 I want to minister tonight on walking in the anointing of the Holy Spirit. Today we need fresh power. Today we need a fresh touch of the Holy Spirit. You realize that in the book of Acts chapter 2 when the Holy Spirit fell that it wasn't the first time that the Holy Spirit moved. Genesis chapter 1 verse 2 the Bible says that the Spirit of God hovered above the face of the deep. Genesis chapter 2 verse 7 says that God breathed life. He breathed the breath of life into the dust of the ground and man became a living soul. That word breath is ruach, ruach ha kodesh which means spirit, wind or breath. It was the very essence in life of God flowing through that breath giving life to man. Psalm chapter 139 verse 7 tells us that we can never escape from the Holy Spirit. The Spirit of God goes everywhere and he's everywhere at all times. The Spirit of God was active in Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy all the way down to the book of Acts chapter 2. But think about this, the people who were gathered in Acts chapter 2 had heard the instructions from Jesus. He says I want you to go and wait. Now let's back up a second. How were the disciples able to cast out demons? How were the disciples able to heal the sick? How were the disciples able to preach the gospel if they didn't have the Holy Spirit? I want you to think about this. We get locked into these mindsets. One of the mindsets tell us that the Holy Spirit was somehow inactive for all of eternity and then came to move in the book of Acts chapter 2 and then left when all the cessation is told as he left. But the Holy Spirit is active. The Holy Spirit is alive. The Holy Spirit is giving life and power from the beginning of time. And we see it in the Bible. Acts chapter 10 verse 38 tells us that Jesus was anointed with the Holy Spirit and he went about doing good healing all who were oppressed of the devil. So how did Jesus do good? How did Jesus cast out devils? How did Jesus heal the sick? He told us himself when he quoted Isaiah saying, The Spirit of the Lord is upon me. And he has anointed me to what? To proclaim. It was the anointing of the Holy Spirit that empowered the ministry of Jesus. It was the anointing of the Holy Spirit that moved to those disciples, the 72 who were counted among the followers of Christ. Jesus had 72 disciples, 12 apostles. And those disciples were all able to drive out demons, all able to heal the sick, all able to preach the gospel. Now how did they do it? They did it in the power of the Holy Spirit. So okay, this is what's puzzling me because I see that. They did it in the power of the Holy Spirit. Here they are moving, acting and doing as God has commanded them. And then in John chapter 20 verse 22, Jesus breathes upon them before he ascends. He breathes upon them and says, Receive ye the Holy Ghost. Interesting. So he's active in the Old Testament. He's active in the ministry of Jesus because in Matthew chapter 3 Jesus was baptized and when he was baptized, the Spirit of God descended upon him like a dove, empowering him, leading him into the wilderness in the Matthew 4. Jesus is using the power of the Holy Spirit, imparts the power to the 72. Then the 72 who have the Holy Spirit are told, Receive the Holy Spirit. And then there in John 2022 when he says, Receive the Holy Spirit and breathes upon them, he says, Receive the Holy Spirit. Now wait for the Holy Spirit. And if you're looking at these verses and you're looking at this timeline from a certain paradigm, namely the paradigm that tells you that the Holy Spirit wasn't active until Acts chapter 2. If you're looking at it from that perspective, it's easy to become confused. But when you recognize that the move of the Holy Spirit is both an experienced and a continual state of being, then you begin to see things become clear. Ephesians chapter 5 verse 18 tells us, But be not drunk with wine. That'll destroy your lives. Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit. Now what does that verse mean? Be filled with the Holy Spirit. That phrase, be filled, those two words in the Greek imply continually. Like wind in a sail. Like a river going downstream. Is a continual experience, something we are to have again and again, but it doesn't end there. You see them in Genesis. You see them in the Old Testament. You see the Holy Spirit in Matthew 3. You see the Holy Spirit in Matthew 4. You see the Holy Spirit working through the 72. You see the Holy Spirit being breathed upon the same disciples in John 2022. Then you see the Holy Spirit fall in Acts chapter 2. And then those very same disciples, the ones who were a part of the 72, the ones who were breathed upon by Jesus, the ones who were there in Acts chapter 2, we see in Acts chapter 4, they gather together for another prayer meeting, Peter and John among them. And the Bible says that when they gathered, they prayed and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit. What am I saying to you? I'm saying that the reality of the power of the Holy Spirit is not a one-time experience. You can see it. I just laid it out very clearly for you throughout the Scripture. The power of the Holy Spirit is something that's available to you every single day. The power of the Holy Spirit is something that you're to receive fresh from on high. And I'm here tonight to tell you that before you leave this building, you're going to receive a fresh infilling of the Holy Ghost. You're watching online too. You're not excluded from that. Because Paul wrote, I'm with you in spirit. In other words, he was literally with them, but by the Spirit, you who've gathered online, you're not going to leave without an impartation either. And let me tell you something. The anointing of the Holy Spirit that God wants to give to you is to break bondages. The anointing is not for show, it's for service. It's not for status, it's for service. The power is not to raise or a man or a woman. The power is that God's message might be elevated. And so in this hour, we need a people who will rise and say, God, use me. Who will say, God, anoint me. When I first started in ministry, I would attend these youth services every Thursday night at my home church. These youth services were powerful. God was moving. And many of the ministries that are around today that I know of in my circle of friends, many of us can trace our ministries back to the beginning roots, back to those fresh fire days we call them. Thursday nights, fresh fire. Steve, you were there. Your sister was there. Omar, you were there. Jacob, you were a little child still. I don't know, were you born then? I think you were young. And we would experience moves of the Holy Spirit. And I remember one instance in particular where there was this young girl who had come to our youth group. And I remember her sharing her story. And she began to weep because she had been in church her whole life. She knew all the verses. She had already sung all the worship songs. She had gone to all those special conferences. She understood the protocol if you will on how to be free and stay free and walk in the power of God, all of that. She knew all the preaching. She knew all the songs. She knew all the Bible verses. She heard it her whole life. And that is what compounded her frustration. I remember she was going through and I don't want to share too much information but she shared with the group some of the things that she was facing and they were horrendous. And I remember the look on her face. She was so dejected. So depressed. There was such a heaviness on her and the sad thing was we're all trying to minister to her. We're there in a circle and people are saying things and nothing is touching her heart because she heard it all. I went home that night and I locked my door behind me and I got on my face before God and I said, God, give me the kind of anointing that could break even bondages like hers. We all know it. There are people who just remain unmoved. There are people you know they've heard all the preaching. They've heard all of the quotes and they know all of the scriptures and this is what we need for a culture that's this wicked for a nation that is this rebellious for a time that is this dark we need a fresh anointing that can break the power of the enemy. It's time again that we got on our faces and said, God, anoint me. Not anoint me so I can look good. That's one of the wonderful things about what's happening in this season of persecution is the people who just wanted reputations are not going to be preaching right now. It's the people who want to see the bondages broken off of those who are bound. It's the people who say I want to see the captive go free. It's the people who will say God give me an anointing for a people. Give me an anointing for a generation. Give me an anointing that can break drug addiction. Give me an anointing that can break sexual addiction. Give me an anointing that can break mindsets. Give me an anointing that can break the power of depression and anxiety. That is what God wants to give to you. We need something fresh. Something that stands out. Something that's going to get the attention of this generation. Something that people are going to point to and look and say what is going on there? But before God can send the anointing he needs a willing vessel. It's time to stop playing games. Either we believe the Word of God or we don't. Either we believe his promises or we don't. You see the anointing in the Old Testament the anointing ceremony was symbolic for the power of the Holy Spirit. Kings were anointed. Priests were anointed. Prophets were anointed. And what they would do is they would take a vial of oil or a horn like this. And can I use your force? I'm just kidding. You were ready though, huh? He was like, okay, let's do this. They would take a horn of oil and they would pour it onto the head of the one who was being anointed and that oil would drip down from the head and fall onto the garments and that anointing ceremony was symbolic for what God was doing with that individual. When someone was anointed they were appointed. When someone was anointed they were positioned. When someone was anointed they were set apart. They became a unique expression of the divine in the earth. God not only set them apart he made them holy. In fact even some of the utensils in the Ark and some of the utensils in the Tabernacle were anointed and those utensils were said to be holy once they were anointed with oil because it represented the touch of the Holy Spirit and so that anointing was a symbol and it was a type and a shadow for the substance that is the spirit today. That oil that came upon them when it touched them it was the mark of God on them. It was God saying this one I'll use this one and God's mark is upon you you've received the Holy Spirit Here's how it works I'm sure many of you have heard the illustrations on how the anointing oil was made. I'm sure you've all heard that in order to get the oil from the olive the olive had to be crushed how many have heard this before and it's true but did you ever consider that if the olive was crushed the olive oil nothing was produced there are times that God will bring crushing persecution resistance and only the spirit filled produce power under pressure only the spirit filled produce power under pressure if you don't have the Holy Spirit within you pressure does not produce power it produces fear it produces compromise it produces emotional breakdowns it produces weird doctrines it produces isolation and moodiness and impatience and anger when the pressure is on whatever is inside of you will come out we are in a time of great pressing today we are in a time of great pressure and God is revealing who has the goods some of you don't like it there's a door right there I'm going to preach it my job is not to condemn anyone I'm trying to wake you up here but before the olive was crushed it had to be shaken from the tree the tree represents the familiar before before God can use you he has to shake you from the familiar and then put you under pressure how many of you in this season you've been feeling a little bit of shaking you've been feeling a little bit of pressure you know what amazes me is even though you've been under this pressure you're still here you've been under this shaking and you're still here because God is going to do something with you you watching online you're still in it you may feel like this is something you can't handle you may feel like the pressures are against you you may feel like everything is falling apart but I can assure you this when you feel like it's falling apart it's because God is shaking you from the comfortable he loves you too much to leave you in your comfort he loves you too much to leave you in the ordinary say I wasn't in sin I was living clean and everything's being shaken do you realize that the mediocre even though it is not sinful it is an insult to the glory of God I'm going to say that again because somebody needs to hear that the mediocre even though it is not sinful is an insult to the glory of God yes many believers compromise sin even more compromise in comfort even more compromise in conformity even more compromise in complacency if you want to walk in the anointing you must learn to walk away from temptation the power of God on your life is directly proportionate to the purity within your life it's time to put things under the blood it's time to put compromise aside and let the Holy Spirit do his work in us let the Holy Spirit have his way I want the anointing on my life to increase I pray for it all the time I want the kind of anointing that causes transformation in even the most difficult cases but God needs you to first lay down your life God needs you to first surrender so many say Holy Spirit fill me and he says I can't because you're full of yourself we say God use me he says I can't because you're letting others use you you're saying God speak to me he says I can't because you're filling your ears with garbage God I want to preach the gospel you're too busy preaching politics God I'm ready to surrender all you can't even surrender your morning prayer this is what God is calling us to no more compromise it's time to start preaching the gospel it's time to start declaring the one truth it's time to stop being distracted by the debates and the bickering and the arguing it's time to rise above it all and declare I am not ashamed of the gospel it is the power of God unto salvation because looking for surrender surrender surrender you guys we don't hear that anymore we don't hear about surrender anymore we hear 12 steps to a better this and 10 steps to a better that and 5 steps to improve on this and we spend all this time trying to build what God told us to crucify all the preaching ever is how to climb your mountain you know why they have to teach you how to climb your mountain because they don't have the power or the faith to move mountains and power and faith to move mountains only comes when you surrender to the Holy Ghost we give ourselves and we say Lord take my life we get on the cross and then we come right down think about how the enemy tempted Jesus in the wilderness Matthew 4 if you are the son of God make these stones bread if you are the son of God throw yourself down from there and the angels will catch you he tempted him if you are the son of God bow worship me he offers him all the world if he would simply bow all of that temptation was preparation for the cross because when he was being crucified what did they say to him if you are the son of God the temptation in the desert prepared him for his destiny of crucifixion and God has been preparing a remnant there are people in here who despite their family turning against them have kept the faith there are people in here who despite the trials and tribulation despite the sickness despite the pain despite the persecution you've kept the faith and I'm here to tell you this is your hour this is your time for the sons and daughters of God are being revealed all creation is crying out it's time to surrender we need to preach the cross again we need to preach about the blood of Jesus again let me tell you something let me tell you something yes it's a modern world but truth never changes I believe in the power of the Holy Ghost I believe in laying hands on the sick and watching them be healed I believe in casting out devils call me crazy but I believe in praying in tongues I believe in preaching that Jesus is the only way I believe in preaching the blood of Jesus I believe in preaching the cross I believe in calling sin sin and holiness I believe that there's only one way and his name is Jesus if you believe it will you release a shout of victory it's time to stop compromising church it's time to stop compromising put it aside get rid of the sin get out of that relationship disconnect from those people leave that lukewarm church whatever you have to do forget to the place where there's no more compromise God is looking for people who won't care about their reputations here's the problem God has given reputation to some and that's become an idol for them they won't do what needs to be done they won't say what needs to be said because they're afraid of ruining their reputation there are some that God has given power to anointing gifts and abilities and they use that now for selfish gain now more than ever we need a people who is surrendered and who is pure and whatever you've got to do to get right before God today whatever you've got to surrender maybe there's that one thing you've just been hanging on to tonight is the night to be rid of it tonight is the night to get right to get rid of that thing