Captain Moy Hernandez, Jr
You Anoint My Head With Oil
Psalms 23
When we think of Psalm 23, a Psalm that I am sure we have all heard and may even be able to recite from memory, we understand it to be a Psalm that brings us great promises from God.
First, of all that our Lord is our shepherd and we will not be in want. He will always provide.
Second, He brings us peace and refuge.
Third, He keeps us on the straight and narrow, through our obedience and surrender to His will.
Forth, no matter what life brings our way He provides security and comfort.
And fifth, He provides nourishment, fellowship, abundance, and acceptance at His table.
I thank God that He makes all of these provisions for us.
You see He does this for us not because we are perfect, but it is only because of His Grace, Mercy and His invitation of Love to each of us.
But in Psalm 23, David goes on to speak of an additional blessing that God bestows on those who faithfully submit to His purpose and will. David proclaims, “You anoint my Head with Oil; My Cup Runs Over.”
This morning I want to concentrate on this particular blessing that God grant us with, His anointing.
Now when David gives thanks to God and says that He anoints his head, David is speaking of a symbolic custom of his day in which Kings where anointed to represent the chosen one of God.
This anointing was also representative of the responsibilities and if you will accountability that the King would assume over the people.
According to the biblical meaning of the word anointing of a particular person, was also carried out then for the purposes of healing, both physical and spiritually.
In Luke 10:34 we have the story of the Good Samaritan who bandaged the wounds of the beaten man and poured on oil for healing.
But anointing was also a representation of setting someone or something aside for the Service of God.
We as believers and followers of Christ must indeed be separated for the service of God. Living in this world but not of this world. And we must be anointed for healing and forgiveness as well.
In fact in James 5:14 it is proposes that if any one amongst us is sick they should call for the elders or the leaders of the church and through prayer and the anointing of oil pray for healing.
Further more if sin in present this symbolic act will also allow for the forgiving of such sins. But we’ll return to this at the end of our message today.
Coming back to Psalm 23, we see in David’s words a humble image as he compares himself to a sheep in relationship to what God does on our behalf.
Did you know that sheep actually face various enemies, many wild animals? Such as; Lions, Bears, Wolves. Now this is something David knew first hand because as a young boy he worked as a shepherd and so I am sure he had opportunities and instances when he perhaps had to kill some of these wild animals to protect his flock.
But you see sheep face other enemies that we don’t think too much about because these enemies are so small. These creatures can make a sheep’s life very miserable.
I did some research on this and here are a few of these smaller threads. They face the Warble Flies, Mosquitoes & Gnats and something called the Nasal Fly.
Sheep are specially troubled by the “Nose Fly” or the “Nasal Fly.” These little flies buzz around the sheep’s head attempting to lay their eggs on the damp mucous membrane of the sheep’s nose.
If they are successful, the eggs will hatch in a few days and it forms a small, slender, worm-like larvae. They work their way up the sheep’s nasal passage and into the sheep’s head.
It causes severe irritation to the sheep and for relief from the pain the sheep will often; beat their heads against a tree or rub their heads on a rock. This as you can imagine causes great pain to the animals and it has been known to kill some sheep.
But when the shepherd begins to see signs of these tiny enemies, he will begin to apply an antidote to the sheep’s head.
This antidote is made up of several ingredients. Many times it is linseed oil, suffer and tar and the shepherd smears it all over the sheep’s head and nose.
Once the oil has been applied to the sheep’s head, there is an immediate change in the animal’s behavior. The aggravation is gone, the irritability is gone, and the animal can lie down and rest, just as David suggests in Psalm 23.
When I read this, I immediately began to think, Lord, I’m not bothered by the nasal flies, but there are other irritation that buzz around my head and they try to rob me of my peace.
You ever had the problem? You try to go to sleep but the wheels won’t stop spinning, you just can’t quite your thoughts and you lay there being bothered by whatever is flying around your head?
You see I believe that when this happens, especially when I wake up in the early hours of that day that indeed God is seeking to speak with me or to get my attention and so often I take the time to pray. But something similar happened in the scriptures.
Remember the story of the boy Samuel and how he thought that the voice that kept waking him up was that of his master Elijah, but Elijah recognized that the Lord was communicating with the boy and so he instructed the boy to simply say, speak Lord your servant hears.
I have personally had wonderful fellowship with God on those sleepless nights when I can’t seem to go to sleep. I encourage each of you to try it.
You see I believe that Satan is doing everything within his power to gain control over our minds. He played with Eve’s mind, he played with David’s mind and he even played with the mind of Christ.
When the devil tempted Jesus for 40 days in the wilderness, he tempted Jesus in 3 major ways and this is the same way that the he temps people today.
He tempted Jesus with the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh and finally the pride of life.
But these temptations took place in his mind you see because this is where all temptation starts!
This is why we as followers of Jesus need to learn to put on the whole armor of God. This is why we need to learn to take “every thought” captive to the obedience of Christ.
The enemy may not bother us with flies, but he uses other things to buzz around our heads. He uses things like; impure sexual thoughts, he tries to insert thoughts of bitterness, thoughts of anger, thoughts of depression, he attempts to sow seeds of doubt, fear, guilt, low self
esteem, insecurity and jealousy.
So you may say but what can I do Captain? I am indeed being bothered by some of these things on a regular basis…
I’ve heard it said before that you can’t keep a bird from flying over your head, but you can keep him from building a nest in your hair.
You see the answer is found in the word of God when it says, you shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free. In fact using the word of God is how Jesus resisted the devil.
There is power in the truths of God’s word or the sword of God, but we’ve got to use that sword against the enemy.
Some of you have possibly allowed the enemy to lay some of his lying eggs in your mind and perhaps they have began to hatch and because you are listening to his lies your cup is not overflowing, in fact it may have nothing in it!
You have lost your joy, you have lost your peace, your faith is beginning to waver, the enemy is trying to steal your hope and you are saying, what can I do?
Well, God has got an answer for it! If we are ever going to live right, we’ve got to learn to think right!
John 10:10 reads: The thief does not come except to steal and to kill and to destroy. But Jesus has come that we may have life, and that we may have it more abundantly.
We as true followers of Jesus need to learn to tell the enemy to buzz off but the good shepherd also wants to help us with the enemy, he wants to help us with our issues and painful situations.
You see I strongly believe that our good shepherd also wants to anoint our heads. Remember in the same way that he does for his sheep to help them with their bothersome issues…
Some of you might be thinking, Captain does God have an antidote that He applies to our heads to help us with these issues and distractions? Yes he does! The oil that David is talking about is actually a symbolic representation of God’s precious Holy Spirit!
In the Old Covenant the people would apply blood to the high priests as part of his anointing?
First to the right ear - symbolic of the mind. Then to his right thumb - symbolic of the work and then to his right toe - symbolic of the walk. It was all really as a symbolic gesture representing cleansing and anointing!
As commitment Christians we are already covered, anointed if you will, in the blood of the Lamb of our Savior Jesus Christ, but now He wants to give us His full anointing.
Did you know that on the day of Pentecost, that’s is the day that God poured His Holy Spirit on His people, that there appeared to them as tongues, as of fire, and they sat upon each of them? This happened for a purpose.
The good shepherd was anointing their heads with oil with the Holy Spirit and they couldn’t contain themselves. They were filled with a new power and their cups began to overflow!
The blessings of God on their lives began to overflow to others and bless others. In fact three thousand where added to the faith that day because of their testimony of God’s anointing!
God wants to anoint our heads today because the enemy has been playing with some minds for a long time and it’s time for him to buzz off!
There is healing both physical and spiritual that is needed in our congregation, in our personal lives and in our City and God wants to anoint our heads with oil today to begin that healing and separation process.
1 John 2:27 reads: But the anointing which you have received from Him abides in you, and you do not need that anyone teach you; but as the same anointing teaches you concerning all things, and is true, and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you will abide in Him.
Friends, this is speaking about God’s holy anointing, His Holy Spirit in our lives.
In the case of David the oil that he is talking about is also the same precious Holy Spirit. He is not an it, but he is the 3rd person of the trinity of God and that anointing, that good gift is for every child of God!
Luke 11:11-13 says: If a son asks for bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent instead of a fish? Or if he asks for an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?
God wants to anoint us, He wants to set us apart, He wants to bless us, He wants to heal us, He want to work in us and through us, but we must be obedient to His call
and accept His gifts.
Ephesians 5:18 reads: and do not be drunk with wine, in which there is indulgence; but be filled with the Holy Spirit.
You know in the tabernacle of God one of the pieces of furniture that was in the Holy Place was the golden lamp stand.
The golden lamp stand didn’t burn by consumption like a candle, but it burned by a constant supply of oil. It was the high priests job to fill the lamp stand on a daily basis.
The priest Eli in the book of Samuel actually failed to keep the golden lamp stand filled with oil and the Bible says, the lamp of God went out.
For us today the lamp stand is a picture of Christ. But it’s also a picture of us. We can’t afford to run out of oil. We cannot afford to let the lamp go out.
In Matthew 25, there is a powerful parable of ten virgins. Five of them were wise but five of them were foolish.
As they were all waiting for the bridegroom and he delayed, they all slumbered.... but at midnight a cry was heard, behold the bridegroom is coming, so let’s go out to meet him.
The biblical story tells us that they all jumped to their feet and began to trim their lamps but the foolish virgins had no oil.
Matthew 25:10 reads: and while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding and the door was shut.
I realize that it is just Sunday morning, but I believe that there are a lot of sheep here today that would say, Pastor, I have indeed allowed the enemy to lay some eggs in my mind and it is driving me crazy.
On top of that I have become lazy or complaisant in my service and commitment to God and I have run out of oil in my lamp.
You would be honest and wise to say, I need the good shepherd, to anoint my head with oil. And if you do, you can leave this place today with your cup overflowing.
Just like the shepherd in the Old Covenant would apply that oil to the sheep’s head because he loved them and didn’t want to see the flies destroy them.
We all have a good shepherd that loves us and doesn’t want to see the enemy destroy us with his lies.
Do you want the enemy to buzz off, then let the shepherd anoint your head with oil.
Let us lift our voices to the Lord this morning and say: Fill my cup lord. I lift it up, come and quench this thirst in my soul. Here is my cup fill it up and make me whole.
David said in Psalm 23, you anoint my head with oil and my cup overflows. Well let that be our prayer today! Bless us lord so that we may bless others. Cleanse us and separate us for your service today!
I am going to ask each of you to come forward now and stand here at the front of the chapel for we want to pray for each of you, but we are also going to do something that we usually don’t practice in The Salvation Army.
But it is something that I believe God is calling me to do for you.
I believe that we are all hurting for one reason or another, that we need God’s spiritual and physical healing. That we want God to set us apart for his purpose and will.
I want you to come forward now and stand with your family if they are here and if not, just stand by yourself, that is fine and my wife and I are going to go around and as the music plays, in the name of Jesus we are going to anoint your heads with oil and pray for each of you today.
We see the potential of God in each of your lives, and we know that He wants to do a great thing in our church and in your lives and in our community, but we must first be set apart, we must first be healed and our sins must be forgiven. We must first receive the blessing of His Holy Spirit.
Let’s make it clear that the oil that we anoint you with today does not do this, but we simply use the oil as a representation of God’s Holy Spirit just as they did in the scriptures.
As we anoint you this morning that is indeed our prayer, that God will pour upon each of us His Holy Spirit and that He will take a hold of our hearts and our lives and will bring us to the place where God needs us to be, both in our physical walk and our spiritual walk.
As we are praying for individuals and families and as the music plays we encourage you to lift your own prayers for our church family and your own life.
As you join us up here please believe that indeed God wants to release His power in you, in our church in our community and come to understand that He wants to bless you today… Pray with us now!
