"Now when they had escaped, they then found out that the island was called Malta. 2 And the natives showed us unusual kindness; for they kindled a fire and made us all welcome, because of the rain that was falling and because of the cold. 3 But when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks and laid them on the fire, a viper came out because of the heat, and fastened on his hand. 4 So when the natives saw the creature hanging from his hand, they said to one another, “No doubt this man is a murderer, whom, though he has escaped the sea, yet justice does not allow to live.” 5 But he shook off the creature into the fire and suffered no harm. 6 However, they were expecting that he would swell up or suddenly fall down dead. But after they had looked for a long time and saw no harm come to him, they changed their minds and said that he was a god."
I didn’t sit down this evening with the intention of just writing an uplifting message, it is my intention to give those reading, someone who needs to hear from the Lord, a prophetic word. I believe that I hear the Lord saying that many of you are going through very stressful trials, in fact some of you are of you are in a struggle right now, and it’s not just a normal everyday trials. And you’re being hit harder than ever before.
It’s because your testimony and your walk have become a threat to hell. It’s happening to you because you have something that a lot of so called “believers” don’t have, you have something that a lot of churches today don’t have, it’s happening to you because you’re anointed.
In the above text Paul is traveling by ship to Rome to appear before Caesar for his testimony. Paul warns the crew of the ship that disaster is ahead, but they do not listen. Let’s be honest, many of us could have avoided many of the hardships in life if we would have just listened to good advice. Even though they ignored his advice, God was merciful, a lot of us need to say thank God for mercy.
The Lord sent an Angel to tell Paul that He was to spare all that sailed with him. That fact shouts something to my spirit, “You better stay with the anointing!” I don’t care how good a ministry looks or sounds, how big it is, how popular it is, or how large the crowd is that they are drawing, the one question you should be asking yourself is, “Is the anointing on it?”
Don’t get me wrong, I am not against talent, I am not against education, and I am not against having a big church, but what we need is the anointing. When Satan is trying to destroy me, when he’s trying to break up my family, or kill my ministry, it’s not talent, education, a big church, or a well-known name that I need, What I need is the anointing! Paul was not just a man, he was a man anointed with the Holy Ghost and Power. You need to stay with the anointing. Your miracle, your healing, your deliverance, your victory, it’s with the anointing.
It’s impossible to overstate the importance of the power of Holy Ghost and the anointing on your life.
Your employer may not know it, but they are blessed because of you, your family, your church, they’re blessed because of you. Because you’re anointed. Because of the anointing on your life, lives are going to be preserved, souls are going to be saved, and Satan’s plans are going to fail.
In our text we see the Apostle Paul has just survived a shipwreck, now he is bitten by a snake. Many times these islanders have seen the horrible deaths that had resulted because of the poison of this vipers bite. As soon as they see this viper hanging on Paul’s hand, they go to forecasting his death. There are some people around you that know what you’ve been going through something, they know the devil has attacked you, and they’re forecasting your death.
This might shock some of you, but there are people that are happy you got bit and they are taking pleasure in your pain, they enjoy seeing your pain. I’m reminded of Joseph’s brothers who threw him in a pit and left him there to die, and then they sat down and had lunch. They entertained themselves listening to Josephs cries for help.
There are people around you that are enjoying your pain, they are glad you got bit, they’re saying things like:
I knew they weren’t going to make it.
I knew that marriage wouldn’t last.
I knew they couldn’t afford that house.
I knew they would never make it in ministry.
I knew they weren’t qualified for that job.
I knew their children were going to end up on drugs or in prison.
Then they say things like:
Who do they think they are anyway?
They should have settled like the rest of us.
They should have just been satisfied with what they had.What doesn’t
They shouldn’t have ever started that soul winning campaign.
They shouldn’t have started that building program.
They should have just stayed in the boat with the rest of us here in the projects
What’s all this nonsense about blessings and promotions, and walking on the water and healing the sick and working miracles?
They watched him, expecting him to die, but he disappointed them because he didn’t die. And I want to tell someone right now, you’re getting ready to disappoint some people! I’m not saying you’ll never be bit again, or you’ll never fight another battle, or you’ll never cry another tear, or you’ll never spend another sleepless night, what I’m saying is that your enemy is defeated and God said to tell you, ‘you’re not going down with the ship!”
Right now the devil is pumping out his poison trying to take you out:
Trying to kill you
Trying to kill your marriage
Trying to kill your ministry
Trying to kill your anointing
Right now it may feel like and look like the devil is winning, but I want you to look over your shoulder and see what God has already brought you through. Some of you have been lied on, you’ve been falsely accused, rejected, some have been through divorce, through foreclosure, and lost your job. But guess what? You’re still here! God didn’t bring you through all of that to be destroyed by this. The same God that brought you through that, will bring you through this. To God, this is no different than that.
You need to tell the devil today, “I ain’t dying I ain’t quitting, I ain’t giving up. I won’t quit dreaming, I won’t quit preaching, I won’t quit prophesying, I won’t quit praying, I won’t quit sowing, I won’t quit believing. I’ve been bit before, and I’m still here.”
You’re going to make it.
I know it’s painful but it’s not fatal.
I know you’re wounded, but God will heal it.
I know it looks bleak, but God will turn it around.
I know tonight your crying, but Joy is comes in the morning.
Somebody reading this feels like Paul:
You survived the sea, lived through a ship wreck, and now you’ve been bitten by a deadly Viper.
You just got out of the lion’s den and now you’ve been thrown into the fiery furnace.
You just got out of debt, and now sickness has hit your body.
You just got your job back and now your marriage is under attack.
You’re wondering: Why me? What have I done? Why is it happening to me?
You love God, you go to church, you tithe, you read his word, you strive to live holy, and none of this makes any sense. I thought I was anointed and that the hand of God was on my life. Well I know this is going to sound crazy, but that is exactly why it’s happening to you. It’s because you are anointed, it’s because the hand of God is on your life, it’s because you are a threat to hell. Because you won’t compromise, because you are lifting a standard of holiness, in the midst of a wicked and perverse generation, because every time the devil looks at you, he sees Jesus. The anointing on your life makes you are a target.
And if the devil knew what God was about to do in your life because of his attacks, he would have left you alone.
But he thought he was going to kill you.
He thought he was going to take you out.
He thought he was going to break you.
He thought you would quit.
He thought he would crush you
He thought you would get full of his poison, and become bitter and critical and resentful and angry.
But he was wrong! Paul didn’t die, you didn’t die. That serpent sunk its fangs into Paul’s flesh and injected that poison into his body, but when that poison hit the anointing that poison died and the anointing just got stronger.
The anointing went to another level
Paul’s testimony went to another level
You’re not going to die, you’re shaking it off and moving up.
You’re going to another level in the anointing.
You’re testimony is going to another level.
You’re going to walk with a greater anointing and a greater authority than ever before.
You’re going to cast out bigger devils than before, your faith is going to take you places you could have never gone before. Circumstances that used to trip you up and hold you down will no longer bother you. The sick will be healed and those in captivity will be delivered, more be people will be blessed because of your testimony.
God gave this word to me and told me to share this truth with you...
...The anointing of the Holy Ghost does not exempt you from the bite of the viper, but it gives you power over his poison.
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