Christmas is literally translated as “the Celebration (or the Mass) of the Anointed One and His Anointing”. But it is however impossible to celebrate the Anointing, if we are not truly living in the Anointed One and in His Anointing”.
There are many today whose knowledge of Christ is solely based on the virgin birth in the manger. The life of the Anointing and the Anointed Son of God is therefore far from their reach. The virgin birth of Jesus Christ itself is just like a fairytale to them.
Even though the unsaved world does like to celebrate Christmas, but in reality many of them are still holding on to their understanding, about Christ as the Baby in a manger. Their inability to understand Christ as the Anointed One, does make it impossible for them to experience His Anointing in their personal lives. This misconception about Christ has made Christianity too old, out of style, archaic and stale to many of them.
But realistically these are the exact opposite of what the Anointing and the Anointed One does means in a Christian’s life. The Anointing and the Anointed One does not ever age. He is always fresh and new. He is never out of style, archaic or stale. Jesus is new every day, every morning and all the time. Instead of bearing spiritual fruit to glorify God, their flesh is rather being glorified, especially during this season of Christmas due to this misconception.
CHRIST NEVER REMAINED A BABY
The truth is that Jesus never actually remained a baby for all of His life. He later in life went to the cross to die for the sins of the world. The scriptures actually says:
“And the Child grew and became strong in spirit, filled with wisdom; and the grace (favor and spiritual blessing) of God was upon Him”.
Luke 2:40 AMPC
These are what the Anointing from the Anointed One does in our lives. He enables us to grow up spiritually. He fills us with wisdom and grace, enabling us to live a successful Christian life.
The fact is that Jesus never remained a baby in the manger, for all of His life. It is just as no human being that has ever been born of a woman never remained a baby for ever. We were all created by God, to grow up into becoming God’s very purpose for our lives. Jesus grew up to be a man, who was strong in the spirit, filled with wisdom; and the grace (favor and the spiritual blessing) of God was upon Him on this earth.
Our understanding of the spiritual growth of Christ Jesus, does not need to be so vague, to the point that we never experience any spiritual connection with His Anointing in our lives. It is the Anointing from the Anointed One that can transform our lives, into becoming who we were created to be. Christianity is rather boring and dull without the anointing and the Anointed One in our lives. The Anointing is what makes the life of Christ so real to a Christian. The Holy Spirit brings the anointing into our lives. And Jesus is the sender of the Anointing. He said:
“And now I will send the Holy Spirit, just as my Father promised. But stay here in the city until the Holy Spirit comes and fills you with power from heaven.”
Luke 24:49 NLT
The Holy Spirit is sent for our spiritual development. He is sent to equip us to being, who we were created to be by God.
JESUS – THE REAL BIG DEAL FROM GOD
The scriptures says again of Jesus:
“He who comes from above is above all; he who is of the earth is earthly and speaks of the earth. He who comes from heaven is above all. And what He has seen and heard, that He testifies; and no one receives His testimony. He who has received His testimony has certified that God is true. For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God does not give the Spirit by measure.”
John 3:31-34 NKJV
The Spirit of God who testifies to us about the Anointing, was upon Jesus without measure while living on the earth. But there was absolutely no spiritual shortcut for Him, in fulfilling the destiny of God for His life.
Jesus never grew up as a child into adulthood, with a “microwaved faith” mentality from heaven. He had to be born of the flesh and the blood like us, in order for Him to identify with our humanity. Faith came to Him, just as faith comes to us today also – through the word of God.
Jesus was known to being a regular and active participant in the Synagogue. He listened and heard the word read and taught by the Rabbis of His time in the Synagogue. Just as God expects us to grow up by faith in such manner also.
No, Jesus was neither one of those TV cartoon super stars, that often appears and disappears out of the void or thin air as in a movie. He was the real deal sent directly from God.
He is the real Son of God. The only begotten Son of the Father, full of grace and power.
He became the spoken Word of God, that was personified on this earth for us (John 1:14). But the spoken Word of God also grew and developed in Him; just as the word of God must develop and grow in our lives also, if we are to ever fulfill the destinies of God for each of our lives, as His children here on earth.
JESUS FULFILLED ALL RIGHTEOUSNESS
As the Word of God bore fruit in Jesus’ life, He had to fulfill all righteousness under the mosaic law. Jesus once declared to John the Baptist, as He was being baptized in the river Jordan:
… “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.” Then John consented.”
Matthew 3:15 NIV
Jesus had to fulfill all the righteousness under the Mosaic law, so that He (as the personified Word of God) may become the law unto us. Destiny took Him to the river Jordan, so that John could baptize Him in fulfilling all righteousness.
It was all part of the spiritual path into maturity, that God had prepared for Jesus. He had to willingly go through each one of those paths to fulfill all righteousness under the law. Otherwise the devil would had have the opportunity, to accuse God of breaking His own law in Christ Jesus. Christ had to go through what we are going through. It was God’s design and destiny for His life, that took Him to the cross in dying for our sins.
In all of these, Jesus went through all the processes into the fullness of His spiritual growth. He fulfilled all righteousness under the law of Moses, so that our obedience to His word may become the law of grace for us. We are now able to enjoy grace in our lives because of Him.
SPIRITUAL DEVELOPMENT HAS NO SHORTCUTS
For those who understand the baseball game, we do know that there is no way for anyone to skip a base. You have to move from base one to two, and then progress in the game like that to base three. There is no shortcut from the first base to the third base. And it is the job of the umpire in the game, to make sure that you sequentially progress in the game, from the first base to the third base.
Our spiritual development has to progress just like in a baseball game also. In order to score in this “spiritual baseball game”, it is necessary to make some spiritual home runs, by making it to the first, second and third bases. Each spiritual base in our development, has its own accomplishment for us. If we are going to do big things for God, we must be prepared to do the small things first.
For example, no one can become a professional Chef by just going to school to study in becoming one. There is a process in training involved here, by which you can be a cook first, before becoming a Chef. And just as becoming a Chef can take years of hard work and training; our spiritual development into the purposes of God for each of our lives can take a long time also.
Or in some cases, I do know of those who started from the bottom up (as dishwashers in restaurants), to the top of the profession in qualifying to be a Chef. And I also do know of those, who through homelessness discovered the call to be a Chef. Many of them do run great businesses across the world today. And they will always tell you, that the path to their successes in life was never easy. No matter which path the student takes, the process is always thorough and clear. And it is never meant to be easy.
The spiritual path of Jesus from the cradle to the cross was never easy also. He had to go through some rigorous training in the hand of the Father. The enemy had to tempt and test Him many times. He endured sleepless nights alone on the mountain with God. And finally He alone had to face the consequences of death on the cross. Which was the final destination of God for His life on earth.
If you do have the call of God over your life also, you may have to experience some of the things that Jesus experienced, in your pathway to spiritual development.
Jesus began His spiritual journey from the cradle at birth, which culminated with His crucifixion on the cross. God rose Him from the dead in power and glory, because He completed the course and went through the process for His eventual glorification.
He learnt to be faithful in the small things first, by being obedient to His earthly parents. This prepared His pathway to being obedient to His Father in Heaven. His spiritual development was gradual but steady.
That’s why being a single parent is never an easy thing. One individual is doing the job that God has designed for both parents. It is not the perfect pathway designed by God for anyone. But Mary had to do the same for Jesus as a single parent. Joseph died while Jesus was still a teenager. It was not an easy task for Mary, in helping her Son (Jesus), to focus on God’s plan for His life.
And for every single parent, let me encourage you now, that if Mary could raise Jesus alone, to become the perfect man who later on died for all humanity you can do it also. Mary raised Jesus with His two sisters and three other brothers, to fulfill their individual destinies in life. It was never easy for her; but she had learned from the moment of the conception of the Christ in her womb to live by faith.
Her faith spoke what she believed:
“Mary responded, “I am the Lord’s servant. May everything you have said about me come true.” And then the angel left her.”
Luke 1:38 NLT
Mary’s faith responded to the word of God from the angel’s mouth. It was through that spoken word of God, that faith came to her. That’s how she raised all of her kids. By listening to hear God’s voice, about His plan for each one of them. If Mary could do it, so can you. Mary was not out there looking for another man to help her in raising her kids. She knew exactly what God’s will was for her life, and for each one of them. And she did it successfully to the end.
POSITION FOR THE PERFECT TIMING OF GOD
Spiritual development is never easy, but it is designed by God for us in developing our spiritual muscles. That’s the good part of it. Jesus remained focused on the spiritual goal, which the Father had prepared for Him in His spiritual development.
We saw Him learning to walk in the purpose of God for His life very early in life. He was once found in the synagogue, listening to the Word of God (which He personified); even as His parents thought of Him to be missing among the crowd at Jerusalem.
The scriptures says:
“After three days they found him in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. Everyone who heard him was amazed at his understanding and his answers.”
Luke 2:46-47 NIV
Jesus’ spiritual development was gradual, as He spiritually evolved into it up into His early thirties. He never even wanted to enter into the destiny of God so quickly; until the time that He knew God had prepared for Him. His mother (Mary) once thought of Him as being prepared and ready, when they both once attended a wedding together in Cana.
When the wine was finished at the wedding, His mother thought that to be the perfect opportunity for Jesus to manifest Himself to the world. Mary thought that Jesus must start His ministry at the wedding place. But Jesus was not ready yet. He was not fully spiritually developed yet. He had to wait for the fullest of the time. The scriptures says:
“When the wine was gone, Jesus’ mother said to him, “They have no more wine.” “Woman, why do you involve me?” Jesus replied. “My hour has not yet come.”
John 2:3-4 NIV
Jesus knew that by being spiritually developed, it does not necessarily means that it was time for Him to begin His miraculous works. Just because you know that you are spiritually developed, doesn’t mean that you have to jump ahead of God. There is always the proper timing, and proper positioning in the things of God. Wait for your moment. It will eventually come.
Don’t let the enemy push you ahead of the appointed time of God. If Jesus was able to wait for the perfect timing, so can you. So why are you hurrying?
Even Jesus’ brothers challenged Him one day also:
“His brothers therefore said to Him, “Depart from here and go into Judea, that Your disciples also may see the works that You are doing. For no one does anything in secret while he himself seeks to be known openly. If You do these things, show Yourself to the world.” For even His brothers did not believe in Him. Then Jesus said to them, “My time has not yet come, but your time is always ready. The world cannot hate you, but it hates Me because I testify of it that its works are evil.”
John 7:3-7 NKJV
Jesus knew the importance of timing in the things of God. He was not working on man’s clock but on God’s. He knew the time that His Father had prepared for Him. He was never in a hurry to fulfill what He knew His Father wanted Him to do on earth.
As Christians we need to always be careful with people, who will want to push us into the destinies of God for our lives, even while we are still unprepared of God. It is like committing a spiritual suicide. The devil wants you to make that mistake. But God wants you to wait for the perfect time that He has prepared for you. Don’t worry, your time and moment will come. Just stay focused and undistracted by the forces around you, as your spiritual development evolves.
WAITING IN PATIENCE FOR YOUR TIME
The Holy Spirit is the umpire of our soul, as we are developing spiritually into the things that the Father has prepared for our lives. He is the One who makes sure that we are not sidetracking, the necessary stages in our spiritual development.
We may often want to jump ahead of our time, by doing the things that we knew that we had been called into. What many often forget is that, God is never in a hurry to do anything through us. He wants us to be ready and prepared, for what He is bringing to come into our lives.
We definitely do need to grow up spiritually, by studying more in His word and through prayers. We need God’s Word and prayers for us to be able to grow into our destinies in Him.
Prayer is the spiritual exercise that we do during this process, in developing our spiritual muscles. We must grow into the perfect timing, and will of God for our lives through prayers and intercessions.
There is no shortcut to spiritual development, even though spiritual growth may sometimes offer us shortcuts. But we need to understand that, it is God who gives growth in itself.
By taking a shortcut into their destinies in God, many have failed to find fulfillment in their calls of God. They want more of God’s presence now, but they are also struggling daily to really enjoy His very presence.
If we can patiently ask God to help us with our spiritual growth, He will show us where we have been impatient in our walk with Him. Patience is the inner spiritual strength that is necessary for our spiritual development. We need this important fruit of the Spirit, to get to where God wants us to be.
By using our faith in the little things, we are strengthening our patience level. We are developing spiritually as we do this. When our faith is being tested in the little things of life, patience strengthens us on the inner man, enabling us to develop spiritual muscles.
The scriptures says:
“Be assured that the testing of your faith [through experience] produces endurance [leading to spiritual maturity, and inner peace]. And let endurance have its perfect result and do a thorough work, so that you may be perfect and completely developed [in your faith], lacking in nothing.”
JAMES 1:3-4 AMP
The word “endurance” is the same word for patience here. Patience leads us into spiritual maturity and the inner peace of God. It is important to note here, that peace is a manifestation of the fruit of the Holy Spirit in our lives.
When patience brings spiritual development to us, our ability to endure troubling times is stronger. And spiritual maturity comes as we get stronger in faith and God’s word. We are able to face persecutions more effectively, with an inner strength that is produced through patience.
The result of this is that when our fullness of time comes to manifestation, we will lack nothing to do the will of God. We will never need to depend on the system of this Babylonian world to fulfill the will of God.
The Lord will then become our source to fulfilling His will.
This was the way Jesus grew into the perfect will of God for His life. And Jesus never knew what it meant to have needs. Perfect timing helped Him to position Himself in the perfect will of God, for God to meet those needs for Him. We will lack nothing in doing what we had been called to do, only if we wait to be fully developed spiritually into those things of God. If it worked for Jesus, it will work for you also.
When we are continually developing in patience, our spiritual growth in faith will help us to be exactly where we really want to be; doing what we really want to do. This empowers us to enjoy every stage of our spiritual development and growth, instead of enduring it. We will be satisfied and thankful to God for the spiritual journey of our lives.
BEING ROOTED TAKES TIME
Paul once told the Colossians:
“Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness.”
Colossians 2:7 NLT
We must understand that it takes time for a plant’s roots to grow under the soil. Our faith is no exception. As we grow deeper in the word of God, our faith grows also; because the word of God is what makes faith to grow in us.
We will inherit God’s very best as our hearts overflows with thanksgiving to God. Giving of thanks positions us for the resources of heaven to get the job done.
As the scriptures says:
“Patient endurance is what you need now, so that you will continue to do God’s will. Then you will receive all that he has promised.”
Hebrews 10:36 NLT
Being patient is a powerful spiritual force. And just like peace, it is a manifestation of the fruit of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Jesus was patient in growing up into the will of God. If He did it, we can do it also.
During this Christmas season, think about how your patient endurance can help you to be like Jesus. You will grow up into a spiritual force that will always make the enemy tremble all around you. Have a Merry Christmas!
