The Holy Spirit Series 19

Today’s session is quite close to my heart and I was deeply encouraged by it, I hope it will be the same for you too. We will continue to study about the oil and how it signifies the Holy Spirit.

b.      Oil of Gladness: Ever since the fall there has been a problem with all of creation; nothing is as it should be. God created everything and declared that it was good but looking at the world today can make anyone doubt God’s sovereignty and even His existence. There is death and destruction all around us whether man-made or natural. As I write this two people who are close to me have been diagnosed with stage 4 cancer, one has it in the brain while the other in her bones.  Having spoken to both women I understood that true hope comes only to those who have Christ for only one of them is a believer. The unbeliever is a cousin. Having known her over many years I understad her pain and sorrow. She had a hard life, she never enjoyed her life and now she was diagnosed with bone cancer that has now rendered her bedridden with only a month to live. Her resentment is understandable and heart breaking. The other is a very dear family friend whom I’ve known for over 15 years as a prayerful and godly woman from church. Her diagnosis was shocking but after speaking to her and hearing what the Lord spoke to her was truly encouraging and an eye opener to me and my wife. In her sickness she ministered to the nurses that tended to her and 4 of them accepted Christ while her brother who so refused the gospel all these years also came to the Lord seeing her faith, along with his family. She has provoked me to introspect my own convictions and stand. God removed her fear of death and gave her an inner strength to take joy rather than sorrow and despair as her mantle. Coincidently I was meditating on this topic on the oil as a symbol and the Lord put out this verse to me:

‘To grant those who mourn in Zion, giving them a garland instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the mantle of praise instead of a spirit of fainting. So they will be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified.’ Isaiah 61:3.

Isaiah 61 starts with, ‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me…’ and it leads to verse 3, meaning that the anointing of the Holy Spirit is the what gives a child of God the oil of gladness and a mantle of praise to be glad and praise God when faced with hopelessness. The key is that Is 61 talks about the ministry that the Anointing allows us to do, which Jesus quoted at the start of His ministry. The oil of joy is for those who do what is mentioned in the verses 1-2. It is the anointing that defines the purpose of a child of God while the stand/testimony during adversities speaks volumes of their faith and hope in the Lord Jesus and His promise of eternal life to all who believe in His name. We often think that our will power and convictions in the word of God is what will carry us through but the Lord has revealed it differently. The oil of gladness is part of the supernatural gift of faith 1 Corinthians 12:9, that enables the believer to transcend human reasoning. We all know about the shield of faith in Eph 6:16. What many do not realize is the significance. The shield that we commonly see in the hands of Roman soldiers were the big metallic shields but as per the verse a metallic shield would not quench a fiery dart (arrow). The arrow would ricochet of a metallic shield and hit someone else. The actual shield used during war was a wooden shield that was covered with leather. The soldier would drench it with water before going into battle, so that when a flaming arrow was fired upon him the arrow would embed itself into the shield and would get doused. Now to maintain the suppleness of the leather covering the shield was oiled regularly. Without the oiling process the leather would dry out and crack. Our shield is our faith but the anointing of the Lord is what makes our faith strong. It is the joy of the Lord that makes us strong. Amen. Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego refused to bow before the idol and deny their faith ready to die even if God did not deliver them Dan 3:16. This is the faith that the Anointing is going to bring more and more in the days to come. This oil of gladness is symbolically represented by its use in the ceremonial sacrifices, since every sacrifice is painful yet the purpose far outweighs the cost and so Jesus sacrificed Himself joyfully Heb 12:2. Consider also that the oil is obtained by beating and crushing the olive and then exposing it to heat. The true essence on a believer is seen in his faith life tested in the rigours of life whether simple or even unto death. Our lives should glorify His name which will only happen when people see our faith life and good works. Is 61:3 ends declaring that the anointed disposition of the child of God will declare His work in our lives thus giving Him the glory. Every believer today stands because someone gave their life to get the gospel to him and they did it joyfully. There is no life without death as seen in Jn 12:24.

This study has been such an encouragement to me on a personal level. As a believer our hope is eternity with our Saviour. It is my prayer that we will accomplish the purpose for which we were sent into the world and that God would furnish us with His word and strengthen us by His Spirit to live life to the fullest in Him. For a believer life begins the day he/she departs from this world. Till next time. God bless