Hi all,
I shared last week how Jacob wrestled all night long with God, saying he had seen the face of God and lived.

That all-night-long wrestling changed his nature not because of the wrestling, but by seeing God's face as he wrestled. The result was the Lord changing his name from Deceiver to Prince with God - Israel.

That mirror
Genesis is the book of beginnings, and so much of what happens there establishes the foundation for New Testament truths. This process of wrestling with God is still what happens today in the discipleship process.

Contrary to popular church culture, the Bible teaches that most of our wrestling is with God just as in Jacob's day, not the devil. What changes us is not wrestling with inner hurts, not demons hanging around since great-grandfather, not addictions nor witches in our family genealogy.

People spend years wrestling with these things thinking if they overcome them, then they gain the victory. But in truth, our wrestling is mostly with Christ in us, the hope of glory, who ever tries to get us to grow in Him, to apply His Life to our lives, to renew our thoughts so our lives can be transformed. Our lives aren't transformed by wrestling with demons.

While Ephesians 6 mentions wrestling with the demonic that 1 time, every other letter in the NT is focused on growing up in Christ. Romans 12:1-2 says to undergo a metamorphosis in our lives by renewing the mind (more later on that), in I Corinthians 3 he talks about putting away strife for being in strife is acting like you aren't even born again, instead build precious things on the foundation of Christ in us.

In II Corinthians he mentions us having to take all thoughts captive into obedience in Christ. In Galatians 2-4 it is walking in the fruit of the spirit and not the flesh, and Christ being formed within us. In Ephesians 1-3 it is being strengthened and positioned in Christ to know things beyond knowing. In Philippians 1:6 and 3 it is allowing Him who has started a good work in us to continue it while we forget those things behind and reach forward to the high calling. In Colossians 1:27 it is Christ in you the hope of glory...and on and on it goes, concluding with the 7 letters to the 7 churches in the Revelation that say put away what holds you back and hear what the Spirit is saying to the churches and just do that!

For too long Christians have been giving excuses based on the devil for why they are the way they are, but if they will become focused on Christ in them and what He wants to do, they can stop looking in their rear-view mirror and start moving their lives forward - and their lives will start to change. You don't say 'If I can just overcome this one last thing then I can walk in what God has' - you just start where you are NOW in Christ.

God or the devil?
Does this wrestling with God stir up demons and old memories, habits and ways of thinking? Absolutely!

When Paul met Jesus on the road to Damascus, it turned his world upside down. If you read what he thought of himself, the level of self-loathing is quite amazing. (I have a series, 'I love you Lord but I'm not too crazy about myself right now', that goes into his transformation in detail).

At one point, in I Corinthians 15, he said he was 'as one born out of due time'. 'Due time' is the Greek word 'ektroma', and means 'abortion' or 'miscarriage'. He wrestled with thoughts of it being better if he had never been born because he persecuted the church, yet God said He had a call and ministry.

Paul concluded in that same passage, 'By God's grace I am what I am'. The wrestling he did to get there is wrestling with God's view of his past and future versus what he thought of his past and future. Did it stir up demonic things, yes, but his growth came through wrestling with what God said about him and accepting that, not wrestling with what the devil said about him.

As long as we are in this life, it appears Satan will be the accuser of the brethren as per Revelation 12. But he is like a small child tugging on a pant leg of an adult trying to hold a conversation with another adult - that kid is always there trying to interrupt the conversation, but instead of focusing on the distraction, learn to take in what the other person (the Lord) is saying to us and let the accuser be merely like a child trying to get your attention - keep focused on the conversation because he will eventually give up and go away, or at least his voice will lessen to such a degree you can hardly hear him because you are SO engrossed on what God is saying and doing in you.

Jacob didn't wrestle a demon, he wrestled God to change his nature; therefore wrestling with God is what changes a person's nature (not wrestling with demons).

Get your eyes off what you think the devil is doing, and just do what God is asking - that still small voice is more subtle, and will usually be the choice that is more difficult on the flesh and what you want to do.

I remember my February 2001 visitation when the Lord appeared to me and said this: "See what I see, people running to and fro to this meeting and that, looking for the spectacular thinking THAT is supernatural, while they miss the supernatural work in their midst and even in their heart, for the process of discipleship IS supernatural."

That's why we use www.supernaturalhousechurch.org for our web site - all we do is based on discipleship, not the spectacular - its all about the supernatural work of discipleship.

The flesh wants to find the easy way to become Christ-like. The flesh wants to learn about this or that newest thing, and fill our Christian lives with distractions, deceiving ourselves into thinking we are mature for our much learning. But the only way presented in scripture is to see the face of God, wrestle with what we see, and be changed in the process - change your thinking, then be a doer of the Word.

How do we see the face of God? By reflection
In II Corinthians 3: 17-18 Paul is talking about the glory of God and the reflection seen in a mirror.

"And we all, with open (unveiled) faces as if looking in a mirror do contemplate the Lord's glory, and are being transformed into His image with ever increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the (Holy) Spirit." v16-18

Take it apart
The example Paul uses in this chapter is that of Moses coming down the mountain with the 10 commandments (Word) carved in stone in his hands, and his face glowing with the glory of God (Spirit), yet veiled because the hard-hearted Israelites could not look at the glory of God directly.

There are 2 elements: The Word, and the glory (Spirit).

There is a basic rule; What you look at is what you become. Even in accidents with cars and motorcycles and bicycles - what you fixate on is where you will direct that vehicle. What you watch, you become. If this is true with porn and violence and cussing and sin filled media, it is true because it is a counterfeit of God's original intention of looking at Him causes us to become like Him.

This is why Paul said in Philippians 4:8-9 if you think on pure and peaceful things you will be filled with peace. What you look at is what you become. What you think on is what you become. What you read is what you become. Watch the eye and ear gate, for they open possibilities of what we may become.

That was the value of Jacob seeing God's face as he wrestled with Him; he became like Him as he looked at Him.

Paul says we are not like those non-believing Israelites who needed a veil to shield them from the Word and glory (Spirit), but we 'with unveiled face as if looking in a mirror, contemplate the Lord's glory. When we see the Living Word who lives in us, and His glory also within us, it is looking in a mirror.

In I John 3:2 it says when He comes we will be like Him, for we will see Him as He is (in full glory). We are ever moving towards that, even in this life.

In Exodus 34:29 we have the event Paul talks about: "And it happened when Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tables of testimony...Moses didn't know that the skin of his face shone while he was talking to them (the Israelites)."

You see, we truly are transformed in our wrestling with God. We see Him in us and us in Him and the glory of what He has done for us, and as we behold the glory it causes us to want to change, to want to grow, to want to see our lives transformed. That is a wrestling process.

But here is the great thing - Moses didn't know he was glowing - and so it is with us, for as we wrestle, as we look into the Living Word within, that process causes us to glow in a way we barely recognize what God is doing, but others see the change. They see we've changed. And that's where we'll pick it up next week. Blessings,

John Fenn
www.cwowi.org

Hi all,
First a note of clarification. Last week I shared how Barb and I were choosing whether to eat at a Mexican or Italian restaurant and I mentioned how I knew what she was thinking. Then I made a change of subject noted by a bold font by-line and new paragraph, yet I started that paragraph with 'She', when talking about the woman in the worship team who gave a prophecy of her own heart.

Because I started with 'She' some readers may have missed the bold print by-line and new paragraph and thought I was still talking about Barb - I was not. When I read what I wrote after the Weekly Thoughts went out, I thought I'd better say something just in case.

The reflected life
In Genesis 32 Esau is coming to meet Jacob more than 20 years after Jacob had deceived Esau out of his birthright and blessing. Jacob is terrified of his brother, and when he hears Esau is coming with 400 men, he is convinced he and his family are doomed, verse 7 saying he was 'greatly afraid and distressed'.

But at the same time Jacob has promises from God that told him to make the journey that (what he thought accidentally) led to meeting his brother. In verses 9 through 12 he tells the Lord what He had promised: "You said 'Return to your country and your family and I will deal well with you'...For you said, 'I will surely treat you well, and make your descendants as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude.'"

Wrestling with God
Jacob was in the midst of a wrestling match between his thoughts and God's promises. God was the one who told him to return to his home country, but He had conveniently left out the fact that he would run into Esau. Why had the Lord not told him that little 'surprise' when He gave him the command and promise?

So he divides his belongings and flocks and sends them in small groups ahead of him and his family, one after the other, with each group instructed to tell Esau there are more coming behind them. In this way Jacob hopes to appeases Esau's anger gradually and inflate the appearance of his wealth and power.

Finally after everyone has been sent ahead, Jacob tells his 2 wives, 11 sons, and 2 female servants to cross the brook Jabbok and head toward Esau, leaving himself alone in the wilderness to continue the internal wrestling between himself and God.

Deceiver changes
You may remember that when Esau was born first, Jacob was grabbing his heel as they were born. Jacob means 'grabs the heel' and is a Hebrew idiom for 'deceiver' - hanging on to someone else's efforts or waiting for opportunity to manipulate things to your advantage; which is how he stole the birthright and blessing.

It is also how he approached this meeting with his brother - by sending small groups ahead of his family he is trying to deceive and impress his brother with how powerful and rich he is, the many small groups giving a false appearance of greater wealth and power. And there is certainly a bit of cowardice too, sending the expendable ones first, sending even his wives and children before himself!

The brook 'Jabbok' means 'pouring forth', and as Jacob sends all he owns and his whole family across the 'pouring forth' to meet Esau, night falls and the Lord appears to him. They begin to wrestle in a physical expression of the internal wrestling Jacob has been going through.

It may be that Jacob initially doesn't realize he is wrestling with a pre-incarnate appearance by Christ, for the narration starts out with the 'natural' viewpoint, that a Man wrestled with him, and later it is revealed it was the Lord. Isn't that true with us as well? We start out with internal struggles, not realizing until later it is God wrestling with us in our thoughts and emotions.

Wrestling with God
Jacob and the Lord wrestle until the break of day, yet still Jacob would not give up. The Man touches the hollow of his thigh, causing a dislocation of the hip, yet still Jacob won't give up until he receives a blessing. In 32:28 Christ changes his name from Jacob to Israel, from Deceiver to Prince with God.

It should be noted they wrestled at night, and with daybreak Jacob's name and character had changed - symbolic of our own wrestling match with God in our thoughts and emotions, which seem to happen in the darkest depths of our being - and perhaps literally in night at times, but certainly in the 'dark' places of our being, but when day breaks we find we are the victors and are starting a new chapter in our lives.

This name change to Prince with God is because 'You have struggled with God and men, and prevailed.'

Israel calls the place 'Peniel', or 'Face of God', because as he said, he had seen the face of God and lived.

Jump ahead
In Genesis 33:10 when Israel discovers his brother has forgiven him and has no hard feelings toward him, he makes this statement upon seeing Esau: "...I have seen your face as though I had seen the face of God, and you were pleased with me."

In Hebrew, to see the face of something is to know its character. This is why Genesis 2:19 says the Lord brought all the animals by Adam to see what he would name them. To see them face to face as they were brought by him was to know them well enough to name them - to see a person face to face is to get to know the character whether it be animal or person.

So when Jacob, the new Israel, exclaimed to the Man he wrestled with, that he had seen the face of God, he was saying that through his wrestling with God all night long, he got to know God's character, His nature, the way He was. In that process he went from Deceiver to Prince with God. That is how we get to know Him best too - by wrestling with Him. Think about that.

Face time
That means when Jacob/Israel reflected that he had seen the face of God, he was also saying he had gotten to know God's character by seeing His face and in the wrestling process. And THAT is why he was uniquely qualified to make the statement upon seeing Esau, that to see his face was to see 'the face of God'.

Because he saw God's face, His character and nature, he could look at the forgiving and gracious Esau and say 'I see God in your face'.

And this is how our own transformation takes place; We see the face of God and we know His nature and character through His presence within us, and knowing Him can then look for Him in others, looking for His 'face' so to speak, in others.

In the 1997 'Titanic' one of the early scenes is 'Old Rose', now at least 100 years old, picking up an old hand held mirror that was recovered from the wreck on the ocean floor. She says this: "This was mine! How extraordinary! And it looks the same as the last time I saw it...the reflection's changed a bit."

When Jacob first started wrestling with God his 'reflection' was that of a Deceiver. But in the process of wrestling and knowing God through that dark night of the soul, his nature changed into God's nature, and was so named, Prince with God.

So we will look at the process of what Jacob saw in the face of God as he wrestled, and how what he saw then allowed him to say in truth upon seeing his brother's face: Seeing your face is as seeing the face of God. And we'll BBQ some sacred cows along the way - stay tuned!

Until next week, blessings,
John Fenn
www.cwowi.org

Hi all,
I ended last week talking about I John 2:27 which says the anointing we have of Him abides in us. That means I don't first look for His manifest presence and revealed will in a meeting called 'church', but I look inside myself to Him throughout my day, that I may follow where He leads.

Carrabba's or Abuelo's?
In Tulsa there is a street, 71st, that has more than 3 miles (5 km) of stores and restaurants along it. Along that street our favorite Mexican restaurant is Abuelo's, and our favorite Italian restaurant is Carrabba's. They are right next to each other along 71st, and are our 'go to' restaurants on our 'date days'. One 'date day' Barb asked me where I wanted to have dinner.

Now understand that we've been married close to 35 years, and we dated 4 years before that, AND we had the same friends and went to the same birthday parties and since about age 8. When we were 12 she was at my Confirmation Service in the Episcopal church. So I know when Barb asks 'Where do you want to have dinner?', she is really saying "I already know where I want to have dinner and this question is a test to see if you and I are thinking the same thing."

The trouble is, I am in tune with her thinking, which I knew that night to be Abuelo's. But I was asking myself if I should tell her I was really hungry for Carrabba's Filet Marsala, one of the best steaks in town? Or do I tell her I ate Mexican yesterday when I had lunch with one of the men from our church? I knew she would give up what she wanted for me if I told her, but as much as I wanted Filet Marsala, I wanted to please her more.

Good thing I love Mexican food because that's what we ate that night.

Reading this will be the only way she'll discover I wanted Italian that night because love doesn't push its own way. Often that means changing direction to meet a need or desire while remaining silent about what you would prefer. God is love, so if I do that for my wife, how much more does He change direction for us?

Prophecy or of her own spirit?
She played an instrument in our worship team, and was often used by the Lord to prophesy to the congregation. But just as often what she said wasn't a prophecy for the congregation, but was born of her soul, out of something the Lord had taught her that week that was still stirring in her, and she felt 'led' to put a 'Thus saith the Lord' on it and prophesy to everyone. Often she would jump in with her 'word' just before the legitimate prophecy or tongues/interpretation was about to be spoken by someone else.

I was the pastor, and our worship leader would also know what was God and what wasn't, and quite often when she gave one of her prophecy's he and I would look at each other, and patiently wait until she was done before allowing that someone to speak with what the Lord REALLY wanted to say.

You know I never said a word to her about it, because even though what she said wasn't intended by the Lord for that moment, it still blessed people and wasn't unscriptural in content - it just wasn't what He had planned for that time. But He always seemed able to go with the flow in a service, so I learned to as well.

I was in a service as guest speaker and the worship team couldn't settle on true worship, but would have a song that was all about Him - Holy, Holy, Holy - and then switch back to lyrics exclaiming what a pitifully needy people we are, and then back again to focus on Him. I felt teased and it was hard to stay focused.

The Lord appeared to me that night during one of their songs focused on Him, and I expressed my frustration with the worship and the fact 2/3 of the congregation seemed uninterested. He replied, "It's OK, I'll do what I can tonight, and the next time you come back it will be different, and I'll do more then." He then walked around and spoke to a few people, and then disappeared. I remained amazed at His graciousness.

Interruptions to His schedule - go with the flow
Acts 10:38 says the Father "anointed Jesus of Nazareth who went about doing good, and healing all who were oppressed of the devil."

Jesus was anointed to do good. And now we are His body on the earth, the only Jesus most people will ever see. We are anointed to do good.

We have to take off the religious glasses, take the anointing out of Sunday morning, and realize the anointing may ask us to change directions for something as simple and 'non-spiritual' as taking a plate of cookies to a neighbor, or checking in on a neighbor who has been sick, or calling someone who has been on your heart recently. Went about doing good...anointed to do good...

Went about doing good
He turned water into wine and did it anonymously in a way that gave honor to the host and hostess.

He fed 5,000 and 4,000 men respectively, not counting women and children, after they had taken the time and effort to come into the wilderness to listen to Him all the way until dinner time.

He blessed children when they came to Him, even though His disciples tried to send them away.

He paid rent for the use of a fishing boat by giving Peter, James, and John enough fish to nearly sink their boats and break their net. (Luke 5:1-10)

In general, He served people wherever their were needs - as pointed out last week - going with people to heal them, their children, their servants, when they interrupted His journeys. He went about doing good, ate meals with the unloved, hated, or unclean, and was anointed by the Father to do that. And He did that because He said, He did what He saw the Father doing - willing to change directions with grace.

Concerned for the heart, not doctrine
I had spoken at a traditional church and the pastor was now taking me and others out to eat at a Mexican restaurant. There were 8 of us total. As the waitress moved back and forth bringing drinks and chips and salsa and such, I noticed her accent was Spanish, but not Mexican Spanish, so I asked her where she was from. She replied with heavy accent, Argentina, that she was going to school nearby to become a nurse.

As she headed to the kitchen for yet more chips and salsa, I casually asked; "Do you have anything for her Father?"

Immediately, as if He was waiting for me to ask, I saw a large rectangular 'window' for lack of a better term, or like a large TV, in the air. I saw a 5 or 6 year old girl who I knew intuitively was our now 20 something year old waitress, riding a small horse. I only saw the horse from the head up, and the little girl from the mid-section up, but could see she was bouncing up and down as she rode. Behind her stood a man who was beaming with joy, who I guessed was her father, thrilled just watching her ride.

Having a good time
The Father spoke to me as I watched: "Tell her that her father is with me, and that he is having a wonderful time, like when she used to ride her horse and he would watch her ride and they would play together." Then the scene vanished.

On her next trip to our table I asked her about her family, and she became somber. She explained she missed her family, and her father had died about 6 months earlier, as she wiped away her tears. But, she explained, she knew he was in heaven and now she can pray to him everyday and he is watching over her, so in some ways she felt closer to him now. I could tell of course being from Argentina and making that statement, she was raised Roman Catholic.

Because the Father gave me instructions, and He chose not to address her obvious theological error, neither did I, but I did ask her if her father had been a praying man. She was most emphatic that yes he was, and that he went to Mass all the time and lit candles for people he prayed for.

When I told her what I saw and heard she started crying, and explained through her tears it was a toy horse on springs, and when she was little she and her dad would play together and make believe as she rode her horse on various adventures. That he was in heaven having a wonderful time put her heart at ease, as well as ease the guilt she felt at not being home with her mother and family after his death.

Went about doing good....anointed to do good...
A story like that may assault some spiritual sensibilities that He would be so gracious to someone in such serious error as praying to her dead father, but love and therefore the Father's anointing, meets needs and overlooks things unnecessary for that moment. He can correct her later in another way. When Jesus told the woman caught in adultery that He didn't condemn her, but to not sin again in that way, He didn't chide her for opening the door on the adulterous relationship. He just met the need, said what was needed, and moved on.

When Jesus said He is 'meek and lowly in heart, come learn of me', He meant it. We are to become meek and lowly of heart like Him, and learn of Him. Walk in love, follow the anointing, and don't add to it.

What He said to Chris
I speak of our handicapped son, Chris, fairly often in this space. He is 33, but mentally about 4 due to the umbilical cord wrapped around his neck in a slip knot during labor, which cut off oxygen which resulted in brain damage at birth, and lacking normal growth of his legs as well.

One of the things Chris has been robbed of is the concept of time. While he is learning gradually, most often when I tell him I have to go tell people about Jesus and will see him in about 10 days, he says, "OK, see you in the morning" or "See you next week!"

So getting him to understand "By His stripes you WERE healed", has proved fruitless. He doesn't understand next week, let alone the concept of his healing being paid for 2,000 years ago. But what he does know is this: "When I get to heaven, no more wheelchair" and "When I get to heaven I'm going to run."

One day he came crawling down the hallway, which he does 'Army man' style, as he can't get up on all fours, so he pulls himself along with his arms. "Dad! Dad! Know what Jesus told me?!" I said, "No Chris, what did the Lord tell you?"

"Jesus told me He's going to walk through the mountains with me! Yep, that's what He said. He's going to walk through the mountains with me! Yahoo! (laughing in joy) That will be fun, yep, He's going to walk through the mountains with me."

Who was anointed...went about doing good....
He did good to my son by giving him that promise of a future walk with him.

The anointing is within us, and that presence is that of our humble, meek, down to earth, Father and Lord. Don't let time at church be the only time you look for that sense of 'the anointing', but when we awaken each day, say 'Good morning Father', and look down inside you to see where that ever present anointing would have you pray or have you do that day...it may be as simple as a cup of water to a child, some clothes to the needy, a visit to a sick person or prisoner - we are anointed to do good because Jesus is STILL anointed to go about doing good, and continues to do so, through us.

A new subject next week, blessings,
John Fenn
www.cwowi.org

Hi all,
Last week I shared about the anointing in worship, entering His presence, giving of ourselves in worship. 

That isn't to say I don't enjoy songs of thanks and praise, for I do. I love songs with lyrics of dedication and pouring my heart to the Father - but for me, I don't get a sense of His direction (anointing) until I stop singing about my heart and my desires and my neediness, and start focusing 100% on Him alone. THEN in that communion, in that exchange of thoughts and feelings, His presence is felt heaviest. In those moments, when we stop singing to Him about ourselves, He starts singing and speaking to us about His love for us. But to get there, you have to stop with 'self' and focus on Him.

Power of attorney
Everyone expected my grandfather to die before grandma, but that is not what happened. You know how they tell you before surgery there is a 1 in 27,000 chance you'll be allergic to the medicine? Grandma was that 1 out of 27,000 who had a bad reaction and never woke up.

My grandfather was devastated and his mental condition started deteriorating almost overnight as he gave up the will to live. Today we recognize Alzheimer's Disease, but back then it was 'senility'. He gave mom 'power of attorney' before it got too bad, and she retained power of attorney until his death a couple of years later.

'Power of attorney' is the authority to act for another person in legal or financial matters and is expected to be used in the same fashion as the person giving you that authority would wish. It isn't for personal gain, but rather always aware you are doing what that person would want. It is what the Father first gave to Jesus, and now has given to us so as Christ's body so that we have the authority to act on His behalf in the earth.

Faith, power, authority
This series started by talking about how when Jesus was teaching, 'the power was to heal', from Luke 5:17, showing the power is the Father, and Jesus is the authority to use that power.

Jesus said of Himself in John 5:19 and 30: "Truly, truly I tell you that the Son can do nothing of Himself, but only what He sees the Father doing; for whatever He does, that the Son does likewise. I can of myself do nothing; as I hear, I judge..."

In Acts 2:22, Peter, who had been with Jesus about 3 1/2 years, said this: "Jesus of Nazareth, attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs which God did through Him..."

In His closing prayer in John 17 before going to the garden of Gethsemane, Jesus said this to the Father: "I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work which you gave me to do. I have manifested your name to the men you gave me out of the world. I have given them the words which you gave me." (4, 6, 8,14)

The body of Christ
The Father was the power behind everything Jesus said and did, giving Jesus authority to act on His behalf, which is the power of attorney in modern speech.

Jesus said this before His ascension: "All authority is given to me in heaven and on earth. Therefore you go and make disciples in all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe and do whatsoever I've commanded you..." v19-20

All authority is given to Me...therefore you go...We have the authority to use the name of Jesus to cast out demons, to lay hands on the sick, to go boldly to the Father in prayer on behalf of others.

But I've clearly shown by chapter and verse the authority to use the name of Jesus MUST be in conjunction with the power of the Father - the anointing - else the name is spoken in vain with no power released at all.

What does this mean on a day to day basis?
If the anointing is the manifestation of the Father's presence and revelation of His will in a given situation, what does that mean for you and I?

We take our clue starting with the scripture I started this series with, Luke 5:17: "As Jesus was teaching the power was to heal..."

Notice - Jesus was doing something else when suddenly the Power was to go in another direction. That means our church thinking is all wrong. The anointing isn't something you feel in a service, it isn't something you have to 'go to' with others to get. The anointing or the power to do something happens in daily life when we are in the midst of something else.

When should we expect 'the anointing'?
Consider that Jesus said He only did what He saw the Father do, yet most of His miracles were interruptions to what He was doing, not something He planned. That means as He went about His daily routine He was constantly on the lookout for what the Father was doing and saying.

We really do have it all wrong don't we? We've been trained to go to church or a meeting with a special speaker and then we'll experience anointed teaching and anointed worship - meaning we felt the power of God or sensed Him moving in a particular way. Praise God for those times, but why are we trained to look ONLY there for 'the anointing', when the example in scripture is the anointing happened in daily life?

Consider John 2:1-11 where Jesus was merely a guest at a wedding, when because of someone's oversight, He graciously turned water into wine. Look at these other interruptions:

A leper came up to Jesus as He walked down a mountain, and was healed. Matthew 8:1-4

As He entered Capernaum a Roman Centurion stopped Him on behalf of a beloved servant. Mt 8:5-13

As He entered Peter's mother's house He discovered Peter's mother in law in bed with a fever, and healed her. Mt 8:14

As He was sleeping on a boat the disciples awakened Him because there was a storm and they were afraid of sinking, so He woke up, told the wind and waves to be quiet, and they did. Matthew 8:23-27

I could go on and on - as He left Jericho blind Bartimaeus called out to Him, interrupting His departure, but was healed. Mark 10:46-52

In Matthew 9:27-31 two blind men followed Him into someone's house where He was going to have dinner, but were healed.

In Mark 5:21-43 Jairus came to Him and got Him to follow Him to his house to lay hands on his daughter, for the first unplanned miracle, and while He was going a woman with a chronic hemorrhaging condition touched His clothes and got healed - it goes on and on like this through the gospels.

Maybe we could say that was just for Jesus, but in Acts 3:1-7 Peter and John are on their way to the temple when a lame beggar asked for money but ended up getting healed. And what about Philip minding his own business in Acts 8:26 when an angel tells him to take the desert highway down by Gaza, where he discovers an Ethiopian official who is about to be born again!

Then we have Peter hanging around on the roof waiting for lunch and seeing a vision in Acts 10, which led to going to the Roman Cornelius' house where he brought them Jesus and the baptism with the Holy Spirit. And I don't think Paul planned for Eutychus to fall asleep while he taught, but when the young man fell 3 floors to his death, Paul raised him from the dead, then went back upstairs and taught until dawn! Acts 20:6-12

Can you adjust?
So you see, Acts really is normal Christianity, and most all we see around us is abnormal Christianity. We've been trained to look for the anointing at church, even in our home churches, when the Bible actually demonstrates the anointing, that is the manifest power, presence, and revelation of the Father's will, happens during the course of life!

Can we adjust to that? I was in a store and saw out of the corner of my eye, a shorter woman struggling to get something from a high shelf. I would have just kept walking but felt impressed to stop and help her. Reversing direction, an interruption to what I was doing, I stopped to help her and ended up praying for her sore shoulder. She said it felt suddenly better, and thanked me, and I went on about my business.

I was approached in a parking lot by a young woman asking for just a cup of coffee, I would have turned her down as I had many beggars, but felt prompted to stop and talk to her. I ended up paying $20 to the local coffee shop that she could have credit for several coffees there, and all I did was encourage her to pray as that was about all she was open to at the time - and when I complained to the Father how I wished I could have led her in a prayer of salvation, He replied, "You did what I asked you to do, and that's all she could receive today."

Our power of attorney in Christ is just like the power of attorney in the natural world - it is meant to be exercised in daily life, not to be locked away in some auditorium once or twice a week.

Should not these exceptions to our schedules be the norm, rather than the exception? And why does this happen, why should we be looking for the anointing in our daily life not only when we 'go to meeting'? Because I John 2:27:

"As for you, the anointing you have received of Him remains in you, and you don't need anyone to teach you. (This isn't throwing away being taught, but rather emphasizing the Holy Spirit in us teaches us). His anointing teaches you all things and is the truth and not a lie, and just as it has taught you, remain in Him."

And we'll pick it up with that next week, blessings,
John Fenn
www.cwowi.org

Hi all,
Last week I shared from Luke 5:17 while Jesus was teaching 'the power of the Lord was to heal'. I also

shared how the Father is the power while Jesus is the authority to release His power.

Anointed
The word used for non-sacred anointing is 'aleipho' as seen in Mark 16:1 when the ladies took spices to anoint (they thought) the dead body of Jesus. It is also used in Luke 7:38 to describe the woman washing Jesus' feet with her hair and perfume.

But the word 'Chrio' means 'sacred anointing' which is where we get the word 'Christ' and is used just for anointing that comes from God the Father. Jesus used it of Himself in Luke 4:18:

"The Spirit of the Lord (Father) is upon me because He has anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent me to heal the broken hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord."

Notice that - The Spirit of the Lord is upon me because He has anointed me to preach....

There is always purpose, always a 'because' attached to the anointing. At the Cornerstone is of course the Anointed One, Christ, who came with purpose to earth to die for our sins.

But in our daily devotions and walk with Him, His anointing which revels His purpose in our lives, even if just for that day, is what we seek. And in a meeting, whether home church or auditorium, our meetings should be marked by a desire to have His anointing, which reveals His purpose in that meeting.

My starting point in Luke 5:17 says while Jesus was teaching the power was to heal - purpose revealed, but it was in another direction than teaching. Jesus adjusted to go with the power present to heal.

Going in another direction
I had entered the Wednesday night service late so I sat in a side section. Almost immediately the Father opened my eyes to His realm. I saw a tall angel standing on the platform behind the worship leader, and the Father said He wanted to heal and deliver people, so I knew the angel had a role to play in that, but didn't know how or what.

I was fascinated because this angel had beautiful wings and he stood about 12' (3m) tall. His wings extended from his back upwards another 3' or so before the 'knuckle joint' of the wing turned the flow back and down. I was drawn by what we would call in a hawk or eagle, the 'flight feathers' - those longest of feathers at the tips of the wings. This angel's flight feathers were more than 3' long. What a beautiful sight!

The power of the Lord was to heal and deliver, but I wondered if the worship leader would perceive this. The angel stood still until a song or two later the worship leader interrupted the worship and said this: "The power of the Lord is here tonight to heal and deliver people, so if you need that let us worship with all our hearts..."

Oh those wings!
With those words the angel started to move those giant wings upward in what seemed slow motion, then downward with slow force, pushing if it had been in the natural, air forward and over the congregation. What I saw was the glory cloud of the Lord as I often seen it: Each particle is a different color, as if in a fog but each droplet is a different color of the rainbow and hundreds of hues in between, flowing over the crowd.

Then again, those massive wings were brought back, and then downward with greater force and speed this time, and the next even faster, and with each downward beat this multi-faceted cloud of glory washed over the congregation - this went on as long as the people were truly worshipping (more about that in a minute), and once done the angel's flapping slowed and stopped, and then he disappeared from sight altogether as we stood in holy silence, soaking in the Father's presence. Later the pastor had those who were healed that night testify, and there were about 20 or so who spoke.

The power to heal was in a totally different direction than the worship leader had planned - are we brave enough to step into the unknown and trust our ability to perceive His anointing (presence) and go in the direction of the power?

Ministering to the Lord
In Acts 13:1-2 we find 5 men getting together to seek the Lord:

"As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, 'Separate Barnabus and Saul to me for the work to which I've called them'."

They were seeking the Lord's direction...but what does 'ministered to the Lord' mean? And can we put ourselves in such a position in our daily devotions?

Of your own expense
The word 'ministered' here is 'leitourgeo', where we get 'liturgy'. The meaning in the first century is the key to understanding it, as it is not even close to the repetitive thing called 'The Liturgy' in Roman Catholic and Anglican services of today.

In Paul's time it meant: "To supply public office at one's own expense; public service at one's own expense."

In ancient Greek the city office holders were not paid a salary, they paid their own salary for the privilege of serving the people. Therefore the use of this word as they 'ministered to the Lord' indicates these 5 men were focusing 100% on Him, giving of themselves in complete devotion (also noted by their fasting). THAT is why the presence of the Holy Spirit came upon them and gave them direction.

'Me' generation
They were worshipping the Father and Lord at their expense - meaning no prayers to 'open my eyes', no 'draw me close to you', no prayer requests for themselves or their family, nothing 'me' oriented at all - they were giving to Him of themselves at their expense and focused therefore 100% on Him and Him alone.

It is the same principle of David in II Samuel 24:24 when Araunah offered the king his land for free, but David responded: "I will not offer to the Lord that which costs me nothing."

This principle governs our lives, or is to. For instance, tithes and offerings are supposed to cost you something. That is why the widow's 2 mites were greater giving than the rich who gave of their excess. It is why Jesus commented that if we merely love those who love us, it is nothing - but loving those who hate us or speak ill of us, that is like the Father and His love.

Our lives in the Lord are supposed to cost us. That is what renewing the mind and being a disciple is all about - the laying down of our lives, counting ourselves dead to our former sin, and giving all to be like Him.

But in this 'me' generation it is no wonder the songs we call 'worship' are mostly 'me' focused. These men were not 'me' focused - they ministered to the Lord - they gave of themselves to Him.

How to worship and know His presence, His anointing
How did they minister to the Lord? The Bible answers the Bible, so look at true worship seen around the throne in heaven. From Revelation 4:8, 11 before the Father's throne (the Father is seen in all of chapter 4):

"Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come. You are worthy O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power. For you have created all things and for your pleasure they are now, and were then created."

Followed in 5:9-10 by the worship of the Lamb, Christ, who came to Him who sits on the throne to take the book from His right hand and opens the seals:

"You are worthy to take the book and to open the seals thereof; for you were killed, and have redeemed us to God by your blood out of every kindred and tongue and people and nation; and have made us a kingdom of priests to our God and we will reign on the earth." and v 13: "Blessing and honor and glory and power be to him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb for ever and ever."

If you want an example of worship in modern music, listen to Michael W. Smith's 'Agnus Dei' off his 'Worship' album. Ignore the exhortation to the crowd at a couple points, and ignore the clapping at the end.(Clapping isn't worship, but an exclamation of joy in thanksgiving, but it isn't worship ie He isn't Elvis, He is God and should be worshipped, not applauded)

Amy Grant also has a nice version of 'Agnus Dei' off a Christmas album of hers. Also check out various versions of 'Revelation Song' - Kari Jobe, Maranatha Music, Phillips, Craig & Dean, or 'Women of Faith Worship Team'.

I don't care that I can run through a troop or leap over a wall, nor that I am blessed to be a blessing. I am so in love with the Father and the Lord that I don't care if my eyes are open or if He draws me near - my heart cries out 'Holy, holy, holy are you O Lord. Worthy, worthy, worthy are you O Lord'....and there is His presence, there is true worship, true manifest anointing...and in Him there is NO lack...so worship Him, enter His presence, and more next week.

Blessings,
John Fenn
www.cwowi.org