The Psalm 23 Adventure, Part 43
June 9, 2017
You’ll pardon me if I take another
opportunity to talk about some of the growth developments and the spiritual
changes we are seeing with the four grandchildren we are now raising.
A couple Sundays ago, we were seated
around the breakfast table when we saw an explosion of anger in Alden that has
cropped up from time to time. It was
clearly a demonic manifestation, and it was time to address it. Della and I carefully explained to the
children the significance of being free from evil spirits, and how they insert
themselves into the lives of people, camouflaging their activities as part of
the person’s character and makeup.
I shared with Alden the root of the
anger that was being expressed and where – in the past -- it had entered into
his life. The other children have had
their issues as well, so we took the time to pray deliverance over each of
them. The change that manifested in each
of them was immediate, but it has been the evidence in their own praying since
that has really been a blessing to see.
Listening to Alden pray last night
before he went to bed was really something to hear! “Thank you, Lord, for taking that bad spirit
of anger out of me, and thank you for taking other bad spirits out of me. If there are any other bad spirits that are
trying to control me, then I command them to leave me and leave my brother and
sisters, too. I love you, God, and I
want to be the kind of person you want me to be.”
My quote of his prayer may not be
exact, word for word, but it’s pretty close.
It was an emotional moment for me hearing him pray like that, and to
realize that he – along with the other kids (who also prayed similarly) – are
developing spiritual sensitivities that are critical for their future! Praise God!!
Let’s
continue our sharing on the anointing.
Last
week, we stopped in our discussion with Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness,
following his 40 days of fasting. It was
the Holy Spirit that led Him into the wilderness for the express purpose of
being tempted — and yes, this is not just testing, this is tempting. Jesus had to beat Satan at his own game for
our sakes because of what was (and is) to come.
Because of the fasting, his flesh was it its weakest and he would have
been the most vulnerable to the temptations.
Understand that Father knew exactly what would take place, but it was
critical to the pattern that Jesus would set on our behalf because of the
dimension of anointing that would follow.
The
temptation was not for Jesus’ undoing but rather for our overcoming! Father had already declared that “This
is my Beloved Son in Whom I am well pleased.” There was no doubt who Jesus was when He
was led of the Spirit into the wilderness. Mark expresses it just a bit stronger. This wasn’t just a “leading” of the Spirit,
this was being “driven.” Jesus was
compelled to begin his years of ministry with fasting and the temptation to His
flesh that would follow as a matter of natural course.
I
remind you that we have been being “led” of the Spirit in the Paths of
Righteousness. This leading couldn’t
begin until after we drank of the living waters of Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit would now be with us and
there would be a compelling in our spirits to follow the Lord Jesus Christ, no
matter where that leading took us. All
of this, after all, is “for His name’s sake.”
The
fasting that Jesus experienced could somewhat be likened to the “Valley of the
Shadow of Death.” It wasn’t for His
undoing. It was His overcoming, and that
overcoming was essential on His part so that we also have the power to overcome
as we walk in Him and He in us.
I
can see the curious looks on your faces.
You were thinking that the Valley of the Shadow of Death was a onetime
experience, and you couldn’t be more mistaken.
With the anointing, the power and authority to break the yokes of
bondage — the bondages of fear —are constantly present. That is critical to our understanding for the
years that are ahead.
We’ll
come back to this event later to show you something else, but watch what
unfolds next.
Matthew
tells us that angels came and ministered to Jesus following the
temptations. Luke, however, records the
following:
Luke 4:14: And
Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee:
and there went out a fame of him through all the region round about.
How
did that happen? How did it happen that “there
went out a fame of him through all the region?” The anointing that was upon Him went before
Him to prepare the people for the stupendous revelations and miracles that
would follow. Let’s talk about this for
a minute.
Because
of the varying gifts and ministries of the Spirit, there are different anointings. That’s a
strange way to put it, perhaps, but consider how Paul expresses it when writing
to the Ekklesia in Ephesus.
Ephesians 4:8, 10-13: Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity
captive, and gave gifts unto men.
And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some,
evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;
For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the
edifying of the body of Christ: Till
we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God,
unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness
of Christ:
The
person anointed for apostolic ministry differs from the one anointed for
prophetic ministry, and yet the two work together. One anointed for pastoral ministry is very
different from one anointed for prophetic ministry.
Here’s
a unique thing, though. Sometimes you
will see people with multiple anointings to function
in different capacities. There are even
instances in which Holy Spirit will anoint individuals to function in different
capacities at different times.
Allow
me to digress for a minute. It has been
a bee in my bonnet for a long time over the fact that so many folks call these
“offices,” treating them as titles and positions in God, and yet there is no
such thing in the Word. These are anointings. They are
commissionings for the moment in time that they are
needed.
If
a person remains intimate in their walk with the Lord, and sensitive to the
heartbeat of the Lord Jesus Christ, the ability to function in these different anointings may occur throughout their entire walk with
God. Obviously there are folks who
function in multiple anointings on a continuing
basis. Then there are those who grow
from one anointing to another as they mature and season with the Lord.
Let
me share with you a quick illustration out of my past. At age 5, I was leading my playmates and
friends to the Lord. That continued to
be a major part of my early years. I was
functioning in the role of an evangelist. Was there an anointing for it? Well, there certainly was an anointing for
each instance, but I was not anointed for evangelistic ministry.
At
age 9, prophetic ministry began to appear.
While I certainly was not anointed for prophetic ministry, I do believe
the experiences that the Lord began to give me at that age set the stage for
things that were to come in later years.
At
age 11, I began teaching. You know
what? I love teaching. It is in my blood! It is something that has been a part of my
life and ministry ever since. Is there
an anointing for teaching? Yes, I
believe there is! It is a gift that God
has given me, and something that has been a hallmark of my life for over 60
years. But it is not the sum total of
the gifts and anointings that I have been privileged
to walk in during the past 70-plus years.
At
different times I have fulfilled the role, the ministry, the anointing of a
pastor — despite the fact that I’ve been told a few times during the years that
“I don’t know what you are, but you’re no pastor!” What folks have seen is something that goes
beyond pastoral ministry – and I have to agree with them, never mind the fact
that there has been a pastoral component to how Holy Spirit has directed my
life for well over 50 years. I see
people who are anointed – and I mean, really anointed – for pastoral
ministry, and they have giftings that I simply do not
have.
That’s
OK! Holy Spirit has anointed me for
whatever task He has at hand for me – no matter what you call it. Let me put it like this. Don’t call me a pastor. Don’t call me a prophet. Don’t call me an evangelist or a teacher or
an apostle. Don’t ascribe some title to
me. I’m simply an heir and a joint-heir
with Jesus Christ. That gives me
continual access to different anointings at the times
when they are needed. I don’t need the titles.
Besides,
take a look at something that Jesus said to the disciples:
Matthew 23:1-12: Then spake Jesus to the multitude, and to his disciples, Saying,
The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat: All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe,
that observe and do; but do not ye after their
works: for they say, and do not. For they bind heavy burdens and grievous to be
borne, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves will
not move them with one of their fingers.
But all their works they do for to be seen of men: they make
broad their phylacteries, and enlarge the borders of their garments, And love
the uppermost rooms at feasts, and the chief seats in the synagogues, And
greetings in the markets, and to be called of men, Rabbi, Rabbi.
But be not ye called Rabbi: for one is
your Master, even Christ; and all ye are brethren. And call no man your father upon the
earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven. Neither be ye called masters: for one is your
Master, even Christ. But he that
is greatest among you shall be your servant.
And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall
humble himself shall be exalted.
You
get the picture, right? The body of
Christ has gotten far too title-conscious.
Titles mean absolutely zip in God’s economy. The anointing of Holy Spirit speaks for
itself. If a person is truly anointed
for some specific place of ministry, that anointing will demonstrate without
the individual promoting himself (or herself) with some title – especially like
“apostle” or “prophet” or “prophetess.”
OK. Enough!
Sorry for the digression, but there’s a lot more territory to
cover. We’ve barely scratched the
surface, and I still want to share with you the prophetic significance of the
anointing we have awaiting us. The scope
of the anointing is nothing less than stupendous! It is a vast dimension in God!
Let
me go back and cover some things we’ve touched on in previous Coffee Breaks and
set the stage for next week’s sharing.
Ezekiel 28:12-19:
Son of man, take up a lamentation upon the king of Tyrus, and say unto him, Thus saith
the Lord GOD; Thou sealest up the sum, full of
wisdom, and perfect in beauty. Thou hast
been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering,
the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the
onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold:
the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was
prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created.
Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth;
and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the
holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones
of fire. Thou wast
perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast
created, till iniquity was found in thee.
By the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst
of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned: therefore I will cast thee as
profane out of the mountain of God: and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub,
from the midst of the stones of fire.
Thine
heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by
reason of thy brightness: I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee
before kings, that they may behold thee.
Thou hast defiled thy sanctuaries by the multitude of thine iniquities, by the iniquity of thy traffic; therefore
will I bring forth a fire from the midst of thee, it shall devour thee, and I
will bring thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them that behold
thee. All they that know thee among the
people shall be astonished at thee: thou shalt be a
terror, and never shalt thou be any
more.
There
is a rather unique phrase that occurs twice in Ezekiel’s prophecy. What the Lord is saying is this, ”Thou
art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I
have set thee so:” Then He says, “I
will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire.”
The
first thing we see is that Lucifer was “the anointed cherub
that covereth.”
The Lord says that “I have set thee so.” The Hebrew phraseology here is what we need
to understand, and that understanding has to come in the context of what we are
seeing and hearing.
Sorry to leave you hanging, but I need to stop here. We will flesh out this picture next week so
that you understand a dimension of anointing in God that is coming for God’s
people.
For those of you
who’ve been participating in our Monday night Healing Prayer Conference Call,
we just want to let you know that beginning with the month of July and
continuing until the first Monday night in October, we will be taking a break
for the summer. We’ve found during the
past three years of doing this call that participation during the summer months
drops significantly because of folks taking their vacations, and being involved in other activities. That said, we will resume our prayer calls on
Monday night, October 2nd.
At the same time, in
case you are missing out on real fellowship in an environment of Ekklesia, our Sunday worship gatherings are available by
conference call – usually at about 10:45AM Pacific. That conference number is (712) 770-4160, and the access code is 308640#. We are now making these gatherings
available by Skype. If you wish to
participate by video on Skype, my Skype ID is regner.capener. If you miss the live voice call, you can dial
(712) 770-4169, enter the same access code and listen in
later. The video call, of course, is not
recorded – not yet, anyway.
Blessings
on you!
Regner A. Capener
CAPENER MINISTRIES
RIVER WORSHIP CENTER
Temple, Texas 76504
Email Contact:
CapenerMinistries@protonmail.com
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