Anointed

 “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free,"  Luke 4:18

The above Scripture is first found in Isaiah 61:1-2. It is a Messianic prophecy concerning the coming Messiah. Jesus read these words in a Jewish synagogue as the means of announcing that He, the Messiah, had come. Every word of that Scripture is one of beauty, but the one I want to focus on today is the word, "anointed." Its meaning is "To be smeared with His Presence. Saturated with His radiance." That is the witness of those who are sent to His church and to the world they seek to reach. They are to be His messengers, smeared with His presence and saturated with His radiance. The need for such messengers in the church today is desperate. Yet they seem to be so few. Why?

I don't think we have to go very far to discover the answers. First off, I don't think preaching is any longer seen as a central skill to the one who fills the pulpit. Indeed, the pulpit no longer has the place it once held in the church, and I'm not speaking in just literal terms here. Whether God's messenger has a literal one or not, when they stand to bring what is meant to be a word from His heart and mind, it ought to be with a sense of awe, reverence, humility, and total dependence upon His Holy Spirit. It should be with a sense of urgency. Desperate urgency. Eternity is at stake for those who listen. Sadly, I don't get the sense that this is what occupies the hearts of a good many of those who "preach" each week. In our desire to be "relevant," we have too often watered down His Word. I have heard from so many who tell me that they cannot remember the last time they heard a message on the cross, holiness, sin, and yes, hell. All of these confront us, and none of them can be proclaimed apart from His anointing. They are weighty and have eternal ramifications. His Spirit must take hold of the messenger in order that the deep reality of each of them may take hold of those who listen.

Somehow, in our desire to be welcoming, relevant, and have an atmosphere that fits in with the 21st century, anointed preaching is too often relegated to the background in what a search committee seeks in a pastor. A church leader once listed for me all the things he wanted in a pastor. He never mentioned preaching, and when I did, he said, "Well, if he can serve 'good bread' too, that's great."  I fear that more and more, preaching is becoming a lost skill in the church, replaced by folks sitting in chairs, having conversations with the congregation. There is a place for this, but it can never take the place of Holy Spirit empowered words laced with Spirit fire that pierces the hearts of the hearers. Preaching that lets people know that they've heard from God on this day. Preaching that demands a decision. Preaching that is prophetic, confronting, convicting, and opens a door into the throne room of God. I do not believe that God first calls a person to be an organizational CEO, or a builder of buildings and attendance. I believe He calls them first and foremost to be preachers. Proclaimers of His Word. Prophets of the Lord. I also believe that what He calls us to He equips us for. True preachers are not born. They are made. By God. Few of us are skilled speakers in public before He calls. I may have been one of the worst of all. I could barely speak in any of my early classes at Bible College, but He equipped me. He has not ceased calling and He will never cease equipping.

The need for those soaked in His Presence is deep.Those who are drenched in His presence. Smeared with it. Radiating it. If He has called you to be His spokesman, you cannot succeed without His anointing. If you are seeking a pastor, may you seek one who is a true proclaimer of His word. May the announcement of Christ concerning His ministry also be the announcement over ours. Anointed to proclaim good news to the poor, freedom for the prisoners, sight to the blind, and freedom for the oppressed. May He raise up a new generation of such messengers. Eternity depends on it.

Blessings,
Pastor O