The Bethlehem Anointing

Am I good to go? Okay. Guys, Luke 1.35 says, Ryan, is it on? The next one? Yeah. Luke 1.35

says, the power of the Most High will overshadow you, therefore the child to be born will be

called Holy the Son of God. That's Luke 1.35. And so there is this idea forever where be

it in Genesis 1 or be it in Luke 1.35, there is this idea of overshadowing or hovering or brooding

or coming upon or anointing. These words are used every time God births something,

these words are used. Either it's an overshadowing or there's a hovering or there's a brooding or

there's a coming upon or there's an anointing. It's been going on right from the beginning of

time. And guess who does this? The one who does this is always the Holy Spirit. The one who does

it is always the Holy Spirit. So in Luke 1.35 we see it and then even Jesus makes mention of it in

Luke 24 verse 49. He says, tarry in Jerusalem and if you do, then you will be clothed from on high

Luke 24:49

with power. Again he's talking about the Holy Spirit. You will be clothed with power from on

high. And that's in Luke 24 verse 49. And that's where then Jesus gets Acts chapter 1 verse 8 from,

Luke 24:49 Acts 1:8

the Holy Spirit will come upon you. And so these words overshadowing, hovering, brooding, coming upon,

anointing, clothed from are things that the Holy Spirit loves doing whether it be Genesis 1,

whether it be the baptism of Jesus when the skies open, whether it be Mary in this situation

where Gabriel announces that the Holy Spirit will shadow upon you. And at the end of the day guys,

the word anointing is what brings about all these things. Be it Jesus, be it Genesis,

at the end of the day what brought about what God wanted to birth on earth was brought about

surely by the power of God coming upon immersing and changing situations. And that's what I want

to talk about today. And then we'll go to what the year ahead looks like for us. And man,

I'm waiting for the big reveal in about 10 minutes. Yeah, 10 minutes. This is going to be the shortest

sermon I've ever taught. Yeah. Okay, let's not say 10 minutes. It's the shortest sermon I've taught.

Yeah. Guys, so whenever we talk about the word anoint or overshadow or come upon, remember there

are a few things that we've got to keep in mind. The first one is one of the reasons God anoints,

God overshadows, God comes upon God, hovers over anything is because the first thing he wants to

do is he wants to identify as in by his own sovereign choice he wants to set apart. That's

the first thing he does. The first thing God does is, hey, I want to overshadow you actually.

I want to overshadow you, Jacob. I want to anoint you, Jane. I want to hover over you,

Sustanna. I want to come upon you, Don. But the intent of my coming over you that way is so that

I might by my sovereign choice set you apart. That's the first thing that happens. Once the

setting apart happens, then the next thing that happens is an installing. To install is to appoint.

To install is to appoint. To install is to appoint. And this sovereign choice comes through a fore

knowledge of God saying, I have chosen in my sovereign choice because of everything I know,

I have chosen this person. Then you come to install where the intent is to appoint. Then

the third thing you God does is he imbues you or permeates you with power. The fourth thing he does

after imbuing you with power. Sorry? Yeah. God in his foreknowledge decides that you,

given God's foreknowledge, God decides that you would be good for something and therefore

he identifies you and sets you apart and then in his foreknowledge decides that this is something

I'm going to anoint him for. How did God know that Jacob would turn out this way? He does because

he knows everything. In his foreknowledge he decides that Danny will be this way,

Samar will be this way, Jacob will be this way, Marcus will be this way. In his foreknowledge he

identifies who you are. I mean just imagine God already identifies what Isaiah will be and in his

foreknowledge he's made a sovereign choice that Isaiah will walk a certain way and hopefully Isaiah

will walk there quickly instead of waiting for 20 years to walk there. And once he begins to walk

there God begins the next step of anointing which is let me install him, let me appoint him to

something. Let me appoint him to what I've called him to and therefore it's necessary then that if

you want to walk in the anointing that God wants to send that you find out what he's appointed you

for. Many of us walk in places that he hasn't appointed us to. Resistance to your walk does

not necessarily mean that you are not anointed or you're not appointed. In fact anyone who is

appointed to anything will face resistance. If you don't face resistance I would suggest to you

that you're not appointed to that place. But once God identifies you and sets you apart with

his sovereign choice the next thing he does is let me install you, let me appoint you and to

appoint you he'll send you people to help you get to that place where he can appoint you because

he knows you already. The third thing that happens is imbu, I-M-B-U-E. To imbu is to give power,

empower, to give power. To imbu is to empower. What does he empower you for? For purpose.

So it isn't enough to be installed and appointed. Now that you're appointed do you have the power

to go with it? Do you have the power to go with it? It must be visible, power must be visible.

Empowered for purpose. If I am said as the pastor of the church surely I must have some power to

exert otherwise what's the point of installing me as the pastor of the church? And so when you,

and there's just a thought that's coming right now it's not, it wasn't shaped before,

isn't coming with any specific intent right now just because, why am I going into all these

disclaimers? Here's a simple thing. When I am installed and appointed if I do not have the

power then to exert the reason I'm installed for nothing is going to happen.

And therefore it's critical to make sure that power structures in any situation are godly and

if they are not godly they will oppose the will of God and at the end of the day what people decide

is what they will get. The fourth thing after the imbuing is immersing. Immersing is in the

person of the spirit. Immersing is in the person of the spirit. Now that I've installed you Jacob

and now that I've imbued you with power for purpose let me now immerse you in myself says

the Holy Spirit. I want you to begin to walk in me. The more you walk in me the more you will know

my ways. Power is for acts. Immersion is for ways. Power is for acts. Immersion is for ways.

You can be imbued with power and yet not know the ways of God. Immersion in the spirit. This is why

Paul keeps saying be immersed in the spirit. Walk in the spirit. Be found in the spirit. Be

wombed in the spirit. It's fascinating how anointing carries these different steps because we just sing

anointing we just pray oh God please anoint me and sure the spirit of God does it but the reason

anointing sometimes leaks or doesn't last is because there are steps that need to take place

so that the overshadowing can be powerful and something that is real can be birthed and then

brought forth. And then the last step for now is after that comes the intent. Why have I done all

this Jacob? So that you may accurately reveal me and my ways. This then is what overshadowing,

hovering over anointing looks like. Jesus was identified. Go find him. He is your King wrapped

in swaddling clothes. The Holy Spirit will overshadow him. He has been set apart. He is the Holy One,

the Son of God. Jesus was installed. He was installed in Psalm 2. He was installed again in

Luke 4. He was installed when the Holy Spirit came upon him. The installation was again repeated

on the Mount of Transfiguration. Jesus was imbued with power. Tremendous power. Jesus was always

immersed in the spirit of God. Fully yielded to the spirit of God and Jesus the intent that Jesus

came to the earth was very simple. I have come to reveal the Father. This then is the process

of anointing or hovering over or overshadowing and it's beautiful. Yeah, yeah, true. Good point.

Some of them are chronological. Some of them happen continuously. It's beautiful how this works.

Say God in his foreknowledge selects you. That's part of the whole process of anointing. Can you

believe that? That's why we anointed for different things in his foreknowledge from Saudi, from Syria,

from India, from Hong Kong, from Fiji, from Vernon, which is as exotic a place as all the other places

I mentioned. From these different places, from Australia, from Iran, from all over the place,

man. People are from Pakistan. It's fascinating how God draws people out in his foreknowledge.

He makes a sovereign choice and he sets you apart so that he may appoint you and once he's appointed

you he sends people to help you get there. My God, he sends. Hey, be sure, be sure that once you know

you are set apart and begin to walk like one who is set apart that immediately God says now that

you're walking as one who is set apart let me send you ones that will help you so that you can step

into the place that I have appointed for you. God will send them. You don't have to look for them.

We don't have to go looking for teachers and fathers. Fathers and teachers come to us. Once

you set yourself apart it's guaranteed. Doesn't matter which country you live in, it'll happen.

Isn't that brilliant? Because who is the one who's doing the anointing? Me? No, you. No, him.

He brings people into your life, man. And once he brings people into your life and he appoints you

then he says now that you're appointed I need to fill you with power, man, because what's the point

of you being appointed when you don't have the power to fulfill your duties? Sometimes you need

to leave structure so that God's power can flow. Jesus said this himself. He said he went to

Capernaum and he went to Capernaum and one other town in Galilee and the Bible says Jesus could

not do anything there. This is the Son of God not able to do anything. Why? Because people were not

willing to receive him. The greater the freedom of the structure that is built according to

divine principles, the greater not your power is expressed. God's power has the freedom to move.

It should be our Thursday, oh God, in my life, in my family, in my company, in the church,

in the nation, what can I do to create structures that are God sent, that are from heaven's blueprint

so that you can flow freely because when God begins to flow freely you are just a conduit,

others get affected. This is so not about you because the power ain't yours anyways.

The next one is immersion. Now that you have the power Jacob, you can do all the acts that I did,

but really do you want my ways or do you want my acts? I want both.

And ways happen when you get immersed in him. Now you're walking in the Spirit.

I keep growing in the mind of God.

Immersed in somebody means you grow in the mind of somebody.

That's the cool thing about being immersed. You begin to think like someone else. Only in this

case you're thinking like God. And finally, intent. My God, that doesn't look like intent.

The intent is there but it didn't look like intent. Yeah.

Intent. The intent of God through the entire process of anointing is very simple. Not that

you be the anointed one, but that you reveal the anointed one. Just think of that. The intent of

anointing is that you reveal the anointed one, not that you become the anointed one. My God,

how we're struck with a little bit of anointing on TV nowadays or if not on TV under these lights.

I remember one of the most shameful things I've ever done at Acts 29.

Oh, everybody wants to hear it now. One of the most shameful things I've ever done at Acts 29

is when I saw a person who was severely demonized come up for prayer. And I had a choice. I could

either take the person into a room and pray for the person or I could pray in front of everybody

and if I did, I knew the person would fall and manifest. And guess what? I knew that the person

was going to fall. And guess what I chose? I chose to pray in front of everybody. The person fell,

manifested, people watched. And why did I do it? Because I wanted to show that I had the anointing

and the power of God flowing through me. And I finished and I watched and I thought to myself,

you just stripped someone of dignity. You just showed off how anointed you are and you got your

anointing. It was one of the most shameful things I've done at Acts 29.

The anointing is not so that you look anointed. The anointing is so that you reveal the anointed one.

My God, poor Mary. She was there to reveal the anointed one, but now we made her anointed.

So the title of your teaching is the Bethlehem Anointing. And so I quickly want you to look at

1 Samuel 16. There was another Bethlehem anointing years before this one.

1 Samuel 16. Ryan, you just want to shift to the next picture? 1 Samuel 16. I'll just read from

verse 1 to 13. The Lord said to Samuel, 1 Samuel 16, 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,

be on your way. I'm sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem. Again, the whole idea of separation.

I've sent you, I'm sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem. I have chosen one of his sons to be king.

It's almost a foreshadowing of what's going to happen. Here it's Jesus of Bethlehem. There it was

David, the son of Jesse of Bethlehem. Here it was the Holy Spirit will come upon you. There it is,

Samuel will pour the horn of oil and I will anoint him. Verse 2, but Samuel said, how can I go to

Saul? He'll hear about it and kill me. The Lord said, take a hypha with you and say, I've come to

sacrifice to the Lord. Invite Jesse to the sacrifice and I will show you what to do. You are

to anoint for me the one I indicate. Samuel did what the Lord said. When he arrived at Bethlehem,

the elders of the town trembled when they met him. They asked him, do you come in peace? Samuel

replied, yes in peace. I've come to sacrifice to the Lord. Consecrate yourselves and come to

the sacrifice of me. Then he consecrated Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice.

When they arrived, Samuel saw Eliab and thought, surely the Lord's anointed stands here before the

Lord. But 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. Then Jesse called Abinadab and had him pass in front of Samuel. But

Samuel said, the Lord has not chosen this one either. Jesse then had Shama pass by, but Samuel

said, no, the Lord hasn't chosen this one. Jesse had seven of his sons pass before Samuel, but

Samuel said to him, the Lord has not chosen these. So he asked Jesse, are these all the sons you have?

There is still the youngest Jesse answered, but he is tending the sheep. Samuel said, send for him.

We will not sit down until he arrives. So he sent and had him brought in. He was ruddy with a fine

appearance and handsome features. Then the Lord said, rise and anoint him. He's the one. 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. Samuel then went to Rama. There is a Bethlehem

anointing that waits for everybody, man. That's the only thing I want to touch on and then we'll

stop. Guys, the first thing is,

you are chosen. If you are here, you are chosen. What do you mean Jacob, if you are here, you're

chosen. Hey, if you're here, there's two reasons you're here. Either you are born again or you're

close to being born again. There are many funner things to do on the 24th. You are chosen. Either

you're already born again or you are here because you are close to being born again. Born again as

in receiving Christ into your life. You are chosen. And if you're chosen, then God wants to pour the

horn of oil on you because we saw what he does. He does what? He identifies and separates. What does

he do after that? He installs and appoints. What does he do after that? He imbues you with power.

What does he do after that? He immerses you in the person of the Holy Spirit. And what does he do

after that? He makes his intent happen through you, which is what? To reveal accurately.

And so that's the first thing. The second thing is, Samuel says to the guys, prepare yourself,

consecrate yourself, and worship. There he uses the word sacrifice and the message, they use the word

worship. These are three things that I pray, God, that you will begin tonight after I finish. I'll

finish, I assure you, in less than three or four minutes. And after that, we'll enter a time of

worship. If you were looking forward to Carol singing, we'll have one at the end, I think. But

otherwise, man, we are going to say, Oh, God, prepare me for this that you did with this boy.

You know, this boy was very young. He was 14 or 15 or 16. You know, someone else who was super young?

John, Jesus' disciple, John, very young, which is probably why you find him on Patmos after all the

others had died. Very young, which is probably why he brought his mother to a fight. Very young,

which is probably why he puts his head on Jesus' chest. Very young, which is probably why Jesus

says, Mother, here is your son. Son, here's your mother. You're talking about Isaiah,

Maya's age, God begins to anoint, eh? This kid was anointed. My God, man, desire this.

If there is no greater gift he can give on Christmas, and there is no greater gift you

can give him on Christmas. Drummer boy, forget it. We've got better things to give than the drummer

boy. We've got better things to give than the drummer boy.

Prepare, consecrate, worship. We'll do that today before you leave. The next thing is,

guys, God doesn't look on your yesterday, your stature, your looks. He doesn't. He couldn't care

too hoots. And yet he had no problem choosing David, who was ruddy and handsome. So on one hand,

God is saying, I don't look on the outside, which is absolutely true. But at the same time,

he had no problems picking one of the finer looking guys in the bunch. So it's not, he's not

talking about looks really. He's talking about, hey, Jacob, I look at what's inside. And if you

have strengths, lay them down. If you have weaknesses, don't focus on them. Do you hear me?

If you have strengths, lay them down. It's the best way to have the Spirit of God come upon you.

It is the best way to have the Spirit of God come upon you. 1 Corinthians 2, 4, Paul puts it this

way. I did not come to you with words of wisdom. I did not come to you with great oratorical skills.

What did I come to you with? I came to you with weakness and trembling. Why? So that I may show

you the power and the demonstration of the Spirit through my life. If you have strengths, I plan to,

as we go into a time of worship, I plan to lay down my strengths. And if I have weaknesses,

I refuse to focus on them. Because either way, I lose out on God. Focus on your extreme weaknesses,

you will lose out on God. Focus on your strengths, you will lose out on God.

This is his desire. It is not your desire. It is your hunger, but it is his desire. And he gives

you even the desire to hunger. Philippians 3, I give you the will to desire the things that I want.

It's very odd. It's like a father who gives his child $10 to go buy him a birthday gift.

That's what fathers do. My dad used to give me, here $10, my birthday is coming. I'm sure you want

to buy me a gift here. And then I had to go buy a gift and he wouldn't mind if I kept $2 back and

bought him only an $8 gift. Because the money was coming from him anyways. So do not focus on your

weakness and lay down your strength. This is why in 2 Corinthians 4, 7, Paul says it so brilliantly,

jars of clay, jars of clay that display treasure, jars of clay. Hey, another great point. I hope

you take it to heart. Seven sons, warriors, seven sons, tall strapping lads, seven sons were doing

their father's business. But guess who gets the entire horn of oil on his head? One who

tends sheep. Be about your father's business. Your king was a shepherd. He is a shepherd king.

It is impossible for one who is dedicated to the task of kingdom and church to not receive the

anointing. God, it is through the kingdom and through the church that Christ will always be

displayed. You don't have to be a pastor for this. But my God, don't forget, we always put Christ and

the church at the center of our lives. Our families exist for one reason, to serve Christ and the

church. Our money exists for one reason, to serve Christ and the church. Our work exists for one

reason, to serve Christ and the church. Our possessions exist for one reason, to serve Christ

and the church. It is impossible to miss out on the anointing of God once this happens. The Spirit

of God hovers over you. Why? Because Christ and his body are the most beautiful thing that the Holy

Spirit ever made on earth. Yeah man, that needs a hallelujah. There is no other more beautiful

construct on the face of the earth than Christ and his body. And when you begin to serve that,

it is impossible for you to avoid the anointing. Doesn't matter where you go, you'll find that

tongue of fire over you. You must, because the great reveal is coming in two minutes.

There is still the youngest, Jesse, answered. He's tending the sheep.

I will always have his anointing on my head if I serve the shepherd. It's impossible.

Our work, our possessions, all are meant to serve only him, nothing else. And then the other words,

this is chapter 16 verse 13. I love this verse, it's from the message. And as soon as he poured

Isaiah 16:13

oil on his head, the Spirit of God entered David like a rush of wind. Guess where we see that again?

In Acts chapter 2, verse 2 to 4. The Spirit of God entered David like a rush of wind. And then it

Acts 2:2–4

says, vitally empowering him for the rest of his life. This is in the Old Testament, guys. This is

the Old Covenant. What do you think happens in the New Covenant?

The Spirit of God entered David like a rush of wind, vitally empowering him for the rest of his life.

I've got to trust God that he'll do it for us, not because of even our prayers or this teaching or

our understanding, simply because it's his desire. And now the great reveal. And trust me, man, I

wasn't looking for this. I was looking for this. I was looking for this. I was looking for this.

I was looking for this. And trust me, man, I wasn't looking for this. But one of the things I sensed

God saying is, hey, Jacob, do you know what 2020 is about? What the year is about? I said, no, tell me.

And then, Ryan, you've got to be on cue on this one. And so I asked God, do you know what 2020 is

about? And I said, no, Lord, tell me. And God said, thank you. Wish we had some drum roll.

Guys, at Acts 29, 2020 will be the year of the Holy Spirit. We will get to know him. We will get to walk in him. We will be immersed in him. We will have his power working through us. We will have all those five steps of his hovering and his overshadowing like we have never tasted before. Like we have never tasted before. I mean, you will not be satisfied. Every Sunday, every week, every month, this is the people sitting on the

this roof right now, regardless of where you come from. One of the things that you made the mistake of turning up today, one of the things you will not be able to escape, even if you don't come here, is that my God, the Holy Spirit will remind you. Remember what I told you on December 24? This is what I'm going to do. It's a year of the Holy Spirit. 2020 will be the year of the Holy Spirit. It's not that we haven't desired and followed the Spirit of God. But I'm telling you, it's like taking a Tesla for a test and actually owning it.

There's a big difference.

This is what I'm looking forward to. I can't wait. Can't wait for what? Can't wait for what he's up to.

I don't even know why because it says in John chapter 3 verse 6 that you don't know. I mean,

John 3:6

just read it. John chapter 3 verse 6 and we'll finish with that. Come up. The entire music team made up of two people. Come quickly. Where are the rest? Guys, make sure you tell them that there was a great reveal in church today. Make them feel guilty and then make them listen to the thing. What did I say? John chapter 3 verse 6. John 3 verse 6.

John 3:6 John 3:6 John 3:6

The reason, guys, I'm not, partly what I'm trying to do is create in you this anticipation because we do not know. But we know that there will never be a year, there hasn't been a year like this in Acts 29. And this year will be magnificent. Everyone will be caught up in it just like they were when the Holy Spirit came into that room and the 120 were seated there. And none will be spared.

None will be spared. And here's what it says in John chapter 3 verse 6. It says,

John 3:6

oh, listen to this. Listen to this. Father, as I read these words, this is your living word. Do something in our spirits that only you can do, in our minds that only you can do, in our bodies that only you can do. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to Spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying that you must be born again.

Hey, if you're not born again and you want to be born again, stand up right now. Anyone? If you're not born again and you want to be born again, stand up right now. All good? Cool. Just in case. Okay.

Jesus answered. I tell you that, okay, sorry, starting again at verse 6. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to Spirit. Can you imagine for an entire year only giving birth to things that are of the Spirit? What will that look like, man? In your lives, in our lives.

And then he goes on to say, you should not be surprised at my saying that you must be born again. The wind blows wherever it pleases you. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit. That's what's going to happen. That's why I said I look forward to it with anticipation, but I do not have an idea what's going to happen because I'll have to look at the trees to figure out what's happening. Yeah. So right now, prepare yourself. Wasn't that one of the

shortest sermons you've heard? Right now, prepare yourself, consecrate yourself and worship Him and ask God, oh God, this year of the Holy Spirit, let it begin not in Danfers, but a week ahead. Yeah. Ask Him to, you know, just receive. I don't even know how to go about it. So let's figure it out.