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Oil for Engines with High Mileage
I shall be anointed with fresh oil.
– Psalm 92:10

I walked into a store to look for some special oil for on of my cars and I noticed that there was a certain oil with special ingredients formulated for engines with a high mileage of 75,000 miles or more.

If oil companies can make special oil for engines with high mileage, I’m sure God has a special oil for engines for high mileage, I’m sure God has a special oil for believers with high mileage! According to Isaiah 61:3, the anointing is the oil of joy and is so powerful that it heals the broken-hearted, sets captives free, and open blind eyes.

Without proper oil changes, an engine will overheat, make a lot of racket, and eventually shut down. The anointing is the oil of joy and just as engines require an oil change to work right, we need a fresh anointing of the Holy Ghost.

I once had a young minister on my staff who took his car to the shop because it wouldn’t run anymore. They checked the oil and asked when he had last put oil in it. He responded, “Oh, are you supposed to do that? After realizing his engine was destroyed, he learned the truth that “ignorance is expensive!”

Many Christians put off getting refilled with the oil of joy and the Holy Ghost because they are ignorant about it, are too busy or don’t think it’s necessary. Don’t be ignorant, but stay full of the Holy Spirit. It is necessary! But like my dad used to say when my mother would rejoice and run around the church, “It’s not necessary unless it’s necessary!” It’s not necessary unless it’s necessary!

Paul said, Rejoice in the Lord always; and again I say rejoice (Phi. 4:4). Maybe you’ve once been full of the oil of joy and the Holy Ghost, but now you’ve got high mileage, and you’re clunking along, not getting anywhere! You need to stop, get refilled with the Holy Ghost and REJOICE!

The Oil of Joy
…You anoint my head with oil!
– Psalm 23:5

It shall come to pass in that day that his burden will be taken away from your shoulder, and his yoke from your neck, and the yoke will be destroyed because of the anointing oil.
– Isaiah 10:27 (NKJV)

You love justice and hate evil. Therefore, O’ God, your God has anointed you, pouring out the oil of joy on you more than on anyone else.
– Hebrews 1:9 (NLT)

There’s no mountain too big for you to move

There’s no mountain too big for you to move, no assignment too difficult to finish, and no city too great for you to possess if you stay full of the oil of joy! Joshua and Caleb, the only spies to bring back a good report from the Promised Land—could have sat in their rocking chairs, put up their feet, and talked about the good old days, at the end of their lives. Instead, they must have been staying in the Presence of God, remembering what Moses told them about not being afraid and about meditating on God’s Word.

They must have started rejoicing over the promises of God! They stayed busy raising up the next generation to be strong, courageous and full of faith (Numbers 13-14; Joshua 1)! As they did, they were anointed with fresh oil. They were headed to their destination and the wall of Jericho had come down!

There’s no mountain too big for you to move, no assignment too difficult to finish, and no city too great for you to possess if you stay full of joy!

In Bible times, when a runner prepared for a race in that arid climate, he would anoint his body with oil to protect it from excessive perspiration. When mixed with perfume, the oil imparted a delightfully refreshing and invigoration sensation. That is what happens spiritually as our Shepherd Jesus, anoints our heads with oil. When you are anointed with fresh oil of the Holy Spirit, you receive supernatural ability, endurance and strength.

There is a refreshing in the joy of the Lord that will enable you to run strong and finish your particular race with joy! Isaiah 40:31 says “But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.” Receive the reward for your faith and enter into the joy of the Lord!

Run To Win
You’ve all been to the stadium and seen the athlete’s race. Everyone runs; one wins. Run to win! All good athletes train hard. They do it for a gold medal that tarnishes and fades. You’re after one that’s gold eternally.
– 1 Corinthians 9:24,25 (MSG)

This race of faith begins and end with Jesus. He is the Author and Finisher. He is the goal and the prize. He is the joy we are focused on! Even when we can’t see Him with our eyes, we believe and love Him so we don’t get distracted, looking to the right or left. Instead, we should do like one marathon runner told me they did to keep focused. They kept their watch in view so they could keep a steady pace and listened to happy music so they wouldn’t get bored and quit. Most of all, they kept their mind on the goal – the finish line!

Peter knew the agony of quitting on Jesus and learned his lesson. There was no stopping Peter when he repented and believed. He was filled with the Holy Spirit and started running his race! Peter wrote these words which are the theme of his life and of this book.

“Whom having not seen, you love; in whom, though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible (unspeakable) and full of glory: Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.
– 1 Peter 1:8-9

Just as the runner said earlier in this chapter, “Successful runners focus on a goal, are patient and realize everything takes time. We plan our training, we make sure we maintain our motivation and gather people around us to help.”

In the same way! That’s how we finish our course with joy! Jesus Christ, the Anointed One, was anointed with the oil of joy (Hebrews 1:9)! Throughout His life, He was trained in the Scriptures and learned obedience through the things He suffered. He stayed motivated by focusing on the reward, the joy of winning the prize. He fellowshipped with the Father, taught His disciples to pray and was empowered by the anointing of joy.

James said to count it all joy when you have all kinds of trouble. Patience and endurance will give you staying power and bring you to the goal! Remember the devil is impatient, but if you get full of joy, start dancing and shouting, he will soon give up. Your rejoicing is faith in action! We’re not going to quit halfway! The joy and cheer of the Holy Spirit is our strength!

“Remember the devil is impatient, but if you get full of joy, start dancing and shouting, he will soon give up.

I Think Myself Happy
When I get to Heaven, I want to check out the video of Paul standing before King Agrippa! (I think there will be video’s of all the great Bible stories.) I would have loved to have been in the place with the king and his sister Bernice, as they walked in with great pomp. The message Bible says it his way.

The next day everybody who was anybody in Caesarea found his way to the Great Hall, along with the top military brass. Agrippa and Bernice made a flourishing grand entrance and took their places. Festus then ordered Paul brought in.
– Acts 25:23 (MSG)

Here was Paul, a short man with chains on his hands and feet, knots on his head form being stoned, and a few teeth missing. King Agrippa and Bernice had just come from the mall, dressed in their finest. I’m sure Bernice had just gotten her fingernails done, and all of the people were in high style.

However, none of them were happy except for this one man in chains. He was on course, and he was happy. In one translation, Paul says, “I’m congratulating myself!” There is no chain that can bind up the spirit of a person who is full of joy and the Holy Ghost. Just look at what Paul the king.

I think myself happy, king Agrippa, because I shall answer for myself this day before you touching all things whereof I am accused of the Jews: Whereupon, O king Agrippa, I was not disobedient unto the heavenly vision.
– Acts 26:2, 19

When Paul testified before King Agrippa, he realized he was in the exact place Jesus Christ had told he would be years before on the road to Damascus. Here he was, giving witness of Jesus to King Agrippa. He was demonstrating something he wrote about in Philippians 4:12-13:

I know how to be abased and live humbly in straitened circumstances, and I know also how to enjoy plenty and live in abundance. I have learned in any and all circumstances the secret of facing every situation, whether well-fed or going hungry, having a sufficiency and enough to spare or going without and being in want. I have strength for all things in Christ Who empowers me [I am ready for anything and equal to anything through Him Who infuses inner strength into me; I am self-sufficient in Christ’s sufficiency]. – Philippians 4:12-13 Glory to God!

I have learned in any and all circumstances the secret of facing every situation – I can do all this through Him who gives me strength. I like to say, “Paul had been snake bit, beat in the head, and left for dead, yet he could still stand up and say, “I am more than a conqueror!” Even when he was forced to spend the end of his life in chains, Paul still wrote the book of Philippians – a short letter that mentioned joy and rejoicing 16 times! The joy of the Lord is our strength to finish strong!

Receive the Reward with Joy
Who having not seen, you love; in whom, though now you see him not, yet believing, you rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory: Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.
– 1 Peter 1:8-9

Go ahead and receive the reward for your faith and enter into the joy of the Lord! You can then say, “I have fought a good fight. I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness!”

When my mother took her last breath, the family was around her bed singing hymns and encouraging her to go on to meet Jesus. As she drew her last breath, there was some shouting going on in that room because we know this praising, shouting joyful mother had entered into the joy of the Lord forever! It was “worth it all” because she had finished her course with joy. She taught me the “Secret Power of Joy!” There is victory and eternal joy in this life and in the life to come!

“It will be worth it all, when we see Jesus! Life’s trials will seem so small when we see Christ. One glimpse of His dear face, all sorrow will erase. So, bravely run the race till we see Christ”

This song really puts everything into perspective. Our eyes are set on Jesus, the prize and He gives us joy for the journey. We will run to the finish, finish with joy, and FINISH STRONG!! Glory to God forever more! Hallelujah!


Source: The Secret Power of Joy
Excerpt permission granted by Mark Hankins Ministries

Author Biography

Mark Hankins
Web site: Mark Hankins Ministries
 
Mark and Trina Hankins travel nationally and internationally preaching the Word of God with the power of the Holy Spirit. The vision of MHM is to take the spirit of faith, the message of who the believer is in Christ, and the work of the Holy Spirit to every generation and to every nation. Mark and Trina Hankins have been in full-time ministry for over thirty five years. Through church services, leadership conferences, mission trips, publications, radio, television, Bible schools, and the internet, MHM is reaching the world with the Word of God. Mark is known widely for his unique anointing to minister on the subjects of faith and the believer’s identification in Christ.
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