Epiphany, 2003

Does God Anoint Pointless Living?

Tonight: Winning Gollum’s argument. Wednesday: My Bible Studies resume

Epiphany recalls the announcement of Jesus as the Messiah. John baptized Jesus. Afterwards, Jesus was praying on the shore. At that moment the Holy Spirit came upon him. Today, I want to use the Old Testament prophecy for my emphasis.

Scripture Reading: Isaiah 42:1-10 Page 513

1 "Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him and he will bring justice to the nations. 2 He will not shout or cry out, or raise his voice in the streets. 3 A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out. In faithfulness he will bring forth justice; 4 he will not falter or be discouraged till he establishes justice on earth. In his law the islands will put their hope." 5 This is what God the LORD says-- he who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread out the earth and all that comes out of it, who gives breath to its people, and life to those who walk on it: 6 "I, the LORD, have called you in righteousness; I will take hold of your hand. I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles, 7 to open eyes that are blind, to free captives from prison and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness. 8 "I am the LORD; that is my name! I will not give my glory to another or my praise to idols. 9 See, the former things have taken place, and new things I declare; before they spring into being I announce them to you." 10 Sing to the LORD a new song, his praise from the ends of the earth, you who go down to the sea, and all that is in it, you islands, and all who live in them.

When we read Isaiah 42 with its vision of a coming Messiah, we are struck by the similarities of that prophecy with the scene from Jordan’s bank when Jesus was anointed with the Holy Spirit. “Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight: I will put my Spirit on him and he will bring justice to the nations.”[1] The voice from heaven and the voice of the Old Testament prophet sound remarkably alike. The prophet indicates that God would put his Spirit on him, and that is what happened as Jesus prayed following being baptized by John.

The idea that I want to put before you is that Jesus had a clear mission. It was the mission that necessitated the anointing. I am going to suggest to you today, that one reason you may lack God’s anointing upon your life is that you have no heavenly mission. If you have the mission, God will answer your prayer for the anointing to get it done.

The text makes it clear that Jesus had a mission to bring justice[2] to the nations. The Spirit placed upon him was to accomplish that mission. Verses 2-4 express what the servant of God will do while verses 5-7 express what God will do. It is God who will “make you to be a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles, 7 to open eyes that are blind, to free captives from prison and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness.” This is the very thing that Jesus said he came to do. He spoke of his mission immediately after receiving the anointing of the Spirit on the banks of the Jordan. Jesus said, "The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed…,[3] For thirty years Jesus had lived without this anointing. Only when it was time for his mission to be done did Jesus receive this anointing.

I think many Christians take a far too passive view of ministry. They have been well taught that God’s work is not done by human effort. They know that we cannot earn salvation. They know that no good works are effective to get into heaven. Unfortunately that sometimes gets translated into a passive attitude toward God. When they pray, they say “God, use me any way you like. Here I am waiting.” That is fine as far as it goes, it just doesn’t go far enough. There needs to be some connection to what God has already asked us to do. He has already spoken about loving God, and loving your neighbor in tangible ways. He was already called us to build up our faith through devotional acts. He has called us to build the church through our giving, our participation, and through evangelism. We are already sent to take this Gospel to the whole world.

If we are not going to engage in these kinds of activities, why would God anoint us with his spirit? There is a relationship between mission and anointing. In the very last words that Jesus spoke (as recorded by Luke) he linked anointing with mission. He said, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."[4]

In the parable of the five talents, didn’t the man with only one talent get in trouble because he was passive, burying his talent in the ground supposedly without risk?[5] Aren’t we told to do whatever our hands find to do?[6]

This first step on the road to anointing is the mission. Further, you need to see how the ordinary aspects of your life fit in with God’s mission for your life. I was impressed by some of the poetry contest pieces. Several of them captured this idea. They saw their service to God in the kindness and service they rendered to people around them. God does have a mission for your life. It certainly involves love of God and others, your personal faith, and the work of the church. The most important things in your life fit one of those categories.

Have you noticed that most people start out trying to become successful? A reasonable number accomplish that. Of those who become successful, a large number of those find success, by itself, to be inadequate. Their next quest is significance. They want their life to be significant.

Next Sunday we will talk about success. Today we are dealing with significance. We are talking about the spiritual ability to do what God has in mind for you to do.

Instruction before anointing and the laying on of hands:

Paul urged Timothy to “fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands.”[7] If you have already received the laying on of hands, then fan that gift into flame. If you feel like there is more that you need, come forward again. It is always appropriate to receive the laying on of hands because there is always growth in the gifts of the Spirit to be experienced.

Prior to coming forward for the laying on of hands, 1) ask God to cleanse you of every sin and 2) to pour his Holy Spirit into your life. 3) Renounce the devil and all his works. Renounce all association with the occult and with astrology. Then, when hands are laid upon you, pray in the Spirit as you are being prayed for.

If you have never spoken in an unknown tongue, when hands are laid upon you, in that moment, begin to speak in the unknown tongue. There will be syllables that will come to your mind. As those syllables come to mind, speak them out. Even though you will not know the meaning of the syllables, or how they fit together into sentences, you can know that you are speaking to God. Paul said, “For anyone who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God. Indeed, no one understands him; he utters mysteries with his spirit.”[8]

Since this is a spiritual, rather than an emotional experience, there may or may not be particular emotions that are felt during this time. A quiet speaking of those syllables unto God is all that is expected of you. This is a type of praying you will continue to be able to do as a way of building yourself up in the Lord.

[2] mishpat (mish-pawt'); properly, a verdict (favorable or unfavorable) pronounced judicially, especially a sentence or formal decree.

[6] Eccl 9:10 Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might, for in the grave, where you are going, there is neither working nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom.