The Ministry of the Holy Spirit in the Life of the Believer (Part 2)

All throughout the New Testament, the Bible speaks of being filled with the Holy Spirit. Yes, every believer is indwelt with the Holy Spirit, but the Bible refers to another more precise experience in one’s life. The Bible speaks of a time when men are definitely brought to a place where they are filled with the Holy Spirit in such a way that they are currently manifesting the graces of the Spirit in his life. Their lives are brought to a place of complete surrender to God and they are filled to overflowing with the power of the Spirit to do such things as win souls to Christ and preach the Word of God in power and authority. When the Spirit of the Lord begins to use a person whose heart is entirely yielded to God, things begin to happen that no person can explain away, except to say that God is in that man or woman’s life.

The Spirit of the Lord is referred to in the Old Testament in the life of Samson. There were times that the Spirit of the Lord came upon Samson and he was able to do feats that were unreal in the eyes of men. God gave him strength and power to do a work for him in ways that we cannot explain. I do not know if Samson was a big man or if he was a small man. But when the Bible says that he was able to pick up the gates of the city, something miraculous is taking place in that life. He was able to catch foxes with his bear hands. He was able to kill hundreds of men with the jawbone of an ass. Why? It happened because the Spirit of the Lord came upon him.

Other men throughout the Old Testament experienced times when the Spirit of the Lord came upon them and they too were able to accomplish great things for God. There are many instances when the Spirit of God would descend upon a life and cause them to preach and to prophecy with great power. Revivals were ushered in under the hand of the Spirit of God. The Spirit of God was present and active in the Old Testament just as He is today.