UNDERSTANDING THE ANOINTINGPastor Kenneth Jones, Practical Living Ministry

www.practicallivingministry.org

BEFORE WE BEGINTHEREFORE LET us go on and get past the elementary stage in the teachings and doctrine of Christ (the Messiah), advancing steadily toward the completeness and perfection that belong to spiritual

maturity. Let us not again be laying the foundation of repentance andabandonment of dead works (dead formalism) and of the faith [by

which you turned] to God, 2 With teachings about purifying, the laying on of hands, the resurrection from the dead, and eternal judgment andpunishment. [These are all matters of which you should have been fully aware long, long ago.] 3 If indeed God permits, we will [now] proceed

[to advanced teaching].

• The teaching of the anointing I feel is one of these advanced teaching. However, I want to take some time to address the above scripture

PUSH FOR MATURITY

• "Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection..." God wants you to mature in Christ – Do you feel that is the focus of the Church today? Maturity in Christ?

• What is the level of maturity that God wants from you? A perfect faith whichis developed by obeying and doing the Word of God (Luke 18:8) to the point that we are developed and perfected in our inner man and blessed in our soul• Ephesians 4:13 - Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of

the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:

• Maturity is when your understanding of truth and your actions are one and the same. God’s truth is aligned with your actions and way of thinking

• This has to be spiritual maturity – What is spiritual maturity?

PUSHING FORWARD

• God wants you to leave the elementary principles of Christ -- to leave, (not abandon), the elementary principles about Christ. God wants you to progress from the basic foundation of these principles. What principles?

• Repentance, Faith, Baptism, the Laying on of Hands, the Resurrection, and Eternal Judgment.

• Doctrine Required: There are essentials to the faith that the Bible states are non-negotiable: The deity of Christ, the resurrection, salvation by grace.

• Unfortunately, this has become such a difficult task. Why is that?

• Lack of

STUCK WITH THE ELEMENTARY TEACHINGS

• Reasons we have been unable to progress• Lack of unity of Doctrine and Fellowship– Acts 2:42-44: And they continued

stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers. 43 And fear came upon every soul: and many wonders and signs were done by the apostles. 44 And all that believed were together, and had all things common.

• Too much desire for the World: 1 John 2:15 - Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. Through secularization, false teachings and a carnal lust for worldly things, we have become divided in purpose and principle.

• Biblical Prediction of “Departing from the Faith:” 1 Timothy 4:1 - Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; Complacency, Compromise, the need for entertainment, the need to be ‘relevant” and lack of accountability has left many in the body of Christ “hindered” and nonproductive.

HOW IS TODAY’S CHRISTIAN INFLUENCED TODAY?

Tele-Evangelists

E-Church

TV and Internet Media

School SystemsGroup Studies

ConferencesChurch

Fellowship

While all of these are good, we must

be careful to ensure sound doctrine

is being taught and upheld.

Books and

Publications

Mentoring & Fellowship

SPIRITUAL MATURITY• Spiritual maturity is a process that begins when a person accepts Jesus

Christ as Savior. He or she is born again of the Holy Spirit and then chooses to live "in Christ.". The Apostle Paul said that spiritual growth is an ongoing process of sanctification to Christ-likeness.

• Christian maturity results from a careful reordering of one’s priorities, changing over from pleasing self to pleasing God and learning to obey God.

• Through spiritual maturity godly fruit is developed, spiritual discernment is increasing, understanding of God’s purpose and plan; increasing in the knowledge and wisdom of God; and being fruitful in every good work

• Movement from “Self-ish” and “Self focused” to “Self control”

• From “Self Love” to compassion for God’s people

Ephesians 1:17,18; 2 Peter 1:5-8; Galatians 5:22,23; Jude 1:1

WHAT ARE DEAD WORKS

• Works done without Faith in God. Usually involves rituals over relationship basedupon faith and trust in God

• The Jews believed that keeping God’s laws was the only means of remaining upright with God.

• These “dead works” are the so-called “good works” (whether moral or ceremonial) which men did — and still do — to make themselves acceptable to God. They are “dead” because they are not the product of regeneration or spiritual life, but the mere attempt on the part of unregenerate sinners to justify themselves before God.

• So many teachings are forgetting the process of Repentance and Salvation creating moral citizens who do activities for God, but has nothing to do with true salvation and works of faith.

HOW DO WE ESCAPE OR LEAVE BEHIND DEAD WORKS?

• By abandoning those actions that lead to death.

• We leave behind those behaviors that do not produce life.

• We don’t go back to the things that once condemned us.

• Not getting so caught up into rituals or religious activities without any thought of the meaning

• Forgoing activities that are compromising and considered to be more “culturally” relevant than spiritual

MOVING ON TO MATURITY

• The elementary principles (or doctrines) of Christ are the foundation on which our walk with Christ is built.

• Repentance may be properly called the foundation of the work of God in the soul of man, because by it we forsake sin, and turn to God to find mercy.

• The purpose of knowing these principles and to progress is to avoid apostasy like we are currently seeing in the church today

• If you have been in the body of Christ for some time then it is time for you to stop lingering and being halted between two opinions

SCRIPTURE

Isaiah 10:27 - And it shall come to pass in that day, that his burden shall be taken away from off thy shoulder, and his yoke from off thy neck,

and the yoke shall be destroyed because of the anointing.

Luke 4:18 - The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the

brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,

FOCUS OF STUDY

• Every believer is anointed

• The Anointing of God in a believer is for a purpose and a work

• The Anointing is provided by the Spirit of God

• The Anointing represents God’s presence, power, and influence

• There are many fallacies and “mis-truths” regarding the anointing

THE ANOINTING

• This scriptures speak to a historical point in time where the Assyrians had imposed heavy oppression upon the Jews but would be broken by Hezekiah, the king who had been anointed with oil.

• Because of the presence and power of the Holy Spirit among Judah (represented by the anointing oil), the yoke of bondage would be destroyed.

• Scholars relate the anointing oil should really be seen as because of the anointed one, the Messiah, Jesus Christ. He is the source of our victory and freedom from the yoke of bondage!

BECAUSE OF THE ANOINTING

• Any type of bondage, oppression, sin, satanic attack, etc. can only be broken by the Spirit of God

• 1 Corinthians 2:4,5 - And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power: That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.

• Just as God promised Judah that He would deliver them through the hands of one who was anointed by God (Hezekiah), He still uses men and women that He anoints to carry out His purposes and minister to His people

WHAT DOES ANOINTING MEAN?

• The New Testament Greek words for “anoint” are chrio, which means “to smear or rub with oil” and, by implication, “to consecrate for office or religious service”; and aleipho, which means “to anoint.”

• Consecrating an individual unto Jesus and furnishing him with the necessary powers for its administration (anointed for a particular ministry gift, office, or calling)

• In Bible times, people were anointed with oil to signify God’s blessing or call on that person’s life (Exodus 29:7; Exodus 40:9; 2 Kings 9:6; Ecclesiastes 9:8; James 5:14).

• Enduing Christians with the gifts of the Holy Spirit

• People were anointed with oil as a practice of consecration• You must be consecrated unto the Lord to operate in His anointing

ALL CHRISTIANS HAVE AN ANOINTING

1 John 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.

• The anointing which is God’s presence upon a believer’s life. All Christians have the presence of God’s Spirit within them.

• For example, because of the anointing of the Holy Spirit given to all believers, they possess the resources for knowing the truth.

• Abideth in you – The anointing operates as an influence on your heart and life, which permanently abides with you, and will keep you from dangerous error.

UNAWARE CHRISTIANS

• Most Christians are unaware that they are anointed. They usually consider that the anointing is a mystical power that only a few are allowed to weave

• We must not confuse the anointing with personal charisma and talents

• A certain song of preaching style may send chills or stir feelings, but it doesn’t mean that an anointing exists

• There is also a corporate anointing that exists when believers come together in faith and unity