Assignment: Write a piece on the theme of ‘The Anointing’ in any genre you like (500 words maximum).
Holy Spirit Anointing
by Deborah McDermott
“How do you manage to sing like that?” a friend asked after a worship service one Sunday.
I immediately knew she was referring to the silver bell-like quality my voice sometimes takes on, particularly when singing in tongues. Others had remarked on it too and I’d given them the same answer.
“I can only sing like that when the anointing of the Holy Spirit comes on me,” I told her. “Apart from Him, my voice is quite average as far as second sopranos go.”
“Really?” she said with raised eyebrows. “The anointing must come on you pretty often, then.”
The expression on her face indicated she was uncomfortable talking about the anointing. Why, I had no idea. Did she think I was being elitist or super-spiritual? We chatted a while longer about something else before she meandered off, leaving me alone with my troubled thoughts.
As I pondered the issue, I knew there was no way I could ever deny the Holy Spirit or take credit for something He alone can do through His anointing on my life. And He wants to impart this anointing to all believers so we can perform the mighty works of God in our broken world. But, like the priests, kings and prophets of old, it is an anointing that must be applied and acted upon. God can use anyone to fulfil His purposes, but He will only pour the fullness of His anointing into holy vessels who have made themselves fully available to Him. This is the kind of anointing I want—not for myself or my selfish needs, but for God’s glory and to fulfill Jesus’ commission of setting others free from the bondage and works of Satan.
The first time I had a taste of God’s anointing was when I was baptised in the Holy Spirit in a very ordinary Anglican Church service. The Presence of God was so strong that every inch of my body broke out in tingly goosebumps and I was filled with inexpressible joy. When that joy persisted for the rest of that day and for days afterward, I knew the Holy Spirit had transformed me from an excruciatingly shy, unconfident woman into an exuberant and confident daughter of our Almighty God and Father. I was a young Christian, so did not know what the anointing was at the time. What I did know was that God had intervened and broken off my life a crippling yoke of bondage that I have been free of ever since.
As I have grown in the Lord over the past 45 years, I have come to recognise when the anointing of the Holy Spirit is upon me and to respond accordingly. Usually, it’s in the area of my motivational gifts, which are prophecy, exhortation and encouragement. I thrive on building up others in the Church, but every now and then the Holy Spirit will anoint my voice with a silver bell—which I believe is purely for His pleasure and ours.
More Lord
by Ray Burton
Dennis stared into Paul’s eyes. “I want more,” said Dennis. “I want more anointing.”
“Why? ” Asked Paul with a genuine concern regarding the young minister’s motivation.
“Because we should be living like the New Testament Church and doing a lot more miracles than we are,” explained Dennis. “Besides which, Jesus said that we would do more than He did.”
“Hmm…very sound reasons,” said Paul, “but sadly, missing a crucial piece that’s robbing you of the level of anointing that you seek,” responded the old wise elder.
“Missing piece? What are you talking about? The Lord has used me to do miracles for Him. How am I missing anything?” asked Dennis.
“Well, there’ are a couple of ways that we can operate in the miraculous,” said Paul. “First, there’s the way of exercising authority.” Which is where you are. It is taking a scripture such as, “You will lay direct the sick, and they will recover” and then speaking it in faith over a person who needs healing of something. The outcome of this strategy, however, is not in our hands but Gods.
“What do you mean?” asked Dennis.
“Let me first explain the second way that we can operate in the miraculous. It is the same model Jesus lived by. His practice was only to do that which the Father showed Him to do. In fact, the Holy Spirit also only spoke that which the Father told Him to speak. So, in the realm of the miraculous, Jesus was never in doubt that a miracle would take place, not so much because of His authority, but because of His intimacy with the Father. The Holy Spirit within Him would also have been a confirmation to him,” replied Paul.
“But Jesus was the Son of God and would have had a greater intimacy with Him. You cannot seriously expect us to hear God speak as well as Jesus did?” asked Dennis.
“That’s what the devil would have you believe,” said Paul. “But we are children of God, and we can hear His voice. The problem is that people either do not believe it or they do not want to put the work in of cultivating their relationship with God to where they can hear Him in such a deep and intimate way,” replied Paul.
“Let me return to my point about the authority method not always working,” continued Paul. “The reason for this dilemma is we position ourselves in the way of God’s work of transformation.”
“How so?” asked Dennis.
“Well, suppose a person is harbouring bitterness towards someone. God may well want to deal with that first. But if the well-meaning Christian is shouting words of scripture over the sick person, all he achieves is personal disillusionment. The sick person continues in their sickness, and it grieves God.” said Paul.