Read Text 2 Ki 6:1-7
For the last several days I've been hearing these words in my spirit, "something is missing".
How many has ever eaten something, You know, something you really like, you love it. You love the taste of it. It's cooked a special way. Maybe something your mother made, or your grandmother.
Then you taste the same thing somewhere else, but it doesn't taste the same. Something is missing?
How many know that when you taste that something and it tastes different, you immediately recognize something is missing. you can still eat it it won't kill you, it won't poison you but it's bland and tasteless,
It leaves you disappointed, lets you down.
Your taste buds were ready for a party but instead they experience a funeral.
Now the swing that over to the spiritual.
If you have never tasted the real thing and if you have never tasted the best, you can be satisfied with a substitute, you can be satisfied with an imitation.
But once you have tasted the authentic, and you have tasted the real thing, you can never be satisfied with an imitation.
You know immediately that something is missing.
But the truth is: if you stay with the imitation, the substitute long enough you can get adjusted and get used to it.
Sad to say: That's exactly what's happened to many of God's people today, they've had the imitation, they've had the substitute and they have gotten used to it.
But thank God when you're exposed to the authentic again you recognize what you've been missing.
I can't speak for everyone today, so I'll just speak for myself and speaking for myself, in these last few weeks I've tasted the authentic again.
And I can tell you that I have become thankfully and painfully aware that something has been missing.
Something has been missing: Something has been missing for a long time, something has been missing in our churches and something has been missing in my life.
I want to talk to you about what is missing.
I'm going to start by saying... if you think nothing is missing then your spiritual taste buds are dead and they need to be Resurrected.
What is missing? well lets go to our text and find out.
2 ki 6:1-7 in our text there was a young Prophet who had borrowed an axe, as he was working the axe the head flew off of the handle and into a water hole and sunk to the bottom.
The young Prophet immediately recognizes that something is missing.
His work is ineffective.
He could have just kept going through the motions but he refused to continue without the axe head.
You are probably saying to yourselves, of course he recognized the axe head was gone it would have been ridiculous to continue working and swinging an axe handle with no cutting power, but to tell the truth it happens all the time.
The axe head symbolizes the anointing that makes our work and our effort productive and produces supernatural results.
He immediately quit trying to accomplish the work in his own strength and in his own ability. His words to The Prophet Elisha are very interesting.
" a lass master for it was borrowed"
In other words: We do not own it, it is a gift, it's not ours, it belongs to another. It is the anointing of the Holy Ghost.
He's simply trusts us with his anointing so we can do the work.
Even Jesus understood this to be true and his own life.
Lu 4:18
The spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor, he had sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind. To set at Liberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord.
The anointing is that touch of God upon a thing or upon a person that produces Supernatural results.
The anointing of God's holy spirit is the only Power that can deliver, it is the only Power that can heal, it is the only Power that can produce miracles.
One of the greatest tragedies of this modern-day Christianity is we have lost the ability to discern when the anointing is present and when it is absent.
The result is: we carry on with all kinds of activities and performances that are carnal that are fleshly that are birthed out of human effort and human wisdom.
Not that it's all evil, wicked, or sinful. just that it is missing the main ingredient which is the anointing.
It's not a question of how talented you are, how good you can sing or play the drums or the guitar or the piano, or preach or teach.
The only question we should be asking ourselves is: Where is the anointing?
I don't care how good it is, how entertaining it is, how cutting edge it is, how popular it is.
I only want to know: Is it anointed? are they anointed? are you anointed?
Jesus tells us with his own words The Works that I am doing I am doing them by the power supplied by the anointing of the Holy Ghost.
He said I cast out devils by the spirit of God.
Mt 12:28 But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you.
Then the bible says: Jesus was anointed with the Holy Ghost.
Acts 10:38
How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the holy ghost and with power, who went about doing good and healing all that were oppressed of the devil for God was with him.
The healings, the Miracles, the Deliverances, the feeding of the multitudes, The Walking On The Water, the calming the storm, was accomplished by the power of the anointing of the Holy Spirit.
Although Jesus was the son of God from his birth he never did a miracle or anything of a supernatural quality or Dimension until after he was anointed with the Holy ghost and Power in the River Jordan.
After Jesus was anointed with the Holy Ghost he immediately began to perform Miracles cast out Devils heal the sick and do signs of a supernatural character. Dear friends, if Jesus needed the anointing, how much more do we Desperately need the anointing.
Isa 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.
The yoke is destroyed by the anointing
* nothing less than the anointing can destroy the works of the devil.
* nothing less than the anointing can convicted of sin.
* nothing less than the anointing can heal the wounded Soul deliver the Bound in the oppressed and set the captives free.
* nothing less than the anointing can remove heavy burdens.
The young Prophet immediately recognizes something is missing.
There is no power, there is no fire, there is no unction, there is no Edge.
I believe this should be the motto of every church and the requirement of every church: The God that answers by fire let him be God.
In other words we aren't going to accept anything that doesn't carry the fire of God.
In other words we don't want anything unless Heaven testifies to it.
So many today are looking for the altars or the churches with the most people, they are judging everything by what is most popular, what is most attractive, what is most socially accepted, what is everybody doing. what is cutting edge, what is marketable.
But popularity has never been the Mark or the distinguishing factor of that which is of God.
It is the anointing that bears witness to that which is born of Heaven.
Whether it's in a cathedral, or an arena filled with a hundred thousand people or whether it's under a brush Arbor or a barn with sawdust on the floor or a tent.
The one distinguishing and identifying factor that God is in it, is now and always has been, the anointing.
If the anointing is there, heaven will invade that place and miracles will happen, bondages will be broken, the sick will be healed, and lives will be changed forever.
So many today are being pacified with look a likes and sound a likes with imposters and impersonators.
Many Believers and churches are mistaking Charisma for the anointing and talent and passion and excitement are replacing the fire of God on the altar.
"Where the spirit of the Lord is there is Liberty".
not just excitement (but liberty) freedom, deliverance, breakthrough, healing, salvation, transformation, miracles.
So we could say where the anointing is there is Liberty.
The anointing is the liberating power of God.
The anointing liberates the mind. the emotions, the brokenhearted, it liberates the homosexual the drug addict, it liberates, from anger and resentment and jealousy, it liberates from unforgiveness, it liberates the one who is bound by the spirit of lust and pornography.
The anointing liberates those who have been in captivity to sickness and disease, to religion and tradition.
The anointing is the Yoke destroying burden removing power of God. Without the anointing, we may have church we may have entertainment, we may have excitement, and we may even have a crowd. But we will not have Liberty.
It's not by might nor by power but by my spirit saith the Lord.
I shall be Anointed with fresh oil. David knew how important it was to have fresh anointing in his life and he knew he could not operate on an out dated anointing.
Your anointing and my anointing has an expiration date.
That date is yesterday (If your trying to operate on yesterdays anointing,) its expired, its dead, there's no life in it, there's no power in it.
It was good for yesterday' but you and I must have a fresh anointing, a fresh baptism of Holy ghost Fire.
What is missing?
This is what the Holy Spirit has been showing me that is missing, in the local church today' and in many of our lives.
And to tell the truth I have been under conviction that we could ever think for a minute that we can move forward without it.
*Passion' Zeal for God, True Spiritual hunger.
*Burden, travail for the lost.
*Holy ghost conviction.
*Consecration, Commitment
*Sanctification, Holiness
*Fasting and Prayer
*Miracles, Signs, Wonders, Healing, Deliverance.
This is what I have been Hearing and sensing and knowing and recognizing in my Spirit that has been missing in my life.
This is how I'm closing this service today: I want it Back.
Just like that young prophet wanted that axehead back and wanted his cutting power back.
I want it back, I want everything that i let slip away from me back. I want everything that i underestimated and thought I could do without, I want it back.
I want my passion back
I want my fire back
I want mg burden back
I want my freedom and my liberty and my joy back.
I want the power back.
I want the supernatural back.
I want the desire for fasting and prayer back in my life.
I want the glory of God back in my life and back in the church.
Somethings been missing and now I know what it is, and I refuse to carry on without it, I want it back!!
