Your Emerging Anointing

YOUR EMERGING ANOINTING
by Pam Clark (pamclark@prophetic.net)

If you have ever been in a church service where you have felt holiness and change, or a feeling of your soul being washed clean, you have probably been in the Anointing. The Anointing is really the Presence of the Holy Spirit, who is One with the Father and the Son, and He will inhabit those who make a place for Him in their soul.

That encounter did something for you. It/He often gives you peace, direction, guidance, a redeeming conviction and comfort and understanding. That encounter should evoke a response from you. Many sometimes will feel a response and then have to struggle to pursue it.

But for those who do pursue, it can be life altering. Because people can get confused by the encounter, they often relegate it to an "emotional" experience, but it really is more than that.

As we grow up in this life, we develop different interests through different experiences. Sometimes we just fall into a life of doing certain things that are expected or programmed and we just think that is all there is, even though something inside tugs at us and says "There is more." We can be content but not fully satisfied. That may be a drive for life or a cry for something that is missing.

Life is a mixture of encounters and emotions and experiences. Some can be very good, some very bad and there are many things in between. We discover that anything that is not very bad can be something we can be most grateful for. But even in the hard times we can find glimpses, if not revelations, of God, as we are open to Him.

But what I want to talk about here is the internal change that can take place if we are sensitive and will cater to it. Honestly, we can have very emotional responses to the things of God but emotions are really not what it is all about. Many think that it is, but there is so much more.

Because we can be "programmed" a certain way in our lives, we develop what we think is a "norm" for us. If the norm is bad, we may spend a lot of effort trying to change it or run away from it. If it's good and comfortable, we may work real hard to maintain or make it the standard for others in our way of looking at things. But there is really so much more going on.

Things happen when a group of people enter into the Presence of God. Some people call it "revival" and some people try to market it with good intent. But labeling it and "managing it" can cause you to miss some of the important elements of what is potentially taking place.

I heard a humorous definition of a denomination - that it is a move of God that stopped and camped. Honestly I have to agree with that definintion, and to some degree that can be a good thing, depending on what is going on in the world around it.

A refuge place, a stronghold for truths, a holy place of prayer and Spiritual instruction, good will and good works can all be a very good and valuable thing to have in our society. As Christians we are to be salt and light and some really find a place of Godly function in those places because they found their place of fruitfulness and ministry.

Jesus said, "If they are not against us, they are for us." (Mark 9:40; Luke 9:50) Many people become exhilerated over a new found freedom or revelation and are ready to set the world on fire with their knowledge. It's a good thing but when they get over-pushy, even prophetically, they can be exhibiting zeal without knowledge.

Remember when James and John wanted to defend the cause of Jesus and call fire down from Heaven to consume people who did not receive Him they way they thought they should?

Luke 9:51-56

Jesus rebuked them for the wrong spirit. Many in a desire to be "parental" or "prophetic" want to enforce discipline in a well meaning effort to manage others and their responses, but they are missing the Spirit of Truth. It is true that we must manage atmosphere to some degree - and honor and respect for authority is important for many good reasons.

But there is a gift and an art, so to speak, in managing an atmosphere for the Holy Spirit to operate and manifest. Not only is there a gift and needed understanding, but there is also a high level of warfare against the supernatural goodness and power of God. Miracles and healings and signs and wonders convict many people toward faith.

These things destroy the power of the devil and he is not fully bound yet, but Jesus came to destroy his works, and His Spirit in us also is at work through us to do those very things. The devil's authority was broken through the Cross and God's authority was given through His Resurrection power and that has been delegated to us now.

We must learn how to use it and operate in it. But before we can learn how to operate in it, we must know the goals of God and how He works things. God works many things through encounters with Him. There is a lot to be said for good teaching and kind words and works, but people are really changed in lasting ways through encounters with the Holy Spirit.

It's not the "only thing" but it is a very important and basic element. Sometimes we are encountering the Spirit and don't even know it. We do need to get to know Him and express Him through the practical ways because He did not just create us to ignore parts of this life and seek only the Spirital realm. There is a balance in all of life - spirit, soul and body in this earth life - that promotes good function and the fulfillment of His Plan.

Just as children don't always understand why their parents do the things they do, their love and care does promote trust, and they are continually nurtured into more mature understandings. And even as children mature into adults, we find that we reach a place where we choose what we believe life is all about and we work as groups for that cause.

Because we are in a fallen world where a devil still has some access, we also see a dysfunctional and wounded side of life and many problems that we must solve. But our finite minds and simple mental intelligence does not hold all the answers. We must tap into the Spiritual realm to understand how the ideal and optimum natural realm can and should work.

Respect, kindness, and politeness are things that are displayed from a spirit more than a mind. And there is more than that. A lack of respect for life is a sure sign that something serious is missing or not working. We often shake our heads in sadness and disbelief when we see people do foolish and destructive things.

Often we can see where others have not been taught or shown how to do things better and this is where true ministry life kicks in. We can do many things out of common good knowledge and we can be quite grateful for that but there is also a place where a greater Spiritual understanding can be attained and make some efforts more effective.

Good works ARE good, but there are things that can happen in the Presence of God that can change, refine and define people. You can feel pretty "normal" and then get into the Presence of God and feel altogether "different." You have to consider all the circumstances, but often in the Presence of the Anointing dormant gifts will rise up.

Suddenly someone wants to write songs, teach, sing, prophesy, preach, help the poor, or express some other thing that they feel suddenly motivated to do! Some will feel so intensely moved that they will get out of order in their desire to see it happen.

James and John in the example above had a zeal for God and how they saw the "rightness" of the situation but Jesus had to teach them that their approach was wrong.

Spiritual gifts and drives must be learned and taught and discipled. Some churches seem to express a dominance in some certain gifts more than others, but it really is good to be good at what you do, as well as well rounded. You may not learn everything you need at just one place! But you also might! It is the Spirit of God that you must respond to.

Ministers must stay true to their call as well as be discipled in their gifts. Ministry schools are often great for that, but we still must learn how to work together as the full Body of Christ. He is the Head and we are the expression of His Body and we must be led by how "the brain" of the Body works.

Not everyone will have the same calling that we do and we also must learn not to be discouraged when people don't understand or even come against what God is calling us to do. Some may be ignorant, some may be demonically motivated, or we may be super-sensitive or ignorant of some things, or we may even need healing, but pursuing how a well rounded person should respond will help and heal and bless many people and give us a personal satisfaction in life.

Ministry in God is not about what you can receive as much as what you can give. When you encounter the Anointing, the desire "to do" is really the desire to give and minister in the way the Spirit will empower you to express your unique gifts for the glory of God.

The Word of God is always our plumbline for understanding but if we get the basics, God can be released to work through us in mighty ways. Lining up with: The Ten Commandments + The Cross + The Fruit (and gifts) of the Spirit is the balance of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit and all that implies, which will heal and fulfill and liberate every person.

Jesus came and lived as a man on this earth so that we could see the fullness of God at work in a man. He wants to live mightily through each one of us that His wonderful and unique glory will fill the earth and cause us to rejoice in wonders of who He is and what He can do. It is up to us to seek these encounters that can change our lives.