No Imported Oil in My Church
Exodus 27:20-21
The Care of the Lampstand
20 “And you shall command the children of Israel that they bring you pure oil of pressed olives for the light, to cause the lamp to burn continually. 21 In the tabernacle of meeting, outside the veil which is before the Testimony, Aaron and his sons shall tend it from evening until morning before the Lord. It shall be a statute forever to their generations on behalf of the children of Israel.
The Lord has been stirring something deep within my spirit. As I have studied the Scriptures, watched the events unfolding around our world, and sought the Lord in prayer, I cannot escape the thought that there is a battle over the oil. In the natural world, nations understand that whoever controls the flow of oil possesses tremendous influence. The Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea have become strategic choke points where a small group can affect the supply of oil to much of the world. Entire economies watch these waterways because they understand the value of controlling the flow.
As I prayed, I sensed the Holy Spirit showing me that this is also happening in the spiritual realm. Throughout history there have been systems that attempt to control the flow of God’s anointing. They create the impression that if you want the oil, you must come through them. If you do not conform to their system, seek their approval, or submit to their platform, you will never be recognized or used. It becomes an atmosphere where influence is controlled, opportunities are rationed, and the oil appears to flow only through a select few.
Yet this has never been God’s pattern.
When the Israelites lived in Egypt, they lived in a nation that was wealthy, powerful, and advanced, but it was not a land known for abundant olive trees. Much of the prized olive oil was imported from elsewhere. Then God promised His people something entirely different. He would bring them into a land of olive trees and honey (Deuteronomy 8:7–8).
He was not merely changing their location; He was changing their source. God was bringing them from dependence upon imported oil into a land where the oil would grow among them.
I believe the Lord is doing that again today. He is raising up churches that will no longer depend upon borrowed anointing or imported oil.
BASH will not survive on another ministry’s pressing or another generation’s prayer life. They will become places where the oil is cultivated through prayer, fasting, holiness, surrender, and intimacy with the Holy Spirit.
The Presence of God will not be something occasionally visited at a conference; it will become the atmosphere of the house.
That is why God so often worked outside the established systems. John the Baptist was not found in the religious centers of Jerusalem.
God raised him up in the wilderness, where there was no dependence upon man’s systems, only complete dependence upon God. “No imported oil” His message was simple: prepare the way of the Lord. He carried fresh oil because he lived in the presence of God.
Ezra 8:18-23
As Ezra prepared to lead God’s people from Babylon back to Jerusalem, he came to the River Ahava and refused to move forward until he examined those who had gathered for the journey. Although there were priests, leaders, families, and willing travelers, Ezra made a startling discovery: there were no Levites. He immediately recognized that while they possessed the resources to rebuild the Temple, they lacked the people who had been called to carry the holy things of God.
They had people to make the journey, but they did not yet have servants for the House of the Lord. Ezra understood that God’s work could never be accomplished merely by enthusiasm or numbers; it required consecrated men and women who understood the responsibility of carrying God’s Presence.
Rather than compromising God’s order, Ezra stopped the entire journey. He sent trusted leaders to Casiphia with one simple request: “Bring us servants for the house of our God” (Ezra 8:17). He did not ask for famous men, wealthy men, or influential men. He asked for servants.
This reveals the heart of God, for throughout Scripture the Kingdom has always advanced upon the shoulders of humble servants. Jesus Himself declared, “Whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant” (Matthew 20:26). Before God builds His house, He first prepares servants who are willing to carry what is holy.
The Bible then says, “By the good hand of our God upon us, they brought us…” (Ezra 8:18). Ezra did not manipulate people into serving, nor did he lower God’s standards because the need was great. He sought the Lord, and God supplied exactly what was needed. The first man mentioned is Sherebiah, who is described not first by his ability but as “a man of understanding.” God’s house has always needed understanding before talent, wisdom before gifting, and character before charisma. Spiritual understanding enables a servant to recognize the value of God’s Presence and the weight of what has been entrusted to them.
Among those who returned were also the Nethinim, whose name means “the given ones.” These Temple servants had been appointed to assist the Levites in the daily work of the House of God. Many believe they descended from the Gibeonites, who centuries earlier had become servants in Israel (Joshua 9), and David later organized them for permanent service in the Temple (Ezra 8:20). What a beautiful picture of God’s redeeming grace! Those who once entered Israel with a broken past became faithful servants in God’s house. God delights in taking ordinary people, restoring their lives, and entrusting them with holy responsibilities.
The chapter concludes by saying that every one of these servants was designated by name (Ezra 8:20). The world remembers kings, rulers, and famous leaders, but God records the names of servants. He knows every person who quietly carries the burden of His house. He sees those who pray when no one else is watching, those who worship with sincere hearts, those who serve without recognition, and those who faithfully carry His Presence. Heaven has always valued servants more than celebrities.
This passage has become deeply personal to me because I believe it connects directly to the burden the Lord has placed in my heart concerning “No Imported Oil.” Ezra did not stop at Ahava because they lacked money, vision, or opportunity. He stopped because they lacked carriers. The oil means very little if there is no one willing to carry it. Throughout Scripture, God has always searched for men and women who would faithfully bear His Presence.
Under the New Covenant, we are those carriers. Our bodies have become the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19), and God is still looking for people whose lives have been cultivated in prayer, holiness, surrender, and intimacy with Him. Before there could be restoration in Jerusalem, there first had to be servants at Ahava. Before there could be a rebuilt Temple, there had to be people willing to carry the holy things.
I believe that is still God’s pattern today. He is not merely looking to build larger churches; He is raising up carriers of His Presence, people whose lives are filled with fresh oil, whose hearts burn with holy fire, and who faithfully bear His glory wherever He sends them.
There they fasted, humbled themselves before God, and sought His direction. Ezra refused to move until those appointed to carry the holy things were present. The issue was never simply reaching Jerusalem; the issue was ensuring there were people who could faithfully carry the Presence of God. God has always been concerned about the carriers of the oil. “No imported oil”
I believe we are living in another Ahava moment. God is gathering a remnant who are willing to leave the systems of Babylon and Egypt behind. He is calling His people back to the altar, back to prayer, back to holiness, back to the secret place where genuine oil is produced. This generation does not need another imitation of someone else’s ministry. It needs men and women who have been with Jesus and who carry fresh oil born from their own communion with Him.
My heart cries with a simple declaration: No imported oil in my church. We honor every genuine work of God and rejoice whenever Christ is preached, but we refuse to depend upon another person’s oil. We desire an altar where the fire is continually fed by oil pressed in this house, through praying mothers and fathers, young people who seek God, children who know His voice, worship born from brokenness, and preaching that has first been conceived in the presence of the Lord.
The kingdoms of this world seek to control the distribution of oil, but the Kingdom of God grows olive trees. God is still planting lives that are deeply rooted in Him, producing a continual supply of fresh oil through the work of the Holy Spirit. My prayer is that BASH Family Worship Center will always be known as a house where the oil is not imported but cultivated, where the fire never goes out because the people have learned to abide in Christ, the true source of life and anointing.