Acts 10:38 ~ How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost (= the Holy Spirit) and with power:
who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with Him.
The Anointing = The Holy Spirit strengthening us, by giving us the POWER we need - to extend the Kingdom of God.
Further reading
1 Samuel 16:13
John 1:32 ~ And John (the Baptist) bare record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon Him (= upon Jesus).
Most birds land at a shallow angle - like a plane landing on an airport runway.
But a dove lands like a helicopter - almost vertically.
So when God anoints us:
We sometimes feel a physical sensation on our head & shoulders.
As the Holy Spirit descends upon us vertically, like a dove.
Further reading
Ezra 7:6 & 9-10
Isaiah 11:2, 32:15
Ezekiel 3:14, 8:1
Jesus explains in Luke 4:18-19 & 31-32
18The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He hath anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor;
He hath sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,
19To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.
…
31And (Jesus) came down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and taught them on the Sabbath days.
32And they were astonished at His doctrine: for His word was with power.
--> When God anoints us - the Holy Spirit gives us the POWER we need: to extend the Kingdom of God.
Illustration
It’s like the difference between:
Pedalling a bike uphill, using only our own leg muscles.
Riding up the same hill on an electric or a motor bike.
Washing clothes by hand.
Letting a washing machine do the hard work.
Further reading
Exodus 40:13
Numbers 24:2-9
Judges 3:9-10, 6:33-34, 11:29 then 32-33; 14:19, 15:14-15
1 Samuel 11:1-7
2 Kings 9:1-7
1 Chronicles 12:18
2 Chronicles 15:1-2
Ezra 7:28
Psalms 68:35, 89:20-21
Isaiah 42:1-4, 61:1-3
Matthew 12:17-18
Luke 1:35, 24:49
Acts 2:3 & 17-18
1 Peter 4:14
Matthew 13:54-55
54And when He (= Jesus) was come into His own country, He taught them in their synagogue,
insomuch that they were astonished, and said, Whence hath this Man this wisdom, and these mighty works?
55Is not this the carpenter's son? Is not his mother called Mary? And his brethren, James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas?
The people of Nazareth were astonished that:
The Jesus they met now - AFTER He was anointed by the Holy Spirit (in Matthew 3:16)
...
was TRANSFORMED from the Jesus they used to know - BEFORE He was anointed by the Holy Spirit.
This is what the prophet Samuel told Saul:
1 Samuel 10:6 ~ And the Spirit of the LORD will come upon thee, and thou shalt prophesy with them, and shalt be turned into another man.
--> We may feel inadequate to serve God.
--> But when God anoints us with His Holy Spirit - it’s like we’re turned into a NEW PERSON.
Just like the Anointing of the Holy Spirit transformed Smith Wigglesworth - the Yorkshire plumber - into a world-famous, Healing-Evangelist.
Further reading
The hair on Samson the Nazarite's head can be viewed as a picture - of the Anointing on us:
Numbers 6:2, 5 & 8
Judges 16:17, 19, 22 & 28
Acts 6:8-10
8And Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and miracles among the people.
9Then there arose certain of the synagogue, which is called the synagogue of the Libertines, and Cyrenians, and Alexandrians, and of them of Cilicia and of Asia,
disputing with Stephen.
10And they were not able to resist the wisdom and the Spirit by which he spake.
--> Stephen was only a man.
--> But the Holy Spirit is Almighty God - and He HELPS us to SAY the right words, in the right way:
Matthew 10:18-20
18And ye shall be brought before governors and kings for My sake, for a testimony against them and the Gentiles.
19But when they deliver you up, take no thought how or what ye shall speak: for it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak.
20For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you.
Further reading
Mark 13:11 / Luke 12:11-12
Acts 4:8, 13 & 31
1 Peter 1:12
Notice how zealous ELISHA was in 2 Kings chapter 2:
Verses 1-2
1And it came to pass, when the LORD would take up Elijah into heaven by a whirlwind, that Elijah went with Elisha from Gilgal.
2And Elijah said unto Elisha, Tarry here (= stay here), I pray thee; for the LORD hath sent me to Bethel.
And Elisha said unto him, As the LORD liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. So they went down to Bethel.
#1 Elisha followed Elijah from Gilgal to Bethel.
Verses 3-4
3And the sons of the prophets that were at Bethel came forth to Elisha, and said unto him,
Knowest thou that the LORD will take away thy master from thy head (= from over you) today?
And he said, Yea, I know it; hold ye your peace (= be silent).
4And Elijah said unto him, Elisha, tarry here, I pray thee; for the LORD hath sent me to Jericho.
And he (= Elisha) said, As the LORD liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. So they came to Jericho.
#2 Elisha followed Elijah from Bethel to Jericho.
Verses 5-6
5And the sons of the prophets that were at Jericho came to Elisha, and said unto him,
Knowest thou that the LORD will take away thy master from thy head today?
And he answered, Yea, I know it; hold ye your peace.
6And Elijah said unto him, Tarry, I pray thee, here; for the LORD hath sent me to Jordan.
And he said, As the LORD liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. And they two went on.
#3 Elisha followed Elijah from Jericho to the River Jordan.
--> Elisha didn’t give up.
--> He was ZEALOUS to receive the Anointing.
--> Like a dog chasing a cat.
Verse 9
9And it came to pass, when they were gone over (= crossed the River Jordan), that Elijah said unto Elisha, Ask what I shall do for thee, before I be taken away from thee.
And Elisha said, I pray thee, let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me.
--> So Elisha wanted AS MUCH of the Anointing as he could get:
It’s bad to be greedy for too much: cake, chips, ice cream etc. - because too much can be harmful.
But it’s good to want as much as possible of the Anointing!
Verses 10-13
10And he (= Elijah) said, Thou hast asked a hard thing: nevertheless, if thou see me when I am taken from thee, it shall be so unto thee; but if not, it shall not be so.
11And it came to pass, as they still went on, and talked, that, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire,
and parted them both asunder (= separated them); and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.
12And Elisha saw it, and he cried, My father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof.
And he (= Elisha) saw him (= Elijah) no more: and he took hold of his own clothes, and rent (= tore) them in two pieces.
13He (= Elisha) took up also the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and went back, and stood by the bank of Jordan;
--> The mantle (= a cloak / coat) represents the Anointing:
A cloak / coat covers our shoulders.
Just like the Holy Spirit comes down on our shoulders like a dove.
Verse 15
15And when the sons of the prophets which were to view (= who were watching) at Jericho saw him, they said, The spirit of Elijah doth rest on Elisha. …
--> The Anointing:
Is the Holy Spirit on us - giving us power to extend the Kingdom of God.
Just like Elisha went on to extend the Kingdom of God.
(2 Kings chapters 2-9)
Some British Members of Parliament (MPs) misused their expense allowances:
The allowances were given for legitimate purposes.
But some MPs took the money for themselves.
In the same way - we mustn’t misuse the Anointing to benefit ourselves:
That’s not why God anoints us.
Let’s learn from what God told Moses:
Exodus 30:31-33
31And thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel, saying, This shall be an holy (= set apart) anointing oil unto Me throughout your generations.
32Upon man’s flesh shall it not be poured, neither shall ye make any other like it, after the composition of it: it is holy, and it shall be holy unto you.
33Whosoever compoundeth any like it, or whosoever putteth any of it upon a stranger, shall even be cut off from his people.
--> The Anointing:
Is not to make us rich / famous.
It’s to help us extend the Kingdom of God.
Illustration
Imagine a TV news report from an emergency scene:
Instead of helping the victims - the ambulance, fire & police crews are trying to make themselves look good on TV.
That’s not why they were given their training & equipment - they should be using these to help people in need.
In the same way - we mustn’t misuse the Anointing to benefit ourselves.
Further reading
Exodus 30:37-38
Verses 16-17 & 24-25
16And the LORD said unto Moses, Gather unto Me seventy men of the elders of Israel, whom thou knowest to be the elders of the people, and officers over them;
and bring them unto the Tabernacle of the congregation, that they may stand there with thee.
17And I will come down and talk with thee there: and I will take of the Spirit which is upon thee, and will put it upon them;
and they shall bear the burden of the people with thee, that thou bear it not thyself alone.
…
24And Moses went out, and told the people the words of the LORD, and gathered the seventy men of the elders of the people, and set them round about the Tabernacle.
25And the LORD came down in a cloud, and spake unto him, and took of the Spirit that was upon him (= upon Moses), and gave it unto the seventy elders:
and it came to pass, that, when the Spirit rested upon them, they prophesied, and did not cease.
--> God can extend the Anointing from one person to others:
This helps more people to do the same sort of work.
For example - as team members within a ministry, extending the work of the founder / leader.
Verses 26-29
26But there remained two of the men in the camp, the name of the one was Eldad, and the name of the other Medad: and the Spirit rested upon them;
and they were of them that were written (= listed as elders), but went not out unto the Tabernacle: and they prophesied in the camp.
27And there ran a young man, and told Moses, and said, Eldad and Medad do prophesy in the camp.
28And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of Moses, one of his young men, answered and said, My lord Moses, forbid them.
29And Moses said unto him, Enviest thou for my sake? Would God that all the LORD’S people were prophets, and that the LORD would put His Spirit upon them!
--> Joshua wanted to limit the Anointing to just a few people.
--> But Moses wanted AS MANY people as possible to be anointed.
There are billions of unsaved people in the world.
So to extend the Kingdom of God - we need as many anointed people as possible!
FIRST Anointing
1 Samuel 16:13 ~ Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst of his brethren: and the Spirit of the LORD came upon David from that day forward.
--> This happened before David became king.
--> David’s FIRST anointing, was to fight the Philistines & the Amalekites.
(1 Samuel chapters 17, 18, 23 & 30)
SECOND anointing
2 Samuel 2:3-4
3And his men that were with him did David bring up, every man with his household: and they dwelt in the cities of Hebron
4And the men of Judah came, and there they anointed David king over the house of Judah.
--> David’s SECOND anointing, was to be king of JUDAH.
--> Judah was only one of the twelve tribes of Israel.
THIRD anointing
2 Samuel 5:3-5
3So all the elders of Israel came to the king to Hebron; and King David made a league with them in Hebron before the LORD: and they anointed David king over Israel.
4David was thirty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned forty years.
5In Hebron he reigned over Judah seven years and six months: and in Jerusalem he reigned thirty and three years over all Israel and Judah.
--> David’s THIRD anointing, was to be king over ALL TWELVE tribes of Israel.
Illustration
As we travel to places further away - we need a new way to get there:
Short journey Walk / cycle
Medium-length journey Bus / car / train
Long journey Fly / ship
In the same way, when God gives us a bigger / more challenging assignment - He gives us a NEW anointing.
As John Wesley wrote:
“There is no other way of success in ministry except by the Anointing of the Holy Spirit”.
Amen