Discover Jesus’ Anointing…and Yours
In today’s world the extraordinary usefulness of oil is apparent in almost every industry:
- Vegetable oils unstick chef’s pans, flavour restaurant food, and elevate the taste and texture of meals to a height that raw ingredients alone can’t attain.
- Machine oils seep into high pressure combustion systems to bring an easing flow to the whirling cogs and grinding gears that would otherwise seize into an unsalvageable mess of molten smelt.
- Essential oils perfume home environments, have proven health and well-being benefits, and correctly applied can guard our households against sickness and even help our youngsters with focus and some behavioural issues.
- Massage oils relieve tension out of knotted muscles, restoring movement and motion to aching and injured bodies.
- Cosmetic oils bring new life, vitality, and a healthy glow by rehydrating and restoring dry and weary skin.
Little wonder then, that the Lord would use this most useful of natural substances as an illustrative symbol of the blessed power He has provided for every believer, through His Holy Spirit anointing oil.
To be ‘anointed’ in scripture, represented the divine endowment of the Holy Spirit given to supernaturally empower someone towards their mission. It is a picture of the blessing, protection and supernatural ability of God, and like the above natural examples – it yields many gracious benefits and blessings to our lives as believers.
According to the following scriptures, what supernatural benefits does the Holy Spirit’s ‘Anointing Oil’ bring into our lives?
Luke 4:18-19 (NIV)
“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.”
Acts 1:8 (NIV)
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses… to the ends of the earth.”
2 Corinthians 3:17b (NIV)
… where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.
Acts 10:38 (TPT)
Jesus of Nazareth was anointed by God with the Holy Spirit and with great power. He did wonderful things for others and divinely healed all who were under the tyranny of the devil, for God had anointed him.
Isaiah 10:27b (NKJV)
It shall come to pass in that day that [this] burden will be taken away from your shoulder, And [this] yoke from your neck,And the yoke will be destroyed because of the anointing oil.
James 5:14-16 (NIV)
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. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up…
A glorious benefit of the Holy Spirit’s anointing in our lives, as described in the following two scriptures, is the supernatural wisdom and knowledge that He gives. The Holy Spirit is the life-specialist. He’s the Jesus-expert. He knows us better than we know ourselves… AND He graciously shares His insight and wisdom with us, teaching us ‘all things’ as we remain in Christ. He has counsel and advice and blessing for us in every area of our life. Parenting, marriage, financial management, conflict resolution… You name it – He has anointed insight for us in each of those areas!
Isaiah 11 (TPT)
the Spirit of [The Lord] will rest upon him
the Spirit of Extraordinary Wisdom,
the Spirit of Perfect Understanding
the Spirit of Wise Strategy,
the Spirit of Mighty Power,
the Spirit of Revelation,
and the Spirit of the Fear of Yahweh.
1 John 2:20, 27 (NIV)
But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth. As for you, the anointing you received from him remains in you, and… teaches you about all things and as that anointing is real, not counterfeit—just as it has taught you, remain in him.
How does it make you feel to know that, as a Spirit-Filled Christian, you have a supernatural Mentor / Coach and Friend in the Holy Spirit who can lead you into wisdom and truth?
What’s an area that you are presently finding puzzling and perplexing that you can ask for His supernatural knowledge in?
In this message we learned that Jesus’ title of ‘Christ’ means ‘The Anointed One,’ and as Christians (Christ-ones), we are therefore ‘The Anointed One’s anointed ones’ – disciples of Christ who are meant to carry the same nature and Holy Spirit anointing that He did.
In light of this important definition of ‘Christ’ (The Anointed One) what do the following scriptures teach you about how much ‘The Anointed One’ desires to ‘anoint’ you? And why?
Galatians 4:19 (NIV)
My dear children, for whom I am again in the pains of childbirth until Christ is formed in you.
Colossians 1:21-22, 27 (NIV)
Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behaviour. But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation… To [you] God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.
Ephesians 4:14-15 (NIV)
Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ.
If the following scripture describes the characteristics, or ‘fruits’ of the Holy Spirit’s anointing in our lives – then what sort of temperaments and qualities can we expect to start manifesting in our lives as we abide in His anointed grace towards us?
Galatians 5:22-23a, 25 (NIV)
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control… Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.
Which of these specific fruits would you like to ask the Holy Spirit to particularly help you cultivate and grow in your life and responses? Feel free to use this section to write your written prayer to Him for His help and grace in gifting you in this specific fruit:
In the following anointed encounter of extravagant worship we read of a beautiful account that affected not only Mary of Bethany, but also the atmosphere of her environment:
John 12:1-3 (NIV)
Six days before the Passover, Jesus arrived at Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. 2Here a dinner was given in Jesus’ honor. Martha served, while Lazarus was among those reclining at the table with him. 3Then Mary took about a pint[a] of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus’ feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.
Mary’s anointed worship honoured Jesus, yielded a pleasing aroma that radically altered the atmosphere of her environment, and the fragrance of her anointed encounter with the King would have been discernible in her hair and around her person for days or weeks after. In this account she provides for us a powerful example of how extravagant worship yields greater levels of atmosphere-shifting blessing and anointing.
In what ways could the ‘fragrance’ of your life and the ‘atmosphere’ of your home be benefitted and blessed if you were to become a more intentional and extravagant worshipper?
How can you practically improve this area of anointed worship towards Christ in the coming week? (Eg. Play worship songs in the house and car more often, give radically and generously in the church offerings, commit to a daily time of prayer and worship, buy some oil and prayerfully anoint yourself and your home as an act of faith towards cleansing that environment)