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Why We Need Fresh Oil, Who Qualifies, and How to Receive It
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This morning, we're going to talk about the oil—fresh oil. We want to know why the oil, what it represents, and what it does. We'll examine why we need fresh oil, who qualifies for it, what disqualifies us from obtaining it, and how to receive it.
As we heard, the oil represents the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Trinity. We have God the Father, God the Son (Jesus Christ), and God the Holy Spirit. They were all involved in creation, all involved in salvation—the Father draws us, Jesus paid the price, and the Holy Spirit ministers to our hearts so that we understand we need Jesus. They will all be involved in judgment and rewards at the end of time.
The Holy Spirit carries out the work of God the Father, which is why He is called the executive of the Godhead. In the Old Testament, the Holy Spirit was very active, coming upon people occasionally—upon Saul when he was anointed king, upon Samson giving him strength. However, from Pentecost onward, the Holy Spirit came in a new way: to reside permanently with those of us who are redeemed and saved, to give life to the body of Christ.
You shall receive power after that the Holy Spirit has come upon you. (Acts 1:8)
The Holy Spirit is indispensable. He has come to empower us and prepare us for eternity. Power means strength, and the two go hand in hand.
It is God that works in us both to will and to do of his good pleasure. (Philippians 2:13)
It is the Holy Spirit that gives us the enablement, the strength, the power, the anointing we need to please God and do His will. Jesus told His disciples when He was leaving, "It is expedient for me to leave so that the Holy Spirit can come and reside in you and help you."
As we look at the characteristics of oil, we begin to understand the character of the Holy Spirit.
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I have found my servant David. With my holy oil have I anointed him. (Psalm 89:20)
David was anointed with oil. Jesus was anointed with the oil of gladness. The oil represents several things:
Oil is a lubricant—it signifies ease. When we have the Holy Spirit, we don't struggle. When we are struggling, it means we lack oil or our oil is stale or has run down. The Holy Spirit gives us ease; when the Holy Spirit moves through us, we accomplish things smoothly.
Oil is used for anointing—it signifies empowerment by God. We are anointed with oil.
Oil is used for cooking—it flavors food, gives it color, and nourishes. Just as oil is essential to food, the Holy Spirit is essential to our spiritual life.
Oil is used as a cosmetic—we put oil on our skin to keep it from becoming dry. When we have the Holy Spirit, it makes us visible, attractive, and desirable.
It makes the face to shine. (Psalm 104:15)
Oil protects—it prevents rust in engines, dryness of the skin, and keeps undesirable bacteria from resting on us. Just so, the Holy Spirit protects us from sin by nudging us and telling us what is wrong.
Oil preserves—it preserves gifts from corruption by the flesh. King Saul, who did not subject himself to the Holy Spirit, had his anointing and gift corrupted. Samson is another example whose gift became corrupted.
Oil is fuel for burning—fuel for the fire.
The fire upon our altar must not go down. (Leviticus 6:12)
The Spirit quickens us and energizes the fire inside us.
Oil can lose its potency. If it loses its potency, it loses its characteristics. Those of us with cars know that engine oil becomes stale and must be changed during service, or it can damage the car. Performance is at its best when oil is fresh. When you cook with fresh oil, the food tastes better. When you use stale oil, you can taste it and smell the difference. It's not attractive.
Stale oil can be a hindrance. Used engine oil becomes thicker and full of impurities, so it doesn't work as effectively as fresh oil, which is clean and transparent.
For new assignments and new battles, we need fresh oil. David was anointed first over his kindred. But that anointing could not make him head over Judah, so he needed a second anointing—fresh anointing. Being head over Judah could not carry him to lead all Israel, so he needed to be anointed a third time.
Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ often retired after doing great signs and wonders. He would go to a solitary place to be refreshed because He needed fresh oil. He told the woman with the issue of blood, "Virtue has left me." He needed to be re-anointed with fresh oil.
Our oil can run out. In the story of the ten virgins, we see this truth clearly. Some of us are running out of steam already. We need oil to carry us through the rest of the year. We need oil to help us with new battles and new assignments the Lord wants to give us.
David's oil did not run dry because it was replenished with fresh oil. But look at Samson—his oil ran out because of disobedience. He became disconnected from his source. He allowed Delilah to shave his head, the source of his anointing. The Bible says he got up like before, thinking he still had the anointing, but the anointing had left him. We must not become like King Saul or Samson.
Whoever is a lamb—like our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Lambs are sacrificial; they are willing to pay the price, willing to sacrifice their own interests for the Lord, willing to subdue the flesh, willing to totally surrender to the will of God. These are the ones who qualify for fresh oil.
The sheep—what is the character of sheep? They simply follow the shepherd without question. They are obedient followers of Jesus Christ, and they will always qualify for fresh oil. People like David—no wonder the Lord called David a man after His own heart. No wonder he was anointed with fresh oil.
Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore, be wise as serpents and harmless as doves. (Matthew 10:16)
The doves—these represent harmlessness and peace-loving people. You don't want to give anointing to someone who would destroy. You want to give it to someone who is peaceful, who will not misuse the anointing.
The donkey—they are humble. They are willing to be used by God and not share His glory. They return all the glory back to God. The anointing will only be given to those who will return the glory to whom the glory is due, because the power comes from the Holy Spirit, not from our ability.
The deer—they are hungry, thirsty, and sure-footed. The anointing will only be given to sure-footed Christians, those standing right in God, not those who are in and out, not those easily swayed.
His heart pants as the deer pants for the Lord. (Psalm 42:1-2)
David's heart panted for the Lord. Those who hunger and thirst for righteousness will always receive fresh oil, just as Jesus was anointed:
Because he loved righteousness and hated iniquity, the Lord has anointed him with the oil of gladness above his fellow. (Hebrews 1:9)
Jesus had a hunger and thirst for righteousness.
The story of Simon the sorcerer gives us insight into those who would not receive the oil. He was a sorcerer for many years, drawing people to himself, seeing himself as great. When he saw others being preached to by Philip, he believed like the others did. But he was not regenerated; his mind was not renewed. That's why he offered money for the gift. His motive was wrong. He wanted to go back to his old trade and use it for his own gain.
The anointing is not for gains, not for money-making. Freely we received it. It's a gift, and freely we must give it.
But the Lord, who sees the mind, saw that Simon wanted the anointing so he too could lay hands on people and have them receive the Holy Spirit—not to give glory to God, but to take glory for himself as he had done before. He was still unrepentant. Peter told him, "Repent therefore of this your wickedness, and pray God if perhaps the thought of your heart may be forgiven you."
Peter and John recognized that he was poisoned by bitterness and bound by iniquity. He was not a changed man.
The dogs—these represent unbelievers and, among believers, adulterers. They are for Christ one day, for the devil the next. They jump from one to the other. God will not give His anointing to dogs. King Saul, after the Holy Spirit left him, went to a witch instead of begging for forgiveness and restoration. He was an adulterer to God.
The wolves—these are false teachers, fierce enemies of the gospel, ravenous wolves. Jesus warned:
Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. (Acts 20:29)
Bar-Jesus was a false prophet and sorcerer. When he opposed Paul and Barnabas, Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, said:
O full of all deceit and all fraud, you son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, will you not cease perverting the straight ways of the Lord?
Immediately, darkness fell upon him, and he went seeking someone to lead him by the way.
The snakes—these are deceivers, deceitful people. The snake deceived Eve in the garden, and the snake became the dragon in Revelation. Deceivers will not qualify for the anointing.
Serpents, brood of vipers, how can you escape the condemnation of hell? (Matthew 23:33)
The goats—these are stubborn, disobedient, rebellious people. If we are rebellious or disobedient to the word of God, we do not qualify for the anointing.
All the nations will be gathered before him. He will separate them one from another as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. And he will set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. (Matthew 25:32-33)
The pigs—these are unclean people, unredeemed unbelievers. If anyone here has not yet given their life to Christ, there is an opportunity to do so, so that you can qualify to receive the fresh oil that has been promised. Pigs are unclean; they eat anything. They are unredeemed, unbelievers.
The foxes—they are deceitful and crafty. Jesus spoke of Herod as a fox. When Herod told the wise men, "When you find him, come and tell me so that I too will go and greet him," he was deceiving them. His intention was to kill Jesus because he saw Jesus as a rival, not understanding that Jesus is King of kings and Lord of lords.
The horses—these are people who are stubborn and headstrong. If you are stubborn, you are not correctable. If you are headstrong, you won't listen to instruction. These have no understanding.
They have no understanding; they have to be harnessed with bit and bridle since they will not come willingly. (Psalm 32:9)
You can't use someone with the anointing this way.
We receive by hearing and believing the word. In Acts 8, those who believed were baptized with water. When Peter and John came, they laid hands on them, and they were baptized in the Holy Spirit—except Simon, the sorcerer, who wanted it for the wrong motive and by money.
When we hear and believe the word, and we are doers of the word, we qualify for fresh oil and fresh anointing.
By praying. The Bible says:
The disciples were all in one accord. They were praying when the Holy Spirit descended on them. And they began to be filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages. (Acts 2:1-4)
When we pray and ask the Lord to fill us, when we pray that the Holy Spirit should take control of our lives, we position ourselves to receive.
By the laying on of hands. Peter and John laid hands on people, and they received the Holy Spirit. We can receive by impartation:
I long to see you, that I may impart unto you some spiritual gift. (Romans 1:11)
By being hungry and thirsty for righteousness, like our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The Lord saw the hunger and thirst for righteousness in David:
His heart pants for the Lord. (Psalm 42:1)
If we truly and deeply desire it, we will receive it.
By renewing our minds. Our motives must change. It must be for the glory of God, not for our own gratification. If it's for God's glory, the Lord will release it to us. But if it's for self-gratification and self-advancement, like Simon the sorcerer, we will not receive it.
Present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God: and be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind. (Romans 12:1-2)
By developing the fruit of the Spirit—being obedient, sacrificial, humble, meek. These are the qualities God will see in us and will anoint us. If you have the gift of the Spirit without the fruit of the Spirit, it can lead to destruction and cause harm to others. That's why the Lord wants us to develop the fruit of the Spirit by reading His word and obeying the nudging of the Holy Spirit.
I want us to rise up and ask the Lord to have mercy upon us. Many of us might have been desiring the anointing for the wrong motives—for self-gratification or self-advancement. Many of us might have received the anointing before but did not use it to glorify God. We did not return the glory to God. Ask for God's mercy.
Cry to our Father, cry to our God who is merciful, faithful, and just, to forgive us. If He transformed Saul of Tarsus, who had zeal but no knowledge—God saw his heart full of zeal and transformed him into one of the greatest disciples—He can change us. He can transform us. He can anoint us for that which He has called us.
For those yet to receive the Lord and surrender your lives to God: you have an opportunity. Just ask the Lord, place your hand on your heart, and ask the Lord to come into you. Ask the Lord to forgive you. Ask the Lord to help you surrender yourself to Him for His use and glory. Ask the Lord to be your shepherd.
He wants to be your shepherd if you are willing to be His sheep.
If you are willing to be His sheep, He is ready. He has been waiting for you to shepherd you, to lead you beside the still waters, to lead you to green pastures.
Even though you walk through the valley of the shadow of death, you will fear no evil.
You may have been fearful of your past, but once you come to the knowledge of Christ, He forgives you, helps you, protects you, and preserves you. Speak to your Father, your Creator, your Maker. He is here. He wants to hear from you. Nobody can do it for you. Make up your mind. Be determined that you will not go out of here the same way you came.
For those of us who have given our lives to Christ and are walking in righteousness, we can still hunger and thirst for more. Let's ask for more. Let's tell our Father that we cannot operate with the old oil. We need fresh oil, fresh anointing. The journey is still far.
Without fresh oil, we don't want our oil to run out. We don't want to be like the five foolish virgins whose oil ran out. They came with insufficient oil. Pour, as You have promised, Your fresh oil upon us. We need to be energized. Some of us are already weary and tired, like Elijah became tired after his great victory over the prophets of Baal. He ran to his maker, sought solace, and the Lord fed him with a meal that contained oil and saw him through the journey.
Let's ask for oil, fresh oil for our journey.
