Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Anointed for Honor

And they took offense at Him. But Jesus said to them, a prophet is not without honor except in his home town, and in his own household. Matthew 13:57 NASB

This made them jealous, so they turned against Jesus. He sensed their attitude and said to them, “A prophet is always treated with respect everywhere except in his own hometown. So He had to hold back His ministry in Nazareth because the people there didn’t accept Him. Matthew 13:57-58 The Clear Word Bible

Jesus, the Son of the Living God, was disrespected among puny man, because they were spiritually blind and had not a clue who he was. No doubt, his every move and motive was questioned by his neighbors and community. Just as it was with true prophets of old, so it is today. Because people can touch and handle these “called out” ones, they think that they are simply ordinary people. Yes, they are ordinary people who have been smeared with a supernatural anointing from above, but most importantly, they have an intimate, personal, love relationship with Father. They think of Him and talk to Him, like Enoch did. The only ones who can appreciate them are those whose eyes have been enlightened by the Holy Spirit to be able to discern the light in them. Every true apostle and prophet will know what it means to be disrespected. But a person, who truly walks in the authority and power of God, does not go around trying to prove who he/she is. Why? Because they are dead to self.

I have met few men and women who truly walk in humility and love. I was in Charleston recently with a bunch of ministers who demonstrated nothing less than the love of God for one another. The love and camaraderie we all shared was precious. It was so easy to minister with this group of sisters and brother, for where there is unity, there is power. We were all anointed to touch people’s lives and set bound people free but the one thing I witnessed was how each one honored the other. Even those who were apostles honored those who were not. It pleases God when we exhibit honor to each other.

Many people profess their “great anointing” but little anointing is truly demonstrated. One person may receive honor and the others will be disrespected. To make things worse for these poor deceived souls, they are often encouraged in their lie by the fact that they can make someone fall backward in service. Most people are conditioned to “fall” in the charismatic churches of today but something is woefully wrong if a person has been “slain” in the spirit and there is no change when they get up off the floor. So, for those who are proud of themselves because they can wreak a room full of people, maybe they should try going back to the scene of the crime or make a phone call to ask if anyone’s life has changed. If people are being slain with no change, then there’s a lying spirit floating around. A truly anointed person will move by and through the power of God and the person who was ministered to will be changed as they are slain, by that same power.

So here’s a charge for all those who profess to be highly anointed, but disrespects those who are truly called by God; take heed and don’t test God like Aaron and Miriam did. Brother Aaron and Sista Miriam thought that they were, “all that,” and had the gall to challenge Moses because of the woman he had chosen and said to themselves that Moses isn’t the only one who hears from God, cause we can hear from Him just as well as Moses can, not realizing that they were actually challenging God’s decision on who was the true delegated authority among the three. So, God had to deal with them and called them out of the Tent of Meeting. They might have thought to themselves, “look, God is calling us out because we are greater than Moses, but whatever they thought; it was short lived because God began to speak. God said, “if there’s a prophet among you, I, the Lord shall make Myself known to him in a vision, I shall speak with him in a dream. Not so, with My servant Moses, He is faithful in all My household; with him I speak mouth to mouth, even openly, and not in dark sayings, and he beholds the form of the Lord. Why then were you not afraid to speak against My servant, against Moses? Wow, I think, I would have fallen on my face at this point and cried, have mercy Lord, for I have sinned!!!!!!!!!

The Bible says that the Lord’s angered, “burned” against them. Sounds like consuming fire, the kind that does not purify but jacks a person up. Anyway, when the cloud lifted, Sista Miriam was left with leprosy; the Bible says, “white as snow.” Brother Aaron, who thought he was just as “anointed” as Moses, turned to him and said, “Oh, my lord, I beg you, do not account this sin to us, in which we have acted foolishly and in which we have sinned. Moses then cried out to the Lord to heal his sister, but the Lord refused to heal her for seven days and had her put outside the camp with the other lepers. Now that’s a major punishment, to have to fall from grace to live outside the camp with the lepers.

Who was God’s delegated authority? Who was the one God’s heart was tender toward? Aaron and Miriam were both prophets, but only Moses was the prophet who had God’s heart. Be careful how you deal with God’s people, for you may think that you are the cat’s meow, but to God you may not be as important as you think. Treat everyone in authority with honor or respect; respect the office even if you don’t respect the person. Love the brethren and be very careful how you speak about those who have God’s heart. Now here’s a little hint. Remember, John the Baptist? He came paying the way of the Lord, but he looked kinda crazy. He would have never made the GQ magazine or invited to fine cuisine restaurants for his diet was strange. He ate bugs and honey but while others were playing, John was praying. He had authority and was bold as he demonstrated in Herod’s temple. He was God’s anointed man of that time.

People may disrespect God’s anointed man or woman because they think that person doesn’t measure up to their standards of greatness. But God doesn’t judge by our standards; he judges by His own standards. Here’s a hint of who may be one of God’ truly anointed. God told Aaron and Miriam that He speaks to Moses mouth to mouth. Moses had God’s form or saying it another way; Moses walked in God’s image and character. Moses was also a humble man. Not false humility but true humility. He wasn’t one who would act as if he didn’t know he was anointed, so that he could say, “Tell me more!” He was truly God’s servant and didn’t seek the accolades from man. That means that Moses had an intimate relationship with God and it was natural for him to spend time talking to the Ancient of Days.

So, you want to be honored and anointed? Develop a close relationship with God…draw close to Him; not to get a greater anointing, but to capture God’s heart. The Bible tells us that Moses climbed to the top of the mountain that everyone else was afraid to touch because God called him up. Come up here, Moses! He received the Ten Commandments from the Lord, but he received something else too. He received the glory of God and the people knew that Moses had been with the Lord, for Moses had to cover his face to deal with the people because of God’s glory shone so bright. Now, that’s some heavy glory. He is calling you up right now, will you go?

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