How you can receive the Anointing

…. Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the Lord of hosts. (Zechariah 4:6). One thing all of us must realize is that ministry is different from any other secular job. In the secular world, many things are important for success. Zerubbabel was trying to build the temple. We are trying to build the church. Building the church and building the temple are one and the same thing. The instruction that applied to Zerubbabel applies to us. The Bible is making it clear that it is not by any form of power that the Church will be built. The church will be built by the power of the Holy Spirit. I believe in strategies. But above all, I have come to the conclusion that the Prophet Zechariah came to – it is not by any form of might, it is not by any power, it is by my Spirit says the Lord”. This Spirit is the same thing as the anointing. The Bible says in Acts 10:38 “How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power”. You will see from this Scripture that the substance that God anointed Jesus Christ with, was the Holy Spirit. Therefore, we can conclude that the anointing is the Holy Spirit.

We need the anointing to do the work. The ministry is not a human or natural thing. As soon as all ministers get that in their minds, the better it will be for them. When you see a successful minister, look beyond the physical and see into the realm of the spirit. Observe the anointing at work. There is an invisible cloak over that person which allows him to succeed at what he is doing. That invisible mantle is what I call the anointing. It explains why some people succeed and some don’t. It explains why some people have great degrees of success under exactly the same circumstances. A pastor cannot oversee a very large church, unless he is anointed to do so. I have been in the ministry for nearly 45 years and I know from the Word and by experience that it is by the anointing and nothing else! Jesus told Pilate that all the power he possessed was what God had allowed him to have. Nobody can have power unless God gives it to him. …. Thou couldest have no power at all against me, except it were given thee from above…. (John 19:11). I believe that God selects people and specifically anoints them to accomplish certain purposes. When I look back on my life, I can see that I was specifically anointed to do what I’m doing. This is different from a genuine in-filling of the Holy Spirit which every Christian has. Since the anointing is so important, we must ask ourselves, “How do we get this vital ingredient”. It is very important to realize that the anointing is not taught, it is caught. How does this special ingredient come onto a person? Is it something that we can all have or is it reserved for the special few? God is the one who introduces the anointing into the earth. He does it in His own sovereign way. I have noticed different ways by which the anointing is released on the earth.

6 DIFFERENT WAYS THE ANOINTING IS RELEASED.

1. TERMINATED TRANSFERRED ANOINTING.
   In this type of transfer, a man of God’s life is terminated and his anointing is transferred to someone else. The person who has received the anointing usually starts ministering after the death of the originally anointed vessel. A good example of this is Joshua. Joshua became anointed to lead the people of Israel after Moses’ life was terminated. A transferred anointing is something that is moved from one person to another. This transfer can occur when a man of God dies or leaves the scene. His mantle then falls directly on someone else. The departure of Elijah from the scene resulted in the anointing on his life being transferred to Elisha. This resulted in the same anointing being present on the earth, but operating through another human being. God is concerned about finishing His work and will use whichever vessel is available. I call this terminated transfer because death terminates the life and ministry of one man and the anointing is transferred to another. This also happened under the ministry of Jesus. As soon as Christ was off the scene, the anointing that operated through Him whilst He was on earth began to function through His disciples. People were amazed. The only explanation that they could give for Peter and John’s new charisma, was their association which Christ. Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John… they marvelled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus. (Acts 4:13).

2. LIVING TRANSFERRED ANOINTING
   The next type of transfer is living transferred anointing. In this case, the anointing on one person is transferred to someone else whilst that man of God is alive. A man of God who is blessed with long life may see the anointing that is on his life working through others. For example, the anointing departed from Saul and was replaced by an evil spirit. Meanwhile, his successor, David, was anointed while Saul was alive. Saul saw the anointing to be king on another man and was afraid of him. This is a common occurrence in the ministry. Even the Prophet Samuel was afraid to anoint David while Saul was yet alive. He knew that it would provoke much jealousy and hatred. And the Lord said unto Samuel… fill thine horn with oil, and go, I will send thee to Jesse the Bethlehemite; for I have provided me a king among his sons. And Samuel said, How can I go? If Saul hear it, he will kill me…. (1st Samuel 16:1,2). Some older men of God can see that their anointing has left them and moved on to another person. This sometimes leads the older man of God to fight the new one upon whom he see the anointing. Have you not seen this in your city? The older and insecure men of God fight to keep their position, whilst God works through others. God allowed Saul to fight David in order to test David’s character. All things do work together for good to them that are called.
   
3. ANOINTING SHARING
   This is when God takes the anointing on one man and shares it with several other people at the same time. You will notice several men of God in the same era, operating in a similar way. In the Bible times, several of the prophets lived and prophesied around the same time. God took of the anointing that was upon Moses and shared it amongst seventy people. …Gather unto me seventy men… and I will take of the spirit which is upon thee, and will put it upon them…. (Numbers 11:16,17). All seventy men were anointed. They shared in Moses’ anointing and accomplished God’s will. I have seen the anointing on my life being shared to many of my pastors. I can see them operating under the same anointing. I have watched them catch the anointing.
   
4. MODIFIED ANOINTING TRANSFER
   The next type of anointing transfer is what I call a modified anointing transfer. In this case, the anointing is transferred from one individual to another but in the process, it is modified. In such a case, the recipient of the anointing may be notably different in ministry from the one from whom the anointing was transferred. An example of this can be seen under the ministry of Moses and Joshua. It was Moses who laid hands on Joshua and imparted the Spirit (anointing). And Joshua the son of Nun was full of the spirit of wisdom; for Moses had laid his hands upon him… (Deuteronomy 34:9). Basically, Joshua was anointed to do battle and take over new lands. Moses did not conquer any new lands, however you could see a similarity between Moses and Joshua. Joshua crossed the River Jordan using the “Red Sea crossing anointing” which he had received from Moses. He ruled the people with the authority of Moses. But apart from this and a few other occurrences, Joshua was quite different from Moses.
   
5. DIMINISHING ANOINTING TRANSFER
   The diminishing anointing transfer occurs when the anointing from one is passed to another, but is reduced in its strength and glory. It is often God’s way of fading out a particular ministry. You will see a clear example of this under the ministries of King David and King Solomon. David’s kingly anointing was transferred to his son Solomon and then to Rehoboam and Jeroboam. Solomon’s sons did not have the grace of God on their lives to rule over all of the twelve tribes of Israel. We cannot even remember the names of the other kings who lived after Solomon. This is because the kingly anointing was fading as the years passed by. God showed Solomon before he died, that the anointing on his son Rehoboam would be greatly diminished. But I will take the kingdom out of his son’s (Rehoboam) hand, and will give it unto thee, even ten tribes. And unto his son will I give one tribe…. (1st Kings 11:35,36). Some American universities started out as Christian institutions with a Christian vision. Today, there is not even a trace of Christianity in some of those colleges. The initial anointing is diminished?
   
6. ENHANCED ANOINTING TRANSFER
   This is when the anointing transfer from one person to the other is upgraded. For example, Elisha had twice as much of the anointing that Elijah had and performed twice as many miracles. This type of anointing transfer is unusual. You will notice that Elijah told Elisha that he had asked for a hard thing; that is, to have an enhanced anointing transfer. … Thou hast asked a hard thing… (2nd Kings 2:10).