Removing the Anointing

It is high time the Body of Christ accept the truth about salvation and ministry in the Body of Christ. Neither are obtained without the working of the Holy Ghost. The Holy Ghost is the only presence of God on the earth. He is the power who came out of Heaven to beget, comfort and empower the saints of God. He operates at the command of God the Father.

Matthew 10:5-8

5 These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not:

6 But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.

7 And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand.

8 Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give.

Luke 10:1,9,17,19

1 After these things the Lord appointed other seventy also, and sent them two and two before his face into every city and place, whither he himself would come. ...

9 And heal the sick that are therein, and say unto them, The kingdom of God is come nigh unto you. ... 17 And the seventy returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name. ...

19 Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.

Now we know how to approach the world. Let them know that the Kingdom of God has come to them. For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost (Romans 14:17). When we offer the Lord a clean vessel to work through, the Holy Ghost will do the works of God in the midst of the lost. The name of Jesus is the authority we are given to operate in the spirit world. But the Holy Ghost is the power who manifests that authority. Without the moving of the Holy Ghost, we are only speaking empty words. Also take note of the fact that this authority and power was given to those who had not yet been born-again. They were able to operate even as the prophets of old; the Spirit of God rested upon them.

Even demons recognized this power and made themselves subject to it; which is something many in the Body of Christ will not do.

There came a time when the disciples were not able to cast a demon out of a young boy. When they inquired of Jesus as to why they were unable to cast out the devil, He replied,”Because of your unbelief.” The story can be found in Matthew 17:14-20. The point I want to make here is that the anointing to work ministry can be lost. But I want to be clear. To lose the anointing to work ministry is to manifest a life that is not pleasing to God.

Throughout the years I have worked in ministry, I have seen many things that were grievous to my spirit. But to watch the anointing cease in the life of a saint is the most dreadful. A change in character, can be a cause for the lifting of the anointing.

Example

A particular minister was ordained to one of the offices of the five-fold ministry. For years that minister operated in a meek and humble spirit. He worked his ministry within the boundaries of the faith. This minister had relatives who were not in the faith. So, the minister prayed for them and waited on God to move in their lives. Over time, they came to the Lord. However, as the years progressed, some began to fall away. One of the relatives was rebellious, and strong willed, before salvation. Therefore, when they moved off course, they moved back to the deeds of the flesh they were accustomed to. As time and chance brought these relatives and friends back together in close proximity to each other, the scriptures began to unfold before our eyes.

1 Corinthians 15:33

33 Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners.

Over a period of time, the senior minister began to take on the character of the relatives and friends who were not walking in the Spirit. Others in the ministry began to notice the change and cited distasteful character issues, such as haughtiness, dishonesty and outright lying. The minister's conversation became haughty, arrogant and judgmental. These were the very things the senior leader had prayed about concerning his or her relatives and friends. But now due to the evil communications he participated in with them, his manners had become corrupt. They bonded together in iniquity, and you could hear it in almost every conversation and also in what they called ‘counsel.’ Other members of the Body were shocked at their disposition, but more so, at the fact that they proclaimed themselves to be spiritual.

Now the senior minister in this scenario, began to speak things in the name of the Lord that were not God's heart, mind or intent. Every now and then he would proclaim things that were simply not the Word of the Lord. It became evident to me and others that the Lord had lifted the anointing for ministry these people once walked in. My heart was broken; because for many years I had been able to trust the Word and the counsel coming from the senior leader. That was no longer the case. But the most frightening thing of all, was the fact that the Lord restrained me from any spiritual pursuit after telling them the truth as to their spiritual disposition. I was to only inform them of the way God sees them, for the Lord knows the contents of the heart.

Therefore, He knew they would resist the Holy Ghost in any effort to reconcile them back to Him. This came about after a season of resistance and carnality. I am truly afraid for those who find themselves in such a situation. They have truly deceived themselves and that deception is hidden inside their haughtiness and arrogance. They pat themselves on the back and boast of having stood up to leaders in a way that others have not. They see themselves as strong and spiritual, when in fact they are weak and drowning in a sea of carnality their mind sees as spiritual power. But the truth is, they only have the power to berate those who are humble through the Holy Ghost. However, they have no power over the devil who is able to take them and their loved-ones captive at will.

There is always a season of revealing in our walk with God. All that is in the heart is revealed in this season. It will manifest in ways that they are not able to ignore nor put a spin on. The bottom line is that God will reveal their lack of fellowship with Him in spite of how many prayer meetings, church services or conferences they attend. They will come to situations their prayers will not change. They will then look to flesh and blood for remedies for things they once trusted God to deliver. They did not see the trap satan had set for them, because the bait he used was their own wantonness. You might ask, why would I sit back and allow them to walk headlong into such spiritual quicksand. Believe me, in every such case, I tried my best to bring them out of the error they walked in.

Furthermore, when the sons of God choose to walk in the flesh, and to submit to the beggarly elements of this world, they make enemies of those who would try to stop them. In doing so, they make an enemy of God the Father. He will either chasten or discard by turning them over to their own wantonness. God alone, however, knows and reveals such “appointed times”: “The kingdom of Heaven is at hand.” Submit to God and walk in His testimony. Heaven is accessible through the righteousness of Jesus Christ. Make him the Lord or your, and retain the anointing God has placed on your life. This is word of truth. Embrace it and live.