Do you question your anointing?
By: Rev. Steven B. Smethers DD
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I have often heard people say " I would witness for Christ if I had the gift and knowledge to do so.". I cringe every time I hear this. Evangelism is the one main command that Christ issued to us and he gave us His promise to assist us in this.

Matthew 28:18-20, "And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, [even] unto the end of the world. "

To address the question of whether we as Christians have the power of God's anointing within us:

1 John 2:25-27, "And this is the promise that he hath promised us, [even] eternal life. These [things] have I written unto you concerning them that seduce you. But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him. "

John 15:26-27, "But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, [even] the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me: And ye also shall bear witness, because ye have been with me from the beginning. "

You see that these scriptures assure us that through our redemption in Christ we receive the Holy Spirit (the anointing). Through this anointing of the Holy Spirit we are taught the truths of life in God and given revelation in all things of our Lord.

To address the question of whether good Christian folks are capable of drawing on the power of the Holy Spirit.

John 14:10-16, "Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works. Believe me that I [am] in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works' sake.

Did you catch that? "the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works."

[now read the following closely]

Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater [works] than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father. And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do [it]. If ye love me, keep my commandments. And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; "

Did you see it? "He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater [works] than these shall he do" Can you fathom this? "and greater [works] than these shall he do" This means that we are capable of doing greater works than we read about in the Bible. Is that awesome or what?

[and it goes on to say]

John 14:23-27, "Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him. He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father's which sent me. These things have I spoken unto you, being [yet] present with you. But the Comforter, [which is] the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you. Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. "

You see we never need to question if we have the power of the anointing within us. We are assured by the Bible scriptures that we do have the Holy Spirit within us. All Christians have the power.

You may still say "but I don't have the necessary Christian education or knowledge needed to properly witness for Christ". You simply lack the FAITH to do so!

Matthew 10:19-20, "But when they deliver you up, take no thought how or what ye shall speak: for it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak. For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you. "

Mark 13:11 But when they shall lead [you], and deliver you up, take no thought beforehand what ye shall speak, neither do ye premeditate: but whatsoever shall be given you in that hour, that speak ye: for it is not ye that speak, but the Holy Ghost.

Luke 12:11-12, "And when they bring you unto the synagogues, and [unto] magistrates, and powers, take ye no thought how or what thing ye shall answer, or what ye shall say: For the Holy Ghost shall teach you in the same hour what ye ought to say. "

We are given the power of the Holy Spirit. This Holy power will teach and reveal to us all that we will need to say, even in the hour of our needing to say it. Praise God who understands all of our human shortcomings. He will intercede on our behalf and speak through us. We are but His earthly instruments. Think of yourself as one of God's tools.

The only way God can use us is if we will submit to Him as His servant. If we will not do his bidding then we are no better than a broken and useless tool to Him. A useless Christian is one who sits in church every Sunday and yet never does anything when out in the world on their own. They always expect that somehow it is someone elses job to bring others to the fullness of the body of Christ. If we are useful to Him then we fulfill the position and works that we are given in the fulfillment of the body of Christ. We all have a role to play in the overall structure of the body of Christ.

The anointing is a most precious gift. We are given the Power that was displayed through the disciples and apostles in the Bible. We can call on this power from God and yet some say that they are not qualified to do the works that God has given them? God was certainly not stingy or apprehensive in granting us this awesome power so how can we be stingy with God when He calls us to us this power to His glory?

A great deal of what we can do as Christians depends on our attitude. If we have a helpful and loving attitude and are full of forgiveness one of another then we are useful to God. The love of God is primary and the heart of a servant is mandatory for us to be useful to God.

Ephesians 4:29-31, "Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers. And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: "

Your attitude can grieve the Holy Spirit of God. You cannot be of use if you carry any evil or hatred within you. God forgave us EVERYTHING. He asks that we do the same in kind to eachother. We are to strive to emulate the lifestyle of Jesus Christ.

What did Christ give each and every Christian as their primary work?

Matthew 28:18-20, "And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, [even] unto the end of the world. "

We have seen in this message that we do in fact have the anointing and all power is given unto us. It would seem that some of us lack the faith to do what Christ ask of us. All we have to do is be available to God and He will take over and do the rest through us. Is this too much to ask of us ? How can you ever question the almighty anointing that God has given to you?

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Written by: Rev. Steven B. Smethers
Senior Pastor & Administrator of
United Christian Ministries International,
Christian Inter-Mission 1998