The Anointing: Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow by R T Kendall

 

THE ANOINTING

YESTERDAY, TODAY, TOMORROW

by R T Kendall 

I now know why the Lord was telling me to slow down with this book!  When I started to read it each chapter became a bible study on its own.  R T Kendall gives the reason for writing such a book in his opening introduction.  It is based on these verses in 1 Samuel 16 verse 1: "The Lord said to Samuel, `How long will you mourn for Saul, since I have rejected him as king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and be on your way; I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem, I have chosen one of his sons to be king." R T Kendall points out 3 era`s - yesterday`s man (King Saul), today`s man (Samuel), tomorrow`s man (David)

 

The anointing is the power of the Holy Spirit.  Remember Jesus said, "The wind blows wherever it pleases" (John 3 verse 8).  That is exactly what happens when the Holy Spirit flows from within.  We never will know when God will manifest himself in an unusual way.  Kendall gives 2 reasons for that - First me - my mood, how much sleep I had, who I have just been talking with, how clear my mind feels, whether I am rushed or having to meet a deadline.  It could be largely physical or emotional.  It has much to do with whether I am under pressure.  Or even if I have something to look forward to.  Secondly  it is the sovereignty of the person of the Holy Spirit.  The Holy Spirit moves in at will when we least expect it and sometimes when we are least deserving of it.  The anointing is unmerited favour - it is a sheer grace.

 

Kendall then points out some facts on the Holy Spirit:

He is on deposit in every Christian

 “But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you.  Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of this” Romans 8 verse 9

“But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will.  For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body; so also is Christ.  For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.” 1 Corinthians 12 verses 11 – 13

 He can be grieved

“And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption” Ephesians 4 verse 30

·         he can be  quenched

“Quench not the Spirit” 1 Thessalonians 5 verse 19

·         he is said to have `departed` from Saul “But the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord troubled him” 1 Samuel 16 verse 14 and yet the Spirit came on him after that and he prophesied “And he went thither to Naioth in Ramah; and the Spirit of God was upon him also, and he went on, and prophesied, until he came to Naioth in Ramah.” 1 Samuel 19 verse 23.   Saul was rejected as king “And the Lord said unto Samuel, How long wilt thou mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from reigning over Israel? Fill thine horn with oil, and go, I will send thee to Jesse the Bethlehemite; for I have provided me a king among his sons.” 1 Samuel 16 verse 1 but was still referred to as anointed “And he said unto his men, The Lord forbid that I should do this thing unto my master, the Lord's anointed, to stretch forth mine hand against him, seeing he is the anointed of the Lord.” 1 Samuel 24 verse 6

 

The anointing is the Holy Spirit - it is really just another word for the Holy Spirit.  It is one of John` special words for the Spirit, "You have an anointing from the Holy One ... The anointing you received from him remains in you and you do not need anyone to teach you." (1 John 2 verses 20 and 27)  Because the Holy Spirit is our teacher, he "will teach you all things" (John 14 verse 26) and "will guide you into all truth" (John 16 verse 13).

 

In Proverbs the anointing is called wisdom, understanding "Wisdom is supreme; therefore get wisdom.  Though it cost all you have, get understanding" (Proverbs 4 verse 7)  James uses this word "wisdom".  "If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding faults and it will be given to him." (James 1 verse 5)

 

Remember when Jesus stood up in the synagogue and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him.  Unrolling it he found the place (Isaiah 61 verses 1 - 2) where it is written "The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor.  He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord`s favour."

 

Kendall then went on to point out that in the Old Testament the term "anointing" is used in at least 5 ways:

 

1.     It refers to oil - olive oil that was mixed with spices; myrrh, cinnamon cane and cassia "make these into a sacred anointing oil, a fragrant blend, the work of a perfumer. It will be the sacred anointing oil." (Exodus 30 verse 25)  This oil was used to anoint the `Tent of Meeting, the ark of the Testimony, the table and all its articles, the lampstand and its accessories, the altar of incense, the altar of burnt offering and all its utensils, and the basin with its stand. You shall consecrate them so they will be most holy, and whatever touches them will be holy.` (Exodus 30 verses 26 - 9).  The anointing was said to be on holy things.

 

2.    The anointing referred to the consecration of priests.  The same oil that anointed holy things was poured on Aaron`s head and on his sons (Leviticus 8 verses 10 - 13).  Moses said to Aaron and his sons, `Do not leave the entrance to the Tent of Meeting or you will die, because the Lord`s anointing oil is on you." Leviticus 10 verse 7, 21 verse 10 - 12)  The priests had charge of the anointing oil (Numbers 4 verse 16)

 

3.    The anointing refers to the consecration of kings.  The first occasion for this was when Samuel anointed Saul.  "Then Samuel took a flask of oil and poured it on Saul`s head and kissed him saying, `Has not the Lord anointed you leader over his inheritance?`" (1 Samuel 10 verse 1)  For this reason Saul never ceased to be regarded as the Lord`s anointed (1 Samuel 24 verse 6) even though God had rejected him from being king (1 Samuel 16 verse 1).  

T  The anointing became closely connected to the Holy Spirit.  Soon after Saul was anointed by Samuel the Spirit of God came on him in power (1 Samuel 10 verse 6)  God changed Saul`s heart (1 Samuel 10 verse 9) and he prophesied (1 Samuel 10 verses 10 and 11)  The Spirit of God came on David later when Samuel secretly anointed him king.  Saul still wore the crown but was rejected by God from being King (1 Samuel 16 verse 1).  Samuel anointed David, who had no crown.  But the Holy Spirit came on him immediately.  "So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers and from that day on the Spirit of the Lord came upon David in power" (1 Samuel 16 verse 13)  It could be said that Saul had the crown but lost the anointing.  "Now the Spirit of the Lord had departed from Saul and an evil spirit from the Lord tormented him." (1 Samuel 16 verse 14)  But David had the anointing - that is, the Holy Spirit in power - without the crown.  The oil was a symbol of God`s Holy Spirit.  And yet the Holy Spirit himself manifested his power where this oil had been poured so that the anointing oil was also more than a symbol.  This became obvious when Jesus sent out the 12 disciples and gave them authority over evil spirits.  "They drove out many demons and anointed many sick people with oil and healed them." (Mark 6 verse 13).  So the oil was more than a symbol; it seems to have been an instrument in some sense.  Although the prayer offered in faith is what healed sick people, this was to be preceded by the anointing of oil (James 5 verses 14 - 15) 

5.    Prophets were said to be anointed.  "Do not touch my anointed ones; do my prophets no harm."  (Psalm 105 verse 15)  Abraham is called a prophet (Genesis 20 verse 7) and Abimelech was warned not to harm him.  This means that Abraham was anointed and yet there is no evidence that oil had been poured on him.  The same seems to be true with the words of Isaiah; "The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach good news to the poor.  He has sent me to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners." (Isaiah 61 verse 1)  This pointed to the anointing God`s Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ and yet I know of no reference to oil being literally poured on Jesus.

 

The Holy Spirit is `eternal` (Hebrews 9 verse 14) which means he is God - from everlasting to everlasting having no beginning.  The descent of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost was not the beginning of the Holy Spirit any more than the birth of Jesus was the beginning of the Word, the Logos, the second person of the Trinity (John 1 verse 1).  

 

What happened at Pentecost was the inauguration of the supreme manifestation of the Spirit now that Jesus had returned to the Father.  But the Holy Spirit was present in the Old Testament from the beginning of creation (Genesis 1 verse 2).  As the Old Testament stalwarts did what they did by faith (Hebrews 11 verse 2) so likewise is the anointing on them - without the need of olive oil - the explanation of what they did.

 

The anointing is what enabled Elijah to challenge the prophets of Baal without fear on Mount Carmel, “How long will you waver between 2 opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him, but if Baal is God, follow him” (1 Kings 18 verse 21).  Elijah was as much at ease in putting that question as he had been when he was led by the Spirit to challenge those false prophets in the first place.  He was so much at home in this that he could openly ridicule them.  They had shouted, “O Baal, answer us!”  He taunted them.  At last he said “Come here to me” and repaired the altar of the Lord.  He simply prayed “O Lord God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, let it be known today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things at your command.”  Then the fire fell.  When the people saw this they fell prostrate and cried, “The Lord – he is God! The Lord – he is God!” (1 Kings 18 verses 36 and 39)

In chapter 2 under the heading ACCEPTING OUR ANOINTING Kendal makes a very true statement: “Many people in government, industry and the Church have jobs or positions for which they are not qualified.  They have been promoted (sometimes they promoted themselves) to the level of their incompetence.  The move to a more challenging position is often the way God in fact leads us on, but if it isn`t God who does the promoting we are in trouble.  Another way of putting it is; they have moved outside their anointing.”  I have been thinking a lot about this statement over the past few days and I believe it to be very true.  I only have to look around within the church setting and even within myself to see the reality of this statement.  The challenge comes to me – have I promoted myself beyond what I really can do 

Kendal goes on to state that everybody has an anointing.  He looks at the “grace-gifts” given by God himself and uses the passage in 1 Corinthians 2 verses 4 – 11.  It is God`s gift which he graciously bestows on those who don`t deserve it.  The apostle Paul compares these grace-gifts to the parts of the human body in 1 Corinthians 12 verses 14 – 16.  Paul draws a conclusion “Now you are the body of Christ and each one of you is part of it” (1 Corinthians 12 verse 27)  There are those with the high profile, as apostles, prophets and teachers; some have an anointing – “those able to help others” (1 Corinthians 12 verse 28)

 

Kendal again makes a bold statement not in that he shows we all have an anointing but rather that the anointing is present in each of us even before we were converted and quotes Hebrews 1 verse 14.  “Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?” (Hebrews 1 verse 14)  He states “There is a very real and definite sense in which the non-Christian has an anointing.  It comes from creation, combined with the influences upon him or her.  It is partly hereditary, partly environmental.  One gets certain gifts or abilities from parents; these are refined by education, culture and the effect people have on us.  It is sometimes called ‘common grace’ – God’s goodness to all men and women.  Jesus said God causes his “sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.” (Matthew 5 verse 45)  James said “Ever good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.” (James 1 verse 17)”

 

God’s common grace is distinct from saving grace.  All who are saved have common grace but not all who have common grace are saved.  Sometimes God gives an anointing that is not as admirable or refined as playing a musical instrument.  But we should see that the anointing is a word that can be used a number of ways, not the least of which is that it is an enabling at the level of common grace.  For this reason, every person has an anointing.  It does not in itself prove one’s spirituality since even the non-Christian has his own gift.

 

Every saved person should come to terms with their own anointing.  One should recognize to what extent that anointing is natural – that is, already there before conversion – and supernatural – that is, when God has been pleased to bestow after conversion.  The Holy Spirit often incorporates our natural abilities and superimposes great grace upon them so that they appear supernatural to others but seem natural to those who have them.  A talent may have nothing to do with a fresh anointing of the Spirit that comes from walking in the light after we have been saved (1 John 1 verse 7)

 

Our anointing is a thing most precious.  It is the way the Holy Spirit sovereignly works most freely in us.  All Christians have the Holy Spirit but not all Christians have the same measure of faith “For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you.” (Romans 12 verse 3)  The measure or limit of our faith is our anointing.  The question is – will we accept with cheerfulness the anointing God has given us.

 

It is sometimes hard to admit one does have an anointing.  We are sometimes afraid to appear immodest or vain.  But God cannot use us to the full as long as we doubt what he has taken pains to give us.  It is also hard, sometimes harder to admit our limitations; that we are not as gifted or brilliant as another.  The only thing we can do is to get our approval from God who made us as we are and put us where we are unworthy though we are.

 

Paul said “We however will not boast beyond proper limit, but will confine our boasting to the field God has assigned to us” (2 Corinthians 10 verse 13).  By “limits” he means “measure”, the same word as in Romans 12 verse 3 “For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you.”  Paul acknowledges the sovereignty of God in this limitation.  God made Paul as he is and determined where he should be.  He has accepted his anointing.  He is not going to go beyond God`s sovereign limit.  He is not going to go beyond God`s sovereign strategy.  By “boasting” Paul simply means affirming himself as God would have him do.  He admits he has certain gifts.

 

What a challenge and definitely food for thought – there is so much in this chapter to really think about.  Kendal finishes this chapter with the story of Joseph.  Joseph had a gift – prophetic dreams and the interpretation of them.  Joseph told his brothers of 2 dreams – one of the sheaves of corn bowing down to his sheaf and the other of the sun, moon and stars bowing down to him.  Joseph wasn`t ready to use his gift; he abused the grace that accompanied it by deliberately exalting himself over his brothers.  God had to mark Joseph for a long period of preparation.  God has a way of teaching us a lesson.  Joseph needed to be humbled.  Joseph was sold to the Ishmaelites and began to work as a slave to Potiphar.  The accusation was made by Potiphar’s wife that he tried to rape her and as a result Joseph was put in prison.  It didn`t improve Joseph’s gift but it refined him as a man, giving him a greater measure of the fruits of the Spirit.  In prison Joseph was tested again.  Joseph was called on to interpret 2 dreams, one of the cupbearer and the other of the baker.  Joseph begged to be remembered before Pharaoh but it took another 2 years before Joseph learned to truly love and forgive.  Joseph`s gift of interpreting dreams needed to be matched by an equal measure of infused grace – the fruits of the Spirit – so that his anointing could function to edify everyone, not just himself.  This would be done not only by totally forgiving his brothers but by seeing how God could elevate him without Joseph having anything to do with it.  God has a way of finding us in the most unlikely places.  He wants to set us free from our dungeons without our pulling strings.

In chapter 3 THE LIMITS OF OUR ANOINTING Kendall talks about how we cannot possibly expect to do everything and quotes Paul – “But we will not boast of things without our measure, but according to the measure of the rule which God hath distributed to us, a measure to reach even unto you.” 2 Corinthians 10 verse 13.  God sets the limit on where we can function and also a limit to how many gifts we have.  We must therefore learn to accept ourselves and simply be ourselves.  God will use us only to the extent to which I am true to what I know.  He reminds us of that day when we all will be judged at the Judgment Seat of Christ in part by whether or not we accepted our anointing or lived within the limitations of that anointing.  We will not be rewarded because of a gift God gave us.  It is obedience that will bring a reward.  “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due to him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad” (2 Corinthians 5 verse 10)  Whether or not we receive a reward will be determined by our accepting our anointing (which requires obedience) and living within its limitations (which means not disobeying) whatever the profile that follows.  We will also be blessed here below on the basis of how we lived within the grace given to us.  But the greatest thing that can happen you or me at the Judgment Seat of Christ is to hear Jesus say “Well done”.  And to the degree we accept and live within that anointing now we can feel God say “Well done”.  It is a wonderful feeling that comes from knowing you please God.  Not man.  God.  And it is within the grasp of every single one of us.  Paul was trained – in the Law; he sat at the feet of Gamaliel, the greatest tutor of his generation (Acts 2 verse 3).  And as it happened his expertise touched on the very issue that had become the focus at the time; the place of the Law in the Christian life.  So his anointing came through where it counted.  It turned out he had the training that mattered.  To Paul’s opponents the issue was how you said it, to Paul the issue was what you said.  In a word Paul’s anointing of knowledge more than compensated for his deficiency in public speaking.  Paul did not feel deprived, nor was he threatened.  Truth was more important than style, the message was more important that the method; doctrine was more important than one`s delivery.  The issue to him was the content of the gospel.

 

The lessons for us are clear - nobody has everything and for every limit there is a compensation.  You may not have the gift you envy in another but God has give you an anointing that person probably does not have.  God has decided what our own particular anointing shall be.  Jeremiah – “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart.” (Jeremiah 1 verse 5)   Just think about that for a moment – we were known by God before we came into this world!  Amazing!

 

Kendall reminds us of Saul in the Old Testament who promoted himself to an anointing that was not his anointing at all – it was Samuel`s.  Samuel was called to offer a sacrifice to God.  Not Saul.  Not the king, however important he was.  Samuel had put Saul in the kingship but Saul began believing he, as king, could do anything he chose to do.  Wrong.  He was still to remember there were things others were called to do without him.  Some of us want to do everything (what a challenge to my own heart!).  Some of us think we can do anything.  Saul became impatient because Samuel didn`t turn up on schedule, so he went ahead and did Samuel’s job.  “He waited for 7 days, the time set by Samuel, but Samuel did not come to Gilgal and Saul’s men began to scatter.  So he said ‘Bring me the burnt offering and the fellowship offering.’  And Saul offered up the burnt offering.”  (1 Samuel 13 verses 8 and 9)  When Samuel did arrive he was horrified that Saul had moved outside his own anointing.  “You acted foolishly, Samuel said, You have not kept the command the Lord your God gave you; if you had, he would have established the kingdom over Israel for all time.  But now your kingdom will not endure; the Lord has sought out a man after his own heart and appointed him leader of his people, because you have not kept the Lord`s command.”  (1 Samuel 13 verses 13 and 14)

 

Saul learned immediately that God did not give him indemnity because of his position; he would be judged and evaluated as any other human being.

 

 God made each of us as we are.  He chose our parents before we were born, chose our environment, our childhood, peers, shaped our interests.  Again pause and think about that for a moment – he chose our parents, our environment, everything!  When we come to terms with our limitations we gain not only peace but productivity in the end.  We will do a thousand times more by accepting our limitations than we will by being governed by unrealistic expectations on unwarranted ambitions and trying to prove how clever we are.  “But now this is what the Lord says – he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: Fear not for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine.” Isaiah 43 verse 1

 

Accepting our limitations is essential to accepting our anointing.  Perhaps God will not use us as long as we have unrealistic aspirations for ourselves.  This unrealistic expectation has its origin in our pride “And I saw that all labour and all achievement spring from man’s envy of his neighbor.  This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.” (Ecclesiastes 4 verse 4)

 

At the Judgment Seat of Christ the truth about all of us will come out.  There will be no pretence then.  It is best to accept our limitations now and stop pretending now.  And God will begin to use us.  There will be productivity in the end and peace all along.  That peace compensates immeasurable for the folly

 

CHAPTER 4 – YESTERDAY’S ANOINTING

I am reading each chapter and then pausing to consider what I have read.  In this chapter as I paused to think, I was struck by the thought that to be continually effective I need to hear God’s voice today.  I cannot live on yesterday’s experience.  I may be blessed in my life by God working in my life but I cannot ‘work it up’.  I have to seek God’s face and listen to what he is saying today.   Kendall in this chapter deals with how the Holy Spirit really works on a people and is allowed to take over.  As a result people do things and feel things they had not expected.  It convicts sinners who had not wanted to be convicted.  Or converted.  It may bring great joy but there is a problem – should the anointing lift and the glory fade away there are always those who sadly won’t admit to this withdrawal of the Spirit.  And they ‘work it up’ – creating the shouting and manifestations that become pale imitations.  Once this happens the glory becomes yesterday’s anointing – in 2 ways.  First God may not necessarily want his glory to be manifested in precisely the same way as it had been unveiled in a previous era.  Second those who ‘work it up’ are trying to keep yesterday’s anointing alive and the flesh becomes all too obvious.  They are trying to re-live what God was doing yesterday but may not have chosen to do today.

Kendall goes on to explain that this is only temporary, hence why revivals come and go.  We cannot do anything about this but we may actually be grieving the Spirit.  The chief way we grieve the Spirit seems to be bitterness.  Because right after Paul said “And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption” (Ephesians 4 verse 30) he added, “Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice.  Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.” (Ephesians 4 verses 31 and 32)  We do not know why the Spirit comes for a while and then leaves, that is a mystery many people have been trying to unravel for years!

Kendall looks at what happened in the sixteenth century.  What God did in the sixteenth century - glorious doctrines were rediscovered – justification by faith alone, assurance of salvation by looking to Christ alone.  People experienced these truths and the world was turned upside down.  Then God was powerfully at work in men like Wesley and Whitefield in the eighteenth century.    But the preaching of Wesley and Whitefield was largely experiential.  The immediate witness of the Spirit accompanied conversions.  The Welsh Revival (1904 – 1905) was quite different.  There was a lot of singing, many people giving testimonies and great joy.  Not a lot of preaching however.  But the power present was undeniable. 

We must recognize that yesterday’s anointing was momentous.  When God turned Saul into another man it was momentous and when Saul prophesied it was momentous.  They said “Is Saul also among the prophets?” (1 Samuel 10 verses 9 – 11)  It was a wonderful moment in Israel and a pivotal moment for Saul.

But often what is momentous doesn’t last.  In the case of King Saul he could still prophesy after the Spirit of God departed from him.  He was coasting along on the momentum of yesterday’s anointing.  Certain manifestations of an authentic work of God can repeat themselves somehow after the anointing has in fact diminished.  Because the gifts and calling of God are “irrevocable” (Romans 11 verse 29) a person who had a tremendous anointing yesterday can continue to see the momentum of that anointing yesterday can continue to see the momentum of that anointing continuing to manifest itself.  He or she may hastily conclude that “the anointing is still with us” when it is but the momentum of yesterday’s anointing.

This is what happened to King Saul.  He became yesterday’s man but continued to wear the crown.  He was yesterday’s man – a has-been – but continued to prophesy.  He was yesterday’s man but still had influence and power.  He was coasting on yesterday’s anointing.  But he forfeited the fresh anointing that comes from unfeigned obedience.

God wants obedience, intimacy, a daily seeking of his face, a building up of a deposit account “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal.  But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy and where thieves do not break in and steal.  For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Matthew 6 verses 19 – 21)

A deposit account in heaven, however, does not merely include how much we give in terms of money to the Kingdom.  It also includes our forgiving one another.  The greater the offence we have to forgive, the greater the credit to our account!  Jesus uses that word 3 times in Luke 6 verses 32 – 36 “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you?  Even sinners love those who love them.  And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you?  Even sinners do that.  And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you?  Even sinners lend to sinners, expecting to be repaid in full.  But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back.  Then your reward will be great and you will be sons of the Most High, because h is kind to the ungrateful and wicked.  Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.”  The ‘credit’ is given to us here below as well – by a fresh anointing.  Our reward in heaven will not be determined by yesterday’s anointing but by today’s fresh anointing. 

God is not going to reward me for the ability he alone gave me.  My reward in Heaven will come entirely by whether I practiced what I preach: walking in the light, dignifying the trial, totally forgiving others and placing utmost priority on my intimacy with him.

My continued effectiveness here below is also determined by my hearing God’s voice today.  If my anointing given me yesterday is replenished by a fresh anointing that comes by the way I live personally and privately, I will continue to hear God speak and will know his will daily.  I will not miss what God wants of me or what he wants me to see around me.  I will not miss what God is in – what he is doing, where he is moving and the way he sovereignly chooses to manifest his glory.  And yet my knowledge of the bible will not in and of itself guarantee that I will recognize what he is up to today.  Wow!  Isn’t that a rebuke but also a challenge?  Am I living on yesterday’s anointing?

 In chapters 5 and 6 Kendall continues to look at YESTERDAY’S MAN OR WOMAN.  King Saul, yesterday’s man, lost God’s approval but still wore the crown.  Tomorrow’s man, David got the anointing but without the crown.  Today’s man had to break with yesterday’s man and cast his lot with tomorrow’s man.  It was a hard and painful word which Samuel was having to receive.  It shows the sobering responsibility on the shoulders of the one who is truly today’s man or woman.

 

Saul lost God’s approval – notice the words from God himself “I have rejected him as king over Israel”.  And yet it was another 20 years before David became king!  David had God’s own approval – “From that day on the Spirit of the Lord came on David in power” 1 Samuel 16 verse 13.

 

Saul kept an anointing nonetheless in 2 ways – he still maintained the kingship publicly and retained certain gifts God gave him (prophecy – 1 Samuel 10 verse 9).  Notice God did not take back these gifts!

 

Saul’s example shows how a person in a place of influence and power can still wield tremendous respect publicly but secretly be rejected by God.  David’s example shows how a person can have no platform but have God’s approval.  Only Samuel knew the truth.

 

Saul was just 40 years of age when he became yesterday’s man.  Saul began to take himself too seriously.  He did not wait for Samuel to offer the burnt and fellowship offerings in 1 Samuel 13.  It was a long time before Saul came to terms with what Samuel knew and told him.  He later on said “Surely I have acted like a fool and have erred greatly” 1 Samuel 26 verse 21.  He eventually admitted “God has turned away from me.  He no longer answers me.” 1 Samuel 28 verse 15

 

Kendall then used the example of Jonah who got “caught” because he disregarded God’s word but God gave him a second chance.  One can be put on the shelf and come back.  Saul didn’t.  God may set one on his “back burner” until he deems us ready to be used again – just like Jonah and Samson.

 

David also got caught out – remember the adultery with Bathsheba.  It took Nathan the prophet to reveal his sin but David’s immediate reaction was what Saul came up with too late.  David admitted his sin and paid dearly for it by losing the son Bathsheba carried – but God was not finished with him, he still had a future.  2 Samuel 12 verse 13

 

Kendall pointed out that the way to become yesterday’s man or woman is by losing touch with God.  He can raise someone else overnight to replace any of us!

 

One evidence that we may have lost touch with God is by imagining that we are still on the cutting edge of what God is doing today merely because we defend what God was doing yesterday.  God of course promised never to leave us or forsake us.  But his special presence that flows from his approval is not necessarily guaranteed.  This was something Mary and Joseph learned “After the Feast was over, while his parents were returning home, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but they were unaware of it.  Thinking he was in their company, they travelled on for a day.  Then they began looking for him among their friends and relatives.” (Luke 2 verses 43 and 44)  John the Baptist was a sovereign vessel.  But some of his followers would not accept that even he gladly became yesterday’s man (John 3 verse 26).  John had the honesty to admit the purpose and temporary nature of his own anointing and urged his followers to embrace the One he had been raised up to prepare people for.

 

Another indication that we may be yesterday’s man or woman may be that success has come too soon.  This may involve waiting – and further training, preparation and disciplining under God’s hand. 

 

Age may not be relevant – Moses was 80 when God used him to bring the Children of Israel out of Egypt.  All we need is obedience and God’s timing.

 

David’s first job after his anointing was to provide music to sooth Saul when he was being tormented by an evil spirit.  1 Samuel 16 verse 23.

 

Then came David’s success in slaying Goliath.  The people’s song “Saul has slain his thousands and David his tens of thousands” (1 Samuel 18 verse 7) showed that God was guaranteeing David would not succeed before he was ready.  “And from that time on Saul kept a jealous eye on David.” 1 Samuel 18 verse 9.

 

God sent Samuel to Saul to show that he had not rejected him.  Saul should have been able to see that God was still on speaking terms with him.  Kendall points out that when we receive a word of rebuke from God we should welcome it.  This word may come from reading the bible, preaching, a friend or even a person with a true prophetic gift.  Any word from the Lord is a test.  We should treat it as though we may never hear him again just in case we have not been fully obedient previously.

 

Kendall turns to the example of King Ahab.  He told Ahab how he would cut him off from his kingship.  The words were final and unchanging, offering Ahab no hope whatsoever.  The impact on Ahab was to tear his clothes and fast.  Then the word came to Elijah “Have you noticed how Ahab has humbled himself before me?  Because he has humbled himself, I will not bring this disaster in his day but I will bring it on his house in the days of his son.”  1 Kings 21 verses 28 and 29.

 

The key thing is to hear God’s voice – Hebrews 3 verse 7 to 11.  We can become “dull of hearing”, only just hearing.  The warning is not to become stone-deaf.  This can happen spiritually.  When one no longer hears from God it is impossible to be renewed again to repentance.  Being granted repentance is the proof we are hearing God.  He deals with us, shows us our sin, we repent and walk in the light and know sweet fellowship.  1 John 1 verse 7.

 

There are other signs of yesterday’s man or woman.  The first is when we are obsessed with one person with jealous feelings.  This was an ominous sign that Saul was losing all presence of mind.  He could not cope with the people’s admiration of David.  Saul could not cope with a possible rival.  The second sign is when we begin trying to destroy another’s credibility.  Saul’s one aim was to destroy David.  He worried more about David at times that he did Israel’s enemy, the Philistines.  The third sign is when we fear another’s anointing.  “Saul was afraid of David because the Lord was with David but had left Saul.”  1 Samuel 18 verse 12.  We may be afraid of another person simply because God might use that person to bring revival.  The fourth sign is if we set a trap for the one who threatens us.  Saul’s plan was to have David fall by the hands of the Philistines – 1 Samuel 18 verse 26.  Saul’s doing this was a dead give-away that the fresh anointing was no longer on him.  Fifthly when we cannot keep our word, not to mention a vow, it shows we have lost integrity.  Jonathan pleaded with his father Saul to spare David’s life.  Then “Saul listened to Jonathan and took this oath “As surely as the Lord lives, David will not be put to death.”  1 Samuel 19 verse 6.  And yet in no time at all “an evil spirit from the Lord came upon Saul as he was sitting in his house with his spear in his hand.  While David was playing the harp, Saul tried to pin him to the wall with his spear but David eluded him as Saul drove the spear into the wall.  That night David made good his escape.”  1 Samuel 19 verses 9 and 10.

 

If we have had a measure of success and did not handle it well, and tripped, God may give us a second chance as well.  He came to Jonah a second time with the same word, as before (Jonah 3 verse 1 cf Jonah 1 verses 1 – 2).  It was the happiest word Jonah ever heard.  As long as we can hear God’s voice there is hope that we have not had success too soon and that there is more to come.

 

Chapters 7 to 10 look at Today’s Anointing.  The task of every generation is to discover in which direction the Sovereign Redeemer is moving, then to move in that direction.  The trouble is we all have an inclination to believe “the old (wine) is better” (Luke 5 verse 39).  For example we like what is familiar, the old hymns or songs we became accustomed to, the old style of preaching we grew up with.  In a word: where there is no stigma (offence).  This really hit home – it is really why people stay within the “traditional” church set-up rather than finding true fellowship and teaching in a bible believing and preaching, gospel orientated church.

 

Not only can we not go back to yesterday, but so much of what we think is valid today is whether we ‘connect’ to it.  What we ‘connect’ to is what has a link with our past.  Some call it our ‘comfort zone’.  

 No-one else was to do the anointing, only Samuel.  He might have said “Why me?” but he didn’t.  Moses did and the Lord’s anger “burned against Moses” (Exodus 4 verses 13 – 14)

 

In earlier days Samuel had the opposite problem; he had to learn not to take rejection personally.  In Samuel’s case it came when Israel demanded a king.  Samuel knew this was wrong.  He warned them on bended knee.  He was distressed.  “And the Lord told him ‘Listen to all that the people are saying to you; it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king.’” (1 Samuel 8 verse 7)

 

It is hard not to take rejection personally, especially if you have been close to the people who can’t go along with you.  God graciously assured Samuel they haven’t rejected you but me.

 

Loneliness – it goes with the job of being today’s man or woman.  We live in a day when collective leadership is in vogue.  The greater the consensus, the lighter the stigma. 

 

We must be accountable.  We all need those around us who will not be rubber stamps and who will warn and rebuke “As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.” (Proverbs 27 verse 17) Those who remain unteachable and unaccountable because they have achieved a measure of success will almost certainly be found out and lose credibility – if not their anointing – at the end of the day “Wounds from a friend can be trusted” (Proverbs 27 verse 6)

 

On the other hand, today’s man often walks alone.  Samuel did.  Moses did.  Abraham did.  Elijah did.  Paul did.

 

Samuel now had to break with the regime he had set up.  He had to turn away from what God did yesterday.  Although Samuel had initially opposed the idea of kingship, he went along with it because God told him to.   He actually became the architect of the whole thing. But now he was told to abandon it.  The same God who had accommodate Israel with a king now regarded Saul as finished.

 

It was not easy to do this.  First accepting the kingship.  Second abandoning it.  Both were the result of obedience to God’s fresh revelation.  Samuel was taking orders from God.

 

Much of Jesus’ pain at the crucifixion was through his being misunderstood.  Nothing made sense.  It didn`t add up that he was now hanging on a cross.  There were any number of ways in which he could have stopped being crucified.  Never once did Jesus explain himself.  He had to bear the further stigma of being misunderstood, even by those closest to him. 

 

Only Samuel knew that Saul was yesterday’s man.  He had to make a decision; should he stick to his guns by supporting Saul right or wrong, or listen to that voice which had never failed him yet?  He listened to God.

 

All relationships must ever be subservient to God’s greater glory.  No matter how close people get to each other they must be closer to God.  The irony is, the closer people are to God, the more they will love each other.  The more they put the voice of God prior to their commitment to each other, the more they really respect each other.

 

If Samuel had been small-minded he would have been glad Saul had failed the test.  Samuel was the only one who warned against the kingship.  There was no gloating, only mourning.  “Do not gloat when you enemy falls; when he stumbles, do not let your heart rejoice.” (Proverbs 24 verse 17)

 

Cain asked “am I my brother’s keeper?” (Genesis 4 verse 9)  The answer is yes!  The anointing we desire is largely delayed because of a rival spirit. 

 

Today’s man or woman ought also to be on the lookout for tomorrow’s man.  As long as our deep concern is for the status of tomorrow’s generation we are in fairly good shape.

 

Perhaps the saddest moment in Hezekiah’s life was when Isaiah warned him that he ought never to have allowed certain Babylonians to gave on the things in the palace in Jerusalem.  Isaiah prophesied: “Hear the word of the Lord: The time will surely come when everything in your palace, and all that your fathers have stored up until this day, will be carried off to Babylon.  Nothing will be left, says the Lord.  And some of your descendants, your own flesh and blood, that will be born to you, will be taken away, and they will become eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.” (2 Kings 20 verses 16 – 18)  This ought to have sobered Hezekiah through and through.  Instead his only comment “The word of the Lord you have spoken is good.”  For he thought “Will there not be peace and security in my lifetime?” (2 Kings 20 verse 19)  He was not thinking of the next generation but only of himself.”

 

Samuel simply followed the Lord all his days, no matter how he appeared to men.  He was a symbol of today’s servant of God.  He was on the lookout for tomorrow man.

 

Samuel assumed that the next king of Israel would be Jesse’s first born.  Samuel saw Eliab and thought “Surely the Lord’s anointed stands here before the Lord.” (1 Samuel 16 verse 6)  Samuel knew that the first born of any family would receive double the inheritance.  But God had broken that pattern before.  Isaac, not Ishmael was God’s anointed.  Jacob, not Esau was God’s anointed.  So it was about to happen again.  The Lord said to Samuel “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him.  The Lord does not look at the things man looks at.  Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” (1 Samuel 16 verse 7)

 

Samuel began to think he had missed the Lord’s signal.  Jesse had brought Eliab, then Abinadab, then Shammuah.  All Samuel could say was “Nor has the Lord chosen this one.” (1 Samuel 16 verse 9)  Jesse had 7 of his sons pass before Samuel.  He still could not feel right “The Lord has not chosen these.” (1 Samuel 16 verse 10)  Today’s servant of Christ must be willing to hear the voice of the Spirit above his own personal biases and prejudices.  So Samuel asked Jesse “Are these all the sons you have?” (1 Samuel 16 verse 11)

 

It is not always easy to tell the difference between our instincts, shaped by years of knowledge and experience and the voice of the Spirit.  This is where many of us fail.  We hastily go by outward appearances – our comfort zone.

 

John 6.  The moment Jesus’ words began to offend “I am the bread that came down from heaven” – the crowds drew on information they had always known “They said, Is this not Jesus … whose father and mother we know?  How can he now say, I come down from heaven?” (John 6 verse 42)  The offence in some people’s anointing is camouflaged by God’s set-up.  This way people can rationalize and dismiss the person and feel completely justified.  When Jesus went so far as to say “Unless you can eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.” (John 6 verse 35) and that did it.  “This is hard teaching.  Who can accept it?” (John 6 verse 60)  “From that time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him.” (John 6 verse 66).  They could not have felt more justified in their disgust.  But God set them up.

 

Eliab, Jesse’s first born was a set-up.  “This is surely the one” even Samuel thought at first.  But fortunately Samuel kept listening to that voice he trusted.  Samuel asked Jesse if he had any more sons.  It was as though Jesse said, “There is one more son but you surely won’t want him.”  But Samuel said “Send for him; we will not sit down until he arrives.” (1 Sauel 16 verse 11)

 

If we are not truly tuned into the voice of the Holy Spirit we can let any prejudice of our own charm us to miss the authentic.  On top of this God may well test us by allowing our prejudice to overrule when someone’s outward appearance is not up to what we think should befit an anointed servant of Christ.

 

Once Samuel saw David, despite his young age and utter lack of experience, the Lord said “Rise and anoint him; he is the one.” (1 Samuel 16 verse 12)  The pain of being today’s man is that you can’t convince another person of what you see unless the same Holy Spirit shows them as well.

 

Peter reminded his readers that, as for the prophets of the Old Testament “It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves but you, when they spoke of the things that have now been told you by those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven.  Even angels long to look into these things.” (1 Peter 1 verse 12)

 

Samuel wanted to leave not a personal legacy by which he would be remembered but a legacy for Israel tomorrow.  That is what made him today’s man.  The irony of church history is that those who prepared most for tomorrow’s Church were the most remembered; those who wanted to build their own empires became yesterday’s men and women while they were still alive – and hardly remembered afterwards.  When one truly does not care who gets the credit for any brilliant idea, but just wants to see it carried out, there is no limit to how far that person can go.

 

One of the paradoxes of church history is that the anointing has been characterized by both continuity and discontinuity.  By continuity I mean what continues unchanging.  For example, the gospel – that does not change, it continues from age to age.  There is also a scarlet thread that runs from Genesis to Revelation showing the blood of Jesus in every age and on every page.  It began with the first promise of redemption “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head and you will strike his heel” (Genesis 3 verse 15).  It was first demonstrated in the Garden of Eden after the Fall “The Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them.” (Genesis 3 verse 21)  It was evident in Abel’s offering when he brought “fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock” (Genesis 4 verse 4)  That scarlet thread was unveiled in the Law by the ancient sacrificial system.  That continuity continues to the present day, for the message is that Christ died for sinners, shed his precious blood “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4 verse 12)

 

By discontinuity I mean the manifestation of God’s anointing that may have no obvious precedent.  It may appear and disappear.  That it had no precedent does not invalidate its authenticity.  That it may not last long does not mean it wasn’t right at the time – example: when all the believers in the early church “had everything in common.  Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need.” (Acts 2 verses 44 – 45)  It didn’t last.  But the seal of God on this practice became apparent when Ananias and Sapphira acted as though they were in on it but lied.  God struck both of them dead in the space of a 3 hours (Acts 5 verses 1 – 10)  There is no biblical principle that states that Christians are to do what the early church did for a time.  But there is equally no doubt that this is what happened for a while.  

 

Many of us are happy if God is so kind as to ‘do it again’ like he’s done it before.  In this we are happy.  For this we are quite ready.  Moreover there is little stigma here.  Almost none.  We want to avoid any stigma when it is outside our comfort zone.  “What will they think?  What will they say?”  Today’s anointing is totally missed by looking over our shoulders, probably more than by any other factor.

 

Kendall then goes on to look at discontinuity which is what threatens us most.  He considers Hebrews 11 the faith chapter of the bible.  Not a single purpose mentioned there had the luxury of repeating yesterday’s anointing.  Enoch and Noah both walked with God.  There was the continuity.  God took Enoch before he died physically but that did not mean Noah would have the same outcome.  No-one before Noah had made an ark and I am sure he was laughed at for doing it.  It never happened before and it never happened again.  For Abraham there was something more difficult than building an ark.  Not knowing where we are going, yet knowing we are following God can be very painful.  God has a way of giving us sufficient revelation for ourselves but not enough that it convinces others.

 

Jesus told Peter how he would die “I tell you the truth when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.” (John 21 verse 18)  Peter sadly could only think of John “What about him?”   The stigma of solitude doubles the pain.  If only one other person could join me – or see what has been revealed to me!

 

There is nothing more comforting – or scary – than knowing that God can speak to us in a clear and direct manner.  There is equally nothing so comforting as seeing that it is what happened in the Bible.  And yet we have what the early church didn’t have – the New Testament to keep us on the straight and narrow.  If there is any word of knowledge or prophetic insight that conflicts with scripture, we stay with scripture and reject the word of knowledge – no matter who gave it.  The scriptures do not replace the miraculous; they correct abuses when people hear ‘words’ that couldn’t have come from God because they don’t cohere with biblical theology.

 

But the anointing will often offend.  That is not surprising, for it stretches us.  It brings together both the continuity and the discontinuity of God’s dealings with us – the God of the past and the Lord who acts in the ‘now’.  Such majesty and mystery are rarely within our comfort zone. Jesus told Peter how he would die “I tell you the truth when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.” (John 21 verse 18)  Peter sadly could only think of John “What about him?”   The stigma of solitude doubles the pain.  If only one other person could join me – or see what has been revealed to me!

 

There is nothing more comforting – or scary – than knowing that God can speak to us in a clear and direct manner.  There is equally nothing so comforting as seeing that it is what happened in the Bible.  And yet we have what the early church didn’t have – the New Testament to keep us on the straight and narrow.  If there is any word of knowledge or prophetic insight that conflicts with scripture, we stay with scripture and reject the word of knowledge – no matter who gave it.  The scriptures do not replace the miraculous; they correct abuses when people hear ‘words’ that couldn’t have come from God because they don’t cohere with biblical theology.

 

But the anointing will often offend.  That is not surprising, for it stretches us.  It brings together both the continuity and the discontinuity of God’s dealings with us – the God of the past and the Lord who acts in the ‘now’.  Such majesty and mystery are rarely within our comfort zone.

 

Samuel was ordered to move outside his comfort zone.  When God says “How long will you mourn?”  The implication is that Samuel has been in that state for a good while.  And too long.  But after a while, even though we are mourning, we cannot get used to it and begin to live with it, even to like it.  What was once upsetting can become comfortable.  We get used to it.

 

God told Samuel to stop mourning for what could not be helped and to start looking for tomorrow’s man.  This would take courage.  And Samuel would do it alone.  At the end of the day the anointing will have a stigma.  It will offend.  Our comfort zone is usually not too disturbed if there is a good precedent for what is happening.  We equally like to think that when God is at work there will be no evidence of the counterfeit.  Or false professions of faith when the preaching is over.

 

This left me thinking – am I too long in my comfort zone?  Do I want to move outside my comfort zone if God were to speak?  Looking at the examples of Enoch, Noah and Abraham really made me think – how did they move outside of their comfort zones with everyone mocking and scoffing them?  It must have been the most difficult time in their lives – not just obeying God’s word but listening to everyone around them.

 

Samuel is a type of today’s servant of Christ on the lookout for tomorrow’s servant.  Samuel was now on the spot.  He had to break with yesterday’s man Saul, whom he had discovered and put in power and at the same time find and anoint tomorrow’s man David.  In seeking tomorrow’s man Samuel was at considerable risk.  Samuel said to the Lord “How can I go?  Saul will hear about it and kill me.” (1 Samuel 16 verse 2)

 

The pain of being today’s man or woman largely comes from the degree of courage required with the job.  We never feel up to it “Who is equal to such a task” (2 Corinthians 2 verse 16)  We may feel like Gideon.  The Lord addressed him as a ‘mighty warrior’ (Judges 6 verse 12).  His response “How can I save Israel?  My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family.” (Judges 6 verse 15)  Gideon still needed the ‘fleece’ to be wet, then dry, before he could carry on (Judges 6 verses 36 – 40)  He felt anything but a mighty warrior.  Moses too felt unprepared.  “Moses said to the Lord ‘O Lord I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant.  I am slow of speech and tongue’” (Exodus 4 verse 10)

 

It took courage for Samuel to pronounce King Saul as yesterday’s man, because Saul continued to wear the crown.  Samuel was therefore nervous about going to the house of Jesse to anoint the next king since the present king was very much alive.  God seems to love putting today’s servants in the most awkward situation.  Think of Joseph who was engaged to Mary.  He had to make the hard decision to marry her when she was pregnant by the Holy Spirit, knowing what people would think of the two of them for the rest of their lives.  It required a vision before Joseph decided to marry Mary.

 

Remember when Abraham was told to sacrifice Isaac.  This was the promised son but God was asking him now to sacrifice him.  He was only given the instructions one step at a time.  Or think of Elijah who was promised that he would drink from a brook at Kerith only to find “some time later the brook dried up because there had been no rain in the land.”  1 Kings 17 verse 7.

 

Kendall refers us back to Samuel and that famous story of God speaking to him in the middle of the night when he lived in the temple with the priest Eli.  Eli was highly respected in Israel at the time and the young Samuel would have stood in awe of him.  It was hard for Samuel to accept that God would speak directly and immediately to him and not through the revered Eli.  But Eli had a blind spot – he tolerated his sons in their mishandling of the things of God.  And yet Eli knew the Lord and had a heart after God.  The deaths of his sons, clearly a judgement of God, no doubt grieved him.  But what grieved him more was the mention that the ark of God was taken from Israel, which led to his own death (1 Samuel 4 verse 18).

 

Samuel, therefore, being distanced from Eli by God’s own intervention, was being trained for a much more difficult test that he would face years later – having to call a spade a spade regarding the very man he discovered: Saul.

 

God was in the process of preparing today’s man “And the Lord said to Samuel: ‘See I am about to do something in Israel that will make the ears of everyone who hears of it tingle’” (1 Samuel 3 verse 11)  From that moment God and Samuel had an unbroken intimacy – 1 Samuel 3 verses 19 – 21.

 

It must have been hard for Samuel to accept himself as God’s man for today.  He assumed that Eli was that.  Every person God uses in the here and now sooner or later must discover God for themselves.  Second-hand revelation no longer will do.  We must learn to recognize God’s voice so clearly and distinctly that we know we aren’t being deceived.  But it is sobering and humbling.

 

How do we recognize God’s voice?  Like young Samuel we aren’t always sure at first what is going on.  It is good when a veteran – like Eli – can help us.  But the older generation won’t always be around. 

 

Kendall outlines an acrostic PEACE as a general way of knowing God’s will and whether or not we have truly heard God’s voice.

 

P – is it providential

E – the enemy; what would he want you to do

A – the Authority: the Bible

C – confidence

E – ease; what you feel in your heart of hearts

 

Isaiah 26 verse 3 “You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you.”

 

God let none of his words “fall to the ground” (1 Samuel 3 verse 19).  Samuel asked Jesse if he had any other sons.  Samuel had no peace until he saw young David.  But when he saw David he recognised the voice that had never let him down.  “Then the Lord said, ’Rise and anoint him, he is the one.”  1 Samuel 16 verse 12.

 

Today’s man or woman recognizes God’s voice – the very thing the Hebrew Christians were in danger of losing (Hebrews 5 verse 11).  The real issue is recognizing the Spirit.  A good question to ask, then, is how long does it take to recognize the Holy Spirit?  The sooner, the better.  Everybody eventually will see the truth.  Today’s servant of Christ must learn to see it early on.

No-one else was to do the anointing, only Samuel.  He might have said “Why me?” but he didn’t.  Moses did and the Lord’s anger “burned against Moses” (Exodus 4 verses 13 – 14)

 

In earlier days Samuel had the opposite problem; he had to learn not to take rejection personally.  In Samuel’s case it came when Israel demanded a king.  Samuel knew this was wrong.  He warned them on bended knee.  He was distressed.  “And the Lord told him ‘Listen to all that the people are saying to you; it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king.’” (1 Samuel 8 verse 7)

 

It is hard not to take rejection personally, especially if you have been close to the people who can’t go along with you.  God graciously assured Samuel they haven’t rejected you but me.

 

Loneliness – it goes with the job of being today’s man or woman.  We live in a day when collective leadership is in vogue.  The greater the consensus, the lighter the stigma. 

 

We must be accountable.  We all need those around us who will not be rubber stamps and who will warn and rebuke “As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.” (Proverbs 27 verse 17) Those who remain unteachable and unaccountable because they have achieved a measure of success will almost certainly be found out and lose credibility – if not their anointing – at the end of the day “Wounds from a friend can be trusted” (Proverbs 27 verse 6)

 

On the other hand, today’s man often walks alone.  Samuel did.  Moses did.  Abraham did.  Elijah did.  Paul did.

 

Samuel now had to break with the regime he had set up.  He had to turn away from what God did yesterday.  Although Samuel had initially opposed the idea of kingship, he went along with it because God told him to.   He actually became the architect of the whole thing. But now he was told to abandon it.  The same God who had accommodated Israel with a king now regarded Saul as finished.

 

It was not easy to do this.  First accepting the kingship.  Second abandoning it.  Both were the result of obedience to God’s fresh revelation.  Samuel was taking orders from God.

 

Much of Jesus’ pain at the crucifixion was through his being misunderstood.  Nothing made sense.  It didn`t add up that he was now hanging on a cross.  There were any number of ways in which he could have stopped being crucified.  Never once did Jesus explain himself.  He had to bear the further stigma of being misunderstood, even by those closest to him. 

 

Only Samuel knew that Saul was yesterday’s man.  He had to make a decision; should he stick to his guns by supporting Saul right or wrong, or listen to that voice which had never failed him yet?  He listened to God.

 

All relationships must ever be subservient to God’s greater glory.  No matter how close people get to each other they must be closer to God.  The irony is, the closer people are to God, the more they will love each other.  The more they put the voice of God prior to their commitment to each other, the more they really respect each other.

 

If Samuel had been small-minded he would have been glad Saul had failed the test.  Samuel was the only one who warned against the kingship.  There was no gloating, only mourning.  “Do not gloat when your enemy falls; when he stumbles, do not let your heart rejoice.” (Proverbs 24 verse 17)

 

Cain asked “am I my brother’s keeper?” (Genesis 4 verse 9)  The answer is yes!  The anointing we desire is largely delayed because of a rival spirit. 

 

Today’s man or woman ought also to be on the lookout for tomorrow’s man.  As long as our deep concern is for the status of tomorrow’s generation we are in fairly good shape.

 

Perhaps the saddest moment in Hezekiah’s life was when Isaiah warned him that he ought never to have allowed certain Babylonians to gaze on the things in the palace in Jerusalem.  Isaiah prophesied: “Hear the word of the Lord: The time will surely come when everything in your palace, and all that your fathers have stored up until this day, will be carried off to Babylon.  Nothing will be left, says the Lord.  And some of your descendants, your own flesh and blood, that will be born to you, will be taken away, and they will become eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.” (2 Kings 20 verses 16 – 18)  This ought to have sobered Hezekiah through and through.  Instead his only comment “The word of the Lord you have spoken is good.”  For he thought “Will there not be peace and security in my lifetime?” (2 Kings 20 verse 19)  He was not thinking of the next generation but only of himself.”

 

Samuel simply followed the Lord all his days, no matter how he appeared to men.  He was a symbol of today’s servant of God.  He was on the lookout for tomorrow man.

 

Samuel assumed that the next king of Israel would be Jesse’s first born.  Samuel saw Eliab and thought “Surely the Lord’s anointed stands here before the Lord.” (1 Samuel 16 verse 6)  Samuel knew that the first born of any family would receive double the inheritance.  But God had broken that pattern before.  Isaac, not Ishmael was God’s anointed.  Jacob, not Esau was God’s anointed.  So it was about to happen again.  The Lord said to Samuel “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him.  The Lord does not look at the things man looks at.  Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” (1 Samuel 16 verse 7)

 

Samuel began to think he had missed the Lord’s signal.  Jesse had brought Eliab, then Abinadab, then Shammuah.  All Samuel could say was “Nor has the Lord chosen this one.” (1 Samuel 16 verse 9)  Jesse had 7 of his sons pass before Samuel.  He still could not feel right “The Lord has not chosen these.” (1 Samuel 16 verse 10)  Today’s servant of Christ must be willing to hear the voice of the Spirit above his own personal biases and prejudices.  So Samuel asked Jesse “Are these all the sons you have?” (1 Samuel 16 verse 11)

 

It is not always easy to tell the difference between our instincts, shaped by years of knowledge and experience and the voice of the Spirit.  This is where many of us fail.  We hastily go by outward appearances – our comfort zone.

 

John 6.  The moment Jesus’ words began to offend “I am the bread that came down from heaven” – the crowds drew on information they had always known “They said, Is this not Jesus … whose father and mother we know?  How can he now say, I come down from heaven?” (John 6 verse 42)  The offence in some people’s anointing is camouflaged by God’s set-up.  This way people can rationalize and dismiss the person and feel completely justified.  When Jesus went so far as to say “Unless you can eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.” (John 6 verse 35) and that did it.  “This is hard teaching.  Who can accept it?” (John 6 verse 60)  “From that time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him.” (John 6 verse 66).  They could not have felt more justified in their disgust.  But God set them up.

 

Eliab, Jesse’s first born was a set-up.  “This is surely the one” even Samuel thought at first.  But fortunately Samuel kept listening to that voice he trusted.  Samuel asked Jesse if he had any more sons.  It was as though Jesse said, “There is one more son but you surely won’t want him.”  But Samuel said “Send for him; we will not sit down until he arrives.” (1 Sauel 16 verse 11)

 

If we are not truly tuned into the voice of the Holy Spirit we can let any prejudice of our own charm us to miss the authentic.  On top of this God may well test us by allowing our prejudice to overrule when someone’s outward appearance is not up to what we think should befit an anointed servant of Christ.

 

Once Samuel saw David, despite his young age and utter lack of experience, the Lord said “Rise and anoint him; he is the one.” (1 Samuel 16 verse 12)  The pain of being today’s man is that you can’t convince another person of what you see unless the same Holy Spirit shows them as well.

 

Peter reminded his readers that, as for the prophets of the Old Testament “It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves but you, when they spoke of the things that have now been told you by those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven.  Even angels long to look into these things.” (1 Peter 1 verse 12)

 

Samuel wanted to leave not a personal legacy by which he would be remembered but a legacy for Israel tomorrow.  That is what made him today’s man.  The irony of church history is that those who prepared most for tomorrow’s Church were the most remembered; those who wanted to build their own empires became yesterday’s men and women while they were still alive – and hardly remembered afterwards.  When one truly does not care who gets the credit for any brilliant idea, but just wants to see it carried out, there is no limit to how far that person can go.