Experiencing the Depths of the Anointing - Gleaning from Joshua Mills' book; Moving in Glory

 

Experiencing the Depths of the Anointing - 

Gleaning from Joshua Mills' book; Moving in Glory

Recently we shared about how God enjoys numbers, and as we study the scriptures we can see sets of threes, sevens, tens, and multiplications of all these.

Three is a number of Completion; We serve a triune God; and we recognize God the Father, His Son Jesus and the Holy Spirit. We ourselves are a triune being, we are a spirit, we live in a body, and we have a soul. God invites us to experience salvation, baptism, and into His manifest presence of His Glory. Growing, learning, and gaining spiritual expertise, is a process at times, although some grow more quickly than others.

In the Spirit realm, we studied about three dimensions which are Faith, the Anointing, and the Glory.

Everything in God leads to something greater, deeper, wider and higher than before.

Our searches took us to the three areas of Faith, and we are reminded that Jesus spoke of “Little Faith” of “Great Faith” and Perfect Faith; which is operating in the Faith of God, who is perfect. We have faith in God, but when we are ministering to others we must do so with the Faith OF God. Our own faith is often either “little or great,” but God's faith is Perfect, and he offers to us to enter into His Faith. To do this we must be able to discern what is the will of God and yield to what God is saying and doing.

Today we would like to speak about the Anointing which is the manifest power of God that sets us apart. The anointing is divine enablement that helps us to be able to the work Jesus is asking us to do.

In Luke 4:18-19 Jesus read from the book of Isaiah; The spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.

Through out the scriptures we see oil as a symbol of the anointing. Oil is thick, fragrant and contains healing properties. The anointing is the same.

The anointing from God reaches beyond our intellect and only when we are willing to let go of our own natural power or control and cooperate with the power of the Holy Spirit - - The anointing will then change you.

The prophet Samuel told King Saul, The spirit of the Lord will come upon you and you will prophesy with them, and you will be changed into a different person.

Those who are shy and quiet, when the anointing comes upon them they are not the same as before. Their voice and mannerisms will often change as God uses them.

In the same way there are three realms in the Spirit, and as we studied about the three dimensions of Faith, there is also three dimensions of the Anointing:
 In the Old Testament we see - -
    1. The anointing of the priests; (Exodus, Leviticus and Numbers)
    2. The anointing of the prophets; (I Kings 19, Psalms and Isaiah11:2
    3. The anointing of the Kings. (1 and 2 Samuel, 1 Kings and 1 Chronicles)

The anointing prepared them to take up their position and to do their job. It also activated the mantle over their lives and made them effective in their work. In the same way, God releases His anointing on us today so that we can do the job He sets before us.

Spiritually speaking, the anointing is associated with the hand of God, representing the five-fold ministry of apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor, and teacher. But the anointing isn't just about the 5 fold ministry. In its purest flow, the anointing brings a grace to carry out the specific will of God for your life.

Without the anointing, your calling could never develop properly, so the Spirit anoints ordinary believers because the task at hand is much greater than the senior leaders of the church can accomplish on their own. The Hand of the Spirit anoints men and women to fulfill their high calling as ministers for God where ever they may find themselves.

In the anointing we learn to grow in grace. John the Baptist grew in grace Luke 1:80 and Jesus did too; Luke 2:40. In this dimension of the anointing, we learn how to move in God. It is not about human effort of performance, but about giving ourselves sacrificially to the purposes of the anointing. In the process we receive grace from the fullness of God's grace.

John 1:16 “Out of his fullness we have all received grace in place of grace already given.” More Grace In addition to – and heaped upon.

There are three distinct expressions of the anointing within the scriptures;

1. To POUR out

2. To SMEAR over

3. To RUB IN.

Moses was instructed to take the anointing oil and POUR it on the head of the priest. Exodus 29:7

Joel mentioned this anointing when he prophesied the worldwide arrival of the Holy Spirit: I will POUR out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughter will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will POUR out my spirit in those days. (Joel 2:28-29)

The second expression of the anointing, mentioned in Scripture means to “SMEAR over.”

Psalms 105:15 Do not touch my “Anointed” ones; do my prophets no harm.”

Psalms 23,  You "Anoint" my head with oil- - -

In Biblical times, shepherds smeared anointing oil over their sheep to keep them from being bitten by annoying insects. It was common for nasal flies to attach the heads of the sheep, burrowing deep into their nose and even into their brain, causing severe infection, disease or even death. To protect the sheep, the shepherd made a mixture of olive oil, sulfur, and other spices. He used it to anoint his sheep by smearing is across their foreheads and around their eyes and noses. This anointing brought protection to the sheep.

The Anointing oil used to anoint sheep was also fragrant with spices.

2 Corinthians 2:14-15 “But thanks be to God, who always leads us as captives in Christ's triumphal procession and uses us to spread the aroma of the knowledge of him everywhere. For We are to God the pleasing aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing.”

In Old testament times, when the holy incense was burned in the temple in Jerusalem, the fragrance could be smelled all the way to Jericho, a distance of about 16 miles. The Holy Spirit smears a fragrant anoint over your life that reaches unto heaven, but God is not the only one who smells it.

The fragrance of the anointing also reaches out - - affecting those around you.

Psalms 45:7 “You love righteousness and hate wickedness; therefor God your God, has set you above your companions by anointing you with the oil of Joy.”

The Hebrew word used here for anointing means “To rub in.” Marinate – Soak.

When this level of anointing is rubbed into you – your “flesh” becomes uncomfortable. You might say that it “rubs you the wrong way.” Don't panic. You need this to happen because where you are going, your flesh can't take you. That flesh must die in order for your spirit to fly.

In the Spirit, these realms build upon each other. When faith and anointing work together, they destroy the yoke of bondage that faith alone cannot break. When this anointing works within us, it deals with our moral character, producing a greater manifestation of the fruit of the Spirit.

The first two dimensions: pour and smear - - deal with the anointing UPON us, but this third dimension deals with the anointing WITHIN us.

The reason many ministers can operate in awesome gifting with great supernatural power and still fall morally is because they haven't submitted themselves to this third dimension of the anointing in it's full measure. The anointing within will build inside you - integrity and restraint from yielding to temptation.

This anointing demands greater sacrifice. Both Samson and David were anointed by God, but could not support the weight, because they hadn't allowed it to work throughout every area of their lives.

What God does for us, he does in levels - measures, degrees, always moving us step by step. There is a progress in the things of the Spirit, but also an acceleration in God that can move you quickly through the process.

God fully immerses us in His anointing it, saturates, us, and gets us ready to do the job set before us. There is healing in the anointing. There are miracles in the anointing. The anointing within protects the anointing that has been placed upon us.

Allow the anointing of the Holy Spirit to pour over you, to smear you with his fragrance, and to marinate you inwardly to create in you His Holiness and build you up strong in the Lord

One of the scriptures that speaks of this anointing being rubbed in is James 5:14; Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord.”

The anointing was so powerful as Paul ministered, that many took aprons and cloths from him to bring to others who were not present. These were a point of contact to heal the sick.

Today in a few minutes, we as a group of intercessors, will pray and anoint some small bits of cloth, and they will be distributed to be used to place under a pillow or to pin on a piece of clothing, as a point of contact for a miracle.

Many of our citizens, are fearful, stressed, worried and depressed about situations in their homes, our cities, our states and in our Nation. Today we will send our anointed prayers over our land asking God to heal, restore, and bring salvation and deliverance to those who are in need of our Lord.