The empowering anointing is a topic many believers are completely unaware of. Yet if you are a child of God, cleansed by the blood of Jesus and sealed by His Spirit, you can and should operate with the empowering anointing.
Remember, the abiding anointing of 1 John 2:27 is in you, and the empowering anointing of Acts 1:8 is on you. They are separate. Many believers are not even aware of the Holy Spirit’s activity in their lives, let alone the different types of anointing. But if you desire to be used by God, it is essential to understand how to operate in the empowering anointing.
Not everyone is called to stand behind a pulpit or hold an office of apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor, or teacher. But every Christian can and should have a ministry—whether it is interceding in prayer to fight spiritual battles, witnessing to others and leading them to Christ, laying hands on people to pray for healing, the working of miracles, ministering to others through words of knowledge or other spiritual gifts or the ministry of helps. And if you are going to be used by God to minister to others, you must have the empowering anointing.
“I have found David My servant; with My holy oil have I anointed him” (Ps. 89:20).
It may surprise you to learn that the empowering anointing upon you is not about you. It’s not about you because you cannot earn it or achieve it on your own. It’s not about you because it is not for your personal benefit. It is for the benefit of others. It’s not about you because it’s about Him. It is about the Lord Jesus. The empowering anointing is for God’s glory. It’s not about you.
The abiding anointing that He has placed in you is completely under God’s control. He is totally in charge of it. As long as you are walking with the Lord and abiding in His presence, you are living in the fullness of this anointing within you. It has one main purpose: to transform you into the image of the Lord. That’s it.
That’s the excitement of the Christian life. It is about so much more than just your being on your way to heaven. What makes the Christian life so exciting is that you are continually becoming more like Jesus. The change began on the day you were saved, and since then you have been becoming more and more like Jesus every day. As long as you remain here on this earth, you will continue to be transformed into the image of Christ Jesus. That’s what the abiding anointing does.
The Dangers of the Empowering Anointing
Now I will write about something you will never learn in Bible school: the dangers of the empowering anointing. This is not a subject that is taught in classrooms or preached from pulpits. But there are genuine dangers, and you can do a lot of damage to yourself, your family and the people you minister to if you do not properly handle the empowering anointing.
When God places the empowering anointing upon you, He is trusting you with this divine equipping. He trusts you with it so much that He puts you in charge of it. Think about how amazing that is! He is in charge of the abiding anointing, which transforms you, yet He puts you in charge of the empowering anointing, which demonstrates His power to the world!
What makes the empowering anointing so amazing is the same thing that makes it so dangerous: God puts us in charge of it. If you are not careful, that level of power can quickly and easily go right to your head. You can do great damage with it. And sadly, many have.
What will you do with the empowering anointing? Many will be rejected because they didn’t use it properly. The Lord calls them workers of iniquity and says, “I never knew you” (Matt. 7:23). We know this is true because we’ve seen people who have casually played with the empowering anointing. They’ve muddled this holy endowment with fleshly ambition, creating careers instead of callings. They’ve used it to manipulate others, to make money. They’ve turned it into cheap merchandise and put it up for sale.
The empowering anointing is a precious gift. We should respect it and hold it in awe, handling it with reverence. Many have lost a holy fear of handling the empowering anointing. This is a dangerous mistake; it is not to be taken lightly. God has trusted you with His tremendous power. You had better know what you’re doing with it and treat it properly.
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Abby Trivett 
