Last time – Christ = anointed.
Luke 4 – The spirit of the lord is on me as he has anointed me…
Christ central – the anointed one is central. And that anointing rubs off on to us.
Exodus 30:22 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Take the following fine spices: 500 shekelsd of liquid myrrh, half as much (that is, 250 shekels) of fragrant cinnamon, 250 shekelse of fragrant calamus, 500 shekels of cassia—all according to the sanctuary shekel—and a hinf of olive oil. Make these into a sacred anointing oil, a fragrant blend, the work of a perfumer. It will be the sacred anointing oil. Then use it to anoint the tent of meeting, the ark of the covenant law, the table and all its articles, the lampstand and its accessories, the altar of incense, the altar of burnt offering and all its utensils, and the basin with its stand. You shall consecrate them so they will be most holy, and whatever touches them will be holy
Everything was to be anointed!
Anointing oils in the OT had aroma. Anointing oils permeated the atmosphere.
Holy Spirit You are welcome here, Come flood this place and fill the atmosphere. Your glory God is what our hearts long for, To be overcome by Your presence, Lord.
The smell of Christ. 2 cor 2:15
For we are to God the pleasing aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing.
I get in the car in the morning and can smell the aroma of the last pupil! Beer bottling. People leave a smell behind. Anointed people we should take the smell of heaven with us leave behind the smell of heaven.
We want anointing.
Its the God factor. Its something more than our gifts and abilities. Good youth leader vs anointed youth leader. Good musicians – anointed musicians. Good administration, anointed admin. Is there anointing? Is there the God factor?
Anointed songs.
Good toddler group. Anointed. Can you be an anointed helper?
Samson – the story of unmerited favour.
- God does not wait till you are good enough
Anointing is not deserved. Anointing is gods sovereign choice. I dont like that story. It turns upside down my notions. There are times when you’re not sure whether Samson is doing the right thing or the wrong thing – on the one hand marrying a Philistine seems wrong but somehow God sovereignly has a purpose in it.
Judges 13
Again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord, so the Lord delivered them into the hands of the Philistines for forty years.
A certain man of Zorah, named Manoah, from the clan of the Danites, had a wife who was childless, unable to give birth. The angel of the Lord appeared to her and said, “You are barren and childless, but you are going to become pregnant and give birth to a son. Now see to it that you drink no wine or other fermented drink and that you do not eat anything unclean. You will become pregnant and have a son whose head is never to be touched by a razor because the boy is to be a Nazirite, dedicated to God from the womb. He will take the lead in delivering Israel from the hands of the Philistines.”
Samson was called before he was born. So – absolutely clear – not deserved.
Israel (verse 1) did evil, there was no repentance but God had a plan to deliver them through someone who was not yet born Samson.
Contra…If my people humble themselves and pray …. no evidence that Israel did this. Shocking. God doesn’t box himself in.
Samson did nothing to deserve the anointing and Israel did nothing to deserve deliverance.
Our concept – if we are good enough, deserving enough God will anoint us, God will bless us, God will use us. Actually we can never be deserving enough. All our effort, all our prayer is not enough.
God was going to deliver his people. Dependent on his love for Israel not their love for him.
Everything about our relationship with the Lord is based on his love for us.
- Maintain anointing does not depend on holiness.
Anointing should lead to holiness but holiness does not lead to anointing. Samson slept with a prostitute (Judges 16) and the anointing did not leave. God allows things to be messy. That’s not how I’d have done it. What I’d have done is lift off the anointing till Samson had repented. His holiness did not match his anointing. His anointing is up here somewhere but his holiness is down here. Anointing is not an excuse for ungodliness. Underline
There is a mystery God uses people despite the fact they are not perfect. Some of the great healers have shipwrecked their lives – why did God keep using them.
- Samson was not a strong man – otherwise Deilah would not have asked the secret. Not physically strong, not morally strong. He had a weakness – women – he didn’t deal with it well. Others in the bible Daniel, Joseph men of character. Samson wavering character.
- What is the purpose of anointing? deliverance – Jesus Is 61, Samson Judges 13. Us
Conclusion
In ot it was anointing that qualified priests for ministry. We believe in priesthood of all believers. We believes in the ministry of all believers. We need to have the anointing of all beluievers. We can have the truth without the anointing.
Billy Graham – in the modern church if the holy spirit left 95% of church activites would carry on. In the early church if holy spirit left 95% of activities would stop!