I know this picture isn't the most attractive shot but it fits today's topic. In the picture I had been on one of my favorite pieces of cardio gear, the stair climber. After so many flights you begin to sweat and as you keep going, guess what happens. You sweat even more.  If you are in the mood to go even further and longer, you sweat even more. The same is true when it comes to the anointing of God.

If I had to put a percentage on it I'd say about 95% of what believers label as "anointed" truly isn't. Instead most folks toss that term out when they "feel" God in some way.

 We have replaced the term "anointed" to mean something that touches us emotionally instead of something that really has God's direct touch on it.

There is a wonderful verse over in Isaiah 10 that says the yoke will be destroyed because of the anointing. I contend that to really test something to see if it was honestly anointed, the best test is in how many yolks are still left in place after it runs it's course.  This undermines our preconceived idea that the anointing is given to tug at our emotions.

I'm a good example of this idea of yokes not being present after the fact as I used to weigh 500 pounds. (For my weight loss testimony in detail click here.) I'm here to tell you I am anointed for health, exercise, nutrition and weight loss.   How do I know? The two primary things that make something anointed are both present.  First God Himself has to decree it or give an instruction to a human to follow.  Once that word leaves the lips of God, the other "proof" is in how many yokes are around after it is said and done. 

God spoke to me with a series of unusual instructions telling me point blank He was going to freshly anoint my choices.  Today by every measurable physical determination, I am a walking billboard to the anointing of God in those areas.  From over 240 pounds of weight loss to incredible blood pressure, perfect cholesterol numbers, and so on.  I am anointed for health, weight loss, and such... but watch this... I have days when I don't FEEL anointed.  You need to read that again.. I have days when I do not FEEL anointed. That doesn't change anything.

Countless times I have been discouraged, disheartened or lacked motivation over the years. But again I say that doesn't change the anointing.  My emotions are not required for my obedience to God's instructions! Let me say that again in bold type as that is one of the big takeaways from today's blog...

My emotions are not required for my obedience to God's instructions! ... and neither are yours.  


In churches we see this play out on a regular basis where emotions get worked up and a soul based euforia falls and most folks call that "anointed" yet when they leave the meeting, nothing is really different. No previous yokes are broken off of their life. The obvious conclusion is that it wasn't anointed at all.  It was good, it was powerful, but it was something based in the soul or in the "natural realm", not in the spirit.  I have personally seen in the spirit at times when entire churches will be shouting rebukes at the devil while demons sit and chuckle at them.  They shout as if they have won a great victory, yet they go home and overeat some more, or mistreat their spouse, or remain in a state of bitterness and unforgiveness with others.  

Friends, victory through the anointing comes when what used to bind you no longer does. 

Now listen.. I enjoy me some emotional style worship just as much as the next guy. I like being touched in my soul and in my emotions and that is indeed the realm most of the body of Christ functions in, on and around. I have noticed that most truly anointed things happen outside of the realm of emotions in the moment. In fact, in most cases it is not until the results are seen after the fact when a person is free of their yokes that the emotions come into play.

I want to challenge you today with this concept and thought that perhaps God has surrounded you with truly anointed people for given areas of your life but you have not discerned them properly.  Maybe they have given you an instruction you didn't care for.. or maybe they just rub you the wrong way. Either way you have puled back and away from them when they may well be the very answer to your prayers. God heard you in the Spirit and answered you in the natural yet your emotions are ruling over your Spirit and keeping you from connecting with the one's God is truly on to help you.

I run into this constantly with others as they are fast to ask for help with health, weight loss and even earning extra income from home. I am absolutely anointed in these areas (and others) because God called me into them and yokes are destroyed in the lives of those who apply what I say. When i start to lay out what will be required, emotions creep in and everything from simple laziness to all sorts of evil spirits  push a person to shy away.

How many people do you think God has brought into your path in His attempts to bless you, prosper you, help you with better health, and ultimately bring you closer to Himself that you have not properly discerned? Finding that answer really isn't nearly as important as taking a fresh look with Spirit Eyes at those currently in your life.  


If I want to get better at my keyboard skills, do I consult a drummer? No, I consult a keyboard player that is better than I am and I approach them with a teachable attitude ready to make changes. If I need advice for my marriage, do I consult the man on his fourth wife.. or the man who has been married to the same woman for forty years? In both cases they know something I do not yet know so its going to require me to change a bit.  


So let me ask you... Who has surrendered to Jesus and has the results in the natural that you want? They are likely anointed in that area. They probably will rub you wrong, at least at first. Truly anointed people bring others to a place of decision and choice by their very presence and actions.  If you have no desire to grow or mature, anointed people will irritate you to no end... so check your own heart first and foremost, then take a fresh look at who it is around you in your life. Study their results. 

I dont have to walk around carrying a sign that says "I'm anointed for weight loss". My heart for Jesus and my before and after pic says all that needs to be said.  For those who truly discern me, it is obvious. For those who are ruled by their emotions, they will find an excuse masquerading as a valid reason to avoid my council. 

What are you anointed for my friend?  What results are you being known or remembered for? What is your difference from others? Inventory your current relationships and dont be afraid to call people and set appointments. Ask for opinions and help. Make your needs known to each other because no one can solve a problem with or for you that they don't first know that you have.  Gravitate toward truly anointed people, they are who God will use to bring His very best into your life!

More soon...

Mark

The problem truly discerning and with hearing the voice of God is that most of those around you don't and most who think they do don't either. #MKLifeKey

Sadly, we have gotten away from yielding to those with a proven track record of hearing God clearly and letting them settle matters of dispute opting instead to be politically correct and refusing ourselves the victories and joys that only come thru successful confrontation.

So what do you do when you have a group of believers all gathered together and they all seem to have differing opinions as to what God is saying or what direction he wants to go next? You have what I call a "Spiritual Stalemate".

Recently I was at a church that shall remain nameless. They prided themselves on being very open to things of the Holy Spirit and giftings from others manifesting during their services. They do deserve some credit for sure for that posture, but even though the leaders were open to letting some folks step up and flow, they still retained the decision making power to decide if something really was of God or not. That they wouldn't embrace a plurality of decision makers on that topic and that was where they failed.

The New Testament model is very clear. In public gatherings, Paul says in 1 Cor 14 that we are to let two or three prophets speak and the other prophets judge. This assumes several things. First that there will be several Prophets in attendance. Second that no single, lone person would ever make a determination if something that someone else brought forth was of God or not. Lets break that down a bit more...

We absolutely have the charge from scripture to be personally responsible for ourselves. That means regardless of when a person or group of people claim something to be of God, it still needs to be witnessing within ourselves thru the Holy Spirit.  At no point are we as believers to ignore the Holy Spirit within ourselves. Anything truly from the Spirit of God should check right within yourself.  That doesn't mean you will like it, enjoy it or be remotely fond of it even... lol ..but it does mean you will know in your heart it truly is God. With that said...

In a church service setting it's a little easier to deal with this because you simply appoint a group of no less than two proven prophetic voices that have to be in UNITY about what is going on.  Note here that agreement and Unity are very different things. Agreement is when two parties share the same intellectual idea. Unity is a Spirit that transcends human understanding. Unity is NOT uniformity and many miss that. I can count on one hand in my entire life when a true Spirit of Unity fell in a live gathering. You are completely overwhelmed with a supernatural love and passion to care about every other person in the gathering far more than yourself. You would happily take a bullet for anyone and everyone because you see THEIR worth before God.. this is what a true Spirit of Unity does.. and this is the tie that needs to be present in the prophetic voices that make the collective decisions about what is of God and what isn't in a live meeting.

Finding an Apostle or a Prophet with enough humility to lay down the decision making power and entrust that into the hands of a small group of others is unusually rare today.. but I can assure you that Satan knows them and keeps them under constant surveillance. There are few more dangerous to the Kingdom of Darkness.  They are not preaching flowery messages about having a nice day, nor are they obsessed with calling everyone to "repent". No, instead they have their head to the heart of Jesus and they are driven by ushering in a move of God's Presence, just like a jealous father would usher a virgin daughter thru life until he finally gives her to her future husband. Anointed leaders treat God's presence that way with that kind of priority.

What do you do outside of the church then when two or more people all feel like they have heard from God and what they have heard appears to contradict each other? Two things. First you each pray again... you pray for specific direction, confirming signs and for God's Peace to be in your heart if you have truly heard from Him. SIf the prayer doesn't solve it, then you need to involve one of those groups I talked about earlier...at least two prophetic voices, proven and seasoned... and lay it all before them and let them pray and convey what God is saying or doing.  When this happens, in almost every situation I have been witness to, at least one person is hiding a fear or a quiet personal agenda using "God said" to hide it.  Proven prophets can spot that relatively quickly.

Hope that helps everyone a bit...

M-

So many around me are so close to major breakthroughs and like any spiritual Father, I want it for them! I would love to see each and every person break into what God really has for them.  Of course, for them to move into what God really has for them, they will need to trust the voices God has around them who carry His divine Wisdom. 

A hard lesson for me to learn some years ago was that my Prophetic gifting mixed with my Apostolic heart and God's Wisdom in my mind gave my unusual insights to most people and situations.  What's hard about that you might ask? Consider how your life would change if you could discern more about those you know. 

How would you interact with a person if you knew by the Spirit of God that they were lying to you? How would you treat a person claiming to be a victim of abuse when by the Spirit of God you saw that they were actually painting themselves as a victim when in fact they themselves were the real abuser? What would you say to a person claiming they can't hear God when you know by the Spirit they have heard God just fine, they are just rebelling to His voice? Now you begin to understand that there is a difference between wishing everyone was honest and knowing when they really are being honest. The cold, hard fact is that only God is true. the rest of us are all liars. We all need a degree of Mercy from God...and usually from others as well. 

When I was younger I made the mistake of not taking Mercy very seriously. I just didn't see a need for it in my life anywhere and I certainly didn't see a reason to extend any to anyone else. The deeper I journey into the Heart of our Father, the more I am discerning that His mercy is likened unto a layer of dew in the early morning in that it's coated over everything He says and does. Since God is absolutely pure and absolutely perfect, it is impossible for Him to speak to us or interact in any way without having that interaction coated in his Mercy.  

The dictionary defines Mercy this way.  Mercy - Compassion or forgiveness shown toward someone whom it is within one's power to punish or harm.  As I mature more, I see more and more how Mercy is coating more and more of my life as well.  I am seeing that it's been over me the entire time, I just haven't discerned it until recently.

Mercy should not be mistaken for weakness as you are not in a position to extend Mercy unless you have the power over someone to punish or harm them.  When a believer lies to me, my flesh wants to take advantage of my discernment and expose the idiot to everyone.  The Holy Spirit in me on the other hand quietly nudges me to cover the mess and submit it to more prayer, in effect showing that person Mercy. 

When you sow a personal seed of Mercy, you reap a harvest of personal Peace.

Mercy is a seed that you can sow just like money.  You can be confident that you can never outgive God and that includes in the area of Mercy.  I challenge you today to move in some fresh Mercy towards others for a while and watch what begins to happen in your life. Stresses begin to fall away, conflicts begin to resolve and watch this... enemies are exposed!  That's right, few things surface an impure motive faster than a person of Mercy coming into a situation.  Remember, a person of Mercy is already by default the person in charge with the power to punish or harm. When that person extends compassion instead of harm, it quickly releases the scent of humility and humility is something people with impure motives can't stand to be around.

The devil wants you to believe the lie that Mercy is a weakness when in reality, it's a "tell" in the Kingdom of God.  People that extend Mercy are the mature ones in the crowd. Mercy is never far away from a powerful man or woman of God. It is a trusted ally that serves faithfully at it's master's request exposing enemies and providing peace for it's owner.

Mercy revealed sets up the atmosphere for Praise! (1 Chronicles  20:21) Mercy is tied to Joy in Psalm 13:5.

Allover scripture you see various folks asking others for Mercy by name. This is an acknowledgement that the person they are talking to or about has power to punish or harm them and they are asking for that person to not do those things.  The cry "Have Mercy on me, oh God" is great for a brand new convert too! It reveals that they discern their own lack of a saviour so in a very real way, personal salvation starts when a person sees their own need for Mercy from God.

As I said, try this week to move in fresh Mercy with others. Do it confidently knowing that you have a harvest of peace and a fresh revealing of enemies will come as a result.   

More soon!

M-