Study Guide

Hinderances to the Anointing - Study to be Approved

972 words, about 5 min read

Mary Banks Ministries & Bible Teachers International

PO Box 11563, Spring, TX 77391 www.marybanks.net www.mbfaithlibrary.com

STUDY TO BE APPROVED 3 Hinderances to the

Anointing:

Study to be Approved

I share the same sentiments for the people of God that the apostle Paul shared for Israel. Just as Paul recognized that Israel did indeed have zeal, but their zeal was misaligned, so do I feel about many ministers in the church. Many of us have a zeal to work for God, to see signs and wonders, but our zeal is not according to the knowledge of God. It is not in line with that which has been revealed of God through His word.

2 Timothy 2:5

And if a man also strive for masteries, yet is he not crowned, except he strive lawfully.

God’s laws govern how ministry is to be operated, and if we strive lawfully, we will be successful and effective ministers. Many ignore the criteria that He has outlined, but still expect that God will work with them when they need Him. Yes, the anointing does

HINDERANCES TO THE ANOINTING 4 Study

To study is to devote time and attention in order to gain knowledge. It also means to make an effort to achieve. We are to be diligent in seeking God’s approval of us, as we read the scriptures. The posture of the heart should be honest, self examination. This is a safeguard and boundary in your reading, that will ensure that you will not stop short at mere comprehension.

The scripture is likening us to a workman who shows up to accomplish a task on his job, but winds up ashamed because he lacks the tools and skills needed to complete the task.

You might be able to identify with being in situations like this. You were present on the scene, but God could not use you to effect change in the hearts or lives of those involved. Despite your desire to help the situation, you were not spiritually equipped to bring the power of God into that environment. What was happening? We were workmen who were made ashamed because we were spiritually unprepared.

The exhortation from the scripture is to:

Study, meaning seek God’s approval
Rightly divide that which you study indeed abide within, as John reminded us (1 John 2:27), by virtue of us receiving the Holy Ghost. However, we cannot bank on the title of “son of God” and ignore the principles for manifesting the anointing in our lives and ministries.

2 Timothy 2:15

Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

STUDY TO BE APPROVED 5

Comprehending the word academically is powerless, and will leave you unaffected by your time of study. But if, while you study, you open your mind and spirit to be examined by what you are reading, the word will wash you. Your affection must be towards having God’s approval, that must be the prize that you strive for. If it isn’t, then you twist or strive with the word. This is important, as every false doctrine had its origin in the hearts of those who chose to embrace their own iniquity rather than seeking God’s approval.

Rightly Divide

To “rightly divide” is to cut or dissect straightly (Strong’s G3718). While some have taken this to mean that we should expound on the word of God accurately. I want us to hear this from the Spirit. Paul is encouraging Timothy in the same thing that Jesus prayed shortly before His crucifixion:

John 17:8

For I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came out from thee, and they have believed that thou didst send me. Jesus demonstrated the word to His disciples in the exact same way that He received it from the Father. He didn’t alter it, because if He did, it would no longer be considered the Father’s word, but His own. He rightly or straightly delivered it.

Jesus says this so matter-of-fact that we can miss the implications of what He didn’t say. For his entire tenure and ministry, there was no iniquity, opposition, or bone of contention within Him about the word of God. This is because He made Himself one with the Father’s word. Any opposition to it would have caused the word to be twisted or altered in some way. It would have changed His perception of the life of a son of God and that would have been handed down to the disciples. It would have been lived out in His daily walk, despite Him being the son of God.

HINDERANCES TO THE ANOINTING 6

Jesus said these words to let us know that His resolve to believe and obey the word is the only thing that guaranteed its effectual power in the disciples as they entertained Him. He didn’t bank on being the son of God in title but abided by the principles outlined by the Father in how to carry out His sonship.

He is our example; so that means there is no anointing, no ministry, without us believing that we are one with God. See your own circumstances, situations and relationships through the word of God. Take on the same affection as Jesus, and contend for the word of God to be manifested in your life. Reject any mindset that undermines its integrity in you and will experience the anointing. Scripture References:

Philippians 2:13-15
1 Timothy 6:11
Hebrews 12:1
1 John 2:27
James 1:21-23
Hebrews 3:12-14
Luke 4:18-19
Mark 7:13

I love you all with the love of our Saviour Mary, the apostle of Jesus Christ