Releasing the Anointing

I smile when I look up at the title of this post because it really sounds "churchy". We work very diligently at The Creek to make the words of the Bible easy to understand, but what I have discovered through the years is that the "anointing" is not something that you can simplify.

Let me begin by trying to explain the anointing.  As I understand it, the anointing of God is that moment when God places a unique ability or a divine enablement on a person to accomplish something that he or she would not normally be able to accomplish.  

In cultural terms (I hope that this is not offensive ... not intended to be), the anointing is similar to the thing that turns Clark Kent into Superman.  In that case, it would be the the extra ability to accomplish the task. Now, I would never want to liken the anointing of God to a cartoon character or a super hero. God is so much bigger than super heroes.  There are several occurences in scripture where we see the anointing released on people and it had such an affect on them that it appeared that they were changed into different people.We see this in 1 Samuel 10:6: At that time the Spirit of the Lord will come powerfully upon you, and you will prophesy with them. You will be changed into a different person. The anointing falls on people and it changes them into effective ministers for the God.  

Let me be practical. What is the difference between the music on the main stage at Stevens Creek and the music on stage at the Imperial Theater or let's say the Bell Auditorium?  The songs may be the same but even the most casual observer can sense something different.  I cannot tell you how many times pre-Christians have commented to me about the music after a service.  They try to find just the right words to describe it, but they can't put their finger on it.  They use words like energy and professional and so forth, but what they are sensing is that the anointing or God's supernatural power is being released as that song was presented.

Let me go one more step.  It's not necessarily the song.  Over the years, I have heard many great church songs that seems lifeless.  What I know is that even though the words may have been written with special meaning, the presenter of those words did not have "it".  They did not have the divine enablement to sing the song.  So, as a result, the song was performed.  Yes, it was a performance and not necessarily a ministry experience.

The anointing changes a performance into ministry.  The anointing releases God's energy through a song or a sermon and accomplishes the very thing that it was intended to do.

You may wonder once you have the anointing, will you always have it?  I do beleive that God places his anointing on people as a trust.  At times, people walk deeper into their anointing and at other times they walk away from their anointing.  There are times when, for whatever reason, the anointing is increased for a particular event.

I believe that God has anointed me to preached the gospel, but there are times when his anointing is stronger than at other times.  It may be that I am more sensitive during those times, but for the sake of this explanation let's say that God turns up the energy.  Back to the point, let's say that I am speaking about a particular subject. Everything is going well.  People are being instructed in the ways of the Lord.  It's a normal day at The Creek. Then, the anointing is turned up and it seems as if the words that I am speaking have a new intensity.

This does not mean that I speak louder or faster or become more dramatic, but it is as if God hijacks my words and makes them His words.  During those paragraphs, some of the people that are listening feel as though God is speaking directly to them about a particular situation.  Trust me, I am as fallible as the person in the seats, but during those few moments the Spirit of God directs my vocal chords to say what He wants to be said.

To the casual observer, they see it as natural talent to speak, but to the person who is receiving the "word from the Lord", it is a life-giving  experience. Hope springs forth and encouragement covers them.  At times, some people's sicknesses go away and sometimes people open up their hearts to Jesus.  

People are anointed to do more than just pray, sing and preach.  There are people at Stevens Creek that have the anointing in their hands.  They are anointed craftsmen.There are others that sense the anointing as they work among the poor and under-resourced in our city.They feed the hungry and sense God's pleasure.Some are anointed to teach children.Some are anointed to administrate.There is one volunteer at the Creek that has an anointing with numbers.  He actually took the Creek's income and ran the last 96 months of tithes and offerings through a least squares regression line in order to forcast our budget for 2009.  God anointed him to do that. I don't have that anointing, but I benefit greatly from his anointing.There are some that are anointed in hospitality. They create spaces and events that provide opportunities for God's presence to flow.  It's amazing.

The anointing is a very interesting spiritual phenomenon. I don't always understand it. When I recognize I am awed by it.

What part do we play in the anointing?  Can we control it? In some ways, you can control it and in others ways you cannot.  Paul said that the spirit of the prophet is subject to the prophet.  So, in that case, I can control the anointing. But, in reality God controls it all.  God will do what He wants to do.  God is big. God is strong.  I am not. The spiritual energy that I have comes from him.  I have to pray, "God ... let there be less of me and more of you".  Yes, there are times when apparently there is more of me and less of God.  It is in those times that my ego is in the way. When I talk about E.G.O., that word stands for the moments that I "Edge God Out" of my life. 

So, this post can be summed up in the fact that the anointing makes the difference.  How to do get more of the anointing?  Whew ... that's a hard one.

You cannot buy and sell nor manipulate nor force the anointing.  Passion does not equate to anointing.Talent does not equate to the anointing.There are many singers who sing with passion.They may even sing on pitch, but they are not anointed.There are many preachers that are good public speakers, but their words don't move people into the presence of God.

How do you get more of the anointing?  Hmmm.  Could I be simple enough to say, "Just ask for it." In the Old Testament, there was a man named Elisha that worked as an understudy for the Prophet Elijah.  Elisha asked for a "double portion of the Lord's anointing on Elijah".Elisha saw what God did through Elijah and wanted it. He asked.This story also indicates that the anointing can be passed from one person to another.

In the end, I believe that God wants to anoint more people than we imagine. There could be a two-fold problem here.  

First of all, God may be anointing, but we may be clueless.  We may not recognize what God is already doing. We have to be open, be sensitive, be receptive to what God is blessing.  Instead of saying, "God bless what I am doing", we pray, "God what are you blessing and let me get in the middle of that."  

Secondly, the biggest problem is that we just don't want any more of God. We have enough of God to get us through the week and that is sufficient. We are satisfied and are stuck in a spiritual rut. I have been there too many times.  I get comfortable in my spiritual journey and lose my spiritual passion.  I don't want to be there.  I don't want my church in that place.  I want my church to be in the full-flow of God's power and His anointing.  I want my flesh to get out of the way and truly let God direct us to the place He would have us to be. 

It's my prayer that God would increase His anointing on Stevens Creek Church.Can you imagine the impact that 2000 anointed Creekers would have in this city? It would transform this place with God's presence ... now that's a vision that I will give my life to.

You Never Know Who You Are Going to Run Into

When I was a kid, it seemed like everywhere we traveled my Dad would run into someone that he knew or someone that was a friend of a friend.  I was always amazed and wanted to know, "How do you know that person?"  Well, today I realize that we all are separated by six steps or six degrees. 

A few weeks ago, I met someone that caught me off guard so much that I was almost speechless. Here's how it unfolded.  I was invited by Bishop Bill Issacs to speak about stewardship to the pastors of the Northern Ohio Conference of the Church of God denomination. I flew into Canton / Akron Airport and was picked up by the Bishop's Assistant, Chad Jordan.  I have never met Chad before, but he made a great first impression and made conversation very easy.

As we rode down the interstate, I asked Chad where he was from.  He said that he was from the Upstate of South Carolina, a small town called Fountain Inn.   I thought that was interesting but I did not think too much about it.  We drove on down the road and I said that I grew up in Abbeville.  He replied that his grandmother lived in Abbeville for a short period of time.  I thought that was interesting but if she only lived there a short time, I probably would not know her so I did not say anything.   We drove on. After a few minutes, I asked him what his grandmother's name was.  He said, "Mildred Jordan."

At that moment, I was speechless.  I told him that Mildred Jordan was my great aunt.  I was shocked ... extremely shocked becaused Mildred moved to Abbeville when I was in high school. She was a godly woman that lived a hard, hard life.  Her life was so difficult because of the person that she married. His name was John Jordan. They were probably married in the 1930s. They were poor textile workers like most of the population back then. Their lives were not hard because of their work, but because John was an addict.  John may have been bi-polar.  I am not sure, but I know that he was like Jeckyl and Hide. At times, he claimed to be a preacher calling people to live right and at other times, he was a hellion filled with anger and just plain meanness.

I never met John, but I grew up hearing tales of John Jordan. I remember my uncles hating the church because they associated John Jordan with the church. Mildred should have divorced John, but she did not. She was faithful. She stood by him when most of us would have moved on. 

So here I am ... riding down a cold northern Ohio highway with John Jordan's grandson.  I amin shock.  I told Chad what I knew about his grandfather and he said that his dad, Jack, followed in the footsteps of his dad.  My heart sank.  Chad's Dad was an addict too.  He told me that there were times when his mother would put he and his siblings to bed with all of their clothes and shoes on just in case their dad came home drunk. She wanted them to run to the neighbors house and call the police.  

As I heard Chad tell his story, I quietly wiped a few tears from my  eyes because I knew what he was telling me was the truth.  I knew the painful, painful family life that he came from.  I asked Chad, "How did you get out? How did you break the cycle?"  He said that when he was seventeen years old, he wandered into the Fountain Inn Church of God and the grace of Jesus Christ was extended to him.  He was radically saved and changed by the power of God.  Now, he is working in the State Office of Northern Ohio Churches of God.

My aunt Mildred died nearly twenty years ago.  She did not live long enough to see the results of her prayers, but today she has a grandson that is helping to shape a new generation of ministry. Chad is a testimony of the grace of God.  He is proof that the curse of addiction can be broken by the power of Jesus Christ.  We know that the Old Testament tells us that the sins of the fathers are passed down to the third and fourth generation.  Jesus came to break the curse of the evil one.  In Christ, we are free.

You never know who you are going to run into.  I thought that I  flew to Canton, Ohio to do a stewardship seminar for a group of pastors, but God had me there to re-connect with a cousin. Chad said something that made me laugh.  He said, "Yea, I remember when I was a little boy that my Grandmother took me to hear you preach."  Wow .... am I that old?  I guess so.

Thanks Chad for sharing your story and reminding me of the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Ted Haggard on Oprah ... Very Revealing

Last week I had an opportunity to watch a taped version of the Oprah Winfrey Show with Ted Haggard. I felt that it was very revealing ... especially if you are immersed in Charismatic / Pentecostal theology. I am sure that many of you saw the show. I know that some of your are furious that he did not take a stronger stand on certain things and others of you are covered in grace and would vote him back in at his church. This post is not designed to exalt him or continue to punish him, but to highlight a comment that affects a lot of Pentecostal / Charismatic members. Here it is. Ted Haggard spoke of his commitment to prayer and fasting. During these times, he focused on rebuking the devil off of his house and his work and his personal life. I have spent many hours doing that and I continue to do so. We are always a target for the devils attacks, but the revealing statement came when Ted said that he never considered his choices an issue. In other words, he rebuked the devil but did not own any of the sin or the struggle. The new Ted Haggard know says that there are angels and demons but now he realizes that he has to take the responsibility for his own actions.  WOW! Finally, the truth comes out. Too many of us Pentecostals spend so much time rebuking the devil while ignoring our part in the process. We have to take personal responsibility. We have to learn to say "no" when we need to say "no." We need to learn how to say "yes" when we need to say "yes". In other words, we need to do the right thing.   Don't blame your weakness on the devil. Own your weakness and allow Christ to extend his grace ... you will find the power that you need in Christ.  Years ago, Oral Roberts said that the first step to receiving your healing is to admit that you are sick. If we need deliverance, we need to own it and then ask Christ to set us free.   We also need to share our struggles with a trusted friend so that we can have an increased level of accountability.   Some folks need to take another step and get in a recovery group. At The Creek we have a group focused on substance abuse.  Chuck Spencer, sober for seven years,  leads this group along with his wife Dana.  They help people walk in freedom.   The Creek also has a group for men struggling with lust and pornography.  It's not a group that we publicize because of the sensitive nature of the struggle.  If you need help in this area, contact our director of small groups, Pastor Dave Willis (davewillis@stevenscreek.net).  He will protect your confidentiality and give you the contact information that you need for this wonderful group.  Our goal is to help you own your sin and find delieverance before you lose those people closest to you. Thank God that Ted Haggard owned it.  Now he has a very difficult road ahead. Now he has to work our his salvation ... with fear and trembling.  May God give Ted Haggard strength and restore him to a level of ministry that he can handle and enjoy. May God do the same for you and all of us at The Creek. Just some thoughts.  Marty  martybaker@stevenscreek.net

Thanks for all of the Stevens Creek Volunteers

Super Bowl Sunday was huge at Stevens Creek. This year it was bigger than Easter and Christmas Eve ... how crazy is that? People were everywhere. We had 2,050 people in our three morning services. That's over 800 more than last year's average attendance. It was not only a big attendance day, but I am excited about the folks that made a decision to follow Christ. That's what it is all about.

I want to say "thanks" to all of the volunteers at Stevens Creek Church. You are the ones that make big days special. From the shuttle drivers to the popcorn poppers and everyone in-between... you worked to create an friendly and welcoming experience for all of us. I am extremely pleased and honored to be able to serve with such a great team of people.

Today, Heaven is rejoicing because of what happened yesterday. You were a part of an experience that changed the eternal destination of several people. In other words, people will go to heaven because you. Thanks for using your God-given spiritual gifts to expand His influence in our community.

Be blessed today.

Marty

John 14:12

"I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father."