Anointed to Lead

But my horn shalt thou exalt like the horn of an unicorn; I shall be anointed with fresh oil. (Psalms 92:10)

The Lord wants spiritual leaders to be successful and to impact the world for the Kingdom of God. How can you be that kind of leader? Having knowledge of practical areas and the general tasks of leaders will help you become a successful leader. There are Biblical qualifications for leaders which are also necessary. Spiritual gifts, skills, education, and experience are important too.

However, the most important thing for leaders is to be anointed by the Holy Spirit. Without the anointing of God you cannot effectively lead, organize, mobilize, or evangelize.  The anointing of the Holy Spirit is necessary to those called and chosen by God for spiritual leadership.

To "anoint" means to dedicate or consecrate someone or something by applying oil.  Oil is symbolic of the Holy Spirit.

The name "Christ" in the Greek language means "the anointed one". Jesus introduced His earthly ministry by proclaiming:  

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because He hath anointed me... (Luke 4:18)

Jesus made it clear that it was by the anointing of the Holy Spirit He was able to...

...preach the Gospel to the poor...heal the brokenhearted...preach deliverance to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind...to set at liberty them that are bruised...to preach the acceptable year of the Lord. (Luke 4:18-19)

If it was necessary for Jesus to be anointed to minister, then it is necessary for us also.

There are three different anointings mentioned in the Old Testament. They are natural examples or "types" of spiritual experiences which God wants spiritual leaders to have.

In the Bible, God uses natural examples to illustrate spiritual truths. Leprosy is used as an example of sin. Just as leprosy destroys the physical body, sin will destroy you spiritually and it will destroy your ministry.

Leprosy is a dreaded disease which slowly consumes the flesh of its victim.  In Old Testament times a person with leprosy was called a leper. The leper was banned from his community because the disease was contagious. To keep others from coming in contact with him he was required to cry out "unclean" wherever he went. Leprosy would slowly eat away his physical body and he would die a painful death.

In the Old Testament law, God gave specific instructions for the cleansing of a person with leprosy in Leviticus 14.  Each of the instructions you read are symbolic of the cleansing you must experience spiritually:

A Bird Bearing Away The Guilt Of Sin: This is symbolic of Jesus shedding His blood to bear away your sin.

Repentance And Confession: This is what you must do to be born again and cleansed from sin.

Running Water: This is symbolic of water baptism.

The Anointing Of Oil: This is symbolic of the work of the Holy Spirit in your life. Note that the oil was to be placed on the ear, thumb, and toe of the leper.   Applying this to leadership, we must experience a similar spiritual anointing of...

Ø  The Ear: To be able to hear God's voice.

Ø  The Hand: To be able to serve Him.

Ø   The Toe: To walk in proper relationship with Him.

The most important anointing for leaders is this “LEPER’S” anointing because it is symbolic of personal relationship. Your own relationship with God must be right if you are to lead others. You must be born-again, be able to hear God's voice, serve Him, and walk in proper relationship with Him.

Leaders should also experience the PRIESTLY anointing found in Exodus 29 and 30 and in Leviticus 8.  The priestly anointing was an anointing for holiness, being set apart to God for His service by right living and behavior.

In Old Testament times, there were many things a priest could not do because of the holiness of his office. Because of his special anointing to lead, some things would defile a priest which might not defile other members of the congregation of Israel.

As a leader, you must experience the priestly anointing of holiness and be set apart for the service of God. You must live in harmony with God's Word. There may be things you cannot do because of the holiness of your office. Because of your special anointing to lead others, there are things which will defile you which might not defile others; not as in sin but from the perspective of degrading or besmirching the office of spiritual leadership.

The third type of anointing in the Old Testament is the “LEADER’S” anointing. It was an anointing for those who would guide God's people as leaders, such as kings, prophets, captains, etc. The leader's anointing was one which established a leader's God- given position and gave him the power to fulfill that position.

For example, the anointing of Saul was to the position of captain over God's people:

Then Samuel took a vial of oil, and poured it upon his head, and kissed him, and said, Is it not because the Lord hath anointed thee to be captain over his inheritance? (I Samuel 10:1)

The anointing of David is recorded in I Samuel 16. This passage makes it clear that the power of the Lord came upon David because of the anointing:  

So he [David's father] sent and brought him [David] in. Now he was ruddy and withal of a beautiful countenance, and goodly to look to. And the Lord said, Arise, anoint him; for this is he.  Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers; and the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon David from that day forward. (I Samuel 16:12-13)

The leader's anointing was to impart the position, power, and authority of the office. With this anointing, God's Spirit came upon a person so he could properly lead God's people. The New Testament promise of this anointing:  

But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. (Acts 1:8)

The fulfillment of this promise is recorded in Acts 2. The Baptism in the Holy Spirit is the New Testament fulfillment of the leader's anointing of power.

The New Testament anointing of position is described in Ephesians:  

And He gave some apostles; and some prophets; and some evangelists; and some, pastors, and teachers. (Ephesians 4:10)

God has anointed certain people to spiritual leadership positions in the Church and has provided the anointing of power to equip them to fulfill their callings.

(Biblical Studies)

12/12/13
07/07/15