Thirdly, the teaching of the anointing is natural and not forced; neither is it something which is purposely sought after. It may be while you are in fellowship with the Lord, or it may be while you are working, resting, or walking on the street, that spontaneously there is a feeling or teaching within you, in your deepest part. This spontaneous feeling in your innermost being almost always comes from the anointing. If our spiritual life is normal, we should be able to feel the teaching of the anointing in such a very spontaneous way; otherwise, there is a problem with our living before the Lord. For example, while we are buying a dress, the anointing within will naturally show us whether or not we should buy it. If we need to pray for three days before we are clear about buying it, this proves an abnormal condition exists in our spiritual life. This not only applies to trivial things in our daily life; the principle remains the same in important or special events. We may pray and wait specifically for an answer, but the Holy Spirit will still make the will of God known to us in a natural way. Therefore, concerning the teaching of the anointing, the more spontaneous it is, the more normal it becomes.
Fourthly, the teaching of the anointing is constant, not coincidental or sudden. The teaching of the anointing, though very precious, can be frequently obtained. The Holy Spirit grants us this feeling in our daily life as well as for important events. From dawn until dusk, in all our activities, the anointing gives a continual feeling which enables us to understand the will of God and live according to His guidance. We can feel the teaching of the anointing when our spirit is watered; even when we feel that we have lost the presence of the Lord, we still can feel the teaching of the anointing, and the feeling at that time proves to be more accurate than when we were watered. Although we may not feel the presence of the Lord, we often feel the forbidding of the Lord in some things and the presence of the Lord in other things. This seems to be contradictory, but in spiritual experience this is so, because the characteristic of the anointing is constant. If someone obtains the teaching of the anointing only sporadically, his spiritual condition is abnormal.
Since the teaching of the anointing is constant, we should experience it frequently and live in it consistently. Since some people do not heed the feeling of the anointing during the routine of daily life, it becomes difficult for them to obtain it when serious matters occur. Even if they have some inward feeling, it is not reliable. It may be their own imagination or the disguise of Satan; therefore, it is dangerous. For example, consider a brother who does not follow the Lord and obey the teaching of the anointing in his ordinary daily living and who one day plans to be married. He seeks the feeling from the Holy Spirit and finds it very difficult to obtain. Since the feeling from the anointing is so regular, we can sense it in important matters such as marriage as well as in matters of daily living. To live in the feeling of the anointing is similar to a train running on two tracks. As long as we keep moving on the tracks, we are all right. Should we have a tendency to jump the tracks, the feeling of the anointing automatically forbids us and restricts us so that we are kept in the will of God.
It is exactly the same situation as that of the Apostles’ moving on in the Holy Spirit while doing their work. In Acts 16:6-7, when Paul and his party intended to remain in Asia, they were forbidden of the Holy Spirit; and when they assayed to go to Bithynia, the Spirit of Jesus suffered them not. This forbidding and restricting is the story of the anointing. They are like two tracks which kept the Apostles within the scope of God’s guidance. Paul did not pray for several days in order to know the mind of the Holy Spirit. It was while he was working that the anointing of the Holy Spirit constantly taught him and planned his path.
When we live in the teaching of the anointing, this same condition should also exist. If we are often checked in our actions by the forbidding and restricting of the Holy Spirit, this proves that we are constantly living in the feeling of the anointing. However, if we do not regularly have this feeling, and something special occurs which forces us to seek the Holy Spirit, this proves that we are not living continually in the teaching of the anointing. Therefore, a normal condition requires us to be constantly under the teaching of the anointing.
The real teaching of the anointing comes from the Holy Spirit; therefore, if we obey it and live in it, it causes our heart to love the Lord, to be closer to Him, and to fellowship more with God in our spirit. These are the results of our obedience to the teaching of the anointing. If we obey a feeling within, and the results are not more love for the Lord or a deeper fellowship with God, we can judge that this feeling has been our own and not the teaching of the anointing. Thus, we can use these results to measure and judge whether any of our inner feelings are from the teaching of the anointing.
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