“Then Samuel took the flask of oil, poured it on Saul’s head, kissed him, and said, “Has the LORD not anointed you as ruler over His inheritance?” (1Sa 10:1, NASB)

The anointing is the voice of the Lord that speaks to us and leads us into all truth.

“And as for you, the anointing which you received from Him remains in you, and you have no need for anyone to teach you; but as His anointing teaches you about all things, and is true and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you remain in Him.” (1Jn 2:27, NASB)

 The anointing takes three forms or empowerments, that of the prophet, that of the priest and that of the king.

“and you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words that you shall speak to the sons of Israel.”” (Exo 19:6, NASB)

 Now we know that the anointing for the role of the king is actually the anointing to serve. We see this in   the life and ministry of Yeshua who said about His own anointing as a king:

 ““For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.”” (Mrk 10:45, NASB)

 This tells us that the anointing for authority and influence is actually an authority to serve. This is in contrast to everything the world teaches about being in charge; Yeshua explains:

 “And He said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles domineer over them; and those who have authority over them are called ‘Benefactors.’ “But it is not this way for you; rather, the one who is the greatest among you must become like the youngest, and the leader like the servant. “For who is greater, the one who reclines at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who reclines at the table? But I am among you as the one who serves. “You are the ones who have stood by Me in My trials;” (Luk 22:25-28, NASB)

 The heart of the Lord’s anointed of kingship or leadership is servant leadership. This is why God always opposed human kings for His people. Let’s go back and look at the first king who was anointed, Saul.

 “So Samuel spoke all the words of the LORD to the people who had asked him for a king. And he said, “This will be the practice of the king who will reign over you: he will take your sons and put them in his chariots for himself and among his horsemen, and they will run before his chariots. “He will appoint for himself commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties, and some to do his plowing and to gather in his harvest, and to make his weapons of war and equipment for his chariots. “He will also take your daughters and use them as perfumers, cooks, and bakers. “He will take the best of your fields, your vineyards, and your olive groves, and give them to his servants. “And he will take a tenth of your seed and your vineyards and give it to his high officials and his servants. “He will also take your male servants and your female servants, and your best young men, and your donkeys, and use them for his work. “He will take a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves will become his servants. “Then you will cry out on that day because of your king whom you have chosen for yourselves, but the LORD will not answer you on that day.”” (1Sa 8:10-18, NASB)

 Samuel is warning as the prophet of the Lord and Judge of Israel, that top-down kings enslave the people they “rule” over.

 As a health care provider now for over 40 years, I’ve watched this same spirit come into healthcare. No longer do the healthcare providers view themselves for the most part as servants of their patients but as slaves of a managed health industry. Doctors are no longer servants of the hurting and needy but managers of a sickness industry system.

 I would love to say this is the only place this has occurred but unfortunately we also see it the church. We call this the corporate mentality. The congregation becomes an extension of the church rather than the church is the congregation and those in leadership are actually servants of the church not served by the church.

 Of the three kinds of anointing we are speaking of the prophet, priest and the king, the king is the  most dangerous. Why is that? Because it is the closest to God.

 God is the ultimate authority from whom flows earthly authority. Unfortunately many see God as a tyrant. They miss the servant heart of God who never was about being served, but about being loved. Love is above obedience. Yeshua said it this way:

 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier provisions of the Law: justice and mercy and faithfulness; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others.” (Mat 23:23, NASB)

 It isn’t that love ignores obedience but transforms it. I don’t do things for my wife out of obedience which is based in fear, but because of love. If I fall into obedience, I drop from love into fear.

 This is so important. Love and fear are not opposites but entirely different spiritual realities. This is the true battle for the king anointing. This is all about the source of power:  God who is love or Satan who rules by fear.

 “Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, so that through death He might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and free those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives.” (Heb 2:14-15, NASB)

Now we can begin to see what authority is really all about, either operating in love or operating through fear.

Love rules by becoming less and through service.

Fear rules by trying to control and through intimidation.

This contrast is taught to us by the Apostle Paul who said:

“Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” (2Ti 1:6-7, NKJV)

The laying on of hands Paul describes is the impartation of the anointing of the authority of the king of kings.

The king anointing brings with it the love of God, the power of God and the soundness of healing of our thought life. The thoughts Paul is speaking of, the place of soundness is sourced in a regenerated heart.

The authority of love comes from the heart and is an expression of the anointing through the Holy Spirit who pours love into us:

“Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.” (Rom 5:5, NKJV)

The heart is the battleground. To get some insight into this let’s go to the anointing of Israel’s second king, David. The anointing of David is an entirely different affair than that of Saul. Remember Saul loses access to the anointing because he rebels against the heart of God.

You all know the story,  that God commanded Saul to kill the Amalekites but he rebelled and kept the king, Agag,  alive to torment him. Notice the motivation. Samuel confronts Saul and the anointing is removed to pass to another, David.

David by contrast is of no physical stature or significance, transforming the nature of the kingly anointing. Let’s peek in at the story:

“Now the LORD said to Samuel, "How long will you mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from reigning over Israel? Fill your horn with oil, and go; I am sending you to Jesse the Bethlehemite. For I have provided Myself a king among his sons." And Samuel said, "How can I go? If Saul hears it, he will kill me." But the LORD said, "Take a heifer with you, and say, 'I have come to sacrifice to the LORD.' Then invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you shall do; you shall anoint for Me the one I name to you." So Samuel did what the LORD said, and went to Bethlehem. And the elders of the town trembled at his coming, and said, "Do you come peaceably?" And he said, "Peaceably; I have come to sacrifice to the LORD. Sanctify yourselves, and come with me to the sacrifice. Then he consecrated Jesse and his sons, and invited them to the sacrifice. So it was, when they came, that he looked at Eliab and said, "Surely the LORD's anointed is before Him!" But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused him. For the LORD does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart." So Jesse called Abinadab, and made him pass before Samuel. And he said, "Neither has the LORD chosen this one." Then Jesse made Shammah pass by. And he said, "Neither has the LORD chosen this one." Thus Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel. And Samuel said to Jesse, "The LORD has not chosen these." And Samuel said to Jesse, "Are all the young men here?" Then he said, "There remains yet the youngest, and there he is, keeping the sheep." And Samuel said to Jesse, "Send and bring him. For we will not sit down till he comes here." So he sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, with bright eyes, and good-looking. And the LORD said, "Arise, anoint him; for this is the one!" 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.” (1Sa 16:1-13, NKJV)

With the anointing of David, there was a transformation of what the kingly anointing was about. With David, it moved from the world’s style of king, Saul who used fear and intimidation to David who was known by the Lord as a servant King, who ruled with love.

We see Love ruling through David from the book of Psalms to how he dealt even with the demise of Saul. Then, finally when we look at Yeshua, Isaiah prophesied this description:

“Who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant, And as a root out of dry ground. He has no form or comeliness; And when we see Him, There is no beauty that we should desire Him. He is despised and rejected by men, A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. Surely He has borne our griefs And carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, Smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed.” (Isa 53:1-5, NKJV)

The anointing through Yeshua moves completely from the beauty of the world to the inner beauty of laying down our lives. This is where the true authority lies. This is the authority of the anointed King who serves and is willing to give it all for the ones He loves and is called to serve. True leaders are really fathers and mothers who live not for their own glory but for the glory of their children. This is true whether they are narwal children or those assigned to us by divine appointment to operate as a loving and giving kingly anointing.

Activation: Where has God positioned you? Who are you over that you are actually called to be serving. Remember the more faithful you are in serving the greater the authority in and through your life.