THE ATTRIBUTES OF AN ANOINTED PERSON.

SERIES: THE HAND OF GOD.

TEXT: ACTS 11:21; PSALM 89:20-21

When a person is filled and anointed by the Holy Spirit of God it will be evident in his life. Let us look at the life of Joshua to see the marks of this anointing.

Acts 11:21, “and the hand of the Lord was with them; and a great number believed and turned unto the Lord.”

Psalm 89:20-21, “I have found David my servant with my holy oil have I anointed him; with whom my hand shall be established, my arm also shall strengthen him.”

The anointing of the Lord was needed for David, for the hand of God rested mightily on him and for him to perform great things for the Lord. We need to look at other people on whom the anointing of the Lord was upon and the purpose of the same.

Many people don’t like the idea of the anointing of the Holy Spirit because they have misconceptions.

Also the ones who claim to have received this anointing by their lack of consistency in their christian walk have in a way hindered others from experiencing the power of the Holy Spirit.

Let us therefore look on the authority of the word of God. Look at what are the characteristics that will be evident in a person who is anointed by the Holy Spirit.

The anointing of the Holy Spirit as the very word suggests is the power or anointing of God in our lives to lead a holy life. It is not just an emotional experience. We belong to God and Jesus Christ is alive in us.

We are the temple of the Holy Spirit who enables us to live a life of godliness and holiness.

We will study the life of Joshua and see what we can learn from it.

• Numbers 27:18, “so the Lord said to Moses, take Joshua, son of Nun, a man who has the spirit and place your hand on him.”
• We notice as the very outlet that Joshua was a man anointed with the spirit of God.
• Exodus 17:9, “Moses said to Joshua, choose some men for us and go out, fight with Amalek tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the stuff of God in my hand.” Let us notice:-

JOSHUA RESPECTED MOSES’ AURHORITY AND WAS OBEDIENT.

• When Moses commanded Joshua to go and fight the Amalekites, as Moses stood on top of the hill with the stuff of God in his hand, Joshua obeyed without questioning and went into battle. Joshua was a man who could take responsibility and fulfil it.
• He respected authority and was obedient to Moses.
• All authority is God ordained and if we don’t respect those who are in authority, then the ones under us will not respect us.
• For example, if the father in a home does not respect his employer at his work place and has a rebellion attitude, he will very often find himself in a similar situation.
• He may find that his own children at home will not respect and honor him.
• If we don’t give respect where it is due, we will surely not receive the respect that is due to us.
• The Lord has ordained that the husband is the head of the family.
• This headship does not mean domination and overload, it means giving servant leadership, love and responsibility for wife and children.
• The wife is required to be obedient and in agreement with her husband’s decisions so that the home may be a joyful place.
• For a family to be happy, there should be mutual love and respect.
• A truly anointed man will be a loving husband to his wife and truly anointed wife will be a submissive and loving partner to her husband.
• We should also teach our children to respect elders and to speak and treat everyone with respect.
• We should instruct them to be obedient to rules set by those in authority.
• If we don’t teach them to obey and respect authority, one day they will embarrass us before others and bring disgrace to us.
• An anointed person will know how to submit every authority that God has established.
• We need to submit to authority at home, work place, school and college, at church and to the governmental authorities.
• To submit and to honor authority we need the anointing.
• You cannot claim to be anointed if you are not submissive to authority.

JOSHUA HAD A FIRM FAITH IN THE LORD AND WAS NOT SWAYED BY THE OPINION OF THE MAJORITY.

• Numbers 14:9, “do not rebel against the Lord, and do not be afraid of people who live there. We will conquer them easily. The Lord is with us and has defeated the gods who protected them; so don’t be afraid.”
• Twelve men went to spy on the land of Canaan.
• Ten of them were filled with fear and reported back that they couldn’t conquer the land as there were giants in the land. Fear is the opposite of faith.
• Joshua and Caleb spoke in total faith.
• They had unshakable faith that the Lord was on their side.
• An anointed person is not disturbed by any situation no matter how difficult or overwhelming it is.
• Many people are overpowered by their problems that they believe that even God cannot intervene and help them.
• An anointed person looks at situations with the eyes of faith.
• An anointed person is willing to stand alone-Numbers 14:9.

JOSHUA LOVED THE WORD OF GOD-Joshua 8:34-35.

“Joshua then read to them all the blessings and curses Moses had written in the book of instructions, every word of every command that Moses had ever given was read to the entire assembly of Israel, including the women and children and the foreigners who lived among them.”

• Joshua read the people every word of the command that Moses gave.
• Joshua read the word of God to all the people including children, women and foreigners or visitors who were there.
• The word was read loud and clear for all to hear.
• We must teach our children the word of God, train them to read the word of God for themselves.
• Joshua delighted himself in the word of God-Psalm 1:2-3.
• If you are really anointed of God, you would love the word of God.

JOSHUA OBEYED THE WORD OF THE LORD IMPLICITY-Joshua 6:2-3.

“The Lord said to Joshua, I am putting into your hands Jericho, with its king and all the brave soldiers. You and your soldiers are to march around the city once a day for six days.”

• Joshua was soldier and the leader of the army of Israel.
• Joshua knew about warfare, but when God told him to march around Jericho six times he did not question the Lord.
• Faith is obedience, Joshua commanded the armies of Israel according to the word of God.
• An anointed person in obedient to God and he teaches others obedience and faith.

JOSHUA SOUGHT TO HONOR GOD’S NAME EVEN IN DEFEAT-Joshua 7:8-9.

“Lord, what am I to say now that Israel has run away from its enemies? The Canaanites and all the inhabitants of the land will hear of this, will surround us and eliminate us from the earth! Then what will you do about your great reputation?”

• After an amazing victory over Jericho, Joshua decided to go against the city of Ai.
• The army of Israel faced a major defeat which the Lord allowed as a result of sin in the camp.
• Joshua went into the presence of the Lord and enquired as to why they had to face this defeat.
• He explained to God that the surrounding people will take advantage on this defeat and dishonor the name of the Lord.
• Joshua was more concerned about the Lord’s honor and reputation, than about the actual defeat itself-Matt. 6:9.
• When we honor God this way He turns our failures into victory.
• An anointed person honors God’s name even in defeat.
• An anointed person cares about God’s reputation than his reputation.

CONCLUSION

• A truly anointed person is someone who is submissive to authority.
• An anointed person has firm faith in the Lord.
• An anointed person loves God’s word and is obedient to God no matter what he seeks to honor the Lord in his life no matter the situation.
• The hand of God will rest on us if we have these characteristics in our lives.
• Those around us will be drawn to the saving knowledge of the Lord.