Continued Teaching- How to Walk Under the Anointing

[emma n j nwosu]

How to Work Under the Anointing Act 1:8

More than a few times in my ministry I have had young men ask me, “Sir, how do you do that?” this question comes when they see me expel demons, heal the sick and mostly when I operate in the gift of word of knowledge. They discover that when I cast out demons I am so confident that they will obey me and leave. They can see that I don’t negotiate or beg them, and that I don’t intend to spend the whole day trying to expel one demon.

Jesus said that we can do the things he did while physically on earth. It is my intention to bring you to some simple principles that will enable you do more than I have done.

Understand that it is the will of God that you walk under the anointing – you should not be begging God for the anointing. It is his honest desire that you have it. If you don’t experience it, it is not because he has not given it to you. As long as God is concerned he has made it available.

 His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.  Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.

       2 Peter 1:3-4 NIV

   God wishes that through the promises of scripture that you will be able to function under the anointing – participate in the divine nature. That is, do the things God does.

 

If you create the right environment, you have the anointing. We have said this before; if it is not manifesting check the environment around you. Seed don’t struggle to germinate neither do children spend sleepless nights thinking how they can grow or bird spend all their life learning how to fly. There are principles that exist naturally in these things that enable them succeed. In the same way there are some spiritual principles in you to enable you walk under the anointing.

Note most importantly that how you see things is how they will manifest to you. A wrong perception of the anointing could be a hindering factor to your walking under the anointing. Anointing is available to every believer. You may not be able to do all that I am able to do, but that is not because you cannot. It is simply the level you are operating now. If you believe that anointing power is not for today, there is very slim chance that you can walk under the anointing. If you believe that you are too unclean or uneducated to walk under the anointing, your belief will build the barrier in your spiritual growth. God is so eager that you operate under the anointing that he opens the door so that the weakest believer can still do the very things that Jesus did and even greater. There are two ways you can walk under the anointing.

1. Faith in the Name of Jesus – take note of these scriptures,

And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues;  they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well." Mark 16:17-18 NIV

 

 

 The seventy-two returned with joy and said, "Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name." Luke 10:17 NIV

 

 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place

and gave him the name that is above every name,

 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,

in heaven and on earth and under the earth,

 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,

to the glory of God the Father. Phil 2:9-11 NIV

 

When Peter saw this, he said to them: "Men of Israel, why does this surprise you? Why do you stare at us as if by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk?........

By faith in the name of Jesus, this man whom you see and know was made strong. It is Jesus' name and the faith that comes through him that has given this complete healing to him, as you can all see. Acts 3:12, 16 NIV

         I underlined those points to enable you understand my points better. There is anointing power in the name of Jesus. You can operate under the anointing in the name of Jesus if you can put implicit trust in his name. In this case you may not be carrying some special grace in your life. This anointing is available to every believer in Christ Jesus. You can operate under this anointing. Peter said there was no righteousness on his side but just simple faith in Jesus’ name.

 

Next time you meet a difficult case, just forget about your short comings and address them in the name of JESUS.

I see it necessary to sound a note of warning here. The scriptures warn that this level of operation can have eternal damaging effect on the operator.

 

 

Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' 23 Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'  Matt 7:22-24 NIV

 

On judgment day many will say to me, 'Lord! Lord! We prophesied in your name and cast out demons in your name and performed many miracles in your name.' 23 But I will reply, 'I never knew you. Get away from me, you who break God's laws.' Matt 7:22-24 NLT

                         

No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize. 1 Cor 9:27 NIV

 

Most people operating under this anointing tend to take things for granted. They conclude that the manifestation of God’s power in their ministry is a sign of divine approval, so they fail to walk in personal consecration. In fact many of them live in overt sin. The NLT put it clearly, You…. break God’s law. Apostle Paul said that it is possible to be used by God and dumped at last. I pray that this will not happen to any reader of this book.

 

2. Gift of the Spirit – the second way to work under the anointing is through the gift of the Holy Spirit; that is, there is a special endowment of some gifts to enable one perform extra-ordinarily in God’s service. Let us try to see this through the eye of scripture. There are two men in the bible remembered for their ability to interpret dreams and administration, Joseph and Daniel. If Joseph faces a challenge on a particular dream or interpretation, he does not go to pray or fast. He looks at some points and principles in the dream and used them to interpret the dream. In all occasions he was called up he interpreted the dreams correctly and his administrative guide lines proved right. That is a man with a gift. It is endemic. That was not the case with Daniel; he must need pray, search the spirit realm and must of necessity be in a particular spiritual state to function. That is what it means to operate under a borrowed authority as we discussed above.

 

 Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. 8 To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, 10 to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues.   11 All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to each one, just as he determines. 1 Cor 12:7-11 NIV

 

We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man's gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. 7 If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; 8 if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully. Rom 12:6-8 NIV

 This is not a book on spiritual gifts so we have to leave that for another time.

Those who have gifts know it and through the guidance of the Holy Spirit they will know how to operate under it.

 

Things That Can Hinder the Manifestation of Anointing Power

 

Wrong belief –

 We mentioned this earlier; I once met a young evangelist who believed that all he was out to do was to win souls. He said that he was not interested in miracles because miracles are demonic. He was taught by those who disciple him that the era of miracles are gone. Another missionary believed that we do not need   to bother to cast out demons today because demons are nothing at all. Yet, somebody else believed that miracles are too high a thing to ask from the Lord because it is for the office of apostles and bishops to manifest such. For all these people, it is almost impossible to walk in the anointing because their faith says No to it.

 

Self-centeredness –

Satan tried this on Christ in the wilderness temptation; turn stone into bread that you may eat. Do it for yourself. This is when we want to manifest the grace of God for our own interest. Many times in my ministry I considered charging people money for prayers and ministry. I thank God who restrained me. The powers with which I do these things don’t belong to me, how then can I charge money for it.  If I do, the owner of the power will abandon me, then I have to resort to charms and mystic materials.

 

Another way this works is when you want people to worship you because of the grace of God in your life. You then begin to carry big titles about, and then intimidate people with your track record as a great miracle worker. Since God is not willing to share his glory with any other person (Isa. 42:8), he abandons you.

 

There is still another way this works: when someone feels that he has to merit the grace of God. You feel inadequate because you have not prayed or fasted like some great men of God. You will never qualify for it; just believe in the willingness of God to touch people through you. God is eager to use you, so just let him.

 

Defilement of sin-

Most believers do not know what sin does in their life. They concentrate on the eternal consequence of life of sin, and ignore its immediate effect. When any genuine child of God lives in sin, it affects his confidence and boldness. The bible says that the righteous is as bold as the lion (Prov. 28:1). That lion-boldness is what prompts this kingdom confidence in you. If for any reason this confidence is lacking, it is difficult to function in full capacity. That is why devil keeps trying to make you fall into sin. With this understanding, you can now see why you should not give up on your pursuit of a godly life. But note also that in as much as you are not willing to give up on your pursuit, devil is not going to stop tempting you. Your success depends on your ability to continue in a sinless living, and his success in pulling down your ministry depends on his ability to sow sin into your life. Your success means the destruction of his work and deliverance for God’s children in bondage to Satan and his cohorts. So stop seeing sin only in the area it hurts God, but also the area it hurts you and your ministry. If you love your ministry, then resist sin with all your might.

Cross Carpeting –

The ministry is like a race, and the major rule in the race is that you must keep to your track.

Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. 1 cor. 9:24 NIV

If you remember I mentioned that every believer can function under the anointing and have miracles, sign and wonders happening there. The tendency is that immediately one notices these, he concludes he should go and open a church, or at least be honored with the “exalted office” of a pastor. If this does not happen, our brother becomes offended and starts looking for where this can be accorded. The result is that a ministry that started will great evidence of divine approval begins to fade off. Remain faithful in the area God has called and placed you. Do it with all your might. When the time comes for your exaltation, God knows what to do. Do not seek your own honor. Whatever God has called you to do is important to him. Be faithful.

Lack of personal discipline –

Even though we mentioned earlier that you can walk under a borrowed authority, there is the need that you discipline yourself as one in a serious business. Prepare yourself like somebody who values his office. Athletes, doctors, engineers etc do a lot to be qualified and fit for their task. Let not the Lord’s servant think less is required of him.

 

Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. 1 Cor 9:25-26 NIV

Once in a while I go jogging, but I know I am not competing with anybody and have nothing to lose if I don’t do much. At times I stop jogging and walk instead. All this is because I have no prize to win. But some people make their living out of running and other athletics. For such people it is much more serious business. I was once into boxing too. When you are not fighting with anybody you know there is no danger if you lose concentration. But it will be suicidal if you do that in a title fight in the ring.

 

How do you see God’s calling on your life? The bible says that if you value your ministry, you will go through strict training. Strict training in prayer and fasting, in bible study, in attending conferences and going to prayer retreat camps. You will lay aside everything, friends and jobs inclusive, which can hinder you from fulfilling your ministry. I wish to encourage you to value your calling and ministry. Put in everything you can to fulfill your ministry. In eternity you will not be asked how many cars or houses or children you had here. Or how big was your cathedral. The question will be, “Did you fulfill your ministry? Did you do exactly what the Lord brought you forth in this world to do?” This is what you should concentrate your effort to. Sorrow will fill the hearts of those who had majored in anything beside the reason God created them. How they will lament, oh, how they will mourn as they discover that they have wasted their time on earth gathering things that do not matter before our God, Savior and King.

 

Disobedience –

This is one subject any believer anywhere can discuss even near to perfection. We always refer our audience to King Saul, and emphasize on how God told him to do something which he failed to do exactly. We remember that epic declaration from the prophet Samuel, Obedience is better than sacrifice and rebellion is like the sin of witchcraft. We quote this for others and use same to rebuke erring children. But the same person is not walking in obedience in his walk as a Christian. I once met some papers on the prayer closet of one of my friends; it contained some things he had jotted down from a revelation God gave to him. When I challenged him about it, because the instruction was long overdue and he had not taken any step to obey them, he rebuked me for prying into his secret place of prayer. Today that servant of God who carried the anointing is in a state I don’t wish any child of God.

 

When you delay or ignore any instruction from God, it is disobedience. The only reason you can delay obedience for one second is when there is no absolute clarity. Here again we get crafty; when we want to do what we like we don’t wait for clarity, but when it is something that disagrees with our selfish desires we use the ground of CLARITY as excuse. Anointing means to act in the place of God in some matters and God cannot permit a rebel to act for him, not to talk of exercise his power. You cannot carry the anointing in a state of disobedience.www.pnurnigeria.org