THE ANOINTING

HIS GLORY REIGNS
B. Childress
Jul 6 2007 08:00AM


ANOINTING (OR UNCTION) - Both come from the Greek word "Charismata" which means smearing, rubbing,
or endowment; to smear, overshadow, or paint over. In Hebrew, the word anoint is "mashach," which means "to rub in."
An endowment of the inherent characteristics, qualities, and virtues of the Holy Spirit (power, ability, enablement,
efficiency, and might) - the power of God. The seven spirits that make up the personality of the Holy spirit are the spirit
of the Lord, the spirit of wisdom, the spirit of understanding, the spirit of counsel, the spirit of might, the spirit of
knowledge, and the spirit of the fear of the Lord. Rain is the symbol for the anointing and the outpouring of the Holy
Spirit.

GOD'S PURPOSE FOR THE ANOINTING -  The anointing is to be used for God's glorification.  It is to be used
to glorify the Father and the Son.  The anointing, when used to glorify God brings with it great power.  The anointing,
the power, comes through obedience.  Obey, and it increases.  Disobey, and it stops. The anointing is also for you. It
is designed to equip you for everyday life and it is attainable by every born again believer.  The anointing of the Holy
Spirit guarantees victory at all times.  It is the power to get results sweatlessly and with excellence.

OLD TESTAMENT

In the Old Testament times, the common layman (the believer today) had no anointing in him or on him. The Holy Spirit
would come upon him in order to accomplish a set task and then that "anointing" would lift, examples include but are
not limited to Sampson and David (his encounter with Goliath). In the New Testament, the Holy Spirit comes to abide in
the believer; the Holy Spirit comes upon us as an anointing.  It is a gift and it stays with you forever.  

The presence of God was kept shut up in the Holy of Holies in the temple.  No one ever took an office of authority
without first being anointed with oil (a type of the Holy Spirit).  It was that anointing that provided the ability to operate
with excellence in that office:

-  God would anoint the king to stand in that office.

-  God would anoint the priest (the only one allowed in the Holy of Holies - the intercessor for the people) to stand in
that office.

-   God would anoint the prophet (the spokesman for God) to stand in that office.

The Spirit of God would come upon these three types of individuals to enable them to stand in their respective offices.
David had all of these anointings:  David was king, priest, and prophet.   David said in Psalms 92:10"...I shall be
anointed with fresh oil "(The Holy Spirit).

THE THREE ANOINTINGS:

The Leper's Anointing -  Every born-again believer has experienced the leper's anointing, which deals with
salvation.  Leprosy in this case is a type of sin, incurable in the natural world, but curable by God.  The leper,
according to Leviticus 14 stayed outside the camp.  The priest goes outside the camp, takes the blood, dips hyssop in
the blood, sprinkles the leper seven times and the leper is cleansed from leprosy.  After this, the leper comes into the
camp, and the priest takes blood, the same blood he sprinkled him with earlier, and applies it to the cleansed leper's
ear, thumb, and toe and pours a handful over the cleansed leper's head.  This is the fullness of the anointing:  
Thought life, work life, and walk life.  In the ceremonial cleansing of Leviticus, the blood was applied, then the oil.  The
application of the sacrificial blood is symbolic of the blood of Christ, while the application of the oil is symbolic of the
touch and influence of the Holy Spirit upon a life.  Thus it is that at salvation you experience the first anointing - the
leper's anointing - which reveals the power of the blood through the oil of the anointing that pours over you.

The Priestly Anointing -  As a believer, cleansed through the precious blood of Christ, born again and sealed by the
Spirit, you can and should move to the second anointing - the priestly anointing.  Every member of the Body of Christ
should have a ministry.  The priestly anointing is for ministry unto the Lord, including leading souls to Him, but not
service of Him in battles against the devil and disease.  As ministers to God we must have the power of the Spirit to
function in this capacity - we must baptized in the Holy Spirit which is the priestly anointing.  This anointing brings the
presence, the communion, the fellowship of the Holy Spirit and revelation knowledge.  You will know his presence and
hear the gentle voice of God regularly.  You must take time each day to be quiet before the Lord so His still small voice
can be heard.  As you  read the Bible, fellowship with the Holy Spirit and listen, you will experience that daily refreshing
that keeps your heart ablaze with love for the Master. The leper's anointing (salvation) is a one-time experience and
cannot be lost unless you willingly walk away from it. The priestly anointing (presence), on the other hand can be lost,
for if sin comes into your heart it lifts.  This is why the priestly anointing must be renewed daily.

The Kingly Anointing -  The most difficult to receive.  The kingly anointing is the most powerful of them all.  This lifts
a person to a place of high authority in God giving him authority over devils - the power to rout demons with one word -
it will give you power to send the enemies of God flying as the Apostle Paul did.  Whereas the leper's anointing comes
by accepting Jesus and the priestly anointing comes by fellowship with Jesus, the kingly anointing comes by obeying
Jesus.

The anointing turns you into a different person:  you become bold and strong, your mind clears, and your spirit
becomes sensitive.


PAYING THE PRICE FOR THE ANOINTING

Death to Self

Death to self comes only in prayer.  Dying must occur daily.  Abandon yourself to God. The flesh must be denied
daily.  We have no power to say no to Satan;  there's no power in us to refuse him.  The power only comes when the
Holy Spirit is upon us.

Repentance

Repentance is a daily experience. True repentance is a change of heart, a change of mind, and a change of
direction.  It is a supernatural experience, not something you can humanly accomplish by yourself.  It is a gift of the
Holy Spirit.  Repentance must occur for every sinful action of your life, including repenting if you haven't prayed, if you
haven't read the Word, if you have lightly treated the awesome gift of the presence on your life, if you have removed
Jesus from your conversation.  You must receive the power of the Spirit daily to battle with the flesh in repentance. The
element of "ready" (or on the spot) repentance must be included in your life.  If you blow it, repent immediately.  Above
all, do not stay away from God because of condemnation - repent and get back to God through the cleansing blood of
Jesus.

The Blood of Jesus

The blood of Jesus, the blood of the new covenant, will set you free.  The fact is that many people have no clue as to
how they can and should apply the blood to their lives and receive the liberty of repentance and all the truths of faith -
many are still bound.  The shed blood of Jesus Christ causes six things to occur in our lives:

1)  We are redeemed by His (Jesus') blood:  redeemed from the kingdom of darkness and the kingdom of Satan.  You
can look Satan in the eye and tell him he has no control over you.  You can legally say "Devil, get your filthy hand off
me."

2)  Ephesians 1:7 says, "(In Him we have through His blood) the forgiveness of sins..."  We were forgiven by the blood
of Christ.  God redeems you and then forgets everything you ever did.  He forgets your "sins," which are the things
you thought about, and your "iniquities," which are the acts of the thoughts.

3)   "But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ
his Son cleanseth us from all sin." 1 John 1:7 Forgiveness deals with what you did; cleansing deals with what you're
doing. If you repent, the thing you're thinking that instant is cleansed.  

4)  We have been justified by the blood of Jesus.  Justification, which has been accomplished by His blood deals with
your future - the wrath which is to come.  If you knowingly and willingly decide to sin, your justification goes out the
window.  Willful sinning, knowingly and intentionally, is not of God.  There is no more place for repentance.  Your
continued justification is dependent upon obedience, and obedience is the way to the anointing.

5)  God has reconciled you to Himself through the blood of the cross and there is peace between Him and you.  He
has brought you back and restored fellowship with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  In it's fullest sense, reconciliation
here means "one with God."

6) "Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and
sprinkling of the blood of Jesus..."1 Peter 1:2  The Bible says that you have been sanctified by the blood.

Apply the blood on yourself, your family, your possessions, everything.  The blood on these aspects of life, if applied,
protects them.  The oil sanctifies them.  The blood precedes the oil.  The Lord will never anoint you with the Holy Spirit
until you apply the blood to your life - all of your life.  There is tremendous power in the blood of Jesus!

Come to understand the blood: 1)  Knowledge - know what the blood has done;  2)  faith in what we know - let faith
arise in our hearts, how can we apply the blood unless we believe what we are saying?; 3)  declaration by faith of what
we know - to declare means to speak out loud.


The Fruit of the Holy Spirit

  • The fruit of the Holy Spirit, "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith.  
    Meakness, temperance: against such there is no law." Galatians 5:22,23   The fruit of the Spirit is the character
    of God and the "image of Christ."  Whenever you see the manifestation of the anointing, you should also see
    the Holy Spirit, because the fruit of the Spirit define His character.
  • God has predestined us to be made into the image of Jesus - to bear the same spiritual fruit.  When you were
    born again, the seed of His Image was planted on the inside of you in your spirit-man; when you received the
    anointing of the Holy Spirit, His character was painted on you in power.
  • The fruit of the Spirit is a powerful component in the overcoming life, and is crucial to those who want to operate
    in the gifts of the Spirit.  When people try to operate in a gift of the Holy Spirit without the fruit of the Spirit, the
    gift becomes corrupted and does not operate in fullness  - Jesus gets no glory.  The power of the anointing must
    be used in harmony with and under the influence of the fruit of the Spirit.
  • There is a strong relationship between the fruit of Spirit and the anointing.  No trouble, tribulation, or
    circumstance can overcome you if these forces are prevalent in your life.  Once you have cultivated them, no
    hate, depression, insecurity, wavering, violence, evil, doubt, pride, or lasciviousness will prevail against you:  the
    fruit of the Spirit guarantees victory.
  • As you grow and mature as a Christian, the fruit naturally grows and develops.  However, you can also develop
    ultra-fruitfulness by being hungry and thirst enough to cultivate it.  Those who are really hungry to exhibit the
    characteristics of the Holy Spirit will spend more time working and cultivating the fruit of the Spirit in order to
    develop  them - you "buy" them with diligence, practice, and effort.  Developing the fruit of the Spirit is not an
    event - it is a process which requires work.

Make a decision to do whatever is necessary to make cultivating the fruit of the Spirit a priority in your life today.  If you
really want the power, come to the waters and buy!

The Fruit of Temperance

Paul warns that unless you get your body under control, you will become a castaway (unapproved, rejected, worthless,
void of judgement), "Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize?  So run, that ye
may obtain.  And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things.  Now they do it to obtain a
corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible.  I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the
air: But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I
myself should be a castaway."  1 Corinthians 9:24-27

Temperance means self-control, the ability to control the flesh and bring it into subjection to the spirit.  Without
temperance, what the flesh wants, the flesh gets.

  • If you fail to develop temperance, you will never be in a position to give an appropriate exchange for the
    anointing.  A lack of will power and self discipline will characterize your entire spiritual life, i.e., If you want to get
    up early and pray, your flesh will say your are too tired; If you want to fast and seek the face of God, your flesh
    will demand otherwise.
  • Once your flesh begins calling the shots, your mind will be more willing to follow suit providing great
    rationalization; your mind and body will convince you that there is no need to fast and pray.  Then one day,
    when trouble arrives, you will discover that your spiritual power has been turned off because you have not been
    "paying the bill."

The Israelites fell and were overthrown (slain, killed) in the wilderness because of a lack of temperance according to 1
Corinthians 10:1-10,13.  There were four major areas in which the children of Israel were overcome:  idolatry,
fornication, tempting Christ, murmuring - these are considered the fatal four.

Idolatry - "Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or
that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water  under the earth: Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve
them"...Exodus 20:4,5  Whatever you work for, whatever enslaves you or keeps you in bondage is your idol:  
cigarettes, alcohol, slothfulness, pride, work, television, or even your spouse.  If it comes before obeying the Word,
then it is your idol.

Fornication - "Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God?
whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God." James 4:4  Fornication is, simply put, sex
between two people outside the confines of marriage.  Although illicit sex is the most obvious and blatant form of
fornication, there is a more subtle form - spiritual fornication.  Spiritual fornication in the eyes of God is simply close
friendship with the things of the world.  When you line yourself up with the world's system, you involve yourself with
something in opposition to your bridegroom, Jesus Christ.  You can either operate your finances according the world's
system or the Word's system; you can live by the world's standard or God's way.

Tempting Christ - "And the people spake against God, and against Moses, Wherefore have ye brought us up out of
Egypt to die in the wilderness? for there is no bread, neither is there any water; and our soul loatheth this light bread.  
And the LORD sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and much people of Israel died."  
Numbers 21:5,6  To tempt Christ is to speak against God's rightfully ordained authority.  Speaking against God and
against His designated leader, Moses in the aforementioned scripture, tempted God.  When they did, they died.  "Now
the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness,....seditions, heresies,.."
Galatians 5:19-21  Sedition is the incitement of resistance toward lawful authority and God hates it.  Do not tempt
Christ by speaking against His anointed which includes those in spiritual authority over you such as your pastor.

Murmuring - "Neither let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed of serpents. Neither
murmur ye, as some of them also murmured, and were destroyed of the destroyer." 1 Corinthians 10:9,10  It is easy to
fall into murmuring while in the middle of assigned tasks.  Murmuring will not make them any easier, in fact it will make
them more difficult.  When you are tempted to complain, exercise temperance and force your mouth, mind, and flesh to
line up with the Word of God.  Do all that you do in a spirit of joy as unto the Lord.

How to Cultivate the Fruit of Temperance

1)  Tame the Tongue - Your tongue can defile your whole body and your prosperity.  Words are potent - they created
the entire universe.  Speak words of life, strength, discipline, and victory.

2)  Build Up Your Spirit Man - Jesus said about his disciples in Matthew 26:41,  "Watch and pray, that ye enter not
into temptation:  the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak." You have the ability to build up your spirit man and
overcome the weakest areas of your flesh.  Tongues can and will build you up spiritually.  With a strong spirit man, you
can overcome the weakness of the flesh.

3)  Amazing Grace - Hebrew 4:16 says, "Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain
mercy, and find grace to help in time of need."  A powerful way to develop temperance is by getting an understanding
of and receiving God's grace.  Grace is undeserved love and favor.  Recognize your position in grace: go boldly to the
throne of grace and ask for God's help in a time of need and receive God's grace.  When you mess up, quit not.  
God's grace will help you continue until you have gained mastery over your flesh.  God's grace will bring you closer
than ever to experiencing the fullness of the anointing.

Love and the Anointing

  • Like the anointing, love gives you the ability to win against all odds, that, because God never fails and God is
    love.
  • Love works to energize your faith, "...faith worketh by love." Galatians 5:6  Faith is powered by the force of love.
  • The biggest hindrance to your faith is fear,  "There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear... "1 John
    4:18.  Cultivate the fruit of love in your life and put an end to those faith-stopping fears.  Love will give you the
    victory.
  • John 14:15 says, "If ye love me, keep my commandments."  Jesus is telling us that we demonstrate real love for
    Him when we obey Him.  Hence, the best way to show our love for God is by doing His Word.
  • Perfect love casts out all fear and the love of God is perfected in us when we keep His Word:  doing God's Word
    is the key to developing the love that casts out fear and our love is made perfect.  When our love is made
    perfect, then our joy, peace, longsuffering, etc. can also be made perfect.

Developing a Love Relationship with the Father

  • Paying the price for the anointing through a loving relationship with the Father is your FIRST priority.  It is a
    price too many are not willing to pay:  people want the power without the personal relationship.  We must get to
    know Him intimately as the person He is.  Jesus said, "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God will all thy heart, and with
    all thy soul, and with all thy mind.  This is the first and great commandment."  Matthew 22:37-38
  • We are commanded to love God more than anyone or anything.  We can only do so by spending quality time
    with Him, getting to know Him and growing in love with Him.  This is a process that involves time, work, and
    sacrifices, yet knowing and loving your Heavenly Father is the most important matter in your life.
  • God wants to know you and fellowship with you personally.  He wants you to know Him intimately so that He can
    clothe you with His power and ability.  The more "personal" your relationship with the Father becomes, the more
    you will be able to operate in His "personality."
  • Know Him first in the Word:  1) Search the Word - find out why God does what He does and why He reacts to
    certain behaviors in certain ways, 2)  Spend quiet, quality time alone with your Heavenly Father, 3)  Discipline
    your flesh to commune with the Father (preferably) in the early morning hours, 4)  Do not allow television,
    movies, schedules, people, or other distractions to rob you of your indispensable time with God.

Prayer and Fasting

  • One of the most powerful and effective ways a believer can pay the price for the anointing is through fasting and
    prayer (discussed above).  You have very little in life more precious than your time (prayer) and your body
    (fasting).  These two items possess a lot of buying power - although they are not designed to move or change
    God.  They move and change you. Fasting and prayer go hand in hand.  Fasting alone will only clean out your
    digestive system.  Add the element of prayer to your fast and wonderful things will happen.
  • Fasting bring your flesh and soul into subjection to your spirit-man.  It breaks down the will of your carnal flesh
    and mind so that your born again spirit can be in control.  When your spirit-man is in control, you are in a
    position to experience God's power - the power of the anointing.  When we fast, we bring our minds and thought
    patterns in line with the Word of God.
  • When you fast, you give up something - food, television, anything that gratifies an appetite of your flesh in order
    to receive from God.  Your fasting acts as a medium of exchange for God's power.  When Jesus' disciples tried
    unsuccessfully to cast an evil spirit out of a young boy, Jesus easily identified the problem, "Howbeit this kind
    goeth not out but by prayer and fasting."  Matthew 17:21  When Jesus rebuked that spirit, he got instant results,
    that because Jesus lived a lifestyle of prayer and fasting.  He operated in the anointing that assured him
    "sweatless" victory.  His disciples did not.  

Moses had a mighty anointing on him. Before he operated in the anointing, he spent forty days and nights fasting and
praying.  He went to the waters and "bought" God's power.  Jesus paid the price for the anointing before the power of
God was manifested in his life.  He spent forty days and nights in the wilderness fasting and praying.  You must pay
the price for victory!

Change your Oil

  • The Bible often likens the anointing of the Holy Spirit to oil: both can be felt and experienced.
  • Oil evaporates if it is not replenished regularly, it will eventually disappear.  The Holy Spirit doesn't evaporate,
    but His presence will lift if you neglect Him.  You must constantly allow the oil of the Spirit to flow over your life,
    refreshing and renewing your spiritual lift...how? Again, through prayer, fellowship with God, and reading the
    Word of God.  The anointing will remain on your life as you walk and talk with the Lord.  When you spend time in
    His presence, the rich oil of the Holy Spirit will flow over your life.  
  • Another characteristic of oil is that it leaks if there is a hole in the vessel - if there is any blemish or impurity in
    the composition of the vessel, the oil will find it and leak out.  Do not give place to the devil by allowing holes of
    bitterness, unforgiveness, self-pity, jealousy to creep into your life. Guard against these holes and concentrate
    on keeping your oil fresh.
  • Only fresh oil has the proper density or thickness to serve an engine well.  This thickness, called viscosity, is
    important for it measures the ability of oil to withstand heat and pressure:  the lower the viscosity, the less will
    the oil protect under certain levels of pressure.  In addition oil gets dirty, thins out, and becomes discolored over
    time and can harm rather than protect the engine.

-  Your anointing will wear thin under the heat of spiritual warfare - that is why you must build and maintain your
spiritual "thickness" and strength with daily prayer and Bible study - keep your relationship with God first in your life.  It
is also good to listen to men and women of God and read as many Christian books on the topic as possible.  
Remember, God's reservoir never runs dry.  Invite the "oil" of the Holy Spirit to pour over you, renewing and refreshing
you - desire that tangible anointing.

Old Testament Example

In 1 Samuel chapter 10 we find the account of Samuel's anointing of Saul with oil.  Saul was transformed and God
used him to slay thousands of Philistines. He eventually became king over Israel.  Tragically, however, flaws and holes
developed.  First Samuel 3:11-15 gives an account of Saul and his army battling the Philistines. Samuel, the judge and
prophet, had promised to make certain offerings himself before Israel went into battle.  When he did not arrive as
expected, Saul foolishly thought he could strengthen Israel's chances against the Philistines and offered the burnt
offerings himself.  With this disobedience, Saul violated God-given, fundamental standards of the offices of the king
and prophet.  He sinned, and God looked upon him as though he had never been anointed.  After his disobedience,
Saul fought the Philistines without the anointing and was soundly defeated.  God called his action rebellion, likening it
to the sin of witchcraft.  When Saul lost the kingly anointing, an evil spirit came and possessed him - the kingly
anointing had given him authority over Satan, but when he lost the anointing, the roles changed and Satan had
dominion over Saul.

New Testament Example

Judas, too, lost the kingly anointing.  Jesus had said to him and the other eleven, "Go, I give you power.  Cast out
devils."  When Judas lost the anointing, the devil possessed him and he betrayed Jesus.

How to Increase the Anointing

1) God is always looking to see whether you are guarding what you already have. Before God gives you more, He
looks to see what you've done with what He has already given.

2)  Do not miss the revelation of Jesus - constrain him, ask him to abide with you.  Many people give up too easily.  He
comes to them in prayer and they mistakenly think that when the presence appears to be lifting, God is finished with
them.  The next time that happens to you, stay a little longer and constrain God not to leave right then.  You'll find a
revelation just beyond that point.

3)  Associate with anointed people because they will "rub off" on your life.

4)  Increase the anointing by studying the Word  and by being prayerful.

Ask the Lord to help you empty yourself so that you can be filled with Him:  "Fill me with Your presence that I may know
Your power...that I may know Your glory...that I may know the precious anointing of Your Spirit."

Yield to the Holy Spirit

  • If the power of God is present to heal or deliver you, but your natural mind resists God's methods, you can fail to
    receive His blessing.
  • Sometimes, for instance, when the anointing of God is present in a service and people begin to fall out under
    His power, some will try to stop themselves because they do not want to look foolish in front of other people.  In
    so doing, they hinder the power of God's anointing.  There may have been something God wanted to say or do
    to them while they were out under His power, but they missed it because of their failure to yield.
  • All you have to do is submit to what the Holy Spirit is wanting to do in your life and act.  The key to this is
    humility.  When you surrender to God, your power to do your will, He will give you His power to do His will.  Learn
    how to yield to the anointing of the Holy Spirit.
  • And remember, there are "peculiar anointings" which definitely require one to yield to the Holy Spirit by being
    obedient  (see "Gifts of Healings" for some examples).


GUARD THE ANOINTING CAREFULLY.   "To whom much is given, from him much will
be required.."  Luke 12:48


Sources:

Understanding God's Purpose for the Anointing, Creflo A. Dollar, Jr., Copyright 1992, Creflo A. Dollar

Understanding the Anointing, Kenneth E. Hagin, Copyright 1983 RHEMA Bible Church

The Anointing, Benny Hinn, Copyright 1997, Thomas Nelson, Inc.
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