Steps to God’s Anointing
Zechariah 4:6
’Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the LORD Almighty.
Intro: Only through God’s Holy Spirit can a Christian accomplish the amazing works of the Lord! Never will we see the fullness of God through our own efforts and abilities.
We deal with God’s Spirit through prayer = God is a spiritual being and the spirit within us must communicate with the God.
God is calling His church to prayer all across the country. Because His spirit lives and dwells in you the urge with in you to reach out to God comes through the Holy Spirit
1 Cor 3:16-17… Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? 17 If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are.
Question:
Do you long for God’s Spirit to move mightily on your behalf?
Do you want God’s anointing flowing through your life?
Are you seeking and searching for personal answers?
• The answer is with in your heart and life.
• The answer is the Holy Spirit of God!
• If you are a true repentant Christian, the Holy Spirit lives with in you!
How ever, He will; only be able to accomplish through us what we are willing to yield to Him.
I. Steps to anointing:
1) Purify the Temple
Matt 21:12… Then Jesus went into the temple of God and drove out all those who bought and sold in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves.
The first step to anointing will always be to clean out the temple. When we allow sin into our life, we are foreigners to God. Cleansing brings us in right relationship.
Eph 2:19… Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God.
Ill: Moscow airport – Guard wanted medication
Language barrier
Concepts barrier
Values difference = my time vs. his medication
Atmosphere difference
Sin makes us “as foreigners” to God.
• Sin is not comfortable in a spiritual atmosphere
• Sin makes the bible is “as a foreign language” were the words could be read but not understood.
• Sin causing apprehension in the mind when God’s love and power in demonstrated through the Holy Spirit
20 having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone
21-22 in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.
Church we need to cleanse the temple, our mind, will and emotions. God’s anointing faithfully works through a clean heart. The Gifts of the spirit operate efficiently through a forgiven saint who washes the halls of their life often.
ILL = It would be great if we could clean our house one time and never have to cleanse it again.
• Vacuum the carpet…once
• Wash the dish… once
• Shine the sink…. once
• Iron the cloths… once.
Application:
• In the spiritual life, we think, I have all ready prayed about my life …..once
• I have confessed sin … once
• I have cleaned my spiritual house… once
…you are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.
We are being molded, constructed, changed and modified into a temple of the living God. All remodeling work requires clean up.
Yes, we all know the purification begins with John 3:16. That is the starting point of a life long remodeling project.
• When a we as believers refuse to follow the gentle leading of the Holy Spirit
• When we refuse to exercise right choices over sins temptations,
• When we choose not to enlist the power of the Holy Spirit,
Then we have been forced into a mundane average Christian experience that grows more mundane with each passing day.
The path to God’s anointing power starts with an attitude of continued cleansing of the temple.
2) Prayer:
Matt 21: 13 And He said to them, "It is written, ’My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a ’den of thieves.’"
There is no way we can ever over emphasize the importance of prayer. We do not have the ability to understand all that life brings our way. We need to pray about everything.
1 Sam 12:23… far be it from me that I should sin against the LORD in ceasing to pray for you... NKJV
Jer 33:2-3… ’Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.’ NKJV
Isa 55:6… Seek the LORD while He may be found,
Call upon Him while He is near. NKJV
Matt 7:7-9… "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. NKJV
Refusing to pray = no spiritual help
Refusing to pray = not needing God’s promises
Refusing to pray = weak and feeble Christians
Refusing to pray = tossed by wind of doctrine\
Refusing to pray = selfish attitudes and living
Refusing to pray = no financial blessings.
Prayer = knowing God’s will
Prayer = healing of the sick
Prayer = need met
Prayer = attitude of a servant
3) Power
Matt 14:14 Then the blind and the lame came to Him in the temple and He healed them.
True biblical Christianity is crying out to be part of the contemporary church in America. Mediocrity has invaded the Christians life and the sad thing is we accept being mediocre as normal.
We have continually accepted the lowest amount of God’s power needed to maintain what we have all ready received from God.
I need you to believe with me:
• That God’s power will not be forsaken
• That God’s people will so more than maintain what we have
• That Open Door will rise to the time set before us by establishing an anointed ministry of God.
Illustration: = Church History: Denomination Cycles
1. Pioneer time = established in homes staking out new territory. God’s power is present
2. Building Time = Churches are built, missions starts, congregation established. Miracles occur often
3. Maintainers = Power is replaced with programs, miracles and are wonders replaced with fellowships. A selfish choice replaces faithful prayer.
4. Decline = the churches decline in attendance and soon only a few faithful members are left.
Let Open Door pioneer new ministries, build new foundations. We cannot slip into the maintaining stage church life.
We must fall on our face before the all might God in humility.
4) Praise
Matt 21:15… But when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things that He did, and the children crying out in the temple and saying, "Hosanna to the Son of David!" they were indignant 16 and said to Him, "Do You hear what these are saying?"
And Jesus said to them, "Yes. Have you never read,
’Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants
You have perfected praise’?" NKJV
God’s power is released through a praying, cleansed temple then people begin to give praise the Lord.
• Praise brings God to our aid
• Praise releases a victorious friend against our enemies
• Praise brings us closer to God presence.
• Praise given by your lips delights the heart of God.
Review:
Purify
Prayer
Power
Praise
Altar:
As a church, what are you going to be?
• A Pioneer and builder
• Someone maintaining our decline
