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The Glory
of the Spirit
The prophet Zechariah was a man
of visions. One night he had a wonderful vision: a lamp stand with seven lights;
it was lit by oil which poured directly into the lamp stand from two
olive trees.
He saw that the lamp stand was
made of solid gold and filled with golden oil (Zechariah
4:12). At the same time, he heard God speaking: "’Not by
might nor by power, but by My Spirit’, says the Lord of hosts" (Zechariah
4:6).
As Zechariah was wondering about
the meaning of the two olive branches, which fed the golden oil into the lamp
stand, he heard the answer: " These are the two sons of oil [The
Amplified Bible]" (Zechariah 4:14).
Zechariah understood these two
to be Joshua and Zerubbabel. Joshua was the high priest who led the people into
worship. Zerubbabel conducted the reconstruction of the house of God.
Joshua
represents the life of worship.
Zerubbabel represents the practical walk.
These are the two sons of oil. Sonship implies
relationship and submission. They are sons of oil, therefore, related to and
submissive to the golden oil. They yielded to the anointing, so the oil
poured through them to light the lamp stand with seven flames.
This vision is about the Holy Spirit, the oil
which makes our lives aflame with glory. The oil is golden because the Holy
Spirit is "the Spirit of glory" (1Peter
4:14).
You really need the overflow of this oil within
you. Then your worship will be filled with glory and you will go from
"glory to glory"(2 Corinthians 3:18)
in your walk with God.
- Ask the Holy
Spirit, this unique oil, to come in. he will change your prayer
life and you will realize that you are in the presence of God.
- Seek after the
Holy Spirit. He grants you the privilege of participating in building
the real house of God. You will harvest the lost for the Lord
Jesus, who will make them into living stones.
You really do need this oil.
It will empower your prayers and make your testimony for the Lord effective.
Come now; ask in the name of the
Lord Jesus to be filled with this oil. You will experience great things. You
will pray in the Spirit, testify in His power and be filled with His glory.
The following are examples
of people in whom the Holy Spirit has worked. Scripture records their lives to
encourage us to hunger for this overflow of the Spirit and to thirst for more
glory.
1-
The Seventy Elders
These men helped Moses to lead
the people. Scripture says: "When the Spirit rested upon them, they
prophesied…the Lord…put His Spirit on them" (Numbers
11:25,29).
The Holy Spirit inspires
prophecy. Paul encourages us to have this gift: "Pursue love, and desire
spiritual gifts, but especially that you may prophesy..he who prophesies
edifies the church" (1 Corinthians 14:1,4).
What is prophecy as a gift
of the Spirit? In Exodus 7:1, God says to
Moses: "Your brother Aaron shall be your prophet". How can
Aaron be Moses’s prophet? God provides the answer: "You shall speak to
him and put the words in his mouth" (Exodus 4:15),
and, "You shall speak all that I command you to Aaron. And Aaron your
brother shall tell Pharaoh" (Exodus 7:2).
Therefore, Aaron is Moses’s
prophet in that he passes Moses’s words on to others. Likewise, when we
prophesy, we take the same role as Aaron to Moses; we tell others the words of
God. "If anyone speaks, let him speak as the oracles of God" (1
Peter 4:11).
As the Holy Spirit works in us,
the words of God overflow through our mouths, into the ears of anyone listening
- this is prophesying. What effect do these words have? Paul replies: "He
who prophesies speaks edification and exhortation and comfort
to men" (1 Corinthians 14:3).
He who prophesies:
- speaks edification
– He speaks words filled with God’s love, which help develop the
listener’s relationship with God; deepen his fellowship and strengthen
his inner man.
- speaks exhortation
– In the Greek this word means "to urge or to encourage". He
who prophesies speaks words which urge the listener to get up straight
away when he has fallen down, resisting the enemy.
- speaks comfort
– He speaks words given by the Spirit which console the listener.
Ask your Father who loves you,
to fill you up with this golden oil, so that your words will not hurt others.
The Spirit will use your mouth in such a way that it will reveal "the
unsearchable riches of Christ" (Ephesians 3:8).
Your words will edify people,
encourage the weak, and comfort the broken-hearted. You will become just like
your master, your lips anointed with grace.
2-
Othniel
Scripture records a very
significant act about this man: "Othniel..the Spirit of God came upon
him. He went to war. The Lord delivered Cushan-Rishathaim king of
Mesopotamia into his hand; and his hand prevailed over Cushan-Rishathaim. So
the land had rest" (Judges 3:9, 10, 11).
- Cushan
– means ‘blackness and darkness’. Darkness symbolises ignorance, the
lack of sound understanding of God’s Word.
- Rishathaim – means ‘multiplied
iniquity’. Due to ignorance of the truth, revealed in God’s Word,
Satan manages to overwhelm people with sin.
- Cushan–Rishathaim, the king of Aram,
symbolises Satan in his struggle to keep people in ignorance of God’s
Word. He does this so they will remain enslaved to sin, unforgiven and
deprived of freedom, healing and all the blessings in Christ.
However, Othniel was able to overpower Cushan and to
re-establish the peace that had been disrupted.
Consider how he succeeded and continued to overcome, all
because the Spirit of God was upon him.
Judges chapter one also reports another wonderful fact
about this man. He liberated Kiriath Sepher. This name means the
City of the Word.
Beloved, did Satan rob you of your quiet time with God’s Word?
Is His Word no longer like a lamp to your feet (Psalm
119:105), health to your body (Proverbs
4:22) and nourishment to your spirit?
You need the golden oil, the fullness of the Holy Spirit,
to be like Othniel, able to restore what the enemy has stolen. You need the
golden oil to overcome the devil who tries to stop you from reading the Word,
and keep you ignorant of the truth.
The golden oil, the Holy Spirit, will give you a living
revelation from God out of the Word you read daily, bringing truth which
sets you free and which gives you pure spiritual milk and solid food. It will
give you a sharpedged sword to destroy the enemy.
The Bible says: "So the land had rest" (Judges
3:11).
Let me stress this point. If you surrender to the Holy
Spirit and submit to the Word of God, you will experience rest which is
victorious over and above all storms. You will experience rest on every side,
leading many to the quiet waters.
3-
Gideon
Let us take a look at what the Word of God says in the
following verses: "But the Spirit of the Lord came upon Gideon; then he
blew the trumpet, and the Abiezrites gathered behind him. And he sent
messengers throughout all Manasseh, who also gathered behind him". (Judges
6:34,35).
Consider this; when the Holy Spirit clothed Gideon, he drew
to himself fighting men who numbered more than 30,000 (Judges
7:3).
Do you want the Lord Jesus, who lives in you to draw many
people to Himself through you?
Be filled with the golden oil. Be filled with the Holy
Spirit.
Look how the devil enslaves people through deceptive ways,
exploiting the carnal inclinations of the old man. You can be absolutely sure
that the Spirit’s influence is greater by far. The experience of millions of
Spirit-filled men of God proves this to be true.
Let the Holy Spirit fill you, and you will see wonders. You
will see men, who used to lust after the things of the world, drawn to the
Lord who lives in you. It is He who testifies to His presence in you, by the
fruit of the Spirit – love, joy and peace. Your pure love, genuine joy and
peace will win these people.
The Holy Spirit will infill you. You will become
like the Samaritan woman. Springs of living water flowed from within her and
as a result the whole city was won for the Lord.
4-
Jephthah
This is a fourth example, demonstrating the influence of
the Holy Spirit, as we are led and filled by Him. God’s Word says of
Jephthah: "Then the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jephthah, and he passed
through Gilead and Manasseh, and passed through Mizpah of Gilead; and
from Mizpah of Gilead he advanced towards the people of Ammon" (Judges
11:29).
Let us take a close look at this: The Spirit empowered him
to take action, to move from place to place to do God’s work. No power was
able to resist him. Let us seek the Spirit, He will guide us. He will carry us
from one house to another and from one place to another, bearing good news and
glorious blessings to whoever receives us.
5-
Samson
"So Samson went down …to his surprise, a young lion
came roaring against him. And the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon him,
and he tore the lion as one would have torn apart a young goat" (Judges
14:5,6).
The very same Holy Spirit who worked in Samson, would like
to work within you. Samson tore the lion apart with his bare hands. The Holy
Spirit gives us tremendous power at times of sudden danger; power that is
always much greater than the danger itself.
The Holy Spirit, the golden oil, will give you constant
victory. When He came upon the disciples at Pentecost, "suddenly there
came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind"
(Acts 2:2).
The rushing mighty wind speaks of the power of the Spirit
which sweeps away anyone who stands in its way.
The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of power (2
Timothy 1:7), who empowers us in the Lord and in the power of His
might (Ephesians 6:10).
Do not ever be afraid of the devil. The Holy Spirit within
you is much stronger. Be filled with Him, and give Him control of your life.
Do not fear Satan, no matter how his roar may seem. He will never be much of
lion when face to face with the Holy Spirit; he will be like a goat instead
and so easy to conquer.
6-
Amasai
Scripture says of this man: "Then the Spirit came
upon Amasai and he said: We are yours, O David" (1
Chronicles 12:18).
When the Spirit of God came on him, he proclaimed his full
dedication to King David. The same applies to us. The more we are filled with
the Spirit, this golden oil, the more we dedicate and give ourselves to
Him.
It is the Holy Spirit who makes you give with joy,
give all that you own to the true David – the King of kings and the
Lord of lords.
It is the Spirit who prompts you to lay down easily
everything you own, to be under God’s control.
But what if you struggle to give something valuable up to
the Lord? What if you find it difficult not to be anxious about forthcoming
dangers? What if you feel you can not go ahead without material support? Come
to the Father. Seek the help of the Spirit. With Him you will be able
to overcome your fears, and fulfill your offering to the Lord with joy.
The Spirit will lead you into the life of faith, where you
will take risks and care for nothing, except obeying the Lord. He will enable
you to stand firm on the rock of faith at times of challenge and danger,
lifting your eyes to Jesus, declaring unreservedly, "I am yours"
(Psalm 119:94).
My Lord,
It is written about Asher that He dipped his foot in
oil (Deuteronomy 33:24).
I would like to dip my feet in Your golden oil; Not
only my feet, but my hands, eyes, ears, Heart – all of my being.
Fill me to overflowing with this oil.
Lord, I bow down before you. I submit myself to you.
Fill me and take control of my life.
Holy Spirit,
Ezekiel saw you fall upon dry bones,
And transform them into a vast army.
Come now and touch me,
So I can become part of this mighty army,
Marching after the Lord in a parade of glory.
From glory to glory,
From strength to strength,
We are more than conquerors.
Hallelujah!
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