GUARD THE ANOINTING

The anointing of God has to do with His supernatural, divine enablement given to us to do the works He has called us to do.   The anointing oil was first mentioned in Exodus 30:22-25- Moreover, the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:  “Also take for yourself quality spices – five hundred shekels of liquid myrrh, half as much sweet-smelling cinnamon, two hundred and fifty shekels of sweet-smelling cane, five hundred shekels of cassia and a hin of olive oil.  And you shall make from these a holy anointing oil, an ointment compounded according to the art of the perfumer.  It shall be a holy anointing oil.  Verse 32- “It shall not be poured on man’s flesh; nor shall you make any other like it, according to its composition.  It is holy, and it shall be holy to you.”

If you are a born-again believer in Jesus Christ, then there is an anointing upon you from God.  II Corinthians 1:22-23- tells us, Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and has anointed us is God, who also has sealed us and given us the Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.

Our anointing is also verified in I John 2:20- But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you know all things.   Verse 27 continues and says, “But the anointing which you have received from Him abides in you.”

An anointing on priests and kings was a biblical concept in the Old Testament.  It is God’s way of setting that person apart for Him.  The special ingredients that made up the Old Testament anointing oil would today be referred to as essential oils.  Essential oils have been used on bee stings, sunburn, damaged skin, and as a sleep aid. 

If you look at your life before Jesus, you might be saying to yourself, “I’m not sure I can live like that.”  There is now a desire in you to worship, pray, and read the Bible.  It is the Holy Spirit that anoints us with these desires.  I would even dare to say that we cannot successfully raise our family or do our ministry without the anointing.  These are too big for our natural man.  We need the supernatural.

In Bible school, we learned about hermeneutics and the law of first mention in the scriptures.  The first time something is mentioned, there will be characteristics of that throughout the Bible unless God makes an obvious change.  The word “anointing” is first found in Exodus 30.  There are three things mentioned in verse 32.

1)     “It shall not be poured on man’s flesh”.  The flesh causes us to want what we see, want what makes us feel good, and want to look important.  God will not anoint our flesh. 

2)    “You shall not make any like it.”    God instructed them not to try and duplicate this anointing oil.  This means that God has made each one of us unique and not like anyone else.  We shouldn’t try to be just like those we admire or emulate.  Paul told his followers to imitate him only as he imitated Jesus Christ.  Our pastor, Larry Lea, in Rockwall, Texas, was an anointed man of God who gained worldwide recognition for his prayer ministry and teachings.  He was a fiery and effective preacher of the Word and would often point his index finger with a bit of a crook as he got wound up in delivering his messages.  Several of his disciples began using the “pointed index finger with a slight crook” as they made a powerful point when they preached.  I’m not sure of their motive, but I believe this may be a bit of an example of what Paul meant when he exhorted his followers not to imitate every move, stance, or personality trait he displayed while serving the Lord.

3)    “Don’t pour it on an outsider”.  God will not pour out His anointing on unbelievers.  I’ve been amused when I see famous comedians imitate evangelists or demonstrative preachers in their comedy routines.  They accurately recreate the body movements and preaching style of many well-known ministers, but there is no anointing when they do it.  An unbeliever can imitate Jentzen Franklyn all he wants, but there is simply no duplication of the anointing. 

The anointing God puts upon us puts off a sweet-smelling fragrance everywhere we go.  II Corinthians 2:15-16 (New Living Translation) says, Our lives are a Christ-like fragrance rising up to God…to those who are being saved, we are a life-giving perfume.  When Mary poured the expensive perfume on Jesus’ feet right before His crucifixion, not only was Jesus blessed by its wonderful fragrance, but all those in the room with him were also blessed.  This is how the anointing is meant to work.  It blesses us so that we can bless others.   Yet we should be aware that the anointing should be guarded because its sweet-smelling fragrance can be turned to a putrifying stench if it’s not guarded.

Ecclesiastes 10:1 tells us, Dead flies cause the ointment of the perfumer to putrify and send forth a vile odor; so does a little folly (moral or spiritual failure) in him who is valued for wisdom, outweigh wisdom and honor. 

There is, unfortunately, a pandemic of “folly” being manifest in the lives of anointed men and women of God in this hour.  This verse tells us that someone who was once surrounded by a sweet-smelling savor can end up reeking with a rancid stench in the spiritual realm.  There is nothing wrong with the anointing oil.  It has done everything it is supposed to do because it had its origin in a person; it came from God. 

It is the person who received the anointing that did something they shouldn’t have, and now “flies” have polluted and ruined the ointment.  Notice that this verse says that “dead flies” cause the ointment to putrify and stink.  In the Bible, flies are associated with the devil.  One of his names is Beelzebub, which means “Lord of the flies”.  We should be aware that Satan and demons are drawn to the anointing just like flies are drawn to such things as honey and watermelons.   Notice that everywhere Jesus went to minister under the anointing, the demon-possessed, the sick, the lame, and the religious were drawn to Him.  This was good because, otherwise, how could Jesus help them?  There is a scripture that says, “Satan came to me, but he could find no place in me”.   (John 14:30)  We shouldn’t be alarmed that spiritually, flies are drawn to the anointing oil.  It is when they are allowed to light on the oil, drown in the oil, and die in the oil that we should become alarmed.  When this happens, it brings in the equivalent of “exchanging our glory for the created things”.  If you read Romans 1:18-32, you will see a vivid description of what happens to those who allow flies to light, abide, and die as they feed on our anointing.

How is it that we have all been blessed by the anointing displayed through a prophet, a singer, an evangelist, a theologian, or a Christian author, only to find out years later they were involved in horrendous sin while in public ministry?  I have found that God is patient and long-suffering, even gracious, with us.  He gives us time and many chances to repent and be restored to a place of being a sweet-smelling fragrance in His nostrils once again.  But if our hearts become hard and we continue in sin and rebellion, the flies will begin to die, but not before laying eggs to reproduce and turn something beautiful into something disgraceful. 

We have seen too many mighty men and women of God fall around us in the last several decades.  They were anointed, but they didn’t keep the flies out.  They should have shooed them away and applied some spiritual OFF to themselves, which is found in Revelation 12:11.  And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.

People who have counseled those who have fallen hear one common phrase:  “I don’t know how this happened.”  We need to have the ability to connect the dots and carefully guard the anointing. Your anointing is valuable, and Satan wants it.  Why?  Because the anointing breaks every yoke.  (Isaiah 10:27)  The enemy is looking for gaps in your armor that will let the flies in.  Have you noticed that when your kitchen if filled with the fragrance of a fresh-baked pie or cake, if you open the door to the outside just a small gap, the flies will swarm in. 

The tragedy of Lucifer, “the anointed one who covers and protects”  (Ezekiel 28:14) is that his anointing from God is gone.  His name has been changed to Satan, “accuser of the brethren”.  He has received a curse spelled out in Isaiah 14:11-12-  Your pomp is brought down to Sheol and the sound of your stringed instruments; the maggot is spread under you, and worms cover you.  How you have fallen from heaven, O L: Lucifer, son of the morning!  

Can we take some time to put up some screens on the windows and doors of our souls?  Can we close some gaps that are letting in the flies?  Let’s choose to be covered in God’s righteousness and give no place to the enemy who is after our anointing.  It is the anointing that breaks the yoke!