Son of Jesse, The Lord’s Anointed

Leadership Traits of the World’s Greatest Leader (second to Jesus)

Trait #5-

Dependent on the Anointing

“Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers; and the Spirit of the LORD came mightily upon David from that day forward,” (1 Samuel 16:13).

It is a big deal to be anointed with the Holy Spirit and should never be underestimated. The anointing is a sign of being marked by God for a specific calling on this earth. Not only does it set one apart for service, it also bestows an authority and a divine empowerment to fulfill the given assignment. People who are anointed have a supernatural strength and wisdom available to enable them to live far beyond the ordinary.

David cherished his anointing. He understood that it wasn’t just a power; it was a Person. He didn’t care so much about the world seeing himself as a great man; He cared about the world seeing how great his God is. He knew that without the Holy Spirit, he could do nothing. The power exhibited in his life was in direct proportion to his intimate acquaintance with the Holy Spirit. David loved the Holy Spirit so much that his greatest fear was losing Him like Saul did because of his sin (1 Samuel 16:14). It was the first thing he begged the Lord for when he repented of his own sins. “Do not cast me away from Your presence, and do not take Your Holy Spirit from me,” (Psalm 51:11).

The anointing on David’s life showed up in some extraordinary ways. The presence of God would come in so strong when he worshipped that people were delivered of demonic spirits (1 Samuel 16:23). He was filled with unusual courage, which drove him to run alone towards the mighty Philistine giant who intimidated the entire army (17:26-44). David conquered the giant, not just because he could fling rocks well, but because God gave Goliath into his hands (17:45-51). He then led an entire army out of cowardice and into victory (17:51-54). These are just a few examples from two chapters of how David relied on the anointing of the Holy Spirit to cultivate his leadership before he ever advanced to becoming the greatest king history has known. He surpassed his human potential exponentially.

There are many examples in the Bible of people who were empowered for great things by the anointing of the Holy Spirit. But the most important one is Jesus Christ Himself. Although Jesus is the Son of God, He chose to lay aside the attributes of Deity to come as the Son of Man (Philippians 2:5-8). Jesus became equally as reliant upon an external source of life and power as we are so He could be our example. He received the baptism in the Holy Spirit (John 1:31-33) and then began His miracle ministry. “You know of Jesus of Nazareth, how God anointed Him with the Holy Spirit and with power, and how He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him,” (Acts 10:38).

Like David and Jesus, we too need the anointing of the Holy Spirit. 1 John 2:20 and 27 say that all we believers have an anointing that will teach us all things. We need to learn how to walk in it well. When Jesus returned to heaven, He handed the torch of His earthly mission to us with the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20). The task at hand is beyond what any of us can possibly do. But I’m thankful that God will never require anything of us without providing everything we need to achieve it. In Jesus’ farewell speech, He told His disciples to wait for the promised Holy Spirit. He said, “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses…” (Acts 1:8). I am so happy for Pentecost! It was the day the children of God were baptized in the Holy Spirit just like Jesus (Acts 2).

The Holy Spirit is always present and readily available for us. He is the Person of God; He is the power of God; He is the wisdom of God; He is all we need. We all need a fresh, ongoing baptism in the Holy Spirit. He is called the “Helper” (John 14:16), but He does more than just help us. When we partner with Him, we do what we can and then He kind of just takes over. He turns our mediocre attempts into supernaturally amazing accomplishments. He is the souped up nuclear engine in our Volkswagen Bug. He takes us farther and faster than we could ever go.

Let us be like David in how he cherished the Holy Spirit and relied upon His anointing to fulfill the impossible calling. We really don’t have what it takes to accomplish God’s dreams for our lives, except for one important thing… the Holy Spirit. Let’s get to know Him more and trust in Him to empower our attempts at kingdom advances.

“Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ says the LORD of hosts,” (Zechariah 4:6).

see also:

David’s Trait #4: Confident in the Call

David’s Trait #3: Shepherd at Heart

David’s Trait #2: Least Likely to Lead

David’s Trait #1: Lover of God