The Anointing Of The Holy Spirit Part 3
THE ANOINTING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT - PART 3
Revivalist Todd Bentley
ZERUBBABEL, THE OVERSEER
SUCCESS COMES BY THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD
The house of the Lord looked like rubble; the memory of its former splendor, almost wiped out of the minds of men. But God had not forgotten! In fact, it was time to rebuild! So, in the second year of Darius the King, God called Zerubbabel (governor of Judah), to be the chief authority who would oversee the rebuilding of the temple of Solomon (Hag. 1:8). It was a massive undertaking because the temple of God lay in ruins. And to make matters even more difficult, the people were completely caught up in their own affairs concerning their houses and lands (Hag. 1:4). They didn’t have a passion for souls and revival, nor were they concerned that the temple was desolate.
It was a time of great uncertainty for Zerubbabel. He was stretched to the max because he didn’t know how the building project was ever going to come together. In the natural he didn’t have the manpower, the financial resources or the team work to get the job done. So God sent Haggai, the prophet, to challenge the people to consider their ways; a challenge that had positive results because the people showed reverence for the Lord (Hag. 1:5, 12). At this point God began to stir up the spirit of Zerubbabel, as well as Joshua, the high priest, “and the spirit of all the remnant of the people; and they came and worked on the house of the Lord of hosts, their God.” (Hag. 1:14).
However, Zerubbabel continued to struggle and a few months later when he was quite desperate, the angel of the Lord came and spoke to him:
“Now the angel who talked with me came back and wakened me, as a man who is wakened out of his sleep. And he said to me, ‘What do you see?’ So I said, ‘I am looking, and there is a lampstand of solid gold with a bowl on top of it, and on the stand seven lamps with seven pipes to the seven lamps. Two olive trees are by it, one at the right of the bowl and the other at its left.’ So I answered and spoke to the angel who talked with me, saying, ‘What are these, my lord?’ Then the angel who talked with me answered and said to me, ‘Do you not know what these are?’ And I said, ‘No, my lord.’ So he answered and said to me: ‘This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,' Says the LORD of hosts. Who are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain! And he shall bring forth the capstone with shouts of ‘Grace, grace to it!’ The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this temple; his hands shall also finish it...” (Zech. 4:1-7, 9).
Now what the Lord was saying is, “I am going to work such a supernatural work in your life that if I was to tell you, you wouldn’t believe it! People are going to know it was a supernatural feat that the temple was rebuilt. They’re going to realize that it was not in your own might, not in your own resources, not in your own ability, or your own network, or your own circle of friends that accomplished this job work. All they are going to be able to do is stand back and look at what they see in the natural, the rebuilt temple, which came about by My Spirit. It’s going to be so supernatural that they’re going to be astounded by the great work that I’m about to do.”
Today, most of us have come to a crossroads time in our lives similar to Zerubbabel’s. We wonder how to get from point A to point B; how we’re ever going to fulfill what God called us to. Some of us are stuck on the mountains called “Impossibility and Obstacle,” wondering how we will ever overcome all the difficulties that are preventing us from fulfilling our mandate from God. Others remember a prophetic word that they’d start a ministry, but as they look at their circumstances it doesn’t look like a ministry will ever be launched. And some, like Zerubbabel, feel called to rebuild and restore great works that were attacked and decimated, but they’re overwhelmed by the obstacles that are stopping a move in that direction. Others are hindered by their difficult marriage or financial situation, or by an infirmity in their body.
Now, having said that, let’s remember that Zerubbabel was called by God. He was chosen for a specific job and God wasn’t going to abandon him and let him fail. Zerubbabel’s weakness would work to God’s advantage because then the Lord could show Himself strong on his behalf! And the Lord will come to us with great support, too! Like Zerubbabel, we are also called and chosen to accomplish specific assignments. For some, it’s time to see the job through, and for others the vision is for a time set in the future. But either way, let’s soak up some encouragement as we see the way God helped Zerubbabel by sending the angel of the Lord to him. This encounter essentially brought him a vision of the anointing.
Here’s what he was crying out for in prayer before the angel came: God, how am I going to fulfill what you told me I was going to do? How is it ever going to come to pass in my life? So the Lord brought him the answer: “I’ll tell you what you need. You don’t have the money. You don’t have what you need in the natural to do what I’ve called you to do. That’s not what it’s about. It’s about the anointing. It’s not by might. It’s not by power. It’s by My Spirit. Everything you need is in the anointing; the provision, the favor and the resources. Who are you oh mountain? It’s not by might or by power. It’s not by your gifts or your talents. It’s not by what you have or don’t have in the natural. It’s not the mountain of impossibility. WHO ARE YOU OH MOUNTAIN! You shall become a plain! I will finish what I started and I will bring forth the capstone. It will be so supernatural that all the people will be able to say is grace, grace, grace! They’re not going to know how it happened, but the temple is going to stand, completed, done in the natural. The builder and maker is God. Let Me tell you something, the anointing is the answer.”
We don’t want to crumble when circumstances get extremely intense, filled with pressure. When intense pressure builds up, then our cries to God become more desperate, causing the hand of the Lord to intervene in our circumstances. He makes our mountains into plains. “I will make each of My mountains a road, and My highways shall be elevated. (Is. 49:11). Pressure pushes breakthroughs through!
Success would not come through Zerubbabel’s power or might, but success would come God’s way, by the Spirit of God. And what does the Spirit of God bring? The anointing! Zerubbabel would receive a supernatural anointing by the Spirit of God to see the project through to the end. “…and his hands shall finish it” (Zech. 4:9b). So let’s be encouraged by the goodness and faithfulness of the Lord. Let’s not give up! “His mercies are new every morning. The Lord will perfect that which concerns me; Your mercy, O Lord, endures forever; do not forsake the works of Your hands” (Ps. 138:8).
GOD'S FRESH MANNA
GOD COMES DAILY
It’s God’s desire to confirm and establish the work of our hands. “And let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us, and establish the work of our hands for us; yes, establish the work of our hands” (Ps. 90:17). What’s more, He wants to load us up each day with His benefits (Ps. 68:19). You know one thing I like about God? He is a daily God. “Through the Lord's mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness” (Lam. 3:22, 23).
Jesus taught us to pray, “Give us this day our daily bread” (Mt. 6:11). You know, after Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt, God provided fresh manna for each person to eat every day. (The manna lasted overnight only on the sixth day so the people could eat it the next day on the Sabbath because they weren’t permitted to gather manna on the Sabbath.) Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Heb. 13:8). The Lord has more than enough new, fresh anointing for us every day. Give us our daily bread. Bless the Lord, who daily loads us up with His benefits!
You know what I expect when I get up each morning? I expect more benefits than I had the day before! “My soul, wait silently for God alone, for my expectation is from Him” (Ps. 62:5). So when I get up in the morning I ask God, “What benefits do You want to load on me today?” I have an expectation concerning some benefits, new oil and fresh oil! Every day I declare, “I have been anointed with fresh oil. God is going to exalt my strength and nothing is ever going to be the same because I expect God will give me His daily bread.” God gives daily revelation; every morning God has the ‘bread of revelation’ for me. He is faithful! Next, we will examine the faithfulness of God in the life of the patriarch, Job.
JOB, THE PATRIARCH
REMEMBERING GOD'S FAITHFULNESS
The Book of Job stands as one of the most significant masterpieces ever written that pictures the faithfulness of God. But sometimes, rather than remembering God’s faithfulness to Job, we seem to focus more on his suffering. It’s true. He did suffer many tragic losses. But when we choose to remember and meditate on the integrity of God’s sovereignty in Job’s suffering, we honor God and actually strengthen our faith. I know some of us like to work out. Well, remembering God faithfulness is a “work out” on the inside of us that strengthens our relationship with Him.
Job had some remembering to do, too! So let’s take a look at a scene when Job looks back over a prosperous time in his life, a time that is radically different than the reality of his present crushing circumstances. Here’s his perspective.
“Job further continued his discourse, and said: "Oh, that I were as in months past, as in the days when God watched over me; when His lamp shone upon my head, and when by His light I walked through darkness; just as I was in the days of my prime, when the friendly counsel of God was over my tent; when the Almighty was yet with me, when my children were around me; when my steps were bathed with cream, and the rock poured out rivers of oil for me!” (Job 29:1-6)
Job remembers when God watched over him in the previous months. Do you know what the phrase “watched over me” means? It means the days when God watched over Job like one who hovers over the nest; the days when God girded up a hedge of protection around him and all the things that mattered to him in the natural. He was speaking about supernatural protection.
Did you know that the Lord talks about creating above every dwelling in Mt. Zion, a pillar of cloud and smoke by day, and a pillar of fire by night that’s like a canopy of protection (Is. 4:5,6). We can come under the canopy of the protection of the Lord when we commit everything in our lives to Him. Just like Moses anointed the instruments and utensils in the holy place, so can we commit and anoint our family, possessions and finances; every detail of our lives (Ex. 40). When we do this, we consecrate our possessions, our family and our lives to the Lord for purposes of holiness, protection and anointing. Everything that the thief wants to steal, kill and destroy, God wants to anoint. (Taking steps like this doesn’t mean that we won’t experience suffering, but God will honor our actions and restoration will come to us in the end.)
In verse 3, Job remembers the anointed days when the lamp shone upon his head and when, by God’s light, he walked through the darkness. Job is saying that by the lamp and by the spirit of wisdom and revelation that came through the prophetic word from God, he walked through the darkness. He received revelation. What does the Bible say about the word of God? That it’s a lamp unto our feet (Ps. 119:105).
We can almost hear Job speaking: Listen. I didn’t go to the right and I didn’t go to the left because I had revelation that brought me through the darkness; that voice that said, “This is the way, walk in it.” I had wisdom and revelation like a lamp on my head. His word is a lamp onto my feet. God spoke to me the prophetic word. I had that word and that word is what brought me through the darkness. That word is what gave me victory. I remember those days when I had the light of revelation.
Then he says in verse 4, “…just as I was in the days of my prime when the friendly counsel of God was over my tent...” He longs for the friendly counsel of God—the inward secrets of the Lord. Job experienced the same kind of friendly counsel that Moses did when God spoke to Moses face to face (Ex. 33:11). Can you imagine waking up every morning with the word of wisdom always there, or knowing the exact timing and how to get a job done? What would it be like to know the secret of the Lord concerning every situation in our lives? “The secret of the Lord is with those who fear Him, and He will show them His covenant” (Ps. 25:14). Counsel was waiting for Job every morning. It was right there; revelation, counsel and the secret of the Lord. Job knew what to do because revelation led him through the darkness. “For you are my lamp, O Lord; Lord shall enlighten my darkness” (2 Sam. 22:29).
Let me ask you a question. Did the Almighty abandon Job? No, because Jesus said that He is always with us (Mt. 28:20). So what did Job mean in verse 5 “…when the Almighty was yet with me...”? He meant that the Almighty was with him in such a dramatic way that everybody knew it. Job’s life was a living demonstration in the natural of the goodness of God in the land of the living (Ps. 27:13). He was talking about the Almighty being the one who spread His wings over him. But he realized that all the signs of God’s favor were gone and he was in a new season of suffering.
Job continues to say in verse 6, “…when my steps were bathed with cream, and the rock poured out rivers of oil for me!” When we think about the word ‘cream,’ the impression or word that often comes to our minds is the cream of the crop, or the choicest part. Also, cream can be changed into butter and cream rises to the top. But when Job describes his steps bathed in cream, what he is putting into words is the fatness, the abundance and the fruitfulness; just how rich and how intense the anointing was on his life and ministry. He’s speaking about his steps, his direction and destiny.
LOVE DOESN'T ENVY
Job’s steps were bathed with cream; everything flowed without resistance. It was like easy street. Not only were his steps bathed in the cream, rivers of oil flowed in his direction, too! Rivers of oil represent the ever-flowing, ever-increasing anointing. That’s a huge amount of anointing on his life. He couldn’t get away from the blessing of the Lord. It overtook him. He had favor before princes and nobles. Favor was over his children. He was one of the richest men written about in the Bible; whatever Job touched, it prospered and the blessing of the Lord made him rich. Now how many of us want the ‘cream of the anointing’ like Job had?
The people saw God’s hand of blessing upon Job and many of them genuinely admired and respected him. But human nature being what it is we know that some people would have envied Job’s position of honor in the land. So let’s talk about how we react sometimes when we see someone else prospering; someone’s ‘coat of many colors’ is a little bit shinier than the one we have. We’ve all been there. Remember how Jacob’s sons looked at their brother Joseph with envy in their hearts when he received his coat of many colors (Gen. 37). We’re not always the ones saying, “Praise God! My father gave you that coat! And God gave you dreams of greatness, too. Praise God!”
You see, when the anointing gets on somebody, almost everything comes to them on a silver platter. It’s like they’re squeaky. They get through everything! That’s what the anointing does; it’s like the favor Joseph had when he received the beautiful coat from his father. But while some believers are squeaky, experiencing the blessings, others are feeling the opposite. It’s like they’re banging their heads against every battle and wall, fighting for a breakthrough. There’s frustration. They feel envious of others who have the ‘whole loaf’ while they’re stuck with the crumbs.
When people get around someone whose steps are bathed in cream and the river of oil is flowing over their lives, they’ll both love it and thank God for it, or they’ll be envious. “… love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up” (1 Cor. 13:4). And when believers are envious, the Holy Spirit is grieved and then the flow of the anointing is blocked from coming, or remaining, on their lives. But, there’s something we can do to turn away from envy! The apostle Peter advises: “Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart,” “Therefore, laying aside all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all evil speaking,” (1 Pt. 1:22 & 2:1). We can repent of the sin of envy, lay it aside, and ask God to help us love our brothers and sisters in Christ!
TWO KEYS TO THE CREAM OF THE ANOINTING
Job wasn’t envious of others. He had such an incredible anointing. He not only had the ‘whole loaf,’ he gave it away to others. He had the respect of both the younger and older men and they stood up when he walked their way (v. 8). The princes and nobles stopped talking and listened carefully to every word he said (v. 9). He was an extremely wealthy man who was regularly in the presence of kings, nobles and government officials. Yet he wasn’t marked by pride. He cared for people of no reputation (vs. 12-17). Actually Job’s high standing is a paradox. His exalted position of honor was established because he was lowly and humble in his heart. Job’s humility is the first key to the cream of the anointing.
Doesn’t the phrase ‘lowly in heart’ remind us of Jesus? “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls” (Mat. 11:29). Job was kind and compassionate, just like Jesus was. He had a big heart for the downtrodden and the outcasts, just like Jesus had. So let’s examine the words of Jesus in Luke 4:18-19 (discussed previously in Part 2) and Job’s discourse in 29:12-17 and see some of the similarities between them:
Jesus said: "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” (Luke 4:18, 19).
Job said: “Because I delivered the poor who cried out, the fatherless and the one who had no helper. The blessing of a perishing man came upon me, and I caused the widow's heart to sing for joy. I put on righteousness, and it clothed me; my justice was like a robe and a turban. I was eyes to the blind, and I was feet to the lame. I was a father to the poor, and I searched out the case that I did not know. I broke the fangs of the wicked, and plucked the victim from his teeth”
(Job 29:12-17).
Immediately we see that Job followed in the steps of Jesus Christ. (Even though Job lived many years before Jesus came to earth, Job still followed in the steps of Jesus because the Lord is eternal.) Job had the same heart that Jesus had for the poor, those in captivity, the fatherless, the blind and the lame. Jesus was clothed in humility (Phil. 2:7, 8) and so was Job. The patriarch tells us that he was clothed in righteousness; that (his) justice was like a robe and a turban (v. 14). Job wasn’t puffed up. He gained the admiration and respect of the people because he delivered the poor and the fatherless and he caused the widow’s heart to sing for joy (v. 12, 13).
Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but he gave the lonely widow reason to live again (Prov. 13:12). It’s like he was saying, I put on righteousness and it clothed me. I am a man of holiness and consecration. I am a man of justice. Job was eyes to the blind (v. 15). If you couldn’t see, I became eyes for you. When you were in a dark place and you couldn’t see tomorrow I brought you counsel, wisdom, prophetic ministry. I became eyes for you in your dark, hopeless, desperate place. Not just natural, but spiritual eyes. When you couldn’t hear the Lord yourself I got counsel. The lamp of God shone upon my head and I became eyes and I became feet.
Then he goes on to say, I was feet for the lame (v. 15). When you were so broken and wounded I carried you. I became your feet. When you couldn’t walk any longer I got behind you with the ministry of exhortation and I strengthened your feeble hands and I strengthened your feeble knees. I became feet for you. I helped you walk through that hard season. [Remember the famous poem by Mary Stevenson, called: Footprints in the Sand? At the end of the poem, Jesus speaks to his suffering child and says, “…My precious child, I love you and I would never leave you. During your times of trial and suffering, when you see only one set of footprints, it was then that I carried you.”]
Job was a father to the poor and he wanted justice (v. 16). I searched out the case that I did not know. I broke the jaws of the wicked and I plucked the victims from his teeth. I cast out devils. I broke the chains. I set the captives free. I ministered to the blind. I ministered to the poor. I ministered to the widow. I practiced pure and undefiled religion. (Ja. 1:27) I was an anointed king in the marketplace; marketplace evangelism where the poor live. I went there and I delivered the poor, the one who cried out, the one who was oppressed, the one who couldn’t see, the one who couldn’t walk. I took time for them.
Job never got too big for the little guy. His reputation never stopped him from going to the poor and to the widows! He didn’t just choose to accomplish feats among the great princes and nobles and the great aged men! He didn’t just speak at the places where dignitaries gathered, though he was a wealthy man with a great reputation. He said, I’m still going to go to the poor! I’m still going to break the fangs of the wicked! I’m still going to set the captive free! We see his heart of compassion and this is the second key to the cream of the anointing (vs. 12-17).
You see, that’s what I do when we go to Africa. I don’t just do the big crusade at night with 10000 people. The pastors that I work with in third world countries say, “You’re not like any other evangelist that’s come here. All they want to do is hide out in the hotel all day and then come out for the big crusade at night. But you want to get out to the common people, to the hospitals and to the AIDS victims and pray for them. You want to go to the orphanages. You want to go down into the Muslim villages and just preach the gospel. Why? There are only 500 people there! Why would you want to go to the school with 300 students? Why would you want to do that?” I tell them: “Because of the ministry of Jesus. His greatest healings and miracles were in the marketplace.”
JOB'S KINGLY COUNSEL
Let’s look at how Job continues to describe the blessing of God on his life before his time of suffering.
“Then I said, ‘I shall die in my nest, and multiply my days as the sand. My root is spread out to the waters, and the dew lies all night on my branch. My glory is fresh within me, and my bow is renewed in my hand’” (Job 29:18-20).
The lingering presence of God blessed Job. The only way he can describe the presence of God on his life is like dew that lies all night on the branch. It lingers on his life. And because of that presence, his glory is fresh within him. Then he says, “…my bow is renewed in my hands.” Do you know what that means? It means his strength is renewed because the glory is fresh within him. He was anointed with fresh oil. He received supernatural strength just like King David did when he declared, “But my horn You have exalted like a wild ox; I have been anointed with fresh oil” (Ps. 92:10).
And then Job said that men listened to him with respect:
“Men listened to me and waited, and kept silence for my counsel. After my words they did not speak again, and my speech settled on them as dew. They waited for me as for the rain, and they opened their mouth wide as for the spring rain” (vs. 21-23).
When Job spoke, his words had such spirit, life and substance that an impartation like dew settled on the people. You know, these few verses are what I call the preacher’s dream! Job described what the anointing will do for the preacher. Have you ever left a meeting and felt like your spirit was full? The preacher has finished speaking, but hours after the sermon the impact of those words still linger in your mind. You can’t forget what was preached because the message became like anointed dew that rested upon you. Everybody was on the edge of their seat listening to the message. Nobody moved and everyone was quiet, waiting for the next word. It was like honey. There was a spiritual impartation. Substance entered into your spirit. That’s a preacher’s dream!
Also, the people had such confidence in Job’s integrity that even if he mocked at them, they wouldn’t believe it. “If I mocked at them, they did not believe it, and the light of my countenance they did not cast down” (v. 24). Can you imagine having that kind of character because of the anointing? Then Job talks about being like a king in the army, but he still had time to comfort one who mourns. “I chose the way for them, and sat as chief; so I dwelt as a king in the army, as one who comforts mourners” (v 25).
GOD REMEMBERS OUR FAITHFULNESS
Job’s humility and heart of compassion are two keys that released the cream of the anointing in his life. Listen to me friends. I believe that Job’s humility and heart of compassion was highly regarded by God. Both qualities became a memorial before God that stirred His passion and desire to bless Job at the end of his life (Malachi 3:16,17). God restored double the anointing of everything we discussed in Job 29! “And the LORD restored Job's losses when he prayed for his friends. Indeed the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before” (Job 42:10). That must have been a mighty anointing!
I want to invite you to lift your hands up to the Lord while I ask two questions. How desperate are you for the anointing of the Lord? (The Lord will respond according to the level of your hunger.) Do you desire to grow in humility and compassion?
PRAYER
Heavenly Father, we want to consecrate ourselves to you all over again. We confess our sins to you now. We ask for the blood of Jesus to cleanse us from every sin.
God, we want more of the anointing, whatever the cost. Spirit of the Lord, we want you to come mightily upon our lives; stir our hearts with desire to walk in humility and compassion. Please come upon us mightily like you came upon Jesus when He said that the Spirit of the Lord was upon Him to preach the gospel to the poor, to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and the oppressed, and to recover the sight of the blind. We say that we love Jesus and we want to be like Him. God, please anoint us! We want to fulfill the vision that you have given us to accomplish. We don’t want to do anything on our own, in our flesh, God!
God, we need your help to overcome! We don’t want to crumble under the pressure in our lives because the build up of pressure creates the force that helps to birth the breakthrough. Help us, please God! We are a desperate people. We need You.
God, we want to declare that we have been anointed with fresh oil! Exalt our horn! Come upon us like Elijah! God, gird up our loins! Make us strong in the spirit again, please God! Oh God, we trust in your strength.
[I believe that the Lord said there is an anointing to make us strong; strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. There is an anointing to receive great grace. Receive it! Strength and favor! Receive it!]
Authority and power comes to us when we are in your presence. Oh mighty God, we receive the anointing to walk in your authority and power. Oh Spirit of the Lord, please move upon us. Pour your oil onto us. Thank you, Heavenly Father. Amen
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Revivalist Todd Bentley
ZERUBBABEL, THE OVERSEER
SUCCESS COMES BY THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD
The house of the Lord looked like rubble; the memory of its former splendor, almost wiped out of the minds of men. But God had not forgotten! In fact, it was time to rebuild! So, in the second year of Darius the King, God called Zerubbabel (governor of Judah), to be the chief authority who would oversee the rebuilding of the temple of Solomon (Hag. 1:8). It was a massive undertaking because the temple of God lay in ruins. And to make matters even more difficult, the people were completely caught up in their own affairs concerning their houses and lands (Hag. 1:4). They didn’t have a passion for souls and revival, nor were they concerned that the temple was desolate.
It was a time of great uncertainty for Zerubbabel. He was stretched to the max because he didn’t know how the building project was ever going to come together. In the natural he didn’t have the manpower, the financial resources or the team work to get the job done. So God sent Haggai, the prophet, to challenge the people to consider their ways; a challenge that had positive results because the people showed reverence for the Lord (Hag. 1:5, 12). At this point God began to stir up the spirit of Zerubbabel, as well as Joshua, the high priest, “and the spirit of all the remnant of the people; and they came and worked on the house of the Lord of hosts, their God.” (Hag. 1:14).
However, Zerubbabel continued to struggle and a few months later when he was quite desperate, the angel of the Lord came and spoke to him:
“Now the angel who talked with me came back and wakened me, as a man who is wakened out of his sleep. And he said to me, ‘What do you see?’ So I said, ‘I am looking, and there is a lampstand of solid gold with a bowl on top of it, and on the stand seven lamps with seven pipes to the seven lamps. Two olive trees are by it, one at the right of the bowl and the other at its left.’ So I answered and spoke to the angel who talked with me, saying, ‘What are these, my lord?’ Then the angel who talked with me answered and said to me, ‘Do you not know what these are?’ And I said, ‘No, my lord.’ So he answered and said to me: ‘This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,' Says the LORD of hosts. Who are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain! And he shall bring forth the capstone with shouts of ‘Grace, grace to it!’ The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this temple; his hands shall also finish it...” (Zech. 4:1-7, 9).
Now what the Lord was saying is, “I am going to work such a supernatural work in your life that if I was to tell you, you wouldn’t believe it! People are going to know it was a supernatural feat that the temple was rebuilt. They’re going to realize that it was not in your own might, not in your own resources, not in your own ability, or your own network, or your own circle of friends that accomplished this job work. All they are going to be able to do is stand back and look at what they see in the natural, the rebuilt temple, which came about by My Spirit. It’s going to be so supernatural that they’re going to be astounded by the great work that I’m about to do.”
Today, most of us have come to a crossroads time in our lives similar to Zerubbabel’s. We wonder how to get from point A to point B; how we’re ever going to fulfill what God called us to. Some of us are stuck on the mountains called “Impossibility and Obstacle,” wondering how we will ever overcome all the difficulties that are preventing us from fulfilling our mandate from God. Others remember a prophetic word that they’d start a ministry, but as they look at their circumstances it doesn’t look like a ministry will ever be launched. And some, like Zerubbabel, feel called to rebuild and restore great works that were attacked and decimated, but they’re overwhelmed by the obstacles that are stopping a move in that direction. Others are hindered by their difficult marriage or financial situation, or by an infirmity in their body.
Now, having said that, let’s remember that Zerubbabel was called by God. He was chosen for a specific job and God wasn’t going to abandon him and let him fail. Zerubbabel’s weakness would work to God’s advantage because then the Lord could show Himself strong on his behalf! And the Lord will come to us with great support, too! Like Zerubbabel, we are also called and chosen to accomplish specific assignments. For some, it’s time to see the job through, and for others the vision is for a time set in the future. But either way, let’s soak up some encouragement as we see the way God helped Zerubbabel by sending the angel of the Lord to him. This encounter essentially brought him a vision of the anointing.
Here’s what he was crying out for in prayer before the angel came: God, how am I going to fulfill what you told me I was going to do? How is it ever going to come to pass in my life? So the Lord brought him the answer: “I’ll tell you what you need. You don’t have the money. You don’t have what you need in the natural to do what I’ve called you to do. That’s not what it’s about. It’s about the anointing. It’s not by might. It’s not by power. It’s by My Spirit. Everything you need is in the anointing; the provision, the favor and the resources. Who are you oh mountain? It’s not by might or by power. It’s not by your gifts or your talents. It’s not by what you have or don’t have in the natural. It’s not the mountain of impossibility. WHO ARE YOU OH MOUNTAIN! You shall become a plain! I will finish what I started and I will bring forth the capstone. It will be so supernatural that all the people will be able to say is grace, grace, grace! They’re not going to know how it happened, but the temple is going to stand, completed, done in the natural. The builder and maker is God. Let Me tell you something, the anointing is the answer.”
We don’t want to crumble when circumstances get extremely intense, filled with pressure. When intense pressure builds up, then our cries to God become more desperate, causing the hand of the Lord to intervene in our circumstances. He makes our mountains into plains. “I will make each of My mountains a road, and My highways shall be elevated. (Is. 49:11). Pressure pushes breakthroughs through!
Success would not come through Zerubbabel’s power or might, but success would come God’s way, by the Spirit of God. And what does the Spirit of God bring? The anointing! Zerubbabel would receive a supernatural anointing by the Spirit of God to see the project through to the end. “…and his hands shall finish it” (Zech. 4:9b). So let’s be encouraged by the goodness and faithfulness of the Lord. Let’s not give up! “His mercies are new every morning. The Lord will perfect that which concerns me; Your mercy, O Lord, endures forever; do not forsake the works of Your hands” (Ps. 138:8).
GOD'S FRESH MANNA
GOD COMES DAILY
It’s God’s desire to confirm and establish the work of our hands. “And let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us, and establish the work of our hands for us; yes, establish the work of our hands” (Ps. 90:17). What’s more, He wants to load us up each day with His benefits (Ps. 68:19). You know one thing I like about God? He is a daily God. “Through the Lord's mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness” (Lam. 3:22, 23).
Jesus taught us to pray, “Give us this day our daily bread” (Mt. 6:11). You know, after Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt, God provided fresh manna for each person to eat every day. (The manna lasted overnight only on the sixth day so the people could eat it the next day on the Sabbath because they weren’t permitted to gather manna on the Sabbath.) Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Heb. 13:8). The Lord has more than enough new, fresh anointing for us every day. Give us our daily bread. Bless the Lord, who daily loads us up with His benefits!
You know what I expect when I get up each morning? I expect more benefits than I had the day before! “My soul, wait silently for God alone, for my expectation is from Him” (Ps. 62:5). So when I get up in the morning I ask God, “What benefits do You want to load on me today?” I have an expectation concerning some benefits, new oil and fresh oil! Every day I declare, “I have been anointed with fresh oil. God is going to exalt my strength and nothing is ever going to be the same because I expect God will give me His daily bread.” God gives daily revelation; every morning God has the ‘bread of revelation’ for me. He is faithful! Next, we will examine the faithfulness of God in the life of the patriarch, Job.
JOB, THE PATRIARCH
REMEMBERING GOD'S FAITHFULNESS
The Book of Job stands as one of the most significant masterpieces ever written that pictures the faithfulness of God. But sometimes, rather than remembering God’s faithfulness to Job, we seem to focus more on his suffering. It’s true. He did suffer many tragic losses. But when we choose to remember and meditate on the integrity of God’s sovereignty in Job’s suffering, we honor God and actually strengthen our faith. I know some of us like to work out. Well, remembering God faithfulness is a “work out” on the inside of us that strengthens our relationship with Him.
Job had some remembering to do, too! So let’s take a look at a scene when Job looks back over a prosperous time in his life, a time that is radically different than the reality of his present crushing circumstances. Here’s his perspective.
“Job further continued his discourse, and said: "Oh, that I were as in months past, as in the days when God watched over me; when His lamp shone upon my head, and when by His light I walked through darkness; just as I was in the days of my prime, when the friendly counsel of God was over my tent; when the Almighty was yet with me, when my children were around me; when my steps were bathed with cream, and the rock poured out rivers of oil for me!” (Job 29:1-6)
Job remembers when God watched over him in the previous months. Do you know what the phrase “watched over me” means? It means the days when God watched over Job like one who hovers over the nest; the days when God girded up a hedge of protection around him and all the things that mattered to him in the natural. He was speaking about supernatural protection.
Did you know that the Lord talks about creating above every dwelling in Mt. Zion, a pillar of cloud and smoke by day, and a pillar of fire by night that’s like a canopy of protection (Is. 4:5,6). We can come under the canopy of the protection of the Lord when we commit everything in our lives to Him. Just like Moses anointed the instruments and utensils in the holy place, so can we commit and anoint our family, possessions and finances; every detail of our lives (Ex. 40). When we do this, we consecrate our possessions, our family and our lives to the Lord for purposes of holiness, protection and anointing. Everything that the thief wants to steal, kill and destroy, God wants to anoint. (Taking steps like this doesn’t mean that we won’t experience suffering, but God will honor our actions and restoration will come to us in the end.)
In verse 3, Job remembers the anointed days when the lamp shone upon his head and when, by God’s light, he walked through the darkness. Job is saying that by the lamp and by the spirit of wisdom and revelation that came through the prophetic word from God, he walked through the darkness. He received revelation. What does the Bible say about the word of God? That it’s a lamp unto our feet (Ps. 119:105).
We can almost hear Job speaking: Listen. I didn’t go to the right and I didn’t go to the left because I had revelation that brought me through the darkness; that voice that said, “This is the way, walk in it.” I had wisdom and revelation like a lamp on my head. His word is a lamp onto my feet. God spoke to me the prophetic word. I had that word and that word is what brought me through the darkness. That word is what gave me victory. I remember those days when I had the light of revelation.
Then he says in verse 4, “…just as I was in the days of my prime when the friendly counsel of God was over my tent...” He longs for the friendly counsel of God—the inward secrets of the Lord. Job experienced the same kind of friendly counsel that Moses did when God spoke to Moses face to face (Ex. 33:11). Can you imagine waking up every morning with the word of wisdom always there, or knowing the exact timing and how to get a job done? What would it be like to know the secret of the Lord concerning every situation in our lives? “The secret of the Lord is with those who fear Him, and He will show them His covenant” (Ps. 25:14). Counsel was waiting for Job every morning. It was right there; revelation, counsel and the secret of the Lord. Job knew what to do because revelation led him through the darkness. “For you are my lamp, O Lord; Lord shall enlighten my darkness” (2 Sam. 22:29).
Let me ask you a question. Did the Almighty abandon Job? No, because Jesus said that He is always with us (Mt. 28:20). So what did Job mean in verse 5 “…when the Almighty was yet with me...”? He meant that the Almighty was with him in such a dramatic way that everybody knew it. Job’s life was a living demonstration in the natural of the goodness of God in the land of the living (Ps. 27:13). He was talking about the Almighty being the one who spread His wings over him. But he realized that all the signs of God’s favor were gone and he was in a new season of suffering.
Job continues to say in verse 6, “…when my steps were bathed with cream, and the rock poured out rivers of oil for me!” When we think about the word ‘cream,’ the impression or word that often comes to our minds is the cream of the crop, or the choicest part. Also, cream can be changed into butter and cream rises to the top. But when Job describes his steps bathed in cream, what he is putting into words is the fatness, the abundance and the fruitfulness; just how rich and how intense the anointing was on his life and ministry. He’s speaking about his steps, his direction and destiny.
LOVE DOESN'T ENVY
Job’s steps were bathed with cream; everything flowed without resistance. It was like easy street. Not only were his steps bathed in the cream, rivers of oil flowed in his direction, too! Rivers of oil represent the ever-flowing, ever-increasing anointing. That’s a huge amount of anointing on his life. He couldn’t get away from the blessing of the Lord. It overtook him. He had favor before princes and nobles. Favor was over his children. He was one of the richest men written about in the Bible; whatever Job touched, it prospered and the blessing of the Lord made him rich. Now how many of us want the ‘cream of the anointing’ like Job had?
The people saw God’s hand of blessing upon Job and many of them genuinely admired and respected him. But human nature being what it is we know that some people would have envied Job’s position of honor in the land. So let’s talk about how we react sometimes when we see someone else prospering; someone’s ‘coat of many colors’ is a little bit shinier than the one we have. We’ve all been there. Remember how Jacob’s sons looked at their brother Joseph with envy in their hearts when he received his coat of many colors (Gen. 37). We’re not always the ones saying, “Praise God! My father gave you that coat! And God gave you dreams of greatness, too. Praise God!”
You see, when the anointing gets on somebody, almost everything comes to them on a silver platter. It’s like they’re squeaky. They get through everything! That’s what the anointing does; it’s like the favor Joseph had when he received the beautiful coat from his father. But while some believers are squeaky, experiencing the blessings, others are feeling the opposite. It’s like they’re banging their heads against every battle and wall, fighting for a breakthrough. There’s frustration. They feel envious of others who have the ‘whole loaf’ while they’re stuck with the crumbs.
When people get around someone whose steps are bathed in cream and the river of oil is flowing over their lives, they’ll both love it and thank God for it, or they’ll be envious. “… love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up” (1 Cor. 13:4). And when believers are envious, the Holy Spirit is grieved and then the flow of the anointing is blocked from coming, or remaining, on their lives. But, there’s something we can do to turn away from envy! The apostle Peter advises: “Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart,” “Therefore, laying aside all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all evil speaking,” (1 Pt. 1:22 & 2:1). We can repent of the sin of envy, lay it aside, and ask God to help us love our brothers and sisters in Christ!
TWO KEYS TO THE CREAM OF THE ANOINTING
Job wasn’t envious of others. He had such an incredible anointing. He not only had the ‘whole loaf,’ he gave it away to others. He had the respect of both the younger and older men and they stood up when he walked their way (v. 8). The princes and nobles stopped talking and listened carefully to every word he said (v. 9). He was an extremely wealthy man who was regularly in the presence of kings, nobles and government officials. Yet he wasn’t marked by pride. He cared for people of no reputation (vs. 12-17). Actually Job’s high standing is a paradox. His exalted position of honor was established because he was lowly and humble in his heart. Job’s humility is the first key to the cream of the anointing.
Doesn’t the phrase ‘lowly in heart’ remind us of Jesus? “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls” (Mat. 11:29). Job was kind and compassionate, just like Jesus was. He had a big heart for the downtrodden and the outcasts, just like Jesus had. So let’s examine the words of Jesus in Luke 4:18-19 (discussed previously in Part 2) and Job’s discourse in 29:12-17 and see some of the similarities between them:
Jesus said: "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” (Luke 4:18, 19).
Job said: “Because I delivered the poor who cried out, the fatherless and the one who had no helper. The blessing of a perishing man came upon me, and I caused the widow's heart to sing for joy. I put on righteousness, and it clothed me; my justice was like a robe and a turban. I was eyes to the blind, and I was feet to the lame. I was a father to the poor, and I searched out the case that I did not know. I broke the fangs of the wicked, and plucked the victim from his teeth”
(Job 29:12-17).
Immediately we see that Job followed in the steps of Jesus Christ. (Even though Job lived many years before Jesus came to earth, Job still followed in the steps of Jesus because the Lord is eternal.) Job had the same heart that Jesus had for the poor, those in captivity, the fatherless, the blind and the lame. Jesus was clothed in humility (Phil. 2:7, 8) and so was Job. The patriarch tells us that he was clothed in righteousness; that (his) justice was like a robe and a turban (v. 14). Job wasn’t puffed up. He gained the admiration and respect of the people because he delivered the poor and the fatherless and he caused the widow’s heart to sing for joy (v. 12, 13).
Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but he gave the lonely widow reason to live again (Prov. 13:12). It’s like he was saying, I put on righteousness and it clothed me. I am a man of holiness and consecration. I am a man of justice. Job was eyes to the blind (v. 15). If you couldn’t see, I became eyes for you. When you were in a dark place and you couldn’t see tomorrow I brought you counsel, wisdom, prophetic ministry. I became eyes for you in your dark, hopeless, desperate place. Not just natural, but spiritual eyes. When you couldn’t hear the Lord yourself I got counsel. The lamp of God shone upon my head and I became eyes and I became feet.
Then he goes on to say, I was feet for the lame (v. 15). When you were so broken and wounded I carried you. I became your feet. When you couldn’t walk any longer I got behind you with the ministry of exhortation and I strengthened your feeble hands and I strengthened your feeble knees. I became feet for you. I helped you walk through that hard season. [Remember the famous poem by Mary Stevenson, called: Footprints in the Sand? At the end of the poem, Jesus speaks to his suffering child and says, “…My precious child, I love you and I would never leave you. During your times of trial and suffering, when you see only one set of footprints, it was then that I carried you.”]
Job was a father to the poor and he wanted justice (v. 16). I searched out the case that I did not know. I broke the jaws of the wicked and I plucked the victims from his teeth. I cast out devils. I broke the chains. I set the captives free. I ministered to the blind. I ministered to the poor. I ministered to the widow. I practiced pure and undefiled religion. (Ja. 1:27) I was an anointed king in the marketplace; marketplace evangelism where the poor live. I went there and I delivered the poor, the one who cried out, the one who was oppressed, the one who couldn’t see, the one who couldn’t walk. I took time for them.
Job never got too big for the little guy. His reputation never stopped him from going to the poor and to the widows! He didn’t just choose to accomplish feats among the great princes and nobles and the great aged men! He didn’t just speak at the places where dignitaries gathered, though he was a wealthy man with a great reputation. He said, I’m still going to go to the poor! I’m still going to break the fangs of the wicked! I’m still going to set the captive free! We see his heart of compassion and this is the second key to the cream of the anointing (vs. 12-17).
You see, that’s what I do when we go to Africa. I don’t just do the big crusade at night with 10000 people. The pastors that I work with in third world countries say, “You’re not like any other evangelist that’s come here. All they want to do is hide out in the hotel all day and then come out for the big crusade at night. But you want to get out to the common people, to the hospitals and to the AIDS victims and pray for them. You want to go to the orphanages. You want to go down into the Muslim villages and just preach the gospel. Why? There are only 500 people there! Why would you want to go to the school with 300 students? Why would you want to do that?” I tell them: “Because of the ministry of Jesus. His greatest healings and miracles were in the marketplace.”
JOB'S KINGLY COUNSEL
Let’s look at how Job continues to describe the blessing of God on his life before his time of suffering.
“Then I said, ‘I shall die in my nest, and multiply my days as the sand. My root is spread out to the waters, and the dew lies all night on my branch. My glory is fresh within me, and my bow is renewed in my hand’” (Job 29:18-20).
The lingering presence of God blessed Job. The only way he can describe the presence of God on his life is like dew that lies all night on the branch. It lingers on his life. And because of that presence, his glory is fresh within him. Then he says, “…my bow is renewed in my hands.” Do you know what that means? It means his strength is renewed because the glory is fresh within him. He was anointed with fresh oil. He received supernatural strength just like King David did when he declared, “But my horn You have exalted like a wild ox; I have been anointed with fresh oil” (Ps. 92:10).
And then Job said that men listened to him with respect:
“Men listened to me and waited, and kept silence for my counsel. After my words they did not speak again, and my speech settled on them as dew. They waited for me as for the rain, and they opened their mouth wide as for the spring rain” (vs. 21-23).
When Job spoke, his words had such spirit, life and substance that an impartation like dew settled on the people. You know, these few verses are what I call the preacher’s dream! Job described what the anointing will do for the preacher. Have you ever left a meeting and felt like your spirit was full? The preacher has finished speaking, but hours after the sermon the impact of those words still linger in your mind. You can’t forget what was preached because the message became like anointed dew that rested upon you. Everybody was on the edge of their seat listening to the message. Nobody moved and everyone was quiet, waiting for the next word. It was like honey. There was a spiritual impartation. Substance entered into your spirit. That’s a preacher’s dream!
Also, the people had such confidence in Job’s integrity that even if he mocked at them, they wouldn’t believe it. “If I mocked at them, they did not believe it, and the light of my countenance they did not cast down” (v. 24). Can you imagine having that kind of character because of the anointing? Then Job talks about being like a king in the army, but he still had time to comfort one who mourns. “I chose the way for them, and sat as chief; so I dwelt as a king in the army, as one who comforts mourners” (v 25).
GOD REMEMBERS OUR FAITHFULNESS
Job’s humility and heart of compassion are two keys that released the cream of the anointing in his life. Listen to me friends. I believe that Job’s humility and heart of compassion was highly regarded by God. Both qualities became a memorial before God that stirred His passion and desire to bless Job at the end of his life (Malachi 3:16,17). God restored double the anointing of everything we discussed in Job 29! “And the LORD restored Job's losses when he prayed for his friends. Indeed the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before” (Job 42:10). That must have been a mighty anointing!
I want to invite you to lift your hands up to the Lord while I ask two questions. How desperate are you for the anointing of the Lord? (The Lord will respond according to the level of your hunger.) Do you desire to grow in humility and compassion?
PRAYER
Heavenly Father, we want to consecrate ourselves to you all over again. We confess our sins to you now. We ask for the blood of Jesus to cleanse us from every sin.
God, we want more of the anointing, whatever the cost. Spirit of the Lord, we want you to come mightily upon our lives; stir our hearts with desire to walk in humility and compassion. Please come upon us mightily like you came upon Jesus when He said that the Spirit of the Lord was upon Him to preach the gospel to the poor, to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and the oppressed, and to recover the sight of the blind. We say that we love Jesus and we want to be like Him. God, please anoint us! We want to fulfill the vision that you have given us to accomplish. We don’t want to do anything on our own, in our flesh, God!
God, we need your help to overcome! We don’t want to crumble under the pressure in our lives because the build up of pressure creates the force that helps to birth the breakthrough. Help us, please God! We are a desperate people. We need You.
God, we want to declare that we have been anointed with fresh oil! Exalt our horn! Come upon us like Elijah! God, gird up our loins! Make us strong in the spirit again, please God! Oh God, we trust in your strength.
[I believe that the Lord said there is an anointing to make us strong; strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. There is an anointing to receive great grace. Receive it! Strength and favor! Receive it!]
Authority and power comes to us when we are in your presence. Oh mighty God, we receive the anointing to walk in your authority and power. Oh Spirit of the Lord, please move upon us. Pour your oil onto us. Thank you, Heavenly Father. Amen
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posted by KFF at 1:46 AM
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