When the enemy comes in, the Holy Spirit is ready to take action. God has not forsaken you when the comes in. God is prepared for every contingency and action that the adversary can take against you. God has promised that the Holy Spirit will come in with such power and overwhelming strength to enable God’s people to make a successful stand against the enemy. On our own, we are not sufficient for the tasks or attacks that come before us. We need the Holy Spirit in action in our lives. God has not promised that He is just going to give us everything automatically. He anoints, calls, sends and inspires, but we must respond. He never promised that we would not have to fight for joy through feelings of despair and fear. He never promised that we would not have to fight for a positive perspective in the face of a negative setting. You will probably have to take a stand when you feel like you are nothing, can do nothing, and don’t have the right words to say. You may feel too weak, too overwhelmed, and too small to obey His call and prompting. You may think that you do not have the proper resources, help or support. God wants you to depend on Him and not on your own abilities or previous victories. That is why Jesus promised to send another Comforter to abide with you forever. The Holy Spirit will be a very present help for you in the time of trouble. God Almighty has promised that He will come to your aid when you are up against the enemy’s attack.
Isaiah 59:19 So shall they fear the name of the LORD from the west, And His glory from the rising of the sun; When the enemy comes in, like a flood the Spirit of the LORD will lift up a standard against him.
We need to recognize and take advantage of the Holy Spirit’s action when the enemy comes in. God does not elevate His people so that can act independently of Him. He wants to constantly fill and direct you by the Holy Spirit. He will show you His sufficiency in the times of your weakness and distress.
Isaiah 30:21 NKJV Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way, walk in it,” whenever you turn to the right hand or whenever you turn to the left.
Later, Jesus made this message very clear to His disciples. He said they would need the Holy Spirit to comfort, direct, empower and help them.
Throughout the Bible the Holy Spirit has taken action.
Every time He comes in and inspires, speaks, directs, empowers and helps God’s people.
After Samuel took a flask of oil and anointed Saul King of Israel, the Spirit of the Lord came upon him and he was dramatically changed.
The action of the Holy Spirit transformed Saul into a different man. Before the Spirit of the Lord took action, Saul was timid and awkward. Although he was head and shoulders above those around him, he did not think he was able to do what God called him to do. When the Spirit took action, Saul was given another heart and everything that God promised came to pass. He prophesied with the prophets and God lifted him up to become the king of Israel. At times, the Spirit of God would come upon Saul and empower him to lead God’s people into victory over their enemies.
In his second year of reigning, Saul began to think he could lead God’s people without the help of the Holy Spirit.
He began walking by in own desires, wisdom, and plans. When Saul started going on his own the Holy Spirit was taken from him. Even though King Saul was distressed and troubled when the Spirit of the Lord departed, he did not repent. When the Holy Spirit left he was abandoned to his troubles.
It was about that time, in 1 Samuel 16, that Samuel took a horn of oil and anointed David in the midst of his brothers.
The Spirit of the Lord came upon him from that day forward. David recognized the necessity of the Holy Spirit and God’s presence.
Psalm 51:11-12 NKJV Do not cast me away from Your presence, And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, And uphold me by Your generous Spirit.
David knew that it was God who made him great. He knew he could not make it without God’s presence and the help of the Holy Spirit.
Throughout the Bible when the enemy came in the Holy Spirit took action. He came upon Othniel, Deborah, Gideon, Jephthah, and Sampson. The Holy Spirit’s action was in such power that they arose and led God’s people into victory.
- After Israel cried out to the Lord because of their enemies, the Spirit of the Lord took action and came upon Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother. Under the Holy Spirit’s power and influence, Othniel went out to war and the Lord delivered them from the King of Mesopotamia.
- Deborah was a prophetess in Israel. God spoke to her to send Barak and ten thousand troops of Israel and go out to battle against Sisera and Jabin’s army. Barak was afraid to go out against the enemy. Deborah sang, “Village life ceased in Israel, until I, Deborah arose, a mother in Israel.” When she did, “The mountains gushed before the Lord, This Sinai, before the Lord God of Israel.”
When the enemy comes in, like a flood the Spirit of the LORD will lift up a standard against him.
- When the Midianites and Amalekites and people of the East encamped against Israel, the Spirit of the Lord came upon Gideon and he blew the trumpet. After he blew the trumpet, Gideon wanted to be sure that he was being led by God, so he put a fleece of wool on the threshing floor and tested God. Thirty-two-thousand people responded to Gideon’s trumpet call. The Lord told Gideon he had too many people and twenty-two thousand people went back home. Once again God told Gideon he had too many people, until he was left with only 300 people. God gave the victory over his enemies because the Spirit of the Lord came on Gideon.
You need to know that little is much when God is in it.
- When the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jephthah, he passed through the land and the Lord delivered their enemies into his hands.
- When Samson was a child, the Lord blessed him and the Spirit of the Lord began to move upon him. Under the power of the Spirit of the Lord, Samson tore apart a lion with his bare hands. Often the Spirit of the Lord would come mightily upon him and he would destroy his enemies.
When the enemy comes in, like a flood the Spirit of the LORD will lift up a standard against him.
God is ready to take action against the enemy. When the enemy comes in, this is the key to your victory.
Ephesians 3:16 AMP May He grant you out of the rich treasury of His glory to be strengthened and reinforced with mighty power in the inner man by the [Holy] Spirit [Himself indwelling your innermost being.
Jesus made this point very clear to His disciples that they needed the Holy Spirit. After His resurrection, He breathed on them and said,“Receive the Holy Spirit.” Just before He ascended back to the Father, Jesus commanded them to not leave Jerusalem until the Holy Spirit came upon them. He said, “When the Holy Spirit comes, you will receive power to be living witnesses of the resurrected Christ.”
2 Corinthians 4:7-10 NKJV says, “But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us.” We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed—always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body.
During these difficult moments we need to be strengthened by the Holy Spirit. I have found it to be true that God has put something in our hands that we can use in the power of the Spirit.
Under the influence of the Holy Spirit, God mightily enabled people to take action.
- Moses had a rod.
- Gideon and his men blew trumpets.
- Samson tore a lion apart with his bare hands and defeated thousands with the jawbone of a donkey.
- Ehud had a dagger
- Shamgar had an ox goad.
- Jephthah walked through the land.
- David had a sling.
- Elisha had the cloak of Elijah.
- Micah spoke when he was full of power by the Spirit of the Lord.
- David said, “My heart was hot within me; while I was musing, the fire burned. Then I spoke with my tongue…”
- Jeremiah was telling the Lord that he was too young; but the Lord said, “I have put forth My hand and touched your mouth, and I have put My words in your mouth.”
- Ezekiel said, “The Spirit entered me when He spoke to me, and set me on my feet”… and said, “I am sending you.”
- Some people worshipped and sang new songs in the Spirit.
- Some lifted holy hands.
Use whatever God has put in your hand.
When the Holy Spirit takes action mighty things are going to happen.
Romans 15:18-19 NIV84 I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me in leading the Gentiles to obey God by what I have said and done— by the power of signs and miracles, through the power of the Spirit.
Paul was making it clear that his ministry had signs and miracles by the power of the Spirit.
Paul and Silas were ministering in Philippi. On the way to prayer meeting, they were confronted by a slave girl that was possessed with a spirit of divination. She followed them for many days and continued to say, “These men are the servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to us the way of salvation.” Paul became greatly annoyed and cast out the evil spirit in the name of Jesus Christ, and he came out of her. As a result, her owners dragged Paul and Silas to the authorities and ultimately they were beaten with many stripes and cast into prison. They locked them in the inner prison and fastened their feet in stocks.
Acts 16:25-26 NKJV But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone’s chains were loosed.
Sometimes all you can do is lift up your voice in prayer and song to God. God is able to break through prison doors and shatter chains. We need to get ready for the Holy Spirit to take action and come in like a flood against the enemy. Let God use what you have. God is prepared for every contingency and action that the adversary can take against you. He has promised that the Holy Spirit will come in with great power and overwhelming strength.
