According to Merriam-Webster Dictionary, the word anoint means “to smear or rub with oil.”
Oil essentially represents the anointing, and the words are often used interchangeably in Scripture and other Christian discourse. In biblical times, oil was poured upon the heads of sheep to prevent insects from attacking. They would set up camp around or on the head and migrate to places around its ears and/or nostrils. Once in, these insects (lice and ticks) burrow deep into the sheep’s brain, killing it over time.
In response to this, shepherds would pour a substance, commonly a mixture of olive oil, on the top of the sheep’s head. It would eventually run down its ears making them too slippery for the bugs to cling on to. As it was for sheep in the natural, so should it be that the spiritual oil upon your life covers you to the point that whenever demons try to latch on to you, they slip off!
It Always Begins at the Top
Notice that the oil was poured on the sheep’s head. The anointing always begins at the top (head) and flows down as Psalm 133:2 (NIV) alludes to with Israel’s high priest, Aaron:
“It is like precious oil poured on the head, running down on the beard, running down on Aaron’s beard, down on the collar of his robe.”
The devil’s first target is always the head (your mind). If he’s able to infiltrate the brain, he can secure the body. This is the reason that our thoughts should be covered (concealed) and not always revealed.
Some people say that the devil cannot read our minds. In my studies, I’ve never encountered any Scripture to support this theory. They assume he doesn’t know what’s going on in our minds. To be on the safe side, we must actively guard our thought lives. We can accomplish this by meditating on the things the Lord commands us to.
“And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise” (Phil. 4:8, NLT).
According to Scripture, the secret to Samson’s strength was closely guarded information, because if it fell into the wrong hands, it would mean his utter defeat. We should do likewise in relation to ourselves. As with Jesus Christ, there are times when we are required to refrain from divulging the source of our breakthroughs or miracles or, in other words, the oil upon our lives.
Conceal the Oil Until the Appointed Time
Jesus used parables to conceal His original messages for those who couldn’t handle the truth. The anointing we may or may not carry comes directly from the Lord. He is the giver of the oil. This oil is specific to each of us, none being identical to the other. One may require an anointing for breakthrough, another for healing and another for revival. Every anointing has a precise purpose and function.
Satan is not omniscient (all-knowing) like God. Therefore, Satan is not privy to all the Lord knows. There are some things about you the Lord will not allow Satan to see. In some cases, it could be the oil that’s upon your life.
The enemy may have witnessed the anointing for a millennium, but God has a fresh, new anointing for each proceeding generation of believers. The devil is unable to accurately predict every new wave of the Spirit. He may assume, but he doesn’t always know with assurance. The enemy may get a revelation of the oil, but it’s usually after its utilization. As it says in Ecclesiastes 3:1, there is a season (period of time) for everything, even the revelation that makes its home within the anointing.
The Oil Is the Key to Unlocking Various Royal Domains in the Kingdom
For every realm (royal domain or kingdom), there is a revelation. In order to receive it, you must live in the kingdom and not outside it. There are royal domains in the Spirit for which certain types of oil are specifically designed. Royal domains include, but are not limited to: revelations regarding healing, deliverance, prophecy, discernment and so on.
Access is being granted due to the oil on our lives that comes from the daily trials and tribulations germane to citizens of the kingdom. Enduring hardness as a good soldier of Jesus Christ increases not only your anointing, but also your chance for admission to royal domains. By entering this domain, there will be a realization of your effectiveness as it relates to your kingdom assignment from God. The oil is the proverbial key to that certain area of the kingdom.
Our anointing gives us access, but our spoken words can delay or deny entry. Sometimes we divulge things the Lord doesn’t want us to say. It may be the wrong time or season to speak it. When “Delilahs” (people who disclose your confidences in order to harm you) obtain the secret to your anointing, they may reveal it to your enemy. Once they know its architecture or structure, they’re armed with information on how to deny access.
James 5:16 admonishes us to confess our faults to one another, but that doesn’t include exposing the secrets of our effectiveness (oil). I’m in no way saying that you’re not to share information that will assist others in heading in the direction of their destinies. I am saying that you must prayerfully consider whom you are sharing the infrastructure or inner workings of your anointing with. For instance, does your effectiveness increase when you pray or are in a powerful prayer-filled environment? Does your anointing begin to flow when there are strong gifts of prophecy at work, or when people are getting delivered? If you know the environment or atmosphere in which your oil starts to flow, you must be careful and prayerful about revealing this to people who are being used by Satan. If the enemy gets a hold of this info, he’ll do everything in his power to stop it.
In the case of Samson, he revealed his secret to the wrong person, and it led to his ineffectiveness and demise.
God has not called you tell everybody everything about your life. There are people who lie in wait just to capture your conversations and compile them together, in order to find out things you haven’t openly shared. These individuals are really representatives sent by the enemy to discover just what propels your effectiveness. Once discovered, demonic strategies are devised to try to stop the mandate of God upon your life from being fulfilled.
With Samson, he used Delilah. What or whom will he use with you?
Wrong Association Makes the Oil Vulnerable
Here’s another perspective to consider: the company we keep. True friends and covenant partners are not sly and out to sabotage us. Delilah revealed her mission several times over, but Samson stayed in her company. It may not be so much about whether you conceal the truth and avoid being so honest as it is about fleeing the scene as Joseph did with Potiphar’s wife. (See Gen. 39:1-10.)
If you are always on defense with the people around you, you may be around the wrong people. Guarding the anointing may have a lot to do with guarding your inner circle.
When Samson exposed his weakness to his love, he was captured and his eyes were gouged out. The enemy desires strip the oil from you, then blind you so that you are unable to locate it again. All this was the result of stupidity on Samson’s part, and trusting a person who evidently meant to harm him.
Once people show you who they are, believe them! Delilah, through her actions, showed her deviant motivations. While Samson was blinded by eros (romantic love), she was cheating on him with mammon (wealth). Samson’s enemies promised to pay Delilah if she could obtain the secret of his anointing.
Revealing his secret hurt more than it helped. In reality, it caused betrayal, loss of vison and eventually redemption. Ultimately, the revealing of his secret to Delilah put Samson in position to kill his enemies, but it also cost him his life.
7 Secrets to Guarding Your Anointing
- Don’t allow your oil to get tainted by prostitution (see Judg. 16:1). As Samson went in to the harlot, his enemies were made aware of it. When we’re in sin, the devil broadcasts it spiritually and naturally. Sin will taint your anointing (effectiveness). Guard your anointing by abstaining from the very appearance of evil. If you do fall into sin, true repentance to God will absolve you of your transgression and bring you into right standing with the Lord. It will be as if the sin was never committed at all.
- Don’t ever allow your anointing to replace your intelligence. Sometimes we become so reliant on our oil that it trumps our intellect. When we get saved, it shouldn’t dumb us down. It should “smarten” us up! The oil will never totally replace the intellect that comes from being in relationship with Jesus Christ, the anointed one.
- Keep your head anointed. Remember the sheep previously referred to? The oil that was poured upon their heads kept the insects from getting into their brains. It’s the same with us. The enemy desires to infiltrate our minds because once he gets in our heads, our bodies follow. By staying “oily,” demonic infiltration is less likely.
- Don’t share the secret to your anointing with everyone. Not everyone is saved and even if they are, they may not be for you. There are some people in the body whom you should not share the secret of your oil with, because they will use it for your demise. Remember, David stated in Psalm 41:9 (NIV): “Even my close friend, someone I trusted, one who shared my bread, has turned against me.”
- Don’t allow human love to cause you to reveal something God told you to keep secret. Love can blind you. This is exactly what happened to Samson—literally! Don’t allow pillow talk to cause you to reveal the secret of your oil. The devil will use your appetite to entrap you and lead you to give away to dogs that which is holy.
- When the truth is shared outside of kairos (God’s time), it can negatively affect chronos (chronological time). Just because it is the truth doesn’t necessarily mean that it should be shared. It’s prudent to wait on the Lord’s permission before releasing the secret of your anointing to anyone.
- Don’t reveal the secret of your oil because it may cost you your vision. After Samson revealed that his anointing was in his hair and Delilah had it cut off, his enemies came in and blinded him. But Samson was first blinded spiritually. He didn’t see or discern the true nature of Delilah. What happened to him in the natural first happened in the spirit. Don’t suffer the same fate. We must perceive in the Spirit to avoid calamity in the natural. {eoa}
Dr. John S. Veal is the senior pastor/prophet of Enduring Faith Christian Center and the CEO of John Veal Ministries. Dr. Veal is a highly sought-after conference speaker due to his uncanny prophetic accuracy, humor, candor and unconventional preaching style. He has traveled the nations, presenting myriad prophetic trainings and ministry. He currently resides in Chicago, Illinois, with his wife, Elisa, and their three children.
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