Today’s New Covenant nugget is from 1 John 2:20,27
But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you know all things. The anointing which you have received from Him abides in you, and you do not need that anyone teach you; but as the same anointing teaches you concerning all things, and is true, and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you will abide in Him.
If you want to know if something is from the Lord or not, give it the anointing litmus test.
Ask the Holy Spirit to lead you in all things through the Word, through peace and joy, and by the anointing… then ask Him to help you discern the anointing before you make a decision… if there is a strong anointing mixed with peace and joy, the Lord’s stamp of approval is on it, but if there is no anointing on it, something is wrong… it may be the timing, it may be something else, but you would be wise to continue to seek the Lord about His leading.
Your flesh may get excited by something that the Lord is not leading you to do.
It is important to be able to know the difference between ‘flesh’ peace and joy, ‘a counterfeit anointing that appeals to the flesh’ and Spirit peace and joy and the anointing of the Holy Spirit. Your flesh may get very excited to do something, even though the Lord is absolutely NOT leading you to do it.
Ask the Holy Spirit to help you to discern correctly… there is a huge difference between excited flesh, or soul peace and the true anointing. The anointing is infused with the Lord’s Presence, it is full of life and is full of “Spirit Joy” and “Spirit Peace.” There is no pressure on it, no frustration and no need to make something happen… true anointing is pre-loaded with faith, patience, joy, peace and rest.
How to identify the anointing…
Firstly, be full of the Word, be prayed up (praying in the Spirit) and then get in an anointed atmosphere where you are soaking in God’s presence… for example, while you are soaking under anointed worship music, or when you are in a service where the Holy Spirit is moving, or when an anointed minister is laying hands on you, or when the Holy Spirit touches you powerfully…
In this anointed atmosphere, ask the Holy Spirit to teach you how to identify and recognize the anointing… listen, observe and pay close attention to what the anointing feels like, what are you sensing? What presence are you being encountered by? What does it smell like and what does it look like? In other words, “become acquainted with the anointing in a setting where the anointing is STRONG and obvious…” and then (later)… when you are seeking the Lord about something, ask yourself, “do I recognize and discern the same anointing that I did before?”
The more time that you spend in God’s presence in an anointed atmosphere, the more you will grow in your ability to discern it when seeking to be led by the Spirit and the easier it is to discern the anointing.
In His amazing love, Nick
