A devotional from Kirk Hunt’s book, Blessed and Blessing: Devotionals for Gospel Champions (CadreMen Press, 2015).

David’s First Anointing

Therefore all the elders of Israel came to the king at Hebron, and David made a covenant with them at Hebron before the Lord. And they anointed David king over Israel, according to the word of the Lord by Samuel.
1 Chronicles 11:3 NKJV

The pomp and circumstance of 1 Chronicles 11 and 12 is a highlight in Scripture. The roll calls of valiant men and mighty tribes highlights the weight of David’s leadership. More importantly, it details God’s glory in Israel.

David’s anointing came from God. The great gathering and celebration is really worship and praise of God. Any celebration of anointing must be aimed at the Source, not the servant.

David’s long years of selfless service as a loyal soldier for King Saul, then as an outlaw-protector, are fulfilled in the coronation celebration. David had long since become a noble-leader and warrior-king. This third anointing is mere recognition of the clear and obvious truth of David’s life.

Your third anointing recognizes what has already been true. Your faithful service. Your loyal fulfillment of Kingdom duties. Your empowerment through the Holy Spirit.

Enjoy the celebration. God is receiving worship and glory in the ceremony. Remember, your anointing comes from Him, for His purpose. He chose you and is your source.

Think:

God is the source and purpose of my anointing.

Pray:

“Lord, help me to remember You are the Source and Purpose of my anointing.”

Blessed and Blessing, Devotionals for Gospel Champions

The Kingdom of God is built by the hands and hearts of Gospel Champions. These devotionals are focused on the faithful and courageous men and women who answer God’s call on their lives. Often the least recognized, these Christian servants are the hands, feet and face of God’s present-day Kingdom. Some of the devotions encourage servants to answer His call, then prepare for their mission tasks. Other devotionals address working with others on the frontlines of the Gospel mission. There are devotionals related to finishing in continuing strength and steady faith. Some devotions include Scriptural medicine and reassurance for those who stumble while serving. The servants who bless others are often more blessed than they know. These teachings help Gospel champions recognize and use the gifts God has already given to them. This book benefits the men and women who deliver God’s answers to the physical and spiritual needs around them.

This devotional from Kirk Hunt’s book, Blessed and Blessing: Devotionals for Gospel Champions (CadreMen Press, 2015), is reprinted here with permission. Copyright © by Kirk Hunt and CadreMen Press.

A devotional from Kirk Hunt’s book, Blessed and Blessing: Devotionals for Gospel Champions (CadreMen Press, 2015).

David’s First Anointing

Then the men of Judah came, and there they anointed David king over the house of Judah.
2 Samuel 2:4a NKJV

David’s second anointing came during a time of personal sorrow and national disunity. The men of Judah officially recognized David as their king. Benjamin, David’s own tribe, did not. All of the rest of Israel? Absent.

Still mourning the death of Saul and Jonathan, David took on the weight of his kingship. With tact, compassion and diplomacy, David sought to consolidate Israel under a single government. No small task.

The private anointing at 1 Samuel 16: 12-13 was necessary for David’s development. This second anointing publicly confirmed David as king. This anointing carried David from learner to leader.

Anointing is not a static, once-and-forever event in your life. As God moves you through His path and process, things change. You change. Your anointing changes.

As king, David’s sphere changed. No longer a mercenary captain, he became a regal king. He stopped working with the few and began working with the many. And this change did not end David’s story.

If you are one of God’s anointed, your story is not over. This season in your life is orchestrated by God. Your next season will be arranged by God as well. Your second anointing is another beginning, not an end.

Think:  

As I move through God’s plan, my anointing will change.

Pray:

“Lord, help me to fulfill Your call and anointing in my life.”

Blessed and Blessing, Devotionals for Gospel Champions

The Kingdom of God is built by the hands and hearts of Gospel Champions. These devotionals are focused on the faithful and courageous men and women who answer God’s call on their lives. Often the least recognized, these Christian servants are the hands, feet and face of God’s present-day Kingdom. Some of the devotions encourage servants to answer His call, then prepare for their mission tasks. Other devotionals address working with others on the frontlines of the Gospel mission. There are devotionals related to finishing in continuing strength and steady faith. Some devotions include Scriptural medicine and reassurance for those who stumble while serving. The servants who bless others are often more blessed than they know. These teachings help Gospel champions recognize and use the gifts God has already given to them. This book benefits the men and women who deliver God’s answers to the physical and spiritual needs around them.

This devotional from Kirk Hunt’s book, Blessed and Blessing: Devotionals for Gospel Champions (CadreMen Press, 2015), is reprinted here with permission. Copyright © by Kirk Hunt and CadreMen Press.

A devotional from Kirk Hunt’s book, Blessed and Blessing: Devotionals for Gospel Champions (CadreMen Press, 2015).

Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers; and the Spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day forward. So Samuel arose and went to Ramah.
1 Samuel 16:13 NKJV

Traditionally, during his first anointing, David was a teenager. Neither Jesse nor his family had enough influence or wealth to make one of his sons a king to Israel. Certainly, no one expected much from, or for, the youngest son of Jesse’s brood.

King Saul had already rejected God. Saul’s error and disobedience ended his kingship and dynasty. God commanded that Saul be replaced, before David’s name appears in 1 Samuel.

Anointing is more than being marked or set-aside. Anointing is being placed under the divine influence and empowerment of God. Clearly, the power of God’s Spirit impacted David’s life.

Divine empowerment, anointing, is an act of God’s choosing. Whom does God anoint? Saints, with sincere hearts, who proactively seek Him. They are men and women who use the best of their time, talent and treasure to build the Kingdom.

The best part is that anointing is not reserved for an elite few. Common men and women can dare to seek God’s Heart and make themselves available for His service. God anointed a young boy, with sheep dung on his sandals. Surely, you can approach His Throne and ask.

At God’s direction, Samuel poured oil on David’s head. Before God spoke to Samuel, He saw the sincere and heartfelt devotion of a mere shepherd boy. God’s sovereign will chooses His anointed. Why not you?

Think:  

God chooses whom He will anoint.

Pray:

“Lord, help me to live in, and seek, Your anointing.”

Blessed and Blessing, Devotionals for Gospel Champions

The Kingdom of God is built by the hands and hearts of Gospel Champions.  These devotionals are focused on the faithful and courageous men and women who answer God’s call on their lives.  Often the least recognized, these Christian servants are the hands, feet and face of God’s present-day Kingdom.  Some of the devotions encourage servants to answer His call, then prepare for their mission tasks.  Other devotionals address working with others on the frontlines of the Gospel mission.  There are devotionals related to finishing in continuing strength and steady faith.  Some devotions include Scriptural medicine and reassurance for those who stumble while serving.  The servants who bless others are often more blessed than they know.  These teachings help Gospel champions recognize and use the gifts God has already given to them.  This book benefits the men and women who deliver God’s answers to the physical and spiritual needs around them.

This devotional from Kirk Hunt’s book, Blessed and Blessing: Devotionals for Gospel Champions (CadreMen Press, 2015), is reprinted here with permission. Copyright © by Kirk Hunt and CadreMen Press.

The Power of the Cross: The Biblical Place of Healing and Gift-Based Ministry in Proclaiming the Gospel

Understanding the Hebrew Scriptures and Hebrew culture is crucial to understanding how Jesus and the early church viewed sin, the demonic, and the fallen world they lived in.

Introduction

Christ’s death on the Cross atones for and cleanses us from all sin, and the atonement of the Cross provides the basis for God’s work to sanctify us and restore us from the brokenness which sin brought into our lives (Isa 53:4-6; Mk 10:45; Rom 3:22-25; 5:8-9; II Cor 5:21; Gal 3:13; Col 1:21-22; I Tim 2:6; Heb 2:14; 9:14, 26-28; 10:10; I Pet 1:18-21; 2:24; 3:18; I Jn 2:2; 3:5, 8). How is sin related to healing and wholeness in the Bible, and how is personal sin related to praying for someone’s healing as prescribed in James 5?

The problem with the human race is, according to Scripture, sin, and the problem with sin is that it has effects. What is more, the effects are not simply the immediate results of the sinful act, but also the long-term consequences of the act, sometimes affecting only the individual and at times engulfing the whole of the human race.¹ In this chapter we want to look at what parts of the human experience are traceable to sin, as well as examine the biblical solution to these consequences.

Sin and the Fruit of Sin in the Old Testament

The history of sin in the Old Testament begins with the introduction of sin in Genesis 3. The human beings (both the woman and the man, “who was with her,” Gen 3:6) desired to “be like God,” disobeyed and so sinned. The results are portrayed immediately: shame at their nakedness (3:7; perhaps shame is a symbol for their vulnerability); fear of the presence of God (3:8); disorder in the natural world (3:14,17); disruption of human relationships (3:16); disturbance of the generative process (3:16);² loss of sovereignty (3:15;18); and death (3:19).

The flood narrative itself indicates the pervasiveness of sin. At both ends of the narrative the writer declares that “every thought (or, thing formed in the thought) of a human being was only evil from youth.” (Gen 6:6; cf. 8:21) While on the one end of the narrative this inner evil is the reason for the destruction of the created order, a return to watery chaos, from which only Noah and his family are saved, on the other, it results in a type of resigned understanding on the part of God. Yet the next chapter places some limitations on violence in that, unlike the penalty exacted on Cain, now murderers will be executed. Law, then, becomes a result of sin.⁴

The rest of the Old Testament amplifies these positions about the results of sin. That sin can lead to judgment and death is almost cliché in terms of the Old Testament. The cycle of sin and oppression (which included death in battle and death through the oppression) is the theme of Judges. The prophets are concerned about impending judgment which they speak about in terms of various forms of death (sword, plague, etc.).

Sin Can Lead to Broken Relationships and Poverty

Another mark of sin seen in all of these narratives is the destruction of the social fabric of the people. One sees this graphically in the case of Lot in Gen. 19. On the one hand, the sin of Sodom (lack of hospitality to the extent of the abuse of foreigners) leads to the destruction of the city, for it confirms the “outcry against Sodom” (Gen 18:20 NIV) and thus seals its doom, especially since every man in Sodom is involved and Lot has only four people with him (thus less than the ten righteous needed to save the city). On the other hand, the narrative ends with incest by Lot’s daughters because society as they knew it was gone. Here is a destroyed social fabric to the extent that the incest taboo is broken. The author of Genesis appears to contrast this fate with that of Abraham. Lot may have been righteous, but he is not as righteous as Abraham.