Spiritual Anointing
Major problems concerning the gifted in the church today
This section is inherently difficult to address because of the vast variation with those who are in places of leadership and those who feel they are anointed to move in God. It is not uncommon for us to create a situation that results in a resistance and opposition against us. The conflict may seem to be against our anointing all the while it is just an opposition against our timing or mannerisms. We may also be deceived into thinking that we are right when in fact we are wrong or may even be moving in a demonic power and think it is from God. Each and every situation has it's own variations which need to be addressed separately. This following section in light of all the possible variations must not be understood as absolute but a brief guideline as to what to avoid. It is most important to understand what God is telling us in every trouble that comes our way. God will sometimes call us into areas that we know are going to produce problems and opposition. They may seem destructive and of no benefit to us, but in the long run they will teach us what we must know to fulfill our calling. Above all else we must stand in the fact that ROM 8:28 we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.
1) When to speak out and how
Some people have no sense of decency and cause problems for themselves because of it. When it comes to the vocal gifts (prophecy, tongue, word of knowledge, wisdom) we must not interrupt what someone else is saying to push forward our own word. We must also be aware that everyone can move in God and that there isn't enough time in a day to hear from everyone. If your revelation doesn't have opportunity to be shared and you feel that it is important then write it out and submit it to those who are in leadership and let them decide what to do with it. If the leadership doesn't share it publicly we must not allow our pride to lead us to confront the leadership, thus making a scene. We have done what we should do and it is the leadership's responsibility to respond now. If we have accurately heard from God and we see problems increase because of unheeded words, we may resubmit the word but must not be emotionally involved with what the leadership chooses to do about it. It is hard to sit by and see errors and harm come to the ignorant and innocent but that is part of moving in the gifts.
We should never interrupt the preaching of the word to share a spiritual revelation unless it is common in this group setting to stop and hear revelations. When we interrupt others we disregard them as a brother and exalt ourselves as superior. This kind of behavior will not be accepted by most people as being of God. We may find an opportunity after the speaker is finished speaking to share our message. If it seems important enough then tell it to someone in leadership and allow them to make the final decision.
If we have a message for someone specifically and it is a hard word then we should respect the person and not share it publicly but give it in private. We must never take it personal if what we say is dismissed as error or ignorance. It is neither our message nor us that they are rejecting but God and His message. If we feel a need to continue to press the word and manipulate the people we have spoken to, then we must ask ourselves if God truly did speak through us. Telling people that we are prophets and they need to listen to us is manipulation and possible proof that we are not a prophet. God has created us with free will and if He is willing for us to make our own choices then we should allow others the ability also to make their own choices.
2) Submit to leadership or God?
This is a very difficult question which can lead to utter destruction for us. It seems that some people want to grow up too fast and run ahead of God's highest for them. It takes many years of walking with God to experience what is needed to be able to launch out on one's own and start a true work of God. Many people leave churches and bible colleges and start works that are fleshly and religious. They will never amount to much in the spirit until they are mature enough to know what they are called to do and be. Just as in the world, teenagers want to launch out on their own not fully prepared for life and work, so are we sometimes in relationship to the Faith. This does not mean that leadership wants what is best for us. So often leadership is lost in their own confusion that they cannot see what is happening to them let alone what is happening to us. If we launch out without leadership approval we have no place to get help if things don't work out. But if we don't launch out we may be missing God's highest for us. This is why we must be able to discern the maturity of leadership and what God is really saying. When God tells us to move in a direction, He doesn't always mean right now today. What God really means is to start preparing yourself to move in this direction. This preparation can be as short as a couple months to as long as many years. If we happen to have leadership who are spiritual and are really concerned for our lives (that we would fulfill our spiritual purposes here on earth) then we may wait until they say we are ready and launch us forth. But as is more often the case we must be diligent to discern where we are and what we need before we go. In cases like this we should attend conferences that feature prophetic people in order to get prophetic words that can instruct us to the timing of God. Prophetic words are also good for instructing us as to what we lack and need to work on.
In cases where the leadership is strongly against us, we must not dismiss their opinions without due introspection and prayer, for they may be seeing accurately and we may be under deception. There is also the possibility that the opposition is coming to stop us from moving into God's highest. It would be wrong for us to think that all leadership is free from demonic possession and oppression. Even if they are not oppressed or possessed they may just be carnal and worldly or be unaware of the truth of God (believing lies). Satan will take captive these people of authority if he can, so that nothing gets done for the kingdom of God. Jesus never told us to not move until our authorities tell us to. Paul the Apostle immediately after becoming a Christian begins to go about to preach the gospel (Acts 9:17-20). Paul also after establishing a church appointed people to lead the church who would seem to be inexperienced (Acts 14:23). Jesus instructed John about not hindering those who move in the gifts and are not submitted to his authority (Mark 9:38-40). Jesus after His resurrection tells his disciples to go throughout the world and preach the gospel (Mark 16:15), not wait until someone tells you that it is ok for you to go. We need to evaluate everything and put God's will above our will and the leadership's will. Above all we need to temper everything we do with wisdom.
3) Problems of deception
Deception is a real potential problem for the believer. We will not be thinking right or moving in the right direction if we are deceived. People who are deceived should not be labeled as not being in the faith, but more as a casualty of being in the faith. Every Christian is prone to deceptive attacks and at any time can be vulnerable to receiving lies about themselves, others, their gifts and calling, their importance and many other things. We may even be openly possessed by demons that many can see or discern but no one wants to cast out. We have such a narrow and inaccurate view of authority and each members place that we allow leadership to shipwreck people’s lives because of demonic possession. There is a move that is coming where every member of the body will have the place to move without fear of being attacked by someone in leadership. Until then we must operate in the anointing we have.
4) Conflicts of jealousy
It is to be expected that when a person anointed of God attends a church that is lacking, and the person begins to move in the spirit that jealousy will arise. This is because of the authority that the anointed is displaying that the others lack. We see the same in Jesus' life. When Jesus moved in the supernatural all the religious authorities tried to stop Him. They attacked Him whenever they could and even attempted to kill Him on many occasions. The religious authorities even claimed that Jesus was demonized and was operating by demonic powers. Should we expect anything less?
If those who are not anointed would abandon their religious beliefs and ideas that are contrary to God and believe in faith, they would be transformed from old wine skins to new wine skins. They would soon find the real authority that they are lacking and enter into a love affair with God. Even as King David was anointed by God to be King of Israel and to have the scepter in his family line forever, so we also may have a high calling from God. Like David we may find our King Saul will attempt to kill us (spiritually) even as Saul attempted repeatedly to kill David. There are times when we must flee a church for our own lives.
5) When to leave a church to avoid conflict
We must never look to man or to the church for our advancement. God is the one who raises up and brings low. When the time is right, God will begin to advance us in supernatural power and wisdom. If we are obedient to do entirely all God tells us we will find a power and authority that are not of this world. If we will not allow man or satan to intimidate us, we will be lead by God into the very areas that He desires us to be in. This doesn't mean that we should not attend a church or labor with the local authorities but that we should not be so submitted to the local authorities that we hinder God from moving in us. Many look to the local church authorities and dance to their tune even to the transgressing of their own faith and belief's. They do it in the hope that they will be promoted to some place of authority. This is a major mistake for those who want to be God's man. God raises up those who stand for Him, not those who stand for some earthly man. In standing for God according to our own convictions, there comes times when the attacks by the leadership become so fierce that it is best to leave the church. We may disagree so much with the direction the church is heading that we must leave for our sake as well as theirs.
Before we leave a church due to attacks we must first decide if it is just one or several people who are against us. If the people or person is not the head authority we can stand and see what God is able to do. Just as Haman was against Mordecai so God is able to destroy the authority of Haman and punish him with the trap he had set for us. Haman was of course not the highest authority but was highly regarded by the King. At the down fall of Haman we see a transfer of positions, Haman to the gallows and Mordecai to the place of second to the King. So we too, if we stand for what is right will see Haman's destruction and may even take his place of authority.
If we are being attacked and confronted by the head authority like David was being attacked by King Saul, we will have to flee to a safe place until God deals with the authority. God does and will remove an authority that attacks His anointed. Most people in authority have no idea that God defends those that are His even to their downfall. God being gracious will give them time to repent but if they do not repent their fall will be swift. Those that fall by God's hand may find it hard or impossible to recover.
6) Dealing with doubt and unbelief of others
Doubt and unbelief are crippling to the work of the Spirit (both Spirit-in as well as Spirit-on-us). Unbelief is an indicator of an unhealthy church. We should not attend it unless expressly told to by the Lord. Many may find themselves in an area filled with unhealthy churches in which case choose the best the area has to offer. God will bring people into an area for the purpose of bringing change. This change may not come through the person (publicly) but on account of the person. James states that the prayers of a righteous man avail much, so we must be diligent in prayer that God's kingdom my come. We may feel we are making no ground, but we must not grow weary for we will reap a harvest if we do not faint. It is common to want to run away to a more tolerable place, but it is not in the easy places that we grow in strength but in the hard places. If we war for the area, we will see victory, even though it may take more years then we care to endure.
Even as with Jesus when he went to His hometown couldn't do many miracles so we may not be able to move in the Spirit much either (Matt 13:53-58). Being drained of anointing is common in areas such as these and constant attacks from satan and well-meaning people are plentiful. It takes great determination and endurance to survive in times like these. It is most importance that when everyone and everything are against us that we do not give up and say, "Why should I continue to fight and work for this area? Nobody wants to change and even the church is against me." The devil is just beating you up and making you feel like you're wasting time because he knows if you stop he wins, and if you don't stop he will lose. So keep on warring because the victory is ours.
The only cure for doubt and unbelief is a steady diet of the truth. We may not have the ability or forum to preach the truth to the masses but we will always have the ability to preach one on one. We must always be ready to preach the word in season and out of season. Do not shrink back from speaking the truth for freedom is only through the word. We may even tell others about the gifts God has given us. They may think that we are being prideful and arrogant not realizing that they would benefit from it if they only believed. It's hard and a sad fact that many have no idea that God has gifts for all His children which is intended to benefit the whole body.
7) Last words on the Spirit-on-us
The most important thing for us to remember is that the Spirit-in-us is a greater dimension then the Spirit-on-us. We must not however limit our existence to just one of these. Jesus was anointed with both and so should we be.
It is a wrong idea to think that because we are moving in the anointing (spirit-on-us) that we are in good standing with God. MAT 7:21 "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven; but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven. 7:22 "Many will say to Me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?' 7:23 "And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.' This is never a very appealing statement to those who think that moving in the gifts is the ultimate height that they can reach. We must realize that growth in the indwelling spirit produces real maturity. Everything that we gain through the spirit-in-us is a result of hard work and obedience. It is here that we are transformed into what God intends for us to be. Those who believe that the spirit-on-us is the highest height must remember, ROM 11:29 the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. We should be ever vigilant to make sure we are not just relying on our gifts and calling while being a dead vine that has been pruned from the root. Abiding in Jesus and growing ever more intimate with God should be our life's goal.
Gifts are not contingent upon maturity, for newborns are able to move in their gifts. The fact is, supernatural gifts are neither indicators of maturity nor evidence of a good relationship with God. We must be careful not to ignore spiritual gifts and treat them as unnecessary. Gifts of the Spirit are vital to a healthy vibrant church. The church should provide times for the members to exercise their gifts without unnecessary control and judgment. It is time for the church to trust the Holy Spirit and the members of the body to move in the best interests of all involved. 1CO 14:26 What is the outcome then, brethren? When you assemble, each one has a psalm, has a teaching, has a revelation, has a tongue, has an interpretation. Let all things be done for edification. What do we have to lose? We may find that we gain a heavenly standing and only lose our earthly religion.
