ROOM FOR THE SPIRIT 143received from Him abides in you, and you do not need that
anyone teach you; but as the same anointing teaches you
concerning all things, and is true, and is not a lie, and just
as it has taught you, you will abide in Him" (1 John 2:27).
It doesn't take a Ph.D. to be able to discern who has an
anointing and who doesn't. Even an unregenerate sinner
flipping a television dial during the Sunday-morning "God
slot" knows the touch of the Spirit when he sees it. He
recognizes it because, like a diamond, it is so rare.
There is nothing more tragic than people who don't
have an anointing trying to produce it. They try to force it,
but the touch of the Lord is just not there. How many times
have you traveled to hear a great speaker or Bible teacher
only to find out that the person is just an empty shell, that
there is nothing but knowledge on the inside. Filled with
facts and information but absolutely lifeless, they are
walking and talking but their words are dead.
I'll never forget what happened at a conference I
attended on the west coast. In an afternoon session a young
man was introduced to sing. With a tremendous, well-
trained voice he sang The King Is Coming! All the people
enjoyed it, and they gave him a great applause when he had
finished.
I don't know how it happened, but in the evening
service a lady sang exactly the same song. Frankly, she
didn't look like a singer, her voice was a little nasal, and
some of the notes were off pitch. But she had something
else that made up for those deficiencies a thousand times
over. By the time she got to the second chorus, people were
on their feet. Their hands were raised to heaven. The power
in that place was electric. And it didn't stop when she
finished. We praised the Lord and praised Him again. Then
we began to applaud—for the longest time. But we weren't
giving the singer an ovation. We were applauding the Giver