Anointing that breaks the yoke

In the Old Testament scripture we read special people like the famous King David who had been chosen by God for a specific mission in time and through divine favor God had anointed or empowered him supernaturally for such a task.

The empowerment of God in His choice to act through them is also called the anointing.

This divine virtue was often validated by a physical symbol of pouring of oil upon the chosen of God.

This act was performed in Israel by priest’s and prophets when they were placing a king or a priest or even a prophet in their office in recognition of their special place in and with God.

This act done in private or public was a direct sign from God to prove His approval and choice in electing a specific person for a pre ordained task in the history of a nation or of any people’s group.

This signified His sign of approval.

Many wonder what the word “anointing” means and how is it related to the physical oil that is poured out on people?

In reading the Old and the New Testaments we often see this word anointing that almost always accompanies with rubbing and that often with oil.

Oil being an ancient agent of healing for the wounds carries in itself a very special place in the healing virtue of God both in physical and spiritual realm.

“Anointing” also means a special favor or empowerment that comes from being in close relationship with the power source, in our case the Lord our God through His Unfathomable grace.

You see the heavier the anointing the harder was the task for that individual, which meant the more difficult the assignment the greater the responsibility and the greater the empowerment was needed for God’s chosen elect.

Though at the time the recipients of such empowerment do not understand the huge price they must pay and measure of God’s love for them, yet God’s special grace and enablement accompanies them to accomplish their task along the way.

The oil that represents healing or smoothness is the basis from which God is working through them to break the yoke of burdens placed upon them and those whom they are sent. Their assignment is never theirs alone, it always involves those whom they are sent.

Since their anointing or empowerment by divine election is not their own they are never chosen for their own merits.

The strength of their empowerment by God called anointing belongs to God alone and that is why it is never understood by mere men.

See when God chooses to send and empower or rub on someone for service it is so that the glory would not rest on the vessel, but on God who chooses without partiality, yet soon the people watching the vessel either start to hate the choice or wrongfully in the other extreme worship such men, forgetting the true source of their calling.

This is why God always anoints the most unusual men like all His anointed. King Saul a man looking for his fathers donkeys, The young lad David who was a young shepherd or Elisha who’s bold head was a reason to be  laughed at in the natural and Gideon a man of natural weakness and so on.

Only the true anointed or empowered, could really know their own lack of natural qualifications, so they respect this virtue.

Since this empowerment is a God given gift the true recipient knows it’s true value and by recognizing it’s given virtue passes it on for the task given to him/her by God they would not consider it their own.

Also being a divine enablement from God they will always honor the giver being God for such an empowerment and consequently will honor that in others, when they recognize it on some one else.

This is the very reason why King David would not dare touch Saul and his family and would punish others when brought him any evil news on their behalf.

(2 Samuel chapter 4 )

The real men of God understand this choice of God on men and would avoid touching His choice, since by doing that they are touching the vessels of His empowerment to accomplish God’s will on earth. They are actually touching God not the weak element of His choice.

The anointed are vessels of God’s glory and they are to brake the yoke of all different bondages on peoples lives and they are to take away the yoke of many kinds  through the strength which is flowing from the Holy and Truly Anointed One above.

Isaiah the prophet in few occasions spoke of God’s purposed freedom for His people Israel from their yoke of slavery to foreign captors and their spiritual and physical infirmities being in need of redemption.

He once prophesized in chapter 10 verse 27 freedom from Assyrian captivity and another time in Isaiah 61 he prophesized about the coming Messiah as the true Anointed One, who would proclaim liberty to all prisoners in the captivity of sin and satanic  and demonic bondages. In Acts when the Holy Spirit was poured out on the 120 this was another sign of the same principal to empower the Church with the empowerment of the gospel message too.

The same principal was even working on our Lord Who was the True Anointed when He was fully baptized or immersed by the empowerment from above for His wilderness testing and His public ministry.

You see this is why I believe He said to John the Baptist His earthly next of kin, let us fulfill all righteousness when John was denying Himwater baptism first.

Jesus recognized the necessity of His God’s enablement in anointing Him for the task before Him while appearing in the likeness of flesh. Even though He was not in a sinful state, yet He could not accomplish His task without being identified with the empowerment or anointing coming from above to give Him the singleness of pursuit in a form of a dove .

I am so profoundly amazed if Jesus called the Anointed or Christ needed that to acomplish His earthly ministry, how much more we all need to be anointed by Him.

Without such a divine act of grace in empowering the earthen vessels of His glory how could this eternal task be accomplished through such weak vessels?

That is why in Ephesians 4:11 Apostle Paul recognizes this divine virtue on the gifts of the Son for the ministers of the Church. After he himself were encountered by Jesus on the road to Damascus, he still needed to be baptized by the divine anointing so that the glory and strength would not have been His in accomplishing His very difficult task ahead of him.

You see the penetration of the gospel in this demonically darkened world could not be possible without this rubbing from above.

Apostle John the beloved Apostle in his letter of the 1^st John speaks about the anointing that all true believers have in them that is God’s gift to them to not only know the Father through His Son Jesus, but to even recognize the false ministers.

Yes, even though each gift differs from another and each vessel has his/her own gift from God we need to know that when we fear or honor the anointing we fear and honor the source of the anointing Who is God.

If we come to drink from the wells of God’s own salvation it means we have come to partake of the same anointing that the giver of this Eternal Water has to offer. It is by His own mercy that this everlasting fountain has been made available to us all in His eternal act of mercy.

In this we are not going to drink from a jar of clay that can leave us thirsty in the middle of this journey called wilderness of life on this side of heaven. We will be drinking from His eternal Living Waters, that flows from the eternal heavenly rivers of God’s own glory, through faith in Christ by His chosen elements of glory. Then I would say let us drink Church Amen?

In this passage of the Gospel of Luke Isaiah ‘s prophecy is fulfilled in Christ that says….

The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. he has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, [19] to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor. Luke 4:18-19

In this verse five purposes of the anointing are revealed:

1) to enable you “to preach [the] good news” effectively. The news we share about Jesus is “good”. The anointing will enable you to share it with impact.

(2) to make you a messenger, a “proclaim[er of] freedom for the prisoners” — freedom from the prison of sin, of drugs, of depression, of life-dominating habits.

(3) You are anointed to bring “recovery of sight for the blind” — both natural and spiritual healing, as Jesus did.

(4) You are anointed “to release the oppressed”. All around you are people oppressed by sin, by sickness, by demonic attacks, etc. Youhave a message of release for them.

(5) You are anointed “to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor” to people ignorant of the comforting message of God’s grace.

The Holy Spirit anointing brings power to go around “doing good”.

• This Greek word root for “doing good” occurs only twice in the New Testament, and its meaning is that of a philanthropist orbenefactor.

• Vine’s defines it as “to bestow a benefit…”

Can you imagine what God has given to us and the Devil does not want you and me to know.

•• On the spiritual side, the anointing gives you power to break the devil’s yoke in people’s lives.

This many times by just being a voice in their dark world of confusion in living for the devil and his plans.

It does not need to be a spectacular demonstration of the supernatural to be effective it could be a confession of your own freedom from a previous yoke of slavery to anything God has freed you from.

1 John 2:20, 26-27 But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth…. [26] I am writing these things to you about those who are trying to lead you astray. [27] As for you, the anointing you received from him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about all things and as that anointing is real, not counterfeit — just as it has taught you, remain in Him.

Finally, the anointing empowers us to hear, discern, and hold to truth (vs. 20) — “You have an anointing … and … know the truth.”

In sum, we are anointed for many purposes, including:

• to have power to be effective witnesses

• to enable us to share the Good News about Jesus Christ

• to proclaim freedom for the prisoners

• to bring recovery of sight for the blind

• to release the oppressed

• to proclaim the Lord’s favor and grace

• to be benefactors, doing good to needy people

• to break the devil’s yoke in the lives of bound-up people

• to teach us and help us know God’s truth versus error

So may the Lord see us through in such services in these last days.