1. THE FLOW OF THE ANOINTING BUILDS A NEW CHURCH
Genesis 28: 17 He was afraid and said, How to be feared and reverenced is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gateway to heaven! 18 And Jacob rose early in the morning and took the stone he had put under his head, and he set it up for a pillar (a monument to the vision in his dream), and he poured oil on its top [in dedication]. 19 And he named that place Bethel [the house of God]; but the name of that city was Luz at first.
1. This is the first time that I can find in the Bible a mention to the anointing being poured. Jacob poured the anointing in the form of oil over a pillar of stone after he received a vision from the Lord.
2. The natural thing that someone does after receiving vision is to pour out his life over the stone pillar wish is the local church where the Lord called us to live our spiritual life.
3. Jacob received a vision that changed his life and that made him change the name of that place from Luz to Bethel. The Hebrew word "Luz" means separation but the word "Bethel" means House of God.
4. The anointing of God will bring us to unity in His house! That anointing was poured over a simple pillar of stone wish represents the foundation stone of the temple (Jesus- Our High Priest).
5. We need to allow the Lord to change our life and to build a new structure. This pillar is a symbol of a new Structure,
Illustration
Certain people want to have a new life and a new vision but they still want to use the structures of the past.
A certain congregation was about to erect a new church edifice. The building committee, in consecutive meetings passed the following resolutions:
1. We shall build a new church
2. The new building is to be located on the site of the old one.
3. The material in the old building is to be used in the new one.
4. We shall continue to use the old building until the new one is completed.
An African proverb says, "The man who tries to walk two roads will split his pants." Likewise we could say, "The church that walks two roads is a church split."
GOD'S VISION IN THE GARDEN OF EDEN
Genesis 2:10
10 Now a river went out of Eden to water the garden; and from there it divided and became four [river] heads.
11 The first is named Pishon; it is the one flowing around the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold.
12 The gold of that land is of high quality; bdellium (pearl?) and onyx stone are there.
13 The second river is named Gihon; it is the one flowing around the whole land of Cush.
14 The third river is named Hiddekel [the Tigris]; it is the one flowing east of Assyria. And the fourth river is the Euphrates.
There were four riverheads that flow from the same river. Let's look at the meaning of the names of these rivers.
ONE RIVER WITH 4 MAIN ARMS:
1. Win Souls (Pishon - extension of the mouth)
a. This is a land with an hidden treasure. Jesus said that Salvation is like a man that finds a treasure.
b. The Cross and the Salvation that flows from the Lord is the First river of the vision.
2. Restore and Bless others (Gihon - Valley of Grace)
a. The Valley of Grace is the place where miracles and deliverance happen.
b. Signs and wonders happen where the Grace of God is present. Jesus told the disciples: These signs will follow those who believe.
c. The river went around the land of Cush (there are two different places called Cush in the Bible). Moses married a Cushite after his calling to become a leader of God's people.
3. Listen to God's voice (Hiddekel (Tigris) - Sharp voice, sound)
a. Discipleship is when the sharp voice of the Lord will correct us.
b. This is also a time to listen and to receive those teachings deep in our heart.
4. Become fruitful (Euphrates - That makes fruitful)
a. Jesus called us to be fruitful
b. It is only when we send people to fulfill the vision of God that we will also become fruitful
2. THE ANOINTING IS THE WAY TO THE BLESSINGS
Psalm 133
1 BEHOLD, HOW good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!
2 It is like the precious ointment poured on the head, that ran down on the beard, even the beard of Aaron [the first high priest], that came down upon the collar and skirts of his garments [consecrating the whole body].
3 It is like the dew of [lofty] Mount Hermon and the dew that comes on the hills of Zion; for there the Lord has commanded the blessing, even life forevermore [upon the high and the lowly].
1. Aaron in this verse is a type of Christ, our High Priest. The same way as Jacob Poured oil on the Rock we can see the oil flowing over the High Priest here.
2. The High Priest is our Spiritual Leadership. The spirit of unity will bring the anointing over our pastors and the consequences are dew over the Church. Dew is a symbol of the Presence of the Holy Spirit. Dew comes in the morning. This is the time of the day when the intercessors arise to pray.
3. When the anointing oil flows over the High Priest we can see that there are two consequences:
a. Blessing – Happiness and Miracles
b. Everlasting Life – Salvation of Souls
Illustration
Some of us fear conflict, like the grass in the African proverb, "when elephants fight, the grass always looses."
Others of us dread conflict much like opening the proverbial can of worms without knowing how to get them back in.
Others of us, however, seem to deal with it quite well like the Pastor who solved the squabbles between two members of the pastoral staff by telling them to "step into the hallway and hash it out. If you cannot reach an agreement in fifteen minutes, I'll have to let one of you go." In five minutes they were back. Both were smiling.
3. ANNOINTED PEOPLE ARE SEALED FOR VICTORY
2 Corinthians 1
21 Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us,
22 set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.
Illustration:
When you buy an expensive product, or a simple copyrighted material like a music CD you will see a seal of approval. That seal is intended to certify that that product passed the quality control. The Lord wants to seal us. In John 6:26 says that the Lord placed a seal of approval in the life of Jesus himself. We need to receive that seal
Ilustrattion
WHICH DEPENDENT ARE YOU?
Notice that the Lord has chosen teams of people in these last days. He wants' us to walk in Covenant and to establish His kingdom with unity. We need to learn this principle that we need one another.
1. Dependent people need others to get what they want.
2. Independent people can get what they want through their own effort.
3. Interdependent people combine their own efforts with the efforts of others to achieve the greatest success."
We need to have faithfulness among ourselves in order to be approved by God!
Tonto and the Lone Ranger were riding through a canyon together when all of a sudden both sides were filled with Indian warriors on horses, dressed for battle. The Lone Ranger turned to Tonto and asked, "What are we going to do?" Tonto replied, "What you mean 'we,' Whiteman?"
Sadly, that sometimes seems like the behavior we see and experience in some churches...
Bill Hybels, the pastor of Willow Creek Community Church just outside of Chicago (one of the largest cell based churches in America) makes this statement. "If you create a loving community, first time seekers will sniff it and say "I want in."
We need to be united in one vision.
