I wanna continue our discussion about the Holy Spirit.
This is a topic that should not be left up to academics or Bible teachers to instruct us.
Because a good majority of pastors and teachers (especially from the Christian camp) promote the idea that being filled with the Spirit means ONLY expressing the maple syrupy, never-hurt-a-fly love of God.
The truth is that more often than not, the Scripture shows the spirit-filled believer as being a fearsome and awesome warrior who is capable of killing hundreds of men in battle.
Of course, that’s not the only part of being filled with the Holy Spirit.
But it sure plays a big role and shouldn’t be ignored.
In the Book of Judges, we’ll see that the Spirit of the Lord enables a person to kick some serious butt to a degree that would have been impossible to accomplish on his or her own.
Let’s take a look at 2 examples from Scripture.
Check out this verse from Judges 6:34.
“But the Spirit of Adonai covered Gid‘on. He sounded the call on the shofar, and Avi‘ezer rallied behind him.”
The Hebrew word being used here for “covered” is LABESH (לָבַשׁ).
It means to wear something like an article of clothing.
The idea being imparted is that the Lord’s spirit fully covers a man like a full length coat protects one from the elements on a cold winter day.
Compare this to Judges 3:10.
“The spirit of Adonai came upon him, and he judged Israel. Then he went out to war, and Adonai gave Kushan-Rish‘atayim king of Edom into his hands; his power prevailed against Kushan-Rish‘atayim.”
So here we’re told the Spirit of the Lord “came upon” Othniel giving him supernatural power to slay the king of Edom and his army.
The Hebrew word being used here is HAYYAH (הָיָה).
So what’s the difference between HAYYAH and LABESH?
Well, in the case of Judges 3:10 (Hayyah), when God’s spirit comes upon a man, it overpowers a man’s free will to the point where it is completely replaced by God’s will.
If you ever experienced pure hatred for someone that was supernaturally transformed into pure love, then I think you have an idea of what this feels like,
Now LABESH or being completely covered by God’s Holy Spirit is a different animal altogether.
When God’s Spirit so completely envelopes another human, that person becomes capable of accomplishing feats that causes jaws to drop.
Literally, that person becomes capable of physical acts of strength that go way beyond what mere mortals can do.
Of course, the perfect example is the strongman Samson who was able to go into battle against hundreds of men at once and destroy them all.
This isn’t necessarily Biblical, but if you’ve ever seen a Bruce Lee fight scene, that’s a good example of being possessed by a supernatural spirit.
I’m talking about those scenes when Bruce Lee is surrounded by dozens of men who attack him all at once.
After a lightning fast display of flying fists and feet, Bruce cripples or knocks out (most likely both) ALL of his attacking enemies.
Obviously, Kung Fu movies are fiction but if true, it is a good example of the supernatural feats that can be accomplished when filled with God’s Spirit.
Of course, the miraculous deeds one can achieve by being filled with God’s Spirit aren’t restricted to supernatural physical feats.
The Lord could give you a supernatural Spirit to succeed in a business undertaking.
The ability to prophesy is also another gift of the Spirit.
However, in the book of Judges, we’re going to see many examples of the Lord giving His chosen judges awesome power to kick some serious a$& on the battlefield.
Oh and incidentally, did you know that Bruce Lee was actually Jewish?
That’s right homies.
His great-grandfather was born in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, so he had Dutch-Jewish ancestry.
His name was Mozes Hartog Bosman.
So Bruce was a quarter English, an eighth Dutch-Jewish and five-eighths Chinese.
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