Dwelling With The King For His Work-11

DWELLING WITH THE KING FOR HIS WORK

THE WORKER'S ENDUEMENT

Key-verse: "I shall be anointed with fresh oil" (Psalm 92:10)

No-one can live for the Lord or serve the Lord in his own strength, and the last seven words in Psalm 92:10 affirm this fact. It is quite impossible for anyone to live in a way which is pleasing to God, victoriously and radiantly, and to serve God effectively and fruitfully without the holy anointing spoken of by the psalmist. This anointing is indispensable. If we are failing in our Christian living, if we are fruitless in our Christian service, here is the reason: it is because we are not living and working in the anointing and under the enduement of the Holy Spirit. Let us, there­fore, ask and answer several questions that at once arise in our minds.

(1) What is this holy anointing?

The answer is clear, it is the anointing of the Holy Spirit; it is the enduement of power---look up Luke 24:19. Oil in scripture is a type or symbol of the Holy Spirit, and it is well for us to note carefully the fact that even our Lord Jesus Christ, Who was "holy, harmless, undefiled and separate from sinners"---look up Hebrews 7:26; even He was anointed with the Holy Spirit before He embarked upon His public ministry---look up Luke 4:18-19, and compare Acts 10:38. Before He ascended, our Lord promised that His servants would receive this anointing, and indicated that only after they had been anointed and empowered with the Holy Spirit would they be able to live and serve effectively in His Name---look up Acts 1:8, and compare Acts 2:4. The anointing of the Holy Spirit was a definite experi­ence in the life of our Lord and in the lives of the first Christians. We also may, and should and must know the same holy anointing.

(2) For whom is this anointing available?

The answer is clear: for every single Christian, for all who have been born of the Spirit---look up John 3:5; sealed by the Spirit---look up Ephesians 1:13; baptized by the Spirit into the body of Christ---look up 1 Corinthians 12:13; and who are indwelt by the Holy Spirit---look up 1 Corinthians 6:19; for this is more than these. This anointing with the Holy Spirit, which is the empowering of the Holy Spirit, is for every single one of God's children. The priest of old needed to be anointed, but so did the prophet and the king---and we need to be anointed in the same way, anointed with the fresh oil of the Holy Spirit.

(3) How may we have this anointing?

The answer is clear: there are four steps which we must take: -

1.       We Must Acknowledge Our Need.

It is a terrible thing to have to admit it, but Christians are often proud and self-satisfied. Do you agree? Put yourself to the test. Are you satisfied with your Christian life? Are you satisfied with the victory you gain over sin? Are you satisfied with the way you are living for the Lord day by day? Are you satisfied with your prayer-­life, with your soul-winning effort? How can we be satisfied! Perhaps the more important question is: Is God satisfied? The first step which must be taken if we would have this holy anointing, the enduement of power, is to acknowledge our need; that is, to acknowledge our need of the Holy Ghost to rest upon us and to possess us and to equip us---look up John 7:37-39.

2.       We Must Forsake Our Sin.

That is to say, we must be willing to be cleansed from anything and everything that is displeasing to the Lord---look up and compare 2 Corinthians 7:1 and 1 John 1:9, and then turn to Exodus 30:31-32. The holy anointing oil of the Holy Spirit will never come in power and unction upon "man's flesh". The sins of the spirit and of the flesh must be recognized, confessed and renounced before we can be endued with power from on high---look up Proverbs 28:13 and compare Ephesians 4:30.

3.       We Must Surrender Our life.

That is to say, we must know in personal experience the meaning of Romans 12:1; we must give ourselves utterly to the Lord, spirit, soul and body, to be His, altogether His---look up 1 Thessalonians 5:23. In the record of his life we have these words from Hudson Taylor: "Well do I remember the day when I, in unreserved con­secration, put myself, my life, my friends, my all upon the altar ... " Well, if we will acknowledge our need, forsake our sin and surrender our life, we shall then be almost at the place where we can say, "I shall be anointed with fresh oil"; but there is one more step that we must take.

4.        We Must Make Our Request

That is to say, we must pray and ask the ­Lord that He will graciously anoint us with the Holy Spirit, for our act of prayer is also an act of faith. While it is true on the one hand that we do not need to ask for the Holy Spirit, for He has been bestowed in all His fullness and made available to every one of God's children, and He in fact indwells every Christian; on the other hand, to come before the Lord in prayer and to ask for His gracious anointing and infilling and empowering is to confess our need and to express our confidence in the Lord. It is to say to the Lord, "Lord, 1 am inadequate and powerless in myself. I need the adequacy and empowering of the Holy Spirit. Grant me this gracious anointing with fresh oil." Our loving Heavenly Father is always more anxious to give than we are to receive-look up Luke 11:13. So let us "ask and continue to ask Him" (Amplified Bible), for the anointing with fresh oil!

If we acknowledge our need, forsake our sin, surrender our life and make our request, will it then be presumption to believe that God has bestowed upon us His holy anointing? No, it will not! For what God promises faith takes, and it is signifi­cant that in the Revised Version rendering of our key-verse, the words we are con­sidering read: "1 am anointed with fresh oil." This is the language of faith.

.

I take the promised Holy Ghost,

 I take the power of Pentecost,

To fill me to the uttermost,

 'I take'---'He undertakes'.

1 simply take Him at His word,.

1 praise Him that my prayer is heard,

 And claim my answer from the Lord

‘I take’ --- He undertakes.