 What is the anointing of the Holy Spirit and what does it do in our lives? Let's take a look at the Word of God for answers. The word anoint means to smear or to rub. Now in the Old Testament there was something called the anointing ceremony and in this ceremony a prophet of God would pour oil over the head of an individual or in other cases they would smear oil or rub oil onto certain items. Now this pouring of the oil represented the Holy Spirit of God coming upon someone for a specific purpose. For example, when David was anointed to be king, this is how it looked, 1 Samuel 1613. So as David stood there among his brothers, Samuel took the flask of olive oil he had brought and anointed David with oil. And the Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon David from that day on. Then Samuel returned to Rama. So again this is an example of the anointing ceremony. In this specific instance David was being marked by God as the next king of Israel. So when the prophet poured the oil on David, God was smearing his nature, rubbing his nature onto David so that he could be set apart to fulfill a purpose. So that he could have divine backing, divine authority, sanctification being set apart. The prophet marked David as the next king. And in doing so the power of the Holy Spirit was released, not because there was power necessarily in the oil, but there was power in that symbolic act, in that as David was being marked with oil, he was also being marked with the Holy Spirit. And this again is a mark of sanctification. When God anoints someone or when someone in the Old Testament underwent the anointing ceremony, it was a sign to everyone that this person is marked. This person is set apart. This person has been purposed for a specific task that God has given to them. And not only that, they are being given the divine authority to carry out that task. So as we just saw in the Old Testament, kings were anointed. You can look at 1 Samuel 16 verses 1 and 13. Prophets were anointed. Just see 1 Kings 19 16. Priests were anointed. Take a look at Exodus 28 verse 41. Special holy items in places such as altars were anointed. You can see an example of this in Exodus chapter 29 verse 36. So in the Old Testament, whenever God wanted to set apart an individual or an item as being holy or purposed for something divine, that person or item would be anointed or have oil poured on them or rubbed on them. And this was a symbol that God was marking them or smearing his nature on them. Now let's take a look at how this looks in the New Testament. In the New Testament, we actually still use oil. Take a look at Mark chapter 6 verse 13. And they cast out many demons and healed many sick people, anointing them with olive oil. James 5 15 says, You will be forgiven. So we see that in the New Testament, nowadays we still use oil. We use oil when praying over someone and commissioning them into ministry. We use oil when praying over the sick. We can use oil when praying for people to be delivered from demonic power. So the oil still works. But why does it work? It's not because there's power in the oil itself. It's because there's power in the act of obedience or the act of faith in using oil. Now you don't have to use oil to pray for the sick. You don't have to use oil to cast out devils. You don't have to use oil for anything. But when you do use it and there's faith involved, God will back that. Why? Because the oil represents something. The oil is symbolic for something or rather someone. Acts chapter 10 verse 38. And you know that God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. Then Jesus went around doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil for God was with him. So you notice here that the scripture says that Jesus was anointed not with oil but with the Holy Spirit. So God anointed Jesus with Holy Spirit power. And you and I are anointed in the same way. So that Old Testament ceremony that smearing of the oil is symbolic for God marking his people with the Holy Spirit. And just as an anointing ceremony would set someone apart. So the Holy Spirit sets us apart. When God pours out his Holy Spirit on his people. He's setting them apart for a purpose. He's backing them with divine authority. He's marking them and saying this one is mine. Set aside for a special purpose. When we're marked with the Holy Spirit, we're set aside as holy. We are sanctified. We are put into places of authority and power when God pours out his Holy Spirit upon us. So the Old Testament shadow namely the oil represents the New Testament substance who is the Holy Spirit. Now it's not charisma or good preaching or an exciting personality. That's not what the anointing is. The anointing quite simply is the power of the Holy Spirit. The anointing is the power of God in our lives used to do mighty work. So what does the anointing do? Before I answer that, let me make this clear. There's only one anointing. Now that anointing can affect your life in many different ways. That's the power of God. So when I say anointing, just know I mean the power of God. And the power of God can affect your life in many ways. The power of God can work in you. The power of God can come upon you. The power of God can flow through you. It can work around you. The power of God has many different things that it accomplishes. So there's this idea that some believers have that they have to collect all these different anointings to become the super Christian. So they think, okay, I want the healing anointing and I want the prophetic anointing and I want the deliverance anointing and I want the preaching anointing and I want the business anointing and I want the favor anointing. Oh, I want the Esther anointing or I want a Joseph anointing. Oh, I want a Moses anointing. No, no, that's not how it works. There's only one anointing that's the power of God. Just as all vehicles these days are powered by similar sources namely gasoline. So all gifts, all ministries, all expressions of spirituality are empowered by the power of the Holy Spirit. It may be the same source of power. It may be the same fuel, so to speak, but that fuel empowers different expressions. So you don't have to go and do something special to get a prophetic anointing. You don't have to go and do something special to get the healing anointing or say a special prayer to get the deliverance anointing. Quite simply, if you want the power of the Holy Spirit to work in your life, you simply have to walk in obedience to the Word of God. Have a prayer life, live holy, know the Word, obey the voice of the Holy Spirit, and then you become positioned because you're surrendered to be used by God for whatever purpose he has for you and you make yourself available for the Holy Spirit to flow through you and work his power in any way that he wants to. So there's no secret to getting this anointing or a secret to getting that anointing or a special prayer for this type of expression of power. It's simply the power of the Holy Ghost working in you and as you obey God, love Jesus, and obey the Word, that power begins to express many different things in your life. And so when we use terms like the deliverance anointing or the healing anointing, it's not necessarily wrong to use that terminology, but what we actually mean is that the power of the Holy Spirit, which is the same in all of us, is working in a different way for that moment so people can say, oh, the healing anointing was so strong and what they mean by that when they say that is that people were getting healed and that's how the anointing was operating in that moment or they say something like, oh, that worship team was so anointed. Oh, the preaching was so anointed and what they're really saying is the power of God was very evident in what they were doing. Luke chapter 4 verses 17 through 19 say this, the scroll of Isaiah the prophet was handed to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where this was written. The spirit of the Lord is upon me for he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released, that the blind will see, that the oppressed will be set free and that the time of the Lord's favor has come. So we see just from that portion of scripture alone that the power of God or the anointing is to empower our preaching. The power of God or the anointing brings deliverance. It brings healing. It brings freedom. It brings blessing and favor. The anointing is what makes the difference. You see, when we do things without the help of the Holy Spirit, when we do things in our own strength, by our own power, or we rely on our charisma or our giftings or our personality or something that we know, then we're not relying on the power of the Holy Spirit. But when you rely upon the power of the Holy Spirit, there's actual ability to make a difference. Only the anointing can break spiritual bondages. Only the anointing can bring forth miracles. Only the anointing can make our preaching and teaching effective to where it brings transformation in the soul, in the mind, in the body, and in the lives of those who listen to the preaching. The anointing makes the difference. So what is the anointing? The anointing is the power of the Holy Spirit. And the anointing brings healing, deliverance, power for preaching, freedom to the captives. It brings blessing and favor. The anointing makes the difference. The anointing strengthens ministry. The anointing makes your life more effective for you, son, to the glory of God. The anointing can be at work in you. All you have to do. Is surrender to the Holy Spirit. There's no gimmick. There's no secret. There's no information that only some spiritual elite group knows. It's as simple as loving Jesus, obeying the word, having a prayer life, and living right. Just obey and trust the Holy Spirit. And that power will begin to flow. And I'm going to pray that it flows right now. Father, we thank you that you've anointed those who know you. And I pray today, Lord, that you would pour out your spirit upon all of us in a fresh way. Let that anointing begin to work in our lives. Father, bring healing. Bring deliverance. Bring peace of mind. Bring refreshing. As only you can. Break every bondage in the name of Jesus. And Lord, we also pray that you would cause us to be vessels of your power. Use our lives for your glory. And cause us to demonstrate your power in love to those who need it. And I'm praying that a fresh anointing comes on you. Father, pour out your spirit in a fresh way upon each and every one watching in the name of Jesus. I want you to say it because you believe it. Say amen. Here now is a question for conversation. How have you seen the anointing work for you and through you? Tell me about it in the comment section right now. If you haven't already, make sure to subscribe to Encounter TV on YouTube and click that notification bell so you can receive notices when we put out new videos. And remember, you can also follow us wherever you're watching us. I want to share a scripture with you and it's found in 2 Corinthians chapter 9. I'm going to read verse 10 to you. For God is the one who provides seed for the farmer and then bread to eat. In the same way, he will provide and increase your resources and then produce a great harvest of generosity in you. I think we have to be broken from the mindset that we give to get. Yes, when you give, God does increase your resources. But notice that the scripture says that the harvest God wants to produce in you isn't just you receiving blessing. The harvest God wants to produce in you is a harvest of generosity. This is why he blesses you. This is why he provides resources. God gives seed to the farmer. Now whether you have a little bit of resources or you have a lot of resources, God has entrusted you with something and God looks and sees how we handle what he's given to us. And if we steward well what God has given to us, then God increases our resources again, not just so we can get, but so that we can be generous. So if you want to be one through whom God releases resources, then he has to be able to trust you with what you have right now. So I want to encourage you step out in faith and release resources into this ministry that God might produce a harvest of generosity in you. When you give to this ministry, you're helping us on the mission of soul winning, not just changing lives, but also changing eternities. This is so key that God's people begin to back his work that the work might continue to go and grow. Help us release the content, do the live streams, host the events, and host the Holy Spirit School online. 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