[Course 8 Index] [Prophetic-School Index] [Mini-Series Index ] [Prev Lesson]
The Practice of Commissioning for the Ministry
- Romans 1:11
- For I greatly desire to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to establish you;
- 2 Timothy 1:6
- For which cause I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee through the laying on of my hands.
In this lesson we will see what takes place in this area of ministry; impartation of the anointing for ministry; flowing in the anointing and accepting it, just what God has given us.
To receive the anointing we must recognize the Holy Spirit as a person and desire to know Him intimately, also we must come to Him with honesty of heart.
There is power in the anointing: Isaiah 10:27 And it shall come to pass in that day, [that] his burden shall be taken away from off thy shoulder, and his yoke from off thy neck, and the yoke shall be destroyed because of the anointing. {be taken...: Heb. remove}
Jesus stood up to read in the synagogue, from the scroll of Isaiah He read this: The Spirit of the Lord GOD [is] upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to [them that are] bound; To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn; Isaiah 61:1,2.
Here we see that Jesus states the Lord has anointed Him. The anointing we have comes from the Lord. The anointing is connected to the Holy Spirit. When Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist in water he also received the Holy Spirit. Let us read in the AMP Bible Mark 1:10 And when He came out of the water, at once he[John] saw the heavens torn open and the [Holy] Spirit like a dove coming down [to enter] into Him.
The anointing gives the courage to walk out the calling that has been put on you by the Lord. Just as Jesus needed the anointing, we need it. He used it and it increased soon after receiving the Holy Spirit. Jesus was driven of the Holy Spirit into the wilderness it tells us in Mark 1:12: And immediately the Spirit driveth him into the wilderness. 13 And he was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted of Satan; and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered unto him.
Using the anointing will increase the power of the Spirit in your life as a Christian. Luke tell us this about Jesus, after He was tempted and He used the anointing and the Word in the spiritual warfare that He was in: It said in Luke 4:14a And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee: It was after this that Jesus speaks the Spirit of the Lord is upon Me because He has anointed Me in verse 18. This anointing was an increase over what He had before the wilderness trip.
We as prophets need to be walking in a strong anointing. Jesus was the Master Prophet and He is our example. The prophets are said to be anointed. Let us look at Psalms 105:15(NIV) Do not touch My anointed ones; do My prophets no harm. So as people called of God we need to be faithful to all He tells us to do.
A question one could ask is: Do I have an anointing?
- 1 John 2:20a
- And ye have an anointing from the Holy One,
We all have an anointing, God has something for all to do in His kingdom and we will not be ill-equipped for this task.
Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 14:1 Follow after love; yet desire earnestly spiritual [gifts], but rather that ye may prophesy. (ASV) We must have a desire to have the gifts flowing in our life. Seek to be used for the Spirit is looking for willing people. There can be an impartation of the gifts. We saw in lesson two Paul laid hands on the people of Ephesus and they prophesied Acts 19:6. Ask someone full of the Holy Spirit who is walking close to God to lay hands on you to impart an anointed gift to you. You will know when the anointing is on you.
A person who has the anointing is a person who is filled with the Holy Spirit and is able to do extraordinary things, but to do them seems quite natural. It is easy, when it is working. When the anointing is working it is natural and easy for our gift/gifts to function and enjoyable. The gift/gifts are always there, but it may not always function easily. One can not turn it on or off. This does not mean a prophet loses control when the anointing comes unexpectedly. 1 Corinthians 14:32 And the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets.
We must live within our anointing:
Commission for ministry OT in Numbers 27:15 And Moses spake unto the LORD, saying, 16 Let the LORD, the God of the spirits of all flesh, set a man over the congregation, 17 Which may go out before them, and which may go in before them, and which may lead them out, and which may bring them in; that the congregation of the LORD be not as sheep which have no shepherd." 18 And the LORD said unto Moses, "Take thee Joshua the son of Nun, a man in whom [is] the spirit, and lay thine hand upon him; 19 And set him before Eleazar the priest, and before all the congregation; and give him a charge in their sight. 20 And thou shalt put [some] of thine honour upon him, that all the congregation of the children of Israel may be obedient.
What we see here is:
Commissioning and being sent out from the local church, NT. Let us look at Acts 13:1-41: Now there were in Antioch, in the assembly which was [there], prophets and teachers: Barnabas, and Simeon who was called Niger, and Lucius the Cyrenian, and Manaen, foster-brother of Herod the tetrarch, and Saul.
We see here the prophets and teachers gathering to fast and pray and minister to the Lord, to allow the Holy Spirit to speak and give guidance.
- Acts 13:2
- And as they were ministering to the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, 'Separate me now Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.'
As they fasted and prayed as a group a prophetic word came forth: separate Barnabas and Saul [soon to be called Paul] for the work of the ministry which the Lord had called them to do.
3 Then, having fasted and prayed, and having laid [their] hands on them, they let [them] go.
Now they lay their hands on them, the impartation of the anointing for ministry is given, and now they are sent.
4 They therefore, having been sent forth by the Holy Spirit, went down to Seleucia, and thence sailed away to Cyprus.
Question: Who called and sent them? Notice that it was the Holy Spirit. This was a God calling (spiritual), not a man calling (flesh). What we see here is what Paul said to do in 1 Timothy 5:22 Lay hands hastily on no man, neither be partaker of other men's sins: keep thyself pure. (ASV)
In Ephesians 4 we are told in verse 11 that Jesus gave to some to be apostles; some to be prophets; some to be evangelists; some to be pastors and teachers. These people are the gift to the church for the perfecting of the saints. All will not walk in these offices. We must be called by Jesus and not by man. We need God's anointing not man's anointing.
We also see the laying on of hands to commission deacons:
Acts 6:1 And in those days, when the number of the disciples was multiplied, there arose a murmuring of the Grecians against the Hebrews, because their widows were neglected in the daily ministration. 2 Then the twelve called the multitude of the disciples [unto them], and said, It is not reason that we should leave the word of God, and serve tables. 3 Wherefore, brethren, look ye out among you seven men of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business. 4 But we will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word. 5 And the saying pleased the whole multitude: and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Ghost, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolas a proselyte of Antioch: 6 Whom they set before the apostles: and when they had prayed, they laid [their] hands on them.
The apostles called for seven men who were:
Then the apostles prayed and laid hands on them to show:
1st. Publicly acknowledge them.
2nd. Publicly commission them to the work of this ministry.
3rd. To impart some of the grace and wisdom that the apostles had for the
work of the ministry.
All these points are very important in laying on of hands for any ministry. We must learn to expect the anointing we are walking in today. Know the limits of it and be obedient to what God has us doing. Sometimes it is hard to admit one does have an anointing. But God cannot use us fully as long as we doubt. It may also be hard sometimes to admit our limitations. If we are faithful to use what God has given us, He then will give us more and use us in a greater way.
Two of these deacons, Stephen and Philip went on to move in other ministries such as evangelists. God gave them more and used them in a greater way. We as handlers of the prophetic word need to have a fresh anointing as all believers do. But as we flow in the prophetic we have a responsibility to have today's anointing [fresh] and not yesterday's. Yesterday's may have been moving in all the power of what God was doing in that hour, but God is doing a new thing. Let us move with Him.
- Isaiah 43:19 AMP
- Behold, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs forth; do you not perceive and know it and will you not give heed to it? I will even make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.
God anointed us to bring His Word to the people to teach them His ways. His anointing unites us in a kingship, it gives a supernatural power to the prophets, all ministries, all believers in His kingdom here on earth. Freely you have received, freely give to others. Impart to them through the leading of the Holy Spirit the anointing, the gifts of the Holy Spirit. If you are in the place to commission some one to be sent, do it at the leading of the Holy Spirit. Be not afraid to act on what God is speaking to you. Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, Pastors, Teachers and all believers rise up and be all God has called you to be. Use the anointing He has given you. This will bless someone, and He will bless you.