The Anointing – Part 2
From the Pastor’s heart The anointing – Part 2
Exo 30:22Moreover the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Exo 30:23Take thou also unto thee principal spices, of pure myrrh five hundred shekels, and of sweet cinnamon half so much, even two hundred and fifty shekels, and of sweet calamus two hundred and fifty shekels, Exo 30:24And of cassia five hundred shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary, and of oil olive an hin: Exo 30:25 And thou shalt make it an oil of holy ointment, an ointment compound after the art of the apothecary: it shall be an holy anointing oil. Exo 30:32Upon man's flesh shall it not be poured, neither shall ye make any other like it, after the composition of it: it is holy, and it shall be holy unto you.
There was no other oil like the anointing oil God made. The word anointing speaks of a smearing of oil on a person or an object. By doing this in the Biblical sense, the people and objects who are smeared become holy. When holiness is attributed in this manner, they who are anointed can appear in the presence of God. The Bible states, without holiness, no man can see the Lord. If that is the case, holiness can only be attributed as no one is holy by their own acts. In the Old Testament, God attributed holiness in this manner of smearing with oil but in the New Testament, holiness is attributed by the giving of the Holy Spirit who is likened to the oil of holiness. We are made holy by God in a permanent sense when we receive the Holy Spirit after being saved. I believe this is a very significant part of our journey of sanctification. When we are saved by faith by the atoning work of Christ, we are set apart for God. After that, we receive the Holy Spirit as a confirmation of this salvation and are attributed with holiness so that we can be in the presence of God. The blood of Jesus makes a way for us but the Holy Spirit gives us access to God Eph 2:18For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father.
The anointing has often been mistaken in Christian circles as power to do things in a miraculous way. While in part this is true, it is not the entirety of the purpose of the anointing. The anointing brings with it the entrance into the presence and glory of God to partake of His nature as well. God says; 1Pe 1:15But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; 1Pe 1:16 Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy. This entrance we know to be holiness. Holiness has purity attached to it and yet we realise that we are neither holy nor pure. So, God has to make us pure.
The blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin and we are also made clean through the washing of the water of the word but to be holy is to go one step further. Imagine yourself as a filthy ragged person who has come of the streets with filth and dirt attached to you because of your wayward life on the streets for years. Someone takes you in and first gives you a bath and cleans you thoroughly. Now you are clean but not yet clothed with new clothes that cover you in an acceptable form. It is the same with the blood of Jesus which cleanses you and then you are clothed with garments of righteousness and salvation. Then you are anointed with sweet smelling oil like perfume (Holy Spirit) that make you holy in the sight of God. Now, you are walking in holiness.
Yet, if the spiritual garments you wear become tainted again by the filth of the world, they are no longer holy. So, to be holy like God, we need an agent of holiness. That agent is the Holy Spirit who teaches us how to walk in the presence of God and how to keep away from the world that taints the garments. This relationship with the anointing teaches us like no man can teach us. 1Jn 2:27 But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him. The abiding that is referred to here speaks of holiness. When we abide in the Lord Jesus who is holy, we too become holy. The anointing, who is the Holy Spirit teaches us how to do that.
The anointing is a gift from God that cannot be purchased or merchandised. Today, many have been anointed for service in many different ways which has shook the world with salvation, miracles, signs and wonders. When the anointing is upon us, we find that the work of God in the midst of evil is found to be very powerful. Nothing can resist the anointing in a person. Those who do not carry the anointing always struggle with life in their personal lives and in ministry. I have heard of missionaries who have spent 30 years in the field but have not even won one soul. Others have gone out and have become defeated in their mission fields. The Christian journey without power is a struggle that cannot be overcome. The overcoming power is in the anointing. I have seen many people work the works of preaching but have no power and yet won many souls to God. The only problem is, they have not been able to make them stronger than their circumstances in life because they do not carry the anointing of power. One can be anointed for service but one must be anointed with power also to be able to defeat the works of the enemy. When Jesus was anointed, He defeated the works of the devil, did good works and much more by way of preaching, miracles, signs and wonders. The greatest anointing that Jesus carried was the full measure of the Holy Spirit; that is to say, He was God in Himself on earth. We on the other hand have been given a measure that we carry by His grace to achieve what He wants us to.
Not everyone is anointed with power in the same way even though we carry the same Holy Spirit of power. Each one of us have to understand how to receive power and grow in grace to handle such power. Otherwise, we will be destroyed by the very thing we desire because we do not know how to carry holiness and power. I have seen and heard of many ministers of God carry a huge anointing only to end up merchandising it (making money out of it) or using it to fulfil the lusts of the flesh and have ended up destroyed themselves and destroying others in the process. This is the sad side to the anointing. Many others have misunderstood what the anointing is for and have used it to dictate, rule and give false information by way of false prophecies and teaching.
I am convinced that the anointing of God is given for many reasons. The anointing in my opinion is a person who lives in us. He is the Holy Spirit of promise. His presence and power make all the difference to us who have been saved. Without Him, we are washed clean but remain un-empowered. When the Holy Spirit comes to us at the point of receiving Jesus as Saviour, He comes as the Spirit of Christ in us bringing us to salvation and sonship. Then, when He comes on us with power, He comes on us with power to live and be witnesses in a very different way than merely accepting Jesus as Saviour. There is a permanency attached to His coming into us that gives us the edge we need to live in a dark and evil generation. He is like a covering of holiness over us but at the same time a teacher of holiness to cause us to be able to access God through Jesus without condemnation. This is critical to us because the evil one always seeks to condemn us about how unholy and worthless we are. Can anyone be holy in his own right? I doubt it. However, attributed holiness can act as holiness. Therefore, the
smearing of the Holy Spirit who is the anointing oil becomes the most important act after salvation. This is why Jesus wanted to go the Father and get the Holy Spirit of promise that He might send Him to us. By doing this, He gave us an assurance of His acceptance of us as His own children and empowered us to remain on earth in the midst of evil till He came back for us. Furthermore, direct access to God was now possible while we remained on earth. We were not left as orphans but comforted by the Comforter who is the Holy Spirit.
The anointing is used by God in us for various reasons:
To make us holy - To empower us to be witnesses -To give us access to God
- To teach us - To do what Jesus did and more -To be called a holy generation
It is time for the Church to arise and stop living in the way of defeat. Rather, we need to stop being wimps and start being lions as we were made to be. There is a time for growing but then comes maturity. Maturity is not a far distance away but it is very near through the Holy Spirit Heb 5:12For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat. Heb 5:13For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe. Heb 5:14 But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.
It is made clear from the verses above that we need to mature. As long as we remain proud and seeking worldly things, we will never understand spiritual things or the access God has given us to Himself. Strong meat is maturity. When we mature, we can do great things for God and walk in holiness and righteousness like never before. We will no longer be victims but victors and overcomers. I do not just want to win wars, I want to overcome so that no war can overcome me. I want to walk with God from a vantage point of His lofty position and not from my flesh position on earth. The only way I am going to be able to do this is to be like Him in every way that He intended I should be. To achieve this, I need the anointing of His Holy Spirit.
Lots of love
Pastor Noble