Understanding the AnointingI recognize it on people, and I'm blessed by it, but I don't
have it and never did have it. Thank God for the pastor. Thank
God for the pastoral office. It's a marvelous anointing and
blessing of God. It's amazing how the anointing—the Spirit of
God—comes upon a person to stand in the office of pastor.
Some claim to be pastors. If you're called of God to pastor,
the anointing is going to be there to pastor.
There's more to pastoring than preaching, however. The
anointing is not there all the time to preach. If it were, a fellow
would preach himself to death. But the anointing will come on
you when you come to the pulpit to preach.
Paul wrote to Timothy, a young pastor, "Study to shew
thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be
ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth" (2 Tim. 2:15).
I learned a lot during the time God permitted me to pastor. I
think every pastor ought to be forced out on the field to
evangelize or be in field ministry for at least two years. Then
he'd know how to entertain evangelists and special speakers.
On the other hand, I think evangelists ought to be forced into
pastoring at least two years. Then they wouldn't say a lot of
things they say sometimes.
After about 10 years of pastoral work, I shut myself up in
my church and prayed and fasted for days. I said, "Lord, why am
I so dissatisfied? The church is growing. We've got all the
money we need. We have the best parsonage we've ever lived in.
We've got the best of everything.
"People are getting saved, filled with the Holy Spirit, and
healed in our services. From the natural standpoint, we have
every reason in the world to be satisfied—but I'm not satisfied.
Something is not right."
I kept seeking God. One day as I was praying around the
altar, God said, "The reason is, I never did call you to pastor to
begin with. That's not your calling. That's not your office."
Did you know there are a lot of people in the wrong office?