04/02/2023 Making My Blessed Oil, My Best Oil

Grace Place Atlanta COGBF 4700 Mitchell Street Forest Park, GA 30297 Website: atlantacogbf.org Email: info@atlantacogbf.org Phone: (404) 241-6781 Wayne D. Mack, Pastor / Pastor Wayne D. Mack Sermon Notes April 2, 2023 Making My Blessed Oil, My Best Oil Exodus 30: 22-33 Moreover the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 23 “Also take for yourself quality spices—five hundred shekels of liquid myrrh, half as much sweet-smelling cinnamon (two hundred and fifty shekels), two hundred and fifty shekels of sweet-smelling cane, 24 five hundred shekels of cassia, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, and a hin of olive oil. 25 And you shall make from these a holy anointing oil, an ointment compounded according to the art of the perfumer. It shall be a holy anointing oil. 22 26 With it you shall anoint the tabernacle of meeting and the ark of the Testimony; 27 the table and all its utensils, the lampstand and its utensils, and the altar of incense; 28 the altar of burnt offering with all its utensils, and the laver and its base. 29 You shall consecrate them, that they may be most holy; whatever touches them must be holy. 30 And you shall anoint Aaron and his sons, and consecrate them, that they may minister to Me as priests. 1 “And you shall speak to the children of Israel, saying: ‘This shall be a holy anointing oil to Me throughout your generations. 32 It shall not be poured on man’s flesh; nor shall you make any other like it, according to its composition. It is holy, and it shall be holy to you. 33 Whoever compounds any like it, or whoever puts any of it on an outsider, shall be cut off from his people.’ ” 31 Leviticus 8: 1-5; 10, 12 (NKJV) New King James Version ~ Aaron and His Sons Consecrated And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 2 “Take Aaron and his sons with him, and the garments, the anointing oil, a bull as the sin offering, two rams, and a basket of unleavened bread; 3 and gather all the congregation together at the door of the tabernacle of meeting.” 8:1 4 So Moses did as the Lord commanded him. And the congregation was gathered together at the door of the tabernacle of meeting. 5 And Moses said to the congregation, “This is what the Lord commanded to be done.” 10 Also Moses took the anointing oil, and anointed the tabernacle and all that was in it, and consecrated them. 11 He sprinkled some of it on the altar seven times, anointed the altar and all its utensils, and the laver and its base, to consecrate them. 12 And he poured some of the anointing oil on Aaron’s head and anointed him, to consecrate him. 2 14 And he brought the bull for the sin offering. Then Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the head of the bull for the sin offering, 15 and Moses killed it. Then he took the blood, and put some on the horns of the altar all around with his finger, and purified the altar. And he poured the blood at the base of the altar, and consecrated it, to make atonement for it. 22 And he brought the second ram, the ram of consecration. Then Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the head of the ram, 23 and Moses killed it. Also, he took some of its blood and put it on the tip of Aaron’s right ear, on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot. 24 Then he brought Aaron’s sons. And Moses put some of the blood on the tips of their right ears, on the thumbs of their right hands, and on the big toes of their right feet. And Moses sprinkled the blood all around on the altar. 36 So Aaron and his sons did all the things that the Lord had commanded by the hand of Moses. Start Here . . . GMGP 3 This Sunday, the Sunday before Easter, is traditionally recognized as Palm Sunday. Palm Sunday commemorates Jesus’ grand entrance into Jerusalem and the great multitude spread their clothes on the road; others cut down branches, presumably Palm branches, from the trees and spread them on the road. Then the multitudes who went before and those who followed cried out, saying: “Hosanna to the Son of David! ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’ Hosanna in the highest!” What a moment that was. But today at Grace Place, we’re celebrating another kind of symbolic gesture – that is, OIL instead of Palm Branches. This is the Sunday, I’ve elected to fulfill my long awaited promise of consecrating Oil that many of you use in the practice of anointing yourselves as well as others and that you use in various other spiritual ways. Thank you for your patience and thank you to those who remembered to bring your oil. In the way of a message, I want to refresh and inform your memory on and about the significance of consecrated oil. Its importance reaches way back to early biblical history. And, I believe it has a very prominent place in the lives of Believers today. We must not let it die. 4 I have entitled this morning’s message: Making My Blessed Oil, My Best Oil “Blessed Oil”, as it is referred to by the Saints [both] then and now, has its place among a long list of symbols and symbolism in the Bible. For instance: • Jesus Christ is a symbol of the Word Personified John 1:1; Rev 9:13 • Fire symbolizes Pain and Judgment . . . Jer. 5:14; 20:9; 23:29 • Seed represents Source of Life Matt. 13:10-23; James 1:18; 1Pet. 1:23 • Water represents Cleansing from Sin Eph. 5:25-27; Rev. 21:6; 22:17 • Mirror represents Self Examination James 1:22-25 • Lamp is symbolic of Light for Direction Ps. 119:105;Prov. 6:23; 2 Pet. 1:19 • Hammer represents Powerful Judgment Jer. 23:29 • And many more . . . As for OIL, in the Bible, it usually referred to Olive Oil – although oil from myrrh, spikenard, and other varieties of trees was often used. In general, olive oil was one of the most important products in the economy and in the daily life of the people. Every household was 5 dependent upon a good supply of oil for lamps, ingredients for bread, for cooking, medicine to treat wounds, for health purposes, and personal cleanliness -- when mixed with other ingredients olive oil served as a soap and skin and hair sheen. On the spiritual side, Olive Oil was a symbol of peace and prosperity, but most prominently it was recognized as the “Gift of God” – a true blessing from Him. An olive tree growing in a rocky place was known to yield an abundance of oil. Oil is therefore associated with God’s gift and with God’s outpouring of the Spirit. [In Isaiah 53, Jesus was described as a “root out of dry ground”. [It is evident that He yielded an abundance of Holy Anointed Oil from His life.]. In Isaiah 61 and Luke 4: 16-21, Jesus Himself said that the Spirit of the Lord was upon Him because the Lord had anointed Him to preach the Gospel. The word for “anoint” is Maseiah (May or mu-say-I), and the Messiah [Jesus] is therefore “the anointed One.” He gathered up to Himself the triple function of prophet, priest, and king. [All three of these were anointed with oil because they were separated or consecrated for God’s exclusive service. A person was consecrated or separated to God by anointing because it was believed that the oil itself was from God and for the service of God. This ritual was so important that it was an offense that ultimately 6 resulted in excommunication to use holy anointing oil for a common purpose (Exodus 30: 33), and a person who had received such an anointing as to be obeyed (1 Sam 24:6). Given all this backdrop, there are FIVE key principles I want everyone here to know about the oil we’re about to consecrate for your personal use back home or wherever you choose to put it to use. According to Exodus 30 and Leviticus 8, we can draw five conclusions that will assist in helping us to develop a right mindset toward consecrated blessed oil. After today’s lesson, I hope that we’ll strengthen our respect and understanding of “Blessed Oil”. Here are the FIVE principles we learn from the Leviticus 8 and Exodus 30. 1. Be intentional about understanding God’s rules for Holy Anointing Oil. [It is a distinct recipe that belongs exclusively to God and not to be used for anything but engagement with the things of God. Not cooking, not lotion, etc. If you’re consecrating it to the Lord and asking Him to Honor it and He will – but only if it is dedicated to His service alone. No Strange Fire. Moreover the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 23 “Also take for yourself quality spices—five hundred shekels of liquid myrrh, half as much sweet-smelling cinnamon (two hundred and fifty shekels), two hundred and fifty shekels of sweet-smelling cane, 24 five hundred shekels of cassia, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, and a hin of olive oil. 25 And you shall make from these [ingredients] a 22 7 holy anointing oil, an ointment compounded according to the art of the perfumer. It shall be a holy anointing oil. 2. Purpose in your heart that you’ll use this oil for spiritual engagement only! Exodus 30: 26-30 26 With it you shall [only] anoint the tabernacle of meeting and the ark of the Testimony; 27 the table and all its utensils, the lampstand and its utensils, and the altar of incense; 28 the altar of burnt offering with all its utensils, and the laver and its base. 29 You shall consecrate them, that they may be most holy; whatever touches them must be holy. 30 And you shall anoint Aaron and his sons, and consecrate them, that they may minister to Me as priests. 3. Be intentional, personally dedicate your oil to God ~ Ask His Blessing Upon It Yourself. See it as “The Gift of God” whereby with it you receive God’s outpouring of the Holy Spirit. How you recognize your blessed oil is how God will recognize it. If you’re respecting and honoring God by using your oil as a consecrated source of your faith in God through obedience, then you can expect God to faithfully respond to you in that way. On the contrary, if you are using your oil to fry chicken, tame squeaky doors, or oil your scalp or tone down ashy skin, then don’t expect God to participate in that. (Disclaimer . . . praying for 8 healed scalp, or skin with a deliberate appeal to God for a spiritual move . . . then pray on.). 4. Do it! Sanctify, set apart, consecrate your oil for spiritual employment alone. Store your oil in a prominent good place. Exodus 30: 29 You shall consecrate them, that they may be most holy; whatever touches them must be holy. No strange fire . . . • Nadab and Abihu Lev. 10 • Saul • Uzzah – Ox Cart 5. Have faith in God, not the Oil! Have a right perspective regarding the oil. The oil is symbol of your faith and trust in God. When you reach for the oil God sees you are about to engage Him by activating your faith. Don’t disappoint Him. Don’t make the oil superstitious. These principles should help us in applying our understanding of James 5:13-16 . . . which is the only reference many Christians have when it comes to using “blessed oil”. 13 Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing psalms. 14 Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. 9 15 And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. 16 Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. Blessed, holy, consecrated anointing oil is this passage and so much more! Making My Blessed Oil, My Best Oil 10