FRESH OIL
Feeling tired and worn out? Grab a cuppa, take a deep breath, and enjoy a moment to read this post excerpted from Ps Phil's message at Presence 2014 about the revitalizing power of fresh oil.
Psalm 92:10 But my horn You have exalted like a wild ox; I have been anointed with fresh oil.
You rise to the level of anointing upon you. What was a good and anointed yesterday can become the biggest blockage to what God is bringing tomorrow. Abide in prayer and the Word, stay in church and you will continue to abide in the anointing. Your life and legacy will reflect the measure of anointing upon you.
1. Oil brings moisture to dry things.
When you have dry skin, you moisturise with oil and rubbing oil renews dry, cracked leather. Many believers are dry in their spirit because they have not soaked in the anointing. His oil provides "fat" in our bones, without it, we become brittle, sensitive, and are easily hurt.
2. Oil brings out flavour in foods.
With the anointing upon us, our personality becomes clear, unique and enhanced. Christianity is thought of as dull, grey, colourless but nothing could be further from the truth. With the anointing, we are colourful beings and living as God's creation.
3. Oil is victorious and joyful.
It is a custom in Eastern countries to anoint one another with oil. Oil is associated with joy, celebration, and victory. In Eastern culture, if you accomplished a great victory or fulfilled a great purpose, there was a celebration. A great crowd would gather, pouring oil over everyone's head, with a bounty of wine, food, dancing, laughter and gifts for all.
Once Jesus had completed the greatest feat of all time - conquering death, defeating sin and the devil through the Cross and being seated at the right hand of God - He poured out the Holy Spirit. All people were called upon to join in the celebration, He poured oil, supplied new wine, and great revelation of the Word of God which is our nourishment and brings laughter, joy, and gifts for all who gather.
There is a need for revival in our lives. This only comes through fresh oil and anointing, where the anointing flows with the Holy Spirit.
Characteristics of the Anointing
1. The anointing is a tangible, spiritual force
Mark 5:30 And Jesus, immediately knowing in Himself that power had gone out of Him, turned around in the crowd and said, "Who touched my clothes?"
The anointing is a tangible force, the woman in Mark chapter 5 felt the anointing come upon her as Jesus felt the anointing go out from Him.
It is an anointing in our home and a weight of glory on our body as we walk through the day. Glory translated into Hebrew is literally 'weight, importance'. When we give glory to God, we give importance to Him.
2. It sets people free
Isaiah 10:27 ...the yoke will be destroyed because of the anointing oil.
Religion means 'to bind' and the anointing sets us free from religiosity. Observing ceremonies and rituals is not pleasing to God, it is superstitious.
3. The different kinds of anointing
Luke 4:18 The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent 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
- to heal and set free: Jesus was anointed to preach, heal, and release people from bondage
- to strengthen: The Spirit came upon Samson, giving him tremendous supernatural strength
- to govern and lead: The anointing rested upon Moses to govern the nation of Israel. Gideon blew the trumpet in Judges 6:34 and gathered the Abiezrites for war
- to prophesy: Balaam prophesied over the people in Numbers 24:2
- to bring miracles: Elijah worked many miracles through the power of the anointing. Elisha saw this and asked for a double anointing in 2 Kings 2:9. This means the anointing can be measured, doubled in another
- to help and assist: In 1 Chronicles 12:18, the Spirit came upon Amasai to help King David
- to bring wisdom: Prophesies in Isaiah 11 told that Jesus would be anointed to be wise, understanding, and counsel people. He was strong for the task and able to enjoy a relationship with God.
- to cause success: The Isrealites were successful in their occupation, agriculture, because the Spirit rested on them in their farming, as told in Isaiah 32:15, "Until the Spirit is poured upon us from on high, and the wilderness becomes a fruitful field, and the fruitful field is counted as a forest"
- to raise children: The Holy Spirit can anoint you to raise your children in the way of the Lord, as Isaiah 59:21 declares, " this is My covenant with them: My Spirit who is upon you, and My words which I have put in your mouth, shall not depart from your mouth, nor from the mouth of your descendants, nor from the mouth of your descendants' descendants'"
- to see vision: The anointing give us visions and dreams for the future
- to bear fruit: The anointing came upon Mary and enabled her to conceive a child while still a virgin, as told in Luke 1:35.
- to witness: It is the anointing that enables us to effective witnesses for Christ. The anointing enables us to fulfil our life calling, and make up the body of Christ
These various anointings mix over our lives and we find ourselves able to do all kinds of things well. Refresh yourself in the Spirit and He will enable you to live your life well.
See you in church!
