Anointed to Preach

Luke 4:18

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,

The anointing is different than empowering. To anoint means to be set apart for God to use mightily. You will recall in the Old Testament that many times the prophet would anoint a man to be king. That anointing did not mean that the man had the power of God on his life, but it meant that he was set apart to be used mightily by God. Oh, that man could have God empower him, but he must first be anointed, or set apart, for God to use him mightily.

You will notice that the Spirit of God upon someone comes after the anointing and obedience. The verse above says, The Spirit of the Lord is upon me because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel… We want the power of God on our lives, but we don't want to preach the Gospel. God’s power will never be realized in one’s life until they obey the anointing on their life.

What is this anointing? The anointing is to preach the Gospel. The word preach carries several definitions. To preach means to deliver the Gospel. You are set apart to be God’s delivery person to carry His Gospel to the lost. The delivery person is only the carrier of something from the one who made it to the consumer who wants it. For instance, when I order a pizza, the delivery person carries the pizza from the restaurant to me. The delivery person is not responsible for the taste of the pizza; they are responsible for the carrying of the pizza to me. Likewise, you are not responsible for someone to accept the Gospel; you are responsible for carrying the Gospel from Christ to man. Better yet, you are anointed, or set apart, to be the delivery person from Christ to man.

To preach means to advocate the Gospel. To advocate something means to champion it. To champion something means you are telling someone that you have the answer to their problem. If I champion a church, I am saying that my church is the best church to help you with your life. We are to champion the Gospel to all people. God says the Gospel is the answer for the poor, the brokenhearted, to the captives of sin, to the blind, and to those who are in captivity to sin’s bruising. You are simply saying the Gospel is the answer to every problem in life, and it is. God has anointed you to champion the Gospel as the total cure for every problem in life, and it is. You are to advocate or champion the Gospel as the only way anyone can be saved.

To preach means to urge or persuade people with the Gospel. Paul tried to persuade Agrippa with the Gospel. That is why he said in Acts 26:28, Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian. You are anointed to persuade people that they need the Gospel. Don't be timid in delivering the Gospel, but with boldness persuade them that the Gospel is the answer to the emptiness in their heart. God has anointed you to preach or persuade people that the Gospel is the answer.

When you fulfill your anointing, God will empower you to preach the Gospel. Before the empowering there is an anointing, and the anointing will not lead to empowering until you are obedient to your anointing. If you truly want God’s power, obey your anointing to preach the Gospel to all.