Life on Wings - A Tribute to Dr Ern Baxter

David's Three Anointings: Bethlehem, Hebron and Zion!

Ern Baxter preached a series called "The King and His Army" at the Lakes Bible Week 1975. It is probably the one series that has been cited the most in connection with him. It so impressed Terry Virgo that he mentioned it in his editorial in the Newfrontiers magazine (Sept-Nov 04) and it inspired his outstanding two messages at the Brighton Leaders Conference 2004.

I have revisited them and listened to the entire series again as I haven't heard them for a while and can indeed see why the "King and His Army" caused such a stir among those who heard it. It is incredible to consider that there was only about 2, 000 people there at that original conference held in a marquee!

One point in particular that grabbed my attention was the way Ern mentioned and expounded the reason for King David's three anointings. I am sure I knew that David had three anointings. But such is Ern's giftings that he sees truth and revelation where I do not! For those who don't remember, David was anointing:

1. In Bethlehem (by Samuel).
2. In Hebron.
3. In Zion.

On these three anointings, Ern said this:

"He was anointed by Samuel in Bethlehem - that anointing carried him through to the death of Saul. Now he is going to move into a new dimension with added demands upon him. Hence he is anointed the second time at Hebron. This suggests that there is an increased intensity in responding to the demands which these crises put upon him.

If we see ourselves in David as God's heart men, we must look for an increased activity of the Holy Spirit! As we move on in God, there will come new empowerments and new anointings to accomodate the new demands and confrontations that are made upon us! This should thrill us and we shouldn't be able to stay in our skin!

David's second anointing at Hebron enabled him to reign over the house of Judah. We must note that there is crisis and process in this thing. Some of us are too impatient - we want crisis! The Bible says that visions will be seen by the young and dreams will be dreamed by the old. If an old man's dream isn't inspired by a young man's vision, he will rot on the vine. Nevertheless if a young man's vision isn't tempered by an old man's dream, he will blow his head off!

The third anointing finally came to take David to Zion and he was king over all Israel. If our analogy of the Charismatic Movement is correct at this time, then we have two more big jobs coming - to Hebron and to Zion. But! We have two anointings coming that will take us there! Hallelujah! The visitation of this renewal will be nothing to what's ahead. The devil knows what he's doing in keeping us apart because if the tribes get together and we stand as one in Zion, then we are going to blow him clean off God's earth!

Don't think denominations. Think tribes. We owe a tremendous debt to almost every sector of the Christian thing - each has a contribution that is invaluable to make to the whole counsel of God. We are not marching to Ziklag! We are not marching to Hebron! We're marching to Zion! Throughout the Bible, Zion is referred to as God's ultimate place for His people. THEN the whole world will know that Jesus Christ is Lord over the earth!"

Ern Baxter didn't just speak on these three anointings of David here in the UK but he mentioned it at the Kansas City Shepherds Conference in 1975 in his message, "Thy Kingdom Come". So it was obviously something that rested powerfully with him. I love this picture. Even if you don't seize and hold Ern's restorationist views, we can surely rightly ask is it a biblical principle - that God gives an anointing for a job? Corrie Ten Boom was speaking to her father once about her concerns about the upcoming war and the potential trials that it would bring. Her father asked her when she picked up her train ticket if she was catching the train. "Why right before I board the train of course!" she replied. "That's right" her father said. "You get the ticket just before you board the train. God won't equip you for something until you're going to go through it. You can trust Him that He is faithful".

It's very telling that in his invitation to the Brighton Conference, Terry Virgo speaks of promises of anointing and blessing. He said; "Rob Rufus has been to the UK where his ministry was endorsed by remarkable outpourings of the Holy Spirit. When I wrote to him to invite him to this conference he was delighted and told me that God had spoken to him and communicated that it was His intention to visit the UK in power and blessing. He also felt that God told him that he would soon be invited back to the UK and this would be a further sign of God’s desire to bless in this way". So Terry writes: "We, therefore, come full of anticipation of outstanding Bible teaching and the potential for glorious encounters with the Holy Spirit’s power". Oh yes indeed! But ... in light of this picture from Ern, the imperative is that we realise that those "glorious encounters with the Holy Spirit's power" come for reason! So that we go back to our churches, towns, cities and nations to tell! I still remember Bryn Jones quote from Restoration magazine - we are outnumbered!

What an awesome God! The anointings come - and then the Army of God marches out. Are we on the lookout for the anointing that may be coming? It's interesting as well that when the risen Lord Jesus commissioned His disciples, He didn't say, "Go to the world". He said, "Go to Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and to the uttermost parts of the earth". And note that the anointing was there too! "Surely I am with you". His Presence is assured! As someone commented recently, our souls can rejoice because we gaze into heaven with Stephen the martyr at an enthroned and exalted and ruling King Jesus!