Fresh Oil

Worship

Corporate Prayer

Today, I want to open our service by joining with the nation in prayer as we rededicate America to God.

Amanda: Lord, we invite your presence into this room. We join our faith with the founders of this nation who believed in Your power. We stand in agreement with our public and spiritual leaders who have called all Americans to come together ahead of the Nation’s 250th Birthday. Today, we rededicate this land to You, Our Rock and Our Redeemer who defined freedom for all people on the cross of Christ.

Bob (Pillar I): Lord, we thank you for the miracles that made us. We praise You for Your providence throughout these 250 years, inspiring America’s founders, and carrying us forward through every generation.

Jill (Pillar II): Lord, we praise you for the miracles still in our midst. Thank you for turning our hearts to humble ourselves, pray, and seek Your face. We thank you that you hear from heaven, forgive our sin, and heal our land.

Sharon (Pillar III): Lord, we ask You for a new birth of faith and freedom across our land. We are so grateful for 250 years of liberty, and we ask for an outpouring of your blessing, guidance and grace for the next 250 years.

Amanda: Your Word says, “Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord.” (Psalm 33:12) Today, we declare that the United States of America is One Nation, under God, and that our God is the Lord!

Holy Spirit, fill every heart, home, and church with Your fresh oil. Sustain us for the battle, give us light for our path, and consecrate us once again for Your glory.

And all God’s people said… “Amen!”

Welcome Home

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Opening

In 1775, George Washington encountered something extraordinary deep in the West Virginia woods: a natural gas seep bubbling out of the earth. When he lowered his torch, the water caught fire. A roaring flame danced on top of the pool. They called it the “Burning Spring.”

Washington was so captivated that he bought the land and ordered in his Will that it never be sold. Even though Colonial America wouldn’t have the resources to harvest natural gas for another 70 years, the founding father recognized it’s power. Then, the Revolutionary War struck.

For eight brutal years of defeat, betrayal, cold and hunger, Washington faced turbulent waters, but his faith never died. I wonder how often he might have thought about that bubbling pool, wild and mysterious yet full of hope for a bright future. Just like that burning spring, the American experiment was fueled by a deeper, internal fire.

Today, as we celebrate America’s 250th anniversary, we too find ourselves in turbulent waters. Shifting cultures and the storms of life want to put out your fire, your faith, your family, and even your church. But the Holy Spirit is our Burning Spring. When His fresh oil rests on you, it ignites a flame that the darkest storms of this world cannot extinguish.

Introduction

Look at the world around us. Cultural tides are rising. Winds of compromise are blowing fiercely. Every headline feels designed to douse the fire of the Church. But I came to remind you today: you cannot drown a fire that is fueled by the Spirit!

A spring doesn’t care about the weather. It doesn’t rely on the atmosphere. It bubbles up from a hidden, unstoppable source deep within the earth. When the enemy tries to flood your life with doubt, anxiety, or division, the Spirit of God bubbles up from the deep recesses of your soul.

In that fountain of living water, God has provided a supernatural resource to fuel your entire existence. We just have to accept the flame.

Too often, we try to fuel our families with human effort. We try to fuel our nation with political strategies. We try to fuel our faith with empty routines. But you cannot fight a spiritual battle with a physical source!

The oil of this world will eventually run dry, but the oil of the Holy Spirit is a daily, uncontainable necessity. It is the supernatural fuel to keep your spirit hot when the world grows cold.

Throughout Scripture, oil is a vivid symbol of the Holy Spirit’s power. It wasn’t a luxury hidden away for emergencies. It was a daily necessity used for three vital purposes:

Sustenance: To bake the bread of survival.

Illumination: To light the lamps in the darkness.

Consecration: To anoint people for a sacred purpose.

If we are going to survive the toxic elements of this world and stand strong for the next 250 years, we cannot rely on our own strength. We need the sustenance, the illumination, and the consecration of the Holy Spirit to fuel our faith from deep within.

Because without the Holy Spirit, the bread is dry. Without the Holy Spirit, the house is dark. And without the Holy Spirit, we are completely devoid of divine purpose. We cannot afford to live that way.

Pray

Let’s bow our heads and ask Him for His fire today.

Body

Sustenance - The Spirit in the Dough

We must first examine how the Spirit provides the daily sustenance required to survive the battle.

When we think about a holy fire like Washington’s Burning Spring, we often focus on the roaring flame. But a fire cannot burn without a continuous, unseen fuel supply. In God’s economy, the Holy Spirit does not just show up for spectacular celebrations. The Spirit is integral to our daily bread - the quiet, practical sustenance that keeps us alive during spiritual droughts.

The Divine Recipe (Exodus 29:2) In the Old Testament, God instructed the priests to thoroughly mix the finest wheat flour with oil before baking the holy bread. The oil wasn’t an afterthought glazed over the crust. It was aggressively kneaded into the flour, permeating every single grain.

If we want our families and our nation to survive the cultural fires around us, we cannot treat the Holy Spirit like an optional glaze we brush on for Sunday mornings. He is a basic necessity. The Spirit must be thoroughly kneaded into the dough of our everyday lives.

The Unfailing Supply (1 Kings 17:7-16) Look at First Kings chapter 17. During a devastating national drought, the prophet Elijah encounters a desperate widow gathering sticks. She is preparing for her final meal before she and her son starve to death. Elijah approaches her and makes a seemingly insensitive request for a cup of water and a piece of bread.

Listen to her heartbreaking reply in verse 12: “As the Lord your God lives, I do not have bread, only a handful of flour in a bin, and a little oil in a jar; and see, I am gathering a couple of sticks that I may go in and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it, and die.” (1 Kings 17:12)

In response, Elijah gives a counterintuitive command of faith “Bake a small loaf for the Lord first.” She obeys by faith, and God supernaturally multiplies her resources.

When you willingly hand over your last drop to God, the Holy Spirit multiplies your meager supply. Like Washington’s unquenchable spring, The Holy Spirit provides a daily miracle of survival right in the middle of a spiritual wasteland!

Just as the priests were sustained by the tabernacle offerings, and the widow by her little cakes, you and I are sustained when the Word of God is thoroughly mixed with the presence of the Holy Spirit.

Without oil, the bread is just dry dust.

The Holy Spirit is our spiritual sustenance. When you are running on empty - when your emotional and spiritual shelves are completely bare - the fresh oil of the Spirit provides the supernatural nourishment you need to survive the famine of this culture and thrive.

I can think of many mornings I woke up as a mom with toddlers teething, or children vomiting, or now when my teenagers are struggling. The problems stacking up and my emotional reservoir at absolute zero with nothing left to give my family.

In those moments, I can’t try to have a checklist of religious duties. I just open my Bible, take a deep breath and pray a desperate, one-sentence prayer: “Holy Spirit, I am out of oil. Pour into me so I can pour into them.”

Physically, nothing really changes. But spiritually, the climate totally shifts. The Holy Spirit doesn’t just give a temporary emotional high, He gives the deep, supernatural resilience to walk through the day with patience joy and peace. The Holy Spirit is our hidden supply that makes the daily bread so much easier to consume.

Illumination - The Light that Cannot be Choked

Physical oil illuminated early America’s literal darkness. But spiritual oil provides the divine clarity we need to navigate cultural darkness. The Holy Spirit doesn’t just want to feed us; He wants to guide us.

Remember Washington’s Burning Spring. It proved that a supernatural flame cannot be snuffed out by what’s going on around it. True spiritual illumination requires two things: a pure source and constant readiness.

The Pure Source (Exodus 27:20-21) In Exodus, God commanded the priests to use “pure oil of pressed olives” to keep the the golden lampstand continuously burning.

Did you know that ancient olives ground down by heavy stones produced a bitter sediment? When you burned that oil, it created a thick, choking smoke. But olives that were gently hand-pressed burned perfectly clean!

If we want to light up our communities, our workplaces, and our nation, we cannot fuel our lives with the muddy, sediment-heavy oil of culture, politics, or self-reliance. That kind of oil only produces toxic smoke. We need a constant supply of the pure oil of the Holy Spirit - even if that purity requires a season of pressing.

The Price of Readiness (Matthew 25:1-13) Jesus warned us about trying to navigate the midnight hour in the Parable of the Ten Virgins. Ten walked out into the night, but only five brought enough oil to keep their lamps lit. At midnight, the cry went out: The bridegroom is coming! Instantly, the foolish virgins’ lamps began to flicker and die and they were left begging the wise ones for fuel.

Church, we are living in a cultural midnight. This parable reminds me of how we treat our cell phones. We look down, see the battery at 5%, and panic! We instantly switch it to ‘low power mode.’ We force-stop all the background apps, dim the screen, and do everything we can just to keep it from dying before we get home.

That’s exactly how too many Christians are living today. They are running on 5% spiritual battery. They are in ‘low power mode.’ They have dimmed their light so low they aren’t impacting anyone around them - just trying to survive until Heaven.

But the Holy Spirit didn’t call you to live in low power mode! He doesn’t want you rationing a dying battery. He wants you plugged into an uncontainable, supernatural power source so that even at midnight, your light is burning at 100% brightness.

Stop trying to run your lives on yesterday’s power! Spiritual oil cannot be borrowed, transferred, or bought at the final hour. We can’t borrow a generic, second-hand faith from our parents, our pastors, or our heritage. Look around us: even AI and the internet is discipling people now. If you don’t have your own direct connection to the Source, the algorithms of this world will choose your direction for you.

Without the pure oil of the Spirit, our lamps are just empty ornaments - and empty lamps cannot pierce a dark age.

In these turbulent times, we do not need more human opinions or worldly wisdom. If we want to be a city on a hill that leads this nation back to God, we need the illumination of the Holy Spirit to light our path, guard our steps, and reveal the truth of God’s Word.

Consecration - Set Apart for a Purpose

Beyond feeding us through spiritual sustenance and guiding us with illumination, the Holy Spirit ultimately transforms our identity through Consecration.

In biblical history, the holy anointing oil was used to set things apart for divine use. George Washington set apart the Burning Spring by decreeing in his Will that it must never be sold. In the exact same way, God pours out His Spirit to claim you forever as His own inheritance. He has taken you off the market!

The Separation of the Sanctuary (Exodus 30:22-30) When Moses poured that fragrant oil over the Tabernacle, the altars, and the priests, it wasn’t just a nice religious ceremony. It was a legal declaration. The moment the oil touched an item, it became off-limits to the secular world. It was dedicated as “Most Holy” and entirely to God.

True consecration means you no longer belong to the common culture. When the Holy Spirit saturates your life, He marks you. He sets your family apart, your resources apart, your career apart - everything you allow Him to touch. Through that oil, the Holy Spirit declares to the enemy, “Hands off, this belongs to the King!”

The Healing of the Shepherd (Psalm 23:5 & Mark 6:13) But, please hear me in this: consecration is not just a rigid institutional ritual. It is a deeply personal, protective act of love.

In Psalm 23:5 David declares, “You anoint my head with oil; my cup runs over.” Why did the shepherd do that? Ancient shepherds poured thick oil over the heads of their sheep for two reasons: to protect them from blinding insects and to heal wounds they got from sharp rocks.

This healing anointing carries directly into the New Testament. In Mark 6:13, when Jesus sent out the disciples, they “anointed with oil many who were sick, and healed them.” James 5:14 echoes this, commanding the elders of the church to pray over the sick, anointing them with oil in the name of the Lord.

The Holy Spirit does not just demand your holiness - He provides it through your healing. When God anoints your head with fresh oil, He seals your emotional wounds, He wards off the pests of anxiety and despair, and He causes your life to overflow with supernatural favor.

Without the consecrating oil of the Holy Spirit, we are just ordinary people trying to do ordinary things. But when the Holy Spirit sets you apart, your identity shifts.

You are no longer a victim of your circumstances. You are no longer a product of a broken culture. You are a chosen vessel. You are a royal priesthood. You are marked by God to carry an unquenchable fire into a dark and dying world!

Summary

The Source of the Fire (Zechariah 4:1-6) Throughout Scriptures, oil points consistently to the work of the Holy Spirit - empowering leaders, guiding prophets, healing the sick, and illuminating the path of faith.

In Zechariah chapter 4, the prophet saw a golden lampstand fueled by two living olive trees. In the ancient Tabernacle, human priests had to physically pour the oil every single day to fill the lamps. But in this divine vision, no human hands were needed. An inexhaustible, supernatural supply flowed entirely on its own.

The message to Zechariah is the same message for us today: Zechariah 4:6 “Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ Says the Lord!”

Left to ourselves, our jars run empty, our lamps flicker out, and our lives become nothing but dry dust. But Jesus Christ - the true Anointed One - took the crushing weight of our sin upon Himself at the cross. He was bruised and pressed at Gethsemane so that a pure fountain of life could be unleashed for you and me!

When you surrender to Him, the Great High Priest fills your vessel with a supply that comes only from His finished work, and not from your performance.

Close

If we live out this anointing, we will see our communities revolutionized.

Because the Holy Spirit is our Sustenance, the dry dust of our lives will be replaced by fruitfulness.

Because He is our Illumination, the cultural darkness around us will be pierced by His truth.

Because He is our Consecration, we will step out of the common culture and stand tall as “trees of righteousness,” for the next 250 years.

Psalm 133:1–2 promises that true biblical unity is like that holy anointing oil poured over the priest’s head. It didn’t just sit on his scalp. It rand down his face, soaked his beard, and saturated the very hem of his robes.

When we are united in the Spirit, the blessing cannot be contained! The oil poured out will spill over the edges of this church. It will run down into our workplaces. It will soak into our schools. It will flood our neighborhoods. and it will saturate the fabric of America!

Just like Washington’s Burning Spring, the waters of this world cannot put out what God has fueled from the beginning. Let us become a healed people, an unshakable church, and a nation burning brightly with the unquenchable fire of God. Let us stand to pray...

Pray (Stand)

Father, we stand in awe of a fire that the waters of this world cannot extinguish. We declare right now that we are done trying to fight spiritual battles with physical strategies. We are done running our families, our ministries, and our lives on low-power mode.

Holy Spirit, we open our hearts to you right now. Knead your presence into our daily routines. Pierce the midnight darkness of our culture with Your pure light. Pour out Your fresh oil of sustenance, illumination, and consecration over every heart in this room...

Tithes & Offerings

Small group Questions (in bulletin & slide - don’t read)

Sustenance: What area of your life do you feel like you are running dry?

Illumination: What practical step can you take to ensure you stay full of pure oil?

Consecration: What area of your life do you need to surrender to the Holy Spirit?

Ministry Time

Before you leave today, we don’t want to pass this opportunity to be obedient to the word and offer the anointing of oil. I have asked the Elders and Intercessors to stay up front to pray over you with the anointing of oil:

Station 1 BOB (Sustenance): If your “jar and jug” are running dry… financial crisis, exhausted marriage, spiritual burnout - step forward to be prayed for a daily, supernatural multiplication of your strength.

Station 2 SHARON (Illumination): For anyone sitting in a “cultural midnight” who needs divine clarity… career decisions, parenting crisis, or personal faith flickering - step forward to be anointed for fresh vision, trimmed wicks, and a refilled vessel.

Station 3 JILL (Consecration & Healing): For anyone carrying physical sickness, the sharp cuts of deep emotional trauma, or a desire to completely draw a line in the sand and rededicate your life to King Jesus - step forward and be set apart and healed by the Good Shepherd.

Benediction

May the Holy Spirit sustain you, illuminate your path, and seal you for the day of redemption. In Jesus’ Name, Amen!