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PULPIT TODAY SERMONS
You Can be Distinguished by the Anointing
by Robert D Pace
Introductory Remarks
Television commercials aim at convincing the public their product is supreme. You’ve never seen a medicine commercial that announced: “Acme Aspirin can’t match Tylenol or Advil, but it’s plenty adequate to relieve your pain.” No, Acme Aspirin would purport it has turbo-charged ingredients! It would insist that one tiny tablet would dwarf the potency of all other brands. Other advertisements are plenteous: One Acme paper towel could absorb a quart of spilled water. Acme Oats Cereal has five times the nutrition of Flat Flakes Cereal. Yes, I used some hyperbole, but you get the idea of commercials. However, Jesus did not exaggerate when he predicted how ordinary Christians could be transformed and empowered by the infilling of the Holy Spirit. And that’s what I want to examine in today’s message.
2 Corinthians 1:21–22
The anointing is a mysterious concept in the Kingdom of God because it is inextricably linked to the Holy Spirit. Although the Holy Spirit is fully God, He is also the self-effacing third person of the Trinity, functioning to glorify the Father and the Son rather than Himself. This is what makes Him mystifying. Moreover, because the anointing directly relates to the Holy Spirit, it also carries a high degree of mystery.
(Example) Sometimes, the true significance of the anointing is misunderstood. When people think of “the anointing,” they instinctively associate it with preachers in the pulpit. I want you to envision how we generally perceive the operation of the anointing: we visualize it functioning through a divinely called messenger, who proclaims the infallible Word of God to a large gathering of worshipers in a beautiful building known as a “church.” Yes, in this context, the anointing is highly visible! However, the anointing encompasses more than a dynamic preacher ministering to a congregation.
(Definition) Since I’m talking about “the anointing,” it’s time to clarify its meaning. It might seem strange that the word anoint means “to smear on, paint over, or rub in.” Many of you anointed yourself before leaving your house and coming here. You took cologne, perfume, or makeup and gave yourself a cosmetic anointing. This is what the Bible means when it says Christians have been anointed with the Holy Spirit. It means the Heavenly Father has applied, rubbed in, and smeared on the Holy Spirit to your life. That describes how near the Holy Spirit is to the Believers.
Although John says every Believer is anointed, the Bible also makes it clear that there are degrees to which the Holy Spirit anoints each Believer. For example, Jesus received the ultimate anointing by the Spirit. The Apostle John shows that Jesus received the Spirit “without measure” (John 3:34). As you study the divine titles of Jesus, one title the Bible employs is “Anointed One.” In the Old Testament, written in Hebrew, this designation is translated as “Messiah.” In the New Testament, written in Greek, the title is “Christ.” Again, both words mean: “Anointed One.” This is what God wants us to know about Jesus: He was anointed beyond measure! He was fully, completely, wholly inundated with the presence of the Holy Spirit! Jesus was characterized by the anointing.
Do you remember the terminology the woman at the well used to identify Jesus when she discovered His identity? She exclaimed: “I know the Messiah has come!” She was saying: “I know the One fully smeared, painted, and covered with God’s Spirit is here!” And that’s what distinguished Jesus from other religious leaders—the anointing. The anointing was the difference-maker! And if you want to know what His anointing involved then notice the first sermon He preached in Luke 4:18–19. “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, (19) to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
The anointing was so important to Jesus that stripping Him from it would have brought preaching without power, ministry without healings, life without miracles, and the demonized without deliverance. I’m convinced if God removed the anointing from many churches that 90% of their activity would move along unabated. They wouldn’t realize it for months!
The Anointing Satisfies the Soul
There’s something we shouldn’t miss about our Lord’s anointing, and it’s this: Jesus experienced a deep sense of fulfillment and joy as He operated in the anointing. You say, “The Bible says that about the anointing?” Yes, it does! Hebrews 1:9 calls the anointing the “oil of gladness.” And that means the anointing of the Holy Spirit brings the expression of joy! Now, let me show you how the Bible discloses this.
Luke 19:10 says He “came to seek and to save what was lost.” That word “save” means, “to deliver and wholly impact someone.” The only way Jesus could “deliver and wholly impact” people was to operate in the anointing of the Spirit. This is what brought Jesus fulfillment, and you can hear this in his words before His crucifixion in John 17:4. He said: “[Father,] I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do.” I have a question. How had Jesus accomplished His three-and-a-half years of ministry? He accomplished His work by operating in the anointing of the Spirit, as revealed in His first sermon in Luke 4:18—19.
“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, (19) to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
When Christians follow the example of Jesus and stay “filled with the Spirit,” they will also discover that the anointing will keep them “on track”! Let me repeat that statement: When you consistently operate in the anointing of the Holy Spirit, it will help keep you “on track.
(Example) You see, mere “busy-ness” and even “kingdom activity” cannot bring you purpose or contentment. If purpose and contentment were found in mere activity, everybody in America would be happy because we spend billions of dollars on amusements, entertainment, and recreation. But amusements, entertainment, and recreation don’t satisfy people. Your contentment arises from operating under the anointing! Thus, let the Lord anoint you with His Holy Spirit!
Again, it’s the anointing that brings satisfaction to Christians. And the reason so many Christians are unhappy is because the anointing isn’t flowing. Think about the times you experienced the deepest sense of satisfaction—it’s when the Spirit’s anointing coursed through your life, and you were fulfilling Christ’s purpose. When people resist the anointing and neglect their calling, they are miserable. But when we willingly let God flow through our lives, we find great satisfaction. Again, Hebrews 1:9 calls the anointing the “oil of gladness.”
I am convinced God has linked the anointing of the Holy Spirit to a person’s innermost needs. Psychologists teach that man’s core needs include eight things: purpose, significance, worth, love, acceptance, fellowship, security, and a sense of belonging. That’s why Jesus, the “Wonderful Counselor,” wants to anoint us with His Spirit. He’s given us the Holy Spirit to fill us with purpose and meaning. Here’s what I’m talking about:
In order to give you purpose, He anoints you with His Spirit and gives you spiritual gifts fashioned just for you. These gifts will help you win lost souls, or encourage fellow Christians, or support other gifted Christians to do their Kingdom work. “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me . . . he has sent me” (Luke 4:18).
I want you to know, without question, that the anointing of the Spirit is so significant that, according to Exodus 30:29, it places a mark of separation on Believers, distinguishing them from the world. When you understand this about your anointing, it can bring you great value and importance!
The apostles Peter and Paul repeatedly referred to Believers as “God’s elect.” Again, that certainly brings personal significance.
When you analyze the anointing, there’s one conclusion: It’s the difference-maker! Without it, our innermost needs are unfulfilled, and we’re unqualified to handle life’s drama, dilemmas, and challenges, but with it, we’re fully qualified to handle life! I want you to repeat something. Say, “I’m anointed!”
I’m anointed to fulfill your purpose and destiny.
I’m anointed to minister God’s power to others.
I’m anointed to experience God’s favor.
I’m anointed with God’s hedge of protection.
I’m anointed as a distinctly sealed saint.
It’s no wonder God said, “Touch not my anointed and do my prophets no harm.” To touch someone who is anointed is to touch God Himself. If you approach the anointing, make sure it’s with reverence, not combatively.
Guard Your Anointing!
Folks, it’s important to guard your anointing because Satan will always seek to undermine it. He realizes how important it is to your spiritual and emotional welfare and he will disrupt it by any and all possible means. He wants you floundering, discontented, confused, and without purpose. That means you must continually seek to maintain your anointing. When the Apostle Paul encouraged young Timothy, Paul told him, “Do not neglect your gift” (1 Timothy 4:14) [and] “to fan into flame the gift of God” (2 Timothy 1:6).
(Example) I discovered an amazing conclusion to Christ’s Parable of the Talents in Matthew 25. You remember how He gave one man five talents ($200,000), another man two talents ($80,000), and another man one ($40,000). He then instructed them to “occupy” until His return. You can draw several points from this parable, but one is evident: Jesus clearly connected joy with engaging your talents! (Matthew 25:23). When the master of the house returned to require of his servant’s enterprising, the men with the five and two talents had doubled theirs. Listen to the master’s response: “Come and share your master’s happiness [joy].” Did you notice that Jesus linked the servants’ joy with engaging their gift from the master? But the man with one talent had ignored and buried it, and unfortunately, his fate involved being banished to “darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (30). Thus, the ultimate demise of the foolish servant was eternal sorrow!
(Transition) Now let’s transition to another aspect of the anointing.
The Anointing Raises You to a Higher Dimension
God has called you to fulfill a divinely appointed destiny, but you can’t achieve it with your own power. The anointing of the Holy Spirit is what causes you to transcend your normal limitations, raises you to a higher dimension, and supplies divine power to achieve remarkable things!
What does the anointing enable you to achieve? That’s almost rhetorical since God is the anointing. The better question is, What doesn’t the anointing enable you to achieve? The anointing qualifies you to deal with every aspect of life: its challenges, drama, dilemmas, ministry, and even death.
(Example) This is perfectly depicted in Genesis 24, in that amazing story of Isaac’s betrothal to Rebekah. Abraham called his chief servant and made him pledge to help Isaac marry a girl from His relatives’ household and not from the Canaanites. Embedded within this narrative is the symbolic relationship among the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Abraham, representing the Heavenly Father, sent his servant Eliezer, connoting the Holy Spirit, to secure a bride for his son Isaac, signifying Christ. Eliezer traveled back to Abraham’s homeland and found Rebekah at a well—doing the work of a servant—drawing water for camels, one of the filthiest animals on earth. Look what happened to Rebekah when God showed Eliezer she was to become Isaac’s bride. He crowned Rebekah with the wealth of Abraham, lavishing her with silver and gold (which represents the gifts of the Spirit). A few days later, she was Isaac’s wife! In a moment’s time, she ascended to a completely different dimension: she was transformed from a domestic servant who watered camels to an heir of Abraham. All because she welcomed Eliezer, who symbolized the Holy Spirit, to impact her life.
You see, the Holy Spirit takes Believers to a higher dimension! He will find you, guide you, enrich you, and empower you to handle life. He’s the ultimate power source, and he offers what no one else can offer:
One ordinary man preached at Pentecost, but the extraordinary Holy Spirit ignited Peter’s words, swept through the crowd, and converted 3,000 people.
A few days later, two apostles walked toward the Temple, but the Spirit intervened and poured leaping and walking strength into that lame beggar’s legs.
Peter, in all his mortality, walked down the street, but the Spirit’s immortality energized his shadow and instantly cured the afflictions of those that lined the streets.
Paul and Silas sat beaten and bruised in jail. There are no records indicating these men possessed choral qualities. Their vibrato couldn’t shatter glass much less shafts of steel. Most preachers are tone-deaf and sing off-key anyway. But as Paul and Silas sang, the Spirit’s power swirled, shook the cell, split the bars, and converted the jailer!
And the Holy Spirit that worked for men and women in the Word of God works for believers today:
John 14:16 calls the Holy Spirit our Counselor, and that means we have a higher dimension of insight for living.
Romans 8:26 says He anoints us to pray in a higher dimension.
Acts 6:3–8 says He provides a higher dimension of wisdom, faith, and power.
Colossians 1:9 says He offers divine comfort to transcend life’s turmoil.
And 1 John 2:27 says the anointing enables us to discern truth from error.
If you aren’t full of the Holy Spirit, ask your Heavenly Father to fill you today. His inundating presence upon you can affect and empower every area of your life.