January 30, 2011
“20 Command the Israelites to bring you clear oil of pressed olives for the light so that the lamps may be kept burning.” (Exodus 27:20) NIV
What is the anointing? The anointing is the very presence of God in our lives. Without the anointing we are powerless and ineffective. In the Old Testament we see many examples of men that were anointed with oil before walking in their call. The Levites were anointed, Saul was anointed before becoming a king; David also was anointed before becoming King. The anointing is the supernatural power that we all need, not only to be able to walk in the call of our ministry effectively, but also in order to be able to carry out the demands of our Christian live. Jesus was and is our example; He is known as Jesus the Christ; the word Christ means: “The anointed one.”
In Exodus 27, we see a few hidden secrets concerning this anointing; we must remember that the Old Testament is the shadow of the reality of the New Testament. In this verse, God is talking to Moses and He establishes a few very important points concerning the anointing:
- Every believer is responsible for their own anointing: The anointing can’t be delegated. We can’t survive out of the anointing of another man; we must pursue that anointing ourselves; we must desire that kind of anointed life. Jesus was more than a miracle worker; Jesus was sinless and perfect. That kind of power is available for each believer. Do you want it?
- The anointing is the result of the pressures, pains and tribulations of life: The Bible tells us in this verse: “Command the Israelites to bring you clear oil of hard-pressed olives…” The word press means: “Subject to a lot of pressure and lacking sufficient resources.” The anointing will cost you your life; the anointing can’t be given to you in seminary or by a big-shot minister laying hands on you in a conference. The anointing comes out of pressure, tribulation, hardship, problems, etc.
- We can’t be the light of the world if we are not anointed: It is the anointing; that pure oil, that produces the light. It is impossible to be the light of the world if we are lacking the anointing of God.
- The anointing can’t be a one-day or once-in-a-while thing; the anointing must be a daily thing: The Bible tells us here that: “the lamps may be kept burning.” This is a typology of the way we ought to go after God and after the power of His anointing. Every day we ought to live powerful lives; that is the example of Christ for the whole world.
Beloved, we need the anointing; it is essential in our Christian lives; it is the power to do, the power to say, the power to resist, the power to stay, the power to overcome, the power to leave, the power of restoration, the power to speak, the power to sing, the power to be quiet, the power to confront, the power to overcome, the power to move forward, the power to write, and the power to be all that God has call us to be.
I like to think God’s presence in the Tabernacle as a gift that God proffers to his people. These chapters in Exodus invites us to imagine the beauty and kindness of a God who desires to abide in our midst. Indeed the Tabernacle serves as the central focus of the newly redeemed community. The abundance of gold and fine linens is a testimony to God’s gracious provision to God’s people as they left Egypt (Exod 12:35-36). Now the community offers its gifts willingly and abundantly for glory of God.
But don’t miss a key feature. The community gives of its gifts and talents to construct the Tabernacle. This is a reminder that Exodus is not merely about freedom from illegitimate service to Egypt. It is a freedom for the service of God. This begins with the construction of the means for the presence of God to abide and guide God’s people for God’s wider missional purposes for the world.
I don’t know about you beloved, but I am determined to be where God is. In every phase of ministry that God has for me, I am determined to fulfill God’s purposes for my life. My heart’s desire is to be on the cutting edge of what God is doing. And I certainly don’t want to miss out on or be kept from the glory of God’s power!
What did Jesus give to His followers when He prayed, “The glory which You have given Me I have given to them…” (John 17:22). There’s more to that verse, of course, but the point here is that – amazing as this is to contemplate – His glory is now ours, and, as we saw, Scripture makes it clear that His glory is linked with His power. They are inseparable. How that power manifests is manifold, but we cannot discount the felt-evidence of that power as is revealed so many times in Scripture. Paul, a man in the know about the things of God prayed fervently, “that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith” (Eph 3:!6, 17). Where Jesus is, His power is. His mercy and goodness is, His redemptive power is. And sometimes we can feel it! But as believers in Jesus, we want more than just a feeling. We want more of Jesus. We want more revelation of HIM, to truly know HIM as HE is.
And when we want His “power to do, the power to say, the power to resist, the power to stay, the power to overcome, the power to leave, the power of restoration, the power to speak, the power to sing, the power to be quiet, the power to confront, the power to overcome, the power to move forward, the power to write, and the power to be all that God has call us to be” it is not for our own benefit, but for the benefit those around us.
We’re not just looking for an experience, we want to know the Lover of our souls more deeply, and to love Him completely. Because the more we know and love Him, the more He can love others through us and share in His redemptive work as His co-workers. What a privilege!