Anointed and Sent

Luke 4:18 "The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me
to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed; 19 to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord." NKJV

Jesus was not only anointed to preach but sent out to heal, proclaim, liberate, and recover that which was lost. Jesus went about doing good and healing all.

Acts 10:38 “God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him.” NKJV

Now God is with us to do the same.

Matt 1:23 "Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel," which is translated, "God with us." NKJV

Acts 1:8 But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." NKJV

Acts 1:8 describes a pattern of going or being sent out. As we begin to proclaim the good news close to home, our influence will increase and reach even to all the earth.

As Jesus gained influence, people searched for Him and large crowds followed after Him.
The demand upon Him was so great that, at times, Jesus had to find a place of solitude to rest and commune with His Father.

Jesus speaks with authority and the people are astonished.

Matthew 7:28 And so it was, when Jesus had ended these sayings, that the people were astonished at His teaching, 29 for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. NKJV

The people were used to listening to the teaching of the Scribes and Pharisees who, evidently, didn’t leave much of an impression. Jesus was and is the living word of God who was made flesh and dwelled among them. Jesus was not just speaking the word of God, He was living it. If our lives are not doing the words that we preach, one cancels out the other. Like two witnesses in a courtroom who have conflicting testimonies, one will cancel out the other. Jesus lived perfectly in sync with His speech, therefore the people both saw and heard two witnesses that agreed and they were convinced of the truth.

Those who have authority are also under authority. Jesus only said what He heard His Father saying. He did nothing of His own accord but was in agreement with His Father.

John 12:49 For I have not spoken on My own authority; but the Father who sent Me gave Me a command, what I should say and what I should speak. NKJV


Matthew 8:5 Now when Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to Him, pleading with Him, 6 saying, "Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, dreadfully tormented." 7 And Jesus said to him, "I will come and heal him."

8 The centurion answered and said, "Lord, I am not worthy that You should come under my roof. But only speak a word, and my servant will be healed. 9 For I also am a man under authority, having soldiers under me. And I say to this one, 'Go,' and he goes; and to another, 'Come,' and he comes; and to my servant, 'Do this,' and he does it."

10 When Jesus heard it, He marveled, and said to those who followed, "Assuredly, I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel! NKJV

The centurion understood authority and immediately recognized the authority of Jesus. The great faith Jesus recognized in the centurion was also a type of authority: the ability to speak a word or command that causes the things that are not seen to appear. (See Hebrews 11:3) The centurion could speak and those under his authority would complete his words. God spoke and the worlds were framed. I believe that people who are not in submission to the authority structures established by God will have a hard time receiving from Him. The centurion had authority because he was submitted to higher authorities. He understood the chain of command, that his authority was from a higher source. He saw that Jesus had authority to speak and command sickness to go.

Jesus said that the centurion’s faith was greater than He had seen in all Israel. Again, I believe that was because the Jews were more apt to question Jesus’ authority than they were to submit to it. The religious people, especially, saw themselves as God’s authority and Jesus as an imposter. When the centurion spoke, his soldiers obeyed. When God spoke, the elements of all creation fell into place, but when He spoke to Israel, they would not hear Him. Faith hears and responds to the word of God and leads to authority.

Being anointed is only half of the picture: the other half is being sent. Jesus was sent with the authority of His Father. We have received an anointing and have also been sent to do the works that He did. In John 12:44, Jesus said that if we believe on Him, we believe on the one who sent Him. The two are one and cannot be separated.

John 14:12 "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father. NKJV

There is no denying it: those who believe on Jesus also believe on the Father and have been anointed, and sent, to do the same works He did; and even greater works shall we do.

Anointed to Preach

Isaiah 61:1 "The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, because the Lord has anointed Me
to preach good tidings to the poor; NKJV

Someone once asked me how I determined if there was an anointing on any given message or preacher. That is a very good question and not easy to answer. I have never heard specific teaching that would help answer that question but I gave it my best shot. In very simple terms I replied: “It has a certain ring to it. If a bell is hanging free without contacting another object it will resound and its vibrations will penetrate deep into the ear of the hearer. If touching another object, it will have a dead or dull sounding thud that can not pierce the heart.” The anointing is compared to an ointment or an oil that, when rubbed on, can penetrate and soften the skin. The anointing can penetrate the hearts of the hearers but, depending on the listeners’ response, it can either cause repentance, a willingness to change, or it can stir up defensiveness and anger. Some are irritated by the sound of a bell and others receive pleasure from its rich tones.

Those who are anointed of God have received power and authority to preach and share the good news of the gospel. When the Spirit of God was poured out upon the believers at Pentecost, they received power to witness. They were anointed to speak with convincing words that penetrated hearts. When Peter spoke, three thousand responded with repentance, but when Stephen spoke under that same anointing, he was turned on and stoned to death. Jesus encountered various responses to His words. The common folks heard Him gladly, yet others wanted to kill Him and were eventually successful. Jesus said that we could expect to be treated in the same way He was. Some will love the message and others will respond with hate and murder.

Though Jesus was the Christ, the anointed one of God, His own disciples did not always grasp His words; they sometimes struggled to understand what He taught. We can not always assume that an anointing will get through to the hearer. Many liked His message and the way He provided material blessings, such as feeding the multitudes with loaves and fishes. After their bellies were filled they wanted Him to be their king, but He knew that they were only interested in the temporary things of this life. He wanted them to seek after the eternal bread from heaven that would sustain eternal life.

In John 16, Jesus told his followers that He was about to go away but that the Holy Spirit would come to be with them. When the Spirit comes, He will convince and convict the world of sin, righteousness and judgment. It is the conviction of the Holy Spirit that causes men’s hearts to either soften or rebel. Just as they were anointed with power, so we are today, through receiving of the Holy Spirit.

Jesus is the anointed one and all who follow Him receive their anointing from being in relationship with Him. He is the head of the body and, as our High Priest, the anointing is poured upon Him. It then runs down over the body to the borders of His garment. As His followers we receive the anointing from our union with Him and as part of His body.

Ps 133:1 Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! 2 It is like the precious oil upon the head, running down on the beard, the beard of Aaron, running down on the edge of his garments. NKJV

Every believer that is in fellowship with Christ receives an anointing, but there seems to be another level, or dimension, to the corporate anointing. Psalm 133:3 speaks of a commanded blessing that accompanies those who are dwelling together in unity. There is power in agreement. We must always ask according to His will but when believers join together in agreement, the results are greater. Matthew 18:19 "Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven. NKJV

God has set each member in the body as He sees fit and each member has a part to play. I believe there are different dimensions of the anointing depending on the gift we are given to edify the rest of the body. In Romans 12, Paul does not use the term anointing in reference to body ministry but he speaks of the measure of faith and grace that has been given. Grace is favor, a divine enabling to do the works of God.

Romans 12:3-8For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith. 4 For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, 5 so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another. 6 Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith; 7 or ministry, let us use it in our ministering; he who teaches, in teaching; 8 he who exhorts, in exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness. NKJV

The context of this portion of scripture in Romans is speaking of us as individuals. We each have a unique gift for ministering to others. Though all can prophesy, teach and give offerings, there are some individuals who have a special anointing of power and grace that enables them to excel in their gift beyond the ordinary. Paul says that we should prophesy in proportion to the grace given. Some have been given a greater measure of faith and a greater grace than others to use their gifts. That does not mean that one is more important than another. It just means that we do not all have the same function or position in the body.

So, we all have an anointing from God, but there is an anointing upon the position or function we are given in the body. If someone is out of their position, or trying to minister in ways they were not given grace for, they would be lacking the anointing for the job. In a similar way, if someone is timid about their position and allows another to crowd into it, so to speak, there could be a lack of anointing on that position. Jesus is the head and we are His body and members in particular. We do not choose our own positions or anointing. We receive that which flows from the head.

There is an anointing upon leadership positions that are chosen or appointed by men, as well. As a church body, we vote in a new pastor to lead the congregation. In most cases, man has only recognized what God has already ordained, but God honors the choice of men and there is a mantle, or an anointing of grace, given to do the job. This is true of other positions in the church as well. Though in the natural leaders need to be trained and prepared for any given position, without the grace or anointing of God upon them they will not be as affective in their position.

So, in conclusion, let us remain together in unity so that God will command the blessing. Let us stay in proper relationship with Christ as the head and others in the body, so that we will be positioned to receive that which is poured upon the head as it flows down to the body. And let us use our powerful, anointed gifts to minister life to others.