Laying on of Hands

Let's begin this message today by anchoring ourselves in Scripture. Join me if you would, and let's turn to the book of Hebrews, the book of Hebrews. And join me if you would in chapter 6, and we will begin in verse 1. Many of us that are acquainted with this have read it many, many times, but I hope to add something a little unique, a little special, and build upon some of one of the subjects that is mentioned here.

The author of Hebrews says, therefore, in verse 1, leaving the discussion of the elementary principles of Christ, let us go on to perfection, not laying again the foundation. And then it deals with these very basic elementary principles, no longer laying the foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith towards God, of the doctrine of baptisms, of laying on of hands, of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment.

And this we will do if God permits. Now, the verse tells us that there is a starting place, and then God wants us to develop and to grow, and grace and knowledge, and move towards His perfection. But He says that these matters are elementary.

They're very basic. They're very foundational, and we need to understand them. Out of all of these that are mentioned, these elementary principles, some of them are just utterly spiritually profound. We have repentance. We have faith. We have the doctrine of baptism, which engenders repentance and faith. We have the resurrection of the dead. We have eternal judgment. We might say very big, large, spiritual, dynamic showstoppers. But have you ever noticed in the middle of all of this, we have something very tangible. We might even say something very touchy, very feely, very physical, at least at first glance, and that is the laying on of hands.

And I want to address that today with you, the subject of the laying on of hands, because in understanding this, it also leads us to the perfection that the author of Hebrews shares with us, which is God's desire.

I'd like to offer you today the title of my message, and it is simply this. It is the laying on of hands, the laying on of hands. And its stated purpose is to help us to come to understand and appreciate both, to understand and to appreciate why God uses physical hands for spiritual purposes. So you understand that there is a contrast. Why does God use physical hands for spiritual purposes? Let's begin to understand that by turning to the very first verse of the Bible, if you'll join me, please, in Genesis 1 and in verse 1.

The first four words of Scripture are foundational. It's really what the entire Bible is about. Everything else proceeds from this. In the beginning, God. This is all about God. Everything that we find in the Scripture is about God and His purpose. With that stated, I'd like you now to join me, if you would, over in Genesis 2. In Genesis 2 and come to understand something as we look at verse 7. In the beginning was God. His Spirit did hover over the earth and then He began to create and He began to form the creation that you and I know today.

But then join me in verse 7 because now we come to God's very, very special creation. One that is made after His image and after His likeness. And let's notice what it says in verse 7. And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostril the breath of life and man became a living being. Amazing set of verse to recognize that we begin to understand something here that is important as we broach the subject of the laying on of hands that from the very, very beginning God wanted to have a very intimate, intimate and immediate relationship with those that were made after His image and in His likeness.

We were not there. We were not to fly on the trees in the garden of Eden. But allow me to share a picture for a moment with you, may I? And to recognize that here the I AM, the one that God used to create humanity. You gain a picture of the love and the care and in a sense, and this is the power of the Scripture of what it suggests, even though we were not there, that God took time.

And it's as if He took from the dust of the ground and felt it and shaped it and formed it and touched it and molded it and created it for a purpose, a purpose beyond that dust, a purpose at that which would be made, Adam. And later on, Eve, as God would tap the and touch the side of Adam and pull that rib and create woman, that their first thought, as those eyes opened, would be that there would be a God before them, their maker, their creator, one that loved them, one that formed them, one that shaped them, and one that wanted to have an intimate and immediate relationship with them.

We find further then, we find this physicality that is mentioned in or suggested in Genesis 2, 7-8. And then join me over here in verse 26 of chapter 1, just to call them over. When it says, And then God said, Let us make man in our image and according to our likeness, and let them have dominion over the fish and over the birds and over the cattle, and over every creeping thing that is on the earth.

So we understand that God made man. There was this literal connection of shaping him out of the dust of the ground. But then notice also, it is mentioned in the creation account. Verse 28, And then God blessed them, and God said to them, Be fruitful and multiply, fill the earth, subdue it. And he gave them dominion over all that else that he had created. We find something very interesting as we begin to consider the creation account, that God had this tangible relationship with humanity by forming Adam, by forming Eve.

And we also see within that account that once that was done, there was a blessing. He blessed them.

He gave them his favor. Very interesting. Why was that, brethren? And why do we see these accounts? Why do we see the tangibility of God's touch on humanity? Why do we see the blessing that is mentioned in Genesis 1? Because God was wanting to establish a relationship beyond the moment, a love relationship. But you know, and I know, that faith was broken. Faith was broken, not by God, but by man. Man chose to forget what God had done for him and reached out and touched those things that were foreboden. That were foreboden. So that's the beginning of it. Now join me, if you would, in Genesis 48. Let's go down into the account of Genesis. God had to work with another family. He worked with the family of Abram. And we have generations of that family. And now we come to the third and the fourth generation in Genesis 48, and we find Jacob, now called Israel. And he is an Egypt. He's an older man. And we see something very interesting when it comes to this matter of the laying on of hands. It's probably the oldest account, the oldest account that declares this much about it that we find in Genesis 48. It is the blessing of Joseph's children. And in Genesis 48 and up in verse 10, now the eyes of Israel were dim with age so that he could not see. And then Joseph brought them near him and he kissed them and embraced them. And Israel said to Joseph, I had not thought to see your face, but in fact God also shown me your offspring. So Joseph brought them from beside his knees and he bowed down with his face to the earth. There was great honor that was given to his father. And Joseph took them both, even with his right hand toward Israel's left hand and Manasseh with his left hand towards Israel's right hand and brought them near him. Joseph kind of had figured out, at least in his mind, how this blessing was going to go. Then Israel stretched out his right hand and he did the reverse. He did the reverse of which many of you know about. Interesting. And notice what it says, then Israel stretched out his right hand and laid it on Ephraim's head, who was the younger, and his left hand on Manasseh's head, guiding his hands knowingly for Manasseh was the firstborn. And he blessed Joseph and he goes on and he does that. Here we find two things that are happening. We find, combined and associated, the laying on of hands and we find blessing. That's going to be very important to couple together as we go ahead. But now let's go a little bit further to number six. Number six. And it's the story of Israel in the wilderness. It's the story about the man that God had utilized as his human instrument to lead the children of Israel out of Egypt. But he was growing older and there was now a time of transition. And at the end of the day, it was not even about Moses. It was about God. That human beings will come and they will go. It is God that is constant. And that's why I drew you at the beginning of this conversation to move you beyond simply human hands when it comes to the laying on of hands and in the beginning God. Always God. God is. And it is God that we look up to. For men will come and men will go. But indeed there are transitions. We find in number six in verse 22.

Number six in verse 22. Because again we find the aspect of Jacob and blessing. And here we find then the story of Israel in the wilderness. And it says, And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying, This is the way you shall bless the children of Israel, and say unto them, The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you. The Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace, and so they shall put my name on the children of Israel. And notice, and I will bless them.

What is very important in understanding this as we look at this, remembering that we're going to be coupling the aspect of blessing with the aspect of the laying on of hands. God loves to bless.

And blessings flow from the Old Testament to the New Testament. They are the pattern of Scripture. Now, what is very interesting when we look at this is to recognize that this blessing was not given on the other side of the River Jordan. They were not on the home stretch. This was a blessing that was given during the wilderness years. It was a blessing, not when everything was all right, but they were on the move and they had not reached home. And there was more that was going to come their way because we're just at the beginning of the book of Numbers.

And that's very important to realize when we consider the laying on of hands and the blessing that comes with them. The blessing that comes with the laying on of hands when hands are laid on you for various reasons that I'll describe in a few minutes. The blessing by the laying on of hands is not just simply a matter of Teflon. It's not a matter of encapsulating and removing you from life's forces. When you have a blessing that is given by God and through the laying on of hands and different life's functions and chapters that come to us, it is to remind us that with that laying on of hands that you and I have come underneath the mantle of God's focus, of His love, of His concern, His grace and His favor encompass us and covers us. But it does not protect us from everything that's coming at us in life at all. That's very important. When we have the laying on of hands, whether it is for having our children blessed, whether it be at marriage, with the laying on of hands, whether it be in sickness, whether it be in ordination, whether it be for this or whether for that, it is committing ourselves to God that we come before Him in solemn way and we commit ourselves that He is our partner in whatever undertaking we're having as we're raising children, as we move into ordination, as we move into marriage, as we're moving towards a sickness that we are concerned about and wonder about and wonder where it's going, that what we have said when we have the laying on of hands is the same that Jesus said from the cross, Father, I commit my spirit into your hands and recognize that I am not alone. Your blessing is with me. You will never leave me nor forsake me. I come to you as a child of faith. I come knowing your love. I come saying that the Lord is my shepherd I shall not want and to recognize then in that solemnity of that moment of blessing and the laying on of hands and prayer that we have committed ourselves to the good God, knowing that His ways work best, that His perfection is all in all, even when we do not see it, and to recognize that, and that He is going to lift His countenance upon us and He will, He promises to give us peace. He does not promise us a trouble-free life of raising children. He does not promise us a trouble-free marriage of two becoming one.

He does not promise us an ordination that will always run smoothly without any problems, but He does promise that He is our shepherd and that indeed He will be with us. With that thought in mind, then let's go to Numbers, Numbers 27, where I wanted to go a moment before in Numbers 27, because as I said that Moses had been the one that brought them out of Egypt, but God was going to take them to His promises. Moses was going to come and go. And so we see this matter of transition in Numbers 27 and in verse 18. And the Lord said to Moses, Take Joshua, the son of Nun, with you, a man in whom is the Spirit, and lay your hand on him.

And set him before Eliezer, the priest, and before all the congregation, and notice, and inaugurate him in their sight. And ye shall give him some of your authority to him, that all the congregation of Israel might know. We then joined in verse 22. So Moses did as God commanded. He took Joshua, set him before Eliezer, before the congregation. Now notice verse 23. And he laid his hands on him and inaugurated them, just as the Lord commanded by the hand of Moses. We notice this then. A transition. Men will come and go. There's nothing in speaking of ministry about these hands, and I'll show you all two of them, ten fingers, and to recognize that there's nothing special about these hands. There's nothing special about Mr. Garnet's hands, or Mr. Helge's hands, or Mr. Budge's hands, or Mr. Fish's hands. I go home at night, and I turn off the lights, and you can ask Susan whether or not my hands glow at night in the dark. They don't. They don't.

What makes them special is in their use before God as instruments, physical hands, towards spiritual purposes, to ignite, to inflame, to establish you in the faith that once again, as life comes at you, whether it be marriage, whether it be children, whether it be sickness, whether it be ordination, that we resubmit ourselves of coming underneath that mantle of God's love, care, concern, and focused purpose for each and every one of us.

But let's not just leave it with Moses. We often refer to Jesus as being the second Moses, as the greater Moses. Let's remember he was the one that was the I AM. He was that rock that directed Moses and the children of Israel. What did he do as he came to this earth? We're going to find that he laid hands on people. We'll find that his disciples were instructed to lay hands on people. Later on, the apostles laid hands on people because while God is spiritual, he is working a spiritual purpose for people down here below. All of us, to a degree, are familiar with the verses in the Ephesians and or Colossians about Jesus the Christ, now glorified at the right hand of God, being the spiritual head of the body, that body which is of Christ. He is that head. He directs all of our activities. If he is then that head, then we, whether in the ministry in our role and or you as members, as members of the body of Christ, we then become his tongue. We become his voice. We become his arms to reach out and to touch others. Our feet are to do his walking to serve his purpose. And so while the Christ now is glorified and spiritual, he continues to use human beings in perfect instruments that his glory might be revealed amongst the people of God and the world abroad. Join me if you would in Ephesians 4 and verse 11. Let's see how it works. In Ephesians 4 and verse 11, we pick up the thought here where it tells us speaking about the structure of the body of Christ. In verse 11, it says, and he himself gave some to be apostles, prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers.

Now you notice that he might want to circle it and you always want to go back to make sure, especially in the New Testament, who is that he's speaking about? Is it the Father? Is it the Son? This one is speaking of Jesus Christ being the head of the church, and it says, he gave.

Christ is the head of his body, and he gave these gifts to individuals to exhibit amongst the church for the glory of God, to equip the saints, for the service of ministry, and for the building up of the body of Christ. He works for that body today. Very important. Now, with that stated as background, I want to go through very specific items about the laying on of hands and how it impacts us as members of the body of Christ. We are also a church. We are here. We are a congregation. Many of you have been in this way of life for 50 to 60 years. Others of you have been in this way of life for five to six weeks or five to six months. But this is how the laying on of hands follows us through the different chapters of life. Allow me to begin with number one. Number one, if you're taking notes. Number one is the blessing of children.

And we normally do that right after the Feast of Tabernacles. There's no full moon, half moon, new moon. It's just administrative. We do it after the Feast of Tabernacles. We used to do it at the Feast of Tabernacles. But let's talk about the blessing of children for a moment. Here again, we have the aspect of touch, feel, and blessing. Join me if you would in Mark 10 for a moment because this is where the prime example is in Mark 10. And let's take a look at verse 13. Mark 10 and verse 13. Now again, remember what I've always shared with you about Jacob. Now, Israel, who laid hands and blessed his grandchildren. Blessings have always been there that parents would pass down the blessings. And there was a transition there. If we go back to Israel for a moment, he knew that God had promised his great grandfather, Abram, a blessing. And that through that family, through that family, even in transition down through the generations, that blessing would flow. Abram, to Isaac, to Jacob, to Joseph, to the children.

God never stops blessing. When God's made a promise, he's going to move it all the way through.

Now, does that stop at the Old Testament? No, it moves into the New Testament.

It moves into the New Testament. And here we find Jesus in picking up the thought in verse 13. Then they brought little children to him that he, notice, might touch them. You might want to circle that for a moment because that's going to be very important at the end of this message. That he might touch them. But the disciples rebuked those who brought them. But when Jesus saw it, he was greatly displeased and said to them, Let the little children come to me and do not forbid them, for of such is the kingdom of God. Assuredly, I say unto you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it. Here's a thought I want to begin to establish. We're going to come back to it later, and that's simply this. To recognize that the laying on of hands is not simply a physical act. Education stems from that.

Knowledge and counsel can stem from that, as we'll come to see. We see what was first going to be just simply a blessing of the children. But then Jesus takes that example and builds upon it, developing knowledge and wisdom and understanding of God's purpose through humanity and what we need to be for Him. Psalm 127 for a moment. Psalm 127 and picking up the thought if we could in verse 3.

Psalm 127.

Psalm 127 in verse 3, Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord. The fruit of the womb is a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, so are the children of one's youth. And happy is the man who has a quiver full of them.

Children are a blessing. Children come from the Lord, and we are to rejoice in them.

In this way of life, people of covenant, people of the book, we recognize that. And that then, when we have a child, in a sense, at that blessing, we in a sense, offer that which comes from the womb of our wife and from to becoming one, and offer up that fruit to God, and say, you are our God. You are the head of our family. We ask your blessing on our child.

That doesn't mean that child's not going to get measles. That does not necessarily mean that child's not going to, at one time or another, be in an accident. When we ask for God's blessing, and it is sealed by the laying on of hands, we are doing exactly what the head of the church did, ungal gatha, that no matter what comes your way, the good, the bad, the ugly, we have affirmed covenant with God. And we have said, to that which we have, Father above, we commit into your hands. Very important. Let's talk about baptism for a moment. Baptism is another item that involves the laying on of hands in this way of life.

Remember how I started out with the physical creation in the Garden of Eden?

And how God, in a sense, shaped and formed and was so very, very tangible with Adam and later Eve as he tapped the side of Adam and pulled the rib. And to recognize that with baptism, there's a parallel, if I may explain. There is a physical creation and there is a spiritual creation. And that when God gives us His Spirit, we are a new creation. We are something new is happening. There is this experience of where we are, as it says in the book of John, a miracle occurs. We are in that sense born from above. God begins to shape us. We are no longer just simply prisoners of our human nature. God's Spirit comes upon us and is in us. This new creation, something new is formed. Otherwise, God would not say that we're a new creation.

Acts 8 verse 17, let's notice something here. The laying on of hands is involved. In Acts 8 verse 17, let's take a look here for a moment. In Acts 8 verse 17, we have the story of the apostles going up to Samaria. Philip had been up in Samaria, but then the apostles went up there. They came up from Jerusalem because they had heard that Samaria had received the Word of God. Peter and John come on the scene, who when they had come down prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit. For as yet He had not fallen upon none of them, they had not only been, they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then, let's notice verse 17, then they laid hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit.

The laying on of hands is a part of baptism. It says that here it says that they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. There was something that was yet lacking.

During that time of antiquity, as the disciples, the apostles, went around, they would bump into people. Sometimes that had been exposed or experienced the baptism of John, Jesus' cousin in the River Jordan. And that baptism we might call the baptism of water, the baptism of water, a baptism to repentance. Here we find that in this group they had even come to know about the name of Jesus, but they had not had the laying on of hands. The laying on of hands is a part of baptism and a very important part of it because as we glean from the scriptures as much as we can, we see that this is the point of contact or entry that God blesses us with His Holy Spirit. Join me if you would in Acts 19. This is not a one-time thing. In Acts 19 in verse 1, we find the story of the apostles moving through that world of antiquity and we come to the city of Ephesus.

And a question comes out. They find some disciples in verse 1. Then he, Paul speaking, said, did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed? So they said to them, we have not so much as heard whether there is a Holy Spirit. They had experienced something else and he said to them, into what then were you baptized? And they said, into John's baptism. Then Paul in verse 4 says, John indeed baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying to the people that they should believe on him who would come after him, and that is on Christ Jesus. And when they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And, and verse 6, when Paul had laid hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them and they spoke with tongues and or with other languages and prophesied, which might mean speaking scripture or things of God.

Now, where are we with this then? We recognize something here that is through the laying on of hands that the Spirit of God comes. Very interesting because again, this is the PowerPoint if you want to look up here for a moment. I hope I won't look too foolish, but this right here, the laying on of hands. There is something there that God utilizes and it's very important. Now, why is that? Let's understand something here. You know, we worship a God that is beyond time and space. He is spiritual.

So why should we as New Covenant Christians of that Spirit have things done to us that are physical?

Well, it's very simple. Thank you for asking that question. And it is this. God is our creator and Christ is our leader. And He knows how we work and what we get and what we don't get and that we are still in this physical tent. We're in this physical tent as Peter describes it. We're still human beings. We have the pinch test. We're still down here. And when we have these great solemn acts, it's not like the sun stands still with Joshua. It's not like lightning and thundering that marks the passing of time. God, who is the master teacher, instructs His servants to lay hands on His people for these great moments of their spiritual life so that we will remember.

2 Timothy 1, 6 through 7. Just jot it down, please, if you would. Where God says through Paul, Timothy, wake up! Don't you remember? Don't you remember? Remember that it was by the laying on of hands that you received that spirit of love and of power and of a sound mind. So don't neglect it. God uses physical means for spiritual purposes. Let's go and talk about weddings for a moment. Weddings are another time that we have the laying on of hands. That's when the minister in our way of life says, and now by the taking of your hand and by the taking of your right hand and by your hands, I will lay my hands on your hands and I will ask God's blessing and pronounce you His husband and wife. Why do we have the laying on of hands at weddings? Because they have a... it's a sacred covenant. It's very parallel. It's very parallel to conversion in our life before our Father in Christ. It reminds us of our relationship before God, that it is until life... or excuse me, it's until death do we part. Also, it reminds us of the relationship, as mentioned in Ephesians 5, of the relationship between Jesus and the church. And to recognize the commitment that is being made and the seriousness of that commitment. It's a lifelong commitment until death with Christ as the head of that union. When we unite somebody as husband and wife, we throw out that old phrase. We've all heard the phrase, it takes two to tango, two to tango. In a spiritual marriage, it doesn't take two to tango, it takes three to tango.

I never assumed that I am the temporal head of our relationship. Jesus Christ literally, Susan and I literally look at Jesus Christ as being the head of our marriage. And thank God, and I don't say that rightly, and that's what's allowed us to be married for 43 years.

Because Jesus Christ is the head of our marriage. And we were making a statement that we were not simply bound by a minister's hands, but that we were bound by God until death do us part. And as we were committed to God, we would be committed to one another. Let's talk about anointings for a moment. Many of you have perhaps not experienced these other things, but many of you have been anointed. Very interesting. If you'll join me in Mark 731, Jesus shows us why we lay hands on people's heads today for anointing. We follow His example. Jesus said, follow me. And we find this over in Mark 731. Mark 731.

This is a really interesting Scripture. If you're falling asleep, you're going to want to wake up for this one. Okay. And again, departing from the region of Tyre and Sidon, He came through the midst of the region of Decapolis to the Sea of Galilee. And then they brought to Him one who was deaf and had an impediment in his speech. And they begged Him to put His hand on Him, to put His hand on Him, the laying on of hands. And He took Him aside from the multitude and put His fingers in His ears. And He spat and touched His tongue. And then looking up to heaven, He sighed and said to Him, the fath of the, that is, be opened. And immediately His ears were opened and the impediment of the tongue was loosed. And He spoke plainly. Now, here's something I want to share with all of you, please. The next time you call Mr. Ralph Helgi over for an anointing, don't worry.

He's probably not going to stick His finger in your ear or start spitting or doing something like that. We don't go that far today. We follow the general... Ralph, you haven't been doing that since I've been gone, have you? We follow the general practice of praying, blessing, and the laying on of hands. The early church, it seems, when you read the commentaries, actually did, in anointing, actually touched the part of the bodies that were affected. Perhaps even going back into Old Testament times, that they would actually... there was this aspect, this, again, this immediacy and intimacy of dealing with the matter at hand. We find Jesus, the rabbi, the teacher, our example, laying hands on people and being healed. Again, join me if you would for a moment. Let's go to James 5 and verse 14. We follow that example in James 5 and verse 14 today. Later on, this is mentioned by James, if any be sick in verse 14, let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, they will be forgiven. So that when you call Mr. Helge or Mr. Garnet or Mr. Fish, Mr. Budge, and you call in faith, we come in faith, and we simply anoint your head with oil, which is a representation of God's Holy Spirit, and we lay our hands on your head, that God's purpose might be worked. I believe, and I've told this to you before, I believe in divine healing with all of my heart and all of my being. I would not be alive without divine healing. Just a few have remembered 50 years ago, I had spinal meningitis, and in one night I was given up for dead. They did not know if I would make it through morning. And I remember my mother calling Mr. Guy Ames, for some of you that will remember Mr. Ames, and he came over. My family committed me to God.

I had the anointing of oil, I had the laying on of hands, and the rest was given to God.

My mother had already lost one child just some years before, my older brother, who I've talked about before. But she was willing to offer me up to God, commit me to God, and God was good, and God had a purpose. So that I can tell you today that healing does come through the laying on of hands, as it is God's perfect will. You and I also know that times we anoint people, and they are not healed in that moment that week, or perhaps not at all. But we commit our spirit to God. I don't say that haphazardly, having been through what I've been through. But I also look at the example of the book of Acts in Acts 12, where James is martyred, and Peter experiences an angelic angel break out of prison. I believe they both had the laying on of hands and were commissioned as disciples and apostles of the Lord Jesus Christ. I believe they were also given that role of laying hands on others and even at times healing others. But for God's purposes, that He knows alone, just like the book of Job, He allowed James to be martyred. And Peter had the angelic angel break. But, but, and but, those physical hands are laid upon us for a spiritual purpose, that we commit ourselves to coming underneath the mantle of God, and knowing that in one sense that He will never be laid, and in Him time hath full provision. And then we say, Amen, and we are anointed and have hands laid on us. Another example I'd like to speak of transition, Acts 6, verse 1. Join me if you would for a moment. It speaks of ordination. Join me if you would there in Acts 6 and verse 1. Remember the story of transition between Moses and Joshua. There was another transition here. As the followers of Jesus grouped, they were breaking from culture. These were Jews in Jerusalem, both Greek speaking and Aramaic or Hebrew speaking.

And all of a sudden, there was a transition. They needed help. There were people that needed to be cared for. They, before, had been able to go to the synagogue and experience all those social services. There had to be some kind of gap insurance. There had to be a transition. And so individuals were called out, men full of the Holy Spirit, men full of wisdom. And notice what it says in verse 6. Whom they set before the apostles, and when they had prayed, they laid hands on them. Men were set apart in that moment of time before the entire congregation that was in Jerusalem, much as Joshua was set apart before the children of Israel and before Eliezer in the Old Testament, that it registered in people's minds. How many of you have ever seen an ordination in church? Okay, you're going to the right church. You remember those things. They're done for a purpose. They are visual. They are in the moment. Let's remember the passing of time is not always marked by lightning or thunder or earthquakes. It is before the people of God that they see this and understand this, that God has made a selection and that God has made a decision. We find the same over in Acts 13 and verse 3. If we'll just go there, it's the story of Paul and Barnabas being set apart to go on the journeys into Asia Minor. And it says again in verse 2, now separate to be Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them. Not the church at Antioch, but the work that God has called them to. And then having fasted and prayed, laid hands on them and then sent them away. Sent them away. Let's begin to wrap this up somewhat. Why then does a faithful New Covenant Christian comply with the doctrine, with the elementary principle, of laying on of hands?

I think that's a very good question. Allow me to give you three very short specific points. Number one. Number one. Faith is accompanied by works. Faith is accompanied by works. And obedience is the shadow of faith. Obedience is the shadow of faith. Jesus Christ set us an example. One that as the I am of old, who laid hands on Adam, who laid hands on Eve, who commissioned Moses to lay hands on Joshua, who inspired Israel to lay hands on Manasseh and Ephraim, comes down to us this day as New Covenant Christians, as the head of our life. His example is loud and clear. Faith and obedience. What did James say? You show me your works, I'll show you my faith. You show me your faith, I'll show you my works. Faith and obedience are not opposite pulls apart. Are you with me? They're not opposite pulls apart. Faith guides and leads us. I can't start walking this way and saying, oh, by the way, my shadow, you stay back six feet in back of me. Right? No, you stay, you stay right there. You show me faith, I'll show you obedience. Obedience is the shadow of faith. They go hand in hand, heart in heart. Number two. Number two.

I want to talk about the power of touch for a moment. The power of touch. And by doing so, let's go to the scripture. Revelation 1. Join me in Revelation 1. The power of touch. Sometimes when we go through some of these challenges in life, life's anxieties, we're nervous. We're shaking. We're quaking like the leaf of an aspen tree at about 8,500 feet up in the Rockies. For those of you who have ever seen that, life can come at us and make us shake.

Notice what it says in Revelation 1. John, who's been taken in vision, but it is so very real to him, he's just seen the Christ in the midst of the court of heaven with the candelabra and everything going on, the colors, the light, the thunderings. And notice what happens here. And it says in verse 17, and when I saw him, John speaking, it's in Black Ink, I fell at his feet as dead. But then notice, maybe you've never seen this before, but he laid his right hand on me, saying to me, do not be afraid. I am the first and the last, and I am he who lives, who's dead. And behold, I'm alive forever, so be it. And I have the keys of the grave and of death.

We think about our life's experiences. Maybe we're about to go forward into something that we're not sure of. And maybe it was your dad, maybe it was your wife, maybe it was an uncle, maybe it was just a good friend or a fellow member in the church, your wife, your husband.

And all of a sudden, you feel that affirmation.

You know what you need to do, and you know that you need to be about doing it.

But there's something about touch.

Touch is very important. I don't know if you're aware of it, but touch is the first sensation. It is the first sense to be developed, and it remains powerful throughout all of our life.

Touch is to be meant to be loving and reassuring. We know that from babies.

There have been experiments, unfortunately, do I dare say, but sadly, that at times there are babies that are not touched, that are not reaffirmed of their existence in life. They have no tangible love being demonstrated on them. They do not grow. They do not thrive.

And yet, then there are babies that are touched, that are loved. My wife and I are watching a series right now that deals with home birth, British series. It's very amazing that as soon as the baby arrives, and any of you that are around, I see Sue out here in the medical industry, and again, I think of our own three children that were born at home. That's not a statement about being born at home. I'm just saying that they were born at everybody was born at home back in the 60s and 70s. But anyway, the point is this, is that what do you do when a child comes into this earth? You immediately clean up that child, and you put it right up here on the mother's chest.

For that mother to love and to touch and to hold, there is something about the reaffirming love that comes through the touch of another individual, that builds, that allows us to thrive and allows us to grow. That's why we have people that volunteer their services, and they go into hospitals, they go into facilities, and they hold the hands of senior citizens. Many of us have been with our own parents or other loved ones. I have with church members. Susan was with my mother at her physical end, and we stroke them, we touch them, we hold them, we reaffirm even when we don't even know that they're really conscious. There's something underneath that is life-giving, even as life is sometimes going away. People actually volunteer themselves to go into hospitals and to hold people's hands, to touch them, and to be with them. It's a beautiful thing. My question is this, gentlemen, ladies, we that are married, why do we hold one another's hands?

Why do we put our arm around our wife? There's something reaffirming. We're human beings, we need to be touched. And our Heavenly Father knew that from the beginning with Adam and Eve, and Jacob, and Manasseh, and Ephraim, Moses and Aaron, the deacons in the Jerusalem church, that there need to be a reaffirmation as we go through the transition in the chapters of life.

Number three. Number three. It brings fellow believers together.

We saw the example of Jesus where He was blessing the children, but then He led out to a spiritual point of, such is the kingdom of God, and this is the attitude that we need to have.

God calls we that are in the ministry together with you. We are not just, do I dare say a phrase, episcopi, which means administrators of the church. We're also presbyterous. We're spiritual elders. We're Dutch uncles, as it were, in the spiritual world. And sometimes when you call over somebody for anointing, or with marriage, or with baptism, we share the scriptures of God. We share the wisdom of God.

I've often found that in going over and visiting somebody that's being anointed, one plus one does not equal two. One plus one equals three, because we're underneath the same roof. We're eyeball to eyeball. We're heart to heart, and something comes out. And we are reminded that you might want to jot this down, as it says in Jeremiah 10 in verse 23, there is not a man who walks that knows to direct his steps. We come up along a side of them with the Holy Spirit and are able to help somebody, because they have asked in faith to be anointed, and we come over and we talk to them. Just three more quick scriptures very quickly. Join me, if you would, on this subject of the laying on of hands of what this is really all about. 1 Peter 5 and verse 6. 1 Peter 5 and verse 6.

In 1 Peter 5 and verse 6, therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hands of a minister who's a human being. That's not what it says, is it? It says, humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that he might exalt you in due time. To humble ourselves. Humble ourselves when it comes to offering up our children to God, offering up our ailments to God, offering up the most important relationship in humanity, the love between a husband and a wife up to God, opening up and giving to God the transitions that happened down through the ages of the transition in the church of leadership to all come underneath the mighty hand of God. So how important is the laying on of hands? Especially when it comes to anointing. You say, well, I really don't want to bother Mr. Helge or Mr. Garnett lives all the way down by Disneyland. Lives most of the time in Disneyland. No, just joking, no. Lives down Disneyland. Maybe I'll just do this and I will heal myself. I will do my own personal laying on of hands like this. It's got to look rather silly, doesn't it? And God thinks it's spiritually silly and I'll tell you why. It's so very, very simple and yet sometimes God asked us to do the simplest things. He asked us to do it just like He says to do it. Isn't that not simple? He asked us to do it just like He says to do it, just like Adam and Eve. Don't. You can have all of the trees in the garden, but see that one over there? Don't do it. So what do we do? We go after that tree. Remember the story of Naaman who had leprosy? And he went to the man of God. The man of God said, he said to the man of God, what shall I do? And the man of God says, you go down to that muddy pool called the Jordan River and you dip yourself so many times, then you come back and I'll give you the rest of the story. And the guy says, you got to be kidding me. I'm going to go down. I'm going to dip in that mud puddle. I'm from Syria. I've got mountains that look like the San Bernardino's. We got real rivers over there and you're asking me to go out in the desert. God asked us that when we're sick they call for the elders to have them come to anoint us with the oil, lay hands on our head, and commit ourselves to God. Faith and obedience go hand in hand. Join me last in John 10 verse 27.

In John 10, 27, I told you this would be in a sense touchy-feely and very tangible as a message about one of the principles, elementary principles, of this way of life. But that's what God is. Even though he is spiritual, he uses these terms and these means to understand that he is the Father and we are the clay and he continues to shape us and that he will never lose us.

In John 10 verse 27, it says, My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me, and I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish, neither shall anyone snatch them out of my hand. My Father has given them to me is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of my Father's hands. Not a minister's hands. Not a minister's hands alone. No, my Father's hands. Remember, physical hands towards a spiritual purpose.

My Father, who has given them to me in verse 29, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of my Father's hands. I hope the elementary principle of the laying out of hands has shown you that we're in a way of life, that we as the people of God strive to do what God asks us to do, to follow the example of Jesus Christ. Let's remember something whenever you have the laying out of hands, to recognize that, and I've been here 41 years now, serving in the midst of all of you. These hands, Robin Weber's hands, they will come and they will go. They will come and they will go. There's nothing about these hands. I'm simply an instrument. I'm God's servant. They will come and they will go. There will be that transition, but there's one thing that never moves away. That's God the Father, Jesus Christ, who have a purpose for each and every one of us, and want us to follow the example that we see set throughout Scripture, and recognizing that the laying out of hands, physical hands, lead to a spiritual purpose, that you and I commit all of our works, our heart, our mind, our soul, every chapter of our life before God, and come underneath those laying out of hands, which runs again, pictures coming underneath the mantle of God's purpose, God's grace, God's love, that no one at all can ever snatch us away from, and that is what the laying out of hands is all about.