Bringing My Lamp & My Oil

(Matthew 25:1-4)

“At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins 

who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. 

Five of them were foolish and five were wise. The foolish ones 

took their lamps but did not take any oil with them. The wise ones, 

however, took oil in jars along with their lamps. 

The Lord has really been pressing in my spirit the story of the ten virgins toward the end of the Book of Matthew. Even though I continued to read ahead I always seemed to make my way back to that small passage in the 25th chapter. This is one of my favorite parables that Jesus taught just because it mirrors the church as His bride, Jesus as the bridegroom, and He gives us another little glimpse of what bringing His kingdom down to earth looks like. I got some info about the tradition of Jewish weddings online because I really wanted to understand the context of what Jesus was talking about: "In Jewish society, the parents of the betrothed generally drew up the marriage contract. The bride and groom would meet, perhaps for the first time, when this contract was signed. The couple was considered married at this point, but they would separate until the actual time of the ceremony. The bride would remain with her parents, and the groom would leave to prepare their home. This could take quite a while. When the home was all ready, the groom would return for his bride without notice. The marriage ceremony would then take place, and the wedding banquet would follow."

When I started to read, a picture was painted in my head of these ten young ladies, half careless and the other half expectantly waiting for the groom to arrive. I imagined their talks of what he looked like standing at the altar, of where they would live together, and when he was coming. I imagined them pacing back and forth looking out of the windows to be the first ones to run to His side. At this point he could be right around the corner or far off in the distance: It was a total surprise visit waiting to happen. For any girl it's hard to wait, can I get an amen? I can picture joy turning into expectancy, expectancy turning into impatience, and impatience turning into boredom. The young women became so tired of waiting that they fell asleep. When the bridegroom arrived at midnight to take the ladies to the banquet to celebrate, the ones that were prepared followed with their well-oiled lamps while the one's that weren't were left behind and denied entrance into the feast.

The details of this parable are so important. What the Spirit pressed in my heart was that the wise virgins that were prepared with their lamps and oil are a symbol of God's church being ready through the filling of His Word and His Holy Spirit. Psalm 119:105 automatically popped up into my head word by word and I was like yes Lord, I understand. But right after He revealed that the lamp was talking about God's Word He then spoke this strongly into my spirit: The ladies that were left out had their lamps but lacked the oil...that oil is my Holy Spirit. Without the Holy Spirit to breathe a new revelation of God's Word into our lives we the church will not see the glory of Jesus manifested here on earth. This is like supplementing His signs and wonders for a Bible study. We need the combination. We can't have one without the other. It is His desire for all of His children to move in the power of the Holy Spirit. These ten women, symbolizing the church, knew that without the oil eventually the fire was going to burn out and they would not be able to see their bridegroom coming and would either miss Him or get lost trying to go out to meet Him.

(Psalm 119:105)

Your word is a lamp for my feet,
    a light on my path.

The Bible is the instrument that The Lord provides us with so that we can follow the path that He's marked out before us and His Holy Spirit is the source of power that is needed to turn keep the fire burning. His anointing in our lives is his seal of ownership because knowing the word alone won't do it, this just opens the door for religion. We need His Word + His Holy Spirit anointing in order to produce fire (power) in our lives.

(2 Corinthians 1:21-22)

Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. 

He anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit 

in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.

.

We have one of those antique oil lamps at home on top of our fridge that we've conserved for years for those stormy nights when the power goes out. I want to talk a little bit about the maintenance of an oil lamp. Humor me guys I promise it's important. After you've filled the bottom glass end with oil the wick (rectangular thick stringy thingy) has to be trimmed if it's been previously used because it's all burned up. In the the parable of the ten virgins I noticed that the moment the ladies heard that the bridegroom was coming they woke up and the first thing they did was trim their lamps. They had left their lamps burning the whole time that now the time came for them to re-fuel them with some oil and a clean wick. You know that moment when you read through something but then stop, make a curious face, and then read back again? That was my aha moment. I knew that this portion of was important somehow so I said, "Holy Spirit show me, explain why this is important." He likes to flood me and that's exactly what happened and continues to happen. Just like that "wick" our spiritual lives reach points of burn out when we're stuck on old revelations and past experiences when the Holy Spirit wants to give us something fresh and new. I've been there and gosh I'm sure we all have but what He spoke into my spirit was that we need to trim off the old burned up wick. We need to throw away what we think we know about God through what we've learned so far, to make room for Him to show up in our lives a new way. We need to throw out the window what we've heard of God and prepare ourselves for daily encounters. And I'm not talking about shutting out readings or men and women of God, not at all. But I am saying that living off of second hand information is scary and not enough. We need to have a personal relationship with God and then let second hand information serve as a compliment and as confirmation for what the Holy Spirit has already revealed to us first. Let's just let our bridegroom pay us a surprise visit. Let's be ready for that visit. I'm excited!

Holy Spirit Teachings //&// The Anointing

There are things that only The Holy Spirit can teach us. Books, other than God's Word, expand our knowledge and enhance our spiritual lives without a doubt;However, only God's Spirit can reveal the hidden treasures of our Father's heart unto our hearts and these are the "things" that no eye has seen and no ear has heard. What do I mean by "things"? Teachings. Lessons. Guidance.

I want to share a scripture with you that I've been meditating on for days. I decided to introduce this verse in two different versions mainly because what I'm leaning toward saying is that The Holy Spirit and the anointing go hand-in-hand. And it's this continual overflow of a relationship that equips us with wisdom, character, and thoughts from above. Our minds are renewed over and over again and we get a glimpse of God's Kingdom each and every time.

(1 John 2:27) As for you, the anointing you received from him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about all things and as that anointing is real, not counterfeit—just as it has taught you, remain in him. NIV

(1 John 2:27) But you have received the Holy Spirit, and he lives within you, so you don't need anyone to teach you what is true. For the Spirit teaches you everything you need to know, and what he teaches is true—it is not a lie. So just as he has taught you, remain in fellowship with Christ. NLT

There are three main points that I want to focus in on: God wants to pour out His anointing over us, this anointing that is The Holy Spirit teaches us everything God wants us to know, and we must remain in Him. Just like branches must remain connected to their tree so must we remain connected to, abiding in, Jesus. As we seek Him more and more He shows us more and more. As we surrender ourselves to God more and more and find rest in Him more and more He takes more and more control. What a beautiful season when we come to the fullness of God's Spirit...we are made whole. Some may not understand the vocabulary yet they do have the anointing because this is something that only The Holy Spirit can give. It's not a mind thing, it's a Spirit thing. God does use us to transmit His anointing but The Holy Spirit is the one who can supply it. This power is born out of a deeper relationship with God. Just like the Psalmist David said, He anoints our head with oil and all the rest of the benefits he describes come from sitting at the table with God. Out of this relationship with The Holy Spirit comes anointing and out of this anointing comes power.

(1 Corinthians 2:10-14) These are the things God has revealed to us by his Spirit.

The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. For who knows a person’s thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. What we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us. This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words.

I especially love how this verse ends: The Holy Spirit explains to us spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words. Spirit-taught words. This kind of vocab can only come from above. It's something fresh and new that the Father has in store just for you. And I can't stress this enough, power is the result of anointing and anointing is the result of our relationship with The Holy Spirit. These encounters mold us and the fruit is more and more anointing which produces power upon power. Jesus lived it.

(Acts 10:36-38) You know the message God sent to the people of Israel, announcing the good news of peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all. You know what has happened throughout the province of Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John preached—how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him.

Ok, I'm sorry but I love this, I just have to emphasize this: because God was with Him! Why? Because God is with you. He is with you. He. Is. With. You. He wants to give you a fresh portion of Himself as He anoints your head with oil. This subject is so near and dear to me because The Holy Spirit has taught me along my own journey that without His anointing my music just makes noise. I need Him to break through, to satisfy, to transform, to heal, and to restore. We can't do anything worth doing without The Holy Spirit. I pray right now that as you read this your cup overflows and not only is your spirit renewed but it is set on fire. And here I go sharing some more quotes from Bill Johnson's Book, "When Heaven Invades Earth." Amazing book that I can't wait to finish and that I just can't seem to stop sharing.

*~*~*

"Those who discover the value of His presence enter realms 

of intimacy with God never previously considered possible. 

Out of this vital relationship arises a ministry of power that 

formerly was only a dream. The incomprehensible becomes 

possible because He is with us."         

                         

                                     —Bill Johnson

"Even though we may know the will of God from scripture, 

we still need The Holy Spirit to help us with the interpretation, 

application, and empowerment to perform His will."   

                                                    —Bill Johnson

"The anointing is actually the person of The Holy Spirit upon 

someone to equip them for supernatural endeavors."  

                                 —Bill Johnson

*~*~*

Random Snippets: Spontaneous Worship, Self-Discipline, Song Choice

///Spontaneous Worship///

(Psalm 33:3)

Sing a new song of praise to him; play 

skillfully on the harp, and sing with joy.

(Ephesians 5:19)

speaking to one another with psalms, 

hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and 

make music from your heart to the Lord, 

This was something I did but that I didn't know what to call at the time. When I led worship at a church at age 18 the Holy Spirit really became my teacher. I could feel Him so near instructing me how and what to sing. Suddenly between songs He would just take over and new lyrics would burst forth without me even thinking. The Pastor called it "prophetic worship" because sometimes I would prophecy through song but the band and I would just say, "lets flow." I compare these moments to a stream of running water because there was no stopping what the Holy Spirit was doing and it was a continuous overflow of new songs. It wasn't until last year that I first heard the term "Spontaneous Worship," when discovering Bethel Church in Redding, California. The Spirit connected me to something that I'd never heard of. He thught me what made Him happy. During our congregational worship times it's great to get a perfect sound and to have beautiful voices on cue but...the Holy Spirit could care less about that if we're not letting His voice be heard. He knows what's in the Father's heart and if we're ignoring Him in our churches then we'll be stuck in an old revelation when God always has a new one to give. Spontaneous Worship isn't something you practice because it comes from soaking in God's presence and worshiping him in spirit and in truth. It's a new song that isn't rehearsed that bursts from The Spirit's heart, to yours, and then to those around you. Many churches don't allow this because they seek an "order" but God's order looks nothing like ours. I encourage you to let the Holy Spirit move the way He wants to through you. There have been musicians, pastors, and singers that I have worked with that just don't want to have anything to do with this because they seek their version of perfection, just like there's those who's spirit's discern what comes from God and respond to the atmosphere. The Lord has given me prudence to know when and where but my heart's desire is that first off, as worshipers, we can all plug into what the Spirit of God is doing. David constantly talked about singing a new song to The Lord in his Psalms because he knew the difference between sitting and writing to moving and reacting at the time at hand. He didn't have time to write during a battle between the Philistines but he could begin to praise his God right where he was by sing out, "Praise be to The Lord my Rock, who trains my hands for war!" You'd be surprised to know that many of the songs that you hear now started off as spontaneous songs during a worship service or during a car ride. So I encourage you to let your spirit sing on stage and off. Let the Holy Spirit move through you, let Him be your teacher.

///Self-Discipline///

(2 Timothy 1:6-7) 

This is why I remind you to fan into flames the spiritual gift 

God gave you when I laid my hands on you. For God has 

not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of 

power, love, and self-discipline.

You have been given the power by The Holy Spirit to discipline yourself. It doesn't matter how old you are because God's Spirit is given to anyone who responds to His call. Whether you sing, play an instrument, dance, or minister all together discipline is something that we all need to enforce in our lives. Discipline is what has now accustomed me to vocalize each time before I sing to maintain healthy vocal chords and what helps a guitar player play certain chords and memorize a musical scale. If you're like me going through preparation, through a psalmist school, or a ministry school then you know this: you will only learn what you practice. Without making yourself practice, your gift will never reach it's full potential. God always has more to teach us but we've got to be responsible and apply what has been taught to us.

*Discipline- training that corrects, molds, or perfects the mental faculties or moral character

Take advantage of all the training being thrown at you.

///Song Choice///

Just like there are numerous stars in the sky, there are numerous songs out there to chose from. We each have our own style when it comes to the way we choose music: some of us popcorn choose (so not recommended), others go check out popular songs and go for that, some choose songs that they like or that they think the congregation/audience will like. So what's the best way? I love this topic, I love talking about this. Here are some tips that I've learned and that I've been taught, so I share!

1. Pray. Ask God what He wants to tell His people. Ask Him how to guide his people because each service is different and God will always have something new and specific to say.
2. Observe. When you get to the place that you're getting ready to sing, play, or perform at look at the people. Are they sad? Borred? Fired up? If the congregation or crowd looks depressed then you want to gear more toward starting with praise songs that will get them meditating on God's power or faithfullness. If the congregation or crowd looks on fire already (which is every worship leader's/minister's dream) then take them deeper with praise or worship songs that reflect giving more of ourselves to God or songs that bring everyone together to cry out to God as one.
3. Message in Action. Now that you've prayed and God has reveled to you what He wants to say and you've observed the specific crowd, act on it. Though you may not understand why, the Holy Spirit knows exactly why so just be obedient and you'll see the fruit.

• I think song lists are a good guide but once we cling tight to it's order we tend to brush off anything that's not on the list. So be prepared to let the Holy Spirit surprise you and your obedience will have its reward.
• Don't choose songs because you love them. You need to be in constant connection during the week with God so that the days you give you truly give. Choose the songs that the people need.
• Respect the authority no matter what, even if you know better because God's anointed are protected but just like David was anointed he also recognized King Saul's anointing by refusing to take revenge out on him. Pray for your leaders but if their vision is truly not matching up with what God is constantly revealing to you then decide whether or not you want to continue with a vision that you don't share. Can to be together if they are not in accord?
• Express your worship to God with your music and gifts as if each time were the last time here on this earth.

Random Snippets: Anointing, Power, The Key

(Isaiah 61:1) 

The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me,

    because the Lord has anointed me to 

proclaim good news to the poor.

He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,

    to proclaim freedom for the captives

    and release from darkness for the prisoners

This verse goes on and on and it is beautiful. The truth is beautiful. Jesus repeats this verse in the book of Luke, filled with the Holy Spirit. The anointing of God is the difference between heaven and earth. The anointing of God manifests His glory. I rarely talk about this but I feel the need to share. When I barely began to sing at church at age 15, church members would come up to me after and tell me that they heard angels. At age 17 when I began to help out at another church by leading worship I got so much feedback but the one thing I remember is the guy sitting next to me after the service during prayer whisper, "Was that you singing just now, because I heard a different voice...do you know that you have an angelic voice?" He couldn't comprehend what he had heard but he was in awe, as was I because I was just softly humming to the piano's melody. It's been something that has always followed me to this day. Angels. The angel of the Lord encamped around me. The anointing of God was given to me. To the girl who wanted nothing to do with God. In God's eyes I was special when I hated myself. In whatever I do His anointing is over me. When I sing I don't care about pretty because I already know that anything anointed by God is beautiful. Sure I've learned and continue to learn the vocal techniques but the Holy Spirit has an out of my order type of order. If He tells me to start releasing a certain sound instead of lyrics I obey and I see His ways unfold before my vary eyes. As worship leaders, artists, sons and daughters of God our heart's desire should be the Father's anointing over us. Let that be our prayer.

Jesus came from heaven to earth to redeem our lives and to place in our hands the very same authority that His Father gave Him. Like an inheritance Jesus passed the power on to the new sons and daughters of God. We have all been given this authority.

(Luke 10: 17-22) 

The seventy-two returned with joy and said, 

“Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name.” 

He replied, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. 

I have given you authority to trample on snakes and 

scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; 

nothing will harm you. 

However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, 

but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.” 

At that time Jesus, full of joy through the Holy Spirit, 

said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, 

because you have hidden these things from the wise 

and learned, and revealed them to little children. 

Yes, Father, for this is what you were pleased to do. 

“All things have been committed to me by my Father. 

No one knows who the Son is except the Father, 

and no one knows who the Father is 

except the Son and those to whom 

the Son chooses to reveal him.”

Just imagining this scene is amazing to me. To envision Jesus laughing and smiling at His disciples as He witnessed the joy they experienced in releasing the supernatural power that the Holy Spirit had poured over them. I imagine Jesus smiling in His throne each time we exercise that same power. When you and I sing or play an instrument we have the power to submit all principalities of darkness beneath our feet. Anyone scared out there? We live in this world but the Word of God tells us how there is a supernatural realm invisible to the natural eye that is more real than what our eyes see. It's where the angels battle, where demons are submitted and stomped beneath our feet, and where God inhabits. When you release a word you are impacting both worlds. It's not about singing a simple or extravagant song. Seeing God's glory here, His kingdom being established on this earth, is what I yearn for. To see the woman in the back row crying out for help during the Worship Service have a divine encounter with the Lover of her soul. To witness the teenager on the verge of suicide fall to her knees as the angelic melody, inhabited by God's Spirit, sweeps over her. To take part in bring a people closer and closer to the living God. You and I have been given this authority. Some believe that the times of miracles and the supernatural power of God is over and died along with the disciples. That's a lie. We are in the third era. The time of The Holy Spirit. The time of the One who raised Christ from the dead and baptized people upon people with the gift of speaking in tongues. Is our God not unchanging? We serve the one and only LIVING God. And because of Jesus you have the power that the Holy Spirit has poured out on you. Don't hide it and don't bury it because God has given it to you for a reason. Whether you're up on a stage or not remember the power that has been vested upon you. Just a single word, phrase, utterance, or sound can alter the spiritual atmosphere and transform lives.

David entered the presence of God whenever he wanted to because he learned how to each time he spent time seeking God. The seeking impacted his daily living. As I talked with my friend Lizzie I began to peel further and further the layers of David's way of living. I want to tune into that. David's genuine love and passion for His living God impacted lives. While His brothers were busy looking gorgeous, David was given a beauty that cam from obeying the Lord. His walk involved killing lions and bears to protect his flock, defeating giants, governing a kingdom, fighting battles, chasing off spirits with his music, and freely dancing in public. I say again, David's genuine walk with the Lord impacted and still impacts lives. If we're not genuine nothing will ever change. People were impacted by David being David. And David was a lover of God's presence. The prophet Isaiah prophesied about the Son of God and how God would "place on his shoulder the key to the house of David; what he opened no one could shut, and what he shut no one could open. Jesus has handed us the same key.

(John 14:12-14) 

Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the 

works I have been doing, and they will do even greater 

things than these, because I am going to the Father. 

And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the 

Father may be glorified in the Son. You may ask me 

for anything in my name, and I will do it.

You and I are here on this earth and in this time and season for a specific reason. What are you doing with the authority that God has given you? Pray over all things for God's anointing because that is what separates us from being average. We were made to walk in the supernatural today.