Acts 10:38 NKJV

God ANOINTED Jesus of Nazareth with the HOLY SPIRIT AND WITH POWER, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him.

Luke 4:13-21 NKJV

Now when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from Him until an opportune time. THEN JESUS RETURNED IN THE POWER OF THE SPIRIT TO GALILEE, and news of Him went out through all the surrounding region…So He came to Nazareth…and as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read… He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah…and He found the place where it was written: “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; to proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD.”…He began to say to them, “TODAY THIS SCRIPTURE IS FULFILLED IN YOUR HEARING.”

John 7:37-39 TPT

Then on the most important day of the feast, the last day, Jesus stood and shouted out to the crowds—“All you thirsty ones, come to Me! Come to Me and drink! Believe in Me so that rivers of living water will burst out from within you, flowing from your innermost being, just like the Scripture says!” Jesus was prophesying about the Holy Spirit that believers were being prepared to receive. But the Holy Spirit had not yet been poured out upon them, because Jesus had not yet been unveiled in His full splendor.

John 14:15-18 NKJV

If you love Me, keep My commandments. And I will pray the Father, and HE WILL GIVE YOU ANOTHER HELPER, THAT HE MAY ABIDE WITH YOU FOREVER—the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for HE DWELLS WITH YOU AND WILL BE IN YOU. I WILL NOT LEAVE YOU ORPHANS; I WILL COME TO YOU.

Acts 1:4-8 NLT

Once when He was eating with them, He commanded them, “Do not leave Jerusalem until the Father sends you the gift He promised, as I told you before. John baptized with water, but in just a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit…YOU WILL RECEIVE POWER WHEN THE HOLY SPIRIT COMES UPON YOU. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

Exodus 30:22-33 NLT

Then the LORD said to Moses, “Collect choice spices…Like a skilled incense maker, blend these ingredients to make a holy anointing oil. Use this sacred oil to anoint the Tabernacle, the Ark of the Covenant, the table and all its utensils, the lampstand and all its accessories, the incense altar, the altar of burnt offering and all its utensils, and the washbasin with its stand. CONSECRATE THEM TO MAKE THEM ABSOLUTELY HOLY. AFTER THIS, WHATEVER TOUCHES THEM WILL ALSO BECOME HOLY. Anoint Aaron and his sons also, consecrating them to serve me as priests. And say to the people of Israel, ‘This holy anointing oil is reserved for Me from generation to generation. It must never be used to anoint anyone else, and you must never make any blend like it for yourselves. IT IS HOLY, AND YOU MUST TREAT IT AS HOLY. Anyone who makes a blend like it or anoints someone other than a priest will be cut off from the community.’”

1 Corinthians 6:19-20 NLT

Don’t you realize that YOUR BODY IS THE TEMPLE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT, WHO LIVES IN YOU and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, for GOD BOUGHT YOU WITH A HIGH PRICE. SO YOU MUST HONOR GOD WITH YOUR BODY.

Isaiah 63:10 NKJV

But they rebelled and grieved His Holy Spirit; so He turned Himself against them an enemy and He fought against them.

Matthew 28:18-20 NKJV

And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.

Exhortation:

Holy Spirit’s Anointing—His Mandate My Mission

Anointed to Live an Audacious Life

God is not only moved by audacious faith but also by an audacious life. It is a Holy Spirit-anointed life that is not afraid to love fearlessly, live uncommonly, pray audaciously, obey radically, serve selflessly, and give recklessly. There are many biblical examples of individuals anointed by God and filled with bold faith to live an audacious life in obedience to God.

• Daniel was anointed with excellence of spirit, wisdom and understanding. He excelled above all others.
• David was anointed to take down Goliath and defeat the Philistine army.
• The apostles and the Early Church were anointed with power to preach, heal and set free those who were bound.

In Hebrews 11:33-34 NIV, by faith these people lived in the realm of the anointing and the supernatural,

Who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies.

They defied the powers of darkness, persecution, ungodly world system and convention to obey God by making His mandate their mission. We are now living in the most evil, vicious, conscienceless, and demonic times just before Jesus comes again. Amid this, the Church must be filled with faith and the Holy Spirit’s anointing to stand and prevail over all challenges while obeying God’s mandates.

The anointing of the Holy Spirit transforms, empowers, and strengthens us to live in might and the supernatural, just as He did the apostles in the Book of Acts. The anointing of the Holy Spirit set Peter free from fear and guilt (he denied Jesus three times) and made him a fearless preacher of the gospel. The same Holy Spirit’s anointing transformed Paul, a former persecutor of Christians, into one of the greatest missionaries and apostles of love. Stephen was another follower of Christ who was filled with the Holy Spirit but was stoned to death for his faith. His persecutors were so enraged with his preaching that they killed him, but Stephen had no fear. He did not shrink back but fell on his knees, looked up to heaven, and prayed that God would forgive his murderers. He saw Jesus standing up for him in heaven just before he died! We need the anointing of the Holy Spirit to fill us with audacious faith as these saints were, that we will follow God’s mandate and carry out our mission to the end. There is no turning back; we are running forward to finish the race with faith and fortitude because of the Holy Spirit’s anointing. We live as those with nothing to lose and all to gain in Christ Jesus. We live as if we are already dead in Christ.

The Almighty Holy Spirit Who Anoints, Transforms and Empowers to Live Audaciously

The Holy Spirit is the omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent God. He is God eternal, unlimited, sovereign, and One of the three Persons in the Holy Trinity. HE IS NOT JUST A POWER, FORCE, OR REPRESENTATIVE; HE IS GOD ALMIGHTY. The Holy Spirit’s anointing has the substance of His power, nature, and virtues. It reflects Him. Jesus was Spirit-conceived, Spirit-led, Spirit-filled, and Spirit-anointed to obey His Father to the uttermost. Every mandate of His Father was Jesus’ mission, and He lived in perfect obedience to His Father. In the same manner, we need the anointing of the Holy Spirit to live, love, and serve God in complete obedience and accomplish all that He mandates.

One of the failures of the Church is not relating to the Holy Spirit as Jesus, the Son of Man, related to Him. The Holy Spirit is not our servant; we are His servants. Just as the Father and the Son are to be loved, praised, thanked, and glorified, so must the Holy Spirit because the Holy Trinity is One God. We must first seek the Holy Spirit, not just His power. He is personal to us. The Holy Spirit is as the Eternal Father is to us. We are not orphans or fatherless. The Holy Spirit loves us as God the Father and Jesus Christ the Son love us. His heart is on fire for us with a passion. He loves and helps us to be in deep fellowship and intimate communion with Him. He is not distant and impersonal. He is very near because He dwells in us and will abide with us forever.

We are the temple of the Holy Spirit, and He dwells within us when we are born again. He does not reside in us just as power, knowledge, and gifts; He is like a Father to us. He loves, comforts, speaks, teaches, leads, empowers, and does everything a loving Father does for His children. We are a priority to the Holy Spirit’s heart, not only His passion. Just as Jesus called, chose, and drew His twelve disciples to Him, the Holy Spirit does the same with us.

Jesus Christ, Anointed—Making His Father’s Mandate His Mission

Jesus Christ not only had audacious faith, He was anointed by the Holy Spirit to do all that the Father instructed Him to do. He lived, abided, and moved in the power of the Holy Spirit. He was undefeatable and unstoppable no matter the attacks or strategies used by satan. JESUS ALWAYS OVERCAME IN POWER. HE LIVED AN AUDACIOUS LIFE PLEASING TO THE FATHER. There was nothing timid or reserved about the way Jesus lived and believed. He was a powerful and fearless preacher, healer, and lover of God and souls. He would not allow Himself to be in bondage to dead religion nor bow in submission to fear of criticism, hostility, or persecution. His Father gave Him an audacious vision of being the Savior of humanity through the sacrifice of Himself on the cross. He was audaciously free, uninhibited, and lived in the power of the Holy Spirit, fulfilling the Father’s call for Him to be the Savior of the whole world. Every weapon the devil formed and used against Jesus was powerless against His faith and anointing. Jesus said in John 14:30 NKJV, “THE RULER OF THIS WORLD IS COMING, AND HE HAS NOTHING IN ME.”

Jesus Christ entirely depended on the Holy Spirit to make His Father’s mandates His mission. Without the Holy Spirit’s anointing, He would be like any other person in the flesh, with limited ability and power, unable to accomplish all He did. He was perpetually strong and victorious regardless of challenges, persecution, and spiritual warfare. HE SUFFERED MANY THINGS, AND SOMETIMES HE AGONIZED, BUT HE WAS NEVER DEFEATED, DEPRESSED, OR DISOBEDIENT. Jesus was audaciously bold and courageous in obeying God in defiance of the enemy’s hostility, temptations, and attacks. Therefore, at His crucifixion with His last breath, He triumphantly declared, “IT IS FINISHED” John 19:30 NKJV.

After His baptism, Jesus was led by the Holy Spirit into the wilderness for forty days and nights of prayer and fasting and to be tempted by the devil. This was before He began His ministry in Galilee. He was hungry, and the devil came to tempt Him to sin. Through prayer and fasting, Jesus, empowered by the Holy Spirit, resisted the devil, victoriously defeated the evil one, and overcame all his temptations. Luke 4:14 says that JESUS RETURNED IN THE POWER OF THE SPIRIT TO GALILEE, and news of Him went out throughout the surrounding region.

Jesus went to Nazareth, entered the synagogue as His custom, and was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah. According to Luke 4:18-19 NKJV, He opened the book and read from where it was written,

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; to proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD.

After He finished reading, as He closed the book and sat down, all eyes in the synagogue were on Him, and He said to them, “TODAY THIS SCRIPTURE IS FULFILLED IN YOUR HEARING” Luke 4:21 NKJV. Thereafter, Jesus began His ministry preaching, healing, working many wonders and miracles, and touching many lives under the anointing of the Holy Spirit. He was also persecuted. Jesus Christ was anointed to obey His Father, making His Father’s mandate His mission. The resurrected Jesus told His disciples to wait in Jerusalem for the same Holy Spirit to baptize and anoint them. It is still the same Holy Spirit and anointing God wants to pour on His Church in an unprecedented way that His Church will arise, be Spirit-filled, Spirit-led, and Spirit-empowered to make His mandates our mission. We are to minister in the power of the Holy Spirit as Jesus did.

The anointed Church is alive, on fire for God, and cannot help but go out to preach the gospel, heal the sick, cast out demons, break the power of darkness, raise the dead, make disciples of believers, and send out others to do the same. The anointing cannot be contained in-house; it is meant to flow out to the highways and byways to save, heal, and set free. We must learn to seek the Holy Spirit, love and trust Him, and yield all to Him that He may fill us to overflowing. His presence dwelling in us and His anointing will enable us to make God’s mandate our mission.

Honor the Holy Spirit and Steward His Holy Anointing With Great Reverence

As the Spirit of God is holy, so is His anointing. We must relate to the Holy Spirit and treat His anointing with complete reverence and godly fear. WHEN THE HOLY SPIRIT GIVES US HIS ANOINTING, HE IS DRAWING FROM WHO HE IS TO IMPART TO US. We must never treat the Holy Spirit and His anointing as common—lightly, carelessly, and callously. None of us own the anointing, but the Holy Spirit graciously pours His anointing upon us to serve God and His purpose. In 1 Samuel 2:30 NLT, the Lord says, “I will honor those who honor Me, and I will despise those who think lightly of Me.”

In the Old Testament, God instructed Moses to make the anointing oil to anoint Aaron, his sons, and the utensils in the Tabernacle of God. This oil was to consecrate them to God for ministry unto Him. This anointing oil foreshadowed the Holy Spirit’s anointing to be poured out on Christ’s followers, His Church, which Jesus commanded His disciples to wait for in Acts 1 and 2. This was the same Holy Spirit’s oil poured out on Jesus Christ, anointing Him to do all that God told Him to do. The anointing of the Holy Spirit is holy, just as the anointing oil used for consecration in the Old Testament was holy.

In Exodus 30, God gave Moses precise instructions for the making of the holy anointing oil to be used for the consecration of both priests and articles in the Tabernacle for ministry unto God. In Exodus 30:23 -33 NKJV, God instructed Moses,

Also take for yourself quality spices … and you shall make from these a holy anointing oil, an ointment compounded according to the art of the perfumer. It shall be a holy anointing oil. With it you shall anoint the Tabernacle of meeting and the ark of the Testimony; the table and all its utensils…You shall consecrate them, that they may be most holy; whatever touches them must be holy and you shall anoint Aaron and his sons, and consecrate them, that they may minister to Me as priests. “And you shall speak to the children of Israel, saying: ‘THIS SHALL BE A HOLY ANOINTING OIL TO ME THROUGHOUT YOUR GENERATIONS. It shall not be poured on man’s flesh; nor shall you make any other like it, according to its composition. IT IS HOLY, AND IT SHALL BE HOLY TO YOU. Whoever compounds any like it, or whoever puts any of it on an outsider, shall be cut off from his people.’”

We must honor the Holy Spirit and steward His anointing with great reverence. Nadab and Abihu, Aaron’s sons, had no reverence for God and the anointing oil of their consecration. They callously and defiantly offered God a strange fire not authorized by God. God’s wrath broke out against them as He judged and struck them dead. God then told Aaron, through Moses, not to mourn, not to touch his dead sons, and not to leave the tent because the holy anointing oil of God was on him. In Leviticus 10:3-11 NKJV, Moses told Aaron what the Lord said,

BY THOSE WHO COME NEAR ME I MUST BE REGARDED AS HOLY, AND BEFORE ALL THE PEOPLE I MUST BE GLORIFIED…You shall not go out from the door of the Tabernacle of meeting, lest you die, FOR THE ANOINTING OIL OF THE LORD IS UPON YOU…Do not drink wine or intoxicating drink, you, nor your sons with you, when you go into the Tabernacle of meeting, lest you die. It shall be a statute forever throughout your generations, that YOU MAY DISTINGUISH BETWEEN HOLY AND UNHOLY, AND BETWEEN UNCLEAN AND CLEAN, AND THAT YOU MAY TEACH THE CHILDREN.

We must honor the Holy Spirit and steward His holy anointing with reverence and godly fear. The failure to do so is the sin of not distinguishing between the holy and unholy and the consecrated and unconsecrated. The Church must not compromise by tolerating the mixing of the sacred with the profane in our ministry unto God. We cannot operate by mixing the holy anointing with the flesh or what is of the Holy Spirit with the carnal self. We must operate in complete humility and reverence for the Holy Spirit, discerning that He is holy as we function in the power of His anointing. We do not touch the glory of God by taking credit for ourselves. The vessel cannot take the honor belonging to God for himself, as the holy oil is from God, who has graciously poured His anointing into the vessel to be used for God’s purpose. The power, honor, and glory belong to God! We are the temple of the Holy Spirit, not the Holy Spirit Himself. Without Him dwelling in us with His anointing, power, and grace, we are nothing but empty shells. We must love the Holy Spirit and relate to Him with utmost devotion and respect, for He is God. He is not to be dishonored, disobeyed, or grieved. We must also steward His anointing with great honor and care, for His anointing is holy, not common.

The mandates of God cannot be accomplished by any power except that of the Holy Spirit and His anointing. We see this in the anointing of David to be king in 1 Samuel 16:13 NLT, which says, “Samuel took the flask of olive oil he had brought and anointed David with the oil. And the Spirit of the LORD came powerfully upon David from that day on.” David already had faith, courage, and anointing from God as a shepherd caring for his father’s sheep. With his hands, he killed a bear and a lion to protect the sheep, but he did not have the anointing yet to be king. The power and ability to be king over Israel came upon him mightily the moment Samuel anointed him. In the Old Testament, the Holy Spirit came upon certain individuals, empowering them to do great things. Also, men like Moses, prophets, or priests would anoint God’s chosen for specific ministry with oil from a flask; but in the New Testament, not men, but Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Anointer, poured out His Holy Spirit without measure on His apostles, and disciples, and now His Church, to empower us to be His witnesses to the ends of the world to make His mandate our mission.

We are not to grieve the Holy Spirit. The Bible warns us not to defile our bodies, which are the temples of the Holy Spirit. 1 Corinthians 3:16-17 NKJV says, “Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are.” God was so angry with the children of Israel that He turned from being the One who had liberated, blessed, protected, and provided for them to being their enemy because they had disrespected and grieved His Holy Spirit (Isaiah 63:10).

The Vessel of Honor—Consecrated and Prepared for the Holy Spirit’s Anointing and Fit for the Master’s Use

The vessel to be anointed matters. In the world, people are chosen and applauded for their talents, skills, abilities, education, looks, or wealth. In God’s kingdom, the Holy Spirit seeks people after God’s heart—loving God first, consecrated, faithful, and committed wholly to obeying and pleasing Him. In 1 Samuel 2:31-35 NLT, after God rebuked Eli, the backslidden priest, and rejected his household and him, God said,

The time is coming when I will put an end to your family, so it will no longer serve as My priests…THEN I WILL RAISE UP A FAITHFUL PRIEST WHO WILL SERVE ME AND DO WHAT I DESIRE. I will establish his family, and they will be priests to my anointed kings forever.

How do we honor the Holy Spirit and His anointing? We must live consecrated, set apart, and holy unto God. THE VESSELS MATTER TO GOD. HE WORKS IN US AND DISCIPLINES US SO THAT WE CAN BE PARTAKERS OF HIS HOLY NATURE, NOT JUST HIS ANOINTING. God’s grace does not exempt, excuse, or tolerate our compromise, sin, or failure to distinguish between holy and unholy. He forgives those who repent but will never compromise on who He is. Do not live like the world lives. Do not touch the unclean. Come out of the world and be separated unto God. As God’s royal priesthood, what do we have in common with any ungodly culture, system, ideologies, or way of life? Psalm 1:1-6 NKJV says,

BLESSED IS THE MAN WHO WALKS NOT IN THE COUNSEL OF THE UNGODLY, NOR STANDS IN THE PATH OF SINNERS, NOR SITS IN THE SEAT OF THE SCORNFUL; BUT HIS DELIGHT IS IN THE LAW OF THE LORD, AND IN HIS LAW HE MEDITATES DAY AND NIGHT. He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper. The ungodly are not so but are like the chaff which the wind drives away. Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. For the LORD knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the ungodly shall perish.

Consecration, submission, and obedience to the Holy Spirit and His Word are imperative for us to live and walk in Him. Without consecration, the flesh is alive, strong, and often in control. Human passion without consecration is dangerous and deeply deceiving. It is intense, full of zeal, and aggressive, but the originator is not the Holy Spirit; it is the flesh. Such a person has failed to consecrate himself by identifying with Christ in His suffering, death, burial, and resurrection. The Holy Spirit is the One who births in us His holy passion. Carnal passion is a fruit of the flesh with self on the throne of our hearts rather than God. Like the religious leaders of Jesus’ time, they were zealots for religion but not for God and His kingdom. They had the speech and quotes of the Torah but not the character, conduct, and walk of the Holy Spirit. Without holy consecration, because of pride, one will touch God’s glory in ministry like Saul, who eventually built a monument to himself.

THE DEEPER THE CONSECRATION, THE GREATER THE ANOINTING. GOD HAS TO BE ABLE TO TRUST US WITH HIS HOLY SPIRIT AND ANOINTING. Those anointed but destroyed for lack of consecration included Solomon, Demas, Judas and Saul. There have been many examples of world-renowned ministers with global impact who fell profoundly and devastatingly. They all had been called and chosen by God and given great anointing to fulfill their calling. They started well, but when success came, many got careless and progressively lost their consecration. THE MORE THEY LOST THEIR CONSECRATION, THE MORE THEY LOST THE FEAR OF GOD AND FELL INTO DEEPER AND DEEPER SIN. Without consecration, the heart is very hardened, and the conscience becomes seared with a hot iron (I Timothy 4:2). Consecration helps us flow in the anointing and serve God powerfully and reverently. Having a mega-stage, world-renowned fame, widespread accolades, acknowledgments, and the approval of man is of no value without holy consecration to God. When one is consecrated, these things are of no significance to us because we are totally caught up in loving, obeying, serving, and glorifying God and God alone. Consecration protects us from the devil’s temptation of walking in the flesh rather than in the Spirit.

Through the Holy Spirit’s anointing, we will live in holy audacity like Jesus—loving unconditionally, living uncommonly, praying audaciously, obeying radically, serving selflessly, and giving recklessly.