In 2 Kings 4:16–29, the Shunammite woman found Elisha and told him her son had died. So Elisha said to his servant Gehazi, “Gird up thy loins, and take my staff in thine hand, go thy way: if thou meet any man, salute him not; and if any salute thee, answer him not again: and lay my staff upon the face of the child” (v. 29, KJV).
Nothing happened when Gehazi laid the staff on the boy, because he had been distracted. Elisha had warned him not to talk to anyone because distraction kills the anointing; it shuts down the flow and takes it away from you. Nevertheless, that does not change the fact shown here that the empowering anointing can be transferred to an inanimate object such as this staff.
Another Scripture shows the empowering anointing being transferred to a dead body. How else could Elisha’s bones raise the Amalekite man in 2 Kings 13? The empowering anointing that remained on the bones of Elisha after he had been buried came in contact with the body of the recently deceased Amalekite man; and that empowering anointing was transferred from Elisha’s bones into the second man’s dead body, reviving him and bringing him back to life, and the man stood to his feet.
The empowering anointing can be transferred through somebody’s hands. Acts 19 says that Paul’s hands transferred the Holy Spirit’s power. His hands became the channel of power. Through that channel, the empowering anointing was released into pieces of cloth that had been brought, and once the empowering anointing was stored in these remnants, it remained there until it was connected to its purpose.
“And God wrought special miracles by the hands of Paul: So that from his body were brought unto the sick handkerchiefs or aprons, and the diseases departed from them, and the evil spirits went out of them” (Acts 19:11-12).
We Can Impart This Anointing
The empowering anointing is the only anointing we can impart. I cannot lay hands on anyone and say, “Be saved.” Neither can I impart the abiding anointing of 1 John 2:27 that comes at salvation because that is the Lord. I cannot impart the Lord.
I cannot put my hands on someone and say, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” That’s not even scriptural. But I can impart the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Only the Lord Jesus gives the Holy Spirit. (See John 20:22.)
Yet we, the church, can impart the power and anointing of the Holy Spirit. This is the empowering anointing of Acts 1:8. This is the anointing God rubs on you. God applies the empowering anointing on Spirit-filled individuals whom He has entrusted to fill a specific position.
This Anointing Affects Our Weakness
As I write this, I know that each of us has at least one weakness. When the empowering anointing comes on individuals, it magnifies everything. If your weakness is not under control, the empowering anointing will stir it up because the anointing on you stirs up everything—good and bad. The empowering anointing on you affects your body and soul. It doesn’t affect your spirit.
The abiding anointing, the anointing in you, affects your spirit and your spiritual life. But the empowering anointing, which is on you for ministry, affects your body and soul. It affects your emotions and your physical strength. That’s why under the anointing, people get loud. They get bold, aggressive. It’s the result of the empowering anointing stirring everything up. It’s a good thing because it makes them strong. But it also stirs up the bad stuff— including any weakness in a person’s life.
The only way you can control your flaws is in the presence of the Lord. When you practice the presence of Jesus, that weakness has nowhere to go. It shrivels up. It’s under control. It’s still there but it has no sound, no place. It’s as though it’s paralyzed, unresponsive. When you minister under the empowering anointing of God, that weakness doesn’t show up because the presence of God under the abiding anointing took care of it earlier.
For example, imagine someone who lies a lot. He’s always lying about something. He grew up lying because he lived in fear of his dad, mom or teacher, and he learned to lie his way out of trouble. (All lies begin with fear. If a person is not delivered, the lie becomes a demonic stronghold.) So now he’s always lying and can’t stop.
But in the presence of God, that lying stronghold loses its power and becomes shriveled. That man always tells the truth when the Lord Jesus is there. He can control the lying because he spends time living in the presence of God, which is the price he must pay to gain this control. The price, I repeat, is spending time with Him. Time with the Lord Jesus is the price that must be paid to gain this control over our weaknesses.
Remember, the empowering anointing magnifies everything in a person—good and bad. People are at their best when God anoints them. However, not only does the best come out, but so does the worst.
This is why the greatest failures happen after the greatest moments of being used by God—regardless of what your ministry is. Your greatest moment is your most dangerous moment because when God uses you, everything is magnified. The majority of ministry leaders who fall into sin do so after their greatest moments.
After a great spiritual victory and a mighty flow of the empowering anointing, our weaknesses can surface and try to overtake us. We must be aware of this sabotage and strengthen ourselves through personal time with the Lord.
The empowering anointing in your life will flow through whatever God has called you to do as a Christian. You might be called to a full-time position in a church or large ministry. Perhaps God will use you as an entrepreneur, a business professional, a schoolteacher, a craftsman, an artist, a musician or a writer. God can use you in your role as a spouse, parent or grandparent.
The preceding is an excerpt from chapter 10 of Benny Hinn’s book, Mysteries of the Anointing (Charisma House, 2022). For more information or to order the book, please visit mycharismashop.com.
Pastor Benny Hinn is known around the globe as a noted evangelist, teacher and the author of best-selling books, including Good Morning, Holy Spirit; Prayer That Gets Results; Blood in the Sand; and Lamb of God. His television program, This Is Your Day, is among the world’s most-watched Christian programs, seen daily in 200 countries. His popular website and ministry app reach millions of people every single day in areas of the world that may not otherwise hear about the gospel. Through his ongoing multimedia outreach, Pastor Benny continues to take the message of God’s life-saving and miracle-working power around the globe, and to go “into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature” (Mark 16:15).
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