The Anointing of God

We saw last time that Jesus was anointed by the Spirit of God to accomplish the work and Word of God, but we must look into the scriptures and see if anyone else has been anointed to do the same work as Jesus.

In Matthew's Gospel, 28:18 we are told"To preach the gospel to the world"; and vs 20 of Mark 16 says the lord was expected to be with them, "confirming His word by signs and wonders. Casting out demons, speaking with new tongues. They shall pick up serpents, and lay hands on the sick, and if they drink any deadly poison, it shall not hurt them." Someone once said that all that had passed away since the Apostles, so now we can't expect to do what they did! But listen to what Jesus said in John14:12, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father." Question? How are you and I together going to do the same works, and even greater works than what Jesus did? It must be with the same Holy Spirit that dwells in us, and also by the same anointing that comes from Him! Hallelujah!

How can we be sure that we are really anointed? Well, here are two more scriptures that you can meditate on that will help your faith in accomplishing the will and work of God:

- 1 Cor. 4:11, “But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.”
And:
- Ephesians 4:7 “But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift.” (So we are given the manifestation of the Spirit of God for the common Good.)
- Then again in 2nd Cor. 1:21, “Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and anointed us is God, who also sealed us and gave us the Spirit in our hearts as a pledge.”

Praise His name forever!!

Contrary to what some folks think, we have not been given an impossible task of going what the Lord did, the apostles did, or even the former disciples did without the same Spirit, same anointing, or the supernatural equipment that is required to accomplish the ministry of God.

Jesus also spoke to his followers and disciples about the Holy spirit who was to come and dwell in each one of then, as well as the anointing of God that was to teach each one of us. We will call it the ANOINTING IN YOU.

- 1 John 2:27 says, "The anointing is in you and teaches you about all things."
- John 16:13,"When He the Spirit of Truth comes, He will guide you into all truth"
- Paul said in Eph. 3:20, "To Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly, beyond all we think, according to the power, (virtue) that works in us.”
- Again in Gal 3:5, "Does He then that provides you with the Spirit and works of power among you do it according to the law, or by the Spirit?" No, not by the law any longer, but by His indwelling Holy, Wonderful, Mighty Spirit who anoints each believer!

See Acts 1:8, “But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost comes upon you." And again: "Ye are endued or (clothed with power from on high." (Luke 24:49)

You see, Jesus knew something about us and the work of the ministry that we were going to be facing. So he told his disciples to wait for the enduement of power (that was coming from on high.) They were not going to be able to do the works without Him or His anointing. Did the Holy Spirit come? Yes, He did come, and he did furnish the church with His supernatural ability and power. Greater, not weaker is He that is in me than He that is in the world!! Praise the Lord forever.

Be blessed today, recognized that you have the anointing dwelling in you for service and ministry to those around you and in the Church today.

Part 3
What is the Anointing similar to in It's manifestation?

The Anointing is similar to electricity in some of its manifestations. The anointing is tangible (or felt) at times by us as we come into contact with it. However, It must for the most part be believed to be present and available to us, and then received by us to be of any benefit, because it is not always felt or sensed by our flesh.

Electricity in the same way was upon the earth from the beginning of Creation, but until man learned of it’s existence and found out how to harness or use it, it was not much use to him. Just as someone who benefits from the power that is generated through an electrical socket when it is turned on, so also unless we plug something into the socket and turn on the switch, it will not benefit us in the least.

THE ANOINTING IS TRANSFERABLE: Acts 19:12 “So that when the handkerchiefs or aprons that had touched His skin were brought to the sick, their diseases left them, and the evil spirits came out of them.”

And again in Mark 5:30, Jesus describes the power coming forth from out of Him. This word is dunamis as described as before. "...Who touched me?, perceiving in Himself that power had gone from Him”. The woman also felt the Power or Anointing going into her person and was healed as a result.

Part 4
What then, is the Anointing for and How is it to affect us all?

My own definition based on the Word of God would be: The supernatural giftings & equipment of God, given by the Holy Spirit to furnish, or equipt, us with whatever we need in our life or ministry, that which is necessary.

Another definition might be: To furnish what is needed through contact, such as Laying on of hands, cloths, application of oil, or releasing words with the Anointing by faith. (Jesus told some in His ministry, "As have I, go as you have believed", and as They went they or someone else was affected by the power of God or the Anointing.

What is it for? Luke 4:18, Jesus said to “preach or teach the gospel to the poor, to proclaim release or set free the captive, to cause the blind to see (physically and spiritually) , to set free those who are downtrodden or bound by satanic influence, and to proclaim The year in which God was visiting His people.”

In other words, it was the supernatural manifestation of God’s Spirit in and upon us to accomplish all that we were to do upon earth after His returning to Heaven.

Why do we need the anointing in our lives as Christians? Because it is the power of God that destroys the yoke from peoples lives, and even our own life.

Isaiah 10:27, “And it shall come to pass in that day, that his burden shall be taken away from off thy shoulder, and his yoke from off thy neck, and the yoke shall be destroyed because of the Anointing.” (The yoke is described as anything that burdens your body or anything that oppresses your body.)

Acts 10:38, “How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: Who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with Him.” Oppression means to exercise hard control over.

Part 5
Can we always tell when the Anointing is present?

Let us go to the ministry of Jesus, especially the beginning of His ministry when the people were hearing Jesus speak in His own home town, recorded in Luke’s Gospel the 4th chapter and the 18 through the 29th verses.

Jesus told them that He was anointed by the Holy Spirit and that He was the fulfillment of Isaiah the 61st Chapter. We must ask ourselves a question then; was He speaking the truth? Yes, of course He was, but did those around Him believe that He was anointed? No, they did not believe that He was anointed. Therefore we cannot always tell if the anointing is present. Also we see the anointing demonstrated in His ministry as he said in Luke 7:22, “GO AND REPORT TO JOHN WHAT YOU HAVE SEEN AND HEARD; THE BLIND RECEIVE SIGHT, THE LAME WALK, THE LEPERS ARE CLEANSED, AND THE DEAF HEAR, THE DEAD ARE RAISED UP, THE POOR HAVE THE GOSPEL PREACHED TO THEM.”

In another instance we see in Luke 5:17-26 that Jesus was teaching and ministering to “Pharisees and doctors of the law sitting by, which were come out of every town of Galilee, and Judea, and Jerusalem” and the Word of God says that “The power of the Lord was present to heal”. Why, then, didn’t anyone receive healing for their needs? Then the lame man came with the four who lowered him down in their midst and he received his healing (Luke 5, vs 17-23). Praise the Lord forever!

We will look at one more case where it is quite obvious that those around Jesus did not know that He was anointed or did not take advantage of the power of God within His life and ministry. Mark 5:25-34 says that a multitude was following Jesus with his disciples going to Jairus's house and not one person noticed that Jesus was anointed or that there was power available.

We can tell from the above verses that in the life and ministry of Jesus that the anointing and power of God was on Jesus and available to change lives, but it was not always visibly manifested or known that it was there for others to benefit by it.

Part 6
How can we benefit from the Healing Anointing?

IN ORDER TO BENEFIT FROM THE HEALING ANOINTING POWER OF GOD, YOU MUST FIRST BELIEVE THAT THE POWER IS PRESENT!

Isn’t that true of anything that we receive. We must first believe that it is there and then we can receive of its benefits. Let us look at another scripture that will help us in this matter. In Heb. 11:6, “But without faith it is impossible to please Him: for he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.” Can you see what I meant? We must believe in God before we see Him to benefit from the blessings of His covenant Word. So, it stands to reason that we must believe that the healing anointing is present in lives of ministers before we can receive the healing anointing which is beneficial for our needs and lives.

The first thing that Jesus did when they did not believe that He was anointed was to go around teaching and preaching the Word of God and telling them that He was anointed of the Holy Spirit. We know that He did because the Word of God in Romans 10:17 tells us that faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God.

We know that in the cases we discussed: The man with the four who brought him believed that Jesus was anointed because they carried him all the way from where they were and then lowered him through the roof just to get Jesus to touch him. We also know that the woman with the issue of blood also believed, because she pressed through the crowd and took the chance of getting stoned to death as one who was unclean, and touched the hem of his garment. She did not even ask Jesus to pray for her, but said in her heart "If I but touch His clothes, I will be made well." She definitely believed that Jesus was anointed and that the anointing would change her life completely.

Part 7
What causes the Power or Anointing to be present, or enabled to be tapped into?

Since the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus we have had available to us the Anointing or Power of God. The healing power of God is made available to them that become aware of it. When the Word of God is being spoken or read to us, by ourselves or someone else, then the power of God is available to save, heal, deliver, etc. When we read the scriptures on healing the power to be healed is contained in those scriptures and made available to us through His Spirit. Hebrews 4:12, "The word of God is quick and powerful, and sharper than any two edged sword."

Faith comes as a result of the spoken word, thus enabling the power of God to accommodate those who believe:

- Romans 10: 9-14, "We believe and spoke resulting in our salvation".
- 2nd Peter 1:3, "His devine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness.”
- Romans 10:17, "Faith comes by hearing the word of God."

Our obedience to the word of God brings the power within the word of God to meet our healing or deliverance. No obedience, no power! Romans 6:17-18, “But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you. Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.”

In Mark 4 we see a powerful example of the seed or word of God that Jesus describes in the parable of the sower. A natural seed will produce fruit, and He said that the word of God planted on good soil would produce some 30,60, and 100 fold.

In Luke 5:17 we see that Jesus was teaching, “and the power of the Lord was present to heal.” The power becomes present when there is teaching on the Word of God, for healing, salvation, deliverance, etc.

The anointing also comes at times as the direct Will of God through manifestations of the Holy Spirit in and through our lives or others in the body of Christ. We can call this special anointing as the Spirit wills (1st cor. 12:7-11). Anytime you have a manifestation Of one or more of the gifts of the Holy Spirit in operation, the power to perform that gift is in operation.

We see this in the ministry of Jesus as He ministered in two main methods. First through teaching and preaching the word of God and secondly through allowing the Holy Spirit to use Him as the Father willed and directed through the Holy Spirit. An example in John 5:1-13 is the impotent man that was by the Sheep Gate in Bethesda. The man did not know about Jesus. He did not have faith of his own. It was through Jesus, directed to him by the Spirit of God as a soveriegn will and expression of the Father, that the man through the ministry of Jesus was healed.

Part 8
Because the Anointing is present, does it still guarantee that we will be healed?

Just because the healing power of God is present does not guarantee that you will be healed. As seen in the examples below, we must each turn ON the “switch of faith” in our hearts and then the power of God will be made available to us.

Luke 5:17: The Pharisees and doctors of the law were sitting by, “and the power of the Lord was present to heal them.” Did the Pharisees and doctors of the law receive anything from the healing anointing? No, because they did not believe that it was present and in their religious fervor to prove Jesus wrong, they did not receive anything.

In Mark 5:25-34: The multitude surrounding Jesus did not receive anything even though there appeared a tangible anointing that was felt by the woman with the issue of blood, and also Jesus Himself.

When Jesus was in his home town of Nazareth, in Mark 6:1-6: Verse 5, “And He could there do no mighty work, save that He laid His hands upon a few sick folk, and healed them”. Verse 6, “And He marveled because of their unbelief. And he went about the villages teaching.”

In Luke 4:16 (also in Nazareth), when Jesus stood up to read from Isaiah 61and declared that the scripture was fulfilled in this day, no one believed that He was anointed, because they knew Him as the carpenter’s son. (Being familiar with someone’s flesh is a dangerous place to be if you are seeking to receive from God)

Let us say this then, that in order to benefit from the healing anointing power of God, you must first believe that the power is present! The unbelief from yours and my heart must first be removed by hearing the word of God, and then acting on that word.

In Mark 5:25-34, the woman had an issue of blood (or hemorrhage) for 12 years. When she heard about Jesus, faith rose up in her heart, she believed in what she heard, and she was healed when she touched the hem of His garment.

A. How do we know that she believed? Because she went to where Jesus was.
B. Did she believe in her heart that he had the power to destroy the yoke of sickness? Yes, because she said in her heart, “If I can but touch the hem of His garment I shall be made whole ”.
C. Did she act on her belief and received her healing? Yes.

What about the sick man who was let down on his couch through the tiles by the four men who accompanied him? Luke 5:17-26, vs 17, says that “The power of the Lord was present to heal”. Vs 18-20 says that they (the four) were seeking a means to bring the sick man before Jesus, but they did not stop when they saw the room was full. Instead they continued in faith to the top of the roof and let the man down into the center of the room in front of Jesus.

See also the centurion’s faith for the healing of his servant in Luke 7:2-10: He heard of Jesus, believed, and sent elders “beseeching Him that He would come and heal his servant.” He believed that Jesus was anointed and had the power to bring life into his servant, even to the point of saying by the elders, “Only say a word, and my servant shall be healed.”

Blessings on your home and family today as you celebrate Jesus and His power to deliver you!

Part 9

When the Power of God Is Administered, You May or May Not Feel it with Your Senses.

The minister as well as the one who is being ministered to may or may not experience any feeling during the application or administering process. Mark 5:25 is the only passage that says Jesus felt the power go out of Him, and the woman receiving the healing felt the power in her body as well. This is not the rule, but the exception, as we look into the ministry of Jesus.

In Luke 6:17-19, “And all the multitude were trying to touch Him, for power was coming from Him and healing them all.” And Mark 3:9-11, “He had healed many, with the result that all those who had afflictions pressed about Him in order to touch Him.”

What then is the answer? Teaching God’s word or will (Luke 4: 32 & 44). And getting the church to understand that the feeling that they are coming for is only temporal, and what they need to do is believe the Word of God, and by faith receive their healing or deliverance (or whatever they have need of) and know that God is working on their behalf.

An example is the fall of the walls at Jericho: Joshua 6:1-21, see vs 20, “So the people shouted, and priests blew the trumpets; and it came about, when the people heard the sound of the trumpet, that the people shouted with a great shout and the wall fell down flat, so that the people went up into the city, every man straight ahead, and they took the city.”

What brought the power of God upon the place and answered the need of the people of Israel? It was the shout of faith! What if they had not shouted in faith? No faith shout, no victory!!

We must first believe the power of the Lord is present to benefit from that power or anointing. Faith must be present to believe, because God said He would be the "rewarder of those who diligently seek" Him. (Heb 11:6.) Faith, then, is the key to releasing the anointing power of God.

Part 10

The Healing Power of God can be ministered in different ways:

A. By handkerchiefs: Acts 19:11,12
B. By the spoken word: Luke 7:1-10
C. By what you say: Mark 11:23, “That whosoever shall say...”
D. By the Name of Jesus: Acts 3:1-7, Mark 16:18,
E. By anointing with oil: James 5:14,15, Exod. , 28:41, Exod. 40:9-11
F. By the Prayer of Faith: Mark 11:24, James 5:15
G. By the laying on of hands: Mark 8:22-25, Mark 6:1-6, Luke 4:40, Mark 16:15-18. (The laying on of hands is basic doctrine: Heb. 5:12-14, and in the Old Testament, Lev. 16:21-22, and Gen. 48:13-20.

Why then are people not being healed? Let us ask the question, then why aren’t all people being saved? In some churches people aren’t being healed or saved, yet there are people present who need salvation and healing. When an alter call is given to allow them opportunity to receive salvation or receive their healing we must believe that the power of God is present to meet the needs of the people and not allow our senses to dictate whether or not the power of the Lord is really present or not.

Familiarity breeds contempt!! The people in Nazareth were looking at Jesus as just ‘the carpenter’s son’ instead of the Gift of God, which limited His power to heal. We also make the same mistakes when we look at pastors and other men of God we know as ‘brother so and so’, instead of gifts from God (lack of respect for the office). Ignorance or unbelief can nullify the power of God to accomplish what it is present to accomplish in a person’s life. (See Hosea 4:6 and Isaiah. 5:13).

We must cooperate with the anointing that comes by the Spirit of God as a result of the Word, or special manifestations of the Holy Spirit through the vessels that He chooses!

This concludes our teaching on the Anointing. I hope that this message has challenged you and strengthened you at the same time. Let us all grow up unto Him and do the same works that Jesus did with the same anointing that was present in His life. May we all learn to cooperate with the Anointing of God so that God the Father will be glorified in our lives and that we will bear much fruit.

May the Lord continually bless you and your family today as you renew your mind in the Word of God.