Maybe you have seen the word “anointing” in the Bible and wondered, “What does the Anointing do?”

Today is the day you are commissioned as priest at the Temple of the Lord God. To commission you into this line of service, the high priest takes a horn full of oil and slowly pours it onto your head. The fragrance is sweet yet strong like cinnamon and spices in a bakery. The oil soaks your hair, runs over your ears, and spills onto your shoulders. He keeps pouring. The oil finds the furrow of your spine and cascades down your back. It is dripping from your eyebrows and soaking into your robes. Soon, you are covered in scents so strong your eyes water—or maybe that is the emotion of the moment because it feels like another liquid has covered you, too. The Spirit of the Lord has come upon you. You are now dedicated to Him.

That holy anointing oil contained healing properties extracted from the root and pith of the sweet calamus tree, from the bark of the cinnamon, from the crushed flowers of the cassia, and from myrrh, a resin made from the sap of commiphora trees. Coating your skin, the healing qualities of these essential oils infuse your body, penetrating through cell walls to heal and rebuild while killing pathogens and cleansing out impurities. You look different now and any who come around you know there is something powerful on you.

That scenario above would be true if you had been born of a special tribe and a special family clan in a small nation in the Middle East. But you probably weren’t. However, regardless of who your daddy was, there is a more powerful anointing for you than can be kept in a bottle. God pours His Spirit on those who come to Him by faith. This seals them and marks them out from the rest of humanity as dedicated to His service.

What does the anointing do?

Jesus said, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me; He has anointed Me . . .” (see Luke 4:18-19). Therefore, we know that the Spirit is the true anointing and that wonderful oil was just a picture of what the Spirit would be like. I have written previously about the necessity of the outpouring of the Spirit. This, time, let’s focus on what the Spirit does.  

Many times, when a person first begins to feel the Spirit, they will feel His presence on their head and shoulders. The stronger the manifestation of His presence, the more one can physically feel the Spirit all over their body. At times I feel like I glow. When the Lord filled me with His Spirit, I not only felt Him on the outside, but I also feel  that spring surging up within me. In might burst out as a joyful expression, words of worship, or a prophetic word to someone else.

But the Spirit was not upon Jesus for Him to just have an amazing sensation. We do not receive His Spirit for our own dramatic effects either. Since we receive the same Spirit of Christ, we expect the same actions in us, so let’s look at what Jesus said the Spirit is present in your life for (assuming you have been so anointed).

Proclaiming hope to the hopeless

When the Lord fills you with His Spirit, it is so you can do the work of the evangelist=declare good news. The world is full fake news and bad news. You have a commission from the Lord to bring joyful news. Because the Spirit of life dwells in us, we bring life to others.

Jesus did not come to condemn the world but to save it. You do not change the world by pointing out what is wrong but by showing them the hope. Often this happens as we simply tell our story of what Jesus has done in our lives. Many times as I enter a spiritual conversation with a person, I sense the anointing coming over me. I feel Him right now as I write this.

When preaching, writing, or dialoguing with someone, I pay attention to where the Spirit is active. I only want to do what He has empowered me to do. If anyone speaks, they need to speak as the mouthpiece of God. If anyone serves, they need to do so by the ability God gives (I Peter 4:11). Otherwise, we can only us human techniques of positive speaking or logic. The Spirit breaks down the barriers of the atheist or Satanist. If He is working, I want to join Him there because He does 100 times what I can in my own power.

Binding up those who have fallen apart

I used to get irritated by people with emotional problems. I was a hypocrite. I had so many issues with depression, anger, self-loathing, guilt, fear—and I looked down on others with the same problems. I did not think it was my job to solve them. If anything I told people I would pray for them—I thought God had to deal with all the emotional messes in our world, not me. I was too cool for that.

Then, I finally heard what Jesus was saying. What does the anointing do? The Spirit comes upon us so we can heal those who are broken-hearted. We heal them. We bind them up. God wants to heal people who are falling apart, but He has chosen to do that through me and you.

You have what it takes to transform hurting people. The anointing is on you, if you will receive it. I believe as you read this right now that the same Spirit on me is outpouring on you. You are hear for a purpose. The broken people around us are not for us to step over and around. They are there to be healed.

I always wondered why Jesus didn’t just dump his messed up disciples and get some normal people. There aren’t any normal people. They are all broken. Watch Jesus as He healed Peter’s unstable life and made him into a strong person. Mary Magdalene could not do enough to repay Jesus after He put her life back together. Who has He sent you? Maybe you don’t need to finish reading this right now but instead respond to the restoration work He is calling you to!

Proclaim liberty to captives and sight to the blind

People in our world are overwhelmed with compulsive behaviors such as addictions. The Lord has put you in their lives so they can go free. You are their intervention. By the Spirit, you can announce this hope—they do not have to be victims any longer.

My father had a three-pack-a-day cigarette habit. Because someone was not afraid to proclaim hope by the power of the anointing, he was set free. No one told him he should stop smoking, but the anointing moved on him so strongly, he took the pack out his shirt pocket and threw it in the trash and never went back to them again. This anointing is more than any therapy or technique.

What opens eyes? Truth. Not only is everyone broken, but we are all blinded by sin and the enemy. As you teach others under the power of the anointing, their spiritual eyes pop open. They suddenly see where they have been going wrong without you insulting them. They suddenly see answers to how they should live because God opened their understanding as you opened His Word.

Send out in freedom those who were bound

Jesus literally brought sight to blind eyes. He literally healed the limbs of those who were paralyzed. He literally brought people back from the grave. Why? Because these miracles show us what the Spirit does in the unseen realm. People are paralyzed by hurts from the past—the Spirit sets them free. Some people “eyes” have been closed to the things of God for 40 years or more but suddenly open and see Him.

People are imprisoned by their own bad choices or from things done to them. They hide, they do not move forward, they are trapped in confusion. What does the anointing do? The anointing on you sends them out in freedom. People who were told they would never amount to anything go out and do great things.

Announce the new era of God’s favor

Many people are afraid of God. They think He is looking to strike them down with judgment. You are anointed to show them His love. You can announce with words or announce with actions.

Unfortunately, many who have been anointed to tell of God’s favor have been judgmental. Instead of reflecting a God of love, they perpetuated hate. They confirmed the fears of others that God only looked for flaws. The Spirit in you will bring true care for others that transforms their lives.

Doing what the anointing does

 Jesus announced the power of the Spirit at the beginning of His ministry. But before Him, John had announced that He was coming to immerse us with the Spirit. This anointing power is for anyone who is willing to be drenched.

Will you be set apart to serve in the eternal Kingdom?

Will you be useful to make a difference in the lives of others?

Will make a change that lasts forever for someone?

The anointing must saturate us. Making anointing oil was no quick process. Trees had to be dug up, sap had to be tapped, bark had to be peeled, flowers had to be crushed, olives had to be pressed. Then, the whole mixture had to soak and soak until ready to use. Finally, it had to go through a strainer when it was ready for use.

Will you stay or run when the crushing comes? Will it bring out fragrance in you? Will you soak yourself in the anointing or just come by for a drop or two on occasion?

You have felt His presence on your head and on your shoulders? Will you let it saturate you? Will you let the Spirit flow until you are filled with all His fullness? The world is falling apart and you can pull it back together. As we let the Spirit infuse us, what will happen to those around us? I cannot wait to see what He does through you.

What does the anointing do in your life? How has the Spirit transformed others’ lives through you? Please share a story here!