Welcome to all of you. I am so glad you are here today because we are beginning a brand-new message series entitled Following Jesus. Today is the first Sunday of Lent and the first message I want to talk to you about is the anointing. We know that the anointing is important, the anointing makes a difference, and that Jesus was anointed, because he said, and here is the title of today’s message,

“The Spirit of The Lord Is on Me.”

And so, we know that Jesus was anointed. In fact, he became known as Jesus Christ, not because that was his last name, but the word Christ comes from a Hebrew term that means “anointed one.” It’s Greek counterpart is “Christos” and so it is a title describing who Jesus is. Jesus is the Messiah, he is the anointed one, the Christ.

Now, all throughout the Old Testament we find that the prophets were anointed, kings were anointed, priests were anointed, and even the objects of the tabernacle were anointed. In fact, in Genesis chapter 28, we discover Jacob who had seen in a dream a staircase reaching into the heaven. He saw the angels of God ascending and descending on it and above it stood the Lord who spoke to him. When he awoke, he took the stone that he had used as a pillow and set it up as a pillar. He poured oil on top of the stone, anointing it, and called it Bethel, saying that this place will be the house of God and of all that you give me I will give you a tenth” (Genesis 28:18-22).

And so, the process of anointing is simple, it is the pouring out of oil, or the smearing of an ointment on somebody or something.

An anointing has a symbolic significance; because it is a physical manifestation declaring a greater spiritual reality. And in Old Testament times, part of commissioning a person for a special task was to anoint them with oil. In the New Testament, we find the admonition,

“Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up” (James 5:14-15).

You see, it’s the anointing that makes the difference, because it’s the anointing that releases the impartation or the manifestation of the Spirit of God. The anointing isn’t about hype, it’s not about numbers, it’s not about looks or emotionalism, it’s about the power of God that moves through a person. The anointing is the overflow of the Spirit of God, the life of God, and the power of God flowing through his dedicated servant.

And so, today, we need to recognize, that if Jesus who had no sin, thought it was necessary for himself to be anointed. How much more do you and I? You see, Jesus understood that without the anointing, he was just a motivational speaker. Without the anointing he was just imparting information, but with the anointing he was empowered to deliver his people and establish his kingdom.

When we find him at the beginning of his ministry, he declared that he was anointed. He said,

"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” (Luke 4:18).

Jesus was anointed, the Spirit of the Lord was on him, and it’s the anointing that is a threat to the kingdom of darkness. The Bible says in first John,

“The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil's work” (1 John 3:8).

And that’s why Satan so strongly resists the anointing, fighting the anointing, because it’s the anointing that has divine power to demolish strongholds. You see, it’s not in our own strength or our own ability that we can cast down imaginations, destroying speculations, demolishing arguments and every obstacle that keeps people from knowing God. And so, Satan fights the anointing, because it’s the anointing of the Holy Spirit that releases the oppressed, healing people and changing people’s lives.

That’s why we want to be anointed believers, with the Spirit of the Lord on each of us, because we want to be an anointed church, with anointed ministries, full of the Holy Spirit, so that everything we touch will be anointed. And so, we need this anointing, this powerful transformation as the servants of God, because this is something new and something necessary.

You see, when we were in the world, we were full of darkness and not the Holy Spirit. That’s why we did what we did, said what we said, and lived the way we lived, because we were full of the world. That’s why we cursed and lied because we were under the influence or full of our father the devil. We were living for our own selfish human desires and that’s why the Bible says, no more,

“You have spent enough time in the past doing what pagans choose to do — living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing and detestable idolatry” (1 Peter 4:3).

In other words, the Holy Spirit is telling the church, you have spent enough time doing what unbelievers choose to do, but now you are to choose to follow Jesus. Now, you have put your faith in Jesus, you believe that he is everything that he claimed to be, that he is the Christ, he is the anointed One, the Savior of the world. And that is to believe the gospel, putting your trust in the good news of Jesus Christ, believing that he is the testimony of God, and that through him alone men and women can be brought to God.

The moment you determine that for yourself, believing that he is both Lord and Christ, you too can be full of the Holy Spirit, living in the anointing of God. And that so important for you and I today, in the times in which we are living. And so, we need to follow Jesus, following Jesus, and so if you would turn with me to Luke chapter one. In verse 41, we find the first biblical record of Jesus and his cousin John meeting at Elizabeth’s house. As Mary arrived the Bible says,

“When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit” (Luke 1:41).

In fact, verse 44 says that as soon as Elizabeth heard Mary, the baby leaped for joy. And so, we know that John was filled with the Holy Spirit, fulfilling the words of the angel to his father Zechariah saying,

“He will be filled with the Holy Spirit even from birth” (Luke 1:15).

And so, if there was anybody who would recognize the Messiah, anybody who would know who Jesus was, it would most certainly be John because he knew him, he met Jesus when he was still in his mother’s womb.

Now, if you’re following along, turn with me to Matthew chapter 3, verse 13. This is the coronation of King Jesus because at this point only a few people knew about him. There were the shepherds and the Magi and of course Herod who had tried to kill him. Even Jesus’ own mother kept his identity to herself, treasuring all these things in her heart. But now as we come to Matthew chapter 3,

“Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John” (Matthew 3:13).

No longer are he and John floating around in their mother’s wombs. Now they are grown men and as Jesus comes down to the Jordan River, John recognized him and said,

“Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29)!

And so, Jesus comes walking, splashing, and wading down into the river. Once again, he and John are back in the water, it’s one of those déjà vu moments. But the Bible says that John tried to stop him, talking him out of it, saying,

“I need to be baptized by you, and (yet) you come to me?” (Matthew 3:14).

In other words, John knew exactly where the source of the anointing came from. He knew this was backwards, and so he says, “You’re greater than me, I need you to baptize me.” He said, “This is the one who comes after me, this is the one of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. This man has surpassed me because he was before me. In the beginning was the word, the Word was with God, the Word was God, he was with God in the beginning.”

But Jesus was not to be persuaded, he stepped down into the water and said,

“Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness” (Matthew 3:15).

And so, John consented because it had to be done. In other words, this was a foreshadowing, a prophecy of Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection. And in the same way today,

“We know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with…” (Romans 6:6).

And so, we understand that baptism is symbolic, it’s identifying with Jesus. It’s about making a public profession of faith, saying that your old person is dead, and you were buried with Christ through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, you too may live a new life (Romans 6:4).

And so, John consented, he agreed to baptize Jesus, but watch what happened. The Bible says,

“As soon and Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water…” (Matthew 3:16).

In other words, Jesus was immersed, he went down under the water, so that he was able to go up out of the water. It was a prophecy of his body being buried before he rose again.

“At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on him” (Matthew 3:16).

It’s no wonder the Bible says that he was vindicated by the Spirit, because the Spirit remained on him from that moment forward. This was his coronation, this was his anointing, just as God had declared,

“The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is he who will baptize with the Holy Spirit” (John 1:33).

And so, the Holy Spirit testified that this is the One you’ve been waiting for, but there was one more who would testify. Matthew tells us in verse 17,

“A voice from heaven said, “This is my son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:17).

The Spirit descended on him like a dove and the Father spoke from heaven validating his son as the Messiah.

In this one moment we see the fullness of the Godhead and I believe that somebody listening is getting revelation, somebody’s receiving divine illumination, somebody is seeing more clearly than you’ve ever seen before.

Now, I know a lot of Christians want to argue with each other about God, but I want you to notice that God is in agreement with himself. In other words, no matter how he manifests himself, no matter how he shows up, he is still God. And so, Jesus, who being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness (Philippians 2:6-7).

In John’s Gospel he said, “I lay down my life, no one takes it from me, but I lay it down myself. I have the power to lay it down and I have the power to take it again (John 10:18). In the eighth chapter of Romans, it says that the Holy Spirit raised Jesus from the dead (Romans 8:11). And yet in chapter six, the Bible says,

“Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father” (Romans 6:4).

And so, while it seems like God is experiencing an identity crisis, some sort of personality disorder, all three are in perfect agreement.

In other words, he is God in creation, in redemption, in sanctification, and everywhere he shows up. When Moses said, “Whom shall I say sent me?”

“God said, "I AM WHO I AM” (Exodus 3:13-14).

Because he can be whatever he wants to be, he can do whatever he wants to do, because he’s God. And so, he’s the fourth man walking in the fiery furnace just as much as he was sweating drops of blood in the garden of Gethsemane. He said, “I Am who I Am.”

Jesus is anointed, he is justified, he is vindicated, and more than able to act as an agent of the Holy Spirit to justify you and me. David said it this way, he said,

“May my vindication come from you…” (Psalms 17:2).

And so, when you’re justified, when you’re vindicated, it’s by the Spirit, and the anointing is on you. So, you don’t just want to be near the anointed, you want to be plugged in, you want to be connected, because when you’re anointed you have power.

Dawn can tell you there is a difference between singing with a good voice and singing with the anointing, because when the anointing falls, when you’re under the anointing, you can reach that note, you can sing more powerfully. And you can’t fake it, you can’t fake the anointing, you can’t get there without the anointing, and when you’re anointed people will fall down at the altar.

That’s why you don’t want to grieve the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 4:30). You don’t want to get so mad or frustrated that you lose your anointing. You don’t want to let anybody mess with your anointing, because you can quench the Spirit. Therefore, the Bible says,

“Do not despise prophecies, but test everything; hold fast what is good. Abstain from every form of evil” (1 Thessalonians 5:19-22, ESV).

Because you don’t want to let the enemy take your anointing.

And so, when Jesus came up out of the water, he was identified as the Christ, the anointed One. The Holy Spirit descended like a dove and said, “He is the One.” The Father spoke from heaven and said, “He is the One.” And then the Bible says,

“Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the desert” (Luke 4:1).

And so, the same Spirit that descended on him like a dove, now led him into the desert. In other words, nobody made him go, but Jesus followed him into the desert,

“Where for forty days he was tempted by the devil” (Luke 4:2).

Jesus was led by the Spirit to be validated, to be authenticated, and to prove to Satan that where Adam stumbled and fell, it wasn’t going to work with him. It wasn’t going to work with the Son of God, because he may have been tempted, but he was anointed. In the same way,

“The one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world” (1 John 4:4).

And there may be some of you here right now who feel like you’re in the desert, you’re in the wilderness, but I’m here today to tell you that you’re going to be all right. Because if the Holy Spirit led you there, the Holy Spirit will lead you out. David said of the Lord,

“He reached down from heaven and rescued me; he drew me out of deep waters. He rescued me from my powerful enemies, from those who hated me and were too strong for me. They attacked me at a moment when I was in distress, but the Lord supported me. He led me to a place of safety; he rescued me because he delights in me” (Psalms 18:16-19, NLT).

And so, the same Spirit that led you into this, is going to lead you out of this. And you can trust him to be your place of safety and that everything will be all right. That’s what David said, he said,

“The Lord rewarded me for doing right; he restored me because of my innocence. For I have kept the ways of the Lord; I have not turned from God to follow evil. I have followed all his regulations… (his laws, his judgments, and his decrees)” (Psalms 18:20-22, NLT).

He said, “I haven’t turned away.” And in the same way, we want to keep following Jesus, staying in alignment, divine alignment, anointed alignment, so that when the oil is poured out, when the Spirit is poured out, we’re able to stand in the flow of his Spirit.

And so, as we close today, we’re going to celebrate our victory together, we’re going to celebrate the Lord’s Supper together, and I believe the Holy Spirit is going to come in like a flood. The Spirit of God is going to manifest himself, establishing himself in a mighty supernatural way as we take the cup and the wafer. You see, these are symbols of the body and blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, and it in his presence that our lives are altered, transformed, and irrevocably changed.

Jesus gave an invitation saying, “If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me” (Revelation 3:19-20).

And so, we’re going to sit down at the table with the Almighty God, the Ruler of the universe, the great I Am of Israel. The one who is the wonderful Counselor, mighty God, everlasting Father, Prince of peace (Isaiah 9:6). The one before whom everything is uncovered and laid bare, for nothing is hidden from his sight. There is none like him, for he has declared,

“I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me” (Isaiah 46:9).

If the ushers could pass out the emblems now, the cups and the wafer, symbols of the body and the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. We’re going to tap into his presence in a deeper and more intimate way.

And for those of you watching online, if you can, grab a piece of bread, and something to drink. It could be a cracker and grape juice, whatever you find will work, because we don’t want to let the substance get in the way of the experience. Jesus said, “The Spirit gives life, the flesh counts for nothing” (John 6:33).

And what we’re preparing to do is so important, it’s really a holy moment as we come together in faith as the body of Christ, because our faith in Jesus is a participatory faith. In other words, not only do we share in the faith, but we share in the glory, because whenever we gather in the name of Jesus, God reveals himself, his presence becomes obvious, because Jesus is the manifest presence of the Father and the Son. In fact, Jesus is so much the embodiment of God, that when he was born, he was given the nickname,

“Immanuel"—which means, "God with us" (Matthew 1:23).

And so, let’s consider for a moment the presence of God as we receive into our hands the emblems of our fellowship with the Father.

It’s important that you get your hands on it, because this is your future, this is your prophecy, and so you’ve got to get your hands on it. And so, I want you to look at what is in your hands, because I believe that the very next miracle you get is going to come through what’s in your hands. Your grace, your healing, your deliverance, your miracle, whatever God has for your life is going to come through what is in your hands. This morning, we are remembering the Lord Jesus, recognizing him in the breaking of the bread, and the Spirit of God is leading us in this time together. Let’s pray.

Graphics, notes, and commentary from LifeChurch, Ministry Pass, PC Study Bible, Preaching Library, and Sermon Central. Scripture from the New International Version unless otherwise noted.