VineLife Coconut Oil

So, if you are a shy person, forget about operating effectively in the gifts of the Spirit. It is not because you are not anointed; it is because you are not bold. A bold person will often accomplish more than a gifted person who lacks courage.

Are you aware that God never specifically told David to kill Goliath? He didn't say, "David, now is the time." David had already been anointed in 1 Samuel 16.

One way you know you carry God's anointing is this: once you are anointed, problems begin to look for you—because you carry the solution.

After the anointing came upon David, look at what happened in 1 Samuel 17. A seventeen-year-old boy, anointed in obscurity as the son of one of the least significant families in the nation, stood before King Saul. Saul had no idea that God had already chosen this young shepherd as his replacement.

David arrived at the battlefield, and the anointing stirred something within him. He asked, "Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?" He spoke with the confidence of a king.

Then Saul did something remarkable. He took off his own royal armor—the very symbols of his kingship—and put them on the seventeen-year-old David to fight Goliath.

David was wise. He didn't immediately refuse the armor. He first put it on, tested it, and then said, "No, this won't work for me." He removed it and went to pick up five smooth stones.

Now, look at **Judges 20:15–16:

"From their cities at that time, the children of Benjamin numbered twenty-six thousand men who drew the sword... Among all these people were seven hundred chosen men who were left-handed; every one could sling a stone at a hair's breadth and not miss."

Think about that.

Where did these seven hundred expert slingers come from?

The tribe of Benjamin.

Now, where did Saul come from?

Benjamin.

And what weapon did David use to kill Goliath?

A sling and a stone.

In other words, the answer was already in Saul's office. He came from a tribe renowned for producing highly skilled slingers. He had been trained in warfare, but because the anointing had departed from him, he could no longer think clearly enough to use the right strategy.

Goliath expected someone to fight him with a sword, while David came with a sling.

And don't misunderstand this. David's sling was not a child's catapult. It was a deadly military weapon. In the hands of a trained slinger, it was as devastating as a projectile weapon. A skilled slinger could strike a target with incredible precision from a distance.

Think about the strategy.

A swordsman has to get close enough to strike.

A slinger does not.

David could engage Goliath from a distance, and he had five stones. If one missed, another would follow.

This teaches us that victory is not just about spirituality; it is also about wisdom, strategy, and intelligence. The anointing empowers you, but it does not replace sound thinking. Sometimes, God's answer is not merely greater strength—it is a better strategy.

When it comes to faith, I'm not talking about trying to manufacture results. That's how people end up hurting themselves.

For example, if I'm believing God for relocation, I don't go and start selling all my properties, saying, "This is my act of faith."

Oh, Jesus! I'm talking to someone.

I'm talking to someone.

I'm talking to someone.

Let's say God has given me a promise. I see it in His Word that He will strengthen me. But that word has not yet been quickened to me personally. I've simply read it in Scripture and said, "Hallelujah! Glory to God! Amen!"

Then I decide, "Faith without works is dead."

So I pack up all my belongings.

I give away my car.

I gather my friends for a farewell party.

I've actually attended a party like that before.

It was meant to be a send-off party, but the person organizing it ended up being the one left behind.

It's not funny.

Do you know that experiences like that can make people become offended with God?

But the truth is, what they were practicing was the works of the law, not the hearing of faith.

When it is genuine faith, especially in response to prophecy, you act on what you have heard from God.

That's the difference.

I don't simply pick a verse of Scripture and declare, "God has told me."

No, sir.

I take that Scripture into a place of supplication.

I pray over it.

I meditate on it.

I wait for God to make it personal and alive to me.

Then I respond in obedience to what He has spoken.

Are you understanding this?

So, many people become offended with God because they do not understand the technology of miracles. They mistake human effort for the obedience that flows from hearing God.