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Anointing in Ministry

Someone asked a question about what makes one pastor's preaching anointed and not another's. Have you ever been in a church service and almost fell asleep? You couldn't wait for the message to end, and kept looking at the time? Compare that experience to a service where everyone was on the edge of their seat, hanging on every word from the pastor's mouth. I would say the second example was anointed. The anointing is NOT the difference in a dry monotone speaker and a supercharged zealous personality. Pastors, teachers, evangelists, can all be anointed. It's not that they are talented or have special revelation knowledge. God alone anoints! God draws others through an anointing. It is a gift from God that can't be earned or faked. In ministry, when people are drawn to receive, it's because of the anointing. God is working through that ministry or minister. The origin of anointing was from a practice of shepherds. Lice and other insects would often get into the wool of sheep, and when they got near the sheep's head, they could burrow into the sheep's ears and kill the sheep. So, ancient shepherds poured oil on the sheep's head. This made the wool slippery, making it impossible for insects to get near the sheep's ears because the insects would slide off. From this, anointing became symbolic of blessing, protection, and empowerment.

The New Testament Greek words for “anoint” are chrio, which means “to smear or rub with oil” and, by implication, “to consecrate for office or religious service”; and aleipho, which means “to anoint.” In Bible times, people were anointed with oil to signify God’s blessing or call on that person’s life (Exodus 29:7; Exodus 40:9; 2 Kings 9:6; Ecclesiastes 9:8; James 5:14). A person was anointed for a special purpose—to be a king, to be a prophet, to be a builder, etc. There is nothing wrong with anointing a person with oil today (especially for healing). We just have to make sure that the purpose of anointing is in agreement with Scripture. Anointing should not be viewed as a "magic potion." The oil itself does not have any power. It is only God who can anoint a person for a specific purpose. If we use oil, it is only a symbol of what God is doing.

Another meaning for the word anointed is "chosen one." The Bible says that Jesus Christ was anointed by God with the Holy Spirit to spread the Good News and free those who have been held captive by sin (Luke 4:18-19; Acts 10:38). After Christ left the earth, He gave us the gift of the Holy Spirit (John 14:16). Now all Christians are anointed, chosen for a specific purpose in furthering God's Kingdom (1 John 2:20). "Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and has anointed us is God, who also has sealed us and given us the Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee" (2 Corinthians 1:21-22). Conclusion We all have received the anointing to preach the good news to other people, to witness. Some who God calls for specific purposes (Ephesians 4:11) are given an anointing for that purpose. Have you ever seen an anointed children's pastor? Kids just flock to be around them, it's not that they have a gift for kids, it's the anointing. Musicians can be anointed. God can anoint you for a time or season, a special purpose. He can also anoint your life. Pray for the anointing! Pray for your pastor to be anointed. #BibleStudy

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1John 3:6,9

https://www.facebook.com/GraceWorldChurch/posts/368240210276835

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1John 1:9 According to the Bible, when someone believes in Jesus Christ as Savior, that person's sins are forgiven. If that is so, should Christians continue to confess their post-salvation sins after believing in Christ? Some say that confession is unnecessary since all the believer's sins are forgiven already. What is the scriptural perspective? The Believer's Positional Forgiveness To the Christian, forgiveness means to be released or freed from the guilt of sins as a personal offense in a relationship. One of the results of faith in Jesus Christ as Savior is that God forgives the believer's sins that were an offense against Him. In this sense, forgiveness is granted once for all eternity. It is a positional truth like justification and redemption, which is why forgiveness is sometimes linked in the Scriptures with eternal salvation. In the Gospels, the positional aspect of forgiveness is seen by its contrast with eternal condemnation (Mark 3:28-29). Jesus and His death (blood) secures this remission of (release from) sin (Matt. 26:28). In this way He is "the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world" (John 1:29). He paid the ransom for all people (Matt. 20:28). Ransom implies release or freedom from the guilt of sin for all who receive it. Forgiveness is used in other salvation contexts in Acts (Acts 5:31; 13:38-39; 26:17-18). The Apostle Paul makes some definitive statements about the positional forgiveness that occurs at the time of justification. In Romans 4:5-7 he links forgiveness with justification through faith. Also, in Ephesians 1:7 Paul describes one of the benefits of being in Christ: "In Him [Christ] we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins." Similarly, in Colossians 2:13 he says, "And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses." In the surrounding context, it is clear that Paul is speaking of a benefit of the believer's new position and identity with Christ (Col. 2:11-12, 14). "Trespasses" is virtually synonymous with sins. The verb "having forgiven" is in the Greek aorist tense signifying a completed action. The action that is completed is the forgiveness of "all" sins, which includes even future sins because all the believer's sins were future when Jesus died on the cross. In two similarly worded passages, Paul argues that Christians should forgive one another because Christ has forgiven them (Eph. 4:32; Col. 3:13). The author of Hebrews also asserts positional forgiveness in Hebrews 10:17-18 by citing the result of the New Covenant of Jeremiah 31:34 in terms of "Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more." Clearly, all these passages show that those who have believed in Jesus Christ as Savior have had all their sins forgiven on the basis of Jesus' full and final payment on the cross. So why must Christians confess their sins? The Believer's Fellowship Forgiveness Christians must confess their sins so that they can experience the forgiveness that is theirs positionally. In other words, because of Jesus' death on the cross and one's faith in Him, sin's power to condemn is annulled forever, but it still has power to sever a believer's experience of fellowship with the Heavenly Father. The first is a judicial forgiveness, the latter a family forgiveness. Because of judicial forgiveness, the Christian has the privilege of enjoying fellowship or communion with God in the Christian walk, but this privilege can be abused or interrupted by sin. The believer's fellowship with God is the theme of First John (1 John 1:3-4; See GraceNotes no. 37, "Interpreting 1 John"). This fellowship depends on walking truthfully in the light of God's Word and God's will (1 John 1:5-8). As a believer walks in the light, sins become visible or apparent. When God brings these sins to mind and convicts the conscience, the believer can deny the truth about his or her sin or confess them to God. According to 1 John 1:9, "If we confess our sins, He if faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." To confess literally means "to say the same thing," thus "to acknowledge, to agree." Upon that honest confession, God forgives because He is "faithful" to His own character and His commitment to His children. He is also "just" because He has accepted His Son's payment for that sin. Because God is faithful and just, the believer's confession restores fellowship with God. Given the theme of fellowship, 1 John 1:9 is obviously intended for those who are saved, not the unsaved (note that John uses "we"!). John understood this principle well. His Gospel includes the story of Jesus washing the disciples' feet. In that account, when Peter tries to refuse washing, Jesus says, "He who is bathed needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean" (John 13:10). The reference to bathing and complete cleansing is a reference to positional forgiveness, but the washing of feet pictures the ongoing necessity of forgiveness and cleansing from sins committed as a Christian. King David also understood the principle of confessing sin to restore fellowship. After his sin with Bathsheeba and Uriah, he confesses his sin to restore fellowship with God (Ps. 32:5). Similarly, in Psalm 51, David confesses his sin to receive cleansing and to restore the joy of his fellowship with God. David's salvation was not the issue; his fellowship was. Jesus taught the principle of confession to restore fellowship with God and others in the familiar Lord's Prayer (better called the Disciples' Prayer). He taught that believers should pray "And forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who is indebted to us" (Luke 11:4). Thus He taught the necessity of forgiveness to restore the believer's relationship vertically to God and horizontally to other people. There are many other passages where confession of sin is the basis for restoring fellowship in the divine or human relationships (Matt. 6:14-15; 18:21, 35; Luke 17:3-4; 2 Cor. 2:7, 10; Eph. 4:32; Col. 3:13). Simply put, confession restores fellowship in a relationship, whether divine or human. Conclusion There is no question that believers have the secure position of having all their sins forgiven on the basis of Jesus Christ's full payment on the cross. However, a believer's experience often contradicts his or her position. Sins committed after justification do not jeopardize the believer's positional forgiveness, but adversely affect the believer's enjoyment of that position and his or her fellowship with God. To restore the joy of fellowship, the believer is taught to confess sins to God who will forgive and cleanse from the guilt of those sins. An illustration may help. If a son offends his father, the father may agree to absorb the pain of the offense and forgive the son. In the father's eyes, the son is forgiven. However, to fully experience the father's forgiveness and enjoy fellowship in the relationship, the son must acknowledge (confess) his offense to his father. God is a Heavenly Father, a God of love and grace, who will always restore fellowship with those who seek forgiveness for their sins. #Theology #BibleStudy #Sin

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Luke 4:4-8 4 And when a great multitude had gathered, and they had come to Him from every city, He spoke by a parable: 5 "A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell by the wayside; and it was trampled down, and the birds of the air devoured it. 6 Some fell on rock; and as soon as it sprang up, it withered away because it lacked moisture. 7 And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up with it and choked it. 8But others fell on good ground, sprang up, and yielded a crop a hundredfold." When He had said these things He cried, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear!" Luke 4:4-8 (NKJV) The parable of the soils is found in all three Synoptic Gospels (Matt. 13:18-23; Mark 4:2-20; Luke 8:4-15). Our focus will be on Luke's account. In Luke especially, Jesus used this parable to explain the purpose of all parables and to illustrate how people respond to God's truth. This parable fits Luke's purpose of recording the life of Jesus in such a way as to generate faith in the unsaved and cultivate fruitfulness in the saved. Fruitfulness is a chief characteristic of a disciple (John 15:8). The parable shows the centrality of God's Word in salvation and discipleship, and how some who believe do not persevere in faithfulness to God's Word to become fruitful. The Parable's Design The parable is straightforward in its details. The sower is mentioned first, but recedes into the background as the fate of the seed and the condition of the soils take center focus. Clearly the emphasis is not the sower, nor the seed itself, but the fate of the seed determined by various types of soil. Jesus concludes the parable with "He who has ears to hear, let him hear!" (Luke 8:8). This indicates that truth will only be perceived by those receptive to it. After Jesus tells the parable, the disciples question its meaning, which elicits this explanation of God's design for parables - to enlighten those who are receptive to the truth about God's kingdom and to conceal truth from those not receptive to it (Luke 8:9-10). Then Jesus quotes Isaiah 6:9 where Isaiah was told his ministry would not be received by all. Isaiah and Jesus both ministered to the nation of Israel which as a whole was unresponsive to their message, though individuals received it. The Parable's Context In Jesus' interpretation the sower is not mentioned, giving prominence to the seed as God's Word. The surrounding contexts point to God's Word as the revealed truth centered on Jesus' identity as the Messiah. Preceding the parable, John the Baptist questioned Jesus' identity (Luke 7:18-21) to which Jesus responded with Messianic claims (Luke 7:22-28). The Pharisees and lawyers were predisposed to reject Christ's testimony (Luke 7:30), which Jesus saw as characteristic of the whole generation who rejected Him (Luke 7:31-35). In contrast to the Pharisee's blindness (pictured in the character of Simon) is the story of the sinful woman who recognizes Jesus and is saved (Luke 7:36-50). Following the parable, Luke recounts the story of Jesus' mother and brothers who tried to approach him but were hindered by the crowd. Jesus uses the occasion to proclaim that His true spiritual mother and brothers "are these who hear the word of God and do it" (Luke 8:19-21). With this explanation, Jesus sets forth His condition for intimate and fruitful discipleship that was taught by the parable - responsive obedience to God's Word (Compare John 8:31; 15:7-8; 17:6). The Parable's Interpretation Jesus interprets His parable in Luke 8:11-15. In His explanation to the disciples, Jesus says the seed that fell on the impacted wayside was snatched away by the devil. The devil keeps the Word away from their hearts so that these ones never believe and are therefore never eternally saved. The second soil represents those who believe but fall away. Some people interpret this faith as superficial, but the only deficiency is its duration, not its sincerity. While the details of a parable should never be emphasized at the expense of the main point, neither should the clear statements of a parable be ignored. If Jesus says these people believed, then they believed, if only for a while. Temptation causes them to fall away, which seems to indicate falling away from the truth of the gospel. While it is not specified what the temptation is, it appears to be something that challenges their faith in the truth of God's Word, perhaps false doctrine or persecution (Matt. 13:21; Mark 4:17). True believers can fall into false doctrine (thus the many New Testament warnings) or be unwilling to take up their cross and suffer for Christ, an important condition for discipleship (Luke 9:23). In any case, falling away does not mean that these believers lose their salvation. The parable is about conditions for persevering in fruitfulness, not persevering in salvation. Those pictured by the third soil clearly show life, but growth is choked into fruitlessness. Actually, there is mention of some fruit, but it is stunted, immature. This is due to the cares, riches, and pleasures of life that distract these believers from growing in God's truth. Jesus later teaches that a chief characteristic of a disciple is that he deny himself (Luke 9:23), something these believers did not do. The purpose of God's Word is to bring people to faith and to fruitfulness. This is pictured by the good soil, described as those having "a noble and good heart." The focus of the parable is not on the activity of the sower or the power of the Word, but on the predisposition of a person's heart. It does not explain why some hearts are predisposed to fall away from truth, or are distracted by worldly pleasures, or are open and receptive to the truth, only that they are. Temptations and distractions to one's faith do not in themselves explain why some hearts are not fertile soil for growth. Certainly the fruitful believers were exposed to both, but because of their good hearts they were fertile and therefore fruitful. In the end and from the human perspective, believers are responsible for their own hearts and how they respond to God's Word. Persevering in God's truth is the key to fruitfulness. This is not perseverance in order to be saved, but perseverance in living out the Word of God. The responsibility of the hearer is emphasized by the parable that follows the parable of the soils (Luke 8:18- 18). The one who has the light and shares the light is a receptive person. The warning Christ gives is "Therefore take heed how you hear." So one's predisposition of heart is not something that can be blamed on exterior circumstances, but it comes from a habit of cultivation of the truth and seeking what is good. To good and faithful stewards of the truth, God gives more truth. The Parable's Applications Those who sow God's Word should spread it to everyone, but with the awareness that people will respond differently. They should therefore seek to cultivate those who are receptive and fruitful. The sower should spread God's Word, not his own. To the extent that the Word of God is diminished in our message, the responsibility of man to receive and obey it is diminished. This would promote the importance of expository preaching and teaching. God's Word taught in context has the authority to convict, change lives, and bear fruit. Discipleship programs should target the person's heart with the Word of God. Finally, we should monitor our own hearts lest we succumb to false teaching or worldly distractions that stunt our fruitfulness for the Lord. One sure way to receive more from the Lord is to share more from the Lord by setting our light on a stand for all to see. Faithful disciples bear fruit and bring God's truth to the world. #BibleStudy #Theology #Parables

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Sound Doctrine Paul charges Titus, “You must teach what is in accord with sound doctrine” (Titus 2:1). Such a mandate makes it obvious that sound doctrine is important. But why is it important? Does it really make a difference what we believe? Sound doctrine is important because our faith is based on a specific message. The overall teaching of the church contains many elements, but the primary message is explicitly defined: “Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures [and] . . . he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures” (1 Corinthians 15:3-4). This is the unambiguous good news, and it is “of first importance.” Change that message, and the basis of faith shifts from Christ to something else. Our eternal destiny depends upon hearing “the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation” (Ephesians 1:3; see also 2 Thessalonians 2:13-14). Sound doctrine is important because the gospel is a sacred trust, and we dare not tamper with God’s communication to the world. Our duty is to deliver the message, not to change it. Jude conveys an urgency in guarding the trust: “I felt I had to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints” (Jude 1:3; see also Philippians 1:27). To “contend” carries the idea of strenuously fighting for something, to give it everything you’ve got. The Bible includes a warning neither to add to nor subtract from God’s Word (Revelation 22:18-19). Rather than alter the apostles’ doctrine, we receive what has been passed down to us and keep it “as the pattern of sound teaching, with faith and love in Christ Jesus” (2 Timothy 1:13). Sound doctrine is important because what we believe affects what we do. Behavior is an extension of theology, and there is a direct correlation between what we think and how we act. For example, two people stand on top of a bridge; one believes he can fly, and the other believes he cannot fly. Their next actions will be quite dissimilar. In the same way, a man who believes that there is no such thing as right and wrong will naturally behave differently from a man who believes in well-defined moral standards. In one of the Bible’s lists of sins, things like rebellion, murder, lying, and slave trading are mentioned. The list concludes with “whatever else is contrary to the sound doctrine” (1 Timothy 1:9-10). In other words, true teaching promotes righteousness; sin flourishes where “the sound doctrine” is opposed. Sound doctrine is important because we must ascertain truth in a world of falsehood. “Many false prophets have gone out into the world” (1 John 4:1). There are tares among the wheat and wolves among the flock (Matthew 13:25; Acts 20:29). The best way to distinguish truth from falsehood is to know what the truth is. Sound doctrine is important because the end of sound doctrine is life. “Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers” (1 Timothy 4:16). Conversely, the end of unsound doctrine is destruction. “Certain men whose condemnation was written about long ago have secretly slipped in among you. They are godless men, who change the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord” (Jude 1:4). Changing God’s message of grace is a “godless” thing to do, and the condemnation for such a deed is severe. Preaching another gospel (“which is really no gospel at all”) carries an anathema: “let him be eternally condemned!” (see Galatians 1:6-9). Sound doctrine is important because it encourages believers. A love of God’s Word brings “great peace” (Psalm 119:165), and those “who proclaim peace . . . who proclaim salvation” are truly “beautiful” (Isaiah 52:7). A pastor “must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it” (Titus 1:9). The word of wisdom is “Do not remove the ancient landmark which your fathers have set” (Proverbs 22:28, NKJV). If we can apply this to sound doctrine, the lesson is that we must preserve it intact. May we never stray from “the simplicity that is in Christ” (2 Corinthians 11:3). #TheologyOfTheBible #Theology #BibleStudy

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