The Bible is a book of the actions of the Holy Spirit. It tells about the power and the acts of the Spirit, what He has done and the effects He has had on people. And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams. And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy (Acts 2:17, 18). These verses tell of the great anointing of the Spirit for the last days of the Gentile dispensation, and that time is now.

Sin is abounding more and more in the world today, and murders and mass killings are taking place every day. The spirit of the Antichrist is taking over, but the Holy Spirit is moving in a greater way too; so you must stay anointed by Him and not let fear take you over.

You will not be able to conquer the spirits in the world today or have any peace without the anointing of the Holy Spirit being within you. Greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world (I John 4:4). The Holy Spirit is greater than the spirit of the Antichrist or any spirit of the world. As you look at all the things coming upon the Earth, you must keep the anointing of the Spirit moving within you, or fear will take you over—fear of what tomorrow may bring, fear of your problems, fear of the future and the list goes on. You will worry all the time and never be happy.

Beware of the Devil and Flesh

The Bible plainly says that the devil is trying to destroy every person he can. Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour (I Peter 5:8). The devil knows exactly what could sink you, discourage you or break you down. That’s why you have to know the Lord is always with you, and you don’t have to be afraid of anything. The devil now has more things he can use to entice you or get your attention than ever before, but you can’t pay attention to him. That’s why Paul said, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh (Galatians 5:16). You have to stay away from anything that could hinder you.

Flesh desires so many things that will lead you away from the Lord and keep you out of church and away from God’s people. The Bible says, Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching (Hebrews 10:25).

Many church doors are never open from one Sunday to the next because few people will attend a service during the week. Some churches even close their doors all summer, but the devil never takes a vacation. He is always on duty, and people are just giving him an opportunity to take over.

No Prejudice Allowed

Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons (Acts 10:34). The Holy Spirit has no prejudice, and you can’t either if you want to make it to Heaven. Every person is God’s workmanship, and all those who prepare will go to the same Heaven because it is for all people and all denominations.

You have to learn to love everyone down here because you can’t go to Heaven and hate your neighbor. The Bible says, Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another (I John 4:11). That’s what the anointing of the Holy Spirit will do for you.

The Early Church disciples had to learn to love everybody, but some of them held on to a little bit of prejudice. Peter would eat with Gentiles when only Gentiles were around; but if any Jews showed up, he would separate himself. Paul strongly rebuked Peter for that. But when Peter was come to Antioch, I withstood him to the face, because he was to be blamed. For before that certain came from James, he did eat with the Gentiles: but when they were come, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing them which were of the circumcision (Galatians 2:11,12).

At that time, the Jews wanted to have no dealings with the Gentiles; and they looked down on any Christian Jews who associated with the Gentiles. If Peter had been living in the anointing like he should have been at that time, he would not have cared what others thought.

Get Rid of All Prejudice

Paul had prejudice against not only Gentiles but also Christians and Christian Jews until he took on the anointing of the Spirit. His thinking was so off that he thought he was doing God a service to put Christians in jail and then kill them. If you have any prejudice, you may think you are justified in holding on to it; but God doesn’t think so.

Many people today have prejudice in their heart against others. Maybe it’s toward people of a certain nationality or ethnicity. Maybe it’s toward those who don’t have as much money or live in the same section of town as they do, but that should not be. We are all made out of the same kind of clay. The only thing that makes any of us good is Jesus being within.

Jesus was greatly anointed by the Holy Spirit; and He said, The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, To preach the acceptable year of the Lord (Luke 4:18,19).

No Anointing Means Trouble

The world was a very dark place until Jesus came and brought light, deliverance and great joy. He made it possible for people to be anointed by the Spirit at all times, and that’s what man needed. When Jesus walked on Earth, the Early Church disciples did not yet have the Holy Ghost; and that caused some problems.

Before Jesus was arrested, He told His twelve disciples, All ye shall be offended because of me this night: for it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered (Mark 14:27). Peter didn’t believe that, and he spake [to Jesus] the more vehemently, If I should die with thee, I will not deny thee in any wise (Mark 14:31). If Peter could have stayed right by Jesus’ side and not gotten away from Christ’s anointing, he probably wouldn’t have denied Jesus; but he did not have that anointing within.

When the soldiers came to arrest Jesus, Peter used his sword to cut off the ear of one of the soldiers. Then later, he denied Jesus just as Jesus had said he would. Then began he [Peter] to curse and to swear, saying, I know not the man (Matthew 26:74). I say again that if Jesus had been right by Peter’s side, he could have stood the test.

Peter could not always be with Jesus, so he needed the anointing of the Holy Spirit to abide within him. Jesus had promised Peter, Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it (Matthew 16:18). But Peter first had to go to the Upper Room with the other disciples to receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit, power from On High.

The Anointing Changes People

You may think you will never amount to anything for God, but it’s the anointing of the Lord that will take you places in Him. How far you go depends on how much you yield to Him.

David had to depend on the anointing of the Spirit to kill Goliath. Samson had to depend on the anointing of the Lord to kill a lion with his bare hands and to kill 1000 men with the jawbone of an ass. Unfortunately, both David and Samson lost their anointing because of disobedience, and they lost so much with it.

The devil does everything he can to get your mind off of God and steal your anointing. He wants you to be worried and afraid because those things allow him to get into your mind. Everyone gets worried and afraid at times, but you have to get rid of them right away through the anointing of God; or your anointing will eventually leave.

Before Paul was saved, he was really somebody in the world. He was very educated, had great wealth and held one of the highest seats in the court of his people; but when he gave his life to the Lord, he stopped depending on all of that and put his trust in the Lord. He took the anointing of the Spirit and went forth with the power of it to work for the Lord. He didn't let anything stop him or turn him back.

God Knows Your Heart

No one would ever have thought that God would make Paul one of His chosen vessels, but only God knows a person’s heart. He said about Paul, He is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel: For I will shew him how great things he must suffer for my name’s sake (Acts 9:15,16).

God is a God of great mercy. I used to look at some folks and the things they did and think, “God, there’s no need for me to pray for them. You’ll never be able to bless them.” Then I would watch God bless them in a great way. Always remember that God looks on the heart. The LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart (I Samuel 16:7).

People whom you may never expect can humble themselves before the Lord and change. If we confess our sins, he [the Lord] is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (I John 1:9). God is so merciful!

The more you live in the anointing of the Spirit, the more you will see and understand the love and mercy of God. You will begin to see and think as God does, and His ways are not our ways. The Lord said, For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts (Isaiah 55:8,9).

Love One Another

When you live in the anointing of the Spirit, you will have great love and compassion for others; and you will pray for your enemies. Jesus said, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you (Matthew 5:44). It takes a lot to pray for your enemies when you would rather they be destroyed; but when the anointing closes you in with its sweet Spirit, it changes you.

Take note that just receiving the anointing of the Spirit is not enough; you have to yield to it. When you are first baptized in the Holy Ghost, you may think, “I have everything I need. I will never have to battle with not loving anybody again.” But you will. You may meet someone the very next day who treats you so badly you can hardly think straight; and suddenly, you may want to retaliate. If not, you will harbor something in your heart against them.

You have to yield to the anointing of the Spirit and allow it to put love in your heart for all people. You don’t have to like their ways, but you do have to love their souls; and it takes a great anointing to be able to do that. You get that great anointing through prayer, fasting and living close to God. Then God will give you the victory.

Remember that the Israelites had to march around the walls of Jericho without saying a word for seven days. No one was allowed to mention that their feet or their backs hurt or how tired they were. If you could go a whole week without saying a word—and I don’t mean because you’re pouting—you might have many more victories.

You must take the anointing of the Spirit with you at all times and yield to it. Some of you keep the radio or the TV going all day long, so you don’t have any more of the anointing working in you than a frog does. The Lord said, Be still, and know that I am God (Psalm 46:10). The Word also says, Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee (Isaiah 26:3). You can’t possibly have your mind on the Lord when you never get quiet with Him. That’s why some of you are always so worried and scared.

If you are not living in the anointing of God today, you are missing the peace, joy and blessings of the Lord. If you are not saved, you need to start there and give your heart to the Lord because the Spirit cannot move into an unclean vessel. Say the sinner’s prayer located on page 6 of this magazine. Then go on to receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Only then can you yield to His anointing and enjoy it every day.