Dear brothers and sisters in the Lord,
the peace of our Lord Jesus be with you.
Let me open my message with this verse from Galatians 5:22-23:
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.”
In my prayer time lately, I have observed the relationship among pastors, ministers, intercessors, and the whole body of Christ. I was in deep sadness to know how ‘Christians’ are treating each other. We are supposed to be salt and light, we’re supposed to be humble, loving, kind, patient, understanding each other with open heart, we are a new creatures in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17); what more?
We have failed to love one another. The Lord sent us the Holy Spirit to change us, to guide us, to direct us, as Paul says in I Corinthians 13:4-7:
“Love is patient,
love is kind.
Love is not jealous,
it is not pompous,
it is not inflated,
it is not rude,
it does not seek its own interests,
it is not quick-tempered,
it does not brood over injury.
Love does not rejoice over wrong-doing,
but rejoices with the truth.
It bears all things,
believes all things,
hopes all things,
endures all things.”
Throughout my ministry I have encountered Christians who wanted us to go away, who wanted our ministry to die, who wanted our anointing to cease. A couple tried to steal our contacts and they built their ministry based on our vision and network; I am sure many of you have experienced this dilemma. Why? Aren’t we suppose to love each other? Aren’t we suppose to support each other? Why do we have to allow the spirit of control take over God’s work in our nation?
We still put the blame on the devil; sorry brethren, we are to blame because we have allowed him to divide us and conquer. Stop all that nonsense now, stop that pride now, stop now. Soften your heart, repent, ask God for forgiveness, go and knock on your fellow neighbour’s door and ask to reconcile with them. Don’t try to steal your fellow pastors’ anointing: God is watching you.
Each one of you believe that he or she is the chosen one for our city’s mission; that’s true and God is a faithful God who always keep His promises. Many of you God chose to be part of the huge movement that is happening right now across the globe.
I want to share a little bit about the anointing of God in our lives, but before I write about that it is very important that we acknowledge the gift of grace freely given to us by God. By recognizing who Jesus is and who we are in Him, it sets our calling on solid ground to acknowledge that He is the head and we are the body.
“For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.” [Ephesians 2:8-10]
Precept Austin commentary on this scripture (www.preceptaustin.org/ephesians_28-9) reminds us that:
Grace (charis) is God’s generous favour to undeserving sinners and needy saints. Grace is God’s free and undeserved bounty. Grace shocks us in what it offers (or at least it should ‘shock us’ when we come to realize the importance of grace in our lives). The grace of God is the expression of God’s goodness toward the undeserving. In salvation, men who deserve hell obtain heaven because of grace that flows from the Cross (1Co 1:18). This provision of heaven instead of hell cannot be explained apart from free, albeit costly grace. Grace is a gift that costs everything to the Giver and nothing to the receiver (Amazing Grace!) It is given to those who don’t deserve it, barely recognize it, and hardly appreciate it. Paul is teaching in this passage that every conversion is a living supernatural example of God’s supernatural grace! Hallelujah!
“By faith Noah, being warned by God about things not yet seen, in reverence prepared an ark for the salvation of his household, by which he condemned the world, and became an heir of the righteousness which is according to faith.” [Hebrew 11:7]
When writing of the salvation of Abraham, Moses says that:
“Then he believed in the Lord; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness.” [Genesis 15:6]
Grace is the ultimate ground of salvation, Paul recording that
“(God) who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity” 2 Timothy 1:9
The grace of God is undeserved, unsought, and unbought, except that it is made available by the precious blood of the Lamb of God (Acts 20:28, 1 Peter 1:18-19). The infinitely high price of redemption was paid for by the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor (His incarnation), that you through His poverty might become rich (spiritual riches that Jesus gives to all who place their trust in Him; 2 Corinthians 8:9).
So the riches of our salvation (calling, election, justification, sanctification, glorification) were all made possible by when Christ suffered and died a cruel death on the cross so that grace could be lavished (Ephesians 1:7-8) upon those who were separated from God by their sin (Isiah 59:2, Proverbs 15:29). When we realize what it cost God to express grace, it helps us realize the extreme wickedness of our sin and the undeserving state of all mankind (Romans 5:12), Grace starts with God, continues with God, and ends with God. Anything we do is in response to what God has first done for us. It follows that even after salvation by grace through faith, we remain forever debtors to and dependent upon God’s all sufficient grace (2 Corinthians 9:8, 2 Corinthians 12:9) we all need to carry that cross and follow Jesus, and be like Jesus.
It is true that many of you were called to the transformation of your own cities or other cities, but there is also the anointing of God. Since 2009 when I started my walk with God, He revealed to me His mystery for Sydney and beyond, and some things already started to happen. Many of you will still be shaken by the move of transformation, many are hungry to see something happening, and many are not sure what to think.
I want you to trust the reality and believe that God has already chosen people and He will raise more, and we must work together for the sake of His kingdom. But the leadership of transformation of any city must take place by someone like Moses to lead it. For me it was a divine anointing to lead Transforming Sydney and to facilitate that movement, which was revealed to us and confirmed to us by others who are prophets, healers and ministers of the Word. In His timing, God will anoint another person for this mission and He will confirm it with me and I will gladly hand over and bless them.
Thomas J. Watson, the former chairman of IBM, said, “Nothing so conclusively proves a man’s ability to lead others as what he does from day to day to lead himself.” Leadership is to serve and to nurture. In his book Leadership Gold: Lessons I’ve Learned from a Lifetime of Leading John Maxell writes:
“To the servants who managed their affairs well, their master gave them greater leadership responsibilities; He put them in charge of cities (Luke 19:17). What’s more, he told them, ‘Well done’. Leadership is a responsibility, men and women are chosen to be leaders and be accepted by the community to continue the will of God and accomplish His mission for the city.”
Let me remind you also of this passage from the beginning of the chronicle of Joshua in the Bible (Joshua 1:1-18 NIV):
Joshua Installed as Leader
1 After the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, the Lord said to Joshua son of Nun, Moses’ aide: 2 “Moses my servant is dead. Now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give to them—to the Israelites. 3 I will give you every place where you set your foot, as I promised Moses. 4 Your territory will extend from the desert to Lebanon, and from the great river, the Euphrates—all the Hittite country—to the Mediterranean Sea in the west. 5 No one will be able to stand against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you. 6 Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their ancestors to give them.
7 “Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. 8 Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. 9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”
10 So Joshua ordered the officers of the people: 11 “Go through the camp and tell the people, ‘Get your provisions ready. Three days from now you will cross the Jordan here to go in and take possession of the land the Lord your God is giving you for your own.’”
Like Moses and Joshua I truly felt so humbled to recognise God’s calling in my life and like Joshua who was truly honoured to be chosen to lead the people of Israel into the promised land. What an incredibly strong endorsement; by this time, in spite of wandering in the desert for 40 years, Israel had grown to be 3 million strong. No sooner had they began their trip into the promised land than they encountered the incredibly powerful fortified city of Jericho. Joshua sent a few men to Jericho to find out what the situation was there. With the help of a woman who believed that the God of Israel was the true God they found that rather than come out and fight, the people of Jericho were going to hide behind the incredibly strong walls of the city. Most Christians know the story of God’s angel appearing as a warrior to Joshua and giving him instruction to lead the people around the walls 7 days in a row. On the 7th day they were instructed to have the priests blow the ram’s horn and have all of the people shout at the same time. As the song says, “…the walls came tumbling down.”
What is Anointing? The anointing is a Divine enablement for us to accomplish God’s purposes on earth. God’s work cannot be done through human might and power, only by His Spirit. However we are co-labourers with Him. His Spirit works in us and through us by anointing us.
The anointing has a two-fold purpose: it works in us and through us. Firstly the anointing works in us by teaching us God’s ways and conforming us to His likeness. Secondly it works through us by giving supernatural ability to do God’s work (witnessing, preaching, teaching, etc.) and since different believers have different purposes, they are anointed and equipped differently. An evangelist is equipped to win the lost, a pastor to lead his flock, a singer to minister comfort, and so on.
In my life, the anointing of God is very strong on me and when I pray and the moment I pray God answers my prayers on the spot, for myself and for others. He always finds a way and a solution for everything and everyone whom I pray for and on their behalf.
From an early age I received God’s favour, but that came with a price that I had to give up, and are still giving up, on earthly things that I don’t need. I only need God’s grace and mercy to keep me going with my love for Jesus and the mission He has laid before me.
Let me tell you this: an anointing from God is something Holy. I believe and I trust I have a global mission, but I don’t dwell on it; when it happens I will rejoice and I will say to God, “This is all for you to give you the glory alone, because you have chosen me and anointed me with your love. I love you Lord, I also give credit to my dear husband Bjorn and many Christian who came into my life.”
Kind regards,
Lilian Schmid
16-Dec-2012, updated 10-Jan-2020
National Coordinator
Prayer Strategy for the Spheres of Influence
www.prayerstrategy.org
Founder and Board Member
Transforming Sydney Christian Movement
www.transformingsydney.org
Only God can save us.