Recently, I spoke to a gathering of 17 churches on Pentecost Sunday in California. I arrived early to meet with this contingency of pastors. Our conversation revealed deep concern and frustration about the state of the church and the state of our nation. During our short time together I tried to convey that it is always an uneasy calm before the storm (something we’ve learned a lot about recently in Oklahoma). It seems there is always a lull before an outbreak of the Spirit (note the state of the church in 1906 before the Azusa Street outpouring or similarly before the 1940’s Voice of Healing move, or the 1960’s unrest before the Charismatic Renewal, or the 1980’s Faith Movement).
Some of the pastors seemed to be pleading for an open heaven. The fact is that in the New Covenant the heavens are open. We’re not waiting on God. God is waiting on us. We need to sit at His feet for His fresh outpouring.
Look at Psalm 92:10, “…you have anointed me with fresh oil.” There are three words we need to zero in on in this verse:
- Fresh – This word means not stale, a new outpouring of His grace, something not past its best, new to one’s experience, renewed vigor, or something not previously known or experienced.
- Oil – is generally representative of God’s Spirit and His grace.
- Anointing – Oral Roberts once related to me that the anointing is a Divine energy that empties you of yourself and fills you with the presence of God so much that when you speak, it is like God speaking and when you act it is like God acting. Wow! It is empowerment from God. The anointing is God’s ability. It is my ability (authority) to use God’s ability to meet any need. It is the burden removing, yoke-destroying power of God.
It is important to note however, if you’re not doing anything that requires an anointing, there’s no reason to release it. Why is all of this important? It is because God is in the process of releasing a New Reformation in His church.
(See Fresh Oil – Part 2 tomorrow)
