Luke 4:18-19 says, “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, To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.”

When Jesus came out of the wilderness, He would come in a synagogue and say this scripture. The wilderness is what produces the anointing. The problem with the church is that we have really misdefined what the anointing is. The anointing is not a outward appearance of holiness, neither is it the ability to shout, sing, dance or preach. You can sway a crowd and never be filled with the unction of the Spirit of the Living God. “Anoint” in Hebrew is “mashach”, which means, “to rub with oil, consecrate, or paint.” I like the word “paint,” because when you paint something, its original color dissipates. Unless you had seen it in its previous state, you would have never guessed what it originally looked like. That is what happens when someone is painted with the anointing of God. The old you dies, and a new you is birthed. People cannot recognize the old person that use to lie, steal, cheat and gossip. They see a person with a glow of God’s glory illuminating through their very countenance. If there is no change or elevation in God, the anointing is stale, valueless or invalid. The paint is only chipped away by sin, losing its beauty and new appearance. The closer you are to God, the greater the anointing grows! Some may never forget the old life you use to live, but the Holy Spirit of God brings the change, and God forgets those things which He has forgiven so you can move forward into God’s perfect plan. As people start seeing you the new color, the old remembrance eventually begins to fade till they forget how you use to live. We must abide in the change and refuse to look back because the anointing prophetically utters change, and it symbolizes the difference from the old to the new.

 

Another Hebrew term is “yishar”, which means, “used to produce light.” (Strong’s Hebrew and Greek Dictionaries) If there is not anointing, there is light to reach out to a darkened generation and draw them to the saving grace of Almighty God. I like Frank Damazio’s definition of the “anointing”:  “The anointing of God’s Spirit is the overflowing of the Messiah’s divine life of holiness into a human life which has been consecrated to God through personal cross of Christ’s experiences which make it spiritually rich and thus able to impart effectively the light and fragrance of God’s Word into the lives of others, producing in them deep spiritual satisfaction and obvious Christian fruitfulness.” (P. 285*) It is God’s Spirit in a prayer closet that brings an anointing. It is not something that can be merely received by just someone of a superior anointing laying hands on a person. It must be earned. A price must be paid. It comes through a consecration and commitment to God. It is derived from a Spirit of holiness resting upon a believer!

 

People often confuse organized religion and entertainment with the anointing of God. Because someone is a great orator, can buck and shout, or can sing beautifully does not automatically qualify them for the anointing. The anointing breaks yokes and changes lives. It leads to complete deliverance in an individual’s life. Isaiah 10:27 says, “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.” If the message does not break yokes, but only approves a sinful lifestyle and seeks to make one only “feel” better than than “be” better, then it is not the anointing. It liberates and brings deliverance, which is why Jesus quotes Isaiah 61:1-3 when He came out of the wilderness. He was anointing to bring freedom and deliverance, to declare permanent Jubilee’s for those who believe on Him. The anointing can do what pure talent cannot do. It is the reason why God anointed David, a little shepherd boy who was the second youngest child of Jesse, as king over Israel. His managing of the sheep was only preparation for his anointing to manage a nation!

 

The anointing will not lie, but it only speaks the truth, a truth that will set people free. 1 John 2:27 says, “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.” John 8:32, 36 says, “32And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free…36If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.” Someone who bears the anointing preaches the truth, for the Spirit of God cannot dwell in an unclean temple. The anointing teaches and proclaims the truth. It lives in the truth, and it makes on free indeed. It brings conviction that leads one to freedom and faith in God. It simply edifies. It will never fall on a hypocritical life, but only upon a pure heart that is zealous for God’s glory. In other words, there is a price to pay when it comes to the anointing. It is not something that is to be marketed to attract a crowd or exalt a person. It is not something that is to manufactured. People put the anointing in a box. For example, in one service, a person might sing a song like, “Give Me Faith,” and numerous people might get saved, healed or miraculously delivered. That was a divine song at a divine appointment for God to work a divine breakthrough. However, the key was not in the song, but in the unity, faith and hunger of the people for more of God. If you think that same song will bring deliverance in every service, you have limited God and put His anointing power in a box. There is no magic formula in God. It only takes faith, birthed from a persistent relationship with God, that results in healings and miracles!