The Anointing & The Anointed: An Overview (Acts 10:38).

Text: "How God anointed Jesus Of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him." (Acts 10:38).

Introduction:

Anointing is the divine empowerment to do the unusual beyond the physical realm. It is the setting apart of individuals for divine and sacred purposes. It is God's choice, favor and endowment of spiritual power, gifts and authority, to the anointed. It is also the enforcement of the power of the Holy Spirit from God on the chosen. It is a representation of God's presence and power working through the anointed vessels. Above all, the anointing is the "intangibles" that God releases on whoever He decides to set aside for exploits in spiritual matters. The anointing is what makes you, you. It is your unique identifier. Essentially, the anointing cannot voluntarily be given out or lent. However, it can be lost!

Conversely the anointed (channels), are the human representatives or bearers of the anointing. Call them the "subjects" -they act as the Spirit moves them, while the anointing is the "object." The anointing is to the vessels what skill is to a footballer. It is this skill that makes him a threat to opponents. The anointing sets the vessels apart, enables him to make forays into the enemies' territories to set the captives free, as needed. It is the power to do the humanly impossible. Jesus Christ set the expectation when He said, "The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, because He has anointed Me...to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed." (Lk.4:18).

The Source & Channels Of Anointing:

The "true" anointing has just a Source - a genuine Source, and that is God. Our text explains it all, "how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth", and the intangibles that come with the anointing are the "Holy Spirit and power" (Acts 10:38). And God obviously is familiar with the background of anyone He chooses as the channels- through which the anointing is disseminated. For example "Jesus Christ of Nazareth" was traced to His beginning, roots, or origin - Nazareth. The channels are in multiples too, in the human realm. When it was time for David to be anointed , God did not only communicate with Samuel ahead of time, He equally disclosed David's background to Samuel, "tomorrow about this time I will send you a man from the land of Benjamin, and you shall anoint him..." (1 Sam. 9:16). The anointing in most cases, in the Old Testament, is symbolically represented by the oil poured on the chosen. The anointing oil validates the anointed as the chosen, "then Samuel took a flask of oil and poured it on his head" (1 Sam.10:1). Liberation from the forces of darkness is occasioned by reason of the anointing, which literally translates to God's power and divine intervention, at work. The anointing breaks the yoke of bondage and establishes unconditional freedom for the oppressed, "...and the yoke will be destroyed because of the anointing oil" (Is.10:27).

Use Of, & Mobility Of The Anointing & The Anointed:

The anointing is not for fun. It is not just for the gallery, either. The primary purpose of the anointing is to destroy the work of the devil and give glory to God, while the 'anointed' is always on the move as the case might be. Hence, the anointed is not confined or restricted to a particular location. Wherever the anointed holds sway, the presence of God, the "Source" is obviously at work, in full manifestation. The Source and the channel are one and inseparable entities. Having been anointed, Jesus of Nazareth did not stay in His location, He rather was on the move to put the anointing to work, "who went about doing good and healing those who were oppressed by the devil" (Acts 10:38). Jesus was not vindictive with the anointing either. And He never discriminated. He expectedly directed it to the right use. He was raised for this purpose,"for this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil" (1 Jhn. 3:8b).

Peter was one of the many channels of the anointing. In his ministerial itineraries, to places like Ephesus, Macedonia, Achaia, the "Source" used him in no small measure accomplishing His purpose in the early church, "now God worked unusual miracles by the hands of Paul, so that even handkerchiefs or aprons were brought from his body to the sick, and the diseases left them and the evil spirits went out of them." (Acts 19:11-12). The anointing, at the rate with which it was (and is still) mobile, takes the battles to the enemies domains and territories. The anointed cannot afford to be static. He must, of a necessity, be on the move, especially to places where there is a dire need for divine intervention. So much land to plough. Many people oppressed and in bondage, located and dispersed here and there, need at least an encounter with the anointing, to be delivered. The anointed proceeds wherever such cases abound, unhindered, for example as far as Lazarus' grave. Jesus had to literally walk to Lazarus' grave to raise him back to life. True and genuine anointing breaks barriers and frontiers to demon- infested locations and territories.

Qualifications Of The Anointed:

The anointed is unique in several ways. He cannot afford to be found wanting in his assignments. As a result, it is required of the anointed to be:

Of Good Reputation and Full Of The Holy Spirit.

An anointed must not fall short of integrity and good conduct. The main ingredient necessary for this task, is non-negotiable, and that is the Holy Spirit. With this, he confronts the kingdom of darkness as God's representative. It is equally expected of him to live a life that does not compromise God's character, and conduct as His ambassador , "therefore, brethren, seek out from among you seven men of good reputation and full of the Holy Spirit" (Acts 6:3). This was the pool that produced the first christian martyr, Stephen.

Full Of Wisdom.

Wisdom is one of the major tools we need to navigate this perverted and wicked world that we live in. The scriptures give ample instances of the need to be equipped with this essential ministerial tool. Wisdom, the scriptures say, "is the principal thing" (Pr.4:7). Ours is a complex world that we cannot fathom and handle, or overcome, with our human logic and reasoning, hence the need to seek the wisdom that is from "above" to overcome challenges and oppositions, "if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given him." (Jam.1:5). Whenever the need arose, Jesus Christ did not hesitate to apply wisdom to overcome obstacles.

Love Righteousness And Hate Iniquity:

God's eyes are too pure to behold iniquity. Therefore, as an anointed, it is of utmost importance and a matter of compulsion too, to steer clear of iniquity and live a life of complete holiness. The anointed's garment must be stainless, "you have loved righteousness and hated iniquity, therefore God, Your God has anointed You with the oil of gladness more than Your companions" (Heb.1:9). The oil on the anointed is too precious for the accompanying "gladness" to be dispensed with carelessness and carefree attitude in a disdainful manner. The presence of the anointing and the anointed leaves trail of gladness and joy at each location after each visit and exploit, "...for unclean spirits, crying with a loud voice, came out of many...and there was a great joy in that city." (Acts 8: 7-8). If you value the anointing of God in your life, you would do everything possible to not trade the attendant "gladness" for "sorrow." Outbursts of joy, rejoicing, divine release from bondages, and celebrations are the hallmarks of the true presence of the anointing. Oh what did Samson do?

Hate Wages of Unrighteousness:

Financial gains and pressure that would corrupt the anointing and blindfold the anointed should be avoided like a plague. Pressure to work under financial gravitations and manipulations is a sure and fast way to destruction in the life of an unwary anointed. It is a cheap avenue to straying away from the path of holiness, too. The scriptures give us an example of Balaam, a lead persona in this wise, "they have forsaken the right way and gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Beor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness." (2 Pet. 2: 15). Simply for staggering tokens of money, offers and raised offers, Balaam chose the way of destruction...

Abuse Of The Anointing:

Carelessness and failure to stick to God's directives as well as inability to keep oneself pious in, and unspotted from the world, are obvious red flags for the anointed. In addition, the moment the anointed jettisons self-discipline, then he is treading on the path of self-destruction. The anointed cannot afford to live a loose and carefree life, either, else, he will be at the mercy of opposing forces clamoring for his untimely destruction and swift disappearance from the scene. Failure to adhere to simple instructions from parents, guardians, and mentors, places the anointed on a steady steep of fast and irredeemable destruction. Samson said to his father, "get her for me, for she pleases me well." (Jud.14: 3). It is the ultimate desire of contrary forces to see the anointed fail and fall, anyway. At the end of the day, the Philistines chorused, "our god has delivered into our hands Samson our enemy."( Jud. 16: 23). Strict caution is the rule, for an anointed that wants to live a victorious life.

What The Anointing Is Not!

It is as simple as that the anointing is not a commercial product. Hence, the anointing is NOT for sale! The anointing is a good and perfect gift that comes only from God, to whomever He chooses. Where there is genuine power definitely there will be imitations. Situations like this are what the genuinely called of God encounter practically in the course of their ministrations, from time to time, even in our contemporary world. It was in the course of such exploits in ministry that Peter encountered Simon, a sorcerer, who, prior to meeting Peter, had held the city of Samaria ransom. Seeing that with the laying on of hands by the apostles, the oppressed were set free, he offered money in exchange to be so equipped. To Simon, this was a gift he could purchase for a token. He apparently mistook the Holy Spirit for his perverted sorcery-in-trade. His intention was to strengthen his clientele in his trade, with high and exorbitant fees.

In addition, the self-made "anointed" Simon was likely to be vindictive, which the anointing is NOT ! Yes, the anointing is not vindictive. And it is not racial either, - Jesus Christ is the LORD of all (Acts 10:36). The main drive of the anointing is to liberate the oppressed, not to compound their problems or pursue vendetta. From Simon's desperate desire to obtain the Holy Spirit for a token, it was not unlikely he would carry out a massive offensive onslaught against his contemporaries in the sorcery world, aside from increased financial gravitations from his many clients. Simon's instinct and foresight acquiring the precious "power" were an indication that he possibly would NOT only fortify himself against anyone contending against him, but also would embolden him to hold his city to ransom, the more, at will. To the extent that he would turn to become the "Goliath of the New Testament", unchecked, if prior to this encounter with Peter, it was affirmed that he "...astonished the people of Samaria, claiming that he was someone great, to whom they all gave heed, from the least to the greatest." (Acts 8:10). But for the genuine anointing that turned his life around, Simon would have gone progressively on the path of destruction.

SIDEBAR:

• Anointing is a representation of God's presence and power working through the anointed vessel.

  
  

• The anointed vessels are the human representatives and bearers of the anointing.

  
  

• Liberation from the forces of darkness is occasioned by reason of the anointing.

  
  

• Wherever the anointed holds sway, the presence of God- the "Source", is obviously at work, in full manifestation.

  
  

• True and genuine anointing breaks barriers and frontiers to demon - infested locations and territories.

  
  

Conclusion:

In our world that is spiritually complex, the role of the Power of God cannot be overemphasized, for us to have a new lease of life. God was fully aware of this, and hence, He deployed the Holy Spirit to rule over the intimidating power of darkness, to not only neutralize it, but to possibly get rid of its dominion, outrightly, from the space of men.

With that, He anointed His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, as the main Channel, with the Holy Spirit and with Power to conquer the power of darkness. Expectedly, everywhere He went, signs, wonders, and miracles, trailed His ministry.

Within the human domain, He assigned and equipped other human channels, as representatives to confront and deal with spiritual matters as they bother in the human space; "and He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors, and teachers" (Eph.4:11). With these various offices and callings, these vessels are anointed as the human representatives that hold forth for the "Source", to preach good tidings to the poor. In addition, the channels were raised to heal the brokenhearted, proclaim liberty to the captives, and opening of the prison to those who are bound.

And truly, in this our generation, the impacts of these "vessels" in the areas working out the plans of God, are phenomenal. But for these "faithful" ones, ours would probably have become a world dominated and consumed by evil forces! May the name of our LORD God be praised forever. Amen!

PRAYERS:

• LORD, I thank You for Your grace upon me that has set me apart in this generation for Your divine mandate.

• LORD, continue to work "unusual miracles" by my hand, to the glory of Your name.

• LORD, Your oil of gladness on my head shall NOT turn to "annoyance."

• LORD, I shall NOT "disconnect" from You, my "Source" .

• LORD, I pray I shall NOT be a "grinder" in the prison of my enemies and I shall NOT perform for the enemies of the gospel (Samson on my mind).

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