Sermon: Anointing With Oil

#1744A
Ted E. Bowling
Given 20-Jan-24; 33 minutes 2024-01-20

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I was recently asked the question, "When should we ask to be anointed for sickness?" which I thought was a very good question. Healing is a matter of faith. And when we are sick, we go to God for relief. We often contact the church to put a prayer request up on the website so the whole congregation can send up prayers to God on their behalf. But what about being anointed by an elder?

Well, today, I want to look at this subject of anointing and how it was used through the Scriptures and how it should be used today. I first want to start in Psalm 139, verses 13 and 14. This is a psalm of David in his praise to God.

Psalm 139:13-14 For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother's womb. I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; marvelous are Your works, and that my soul knows very well.

The word "fearfully" here, by the way, means to revere, to stand in awe of, in respect. So David is saying, I am in awe of Your creation. David is speaking about the care and the attention with which God has created us and how we are individually handcrafted and that this is something fearful to be noted. David acknowledges the extraordinary work of God's hand.

The human body is one of the most complex and unique organisms in the world. And that complexity and uniqueness speaks volumes to the mind of our Creator. Every aspect of our body, down to the tiniest microcell reveals how wonderfully we are made. But even though we are made in God's image, we are flesh. The human body is not immune from problems and challenges. The human body is susceptible to illnesses. Bill [Onisick] last week read the verse about we are given 70 years and sometimes 80. And there are many of us often that are sick from time to time and some have even been diagnosed with chronic situations. More and more we see those that have health challenges that overwhelm the body. The body becomes out of whack and starts operating improperly, for whatever the reason. It may be a chemical imbalance within the body. Sometimes it is passed down through our genes. Sometimes it is just our own problems, our own creation.

As we look through the Scriptures, we realize just how vulnerable we are to this mortal flesh that we are and that our bodies are vulnerable to weaknesses at times and prone to illness. We are vulnerable to injury. And as we get older, we are vulnerable to those aches and pains of life. As our body ages, we are more susceptible to disease.

Each and every one of us, I am sure at one point or another, has succumbed to some type of illness. Now, sometimes these illnesses are nothing more than an annoyance and they do not rise above like a runny nose or you are fighting a light cough, that 24-hour bug, or something on those lines. But there are some times in life where you succumb to things which are much more significant, a lengthy illness that makes it difficult for us to function normally. Sometimes those illnesses creates fatigue and has a negative effect on us as we face the challenges of life.

When should we be anointed? Well, there is nothing in the Scriptures set in stone regarding when we should be anointed, but we should use wisdom when we make these decisions. We must ask the question: Is this illness going to run its course in a few days? Is it going to clear up with little effort because the immune system that God has built into us is working and that it will be gone in a few days. Or is it an illness that will be hanging on and provides great distress in experiencing illnesses or injuries that are beyond the body's ability to deal with it themselves. At that time, we truly do need the anointing of the elders.

James 5:14 Is anyone of you sick? Let them call on the elders of the church, and let them pray over them.

And I was thinking, at that time they did not have the ability of transportation like we have today. They did not have cars and could easily go from one place to the other. So when it says, call on the elders, it probably means that they could not travel. And so if we are in situations where illnesses makes it impossible for us to go from one place to the other, God has made provisions for healing because of His great love for us.

Let us turn to Psalms again, this time in chapter 103. And I want to read verses 1 through 4. Here we show the important aspects of how much God truly loves us and watches over us and cares for us.

Psalm 103:1-4 Bless the Lord, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless His holy name! Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits: He forgives all your iniquities, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from destruction, who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies.

So we see here that we have a God that loves us truly. And He knows when we are sick. You know, He knows when we get up in the morning. He knows when we go to bed. He knows when we are battling through an illness and He wants to intervene. He wants to support us in our physical health, in our physical needs.

Please turn to James 5. This is where we do get the instruction on anointing in the New Testament. God inspired James to instruct the the church and the elders here.

James 5:13 Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing psalms.

Now, the word "suffering" here means to undergo hardships, suffer trouble. And so I think it is very important. The first thing that we are to do when we are undergoing hardships, troubles, even sickness is: Step one is to take it directly to God. Step one is to pray. Our God already knows what we are battling through. He knows the difficulties and the problems and the illnesses. And He wants us to reply to Him. He wants us to reach out to Him.

James 5:14 Is anyone among you sick? Let him call on the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord.

The word "sick" here is Strong's #770. It means to be weak, feeble, without strength, be diseased or sick. So we when we are struck with an illness and a sickness that is zapping your strength, that is making you weak and feeble, we are to call on the elders at that time. Now, I want to add one more thing here at this time. Anointing is not confined to life-ending illnesses. We do not have to be on our deathbed to ask to be anointed. It means just sickness, weakness. God gave His body to be broken and sacrificed, and He sacrificed Himself for our healing.

James 5:15-16 And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of the righteous man avails much.

God inspired James to instruct us and he prescribes a very special service that he has asked the elders of the church to perform.

When we are anointed, this is an outward expression of our faith in God, an acknowledgment to God how feeble we are and how we can do nothing without Him or apart from His will.

We live in a time where most people do not give credence to divine healing and that is because healing takes faith and it is not a characteristic of the present culture today. Even in the church, sometimes faith is in short supply. And I am sure more and more in the world may even consider, including Christians, when calling on God for healing and in faith, they may look at it as a superstition. And that is because they do not know God and they do not know His promises. And so they do not know how to reach out to Him.

I was talking to Richard about this subject last week and he said probably many even consider it like a placebo, like mind over matter. And I think to admit that there is godly healing is to admit the existence of God and the intervention of God.

Now, I believe that modern medicine has its place in the welfare of men. And they have made great strides to maximize our health, our well being, and our longevity. When my son was dealing with a brain tumor, you know, I took it to God in prayer. And I believe that God led that surgeon to remove that tumor and save his life. But we can never, ever remove God from the picture because our blessings that we have all come through Him, every single one of them. And we must accept and remember that God is the Creator and He is the One that controls our lives, how long we will live. And if our days are up, that is part of His will.

When the body is broken, we should always seek God first. We must seek His mercy, His cooperation, and accept His will. God says call on the elders of the church because He wants this petition to be done in a proper and formal way. The minister says a prayer which in effect brings a petition directly to our loving God, right to the throne of God. And it does not matter which elder it is, by the way. They are tools in God's hand. I say this because I want to admit many years ago when my family was needing healing, I was being picky about who I wanted to anoint my family member, and I was wrong. You know, that was a lack of lack of wisdom on my part because it is not the elder that does the healing. It is God that heals.

There will be many times it would be impossible as well for the elder to actually reach an individual. And God has provided a provision for that and that is the anointed cloth which is sent out to that person through the mail. You can write down Acts 19:11-12. This records the sole mention of this practice. Now, there is no power in the cloth, there is no power in the oil. It is God that heals and that is according to our faith.

I am not going to go into this subject today, but there is an excellent article on the CGG Weekly by Richard Ritenbaugh called "The Anointed Cloth in Healing." It is on our website and if you want to look more into that subject, I recommend it.

James states the prayer of faith will save the sick and the Lord will raise them up. And not only that, James also says that a person who has committed sin that caused, possibly, that illness, that specific ailment, their sins are forgiven.

Healing through anointing is an incredible promise that God has given the church and anointing has been a significant practice throughout the ages. I would like to take a few minutes and look at anointing in the Scriptures. Anointing is a principle that we see that has various uses and we will see that they are both physical and spiritual.

Now, the Hebrew word for anoint in the Old Testament is Strong's #4886, mashach, and the word means to rub with oil, that is, to anoint, to consecrate. And there is an interesting example of this in Isaiah.

Isaiah 21:5 Prepare the table, set the watchman in the tower, eat and drink. Arise, you princes, anoint the shield!

That sounds a little bit strange—anoint the shield. But this was an instruction to the soldiers for the army of Israel to prepare for war. And see, most of their shields were made of wood and there was leather that was stretched over those shields to create extra durability. And so they were to anoint that leather to keep it moist. Think of it today in the application of a baseball mitt. Oil on the mitt will keep it limber and soft and usable. The oil would protect the wood to keep it from cracking that leather and even to slow down the arrows and darts that may damage it. So here you see a practical use in this word, anoint.

There are several other practical uses. There was a benefit of anointing with oil for health benefits. It was used in conjunction with bathing. You know, in Israel, in that dry climate there, anointing after bathing was necessary for personal care. The anointment with oil closed pores and it was used to provide a protective layer for the skin. This was very common in Eastern cultures. And even sometimes the oils were mixed with different fragrances. We see an example of this in Ruth 3:1-3. Naomi instructed Ruth to prepare herself for Boaz.

Ruth 3:3 "Therefore wash yourself and anoint yourself, put on your best garment and go down to the threshing floor."

So here you see that anointing is a part of hygiene and keeping up the body.

Another benefit is in healing. It is a process that was used to help cover up wounds. If you remember the story of the Good Samaritan, when the Samaritan stops and binds the wounds of the man that was robbed and hurt on the road to Jericho. It says that the Samaritan applied oil and wine to the wounds of the man. So it was used for keeping the body healthy and applying this ointment to the wounds was like a salve to protect that wound from infection.

Another reason anointing was used in the Scriptures was a sign of hospitality. In that culture, it was common to anoint the guest with oil when they would come to your home. The guest was anointed on the head as a token of honor and respect. And the most famous scripture that I come across in the scripture is Psalms 23, verse 5. I have never thought of it in this way. David pictures himself as a guest at the Lord's table.

Psalm 23:5 You prepare a table for me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; my cup runs over.

David understood what a great honor it was to be anointed as a guest in someone's home. And this practice is not limited just to the Old Testament. It reappears in Luke 7, verse 46. Jesus is dining at the house of Simon. Jesus says to the head of the household:

Luke 7:46 "You did not anoint My head with oil, but this woman has anointed My feet with fragrant oil."

This was a practice that was continued even into the New Testament.

Now more importantly than these common physical uses of anointing oil is the spiritual aspect of it. Remember that the word anoint just it means to smear on or to paint. But it also means "to make sacred," "to concentrate for office or set apart for a religious service." And we can see that in several areas here in the Old Testament. In Exodus 28, verse 41 we see Aaron and the priests were anointed and consecrated.

Exodus 28:41 "So you shall put them on Aaron your brother and on his sons with him. You shall anoint them, concentrate them, and sanctify them, that they may minister for Me as priests."

So anointing was a ceremonial action to separate persons from the profane to the holy.

It is interesting that it did not stop there. In the Tabernacle, everything was anointed with oil.

Exodus 29:2 "and unleavened bread, unleavened cakes mixed with oil, unleavened wafers anointed with oil."

Exodus 40:9 "And you shall take the anointing oil, and you shall anoint the tabernacle and all that is in it; and you shall hallow it and all its utensils, and it shall be holy."

It did not exclude the ark of the covenant.

Exodus 30:26 "With it you shall anoint the tabernacle of meeting and the ark of the testimony."

So anointing was a setting apart. It was a matter of making things holy. And we see this also with the prophets. We see in the Scriptures that the prophets were referred to as God's anointed. Remember how Elijah anointed Elisha. In the field he poured oil over his head because he had become God's anointed, replacing him as his prophet.

And the most common use that we probably would think of first was the anointing of a king. It was a ceremony regarded as sacred.

I Kings 1:39 Then Zadok the priest took the horn of oil from the tabernacle and anointed Solomon. And they blew the horn, and all the people said, "Long live King Solomon!"

I Samuel 16:13 Then Samuel took the horn of the oil and anointed him [this is speaking of David] in the midst of his brothers; and the Spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day forward.

So we see how special this process was, this ceremony was. We see how God appoints the priests, the prophets, and the kings, and how they were consecrated and made sacred by the anointing of oil.

And most importantly, our Savior Jesus Christ, the Messiah. The word messiah comes from that same Hebrew word, which means anointed. So Jesus was the Anointed One. Please turn to Isaiah chapter 61.

Isaiah 61:1 "The Spirit of the Lord God [which is the Father] is upon Me [Jesus Christ], because the Lord has anointed Me to preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound."

The New Testament Greek word for anoint is christos. Guess where we get the word Christ? Thayer's Greek Lexicon tells us that when christos is used in reference to Messiah, the word is being used to describe the Messiah as God's Anointed One, Jesus the Christ. And so we see how special this process is. The Father Himself anointed Jesus Christ and set Him apart for His special purpose. And that purpose was to save—to be the Savior of the world.

I want you to see anointing is a consecration, it is sacred, and it is important to God.

As we look through the ministry of Jesus Christ, He went about healing and there are so many verses I could turn but I am not going to take the time to do that. But I do want to turn to Mark chapter 6 where we see how Christ sent out the Twelve. He gave them a commission.

Mark 6:12 So they went out and preached that people should repent. And they cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many who were sick, and healed them.

So I think we see the source of James' instruction. When we are anointed with oil, it is being used to consecrate that person who has expressed their faith by requesting healing from God. It sets them apart in God's eyes just as He would set apart a king, a priest, or the prophet.

It is important to consider when we are asking for anointing with oil, how special a process this really is. We are taking a significant concern in our life and we are elevating it to a different level. It is an acknowledgment to God just how desperately we need Him. It is an expression of faith in Him and an acknowledgment that we can do nothing without Him. It is an acknowledgment of His sovereignty in all aspects of our life.

Now, a question: Is being anointed a guarantee of healing? Well, the straightforward answer is, no. Anointing is not a magic bullet. Our God is not a genie in the bottle because healing is by the will of God. Not to be healed right away is not an indication of a lack of faith. And even if you are not healed in your lifetime, it is not an indication of a lack of faith. Please know our loving God wants to heal us every time, but sometimes it is in our best interest that He does not.

Please turn to II Corinthians chapter 12. Here we see the story of Paul. Paul wrote about himself.

II Corinthians 12:8-10 Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. And He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness." Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ's sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

When Paul was not healed of his weakness, his illness, we must look at his attitude here. It was not one of depression and I do not think God was ignoring him. We must have the same faith and confidence in God that Paul had. Sometimes God says no, because it is for the greater good. And Paul realized that. And so when we are not healed immediately, we must have that same perspective. Because I am sure that Paul had no lack of faith. But Paul was encouraged by God when He told him that His grace was sufficient for him.

Now, there are many that have dealt with diseases or physical issues throughout their lives. When I was 19, I was diagnosed with a disease. And when I came to the church, I was anointed many times and I was not healed of that disease, that condition. But I do know that through my years that God has protected me and helped me and answered my prayers when I had difficulties dealing with that illness. And I know, and I think you should know as well, that it is only through God that we get through these different types of challenges.

I also know through these challenges that God allows us to carry through life in these difficult times, it is His way of helping us to build character in our lives. Because godly character is everything, because He wants us to develop godly fruit. He wants us to look to Him for our strength in everything. Never forgetting that He is sovereign. Never forgetting what His purpose is. And most importantly, knowing, remembering always that He loves us.

Now, because we have not been healed does not mean we have not been consecrated. We cannot allow our faith to waver. We must always remember our God is sovereign over His creation. He decides who is healed, and He decides when, and always, always according to His purpose. Our responsibility is to trust Him whether or not healing occurs.

Brethren, we have been given a very special gift and that gift did not come cheap. For my last scripture, please turn to Isaiah 53. This is very important scripture, especially as we near the Passover. And I think it is interesting. The heading on my chapter says The Sin-Bearing Messiah.

Isaiah 53:3-6 He is despised and rejected by men, a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed.

We must remember this always when we ask for healing, because He has already made the sacrifice—the ultimate sacrifice. And that when we are healed, when we are anointed, this is a special gift from Jesus Christ our Lord. A gift that came with great price and it was given out as an understanding because He knows our weaknesses as human beings and because He understands and knows every need that we have. He made this sacrifice because He loves us.

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