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sbm SusanBottgerMinistries |
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Stirring Up The Anointing (Part 2 of 2) Last week we began a two part series on the anointing that is upon the life of every believer in Jesus Christ. We were looking at it from the historical viewpoint of the Old Testament Priesthood and how very expensive and precious this special oil is to God. It is obviously very important to God, because in Numbers 28:1-2, He commanded the sons of Israel, saying to them, “you shall be careful to present My offering, My food, My offerings by fire, which included this oil, as a soothing aroma to Me at their appointed time.” The word “careful” means to carefully observe or pay close attention to something. In Hebrew it means we are to “hedge it about with thorns.” It means to take special care of; to protect, guard and attend to diligently. We are to take special care of this anointing which is upon us and use it to bring spiritual offerings, which are the only kind of offerings that are acceptable to God. Only that which is of His Spirit and comes forth from His Spirit is acceptable in His presence. If we do not have this anointing or if it is not “stirred up and fresh,” we cannot minister to Him in His presence. The Masai tribe of Central Africa understands what it means to “hedge about with thorns.” They build high, strong hedges around their compounds. They build them out of thorn bushes and those thorns are approximately 5-6” in length. The walls are about 10 feet thick and 10 feet high and completely surround the village. There is one section that is movable so that they can drive their cattle through at night to protect them from the lions, leopards, hyenas and other predators and then back out onto the plains during the day so they can graze. They understand that their cattle are their main “treasure” and they take very good care of them. They hedge them and their families about with thorns. Cattle are their form of currency and are used for everything in their culture. So it is with the anointing of the Holy Spirit. Without it, we cannot do or accomplish anything in the Spiritual Kingdom of God. We are powerless, so to speak. This oil is the “first fruits: and is a description of the life of Jesus who was “beaten with rods” and crucified upon the cross that we may have this precious “treasure” in our earthen vessels. We must not refuse it, waste it or take it lightly. What did Jesus Himself have to say about this anointing that He was giving us? John 4:23 ‘But an hour is coming, and now is when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshippers.’ God looks down upon all those who are worshipping Him and He seeks for those who have this anointing upon them. These are the ones worshipping in Spirit and in truth. Ephesians 2:18 ‘For through Him (Christ) we both have our access in one Spirit to the Father.’ Ephesians 5:18-19 ‘And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in Psalms, and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord.’ Isaiah 61:1 ‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because the Lord has anointed Me.’ Ask yourself, “why was this anointing placed upon Jesus? He is God, why would He need an anointing? What was being referred to in Isaiah, where the prophet of the Lord was speaking of the coming of the Messiah and the anointing that was to be upon His life? The reason Jesus carried this anointing of the Holy Spirit was to enable Him to: 1. ‘To bring good news to the afflicted; He has sent Me to bind up the broken hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and freedom to prisoners; 2. To proclaim the favorable year of the Lord and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn, 3. to grant those who mourn in Zion, giving them a garland instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the mantle of praise instead of a mantle of fainting. The Holy Spirit is the “creative” portion of the Trinity. He is the energizing force that causes all that the Father and Son say to come to pass. It is through Him all the spiritual giftings work themselves out into the physical realm. Without the Holy Spirit we are powerless against spiritual forces which set themselves against us. God is announcing through the Prophet Isaiah that when the Messiah comes, He is bringing the anointing, the creative force and power of God with Him and He will give it to all who believe He is the Son of God and desire to have the same anointing He had. He said just before He left the earth that we would do even more works than He did because He was going to the Father. He also promised that He would send the Holy Spirit to be in and upon our lives and He would enable us to do these works of God. So what is the result of this anointing being upon His people today? ‘They will be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.”When the mantle of praise is released upon the lives of God’s people, through the anointing, they become oaks of righteousness. They rise up in power and authority, administrating the Kingdom of God upon the earth. “They will rebuild the ancient ruins; they will rise up the former devastations and repair the ruined cities, the desolations of many generations.’ (All of this is in reference to the restoration of God’s people to what He intended them to be; Joint heirs with Christ and rulers over the nations.) What else will happen? Vs. 6 You will be called the priests of the Lord; You will be spoken of as ministers of our God. You will eat the wealth of nations and in their riches you will boast. Vs. 7 Instead of your shame you will have a double portion, and instead of humiliation you will shout with joy over your portion. Ask yourselves this: To whom was the anointing given in Exodus? The priests of the Lord! They were the “type and shadow” of the coming priesthood of believers in Jesus Christ. This precious anointing is for us. It is very, very precious to God so we must understand how it applies to us today. Peter 2:9 ‘But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light. Vs.10 For once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; You had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.’ These are the exact same words that God spoke over the nation of Israel when He birthed them as a people unto Himself. The Nation of Israel is a “type and shadow” of the nation of royal priests unto God. Rev. 1:6 ‘And he has made us to be a kingdom, priests to His God and Father; to Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen! So, we have established that we are the priesthood today and we carry this anointing in order to be able to offer up right sacrifices unto Him today. Then what are those sacrifices and how do we offer them up to Him in a right manner? Romans 12:1 ‘I urge you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living sacrifice, acceptable to God which is your spiritual service of worship.’ Vs.2 And don’t be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what the will of God is that which is good, acceptable and perfect. (Not three levels of God’s will as some teach) God’s will is one…it is good, it is acceptable and it is perfect. To say there are three levels of God’s will means there are three levels of being accepted by God, which is contrary to scripture. His will is one….His mind is not divided….it is one! All three words mean the same thing. Hebrews 13:15 Through Him then (the Holy Spirit) let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is the fruit of the lips, giving thanks to His name. Vs. 16 And do not neglect doing good and sharing. For with such sacrifices God is pleased. Philippians 4:18 “But I have received everything in full, and have an abundance. I am amply supplied, having received from Epaphroditus what you have sent, a fragrant aroma, an acceptable sacrifice, well pleasing to God. So we can see from these scriptures what our sacrifices, as priests of the New Covenant are to be today. 1. We are to offer up our entire lives, our bodies as living sacrifices. (Romans 12:1) 2. We are to renew our minds with the Word of God (Romans 12:2) 3. We are to give continual praise , giving thanks to His name (Hebrews 13;15) 4. We are to do good and share (Hebrews 13:16) 5. Amply supplying those who are doing the work of the Lord (Philippians 4:18) This anointing is spoken of elsewhere in scripture also. We find it in Ezekiel 47:12. This passage is describing the flow of the Holy Spirit, the river of living water, which will flow out from the innermost being of each person who receives this “anointing of God” in their lives. It is we who will bring life-giving water of the heavenly anointing to all with whom we come in contact. It has the same purpose in our lives that it had upon Jesus’ life. It is he living in and through us, so it is the same anointing of the river of life. The New Testament has a parallel passage to Ezekiel 47; It is John 7:38-39. “He who believes in Me, as the scripture said, ‘from his innermost being shall flows rivers of living water.’ This water if flowing out from the throne room of God, which is within every believer. When did you and I receive this anointing? 2 Cor. 1:21-22 “Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and HAS anointed us is God. (Past tense) Vs. 22 Who also sealed us and gave us the Holy Spirit in our hearts as a pledge.” (Past tense) I John 2:20 & 27 “But you HAVE an anointing from the Holy One and you all know. (Present tense) Vs. 27 And as for you, the anointing YOU HAVE RECEIVED from Him (past tense) abides in you, (present tense) and you have no need for anyone to teach you; but as His anointing teaches you about all things, (present tense) and is true and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you abide in Him. Well then, how do we maintain this anointing? How do we stir it up? John 15:1-11 We must abide in Him, remain in Him if we want the anointing to be fresh daily. If we are not abiding in Him, the anointing becomes dormant. The gifts don’t flow, we have a hard time praying, we don’t receive revelation because we are no longer interested in reading His Word, etc. Read this portion of scripture and meditate upon it and allow the Lord to restore you to that place of intimacy and abiding IN HIM. Acts 5:15 The anointing was so strong upon the Disciples that it was even released from their shadows. Their clothing was immersed in it, just as Aaron and his sons’ clothing was immersed or “filled up” with the anointing oil. So much so, that when the Disciples touched pieces of fabric (prayer cloths) and laid them on the sick they recovered. Why doesn’t this happen today? In some cases it does, but unfortunately they are not too common. The anointing is dormant in most believers’ lives in America today. They know about being consecrated but they don’t live a consecrated or “set apart” life. The things of the tabernacle cannot be touched by a secular world and when we participate in the things of the world, we cannot enter the presence of the Lord unless we have taken the time to “purify” ourselves by asking forgiveness of Him. When our Tabernacles are not pure and Holy, fully cleansed, the anointing is not there in power. The Psuche, the soulish nature has touched the “zoe” life and “quenched the Spirit of God.” I Kings 13:20-21 ‘And Elisha died and they buried him. Now the bands of Moabites would invade the land in the spring of the year. Vs. 21 and as they were burying a man, behold they saw a marauding band; and they cast the dead man into the grave of Elisha. When the dead man’s body touched the bones of Elisha he was revived and stood up on his feet.’ There is resurrection power; power to raise the dead, in the anointing that is upon us! Jesus would not have told us to raise the dead if we couldn’t! Elisha was so permeated with the Enchrio, the rubbed in anointing and the Chrio, the poured out anointing that God put within him, that when he died his bones were permeated with it. He was literally “filled up” with the Holy Spirit and power of God upon His life and His physical body. Now that is an anointing! The anointing of God upon Jesus brought Him back to life and out of the tomb! Now that is an anointing! Matthew 10: 5-8 These twelve Jesus sent out after instructing them, saying, “Do not go in the way of the Gentiles and do not enter into any of the cities of the Samaritans; But rather go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And as you go, preach, saying, ‘the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.” “Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give.” This is how the Lord desires for each of us to live today. We are to recognize that each of us carries an anointing and we are to “stir it up.” We must have the anointing flowing as the “river of life” from within our innermost being if we are to be effective in restoring the Kingdom of the Lord upon this earth. To deny it is to deny His sacrifice for us. To ignore it is to ignore His command to go in His name. To go through the motions but to deny it is of Him is to become a part of the Anti-Christ church. We are to treasure this anointing. It is very costly, very valuable and very, very precious to God. We honor Him when we recognize what He has given us and use it for the purposes He intended. That purpose is the furthering of the Gospel and the administration of His Kingdom.
Blessings & Love, For more information visit www.geriemartin.com.
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