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I know a man in ministry who used to be a missionary to the Pygmy tribes in Dutch New Guinea. After preaching one night through his interpreter, he decided to conduct a healing line. When he noticed the first man in line had a fungus from head to toe, he changed his mind. In that part of the jungle that particular fungus was highly contagious. So the missionary went back to his tent.

After two hours, he looked out. No one had moved. They were all still waiting in the healing line. Feeling chastened by the Lord (a divine unction), he decided to go and minister to the people and just believe God. As he approached the "fungus" man, he used his two pointing fingers only to barely touch the sides of the man's head where there was the least fungus. Then the anointing kicked in. When he touched him, the fungus man leaped onto him and held him: His legs wrapped around his waist and his arms wrapped around his neck.

The missionary described the man as having fungus in his eyes, in his mouth and all over his body. However, when the power of God touched him through that missionary, praise God, the man was instantly healed.

Obedience is the key for functioning in the anointing. It was the final factor that led through the final downfall of King Saul. In 1 Samuel 13:8-15 Saul became impatient and took it upon himself to make a sacrifice rather than wait for Samuel to arrive. Some of Saul's men had already begun to defect. When Samuel arrived, Saul said, in his own defense, that he "felt compelled" to do what he did (v. 12, emphasis added). That is the negative side of an "unction to function" - doing what seems right to you without the anointing. Samuel rebuked Saul, telling him that he had acted foolishly and had not kept the commandment of the Lord.

Obedience to the Lord

Listen: The main rule for having authority is also to be under authority yourself, and that starts with being obedient to the Lord.

Even Jesus remarked that He had not found such great faith in Israel when he encountered the centurion in Matthew 8. When Jesus told him that He would come and heal his servant, the centurion humbly said, "Lord, I am not worthy that You should come under my roof. But only speak a word, and my servant will be healed."

He continued, "For I also am a man under authority, having soldiers under me. And I say to this one, 'Go,' and he goes; and to another, 'Come,' and he comes; and to my servant, 'Do this,' and he does it" (vv. 8-9). Now that is true picture of meekness, a gentle humility that demonstrates power under control.

Going back to Saul, the final blow came when he disobeyed the word of the Lord spoken through Samuel to utterly destroy the Amalekites (1 Sam. 15:1-3). Saul was instructed to attack King Agag and the Amalekites and not spare anything alive: "Kill both man and woman, infant and nursing child, ox and sheep, camel and donkey" (v. 3). But Saul spared the best the Amalekites had, including the king himself. He then told Samuel "the people" had saved the animals to sacrifice (vv. 9, 13-15). In rebuke, Samuel said, "Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft" (vv. 22-23). That very day the Lord tore the kingdom of Israel away from Sauk (v. 28).

Character Over Comfort

Friend, the unction to function in the anointing of God works within the framework of obedience.  God is more interested in our character than our comfort. He is raising up a generation that will do what He says in the correct way, which will achieve His objective and bring glory to Him - not build up our own egos.

In these last days we must be people and ministers of integrity, honesty and humility. We must go beyond just knowing the principles of the kingdom; we must also know the King - His will, His ways, His very heartbeat.  And again, this is possible because we have "an unction from the Holy One, as ye know all things" (1 John 2:20, KJV, emphasis added). The Lord Himself enables us to possess knowledge of the truth, because He is the living Word.

Daniel 11:32 declares, "The people who know their God shall be strong, and carry out great exploits" (NKJV). So let's function in the anointing with the right spirit and with power from on high: "God's X Factor," the unction to function that moves us to obey Him and release a might anointing in the earth.

Never forget: You are anointed to flow in special abilities that have been tailor-made for you by the same God who does the work in all of us. You can obey God and move in the anointing, whether you are laboring alone or working together with your brothers and sisters in Christ. You can hear, obey, and flow in the anointing of God - fearlessly, favorably and fiercely. You are anointed for this!

Judy Jacobs