Being Anointed

Greetings dear friends. The other day in prayer to God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ I had asked Them if there was anyone in my area that needed my help! The following day a neighbor a few houses down, using a walker, walks down and approaches me in the yard, and asks for my help! She wanted to know if I would be willing to help her sell some of the things in her garage with a garage sale – letting me know that she has terminal cancer. Of course, I said, “Absolutely!”

Now, the question should be asked – did God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ send her down to me just to help her with a garage sale!?

HAVE you ever wondered just how sick you should be before you call upon a servant of God (an elder of the Church – James 5:14) for anointing and prayer to be healed!?

How can you know when you should call on Almighty God to be forgiven of your physical sins and be healed!? And, if you wonder whether you should ask, can you have faith in asking!? And, what if the elder refuses to anoint you – should you go to another for anointing!?

Truly it is a matter of balance and wisdom and a matter of knowing when and for what to apply the living sacrifice of our Lord and Master Jesus Christ.

Now, I know that God can and will heal her completely! Healing is one of the greatest blessings from God Almighty!

“Bless the LORD, O my soul, And forget not all His benefits: 3) Who forgives all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases” – Psalm 103:2-3.

HEALING is truly an office that God holds – an office He has mercifully exercised for thousands of years!

“ … ‘ For I AM the LORD who heals you’” – Exodus 15:26.

This high office belongs exclusively to GOD!

“’ Now see that I, even I, AM He, And there is no God besides Me; I kill and I make alive; I wound and I heal; Nor is there any who can deliver from My hand’” – Deuteronomy 32:39.

Now, as I was standing in my driveway speaking to my neighbor in whom God loves (cf. John 3:16), a car drives up to take her to Sunday church - I was unable to let her know I myself am a servant of God. So, surely she believes in Almighty God and our Lord Jesus Christ! Surely she knows that faith comes by hearing –

“So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” – Romans 10:17.

Sadly there are fakes and charlatans who have come through history and have pretended to heal – who have the arrogance of claiming unto themselves to heal – within their tent revivals. They have the audacity to take unto themselves this high office which belongs to the Creator – our great and High Priest! Also, there are those who mix up an oil and wine concoction and upon dipping their finger into it places a cross on one's forehead – unknowingly propagating the mark of the beast!

Friends, our God is a jealous God, and He jealously guards His high office!

“Heal me, O LORD, and I shall be healed; Save me, and I shall be saved, For You are my praise” – Jeremiah 17:14.

God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ are the ONLY ONES who can provide TRUE HEALING! Just as Jesus Christ is the ONLY ONE who can provide TRUE SALVATION!

God’s true healing is not a natural process of healing. IT IS AN OUTRIGHT REMOVAL OF THE AFFLICTION! A DIRECT MIRACLE!

I myself have been healed by Almighty God! One time while I was watching a sermon on YouTube, the minister held up the Bible to the screen and said, “If there is anyone that needs healing from Jesus, and IF you believe He will heal you, touch the screen and you will be healed! If you believe!” I touched the screen while praying to God the Father and Jesus Christ for the healing of my heart from scar tissue buildup, which was causing my heart to develop atrial fibrillation (an abnormal heart rhythm), and as I did, I began to feel a warm sensation cover my whole body, from the soles of my feet to the top of my head and then back to my heart. God had healed my heart of scar tissue!

Now, while it is true that sometimes God heals a person over a period of time, nonetheless it is a direct intervention of God and not a natural, bodily, healing. Then, like what happened to me there can be an instant healing!

“When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, ‘Son, your sins are forgiven you’” – Mark 2:5.

Jesus Christ – the Son of God – who came to bear our sin in His own body as a living sacrifice for us –

“Then Jesus, moved with compassion, stretched out His hand and touched him, and said to him, ‘I AM willing; be cleansed’” – Mark 1:41.

He made it so plain to understand that the healing of our physical bodies involves DIRECT FORGIVENESS OF SINS!

“’But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins’ – He said to the paralytic” – Mark 2:10.

And, even though the healing of our physical bodies is purely a physical effect – and is but temporary – this forgiveness of our sins (which is spiritual) has a DIRECT and tangible physical effect which leads us to see just how much our Father God loves us and can and will forgive our spiritual sins and will indeed grant us eternal life and eternal good health!

Indeed, God is the personification of true love. And friends, as it happened to me, it too can happen to you - once while I was in prayer and meditation Almighty God allowed me to feel just a small portion of the love that He has for me, and in my mind whispered, ‘I cannot let you feel all the love I have for you because your physical body wouldn’t be able to handle it.’ And the very next day being baptized and hands laid upon me. For Scripture says, ‘Perfect love casts out fear.’ And, it also says that ‘love covers a multitude of sins.’

Friends, 1,991 years ago the Son of Man – Jesus Christ – who lived a perfect life, was beaten, rejected, scoffed, denied, ridiculed, mocked, scourged, spat upon, nailed to a cross, lifted up, and bled to death in the sun – and was MURDERED! But He was resurrected – the firstborn of many brethren – as a Spirit Being – of the God family! He, who now sits at the right-hand side of Father God and still offers the sacrifice of His broken body to be applied for the forgiveness of our sins. To mankind, centuries have passed. There is NO WAY within the limitations of our own physical understanding – can the suffering of another human being erase the suffering of another. It is truly beyond our physical understanding or ability – IT IS SPIRITUAL!

Important To Christ’s Ministry

HEALING has always been an integral part of the ministry of Jesus Christ!

“And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people” – Matthew 4:23.

“But when the multitudes knew it, they followed Him; and He received them and spoke to them about the kingdom of God, and healed those who had need of healing” – Luke 9:11.

It was an integral part of the ministry of the New Testament Church of God!

“And when they had set them in the midst, they asked, ‘By what power or by what name have you done this?’ Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, ‘Rulers of the people and elders of Israel: If we this day are judged for a good deed done to a helpless man, by what means he has been made well, let it be known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by Him this man stands here before you whole. This is the ‘stone which was rejected by you builders, which has become the chief cornerstone.’ Nor is there salvation in any other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved’” – Acts 4:7-12.

“’ saying, ‘What shall we do to these men? For, indeed, that a notable miracle has been done through them is evident to all who dwell in Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it. But so that it spreads no further, among the people, let us severely threaten them, that from now on they speak to no man in this name’” – vs. 16-17.

“how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, and went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him. And we are witnesses of all things which He did both in the land of the Jews and in Jerusalem, whom they killed by hanging on a tree. Him God raised up on the third day, and showed Him openly” – Acts 10:38-40.

It is a sign of God’s true servants and the ministry of Jesus Christ!

“And He said to them, ‘Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.’ So then, after the Lord had spoken to them. He was received up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God. And they went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word through the accompanying signs. Amen” – Mark 16:15-20.

Now, God’s true servants and the ministry of Jesus Christ – the Church of God – certainly do not make any show of these accompanying signs – for my neighbor does not yet even know that I am a minister of God. Nonetheless – thousands are healed every year!! And she too will be healed!

Now, the holy oil – the pure olive oil – which has been blessed by God in which His true servants use in anointing has no power to heal. Also, there is no healing power that resides within the hands of the physical individual who is anointing – the healing power is not the audible prayer given – nor is there any healing power in the threads of an anointed cloth.

GOD IS THE HEALER! And He heals through the power of His Holy Spirit and by the direct application of the punishment that Jesus Christ suffered.

Friends, the miraculous healing of our physical body is a true physical and real benefit and blessing from Almighty God! It is a way to good health when we are sick or diseased. DO NOT be guilty along with some who believe – one should not go to a doctor. This ministry – the Church of Jesus Christ Online Ministries – along with our affiliated churches believes that one can and should go to a doctor when needed. You must realize that whether you live or whether you die – because death is always a possibility as long as we are physical – YOU BELONG TO JESUS CHRIST!

“For if we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s” – Romans 14:8.

You should, if possible, go to a doctor for health benefits. Yet, as stated earlier, no human being has the ability to heal you. And, it is not within another human being to have the power to FORGIVE YOU OF SIN!

Now, an exact understanding of what I speak is truly found in God’s living word -

“For he who eats [the Bread of Life] and drinks [the Blood of Christ] in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord’s Body. For this reason many are weak and sick among you, and many sleep [are dead]” – 1 Corinthians 11:29-30, the New King James Version.

We partake of the Lord’s Passover every year! We take the symbol of Christ’s broken Body – the unleavened bread – which represents the broken and sinless Body of Jesus Christ sacrificed for our physical sins – sacrificed for our physical healing. Truly, CHRIST IN US!!!

We should trust completely in Almighty God for our physical healing as we trust in Him for our spiritual salvation. We should fully understand the true meaning of the sacrifice of the Body of Christ!

Also, it is gravely IMPORTANT to understand what you are asking for when you ask to be anointed – so that you DO NOT regard it lightly. In a sense, you are asking for the pain, suffering, and punishment, the beating, the scourging, the humiliation, and hatred which was hurled upon Jesus Christ – and applied for YOUR physical sins.

“who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness – by whose stripes you were healed” – 1 Peter 2:24.

“But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed” – Isaiah 53:5.

Truly, from the waist up, the Body of Jesus Christ was ripped to shreds. Great chunks of His flesh hung down! In some places, his very bones were exposed!

“For dogs have surrounded Me; The congregation of the wicked has enclosed Me. They pierced My hands and My feet; I can count all My bones. They look and stare at Me. They divide My garments among them, And for My clothing they cast lots” – Psalm 22:16-18.

“Just as many were astonished at you, So His visage [His face] was marred more than any man, And His form more than the sons of men” – Isaiah 52:14.

Friends, I remind us of these Scriptures so that we will remember and understand just what we’re asking for when we are anointed.

Let us understand –

“ … two pieces of wood, or other material, so placed in juxtaposition to one another, are understood to form a cross. … Punishment by crucifixion was widely employed in ancient times. It is known to have been used by nations such as those of Assyria, Egypt, Persia, by the Greeks, Carthaginians, Macedonians, and from very early times by the Romans.

In both of these the criminal was first of all usually stripped naked, and bound to an upright stake, where he was so cruelly scourged with an implement, formed of strips of leather having pieces of iron, or some other hard material, at their ends, that not merely was the flesh often stripped from the bones, but even the entrails partly protruded, and the anatomy of the body was disclosed. In this pitiable state he was reclothed, and, if able to do so, was made to drag the stake to the place of execution, where he was either fastened to it, or impaled upon it, and left to die.” 1

This gives you an idea of what our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ had to endure through the night for YOU! It was only because He was in excellent condition that He was even able to walk after receiving such a beating. These are the stripes by which YOU are healed! These are the stripes you ask to be applied to the bare back of our Savior in YOUR stead when you ask to be anointed.

YOU Must Ask

Once I go to her and tell her that I am a servant of God, she must ask for an anointing.

Though she may indeed have come to recognize and understand the awesomeness of our living sacrifice – she may be relying on those who DO NOT truly obey God!

Once one has repented of their sins, and baptized in the name of Jesus Christ and had hands laid upon them, having received the glorious Holy Spirit – it is no longer a matter of choice. It is only a matter of deciding when to call for this living sacrifice. IT IS A DIRECT COMMAND FROM GOD!

“Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the Church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven” – James 5:14-15.

This expression “let him call” is not a suggestion – it is a command!

The Living Bible translation makes it much clearer in that it reads, “Is anyone sick? He SHOULD CALL for the elders of the Church and they should pray over him and pour a little oil upon him, calling on the Lord to heal him.”

Now, some will reason amongst themselves that they do not deserve this living sacrifice. And this is true – no one deserves this living sacrifice! Yet we are commanded to repent and be baptized – which means we MUST CLAIM the death of Jesus Christ to be applied in our stead!

Once His death has been claimed you no longer belong to yourself. You are PURCHASED – you are paid for – completely with a price beyond our physical understanding. You are no longer responsible for just yourself – an individual apart from others. YOU ARE A MEMBER OF THE BODY OF CHRIST!

“Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit [which] is in you, [which] you have from God, and you are not your own?” – 1 Corinthians 6:19.

YOU are no longer free to selfishly do with your physical body as you wish to do. You are now responsible to see to it that you are in good health, strength, and energy to use the body in the service of the whole Body of Christ – the Church of God.

“For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s” – 1 Corinthians 6:20.

You glorify Almighty God by allowing Him to live within you. You repent of your sins, both physical and spiritual, and ask for the living sacrifice of Christ to pay for both. And then you use this cleansed body to serve Him in body, mind, and spirit.

A Wrong Attitude To Have

The other day I was asked if I would be willing to drive to Tampa to anoint a sister in Christ who is in the Tampa General Hospital. It was suggested that I may be her only hope – it sounded as if she really needed an anointing. I said that I would be more than happy to go and help in any way possible. They are both from another church group. Her husband declined. He only requested prayers for his wife. Some people believe that only a minister (or an elder) from their own group can anoint them. Many feel odd when other people from other churches that aren’t their title church try to help. . The question was asked – is this how our Lord Jesus Christ would be!?

In my healing – which I spoke of earlier – it WAS NOT any human being that healed me – it was ALMIGHTY GOD HIMSELF! 

CONCLUSION

When a true servant of God, in the glorious and holy name of Jesus Christ, calls on God the Father in the upper heavenly realms and by the anointing with oil as a symbol of God’s Holy Spirit, it then becomes GOD’S RESPONSIBILITY! The servant of Christ, laying his hands upon the head of the individual to set him apart, places the responsibility for your healing in God’s hands. Now it is up to Him to decide whether He will apply the living sacrifice of Jesus Christ His Son. It is up to Him to decide when He will apply that sacrifice – and how! □

Bibliography

1) Encyclopedia Britannica – Vol VII, Cross and Crucifixion, New York, Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc. 1911, pp. 505-506.