Anointing?

[taco_harvell]

Anointing? What is it? How important is it? What does it mean to be "anointed"? Do only preachers get anointed? Have we somehow misunderstood what it really means to be anointed? Is it possible to be saved and not be anointed? If we are filled with the Holy Ghost shouldn't we be walking in the anointing of GOD daily? What do you think?

[Lynx]

Woooo boy, that's a topic and a half!  The term "anointing" depends a lot on context, not to mention on who is using the term, and many meanings have changed between bible times and now. 

Unfortunately I have to take my grandmother to the nursing home shortly and I don't have time to go into it right now.  I predict Roscoe will beat me to the punch, so I'll just come back later and read what he wrote.   

[Roscoe]

Woooo boy, that's a topic and a half!  The term "anointing" depends a lot on context, not to mention on who is using the term, and many meanings have changed between bible times and now. 

Unfortunately I have to take my grandmother to the nursing home shortly and I don't have time to go into it right now.  I predict Roscoe will beat me to the punch, so I'll just come back later and read what he wrote.   

Hmmm, don't really have time right now, so Isaac, it's on you.... Perhaps Mini, Newsman, or NewLife 101 would be better equipped to insert their thoughts.

Off the cuff, without getting deep into it- I think it is very important. I also agree that the term depends on context to a degree. One other thing to throw out there- different levels of annointing? For instance, was Elisha annointed before he recieved Elijah's mantle? I might get to study a bit and flesh out a response later today. Maybe one of the aforementioned brothers will chime in with their thoughts....

[taco_harvell]

1John 2:27 But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him.

Wouldn't this scripture appear to tell us that the anointing is the Holy Ghost? If so shouldn't all Christians operate in the anointing?

[Scott]

I am in a bit of a hurry today, but the Annointing is for all of us - it is not limited to the preacher!

[The Purple Fuzzy]

I agree with Scott.

[Raven180]

Here is an article from June, 2009 that I wrote for my church's Sunday bulletin. Maybe it will help/shed some light on the subject? God bless, Aaron.

How to Acquire God's Anointing

We hear about it all the time. Preachers talk about it constantly. Music either has it or it doesn't. What is it? It's the Anointing.

It seems, too, that people either have it or they don't. For example, a preacher may talk about being "under the anointing", or another person may talk about how they could "hear" the anointing in a certain singer's voice. But preaching and music aren't the only areas where anointing seems to "flow", either.

There is the anointing oil when the elders of a church are called to pray for the sick (James 5:14). The Bible also talks about the anointing that destroys every yoke and also the anointing oil of gladness (Isaiah 10:27 and Psalm 45:7, respectively). We know, too, that Old Testament priests and kings were anointed. Even the Lord Jesus was anointed by the Holy Spirit (Acts 10:38). In fact, Christ means to be anointed as a symbol of being God's Chosen Vessel.

So why is it that people either have it or they don't? Furthermore, what if someone knows that they aren't anointed? What can be done about it?

Psalm 133:2-3. 2. ...the precious ointment upon the head, that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron's beard: that went down to the skirts of his garments;
3. As the dew of Hermon, and as the dew that descended upon the mountains of Zion: for there the LORD commanded the blessing, even life for evermore.

According to Exodus 28:41, we know this verse in Psalms is talking about Aaron, the High Priest, how he was anointed by his brother Moses to enter and be consecrated to the ministry of the priesthood. Moses performed this anointing at the behest of God.

The first thing we see, then, is that the anointing is related to ministry, consecration, and God's command. Being "anointed" is not automatic. God must, in His sovereignty, permit someone to receive His anointing by commanding them to minister and by consecrating them onto Himself.

So, if someone is asking themselves how to be anointed, the first thing that must be recognized is that God is the author of our anointing. He decides who gets it and who doesn't. But is God capricious? Is the anointing predestined to be on some but not on others? Is there no hope of ever being anointed if one has so far never been?

To answer, let's again go to Scripture to determine why God chose the descendants of the tribe of Levi (i.e. Aaron, and his sons) to be anointed.

Malachi 2:5-7. 5. My covenant was with him of life and peace; and I gave them to him for the fear wherewith he feared me, and was afraid before my name.
6. The law of truth was in his mouth, and iniquity was not found in his lips: he walked with me in peace and equity, and did turn many away from iniquity.
7. For the priest's lips should keep knowledge, and they should seek the law at his mouth: for he is the messenger of the LORD of hosts.

Here are some qualities that Levi and his descendants possessed:

They feared God and His Name. They spoke the Law of Truth. They did not speak sinfully. They had peace with God. They treated others as equals (i.e. no favoritism). They "won souls", as it were, by turning people away from iniquity. They preserved knowledge, acting as lawful messengers of the Lord.

Is it possible then, that a person must have these seven characteristics in order to be anointed? It's likely. But something else is required as well.

Deuteronomy 28:40. Thou shalt have olive trees throughout all thy coasts, but thou shalt not anoint thyself with the oil; for thine olive shall cast his fruit.

This verse is part of a list of curses against God's people should they ever decide to disobey Him. So we see that even if a person is trying, on the surface, to cultivate the ability to be anointed (i.e. having olive trees in their "coasts"), they won't receive it if there is disobedience in their life.

What to do about this? Jesus gives us the answer in Matthew 26:42. Having entered into the garden of Gethsemane to pray, Jesus spoke these words:

"O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done."

Gethsemane is an old Chaldean word. It means oil-press. It's the place where the olive was crushed until the oil flowed from its broken body. Gethsemane is the place where true anointing occurs. Gethsemane is where, having been totally broken, a person is anointed by God, to experience death with Jesus on the cross and totally lose their life for His sake.

In conclusion, God's will must utterly crush and break us, even past the point of death to our self, to our will, and to our own way of doing things. So, how do we acquire God's anointing? The answer is waiting at Gethsemane.

[Lynx]

Here's the short version of what I believe God's anointing is, because it's 3:00 in the morning. 

Anointing is God's power behind what you do.  It is only present if you are doing what God wants you to do at the present time.  (Just for example) one might have a great singing voice, but there are enough singers in the church right now and God wants the person to be doing something else, like helping in the nursery or the sound booth.  If a person tries to push his way into the lineup of people slated to sing in the service anyway, he might put on a good show... but everyone will be able to tell it's just a show.  God's power of conviction, encouragement, peace or whatever the song is trying to convey will be absent and it will just be a song.  Again, just as an example. 

A person might also be anointed to do some things at some times and not at others.  One might be anointed to be an evangelist for a time, then he might be needed at a church to be the assistant pastor or a Sunday School teacher.  Trying to stay in what you have been doing because it is what you know, what is comfortable, is the single most prevalent reason I see for people to lose God's anointing. 

G'night y'all.  Maybe someone else will say it better by the time I get up tomorrow.

[taco_harvell]

Taught on this today. Will add more if I can find the time this week. We all need the anointing.