The Authority of His Anointing
Most of us would agree it is a serious time for the Church in America. State and local governments have shut down churches while encouraging mass protests. Our first amendment rights are being violated. Truth is blurred and an antichrist agenda is blatantly evident among many of our civil leaders (1 John 2:18-23). Further, the pressure Churches have experienced is causing some to close for good. During a recent interview, Barna Research president David Kinnaman said a fifth of the churches in America could close in the next 18 months due to the pandemic and lockdowns. [1]
Churches in some locations have been deemed “unessential,” while abortion clinics, liquor stores, and marijuana clinics are classified as essential services. Cities grant permission for radical leftist groups like Antifa and the BLM organization to protest, riot, and destroy property while Christians are denied permission to gather in parks to worship and pray. In some states and locals, pastors and worshippers are being threatened with jail and fines if they meet indoors, while these same states let prisoners out of jail due to the threat of COVID-19.
Enough is enough, Church! It is time to rise up in the authority and mandate of Jesus to worship and proclaim the gospel—we are essential and His representation to our nation and world—we must be the light in the darkness!
The Spirit is heralding a call to arms to the Church to be the light amid darkness.
Despite the hardships and darkness, the mandate of the Church has never changed. Individually and corporately, many are at places of decision, destiny, and crossroads. Many are sensing an urgency to become everything God has said they should be—arise, shine, for your light has come (Isa. 60)!
God is not only challenging us to be His light and force in the earth, but He is requiring us to change. Holiness is imparted (Christ in you), but holiness develops as we yield to the Spirit and follow His leading. As we listen to the Spirit, we hear the call to arms, like those in Gideon’s day, and we are empowered to do exploits in His name.
We are being called to be a demonstration of the Kingdom of God on earth. Our union with Him, His name, and anointing by the Holy Spirit grant us authority and power to be a demonstration of His love and power. Let us discuss the authority of His anointing.
Jesus was anointed by the Spirit for a purpose.
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me…” (Luke 4:16-21 NKJV) Jesus quoted from Isaiah 61:1-2, which describes the deliverance of Israel from exile in Babylon in terms of the Year of Jubilee, but its ultimate fulfillment awaited the coming of the Messianic Age.
The Messianic age would be a time of the establishment of God’s Kingdom—one of power. Jesus is declaring He is the promised Messiah. His anointing and defined ministry was the proclamation of the good news of the gospel of the Kingdom of God. Not just a gospel of salvation but declaring a Kingdom message with signs and power of the Spirit.
Peter declares this about Jesus,
How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him. And we are witnesses of all things which he did…” Acts 10:38 NKJV
Jesus healed all who came to Him and all manner of disease, as one dependent upon the Holy Spirit. He was fully divine and fully human, but He relied upon the anointing and empowerment of the Spirit to fulfill His earthy ministry. I discuss this in-depth in my book Receive Your Miracle Now! A Case for Healing Today.
Notice it was God who anoints the Son, and this anointing is by the Holy Spirit and comes with power. We see with Jesus, that the anointing is for a purpose: for good works, to heal the sick and deliver the oppressed. The anointing by the Spirit gives power to witness.
Mark states of Jesus:
Wherever he went—in villages, cities, or the countryside—they brought the sick out to the marketplaces. They begged him to let the sick touch at least the fringe of his robe, and all who touched him were healed.” Mark 6:56 NLT
The anointing upon Jesus’ life brought healing and freedom to all He met, even causing those who touched His garments to be healed (see also Luke 8, the woman with the issue of blood).
Keep in mind that Christ (Greek christós) is not Jesus’ last name; it’s a title meaning “anointed one.” Christ derives from the Hebrew “messiah,” meaning “anointed one.” Hence Jesus the “anointed one.”
Anointing means “to smear, to rub, (with oil, etc.).” Anointing with oil leaves residue, like that of perfume or oil on hands; the substance and fragrance lingers. Therefore, the presence or anointing on those who follow Jesus and are filled with His Spirit is tangible—His presence lingers. It is observed in Godly character, love, peace, joy, etc. and His presence (or anointing) also is one of power.
What is the anointing? It is both the presence and power of God. It is the power that created the universe, created man, and the power that raised Jesus from the dead.
Our mandate is to make disciples in and of the nations—despite the darkness. For two thousand years, the Church has experienced hatred, persecution, and adversity. And like everyone in society, the Church has experienced plagues, natural disasters, economic hardships, and wars. Our present situation is an opportunity to advance God’s kingdom with the authority of His name, His Word, and the power of His Spirit (anointing) upon us.
All of this may sound exciting, but it is overwhelming in the power of our own strength. We must learn to do all things by His Spirit, under His command, and with the anointing.
The promise to Israel applies to us today, “It shall come to pass in that day That his burden will be taken away from your shoulder, And his yoke from your neck, And the yoke will be destroyed because of the anointing oil.” (Isa. 10:27 NKJV) The enlargement, caused by the anointing, breaks the yokes of oppression and darkness around us.
This anointing, the power of the Holy Spirit, has always been symbolized by oil, especially the “holy anointing oil” of the Old Testament. There are parallels for our day with the ingredients of this sacred oil. It was a costly oil and represents the process of God’s anointing being poured out in our lives. Gethsemane means “oil press,” revealing that the way we can be anointed for our divine call individually and corporately is to yield completely to God’s will and deny our own will—like Jesus.
During a meeting recently, one of our church intercessors had a vision. She sensed the Lord was making fresh anointing oil for His Bride. He was using all kinds of spices that caused it to be a unique anointing for the prophetic, the priestly, and the kingly people of God. This anointing oil is for the Church of this hour because He’s bringing us into a time where we will be drawing upon the need to walk in a new and greater authority.
Like Jesus, by the Holy Spirit you are “anointed ones” for a purpose.
As the body of Christ, we are called to walk as He walked and to carry on the work of the Kingdom as the Son has patterned and commanded us to do.
Jesus was anointed to preach the gospel to the poor, heal the brokenhearted, preach deliverance to the captives, bring sight to the blind, and set at liberty those who were bound (Luke 4:18-19). And so are we!
Then He called His twelve disciples together and gave them power and authority over all demons, and to cure diseases. He sent them to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick.” Luke 9:1-2 NKJV
The same ministry Jesus walked in, Luke declares, is passed to the disciples and ultimately to the entire church. We read in Acts how after Pentecost, Peter’s very shadow healed the sick (Acts 5:15). Why? The anointing of the Holy Spirit upon him. Shadow is from the Greek skiá and can mean shadow, reflection, or copy. Peter, by the anointing of the Holy Spirit upon him, reflected Jesus! You and I have the potential in Christ, and by the Spirit, to walk in a similar manner.
Your union with Christ clothes you with the potential to walk in the miraculous as normal. Expect miracles, they are normal for Jesus!
Jesus died on the cross, not only to provide for the forgiveness of our sin, but that the Holy Spirit and the Spirit’s anointing would be in and upon us.
What was Peter’s secret? Two primary keys: Spending time with Jesus and being baptized in the Holy Spirit. Learning how to commune with God is vital.
Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled. And they realized that they had been with Jesus.” Acts 4:13 NKJV
Here is a major principle: we must spend time in the Holy Spirit’s presence. The Holy Spirit is God, and He is on earth with us. It was the anointing of the Holy Spirit that made Jesus effective, not His education, appearance, talents, or connections with important people. The same is true for us.
But the anointing which you have received from Him abides in you, and you do not need that anyone teach you; but as the same anointing teaches you concerning all things, and is true, and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you will abide in Him.” 1 John 2:27 NKJV
God has given the anointing of the Holy Spirit to each believer to be taught, led, and empowered for His work. You may be a teacher, a pastor, an evangelist, a prophet, or an apostle. You may be a mother, a student, a truck driver, engineer, doctor or nurse, or a construction worker. You may be a musician, a songwriter, or an artist. It makes no difference. God’s plan for His people does not change because of the methods or the vessels.
His desire is to use every gift, every calling, and every available tool for one purpose and one end: to minister His love and power to lost and dying humanity!
Now is the time for the Church to arise as a force in the image and likeness of the Son of God. This will be a generation that will do all that God puts in their heart to do—courageous and confident.
It will be a people who will pay any price to do whatever it takes to walk in His anointing to see the harvest of harvests! Stay vigilant in prayer for Church leaders, worshippers, and the removal of the “Herods’” of our day (see Acts 12). His Kingdom will advance, despite the threats of leaders and darkness.
For a deeper look at this topic, watch the Passion Church message “The Authority of His Anointing”
[1] https://churchleaders.com/news/381320-kinnaman-churches-close.html
