David Diga Hernandez - A Costly Anointing

I want to sit, I want to sit at your feet, drink from the cup in your hands, lay back against you, and feel your heart. This love is so deep; it’s more than I can stand. I’m melting in your peace; it overwhelms me. I want to sit at your feet, drink from the cup in your hands, lay back against you, and feel your heart. This love is so deep; it’s more than I can stand. I’m melting in your peace; it overwhelms me, overwhelms me, overwhelming. If you want to be used by God, there’s a price that you must pay; there’s a cost to the anointing. The scripture tells us about the Old Testament ceremony of anointing. Whether someone was being anointed as a king, a priest, or a prophet, they were ceremoniously and symbolically anointed by having oil placed upon them. Oil was a symbol of God’s mark; it was a mark of consecration, appointment, and position. While the Old Testament presents this beautiful picture of the ceremony of anointing, we know that today, like Christ, we are anointed by the Holy Spirit. Acts 10:38 says, «And you know that God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. Then Jesus went around doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him.» We are symbolically, even to this day, anointed with oil, just as in James 5:15, where we see that there is still significance in the faithful ceremony of anointing with oil. We recognize the importance of symbolism throughout the Old Testament; we see symbolism pointing us to spiritual truth. Again, we acknowledge that there is power in our faith in these ceremonies that God commands us to carry out. Though we are symbolically anointed with oil, we are actually anointed by the Holy Spirit and with power. You have been marked, consecrated, and empowered by the Holy Spirit being poured out upon your life. You have been qualified for use; you have been qualified for ministry because you have had the Holy Spirit poured upon you. The Holy Spirit Himself is your qualification for ministry. However, there are things we can do that intensify the effect of the anointing upon our lives. Now I want to take a look at the scripture in Exodus chapter 30, because, as I just said, there is truth to be found in Old Testament symbolism. In fact, you can find Christ Himself in Old Testament symbolism. You can even find the Holy Spirit in Old Testament symbolism. I want to take a look at Exodus 30, and we’re going to go down to verse number 23, and I’m going to read all the way up to verse 29. This is what the scripture says concerning the anointing oil. Actually, let’s start at verse 22, where the scripture says this: «Then the Lord said to Moses, 'Collect choice spices: 12 and 12 pounds of pure myrrh, 6 and ¼ pounds of fragrant cinnamon, 6 and ¼ pounds of fragrant calamus, and 12 pounds of cassia measured by the weight of the sanctuary shekel. Also, get one gallon of olive oil. Like a skilled incense maker, blend these ingredients to make a holy anointing oil. Use this sacred oil to anoint the Tabernacle, the Ark of the Covenant, the table and all its utensils, the lampstand and all its accessories, the incense altar, the altar of burnt offering, and all its utensils, and the wash basin with its stand. Consecrate them to make them absolutely holy. After this, whatever touches them will also be holy.' These are the ingredients of the anointing, and the scripture says that we are to blend them like a skilled incense maker. God is that incense maker; the Holy Spirit is that incense maker, and He skillfully blends these ingredients to produce the holy anointing. He skillfully works and crafts to pull out the benefits of each of these ingredients to ultimately produce the result of the anointing oil. This is what God does in your life. He pulls together ingredients; He pulls together situations; He pulls together everything that your life offers to Him; He wastes nothing. The Lord doesn’t even waste mistakes, and He pulls all of these together to craft and create a beautiful, pure, and powerful anointing. We see that the first ingredient used was myrrh. Myrrh was the first ingredient listed here. Now, this was a gum that exudes from the bark of a shrub or a small tree. It was a type of tree that had this gum-like substance protruding from between the bark, and it was used for medicinal purposes. In the Old Testament, it was used for the purification of women and for embalming. However, it’s most important to note that myrrh had a purification effect; it purified what it touched. This is the first key to the anointing—its purity, its holiness. Ephesians 5:1-4 says, „Follow God’s example therefore, as dearly loved children, and walk in the way of love just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. But among you, there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality or of any kind of impurity or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people. Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk, or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving. Not even a hint of impurity.“ Now, I am not trying to propagate the burdensome message of legalism, but what I am saying to you is that the greater the purity in your life, the greater the power upon your life. The greater the purity in your life, the greater the…