Ganeida's Knots

Now in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some unto honour, and some unto dishonour. ~2 Timothy 2:20

I believe I mentioned [at some point] that a great wrenching was taking place.   Somewhere in the foggy recesses of my mind it has occurred to me that vessels are cleaned before use, scoured even.  It's not painful so much as leaving one feeling raw, tender & far more exposed than one likes.

Garrulousness is a wonderful camouflage.  People think they are being told things when in reality all that talk is just a think smoke screen.  Sadly, so far as I am concerned, smoke screens are unacceptable to God. *sigh*

Anyway what we have been...not so much discussing, because that suggests a 2 way conversation, more the Listen up & shape up robust pep talk I get when I'm being flakier than usual....aspects of the anointing.

The anointing. *sigh* Even Christians don't share a common language.  Certain terms mean different things to different people.  Mention Baptism in the Spirit & one lot rhapsodizes about tongues while the other lot declares No Such Thing!

Anyway....

If you don't believe women belong in the 5~fold ministry just bear with me.  I understand your arguments so you don't need to reiterate them here.  Been there, done that.  Over it.  The fact of the matter is not about doctrine.  It is about relationship.  The one I have with God.  When He says Jump I might quibble for a bit but we both know that in the end I will jump.  How high, Lord?

Like calls to like.  Every believer has the Holy Spirit in them.  Every believer has a gift & calling from God ~ & those gifts & callings are irrevocable.  Something happens when people know the gift they have from God & are operating in it the way God wants them to.  I've always been aware of it.  See I love God's word.  Talking about God & His word makes me supremely happy.  It makes the Holy Spirit within me sing for joy because part of His job is to magnify Christ.

Lately there has been a shift.  I am far more aware of what happens to me & around me when I go to preach.  It is far, far stronger ~ & at times it feels a little uneven.  It makes me a little uneven.  But all has been explained.  I have been mostly aware of the outer anointing because that is very tangible: physically all my ADHD ~ emphasis on the hyperactivity~ comes to the fore because the Spirit knows we get to talk about Jesus & He's always excited when we get to do that!  I can sense the presence of the Spirit descend ~ a combination of light & warmth & empowerment.  Hard to explain but I know exactly when it arrives.  Just as I know when it leaves.  Stronger with some messages than others.

What I have been less aware of because it doesn't manifest physically is the inner anointing ~ which is just the presence of the Holy Spirit within me.  I am aware of when the 2 unite.  It's like a spiritual explosion & there is great power to speak.  My job is to ensure I feed my spirit enough that the inner & outer anointing stays balanced.  

And because I am sorta flakey I thought this was something all Christians experienced pretty regularly because we all pray & we all minister in some capacity ~ or should.  I think I have been blithely making assumptions I shouldn't have.  

Do you remember at the end of Lewis' The Last Battle they are urged to come Further up & further in?  For me that is what the anointing means.  It's God's invitation to come closer, to come right in to the Holy of Holies, to nestle under his wings, snuggle right up against His chest.  Something happens in that place.  Who I am falls away & there is only Christ ~ & Christ in me.  From that place Christ can manifest through me to shed abroad the love He has for the world He died to redeem.  Yes, it is humbling but it is also exciting.  And there is great joy in it because I can feel my Lord's pleasure in doing His will.  It is from that place one begins to understand just what Satan has robbed us of, how much he has blinded even the eyes of the Believers.  It generates a holy anger to want help people reclaim all they have been robbed of.  It is the reason any gift at all is given, that the lost might be found, the found discipled, the discipled established & the established sent forth to further the kingdom of God!