Pay Attention: If You're Seeing These Signs, You're Anointed
In this sermon‑style teaching, the speaker explains that feeling different, unsettled, or set apart is evidence of the Holy Spirit’s anointing. He defines the anointing as God’s power, marking, and divine assignment, then outlines four "markings" that accompany it: (1) Position – God’s sovereign selection, illustrated by Samuel’s anointing of David; (2) Power – the transfer of authority and supernatural ability, shown in Elijah’s handing of the mantle to Elisha; (3) Protection – God’s covenantal safeguarding of His people, drawn from Psalm 105’s promise to Israel; and (4) Purification – the consecrating, holy nature of the anointing oil in Exodus 30, which sets believers apart and refines them. The speaker stresses that while every believer possesses the anointing, walking in it requires persistence, obedience, and reliance on the Holy Spirit. He exhorts listeners to recognize these signs, trust God’s timing, and remain faithful, concluding with a prayer for empowerment, protection, and purity. The message ends with a fundraising appeal for David Hernandez Ministries, inviting viewers to partner, donate, and engage with the ministry’s events, media, and church‑planting efforts.
Chapters
There's a reason that you're different. You feel like you stand out, like you don't quite fit in anywhere. There's a reason that you feel everything around you is changing. It's the anointing of the Holy Spirit. The anointing, simply put, is the power of the Holy Spirit. To be anointed is to be marked by God, to be given a divine assignment, to be empowered unto a special purpose, to be set apart from everyone else. In 1 Samuel 10:6, we read, At that time, the Spirit of the Lord will come powerfully upon you, and you will prophesy with him. You will be changed into a different person. You become a different man. You become a different woman. This is why you can feel that tension, that tension of transformation. You're not quite where you want to be, but you can definitely feel like everything around you is being shaken. You're exiting one season, even though you can't quite see what's in the next season. Here are the 4 things that begin to happen, 4 markings that come upon your life when you walk in the favor of God in this way. Number 1, position. Now the Lord said to Samuel, you have mourned long enough for Saul. I have rejected him as king of Israel. So fill your flask with olive oil and go to Bethlehem. Find a man named Jesse who lives there, for I have selected one of his sons to be my king. So the Lord now has rejected Saul as king, and he's bringing in his replacement. Samuel the prophet is instructed to go and anoint him. Now, this was an anointing ceremony we're about to read about here. But Samuel asked, how can I do that? If Saul hears about it, he'll kill me. Take a heifer with you, the Lord replied, and say that you have come to make a sacrifice to the Lord. Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you which of his sons to anoint for me. So God already marked an individual. God had already made his selection. Man was just going through the motions of what God had already chosen. So Samuel did as the Lord instructed. When he arrived at Bethlehem, the elders of the town came trembling to meet him. What's wrong? they asked. Do you come in peace? Yes, Samuel replied. I have come to sacrifice to the Lord. Purify yourselves and come with me to the sacrifice. Then Samuel performed the purification rite for Jesse and his sons. And invited them to the sacrifice too. When they arrived, Samuel took one look at Eliab and thought, surely this is the Lord's anointed. But the Lord said to Samuel, don't judge by his appearance or height, for I have rejected him. The Lord doesn't see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart. So right off the bat here, the prophet thinks, surely Eliab, that's God's man. That's the one God chose. And that's how people judge. They judge by charisma alone, or intellect alone, or personality alone. Maybe even certain positions that people are in. Well, that's so-and-so's son, or they've been there for many years. Surely that's the one God has chosen. But God doesn't judge by outward appearance, nor does God use man's metrics of choosing the ones he wants to use. This may be why you feel overlooked sometimes. You feel like your gifts don't get used. You feel like you don't quite have a place. You feel like you haven't quite found your stream yet. You know, in God's river, there are many different streams. And maybe you don't quite fit in any of the streams just yet, but God is bringing you to that place of acceptance. God is bringing you to that place where he's going to validate the gift in your life. But, you know, people do judge by outward appearance. And we see that here, even in the case of the prophet. He didn't mean anything evil by it. He wasn't trying to be rebellious. He wasn't trying to overlook David. He just simply had in his mind a certain way of going about finding who he thought God had chosen. And that's how people are. You can't be bitter or angry. Don't be frustrated with people. Just remember that God has already made his choice, and man is just going through the motions. Then Jesse told his son Abinadab to step forward and walk in front of Samuel. But Samuel said, this is not the one the Lord has chosen. Next, Jesse summoned Shammah, but Samuel said, neither is this the one the Lord has chosen. In the same way, all 7 of Jesse's sons were presented to Samuel, but Samuel said to Jesse, the Lord has not chosen any of these. Then Samuel asked, are these all the sons you have? You see, when God has chosen you, he's gonna make sure you're found. When God has anointed you, when God has favored you, when God has given you a specific assignment, You don't have to fight your way for position. You don't have to try to convince others. Others can overlook you. That's just fine. God will seek you out. There is still the youngest, Jesse replied, but he's out in the fields watching the sheep and goats. Look at how dismissive the father is here. Now, I suspect that the father was trying to position his favored sons. I suspect that Jesse was hiding David. You see, some will passively overlook you unintentionally, and others will try to block your way. Now, I'm not saying that Jesse was jealous of David, but for some reason or another, he was very dismissive of him. He was trying to pull the prophet's attention away from David. We see it in the language he's using here. Look at this, there's still the youngest, but, oh, he's out in the fields watching the sheep and the goats. In other words, don't really pay any attention to him. So he's trying to draw the prophet's attention away from his son, David. And that's what people do sometimes in your case. Well, even that doesn't succeed because we see here in the very next breath of scripture, send for him at once, Samuel said. We will not sit down to eat until he arrives. In other words, we're not continuing. We won't go on like this anymore. Once God has chosen you, Once God has appointed a time for your positioning, others will not be able to continue until everything is set in order. So Jesse sent for him. He was dark and handsome with beautiful eyes. And the Lord said, this is the one, anoint him. And so, as David stood there among his brothers, Samuel took the flask of olive oil he had brought and anointed David with the oil. There we see the anointing ceremony. And the Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon David from that day on. Then Samuel returned to Ramah. Now what's interesting is David was now here positioned to be king. God had already made his selection, but he didn't actually sit on the throne and step into the fullness of that power until sometime later. So God had already positioned him. Now you may be frustrated. You may feel stuck. You may feel like your gifts aren't being used. But if God's positioned you, it's just a matter of time before you see the manifestation of that spiritual reality. In the Spirit, God's made his selection. In the Spirit, God's marked you with favor. In the Spirit, God has already positioned you right where you need to be. It's just a matter of time now until you step into the fullness of what God has assigned to you. So number one, the anointing brings position. Number 2, the anointing brings power. Here in 2 Kings chapter 2, Elijah is going to be taken to heaven and Elisha, his successor, watches him go. Look at verse 1 here. When the Lord was about to take Elijah up to heaven in a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were traveling from Gilgal. And Elijah said to Elisha, stay here, for the Lord has told me to go to Bethel. But Elisha replied, as surely as the Lord lives and you yourself live, I will never leave you. So they went down together to Bethel. So here we see that Elisha clings to Elijah despite the instruction. In other words, leave me alone, let me be, I'm going to go on my way. He says, nope, as surely as the Lord lives. In other words, you're not convincing me. Elisha was focused. Elisha knew the assignment. Elisha kept his servant's heart, even when there was a little bit of contention, it appears. between him and his mentor. That contention precedes the transfer of the mantle. Watch this now in verse 3. The group of prophets from Bethel came to Elisha and asked him, did you know that the Lord is going to take your master away from you today? Of course I know, Elisha answered, but be quiet about it. Now I suspect, and this is just my speculation here, I suspect that Elisha was protecting that mantle. He wanted to make sure that it wasn't another that saw his mentor go, but that he was the one to see his mentor go and therefore receive the mantle. But again, and to be clear, that's just my speculation. Verse 4. Then Elijah said to Elisha, stay here, for the Lord has told me to go to Jericho. But Elisha replied again, as surely as the Lord lives and you yourself live, I will never leave you. So they went on together to Jericho. Then the group of prophets from Jericho came to Elisha and asked him, did you know that the Lord is going to take your master away from you today? Of course I know, Elisha answered, but be quiet about it. Then Elijah said to Elisha, stay here, for the Lord has told me to go to the Jordan River. But again, Elisha replied, as surely as the Lord lives and you yourself live, I will never leave you. So they went on together. You know, some people, They won't stay even if you beg them to stay. These are the kind of people who walk in the anointing. They don't go even when others tell them to leave. They're persistent. They're bold. They're focused. They already have in their heart what they want, and they're going to go after what God has for them. 50 men from the group of prophets also went and watched from a distance as Elijah and Elisha stopped beside the Jordan River. Then Elijah folded his cloak together and struck the water with it. The river divided, and the 2 of them went across on dry ground. When they came to the other side, Elijah said to Elisha, tell me, what can I do for you before I'm taken away? So here we see now that persistence is rewarded. Notice that Elisha did not ask. Elijah asked him, what can I do for you? That was divine timing. Elisha didn't try to force things. He didn't try to rush things. He didn't ask for the mantle before it was the time. To be given. But Elijah asks him, what can I do for you? And Elisha replied, please let me inherit a double share of your spirit and become your successor. You have asked a difficult thing, Elijah replied. If you see me when I am taken from you, then you will get your request. But if not, then you won't. As they were walking along and talking, suddenly a chariot of fire appeared. Drawn by horses of fire. It drove between the 2 men, separating them, and Elijah was carried by a whirlwind into heaven. Elisha saw it and cried, my father, my father, I see the chariots and charioteers of Israel. And as they disappeared from sight, Elisha tore his clothes in distress. Elisha picked up Elijah's cloak, which had fallen when he was taken up. Then Elisha returned to the bank of the Jordan. Watch this now. So Elisha has the mantle. He struck the water with Elijah's cloak and cried out, where is the Lord, the God of Elijah? Then the river divided and Elisha went across. Here we see that same power demonstrated by Elijah now comes upon Elisha. When the anointing comes upon you, When God selects you for a specific assignment, the power will follow. And that's number 2, power. With the assignment comes the authority. With that position that we discussed earlier, with that position comes the power. If God gives you a task, he's also going to give you the ability. When God gives you the command, he also gives you the power. the supernatural grace. That power comes upon him and he's now able to do what Elijah did. Again, this was after contention. This was after persistence. This was after heartache. This was after diligence and focus. God allows that mantle to fall upon him. Now, he was already chosen by God at this point. When that mantle came upon him, there was a new measure of power, that is ability or authority. Look, every believer is anointed. 1 John 2:27 makes that clear. Every believer has the Holy Spirit. Romans 8:9 makes that clear. But we must understand that while everyone has been given the anointing, not everyone walks in their anointing in the obedience that they should. The anointing is available to all of us, but only as we yield to the Holy Spirit do we see the intensification of the manifestation of that anointing in our lives. So we've all been given that deposit. We've all been given a set of gifts. We've all been given a divine assignment. We've all been given the favor of God. But if we want to make use of that which he has given to us, we must be persistent. We must walk in obedience. And this is why God has given you this new measure of power. This is why you're seeing an increase in supernatural activity. This is why you're no longer satisfied with what was. Because greater power is coming upon your life. That's one of the things that comes with being anointed, chosen, set apart by God. Number 3 is protection. Nothing outside of God's will can happen to you when you're submitted to God. Psalm 105:7-15 says this, and watch, watch now, the protectiveness with which God speaks of his people. He is the Lord our God. His justice is seen throughout the land. He always stands by his covenant, the commitment he made to 1,000 generations. This is the covenant he made with Abraham and the oath he swore to Isaac. He confirmed it to Jacob as a decree and to the people of Israel as a never-ending covenant. Watch this, verse 11. I will give you the land of Canaan as your special possession. He said this when they were few in number, a tiny group of strangers in Canaan. They wandered from nation to nation, from one kingdom to another. Yet he did not let anyone oppress them. He warned kings on their behalf. So all of the surrounding nations were warned concerning God's children. Watch the protectiveness. Do not touch my chosen people and do not hurt my prophets. What's interesting is this. Sometimes when the children of Israel would walk in disobedience, God would use the surrounding nations to execute His judgment against His own people. And that was part of His corrective process for ultimately restoration. So God would use sometimes surrounding nations, other rulers, to bring correction to His people. But watch this now, then He would judge the nation through which He brought judgment. He was so protective of His children that even if you were used in the corrective process against them, you would be punished for it because still ultimately you sought to harm his people. He just used that arrogance and that malicious intent to ultimately fulfill his plan. So talk about the sovereignty of God, but also consider the protectiveness he has over his people. Now, some have tried to explain this verse away. You'll hear this all the time, touch not my anointed, do my prophets no harm. And some will take that verse and they'll say, yeah, well, it doesn't apply today in the New Testament. It doesn't apply to preachers and teachers and prophets and evangelists and pastors. It doesn't apply to modern Christians necessarily. That's nonsense. This biblical principle reflects the protective nature of God when it comes to his people. And if you belong to him, then God is protective of you. So yes, you ought to be careful about how you talk about God's servants, even when they're in the wrong. Call out wrongdoing, call out abuse, absolutely. but do it with great reverence, remembering that God punished those even through whom he brought judgment. And so that protectiveness that God has for his people does apply today. Now, let me stress this. I am not saying that we should just let believers or Christian leaders get away with anything and everything. What I am saying is there needs to be still this reverence when approaching that topic, because this does apply today. There is no reason to explain this away and say, God is no longer protective of his people. That's just a mishandling of the text. But the point I'm making here is that when God has favored you, he's protective of you. You know, he cherishes you. He hears what people say about you behind your back. He sees the thoughts, the intents, the motives within the hearts of those who are around you. It could very well be that God removes certain people from your life, Because he heard conversations you didn't hear. He saw motives and intents that you couldn't see. He saw a future that you couldn't see. God protects you. This also is why sometimes you feel like you can't fit in anywhere. It's not that people are rejecting you because there's something wrong with you. It's that they're uncomfortable around you because you carry the light in an intensified way. When the favor of God marks you, God will also protect you. And what you think is the rejection of man is sometimes the protective hand of God. He says, no, I don't want you to go there. I don't want you to be a part of that. I don't want you to go with those people. I don't want you to be involved with that ministry. And he protects you to keep you pure. He protects you to keep you safe. He protects you to make sure that you stay on track. Listen. He's not gonna let your foot slip. I pray all the time, Lord, just keep me, please. If I ever even get close to that line, pull me all the way back, keep me as yours. And that staying power, that saving power, that confidence that we have in Him, that's all based on His protective nature. And He does keep you, He preserves you, He's not gonna let you stumble. You stay submitted to Him, He's not gonna let you fall away. He's not gonna let you get distracted. You are not, listen to me now, you are not going to be one of those who fails. You are not going to be one of those who ultimately falls. You are not going to be one of those who drifts away from the Lord. Why? Because he's favoring you. He's protecting you. He's drawing you close to himself. That's part of what it is. Amen. to be anointed by God. That's part of what it is to carry his favor. God's protectiveness applies even to imperfect people. This is why, by the way, this is why I'm very careful to not criticize servants of God. Number one, they're not my servants. And number two, God is still very protective of his servants. Another thing that the Lord will do when that anointing comes upon you in the way I'm describing is he will purify you. You know, that's what the anointing does. It purifies you. In Exodus 30:30-33, we read, anoint Aaron and his sons also, consecrating them to serve me as priests. And I say to the people of Israel, this holy anointing oil is reserved for me from generation to generation. It must never be used to anoint anyone else, and you must never make any blend like it for yourselves. It is holy and you must treat it as holy. Anyone who makes a blend like it or anoints someone other than a priest will be cut off from the community. So notice here first and foremost, that the anointing comes with consecration. He sets you apart. He pulls you out from the pack. He purifies your life. The things you listened to and used to feel comfortable listening to, you can't listen to them anymore. The things you watched and you felt comfortable watching them, you won't be able to watch them anymore. The places you went, the conversations you had, the thoughts you thought, the attitudes you allowed yourself to carry no longer works for you. Why? Because when He takes you to higher plateaus, He increases the consecration. When He takes you to deeper depths, He intensifies the fires of purification. Why? Because the anointing purifies. Notice also that the Lord says, don't imitate this. Don't create your own mixture of this anointing. Don't create a cheap imitation. Why? Because that was— there was such purity on that calling. There was such purity on that favor, on that positioning that the Lord didn't want it to be confused for anything else. He didn't want there to be mixture. Also, That holiness cannot be faked. You can't fake that holiness. You can't fake that purity, not for long anyway. Those things that you hide eventually always come to the surface. And this is why the anointing is so important in our lives, especially with the position and the power, that purification comes. You see some, and this is where it gets a little scary, some will fight for their position. They'll fight for power, but they don't watch purity. This is why you gotta let God raise you and not try to force anything, because when God raises you, the position and the power come with the sustaining purity. If you do it yourself, you get into a position of ministry or a position of leadership, a position of influence. That's why you gotta be careful even with social media. You can just force your way onto any platform these days, or you force your way into, to operating in power. Maybe, maybe God gave you a gift and you're not walking in purity, but either way, when you force yourself into position and power on your own, it doesn't come with the purity. But when God does it, he makes sure there's that measure of purity also given. So Lord, I pray in the name of Jesus that you would cause your people to hold these truths deep within their hearts. May they walk in the anointing of the Holy Spirit all the days of their lives. Cause them to boldly step out into what you've called them. Preserve them, Lord, protect them, purify them, position them, and empower them. Thank you that you favored them, that you've anointed them and set them apart. Keep them focused. Keep them focused on you, Jesus, as they continue to fulfill the mandate that you've placed upon them. And Lord, in those seasons when they feel like people are rejecting them because they're different, in those seasons where they feel like they just don't quite fit in, remind them, Lord, that you've called them for a purpose. Remind them that you've set them apart for your use and your glory and your glory alone. May your presence and power rest upon them in a tangible way. Encourage and strengthen them. Give them grace. Focus their mind and heart on the task ahead. May they walk surrendered to the precious Holy Spirit. May they walk sensitive to the voice of the Holy Spirit. The power of the Holy Spirit may flow through them. In the mighty name of Jesus, we pray. If you truly receive this, I want you to type in the top. And if you truly receive this, I want you to type in the comment section right now. Type a big Amen. Now listen, I want to invite you to be a part of what God is doing through this ministry. Our ministry is hosting more events than ever before. At these events, people are saved, healed, delivered. Delivered and have encounters with the precious Holy Spirit. Not only are we increasing the events that we hold in the United States of America, we also now are holding more international meetings. In addition, we're continuing to release media such as the content you're watching now, as well as various other teachings and livestreams. Also, as a ministry, we're planting churches. So media, events, and church planting. That's our how, but our why is very simple. We wanna spread the gospel of Jesus Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit all around the world so that others might encounter God. So help us today, step out in faith. Don't be afraid of what the economists say. Don't be afraid of what the news says. Instead, trust God and allow the peace of God to inspire generosity in you. So into this ministry today. Maybe you've been watching me for a while. You're saying eventually I'll become a partner, or eventually I'll give, or one day I'll help. Look, we need the support. You may be under the impression that because we reach so many people that we have all the support that we'll ever need. Well, that's not the case because this ministry is constantly growing, constantly expanding. We absolutely need your help. Don't count yourself out, and don't assume that everyone else who watches is going to support. Instead, you take up that responsibility to pay it forward. You've received from the word. Now it's time to honor that word and honor the ministry that God is using, and sow into that ministry that you might see an increase and that your gift might make an impact. Partner with us today. Become a monthly ministry supporter. You sign up for automatic giving by going to davidhernandezministries.com/partner. If you can. Consider a gift of $30 a month, but you can sign up for anything monthly. You can also give a single gift by going to davidhernandezministries.com/donate. There's no gift that's so small that it doesn't count. And there's no gift that you can give this ministry that's so large that we wouldn't have a strategy for it. So, sow today, sow sacrificially, sow generously, sow cheerfully. And you watch how God will bless you for it. Well, I appreciate your giving. Now I want you to check out this video. If you've never heard the Holy Spirit clearly, here's how.
