The Anointing, Grace and Healing

Put The Anointing To Work
And it came to pass, when they were gone over, that Elijah said unto Elisha, Ask what I shall do for thee, before I be taken away from thee. And Elisha said, I pray thee, let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me (2 Kings 2:9).
Many people have wrongly interpreted our opening verse to mean that Elisha requested a double amount of the anointing that was on Elijah. They even count the number of miracles between the two of them and conclude that Elisha indeed had twice as many miracles because he wrought twice as many miracles as Elijah did.
That’s not how it works with God. You don’t count the number of miracles to determine the power of the Spirit that’s present.
Even if we were to consider their miracles, Elijah wrought one that we could say outclassed all the ones from Elisha: the fact that he (Elijah) was raptured as an act of faith (2 Kings 2:11-12).
Remember that the Bible says, “By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death…” (Hebrews 11:5). This, therefore, means that Elijah required faith to accomplish a similar feat.
Elisha, on the other hand, fell sick and died, though the glory was still in his bones.
What Elisha requested was the right of the firstborn, which was signified by the double portion (Deuteronomy 21:15-17).
He wanted to assume the position of leadership amongst the other prophets in Israel, who at that time were under the tutelage of Prophet Elijah. And because of his spiritual perception, he got it and became the senior prophet over them (2 Kings 2:1-25). Remember, there’s a difference between a double amount and a double portion of that amount.

As a Christian, you have the Holy Spirit without measure. He’s anointed you with His power, so you don’t need a second or third anointing. You’re already replete with God; you’re full of Him, with all His power. What’s important for you is to know how to activate that power in you and make it effective.
Paul said to Timothy, “Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands” (2 Timothy 1:6). It’s your responsibility to stir up the anointing that’s in you for it to produce results, and you do this by being continuously filled with the Spirit; speaking in tongues, and meditating on the Word.
There’s a vital distinction between grace and the anointing. Many use both terms interchangeably, yet the Word of God shows they’re not the same. The anointing refers to the consecration and indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit, the empowerment that sets you apart for God’s purpose.
Grace, on the other hand, refers to the divine enablement and favour granted to you according to your specific calling and responsibility in the body of Christ.

Every Christian has received the same anointing, for it’s the same Holy Spirit that dwells in us all. That anointing abides in you, never diminishes and brings special grace into your life “But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it” (Ephesians 4:7 NIV).
However, grace operates differently. You can grow in grace (2 Peter 3:18), the grace on your life can be multiplied (2 Peter 1:2), and you can receive more grace, as the Bible says, “…he giveth more grace…” (James 4:6). Yes, He gives more grace, but He doesn’t give more anointing. You can grow in grace as you grow in faith, in the knowledge of God and the revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Grace determines your scope of influence and effectiveness in the calling God has given you. Recognise, therefore, that while your grace can increase, your anointing is complete. You already have the fullness of the Spirit. Live with this understanding and allow the grace of God in your life to multiply through your knowledge of God and fellowship with the Word. Hallelujah

Sometimes there are Christians, and even ministers of the Gospel, who are working hard for the Lord, but at the same time struggling with some ailments, some kinds of pain or sickness in their bodies. Some say it’s “normal” to get sick, citing the Prophet Elisha, who, in spite of how anointed he was, died sick (2 Kings 13:14).
They also reference Epaphroditus, who worked with Paul, who, in his fervor to serve the Lord, became seriously ill and almost died (Philippians 2:30). Thus, to many, sickness is normal. But no, it’s not!

First, the Bible never told us to model or pattern our lives after Elisha or Epaphroditus! Jesus is our example— the One we’re to emulate—and the Bible says as He is, so are we in this world (1John 4:17). He was never sick, and couldn’t be. He gave us the power to heal sicknesses and cure diseases.
Paul, in 1 Corinthians 11:1, said, “Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ.” There’s no record that Paul or the apostles were ever sick. Rather, they healed the sick. Read about Paul and Peter in the Book of Acts: Acts 19:11-12 & Acts 5:15-16 (study the entire reference).
Follow God’s Word. Model your life after the Word, after Christ, and learn from His great Apostles of faith. They were masters of the elements of this world. They spoke to all manner of sicknesses, diseases, and infirmities; they cast out devils who inflicted these pains on the people. That’s the life we have in Christ.

Refuse to be sick. Stick to the Word of faith that stirs you up in the things of God and in the way of the Spirit. Meditate on the truths of God’s Word. Romans 8:11 says, “But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.” This has already happened now that Christ lives in you. Therefore, arm yourself with this insight and dominate sickness and disease. Rule over the depravities and negativities of this world, and their corrupting influences. Hallelujah!

Matthew 10:8 NIV “Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received, freely give.”
Do you realise that there’s power in your hands? You actually do have something to give because there’s power inside you. You can transmit God’s healing power into the sick through your hands. God has given you the authority to confront the devils of disease and cure sicknesses. As you preach the gospel, there are times you come across people who are too sick to have faith by themselves. Some have peculiar diseases that wouldn’t allow them to hear, see, or even talk to you. Others are too distracted by the ensuing pain and discomfort. In such cases, you must understand that God, by His Spirit and through faith in His Name, has given you the power to transmit divine power into the sick and cause them to be healed.

Always, we find Jesus healing the sick before He preached. There were times He spent His entire day healing sick folks and curing their diseases by the power of the Holy Spirit (Matthew 15:30-31). When Jesus sent seventy of His disciples into cities and towns, He told them, “Heal the sick who are there and tell them, “The kingdom of God is near you”” (Luke 10:9). The Lord, in other words, instructed them to heal first and preach later. When Jesus instructed His disciples to heal the sick, He gave them the authority over every disease by the same command to accomplish the task successfully (Mark 6:7).
You received the dynamic ability to cause changes the moment the Holy Spirit came to dwell in you. Therefore, don’t be satisfied with only preaching the gospel; learn to fulfil your heavenly Father’s desire and demonstrate the power of the resurrected Christ by healing the sick.

-GSW-