During the feast of Tabernacles in Yeshua's (Jesus') day, the temple priests would set up four great lampstands with golden lampholders, which they would light with the aid of enormous ladders in the Temple courtyard. The lighting of these lamps began the celebration of the "Great Hosannah" (Hoshannah Rabbah, in Hebrew).
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In the days of the wilderness wanderings, the children of Israel trembled in the sight of God … and said to Moses, "You go and speak to God for us; and we will listen to you". However, in these days, we can’t be like the children of Israel and say to someone else … "Go and speak to God for me, and tell me what the Lord is saying!" And though we don't ignore prophetic voices, (we test them), if we are born again and have His Holy Spirit, we can receive communication direct... from the Lord, Himself. With troubles and dangers on the rise, we each need to cultivate a sensitivity to His Spirit, the ability to hear His inner voice. No, I'm not talking (necessarily) about an audible voice, but a spiritual sensitivity that will navigate us around the landmines which surround us.
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I love this passage of scripture. If you can imagine the disciples on this day -- they had gone through a roller coaster ride of emotions over the past 50 days. They had seen their Lord crucified. And then had gone into hiding ... until they discovered in amazement, He was alive! Just over 7 weeks had transpired and they were now watching Yeshua (Jesus) departing Earth and returning to His Father. The disciples were understandably unsure what was next, and so they asked a very reasonable question -- "Lord, will you at this time restore the Kingdom to Israel?"
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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, so effective was the woman's spell...
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Most people have never heard of "Auntie Cooke", but I guarantee you that you'll get to know her in glory! She arrived in Chicago in 1868 as a perfect stranger, but she immediately became involved in D.L. Moody's church when he was just thirty-one years old. She described him years later, as a 'diamond in the rough', and someone who needed the divine unction and power.
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In one sermon, D.L. Moody held up a glass and asked, "How can I get the air out of this glass?" One man shouted, "Suck it out with a pump!" Moody replied, "That would create a vacuum and shatter the glass." After numerous other suggestions Moody smiled, took out a pitcher of water, and filled the glass. "There," he said, "all the air is now removed."
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I've heard so many Christians ask, "How can I get more of the Holy Spirit?" As if the Holy Spirit is some kind of power or force that we can control or weild. What we should really be asking is, "How can the Holy Spirit have more of me?"
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