Chapter 1

What Is the Anointing?

"But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth."

— Acts 1:8 (NKJV)

Divine Empowerment: The Definition

Let me begin with the most fundamental question: What is the anointing?

The anointing is divine empowerment. It is not an emotion. It is not goosebumps during worship. It is not the feeling you get when a powerful preacher is on the platform. The anointing is the supernatural enablement of God upon a human being to accomplish what human ability alone cannot accomplish.

How does this divine empowerment come about? Through the person of the Holy Spirit.

Jesus Himself made this absolutely clear. In Acts 1:8, He told His disciples: "You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you." Not power from education. Not power from connections. Not power from natural talent. Power from the Holy Spirit.

And notice what Jesus told them before this. He commanded them, it was not a suggestion, He commanded them not to leave Jerusalem. Do not go anywhere. Do not preach. Do not start any ministry. Do not attempt to fulfil any assignment. Wait.

Wait for what?

"For John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now."

— Acts 1:5 (NKJV)

Here is the key: Jesus had already taught them for three years. They had already walked with Him. They had already seen miracles, heard His sermons, received His instructions. They had more theological training than most seminary graduates. And yet Jesus told them, do not move until you receive power from on high.

If the disciples of Jesus Christ, who had been personally mentored by the Son of God, could not begin their assignment without the anointing, what makes you think you can?

How the Anointing Comes

The anointing comes through being baptised with the Holy Spirit. When you are Spirit-filled, or what we call baptised with the Holy Spirit, there are signs that accompany it.

The first and most consistent sign in Scripture is speaking in tongues.

The book of Mark, chapter 16, verse 17 confirms this:

"And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues."

— Mark 16:17 (NKJV)

Everywhere in the New Testament where people were filled with the Holy Spirit, they spoke in new tongues. This is not a denominational debate, it is a biblical pattern. On the Day of Pentecost, as recorded in Acts chapter 2:

"When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance."

— Acts 2:1–4 (NKJV)

Notice the pattern: they waited, they were unified, the Spirit came, and they spoke in tongues. This is not a cultural practice. This is the biblical blueprint for receiving the anointing.

Why You Cannot Serve God Without the Anointing

Now, let me be absolutely clear about something that some may find confrontational. You cannot serve God effectively without the anointing. It does not matter how educated you are. It does not matter how talented you are. It does not matter how sincere you are.

Flesh and blood cannot serve God. The Bible states this plainly:

"For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another."

— Galatians 5:17 (NKJV)

What is flesh? It is our ability without God. It is when we use our physical capacities, our natural intelligence, our human effort, our secular training, to try to serve God without the help of the Holy Spirit. Our physical part is formed of our flesh, our blood, and our natural carnal mind. And the Bible says the carnal mind is enmity against God, it is His enemy.

You can be a brilliant accountant employed by a church, managing the books perfectly. But when Satan confronts you spiritually, and he will, because you are now serving God's interests, your accounting degree will not help you. Your MBA will not cast out a demon. Your professional qualifications will not protect you from a spirit of divination.

This is why Jesus was so careful. He did not allow His own disciples to begin before they received this power. And notice, even Jesus Himself did not begin His ministry until He was baptised and filled with the Spirit:

"When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water... and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him."

— Matthew 3:16 (NKJV)

For thirty years, Jesus lived on this earth without performing a single recorded miracle. Why? He was in preparation. He was growing. And when the time came, He was baptised and filled with the Holy Spirit. Then, and only then, the Bible says He returned in the power of the Spirit and began His ministry.

If the Son of God waited for the anointing, who are you to bypass it?

The Counterfeit Kingdom

Now, this may not be typical theological teaching, but I need to caution you about something from the very beginning of this book.

Did you know that Satan can also perform what look like miracles?

In the hierarchy of demonic authorities, a senior demon can remove a junior demon. Why would Satan cast out his own? So that the person is convinced that Satan can help them.

Here is how it works. Somebody is sick. They cannot find help. They go to a witch doctor. The witch doctor tells them what to do. The demon that was causing the sickness leaves, and the person feels healed. But do you know what Satan has actually done? He has convinced that person that there is genuine help with the witch doctor. So they will tell everyone: "From the time I went to that witch doctor, my back pain was healed." And they will take many others there.

The lesser demon left so that the higher demon could establish trust.

This is why for every original thing God has, there is a counterfeit. When you see a true prophet operating in the word of knowledge, there is somewhere a diviner who has what looks exactly like the word of knowledge, but he is not prophesying from the Holy Spirit. He is prophesying from a familiar spirit.

What is a familiar spirit? It is a demon that has been in your family so long that it knows everything about you. It knows your name. It knows your history. It knows your problems. It knows your address. And it feeds that information to a diviner who then presents it as prophecy.

I mention this here, in the very first chapter, because the anointing is too important a subject to discuss without also addressing its counterfeit. In the chapters that follow, we will go much deeper into the spirit of divination. But for now, understand this principle:

Not every display of spiritual power comes from the Holy Spirit. And not every person speaking in tongues is speaking by the Holy Ghost.

The enemy has created counterfeit tongues. There are people who speak in tongues under a spirit of divination, not the Holy Spirit. This is not to frighten you, it is to educate you. An educated soldier is a surviving soldier. An ignorant soldier is a dead one.

The Foundation of Everything That Follows

Here is what I want you to carry from this chapter into the rest of this book:

1. The anointing is divine empowerment, supernatural ability given by the Holy Spirit to accomplish your God-given assignment.

1. It comes through being filled with the Holy Spirit, evidenced by speaking in tongues as the Spirit gives utterance.

1. You cannot fulfil your purpose without it, no amount of human effort, education, or sincerity can substitute for the power of God.

1. There is a counterfeit, Satan has created imitations of every genuine operation of the Holy Spirit. The rest of this book will equip you to discern the difference.

1. Even Jesus waited for it, if the Son of God did not bypass the anointing, neither should you.

The anointing is not optional equipment for the spiritually ambitious. It is the basic, non-negotiable, minimum requirement for every believer who wants to survive, serve, and succeed in the kingdom of God.

Reflection Questions

1. Have you been baptised with the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues? If not, what has prevented you from seeking this experience?

1. In what areas of your life or service have you been relying on human ability rather than the empowerment of the Holy Spirit?

1. How does the reality that Satan creates counterfeits of spiritual gifts change the way you evaluate prophetic experiences you have had in the past?

1. Jesus told His disciples to wait before they began their assignment. Are there areas where you have been trying to serve God in your own strength, without first being empowered?

Prayer

Father, I thank You for the gift of the Holy Spirit. I recognise that without Your divine empowerment, I cannot fulfil the purpose You have for my life. I ask You today, fill me afresh with Your Holy Spirit. Give me the power to serve You, the discernment to recognise the counterfeit, and the humility to wait for Your timing before I move. I refuse to operate in my flesh. I choose to operate in Your Spirit. Empower me, equip me, and anoint me for the assignment You have placed upon my life. In Jesus' name, Amen.