A Nugget from New Life Network
(by Dr. Larry Ollison)
Scripture for the Day – May 22, 2019
Then Jesus went into a house to get away from the crowd. (Mark 7:17 NLT)
At a recent ministers’ conference, there was a seminar entitled, “Protecting the Anointing.” I overheard one minister comment, “Why should we try to protect the anointing? I thought it was the anointing that protected us!” Although his statement is true, it is also true that many times a good message from God can go unheard because of the senseless words of a third party. Let me explain.
A few years ago, I was prepared to deliver a specific word from God to my congregation. I spent much time in prayer and preparation in order to be sensitive to the Holy Spirit. I wanted to deliver the message accurately and in the spirit that I received it. As I turned a corner in the hallway to the auditorium, an usher stepped forward, pointed his finger in my face, and began to tell me how he and his family would be leaving the church because of a letter someone in our church had written. I let him rant and rave for a couple of minutes. When I asked him what the letter said, still huffing and hyperventilating, he said, “Well, I haven’t actually read it myself, but I know what it says.”
The letter wasn’t the issue. The enemy knew that I had a message from God. The enemy also knew who he could use to attempt to spoil the message. The incident did not affect the teaching that day, although it took me a while to refocus. Actually, it made me more determined to deliver God’s message to the people.
I’ve often thought about writing a book about some of the crazy things that have happened in my services. Once while speaking in Iowa, I had a man leap out of the congregation, run to the platform, and try to take me down. For a moment, I felt like a quarterback being sacked. I kept my cool, the power of God fell on the meeting, and the man got delivered from demonic possession. Satan lost again.
Another time, I walked up to the pulpit as a guest speaker in another church. I opened my Bible and said, “Jesus is Lord!” Immediately a man on the front row leaped to his feet and yelled, “No, He is not!” I leaned over the pulpit, pointed my finger in his face, and said, “Yes, He is, and in the name of Jesus, sit down and be quiet!” The young man sat down and never uttered another word for the remainder of the service.
There are some people who will get into the face of a minister just before a service and talk incessantly. Little do they know they are being used by the enemy to try to distract the man or woman of God from their message. Although a minister may be able to recover from unkind words or from someone who will just not stop talking, it may affect the intensity, the clarity, and the passion of the message being delivered.
A few months ago, I sat in a room for fifteen minutes with an internationally-known minister just before he was to speak. There was no one else in the green room. Nothing was spoken. It was obvious to me he was meditating on the message and communicating with God. This was not the time for small talk. For me to have tried to strike up a conversation about the weather or sports would have been rude and foolish.
While it is true that the anointing protects us, we must, to the best of our ability, create an atmosphere for worship and ministry. We must respect God’s house, His messenger, and the message. When we honor God, He blesses us with revelation knowledge. So the next time you think about criticizing your pastor or the guest speaker because they distance themselves before a meeting, don’t. It may be that they are in the process of communicating with God to receive a word for you.
