Daily Devotion: The Sweeping Anointing

THURSDAY: The Sweeping Anointing 6.13.24

Luke 15:8-10
8 “Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Won’t she light a lamp and sweep the entire house and search carefully until she finds it? 9 And when she finds it, she will call in her friends and neighbors and say, ‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lost coin.’ 10 In the same way, there is joy in the presence of God’s angels when even one sinner repents.”

Just as the woman sweeps her house to find the lost coin, we are called to actively work towards our spiritual goals & recoveries.

Application:

1. Actively 'sweep' through your daily routine to find & eliminate distractions or negative patterns.

2. Pray for the 'sweeping anointing' to effectively make changes & for the perseverance to keep going.

Every Blessing,
Ps. Russell & Beverly Hylton
www.russellhylton.com
www.bfwc.net
Leaguership

I Might Sound Old School To Some

I might sound old school to some, but I was taught & trained by people who believe in CONSECRATION. We were taught, when you go out to MINISTER, if you want the ANOINTING of God to be upon you, then you must live a life of CONSECRATION, PRAYER & FASTING. In other words, you couldn't live "any ole' way" outside of the church & then expect God to "ANOINT" you when you were up in front of God's people. I still believe this.

There are so many people walking around with the GIFT but not serving the GIVER.

"GIFTS" aren't enough. You need the ANOINTING.

I've seen people who were incredibly gifted...who can speak, sing, hoop, etc., but have no integrity/character. The Bible speaks about a man named Samson...who used to "shake" himself till the power of God would come upon him. Eventually, PRIDE cost him the ANOINTING on his life because he didn't RESPECT the ANOINTING.

We live in a time where people do whatever they want & say, "Don't be judging me!" Friends, we NEED people in our life that will tell us to GET OUR ACT TOGETHER! We need SPIRITUAL FATHERS to FATHER! We need PASTORS to PASTOR. We need ELDERS to ELD & DEACONS to DEAC!

CONSECRATION is NO JOKE! During COVID-19...we need to CONSECRATE.

Old School,
Pastor Hylton

ALIGNMENT structures ANOINTMENT for ASSIGNMENT

The complexities of ministry are best understood in retrospect. As I look back over my shoulder, I see more clearly the path that God laid for my future. 

I didn't set out to "pastor."  I did, however, feel the "pull & desire" to SERVE in ministry wherever, whenever & whatever.  It's as I served the Lord & His leaders that doors began to open for me. Doors I didn't imagine. Doors that my leaders helped open for me, through the Holy Spirit's leading. 

I remained "undercover" (and still am). I never made a move without FIRST coming to my leader(s) & laying before them the burden & burning of my heart. Then I left it there & kept doing what I was doing. No rush. No hurry. Sure, I was full of excitement & expectation but not looking for a "new thrill"...when everything God had for me was already before me & if I would just OCCUPY what I was already assigned...my NOW would produce my NEXT.

When the Lord begins to order your footsteps, He ALIGNS you. 

• He aligns you to His Kingdom purpose
• He aligns you with those you're serving 
• He aligns you in such a way that there is no confusion

The ALIGNMENT structures the ANOINTMENT 

that equips you for the ASSIGNMENT!

There remains in me an inward confidence & a Godly fear all rolled into one.  A confidence that God will NOT fail, has not failed and never will fail. This knowledge keeps me on the edge of my seat with an expectation that God is at work IN all things and THROUGH all things in my life. 

When you feel the STIRRING of The Lord, it's not always a change of BOATS...but rather a knowledge of where to best CAST your NET for Kingdom Harvest.  It's so important to be in covenant with a spiritual father/mother who will GUIDE you, PROTECT you & COVER you.  Without their blessing & covering, you'll be tempted to do things in the FLESH while trying to classify it as "The SPIRIT" leading.  For this reason we find a DIFFERENCE in those who are SENT and those who WENT. (Read more about this subject)

God is a God of order. He doesn't operate in confusion, coercion or collusion.  He operates in the LIGHT.   For example: If God has truly spoken to me about something He wants me to work towards, He will have me consult with those I'm "under" & "submitted" to.  He WILL NOT have me get everyone else's opinion (those who I'm not submitted to), work my own plan & then try to lay it out before my leader as if it's an already done deal. He will have me operate in ALIGNMENT because ALIGNMENT structures the ANOINTMENT that equips me for my ASSIGNMENT.

In the Kingdom of God, PROTOCOL is PARAMOUNT.  Without it, we are a runaway train heading down the wrong track.  May I also add, a dangerous practice in the Body of Christ is identifying ourselves by titles BEFORE our gift is fully proven.  (Notice that the early church knew this & set up PROTOCOLS when laying hands on anyone.)

If God has CALLED you, rest assured He will QUALIFY you...and it won't be in the way you see it or expect it.  We must get our eyes off of PEOPLE and quit listening to POPCORN PROPHETS who are gifted in TALK but lack a quality WALK in the Kingdom of God.

Friend...everything isn't "Thus saith The Lord!"  Allow me to teach here:  It's best to give prophetic words without a label. There's no need to say, "The Lord said or the Lord told me to tell you" unless necessary. 

Stay in ALIGNMENT & you'll receive the ANOINTMENT for the ASSIGNMENT.

Selah 

God has a FRESH ANOINTING for you today!

I Don't Need A Great Assignment To Experience A Greater Anointing

When David was anointed by Samuel, he didn't get booked on TBN, start a 501C3, or sell gift offers on his website. He went back to his assignment...tending sheep. (The same assignment that had him left out of the initial meeting.)

Don't confuse the fresh anointing God gives you with the activity you wish to receive. God may be trying to grow you, like He did David, where He gave him things in the field that made him right for the fight.

When you keep doing what you do, you will become the person that God always knew you were. It's not always something new...it's usually the same thing you've been doing with a greater anointing & awareness of God's Spirit at work within you!

The Likelihood Of Being Misunderstood

I believe one of the toughest things a leader deals with is that of being MISUNDERSTOOD. It can be very painful.  We can pretty much handle what people say against us, as long as they are engaged in our life.  But what really hurts is when people, who aren't committed in our life, form judgments and misconceptions based on outdated, false and distorted information.

In my mind, I can see Jesus hanging on the cross asking God to "forgive them for they know not what they do."  

Can you imagine the pain He experienced 

inside His heart, knowing that the very people 

He was giving His life for...MISUNDERSTOOD Him?

It's not fair.
It doesn't add up.
It doesn't make sense.

After all, Jesus is the one who raised Lazarus up from the dead.  Now, He's hanging on a cross, completely MISUNDERSTOOD by the people He came to offer life.

Why didn't He stop the crucifixion?  Certainly, He controlled the wind and storms!  Surely, He could have escaped this painful process!  

If you could...wouldn't you?

His own team forsook Him and fled. (Matthew 26:56). NEVER ONCE did Jesus explain Himself.  He watches Mary Magdalene, sobbing with intense emotional pain, but He doesn't even EXPLAIN HIMSELF.  He could have at least told her, "It's going to be alright, this is part of the plan.  My blood will atone for the sins of the world." .... BUT HE SAID NOTHING.

He was MISUNDERSTOOD.

You too will be MISUNDERSTOOD.  You will find yourself in a position where you can't tell what you want to tell.  You can't explain it and you can't whisper, no matter how much you want to, because you're a LEADER.

Your desire to please The Lord 

will outweigh your desire to please men.

Your relationship with people must be secondary to your relationship with God.  No matter how close you are with people, you must be closer to God.  Here's the irony of that...the closer people are to God, the more they will LOVE and RESPECT EACH OTHER.

Without a doubt, I love my friends and family.  However, some of my friends in the ministry are the dearest and closest people in my life...probably because we share a KINDRED spirit in our shared CALLING.

I believe what keeps us so CLOSE is our love for God more than our love for each other.  I know, without a doubt, that if I stopped following after Jesus, these friends would warn me and lovingly rebuke me if I didn't come to my senses. (It works both ways.)

No friendship or relationship is worth it's salt if it doesn't have an INFLEXIBLE commitment to God's glory first and to one another second.

Even your friends will MISUNDERSTAND you, at times. It will happen.  What will you do?

Here's what you must do: You must overlook your sentimental attachments and memories. They aren't sufficient to keep a relationship intact if you're not equally committed to hearing God's voice.

You will be called upon to BEAR THE CROSS OF MISUNDERSTANDING.  The more you bear it, the more you are putting God's voice first and the more God's voice will speak in your ear. 

Leaders will be misunderstood.
Spiritual fathers/mothers will be misunderstood.
Pastors will be misunderstood.

However, good evidence that you can be trusted with God's ANOINTING is your ability to BEAR THE CROSS OF MISUNDERSTANDING in the face of adversity.

• You will be called upon to LAY YOUR LIFE DOWN for people who consider not your life.
• You will at times feel like you're being RUN OVER and used by people.
• You will be taken ADVANTAGE of and then discarded when no longer needed.
• You will be MISUNDERSTOOD on many occasions. 

But remember the words of Apostle Paul in Philippians 1:12,

"But I would ye should understand, 

brethren, that the things which happened 

unto me have fallen out rather unto the 

furtherance of the gospel."

What Paul went through, as a leader, couldn't be compared to the GLORY that God would get out of his life, not only in the raising up of spiritual sons but also ensuring that the GOSPEL message would continue onward to future generations.

This MANDATE will bring with it THE LIKELIHOOD OF BEING MISUNDERSTOOD.  

But through it all...

• Keep going.  
• Keep loving. 
• Keep serving. 
• Keep sharing.
• Keep leading.
• Keep training.
• Keep teaching.
• Keep fathering.
• Keep pastoring.
• Keep teaching.
• Keep prophesying.
• Keep connecting.
• Keep raising.

There's No Expiration Date On Your Anointing!

When I was around eight years old, I watched my father kill a rattlesnake at my grandparent's house in Eastern Kentucky. He shot it and cut it's head off with a garden hoe.  Afterward, he took the rattler as a souvenir. I was so proud of my dad and his heroic effort, that I asked him if I could take the rattler to school for show and tell.
  

I've never liked snakes!  

The Apostle Paul had an encounter with a snake when he was shipwrecked on the Island called Melita (Acts 28:1-6).  While gathering wood for a fire, he is bitten by a venomous snake. As soon as the natives of the island see this viper hanging on Paul's hand, they go to forecasting his death. 

Isn't that just like people?  There are some people around you that know who you've been going through something, and know the devil has attacked you, and right now they're forecasting your death.  This might shock you, but there are some people around you that are happy you got bit.  They are taking pleasure in your pain.

It happened to Joseph. (Genesis 37)  After Joseph's brothers threw him in a pit and left him there to die, they sat down on the side of the pit and had lunch.  They entertained themselves, listening to Joseph's cries for help.

There are some people around you that are enjoying your pain, they are glad you got bit and they're saying things like ... "I knew they weren't going to make it; I knew that marriage wouldn't last; I knew they couldn't afford that house; I knew they would never make it in ministry; I knew they weren't qualified for that job; I knew their children were going to end up on drugs or in prison...."

They began to prophecy Paul's death and expected him to die.  But he disappointed them! I want you to know today that you're getting ready to disappoint some people!  They already had you dead, prophesied your death, wrote your epitaph and celebrated your expiration...but guess what?  You didn't die!

There's no expiration date
on your anointing!

I'm not saying you'll never be bit again, never have to fight another battle, never cry another tear or never spend another sleepless night.  I am saying that through it all YOU WILL BEAT THE DEVIL!

The devil tried to kill you with sickness, debt, family problems & marriage problems.  He's tried to kill your faith, peace, joy and dreams!  But I want you to look back over your shoulder and see what God has already brought you through!

You've been lied on, falsely accused, rejected, went through divorce, foreclosure, repossession, loss of work, stabbed in the back by "so-called" friends, got sick and thought you were going to die...but guess what?  YOU'RE STILL HERE!

Paul didn't die and neither will you!  That viper sunk his fangs into Paul's flesh and shot that poison into his body, but when the poison hit the anointing...that poison died!  In other words, Paul's anointing went to another level!

The vipers of hell have been unleashed against you, because of the anointing on your life! However, the bite still hurts!  The fangs are real and they're sharp!  But you're not going to die!

• You're going to shake it off and keep moving!
• You're going to another level in the anointing!
• Your testimony is going to another level!
• You're going to walk with a greater anointing and a greater authority than ever before!
• You're going to cast out bigger devils than before!
• Your faith is going to take you to places you could never go before!
• The scars from the bite will serve as a reminder of God's faithfulness!

The anointing does not exempt you from the bite of the viper, but it does give you power over the poison!  Not only did Paul shake the viper off and survive...he shook it off into the FIRE! 

The anointing destroyed the viper!

What the devil meant for evil, God means for good!  God is going to increase your anointing! You're not expiring...you're refiring! Go ahead and give God praise, because the bite of the viper cannot & will not kill you!

You are anointed!

Isaiah 10:27 "In that day: (This day) The burden shall depart from off thy shoulder and the yoke from off thy neck, because the yoke shall be destroyed because of the anointing!"