Part 1 Coverings of Oil

Transcription

1 Part 11: UNASHAMED, UNDAUNTED and UNSTOPPABLE! Texts: Numbers 19:14-15 (NKJV) - This is the law when a man dies in a tent: All who come into the tent and all who are in the tent shall be unclean seven days; [15] and every open vessel, which has no cover fastened on it, is unclean. Isaiah 10:20, 27 (NKJV) And it shall come to pass in that day That the remnant of Israel, And such as have escaped of the house of Jacob, Will never again depend on him who defeated them, But will depend on the Lord, the Holy One of Israel, in truth. [V27] It shall come to pass in that day That his burden will be taken away from your shoulder, And his yoke from your neck, And the yoke will be destroyed because of the anointing oil. Part 11 - The Function and Power of Spiritual Coverings Part 1 Coverings of Oil A. People should be able to discern who their enemy is. 1. Joke: Boudreaux, does your dog bite? Thibodeaux was walking near the bayou when he saw Boudreaux sitting in the shade of a tree beside a big dog. He said, "Hey Boudreaux, dat's a fine looking dog. Does your dog bite?" Boudreaux answered and said, "No Thib, my dog don't bite." Thibodeaux thought it was okay, so he reached down to pet the dog and it nearly took his arm off. Thibodeaux said, "Boudreaux, I thot you said your dog don't bite?" Boudreaux answered, "That's right Thib, but dat ain't my dog!" B. The Stockholm Syndrome 1. Story: In 1973, Jan-Erik Olsson, a convict on parole, took four bank employees hostage (three women and one man) during a failed bank

2 robbery at the Kreditbanken, one of the largest banks in Stockholm, Sweden. He then negotiated the prison release for his friend Clark Olofsson to assist him. For six days (August 23 rd to August 28 th ), hostages were held captive in a bank vault and tortured with nooses and dynamite. When released, none would testify in court against either of their captors. Instead, they began an incredible project of raising money to defend those who had held them captive and threatened their lives. Blaming the authorities for their captivity, the four hostages' strange psychological response toward those who had captured, tortured and threatened to kill them became known to psychologists as the Stockholm Syndrome. In 1974, the very next year, Patty Hearst, the granddaughter of the wealthy publisher William Randolph Hearst, was kidnapped by a group known as The Symbionese Liberation Army. While held captive, she was tortured, threatened with death and isolated in a closet. She, too, developed sympathies for her captors, joined their group, and changed her name. Patty even carried a gun and helped them rob a bank to fund the gang's illegal activities. In numerous situations, people have developed feelings of sympathy for those who have threatened and abused them. Psychologists say that to survive, people can develop a psychological defense mechanism. Because the need to survive is stronger than the impulse to hate the person who caused the dilemma, they begin to identify with their captors. Somehow, they convince themselves that the guilty one is really a nice person and should be justified because someone had mistreated them. At a subliminal level, they believe their captors will treat them better if they can sympathize and relate to their harsh demands. In a sense, this also happens in abusive relationships; a person's selfesteem can be so mutilated, they cannot let go of the one who is destroying them.

3 According to scripture, this is exactly how Israel related to their enemies. Rather than seeking freedom, they began to feel affection and even depend upon those who had defeated and enslaved them. This is also how humanity relates to our enemy, the devil. Strangely, we become loyal to the very one who causes so much pain and suffering. Some who would never darken a church door or even consider giving their lives to God, will serve the one whose mission is to kill, steal, and destroy their lives, marriages, and health. Then, they act as if God is the source of their problems. God and the church are viewed as the problem rather than the solution. Like the bank hostages, they blame the authorities for their ordeal and then raise funds to defend the real perpetrators of the crime. a. Isaiah 10:20 (NKJV) - And it shall come to pass in that day That the remnant of Israel, And such as have escaped of the house of Jacob, Will never again depend on him who defeated them, But will depend on the Lord, the Holy One of Israel, in truth. 2. How could Israel have become dependent upon their captors? How could those who had been held hostage threaten to blow up the authorities with dynamite? a. It's because of sin's effects upon our thinking. The enemy sets up 'thought' strongholds in our minds that work against our happiness and success. What we should hate, we love; what we should love, we despise and forsake. b. 2 Corinthians 10:4-5 (NKJV) - For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, [5] casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ. 3. Only the Word of God can detect and break the enemy's strongholds in our thoughts. Changing thoughts that affect our decisions is where the problem lies. It's almost as if we're yoked together with the enemy and we can't seem to break away.

4 4. The Bible teaches against being unequally yoked with unbelievers: a. 1 Corinthians 6:14 (NKJV) - Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? b. This admonition was based upon the Levitical law in Deuteronomy 22:10 (NKJV) You shall not plow with an ox and a donkey together." 5. A yoke was an instrument used to harness two animals together. a. Israel was forbidden to yoke together an ox and a donkey because each animal had a different gait. The animal that walked faster would drag the other along and wear themselves out. b. Have you ever felt unequally yoked in a business? A relationship? In a friendship? It seems that you're always dragging along the other person and having to prompt them to do their share. Or they're pulling you faster than you want to go. In either case, it's miserable for both of you. c. People assume this scripture refers to marriage; but God doesn't want us unequally yoked in business or any other venture. He never intended for you to drag an unconverted spouse through life or an unsaved business partner or friend. His desire is that we only yoke or covenant with those who will help not pull against us. d. Just think how much worse it would be if you're yoked with Satan himself. He not only walks differently, he's actually going in the opposite direction! 6. Isaiah said that the anointing will break the yoke of wrong thinking and actions that will hold you back. This calls for a breakthrough! To prevent being unequally yoked in a covenant or critical situation, an Anointed Covering can be an enormous blessing! 7. Coverings of the Anointing are one of the eight Spiritual Coverings in this series.

5 C. To activate the Coverings of Oil, we must first understand God's anointing. 1. Exodus 30:22-33 (NLT) - Then the Lord said to Moses, [23] "Collect choice spices: 12½ pounds of pure myrrh, 6¼ pounds of fragrant cinnamon, 6¼ pounds of fragrant calamus, [24] and 12½ pounds of cassia-as measured by the weight of the sanctuary shekel. Also get one gallon of olive oil. [25] Like a skilled incense maker, blend these ingredients to make a holy anointing oil. [26] Use this sacred oil to anoint the Tabernacle, the Ark of the Covenant, [27] the table and all its utensils, the lamp stand and all its accessories, the incense altar, [28] the altar of burnt offering and all its utensils, and the washbasin with its stand. [29] Consecrate them to make them absolutely holy. After this, whatever touches them will also become holy. [30] "Anoint Aaron and his sons also, consecrating them to serve me as priests. [31] And say to the people of Israel, 'This holy anointing oil is reserved for me from generation to generation. [32] It must never be used to anoint anyone else, and you must never make any blend like it for yourselves. It is holy, and you must treat it as holy. [33] Anyone who makes a blend like it or anoints someone other than a priest will be cut off from the community. 2. Unlike any other anointing oil, men were forbidden to manufacture this particular oil for their own use. This reminds us that the anointing is never to be used for personal gain. The penalty for manufacturing this anointing oil for personal use was banishment from the nation. D. For the anointing oil used in the House of God, Moses was instructed to use particular ingredients and specific amounts. 1. Each ingredient had a particular purpose for breaking the yokes of bondage in our lives and thoughts. 2. In scripture, oil represents the presence of the Holy Spirit. a. Oil on the hands is not easily removed; it simply stays there. b. To produce oil, olives were crushed in a press in three different ways.

6 c. The first crushing produced extra virgin olive oil, which was most highly valued. This was the ingredient used in the anointing oil. 3. Myrrh, which represents both death and eternity, was obtained by cutting a gash in the side of a myrrh tree and collecting the gum that oozed from the wound. a. Myrrh has been used for thousands of years to mummify and anoint the bodies of royalty for burial, and to preserve them from decay. b. This ingredient represents the death of our Lord who abides forever and to remind that we must die to self so that He may anoint us to live unto God. c. Those who have paid the price for this anointing of God's presence will continually exude myrrh's sweet fragrance, no matter the suffering they experience. d. It was written that after intense prayer, Smith Wigglesworth, a great evangelist of the early 1900's, walked into the rail car of a train. Without saying a word, he sat down. A minister sitting opposite him said, "Sir, you convict me of sin." Within five minutes, people in the rail car were on their knees, crying out to God in repentance. 4. Cinnamon was obtained from the inner bark of the cinnamon tree. While this ingredient has a very fragrant smell, it has a bitter taste that must be sweetened. a. If combined with buttered sugar on toast, cinnamon has an amazing flavor. b. Pulling the bark from the side of the tree and grinding the cinnamon to powder speaks of Christ pouring forth His soul unto death, which released a sweet smelling sacrifice to God on our behalf. c. The anointing also refers to the integrity within our hearts. In Psalm 53, David said that God desires truth in the inward parts. Integrity is a powerful fragrance to God.

7 d. The cinnamon of the anointing oil helped mask the smell of death around the Tabernacle where sacrifices were continually being offered. With the gathering of so many flies, the pungent fragrance of cinnamon in the anointing oil covered the smell of death and drove away the flies. e. It is not by accident that Satan is called Beelzebub, or Lord of flies. He wants to contaminate the living sacrifice of your life to God. f. Ecclesiastes 10:1 (NKJV) - Dead flies putrefy the perfumer s ointment, And cause it to give off a foul odor; So does a little folly to one respected for wisdom and honor. g. Many people are fascinated by gore. They want to touch it, talk about it, and stir it with their foot. A scandalous act can become the topic of conversation for months. h. But when someone with a bad attitude criticizes the church or its leaders, no one accuses that person of doing wrong. Instead, they consider the accusation to be true. Whether truth has been twisted or the story is completely false, people have got to stir the gore. I've never seen a problem that wasn't exponentially made worse by talking about it. i. Then people wonder why demonic spirits attack their finances, their marriage or their health; they wonder why their lives are going nowhere and why they're constantly struggling. They don't seem to realize they've opened a door to Beelzebub. 6. Calamus (sweet cane), a plant that grows in wet areas, releases a sweet smell when beaten. a. It reminds us of how Christ transforms our lives from a desert to an oasis but always at great cost. He was wounded for our transgressions and bruised for our iniquities. b. Calamus also refers to the price we must pay for His anointing. Whatever the devil sends our way, we must take it and keep moving forward.

8 7. Cassia, an evergreen tree, does not hibernate during the winter months as other trees do. a. It reminds us of God's faithfulness; He is an ever-present help in time of trouble. b. The anointing also refers to consistency and faithfulness; we're not up one week and down the next. 8. These ingredients were blended into a 'suspension' rather than a solution. a. A suspension is when particles are mixed with a fluid and agitated, but remain undissolved. b. A solution is a homogeneous mixture of two or more substances. 'Homogeneous' means that all ingredients have the same properties. c. It's like mixing tea with boiled water to make iced tea. Even after sitting for a while, the liquid remains brown. There is no separation because the tea properties have bonded with the water molecules. d. On the other hand, if tea is sweetened with sugar, the sugar will settle to the bottom because it is in suspension. A suspension will not separate into its various ingredients unless the liquid is agitated. e. The anointing oil remained in suspension. Sometimes, the Holy Spirit needs to shake things up in our lives to prevent the anointing from settling down and separating from our lives. E. God gave Moses two anointings: one for the Tabernacle and the other for Aaron and his two sons. 1. We can also experience two anointings: one for the House and the other a personal anointing. 2. The anointing of the House, which is the greater of the two, always has precedence over a personal anointing. a. A personal anointing must submit to the anointing of the House. No matter how powerful the ministry, an apostolic anointing must

9 submit to the authority of that House. Failing to understand this principle has created more chaos than you can possibly imagine. b. When a person elevates their individual anointing above the anointing of the House, it inevitably causes conflict not only for the House, but for all the other members. The whole congregation will be less fruitful or productive than they could have been. c. Because the anointing of the House is greater than a personal anointing, we all need an anointed Ministry Covering. d. God told Moses that he must FIRST anoint the Tabernacle! Then he was to anoint Aaron and his sons. We all need that Anointed Covering! 3. It's easy for a minister to feel it's all about me especially if they have a celebrated ministry. But that is not true. This is why great ministries often end in shame and their level of anointing begins to decline. 4. God instructed Moses to anoint the House first because the House will continue to exist long after the minister is gone. The anointing of the House always supersedes the anointing of the individual. a. In its 67 years of existence, this church has had four pastors. Only three pastors were here before me, and I have been here longer than those who preceded me. b. However, this church will continue to have pastors after I am gone. The House must continue; the church must go on. 5. You can easily see the effect of a ministry being built upon one individual. It is never God's will for a ministry to die when the person dies. 6. I've known ministers who walked in an anointing greater than their own because of the church to which God had connected them. Sadly, they began to believe that it was all about their personal anointing and that they no longer needed the House. a. What is worse is when people who lack understanding begin to encourage by saying, You don't need the church any longer the church needs you!

10 b. Inflated with pride, they pull away from the anointing of the House and begin walking in their personal anointing. But once they pull away, the anointing leaves. Then they begin to wonder what has happened? Why have I lost the anointing? 7. We need a fresh anointing. a. If you are yoked to anything that holds you back or is preventing you from moving forward, ask for God's anointing to break that yoke! b. If you are yoked to something that's trying to drag you in a direction you don't want to go, that yoke is about to be broken! c. The anointing will help you discern and then break those strongholds in your thinking and set you free!