Let’s read Isaiah 61, “The Spirit of the
Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news
to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom
for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the
year of the Lord’s favour”. Here it says “anointed me”, mentioning what is used
to anoint people, the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of the Lord which is on Jesus.
The anointing is about how the Holy Spirit can work on people, and the ability
of people to use their gifts.
When Levites in the Old Testament built the
temple, they took the anointing oil and anointed all the containers to
consecrate them. Consecration is to make these items to be used by the Lord,
and the Lord only. They would not belong to others, not to idols, nor the
world, nor human beings, but only used by God. This is also anointing, using
oil to anoint. The second meaning of anointing is that the Holy Spirit anoints
to sanctify people, so that they can be consecrated. This is another
definition of anointing. The anointing is invisible and intangible, but it can
be known. It comes from the Spirit of God. When the anointing is on the person,
the person's ministering has power.
Gift: It is a gift. The gift is given to you
freely. The source of the gift is the Spirit of God. The gift is a gift. When
it is given out, it is rarely taken back. Gifts have nothing to do with the
status of receiver’s spiritual life. This is a gift that comes from the Holy
Spirit according to His will. If it is given to you, it does not matter if you
are good or bad, nor does what kinds of character you have. You are given a
gift, and you have it. That’s why it is called “gift”. However,
it is NOT the Holy Spirit itself. Therefore, the pursuit of "gift"
does not mean pursuing the "Holy Spirit". This is a bit like the
"blessing" we received from heavenly Father. It does not mean that we
receive Father Himself. Every believer should strive to know God. There is a
big difference between anointing and gifts..
The anointing and the gifts are very different.
We are talking about the very special anointing. In Numbers 11, the Lord said
to Moses, "Bring me seventy of Israel’s elders”, because
Moses’ burden is too heavy. The LORD God said to Moses, "Bring me seventy
of Israel’s elders. I will come down and speak with you there, and I will
take some of the power of the Spirit that is on you and put it on them. They
will share the burden of the people with you so that you will not have to carry
it alone.” Here, the anointing can be passed on, passed through the leader. It
is to give the Spirit that came upon you to others.
We realize that there is one thing very important
in the ministry and church, that is the power of the Holy Spirit. The
anointing must be given to the leaders. If the leader does not have anointing,
his ministry will have no chance to succeed.
When Jesus began to preach, to fulfill his
responsibilities on earth, even he needed to receive anointing. Isaiah said
that “the Spirit of the Lord is upon me, and the Lord has anointed me”. When
Jesus passed the anointing, he called the twelve disciples to come over and
gave them the power to subdue all demons. After that, the Lord appointed
seventy-two others. In Luke 10:1-19, “I have given you authority to trample on
snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will
harm you.”
When Jesus gathered with them, he told them how
to obtain power. He said to them, “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the
gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John
baptized with water, but in a few days, you will be baptized with the Holy
Spirit.” (Acts 1:4-5) “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on
you.” (Acts 1:8)
Even Jesus must wait until John the Baptist
baptized him with water, so that the important thing, which is the Spirit of
God fallen on him, happened; only after that, his ministry would start. We
could see that even Jesus needed anointing to accomplish his ministry.
As we mentioned earlier, the leader must be
anointed, and the anointed leader can pass on his anointing to the person he
trains. The anointing can be imparted, and the anointing can be caught.
However, the anointing can't be taught. You cannot be taught to have anointing.
It is not like that I can tell you what the anointing is like; such as, what
the prophetic anointing should be, what the apostolic anointing should be, what
the service anointing should be, what the love anointing should be, and so on.
It is not through my preaching, training, or explaining theological knowledge,
that people would understand anointing. That is not possible. It can only be
obtained following God’s principle, through impartation, which is the first
way, as mentioned in the verses we just read.
According to God's law of harvest in the Bible,
as mentioned in Genesis 1:11, God said that the land produce vegetation:
seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it,
according to their various kinds. God would raise us according to our kinds,
which means, if a leader is strongly anointed with success anointing in his
life, who has a strong anointing of the Holy Spirit, when such a person trains
his disciples, he will produce leaders with strong anointing of success. Thus,
we often see that some famous speakers or anointed speakers arrive at the
venue, if we humbly accompany this person or act as the translators for this
person, in general, after these translators work with him for more than two
weeks, the anointing is easily passed on to people close to him. After the
person leaves, the person who humbly serves him sometimes receives such
anointing, and the anointing he possesses is passed on. Of course, there is a
premise here. Who is in charge of the anointing? Not this person, the Spirit of
God is in charge.
To pass on this anointing, when we humbly
accommodate those speakers, we hope that the Spirit of God can be imparted in
this way. We know that the Spirit of God is in charge. This is the first way to
obtain anointing.
This is also how the impartation between Elisha
and Elijah was like. Elisha followed Elijah throughout his work, and later
Elisha asked God for the double anointing of Elijah, and the spirit that moved
Elijah to touch him in double portion. After Elijah was taken up to heaven,
Elisha struck water across the river. After he crossed the river, the disciples
saw that Elijah's spirit had rested on Elisha. This is all written in 2 Kings,
chapter 2.
We can see here that the anointing was passed
from Moses to the leaders who shared his ministry. The anointing was also
passed from Elijah to his disciple, Elisha, who shared his ministry. Similarly,
the anointing was passed from Jesus to the disciples who would share his
ministry. The same principle still works in this generation. The trainees share
the anointing of the trainers, so those who work as trainers must demonstrate
the power of God in their lives. Otherwise, the harvest law cannot produce
results.
It is God’s sovereignty to decide whether to
share the anointing, and it is carried out under the direction of God. It’s not
like this evangelist came and told everyone that “I’m going to impart anointing
now”, and his anointing would be able to be passed on. No way. It is not like
saying “you and you come, I will impart anointing to you” either. This will not
work. The Spirit of God must take initiative, unless God's spirit moves the one
who is to impart anointing, telling him that “you need to give the spirit in
you to so and so, he may choose such a person to come out and do the work of
passing on anointing. This is one of the ways to pass on anointing. So, the
impartation work is assigned by God.
Is there any other way to get anointing? Yes!
That is by praying and fasting in front of God, and don't forget that there is
another important aspect is serving God. Why do I need to talk about serving
God? Because the purpose of anointing is to serve God and serve others. When
anointing comes, it means that the responsibility arises. You must take
responsibility. Those who receive anointing must understand this: one can only
be anointed when you are willing to take responsibility, willing to accept the
ministry that God has given you, and willing to accept your destined position.
In the absence of anointing being imparted, it can be obtained through service,
fasting, and prayer. In the intimate relationship with God, God will also give
anointing, but only if you are willing to serve God. It means that you have to
bear or take responsibility. Responsibility is critical. If you want anointing,
it cannot be given without responsibility. I remember that in last May, there’s
no one impart me with anointing. The Holy Spirit told me one night, “I would
give you the anointing of healing.” I prayed for this in front of God, and then
I received it. This is not through impartation, but God gave me by Himself.
However, you must be willing to take
responsibility. In Numbers 11:16-17, the Lord said to Moses, "You have
gathered seventy men from the elders of Israel, ...and they are with you as the
burden of this people, Lest you be alone. That is to say, the responsibility
comes first, and the anointing is given out. In the ministry or church, the leader
needs to see whether the person is willing to take responsibility. If a person
is willing to take responsibility, God’s anointing will easily come to him.
This kind of anointing is passed on. If a person is to seek power, he only
seeks power or certain position in the ministry, you need to be wary of such a
person; because he may destroy the work of God. Thus, if one is not willing to
take the responsibility or assume certain position, God will not give the
anointing to him or have it pass on to him, nor giving it from above, because
his unwillingness will destroy the work of God.
The next thing to talk about is anointing as an
action. We all hope that our work will be effective and powerful. When talking
about powerful, one thing has to be mentioned, that is anointing with oil. I
mentioned earlier that in Leviticus when they consecrated the items in temple,
they used oil to anoint the items for sanctification. To become an effective
and capable leader, one must also be anointed. Bible mentioned several principles
regarding leaders we need to pay attention to. First, is to learn to be humble,
second, is to avoid moral compromise, and the third is to learn to properly
handle finance. When you have these characters, it is the starting point. It is
only the starting point for a fruitful ministry. This part is preparation. Is
this enough? No. You have to wait for the full anointing of the Holy Spirit to
give you heavenly anointing to complete your responsibility on the earth.
Through anointing it can bring people deliverance, salvation, and power. We
know that the original Hebrew word of Christ is the Messiah, meaning “The
Anointed One”, so in Luke 4:18 it says, “The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
because he has anointed me…”
The Spirit of the Lord anointed Jesus so that he
was full of power, and Isaiah talked about the anointed being full of power.
Isaiah 10:27 says, “the yoke will be destroyed because of the anointing oil”.
The reason that we can destroy enemy's yoke is not because of anything else,
but the anointing. That is, by anointing, we can break the bondage and yoke of
the enemy.
What is the other significance of anointing with
oil? Another meaning of anointing with oil is dedication, that is,
sanctification; so that the vessels are separated from the world. In the Old
Testament, oil foreshadows the Holy Spirit, anointing vessels with oil
indicates that the Holy Spirit is to be poured upon this person. He has his
purpose, which is to fulfill the special purpose, his destiny, to accomplish a
special purpose. Being anointed means that you are restored to cleanliness and
return to the house of God. John 3:5, “unless one is born of water and the
Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God”. Without the Spirit of Christ, one
can not belong to Christ. No one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the
Holy Spirit. You cannot be born again without experiencing the work of the Holy
Spirit. The New Testament talks about born again is to be baptized in the Holy
Spirit. Baptized in the Holy Spirit is anointing.
In the Old Testament era, the oil was anointed to
the man to be made clean on the tip of his right ear, on the thumb of his right
hand, and on the big toe of his right foot. The blood of the trespass offering
was put on the same places to the man to be cleansed. The rest of the oil that
is in the priest’s hand he shall put on the head of him who is to be cleansed.
This is written in Leviticus 14:14-18. The blood of the offering animal and oil
are to be applied to the tip of the ear, the hand and the foot, foretelling three
different aspects. The first is the ear, is to listen to the voice of God; the
second is our hand, is to serve our God; and the third is our foot, is to walk
with God. Therefore the action of anointing and anointing oil both talk about
one thing — serving. Our hands receiving the assignment to serve God; when God
tells you where in your life and on what position to serve, we mention
anointing, also anointing oil. If we don't listen to the voice of God, our
ministry will have no effect, we will not follow Jesus and walk with him in the
ministry. We need the blood of Jesus to cleanse us, so we can listen, serve,
and walk with the Lord. We have just talked about the three conditions we need
to receive anointing in our lives: listening to the voice of God—that is, to
anoint our ears with oil; serving—to anoint our hands with oil; walking with
God—to anoint our feet with oil. Walking with God is to have an intimate
relationship with God.
There are three layers of anointing mentioned in
the Bible, also known as the complete anointing. The Old Testament talks about
this anointing. The first is priest's anointing, which was received by Aaron
and his descendants. The anointing received by the tribes of Levi is the
priest's anointing, which is mentioned in Exodus 30:30: “Anoint Aaron and his
sons and consecrate them so they may serve me as priests.” The purpose of
sacred anointing oil is to make things holy, and all who are touched become
holy. Sanctification is to be separated from the world, sacred anointing oil,
the anointing of the priest is to receive holiness, to assume the life of
righteousness, and to be sanctified for ministry. The kind of the priest's
anointing was the sanctification, the anointing of holiness. All the priests
were anointed in the same way at that time, and became sanctified. They
received holiness and the holy position. Receiving anointing of the priests
indicates that we become holy and are ready to do God’s work. The priest's
anointing is very special. When I prayed for people, I found that there were
purple marks on those who received anointing of priest. Usually, I would tell
someone that God has given you the anointing of priest if I saw he has a purple
mark on him in my prayer. These people would bear the positions of
sanctification and holiness. When we begin to be priests, we would talk to God,
asking Him give us that power. However, when we request power, God will talk to
us about the issues of holiness, dealing with sin, dealing with life, and the
revelation in life. This is the priesthood.
The second anointing is the anointing of the
king. In 1 Samuel 11:1 there is a king called Saul, and Samuel anointed Saul,
and poured oil on the head of Saul. David was anointed as king and took over
Saul in the same anointing. the Lord said to Samuel to anoint him with the oil
in the horns, and Samuel anointed David among his brothers. One who receives
the anointing of the king receives the power and authority to serve as a king.
The anointing of the king, the Spirit of God descends on the king, so that he
can govern the people of God. A very important element of the anointing of the
king is called the right to govern. A person who receive the anointing of the
king has the ability to manage and govern with the wisdom of God. In my prayer,
I can see a golden mark on the person with the anointing of the king, he has
the power to govern in his life. The anointing of the king was mentioned in the
New Testament in Acts 1:8, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit
comes on you”.
The third kind of anointing is the anointing of
the prophet, which is to give the direction for people, to prophecy, to give
direction, as the eye, receiving word from God.
The priest's anointing, the king's anointing, and
the prophetic anointing are the kinds of anointing of the Old Testament era.
Who are those who received three kinds of anointing in the Old Testament era?
Melchizedek, Jesus is in the order of Melchizedek. Melchizedek was not from the
tribe of Levi, and Melchizedek's anointing was a complete one. Melchizedek is
very special. He is a mysterious figure in the Bible. There is no knowledge of
his origin or history, but he is a king of Salem, also known as the king
of righteousness. He came out suddenly. After Abraham returned from defeating
the kings, he gave Melchizedek one tenth of the spoils. Melchizedek had the
positions of priesthood, the king, and the prophet. He also foretold the king
who was to come, who is Jesus who ministers in complete anointing.
And Moses also possessed the anointing of priest,
king, and prophet. As a priest, he could intercede for the Israelites. As a
king, he could lead two million people, and he had the ability to govern. As a
prophet, he could prophesy and receive directly from God. .
Judges also receives triple anointing. Their name
means saviour, who saved the people from the hands of their enemies. It also
means deliverer, who delivered the Israelites from oppression. The other
meaning of their name is judge, who make judgment for the country, which is the
anointing of the king. They have the anointing of the king, also the anointing
of the priests, listening to the voice of God, and the anointing of the
prophets. They have triple anointing. Later, after Moses died, Joshua and other
judges continued to have triple anointing and function in such kind of
anointing.
The last person in the Old Testament era who had
triple anointing, the complete anointing, was Samuel. It was not the same after
Samuel. Samuel was the last one. There were a thousand years from Melchizedek
to Samuel. God gave this triple anointing to people, and you may feel very
strange. It was mentioned in Revelation that in the future, God will live with
his people for a thousand years. This is something that happened already in the
Old Testament era, but will appear again in the future in the New Testament
era. God lives with people is what is like for complete anointing. It will be a
very special time. Samuel prophesied, took the leadership role to lead the
Israelites and governed them. As an anointed one, Samuel was known of his
holiness throughout his life; he possessed the priest's anointing, and his
ministry had the power of a king. But after the end of the millennium, after
Samuel, many people were dissatisfied with the God’s reign. As a result, this
anointing changed. When Samuel was old, he made his sons Joel and Abia as
judges over Israel. But his sons did not walk in his ways; they turned aside
after dishonest gain, took bribes, and perverted justice. As mentioned in 1
Samuel 8:3, the elders of Israel were not happy, did not trust his sons, saying
they could not lead the people of Israel.
The elders of Israel were displeased, they said
to Samuel that “your sons do not walk in your ways. Now make us a king to judge
us like all the nations”. They wanted to be like the world. So Samuel prayed to
God and God said to him, “they have not rejected you, but they have rejected
Me, that I should not reign over them.” God knew the hearts of these people, so
he said the reason they wanted me to make a king was because they did not want
the governance under my complete anointing; they wanted a king, I would give
them. So sometimes, one of the greatest judgments that God gives us is to give
us according to what we ask for. God gave them what they asked for, and let
they go astray onto their own way. God told Samuel to heed the voice of the
people and make them a king. We see from here that when we ask God not
according to His will but our own, sometimes God will still give us what we ask
for. However, there are consequences with this giving, because it’s not
according to God’s will, but people’s. God will give. As a result, after the
Israelites asked for it, Saul was chosen. Saul had only the anointing of the
king, but not the anointing of the priest. Saul could not present offering.
Only Samuel could present offering. When Saul served in his unanointed
position, he was immediately judged and rejected. Saul did not wait for Samuel
but presented the offering himself. Why could not he do that? It is because he
only received the anointing of the king. God did not give him the anointing of
the priest.
Since that time, this anointing has been
separated. Later on, many of the kings of Israel demonstrated very strong
ability and authority in governing, for example, King Solomon, King David, and
many other kings of Israel coming after them. They had one thing in common.
They did not receive the anointing of the priests, meaning that their lives
were not sanctified. In the Bible, it was recorded that these kings all sinned.
People cannot deal with their own sins. They must have the anointing of God on
them, so that they have the light shine on them to make them see and
understand, so that they can deal with that sin or certain habit; immediately
get rid of that part, so they can go out with holy power, with the sanctified
power. The ability of being sanctified requires the help of the Spirit of God.
We know that some things are too difficult to rely on our own flesh, we can’t
get rid of them. Only if God shed light on us all at once, then we will
understand it all at once. We have seen the lack of holiness in the lives of
the kings of Israel and the kings of Judah. Although they had the anointing
of the king, the failure to rule the country is mainly due to unholiness and
the sins of the kings. For this reason, Saul was abandoned from the throne; he
did not walk in the anointing of the priest, and the nation of Israel later
dispersed throughout the world.
Ever since they asked for a king, the Israelites
experienced another kind of oppression, and it became another extreme. The
other oppression appeared in this era of Israel, emphasizing the holiness of
the law, but lacking the power and authority of God; it replaced the leadership
with selflessness, compassion, and love demonstrated by Samuel. Only partially
anointed, they could not intercede for people before God like Moses did. As a
result, we see that the pride and legalism begin to influence the religious
life.
Until whom did the triple anointing come upon
people again? It is only when Jesus Christ appeared that this complete
anointing was restored. We saw that the Pharisees in the New Testament era
strictly observed the law and became merciless, law-abiding, religious, and
very restrictive. Are these laws compatible to God’s scripture? Many of them
were obedient to the Word of God, however, because there was no such anointing.
Pride and the law came in, it became another oppression and judgment against
the Israelites. The priests of the Pharisees had the anointing of the priests,
but lacked the power of God. The kings who came after Samuel did not have the
anointing of the priests, while those who had the anointing of the priests did
not have the anointing of the king or the anointing of the prophets on them.
Thus, the priests in the later times only had the anointing of the priest but
carried no power. They became prideful and law-abiding without power.
God promised to restore this triple anointing.
Later, when Jesus came, it was restored. Isaiah 1:26, “I will restore your
judges as at the first. And your counselors as at the beginning. Afterward you
shall be called the city of righteousness, the faithful city.” “a king will
reign in righteousness, and princes will rule with justice. A man will be as a
hiding place from the wind, And a cover from the tempest,” (Isaiah 32:2). Who
would come out? It was Jesus Christ, Jesus Christ has the complete anointing of
the king, the priest and the prophet, the complete anointing of God. The
promise of God's restoration of complete anointing has been fulfilled in Jesus
Christ, and this anointing is brought to himself through Jesus Christ.
Therefore, such anointing must first carry the anointing of living a holy and
righteous life; and then carrying the anointing of power in healing, casting
out the demons, and evangelizing; these anointing can be received at the same
time. How do we receive it? I will give you a few references about the premise
to receive it . First, if you are not born again, you have to be born again. To
be born again is to be baptized in the Holy Spirit. Secondly is to be
baptized. In Romans 6:4, “we were buried with Him through baptism into death,
that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even
so we also should walk in newness of life.” The third is that the anointing is
from God, not from people, and sovereignty is in God.
“The
anointing which you have received from Him abides in you” (1 John 2:27). It is
only the beginning that you receive the anointing of the king, then you must
walk with the Lord. Remember, one premise in receiving the anointing is
responsibility; you need to be willing to take upon your responsibility, you
will then receive anointing in your life. If we only emphasize being holy but not
the power of God, we will become legalistic. If we ask God for power but ignore
holy life, it will destroy us. The key is to abide in God, because the
anointing is in you, and the anointing you receive from the Lord abides in you,
and you do not need that anyone teach you. The anointing of the Lord will teach
you all things. This anointing is real, not fake. You must abide in the Lord
according to the teachings of this anointing.
If you want to keep the anointing, you need to
remember a key issue, that is to abide in the Lord, to have an intimate
relationship with God. Anointing cannot be used to serve one's own desires. If
you use it to serve your own desires, God will judge. God will come to punish
and judge.
Sharing： E.C. -- TEACHER MING
Transcription： YK.W
