Rev. Johnson V.
10th October 2010

In this second study of the anointing of the Holy Spirit, we dig deep in the Bible and uncover precious and powerful nuggets of truth. Our God is good and He has equipped us with everything good thing; everything that we need – and most of all, He has given us, Himself. As you read this summary, let faith arise in your heart.

The text for this study is taken from Isaiah 61:1-4 (KJV). This prophetic verse was fulfilled when our Lord Jesus walked this earth (Luke 4:21), and it is relevant to us today. The Bible makes a faith-altering and powerful statement in these verses. Verse 1 of Isaiah 61 reads that the “Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is upon me, because He has anointed me.” Read that slowly again and let it sink in. The Bible seems to say, because we are anointed, His Spirit is upon us. The Bible does not list any other criteria that must be fulfilled before His Spirit comes upon us, except that we be anointed. Praise the Lord! Some of us will have trouble believing this verse, because we don’t feel any different. But this is the truth and we only need to believe it.

When the sun shines on us, we can feel its heat on us. It is impossible to have the sun shine and feel cold at the same time, unless one is feverish or sick. In the same manner, when God’s Spirit is upon us, His Power is with us too. In Acts 10:38, the Bible says that God anointed Jesus Christ with the Holy Ghost and with power. We cannot have the Presence of His Spirit in our lives, without experiencing His power. His life-giving power is available to us already! And it will work through the calling in our lives. We may not feel His power and we may actually feel weak but we must believe that He is at work in and through us. We may not understand it but the truth remains that His power is with us.

What is the purpose of His power resting on us?

• Bind up broken-hearted – we are called to comfort people, bind up their wounds and not add to their sorrow. If the Spirit of God is upon us, irrespective of whether we are apostles, prophets etc, we will bring comfort to people. The Holy Spirit works through our words and actions, to reach out to those He wants to reach out to. Of course we are talking about comfort without any compromise, by being truthful and yet gracious.
• To proclaim liberty to the captives. Our job is only to proclaim liberty, the rest is in our Father’s hands. God has chosen to work only through us and if we don’t open our mouth, God has nothing on which to base His miracles for others. Let us proclaim liberty over those who are captive or even areas of our own lives that are held captive, and liberty will come from above through the anointing of our lives. What we confess with our mouth, has a lot to do with what happens in our lives and the lives of those around us (Romans 10:11).
• Appointed to them who cry in Zion. Zion is the ancient city of God (Hebrews 12). And even in city of God, people mourn, who cannot seem to make their faith work. But we are anointed to give them the following.
  • Beauty for ashes –God has promised to take all that is dry and arid in our life and cover it with the rich beauty of the righteousness of Christ. What a marvelous exchange offer this is! Even though we see ashes in your life, we must remember that we are actually in Zion and God is still working on us. Over time, He will make us victorious and give us beauty where we see ashes today.
  • Oil of joy for mourning – If you find others or yourself mourning, being negative about a situation, the remedial action is to soak ourselves or others even more in God’s presence,  and His Word.
  • Garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness – we all get depressed sometimes. But we can either choose to enjoy the depression, which is a very dangerous position to be in, or we can put on the garment of praise that God has given us. God leaves the choice to us.
  • Build the old wastes – Whatever lies forgotten in ruins, God will restore. He will return the years that the locusts have eaten away.

When we practice all this, we will have a new lifestyle, and will become trees or oaks of righteousness. God wants to use us to impact the generations that will come after us. We are the plantings of God not accidental creatures. We are meant to be deeply rooted in Christ and provide shade and comfort to those around us.