  He usually kept his head inside the top one during the meeting, in prayer.  There was no pride there… In that old building, with its low rafters and bare floors, God took strong men and women to pieces, and put them together again, for His glory… The religious ego preached its own funeral sermon quickly.”

In September 1906 the first issue of the Apostolic Faith reported: “In a short time God began to manifest His power and soon the building could not contain the people.  Proud, well-dressed preachers come in to ‘investigate.’  Soon their high looks are replaced with wonder, then wallowing on the dirty floor, asking God to forgive them and make them as little children.”

Several years ago we went to the Brownsville revival with a group from our church.  On a return visit our pastor and wife went with us.  He told us he didn’t believe that laughing under the spirit was really a manifestation of God.  One night, he was struck with holy laughter, was under the pew all evening and several of the men that came with us had to carry him out to his rental car.  He tried to drive, ended up stopping in the middle of a huge freeway exit, rolling out of the car, still laughing, on to the highway, and we had to get him in to the passenger side, and let his wife drive to the hotel…..  Never tell God he can’t do something!!

We need to be completely available for God to do whatever He wants, whenever He wants, and however He wants, and remember that it’s not about us, it’s about Him.

When the magistrate heard this, he proclaimed, “Take them back! Take them back, and let them convert the entire town!”

Gypsy Smith was once asked how to start a revival. He answered, “Go home, lock yourself in your room and kneel down in the middle of your floor. Draw a chalk mark all around yourself and ask God to start the revival inside that chalk mark. When He has answered your prayer, the revival will be on.”

God may or may not send revival to our nation or even our town, but you can experience personal revival.

Why are we afraid of what God would do if He got hold of our lives? Why can we not see the goodness of the changes a spiritual awakening would bring to our families? Is it because we suspect the goodness of God? Have we confused Jesus with someone else? Jesus told us in John 10:10, “The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give life in all its fullness (NLT). God’s plan is a good plan and we can trust Him because He loves us more than we love ourselves.