My Anointed Ones 1986

That's just gorgeous, won't marvel. Okay, I want to start by reading just a few verses, starting at verse 12 of Psalm 105. When the people of Israel were few in number, of little account, and sojourners in the land, wandering from nation to nation, from one kingdom to another, God allowed no one to oppress them.

He rebuked kings on their account, saying, Touch not my anointed ones, do my prophets no harm. Touch not my anointed ones, do my prophets no harm. This text, as many here know, is usually used when the folks are giving the preacher a hard time.

You know, they're getting on him, and he's getting sick and tired of it. So he picks out this verse, and he polishes it up, and he lets him have it. Or, he brings in one of his best friends.

You know, brother so-and-so comes in and he does it. You know, you better watch out. Leave the reverend alone.

Touch not the Lord's anointed. Do his prophets no harm. But the anointed ones, the anointed ones, the prophets that are referred to really in Psalm 105 and in the parallel passage in 1 Chronicles 16, are not preacher-clergymen, or any such thing.

They are all the people of Israel. And they are the people of Israel at a time when they were few in number, of very little account, as far as the world was concerned. They were wandering from nation to nation, they were sojourners in the land.

And yet, even though they look so scruffy, and so unimportant, and so useless, God is pleased to call these people, wandering around from place to place, even though they don't look like very much, God calls these people, wandering around from nation to nation, few in number, sojourners in the land, He calls them His anointed ones, His prophets. And He allows no one to harm them without paying a terrible price. He rebukes kings on their account, because even though they look like such an unimportant, such a useless bunch of people, they are God's redemptive hand on the earth.

And through these people, these Hebrews, He is working out His redemptive purpose. And He guards and keeps them for that purpose. Now, the modern counterpart of these Old Testament anointed ones, these scruffy-looking nomads who are wandering around from nation to nation, but who are guarded and kept by God, watched over, prospered, anointed, empowered, and used for His purposes, is another assembly of people, made of Jew and Gentile.

Across the earth today, who don't look like much more. In fact, they look just as bad, look maybe even worse. As far as the world is concerned, they are few in number, they are of little account, and they are sojourners in the land.

But God is pleased to call these people, His anointed ones, His prophets, the ones through whom He works out His redemptive purpose. Now, I'm talking about the authentic body of Christ, the genuine church. I'm talking about people who are radically committed to the person of Jesus, and who are also equally committed to each other.

Not a bunch of one-man shows, one-lady shows, home rangers running around doing their own thing, pulling people around them. Committed to the Lord, committed to each other, and thirdly, committed to the work that they've been given to do, which is to proclaim and manifest the word which God has given them. That's what it means to be a prophet.

These people have been reconciled to God by the blood of the Lamb. These people have been anointed by the same Spirit that anointed Jesus. And these people have been given a word, burning in their hearts, and they've been committed to the task of proclaiming that word and manifesting that word to the world around them.

And of these, God still says, Touch not my anointed, do my prophets no harm. Now, if we, in fact, are committed to Jesus, not to all the this's and that's of the doctrines, but to the person of Jesus, and if we are, in fact, committed to each other and committed to the work which we've been given to do, to proclaim and live that word, then we are His anointed ones. We are His prophets.

And all these promises apply to us. And we are His anointed ones, among all the others all over the earth who are in the same shape, doing the same thing, and we are His anointed ones, not just as individuals, but as a body. Together in the purpose of God.

You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, is the promise. John didn't get baptized with water, but you're going to be baptized with the Holy Spirit. Now, this promise was made not to the individual believer, but to the body.

And it was fulfilled when they were gathered together in one place. And it was fulfilled again and again, the Spirit fell upon them and refreshed them again and again when they were gathered. And the redemptive movings of God, the purpose of God, right now in the earth, the fulfillment of this promise to us is Jesus pouring out His Spirit on His body worldwide, but now we're talking about ourselves right here.

The gift of all gifts, the gift of the Holy Spirit, is poured out upon us. As He is gathering us together, and there is a gathering going on, what's been happening among us at least for the last year or so, is that there's been a gathering, it's a sifting and a shaking, but the ultimate purpose of it is the drawing together, closer than ever before, in the purpose of God, of His people. And as this gathering takes place, and as the Word comes to us, and it's been coming to us with tremendous power from many mouths, within and under that Word comes the life of the Holy Spirit, raising us up to be a prophetic people, the bearers of His Word, manifesting that Word, not only just with our mouths, but with our lives.

You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you. You're going to be my witnesses. This is the promise.

We're being anointed in the same way that Samuel anointed David to be king of Israel, by pouring the oil on his head, and declaring him to be the king, long before anybody else knew it. So Yeshua, Jesus, is pouring out His Spirit upon the body, anointing us to be His prophetic people on the earth, at this place, in this hour of redemptive history. Now, if we are so committed to Him, to each other, and to the work that we've been given to do, that it has top priority in our lives, then we are His anointed ones, and as His anointed ones, we are under God's call, God's protection, and God's promise.

First of all, we are under His call, reading from Ephesians chapter 4, verse 1, and really the entire fourth chapter of Ephesians is based on the call, and if we don't understand what it means to be called, then none of the rest of that chapter fits together. Reading just the first four verses, I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called, a calling to which you've been called, with all lowliness and meekness, with patience, forbearing one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the spirit and the bond of peace. There is one body and one spirit, just as you were called, with one hope that belongs to your call.

The call, the call, the call, the call. We are together, because we have been called by God. We have faith in Him, because we have been called into this faith.

We didn't create it, we didn't generate it, we didn't manufacture it, we can't. We are called into it. We have a vision of the kingdom, because we've been called into that vision of the kingdom.

We didn't choose Jesus, He chose us. You did not choose me, I chose you, and ordained that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain. Nor did He choose us because of any other reason than His own mercy and holiness.

He didn't look down and say, my, what a lovely group of people, they have such talent, I think I'll use them for my kingdom. For the very opposite reason, He looks down and He says, I'm going to use them, I'm going to bring them together and use them as proof before the world that I can use anybody. That's why He called us.

Just as surely as Moses was called at the burning bush, as Peter was called by the edge of the Sea of Galilee, as Matthew was called from his tax office, as He called the woman at the well, or Mary Magdalene from her seven devils. He's calling us and has called us to leave our old ways and our old thoughts and turn our lives over to Him and spend the rest of our days as His prophets on this earth. Servants of His Word, all of us.

You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, when you're going to be my witnesses and you're going to see results. Don't be afraid from now on, you're going to be catching men. Now the question we need to ask ourselves is this, are we living under that call? Not only as individuals, but as a body.

Is this fellowship functioning as a city set on a hill? Is the light going forth? Is the Word going out? Are people being drawn under the life and power of God through the Word that God has put in our hearts? Or is it dying in here? Is the life going forth? That Word, in Philippians 4, verse 1, is addressed by the Spirit through Paul, not to the individual, but to all of us together. I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all loneliness and meekness, with patience, forbearing one another in love. He's talking about our corporate life, our life together.

Eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit and the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your fall. Now if we respond to that call and live under that call, then the city around us will absolutely feel the impact of it.

No question. As God's anointed ones, we are living under his protection. Touch not my anointed ones.

Do my prophets no harm. Now, Jesus did not say that we would not be persecuted, or that there would be no danger, or that none of us would ever get killed. As a matter of fact, he says the opposite.

He says, we're going to share in his power, we are also going to share in his cross. In fact, we will only share in his power to the extent that we are willing to bear the weight of his cross. And any power that we manifest, other than the power of the cross, which is the denial of the self, the allowing of death to work in us, that life might flow out to somebody else.

Any other power that we may use is a divisive power, a death-dealing power, an evil power. But when we live under the power of his cross, and are willing to go down before God and die to ourselves with Jesus, then we also live under the protection of that cross. And so we read in Luke chapter 21, verse 10 and following, Then Jesus said to them, Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be great earthquakes in various places, famines and pestilences.

There will be terrors and great signs from heaven. But before all this, they will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues, meaning the religious institutions, and prisons. And you will be brought before kings and governors for my name's sake.

This will be a time for you to bear testimony. Settle it therefore in your minds not to meditate beforehand how to answer, for I will give you a mouth and wisdom which none of your adversaries will be able to withstand or contradict. You will be delivered even by parents and brothers and kinsmen and friends, and some of you will be put to death.

You will be hated by all for my name's sake. But not a hair of your head will perish. By your endurance you will gain your lives.

What's he talking about? He says some of you will be put to death, not a hair of your head will perish. How does that fit together? Meaning that no matter how it goes, no matter what happens, I will be with you. I'll be there.

Lo, I am with you always. I will give you a mouth and wisdom which none of your adversaries will be able to withstand or contradict. Lo, I am with you always.

Trust me. I will provide for you. I will protect you.

I will meet every need. Just get on with the work I gave you to do. You are invulnerable until your work is done.

Stop looking back over your shoulder. Don't worry about it. Get on with it.

The question we need to ask ourselves is are we trusting that protection? The word to Joshua was, be strong and of good courage. Don't be afraid. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.

The word to Peter was, don't be afraid from now on you're going to be catching men. Don't be afraid. The word to us is the same.

Don't be afraid. Stop being afraid. Stop looking back over your shoulder.

Stop forever trying to hedge every bet. Stop being afraid to take a risk. Trust me.

Don't be afraid. I'm with you. Finally, as His anointed ones, we are under God's promise.

Reading now from John chapter 15 verses 7 and 8 and then down to 16. If you abide in me and my words abide in you, ask whatever you will and it will be done for you. By this my Father is glorified that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.

You did not choose me, I chose you and ordained you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should remain so that whatever you ask the Father in my name he'll give it to you. Promise. There will be fruit.

There will be results. If you go out under the authority of my word, if you allow the word which I've given you to be free inside you, if you move in that word, you will see people drawn by the power of that word in you. You will see people change.

You'll see people reborn. You'll see the light of the Spirit of God coming down upon them. You will see hearts bend in worship before the holiness of God pouring out of your own mouth as a living word and out of your life as a living word.

When Saul and Barnabas were sent forth from Ariach by the Spirit through the church, there wasn't a question in their minds as to the result. They knew there would be results. They were sure that they were going out as God's prophets in this world.

They were servants of the word and they were aware that they were going forth with a power burning inside them that would bring people under the glory of God. Everywhere they went, they saw hearts melt. They saw knees bow before the holiness of God that kept pouring out of them.

And so we need to ask ourselves the same. Are we, in fact, believing the promise that we've been given? Living under that promise. You did not choose me.

I chose you and ordained you to go and bear fruit. If you abide in me and my words abide in you, ask whatever you will, it will be done for you. By this, my Father is glorified that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.

When we leave this place today, all of us go out under the anointing of the Spirit who is among us now. Now, if we walk in the Spirit and if we believe the promise, walk in the Spirit simply means to do what we know we've got to do. It means simply to follow the light we have, to know, not only to know it, but to do it.

If we will do that, we will see living souls brought from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God. We'll see it. See it today.

We'll see it this week. We'll see it with our own eyes. When the people of Israel were few in number, of little account, and sojourners in the land, wandering from nation to nation, from one kingdom to another, God allowed no one to oppress them.

He rebuked kings on their account, saying, touch not my anointed ones, do my prophets no harm. If we are committed to Jesus, committed to each other, and committed to the work which He has given us clearly to do, to take that word and get out with it, then we are His anointed ones. We are His prophets.

And we are living under a call which makes our lives no longer ours but His. We are living under a protection which no man or devil on earth can remove. And we are living under a promise that the word that we are being given will absolutely bear fruit, much fruit, fruit that will abide forever.

So let's answer that call again. And let's trust that protection. And let's believe that promise.

And get out there and bring in the harvest. Let's just take a minute in silence here together.