THE PASTOR'S ANOINTING
A Pastor is a teacher who constantly and consistently preaches, teaches, and counsels his/her knowledge in the mystery of Christ. It is the shepherd's heart (the heart of love and care for the spiritual disposition of the people) that empowers a pastor to constantly and consistently minister in the lives of the people. You will find that those who do not have a Pastor's anointing will be very sporadic and inconsistent relative to their ministry in the lives of the saints. However, a pastor will stick to it. They have the heart to keep individuals under their wings until they are able to stand on their own, and even then their eyes are upon them.
As mentioned earlier the word pastor means shepherd, it is also connected to the word pasture, which is a field fit for the grazing of the livestock. Thus, it is the anointing, wisdom, and doctrine of the pastor that the sheep grazes upon.
Psalm 23:1
1 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.
3 He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
A pastor causes the sheepfold to want for nothing. In other words, that pastor is responsible for ensuring that the people are not spiritually deficient in anything. This is why a connection to an apostle is so necessary because it is the wisdom of the apostle's doctrine that will show the pastor how to meet the needs of the people. However, it is the pastor who then toils in the lives of the congregation. Many times, in the early church, the people were not even able to see the face of the apostle, however, they were able to grow in the faith because they fed from the apostolic anointing that was upon their pastor.
The most important part of what is mentioned in the scripture above is the motivation for the shepherd's actions. A shepherd does what he does for Jesus' sake.
John 21:15-17
15 So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs.
16 He saith to him again the second time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my sheep.
17 He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep.
A love for Jesus causes an automatic love for His Body - the Church. It is a pastor's love for their Lord, that moves them to love the sheep; for they are His Body. Thus, the pastor's ministry begins in his own heart. If his relationship with the Lord is not solid, it will inhibit his love for the sheep. A lack of love for God or a walk in sin will suppress or hide any gift of the Spirit. In order for a pastor to be skillful in bringing the people to a place of holiness and in discerning their spiritual dispositions, he must be first skillful in doing the same in his own life.
The pastor's wisdom to discern their own disposition comes from their own experiences of righteousness in the midst of trials. They will learn to discern, what the devil was trying to do with them, what God was saying at that time, and where they were in the midst of it all. They will also be able to look at their Christian journey and discern God's methodology of bringing them to a point of stability in the faith. By discerning that journey they will realize what their responses were to both God and the devil. They will also see how those responses allowed them to come to the place they are at now. These experiences become ministerial wisdom, and that wisdom is then applied in the lives of the people.
There are also times when the people a pastor is shepherding have totally different experiences than the shepherd has had, nevertheless the principles of God remain the same. Moreover, the word of God is always the standard. If needs be, God will give the pastor a revelation of the spiritual disposition, thinking patterns, and even emotions of the people. This gives the pastor the wherewithal to minister directly to what the people are dealing with as opposed to being general with the word. Having been discipled in the work of the ministry by the apostle, the pastor is now able to have a vision on how to move the people from that disposition to the mind and holiness of the Spirit.
Apostle Kareem Flowers
Sunrise with Jesus