When we desire to see kingdom anointing expressed through us in signs and wonders and people entering the family of God, our focus needs to be on loving God and also loving the anointing.
We do this by studying the anointing and learning how to flow in it.
The essential requirement to moving in Kingdom anointing is a personal relationship with Father, relationship with Jesus and relationship with Holy Spirit.
Kingdom anointing is seen in the life of Jesus and exampled in King David and Cyrus, king of Persia.
The prophecy over Cyrus, gives us keys to moving in the power of God.
Cyrus, king of Persia
Temple Builder.
2 Chronicles 36:22-23 “NOW IN THE FIRST YEAR OF CYRUS KING OF PERSIA, … THE LORD STIRRED UP THE SPIRIT OF CYRUS KING OF PERSIA, SO THAT HE MADE A PROCLAMATION THROUGHOUT ALL HIS KINGDOM AND ALSO PUT IT IN WRITING: ‘THUS SAYS CYRUS KING OF PERSIA, “THE LORD, THE GOD OF HEAVEN, HAS GIVEN ME ALL THE KINGDOMS OF THE EARTH, AND HE HAS CHARGED ME TO BUILD HIM A HOUSE AT JERUSALEM, WHICH IS IN JUDAH. WHOEVER IS AMONG YOU OF ALL HIS PEOPLE, MAY THE LORD HIS GOD BE WITH HIM. LET HIM GO UP.”
We know from history that Cyrus was able to defeat kingdoms, so we can learn something from this chosen vessel of God and use it to defeat the kingdom of darkness and advance the Kingdom realm of Jesus Christ.
Let’s look at the prophecy over Cyrus’ life so we can apply it to our situation to build the kingdom of God.
Kingdom Anointing Requires Loving God!
ISAIAH 45:1 CYRUS, GOD’S INSTRUMENT “THUS SAYS THE LORD TO HIS ANOINTED, TO CYRUS, WHOSE RIGHT HAND I HAVE HELD— TO SUBDUE NATIONS BEFORE HIM AND LOOSE THE ARMOR OF KINGS, TO OPEN BEFORE HIM THE DOUBLE DOORS, SO THAT THE GATES WILL NOT BE SHUT:
Before we can subdue nations with the gospel or set kings free (all believers are Kings), there needs to be a holding of His hand.
Jesus would often go up into the mountains to pray, to spend time alone with His Father.
When we are holding His left hand, He leads us.
ROMANS 8:14 FOR AS MANY AS ARE LED BY THE SPIRIT OF GOD, THESE ARE SONS OF GOD.
Some people are keen to get into spiritual warfare but unaware that God may not be leading them into a particular battle.
Learning to be led by the Spirit, not by the crowd, is vital in maturity.
Christians get spiritually attacked by getting involved in a conflict that God did not intend them to be involved in. As a result, they became sick or face poverty.
A Heart for God’s People
Isaiah prophesies about Cyrus 150 years before the Medo-Persian empire conquered the Babylonian empire in 539BC.
The first thing we learn about Cyrus is that he has a good heart for people, the temple of God, and for God.
ISAIAH 44:28 WHO SAYS OF CYRUS, ‘HE IS MY SHEPHERD, AND HE SHALL PERFORM ALL MY PLEASURE, SAYING TO JERUSALEM, “YOU SHALL BE BUILT,” AND TO THE TEMPLE, “YOUR FOUNDATION SHALL BE LAID.”’
What we learn from this is that we need to be the same. We need a good heart for people, the church, the temple of God (being the body of Christ corporate and individual).
Shepherd’s Heart.
ISAIAH 44:28 WHO SAYS OF CYRUS, ‘HE IS MY SHEPHERD,
When we desire to have a breakthrough anointing that will bring in the kingdom of God, the key is to have a shepherd’s heart for the people of God.
Have God’s Desire.
ISAIAH 44:28 AND HE SHALL PERFORM ALL MY PLEASURE,
If we want to see the breakthrough anointing, then the desire of God will be our desire.
Smith Wigglesworth never read the newspaper because he said it reduced his faith. He would say to his Timothy’s, “leave that (newspaper) at the gate if you want to come into my house.”
Although it is good to keep up with the information, if we are going to be noticed by God, and have God answer our prayers, let our mind be on Him and His business – the kingdom.
I do not waste time listening to things I have control over because it leads to worry. If it is necessary, someone will be sure to tell me!
It concerns me the number of people anticipating the Anti-Christ and the mark of the Beast to happen in the future, when these prophetic events have already taken place two thousand years ago.
Such people are rarely able to move in the power of God because this is not kingdom thinking.
The power of God moving through us comes from realizing the kingdom is here now, not in some future millennium.
Many people ask me how they can hear God speaking clearly. It’s simple, ask Him about what He is interested in! His Kingdom!
It does not mean He is not interested in our needs; of course, He is. He said,
MATTHEW 6:33 BUT SEEK FIRST THE KINGDOM OF GOD AND HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS, AND ALL THESE THINGS SHALL BE ADDED TO YOU.
Encourage the Church.
ISAIAH 44:28 SAYING TO JERUSALEM, “YOU SHALL BE BUILT,” If we want to be an anointed king, then we need to encourage the true Jerusalem – the church of God:
GALATIANS 4:24-26 …FOR THESE ARE THE TWO COVENANTS: THE ONE FROM MOUNT SINAI WHICH GIVES BIRTH TO BONDAGE, WHICH IS HAGAR— FOR THIS HAGAR IS MOUNT SINAI IN ARABIA, AND CORRESPONDS TO JERUSALEM WHICH NOW IS, AND IS IN BONDAGE WITH HER CHILDREN— BUT THE JERUSALEM ABOVE IS FREE, WHICH IS THE MOTHER OF US ALL.
Paul is identifying the true Jerusalem by comparing the old covenant and the new covenant. Saying that the natural Jerusalem represents the law, while the true Jerusalem is the people of the New Covenant, both Jew and Gentile alike.
HEBREWS 12:22-24 BUT YOU HAVE COME TO MOUNT ZION AND TO THE CITY OF THE LIVING GOD, THE HEAVENLY JERUSALEM, TO AN INNUMERABLE COMPANY OF ANGELS, TO THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY AND CHURCH OF THE FIRSTBORN WHO ARE REGISTERED IN HEAVEN, TO GOD THE JUDGE OF ALL, TO THE SPIRITS OF JUST MEN MADE PERFECT, TO JESUS THE MEDIATOR OF THE NEW COVENANT, AND TO THE BLOOD OF SPRINKLING THAT SPEAKS BETTER THINGS THAN THAT OF ABEL.
Laying Foundations in the Temple of God.
ISAIAH 44:28 AND TO THE TEMPLE, “YOUR FOUNDATION SHALL BE LAID.”
There are two types of temples in the New Covenant – personal:
1 CORINTHIANS 3:16-17 DO YOU NOT KNOW THAT YOU ARE THE TEMPLE OF GOD AND THAT THE SPIRIT OF GOD DWELLS IN YOU? IF ANYONE DEFILES THE TEMPLE OF GOD, GOD WILL DESTROY HIM. FOR THE TEMPLE OF GOD IS HOLY, WHICH TEMPLE YOU ARE.
And corporate.
EPHESIANS 2:21-22 IN WHOM THE WHOLE BUILDING, BEING FITTED TOGETHER, GROWS INTO A HOLY TEMPLE IN THE LORD, IN WHOM YOU ALSO ARE BEING BUILT TOGETHER FOR A DWELLING PLACE OF GOD IN THE SPIRIT.
To be a kingdom anointed person, our ministry should always point people to God dwelling in us and the body of Christ.
Heart of Righteousness Ensures Kingdom Anointing
Essential to walking in kingdom anointing is righteousness.
Not just the gift of righteousness that comes from the covenantal atonement but walking in righteousness.
Defining Righteousness. 1 JOHN 3:7 … HE WHO PRACTICES RIGHTEOUSNESS IS RIGHTEOUS, JUST AS HE IS RIGHTEOUS.
A righteous person is he who PRACTICES righteousness! The word ‘practices’ is present tense. In other words, practicing righteousness needs an active outworking of being honest in our daily lives.
However, the New Covenant GIVES us the nature of God, who is holy and righteous. Being righteous means we can do righteous acts, and therefore are righteous.
Many humans are considered righteous in His sight but not righteous enough to enter the kingdom of God. Entrance requires belief in the Lordship and resurrection of Jesus.
Cyrus as a Righteous Person. Cyrus is such a person and the reason why God chose Him.
ISAIAH 45:13 I HAVE RAISED HIM UP IN RIGHTEOUSNESS, AND I WILL DIRECT ALL HIS WAYS; HE SHALL BUILD MY CITY AND LET MY EXILES GO FREE, NOT FOR PRICE NOR REWARD,” SAYS THE LORD OF HOSTS.
Historians tell us that Cyrus recognized that Yahweh Elohim was God of heaven: (Hebrew names used for clarity only)
EZRA 1:2-3 THUS SAYS CYRUS, KING OF PERSIA: ALL THE KINGDOMS OF THE EARTH THE YAHWEH ELOHIM OF HEAVEN HAS GIVEN ME. AND HE HAS COMMANDED ME TO BUILD HIM A HOUSE AT JERUSALEM WHICH IS IN JUDAH. WHO IS AMONG YOU OF ALL HIS PEOPLE? MAY HIS GOD BE WITH HIM, AND LET HIM GO UP TO JERUSALEM, WHICH IS IN JUDAH, AND BUILD THE HOUSE OF THE YAHWEH ELOHIM OF ISRAEL (HE IS ELOHIM), WHICH IS IN JERUSALEM.
According to these historians, he had a sense of morality, not plundering like those around him. His enemies, the Greeks, respected him for his good ethics and moral leadership.
Kingdom Anointing Brings Kingdom Authority
Shortcuts to inheriting the nations are risky. Many ministries fall by the wayside, unwilling to grow in authority or be under apostolic relationship.
I Will Give you the Nations.
ISAIAH 45:1 “THUS SAYS THE LORD TO HIS ANOINTED, TO CYRUS, WHOSE RIGHT HAND I HAVE HELD— TO SUBDUE NATIONS BEFORE HIM
Remembering we are in Jesus and He in us, the promises that apply to Jesus, also apply to us:
PSALM 2:8 ASK OF ME, AND I WILL GIVE YOU THE NATIONS FOR YOUR INHERITANCE, AND THE ENDS OF THE EARTH FOR YOUR POSSESSION.
Reigning Over Principalities and Powers.
ISAIAH 45:1 “Thus says the LORD to His anointed, To Cyrus, whose right hand I have held to subdue nations before him to loosen the loins of kings.
The loins refer to the emotions, it is talking about the fear of God coming upon them.
This scripture means that if you have this kingdom authority, you will break the protection of principalities.
2 CORINTHIANS 10:3-5 FOR THOUGH WE WALK IN THE FLESH, WE DO NOT WAR ACCORDING TO THE FLESH. FOR THE WEAPONS OF OUR WARFARE ARE NOT CARNAL BUT MIGHTY IN GOD FOR PULLING DOWN STRONGHOLDS, CASTING DOWN ARGUMENTS AND EVERY HIGH THING THAT EXALTS ITSELF AGAINST THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD, BRINGING EVERY THOUGHT INTO CAPTIVITY TO THE OBEDIENCE OF CHRIST,
Responsibility of the Ministry Gift.
As we desire to grow in kingdom anointing and authority, God will allow us to come against different principalities and powers that He wants us to get the victory over.
Those of us who have a five-fold ministry will meet one of the five principalities assigned against our gift.
Those who are called to be an evangelist will come against the anti-Christ spirit, which hates the anointing on your life to see people born-again.
Being a teacher, then the assigned adversary is deception.
A pastor must overcome the spirit called death and hell, gaining victory to be able to walk in health.
The prophet will undoubtedly meet their Jezebel spirit.
The apostle will meet Leviathan at some stage in their ministry.
Maturing the Ministry Gift.
Now, these are generalizations because, in reality, we will all meet the different ruling spirits.
Different ministry gifts will grow to have authority over those principalities, specific to their call.
However, suppose we are walking in righteousness. In that case, God will usually only allow us to face one principality until we have a measure of authority over it.
Once we have defeated that adversary in our life, He will then present the next.
True apostles will gain victory over all five; true ministry prophets will usually gain authority over four of them. They are different from the other ministry gifts because apostles and prophets are the foundations of the church.
EPHESIANS 2:20 HAVING BEEN BUILT ON THE FOUNDATION OF THE APOSTLES AND PROPHETS, JESUS CHRIST HIMSELF BEING THE CHIEF CORNERSTONE
We will learn how to have authority over spirits like Jezebel, Anti-Christ, Death and Hell, Deception and Leviathan.
The positive effect of defeating each of these five spirits is the strengthening of the five ministry gifts through adversity.
Growth happens when the ministry gifts are willing to grow in the king’s knowledge, kingdom and righteousness.
However, this authority only comes through suffering some adversity before we overcome it.
Open Double Doors of Honor
Double doors speak of being honored into the presence of kings.
ISAIAH 45:1 “THUS SAYS THE LORD TO HIS ANOINTED, TO CYRUS, WHOSE RIGHT HAND I HAVE HELD— TO SUBDUE NATIONS BEFORE HIM AND LOOSE THE ARMOR OF KINGS, TO OPEN BEFORE HIM THE DOUBLE DOORS, SO THAT THE GATES WILL NOT BE SHUT:
In our spiritual life, these doors are access to the throneroom of principalities and powers.
COLOSSIANS 1:16 FOR HIM ALL THINGS WERE CREATED THAT ARE IN HEAVEN AND THAT ARE ON EARTH, VISIBLE AND INVISIBLE, WHETHER THRONES OR DOMINIONS OR PRINCIPALITIES OR POWERS. ALL THINGS WERE CREATED THROUGH HIM AND FOR HIM.
The authority we have is complete as we grow in faithfulness to the call.
Like Cyrus who saw many kings fall to his armies, we will also see thrones, dominions, principalities, and powers fall to us in Jesus’ name.
Remember, these are adversaries who God wants us to overcome through kingdom demonstration and walking in righteousness.
Plundering the Enemy’s Camp Through Kingdom Anointing
Once we have opened the king’s throne room door, we can plunder the king’s domain! The outcome being we see people coming to Christ.
Gates Will Not be Shut.
Isaiah 45:1 “THUS SAYS THE LORD TO HIS ANOINTED, TO CYRUS, WHOSE RIGHT HAND I HAVE HELD— TO SUBDUE NATIONS BEFORE HIM AND LOOSE THE ARMOR OF KINGS, TO OPEN BEFORE HIM THE DOUBLE DOORS, SO THAT THE GATES WILL NOT BE SHUT:
Once we have access to the king’s throne rooms, nothing stops us from plundering his storehouses! Just step out in the ‘rest’ of faith and preach boldly, expecting a harvest of souls and healing miracles.
He Will Go Before You.
The going before you (verse 2) relates to the kingdom business:
ISAIAH 45:2 I WILL GO BEFORE YOU AND MAKE THE CROOKED PLACES STRAIGHT; I WILL BREAK IN PIECES THE GATES OF BRONZE AND CUT THE BARS OF IRON.
He is the one who will level the mountains, raise the valleys and make a highway of holiness for us.
All we need to do is keep being led by him, keep praising Him, and walking in righteousness and holiness.
Moving from War to Victory.
We know it when the battle is won in the realm of the spirit. We create an open heaven over the city because the Angel over it has been displaced.