Manifesting The Anointing Part 3
MANIFESTING THE ANOINTING -- PART 3 -- CONCLUSION
REVIVALIST TODD BENTLEY
God wants us to tap into all of the fullness of what He has for us as His sons and daughters (Eph. 3:19). We need a holy hunger that drives us to go the distance with God because the whole earth, creation itself, is waiting for the manifestation and the revealing of the sons and daughters of God (Rm. 8:19). So this week we’re going to dig into some practical keys to release the anointing so that we can express the heart of Jesus to mankind.
TAKING RESPONSIBILITY TO ADVANCE GOD'S KINGDOM
There’s a groaning and a cry from creation itself for deliverance and power: “I want to be set free! I want to throw off the curse of the law and throw off loss, disease and death! Oh where are the sons and daughters of God? Where are the people who are dispensers of the glory who can do something about death because they carry resurrection power? Where are the people who will bring creation itself into the glorious liberty of the children of God?” The Lord wants to answer this cry by raising-up radical Christians who will take responsibility to advance His kingdom. This company of believers, the body of Christ, will come into their position as chief rulers and ambassadors of the kingdom of heaven here on earth.
It’s God’s desire that the body of Christ would arise with a passion to be an expression to the world of what Jesus was like 2,000 years ago. However, as we discussed in Part 1 and 2, the body of Christ is not yet manifesting the anointing to the point that the world is being impacted by the gospel. I believe one of the reasons we’re not seeing the fullness is because of our mindset. So often we have a rapture-departure mentality! We need to break that mentality; otherwise we’re not going to walk in the fullness of who we are now and what we have. It’s like we’re constantly saying, “I can’t wait until God gets us out of this mess; maybe just ten more years, maybe just twenty more years.” Or, “I believe Jesus is going to come in my lifetime.” Well that’s great, but what are we doing now to advance the kingdom of God?
Yes, Jesus is coming. I want Jesus to come too. But I’m not even concerned about that because I’m too busy sweating in the harvest field to look up and see if He’s coming. I’m trying to get as many as I can into the kingdom of God before He gets here. And I’m not in a hurry for Jesus to get here because I know where I am going. Listen. I’m not in any hurry to get out of my body and into heaven; I’m living in heaven now as much as I want to. The kingdom of heaven is at hand (Mt. 4:17). The kingdom of heaven is within us (Lk. 17:21).
And as I said last week, we’re a spiritual creation. We have spiritual eyes called the eyes of our understanding (Eph. 1:18).We touch, taste, smell, hear, and see in the natural and in the spiritual. We are citizens of heaven (Ph. 3:20) possessing everything that heaven has to offer (Eph. 1:3). We have the opportunity before us to be full with all the fullness of God because we are sons and daughters of God (Eph. 3:19). We’re joint heirs with an inheritance (Rm. 8:17).
Everything in the natural realm and everything in the spiritual realm is under our feet because Elohim has made us just a little lower than Himself (Ps. 8:5). Because we have dominion in the spirit over sin, sickness, disease, death and poverty there is an invitation to come boldly before God’s throne and to partner with Him by taking our position of authority (Heb. 4:16). So let’s examine some of the keys that will release the anointing in our lives. We want to be dispensers of God’s glory who take responsibility for the ministry that God has for us.
TEN KEYS THAT RELEASE THE ANOINTING
1. GOD CONSCIOUSNESS
Consciousness means: the state of being conscious; awareness or the totality of one’s thoughts and feelings (Webster’s Dictionary). We’ll have a deep God consciousness and awareness of God’s will and what He’s doing in the present moment when we are:
*
walking in holiness (Eph. 1:4)
*
saturated by the Holy Spirit (Acts 2)
*
abiding in the vine close to the Father’s heart (Jn. 15)
*
keenly aware of the prompting and quickening of the Holy Spirit (Is. 30:18-21)
Last week we discussed the apostle, John G. Lake’s extra-ordinary ministry. When asked about the secret to the anointing in his life, he said, “It’s God consciousness.” We see the fruit of this secret throughout his ministry. There were thousands of souls who not only received healing from their sickness, but they also made decisions for Jesus Christ. The city of Spokane (where he ministered) was declared the healthiest city in America and over 600 churches were planted in five years of ministry.
It’s God’s desire that the body of Christ possess the same kind of anointing that John G. Lake had. So I have a question. Just how badly do we want it?
2. GOD'S SPIRIT IN US
Through His Spirit which dwells in us, the anointing is released. It doesn’t get anymore practical than this: “But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you” (Rm. 8:11). Listen! The Holy Spirit will bring life and healing power not only to our mortal bodies through the Spirit who dwells in us, He will bring His life and healing power to those we pray for. When the power of God comes upon us, it’s released out of the spirit realm into our soul realm. Then it manifests into our bodies and our sickness falls off.
If we meditate on the scripture passage just mentioned, the living word of God will become a reality that permeates our whole being. Here’s what I say when I’m lying on my bed meditating on a verse like this: “The same Spirit, the very same Spirit that anointed Jesus to heal all those oppressed of the Devil, that same Spirit that anointed and empowered the ministry of Jesus, that raised Jesus from the dead, lives in me! In me right now is the very same Spirit that raised His dead body 2,000 years ago! The very same Spirit that was involved in the creation of the universe itself; the same Spirit!”
So when I begin to meditate on: Christ in me; the sons and daughters of God; God consciousness; being possessed by God; the authority and power that’s in me by God’s Spirit; all of a sudden the anointing begins to well up in me like a spring called living water. Then it becomes rivers of living water flowing through my body and soul. So I get healed and so does everyone else around me! (You know what? We can even practice this on an airplane. Just sit there, get quiet and start releasing Christ in you until the guy next to you starts to feel Him. We can have a lot of fun partnering with the Holy Spirit this way.)
3. PARTNERING WITH GOD, BOLDLY
The fact is that God made us to partner with Him. When we get a solid revelation about this I believe we will see a lot more of the power of God. So often when Christians start talking about the power of God they say, “Oh, it’s Jesus. Look to Jesus!” Listen! Of course it’s Jesus! Everything we have is because He gave it to us and He made us joint-heirs. But God made us to partner with Him and He doesn’t want us to be timid. We are co-laborers with Him and we don’t have to apologize for this! We can be bold!
When I’m in a meeting I’ll ask God, “Who do you want to heal right now?” And then I can actually see who will get healed at that moment and I tell that person to stand up. I’ll say to them, “Whatever is wrong with your body will be healed right now!” And healing will happen because I’ll actually see the Spirit of the Lord hovering over them and I’ll recognize there is an anointing for healing and then I’ll boldly declare it.
The apostles Peter and John co-labored with God boldly. Once they came upon a lame man who wanted alms from them. But Peter and John had something much better to give him. Both apostles said to the man, “Look at us!” US! So the lame man gave them his attention because he expected to receive their alms. But instead of giving him mere money, Peter’ eyes pierced the man’s soul as he said, “Silver and gold I do not have. But what I do have I give you in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth. Rise up and walk” (Acts 3:6). Now watch this! Peter didn’t have silver and gold, but he declared boldly “…what I do have I give you.” His boldness came forth without hesitation because he knew who he was and what God said he had and so he commanded the man in Jesus Name to walk! And with a leap the man stood upright and began walking (v. 8)! Healed!
Now even though Peter knew he was God’s partner, his boldness could have looked like pride to an onlooker. “Hey wait a minute Peter. I thought Jesus was the healer. Why are you telling the man to look at you? We better get our eyes on Jesus.” Yes, we’re supposed to fix our eyes on Jesus. And I believe Peter and John were doing just that in their hearts as they boldly commanded the lame man to look at them. Listen. There comes a time when we understand who we are and what we have and it makes us bold in Jesus.
4. ISSUING THE AUTHORITATIVE COMMAND
There’s an anointing that takes us beyond just asking for something in prayer. It’s called the “authoritative command.” Here’s how the authoritative command works in the area of healing. We tell the body what to do! Listen to what Jesus commanded His disciples: “Heal the sick … . (Mt. 10:8).” Jesus didn’t say, “Pray for the sick.” He said, “Heal the sick.” In other words, we have the authority to command the body what to do.
The authoritative command of healing isn’t, “Lord, I pray for this cancer to be healed.” Or, “Jesus, I pray for this guy to be set free and that you take off all the chains.” Or, “Oh Jesus, I pray that you take the devil out of this guy’s body.” No! It’s the authoritative command of healing. We can command diseases to leave: “Cancer, in the name of Jesus I say to leave this body!’
As well, it’s not about wondering if it’s God’s will to heal someone, or even asking if He wants to use us as an instrument to bring healing. When we ask God to heal a disease, it’s like He replies, “That’s not what I said! I said, ‘Heal the sick! I want you to get it done because you know who you are and what you have and now I want you to act like it!’” We don’t pray about it, rather we prophecy the word with creative power. (God put creative power within us the moment we were created. I spoke about creative ability/power last week in Part 2.) So now we begin to take our authority and say, “Take up your bed and walk!” “Tumor in this body, I command you in Jesus name to wither and die right now!” “Viruses in this body, be cursed, wither and die! Burn now, virus!”
God will hear the cry of a person who doesn’t know how to pray and they just cry “Help!” because He comes in mercy and love. I believe that! God’s grace can make up for any weakness. But I still believe there is still a place for “the Spirit of the Lord God is upon me because He has anointed me…” To what? “To proclaim liberty to the captives (Is. 61:1).” To say to those who sit in darkness, “Come forth!”
I stopped praying for people to get saved. I just command them! You know I stopped praying for my Dad to get saved a long time ago. Instead I went into the spirit and said, “You in sin and darkness, Dave Bentley, I proclaim liberty and an opening of your prison into the ministry as a servant of the Lord. In the name of Jesus, come out of your darkness now!" And he did!
As I step into what God reveals to me and issue authoritative commands because I know who I am and what I have, a boldness rises within me. Also, because I know I’m a son of God and the Father loves me just as much as He loves Jesus, I’m not afraid of the Devil. Jesus prayed, “…and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me” (Jn. 17:23). Do we understand what He said? He’s the firstborn, our brother! And now we’re joint-heirs and co-laborers. So we take our authority. We’re made for dominion; we’re made to conquer and overcome. We’re chief rulers who possess authority over sin, sickness, disease, death and poverty.
5. TAKING AUTHORITY OVER THE SPIRITUAL CLIMATE
We have authority over the spiritual atmosphere. Before I minister in a service I’ll begin to take authority over the spiritual climate because I have an understanding concerning the connection between demons and sickness. I’ll bind and take authority over demons that cause different sicknesses because I know we don’t wrestle against flesh and blood “…but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places” (Eph. 6:12). Then I’ll command those devils to let go of the people and I’ll release a corporate anointing. People will get healed in their seats the moment we bind and loose in heaven.
THE WORD OF KNOWLEDGE
6. SYNCHRONIZING HEAVEN AND EARTH
An intimate relationship with the Holy Spirit is the key to receiving words of knowledge. I began to flow in this gift after spending lots of time developing a relationship with the Holy Spirit. About eight years ago I had a visitation of the Holy Spirit that lasted 4-12 hours a day for three months. It was during this intense season that I began to develop my spiritual senses. And even to this day I will wait on the Lord. I’ll take maybe 10 minutes, or it could be an hour and sometimes three hours at a time to lie before Him.
The word of knowledge is simply when we get synchronized with the blue print of heaven; what’s happening in heaven at that precise moment. Jesus describes this as the spirit of counsel and might (Is. 11:2). Might is strength and power and the spirit of counsel is wisdom and revelation. I only want to do those things that I see my Father doing and that brings the Spirit of power (Jn. 5:19). So before I come into a service, I’ll take between one and three hours to be quiet before the Lord, seeking Him concerning the blueprint of heaven for the service. He will always speak.
As I seek the Lord I’ll begin to just know things and I’ll get impressions that I feel in my body. I’ll see visions, pictures, or open visions and sometimes I’ll get inner or outer visions and trances where I’ll fall into a dream-like state, but I’m awake. In this state people will talk to me just like in a dream, but I am totally awake. They’ll tell me their name and details about their life. I’ll even have times where an angel of the Lord will visit me (a messenger) that will communicate revelation to me without saying anything. I’ll just know things in his presence. His presence brings an impartation of the spirit of wisdom and revelation; the spirit of knowledge and understanding (Is. 11:2).
(Sometimes God will actually translate me to physical places and I’ll lay hands on people although physically I never left the church building, my home, or my city. I’ll be in a meeting just like this, but I’ll go all the way across the world and lay hands on somebody. They’ll get healed and phone back to the place where the meeting was and declare their healing. It's happened!)
7. TWO KEYS THAT RELEASE WORDS OF KNOWLEDGE
Here are two keys that will help us to release words of knowledge. The first key concerns a lifestyle of sowing into the kingdom of God. God is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him; those who sow into His kingdom. The second key is to confidently ask God for details. You see, after the Lord gives me an impression about someone, I will ask for more information. “Are they male or female?” And after He tells me, I’ll ask their age. But sometimes I’ll only have a picture (in my mind) of the person and so I have to guess their age by what they look like in the picture. That’s why you’ll hear me say, “…between 40 and 44 years of age.” And then I’ll keep pressing in by asking God where they will be sitting in the service and what their name is. I’ll continue asking for details and making myself available to the Lord as I wait in faith for His revelation.
Then as He responds and begins to show me things, I initiate back in the faith realm. So it goes from faith realm to sovereign realm to faith realm. As God begins to show me things, I begin to pull for more details. Sometimes He’ll give me the whole thing and other times He’ll give me a piece. And because I am not satisfied with a piece, I’ll ask more questions: “What is their middle name?” “What is their last name?” “Who are they connected to?” And God will give me the word of knowledge. Now when I come into a meeting and I declare that word as I saw it heaven, the power of God is released on the earth. As the word of knowledge goes forth it brings great encouragement, healing and deliverance. But it’s only because I synchronized heaven and earth.
8. DOING ONLY WHAT THE FATHER IS DOING
Look for what the Father is doing (Jn. 5:19). After I release a corporate anointing (see #5) for healing, I’ll ask, “Who’s feeling something in their body right now: fire, heat, electricity? Or, “Who knows their pain is gone and you’re able to do something you couldn’t do before? I want you to respond to what’s happening right now.” And then even as they begin to respond, I pray for God to bless and continue what the Father is doing.
Two or three people will often report the same kind of healing. An example would be that several are healed of an ear condition and so I’ll know this is a common thread. I’ve learned to look for common threads when I want to release the anointing. So if there is a common grouping of certain kinds of miracles taking place by the sovereign hand of God, then I will pray for everybody with that condition in that moment. This is the way that I will know what the Father is doing.
Sometimes when I am in a service like this, when I want to manifest and release the anointing in worship or when I take the microphone, I’ll say, “Let’s wait on the Lord for a moment.” I’ll look around the room, watching for the visible touch of the Lord on somebody. Sometimes I’ll see a pocket of three people in one area and to say, “There’s a pocket of three people over here; the anointing is on this side of the room.” And then I’ll come over and capitalize on what’s happening. And then I’ll take that little pocket and whoosh it down the whole row. We need to learn how to be sensitive to feel and read the room to know what’s going on and we need to look around to see and discern what the Father is doing.
(There is an anointing on our ministry right now for metal rods and metal plates. People are telling us that as a result of receiving healing from the Lord during our healing meetings, that metal rods and plates aren’t in their bodies anymore! Disappeared! This is a new thing that the Father is doing. And because I’ve seen God performing this miracle enough times lately, I’ve come to understand that I can initiate healing now when someone has a metal rod or plate.)
9. DISCERNING DIFFERENT ANOINTINGS
Learn to recognize and discern different anointings on people’s lives. Because I’ve have developed a sensitivity to the Spirit of God I can look over a crowd and recognize different anointings. I’ve come to know and feel anointings. (It’s a knowing and isn’t like seeing someone with your physical eyes.) I might discern a prophetic anointing or a healing anointing on someone. Or I might see an anointing for the joy of the Lord and refreshing. Often I’ll call out someone’s destiny. I might see music over somebody or have a strong impression they are apostolic or prophetic. The ability to recognize different anointings is a great gift from the Lord because people get so encouraged to press on in their walk with the Lord and to continue to step out in their anointing.
10. SEEING THE GIFT OF FAITH
People usually don’t realize that when they have the gift of faith it can actually be seen on them! When Paul the apostle was preaching in Lystra, he saw a lame man who had faith to be healed (Acts 14:9). I thought about that. Was the man doing something in the natural that caused Paul to see that he had faith? So I asked the Lord how Paul knew about the lame man’s faith. And the Lord revealed that Paul saw “the substance;” faith is the substance (Heb. 11:1). He saw the spirit of faith.
Here’s how I see someone’s faith. When I want to release God’s power in a meeting I’ll actually look over the room to see if there is anyone who has faith. I can actually look at people and see what some would call an aura or an energy. (That’s what the world will call it.) When I see a substance like electricity hovering over someone, I’ll say, “The spirit of faith is on you. Come on up here.” And they’ll get healed. At times I’ll actually look for that substance in people’s eyes.
Now we all have faith, but we aren’t all in the gift of faith. Here’s the difference. We have faith, but that’s the faith we all have because God “dealt to each one a measure of faith” (Rm. 12:3). But it’s not the supernatural energy of faith—the gift of faith—that’s an actual infusion of energy that comes upon someone to believe God. When this hits someone, I can see it happening in the room. I’ll know if someone has the gift of faith functioning, or if they have normal faith functioning. We don’t grow the gift of faith because it’s given to us as a perfect complete gift. On the other hand, the faith that God has dealt to each one of us in measure, can grow.
CLOSING
When believers manifest the anointing, they will release the anointing! God wants us to know who we are and what we have as sons and daughters who are called to be chief rulers and ambassadors in the earth. As we walk in the fullness of what the Lord intended for us, we’ll be a company of people who manifest the anointing to the extent that cities and nations are impacted by the gospel. And so I’d like to invite you to pray with me.
Heavenly Father, we want to be your consecrated vessels—the body of Christ, that company of believers—marked with the presence of the Holy Spirit both in us and around us, and marked because we look like Jesus. We want to glorify you in the earth, but if we’re not manifesting the anointing the world will not be changed. Lord, we surrender our lives completely to you and we open our hearts wide to receive all that you have for us so that we can advance your kingdom in the earth in these critical days.
As the urgency of the hour is dawning upon us please help us not to shrink back O God. We want to be pure in heart without fleshly motives, only desiring you to be glorified. Please help us to be a living expression of what Jesus was like 2,000 years ago when He cast out devils, preached the gospel, healed the sick, raised the dead and moved in kingdom power. We see a great harvest coming and we want to be ready. Please help us not to miss the fullness of what you have purposed for us so that we can partner with you to accomplish your heart’s desire. Thank you, Heavenly Father. In Jesus Name, Amen.
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REVIVALIST TODD BENTLEY
God wants us to tap into all of the fullness of what He has for us as His sons and daughters (Eph. 3:19). We need a holy hunger that drives us to go the distance with God because the whole earth, creation itself, is waiting for the manifestation and the revealing of the sons and daughters of God (Rm. 8:19). So this week we’re going to dig into some practical keys to release the anointing so that we can express the heart of Jesus to mankind.
TAKING RESPONSIBILITY TO ADVANCE GOD'S KINGDOM
There’s a groaning and a cry from creation itself for deliverance and power: “I want to be set free! I want to throw off the curse of the law and throw off loss, disease and death! Oh where are the sons and daughters of God? Where are the people who are dispensers of the glory who can do something about death because they carry resurrection power? Where are the people who will bring creation itself into the glorious liberty of the children of God?” The Lord wants to answer this cry by raising-up radical Christians who will take responsibility to advance His kingdom. This company of believers, the body of Christ, will come into their position as chief rulers and ambassadors of the kingdom of heaven here on earth.
It’s God’s desire that the body of Christ would arise with a passion to be an expression to the world of what Jesus was like 2,000 years ago. However, as we discussed in Part 1 and 2, the body of Christ is not yet manifesting the anointing to the point that the world is being impacted by the gospel. I believe one of the reasons we’re not seeing the fullness is because of our mindset. So often we have a rapture-departure mentality! We need to break that mentality; otherwise we’re not going to walk in the fullness of who we are now and what we have. It’s like we’re constantly saying, “I can’t wait until God gets us out of this mess; maybe just ten more years, maybe just twenty more years.” Or, “I believe Jesus is going to come in my lifetime.” Well that’s great, but what are we doing now to advance the kingdom of God?
Yes, Jesus is coming. I want Jesus to come too. But I’m not even concerned about that because I’m too busy sweating in the harvest field to look up and see if He’s coming. I’m trying to get as many as I can into the kingdom of God before He gets here. And I’m not in a hurry for Jesus to get here because I know where I am going. Listen. I’m not in any hurry to get out of my body and into heaven; I’m living in heaven now as much as I want to. The kingdom of heaven is at hand (Mt. 4:17). The kingdom of heaven is within us (Lk. 17:21).
And as I said last week, we’re a spiritual creation. We have spiritual eyes called the eyes of our understanding (Eph. 1:18).We touch, taste, smell, hear, and see in the natural and in the spiritual. We are citizens of heaven (Ph. 3:20) possessing everything that heaven has to offer (Eph. 1:3). We have the opportunity before us to be full with all the fullness of God because we are sons and daughters of God (Eph. 3:19). We’re joint heirs with an inheritance (Rm. 8:17).
Everything in the natural realm and everything in the spiritual realm is under our feet because Elohim has made us just a little lower than Himself (Ps. 8:5). Because we have dominion in the spirit over sin, sickness, disease, death and poverty there is an invitation to come boldly before God’s throne and to partner with Him by taking our position of authority (Heb. 4:16). So let’s examine some of the keys that will release the anointing in our lives. We want to be dispensers of God’s glory who take responsibility for the ministry that God has for us.
TEN KEYS THAT RELEASE THE ANOINTING
1. GOD CONSCIOUSNESS
Consciousness means: the state of being conscious; awareness or the totality of one’s thoughts and feelings (Webster’s Dictionary). We’ll have a deep God consciousness and awareness of God’s will and what He’s doing in the present moment when we are:
*
walking in holiness (Eph. 1:4)
*
saturated by the Holy Spirit (Acts 2)
*
abiding in the vine close to the Father’s heart (Jn. 15)
*
keenly aware of the prompting and quickening of the Holy Spirit (Is. 30:18-21)
Last week we discussed the apostle, John G. Lake’s extra-ordinary ministry. When asked about the secret to the anointing in his life, he said, “It’s God consciousness.” We see the fruit of this secret throughout his ministry. There were thousands of souls who not only received healing from their sickness, but they also made decisions for Jesus Christ. The city of Spokane (where he ministered) was declared the healthiest city in America and over 600 churches were planted in five years of ministry.
It’s God’s desire that the body of Christ possess the same kind of anointing that John G. Lake had. So I have a question. Just how badly do we want it?
2. GOD'S SPIRIT IN US
Through His Spirit which dwells in us, the anointing is released. It doesn’t get anymore practical than this: “But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you” (Rm. 8:11). Listen! The Holy Spirit will bring life and healing power not only to our mortal bodies through the Spirit who dwells in us, He will bring His life and healing power to those we pray for. When the power of God comes upon us, it’s released out of the spirit realm into our soul realm. Then it manifests into our bodies and our sickness falls off.
If we meditate on the scripture passage just mentioned, the living word of God will become a reality that permeates our whole being. Here’s what I say when I’m lying on my bed meditating on a verse like this: “The same Spirit, the very same Spirit that anointed Jesus to heal all those oppressed of the Devil, that same Spirit that anointed and empowered the ministry of Jesus, that raised Jesus from the dead, lives in me! In me right now is the very same Spirit that raised His dead body 2,000 years ago! The very same Spirit that was involved in the creation of the universe itself; the same Spirit!”
So when I begin to meditate on: Christ in me; the sons and daughters of God; God consciousness; being possessed by God; the authority and power that’s in me by God’s Spirit; all of a sudden the anointing begins to well up in me like a spring called living water. Then it becomes rivers of living water flowing through my body and soul. So I get healed and so does everyone else around me! (You know what? We can even practice this on an airplane. Just sit there, get quiet and start releasing Christ in you until the guy next to you starts to feel Him. We can have a lot of fun partnering with the Holy Spirit this way.)
3. PARTNERING WITH GOD, BOLDLY
The fact is that God made us to partner with Him. When we get a solid revelation about this I believe we will see a lot more of the power of God. So often when Christians start talking about the power of God they say, “Oh, it’s Jesus. Look to Jesus!” Listen! Of course it’s Jesus! Everything we have is because He gave it to us and He made us joint-heirs. But God made us to partner with Him and He doesn’t want us to be timid. We are co-laborers with Him and we don’t have to apologize for this! We can be bold!
When I’m in a meeting I’ll ask God, “Who do you want to heal right now?” And then I can actually see who will get healed at that moment and I tell that person to stand up. I’ll say to them, “Whatever is wrong with your body will be healed right now!” And healing will happen because I’ll actually see the Spirit of the Lord hovering over them and I’ll recognize there is an anointing for healing and then I’ll boldly declare it.
The apostles Peter and John co-labored with God boldly. Once they came upon a lame man who wanted alms from them. But Peter and John had something much better to give him. Both apostles said to the man, “Look at us!” US! So the lame man gave them his attention because he expected to receive their alms. But instead of giving him mere money, Peter’ eyes pierced the man’s soul as he said, “Silver and gold I do not have. But what I do have I give you in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth. Rise up and walk” (Acts 3:6). Now watch this! Peter didn’t have silver and gold, but he declared boldly “…what I do have I give you.” His boldness came forth without hesitation because he knew who he was and what God said he had and so he commanded the man in Jesus Name to walk! And with a leap the man stood upright and began walking (v. 8)! Healed!
Now even though Peter knew he was God’s partner, his boldness could have looked like pride to an onlooker. “Hey wait a minute Peter. I thought Jesus was the healer. Why are you telling the man to look at you? We better get our eyes on Jesus.” Yes, we’re supposed to fix our eyes on Jesus. And I believe Peter and John were doing just that in their hearts as they boldly commanded the lame man to look at them. Listen. There comes a time when we understand who we are and what we have and it makes us bold in Jesus.
4. ISSUING THE AUTHORITATIVE COMMAND
There’s an anointing that takes us beyond just asking for something in prayer. It’s called the “authoritative command.” Here’s how the authoritative command works in the area of healing. We tell the body what to do! Listen to what Jesus commanded His disciples: “Heal the sick … . (Mt. 10:8).” Jesus didn’t say, “Pray for the sick.” He said, “Heal the sick.” In other words, we have the authority to command the body what to do.
The authoritative command of healing isn’t, “Lord, I pray for this cancer to be healed.” Or, “Jesus, I pray for this guy to be set free and that you take off all the chains.” Or, “Oh Jesus, I pray that you take the devil out of this guy’s body.” No! It’s the authoritative command of healing. We can command diseases to leave: “Cancer, in the name of Jesus I say to leave this body!’
As well, it’s not about wondering if it’s God’s will to heal someone, or even asking if He wants to use us as an instrument to bring healing. When we ask God to heal a disease, it’s like He replies, “That’s not what I said! I said, ‘Heal the sick! I want you to get it done because you know who you are and what you have and now I want you to act like it!’” We don’t pray about it, rather we prophecy the word with creative power. (God put creative power within us the moment we were created. I spoke about creative ability/power last week in Part 2.) So now we begin to take our authority and say, “Take up your bed and walk!” “Tumor in this body, I command you in Jesus name to wither and die right now!” “Viruses in this body, be cursed, wither and die! Burn now, virus!”
God will hear the cry of a person who doesn’t know how to pray and they just cry “Help!” because He comes in mercy and love. I believe that! God’s grace can make up for any weakness. But I still believe there is still a place for “the Spirit of the Lord God is upon me because He has anointed me…” To what? “To proclaim liberty to the captives (Is. 61:1).” To say to those who sit in darkness, “Come forth!”
I stopped praying for people to get saved. I just command them! You know I stopped praying for my Dad to get saved a long time ago. Instead I went into the spirit and said, “You in sin and darkness, Dave Bentley, I proclaim liberty and an opening of your prison into the ministry as a servant of the Lord. In the name of Jesus, come out of your darkness now!" And he did!
As I step into what God reveals to me and issue authoritative commands because I know who I am and what I have, a boldness rises within me. Also, because I know I’m a son of God and the Father loves me just as much as He loves Jesus, I’m not afraid of the Devil. Jesus prayed, “…and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me” (Jn. 17:23). Do we understand what He said? He’s the firstborn, our brother! And now we’re joint-heirs and co-laborers. So we take our authority. We’re made for dominion; we’re made to conquer and overcome. We’re chief rulers who possess authority over sin, sickness, disease, death and poverty.
5. TAKING AUTHORITY OVER THE SPIRITUAL CLIMATE
We have authority over the spiritual atmosphere. Before I minister in a service I’ll begin to take authority over the spiritual climate because I have an understanding concerning the connection between demons and sickness. I’ll bind and take authority over demons that cause different sicknesses because I know we don’t wrestle against flesh and blood “…but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places” (Eph. 6:12). Then I’ll command those devils to let go of the people and I’ll release a corporate anointing. People will get healed in their seats the moment we bind and loose in heaven.
THE WORD OF KNOWLEDGE
6. SYNCHRONIZING HEAVEN AND EARTH
An intimate relationship with the Holy Spirit is the key to receiving words of knowledge. I began to flow in this gift after spending lots of time developing a relationship with the Holy Spirit. About eight years ago I had a visitation of the Holy Spirit that lasted 4-12 hours a day for three months. It was during this intense season that I began to develop my spiritual senses. And even to this day I will wait on the Lord. I’ll take maybe 10 minutes, or it could be an hour and sometimes three hours at a time to lie before Him.
The word of knowledge is simply when we get synchronized with the blue print of heaven; what’s happening in heaven at that precise moment. Jesus describes this as the spirit of counsel and might (Is. 11:2). Might is strength and power and the spirit of counsel is wisdom and revelation. I only want to do those things that I see my Father doing and that brings the Spirit of power (Jn. 5:19). So before I come into a service, I’ll take between one and three hours to be quiet before the Lord, seeking Him concerning the blueprint of heaven for the service. He will always speak.
As I seek the Lord I’ll begin to just know things and I’ll get impressions that I feel in my body. I’ll see visions, pictures, or open visions and sometimes I’ll get inner or outer visions and trances where I’ll fall into a dream-like state, but I’m awake. In this state people will talk to me just like in a dream, but I am totally awake. They’ll tell me their name and details about their life. I’ll even have times where an angel of the Lord will visit me (a messenger) that will communicate revelation to me without saying anything. I’ll just know things in his presence. His presence brings an impartation of the spirit of wisdom and revelation; the spirit of knowledge and understanding (Is. 11:2).
(Sometimes God will actually translate me to physical places and I’ll lay hands on people although physically I never left the church building, my home, or my city. I’ll be in a meeting just like this, but I’ll go all the way across the world and lay hands on somebody. They’ll get healed and phone back to the place where the meeting was and declare their healing. It's happened!)
7. TWO KEYS THAT RELEASE WORDS OF KNOWLEDGE
Here are two keys that will help us to release words of knowledge. The first key concerns a lifestyle of sowing into the kingdom of God. God is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him; those who sow into His kingdom. The second key is to confidently ask God for details. You see, after the Lord gives me an impression about someone, I will ask for more information. “Are they male or female?” And after He tells me, I’ll ask their age. But sometimes I’ll only have a picture (in my mind) of the person and so I have to guess their age by what they look like in the picture. That’s why you’ll hear me say, “…between 40 and 44 years of age.” And then I’ll keep pressing in by asking God where they will be sitting in the service and what their name is. I’ll continue asking for details and making myself available to the Lord as I wait in faith for His revelation.
Then as He responds and begins to show me things, I initiate back in the faith realm. So it goes from faith realm to sovereign realm to faith realm. As God begins to show me things, I begin to pull for more details. Sometimes He’ll give me the whole thing and other times He’ll give me a piece. And because I am not satisfied with a piece, I’ll ask more questions: “What is their middle name?” “What is their last name?” “Who are they connected to?” And God will give me the word of knowledge. Now when I come into a meeting and I declare that word as I saw it heaven, the power of God is released on the earth. As the word of knowledge goes forth it brings great encouragement, healing and deliverance. But it’s only because I synchronized heaven and earth.
8. DOING ONLY WHAT THE FATHER IS DOING
Look for what the Father is doing (Jn. 5:19). After I release a corporate anointing (see #5) for healing, I’ll ask, “Who’s feeling something in their body right now: fire, heat, electricity? Or, “Who knows their pain is gone and you’re able to do something you couldn’t do before? I want you to respond to what’s happening right now.” And then even as they begin to respond, I pray for God to bless and continue what the Father is doing.
Two or three people will often report the same kind of healing. An example would be that several are healed of an ear condition and so I’ll know this is a common thread. I’ve learned to look for common threads when I want to release the anointing. So if there is a common grouping of certain kinds of miracles taking place by the sovereign hand of God, then I will pray for everybody with that condition in that moment. This is the way that I will know what the Father is doing.
Sometimes when I am in a service like this, when I want to manifest and release the anointing in worship or when I take the microphone, I’ll say, “Let’s wait on the Lord for a moment.” I’ll look around the room, watching for the visible touch of the Lord on somebody. Sometimes I’ll see a pocket of three people in one area and to say, “There’s a pocket of three people over here; the anointing is on this side of the room.” And then I’ll come over and capitalize on what’s happening. And then I’ll take that little pocket and whoosh it down the whole row. We need to learn how to be sensitive to feel and read the room to know what’s going on and we need to look around to see and discern what the Father is doing.
(There is an anointing on our ministry right now for metal rods and metal plates. People are telling us that as a result of receiving healing from the Lord during our healing meetings, that metal rods and plates aren’t in their bodies anymore! Disappeared! This is a new thing that the Father is doing. And because I’ve seen God performing this miracle enough times lately, I’ve come to understand that I can initiate healing now when someone has a metal rod or plate.)
9. DISCERNING DIFFERENT ANOINTINGS
Learn to recognize and discern different anointings on people’s lives. Because I’ve have developed a sensitivity to the Spirit of God I can look over a crowd and recognize different anointings. I’ve come to know and feel anointings. (It’s a knowing and isn’t like seeing someone with your physical eyes.) I might discern a prophetic anointing or a healing anointing on someone. Or I might see an anointing for the joy of the Lord and refreshing. Often I’ll call out someone’s destiny. I might see music over somebody or have a strong impression they are apostolic or prophetic. The ability to recognize different anointings is a great gift from the Lord because people get so encouraged to press on in their walk with the Lord and to continue to step out in their anointing.
10. SEEING THE GIFT OF FAITH
People usually don’t realize that when they have the gift of faith it can actually be seen on them! When Paul the apostle was preaching in Lystra, he saw a lame man who had faith to be healed (Acts 14:9). I thought about that. Was the man doing something in the natural that caused Paul to see that he had faith? So I asked the Lord how Paul knew about the lame man’s faith. And the Lord revealed that Paul saw “the substance;” faith is the substance (Heb. 11:1). He saw the spirit of faith.
Here’s how I see someone’s faith. When I want to release God’s power in a meeting I’ll actually look over the room to see if there is anyone who has faith. I can actually look at people and see what some would call an aura or an energy. (That’s what the world will call it.) When I see a substance like electricity hovering over someone, I’ll say, “The spirit of faith is on you. Come on up here.” And they’ll get healed. At times I’ll actually look for that substance in people’s eyes.
Now we all have faith, but we aren’t all in the gift of faith. Here’s the difference. We have faith, but that’s the faith we all have because God “dealt to each one a measure of faith” (Rm. 12:3). But it’s not the supernatural energy of faith—the gift of faith—that’s an actual infusion of energy that comes upon someone to believe God. When this hits someone, I can see it happening in the room. I’ll know if someone has the gift of faith functioning, or if they have normal faith functioning. We don’t grow the gift of faith because it’s given to us as a perfect complete gift. On the other hand, the faith that God has dealt to each one of us in measure, can grow.
CLOSING
When believers manifest the anointing, they will release the anointing! God wants us to know who we are and what we have as sons and daughters who are called to be chief rulers and ambassadors in the earth. As we walk in the fullness of what the Lord intended for us, we’ll be a company of people who manifest the anointing to the extent that cities and nations are impacted by the gospel. And so I’d like to invite you to pray with me.
Heavenly Father, we want to be your consecrated vessels—the body of Christ, that company of believers—marked with the presence of the Holy Spirit both in us and around us, and marked because we look like Jesus. We want to glorify you in the earth, but if we’re not manifesting the anointing the world will not be changed. Lord, we surrender our lives completely to you and we open our hearts wide to receive all that you have for us so that we can advance your kingdom in the earth in these critical days.
As the urgency of the hour is dawning upon us please help us not to shrink back O God. We want to be pure in heart without fleshly motives, only desiring you to be glorified. Please help us to be a living expression of what Jesus was like 2,000 years ago when He cast out devils, preached the gospel, healed the sick, raised the dead and moved in kingdom power. We see a great harvest coming and we want to be ready. Please help us not to miss the fullness of what you have purposed for us so that we can partner with you to accomplish your heart’s desire. Thank you, Heavenly Father. In Jesus Name, Amen.
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posted by KFF at 7:55 PM
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