5/10/2013
For several years now God has been highlighting this verse to me and telling me that this applies to me as well. It is a little confronting to see yourself like Jesus but it says that when He returns we will know Him because we will be like Him.
Most churches move in one or more of these basic areas but there are few that move in all six. The sixth is more an overarching principle that applies to all we do. This teaching probably forms the basis of our charter and mandate, that is this teaching coupled with the great commission. It is time to put rubber to the road in a way that we get traction and handling. The time of unity of the body of Christ based on lowest common denominator is over. It is time to build unity based on collaboration and fulfilling all the duties and functions He has ordained for His church and His kingdom. Judgement begins at the house of God. The Jew first, then the Greek. Jerusalem, Judea and the uttermost parts of the earth. We need to get this message into the body of Christ so that they will stop being so fragmented and ineffectual in their efforts. Then we can go outside. That is the plan.
I would like to break this down into the respective tasks this anointing is given for, but first I must reiterate my definition of anointing. The anointing is the power of God on a person or thing in order to achieve a particular task or function. If we are anointed to a task then the power to perform it is wrapped up in and supplied by that anointing. If we are called to it (and anointed) then we have the God-supplied ability to do it.
Now let's look at this verse and break it down. I also want to look at this in terms of past and present movements and to see where it is already being done and where it needs to be introduced. There is only one person of the Trinity called the Holy Spirit. Though in Revelation it speaks of the seven spirits of God and the seven candlesticks for the purposes of this study we must consider that although He manifests Himself in many ways we are dealing with Him and not an impersonal power source although He does allow us to minister His essence as if He was. He is amazing. What I am trying to say is that although there are different anointings it is the one Spirit and each of those anointings will still embody and express the person and character of God and as such there are many overlaps and similarities between them.
There are no hard and fast lines here. He was sent to be a comforter, power to be His witnesses, the down payment on our inheritance, counsellor and many more things but in this context it is clear that the purpose of the Anointing of the Messiah (Anointed One) is to bring wholeness until He returns and then the second part of this prophecy in Isaiah kicks in and He will punish and eliminate, with extreme prejudice, those who have rejected this first purpose.
We are anointed to:
- PREACH THE GOSPEL TO THE POOR
- HEAL THE BROKENHEARTED
- TO PROCLAIM LIBERTY TO THE CAPTIVES
- RECOVERY OF SIGHT TO THE BLIND
- SET AT LIBERTY THOSE WHO ARE OPPRESSED
- TO PROCLAIM THE ACCEPTABLE YEAR OF THE LORD
Prosperity/Godly financial management - Funding the kingdom, not just personal blessing.
Spiritual healing/counselling/pastoral care - As we bring the power of the Spirit of God to bear on a person's life in conjunction with the word of God they will be encouraged to forgive and receive forgiveness and begin to understand the love of God and how different it is from the concepts of love we get in the world. As we use repentance to plug into God we avail ourselves of unlimited healing power.
Healing - re-establishing rightful Christian boundaries. Rejecting satan's limitations and the expectations that the world has to put us in a box. Adopting victorious living in Christ. We are set free to rule as kings and priests to our God.
Evangelism/teaching - This is twofold. Firstly we need to bring people out of the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light. It is only when someone has been born again (and filled with the Holy Ghost) that they can recognise and comprehend the word of God. Secondly we need to break off the blindness that has settled on the body of Christ due to unbelief and bad teaching. "The god of this world has blinded the minds of those who don't believe".
Deliverance / Spiritual Warfare - "The weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty for the pulling down of strongholds...". Jesus went about preaching and healing all those who were oppressed of the devil.
Grace in a prophetic age - we are coming into a time of great grace but it has an end date. God will not always strive with man. Today, when you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts as they did in the wilderness. The word did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in the hearts of those that heard it. The message of true grace, redemptive power, sanctification and mobilisation.
Posted by Garth Clarkson at 01:39
TUESDAY, 29 APRIL 2014
No comments:
Post a Comment