Living by the Power of God
God’s power will help believers overcome difficult situations and live victoriously. The same power which God used to raise Jesus from the dead is available to believers. “Everything is possible for one who believes” (Mark 9:23 NIV). The Spirit is the one who makes the power available to believers. In this message, you will discover how to activate the power deposited within you.
Both anointing and grace are poured into the hearts of believers. There are many similarities between anointing and grace, as well as important differences. Both are the power of the Spirit in believers. This power comes from the throne of God through the Spirit.
Anointing
The anointing is the life of God flowing through believers. At the core of each believer is the mystery of the Spirit’s anointing which expresses the depths of the Father and his love for his children. This mystery is Christ, the Anointed One, living in us (Colossians 1:27). As believers understand the mystery of the anointing, they know more about themselves and how to live the victorious life Jesus came to give them.
The Spirit’s anointing is given for ministry to the people. The anointing abides on God’s revealed word within believers and flows like rivers out from his throne. The anointing is God’s power energized or activated in believers. The inward witness of the anointing confirms the truth. Without the anointing, God’s people would doubt the truth but believe lies. Speaking the anointed word destroys the works of the devil and sets people free.
The best way to understand the anointing is to consider the anointing on the Son of God. Jesus has always been the word of God, but he did not perform a miracle until the Father revealed him as his beloved Son and anointed him with the Spirit and power (Matthew 3:17; John 1:1). Men knew him as Jesus, but the Father revealed him as the Christ, the Anointed One (Matthew 16:16-17). After Jesus was baptized in water, the Spirit descended upon him, anointing him with the power of God. The Spirit anointed Jesus to proclaim the good news and to set the oppressed free (Luke 4:18-19).
When people receive Jesus as Savior, the Spirit comes with power to live within them. Then when they are filled with the Spirit, God’s power is intensified in them. The anointing carries the secrets of God and operates in the supernatural realm. The Spirit’s anointing is being poured out everywhere. God is offering his Spirit to everyone (Acts 2:17). Receive the anointing and follow it to glorify God.
Memorizing scriptures fuels only intellectual power, not God’s power. The Spirit reveals the scriptures to believers in order for them to operate in the power of the anointed word. The Spirit anoints the revealed word of God within believers. Believers always carry the anointed word within them. They can operate in the power of the anointing wherever they go.
Grace
Grace is the Spirit’s power to accomplish God’s will. “By the grace of God, I am what I am, and his grace toward me did not prove vain; but I labored even more than all of them, yet not I, but the grace of God with me” (1 Corinthians 15:10). It flows from the throne of grace to the humble doing God’s will. “God is opposed to the proud but gives grace to the humble” (James 4:6). Those who are proud do their own thing by their own strength without God’s grace.
Grace Strengthens Believers
Even when believers are weak, God’s grace is powerful. His grace is sufficient for power is perfected in weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9). As long as believers function where they have grace, they will be able to do mighty things, stand against attacks of the enemy and walk in victory.
Grace Serves Others
Use grace in a way that will best serve others (1 Peter 4:10). You can serve others through gracious words and gracious actions by speaking and acting on the word of God. The words of a wise man are gracious (Ecclesiastes 10:12 AMP). When believers operate in grace, they will know how to answer for the hope that is within them. They do not need to plan what to say. The Spirit will fill their mouth with the words of the Father (Matthew 10:18-20). Knowing what the Father would have a believer say in a particular situation is an operation of grace. The word of God is full of grace and truth (John 1:14), and it is even called the word of grace (Acts 14:3, 20:32)
God’s grace supernaturally empowers and energizes believers to live a victorious life. As long as believers function in the area where they have grace, they will be successful. However, believers cannot effectively minister grace to others until they have received grace and operated in grace.
Anointing and Grace Together
Believers operate in grace wherever God sends them. They will have the grace to do a particular task. Grace for a task may last for a limited time only. When that time is over and the grace lifts, it is time for them to go on to other things.
Jesus was anointed to heal all the sick, but there were times he was sent with grace to heal only one among many (Luke 5:17-26). When the Spirit reveals God’s word on healing to believers, they carry the power of the anointing to heal wherever they go. They can pray for the sick and see them healed at any time. The Lord can send believers to heal the sick, so they would be operating in the power of grace where they are sent. The sick would be healed wherever they are sent. When the power of the anointing is combined with the power of grace, believers operate in greater power than either the anointing or grace alone.