"How long does it take for you to prepare a sermon?"
After 20 years of preaching and teaching the Bible, I still don't know how to answer that question. I am personally able to dedicate 8-10 hours to sermon preparation each week, but the process of cultivating anointing is lifelong. Some sermons are prepared over 40 years, yet written in an hour.

Not all preaching is anointed. I wish this were not so, but I've sat through and even delivered some sermons that may have been mechanically sound, but were as dry and powerless as a book report. Anointing is one of the things that sets apart life-giving preaching from a dry religious speech.

But, what is anointing? In his booklet; "Anointing;" missionary, pastor and professor Chuck Davis describes anointing as; "a fresh empowering, endowment, or release of spiritual authority, in the context of Kingdom ministry. It takes a servant minister beyond gifting so that the right word or action is initiated at the right time to the right person(s), so that God's intervention and presence is realized through the minister." (The Shepherds Staff, Vol. 6, #4, Alliance Theological Seminary)

Anointed preaching clicks for people. They finally understand things that they've heard a thousand times before. They see things in a fresh light. They respond to conviction with brokenness and repentance. They make life-altering decisions as a result. They get free from bondage. They get clarity on situations. They get called into deeper intimacy with God and further ministry.

To put it simply, anointing makes ministry powerful, not just correct.

Jesus Himself was anointed for the purpose of preaching (Lk. 4.18). His anointed preaching had real world effects on the poor, the captive, the blind and the oppressed. When Jesus preached the gospel, there was an immediate and lasting impact. Things actually changed as a result.

Jesus' preaching and teaching was so anointed, that the crowds actually took note of the extraordinary authority with which He preached (Mt. 7.29, Mk. 1.22-27, Lk. 4.32).

Cultivating anointing should be part of the sermon preparation process for any preacher - yet this is rarely taught in colleges and seminaries. Techniques are taught, but how to receive anointing often goes unexplored.

I've seen the difference between anointed preaching and un-anointed preaching in my own life. When I preach a sermon that lacks anointing I always wish that I had a "do-over" and feel like I missed an opportunity. I've learned some costly lessons about how to cultivate anointing for preaching:

Preach the Word
To put it simply, when preaching, the point of the passage should be the point of the sermon. Don't start with a main idea and find a passage that supports it. Don't start with an illustration and find a passage to root the illustration in. Start with a passage, discover the point of the passage and then illustrate and apply that same point. I've found that this is most effectively accomplished by preaching expository sermons. The Word of God is itself anointed, so the more accurately you can present the Word, the more anointing will be available to you. Remember, you don't have to "make the Bible come alive." Hebrews 4.12 says that "the Word of God is living and active..." The Bible ALREADY IS ALIVE! Let it live!

Be Yourself
There is more anointing in being yourself, full of the Holy Spirit, than in trying to duplicate another person's anointing. Don't try to copy someone else's preaching style, and certainly do not steal or plagiarize their sermon content. Be you, full of the Holy Spirit. Not only should you not try to copy someone else's anointing, you can't! It's not even possible! It won't work! So you might as well cultivate the anointing of the Spirit in your own life. Share illustrations and experiences from your own life. Preach from the overflow of your relationship with God. Flow in your gifts, fulfill your calling. Learn from others, but don’t copy them. You'll find more freedom and joy in this.

Take Risks
Be willing to take Spirit-led risks, not for the sake of shocking people, but for the sake of calling people deeper. Be sensitive to those that are seeking more of God, not those that are seeking more shallow comfort. Don't shy away from confronting sin, veering from your notes or sharing spontaneously. However, risks should be taken at the leading of the Holy Spirit and not for shock value or as a tactic to manipulate people. Some risks will bear great fruit, others will come at a great price. Determine that you are willing to accept the consequences of risk taking.

Prepare with Consecration
In addition to Bible study, incorporate worship, prayer and fasting into your preparation. Give yourself to living and experiencing the passage as you prepare your sermon. Live with integrity and transparency. When you fall short, confess it rather than languish in a pity party.

Live in Brokenness
God's Word is perfect. We are not. This should humble us. Preparing and delivering a sermon in an attitude of humility can be incredibly powerful. Humility has the ability to disarm the critical and resistant (to some degree) and invites people into the experience with you. Frankly, preaching without humility sets up dozens of obstacles to people responding. In addition to humility, have love for the people that you are preaching to. Pray for them. If you have anything other than love for them in your heart, deal with it in advance. Jesus was willing to die for the very same people that He confronted.

Essentially, preaching with anointing is both an event and a lifestyle. Thus, it can be cultivated 24/7. Further, we're living in a day when anointed preaching is absolutely necessary. We can't afford any more Christian book reports. The church is desperate for men and women who have met God through scripture, been transformed through these encounters and can lead others into encounters of their own.