A few years back, in my early years of ministry when I still lived in Germany, I heard a brother make a comment about the Anointing and it's carrier being very much like milk and it's container. He didn't elaborate on it, but what he said got me thinking. Those words haunted my mind so much that I meditated on them long enough to get a revelation for myself. 1 John 2: 27.
Now as a Worship Minister, I refer to it very often to keep my spiritual life in perspective. Sometimes, it's a rude and sharp reminder to me that something is wrong with my Holy Spirit connection wires; other times it's a beautiful confirmation of the powerful dynamism and purpose of the Anointing.
The Container with Purpose
The anointing on a person's life, can be likened to milk in a milk container. The privilege of the anointing upon a life, just like milk in a container, is primarily meant to nourish others.
The milk containers job in life is to hold and dispense milk. That's what it was made for.
That's the gift of it's purpose. To hold, carry and dispense milk!
The container may look bad or beautiful to others beholding, it may look beaten or bashed in, but it doesn't affect the intrinsic value or worth of the milk it carries. Most importantly, the container needs the milk to validate it's purpose on earth. (Isaiah 43:21). Without the milk in it, it's just a container. Not a container of milk anymore.
The Gift and The Anointing
That containers gift is just like the many spiritual gifts in the body of Christ today. The nature of a gift is that it is a free expression, given from one to another without strings; it is not earned. Romans 11:29 ; " For God's gifts and call are irrevocable. " God's gifts to us are not due to merits, we don't always deserve them. They have nothing really to do with any work on our side. It's just by His grace.
Now the milk itself, is just like the anointing of the Holy Spirit upon a life. It animates the gift in a person with power and purpose. Without the anointing, any ministration to the body of Christ is bland and powerless. An 'anointing less' ministration can occur through sin, relying on your own strength or even disconnection from God by way of an ailing prayer life. I've had all 3, believe me.
Worse still, the anointing can then be completely lost when there is chronic continuous disobedience and a lack of repentance. This is what happened to King Saul. His continued disobedience and lack of repentance led to his losing his kingship and God's favor in 1 Samuel 15:26-28 and 1 Samuel 16:14.
Used With No Strings Attached
However, one thing I've also grown to know about God is that, despite us and the trappings of our carnality, His plan and purpose remain unchanged. If He wants to show up, He will. Whether I like it or not, understand or not, obey or not, conform to it or not or even feel it or not. I'll explain the 'feel it or not' part under the next subtitle.
If someone with a gift of teaching for example, were to fall into sin and start fornicating, would we then expect them to stop teaching? Yes, one would say but actually it doesn't work that way. They would probably continue operating in their gift even through their sin! The nature of their gift is to teach. See Romans 11:29 again. Therefore, they would continue teaching.
Although sin always separates us from God, we don't become entirely useless to God if we fall into it, that his Anointing then stops flowing through us. God is a long-suffering and merciful God. But, if there is enough sin in our lives (iniquity), we are separated to the point where God's power can't flow through us again, just like with King Saul.
On the other hand, we also need to understand like I earlier mentioned, that it's not really about us but God. Therefore, a person caught up in sin, can continue to hold God's anointing. Perhaps because God wants to continue to use them for the sake of others who will receive a blessing or healing through them.
In such a case, God just uses us. No strings attached. He does what He needs to do to touch his people. He loves and cares too much about His people in need, to not show up. Period.
And all the while, his long suffering nature is still prevailing, giving us (the ministering containers of purpose) a long rope to repent.
Anointing Fills, not Feels
I remember that as a Worship Leader at my church back then, I was so passionate about seeing signs and wonders happen during Praise and Worship. I prayed for the sick to be healed and the blind to see. I wanted the yokes of poverty broken, captives set free and the brokenhearted comforted. After all, the purpose of the anointing of God is to break yokes (Isaiah 10:27) and to set people free (John 8:36). But I just didn't quite get how God used people for that.
I knew about the Holy Spirit and the Anointing but not much about the scope of it's manifestations.
I didn't understand then that to be filled by the anointing of God through the Holy Spirit, meant that I would be supernaturally enabled with a divine assistance. Mostly to perform the task of a Worship Minister, ministering to the people regardless of how I thought or felt it would be done or needed to be done.
When I think back to those days of my little understanding, I shudder at my ignorance. The gap in my spiritual understanding and knowledge, may have been cute at that time, but it was also acute! Lol.
At that time, I was also struggling with some issues in my life. Some were attacks I was going through, others were consequences of ignorant mistakes. I felt miserable and empty. I prayed fervently for God to return to me as I felt he had left me. During the ministrations, I felt wooden, like I was just singing and entertaining the brethren. But shockingly to me, God would still manifest his powers during those times.
The anointing of God overrode my 'issues', my feelings, my human failings, my shortcomings and just took care of business. At the end of service, I would go home feeling inadequate and continue my pleas for God's intervention. I felt the anointing was all about 'the feelings". I felt used but not useful.
Little milk container me....Ha ha ha!
Drink Your Milk
So yeah, I was not benefiting much from the presence of the anointing in my life at that time due to 'issues'
I had going on, but others were. It was and can be a frustrating place to be in for the used Minister. But that is not the way God intended it to be for us. He wishes that we prosper in our lives even as He uses us to break the chains in others. The Anointing is precious and free for all who practice holiness and obedience.
The same strong-holds and bondage being broken in the lives of others by reason of the anointing we carry, can be broken in ours too. The anointing upon us should double as a sweet smelling perfume that attracts
unusual blessings, supernatural breakthroughs, goodness and favor to us, and an anti repellent against the issues of darkness, i.e sin, oppression, poverty, depression, failure etc.
We should pray more for the grace to sin less and repent quick, so as not to deprive ourselves of the protection and benefits of the Anointing upon our lives. We should let go of us, and let God be God to us through us. Let's drink our own milk . We need the nourishment too.
Be Blessed.
LCH.
Now as a Worship Minister, I refer to it very often to keep my spiritual life in perspective. Sometimes, it's a rude and sharp reminder to me that something is wrong with my Holy Spirit connection wires; other times it's a beautiful confirmation of the powerful dynamism and purpose of the Anointing.
The Container with Purpose
The anointing on a person's life, can be likened to milk in a milk container. The privilege of the anointing upon a life, just like milk in a container, is primarily meant to nourish others.
The milk containers job in life is to hold and dispense milk. That's what it was made for.
That's the gift of it's purpose. To hold, carry and dispense milk!
The container may look bad or beautiful to others beholding, it may look beaten or bashed in, but it doesn't affect the intrinsic value or worth of the milk it carries. Most importantly, the container needs the milk to validate it's purpose on earth. (Isaiah 43:21). Without the milk in it, it's just a container. Not a container of milk anymore.
The Gift and The Anointing
That containers gift is just like the many spiritual gifts in the body of Christ today. The nature of a gift is that it is a free expression, given from one to another without strings; it is not earned. Romans 11:29 ; " For God's gifts and call are irrevocable. " God's gifts to us are not due to merits, we don't always deserve them. They have nothing really to do with any work on our side. It's just by His grace.
Now the milk itself, is just like the anointing of the Holy Spirit upon a life. It animates the gift in a person with power and purpose. Without the anointing, any ministration to the body of Christ is bland and powerless. An 'anointing less' ministration can occur through sin, relying on your own strength or even disconnection from God by way of an ailing prayer life. I've had all 3, believe me.
Worse still, the anointing can then be completely lost when there is chronic continuous disobedience and a lack of repentance. This is what happened to King Saul. His continued disobedience and lack of repentance led to his losing his kingship and God's favor in 1 Samuel 15:26-28 and 1 Samuel 16:14.
Used With No Strings Attached
However, one thing I've also grown to know about God is that, despite us and the trappings of our carnality, His plan and purpose remain unchanged. If He wants to show up, He will. Whether I like it or not, understand or not, obey or not, conform to it or not or even feel it or not. I'll explain the 'feel it or not' part under the next subtitle.
If someone with a gift of teaching for example, were to fall into sin and start fornicating, would we then expect them to stop teaching? Yes, one would say but actually it doesn't work that way. They would probably continue operating in their gift even through their sin! The nature of their gift is to teach. See Romans 11:29 again. Therefore, they would continue teaching.
Although sin always separates us from God, we don't become entirely useless to God if we fall into it, that his Anointing then stops flowing through us. God is a long-suffering and merciful God. But, if there is enough sin in our lives (iniquity), we are separated to the point where God's power can't flow through us again, just like with King Saul.
On the other hand, we also need to understand like I earlier mentioned, that it's not really about us but God. Therefore, a person caught up in sin, can continue to hold God's anointing. Perhaps because God wants to continue to use them for the sake of others who will receive a blessing or healing through them.
In such a case, God just uses us. No strings attached. He does what He needs to do to touch his people. He loves and cares too much about His people in need, to not show up. Period.
And all the while, his long suffering nature is still prevailing, giving us (the ministering containers of purpose) a long rope to repent.
Anointing Fills, not Feels
I remember that as a Worship Leader at my church back then, I was so passionate about seeing signs and wonders happen during Praise and Worship. I prayed for the sick to be healed and the blind to see. I wanted the yokes of poverty broken, captives set free and the brokenhearted comforted. After all, the purpose of the anointing of God is to break yokes (Isaiah 10:27) and to set people free (John 8:36). But I just didn't quite get how God used people for that.
I knew about the Holy Spirit and the Anointing but not much about the scope of it's manifestations.
I didn't understand then that to be filled by the anointing of God through the Holy Spirit, meant that I would be supernaturally enabled with a divine assistance. Mostly to perform the task of a Worship Minister, ministering to the people regardless of how I thought or felt it would be done or needed to be done.
When I think back to those days of my little understanding, I shudder at my ignorance. The gap in my spiritual understanding and knowledge, may have been cute at that time, but it was also acute! Lol.
At that time, I was also struggling with some issues in my life. Some were attacks I was going through, others were consequences of ignorant mistakes. I felt miserable and empty. I prayed fervently for God to return to me as I felt he had left me. During the ministrations, I felt wooden, like I was just singing and entertaining the brethren. But shockingly to me, God would still manifest his powers during those times.
The anointing of God overrode my 'issues', my feelings, my human failings, my shortcomings and just took care of business. At the end of service, I would go home feeling inadequate and continue my pleas for God's intervention. I felt the anointing was all about 'the feelings". I felt used but not useful.
Little milk container me....Ha ha ha!
Drink Your Milk
So yeah, I was not benefiting much from the presence of the anointing in my life at that time due to 'issues'
I had going on, but others were. It was and can be a frustrating place to be in for the used Minister. But that is not the way God intended it to be for us. He wishes that we prosper in our lives even as He uses us to break the chains in others. The Anointing is precious and free for all who practice holiness and obedience.
The same strong-holds and bondage being broken in the lives of others by reason of the anointing we carry, can be broken in ours too. The anointing upon us should double as a sweet smelling perfume that attracts
unusual blessings, supernatural breakthroughs, goodness and favor to us, and an anti repellent against the issues of darkness, i.e sin, oppression, poverty, depression, failure etc.
We should pray more for the grace to sin less and repent quick, so as not to deprive ourselves of the protection and benefits of the Anointing upon our lives. We should let go of us, and let God be God to us through us. Let's drink our own milk . We need the nourishment too.
Be Blessed.
LCH.