December 2011 USPS Volume 50 Number 12

Transcription

1 December 2011 USPS Volume 50 Number 12

2 I can feel the anointing is here, and I believe if we could see into the Spirit, we d see a great ram s horn floating over this congregation. In the Old Testament, this is what God s servants used to anoint the king for his office, the prophet for his office, and the priest for his office. However, this was not the case with Israel s first king. God knew that Saul was going to fail, and one thing about God: Though He has plenty, He is not wasteful. He knew that Saul would not go all the way, so He only had Samuel fill a vial of anointing oil to pour on Saul s head (1 Sam. 10:1). But when Samuel anointed David to be king, he poured a ram s horn of oil upon his head. I want God to fill up the ram s horn of anointing oil and dump it on me like He did Aaron! The Bible says that it ran down his beard and down onto his skirts! (Psalm 133:2). Now, the question is: Are you a Saul or are you a David? Do you want a vial-anointing or a ram s horn anointing? You see, God had to use somebody temporarily to be king until He could prepare David, so He used Saul. Years ago when I first was saved and called into the ministry, I was praying and fasting and seeking God with all my heart. I saw some ministers who were up in front and before the people, but their consecration was shallow. They didn t have much of a prayer life, but seemingly were still used of the Lord. And the devil worked on me on this. He said, You fool, you don t have to do all this praying and fasting. You can get by on an easier way. All this fasting and

3 praying you re doing, and nothing is happening in your life. I began to talk to God about it. He said, Son, I had to use Saul temporarily until I had prepared My David. The people were restless; they wanted a king. They wanted to be like the other nations (1 Sam. 8:5). They wanted somebody that they could see instead of trusting in the Almighty God. I answered their prayer and I chose somebody who was head and shoulders above them all, but I knew Saul s heart. I knew he wasn t going to go all the way, so I only anointed him with a vial of anointing. God doesn t waste anything. To get an idea of what He meant by a vial of anointing: It is like spending $ for a quarter of an ounce of designer perfume that comes in a little vial, and it s so precious, you don t use it like Aqua Velva and splash it all over you. You take that little bottle with your finger and dab it gently, and put a drop here and a drop there, because it s so precious. And one of the most precious things, if not the most precious thing on the face of the earth, is somebody who has the anointing of God in their vessel! The anointing of God is the most precious thing, and Paul said, We have this treasure in earthen vessels that the excellency of the power may be of God and not us (2 Cor. 4:7). It s a treasure, so this lets me know that there are thieves that would try to steal it, but I m not going to let them steal this treasure. 3 Make Me A David! God began to talk to me and said, Son, do you want to be a Saul or do you want to be a David? I said, Make me a David! You see, God chose Saul without testing him. He just chose him, because the people wanted a king that they could see; not a God they couldn t see. And Friend, when you get someone that s not tested, almost without fail, they re not going to do the job. God didn t establish the kingdom in Saul; He did it in David. And before He ever used David, He tested him. He put him on the backside of the mountain with a few of his father s sheep that he might learn how to protect the sheep. Don t worry, Pastor, if God s got you on the backside of a mountain with just a few sheep: He s testing you. These other Sauls might look like their doing it, but their anointing is going to run out, and when it does they will fail. After he was anointed, the Spirit of God came on Saul, and he was turned into another man and prophesied among the prophets ((1Sam. 10:10). But two years later, he took it upon himself to offer burnt offerings in Samuel s place, and God rejected him (1Sam.13:12-14). But the one from the backside of the mountain is the one God s going to establish the kingdom with. Saul was untried, and he was really unfit, and God knew He couldn t establish the kingdom through him. But He gave Israel someone that sense knowledge could

4 the ram s horn anointing see. He was a choice young man, and a goodly, there was not among them a goodlier man than he; from his shoulders and upward, he was higher than any of the people (1 Sam. 9:2). He was handsome and tall, and natural men looked at him and said, He s going to be a great king. He is going to be a great leader. We re going to put our faith in him. But Friend, whenever you put your faith in someone of the flesh, just because he is head and shoulders above the rest, you better look out: The devil s got a Goliath ready to challenge him! Goliath was 13 feet tall, and because Saul wasn t tested and God hadn t proved him, and he hadn t proved God, he was no match for Goliath. God has to prove you, and you have to prove God before He can use you in a great way. So the Philistines, the arch-enemies of God, came up against the people of God, and Goliath, their champion said, There s no use in our putting army against army: Choose you out a champion, and we will choose a champion, and let the two champions fight. And the champion who loses, his nation will serve the winner s. The Philistine Champion All those Israelites looked to their champion Saul, head and shoulders above all the rest, but he was untried and unfit. Saul stepped out there, and out from behind their host stepped the Philistine s champion Goliath. Now whether you reckon a 4 cubit, which is from the wrist to the finger, 18 or 21 inches, he was between 11 and 13 feet tall. No wonder they were scared. He was so ugly; he probably had a nose six feet long sticking out. He had a helmet most people couldn t pick up. His shield was so big; another man had to carry it in front of him. The Bible said that his spear was like a weaver s beam. Saul couldn t even get near him. When Goliath came out and said, Send me your champion, Saul s knees got loose. He wasn t tried, and he never tried God. He was never in the battle, and he didn t know anything about being delivered out of the battle. God just called him to be a king and gave everything of Israel to him. He took all of Israel s people to be his soldiers and his servants and took their fields. With an ordinary man as the enemy, he was the victor. But when the battle got tough and the enemy turned all his power loose, ole Saul went into his tent. All of his nobles were in the tent, and for 40 days the enemy was waging a psychological warfare. Goliath knew he wasn t going to have to fight. The Israelites were already whipped, and the Philistines were going to keep it up. Saul was hiding in the tent. All the generals and mighty men were hiding in their tents, and Goliath was out there gloating in his glory. God s Champion Where s your champion? he mocked. I imagine that everybody

5 was peeping out from their tents. Some were ready to run, not even thinking about trying anymore. I guess some of them were wishing that God was still on their side. But God had a champion, a little stripling of a boy named David, on the backside of the mountain. And David means son of my love. God called out of Heaven to Jesus three times: When He anointed Him to be His prophet, to be His priest (He s already fulfilled these two), and the third time to be His king (and He s about to come back to fulfill this). He spoke out of Heaven, This is My Beloved Son (this is My David) in whom I am well pleased. Christian Friend, God isn t going to use you to establish anything until you are tried and proven. He will stick you on the backside of the mountain, so that if you make some mistakes, you won t hurt anybody, and you ll learn to prove your God, and God will prove you. You need to prove God as much as He must prove you. If you have never proved God, when you get into a tight spot, how will you know He will come through? For 40 days the devil hit on them. He had them whipped. He had them beat down mentally. They were shaking in their boots. They had lost all desire to fight. The next step was that the Philistine s king would come out and offer them a peace treaty which would reduce them to be their slaves. They were all in their tents scared to death, and the devil was playing that psychological warfare. He doesn t change, just like God doesn t change, and Jesus doesn t change, and the Holy Spirit. And the devil s the same, and that s how we know how to whip him. We re not ignorant of his devices, Paul said. He blows himself into his ugly Goliath form and comes out against us. All the Sauls are going to run to their tents and shake, and those that have their faith in Saul are going to run with them. But the beloved sons aren t going to move. They are going to sing, We shall not be moved. Let s get it on, devil! The Backside of the Mountain Jesse, David s father and all his other sons who were on the battlefield, wouldn t send David out. He was the youngest and the smallest. They had him isolated on the backside of the mountain with the sheep, but you see, God was training him to lead His people, because God depicted His people in the O.T. like sheep. We are His people and the sheep of His pasture, David wrote in Psalm 100:3. He was learning how to take care of God s people for when he would become their shepherd-king. Don t be discouraged if you re in this place: Learn your lesson. I ve been on that backside of the mountain, and Moses had to go on that mountain and lead his father-in-law s sheep for 40 years. Whenever you see the number 40 in the Bible, it signifies testing. Any minister or anyone whom God s going to use, must go through his 40. But hang on, because 10 more is 50, and 50 is 5

6 the ram s horn anointing Pentecost! God allowed Goliath to walk up and down 40 days. He allowed it to rain 40 days in Noah s flood. Jesus was in the wilderness 40 days. After Jesus was risen from the dead, He went back to Heaven on the 40 th day, and for 10 more days there was no manifestation of the Spirit, because He hadn t been sent yet. Jesus wasn t there personally. Think of the void. When Jesus was on the face of the earth, He delegated the power. The Holy Ghost was not given yet; He was the promise of the Father. For 10 days the Promise hadn t been given, and the Lord wasn t there. What a test! They started with 500 in the upper room and only 120 lasted, but they were the type of the priests that consecrated Solomon s temple. When the power fell, they couldn t stand on their feet, and they couldn t get in the door. Some times God lets the devil blow himself up to when he s most ugly, and he mocks you. He mocked them, Come on, don t you have a little champion? I believe he might have been saying, Where is Saul? I m sure he threw that at them, because he knew that Israel had their faith in Saul. The young Hebrew maidens sang, Saul has killed his thousands. Where is your champion? Where is your God? Goliath jeered. God couldn t move through Saul or his men, because none of them had any faith, none of them had proved God, and neither had God proved 6 them. God Uses the Unlikely God s looking for some Davids! Man might have over-looked you, but God chooses the offscouring of the world (1 Cor. 4:13). Paul said, For ye see by your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble are called. But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and the weak things of the world to confound the mighty. And base things, and things which are despised, hath God chosen That no flesh should glory in his sight (1 Cor. 1:26). We are living in the last days when God wants to move, and He ll use anybody! That s how I got here. He s so desperate, He will use a mule if He can t get a man, or a rooster. I don t care if you can t read your name in box-car letters, just let God anoint you to say, Satan! When you do, the devil stands at attention, and every demon in the place is at attention! Don t despise the day of small things; just let God mold you. He s getting you ready for the big battle. We have seen how He has temporarily used some that the cover has been pulled off, because they were Sauls who only had a temporary vial anointing. But God has some Davids hid on the backside of the mountain who have been praying and fasting, and not quitting, and not compromising, who still love souls, who still

7 love God, and God is going to anoint them with a ram s horn anointing! Jesse said to David, Take this food to your brethren and see how the battle goes. When David got there and drew near the tents, there was no shout of victory in the camp. He said, Something is wrong here. The soldiers were all in their tents shaking. He went to his brethren and said, What s going on? They said, Get out of here. Get back to those few sheep. What did you come here for? David said, Why aren t you out on the battlefield? They said, Goliath s out there. Goliath David said, Who s Goliath? Goliath had come with his same psychological warfare, and David looked at him and said, He doesn t look too big to me. Goliath called again, Send me your champion! David wasn t bashful, and he wasn t backward, and he wasn t afraid. David said, Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that would dare to defy the armies of the Living God? The modern translation is: Who is this dirty devil that will come against the Church? I m Not Afraid Word had got back to Saul about David and Saul said, Bring him in. They brought little David in, and at first Saul tried to talk David out of it. David said, Listen, I ve proved my God. Goliath might be strong, but I ve been in that valley of the shadow of death, and I didn t fear any evil. They say that the valley is the darkest place in one s experience, but it couldn t be if it had a shadow there. You can t have a shadow without light. Jesus said, You won t walk in darkness; you have the Light of life. When David got in that valley, a great light appeared, and he could see the enemy ready to spring on him and kill him, but then he saw another shadow. He saw the shadow of the Lord with His rod behind the enemy, and he said, His rod and His staff comfort me. The main thing about the valley is, you don t stay in it; you walk through the valley: Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; I will fear no harm; for Thou art with me and Thy rod and Thy staff doeth comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemy. Thou anointest my head with oil. My cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life (Psalm 23). The Lord is My Shepherd David testified, He prepares a table before me in the presence of my enemy! Do you know what he meant by this? The good shepherd leaves the sheep in the safety of the sheepfold and goes out and scouts the land for the green pastures, to make sure that there s adequate food for the lambs. It s not the sheep s job to scout the land and find the pasture: It s the shepherd s. All they are supposed to do is follow him and obey him and reproduce lambs. It s his job 7

8 the ram s horn anointing to provide for the sheep s needs. That s why David said, The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not lack: He s going to supply all my needs, because He s going to lead me into green pastures and beside still waters, and then restore my life and my soul. The shepherd goes out ahead of the sheep and searches out the lush green pastures. Then he goes back to the safety of the sheepfold, and he calls them by name, and they know his voice and they follow him. They have confidence in their shepherd, because He s never failed them. Then he leads them, and sometimes the green meadow is a long way off, and they have to go through narrow rugged passes in the mountains. He leads them to lush grass and prepares the table in the presence of the enemy. The sheep and the lambs just eat and eat until they burp and fall over. The little lambs are frolicking round, but also nearby are the dens of the wolf and the lion. They know that the animals have to come where the water and the green grass are. They make their dens nearby, waiting patiently and dreaming of lamb chops. While he s sleeping, dreaming of lamb chops, the wolf begins to hear the bleat of little lambs. He gets a whiff, Lamb chops tonight, and he shakes his head and thinks, I m not dreaming; the meal s out there. He figures that the shepherd is too occupied and the flock s too big, and a few have gotten too far from the 8 main flock. He gets up on all fours and starts leaping to hit the mouth of the den to get that lamb that s strayed from the flock. And when he does, POW! The shepherd had already looked where the wolf and the bear were going to be, and he rocked up the mouth of the den. I have a Rock between me and the devil: The Rock of Ages has been cleft, and I m hid in Him. When the wolf hits that rock, he bounces back with stars around his eyes. The little lamb outside comes up close to the rock, looks in and sees the wolf on his back, knocked out. He fears no evil and keeps going his way. And David learned all of this, and he knew what it meant to be a sheep, and to be a shepherd, and how to prove God to deliver him from the mouth of the lion and the paw of the bear. Saul tried to discourage David, but David said, I m ready. Saul said, Let me put my armor on you, and he put his coat of mail and brass helmet on him. David said, I don t want this armor. He probably thought: If it s so good, why don t you put it on and go out there? It makes you wonder why, if Saul had so much faith in that armor, he didn t he put it on and go out against Goliath? David said, I cannot go with these; for I have not proved them. He had weapons they knew not of. He said, While watching my father s few sheep that I love, one time the bear came and tried to destroy them, and by my God I delivered a lamb out of

9 the paws of the bear. Another time by my God I delivered the lamb out of the jaws of a lion, and this Philistine will be just like one of them! The Secret Weapon David had a secret weapon. He was the 007 James Bond of his day, and for special missions God has special weapons. David had been in God s weapon room. I ve been in His armor room, and I ve been on that backside of the mountain. I remember when God said that He was going to turn the devil loose on me to prove me. I proved God, and He proved me. I know I can count on Him. I trust that He can count on me. Saul couldn t talk David into taking his armor. David took his staff and shepherd s bag, ran to a little brook that was between him and Goliath, stooped down and got five stones. He put one in his sling and the other four in his bag. Somebody said, David doubted; he took up five stones. First, five is the number for grace. He took the grace of God with him, and Goliath had a father and three brothers, and David was prepared to kill all those devils! Behold, I give you power over all the power of the devil! (Lk. 10:19). When Goliath saw him, he roared, Ho, Ho, Ho! The earth must have quaked. Saul must have said, God have mercy on that poor lad. Let it be a quick death. Goliath said, Am I a dog that you send a boy with a stick after me? I m going to feed him to the fowl of the air. David said, The fowls are going to get something to eat, but it will be you He prophesied faith. David said, You uncircumcised Philistine, who are you to defy the armies of the Living God? This day will my God give you to me, and I will give your flesh to the fowl of the air. For you come against me with sword and spear, but I come against you with the secret weapon: In the Name of Jehovah! He began to wind up his slingshot and launched the first ICBM, the first guided missile. What a great miracle that was for David to hit Goliath in his only uncovered spot, right between his eyes. His head was so big he must have had a forehead bone about six inches thick. What kind of force would it take for a young lad to penetrate five or six inches of bone to the brain to kill him? Holy Ghost force! Somebody said, I don t believe that. Ripley s Believe it or Not has pictures of a tree with a straw driven right through it by a tornado, with such force it made the straw so rigid that it penetrated through the other side. God s power got into David s sling, and he threw the first curve ball. Goliath stood a few yards in front of him with his shield bearer. Imagine a shield so big that the shield bearer had to hold it with two hands and be able to hide behind it so he wouldn t get killed. How was David going to hit Goliath behind that shield? He let go of that stone, and the Holy Ghost got a hold of it. 9

10 the ram s horn anointing You talk about a miracle! It was a guided missile that hit him right between the eyes, and down went Goliath. God always uses poetical justice: David ran, took Goliath s sword, and cut his head off. He raised up his head, and all the Philistines saw it, and their hearts failed, because their champion was dead, and they ran. All of Israel saw it, and their hearts lifted up, because they knew God was in the camp, and they pursued the enemy and killed many of them and spoiled their tents. 10 This is My Anointed On the backside of the mountain, David proved God when the lion and the wolf came, and God proved David. He knew David wouldn t flee like Saul and leave God s people exposed to the enemy. David knew that God wouldn t let him down when he stood up to deliver the sheep. They had a relationship and a bond of confidence, and they trusted one another. Before he had killed Goliath, God had sent Samuel to the house of his father Jesse. Samuel told Jesse to call all his sons forth, and his seven eldest sons came before the prophet. But Samuel said, None of these is the one God has chosen. Do you have any others? Jesse said, I have the youngest boy who takes care of the sheep. Samuel said, Bring him. Man looks at the outward appearance. Today men are looking for somebody sophisticated, who went to finishing school, who comes out dressed to the tee and displays good theatrics. Preachers don t learn to preach anymore by going to the prayer closet; they go to seminars for motivational speaking. All they know is acting it out. They need to go to the school of the Holy Ghost. Jesse sent for David, and when Samuel saw him, God said, This is My anointed. Man looks at the outward appearance. God looks at the heart. He knew Saul s heart would be in it for the money and the praise. When God said, This is My anointed, Samuel didn t pull out a vial. He took a ram s horn of anointing and dumped it on David s head. You who have been going through many trials and tests, it s because God wants to give you a ram s horn anointing. I believe that every one of us has a call on us and office in the Body of Christ. We might not all be up front, but if nobody s in the congregation, we don t need anyone up there. If you are a good servant like Stephen was, God can use you to work miracles. He was a deacon, which was just a waiter-ontables, but God used him. He did more miracles at that time than the Apostles were doing. They were praying and fasting; he was doing the miracles (Acts 6:5-8). If you are a good waiter-on-tables like Philip, God can make you an evangelist and give you a miracle ministry and send you down to Samaria to cast out devils and heal the sick and turn the city upside down till the Apostles get there (Acts 8:5-15). God wants to anoint every one of

11 us; that s why He promised the baptism of the Holy Ghost to everyone. We all have a ministry. You have a function. You have a measure of increase to bring forth, and you need the anointing for it. God doesn t waste anything. If you re not going to use it, He s not going to give it to you. You don t need the pulpit in the church. You have a pulpit on your job. Before God ever let me preach in a church, He sent me out on the streets. I preached all over the streets of Baltimore and in the market places. Anywhere they said Preach, I jumped up. I knew God called me to preach, and I was ready. You re going to have your own backside of the mountain, but be faithful on it. He s saving you for the big battle, and the big battle is about to start. Have you proved your God? Has God proved you? If so, He s ready to use you to defeat the enemy. Sauls will come and go, but God s Davids will stand true in the face of the enemy. 11