The Anointing

Introduction: We often talk about "the anointing." We pray for the anointing of God on our lives, our ministries, our activities - everything. We recognize that we need the power and presence of the Holy Spirit. Our own strengths can sometimes be weaknesses because we so easily abandon our reliance on God. We must depend on God.

Zechariah 4:6 – “It’s not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit says the Lord.” We must minister in the power of God - under this "anointing" of the Holy Spirit. What is "the anointing." We talk about it all the time. We desire it. We pray for it. But what is it exactly?

The simplest definition of the anointing is to be "set apart." When God anoints something, He sets it apart for His use.

When a new king was anointed in Israel the prophet would take a horn full of oil and pour it over his head, and it would run right down his clothes. This person was "set apart" - to be used by God.

When we say someone "preached under a real anointing", or "that was an anointed song" - it means it was set apart. God had His hand on the preacher or the song and was moving. The anointing is really nothing other than the presence of God’s favor.

In the Old Testament, the Tabernacle and all the furniture and utensils that were used for worship had to be anointed before they could be used. They didn’t anoint with just any old oil - they had special oil for this anointing. We read about it in:

READ: Exodus 30:22-30

God prescribed the ingredients that were to be used, and how it was to be made. It was a capital offence in Israel to make this oil and use it for any other purpose - punishable by death!

For the church in today’s context, what does the anointing oil of the Old Testament symbolize?

The first ingredient was …

1. Liquid MYRRH

Myrrh was used to prepare bodies for burial. To get its beautiful sweetness you had to crush it.

Myrrh speaks of death. There is no anointing without death. If we want to know God’s anointing, we have to die to ourselves. Die to the old person that we once were. Die to our own agenda - our own desires and dreams. If we’re going to depend on God, we have to die to our own abilities and resources.

And if we don’t come to this place of dying to ourselves on our own, then God may have to bring circumstances into our lives to bring us to the place where we will die to ourselves.

The anointing will get you through some pain. Jesus received Myrrh 3 times in his life

• First at his birth.

• Second on the cross he was given tenure of myrrh to deaden the pain, but he rejected it because he had to endure all of our pain.

• Third when he was buried they brought spices of myrrh.

From birth through the pains of life all the way to death we are going to need an anointing of Myrrh because there will be a lot of pain in our lives. I wish I could tell you that if you come to Jesus you will never suffer again the hurts of this life and everything will be perfect, never a problem. Everyone that is anointed will go through pain.

There’s a story in Matthew 26 of the woman who brought an alabaster box of expensive perfume and anointed the feet and head of Jesus. And the fragrance filled the room. This was the kind of box you wouldn’t want to break – it was precious. But unless the outer box is broken, there can be no fragrance. The perfume is locked up to itself, never to fulfill its purpose.

Unless there is a breaking in our lives, the fragrance of Christ in us will never be smelt. Sometimes we hold our lives and control our lives which are so precious to us. We treasure it more than anything. But those things need to be broken.

We need to come to the place of dying to ourselves.

The second ingredient was …

2. Sweet CINNAMON

Cinnamon was used for flavoring, and it gave off a very pleasant smell. Its fragrance was beautiful in the Tabernacle because it counteracted the smell of the animal sacrifices.

Cinnamon speaks of sweetness. If you want God to anoint you to use you, there has to be a sweetness about your life. God will anoint you and use you if there’s a sweetness about you. The sweetness of Jesus.

This is what the fruit of the Spirit is all about. Read: Galatians 5:22-25.

The third ingredient was …