By the anointing God makes, blesses, and consecrates me Queen: I am till my dying day “His anointed servant.” In the anointing God creates a new relationship between Himself and me, giving me for my use in this office just those resources of His divine grace which I need to dispose hands and heart and mind to do His will[1] – The Queen Elizabeth ll

The anointing of the Holy Spirit is a definite and distinct experience assured and verified by the witness of the Spirit. The experience of the baptism and anointing of the Holy Spirit is distinct from that of Regeneration. Samuel Chadwick explained that ‘a man may be born again of the Spirit and not be baptised with the Spirit. In Regeneration there is a gift of life by the Spirit and whosoever receives it is saved; in the Baptism of the Spirit there is a gift of power, and by it the believer is equipped for service and endued for witnessing.’[2] One of the major problem today behind church decline and leadership problem points to ‘many Christians of whose devotion and Christian experience there can be no doubt who had never had a Pentecost; and they know it.’ The truth is that, no Pentecost, no power. According to Chadwick, ‘Pentecost is the gift of power. The Spirit fills, vitalises, and energises with the power of God. Deliverance from sin, efficiency in service, and effectiveness in witnessing are given with the fulness of the Pentecostal blessing. Power to move the world for God and to win souls for Him is neither intellectual nor social, but is in the fulness of the Spirit of God in the soul. “Ye shall receive power after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you.” Indeed, men and women of Pentecost obeys and knows the things of God. For example, ‘no theological instruction could have given Peter the doctrine he preached concerning Christ’s life, death and resurrection.’

 The Church festival called Pentecost, held on the seventh Sunday after Easter is the commemoration of the descent of the Holy Spirit and the inspiration of the Apostles (Acts 2). In the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, the first record of the name ‘Whitsun’for Pentecost – relates to the coronation of a queen: Matilda, ‘gehalgode to cwene on Westmynstre on Hwitan Sunnandæg’ in 1068. Whitsun was one of the festivals in the pre-Reformation Church when the biblical story was dramatized to educate the parishioners.

It was not an ordinary coincidence that the last day of historic celebration for The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee and ‘Whitsun’ for Pentecost[3] have happened to fall together. The double celebration – Pentecost Sunday, the birthday of the Church – and the Platinum Jubilee for our Faithful Queen, our amazing Christian Monarch, Elizabeth ll remain very prophetic. 70 years in the same job and Christian marriage may be hard to beat. Our Faithful Queen of Pentecost remain known for her faithful dedication and service to God and humanity lives and continue to reign as our Queen of Pentecost. Our Faithful Queen of Pentecost is known as a woman of great faith in Jesus Christ.  Over the years many have been inspired by the way she quietly makes this clear, often in her Christmas message and practical church attendance. Special thanks to the leadership and ministry of the Archbishop of Canterbury, Geoffrey Fisher who facilitated a biblical preparation for our faithful Queen as she approached the day of her Coronation in 1952.

Archbishop Fisher, at a point in the Queen’s Coronation ceremony ‘anointed her hands, chest and head with oil.’[4] On the significance of the anointing, Archbishop Fisher ‘pointed to Jesus and His baptism at the heart of His public ministry.’ The Queen in her preparation for her anointing was invited to pray ‘… that my heart may be ready to receive Him in humility and godly fear. Come Holy Spirit, and daily increase in all of us and in me thy humble servant, thy manifold gifts of grace; the spirit of wisdom and understanding; the spirit of counsel and ghostly strength; the spirit of knowledge and true godliness, and fill us, O Lord, with the of thy holy fear, now and for ever. Amen.’ The Queen’s anointing was for service to others just as the Queen was reminded of Jesus’ words: ‘…the greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who rules like the one who serves’ (Lk 22:26). Archbishop Fisher’s legacy reminds today’s clergy of our prophetic calling rather than just being a puppet to the State.  For our Faithful Queen of Pentecost, the origin of her call to service is based on her serious, profound teachable, and humble submission to biblical teachings including anointing with oil as the symbol of the Holy Spirit to confirm her role, a rite which has deep biblical roots.

The double celebration – Pentecost Sunday, the birthday of the Church – and the Platinum Jubilee for our Faithful Queen, our amazing Monarch, Elizabeth ll on Sunday 5th June 2022 called her and all of us to celebrate another anointing – Pentecost, the annual commemoration of the gift of the Holy Spirit to the Church. The book, Our Faithful Queen explains: ‘Anointing symbolically sets people apart for service and pours out the life and power of God … God’s anointing makes the difference between an ordinary human life and a life empowered by God’s Holy Spirit.’ Anointing equips just as God has equipped the Queen for role as Sovereign over the past 70 years.’ Catherine Butcher writes, ‘For the anointing at her Coronation, the Queen’s regal  robes were removed, leaving her wearing  a simple white dress, as the Devotions reminded her : … stripped of all royal dignity, to offer myself in my own person for his work.’ The Queen in her own words symbolically came to God as an ordinary woman like any other Christian asking God to send His Holy Spirit  to enable her to take her royal role: ‘By the anointing God makes, blesses, and consecrates me Queen: I am till my dying day “His anointed servant.” In the anointing God creates a new relationship between  Himself and me, giving me for my use in this office just those resources of His divine grace which I need to dispose hands and heart and mind to do His will.’ Our Faithful Pentecost Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebration invites the church and its leadership to focus on the work of the Holy Spirit in equipping the Queen, and all of Jesus’ followers, for a life of faithful service.

Our Faithful Queen of Pentecost reminds us about the importance of anointing – Pentecost that brings deliverance by setting us free from all that brings into bondage and condemnation; deliverance from ‘the moral impotence of the dual personality.’ Our Faithful Queen’s experience of anointing helps to correctly correct the misunderstandings which undergird our proclivity for “anointing” and warn against the consequences from such a misuse of terminology.’4 Anointing-Pentecost brings abounding vitality, making the utmost of every faculty and gift. Anointing-Pentecost empowers and brings new fellowship in prayer, fire of God and passion for the soul and welfare of others. Our Faithful Queen of Pentecost is about life and leadership living in between, and under the conditioning of two Jesus’ missional imperatives. The theme of Jesus’ ‘inaugural address’ is conversion: “The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.” And the motif of his final words is mission: “God, therefore, and make disciples of all nations.” Our Faithful Queen of Pentecost suggests a visionary lifestyle and leadership of salt and light that encourages others to evangelise our common-wealth culture.

Anointing-Pentecost is the unchanging changer of the church and its leadership composed of human being who are ‘subject to all the frailties of their un-regenerated humanity, it falls prey to the paralysis induced by acquiescence in unexamined attitudes and structures.” Over 60 years ago, Tozer said, “If the Holy Spirit was withdrawn from the church today 95% of what we do would go on and no one would know the difference.” Just as The Faithful Queen of Pentecost gives us an account of a world and leadership destitute of the Spirit, ‘the Acts of the Apostles gives us an account of a Church destitute of the Spirit.’ The world today resonates with the Church in Laodicea, ‘rich and respectable, prosperous and influential, complacent and confident, but was blind to the tragedy on the doorstep. The Faithful Queen of Pentecost is a counter-cultural to leadership without anointing – Pentecost. The Faithful Queen of Pentecost exemplifies a new era faithfulness, a new power of righteousness, a new mission and leadership of redemption, and a new basis of fellowship and faithful leadership.

Anointing-Pentecost makes the difference in leadership, church and mission. Anointing-Pentecost makes the difference from Jesus abiding ‘with’ to abiding ‘in,’ ‘plus the difference in Christ by His exaltation and coronation.’ Anointing-Pentecost makes us one with Jesus Christ with a new power of conviction and conversion. The biggest question of all from our Faithful Queen of Pentecost is, ‘has it happened to you and me? Have you received the Holy Spirit?’

[1] Butcher, Catherine, Our Faithful Queen: 70 Years of Faith and Service (Rugby: Hope Together, 2022), p. 31

[2] Chadwick, Samuel, The Way to Pentecost (Calver: Cliff College Publishing, 1996), p. 22

[3] Chadwick, The Way to Pentecost, pp. 28-29

[4] Butcher, Our Faithful Queen:, p. 32